HONG KONG: A counter- proposal to the city's controversial high-speed rail project will not be heard at today's Legislative Council meeting.

Professional Commons, a pressure group close to the opposition camp, was denied a chance to present their counter-proposal, which they say will shave some HK$30 billion from the project's HK$66.8 billion price tag.

The group had petitioned to have their proposal heard at today's meeting but were turned down after lawmakers voted down a motion to have them heard 30 to 19.

Member of the Liberal Party, legislator Miriam Lau Kin-yee said she was among those who rejected the motion.

"The group had already attended the meeting twice before," said Lau. "The information provided should be enough so they don't need to appear again."

Legislator Lau Kong-wah, a member of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, said the legislators had already heard the opinions of more than 100 organizations.

"If they are allowed to voice their view at the meeting, it will affect the individual thinking of each legislator," said Lau.

Nonetheless, Civic Party leader Audrey Eu said legislators made a poor decision in refusing to give the Professional Commons group an opportunity to present their alternative plan.

Since mid-December of 2009, the opposition camp has been trying to delay the approval of HK$66.8 billion in funding for the proposed construction of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link.

During the last discussion, which lasted more than four hours, opposition lawmakers repeatedly pushed the government to rethink the project's enormous costs and complained about the manner in which public consultations were conducted.

Many predict that there will be large crowds protesting outside the Legislative Council during today's meeting, which is scheduled to take place at 4 pm. The meeting will likely last up to six hours, but even so opponents of the project may seek to prolong the debate.

Emily Lau Wai-hing, chairwoman of the Finance Committee and vice-president of the Democratic Party, has pledged to try her best to hold the meeting fairly. She hopes that the meeting will be held in a peaceful and orderly manner.

(HK Edition 01/08/2010 page1)