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Hong Kong lawmakers face temporary ban under new LegCo house rules

蘋果日報 2021/03/25 21:54


Hong Kong’s pro-Beijing political camp has further restricted house rules in the Legislative Council by introducing a new system to temporarily ban lawmakers who commit misconduct from attending meetings.
The motion was passed by the camp’s members, with a sole opposition vote from Civic Passion’s Cheng Chung-tai. Pro-Beijing lawmaker Michael Tien and medical sector lawmaker Pierre Chan were absent.
Under the new rules, lawmakers can be banned from participating in the work of LegCo after receiving several warnings from the president. If a motion to suspend a lawmaker is passed, the salary for the lawmaker during the suspension can be withheld.
The LegCo president can also impose a time limit for reviewing bills and lawmakers’ speeches, under the new rules. Chairs for committees are now allowed to decide the agenda and meeting dates even if a new chair for a new term has yet to be elected, to prevent a power vacuum.
Lawmakers are also barred from tabling an adjournment of debate motion for subsidiary legislation, and also motions for disqualifying lawmakers.
The amendments were unnecessary as lawmakers who passed vetting by a new qualification committee would be considered patriots, and it would be a joke if patriots are subjected to punishment under the new rules, Cheng Chung-tai said.
New People’s Party lawmaker Regina Ip said loopholes in the house rules had affected the order and efficiency of the council, as the LegCo president did not have enough power to handle the situation.
It was necessary to punish lawmakers who committed misconduct, as those who had disrupted meetings in the past were permitted to return to the chamber soon after.
Business and Professional Alliance for Hong Kong lawmaker Jeffrey Lam said the opposition had abused the rules for the past decade to wage filibusters against any issue related to mainland China, which delayed many bills from passing.
Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong lawmaker Starry Lee said the election for the House Committee chair was delayed, and caused a further hold-up in passing some laws. The new measures can prevent the power vacuum from happening again, she said.
Western countries also have rules to limit time for lawmakers to speak, Lee said.
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