A NEW approach to Hongkong restaurant and bar licensing will be announced today, but the move has already been described as not going far enough.
A senior member of the Urban Council Liquor Licensing Board welcomed the proposed streamlining of licence applications but said unfair delays would continue unless provisional liquor licences were granted.
''You are just cutting part of the red tape,'' elected Urban Councillor Daniel Wong Kwok-tung said yesterday.
''It does not go far enough and it's not fair enough unless you hand people the provisional licence.'' The Urban Services and Regional Services Departments are expected to announce today details of the ''one-stop shop'' approach, including the creation of a central panel to vet restaurant, fast food and liquor licences.
The various departments involved in considering licence applications will also be required to speed up their investigations and deliberations.
The announcement will follow a meeting this morning with independent Legislative Councillor Martin Barrow and restaurant industry representatives, who have long been lobbying for a more efficient system of handling licence applications.
Mr Wong said that although licence applications would be speeded up under the new procedures, some restaurants might still be placed in the position of having been granted a restaurant licence but not a liquor licence.