DRAFT SPEECH BY HON F/K HU, OBE, JP LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 20 JANUARY 1988
New Territories Leases (Extension) Bill 1987
Resumption of debate on Second Reading (6 May 1987)
Question proposed.
Mr. HU: sir,
At has been almost nine months since the New Territories
Leases (Extension) Bill 1987 was first introduced to this Council. The aim of this Bill is to implement paragraph 2 of
Sino-British Joint Declaration, So that over in the New Territories and / New
C.
l.c.
Annex III of the
30,000 leases
automatically
the
Kowloon may be
Instead
an
extended for a period expiring not later than June 30, 2047 without payment of additional premium.
3 annual rent equivalent to three per cent of the current rateable value of the property will be charged.
Legislative Council
Kesco
Due to the complexity of the task, the Ad Hoc l.c. Group
set up to study the Bill has held eight meetings, including six with the Administration. Representations from the New Territories Heung Yee Kuk were received and duly considered.
Although we were aware of the
the urgency of the matter,
prolonged deliberation was inevitable given the significance of the proposed Bill. I am glad that the Bill is ready for its final
reading today.
I would like to comment on four areas of concern which x.c.
c. have been raised in the
deliberations.
course of the Ad Hoc
Aoc group's
A
Definition of 'established village'
those
The first one is about the definition of "established
village". The Bill provides that rents for certain land held by descendants from/xtese pre-1898 villages will remain unchanged
after the leases involved are extended. However, these pre-1898,
villages, totalling around 600 today, are defined according to
تھر
1905 survey.