**********************************************************
The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
The Legislative Council will hold a meeting this Wednesday (June 13) at 11 am in the Chamber of the Legislative Council Building. During the meeting, Members will resolve a resolution related to the re-organisation of Policy Bureaux of the Government Secretariat.
The Secretary for Constitutional Affairs will move a resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance to effect a transfer, with effect from July 1, 2007, of the statutory functions of eight of the Directors of Bureaux to the Directors of nine re-organised Bureaux and between some of the affected Permanent Secretaries. Hon SIN Chung-kai and Hon Audrey EU will move separate amendments to the resolution.
In addition, the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury will move four resolutions under the Bankruptcy Ordinance to seek the Council's approval on the Bankruptcy (Amendment) Rules 2007, the Bankruptcy (Forms) (Amendment) Rules 2007, the Bankruptcy (Fees and Percentages) (Amendment) Order 2007, and the Proof of Debts (Amendment) Rules 2007, made by the Chief Justice on May 18, 2007.
On bills, the Second Reading debates of the Housing (Amendment) Bill 2007, the Revenue Bill 2007 and the City University of Hong Kong (Amendment) Bill 2006 will resume. 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.
Meanwhile, the Supplementary Appropriation (2006-2007) Bill and The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Declaration of Morningside College and S. H. Ho College as Constituent Colleges) Bill will be introduced into the Council for First and Second Readings; debates on the Bills will be adjourned.
On Members' motion, Members will debate a motion on transforming Radio Television Hong Kong to become the Hong Kong Public Broadcasting Corporation. The motion, to be moved by Hon LEE Wing-tat, states: "That, as the review report published by the Committee on Review of Public Service Broadcasting recommends the formation of a public broadcaster independent of the government structure, this Council urges the Government to expeditiously review the future role, positioning and development direction of Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK), actively study the feasibility of transforming RTHK to become the Hong Kong Public Broadcasting Corporation, and conduct public consultation on the results of the review and the study."
Hon TSANG Yok-sing will move an amendment to Hon LEE Wing-tat's motion.
Members will also debate a motion on promoting the sustainable development of the local agriculture and fisheries industries. The motion, to be proposed by Hon WONG Yung-kan, says: "That, as Hong Kong people are showing increasing enthusiasm for nature in their living and dietary habits, and have become more concerned about the safety and supply of food, which should have brought about opportunities for developing modern agriculture and fisheries industries in Hong Kong, yet in recent years the Government's policies have adversely affected the local agriculture and fisheries industries, particularly the development of livestock farms, thereby posing a threat to the industries' development, this Council urges that the Government should have regard to the prevailing circumstances and formulate a policy for promoting the sustainable development of the agriculture and fisheries industries, with measures targeted at various sectors of the industries to upgrade their quality, assist in their transformation and perfect the regulatory system, including:
(a) in collaboration with the Mainland, actively promoting an "agricultural test base" scheme to be modelled on the "accredited farm" system, and allowing farmers who have voluntarily surrendered their livestock farming licences to continue their operations in the Mainland, and export their produce to Hong Kong under the Hong Kong quota at a quantity determined according to their previous farming capacity in Hong Kong, so as to maintain a stable supply of live and fresh food to the territory;
(b) actively promoting the development of off-shore capture fishery through financial and policy support, conserving in-shore ecological resources, and assisting in-shore fishermen in transforming their operations, so as to improve their livelihood;
(c) further developing the local quality aquaculture industry, and studying the development of Hong Kong into a distribution centre for aquatic products, so as to keep in tune with the global development trend of the aquaculture industry;
(d) expediting the implementation of the Organic Farming Conversion Scheme, establishing a regulatory labelling system for organic produce and opening up sales and marketing channels, so as to promote the development of organic farming in Hong Kong;
(e) perfecting the regulatory system for the local agriculture and fisheries industries to ensure that local agricultural and fishery products are of high quality and safe; and
(f) stepping up efforts to promote the development of the agriculture and fisheries industries in the direction of integrating with leisure and recreation, so as to meet the needs of the public."
Hon Tommy CHEUNG, Hon Fred LI and Hon WONG Kwok-hing will move separate amendments to Hon WONG Yung-kan'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. Members of the public can also listen to the meeting via the audio webcast system on the Legislative Council homepage.
Ends/Monday, June 11, 2007
Issued at HKT 18:20
NNNN
