Motion Debate on Expectations for policy address

Madam Deputy, on the day before yesterday, the Liberal Party met with the Chief Executive to express to him our expectations for the 2005 policy address.

Certainly, this meeting was different from past ones. As Mrs Selina CHOW and I had taken part in direct elections in this term of the Legislative Council, we have, therefore, heard more voices in the districts. We can see that, apart from the business sector, members of the general public also consider it most necessary to have a harmonious society. They hope to have a society where they can have a better way of living, and they have expressed their views on political development and elections as well. Many people have told us that they hope that the economy can be improved as soon as possible, in order to attract more investors to invest in Hong Kong and create more job opportunities, in which case more wage earners can have better jobs.

Madam Deputy, we told the Chief Executive that air pollution had been a cause for increased public concern. Those who are concerned about this problem include foreign investors and residents in New Territories East and New Territories North. We find that no improvement has been made to air pollution in recent years and worse still, the problem has been deteriorating since 1999. If the Government does not do something about it, I think it will not only affect the sentiments of foreign investors in making investments in Hong Kong, but also pose a hazard to the health of local investors and people. Besides, the medical expenditure of the Government is set to surge considerably and the public's expectation for a better life will be affected. In this connection, I think the Government should discuss with the relevant authorities in Guangdong Province and work at faster speed, so that the target originally scheduled for realization only in 2010 can be realized earlier. I think the early realization of the target will benefit the local community, in that it will help attract investors, reinvigorate the economy and create job opportunities. I hope the Government can actively carry out more work in this regard.

Besides, we also mentioned the residence scheme for investors. Yesterday, it was announced in the Mainland that from 1 December this year, mainland residents taking up residence in Hong Kong would be allowed to transfer part of their assets overseas. I think this is conducive to our policy of allowing people investing $6.5 million in Hong Kong to take up residence in the territory. We consider that under this investment scheme, apart from investment in the property and stock markets, investors should also be allowed to do business in Hong Kong, for this can create more job opportunities. The Government should give higher marks for this category of investors. I hope the Government can incorporate the creation of job opportunities into this investment entrant scheme.

Regarding the Government's consultation on the abolition of estate duty, the Liberal Party has also conducted many studies on this. From the perspective of the commercial sector and compared to international practice, this proposal is desirable. It is because the revenue generated by the Government from estate duty was only $1.455 billion last year and close to $1.9 billion in the year 2001-02. We have noticed that a majority of people paying estate duty are in the middle class. But few of the more wealthy people have to pay estate duty because of the legitimate arrangements that they have previously made. I have also noticed that in many countries worldwide, such as Italy, Canada, or our neighbouring countries in the Asia Pacific Region including Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and so on, estate duty is being abolished gradually. We feel that the abolition of this duty can attract more investors to invest in Hong Kong, including those who are prepared to come to Hong Kong by investing $6.5 million. This can bring more capital to the territory and hence stimulate the local economy.

Madam Deputy, in our meeting with the Chief Executive, the Liberal Party raised another point concerning a fair competition law. There have been many views in the community, and the Liberal Party has all along opposed a sweeping fair competition law. We consider it right to enact such law for individual industries, such as the telecommunications industry, the broadcasting industry, and so on. I have also noted that recently, many views have been put forward in the community on such industries as petrol, electricity and supermarkets. Perhaps it is because of high oil prices in the international market recently that more public views have been voiced in these aspects. As to whether the Government should enact fair competition legislation for these sectors to step up monitoring, we support the conduct of detailed studies by the Government.

Moreover, a new casino has recently opened in Macao, and this has made the entire economy of Macao become vibrant instantly. It is not easy to catch a taxi in Macao now; the restaurants there are full of customers, and a number of casinos have not yet opened. If Hong Kong can consider opening on Lantau an entertainment centre where gambling is restricted to visitors (particularly mainland visitors) only, the tourism industry will find further development and more government revenue will also be generated. On this point, I note that the Democratic Party represented by Dr YEUNG Sum has reservations. But I think this may not necessarily encourage gambling in Hong Kong, for this activity is restricted to a particular venue on Lantau. The entertainment center is open only to mainland and foreign visitors who are holders of travel documents. I think this will not bring very negative effects.

Madam Deputy, on the work of an anti-poverty committee, the views of the Liberal Party this year are different from our views three years ago. We consider that, given an increase in the number of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance recipients, and apart from considering the provision of training to the unemployed in the hope that they can land better jobs, the committee may have to do more for the elderly and children, we, therefore, propose that a second safety net be set up. However, we hold the firm view that the proposals of setting a minimum wage and maximum working hours will only worsen the situation despite the good intention. It will not be helpful to eliminating poverty actually. On the contrary, it may even reduce job opportunities. Other colleagues from the Liberal Party will express their views on this point.

With regard to the constitutional review, the Liberal Party considers that in 2007 and 2008, the number of members of the Election Committee can be increased from 800 to 1 600, and the electorate can be further enhanced to 320 000 people. Given the increasing workload of the Legislative Council, directly-elected and functional constituency seats can be increased by five seats each, and the electorates of functional constituencies should also be enlarged. We have repeatedly put forward these proposals to the Chief Executive. As for the other proposals, I will leave them to other Members of the Liberal Party for elaboration.

Thank you, Madam Deputy.