HONG KONG, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- The government of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) hopes to submit its proposal for local legislation on the National Anthem Law to the Legislative Council (LegCo) in the first quarter of 2018, a senior official of the HKSAR government said Wednesday.
The HKSAR government' relevant departments will discuss a legislative proposal on the National Anthem Law and submit it to the LegCo Panel on Constitutional Affairs in the first quarter of next year, Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Patrick Nip told media when he attended a LegCo meeting.
"It would be very effective for us to focus on the legislative proposal, to deliberate and to consider whether it is the most appropriate way to do so, having regard to our constitutional and legal system and legal principles," he said.
Nip said the HKSAR government will listen to and consider the views of lawmakers and the public during the legislation's drafting, and plans to submit the anthem bill within this legislative year for lawmakers to discuss.
