Hong Kong – Arrangement of LegCo Bills Committee and Panel meetings

Arrangement of LegCo Bills Committee and Panel meetings

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The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
 
     The Legislative Council (LegCo) Bills Committee on Safeguarding National Security Bill will hold four meetings tomorrow (March 11) in Conference Room 1 of the LegCo Complex:
 

  • 9am to 11am
  • 11.10am to 1.10pm
  • 2.30pm to 4.30pm
  • 4.40pm to 6.40pm

     Separately, the meeting of the Panel on Welfare Services originally scheduled for tomorrow at 2.30pm has been rescheduled.

Hong Kong – LegCo to consider Telecommunications (Amendment) Bill 2023

LegCo to consider Telecommunications (Amendment) Bill 2023

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The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:

     The Legislative Council (LegCo) will hold a meeting on Wednesday (February 21) at 11am in the Chamber of the LegCo Complex. During the meeting, the Second Reading debate on the Telecommunications (Amendment) Bill 2023 will resume. If the Bill is supported by Members and receive its Second Reading, it will stand committed to the committee of the whole Council. After the committee of the whole Council has completed consideration of the Bill and its report is adopted by the Council, the Bill will be set down for the Third Reading.

     The Second Reading debate on the Inland Revenue (Amendment) (Aircraft Leasing Tax Concessions) Bill 2023 will also resume. If the Bill is supported by Members and receive its Second Reading, it will stand committed to the committee of the whole Council. After the committee of the whole Council has completed consideration of the Bill and its report is adopted by the Council, the Bill will be set down for the Third Reading.

     On Members’ motions, Mr Yang Wing-kit will move a motion on polishing Hong Kong’s tourism brand. The motion is set out in Appendix 1. Mr Shang Hailong, Mr Michael Tien, Ms Nixie Lam, Mr Yiu Pak-leung and Mr Tang Ka-piu will move separate amendments to Mr Yang’s motion.

     Mr Lau Kwok-fan will also move a motion on reviewing the works approval process and aligning construction standards, and leveraging innovative technologies to reduce construction costs and time. The motion is set out in Appendix 2. Dr Lo Wai-kwok, Mr Kingsley Wong and Mr Louis Loong will move separate amendments to Mr Lau’s motion.

     During the meeting, the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, Mr Shiu Ka-fai, will present the “Report of the Public Accounts Committee on Report No. 81 of the Director of Audit on the Results of Value for Money Audits” and address the Council.

     Members will also ask the Government 22 questions on various policy areas, six of which require oral replies.

     The agenda of the above meeting can be obtained via the LegCo Website (www.legco.gov.hk). Members of the public can watch or listen to the meeting via the “Webcast” system on the LegCo Website. To observe the proceedings of the meeting at the LegCo Complex, members of the public may call 3919 3399 during office hours to reserve seats.

Hong Kong – LegCo Subcommittee on Matters Relating to the Development of the Northern Metropolis examines development of innovation and technology establishments in Shenzhen (with photos)

LegCo Subcommittee on Matters Relating to the Development of the Northern Metropolis examines development of innovation and technology establishments in Shenzhen (with photos)

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The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:

     The Legislative Council Subcommittee on Matters Relating to the Development of the Northern Metropolis conducted a duty visit to the Shenzhen Park of Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone (Shenzhen Park of Hetao) and Guangming Science City in Shenzhen today (February 2) to understand the development of these two innovation and technology (I&T) establishments, and to exchange views with the relevant Mainland authorities and institutions on ways to develop the Northern Metropolis and promote the synergistic development of Shenzhen and Hong Kong in I&T. Members who participated in the duty visit returned to Hong Kong in the evening.

     Members first visited the exhibition hall of the Shenzhen Park of Hetao in the morning. In August last year, the Central Government promulgated the Development Plan for Shenzhen Park of Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone, setting out the deployment positioning of the Shenzhen Park of Hetao. Members learnt that the Co-operation Zone will be developed under the “one zone, two parks” model. The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government and the Shenzhen Municipal Government are exploring and fostering innovative measures on various aspects such as providing travel convenience for research and development personnel; facilitating cross-boundary capital flow within the Co-operation Zone and exchanges on research data and samples.

     Members then went to Futian District to visit the industrial park of XtalPi, a drug research and development technology company in Shenzhen. During touring the facilities in the park, Members received a briefing by the company’s representatives on Artificial Intelligence pharmaceutical technology.

     Accompanied by representatives from the Development and Reform Bureau of Guangming District, Members went to Guangming Science City in the afternoon and visited the Guangming District Urban Planning Exhibition Hall, to understand the overall planning concept of Guangmingcheng. Members then moved to Guangming Life Science Park and visited the Infrastructure for SynBio and the Brain Science Infrastructure therein. These two major technological facilities commenced operation in November 2023, with a view to further gathering global high-end scientific research resources and supporting basic research in the Greater Bay Area so as to enhance the efficiency of the commercialisation of scientific research outcomes.

     Members at last visited the Shenzhen headquarters of Huawei, a provider of information and communications technology infrastructure and smart devices, to learn about its smart infrastructure and application of big data technology. Members also exchanged views with representatives of Huawei on how to integrate smart technology into urban planning.

     Members who participated in the visit were the chairman of the Subcommittee, Mr Lau Kwok-fan; Subcommittee members Ms Elizabeth Quat, Mr Yiu Pak-leung, Mr Yim Kong and Professor William Wong; as well as non-Subcommittee members Mr Paul Tse, Dr Junius Ho and Ms Judy Chan. The Under Secretary for Development, Mr David Lam, and the Under Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Ms Lillian Cheong, also participated in the visit.

Hong Kong – LegCo Subcommittee on Matters Relating to the Promotion of New Industrialization visits InnoHK Research Clusters (with photos)

LegCo Subcommittee on Matters Relating to the Promotion of New Industrialization visits InnoHK Research Clusters (with photos)

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The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:

     The Legislative Council Subcommittee on Matters Relating to the Promotion of New Industrialization visited the InnoHK Research Clusters (InnoHK) at Hong Kong Science Park today (January 29) to learn about its role in developing Hong Kong into the hub for global research collaboration.

     Members first received a briefing from the Commissioner for Innovation and Technology, Mr Ivan Lee, on the development of InnoHK. InnoHK is a major innovation and technology initiative of the Government to transform the city into a global innovation powerhouse through world-class and impactful collaborative researches. Members learnt that the platform has so far attracted over 30 leading universities and research institutions home and abroad to set up 29 research laboratories at Hong Kong Science Park.

     Accompanied by the Under Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry, Ms Lillian Cheong, Members then visited four research and development centres that respectively focus on logistics robotics, medical robotics, biomedical instrumentation and diagnosis and treatment for Alzheimer’s disease. During the visit, Members exchanged views with researchers to gain an understanding on their work and the support they required, as well as how InnoHK helps translate their research outcomes into applications and solutions.

     At the invitation of the Administration, Members who participated in the visit were the Deputy Chairman of the Subcommittee, Mr Holden Chow; Subcommittee members Ms Elizabeth Quat, Dr Johnny Ng, Mr Shang Hailong and Professor William Wong; as well as non-Subcommittee member Mr Yim Kong.

Hong Kong – LegCo Public Works Subcommittee visits Choi Hing Road transitional housing project in Ngau Tau Kok (with photos)

LegCo Public Works Subcommittee visits Choi Hing Road transitional housing project in Ngau Tau Kok (with photos)

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The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:

     At the invitation of the Government, the Legislative Council (LegCo) Public Works Subcommittee visited the Choi Hing Road transitional housing project (Choi Hing Road project) in Ngau Tau Kok today (January 29) to understand the demounting and reuse arrangement of the Modular Integrated Construction (MiC) modules.

     Accompanied by Secretary for Housing, Ms Winnie Ho, Members first received a briefing on the Choi Hing Road project and the reuse arrangement of the MiC modules to understand the flexibility and sustainability of the MiC approach. 

     Members learnt that the MiC modules used in the Choi Hing Road project had been used in the transitional housing (TH) project “LST Housing” at Sung Wong Toi Road in To Kwa Wan. The demounting of all the MiC modules of the three-storey “LST Housing” was completed in September last year. Subsequently, the MiC modules were transported to the warehouse in Hung Shui Kiu for inspection and restoration. The MiC modules were then reassembled into an eight-storey building in the Choi Hing Road project in January this year. 

     Members also observed a demonstration of installation of reused MiC and toured the mock-up unit. Members noted that the MiC modules can be demounted and reused in the newly-built TH projects using the MiC approach. Apart from the Choi Hing Road project, the Nam Cheong 220 project in Sham Shui Po is another example of reusing MiC modules in TH projects. All the MiC modules of the Nam Cheong 220 project were demounted in February last year. The modules were successfully relocated to and reassembled as one of the buildings in the “Lok Sin Village”, a TH project at Wong Yue Tan, Plover Cove, Tai Po.

     A total of 12 members and non-members of the Public Works Subcommittee joined the visit.