Officials yesterday bowed to pressure from lawmakers by dropping plans to push through in one sitting a bill to suspend some criminal provisions in the new copyright law.
The about-face came after members of a special Legco commerce and industry panel meeting expressed concern that rushing through the proposed law to suspend the criminalisation of unauthorised photocopying of print media, among other measures, without closer scrutiny might bring new uncertainties.
Deputy Secretary for Commerce and Industry Kenneth Mak Ching-yu said the administration would table the bill only for first reading at next Wednesday's Legco sitting, as proposed by Democrat Sin Chung-kai.
Mr Sin suggested the administration resume the second reading debate and the third reading on May 2. Some members said they might need more time but pledged to speed up scrutiny.
Many members backed calls for the Government to delay its original schedule as the bill was not as simple as Secretary for Commerce and Industry Chau Tak-hay had claimed last Friday.
Chan Kam-lam, of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment of Hong Kong, said: 'What we've got is only a draft of the draft bill.'
Unveiling the bill to legislators, Mr Mak admitted the scope of the bill had been widened slightly.