Subsidiary Legislation	L.N. NO.
1. Ferry Services (The "Star" Ferry Company, Limited) (Determination of Fares) (Amendment) (No.2) Order 1996	68/96
2. Tramway Ordinance (Alteration of Fares) (Amendment) Notice 1996	69/96
3. Banking Ordinance (Amendment of Seventh Schedule) Notice 1996	70/96
4. Hong Kong Airport (Traffic) (Amendment) Regulation 1996	72/96
5. Official Languages (Alteration of Text) (Boilers and Pressure Vessels Ordinance) Order 1996	73/96
6. Immigration (Vietnamese Refugee Centres) (Designation) (Consolidation) (Amendment) Order 1996	74/96
7. Immigration (Vietnamese Refugee Centres) (Open Centre) (Amendment) Rules 1996	75/96
8. Administration of Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No.2) Ordinance 1995 (68 of 1995) (Commencement) Notice 1996	76/96
9. Human Organ Transplant Ordinance (Cap.465) (Commencement) Notice 1996	77/96
10. Statutes of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Amendment) (No.3) Statute 1995	78/96
11. Official Languages (Authentic Chinese Text) (Boilers and Pressure Vessels Ordinance) Order	(C) 13/96
12. Official Languages (Authentic Chinese Text) (Commodity Exchanges (Prohibition) Ordinance) Order	(C) 14/96

Sessional Papers 1995/96

1. No. 57 - Urban Council

Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the Financial Year 1996/97

(to be presented by the Secretary for Recreation and Culture)

2. No. 58 - Regional Council

Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure 1996/97

(to be presented by the Secretary for Recreation and Culture)

3. No. 59 - Revisions of the 1995/96 Estimates approved by the Urban Council during the third quarter of the 1995/96 financial year

(to be presented by the Secretary for Recreation and Culture)

4. No. 60 - The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts

Annual Report July 1994 to June 1995

(to be presented by the Secretary for Recreation and Culture)

5. No. 61 - Li Po Chun Charitable Trust Fund

Annual Report for the period 1st September 1994 to 31st August 1995

(to be presented by the Secretary for Home Affairs)

6. No. 62 - Trustee's Report on the Administration of the Education Scholarships Fund for the year ended 31 August 1995

(to be presented by the Secretary for Education and Manpower)

Miscellaneous

Amendment to the Technical Memorandum on Noise from Construction Work in Designated Areas

(to be presented by the Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands)

Third Periodic Report in respect of Hong Kong under Articles 2-16 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights

(to be presented by the Secretary for Home Affairs)

II. QUESTIONS

1. Mr. IP Kwok-him to ask : (Translation)

In view of the fact that the starting salary of an Assistant Hawker Control Officer is close to that of a Police Constable and is higher than that of officers of comparable ranks in other disciplinary services, will the Government inform this Council:

of the entry requirements and starting salary for an Assistant Hawker Control Officer;
of the criteria adopted for setting the entry requirements and starting salary mentioned in (a) above; and
whether consideration will be given to conducting a review of the entry requirements and starting salary for officers of both the Hawker Control Team and other disciplinary services except the Police Force in the near future?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Civil Service

2. Mr. Andrew CHENG to ask : (Translation)

The Traffic and Transport Committee of the Southern District Board has passed a motion urging the Government to forbid the China Motor Bus Company Limited (CMB) and Citybus Limited to have their buses parked overnight at the bus terminals in public and private housing estates in the Southern District in order to avoid causing nuisance to nearby residents. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it will put into effect the measure mentioned above in the Southern District; and if so, whether similar measure will be implemented at the bus terminals in public and private housing estates in other districts?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

3. Mr. WONG Wai-yin to ask : (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:

of the number of air-conditioned buses and non-air-conditioned buses of three of the franchised bus companies (i.e., the Kowloon Motor Bus Company Limited, the China Motor Bus Company Limited and the Citybus Limited), as well as the proportion between these two types of buses in the fleets of each of the three franchised bus companies, in each of the past three years;
of a breakdown of the existing number of air-conditioned buses and non-air-conditioned buses of the three franchised bus companies operating on each specified route, together with the increase in the number of air-conditioned buses in each of the three franchised bus companies in each of the past three years;
of the difference in fares on average between air-conditioned buses and non-air-conditioned buses; and
how the three bus companies determine the number of air-conditioned buses and non-air-conditioned buses to be deployed on each route and the difference in fares between the two types of buses?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

4. Miss Emily LAU to ask : (Translation)

With regard to the recent statement made by Chinese officials that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government may repatriate all Vietnamese migrants immediately upon their entering the territory after the change in sovereignty in 1997, will the Government inform this Council:

of the existing laws which govern the policies relating to the handling of refugees and illegal immigrants;
how these policies are now enforced; and,
under what circumstances will the existing policy of "repatriation upon arrest" be implemented?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

5. Mrs. Miriam LAU to ask : (Translation)

A number of reclamation projects are now in progress and this has resulted in the narrowing of the fairways in the harbour. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

of the number of traffic accidents which have occurred in the territory's waters over the past three years, and the number of such accidents which have resulted in injury and death; and
what is the number of traffic accident blackspots in the territory's waters, and what measures are in place to reduce traffic accidents at these spots?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Services

6. Dr. John TSE to ask :

Will the Government inform this Council of the following:

what are the principal indoor air pollutants commonly found in commercial buildings, factories and residential premises in Hong Kong, and what effects these pollutants have on public health;
whether such buildings are designed and operated to provide sufficient outside air for each unit inside each building; if so, whether there are guidelines specifying the minimum level of fresh air to be provided, and what action will be taken if the supply of fresh air is below the specified level;
whether the Government has carried out any research to gather data and information on indoor air quality and its associated health risks; if so, how many buildings are affected by indoor air pollutants, and how many occupants are put at health risk due to the presence of indoor air pollutants;
whether any measures, apart from the publication of educational materials, have been adopted to prevent building-related illnesses (e.g. Legionnaires' disease) occurring; and
whether any strategies or plans have been drawn up to improve indoor air quality; if so, what are the details?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands

* 7. Miss Margaret NG to ask :

Will the Government inform this Council:

of the dates and locations when tear gas was used in Hong Kong in the last five years, together with the circumstances giving rise to such use and the quantity used on each occasion;
whether there are any policies and guidelines governing the use of tear gas; if so, what the details are; and
whether any tests have been conducted regarding possible harmful effects of tear gas on human beings, particularly when used in confined areas; if so, what the results are?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

* 8. Mr. LAW Chi-kwong to ask : (Translation)

According to guidelines of the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) Scheme, only those elderly people who live alone or are physically handicapped or have special needs are eligible for subsidy from the Social Welfare Department for the provision of telephone lines, whereas other elderly people have to apply for subsidy from certain welfare funds for such a purpose. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

how many of the elderly people in receipt of CSSA payments are living alone and how many are not;
how many of the elderly people in each of the groups mentioned in (a) above receive subsidy from the Social Welfare Department for the provision of telephone lines and how many do not;
what criteria are adopted by the Social Welfare Department for approving applications for subsidy for the provision of telephone lines made by those elderly people who are not living alone; and
whether consideration has been given to allowing all elderly people in receipt of CSSA payments to be granted subsidy for the provision of telephone lines; if so, what is the outcome?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

* 9. Mr. Howard YOUNG to ask :

Will the Government inform this Council:

of the circumstances leading to the necessity for adoption of special arrangements for the distribution of fuel to airlines at Kai Tak airport immediately before Christmas last year;
what is the prescribed minimum level of fuel supply at the airport and whether the level of supply will be increased upon the commissioning of a new fuel tank; and
what is the present progress regarding the project to construct additional fuel receiving facilities; and whether the commencement of the project has been delayed, and if so, what are the reasons?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Services

*10. Mr. Bruce LIU to ask :

In the judgement in M.P. 3630 of 1994 (Chan Chi Hung and Law Lai Wan vs Tse Ying Piu and Wong Yin Lai Flavia)("the said judgement") delivered in September 1995, the judge interpreted paragraph (a) of the Schedule to the Housing Ordinance, Cap 283 to mean that an owner of a Home Ownership Scheme Property ("HOS Property") shall have "first paid to the Authority the amount of the premium" before completing the sale of the property to a new purchaser. That is to say, such owner cannot use the proceeds of sale to pay the premium to the Authority. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

whether the administration accepts the reality which is that an owner of HOS Property would sell his property and concurrently on completion of his sale pay the premium to the Authority from the proceeds of such sale; and
if so, in order to remove any doubt cast by the said judgement, whether the Administration intends to amend the Schedule to the Housing Ordinance?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing

*11. Mr. SIN Chung-kai to ask :

It is mentioned in the "Practitioner's Guide - Management of Public Finances" published in March 1995 by the Finance Branch that the reference date for expenditure guideline projections is 1990-91 and that the expenditure ceiling for 1990-91 has been used to determine the expenditure guideline projections for subsequent years. Will the Government inform this Council:

of the criteria adopted for choosing 1990-91 as the "reference date" for expenditure guideline projections; and
whether a new reference date for the 1996-97 expenditure guideline projection will be adopted; if so, how many expenditure guideline projections will be covered by this new reference date?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Treasury

*12. Mr. LAU Chin-shek to ask : (Translation)

It was reported that on 18 December last year more than 30 imported workers employed by a construction and transportation company had lodged a complaint with the police about the withholding of their Chinese passports by a labour service company. Before the police had informed the workers concerned of the results of the investigation, the labour service company intimated recently that the passports of these workers had already been delivered to Guangzhou for safekeeping. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

how the police will handle complaints from imported workers about the withholding of their passports by labour service companies (including those operated by people from mainland China and those operated by Hong Kong people);
whether the police will institute legal proceedings against labour service companies or individuals if following investigations the labour service companies or individuals concerned are found to have withheld the passports of imported workers; and
what assistance does the Government provide to those imported workers whose passports are being withheld in mainland China so that they can return to their home towns as early as possible?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*13 Mr. Allen LEE to ask : (Translation)

The economic development and people's livelihood between Hong Kong and the Shenzhen and Zhuhai Special Economic Zones in Guangdong Province in China are becoming increasingly close, and there are reports that the officials in Shenzhen have drawn up a proposal on economic co-operation between Shenzhen and Hong Kong advocating the so-called "Shenzhen-Hong Kong convergence" concept. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

it is aware of the details of the above-mentioned proposal and whether it knows of the "Shenzhen-Hong Kong convergence" concept; if so, whether the Government has discussed the proposal with the Chinese officials; and
it has discussed the comprehensive and long-term economic co-operation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen/Zhuhai with the officials in Shenzhen and Zhuhai or other Chinese officials; if so, what are the details?

Public Officer to reply : Financial Secretary

*14. Mr. CHAN Kam-lam to ask : (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:

whether the 'pre-recorded' telephone enquiry service currently provided by various government departments in Cantonese and English will also be provided in Putonghua, so as to facilitate members of the public, particularly the elderly and new immigrants, to use this service;
whether the government will consider training telephone operators or personnel responsible for answering telephone enquiries to use Putonghua; and
of the estimated additional costs that will be incurred annually in providing such service?

Public Officer to reply : Chief Secretary

*15. Mr. LEUNG Yiu-chung to ask : (Translation)

The Government launched a pilot scheme in March 1994 under which 1 000 employment visas are to be issued to bring in professionals from China to fill professional and managerial vacancies in non-Chinese funded firms in the territory. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

the Government has assessed if the scheme has impeded the training of local professionals and their career development;
any corresponding interim and long-term policies have been formulated since the introduction of the pilot scheme to train up local professionals with a view to abolishing the scheme at a later date; and
consideration will be given to reviewing the scheme as soon as the number of employment visas issued has reached a level of 50% of the quota under the scheme?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

*16. Mrs. Elizabeth WONG to ask :

Will the Government inform this Council:

whether government departments will be required to stamp all letters sent out as from 1 April this year; if so, whether the new arrangement will cause extra work to government departments; and
if the answer to (a) is in the affirmative, will the Government provide a breakdown by department of the estimated increase in expenditure on staff cost in the financial year 1996/97 arising from the introduction of the arrangement mentioned in (a) above?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Services

*17. Mr. Ambrose LAU to ask :

It is mentioned in the Policy Commitments published by the Government last year that an accountable office rental allowance of $4,500 will be introduced to assist District Board members to set up ward offices in their constituencies so that they could discharge their duties more effectively. Will the Administration inform this Council:

of the effective date of the introduction of the allowance;
whether the Administration agrees with the prevalent view of District Board members that the amount of the allowance is insufficient for such purpose;
whether the Administration will consider raising the allowance to a more realistic amount to achieve the intended purpose;
whether maximum flexibility will be allowed in the use of the allowance so that its intended purpose can be achieved; and
whether the procedural steps for the disbursement of the allowance will be kept to a minimum?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

*18. Dr. HUANG Chen-ya to ask : (Translation)

The Western Harbour Crossing (WHC) is scheduled to be completed and open to traffic in 1997. The increased traffic flow arising from the opening of the WHC will bring a heavy burden on the narrow roads in the Central and Western District. In view of this, will the Government inform this Council:

of the anticipated increase in traffic and pedestrian flow in the District after the opening of the WHC; and
whether there are any road and footpath improvement projects to tie in with the opening of the WHC; if so, what progress has been made to date, and whether these projects will be completed on time?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

*19. Dr. David LI to ask :

In order to boost public attendance at the Hong Kong Museum of Art (the Museum) and enhance the public's appreciation of the art treasures on display in the Museum, will the Government inform this Council:

of the attendance record of the Museum in the past three years;
whether the Government will consider allowing groups to tour the Museum free of charge;
whether additional provision will be allocated for the launching of publicity campaigns to publicise the Museum's activities; and
whether the Museum will establish closer ties with its counterparts in overseas countries, such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, and arrange the loan of exhibits from these overseas organisations to add variety to its own exhibits?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Recreation and Culture

*20. Dr. Samuel WONG to ask :

In regard to the manpower resources required for various transport-related studies (such as the Bus-only-lane Study, the Freight Transport Study and the Parking Demand Study) being carried out by the Transport Department, will the Government inform this Council:

whether the existing establishment of professional staff in the Transport Department is adequate to handle the extra workload arising from the above studies;
if the answer to (a) is in the negative, whether additional staff have been or will be recruited; if so, what are the details; and
whether a forecast has been made of the additional manpower resources required for implementing the recommendations of the studies; if so, what are the details?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

* For written reply.

III. MOTIONS

1. COMPANIES ORDINANCE

Secretary for Financial Services:

That the Companies (Fees and Percentages) (Amendment) Order 1996, made by the Chief Justice on 23 January 1996, be approved.

2. REGISTERED TRUSTEES INCORPORATION ORDINANCE

Secretary for Financial Services:

That the Registered Trustees Incorporation Ordinance (Amendment of Second Schedule) Order 1996, made by the Secretary for the Treasury on 23 January 1996, be approved.

3. BANKRUPTCY ORDINANCE

Secretary for Financial Services:

That the Bankruptcy (Fees and Percentages) (Amendment) Order 1996, made by the Chief Justice on 23 January 1996, be approved.

4. BANKRUPTCY ORDINANCE

Secretary for Financial Services:

That the Bankruptcy (Amendment) Rules 1996, made by the Chief Justice on 23 January 1996, be approved.

5. COMPANIES ORDINANCE

Secretary for Financial Services:

That the Companies (Fees and Percentages) (Amendment) (No.2) Order 1996, made by the Chief Justice on 23 January 1996, be approved.

6. COMPANIES ORDINANCE

Secretary for Financial Services:

That the Companies (Winding-up) (Amendment) Rules 1996, made by the Chief Justice on 23 January 1996, be approved.

IV. BILLS

FIRST READING

Legal Practitioners (Amendment) Bill 1996
Insurance Companies (Amendment) Bill 1996
Buildings (Amendment) Bill 1996
Dutiable Commodities (Amendment) Bill 1996

SECOND READING

Debates to be adjourned

1. Legal Practitioners (Amendment) Bill 1996	:	Attorney General
2. Insurance Companies (Amendment) Bill 1996	:	Secretary for Financial Services
3. Buildings (Amendment) Bill 1996	:	Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands
4. Dutiable Commodities (Amendment) Bill 1996	:	Secretary for the Treasury

V. MEMBER'S MOTIONS

1. INTERPRETATION AND GENERAL CLAUSES ORDINANCE

Mrs. Selina CHOW :

(See Resolution at Annex)

2. INTERPRETATION AND GENERAL CLAUSES ORDINANCE

Mrs. Selina CHOW :

That the Merchant Shipping (Seafarers) (Fees) Regulation, published as Legal Notice No. 9 of 1996 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 10 January 1996, be amended -

by repealing section 8;
in the Schedule -
1. in Part I, by repealing everything after "PART I";
2. in Part II, by repealing items 1 to 5, 6(a) to (f) and (h), 7, 9, 10 and 11;
3. by repealing Part III.

Public Officers to attend : Secretary for Economic Services