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The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
The Legislative Council will hold a special meeting this Thursday (September 2) at 2.30 pm in the Chamber of the Legislative Council Building. During the meeting, Members will debate a motion on the incident of a Hong Kong tour group being taken hostage in the Philippines.
The motion, to be moved by Hon Miriam Lau, states: "That this Council is deeply shocked and saddened that the taking of a Hong Kong tour group as hostages by a gunman on August 23 this year during its visit to the Philippines has ended up in a tragedy with heavy casualties, and wishes to express its profound condolences to the Hong Kong people who died and extend its deepest sympathy to those who were injured and to the family members of the deceased and injured; this Council expresses its strong dissatisfaction at the serious failures that had obviously occurred in the Philippine Government's operation to rescue the hostages which resulted in innocent Hong Kong people being killed, and urges the SAR Government to:
(a) solemnly demand the Philippine Government to expeditiously conduct an investigation into the incident; proactively strive to directly take part in the investigation work concerned to find out the truth about the incident and make public the investigation report so as to give a clear account to the deceased and injured and their family members; and demand the Philippine Government to offer a public apology and compensation to the deceased and injured and their family members;
(b) expeditiously take measures and actions to render full assistance to the injured and survivors as well as the family members of the deceased and injured;
(c) formulate a contingency mechanism to deal with similar incidents in the future and clearly define the negotiation channels for the SAR Government and its role in incidents involving Hong Kong people in distress overseas; and
(d) discuss with the tourism sector the relevant follow-up work."
The agenda of the above meeting can be obtained via the Legislative Council InfoFax Service (Tel: 2869 9568) or the Legislative Council web site ( 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 web broadcast system on the Legislative Council homepage.
Ends/Monday, August 30, 2010
Issued at HKT 16:05
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