Second reading of copyright bill aborted due to lack of quorum

The opposition camp on Wednesday mischievously stopped the Legislative Council meeting forthe second reading of the copyright bill - before the debate had started. 

As a result, the meeting - which had only proceeded for two hours and 15 minutes - will bepostponed to next Wednesday. There will be only one scheduled meeting before the Christmasholidays. 

There is also doubt as to whether the bill can be passed before the Chinese New Year holidaysin early February if the opposition tactics continue. 

LegCo President Jasper Tsang Yok-sing expressed regret over this, adding that it was a wasteof resources because LegCo Secretariat staff, lawmakers and government officials didconsiderable work in preparing for the meeting. 

The bell was rung five times, with more than one hour of the meeting time wasted by this andwaiting for a quorum. Only 29 lawmakers were present when the meeting was aborted, thepresident added. 

Tsang said he did not want to see this happen again. He reminded lawmakers that it was theirduty to attend meetings. 

Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Gregory So Kam-leung also said it was apity the meeting was aborted. He urged the public to examine the Copyright (Amendment) Bill2014 in a rational and positive manner. 

In the next few days, the government will communicate with stakeholders involved in order toexplain aspects of the bill. So also said that under the amended bill, netizens would get greaterstatutory protection for parody. 

The opposition camp, which has been seeking more exemptions to the bill, asked for a quorumtime after time. But every time the bell was rung, there was only a handful of oppositionlawmakers present. Only seven opposition lawmakers were present the moment the meeting wasaborted. 

Lawmaker Wong Kwok-hing, from the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, expresseddisappointment. He condemned lawmakers who abused procedures at the meeting.