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Mr President, I wish to point out that should the copyright piracy situation in Hong Kong remain rampant following implementation of the proposed legislative measures in the Copyright Bill, when enacted, for a period of time, we will consider whether or not to introduce further legislative measures, such as the making of closure orders by the court on premises found to be involved in repeated piracy activities. We realise that these are severe measures and would require careful consideration of their impact on legitimate businessmen and the landlords. Nevertheless, we are prepared to take such bold steps when Hong Kong's international reputation as a responsible trading partner is at stake.
In conclusion, I wish to reassure Honourable Members that the Government will consider carefully all the views put forward on the draft Copyright Bill so as to ensure that we strike a proper balance of the interests of all the relevant parties.
Thank you, Mr President.
End
Legal Aid (Amendment) Bill 1996
Following is a speech by the acting Chief Secretary, Mr Michael Suen, in resuming the second reading debate on the Legal Aid (Amendment) Bill 1996 in the Legislative Council today (Wednesday):
Mr President,
On 8 January, the Legal Aid (Amendment) Bill 1996 was introduced into this Council. This Bill aims to increase the financial eligibility limits for the legal aid schemes operated by the Legal Aid Department and to make other related changes to the Legal Aid Ordinance. The Bill has been considered by the House Committee of this Council, which decided that it was not necessary to set up a Bills Committee to study it and supported the resumption of its second reading.