Hong Kong's legislature approved 256 million Hong Kong dollars (US$32.8 million) on Friday to host the World Trade Organization's sixth ministerial conference, the government said.
Financial Secretary Henry Tang said he welcomed the legislature's approval and the Hong Kong government will now proceed "full steam ahead" with the necessary preparations for the conference.
But the approval drew immediate fire from opposition lawmakers, with one calling it "a waste of taxpayers' money."
Lee Cheuk-yan, a unionist, said the government is posting budget deficits and Hong Kong will get nothing in return for hosting the WTO meeting.
"It won't benefit Hong Kong's economy. ... Its sole purpose is to satisfy the government's vanity," Lee said.
He said only three out of 31 lawmakers objected to the funding in the legislature, which is dominated by pro-Beijing and big business figures who tend to side with the government.
Although Hong Kong reverted to Chinese rule in 1997, it has a separate seat at the WTO because the territory's customs and trade regime remains separate from the mainland.
Many cities have been reluctant to host the WTO conferences - a lightning rod for protesters who often become violent in their campaign against economic globalization.
No date for the Hong Kong meeting has been fixed. The 146 WTO members had set a deadline of the end of 2004.
The chances of meeting that deadline looked doubtful, however, when the previous ministerial meeting, in Cancun, Mexico, collapsed without agreement in September 2003.Associated Press:
