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Public Holiday (Special Holidays 1997) Bill gazetted
The Government today (Friday) published in the Gazette the Public Holiday (Special Holidays 1997) Bill which provides for 1 July and 2 July to be additional general and statutory holidays this year.
"It is widely known that both 1 and 2 July 1997, being respectively the establishment day of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the day following the establishment day, will be special holidays," said a Government spokesman.
He said the effect of the Bill was to put beyond doubt the status of these two holidays by providing legal backing for them as soon as possible.
"This is particularly important, given Hong Kong's status as an international financial and business centre," he added. "If important commercial activities such as clearing and settlement of banking and securities transactions are not to take place on 1-2 July, then it is in the interests of Hong Kong as an international financial centre to provide for this by legislation as early as possible. If the Bill is enacted, then other legislative provisions which regulated activities on general holidays would also apply, and employers and employees would also be clearly aware of their obligations and entitlements under the Employment Ordinance.
"Many ordinances provide for certain acts to be done within a specified time and, as a general rule, in computing the relevant period, all public holidays will be excluded."
The explanatory memorandum to the Bill explains that declaration of 1 and 2 July as general holidays for the purposes of Holidays Ordinance means that, among other things.: