26 July 2003

Progress on Article 23 legislation

LegCo's Bills Committee on National Security (Legislative Provisions) Bill met for the first time on 23 July since the government decided to defer the second reading of the Bill about a fortnight ago. At the meeting, the Committee was informed by Timothy Tong, Acting Permanent Secretary for Security, that the government planned to release a revised draft of the legislation in the form of a consultation paper in September. The paper would comprise the full text of the blue bill, the 51 amendments later proposed by the government and the subsequent concessions in three controversial areas.