Further discussion of the new national security bill amendments at Legco's bills committee is unlikely before October, when the next Legco term begins, the committee chairman said yesterday.
Ip Kwok-him said the timetable for the committee to discuss amendments made by the government on Saturday would depend on when the government wanted to resume the bill's second reading.
Mr Ip said if the government felt it was urgent to resume the second reading, the committee might need to discuss the amendments during Legco's summer recess.
'However, this is unlikely because my understanding is that the government doesn't have an urgent need to resume second reading. The government said it would wait for 'an optimal time',' he said.
Mr Ip said the committee would not be disbanded until the bill was passed.
'Right now we have to see what the government wants. There have been precedents when some bills were deferred, some for a few months, others for more than a year,' he said.