Chapter 16

Public Engagement

16.1Reaching out to the public and engaging them in the process of legislation has always been an important and substantial challenge for accountable legislatures around the world. Outreach, in its modern form using available technology, is regarded as a vital parliamentary function. As a people's legislature, it is the fundamental role of Members elected to it to represent people's voices and be responsive to their needs when performing their constitutional functions. Given the divergent interests among different sectors of the community in Hong Kong and the expectation of the public for greater representation and accountability, public engagement is becoming a direct way to gauge the views and wishes of the public and to establish a dialogue between the legislature and people.

16.2Reforms in the operation of the Hong Kong Legislature, especially after the adoption of the 1968 Standing Orders and the setting up of the UMELCO Office in 1970, were extensive in order to strengthen the role of the then legislators in representing the views of the public and to provide channels for bringing public grievances and views to the attention of the highest authorities in the Government. This momentum of change has continued, even after the establishment of the HKSAR in 1997, in making the Hong Kong Legislature accountable and accessible to people. These reforms and changes can be summarized in three areas:

(a)the methods of soliciting and representing views from the public and stakeholders so as to address their needs in the process of law-making and discharging other functions of the Legislature;

(b)the means to make the work of the Legislature transparent and accessible to the general public so as to inspire their trust and confidence in the Legislature; and

(c)the establishment of facilities to build up the institutional memory of the Legislature and to strengthen the process to involve the younger generations to support the sustainable development and growth of the Legislature.

16.3This Chapter provides an overview of the actions taken by the Legislature and the administrative arrangements, facilities and services put in place by The Legislative Council Commission ("the Commission") in achieving the objectives in the three areas of work above. The emphasis of the overview is more on the historical background and philosophies behind these actions, administrative arrangements, facilities or services. Details of their day-today operation are available on the Legislative Council website and are therefore not included here.

Soliciting and representing public views

Historical background

16.4To represent public views better, there were conscious efforts in the early 1990's to strengthen the role of Panels as a forum for the exchange of views between Members and the corresponding Policy Secretaries and Government departments concerned over issues of public concern. Apart from following up the representations referred to Panels by Duty Roster Members under the Redress System as explained in Chapter 15, Panels also took the initiative to invite views from stakeholders, interest groups and the public at large so that different aspects of public views on any subject would be heard. For this purpose, it was common during those days that advertisements were placed in newspapers, one English and one Chinese, providing a period of 2 to 3 weeks for the submission of views to the Panel. With the setting up of an official website of the Legislative Council in 1996, it was then more common to post a notice on the website and issue a press release to announce the invitation of views on a subject. Today, although newspaper advertisements are still one of the options for notifying the public of the invitation of views, they are rarely used due to cost considerations and the limited readership of newspapers compared with the increasing use of the internet.

16.5It was the usual practice in the 1990's was that after the receipt of submissions of views from the public a summary was prepared to facilitate discussion by members of the Panel concerned at a scheduled meeting. It was also common practice that related professional bodies and interest groups were invited to present their views and respond to questions from members. Deputations which had submitted views through the Redress System or direct to the Panel on the subject matter concerned might also be invited to the meeting if considered appropriate. Government officers were also invited and they might be requested to respond to questions in respect of the issues raised by deputations but only at the request of the chairman if he considered it appropriate. Panels were often reminded that they had no power to summon witnesses unless specially authorized by a resolution of the Council under section 9(2) of the Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance (Cap. 382). Any person (other than a Member or a public officer) invited to speak at an open meeting of a Panel would not be protected under Cap. 382.

16.6The call for greater public participation has also resulted in more people willing to come forward with their views and to appear before the Panels especially on matters relating to new policies, proposed legislation and major works projects. It has also become a common practice for Panels to hold public hearings in respect of Government's consultation papers. Where such public hearings are held, they are usually scheduled before the end of the Government's consultation period so that the views obtained by the respective Panels can be consolidated and put to the Government for its consideration and response.

16.7Soliciting views from the public has been built into the normal work process of not only Panels, but also other committees, such as Bills Committees in their examination of bills, subcommittees of the House Committee on subsidiary legislation and on other matters. Despite the fact that the persons appearing before the committees/subcommittees are not protected and do not enjoy immunity under Cap. 382, deputations are still open with their views and keen to have them recorded and followed up in the course of a committee's/subcommittee's deliberations of the subject matters. Since 2006, to help safeguard deputations, all committees which intend to conduct public hearings have adopted the practice of including a statement in their invitation letters to deputations to remind them that they do not have such statutory protection and immunity and that their submissions and oral representations are also not protected. The chairman also reminds the deputations along the same lines at the start of the public hearing.

Conduct of public hearings

16.8The holding of a public hearing is part of the process in soliciting views from the public. It enables deputations to give oral representations and provides an opportunity for members of the committee to clarify with the deputations any points in their submissions. Where a committee considers it appropriate to invite public views on a specific subject, it should first decide on the scope of the matters for inviting public views, the period allowed for  the written submissions and the cut-off time for requests for oral representations. The normal practice is that a period of not less than 2 to 3 weeks is allowed for the submission of written views. Deadline for requests for making oral representations is normally 1 to 2 weeks before the date of the public hearing to facilitate planning and consultation with the chairman and members on whether extra public hearing sessions are required.

16.9The committee should also decide if any organizations should be invited to give views, such as the 18 District Councils, related professional and trade bodies, etc. The committee may decide on the approach to be adopted for inviting public views, such as the issue of a press release and/or posting a notice on the Legislative Council website. [1] In determining the date and time of the public hearing, consideration is given to the convenience of the public. In recent years, public hearings are often held on Saturdays. Representatives of the Policy Bureau concerned are invited to be present to listen to the views but they are not normally required to respond to questions in relation to the views expressed during the hearing. Public officers in attendance may be requested to give a preliminary response at the end of the hearing. A separate meeting is usually held subsequent to the hearing to allow the public officers time to examine the views collected from the public and to respond to committee's questions.

16.10In scheduling a public hearing, the clerk needs to collate the number of deputations (which may include individual members of the public) who wish to make oral representations, and propose to the chairman the number of sessions required to listen to public views. Deputations which have submitted views on the same subject through the Redress System are also notified of the holding of the public hearing. Deputations are encouraged to provide written submissions to the committee and it will be for the deputations themselves to decide whether to appear before the committee to make oral representations. Each deputation should have equal time to make its representation, whether or not a written submission has already been made by the deputation. Under normal circumstances, a speaking time of not less than 3 minutes is allowed for each deputation. No questions may be put to the deputation unless for clarification by the chairman. Members of the committee may also seek views or clarifications from the deputation at the plenary discussion scheduled at the end of the hearing. In the event that two or more sessions are held for the same public hearing, a plenary discussion is scheduled at the end of each session.

16.11Where needed, the clerk prepares a summary of the issues and concerns raised in the submissions. Translation is usually not provided but summary translation into the Chinese language is provided for lengthy submissions made in English if the chairman so advises. All submissions are circulated to members and the Government and are made available to the public unless the deputations concerned raise objection to doing so.

Procedure governing the making of oral representations by members of the public

16.12The procedure adopted by committees in conducting public hearings is not laid down in the Rules of Procedure or the House Rules. Some guidelines in respect of the invitation of public views, speaking order and speaking time limit for deputations are nevertheless provided in the various handbooks for committee chairmen available on the Legislative Council website. Generally speaking, each registered member of the public is only allowed to speak once either as a representative of a group/organization or in his/her personal capacity at a public hearing and should not be allowed to speak again on behalf of an absent deputation. The committee chairman nevertheless has the discretion to handle special requests flexibly. [2]

16.13As regards organizations/groups bearing names with offensive or insulting connotations, the Committee on Rules of Procedure notes that the chairman of each committee has a power to restrict the circulation of a submission containing defamatory remarks/expressions made against, or which may be embarrassing to, any person or body by ordering the circulation of any such submission to members only, or the obliteration of the remarks/expressions before circulation. Further, the chairman has the power to rule out names of groups with connotations that might compromise the dignity and solemnity of the proceedings of the Council.[3]

Disorderly conduct of members of the public attending meetings

16.14Rule 87 of the Rules of Procedure provides that the chairman of a committee may order the removal from a meeting of any member of the public who behaves, or who appears likely to behave, in a disorderly manner.

Corporate liaison with local community

16.15There is a long-standing convention for Members of the Legislative Council to discuss and exchange views with members of the 18 District Councils on a regular basis in accordance with the arrangements set out in Rule 32 of the House Rules. During the meetings issues which are of concern to the individual District Councils are brought up for discussion. Whilst individual cases are taken up by the Public Complaints Office, matters of policy are usually referred to a relevant Panel for more in-depth study. These meetings are scheduled in such a way that 3 meetings with each District Council will normally be arranged within a legislative term. All Members attend these meetings on a roster basis with those Members coming from the same geographical constituency being included as standing members. The convenor of the meeting is one of the Members also determined according to a roster. The convenor is responsible for coordinating the pre-meeting background research on the issues to be discussed and providing a progress report to the District Council 3 months after the meeting. In addition, a luncheon with the chairmen and vice-chairmen of the 18 District Councils is organized each year.

16.16Other similar liaison meetings with the local community include the regular meetings with councillors of Heung Yee Kuk [4] and the annual tea reception with major charitable organizations [5] in Hong Kong. By maintaining face-to-face dialogue with community leaders, Members of the Legislative Council are better able to better understand the views of different sectors of the community about issues which may affect the well-being of people and the long-term development of Hong Kong.

Enhancing the transparency of the Legislature

16.17It is well recognized by Members that to encourage the general public to come forward with their views, there is nothing more important than to inspire their trust and confidence that views put forward to the legislature are seriously considered and followed up with the relevant authorities. Transparency in the operation of the legislature and public accessibility to information are the foundation stones to build up this trust between the legislature and people. The Hong Kong Legislature has gone a long way in enhancing its transparency from observance of proceedings in the Chamber to the broadcasting of Council sittings on radio in 1975 and on TV in 1986; from the setting up of an official website in 1996 to the broadcasting of all open meetings of committees on its own webcast since 2006, and on various forms of social media platform on the Internet since 2014.

Observance of the proceedings of the Council and committees

16.18The admission of members of the press and the public as observers of meetings of the Council has long been recognized, originating in the Standing Orders of the pre-1997 Legislature [6] and reaffirmed in the present Rules of Procedure of the HKSAR Legislature[7]. The admission of such persons however is subject to such rules as may from time to time be made by the President and enforced by the Clerk. For this purpose, the President has issued the Administrative Instructions for Regulating Admittance and Conduct of Persons (Cap. 382A) (Appendix 16-A). This has been explained in Chapter 4 [8] when referring to public access to the proceedings of the Council.

16.19The general principle is that members of the public are welcome to observe the open proceedings of the Council and committees as long as seats are available in the public galleries to accommodate them and provided that they behave in an orderly manner. [9] They are also not allowed to display any sign, message or banner in the public galleries or on their clothing when they are in the public galleries.[10] The same rule applies to members of the press. Any persons observing proceedings of the Council or committees must comply with any direction given by an officer of the Council for the purpose of keeping order.[11]

Facilitating the reporting on the work of the Council by the media

16.20The facilitation of reporting on the business of the Council by the media has been a policy upheld by the pre-1997 Legislature and the Legislative Council today. Since the moving of the Legislative Council to the former Legislative Council Building in 1985, representatives designated by individual media organizations, either print or radio or television, had been permitted to standby at designated press areas for attending press briefings, press conferences and for interviewing Members. These designated media representatives, usually one to two reporters from each media organization, are known as "LegCo Beat Reporters" and are issued with admission passes valid for the entire session [12]. Following the opening of the meetings of most of the committees of the Council to the public, the need for LegCo Beat Reporters to be stationed inside the precincts of the Chamber has increased. During the planning of the new Legislative Council Complex, more facilities for use by the media were incorporated into the design of the Complex, including the provision of a press gallery and photo rooms in each conference room, designated workstations in the press room for reporters and TV/Radio Rooms for electronic media organizations, designated press positions for interviews and enhanced press conference/briefing facilities.

16.21Members of the press are required to observe the rules laid down in the Administrative Instructions for Regulating Admittance and Conduct of Persons (Cap. 382A) issued by the President governing the conduct of the media inside the precincts of the Chamber. Guidelines are issued from time to time by the Legislative Council Secretariat to set out the administrative arrangements dealing with various matters such as the issue of admission passes and use of media facilities in the Legislative Council Complex. (Appendix 16-B)

Broadcasting of proceedings

16.22Proceedings of the Council and its committees are currently broadcast live on webcast on the Legislative Council's official website. An archive is also available to facilitate retrieval of the proceedings of open meetings. The video and audio feeds of the recording of the proceedings, which are produced by an in-house TV production team of the Legislative Council Secretariat, are made available to all media organizations for use in their broadcasting. This arrangement became possible after moving into the new Legislative Council Complex in October 2011. Before then, the proceedings of the Council were recorded by Radio Television Hong Kong as part of the support to the Legislative Council provided by the Government. Proceedings of committees were recorded by individual media organizations from the press galleries. From October 2011 onwards, with the provision of the relevant broadcast facilities in the Chamber and conference rooms, recording of all proceedings of the Council and open meetings of its committees is undertaken centrally by the in-house TV production team, but individual media organizations are also allowed to make their own recordings from the press galleries and individual TV/Radio Rooms.[13] These are important facilities for enhancing the legislature’s outreach to the public.

Dissemination of information

16.23Effective and efficient dissemination of information about the work of the Council is accorded great importance in order to enhance the transparency of the Council and help the public's understanding of the matters considered by the Council and its committees. Apart from the issue of press releases and conduct of press briefings, there is also the need to disseminate information through electronic means, in particular mobile devices which have become a popular way of communication among the public.

On the website

16.24From July 1996 onwards, members of the public have been able to access information about the Legislative Council through the official website of the Council: www.legco.gov.hk. Originally, the website only provided general information about the Council: schedule of meetings, meeting documents for the current term, Members' directory, record of bills introduced into the Council, etc. With the advancement of technology and growing demand for greater transparency, more features and inter-linkage of webpages, webcast, database and documents have been built into the website to facilitate easy and timely retrieval of information.

On webcast

16.25In October 2006, a new audio webcast system was introduced to enable members of the public to listen to all open meetings of the Council and its committees in three choices: floor version, Cantonese and English. The system, which originally allowed only 500 concurrent users, has been substantially enhanced in terms of capacity in the past decade to accommodate up to 4 000 concurrent users as of 2015-2016.

Through social media

16.26With the wider use of mobile applications and social media websites by the general public in recent years and especially among younger voters, the Commission has also looked for ways to reach out to people through these new media. In November 2013, the Commission approved in principle the launching of Apps [14] and the setting up of YouTube and Flickr accounts to disseminate information of the Legislative Council. The objective was to enhance the Council's on-line presence as well as to facilitate Members' own on-line activities through these popular video and picture sharing sites. As this move would entail the entering into agreements with the Apps and social media companies, the Commission examined the legal issues involved including copyright, personal data privacy and potential liability.

16.27Regarding the copyright issues, by virtue of section 184(1) of the Copyright Ordinance (Cap. 528), the Commission noted that the Legislative Council is the first owner of the copyright in any works made by or under the direction or control of the Council, which include the webcasting of Council meetings. As regards other materials, such as photos of Members' activities to be uploaded onto the Flickr account and information other than Webcast to be included in the Legislative Council Apps ("LegCo Apps"), by virtue of section 14(1) of Cap. 528, the Commission as employer of the Secretary General who is authorized by the President to control such materials, is the first owner of any copyright in such materials subject to any agreement to the contrary.

16.28As regards potential liabilities, the Commission noted that by virtue of section 10 of the Defamation Ordinance (Cap. 21), any person who publishes a report of the Legislative Council by order or under the authority of the Council is protected against civil or criminal proceedings under Cap. 21. Under section 14 of Cap. 21, the publication of reports of the Legislative Council is privileged unless the publication is proved to be made with malice. Under section 22, for the purposes of the law of libel and slander, broadcasting is treated as publication in permanent form. However, upon reviewing the specific meaning of "broadcast" and "broadcasting" under section 2 of Cap. 21, the Commission noted that it is unlikely that the showing of Council meetings through Apps and YouTube would be covered by section 10 or 14 of Cap. 21. This would leave the service providers open to legal action for defamation. Regarding the potential legal liability of the service providers, the disclaimer clause or indemnity provision had limited their liability and the burden to defend and indemnify and hold the service providers to account still rests with the copyright owner of the information.

16.29In addition, the protection of personal data issues arose from the intention to upload Members' personal data onto the LegCo Apps. According to Principle 3 of the data protection principles in Schedule 1 to the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Cap. 486), personal data shall not, without the prescribed consent of the data subject, be used for a new purpose. [15] Since the inclusion of a directory in the LegCo Apps might constitute a new purpose, the Commission agreed that Members' written consent should be sought.

16.30After deliberations, the Commission concluded that whilst there were certain legal issues involved in the use of social media websites to disseminate information of the Legislative Council, the benefits of so doing might outweigh those risks. As the Commission would have little control over the dissemination of the Legislative Council's proceedings through third-party websites, it would be prudent to seek the endorsement of the Council of this proposal through a debate on a proposed resolution to direct the Commission to do so under section 17(2) of The Legislative Council Commission Ordinance (Cap. 443). A report summarizing the deliberations of the Commission on the proposal to launch LegCo Apps and to use social media to disseminate information of the Legislative Council and the related legal issues was tabled at the Council meeting of 8 January 2014 at which the resolution was dealt with. The resolution passed by the Council is at Appendix 16-C.

Building institutional memory to facilitate understanding and growth

16.31With changes in the membership of the Legislature following a general election once every four years and also with the turnover of staff, it is necessary for the Legislature, as an institution, to ensure that its good practices are maintained and its working mechanism continues to develop to meet new challenges and aspirations. The setting up of the Legislative Council Library in 1995 and the Archives in 2011, as well as the adoption of a policy to facilitate access to the Legislature's documents and records by the Council in 2014 represent important steps taken to strengthen the institutional memory of the Legislature.

Legislative Council Library

Historical background

16.32The Legislative Council Library was established in 1995. The proposal to set up the Library for the Legislative Council originated from a consultancy study conducted by Mr Philip LAUNDY, then Clerk Assistant of the House of Commons in the Parliament of Canada, who was invited by the then President Sir John SWAINE in January 1994 to advise on the research and library support to the Council. The establishment of a new Research and Library Division was endorsed by the Working Group on the Proposed Reorganization of the Legislative Council Secretariat which recognized the importance of research and library facilities to the functioning of a modern Legislature. Funding support was provided by the Government to enable the Library to commence operation in March 1995. Library services, including loan services, were available to Members and staff, but the main focus of work was on the strengthening of support for committees. Members of the public were allowed access to the open documents and records of the Council and committees through the assistance of professional Library staff.

16.33The first task of the Library after it was set up in 1995 was to take over all records from the former Office of UMELCO and OMELCO which existed before the establishment of The Legislative Council Commission in 1994 as well as the papers and reports of open meetings of the Council and its committees after 1994. With the expansion in the provision of library and research staff and the space of the Legislative Council Library since 1995, the scope of services provided by the Library had also changed substantially. Instead of acting as an information repository and providing space where Members and staff could inspect Council records, the Library had taken on a more active role of an information provider in support of the Legislature. Since 2000, members of the public visiting the Library in person have access to the entire collection of the Library in addition to open records of the Council and its committees. In the same year, the Library uploaded its catalogue onto the Legislative Council website. Electronic copies of open records of the Council and its committees were also uploaded onto an internal Document Management System which allowed advanced searching and retrieval of documents on the Library premises as well as in those offices connected to the Secretariat network. In 2005, the Document Management System was moved to be housed in the LegCo website. Since then, Internet users may easily search and retrieve records of the Council and its committees

Transformation into a Constitutional Library

16.34In anticipation of the relocation of the Library to the new Legislative Council Complex in 2011, The Legislative Council Commission decided in January 2009 to transform the Library into a Constitutional Library, while maintaining its role as the custodian of the documentary records of the business of the Legislative Council, to facilitate the public’s understanding and appreciation of the Basic Law. The Commission considered that the Library should focus on collecting materials relating to the constitutional systems of the People's Republic of China and common law jurisdictions. Information packs should be produced with respect to the Legislative Council's deliberations of major issues in relation to individual chapters of the Basic Law as well as the comparison of various constitutional systems on related questions. In addition, the collection on constitutional-related subjects held by the Library should be gradually built up to at least 50% of the entire collection.

16.35Members of the Commission also considered the future clientele of the Library after its reprovisioning in the new Complex. Members decided that it should remain as a reference library and its collections could be on loan only to Members, their designated personal assistants and Secretariat staff. Students, academics and researchers would be the main target users of the Library apart from Members and staff. The Constitutional Library would function as a link between the Council and the people of Hong Kong, contributing to increasing transparency and better knowledge of the business and activities of the Council and its Members. It would facilitate understanding and appreciation of the Basic Law, the constitutional document that underpins the "One Country, Two Systems" national policy of the People's Republic of China.

Current library services

16.36Today, the Legislative Council Library serves as a reference library for Members, Members' assistants, Secretariat staff as well as members of the public. The Library occupies two floors at the Legislative Council Complex. G/F comprises a reading area for members of the public, two audio-visual rooms and a stack area housing the various Library collections. GM/F consists of a stack area, a reading area for Members' assistants and Secretariat staff, as well as a dedicated reading area for Members. The opening hours of the Library are from 9 am to 6 pm, Mondays to Fridays, and from 10 am to 6 pm on Saturdays.

16.37The core collection of the Library comprises documents and records of the Council and its committees. Other collections include:

(a)"Constitutional Collection" comprising books, journals, documents and electronic resources relating to the constitutional affairs and parliamentary practices of various jurisdictions, including the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China;

(b)"Basic Law Collection" comprising documents of the Basic Law Drafting Committee and the Basic Law Consultative Committee as well as books and articles on the Basic Law;

(c)"General Collection" comprising government publications, and books on subjects of laws, political science, and social sciences;

(d)"Reference Collection" comprising mainly statistical data, almanacs, encyclopaedias and other reference tool books; and

(e)"Periodicals" on subjects of parliamentary affairs, laws and political science.

Only Members and staff may borrow from the Library. To supplement the Library's own collections, inter-library loan services with local university libraries, the Judiciary library and the library of the Department of Justice can also be arranged for Members and staff.

16.38In order to maintain an active relationship between the Legislative Council and those with an interest in keeping a link with the Council, arrangements have been made for LegCo Beat Reporters, university teaching staff and research students, former Members and former directorate staff of the Secretariat to have access to the stack areas of the Library on both floors, and to use the reading area on GM/F to view library holdings and access the digital collections of the Library.

Future development

16.39In the long-run, in order for the Legislative Council Library to develop itself into a Constitutional Library, apart from maintaining open records of the Council and its committees, its aim is also to collect documents related to the foundational laws of Hong Kong, documents recording the workings of the constitution of PRC, overseas jurisdictions, and the Basic Law, including their drafting, application and amendments, etc.

16.40In addition, the Library also collects materials relating to the development of the Macao Special Administrative Region, in particular, the drafting and implementation of the Macao Basic Law. The long-term goal is to build up a collection relating to constitutional and parliamentary affairs accounting for about half of the Library's entire collection. Owing to budgetary constraint, the collection will continue to concentrate on subjects of laws, political science and social sciences. Other subjects will be supplemented through the inter-library loan service and co-operation with other libraries in Hong Kong.

Information and reference service

16.41Since 2011, the Legislative Council Library has launched the following new services:

(a)maintaining a dedicated reference desk for constitutional and parliamentary enquiries;

(b)developing electronic resources to facilitate research relating to business of the Council as well as constitutional and parliamentary affairs;

(c)producing publications to keep Members and staff informed of the latest policies, important legislative and financial proposals, major inquiry and audit reports of selected overseas jurisdictions as well as the latest development in the rules and practices of overseas parliaments; and

(d)providing content management for the Legislative Council website to facilitate public access to the over 230 000 digitised records of the Council.

The Legislative Council Archives

Historical background

16.42Pursuant to a comprehensive study conducted with the assistance of an expert advisory group, The Legislative Council Commission decided in May 2009 to set up the Legislative Council Archives for maintaining records of all documents generated by the Legislature in the course of carrying out its functions, such as records of proceedings of the Council and committees, Rules of Procedure, discussion papers and reports, as well as other records which would provide historical evidence of the growth and development of the Legislature.

16.43With the approval of funding by the Finance Committee in December 2009, the Legislative Council Archives was established in January 2012 occupying a total area of 260 m2 on GM Floor of the Legislative Council Complex. The layout plan and the fitting-out requirements are designed according to international archival standards. Facilities for long-term development of the Archives have also been identified for future consideration.

16.44Prior to the commencement of operation in January 2012, the Archives had started to collect records of enduring value from the Legislative Council Library, different Divisions of the Legislative Council Secretariat, private records and material from incumbent and former Members, as well as from other sources such as the Public Records Office. Due to inadequate space and facilities of the Legislative Council Library, the Public Records Office had been asked to keep some of the more important historical records of the Legislature since 2000. These include the original records of the Authenticated Ordinances of the 19th century, Minutes of Meetings of the Legislature between 1948 to the 1970s, and various records on bills and administrative work of the 1970s and 1980s from UMELCO and OMELCO. Some of these records, which amounted to about 6,000 archival records, were returned to the Legislative Archives in 2011. As regards the earlier historical records of the Legislature which the Government considers to be its property, the Archives would arrange to make copies of such historical records from other local and overseas archival institutions and libraries.

16.45With the exception of some of the earlier historical records held by other institutions, the Archives followed the prevailing best practices of most archival institutions in accepting for preservation only original records (i.e. records which were created or received for an official business activity, designated as the official records for that business activity and captured into a record-keeping system). Duplicates were produced for access if the original records collected were the only extant copy available to the Legislature and were in fragile condition. For the records kept by the Secretariat, the Archives explained to staff of all Divisions about its role to appraise records for preservation or destruction, manage the records of archival value in accordance with international standards, and provide access to archival records of the Legislature. The Archives staff started to draw up records retention and disposal schedules for all records to ensure that the legal and institutional requirements, guidelines and procedures applicable to the records kept by the Secretariat were put in place after relocation to the Legislative Council Complex in October 2011. This also aimed to ensure that the disposal of records could be done in an open, consistent and accountable manner.

Missions of the Legislative Council Archives

16.46The missions of the Legislative Council Archives are to select, acquire and preserve records of enduring value for access and use. These records document the history, core functions and activities of the Legislature as corporate memory of the Council, which also form part of the collective memory of Hong Kong. To ensure that these records are managed efficiently and effectively and that archival records are identified for preservation and access according to agreed standards, the Legislative Council Archives is responsible for the development, implementation, review and improvement of an integrated archives and records management programme.

Archives and Records Management Policy of the Legislative Council

16.47To enable all staff members of the Legislative Council Secretariat to understand the missions of the Archives and work together to achieve these common goals, The Legislative Council Commission endorsed the "Archives and Records Management Policy of the Legislative Council" on 28 September 2011. The Policy, which is provided in Appendix 16-D, is to apply to all permanent and temporary staff of the Secretariat. The purpose is to ensure that adequate, accurate, reliable and usable business records of the Legislative Council are created, captured, managed, stored, accessed to and disposed of properly with those of enduring value being preserved as archival records for continuous access to meet operational needs, requirements of the Council and The Legislative Council Commission, accountability and public interest.

16.48In this Policy, it is stated that it is the policy of the Commission to recognize that records are vital information assets which give evidence of decisions and actions, facilitate on-going business operation, provide for organizational transparency and accountability, and support archival functions and services. The Policy also provides for the functions, duties and power of the Legislative Council Archives in the management of the records of the Legislative Council; selection and processing of archival records for preservation and continuous access; and promotion of public awareness, understanding and use of the archival records under its care. Responsibilities of Heads of Divisions and staff of the Secretariat, and their working relationship with the Legislative Council Archives are specified to facilitate implementation of this Policy.

Archives' services

16.49The Archives has developed policy, standards and procedures for managing archival records. An electronic system was developed in-house and implemented in June 2015 to facilitate processing, review and preservation of archival records. It also allowed a user, including a member of the public, to search the electronic archives catalogue to ascertain whether the required records are available, and reserve and place an inspection order for accessing the records. The archives catalogue is available on-site and via the Legislative Council website.

16.50All archival materials are inspected in the Reading Rooms of the Legislative Council Archives in the Legislative Council Complex. No such materials may be taken out of the Archives. Users are required to observe the "Rules on the Use of Services of the Legislative Council Archives" (Appendix 16-E) which was endorsed by the Commission on 31 August 2011. These Rules are based on international standards and best practices reminding users of the need for proper handling of archival records and ensuring reasonable behaviour of users so as to maintain a quiet environment conducive to research and study.

Access to information policy

16.51It has been the policy of the Legislative Council to facilitate public access to information held by the Council in order to meet public expectation of accountability and transparency. After the Government introduced the Code on Access to Information to the whole Government in 1996, the Legislative Council Secretariat received and dealt with requests for access to information held by the Secretariat but without adopting any code or guide. The question faced by the Secretariat at that time was that it could only authorize access to its administrative documents but not records and documents of the Council or its committees which, by parliamentary convention, should be under the control of the Council and not its administrative wing.

16.52Documents and records of the Council (including those of its committees) may be open or closed. As the Council and the vast majority of the committees of the Council hold their meeting in public, most of the documents and records are open documents which are accessible and available on the official website of the Legislative Council. As regards the closed documents, prior to April 2014, requests for access to such documents were handled by the Secretary General, as Clerk to the Legislative Council and custodian of all its records, on a case-by-case basis. Where the document concerned was classified confidential by a committee, e.g. a submission to a select committee conducting an inquiry with power to summon witnesses, the request for access to such a document was usually not acceded to since the select committee was no longer in existence and there was no procedure in place to decide whether such access could be granted. In 2011, the Secretariat undertook to draw up an access to information policy after the Legislative Council moved into the Legislative Council Complex.

Review conducted by The Legislative Council Commission

16.53On 19 March 2013, following a review conducted by the Secretariat, the Commission agreed that a formal access to information policy should be introduced. Consultations with Members of the Council and with the general public, the media and academia were conducted. In November 2013, the Commission noted that the Council, as the Legislature, enjoys certain exclusive privileges including whether and how its records and documents are to be provided for public information. Authorization of the Council for accessing documents and records of the Council and its committees would therefore be required. Besides, implementing maximum closure periods and conducting declassification reviews would have implications for the operation of the Council and the committee system. The Commission considered that a resolution of the Council should be made with a view to putting a mechanism in place by April 2014 and invited the Committee on Rules of Procedure to study how that could be done. In the meantime, regarding requests which did not require the Council's authorization, i.e. documents and records within the jurisdiction of the Commission and the Legislative Council Secretariat, the Commission decided that implementation of the related proposals [16] should take effect on 1 January 2014.

Recommendations of the Committee on Rules of Procedure

16.54Upon the invitation of the Commission, the Committee on Rules of Procedure examined the scope of the proposed resolution and the procedure for handling requests for access to information. The Committee noted that for closed documents and records (including those in relation to closed meetings or the Redress System not intended to be available for public access), not all of them required continued protection from public access. As the sensitivity of such documents and records diminished over time, they should not be kept closed forever unless disclosure was prohibited by law. After deliberation, the Committee recommended to the Commission that:

(a)the maximum closure period for unclassified documents and records should be 20 years subject to a review to ensure that the disclosure is not prohibited by law;

(b)the maximum closure period for classified documents and records should be 50 years unless the disclosure is prohibited by law. These documents and records should be subject to review for declassification within 25 years against a list of exempted categories proposed by the Committee (Appendix 16-F). For those documents and records which remain classified after a review, they should be reviewed again at least once every 4 years until they can be open to the public or upon expiry of their closure periods, whichever is earlier;

(c)a committee, called the "Committee on Access to the Legislature's Documents and Records" with its membership and size modeled on those of the Commission, should be appointed by the Council to make decisions on access and related policy matters; and

(d)the Clerk to the Legislative Council should be assigned to undertake declassification reviews and to deal with access requests and other related duties.

Resolution of the Council on access to information

16.55At its meeting on 28 February 2014, the House Committee supported the recommendations of the Committee on Rules of Procedure and agreed that a resolution should be proposed to the Council for amending the Rules of Procedure to establish the Committee on Access to the Legislature's Documents and Records [17], putting in place a Policy on Access to the Legislature's Documents and Records and empowering the Clerk to act in accordance with the Policy and any guidelines laid down by the new Committee. The proposed resolution was approved by the Council at its meeting of 19 March 2014.

Committee on Access to the Legislature's Documents and Records

16.56Under the new Rule 74A of the Rules of Procedure made under the above-mentioned Resolution, the functions of the Committee on Access to the Legislature's Documents and Records are to determine whether a document or record of the Legislature (or its committee) should be made available for access earlier than the expiry of the closure period specified in the Policy; to consider any objection against the denial of access to such a document or record by the Clerk to the Legislative Council; and to consider any other matter relating to or arising from the Policy.[18] The size and composition [19] of the Committee are identical to those of The Legislative Council Commission.[20] Its term of office is one year or until the next House Committee meeting held for the election of members of the Committee, whichever is the earlier. [21] Its quorum is the chairman and 3 other members.[22] The chairman or any member presiding does not have an original vote but has a casting vote when the votes of other members are equally divided.[23] Meetings need not be held in public unless the chairman otherwise orders in accordance with the decision of the Committee.[24] At its meeting on 28 March 2014, the House Committee adopted the procedure for nominating and electing members of the Commission as the procedure for nominating and electing members of the Committee. An election was held on 11 April 2014 at a meeting of the House Committee.

16.57The Committee on Access to the Legislature's Documents and Records held its first meeting on 20 May 2014 and adopted the list of exempted categories of the documents and records of the Legislature by which an access request to closed documents and records kept by the Secretariat might be refused. This list is substantially the same as the list recommended by the Committee on Rules of Procedure at Appendix 16-G. It also adopted its Practice and Procedure, as attached at Appendix 16-H.

Policy on Access to the Legislature's Documents and Records

16.58The Policy on Access to the Legislature's Documents and Records provides a maximum records closure period for documents and records of the Legislature and its committees. In gist, the maximum records closure period for unclassified documents and records of the Legislature and its committees is 20 years and for classified documents and records it is 50 years unless closure is prohibited by law. All documents and records may be made available before the expiry of their closure period consequent upon a review. Details of the Policy are provided in Schedule 2 to the Rules of Procedure attached at Appendix 16-I.

16.59The Policy applies to the information or records in existence and kept by the Secretariat. It does not oblige the Secretariat to acquire information not in its custody or create a document or a record not in existence. The Policy also does not affect any legal rights of access to information nor does it affect any legal restrictions on access to information whether they are prohibitions or obligations arising from statute law or under common law.[25]

Clerk to the Legislative Council's responsibilities

16.60The Resolution also provided a new Rule 6(5A) in the Rules of Procedure to require the Clerk to the Legislative Council to conduct reviews specified in the Policy and authorize him to deny access to documents and records in accordance with the guidelines drawn up by the Committee on Access to the Legislature's Documents and Records. To enhance transparency, the Committee on Access to the Legislature's Documents and Records publishes on the Legislative Council website lists of approved and denied access requests to documents and records of the Legislature. For denied cases, a brief description of the reason(s) for the denial is also provided for each case.[26]

Sustainable development of the Legislature

16.61The purpose of preservation of documents and records is to build up the Legislature's institutional memory to facilitate development and growth. By making such documents and records accessible to all who are interested, future generations will be in a better position to understand reasons for past practices and look for alternative ways to deal with the changing needs of the institution. In addition to the services provided by the Legislative Council Library and the Archives, the Commission has also published procedural guides, manuals and other publications to make it easier for those who play a part in the work of the Legislature, such as Members, staff, public officers, LegCo Beat Reporters, and even deputations and the general public, to understand how to fulfill their respective roles properly and effectively. For the sustainable development of the Legislature, there is a need to involve the public, in particular the next generations, to ensure that they understand the meaning of parliamentary representation and help the Legislature perform its constitutional role through active participation and partnership.

Guided educational tours and education facilities

16.62In 2010, the Commission endorsed the development of both educational facilities and activities to enhance the public's understanding of the work, functions and history of the Legislature. The commissioning of the Legislative Council Complex in October 2011 has made it possible for the Commission to launch a wider range of guided educational tours for students, members of charitable organizations and the general public, and to provide related facilities. These facilities, as mentioned in Chapter 4 [27], include a Children's Corner for story telling and interactive games relating to good citizenship and the legislative process, an Education Activity Room for holding role-plays at mock Council meetings [28], and exhibition galleries for providing information on the historical development and work of the Legislature.

16.63Guided educational tours provide an opportunity for members of the public to visit the education facilities in the Legislative Council Complex. To accommodate the needs of visitors, these tours are available on all days except six public holidays [29] and are conducted in Cantonese, Putonghua and English. In addition, the needs of people with disabilities are taken care of during their visits to the Complex. Booking of guided educational tours may be made through an online booking system on the Legislative Council website or via a centralized booking hotline which is also used for reserving seats in the public galleries for observing open meetings of the Council and its committees.

Facilities for persons with disabilities

16.64Inclusion is a principle upheld by Members and staff of the Legislature in establishing partnership with people. Ongoing efforts have been made to make the facilities and services accessible to people of all ages including persons with disabilities. During the planning of the Legislative Council Complex, the design and planning standards adopted included the requirements set out in the new "Design Manual: Barrier Free Access 2008" despite that by law the project was only subject to the former applicable standards that were laid down in 1997.

16.65The special features installed in the Legislative Council Complex to provide barrier free access include:

(a)For the visually impaired: tactile paths in all common areas and access corridors; audible guides from outside the Complex to all public entrances, lobbies, lifts and escalators, Braille keyboards and related software in meeting rooms;

(b)For the wheel-chair bound: barrier free access from outside the Complex to the Chamber, conference rooms, all facilities for Members, staff, media and the general public; accessible toilets, remote-control doors;

(c)For the hearing impaired: visual fire alarms, simultaneous sign language interpretation service for the entire proceedings of Council meetings and, if needed, for committee meetings; and

(d)Design of common facilities such as drinking fountains, washing basins, call bells in toilets, microphone in meeting rooms, etc. to cater for the needs of persons with different forms of disabilities, with international symbols of accessibility where possible.

16.66Simultaneous sign language interpretation service was introduced in January 2010 first as a trial scheme. This service was provided on a regular basis during Question Time at each Council meeting, and on special occasions, such as the Chief Executive's delivery of his Policy Address, the Question and Answer sessions of the Chief Executive, the Budget Speech or, upon requests made in advance, any important debates. With the move into the Legislative Council Complex, a dedicated interpreters' room for sign language interpretation has been provided to facilitate the sending of the video feeds to the public galleries and as part of the video recordings of the proceedings for the public. Since January 2013, simultaneous sign language interpretation service has been extended to cover proceedings on all items on the Agenda of Council meetings.

16.67Throughout the planning and early commissioning stages of the Legislative Council Complex, meetings and site visits were held with representative groups of different forms of disabilities to obtain first-hand information from prospective users. The engagement of these representative groups has paved the way for further and continuous efforts to improve people's accessibility not only to the facilities of the Complex, but also to the proceedings of the Council, hence making it possible for all citizens to have an equal opportunity to work as partners to the Legislature.

[1]
It has been a practice since 2002 that the 18 District Councils would be notified when an invitation of views is put on the Legislative Council website.
[2]
The decision was made by the Committee on Rules of Procedure in 2014 after conducting an inquiry into the practices for the making of oral representations by members of the public at committee meetings. The matter was discussed again by the Committee in 2014-2015 and as a result of its deliberations, the Handbooks for Chairmen of Panels/Bills Committees/Subcommittees on Subsidiary Legislation were amended. See Progress Report of the Committee on Rules of Procedure for the period (October 2013 to June 2014) para. 3.2 – 3.7 and Progress Report of the Committee on Rules of Procedure for the period (October 2014 to June 2015) para. 3.13 – 3.17.
[3]
Progress Report of the Committee on Rules of Procedure for the period (October 2014 to June 2015) para. 3.13 – 3.17.
[4]
Heung Yee Kuk is the statutory advisory and consultative body for the New Territories.
[5]
The major charitable organizations invited to the annual tea reception include Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, Po Leung Kuk, Lok Sin Tong Benevolent Society, Kowloon, Pok Oi Hospital, Yan Chai Hospital and Yan Oi Tong.
[6]
The first time admission of the public (then known as "Strangers") and the press was mentioned in the Standing Orders was in the 1929 Standing Orders of the pre-1997 Legislature.
[7]
Rule 86 of the Rules of Procedure.
[8]
Chapter 4, para. 4.50 – 4.51.
[9]
Section 11 of the Administrative Instructions for Regulating Admittance and Conduct of Persons (Cap. 382A). This principle is also mentioned in Canada's House of Commons Procedure and Practice (2009) 2nd Edition, p.286.
[10]
Section 12 of the Administrative Instructions for Regulating Admittance and Conduct of Persons (Cap. 382A).
[11]
Section 11 of the Administrative Instructions for Regulating Admittance and Conduct of Persons (Cap. 382A).
[12]
Reporters who are required to cover the news on an ad hoc basis are issued with temporary admission passes.
[13]
See Chapter 4, para. 4.47.
[14]
Apps are mobile software applications designed to run on smartphones, tablet computers and other mobile devices.
[15]
Under section 3(4) of Schedule 1 to Cap. 486, a new purpose means any purpose other than the purpose for which the data was to be used at the time of the collection of the data or a purpose directly related to such purpose.
[16]
The related proposals referred to the administrative arrangements for processing requests for access to documents and records available for public access and those which may be provided on request. The administrative arrangements included the forms to be used, response time, fees and charges, and review and complaints mechanism.
[17]
Rule 74A of the Rules of Procedure.
[18]
Rule 74A(1) of the Rules of Procedure.
[19]
With the exception of the 3 ex-officio members, the membership of the Committee on Access to the Legislature's Documents and Records may be different from that of the Commission although the method of election is the same.
[20]
Rule 74A(2) of the Rules of Procedure.
[21]
Rule 74A(3) of the Rules of Procedure.
[22]
Rule 74A(4) of the Rules of Procedure.
[23]
Rule 74A(6) of the Rules of Procedure.
[24]
Rule 74A(8) of the Rules of Procedure.
[25]
See Appendix I to LC Paper No. CROP 44/13-14 presented to the House Committee for its meeting on 28 February 2014. http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr13-14/english/hc/papers/hc0228crop-44-e.pdf.
[26]
See http://www.legco.gov.hk/open-legco/english/legislature-list-of-denied-case.html.
[27]
Chapter 4, para. 4.48.
[28]
Mock Council meetings were first launched in 2004 for students in secondary and tertiary education to hold a debate on the passage of a bill or a motion debate on a specific topic. It has become a regular education activity to provide training opportunities for young people to enhance their understanding of the work of the Council and promote their political awareness.
[29]
The Legislative Council Complex is closed on New Year Day, first and second day of Chinese New Year, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Establishment Day, National Day and Christmas Day.