Editing Filibuster (section)

==Hong Kong==
The first incidence of filibuster in the [[Legislative Council of Hong Kong|Legislative Council]] (LegCo) after [[Transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong|the Handover]] occurred during the second reading of the Provision of Municipal Services (Reorganization) Bill in 1999, which aimed at dissolving the partially elected [[Urban Council, Hong Kong|Urban Council]] and [[Regional Council (Hong Kong)|Regional Council]]. As the absence of some [[Pro-Beijing camp|pro-Establishment]] legislators would mean an inadequate support for the passing of the bill, the Pro-establishment Camp filibustered along with [[Michael Suen]], then [[Secretary for Constitutional Affairs]]; voting on the bill was delayed until the following day so the absentees could cast their votes. Though the filibuster was criticised by the [[Pro-democracy camp (Hong Kong)|pro-democracy camp]], [[Lau Kong-wah]] of the [[Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong]] (DAB) defended their actions, saying "it (a filibuster) is totally acceptable in a parliamentary assembly."<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 1, 1999 |title=Official Record of Proceedings |url=http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr99-00/english/counmtg/hansard/991201fe.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130307234526/http://www.legco.gov.hk/yr99-00/english/counmtg/hansard/991201fe.pdf |archive-date=March 7, 2013 |access-date=January 18, 2023 |page=1875}}</ref>

Legislators of the Pro-democracy Camp filibustered during a debate about financing the construction of the [[Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link]] by raising many questions on very minor issues, delaying the passing of the bill from December 18, 2009, to January 16, 2010.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Cheng |first=Jonathan |date=2010-01-11 |title=Hong Kong Opposition to Rail Holds Off Vote |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB126315844550823775 |access-date=2025-04-10 |website=Wall Street Journal |language=en-US}}</ref> The Legislative Council Building was surrounded by thousands of [[Guangzhou-Hong Kong high-speed rail controversy|anti–high-speed rail protesters]] during the course of the meetings.

In 2012, [[Albert Chan]] and [[Wong Yuk-man]] of [[People Power (Hong Kong)|People Power]] submitted a total of 1306 amendments to the Legislative Council (Amendment) Bill, by which the government attempted to forbid lawmakers from participating in by-elections after their resignation. The bill was a response to the so-called [[Hong Kong by-election, 2010|Five Constituencies Referendum]], in which 5 lawmakers from the pro-democracy camp resigned and then joined the by-election, claiming that it would affirm the public's support to push forward electoral reform. The pro-democracy camp strongly opposed the bill{{Citation needed|date=April 2016}}, saying it was a deprivation of the citizens' political rights. As a result of the filibuster, the LegCo carried on multiple overnight debates on the amendments. In the morning of May 17, 2012, the President of the LegCo, [[Jasper Tsang]], terminated the debate, citing Article 92 of the Rules of Procedure of LegCo: ''In any matter not provided for in these Rules of Procedure, the practice and procedure to be followed in the Council shall be such as may be decided by the President who may, if he thinks fit, be guided by the practice and procedure of other legislatures.'' In the end, all motions to amend the bill were defeated and the bill was passed.

To ban filibuster, [[Ip Kwok-him]] of the DAB sought to limit each member to move only one motion, by amending the procedures of the Finance Committee and its two subcommittees in 2013. All 27 members from pan-democracy camp submitted 1.9 million amendments.<ref>[http://legco.gov.hk/yr12-13/english/fc/fc/papers/fc0222fc-104-1-e.pdf Paper for the Finance Committee Meeting on February 22, 2013: Members' motions that seek to amend the procedures of the Finance Committee and its two subcommittees] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130307234526/http://legco.gov.hk/yr12-13/english/fc/fc/papers/fc0222fc-104-1-e.pdf |date=March 7, 2013 }}, Legislative Council of Hong Kong</ref> The Secretariat estimated that 408 man-months (each containing 156 working hours) were needed to vet the facts and accuracy of the motions, and — if all amendments were admitted by the chairman — the voting time would take 23,868 two-hour meetings.