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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

(C) Who makes the law?

The statutory consultative bodies are the Food Hygiene Select Committee and the Standing Committee of the Whole Council. Law making is the responsibility of the Legislative Council. The Director of Urban Services cannot, at his sole discretion, make new regulations by publishing the provisions in the Gazette. All proposed or amended legislations must be referred to the Urban Council for statutory consultation, considered by the Executive Council and passed by the Legislative Council before they become laws.

Last year, I mentioned a new regulation which was under discussion at that time, that is, the proposed labelling requirements for prepackaged foods. The regulation is now in the drafting stage. From the notes of meetings between the Urban Services Department and representatives of commercial circles, there have been detailed discussions on the purpose of the proposed regulation which, as manifested in the agreements reached, could be outlined as follows: (1) The correct name of the food or the name commonly used before the proposed regulation is published in the Gazette should be declared;

(2) All the ingredients and their quantity as well as the nature of the food and seasoning should be declared (which ingredients may be exempted and how to classify the composition of seasoning are still under discussion); (3) Minimum durability should be declared—for prepackaged foods with a storage life of not more than 3 months, the day and month; for those of more than 3 months but not more than 18 months, the month and year; and for those of more than 18 months, declaration is optional;

(4) Country of origin should be declared; the full address of the manufacturing company should be declared on the label. If the company is registered with the Urban Services Department, the reference number should be quoted;

(5) Special instructions on use and storage should be declared;

(6) The weight of the food should be declared;

(7) The name and ingredients of the food must be in English and Chinese, while other information may be given in other languages;

(8) The regulation will take effect two years after it becomes law. Enactment of the regulation must go through the abovementioned consultative and legislative procedures.

Regulations governing food hygiene are made in the interest of the public. I understand the necessity of consultation between the Urban Services Department and food traders, but I consider that there is a lesson to be learnt from the case of the control of aflatoxins. The regulation was discussed in 1976 but enacted only in 1982. Progress is indeed snail-paced. Discussions on the regulation concerning the labelling of pre-packaged food started on 1 June 1980

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and two years and five months have now lapsed. I hope this is not another snail-paced exercise, giving rise to doubts about whether the regulation made by the Urban Services Department is really necessary, whether the food traders are playing delaying tactics, and whether public health is properly protected.

With these words, Sir, I support the motion.

MR. AUGUSTINE S. K. CHUNG (in English):—Mr. Chairman,

My opinion on the Future of Hong Kong Although China and Great Britain share the same common goal of maintaining the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong, they are still not yet able to reach any compromise on the fundamental differences of their political stance, especially on the validity issue of the relevant Treaties. If a new agreement can be reached on the following basis, it may be possible for them to have the benefits of maintaining the said common goal and bridging the said differences at the same time:

(a) The sovereignty over the territories now called Hong Kong, Kowloon Peninsula and the New Territories (hereinafter collectively referred to as 'Hong Kong') shall belong to the People's Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as 'China').

(b) When the time is ripe, China may by notice require the British Government to hand over and revert the rule of Hong Kong to China on the last day of the 30th year therefrom. The time shall be deemed ripe when the average living standard of the people living in the provincial capitals or special zones of Mainland China shall have reached an equivalent level as those of Hong Kong at that time.

(c) Prior thereto, the British Government may continue to rule Hong Kong under such systems as she may from time to time deem fit to introduce to the benefit of Hong Kong as a whole but subject to the principle that the interest of the Chinese population in Hong Kong should always be adequately and truly represented and protected.

My reasons for formulating the above proposal include the following:

(a) The Chinese leaders have repeatedly mentioned that the rule of Hong Kong would be reverted to China when the time is ripe. Therefore, I am only using their own words as criteria for the reversion time.

(b) China has not yet accumulated a good and long enough track record for prosperity and stability. Furthermore, there is always a fundamental confidence gap between capitalists and communists who are basically biased against each other by virtue of their social and political backgrounds. In the circumstances, although the Chinese leaders have repeatedly mentioned that China must adopt an open-up policy and must

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