TNAG-2449-FCO40-3565-Legislative-Council-of-Hong-Kong-1992 — Page 215

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CONFIDENTIAL

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P.9. Role of leglo

C

152557

MDLIAN 0074

OF COPY Q DIST?

CONFIDENTIAL

FM HONG KONG

TO PRIORITY FCO

TELNO 730

OF 081405Z MARCH 92

INFO PRIORITY HKGO LONDON, PEKING, UKREP JLG HONG KONG

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL: ACTIVITIES IN FEBRUARY 1992

SUMMARY

1. ONLY TWO LEGCO SITTINGS AND ONE FINANCE COMMITTEE (FC) MEETING

BECAUSE OF THE CHINESE NEW YEAR BREAK. MEDIA COVERAGE OF LEGCO

ACTIVITIES IN THE FIRST HALF OF FEBRUARY WAS DOMINATED BY NEWS OF STEPHEN NG MING-YUM'S ILLNESS WITH LEUKAEMIA. THE PUBLIC ACCOUNTS COMMITTEE'S (PAC) CONTINUED HEARING ON THE COST OF THE HONG KONG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (HKUST) WAS THE MAIN NEWS

ITEM IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE MONTH.

2. MEMBERS CONTINUED TO SHOW INCREASING FAMILIARITY WITH LEGCO PROCEDURE, BUT PARTY POLITICS STILL DOMINATED DISCUSSIONS RELATING TO THE FUTURE DEVELOPMENT OF LEGCO.

LEGISLATION

3. FOURTEEN BILLS (PRESENTED AS SEVEN PACKAGES) WERE INTRODUCED

INTO LEGCO FOR FIRST READING. FOUR OF THEM WERE BILL OF RIGHTS RELATED AND SIX CONTAINED MEASURES PROVIDING FURTHER PROTECTION TO LOCAL WORKERS. THEY ATTRACTED CONSIDERABLE PUBLIC INTEREST, BUT NONE WAS CONTROVERSIAL.

4. FOUR BILLS PASSED THROUGH LEGCO, ONE - THE PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTANTS (AMENDMENT) BILL 1991 AFTER FOUR MONTHS OF SCRUTINY

BY THE AD HOC GROUP CONCERNED.

5. AS AS 29 FEBRUARY, FORTY-EIGHT BILLS HAD BEEN INTRODUCED INTO LEGCO THIS SESSION. NINETEEN OF THEM HAD BEEN ENACTED.

DEBATES

6. THREE MOTION DEBATES AND ONE ADJOURNMENT DEBATE WERE MOVED IN FEBRUARY. THE ADJOURNMENT DEBATE WERE MOVED IN FEBRUARY. THE ADJOURNMENT DEBATE ON THE LIGHT RAIL TRANSIT SERVICES, MOVED BY ZACHARY WONG MAI-YIN ON 26 FEBRUARY, ATTRACTED SLIGHTLY RELATIVELY LESS PUBLIC INTEREST AS THE SUBJECT WAS MORE

LOCALISED.

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