Attention TV/radio announcers: Please broadcast the following as soon as possible and repeat it at regular intervals: Here is an item of interest to swimmers. The Leisure and Cultural Services Department… read more
Police today (January 29) appealed to the public for information on a man who went missing in Tuen Mun. Man Tsang-lam, aged 78, went missing after he lef… read more
The following is issued on behalf of the Legislative Council Secretariat:
The Legislative Council (LegCo) will hold a meeting on Wednesday (January 31) at 11am in the Chamber of the LegCo Complex. During the meeting, the Second Reading debate on the Stamp Duty (Amendment) (Residential Properties) Bill 2023 will resume. If the Bill is supported by Members and receives 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.
Meanwhile, the Chief Secretary for Administration will move two proposed resolutions under the section 7(a) and the section 22A of the Legal Aid Ordinance respectively to resolve that the Legal Aid Ordinance be amended. The proposed resolutions are set out in Appendix 1 and Appendix 2.
On Members’ motions, Dr Chow Man-kong will move a motion on adjusting the policies on the stock and property markets to strengthen the impetus for growth. The motion is set out in Appendix 3. Mr Duncan Chiu, Mr Louis Loong, Dr Johnny Ng, Mr Shang Hailong, Mr Rock Chen and Dr Hoey Simon Lee will move separate amendments to Dr Chow’s motion.
Mr Dominic Lee will move a motion on constructing the second north-south railway in New Territories East. The motion is set out in Appendix 4. Dr Lo Wai-kwok, Ms Chan Yuet-ming, Mr Chan Hak-kan and Mr Dennis Leung will move separate amendments to Mr Lee’s motion.
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. read more
The Commerce and Economic Development Bureau today (January 29) established the E-commerce Development Task Force and convened its first meeting to kick-start the work on co-ordinating and formulating policies and measures on the development of electronic commerce (e-commerce).
The Chief Executive announced in the 2023 Policy Address the establishment of the interdepartmental Task Force to implement policies to assist small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in developing e-commerce business to expand their markets. The Task Force is chaired by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development, Mr Algernon Yau, with members from the Innovation, Technology and Industry Bureau, the Trade and Industry Department, the Customs and Excise Department, and Hongkong Post, as well as the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, the Hong Kong Export Credit Insurance Corporation and the Hong Kong Productivity Council.
Mr Yau said, “E-commerce business is growing rapidly worldwide and involves various government policy areas and objectives. Government bureaux and departments shall work together to formulate policies and measures to assist Hong Kong enterprises in expanding their businesses and enhancing their competitiveness through developing e-commerce.”
“To kick-start the work of the Task Force, we will implement a series of measures this year, including organising Hong Kong Shopping Festivals on e-commerce platforms; launching E-commerce Easy under the Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales; and strengthening the provision by the four SME centres of information on conducting e-commerce on the Mainland, with a view to assisting SMEs in leveraging the enormous opportunities of the Mainland domestic sales and e-commerce markets,” he added.
At the meeting today, the Task Force considered and endorsed its terms of reference, reviewed the Government’s existing support measures that facilitate the development of e-commerce by enterprises and discussed the aforementioned new measures, for charting the direction of the work of the Task Force.
The meeting also endorsed the establishment of an expert group to offer advice to the Task Force to help keep the Government abreast of the market situation of e-commerce development and feedback from the trade more comprehensively. The expert group comprises Legislative Council Members from different sectors and representatives in the industry. The membership list is set out in the Annex.
Following are the closing remarks by the Deputy Secretary for Justice, Mr Cheung Kwok-kwan, at the seminar on “New Mechanism for Reciprocal Recognition and Enforcement of Civil and Commercial Judgments between the Courts of Mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region” co-organised by the Supreme People’s Court (SPC) and the Department of Justice today (January 29):
Judge Guo (Judge Guo Zaiyu of the Fourth Civil Division of the SPC), Judge Gu (Deputy Chief Judge of the Fourth Civil Division of Guangdong High People’s Court, Judge Gu Enzhen), Director General Zhou (Director General of the Research Office of the SPC, Mr Zhou Jiahai), Deputy Director General Si (Deputy Director General of the Research Office of the SPC Ms Si Yanli), Director Zhang (Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Judicial Affairs Office, Research Office of the SPC, Ms Zhang Xinmeng), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,
Good afternoon. Today marks the commencement of the Mainland Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters (Reciprocal Enforcement) Ordinance, a milestone of cross-border mutual legal assistance in civil and commercial matters. To commemorate this remarkable achievement, we join our hands with the Supreme People’s Court to organise the seminar today.
I would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank all the speakers of today, who have kindly shared their valuable insights and observations on the new mechanism. The coverage of today’s seminar is broad and deep. In the keynote speeches this morning, the Secretary for Justice, judges from the Supreme People’s Court, and our judiciary have shared with you the significance of the Arrangement and its important features. In the two thematic sharing sessions, we have the honour to have judges from both places as well as top-notched lawyers and academics to analyse the Arrangement in detail, the legal instruments implementing the Arrangement as well as related legal concepts which may be different under Mainland and Hong Kong law. The last panel discussion gathered leading figures from the legal and business sectors as well as Mainland courts, who have unveiled the implications of the Arrangement from their respective expert angles with advice on how to make use of the implementation of the new mechanism. We are also most pleased to hear from the Mainland judges that preparation has been duly made by the Mainland courts to take forward the new mechanism.
I would also like to thank every one of you who participated in today’s seminar. The Arrangement brings lasting impact to Hong Kong and the Mainland. As we take forward the implementation of the Arrangement, we are aware of some unfortunate misconceptions on the implications of the new mechanism. The Department of Justice and the Supreme People’s Court are surely alerted about these misconceptions and we have made timely clarifications. It is indeed of paramount importance to promote a correct understanding of the Arrangement. The seminar today hence is very timely.
We hope that through the seminar today, participants have gained access to the underlying policy-making rationale as well as an accurate picture of how the Arrangement will operate in both places. After having heard the helpful comments and observations generously shared by the judges and experts today, we would have a firmer grasp of what the new mechanism is, how it would work, what advantages it would bring and why it would be relevant to you.
The Arrangement not only benefit individual parties whereby parties could take the advantage of the streamlined procedures for cross-boundary enforcement of civil and commercial judgments at a lower cost, and at the same time enjoying a higher degree of certainty on the cross-boundary enforceability of the judgments they have obtained, but it also benefits Hong Kong as a whole. Hong Kong is the first and only common law jurisdiction to have an arrangement with the Mainland on reciprocal recognition and enforcement with such a comprehensive coverage. It seems most sensible that Hong Kong would be a more popular spot for dispute resolution, and would develop into a regional centre for international legal and dispute resolution services as outlined in the National 14th Five-Year Plan.
Upon the commencement of the Arrangement, we turn a new page of the regime for mutual legal assistance in civil and commercial matters between Hong Kong and the Mainland, which enhances important connections between the legal systems of the two places, and in turn exemplifies the unique advantages of the fundamental principle of “one country, two systems”. Beyond today’s seminar, the Department of Justice and the Supreme People’s Court would continue to maintain close contact and monitor how the Arrangement is implemented. We would also continue our efforts in promoting the new mechanism among different sectors in the community. We welcome your views as we continue to strive for the betterment of the cross-boundary regime of mutual legal assistance, which would ultimately better serve the public interest of our country.
May I thank once again the Supreme People’s Court for their unfailing support and dedicated efforts in taking forward mutual legal assistance in both places over the past few decades, particularly their sharing and attendance at today’s seminar in person.
The Year of the Dragon is approaching. May I take this opportunity to wish all of you a fruitful and flourishing Year of the Dragon ahead. Thank you very much.
