bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sponsorType

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Joyce Ng

The revived proposal for an innovation and technology bureau cleared its first hurdle yesterday as the Legislative Council passed a resolution for its formation.
But it is far from certain that the project, an initiative in Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying's election manifesto, will secure funding as the next hurdle, the Legco Finance Committee, is tied up scrutinising the Heung Yuen Wai-Liantang border crossing.
The resolution to establish the bureau was approved by 33 lawmakers, including pan-democrats Charles Mok and Kenneth Leung. Six pan-democrats opposed it and three abstained.
Before the vote, Godfrey Leung King-kwok, undersecretary for commerce and economic development, said: "The IT bureau has been an aspiration of the industry for years … The bureau will give Hong Kong a new competitive edge."
All 32 amendments to the resolution, tabled by People Power's Albert Chan Wai-yip and Raymond Chan Chi-chuen as part of their filibuster, were voted down.
The government came back with the IT bureau proposal after it was killed off in February by pan-democratic filibustering in the Finance Committee.
In March, the chief executive appointed former Polytechnic University vice-president Nicholas Yang Wei-hsiung as chairman of a new advisory body on innovation, paving the way for a revival of the bureau proposal.
Most pan-democrats say the bureau is a waste of money and came without a clear blueprint.
The People Power duo said they would continue filibustering in the Finance Committee, although Yang told them in a meeting on Tuesday that the government had starting identifying sites for manufacturing the fruits of future research.
"I'm glad the filibustering has forced officials to give a clearer direction, but until they deliver a clear policy, filibustering will continue," Albert Chan said.
But he said proceedings in the Finance Committee could be dragged out for six days of meeting at most if only the duo and "Long Hair" Leung Kwok-hung filibustered. Another uncertainty is that the committee is still vetting the funding proposal for the new border crossing.


Revived proposal for innovation and technology bureau clear first hurdle in Legco

For or against? The resolution to establish the bureau was approved by 33 lawmakers, including pan-democrats Charles Mok (from left) and Kenneth Leung; The People Power duo Albert Chan and Raymond Chan said they would continue filibustering in the Finance Committee. Photos: SCMP

News

Hong Kong

Politics