1.   Hong Kong provisional legislator Edward Ho yesterday told the Legislative Council he has lost two personal friends this year.

2.   Party member and provisional legislator James Tien Pei-chun criticised the government for keeping its reserves to defend the Hong Kong dollar.

3.   Party vice-chairman and provisional legislator Bruce Liu Sing-lee said the government should not allow private developers to affect the housing target.

4.   Provisional legislator and transport panel member Chan Kam-lam urged better inspection checks.

5.   Provisional legislator Chan Yuen-han and Lau Kwok-wah head the list in Kowloon East and New Territories East, respectively.

6.   Provisional legislator Howard Young said Hong Kong lacked international-standard cultural and performance facilities which could stage regular performances to attract tourists.

7.   Provisional legislator Leong Che-hung said the government should do more to help small businesses, create more jobs and take some responsibility for the Asian financial crisis.

8.   Provisional legislator Tso Wong Man-yin suggested the government should provide retraining to help former managers find new jobs.

9.   Provisional legislator Wong Siu-yee of the Hong Kong Progressive Alliance told the Hong Kong Standard he had been approached by the group.

10.   Provisional legislators had criticised the Immigration Department for being slow in dealing with visa applications after hearing processing could take more than a month.