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The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
The Legislative Council will hold a meeting this Wednesday (December 7) at 11am in the Chamber of the Legislative Council Building. During the meeting, Members will debate a motion on democratic political system.
The motion, to be proposed by Hon Yeung Sum, says: "That, as Hong Kong people have taken to the streets many times to strive for the dual elections by universal suffrage, this Council urges the Hong Kong SAR Government to seriously consider submitting a report to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress to reflect to it Hong Kong people's strong aspirations for universal suffrage, and to propose in the report a timetable and a roadmap for universal suffrage that are acceptable to Hong Kong people, so that the Chief Executive and all Members of the Legislative Council can be elected by universal suffrage as soon as possible."
Members will also debate a motion on endeavouring to improve air quality. The motion, to be moved by Hon James Tien, states: "That, further to the passage of my motion on "Vigorously reducing air pollution" by this Council last year, I put forward a proposal on "Collaborating in tackling cross-border air pollution" jointly with 92 members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference at its meeting in March this year; the proposal received positive response from the State Environmental Protection Administration of China which has indicated that it will continue to take the lead and coordinate the work in this regard in order to enhance cooperation between Hong Kong and Guangdong on the environmental protection front; in this connection, this Council urges the Government to adopt the following complementary measures more positively with a view to curbing the trend of continuing deterioration of air quality in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta ("PRD") region:
On the co-operation between Hong Kong and Guangdong:
(a) endeavouring to achieve as early as possible the emission reduction targets for 2010 regarding the four types of pollutants;
(b) expediting the formal commissioning of the PRD regional air quality monitoring network and other effective measures, so as to expeditiously unify the emission standards and regulatory regimes between Hong Kong and Guangdong;
(c) expeditiously implementing the emissions trading pilot scheme;
(d) stepping up negotiations with the Mainland authorities to provide business operators who have installed air pollution control systems in their plants in the PRD region with tax relief on depreciation of the relevant systems;
(e) maintaining close co-operation with the State Environmental Protection Administration of China to promote the prevention and control of regional air pollution;
On the local front:
(f) introducing legislation to require motorists to switch off the engines of their vehicles while waiting, and according priority to regulating emissions from idling engines of private cars and government vehicles; and
(g) on condition that there is no additional burden of electricity charges on the public or the industrial and commercial sectors, urging the two power companies to expedite various emission reduction projects and use more environmentally friendly fuels, so that the emission reduction targets originally set for 2010 can be achieved as early as possible."
Hon Choy So-yuk and Hon Sin Chung-kai will move separate amendments to Hon James Tien's motion.
During the meeting, Members will also ask the Administration 20 questions on various policy areas, six of which require oral replies.
The agenda of the above meeting can be obtained via the Legislative Council InfoFax Service (Tel: 2869 9568) or the Legislative Council web site (http://www.legco.gov.hk).
Members of the public are welcome to observe the proceedings of the meeting from the public galleries of the Legislative Council Chamber. They may reserve seats by calling 2869 9399 during office hours. Seats will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis.
Ends/Monday, December 5, 2005
Issued at HKT 17:15
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