The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:

     The Legislative Council (LegCo) will hold a meeting on Wednesday (May 24) at 11am in the Chamber of the LegCo Complex. During the meeting, Members will begin to consider the amendments to the Private Columbaria Bill.

     Members will also resume the Second Reading debate on the Inland Revenue (Amendment) Bill 2017. If the Bill is supported by Members and receive its Second Reading, it will then go through the Committee stage and be read the third time.

     On Member's Bill, the Bank of Communications (Hong Kong) Limited (Merger) Bill will be introduced into the Council for the First Reading and the Second Reading. The Second Reading debate on the Bill will be adjourned.

     On Government motions, the Secretary for Transport and Housing will move a proposed resolution under the Road Traffic Ordinance to seek the Council to extend the period for which the limit specified in the Road Traffic (Public Light Buses: Limit on Number) Notice 2016 on the total number of vehicles that may be registered as public light buses remains in force to June 20, 2022.

     The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury will move a proposed resolution under the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance to seek the Council to approve the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Fees) (Amendment) Regulation 2017 made by the Chief Executive in Council on March 14, 2017.

     The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development will move a proposed resolution under the Hong Kong Export Credit Insurance Corporation Ordinance to seek the Council to approve the contingent liability of the Hong Kong Export Credit Insurance Corporation under contracts of insurance must not at any time exceed the sum of 55,000 million dollars.

     On Members' motions, Mr Chan Han-pan will move a proposed resolution under section 34(4) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance to extend the period for amending the Road Tunnels (Government) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulation 2017, the Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicles) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulation 2017, the Road Traffic (Registration and Licensing of Vehicles) (Amendment) Regulation 2017, the Road Traffic (Traffic Control) (Amendment) Regulation 2017, the Road Traffic (Expressway) (Amendment) Regulation 2017 and the Road Tunnels (Government) Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 1) Notice 2017 laid on the table of the Council on April 26, 2017 to the meeting of June 14, 2017. 

     Dr Kwok Ka-ki will move a proposed resolution under section 34(4) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance to extend the period for amending the Smoking (Public Health) (Notices) (Amendment) Order 2017 laid on the table of the Council on April 26, 2017 to the meeting of June 14, 2017. 

     Dr Lo Wai-kwok will also move a proposed resolution under section 34(4) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance to extend the period for amending the Promotion of Recycling and Proper Disposal (Electrical Equipment and Electronic Equipment) (Amendment) Ordinance 2016 (Commencement) Notice 2017 laid on the table of the Council on April 26, 2017 to the meeting of June 14, 2017.

     In addition, Dr Cheng Chung-tai will move a motion under the Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance. The motion states: "That this Council appoints a select committee to inquire into the incident of the loss of the notebook computers of the Registration and Electoral Office containing the personal data of all registered electors in Hong Kong at the AsiaWorld-Expo, the fallback venue of the 2017 Chief Executive Election, and other related matters; and that in the performance of its duties the committee be authorised under section 9(2) of the Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance (Cap 382) to exercise the powers conferred by section 9(1) of that Ordinance."

     Dr Kwok Ka-ki will move a motion on urging the next Chief Executive to reactivate constitutional reform. The motion states: "That this Council urges the next Chief Executive to request the Central People's Government to seek the invalidation by the National People's Congress (NPC) of the decision made by the Standing Committee of NPC on August 31, 2014 on Hong Kong's constitutional development, and reactivate the statutory process for constitutional reform to allow Hong Kong people to, by way of nomination with no screening, including civil nomination, elect the Chief Executive on a 'one person, one vote' basis; and to abolish the functional constituencies in the Legislative Council to allow Hong Kong people to elect all Legislative Council Members by direct elections, so as to implement genuine dual universal suffrage under the principles of universality and equality, thereby manifesting 'one country, two systems', 'Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong' and a high degree of autonomy, and hence eliminating deep-rooted social conflicts."

     Mr Leung Che-cheung and Dr Helena Wong will move separate amendments to Dr Kwok Ka-ki's motion.

     Ms Claudia Mo will move a motion on promoting "Hong Kong people using Hong Kong water" and protecting local resources. The motion states: "That this Council urges the next-term Government to expedite the promotion of 'Hong Kong people using Hong Kong water' by increasing the application of desalination technology in Hong Kong, so as to reduce reliance on Dongjiang water; besides, since frequent occurrence of reservoir overflow wastes a huge amount of local water resources, the next-term Government should revise the approach of purchasing Dongjiang water, switching from the 'package deal lump sum' approach to a 'quantity-based charging' approach."

     Dr Helena Wong, Mr Lau Kwok-fan and Mr Kenneth Leung will move separate amendments to Ms Claudia Mo's motion.

     During the meeting, Members will ask the Government 22 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 on 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. Members of the public can also watch or listen to the meeting via the "Webcast" system on the LegCo website.

Ends/Monday, May 22, 2017
Issued at HKT 18:30

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