A 00/01-16(1)

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 7 February 2001 at 2:30 pm

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
1. Specification of Arrangements (Government of the People's Republic of Bangladesh Concerning Air Services) (Double Taxation) Order 32/2001
2. Commodities Trading (Trading Limits and Position Limits) (Amendment) Rules 200133/2001
3. Tax Reserve Certificates (Rate of Interest) (No. 2) Notice 200134/2001
4. Entertainment Special Effects Ordinance (Cap. 560) (Commencement) Notice 200135/2001
5. Entertainment Special Effects (General) Regulation (L.N. 354 of 2000) (Commencement) Notice 200136/2001
6. Entertainment Special Effects (Fees) Regulation (L.N. 355 of 2000) (Commencement) Notice 200137/2001
7. Entertainment Special Effects Materials List Regulation (L.N. 356 of 2000) (Commencement) Notice 200138/2001

Other Papers

1. No.59 - Hong Kong Council for Academic AccreditationAnnual Report 1999-2000

(to be presented by Secretary for Education and Manpower)

2. No.60 - Audited Financial Statements and Programme of Activities of the Hong Kong Examinations Authority for the year ending 31 August 2000

(to be presented by Secretary for Education and Manpower)

II. Questions

1. Hon Martin LEE to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the regulation of disclosure of information by listed companies, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a) of the heads of listed companies who, over the past year, contravened the Rules Governing the Listing of Securities ("Rules") by disclosing to outsiders company information which should, in accordance with the Rules, be kept confidential before formal announcement, or by not making an announcement as soon as possible when the security of such information has been breached;
    (b) whether the relevant authorities received complaints about such contraventions over the past year; if so, of the details of, and the actions taken to investigate and follow up such complaints; and
    (c) whether it will enact legislation or give statutory status to the Rules, to stipulate that heads of listed companies should release in an equitable manner information which is expected to have great influence on the prices of the securities of their companies?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services

2. Hon TAM Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)

Villagers of Ha Pak Nai Tsuen in Yuen Long have complained to me that the West New Territories Landfill in the vicinity of their village is the breeding ground for flies and mosquitoes and gives off foul smell, which has, to a certain extent, caused a number of villagers to suffer from emphysema and trachea diseases. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a) of the measures taken by the Administration to prevent the above landfill from becoming the breeding ground for flies and mosquitoes and affecting the health of local residents; and
    (b) whether it has plans to conduct regular body check-ups for local residents in order to protect their health?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment and Food

3. Hon HUI Cheung-ching to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the assistance provided to Hong Kong businessmen who have investments in the Mainland, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a) of the respective numbers of requests for assistance and complaints referred by the Trade and Industry Department to the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for follow-up since the reunification of Hong Kong with China, with a breakdown by the contents of the requests and complaints;
    (b) of the means by which the channel for seeking assistance and lodging complaints is made known to these businessmen; and
    (c) whether it plans to set up economic and trade offices in major municipalities in the Mainland and establish a mechanism with the relevant local agencies for referral of and following up the complaints made by Hong Kong businessmen about policy implementation and law enforcement in the Mainland?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Industry

4. Dr Hon TANG Siu-tong to ask: (Translation)

In his reply to my question on 29 November last year, the Secretary for Housing pointed out that the selection of contractors for remedial works to the foundations of Blocks K and L of Tin Chung Court in Tin Shui Wai had already reached the final stage, and such works would commence in January this year. The Secretary also mentioned that the consultant commissioned by the Housing Department ("HD") had found a new machine that could facilitate piling works and included it in the new remedial scheme as well. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:

    (a) the name of the contractor awarded the contract for the remedial works and the current progress of such works;
    (b) the functional features of the new machine, the country from which it is imported, the structure and height of the buildings to which it may apply, as well as the geological condition of the sites on which it can operate; and
    (c) the details of the new remedial scheme, and whether these have been endorsed by the independent third party, engineering consultant Binnie Black; if so, whether the consultant concerned will be held responsible under the contract signed with the HD if the scheme is proven to be unworkable or defective in the future?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing

5. Dr Hon David LI to ask:

Regarding the International Events Fund, which was established in 1998 to support the staging of international events in Hong Kong as a means to promote tourism, will the Government inform this Council of:

    (a) the assessment criteria adopted by the authorities for deciding whether to support an event through the Fund;
    (b) the events the Fund has supported to date, the main terms and conditions of support in respect of each event; and the amount still available now; and
    (c) the number of visitors and amount of tourism receipts which have been brought to Hong Kong by such funded events?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Services

6. Hon LEE Cheuk-yan to ask: (Translation)

It is learnt that the Lands Department has entered into an agreement with a personnel consultant, whereby the latter is to hire contract staff and then to assign them to work in the Survey and Mapping Office of the Lands Department. While the company pays each of such staff a monthly salary of $8 500, it charges the Lands Department a service fee at a rate of $549 per person per day, thereby reaping lucrative profits. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a) whether the Lands Department has selected the company through open tender; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
    (b) of the other government departments which are also engaging private agencies to provide such staffing service; and the amount of service fee paid to these agencies by each of these departments in the past year, and the total amount of salary received during the same period by the same category of staff working in each of these departments; and
    (c) whether it has reviewed the cost effectiveness of such staffing service provided by private agencies; if so, of the results of its review; and whether it will consider discontinuing the above practice and allowing the departments concerned to recruit their staff directly?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Treasury

*7. Hon WONG Yung-kan to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the operation of the Dangerous Dogs Regulation (Cap. 167 sub. leg.), will the Government inform this Council:

    (a) of the number of dog keepers prosecuted for contravening the Regulation and the average penalty imposed by courts on those who have been convicted;
    (b) of the number of large dogs which have passed the examination set by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department for exempting dogs from the requirement of being held or tied on leashes in public places; and
    (c) how it enforces the requirement that large dogs have to be held or tied on leashes in public places since the Regulation came into effect last year?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment and Food

*8. Hon James TIEN to ask: (Translation)

As it has been reported that the accumulated surplus of the Employees Compensation Assistance Fund will be exhausted soon, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a) of the amount of compensation determined by the court over the past three years in respect of each claim made against the Fund;
    (b) whether it will consider amending the Employees Compensation Assistance Ordinance (Cap. 365) to set an upper limit for the amount of compensation payable to each employee under the Fund; if not, of the reasons for that; and
    (c) of the measures to improve the financial situation of the Fund?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

*9. Hon Mrs Miriam LAU to ask: (Translation)

Regarding traffic accident statistics and road safety in relation to flyovers with two-way traffic, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a) of the respective numbers of such flyovers with no central divider on part and the whole of their lengths;
    (b) of the number of traffic accidents involving head-on collisions of vehicles which occurred on each of such flyovers in the past three years;
    (c) of the number of such flyovers which have sections classified as traffic accident black spots; and
    (d) whether it plans to install more fixed or movable dividers on such flyovers to prevent head-on collisions of vehicles; if not, of the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

*10. Hon LAU Ping-cheung to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the corporatization of the Survey and Mapping Office ("SMO") of the Lands Department, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a) whether the staff who opt to be seconded to the new corporation with their civil servant status retained will be assured that if they apply for transfer back to the Lands Department within a certain period of time, say ten years, their applications will definitely be accepted; if not, of the reasons for that;
    (b) given that the new corporation will be wholly-owned by the Government, of the measures in place to ensure that the Director of Lands will impartially exercise the powers conferred by the Land Survey Ordinance (Cap. 473) to settle disputes over land boundary plans between the corporation and other survey and mapping firms in the private sector; and
    (c) whether it has considered retaining the SMO within the existing government structure and turning it to operate as a trading fund, so that it can flexibly meet the rapidly changing demands of the market, thereby achieving the same objectives as corporatization; if not, of the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Planning and Lands

*11. Hon LI Fung-ying to ask: (Translation)

With regard to the implementation of the Admission of Talents Scheme, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a) of the number of such talents approved to work in Hong Kong since the implementation of the Scheme in late 1999, with a breakdown by the industry in which these persons are engaged;
    (b) of the highest, lowest and average monthly salary of these persons when they came to work in Hong Kong;
    (c) of the respective numbers of these persons' spouses and children who have been approved to accompany them to Hong Kong; and
    (d) whether it has received applications by these persons to change employment or become self-employed after their arrival to work in Hong Kong; if so, of the details?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*12. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council whether it will consider abolishing the levy of estate duty so as to attract more private funds from overseas to invest in the territory, if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Treasury

*13. Hon LEUNG Fu-wah to ask: (Translation)

With regard to providing psychological counselling or psychotherapy to people distressed by financial or domestic problems, will the Government inform this Council of:

    (a) the total number of cases in which people with financial or domestic problems sought help from the Social Welfare Department ("SWD") for psychological counselling or psychotherapy over the past three years;
    (b) the number of clinical psychologists currently employed in SWD for providing such services to these people; the ratio of this number to that of the people receiving psychotherapy at present; and how it compares to the relevant ratios in the developed countries in Europe and America; and
    (c) the average waiting time for people seeking psychotherapy before they can have their first appointment with the clinical psychologists of SWD?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

*14. Hon Cyd HO to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that the funding obtained by some organizations engaged in the prevention of AIDS from the Council for the AIDS Trust Fund ("AIDS Council") this year was substantially reduced, compared to that obtained last year. As a result, the services provided by such organizations have been seriously affected. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a) of the respective numbers of organizations which applied to the AIDS Council for funding and whose applications were approved in each of the past five financial years, together with detailed information about the organizations subsidized under the three categories of funding application, namely "ex-gratia payments", "medical and support services" and "publicity and public education", including the name of each organization and the amount of funds obtained;
    (b) of the details of the guidelines and criteria adopted by the AIDS Council for vetting and approving funding applications;
    (c) of the mechanism and indicators currently adopted by the AIDS Council for assessing the effectiveness of the activities of the organizations which receive its funding support, and deciding whether funding should continue to be provided for these activities; whether it has taken into account the continuity of the services concerned in making such decisions;
    (d) where the amount of funds granted by the AIDS Council to an organization in a certain year is less than that in the previous year, whether
    (i)it has explained to the organization why the funding has been cut down;
    (ii) it has assessed if the cut would have any impact on the services provided by the organization; if the assessment result is in the affirmative, of the measures adopted to mitigate the impact; if no assessment has been made, of the reasons for that; and
    (iii) a mechanism is in place for such organizations to lodge appeals; and
    (e) whether the AIDS Council has explained to the organizations concerned the reasons for the rejection of their applications; if not, of the reasons for that; and whether a mechanism is in place for these organizations to lodge appeals?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

*15. Hon Bernard CHAN to ask:

Regarding the financial analysis of proposed public works, will the Government inform this Council of:

    (a) the respective discount rates used for cashflow analysis of large projects such as the Hong Kong Disneyland, Cyberport and railway projects; and
    (b) the reasons for any discrepancies, if any, in the discount rates used among the above projects?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Treasury

*16. Hon Albert CHAN to ask: (Translation)

In recent years, the Victoria Harbour has been narrowing because of reclamations on both sides. Yet traffic in the harbour is heavy, resulting in rough waves in the harbour. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a) whether it has assessed how rough the waves in the harbour are; if so, of its findings; and
    (b) of the impacts of the waves on the navigational stability and safety of vessels cruising in the harbour, and of the measures to mitigate these impacts?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Services

*17. Hon LAW Chi-kwong to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the provision of further education opportunities for people with disabilities who have completed junior secondary education in special schools, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a) of the percentage of such students who proceeded to further studies in the past three years;
    (b) whether it plans to operate senior secondary classes in special schools; and
    (c) whether the Administration has allocated resources at present to cater for the special needs of people with disabilities receiving education at senior secondary level or above; if so, of the annual amount of resources allocated and the details of the allocation; if not, the reasons for it?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

*18. Hon Howard YOUNG to ask:

Regarding the licensing work of the Travel Agents Registry, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a) of a breakdown of the annual costs incurred in the last three years by the Registry in respect of its licensing work; and the percentage of costs recovered from the relevant levies and fees; and
    (b) whether it has conducted any management audit on the correct staff establishment for discharging its licensing function?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Services

*19. Hon YEUNG Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)

Regarding incidents of family violence and the problem of children being orphaned in some of these incidents, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a) whether it has compiled statistics on the respective numbers of families and minor children involved in cases in which minor children were orphaned and, among these cases, the number of families in which the parents concerned were killed in acts of family violence and the total number of minor children, in each of the past five years;
    (b) of the measures to help these minor children in their livelihood and studies, and the resources required every year; and
    (c) of the measures it will adopt to reduce the occurrences of family violence?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

*20. Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the repatriation of Hong Kong residents and Mainlanders to their respective places of residence to serve the remainder of their sentences, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a) whether it knows the current number of Hong Kong residents serving their sentences in the Mainland; if so, of the number of such persons; if not, whether it will find out as soon as possible;
    (b) of the number of Mainlanders currently serving their sentences in Hong Kong and, among these persons, the number of those who have been sentenced not solely for breach of the Immigration Ordinance (Cap. 115); and
    (c) whether the SAR Government has discussed with the relevant Mainland authorities the making an agreement on the repatriation of prisoners; if so, of the progress; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*For written reply.

III. Bills

First Reading

Karaoke Establishments Bill

Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)

Karaoke Establishments Bill : Secretary for Security

Second Reading (Debate to resume), Committee Stage and Third Reading

Intellectual Property (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No.2) Bill 2000 : Secretary for Commerce and Industry

IV. Members' Motions

1. Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
Hon James TIEN to move the following motion:

RESOLVED that in relation to the -

    (a) Dairies (Amendment) Regulation 2001, published as Legal Notice No. 1 of 2001;
    (b) Plant (Importation and Pest Control) (Fees) (Amendment) Regulation 2001, published as Legal Notice No. 2 of 2001;
    (c) Pounds Fees (Amendment) Regulation 2001, published as Legal Notice No. 3 of 2001;
    (d) Veterinary Surgeons Registration (Fees) (Amendment) Regulation 2001, published as Legal Notice No. 4 of 2001;
    (e) Dangerous Dogs Regulation (Amendment of Schedule 3) Notice 2001, published as Legal Notice No. 5 of 2001;
    (f) Rabies Regulation (Amendment of Schedule 1) Notice 2001, published as Legal Notice No. 6 of 2001; and
    (g) Estate Agents (Registration of Determination and Appeal) (Amendment) Regulation 2001, published as Legal Notice No. 7 of 2001,
    and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 10 January 2001, the period referred to in section 34(2) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap.1) for amending subsidiary legislation be extended under section 34(4) of that Ordinance to the meeting of 14 February 2001.

2. Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
Hon LAU Chin-shek / Hon James TIEN to move the following motion:

RESOLVED that the Waterworks (Amendment) Regulation 2000, published as Legal Notice No. 358 of 2000 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 20 December 2000, be repealed.

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for the Treasury

3. Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
Hon SIN Chung-kai to move the following motion:

RESOLVED that the Waterworks (Amendment) Regulation 2000, published as Legal Notice No. 358 of 2000 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 20 December 2000, be amended by repealing section 2(f),(g),(h) and (i).

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for the Treasury

4. Appointment of a select committee
Hon Mrs Selina CHOW to move the following motion:

That this Council appoints a select committee to inquire into the building problems in the production of public housing units having regard to the circumstances surrounding the incidents in Tin Chung Court, Shatin Area 14B Phase 2, Tung Chung Area 30 Phase 3 and Shek Yam Estate Phase 2, and based on this to identify positive recommendations for a complete overhaul of the overall policies and system of public housing, which should include examining whether the Housing Authority should be reorganized, split or abolished, so as to raise the quality of public housing; and that in the performance of its duties the committee be authorized under section 9(2) of the Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance (Cap. 382) to exercise the powers conferred by section 9(1) of that Ordinance.

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Housing

5. Two-mode teaching
Hon Tommy CHEUNG: (Translation)

That, as the Education Department has formed a steering committee to study two-mode teaching and will launch a pilot scheme later, this Council urges the Government to:

    (a) clarify the objectives and content of the pilot scheme on two-mode teaching;
    (b) explain how the pilot scheme will tie in with the existing policy on the medium of instruction; and
    (c) undertake that the pilot scheme will not depart from the existing policy on the medium of instruction, puzzle the public and create difficulties for the education sector.

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Education and Manpower

6. Youth unemployment
Hon WONG Sing-chi: (Translation)

That, as the youth unemployment rate has not dropped correspondingly with the upturn in the economy and the problem of youth unemployment is becoming increasingly serious, and may become a long-term social problem that will seriously affect the future development of young people, this Council urges the Government to expeditiously set up a task force to conduct a detailed study of the problem, formulate a comprehensive policy on the employment and training of young people, and to steer and co-ordinate the relevant work of the various government departments, so as to enhance the competitiveness of young people, increase their employment opportunities and ameliorate the problem of youth unemployment.

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Education and Manpower

Clerk to the Legislative Council