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The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
The Legislative Council will hold a meeting on Wednesday (December 14) at 11am in the Chamber of the Legislative Council Complex. During the meeting, Members will debate a motion on capitalizing on the opportunity presented by the building of a cruise terminal to develop Kowloon East into a business and tourism district.
The motion, to be moved by Mr Paul Tse, states: "That this Council urges the Government to capitalize on the opportunity presented by the building of a cruise terminal by consolidating the existing tourism infrastructure and facilities and building new ones, while implementing the plan of Energizing Kowloon East, with a view to developing Kowloon East into an important business and tourism district."
Mr Chan Kam-lam, Mr Alan Leong, Mr Wong Kwok-kin and Mr Fred Li will move separate amendments to Mr Paul Tse's motion.
Mr Tommy Cheung will move a motion on alleviating the difficulties of small and medium enterprises in taking out insurance. The motion, states: "That, given that in recent years, many retail consumption and business services industries in Hong Kong, when taking out employees' compensation insurance and motor vehicle third party risk insurance as required by the law, often encountered significant premium increases or even refusal of underwriting insurance policy by insurance companies on various pretexts, causing the employers of many small and medium enterprises great anxiety and significant increases in costs, this Council urges the Government to proactively discuss with the insurance sector to make efforts to reduce the costs and difficulties of various industries in taking out the relevant insurance, so as to avoid affecting their business operation and effective protection for employees; the relevant measures should include:
(a) to enhance the Employees' Compensation Insurance Residual Scheme by, in addition to the existing list of 19 high-risk occupations, including those occupations such as retail consumption and business services, which are of lower-risk but have practical difficulties in taking out employees' compensation insurance, and to set relevant premium benchmark rates to serve as market reference indicators, so as to provide support as the last resort to enterprises in need of insurance coverage;
(b) to require the police to rigorously combat illegal acts such as champerty and conspiracy to make fraudulent insurance claims, etc.; and
(c) to increase the transparency of matters such as pricing, operation, risk assessment and complaint handling, etc. of the insurer sector, and strengthen the efforts of the Government, various industries, the media and the public in monitoring insurance companies, so as to prevent law-abiding employers from bearing unnecessary burden."
Mr Chan Kin-por, Mr Wong Kwok-hing and Mr Lee Cheuk-yan will move separate amendments to Mr Tommy Cheung's motion.
Mr James To will move a proposed resolution under section 34(4) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance to extend the period for amending the Inland Revenue (Double Taxation Relief and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income) (Portuguese Republic) Order, the Inland Revenue (Double Taxation Relief and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income) (Kingdom of Spain) Order and the Inland Revenue (Double Taxation Relief and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income) (Czech Republic) Order, laid on the table of the Legislative Council on November 23, 2011, to the meeting of January 11, 2012.
Mr Lee Cheuk-yan will move a proposed resolution under section 34(4) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance to extend the period for amending the Hong Kong Air Navigation (Fees) (Amendment) Regulation 2011 and the Civil Aviation (Aircraft Noise) (Certification) (Amendment) Regulation 2011, laid on the table of the Legislative Council on November 23, 2011, to the meeting of January 11, 2012.
Ms Miriam Lau will move two proposed resolutions respectively under section 34(4) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance to extend the period for amending the Frontier Closed Area (Amendment) Order 2011 and the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Contributions for Casual Employees) (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2011, laid on the table of the Legislative Council on December 7, 2011, to the meeting of February 1, 2012.
Meanwhile, Mr James To will move a proposed resolution under section 34(2) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance to repeal the Companies Ordinance (Exemption of Companies and Prospectuses from Compliance with Provisions) (Amendment) Notice 2011, laid on the table of the Legislative Council on October 26, 2011.
On bills, the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2011 will be introduced into the Council for First and Second Readings. Second Reading debate on the bill will be adjourned.
Members will resume Second Reading debates on the General Holidays and Employment Legislation (Substitution of Holidays) (Amendment) Bill 2011 and the Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2011. If the Bills are supported by Members and receive their Second Readings, they will then go through the Committee Stages and be read the Third time.
During the meeting, the Chief Secretary for Administration will present The Government Minute in response to the 23rd Annual Report of The Ombudsman 2011 and address the Council.
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 Legislative Council 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 to the meeting via the web broadcast system on the Legislative Council homepage.
Ends/Monday, December 12, 2011
Issued at HKT 19:13
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