Co-location Bill Scrutiny Not Being Speeded-up: Ip

The chairwoman of Legco's co-location bills committee on Saturday denied she's been speeding-up the bill review process because she doesn't want any changes made to it.

Pan-democratic legislators have complained about Regina Ip setting May 7 as the deadline for the bill's review.

Ip said it was merely a question of time-management, and if opposition lawmakers were unhappy with any legal aspects of the bill, they should launch a judicial review or file for an injunction, instead of asking repetitive questions at committee meetings.

"The chairman of bills committee has a duty to manage meetings efficiently and to aim at completing bill scrutiny in three months' time" she said.

"Moreover Legco as a whole is very pressed for time. I think the main objection is a legal one and if members truly feel strongly about it, they could seek a judicial review or they could apply to the court for injunction" Ip added.

The bill aims to allow mainland border control officers to operate at the express rail's West Kowloon Terminus. But pan-democratic lawmakers have said that would violate the One Country, Two Systems principle.