W K LO's LegCo Express 

 

Jan 2023

 

 

1. Elected Chairman of the PWSC and the Panel on Housing

In the new legislative year in 2023, I was elected Chairman of the Public Works Subcommittee (PWSC) and the Panel on Housing respectively. This year, I joined 5 panels, two subcommittees under the Finance Committee (FC) and a few other subcommittees as well. 

 

2. Submitted proposal regarding the Budget 2024

Together with some other LegCo members, I submitted a proposal regarding the Budget 2024 on 10 Jan and focused on two policy themes of "recovering economy, reviving people’s livelihood". The proposal put forward more than 100 policy recommendations, covering economic and livelihood issues such as continuing of Consumption Voucher Scheme, injecting $2 billion into the Mega Events Fund, urging the Government to withdraw the spicy measures at the property market step by step, etc. 

 

3. Bills Committee on Road Traffic (Amendment) (Autonomous Vehicles) Bill 2022

The Bill seeks to amend the Road Traffic Ordinance to provide for a flexible regulatory regime for the pilot use of autonomous vehicles (AVs), to facilitate attaining the object of researching into testing and evaluating AV technology and the wider use of AVs in Hong Kong (including empowering the Secretary for Transport and Logistics to make relevant regulations), and to make related amendments. A Bills Committee was formed to study the Bill in detail. I joined the Bills Committee in Jan. 

 

4. Resumption of normal travel between Hong Kong and Mainland 

The Government announced on 5 Jan that with a consensus reached after deliberation and coordination with the Central Government, the Guangdong Provincial Government and the Shenzhen Municipal Government, and upon obtaining approval from the Central Government, the normal travel of persons between Hong Kong and the Mainland will be resumed in phases starting January 8 in an orderly manner. On 6 Feb, the Government fully resumed travel by opening up all boundary control points (BCPs) without imposing any prescribed daily numbers of people thereon; cancelling the pre-departure nucleic acid test requirement; and enabling cross-boundary students to resume face-to-face classes. 

 

5. Funding projects approved by the PWSC

On 18 Jan, members of the PWSC endorsed a funding project of $25,499.5 million for the block allocation under the Capital Works Reserve Fund. Another allocation of $348.0 million was also endorsed at the same meeting to carry out site formation works to support the proposed public housing development at Queen’s Hill Extension, Fanling. The projects together with the others would be forwarded to the FC for final funding approval.

 

6. Visited Light Public Housing mock-up unit

As the Chairman of the LegCo Public Works Subcommittee, I led a visit to the Light Public Housing (LPH) mock-up unit set at the Kai Tak Community Isolation Facility with LegCo members on 30 Jan to learn about the latest progress of the LPH projects. The Administration will make use of government and private land with no development plan in the near future, and adopt standardized simple design and the Modular Integrated Construction approach, to build about 30000 LPH units in the coming 5 years, mainly for applicants who have been waiting for traditional public rental housing for 3 years or more. 

 

7. Dressed up as God of Wealth to send the festival greeting to the public

On 25 Jan, I dressed up as the God of Wealth carrying gold ingot and lai-sees, sending new year wishes to the public, ushering in a new year full of happiness and prosperity.