Tick tock goes the clock: Filibustering creates logjam for Hong Kong legislation
Controversial copyright bill holds up progress, with 23 other draft laws waiting in the wings ahead of Legislative Council dissolution after summer recess
It’s a backlog that is paralysing Hong Kong’s Legislative Council with potential ramifications for key projects in the city.
A staggering 24 bills are in various stages of progress through the Legislative Council or have yet to be introduced with less than 50 sitting days before the summer recess.
From attempting to address piracy on the internet to regulating payouts to depositors if a licensed bank closes down, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying is faced with the prospect – in the final year of Legco’s four-year term – of being saddled with a fair amount of unfinished business by the end of his term next year.
Legco has been wracked with filibustering which has stymied the progress of legislation, and the source of much of the logjam has been the controversial copyright bill.
At 12.20pm on Friday, the Legco meeting debating the bill was adjourned prematurely for the third time in about a month. It was the 65th attempt by pan-democrats to adjourn the meeting since Wednesday, with repeated efforts from the pro-government side to keep the meeting going.
Lawmakers will now meet again on Wednesday to resume the marathon debate, of which the end does not appear to be in sight.