Legco Debate On Epidemic Fund Request To Continue

Legco Finance committee on Friday failed to vote on a government request for more cash for the anti-epidemic fund and decided to continue the discussions on Monday.

After a marathon debate that lasted the entire day, committee chairman Chan Kin-por called for an end to the day's proceedings without a vote and said they will continue the debate on Monday.

The Carrie Lam administration, which is seeking a HK$5.4 billion injection into its anti-epidemic fund, came under attack from lawmakers on both sides of the political spectrum during the discussions.

Both the opposition and pro-establishment camp accused the officials of not doing enough to help people and enterprises affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Democratic Party called for another round of universal payouts, while the Liberal Party said more subsidies should be allocated to firms that had been ordered to close during the peak of the recent outbreak.

DAB lawmaker Ben Chan said his party will still support the funding, but expressed disappointment at the lack of more support for sectors like cross-border non-franchised transport sector.

Government officials, led by Chief Secretary Matthew Cheung, told the members that the government was doing its best to help the people tide over the crisis.