Tag Archives: China

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Courts (Remote Hearing) Bill to be introduced into LegCo for First Reading and Second Reading (with attachments)

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

     The Legislative Council (LegCo) will hold a meeting on Wednesday (December 4) at 11 am in the Chamber of the LegCo Complex. During the meeting, the Courts (Remote Hearing) Bill will be introduced into the Council for the First Reading and the Second Reading. The Second Reading debate on the Bill will be adjourned.
 
     The Public Health and Municipal Services (Amendment) Bill 2024 and Companies (Amendment) Bill 2024 will also be introduced into the Council for the First Reading and the Second Reading. The Second Reading debates on the Bills will be adjourned.
 
     On Members’ motions, Mr Kenneth Fok will move a motion on exploring the reform of mechanisms on all fronts to strengthen the role of events capital. The motion is set out in Appendix 1. Ms Chan Yuet-ming, Mr Yiu Pak-leung, Dr Hoey Simon Lee, Mr Vincent Cheng and Mr Michael Tien will move separate amendments to Mr Fok’s motion.
 
     Ms Carmen Kan will move a motion on strengthening the governance systems and further reinforcing the closely intertwined relations between the “three centres”. The motion is set out in Appendix 2. Dr So Cheung-wing will move an amendment to Ms Kan’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

Public to vote for best Transport Department frontline staff

     The Transport Department (TD) will hold the Best Customer Service Awards 2024/25 election between December 9 and 13. Members of the public are invited to vote for the best frontline staff for the awards.

     A spokesman for the TD said today (December 2), “By holding this election, the TD would like to encourage our frontline staff to embrace the belief of ‘Putting Our Hearts Into It’ when providing public services, and to continue upholding and improving our service standard.”

     A total of 58 awards will be voted on. Around 680 frontline staff of the TD’s Vehicle Safety and Standards Division, the Bus Technology Division, the Driving Services Section, the Licensing Section and the Public Vehicles and Prosecutions Section (including the Vehicle Safety Enforcement Section 1st Unit and 2nd Unit, the Operation Unit of Vehicle Examination Complex, the Driving Test Centres, the Driving Test Appointment Office, the Licensing Unit, the Vehicle Inspection and Records Unit, the Cross Boundary Unit, the Public Vehicles Unit and the Driving-Offence Points Office) are eligible for voting by the public.

     Members of the public who plan to visit the aforesaid offices for public services from December 9 to 13 are welcome to vote for the best frontline staff for the awards. Online voting will also be opened from 9am on December 9 to 8pm on December 13. They can cast their vote by scanning the QR codes printed on the posters and nomination forms distributed at the above offices, or through the following links:
 
Best Licensing Service Awards: eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/td0030/
Best Driving Service Awards: eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/td0029/
Best Vehicle Examination Service Awards: eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/td0031/ read more

Government launches stakeholder consultation on proposed regulatory regime for Basic Housing Units

     The Government launched today (December 2) a stakeholder consultation of about two months on the proposed regulatory regime for Basic Housing Units (BHU regulatory regime). 

     “The current-term Government has introduced a number of measures to substantially increase the public housing supply to meet the long-term demand by enhancing speed, quantity, quality and efficiency. Along with Light Public Housing and transitional housing, which help plug the short-term supply gap, eligible citizens can be housed in public housing more quickly. All these have enabled us to gradually handle the ‘long-standing, big and difficult’ issue of substandard subdivided units (SDUs).
 
      “The Chief Executive announced in the 2024 Policy Address to put in place, through legislation, a system on the renting of SDUs in residential buildings. SDUs meeting the required standards will be named BHUs. The BHU regulatory regime represents a significant milestone in eradicating substandard SDUs. Under appropriate regulation, the market demand will be satisfied by rental units providing more reasonable and safe environments,” a spokesman for the Housing Bureau (HB) said.
 
     The Government proposes that SDUs must comply with a set of minimum standards before they are allowed to be rented out in the future. There would be criminal liability on the part of landlords to rent out a substandard unit, while the tenants concerned will not be held liable. To put forward the BHU regulatory regime in an orderly manner, the Government plans to set up a registration system for pre-existing SDUs under rental, with a grace period to allow landlords of registered SDUs to carry out necessary alteration works within a reasonable period of time and apply for recognition as BHUs. New SDUs entering the market will only be allowed to be rented out after applying for and being recognised as BHUs that comply with the required standards.
     
     The consultation document setting out the specific proposals and details has been uploaded to the website of the HB (www.hb.gov.hk/eng/bhu). Stakeholders may submit their views by email (bhu_consultation@hb.gov.hk), fax (2129 3829) or post (Dedicated Team on Subdivided Units, Housing Bureau, Housing Authority Headquarters, 33 Fat Kwong Street, Ho Man Tin, Kowloon) on or before February 10, 2025. read more