The LegCo Reporter 2003-2004		Issue No. 17 (4 March 2004)
At its meeting on 3 March 2004, the Legislative Council passed the following two motions with no legislative effect: (1) Motion on "Merger of the two railway corporations and provision of interchange concessions", moved by Hon LAU Kong-wah as amended by Hon LI Fung-ying "That, as the Executive Council has formally invited the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation and the Mass Transit Railway Corporation Limited to conduct a merger study, and given that the plan will have far-reaching implications for the employees and the future fare structures of the two railway corporations, this Council urges the Government to expeditiously announce the outcome of the merger study by the two railway corporations after it has been completed before the end of August, in order to facilitate consultation with the employees of the two railway corporations and the public, and ensure that the merger will not affect the employment, conditions of work, and the rights and benefits of these employees, and will alleviate the burden of the fares on the public; furthermore, before the implementation of the merger plan, the Government should give impetus to the two railway corporations to reduce their fares and encourage them to co-operate in introducing interchange concessions expeditiously." (2) Motion on "Restoring the public's confidence in consuming live poultry", moved by Hon Tommy CHEUNG Yu-yan "That, as the successive outbreaks of avian flu in various parts of Asia has caused the public's confidence in consuming live poultry to sag drastically, dealing a severe blow to the livelihood of those engaged in the live poultry and other related trades, this Council urges the Government, while continuing to adopt rigorous measures to prevent the outbreak of the disease, to make every effort to restore the public's confidence in consuming live poultry, and provide compassionate measures for the affected stall or shop operators, including granting discretionary rent reduction or waiver to the tenants of stalls or shops in government premises and offering low interest loans to the trades concerned, so as to tide them over the difficult times until their normal business resumes."