TNAG-1606-FCO40-22121-Minutes-and-Hansards-of-the-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1987 — Page 111

Sir,

DRAFT SPEECH BY HON PETER C WONG, CBE, JP LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL 25 MARCH 1987

(Amendment) Bill 1986

The Official Languages (Amendment)

and

a

The enactment of the 2 related Bills The Official

(Amendment) Bill 1986 and the Languages

Interpretation

General Clauses (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 1986 - will represent significant milestone in the history of law making in Hong Kong. The main proposal is to provide legislative framework for laws in

to be Hong Kong

enacted in both English and Chinese. And both

texts are to enjoy equal authenticity. In a community where more than 98% of the population are Chinese, it is both desirable and equitable that our laws should also be enacted in Chinese.

Sir, I shall deal with both Bills in this speech for

convenience.

any

The 14 member Ad Hoc Group set up to study the 2 Bills met several times and had informal but in-depth discussions with the legal profession as well as representatives of the Judiciary and the Legal Department. Members of the Group realized from the

outset that implementation of the proposals required

required detailed

examination and

input by

the legal profession and the

Judiciary would be of immense value. I am happy to report,

report, Sir,

that

the and meetings proved extremely fruitful,

is indebted to Group

the legal profession as well as the Judiciary for their valuable contribution. The Chairman of the Bar Association and the President of the Law Society demonstrated

interest in keen

the Bills and took an

active part in our

'round-table' discussions.

a

the informal

I believe co-operation of this nature is highly desirable, especially when a useful dialogue can be established, thus paving the way for the smooth passage of important pieces of

legislation.