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The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
The Legislative Council will hold a meeting this Wednesday (May 23) at 11 am in the Chamber of the Legislative Council Building. During the meeting, Members will debate a motion on policies on sustainable urban development and green buildings.
The motion, to be moved by Prof Hon Patrick LAU Sau-shing, states: "That, in view of the United Nations' earlier warning that within this century, global warming will cause hundreds of millions of people to face disasters such as fresh water shortage, famine, flooding, diseases, and the rise in sea level will even pose a threat to the coastal lands in Asia including the Pearl River Delta region, from which Hong Kong can hardly be immune; in order to alleviate the greenhouse effect arising from imbalanced urban development and to eliminate the adverse effects of undesirable high-density building developments on weather and the environment, this Council urges the Government to expeditiously formulate and implement policies on sustainable urban development and green buildings, including:
(a) reviewing the existing legislation relating to urban planning and buildings, and introducing sustainable planning and green building principles;
(b) studying the formulation of a Code of Practice for introducing a "green building labelling" system, and fully assessing the environmental performance of buildings during the design stage and after their being put to use on the basis of energy efficiency, greening ratio, air ventilation, renewable energy, household waste treatment and design parameters which are conducive to good weather and urban environment; and
(c) the Government and public organizations taking the lead in fully applying the relevant policies to both new and existing public buildings, educating the public, and offering incentives to actively promote market compliance,
so as to alleviate the impact of global warming on Hong Kong and to build a pleasant city which is sustainable through the implementation of policies on urban development and green buildings that are conducive to good weather and environment."
Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki will move an amendment to Prof Hon Patrick LAU Sau-shing's motion.
Members will also debate a motion on safeguarding the safety of live and fresh food. The motion, to be proposed by Hon TAM Tiu-chung, says: "That, as the Mainland Government has, with effect from April 1 this year, strengthened its inspection and quarantine management system for vegetables supplied to Hong Kong, including designating supply farms, implementing label identification and lead-seal control, and regularizing certification and voucher management, etc, and such requirements will be extended to fruits and melons on July 1 and October 1 respectively; furthermore, quarantine and seal identification measures for vessels carrying fresh water fish from Guangdong Province to Hong Kong have also been enforced since May 1, so as to eradicate the smuggling of fish into Hong Kong; however, the Hong Kong SAR Government has not yet made any complementary import quarantine arrangements, nor has it publicized the Mainland Government's new regulations to the public, hence making it possible for unscrupulous traders to exploit Hong Kong's import quarantine loopholes and bring unquarantined live and fresh food into the territory for sale in the market, thereby endangering the public's health, this Council urges the Government to expeditiously adopt measures to complement the Mainland's new management regulations for food supplied to Hong Kong, and fully safeguard the safety standards of live and fresh food in the territory, including:
(a) enacting a food safety law to bring live and fresh food such as vegetables and fruits, aquatic products and poultry eggs, etc, into the regulatory ambit, prescribing relevant food safety standards and enforcing import quarantine at border control points, so as to ensure the safety of imported live and fresh food;
(b) implementing a food importer registration scheme and requiring food importers to keep their import and sales records, so as to enhance the enforcement authorities' ability to trace the sources and destinations of food;
(c) disseminating information about the new regulations promulgated by the Mainland Government and the list of designated food supply bases to the trade, and uploading such information onto the Government's website, so as to enhance the awareness of the trade and the public; and
(d) strengthening liaison with the local trade to assess the impact of the new regulatory measures implemented by the Mainland and Hong Kong on the operations of the trade, and assisting the trade in making adaptation;
besides, the Government should also assist in improving the mode of operation of local agricultural and breeding farms, so as to increase the supplies of safe and high quality local agricultural and fishery products."
Hon Vincent FANG Kang and Hon Fred LI will move separate amendments to Hon TAM Tiu-chung's motion.
On bill, Second Reading Debate on the Import and Export (Amendment) Bill 2007, the Unsolicited Electronic Messages Bill, and the Revenue (No. 2) Bill 2007 will be resumed. If the Bills are supported by Members and receive their Second Readings, they will then go through the Committee Stage and be read the third time.
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. Members of the public can also listen to the meeting via the audio webcast system on the Legislative Council homepage.
Ends/Monday, May 21, 2007
Issued at HKT 17:10
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