5 July 1989
·九八九年七月五日
22
HONG KONG LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
香港立法局
The Li Po Chun Charitable Trust Fund was established in 1963 with donations by the late Mr. LI Po-chun. The fund is administered by the Li Po Chun Charitable Trust Fund Committee established under the Ordinance, on which the LI family is represented. The committee has recently reviewed the operation of the fund and recommended that a number of amendments to the Ordinance would be desirable in order to enable the fund to operate more flexibly to better meet the needs of the Hong Kong community. The Administration supports the recommendations of the committee, which are incorporated into the Bill.
The existing Ordinance requires the income of the fund to be applied generally on a fifty-fifty basis between educational purposes and the relief of distress. The fund was established 25 years ago and social circumstances in Hong Kong have changed considerably since then. Operational experience has shown that the Ordinance is becoming unnecessarily rigid with regard to the application of the income of the fund. Clause 2 of the Bill therefore amends this provision by allowing the committee to apply the income of the fund flexibly between educational purposes and relief of distress. The committee will however be mindful of the need to give balanced consideration to both purposes.
Clause 2 also amends the Ordinance by enabling the committee to apply the capital of the fund for such educational purposes as it may decide, including the establishment of educational institutions in Hong Kong. Under the existing Ordinance there is no provision for applying the capital of the fund. Since its establishment in 1963 with a capital of about $2 million, the fund has grown very substantially and now has a capital asset of over $170 million. Its annual income has also exceeded the amount actually requested for educational purposes and the relief of distress. This amendment therefore expands the scope of operation of the fund.
The amendment in clause 3 is consequential upon the amendment in clause 2.
Clause 4 amends paragraphs 3 and 4 of the schedule to the Ordinance. This amendment to paragraph 3 enables the committee to award scholarships to students of secondary schools, rather than Chinese middle schools only, as selected by the Director of Education. The amendment to paragraph 4 enables the committee to apply any unused balance of income after making provisions for the scholarships specified in the schedule to such other educational purposes, rather than for scholarships alone, as the committee may decide.