LegCo to debate a motion on the vote of no confidence in the Secretary for Development and the Secretary for Education
************************************************************

The following is issued on behalf of Legislative Council Secretariat:

     The Legislative Council (LegCo) will hold a meeting on Wednesday (November 14) at 11am in the Chamber of the LegCo Complex. During the meeting, Members will debate a motion on the vote of no confidence in the Secretary for Development and the Secretary for Education.

    The motion, to be moved by Mr Wong Yuk-man states: " That, following Mr Paul Chan's assumption of office as the Secretary for Development in July this year, the media revealed that a company of which he was a director operated 'sub-divided units' in Tai Kok Tsui and used taxation techniques to avoid paying several hundred thousand dollars in profits tax; in early October this year, it was again reported in the media that Mr Paul Chan committed drink-driving on October 2, and his Press Secretary responded that Mr Paul Chan did not drive until some time had passed after drinking alcohol and was confident that he had complied with the law; the Secretary for Education, Mr Eddie Ng, attempted to push through the national education subject, arousing strong public antipathy and about 120 000 people besieged the Central Government Offices; the deeds of the two Bureau Directors have caused public outcry; in this connection, this Council has no confidence in the Secretary for Development, Mr Paul Chan, and the Secretary for Education, Mr Eddie Ng."

    Meanwhile, Members will debate a motion on alleviating poverty. The motion, to be moved by Ms Chan Yuen-han states: "That since the 1970s, the Census and Statistics Department has computed the Gini Coefficient based on household incomes for reflecting the disparity between the rich and the poor in Hong Kong; the Gini Coefficient announced in June this year reached 0.537, which hit a new record high in 40 years, indicating a worsening trend in the disparity between the rich and the poor, and reflecting the failure of the Government's poverty alleviation measures to achieve their effectiveness in the past; the current-term Government has decided to establish the Commission on Poverty, demonstrating its intention of alleviating the poverty situation in Hong Kong, but the authorities must also conduct studies on opening up new resources for poverty alleviation; in this connection, this Council urges the Government to:

(a)  request the Commission on Poverty to commence work as early as possible and report regularly to the Legislative Council on its work progress;

(b)  expeditiously establish a poverty line, so that the Government and the society may compile statistics on the number of people in poverty and assess the effectiveness of poverty alleviation measures by means of objective and open criteria;

(c)  introduce new poverty alleviation measures, including the provision of employment living allowance to assist the working poor;

(d)  comprehensively review the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance system, including the Social Security Assistance Index of Prices and the amount of rent allowance, etc.; and
(e)  improve the tax regime by, for example, exploring the introduction of a capital gains tax, and implementing a progressive profits tax system under which higher rates of tax apply to organisations reaping huge profits, with a view to increasing tax revenue and meeting new expenditure for poverty alleviation."

     Mr Frederick Fung, Dr Fernando Cheung, Mr Cheung Kwok-che, Mr Tam Yiu-chung, Mr Michael Tien, Mr Albert Ho, Mr Frankie Yick, Mr Christopher Cheung, Mr Alan Leong, Mr Albert Chan and Mr Kenneth Leung will move separate amendments to Ms Chan Yuen-han's motion.

     In addition, Mr Ng Leung-sing will move a proposed resolution under section 34(4) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance to extend the period for amending the Banking (Capital) (Amendment) Rules 2012, Banking (Specification of Multilateral Development Bank) (Amendment) Notice 2012 and Banking (Amendment) Ordinance 2012 (Commencement) Notice 2012 laid on the table of the LegCo on October 24, 2012, to the meeting of December 12, 2012.

     Mr Charles Mok will also move a proposed resolution under section 34(4) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance to extend the period for amending the Telecommunications (Determining Spectrum Utilization Fees by Auction) (Amendment) Regulation 2012 and the Telecommunications (Designation of Frequency Bands subject to Payment of Spectrum Utilization Fee) (Amendment) Order 2012 laid on the table of the LegCo on October 24, 2012, to the meeting of December 12, 2012.

     Meanwhile, Mr Dennis Kwok will move a proposed resolution under section 34(4) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance to extend the period for amending the Mediation Ordinance (Commencement) Notice laid on the table of the LegCo on October 24, 2012, to the meeting of December 12, 2012.

     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 LegCo website (www.legco.gov.hk). Please note that the agenda is subject to change, and the latest information about the agenda could be found in the LegCo website.

     Members of the public are welcome to observe the proceedings of the meeting from the public galleries of the Chamber of the LegCo Complex. They may reserve seats by calling 3919 3399 during office hours. Seats will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis. Members of the public can also watch or listen the meeting via the web broadcast system on the LegCo website.

Ends/Monday, November 12, 2012
Issued at HKT 17:15

NNNN