A 16/17-6
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 16 November 2016 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers
| 1. | No. 23 | - | Consumer Council
Annual Report 2015-16 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development)
| |||
| 2. | No. 24 | - | Immigration Service Welfare Fund
Report on the administration of the Fund prepared by the Director of Immigration Incorporated in accordance with section 12(b) of the Immigration Service (Welfare Fund) Regulation |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Security)
| |||
| 3. | Report No. 3/16-17 of the House Committee on Consideration of Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments | ||
| (to be presented by Hon Starry LEE, Chairman of the House Committee)
| |||
II. Questions
1. Hon Martin LIAO to ask: (Translation)
In March 2011, the Government granted digital audio broadcasting ("DAB") licences separately to three commercial organizations to provide DAB services in Hong Kong for a period of 12 years. However, the past 13 months saw those licensees applying to surrender their licences one after another, with some of them indicating that with the absence of policies implemented by the Government to complement the development of DAB services, they applied to surrender their licenses as they saw no prospect in the market. Two of the applications for surrendering the licenses have been approved, and should approval be given to the remaining application later on, Hong Kong will be left with the Radio Television Hong Kong ("RTHK"), which is a government department, to provide DAB services. On the other hand, the authorities are undertaking a review on DAB services. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
(1) the aforesaid review covers issues in relation to the adequacy of the support provided for the licensees through government policies, the prospect, market positioning and sustainability of DAB services, as well as their alternatives; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) it has assessed if the public resources (including funding for RTHK) allocated for DAB services are value-for-money; whether there are any plans to reduce the funding for RTHK in this respect; and (3) the authorities, in considering domestic free television programme service licence applications, will take into account the factor that an affiliated organization of the applicant has surrendered a DAB licence; if they will, of the justifications; if not, the reasons for that?
2. Hon IP Kin-yuen to ask: (Translation)
Under the prevailing policy, air-conditioning systems are not considered as the standard teaching facilities for aided schools. The Education Bureau ("EDB") will normally install insulated windows and air-conditioning systems for classrooms and special rooms exposed to traffic noise or fixed noise source as noise mitigation measures in accordance with the noise standards stipulated in the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines. For schools which are exposed to noise levels below the aforesaid standards, they have to bear the installation costs and relevant recurrent expenses (such as electricity charges and maintenance costs) themselves if they install air-conditioning systems. It has been reported that after installation of air-conditioning systems by some schools at their own expense, the electricity charges payable by them have increased by several hundred thousand dollars a year, which place a heavy burden on them. In order to pay the electricity charges, some schools have no alternative but cut down on other expenses, such as the fees for specific purposes originally designated for developing courses or promoting extra-curricular activities. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) in respect of each of the school years from 2012-2013 to 2016-2017, of the numbers of premises and classrooms of aided primary and secondary schools across the territory, the numbers of schools and classrooms in respect of which funding was granted by EDB for installing air-conditioning systems and the expenses incurred, and whether it knows the number of schools which installed air-conditioning systems at their own expense, the expenses incurred and their sources of funding (set out such information by school type); if such information is not available, of the reasons for that; (2) given that some school principals have relayed to me that while their schools have been granted funding by EDB for installing air-conditioning systems, the amount of funding is insufficient to cover the expenses, how EDB currently calculates the amount of funding to be granted for meeting the related installation costs and recurrent expenses; whether EDB reviewed such computation methods in the past three years; if EDB did not, whether EDB will conduct a review expeditiously; if EDB will, of the contents of the review plan and its timetable for consulting schools; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) of the number of buildings under EDB at present which have not been installed with air-conditioning systems; whether EDB will consider regarding air-conditioning systems as standard teaching facilities so that air-conditioning systems will be installed for the classrooms and special rooms in all aided schools; if EDB will, of the contents of the relevant plan and the implementation timetable, as well as the estimated annual additional expenses involved; if not, the reasons for that?
3. Hon YUNG Hoi-yan to ask: (Translation)
Some residents of Tai Wai have relayed to me that the district facilities in the area are decrepit and insufficient, affecting the residents' daily lives. The present population of Tai Wai is already close to 180 000. Upon intake by subsidized housing in 2019 and completion of 2 900 private residential units above the Tai Wai Station in 2022, the population of Tai Wai will increase further. The surge in population in the area will render the shortage of district facilities more acute. The findings of a study released by the Sha Tin District Council ("STDC") in 2014 showed that more than half of the responding members of the public indicated their hope for the provision of more shopping malls and markets in the area. Also, some STDC members suggested to the Government the building of a municipal complex in Tai Wai to meet the residents' demand for district facilities. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether, in the past five years, it made a comprehensive assessment of the pressure on the transport infrastructure, environment and community facilities in Tai Wai caused by population increase generated by various residential developments in the area; if it made, of the outcome; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether it has plans to identify a suitable site in Tai Wai for building a municipal complex and provide in the complex various municipal, welfare and community facilities, including new markets, libraries, study rooms, nurseries, child care centres, youth business incubators, care and attention homes for the elderly, car parks, etc., so as to provide one-stop services for the residents; and (3) as some residents of Tai Wai have pointed out that the under-provision of various district facilities in the area has reflected the deep-rooted problems in the Government's planning and management of district facilities and the Government's failure in effectively responding to the demand of the residents, and that the scattered distribution of such facilities has caused inconvenience to members of the public, whether the authorities will embark on studies on ways to enhance the planning and management of district facilities, with a view to resolving the problem in the long run?
4. Dr Hon YIU Chung-yim to ask: (Translation)
In reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council in May 2013, the Secretary for Development indicated that "[a]s the coordination work on planning, development and land supply is now well handled by the Steering Committee on Land Supply and the Committee on Planning and Land Development, we have no plan to set up another interdepartmental committee specifically responsible for land issues in the New Territories". However, the Government has recently revealed that an interdepartmental task force led by the Chief Executive ("CE") was formed in June 2013 to steer the public housing development at Wang Chau ("Wang Chau development") as well as the public housing development at Queen's Hill. CE has indicated that as the two key public housing projects of significant scale involve complicated issues such as planning, infrastructure, transport and environmental protection, he decided that the task force would be chaired by himself. The Government has also indicated that the actual implementation work for the two projects would be carried out by various government departments in accordance with the usual procedures. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the principles based on which the Government determines whether an interdepartmental task force led by the Chief Executive needs to be formed for a particular land development project, including the minimum scale of the development project for the Government to consider the formation of a task force; (2) apart from the aforesaid task force, of the number of CE-led interdepartmental task forces on land development issues formed by the Government in the past five years, together with the membership list, date of formation and number of meetings held so far in respect of each task force; and (3) of the respective timetables for the ground investigation works, funding application and construction works of the first, second and third phases of Wang Chau development; whether the aforesaid task force would be responsible for steering the implementation of the second and third phases; whether the authorities are required to submit the projects to CE in Council for vetting and approval prior to the official commencement of land development projects of similar scale as Wang Chau development; if they are so required, whether Wang Chau development has gone through such procedure; if the procedure has not been gone through, of the reasons for that?
| Public Officers to reply | : | Secretary for Development
Secretary for Transport and Housing Under Secretary for Transport and Housing |
5. Hon Tanya CHAN to ask: (Translation)
According to Article 7 of the Basic Law ("BL"), "[t]he land and natural resources within the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall be State property. The Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall be responsible for their management, use and development and for their lease or grant to individuals, legal persons or organizations for use or development. The revenues derived therefrom shall be exclusively at the disposal of the government of the Region." Moreover, Article 123 of BL stipulates that, "[w]here leases of land without a right of renewal expire after the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, they shall be dealt with in accordance with laws and policies formulated by the Region on its own." It has been reported that a large number of existing land leases in Hong Kong will expire in 2047. The Secretary for Development ("SDEV") stated earlier that the Government would find a "smart method" to deal with the renewal of such leases. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the information on the lands within Hong Kong the leases of which will expire in 2047, including the districts in which they are located, their total area and the number of lots, together with a breakdown by type of buildings on such lands; (2) of the details of the "smart method" mentioned by SDEV; whether the Government has drawn up any policy, specific work plan and timetable to deal with the renewal of land leases expiring in 2047; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons why the Government has not yet commenced the relevant work, and when it will commence such work; and (3) whether it will conduct any form of public consultation on the legislation and policy involved in the renewal of land leases; if it will, of the detailed work plan and timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
6. Hon Steven HO to ask: (Translation)
After the end of the fishing moratorium in the South China Sea on 1 August this year, some of the Hong Kong and Macao floating fishermen netted large quantity of refuse when they carried out trawling activities in the Pearl River Estuary region. Subsequently, quite a number of fishermen engaged in fishing operations and the aquaculture industry in Hong Kong waters noticed that there was a lot of refuse scattered over the sea. It is learnt that some lawbreakers used large ships to dump hundreds of tonnes of refuse illegally into the Pearl River Estuary waters, and some refuse drifted to Hong Kong waters. Such refuse has not only damaged marine ecology, but also seriously affected the livelihood of fishermen, causing great nuisances to them. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the details of the aforesaid illegal marine dumping activities; whether the authorities will step up cooperation with the relevant Mainland authorities and conduct joint law enforcement operations to curb that kind of activities; if they will, of the details; (2) whether the authorities will make reference to the strategies adopted in other places (such as Taiwan) for handling marine refuse, including (1) setting up refuse recycling facilities or fisheries refuse collection points at specific locations for fishermen to discard the refuse generated or netted during their fishing operations; (2) deploying resources and collaborating with the relevant Mainland authorities to send additional vessels to clear the refuse on the sea; and (3) providing subsidies and assistance to fishermen who have been affected by illegal marine dumping activities; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) given that some fishermen have relayed that in the past, the relevant government departments always passed the buck among themselves when dealing with incidents of marine pollution and massive quantity of dead fish, whether the authorities will formulate concrete and long-term policies for handling such incidents so as to strengthen interdepartmental collaboration within the Government, and to stipulate the remedial measures required to be taken, including enhancing the protection for the agriculture and fisheries industry by establishing an insurance fund and subsidy system for the industry which has encountered difficulty in getting insured, so that fishermen and the related industry may expeditiously resume operations and their losses may be reduced; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
| Public Officers to reply | : | Secretary for the Environment
Under Secretary for Food and Health |
*7. Dr Hon CHIANG Lai-wan to ask: (Translation)
It is learnt that during the Second World War, Japanese soldiers drafted by force a total of around 200 000 to 300 000 women from various countries and regions, including Hong Kong, to serve as comfort women for sexual exploitation and abuse by Japanese soldiers. About 70% of these women were abused to death. Some 4 000 women from Hong Kong were forcibly drafted to serve as comfort women in the territory or on Hainan Island. As this year marks the 75th anniversary of the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong, some members of the public consider that the Government should strive to pass on the history of comfort women to the next generation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that museums dedicated to the history of comfort women have been established in countries and places such as the Republic of Korea, Mainland China, Taiwan, etc., whether the authorities will set aside an exhibition area featuring the history of comfort women in the Hong Kong Museum of History or the Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence to enhance public understanding of this episode of history; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) given that countries such as the Republic of Korea, the United States, Canada, Australia, etc. have erected bronze statues of comfort women in public places one after another in recent years, and a bronze statue of comfort women, which is the first of its kind on the Mainland, was unveiled in Shanghai on 22 October 2016, whether the authorities will erect a commemorative sculpture of comfort women in Hong Kong to console and remember the comfort women who were subjected to the coercion and brutality of Japanese soldiers; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether it will include the history of comfort women in the Chinese History curriculum for secondary schools to enhance education on the relevant history; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*8. Hon WONG Ting-kwong to ask: (Translation)
With funding support from SME Development Fund under the Trade and Industry Department, the Professional Validation Council of Hong Kong Industries and the Hong Kong Productivity Council have, earlier on, jointly launched the Benchmarking and Support Service Study on Relocation of Operations Back to Hong Kong for Five Pilot Sectors of Manufacturing Industry. The five pilot sectors are: food products manufacturing industry, pharmaceuticals or medical equipment manufacturing industry, watches and clocks manufacturing industry, jewellery manufacturing industry, and precision fabricated metal parts and tooling manufacturing industry. As pointed out in the report of the aforesaid study published in June this year, land disposition is one of the important considerations of manufacturers in relocating their operations back to Hong Kong. Some manufacturers have indicated that the lack of factories and suitable sites in Hong Kong is the greatest hindrance to their consideration of relocating their operations back to Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of its plans to follow up on the aforesaid study report; (2) whether it has assessed the impacts of the relocation of part of the operations of the aforesaid five sectors back to Hong Kong on the economic development, employment rate, etc. of Hong Kong; if it has assessed, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) whether it has compiled statistics on the respective numbers of manufacturers who relocated part of their operations back to Hong Kong and those who set up new factories in Hong Kong in the past five years (broken down by sector of manufacturing industry); and (4) of the measures in place to support manufacturers who wish to set up factories in Hong Kong in acquiring their required sites; whether it will consider taking measures (e.g. setting up support funds for industry development, providing tax concessions, etc.) to promote the diversified development of the local manufacturing industry; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*9. Hon CHAN Chi-chuen to ask: (Translation)
The Kwun Tong Line Extension ("KTE"), which includes Ho Man Tin Station and Whampoa Station, was commissioned on the 23rd of last month. It is learnt that the Transport Department ("TD") has assessed the impact of the commissioning of KTE on road-based public transport services ("RPTS") and drawn up a reorganization plan for various RPTS in the areas concerned, with a view to enhancing their operational efficiency and strengthening the coordination among themselves. However, some residents are worried that the reorganization plan will result in a reduction in the services of franchised buses, red and green minibuses in terms of routes and frequencies, thereby causing inconvenience to those residents who have all along relied on RPTS. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether TD specified, when drawing up the aforesaid reorganization plan, definite arrangements for RPTS in the areas concerned one year after the commissioning of KTE; if TD did, of the details, including the routes involved, the areas plied, the number of passengers affected, and the dates for implementing the various arrangements (set out in a table the relevant information by type of RPTS); (2) whether TD consulted any local organizations and residents' associations, in addition to the District Councils concerned, when drawing up the aforesaid reorganization plan; if TD did, of the names of such organizations/associations, the dates, venues and numbers of attendees of the meetings concerned; the views received by TD from those organizations/associations and the suggestions taken on board eventually; if TD did not, the reasons for that; (3) whether TD will assess the diversion effect on RPTS in the areas concerned in the first month upon the commissioning of KTE; if TD will, of the details, and whether the daily number of passengers riding KTE will be included in the assessment; (4) of the specific patronage statistics to be used by TD as the basis for reviewing the diversion effect of KTE on RPTS in the areas concerned; and (5) as some residents of the areas along KTE have pointed out that the cross-harbour section of Tsuen Wan Line had reached carrying capacity during peak hours before the commissioning of KTE, and they therefore will not take KTE, and that TD has mentioned that it will appropriately revise the reorganization plan with reference to the views gathered, whether TD will consider maintaining the frequencies of cross-harbour buses during peak hours at the levels before the commissioning of KTE, or consider introducing more cross-harbour bus routes?
*10. Hon Jimmy NG to ask: (Translation)
Since 1 September 2014, the Environmental Protection Department ("EPD") has implemented a new measure to detect, by using roadside remote sensing equipment, petrol and liquefied petroleum gas vehicles with excessive emissions on the road. When EPD staff find vehicles emitting excessive emissions, they will issue emission testing notices to the vehicle owners concerned, demanding them to fix their vehicles and send their vehicles to a vehicle emission testing centre within 12 working days for an emission test with a chassis dynamometer (commonly called a "treadmill"). Failure to pass the test may lead to cancellation of the vehicle licences in question by the Commissioner for Transport. Shortly after the introduction of the new measure, the Office of The Ombudsman, Hong Kong ("the Office") received complaints from vehicle owners alleging that even though their vehicles had just passed the annual vehicle examination (including the idling emissions test) specified by the Transport Department ("TD"), they were still notified by EPD that their vehicles had to undergo a treadmill emission test. The Office has found upon inquiry that the test items and relevant standards covered in the annual vehicle examination and those in the treadmill emission test are different. As such, vehicles which have passed the annual examination may not necessarily be able to pass the treadmill emission test. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective average monthly numbers of vehicles which have (i) undergone the treadmill emission test and (ii) failed the test, since the implementation of the new measure (with a breakdown by class of vehicle); (2) as section 31 of the Air Pollution Control Ordinance (Cap. 311) stipulates that an appeal may be made by a vehicle owner within 21 days after the vehicle owner has received EPD's notice of the decision, requirement or specification, of the respective average monthly numbers of appeals (i) lodged by vehicle owners and (ii) allowed since the implementation of the new measure; (3) given that the leaflets published by EPD on the new measure have not explained in detail the relevant appeal mechanism, procedures and possible litigation fees involved, whether the authorities will review and streamline the appeal mechanism, as well as step up publicity among the public on the details concerned; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (4) whether EPD has regularly reviewed the accuracy of the detection results of the roadside remote sensing equipment; if so, whether EPD found in the past three years cases in which vehicles had been erroneously detected with excessive emissions by the equipment; if there were such cases, whether EPD has followed up with the vehicle owners concerned, such as making compensation and refunding vehicle emission test fees; if EPD has followed up, of the details; if EPD has not followed up, the reasons for that; and (5) as the Office has, in its direct investigation report on the arrangements for the new measure published in January this year, recommended that EPD and TD enhance their coordination in respect of emission tests for vehicles, whether the authorities will implement that recommendation; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*11. Hon Michael TIEN to ask: (Translation)
At present, quite a number of members of the public have developed a habit of prolonged use of electronic screen products for communicating with others, watching television drama series, playing electronic games or browsing social media. On the other hand, it has been pointed out in the Report of Advisory Group on Health Effects of Use of Internet and Electronic Screen Products ("the Report") published by the Department of Health in 2014 that the use of electronic screen products by children and adolescents may cause "physical health" problems such as blurred vision, overstressing of muscles, injuries and accidents, as well as "psychosocial health" problems such as Internet addiction and hindrance to social skill development. The Report has made a number of recommendations which include avoiding the use of electronic screen products by children under two years old as far as possible, and limiting the recreational screen time for children under 12 years old to no more than two hours a day. However, the findings of a survey conducted last year showed that about 30% of young children started using electronic screen products when they were under two years old. This year, there were media reports that the degrees of myopia of a boy, who had spent two to three hours a day on tablet computers since four years old, increased by 100 degrees in each of the past three years. The aforesaid situations show that quite a number of members of the public have overlooked the recommendations made in the Report, which has aroused concerns. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has compiled statistics on the number of cases in each of the past three years in which members of the public got injured in accidents because they were too absorbed in using electronic screen products; if it has, of a breakdown by the age group to which such members of the public belonged; (2) of the respective current percentages of primary and secondary school students suffering from myopia; the changes in such percentages in the past decade, and how they compare with the relevant percentages in other countries/places; whether it knows if there are scientific research findings proving that prolonged use of electronic screen products is one of the causes of the worsening of the problem of children and adolescents suffering from myopia; if there is no such research, whether the authorities will conduct the researches concerned; (3) of the resources allocated by the Government since the publication of the Report to publicize the recommendations made in the Report; (4) whether it has conducted tracking studies on the use of electronic screen products by children and adolescents to verify the effectiveness of the recommendations made in the Report; and (5) of its plan to conduct extensive publicity activities to raise the awareness of parents and teachers of the need to prevent children from using electronic screen products at too early an age and for a prolonged period?
*12. Hon Kenneth LAU to ask: (Translation)
In recent years, there has been a constant stream of tourists flocking to Cheung Chau. For example, as many as 60 000 people visited Cheung Chau on the first day of the Easter holidays this year. Quite a number of Cheung Chau residents have relayed to me that as the ferries plying the Central-Cheung Chau route are always full during peak hours and long holidays, they often have to wait for several ferries before they can board, which has caused great distress to them. Moreover, the hygiene conditions of the ferries are poor. Those Cheung Chau residents have therefore suggested that the authorities implement measures to separate residents and non-residents for ferry boarding so as to facilitate their travel to and from Cheung Chau. They have also pointed out that Cheung Chau Pier needs to be expanded to cater for the large number of passengers, and the places near the pier have to be replanned in order to alleviate the situation of tourists and bicycles competing for road space. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the monthly patronage of the Central-Cheung Chau ferry route in the past five years; (2) of the number of complaints, received by the authorities in each month of the past five years, about the ferry services of the Central-Cheung Chau route, with a breakdown by the content of the complaints (e.g. low frequency of ferry trips and poor hygiene conditions of the ferries); (3) as this year's Christmas holidays will arrive soon, of the measures the authorities will put in place to avoid the recurrence of the problem of Cheung Chau residents and tourists scrambling for taking a ferry ride during holidays; the long-term measures to ensure that Cheung Chau residents can travel by ferry to and from Cheung Chau during holidays without hassle; (4) whether the authorities will consider the aforesaid suggestion of separate ferry boarding; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (5) whether the authorities have plans in the coming five years to expand Cheung Chau Pier to increase the number of berths for ferries, and to replan the cycle parking area near the pier; if they have such plans, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*13. Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)
In recent months, a number of elderly persons, who were carers of adults with intellectual disabilities, had died of attacks of illnesses or accidents at home as they were not saved in time, leaving at home those persons with intellectual disabilities who lacked self-care skills alone being unattended beside the corpses of their carers for several days before they were discovered. Some social workers have pointed out that the aforesaid tragedies show that the Government had not provided adequate support services for those families. They consider that families of elderly tripletons or elderly doubletons (i.e. families in which persons with disabilities or illnesses, who are old and/or with deteriorating functional capacities, live with their fathers and/or mothers) are high-risk groups. Hence, the Government should provide comprehensive community support services for them, including establishing a case management system and database, as well as arranging for such families visits by social workers, household cleaning and meal delivery services, social activities, etc. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the existing mechanism through which families of elderly tripletons or elderly doubletons are identified; (2) whether it has compiled statistics on (i) the number of families of elderly tripletons or elderly doubletons, (ii) the number of persons with disabilities or patients being taken care of (broken down by the categories listed in the table below), and (iii) the number of carers aged over 65; if such information is not available, whether the Government will take measures to identify those families expeditiously so as to enhance its support for them and avoid the recurrence of the aforesaid tragedies; and Categories of disabilities/diseases
suffered by care recipientsNumber Cognitive impairment Intellectual disabilities Mental illness Physical disability Autism Deteriorating functional capacity Lack of self-care skills due to other reasons (3) whether it has any plan to establish a case management system and database for families of elderly tripletons or elderly doubletons in order to provide them with comprehensive community support services on a long-term basis?
*14. Hon Tanya CHAN to ask: (Translation)
On the night of 26 November 2014, a police superintendent seemingly assaulting pedestrians with a baton when dispersing the participants of the occupation movement in Mong Kok was captured on video. The said police superintendent retired in July last year. On 27 July this year, the Director of Operations of the Hong Kong Police Force said that the Complaints Against Police Office had completed its criminal investigation into the case and submitted the results to the Department of Justice ("DoJ"), and was awaiting further advice from the latter. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as (i) it has been almost two years since the occurrence of the aforesaid case, (ii) the Police sought legal advice on the case from DoJ in August and December last year, and (iii) it has been more than three months since DoJ received the results of the criminal investigation into the case, of the reasons why DoJ has so far not decided on whether or not to institute criminal prosecution in respect of the case; how much longer DoJ will take, as estimated by it, to make a final decision; and (2) as the case has aroused wide public concern, whether the authorities will review the arrangements in respect of the retirement benefits, pension, etc. for the former police superintendent at the same time when making the decision on whether criminal prosecution will be instituted in respect of the case; if they will review, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*15. (As the Court of First Instance has granted a declaration on 15 November 2016 that Mr Sixtus LEUNG has been disqualified from assuming the office of a member of the Legislative Council since 12 October 2016, this question asked by him has been deleted from the Agenda.)
*16. Hon Andrew WAN to ask: (Translation)
At its meeting on 2 September 2014, the Tuen Mun District Council ("TMDC") discussed the Comprehensive Development for Public Housing, Educational and Social Welfare Facilities etc. at San Hing Road, Tuen Mun submitted by the Housing Department ("HD"), which comprised the public housing development at San Hing Road ("the San Hing Road project"). The San Hing Road project included the construction of 11 residential blocks which would provide 8 000 public housing flats for accommodating 24 500 residents. At that time, two private developers had applied to the Town Planning Board ("TPB") for carrying out private housing development within the site of the San Hing Road project. The Chairman of TMDC concluded at the meeting that TMDC resolved to write to TPB to express its views on the San Hing Road project. He also urged HD to conduct district consultation within two weeks. On 29 September this year, the Government indicated that the San Hing Road project "was not supported by the District Council" at that meeting, and since then it had been studying ways to adjust the project, but it had to take into account the fact that the planning applications for the two aforesaid private housing development projects were approved by TPB in October 2014 and March 2015. The Government also indicated that it planned to construct about 1 700 public housing flats within the site of the original proposal. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that some members of TMDC ("DC members") have pointed out to me that since the aforesaid meeting, the Government has neither consulted TMDC again on the San Hing Road project, nor reported on the progress of the project to TMDC, of the basis for the Government's statement that the project "was not supported by the District Council"; (2) given that at the aforesaid meeting, some DC members had requested the Government to suspend the processing of the planning applications for the San Hing Road project and for the two aforesaid private housing development projects, and to conduct district consultation again on the San Hing Road project, of the reasons why the planning applications for the two private housing development projects were eventually approved by TPB; and (3) why the authorities have reduced the number of public housing flats to be constructed within the site of the original proposal of the San Hing Road project to only about 1 700?
*17. Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to ask: (Translation)
Last year, the Government announced the allocation of $200 billion in the coming decade for the implementation of the development plan of hospitals, so as to cater for the increasing demand for healthcare services. Notwithstanding that the total number of public hospital beds will increase by some 5 000 under the development plan, the New Territories West ("NTW") Cluster will not benefit from it. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
(1) the current ratio of population to general beds for the catchment districts in the NTW Cluster, and how that ratio compares with the overall ratio of the whole territory; whether the authorities have assessed the number of hospital beds that need to be added to the NTW Cluster in order to align the two ratios; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether the Hospital Authority have planned to increase the number of hospital beds in the NTW Cluster in the coming decade; if they have, (i) of the respective numbers of various types of hospital beds to be added, (ii) how such numbers compare with the relevant figures of other clusters, and (iii) of the criteria adopted for determining the number of hospital beds to be added to various clusters; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) the number of various types of hospital beds planned to be added to Tuen Mun Hospital and Pok Oi Hospital in the NTW Cluster under various development plans in the past; whether such beds have all been put into service as scheduled by now; if not, of the number of beds that have not yet been put into service and the reasons for that; whether the authorities have measures in place to ensure that the various types of hospital beds planned to be added will all be put into service as scheduled upon completion of the various development plans of public hospitals; if they do, of the details?
*18. Hon CHAN Hak-kan to ask: (Translation)
Some residents of the North District have pointed out that the external traffic of the district relies heavily on Fanling Highway and Sha Tau Kok Road, with Kai Leng Roundabout and Sheung Shui Roundabout being the main transport interchanges. As such, whenever traffic accidents occur at such roads and places (e.g. those occurred on 11 January, 13 September and 14 October this year), the external traffic of the district will be paralysed. On the other hand, a consultant commissioned by the North District Council published in January 2014 the draft report on the Survey on Vehicular Flow at Thoroughfares and Transportation Hubs In North District ("the survey report"), in which it put forward a number of suggestions for addressing the traffic congestion in the district. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has examined the main causes of the traffic accidents which occurred on the aforesaid dates; if it has examined, of the outcome, and whether any road design problem was involved; if so, whether the authorities will make improvements in this respect; (2) whether it has drawn up contingency plans (including informing the relevant franchised bus companies and green minibus operators of road diversion arrangements) in light of the situation that traffic accidents paralyse the external traffic of the North District; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) given that some residents of the North District have pointed out that among the four entrances to Kai Leng Roundabout at present, the traffic at So Kwun Po Road southbound is very busy during the morning and afternoon rush hours on weekdays and traffic congestion frequently occurs there, of the authorities' measures to alleviate the problem; (4) given that the survey report suggests that the number of carriageway on Po Shek Wu Road southbound into Tai Tau Leng Roundabout be increased from one to two, with a view to increasing the capacity of the roundabout by a maximum of about 25%, whether the authorities will adopt the suggestion; (5) as the survey report has pointed out that as both left-turn vehicular flow from Ma Sik Road into Sha Tau Kok Road northbound and right-turn vehicular flow from Sha Tau Kok Road southbound into Ma Sik Road are heavy, consideration can be given to changing the current methods in respect of controlling the traffic signals there in the short-term, so as to increase the capacity of the road junction concerned, whether the authorities will adopt the suggestion, and whether the authorities will draw up medium and long term measures to alleviate the traffic congestion in the area; (6) whether it will consider building an elevated road linking Fanling South with Fanling Highway directly, so that vehicles travelling between Fanling South and Yuen Long need not pass through the various transport interchanges; (7) whether it compiled statistics on the changes in vehicular flow in the North District in the past five years; if it did, of the details; of the number of traffic accidents in the North District in each of the past five years; and (8) of the measures in place to prevent the recurrence of the situation that the external traffic of the North District is paralysed by traffic accidents; whether it will comprehensively review if the road network and infrastructural facilities for the external traffic of the North District are adequate to cope with the transport needs, and formulate short, medium and long term improvement plans; if it will, of the details?
*19. Hon HO Kai-ming to ask: (Translation)
A number of traffic accidents causing the death of road repair workers have occurred in recent months. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of traffic accidents causing casualties of road repair workers in the past five years; among such cases, the respective numbers of those which occurred on highways and at night-time; (2) as the authorities indicated in July this year that they were currently reviewing the Code of Practice for the Lighting, Signing and Guarding of Road Works ("the Code") and would consider amending the relevant legislation, of (i) the progress of such work and (ii) the expected timetable for formulating the latest standards of the Code and amending the relevant legislation; the short-term measures in place before such work is completed to reduce traffic accidents causing casualties to road repair workers; (3) of the respective numbers of random and surprise inspections conducted on a regular basis in the past five years by staff members of the Highways Department at night-time to see if road works contractors complied with the legislation and the Code; the number of non-compliance cases uncovered during those inspections, with a breakdown by subject of non-compliance; and (4) of the number of surprise inspections conducted in the past five years by staff members of the Labour Department at road works sites on issues relating to occupational safety, and the number of prosecutions instituted against the persons responsible for the works sites or the contractors for alleged non-compliance?
*20. Dr Hon Elizabeth QUAT to ask: (Translation)
Quite a number of parents of persons with intellectual disabilities ("PWIDs") have relayed to me that government departments have, for a long time, failed to monitor properly private residential care homes and special schools ("RCH&S") for PWIDs. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as some parents have relayed that their complaints about improper arrangements of RCH&S were often unsettled due to difficulties in adducing evidence and a lack of transparency in the complaint handling procedures, whether the Government will consider requiring RCH&S, after securing the consent of the parents concerned, to install closed circuit television in rooms where PWIDs conduct their activities to facilitate the gathering of evidence, and reforming the existing complaint mechanism to enhance transparency; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) as some parents have relayed that while the quality of RCH&S varies substantially, government departments have failed to monitor (including inspection) them properly and have not set penalty for non-compliance, whether the Government will introduce a penalty point system to stipulate that residential care homes ("RCHs") may have their licences revoked upon being allotted penalty points for a number of times for non-compliance; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) as some parents have relayed that they had applied for transferring their children with intellectual disabilities to other RCH&S because their children had difficulties in adaptation or were suspected to have been abused, but they had to wait for a long time (one year or more) or were even refused, whether the Government will review the relevant vetting and approval criteria as well as transfer arrangements, so that the PWIDs concerned may be transferred to suitable RCH&S expeditiously; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (4) of the current number of persons waiting for places in subsidized RCHs; given that some parents have relayed that the present waiting time for places in subsidized RCHs is as long as 15 years, and the Government has indicated in a paper submitted recently to this Council that it will expedite the construction of subsidized RCHs, of the reduction in waiting time as projected by the Government upon the completion of the RCHs concerned; and (5) given that some parents have suggested extending the coverage of the Sexual Conviction Record Check Scheme to cover employees of RCHs for PWIDs, so as to further protect PWIDs, whether the Government will accept the suggestion; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*21. Hon Paul TSE to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that in view of the insignificant contributions to banks' profits made by small and medium enterprises ("SMEs") (in particular enterprises such as bars, nightclubs and other entertainment establishments) and start-up enterprises, and for avoidance of the risks involved, quite a number of banks have, in recent years, often made it difficult for such types of enterprises to apply for opening of bank accounts, on the premises of combating money laundering and complying with the increasingly stringent international regulations on monitoring banks. For example, a bank based in the United Kingdom, which takes up almost half of the market share in Hong Kong, rejected in the past months as many as 50% of the applications by such types of enterprises for opening accounts, which was tantamount to "driving away customers". Such types of enterprises cannot handle receipts and payments through bank accounts (e.g. paying salaries, making contributions to Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes and paying premiums for employees' compensation insurance policies). Although the Hong Kong Monetary Authority ("HKMA") has issued guidelines to banks upon receiving related complaints, the situation has not improved so far. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as there are comments that the accommodating approach adopted by the banking industry in the past for handling applications by enterprises for opening accounts had contributed towards Hong Kong's being regarded as one of the freest economies in the world for a long time, and laid the foundation for Hong Kong's position as an international financial centre, whether the Government has assessed the impacts of the current situation of SMEs and start-up enterprises having difficulties in opening bank accounts, on the development of Hong Kong's economy towards diversification, innovation and high technology, as well as on the employment rate, the development of start-up enterprises and Hong Kong's competitiveness as a financial centre; if it has assessed, of the outcome; if not, whether it will expeditiously conduct such assessment; (2) whether HKMA, apart from issuing operational guidelines to banks, has taken any measure to rectify the situation of banks "driving away customers"; of the new policies and measures that the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau ("FSTB") has put in place to assist such types of enterprises in opening bank accounts, and how FSTB evaluates the effectiveness of those policies and measures; and (3) regarding the criteria adopted by local banks for considering if applications by such types of enterprises for opening bank accounts should be approved, whether it has assessed if such criteria are too stringent, as compared with the criteria adopted by the banks in Singapore, the Republic of Korea and the Macao Special Administrative Region, or have been adopted with an intention to make things difficult for such types of enterprises; if it has assessed, of the details; if not, whether it will immediately conduct such study?
*22. Hon CHU Hoi-dick to ask: (Translation)
Some community groups have indicated that owing to the lack of detailed and complete information on government lands for conducting researches, it is difficult for them to make feasible proposals to the Government on increasing land supply. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) in respect of each piece of idle government lands in urban areas at present, of the district in which it is located and the area, with its location marked on a map; and (2) in respect of each piece of government lands in urban areas rented out on short-term tenancy at present, of the district in which it is located, the area and existing use, with its location marked on a map?
* For written reply