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The Bills Committee made a determined effort to reach a consensus on all aspects of the Bill. The amendments I have tabled bear witness to the hard work the Committee devoted to that end. However, there were a number of proposals for changes to the Bill from individual Members that the Committee as a whole did not endorse but which have nevertheless been tabled for debate during the Committee Stage. In particular, the amendments tabled by Dr the Hon. Huang Chen-ya. We explained to the Bills Committee why the Administration does not accept the proposals embodied in Dr Huang's amendments. I would like to rehearse a few general points concerning them. Firstly, they would place an unnecessary additional administrative burden on the Government. For example, the proposed amendment to clause 14 requires all Government departments and branches to submit returns to the regulatory authority, the Privacy Commissioner. The Bill currently gives the Privacy Commissioner the discretion to decide which bodies should do this and he or she may decide that certain Government data users do not need to be required to submit such

returns.

Secondly, Dr Huang's amendments to clause 57 would remove necessary safeguards for the protection of material held by the Government relating to security, defence and international relations. Members of the Bills Committee were concerned at the sweeping nature of the provisions of clause 57. We have already responded positively by proposing Committee Stage amendments to this clause that address Members' concerns. Dr Huang's amendments go much further than those I will move and do not give due recognition to the need to protect highly sensitive material relating to these areas.

Thirdly, Dr Huang's amendments would make the appointment of the Privacy Commissioner subject to the approval of the Legislative Council. This would politicise the choice of this authority, which may adversely affect the Privacy Commissioner's independent standing. The amendments would also introduce undue rigidity into the composition of the committee established by the Bill to advise the Privacy Commissioner by specifying that it must include members nominated by LegCo, business interests and journalists. In practice, the Administration will of course ensure that affected interests will be broadly represented on the committee. I urge Hon Members to consider these points very carefully and to vote against Dr Huang's amendments.