An insufficient number of lawmakers and multiple calls for a head count kick controversy to session next week in victory for bill’s opponents
JEFFIE LAM AND STUART LAU
PUBLISHED : Wednesday, 09 December, 2015, 2:13pm
UPDATED : Wednesday, 09 December, 2015, 2:27pm
Four calls for quorum were issued at Legco today, effectively postponing the bill’s consideration. Photo: Sam Tsang
Scrutiny of a controversial copyrights amendment bill has unexpectedly been dragged till next Wednesday by pan-democrats as a legislative meeting was adjourned this afternoon due to an insufficient number of lawmakers in attendance.
Legco was set today to resume its second reading of the Copyrights Amendment Bill, referred to by some opponents as the ‘Article 23 in the cyber world’ on fears their freedoms and rights would be curbed. Meanwhile, a rally numbering in the thousands was being planned tonight to protest against the bill.
The meeting was unexpectedly adjourned at 1:15pm before the proposed law could be considered. Fewer than the requisite 35 lawmakers - half the body’s total number of 70 lawmakers - were present at chamber in the 15 minutes’ grace time after Civic Party lawmaker Dr Kenneth Chan Ka-lok called for a quorum count.
READ MORE: Hong Kong government moves to allay fears over controversial copyright bill ahead of vote
Prior to that, three quorum bells had already been called over a three-hour period: NeoDemocrats lawmaker Gary Fan Kwok-wai; League of Social Democrats’ “Long Hair” Leung Kwok-hung; and People Power’s Raymond Chan Chi-chuen. The moves effectively delayed the start of debate.
Before the adjournment, People Power lawmaker Albert Chan Wai-yip told media that he hoped to drag the controversial bill until Lunar New Year next year, and one way to do so was to adjourn the meeting at least twice.
“I sent a note yesterday to pan-democrats telling them to be absent from the meeting at ‘suitable times’,” he said.
IT sector lawmaker Charles Mok said the additional week before relaunching Legco’s discussion gave the government time to reconsider how it could better handle the controversy arising from the bill.
“Concern groups should immediately sit down with the government and pro-establishment lawmakers to lobby them to support pan-democrats’ amendments,” Mok said.
Civic Party lawmaker Alan Leong Kah-kit agreed, saying the government should change the six proposed exemptions to an open-end ‘fair use’ principle to give internet users greater creative freedom.
Radical lawmaker Raymond Chan said he was happy about the aborted meeting, adding: “If all 40-odd pro-government lawmakers were present we wouldn’t have been able to call a quorum at all.”
He said last-minute explanations by the Intellectual Property Department were misleading and further clarifications would be needed concerning the new law.
READ MORE: Hong Kong copyright bill sparks battle over rights
Kenneth Chan, whose call for quorum led to the meeting’s postponement, said he was fighting for an additional day of freedom of expression.
He said pro-government lawmakers also appeared unwilling to show full support for the bill, given their insufficient head count in the chamber.
“My reading of this very peculiar situation is that pro-establishment lawmakers are unprepared to bulldoze Internet Article 23,” Chan said.
A full list of the absent lawmakers:
Pan-dems (19)
Democratic Party (4 out of 6 absent): Emily Lau Wai-hing, Helena Wong Pik-wan, Albert Ho Chun-yan, and Wu Chi-wai
Civic Party(3 out of 5): Alan Leong Kah-kit, Dennis Kwok, and Claudia Mo Man-ching
Labour Party (4 out of 4): Lee Cheuk-yan; Cyd Ho Sau-lan, Fernando Cheung Chiu-hung, and Peter Cheung Kwok-che
People Power: (2 out of 2): Raymond Chan Chi-chuen and Albert Chan Wai-yip
League of Social Democrats (1 out of 1): Leung Kwok-hung
NeoDemocrats (1 out of 1): Gary Fan Kwok-wai
Independents (4): Kenneth Leung, Joseph Lee Kok-long, Wong Yuk-man and Ip Kin-yuen
Beijing-loyalists (21):
DAB of (5 out of 13): Ip Kwok-him, Christopher Chung Shu-kan, Ann Chiang Lai-wan, Chan Kam-lam, and Gary Chan Hak-kun
Liberal Party (4 out of 5): James Tien Pei-chun, Felix Chung Kwok-pan, Tommy Cheung Yu-yan, and Vincent Fang Kang
FTU (1 out of 6): Chan Yuen-han
BPA (5 out of 7): Priscilla Leung Mei-fun, Jeffrey Lam Kin-fung, Lau Wong-fat, Christopher Cheung Wah-fung, and Abraham Razack
New People’s Party (2 out of 2): Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee and Michael Tien Puk-sun
Independents (4): Dr Leung Ka-lau, Ma Fung-kwok, Martin Liao Cheung-kong, Lam Tai-fai
http://m.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/politics/article/1888945/hong-kong-legislature-forced-push-back-copyright-bill-debate
