19 Budget Bill amendments left; HC reserves decision on reform review; McDull featured in reform ad without consent. Photo Credit: Chris Lusher
Filibuster on Budget Bill close to an end but is likely to persist in Financial Committee.
– Remaining 19 amendments out of 492 will be dealt with on next Wednesday’s LegCo meeting
– LegCo President Jasper Tsang has rung the voting bell for 12 times as a quorum was not present
– Insurance lawmaker Chan Kin-por was asked (in Chinese) by Tsang to go back to his seat when planning to leave to take a phone-call
– Meanwhile, lawmakers in the Financial Committee discussed the Government’sproposal to get further HKD8.7 billion for site formation and infrastructure works of the Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai control point and another HKD8.8 billion for construction of buildings and related facilities
– Pan-dem lawmakers blasted the Government for damaging LegCo procedure by bypassing the Public Work Subcommittee
HK-China mutual recognition of funds arrangement endorsed.
– A memorandum related to the mutual recognition of funds arrangement was signedbetween the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) and the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC)
– The regulatory cooperation arrangement will be implemented on July 7
– “The arrangement will be conducive to enriching the types of fund products offered in the two places. This will bring about new opportunities for the fund industry in these two places, and deepen the mutual access between the Hong Kong and Mainland financial markets.” Financial Secretary John Tsang said
SLW on the case of a 12-year-old boy allowed to stay in HK.
– Secretary for Labour and Welfare Matthew Cheung said (in Chinese) that the authorities will follow up on a case in which an abandoned 12-year-old boy from mainland was allowed to stay in Hong Kong for humanitarian reasons
– Cheung said while cash aid is unlikely, the authorities will sought assistance in other forms
– Meanwhile, Cheung said that the Government has managed to persuade the Cathay Pacific management to get around the negotiation table with the labour union
Politics (general)
– High Court has reserved its decision on whether to accept the review application over the legal footing of the political reforms
– The review case was launched by former Hong Kong Federation of Students standing committee member Yvonne Leung, who also suggested that she will apply for an injunction the LegCo from voting on the proposals if the High Court agrees to hear the case
Hong Kong icon McDull used in political reform propaganda without consent.
– McDull, Hong Kong’s popular cartoon piglet, was found backing the political reforms on a giant advertisement screen outside Kwok Wa building
– McDull, featuring in the slideshows, promoted “pocket it first” and dismissed the idea of an international standard of universal suffrage
– Kwok Wa building was the old headquarters of Beijing’s mouthpiece Ta Kung Pao,which owns the advertisement screen
– The creator of McDull confirmed that no authorisation was offered
Roland Chin appointed as BUHK’s new president.
– Baptist University announced the appointment of Roland Chin as its new president and vice chancellor after three rounds of consultation with students and staff
– A spokesman of the university’s faculty and staff union said there had not been enough consultation before the appointment and requested further meetings with Chin
