Up to 100 Hong Kong civil groups can air views on joint checkpoint plan ... but each speaker gets only 3 minutes
Marathon public consultation set to take place as lawmakers seek to pass bill in time for terminus launch
As many as 100 civil groups can air their views on the controversial joint checkpoint plan to Hong Kong officials during a seven-hour session next week as lawmakers race to vet and push through a bill on the rail link arrangement by July.
The March 17 public hearing, part of a series of marathon meetings scheduled before the end of April, will only allow each representative some three minutes to complete a presentation, with other portions of the session allocated for breaks and for officials to respond.
It is not known how many groups have signed up for the hearing.
Meanwhile, pro-establishment legislator Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, who chairs the Legislative Council committee examining the so-called co-location bill, is trying to squeeze as many as 13 meeting sessions between now and the end of April, to get work done as soon as possible.