Kou Hoi In pledges ‘no disease control stricter than gov’t guidelines’ in parliament

The parliament will not implement for itself stricter Covid-19 control measures than what is stipulated for the public in the guidelines issued by the government, Kou Hoi In, president of the Legislative Assembly (AL), said yesterday.

His comment was made on the sidelines of the AL’s media lunch. Kou was asked about disease control measures within the parliament, as restrictions in Hong Kong intensified.

“Usually we follow government guidelines,” he said. “For example, the lunch [yesterday] has complied with guidelines issued by the Health Bureau.”

As for entry to the parliament’s plenary meetings, guidelines issued by the Public Administration and Civil Service Bureau and the SSM will be followed, the AL president said.

“[Today] there will be a new set of guidelines, so we will comply with that,” he added.

When he was asked whether the parliament will implement stricter restrictions than are required by the government’s guidelines, the parliamentary president was prompt and clear in replying: “We will not go further than the government guidelines require.”

According to previous records, the parliament required all attendees to the inauguration ceremony of this parliamentary term to get jabbed. If those seeking admission were unvaccinated, they were not accepted into the venue.

During the same period, government guidelines have only required general ceremony attendees to possess negative SARS-CoV-2 nucleic acid test results to facilitate entries. Having received a Covid-19 vaccination was not mandatory.

In addition, the government has been stressing that vaccination should be conducted in a voluntary and completely informed manner.

Progressing the discussion on disease control restrictions, the parliamentary president said that, since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, there had been consideration of, and arrangements made for, health measures. “We have even held virtual meetings [to respond to the situation at the time],” he recalled.

Another topic of concern was the Amendment Bill on the Gambling Law. The president of the AL revealed his satisfaction on the progress of the work of the committee responsible.

“The work progress at the [2nd Standing] Committee has been satisfactory so far. They have held meetings on a tight schedule,” he said. “As far as I know, committee members have raised their questions, which are to be answered by government officials.”

The matter may need more time, he suggested, because committee members may have follow-up questions for the government.

He added that public opinions on the Bill are still welcomed: “The Legislative Assembly’s door is still open to the public for comments and suggestions on the Bill.”

Committee president Chan Chak Mo has admitted to receiving a request from the government for prompt consideration of the Bill. Kou admitted to the matter similarly: “I hope the Bill will be able to discussed at the plenary in June as we have planned.”

The AL has disseminated supporting information to lawmakers for their use during the review on the Bill, Kou further disclosed. “Lawmakers will have the chance to discuss with the government […] the proposed provisions in the Bill,” he promised.

On the question as to whether work in other committees will be halted as many lawmakers who are not members of the 2nd Standing Committee sat in on meetings due to the significance of the Bill, Kou believes such delays are unlikely.

“Lawmakers may not find it convenient to sit-in [on] other committee meetings when the committees to which they belong have meetings scheduled,” said Kou. “I can see that most lawmakers are concerned with either the Urban Renewal Bill or the Gambling Bill.”

During his speech at the main event, Kou thanked the government, the representative offices of the government in Beijing, as well as the press for their support for the parliament in the past year.

He also hopes the press will continue to be concerned with the work of the parliament, besides providing comments and suggestions to the entity.