HKSAR chief executive expects priority given to national anthem bill at LegCo

HONG KONG -- The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government has consulted with the Legislative Council (LegCo) on the resumption of second reading of multiple bills, and expected priority would be given to bills including the National Anthem Bill, HKSAR Chief Executive Carrie Lam said on Tuesday.

The HKSAR government's Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew Cheung and relevant principal officials have already written to LegCo's House Committee Chairwoman Starry Lee to consult, as required under the LegCo's rules of procedure, on the resumption of second reading of a total of 10 bills in the LegCo, Lam said.

Two of the bills, the National Anthem Bill and the Patent (Amendment) Bill, have been delayed for a very long time, Lam noted. "We do expect these two bills to be given priority in the resumption of second reading by the Legislative Council."

Lam made the announcement at a press briefing on Tuesday morning before attending the HKSAR Executive Council meeting.

At the briefing, the chief executive also announced that the HKSAR government has generally finalized the details of its Employment Support Scheme (ESS) and eligible employers can apply for wage subsidy starting from May 25.

The 81-billion-Hong-Kong-dollar ($10.45 billion) ESS, which plans to provide wage subsidy to employers so that job retention can be achieved and redundancy can be avoided, is part of the economic relief package rolled out recently by the HKSAR government amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lam said the HKSAR government has introduced multiple improvement measures under the ESS after discussing with various sectors so that more employees will benefit from the relief measures.