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The following is issued on behalf of Legislative Council Secretariat:
The Legislative Council (LegCo) will hold a meeting this Wednesday (February 22) at 11am in the Chamber of the LegCo Complex. During the meeting, Members will debate a motion on reiterating Hong Kong's core values.
The motion, to be moved by Mr Ronny Tong, states: "That Hong Kong has always taken pride in its core values such as diversity, harmony, love for peace and kind-heartedness, etc., but a series of recent incidents involving 'doubly non-permanent resident pregnant women', self-drive tour, D&G and talks about 'locusts' and 'dogs', etc. have progressively intensified conflicts between mainlanders and Hong Kong people, and there are signs of gradual growth of China-Hong Kong confrontation and mutual animosity; in this connection, this Council urges the Government to expeditiously adopt the following contingency measures, so as to eliminate the confrontational sentiments between the masses on the Mainland and in Hong Kong, and address the problems arising from the cultural differences between the two places:
(a) to allocate additional resources for improving obstetric services, suspend the quota for 'doubly non-permanent resident pregnant women', and accord priority to addressing the needs of local pregnant women;
(b) to step up law enforcement and enhance entry restrictions to comprehensively block the entry of 'doubly non-permanent resident pregnant women'; and
(c) to shelve the self-drive tour plan for mainlanders' vehicles."
Mr James To, Mr Wong Kwok-kin, Ms Cyd Ho, Mr Wong Sing-chi, Mr Chan Hak-kan, Dr Leung Ka-lau and Mr Albert Chan will move amendments to Mr Ronny Tong's motion respectively.
Dr Pan Pey-chyou will move a motion on strengthening the support for persons suffering from dementia and their carers. The motion states: "That dementia (also known as 'ÄÔÍË»¯Ö¢' or '³Õ´ôÖ¢' in the Chinese rendition) is a disease suffered by many people and it has wide-ranging effects and exerts heavy caring pressure on their family members; although the Chief Executive had respectively mentioned in the Policy Addresses for 2010-11 and 2011-12 that the services for persons suffering from dementia would be improved and increased, the situation has not shown any concrete improvements; with population ageing, the number of persons suffering from dementia in Hong Kong has continued to increase, but the Government all along lacks a long-term and comprehensive policy, and the support and resources provided are not sufficient to cope with the relevant demand, thus making such persons unable to receive appropriate treatment and care; in this connection, this Council urges the Government to:
(a) co-ordinate the complementarity and collaboration between healthcare and welfare services, and formulate an inter-departmental, long-term and comprehensive policy to address the problem of dementia;
(b) provide timely diagnosis, assessment, treatment and follow-up services for persons suffering from dementia, and set up dedicated day care and support centres for such persons so as to enable those persons in need to receive appropriate care;
(c) immediately increase the service quota of residential care homes for the elderly and day care centres for the elderly as well as extend their service hours and increase their manpower, so as to shorten the waiting time of users;
(d) introduce a carer allowance and emotional counselling services to strengthen the financial and mental support for family members and carers of persons suffering from dementia;
(e) when designing residential care homes, take account of users' needs and devise facilities convenient to persons suffering from dementia;
(f) establish a database on persons suffering from dementia to facilitate more in-depth studies and statistical analyses on the conditions of such patients, and promptly assist them in receiving appropriate help when necessary;
(g) provide training to the relevant professionals to enhance their professional knowledge of treating, diagnosing and handling, etc. persons suffering from dementia; and
(h) enhance education for the whole community in relation to dementia with a view to detecting persons suffering from dementia in the community at an early stage, facilitating early treatment of the disease and easing patients' conditions."
Mr Wong Sing-chi, Dr Joseph Lee and Mr Alan Leong will move amendments to Dr Pan Pey-chyou's motion respectively.
Dr Philip Wong will move a proposed resolution under section 34(4) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance to extend the period for amending the Schedule of Routes (Citybus Limited) Order 2012; Schedule of Routes (Citybus Limited) (North Lantau and Chek Lap Kok Airport) Order 2012; Schedule of Routes (Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited) Order 2012; Schedule of Routes (Long Win Bus Company Limited) Order 2012; Schedule of Routes (New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Limited) Order 2012; and Schedule of Routes (New World First Bus Services Limited) Order 2012, laid on the table of the Legislative Council on February 1, 2012, to the meeting of March 21, 2012.
On bills, the United Nations (Anti-Terrorism Measures) (Amendment) Bill 2012 will be introduced into the Council for First and Second Readings. Debate on the Bill will be adjourned. Members will also resume Second Reading debates on the Legislative Council (Amendment) Bill 2011, for the purpose of making an announcement for the withdrawal of the Bill.
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 to the meeting via the web broadcast system on the LegCo website.
Ends/Monday, February 20, 2012
Issued at HKT 18:00
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