Rail Terminal Bill Wording Irks Lawmakers

Pan-democratic lawmakers have expressed concerns that the wording of the draft co-location bill for the express rail link could create problems in delineating Hong Kong's boundaries in the future.

At the Legco committee discussing the government proposal, the lawmakers questioned why the Chinese version of the bill's summary – describing the area of the West Kowloon terminus that will be used by mainland officers – doesn’t exactly match the English version.

Newly-elected pro-democracy lawmaker Au Nok-hin said the differences could lead to confusion. He’s worried that if the words are not very specific and not clearly defined, it can lead to problems in future.

But the government rejected the lawmakers' claims. Senior Assistant Law Draftsman Lawrence Peng, said the Chinese wording is consistent with the English version.

He also said there's no need to put operational details in the bill's summary.