Liaison office acts for Central Gov’t

April 21, 2020

Chief Executive Carrie Lam:

First of all, I don't think it is very meaningful to talk about the process or the internal process leading to the issue of press releases. What is important is the crux of the matter. The crux of the matter is Hong Kong is facing a serious situation as far as the Legislative Council House Committee is concerned. After a period of six months, 50 meetings and hours of discussion, we are still not able to have a Chairman of the House Committee to enable us to take through the various legislative proposals. So, that is the crux of the matter.

The second point is, of course, throughout the years I do confess that the Government's expression of the position on this particular issue has not been clear and consistent. But that is now all very clarified. It was clarified by me last Tuesday, from various perspectives and it is now clarified by the Government statement, which said very clearly that it is erroneous to treat the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government as an office set up by one of the departments of the Central Government, because the liaison office is representing the Central People's Government to oversee matters of Hong Kong. But I have to stress that doesn't mean that the liaison office is interfering in Hong Kong's affairs, especially those affairs which fall within our high degree of autonomy, because that high degree of autonomy also comes from the Central Government and is well enshrined in the Basic Law.

Now the second point about exemption of properties purchased by the liaison office from the stamp duty. It is laid down in the law. I suspect before 1997, it is equally applicable to the UK Government. So under the Stamp Duty Ordinance Section 41 (1), all the Central Government, Hong Kong SAR Government and statutory bodies in the name of the public offices, like the FSI, that is, the Financial Secretary Incorporated, they are not required to pay this stamp duty without any conditions attached to it. So that's the legal position. And that legal position has been explained previously in the Legislative Council, so there is nothing new. This also indicates that we do have people who want to arouse public controversy by digging out old issues and trying to rehash them again.

(To watch the full media session with sign language interpretation, click here.)

The Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (LOCPG) is representing the Central People's Government to oversee matters of Hong Kong.

Chief Executive Carrie Lam made the statement ahead of today’s Executive Council meeting, conceding that the Hong Kong SAR Government's position on this issue was previously unclear.

“Throughout the years I do confess that the Government's expression of the position on this particular issue has not been clear and consistent. But that is now all very clarified.

“It was clarified by me last Tuesday from various perspectives and it is now clarified by the government statement, which said very clearly that it is erroneous to treat the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government as an office set up by one of the departments of the Central Government, because the liaison office is representing the Central People's Government to oversee matters of Hong Kong.

“But I have to stress that does not mean that the liaison office is interfering in Hong Kong's affairs, especially those affairs which fall within our high degree of autonomy, because that high degree of autonomy also comes from the Central Government and is well enshrined in the Basic Law."

She pointed out that it is not meaningful to talk about the internal process leading to the issue of the press releases on April 18 and 19 relating to the liaison office, but rather to focus on the crux of the matter.

“The crux of the matter is Hong Kong is facing a serious situation as far as the Legislative Council House Committee is concerned. After a period of six months, 50 meetings and hours of discussion, we are still not able to have a Chairman of the House Committee to enable us to take through the various legislative proposals.”

On the exemption of properties purchased by the LOCPG from stamp duty, Mrs Lam said it is laid down in the law.

“I suspect before 1997, it is equally applicable to the UK Government. So under the Stamp Duty Ordinance Section 41 (1), all the Central Government, Hong Kong SAR Government and statutory bodies in the name of the public offices, like the FSI, that is, the Financial Secretary Incorporated, they are not required to pay this stamp duty without any conditions attached to it.

“So that is the legal position. And that legal position has been explained previously in the Legislative Council, so there is nothing new.

“This also indicates that we do have people who want to arouse public controversy by digging out old issues and trying to rehash them again."