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The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
The Legislative Council will hold a meeting on Wednesday (January 24) at 11am in the Chamber of the Legislative Council Building. During the meeting, Members will debate a motion on fully safeguarding the safety of food supply to Hong Kong.
The motion, to be moved by Hon Fred Li, states: "That, as the recent spate of food safety incidents have revealed that the food regulatory laws in Hong Kong are flawed with loopholes, and there is a lack of a comprehensive food safety policy, thereby subjecting the public to food safety hazards, this Council urges the Government to expeditiously adopt measures to fully safeguard the safety of food supply to Hong Kong, including:
(a) drawing up a legislative timetable for prescribing standards for pesticide and chemical residues in vegetables and fruits;
(b) enacting legislation to regulate imported foods, including setting up a licensing system for food importers, implementing mandatory inspection and testing at border control points, clearly specifying the penalties for non-compliance, and bringing live fish, egg products, vegetables and fruits into the regulatory ambit; and
(c) establishing a food supply chain tracking mechanism to enable food surveillance and control at source, so as to achieve the objective of ensuring food safety 'from farm to fork'."
Hon Wong Yung-kan, Hon Tommy Cheung and Dr Hon Kwok Ka-ki will move separate amendments to Hon Fred Li's motion.
Members will also debate a motion on urging the Government to make effective use of the surplus and plough it back into the community. The motion, to be proposed by Hon Sin Chung-kai, says: "That, as the Government's finance returned to the surplus last year and the target fiscal surplus for this year will be attained, and the Government further anticipates a very robust financial position with a fiscal reserve exceeding $400 billion by 2012, this Council urges that, having regard to the existing improved economic and financial situation, the Government should, in addition to reducing salary tax to alleviate the burden on the middle class, target at facilitating Hong Kong's long term development by making effective use of the surplus and investing more resources in:
(a) setting up a children's development fund to provide opportunities for children from low-income families to participate in extra-curricular activities;
(b) relaxing the eligibility criteria for travelling allowance for the low-income groups to encourage employment;
(c) shortening the waiting time for care places for the elderly;
(d) allowing the elderly to use public medical services at half price;
(e) implementing cross-boundary and large-scale infrastructure projects to create jobs;
(f) implementing small class teaching to improve the quality of education;
(g) offering loans to associate degree graduates to study abroad, so as to nurture talents; and
(h) implementing a green tax to encourage environmental protection by the public through economic incentives."
Hon Frederick Fung, Hon Leung Yiu-chung, Hon Chan Kam-lam, Hon Mrs Sophie Leung and Hon Wong Kwok-hing will move separate amendments to Hon Sin Chung-kai's motion.
On government motion, the Secretary for Security will move a resolution under the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance to seek the Council's approval to the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (Germany) Order, made by the Chief Executive in Council on November 14, 2006.
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.
Ends/Monday, January 22, 2007
Issued at HKT 17:36
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