A 00/01-21(1)
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 7 March 2001 at 2:30 pm
I. Tabling of Papers| Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments | L.N. No.
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| 1. | Specification of Arrangements (Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) (Avoidance of Double Taxation on Shipping Income) Order | 53/2001
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| 2. | Specification of Arrangements (Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands) (Avoidance of Double Taxation on Shipping Income) Order | 54/2001
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| 3. | Immigration (Amendment) Regulation 2001 | 55/2001
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| 4. | Waste Disposal (Refuse Transfer Station) (Amendment) Regulation 2001 | 56/2001
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| 5. | Tax Reserve Certificates (Rate of Interest) (No. 3) Notice 2001 | 57/2001
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| 6. | Securities (Miscellaneous) (Amendment) Rules 2001 | 58/2001
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Other Papers
| 1. No.67 | - | The Lord Wilson Heritage Trust
Annual Report 1999-2000
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(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)
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| 2. No.68 | - | Employees Compensation Assistance Fund Board
Annual Report 1998/99
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(to be presented by Secretary for Education and Manpower)
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| 3. No.69 | - | Employees Retraining Board
1999-2000 Annual Report
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(to be presented by Secretary for Education and Manpower)
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| 4. No.70 | - | Draft Estimates for the year ending 31 March 2002;
Volume IA and Volume IB - General Revenue Account
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(to be presented by Financial Secretary)
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| 5. No.71 | - | Draft Estimates for the year ending 31 March 2002;
Volume II - Fund Accounts
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| (to be presented by Financial Secretary)
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II. Questions for Written Replies
1. Hon Ambrose LAU to ask: (Translation)
It is learnt that there were 656 confirmed cases of Influenza H1N1 virus infection last year, representing a sharp increase over the 10 cases recorded in the preceding year. In December last year, a six-year-old child even died of complications developed from the virus infection. In this regard, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the reasons for the upsurge in these cases last year;
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| (b) | of the measures in place to stop the spread of this type of influenza; and
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| (c) | whether it will consider inoculating all children in the territory against the influenza concerned; if so, of the timing for that; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Health and Welfare
2. Hon HUI Cheung-ching to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the project to construct a cross-harbour bridge connecting Zhuhai and Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the number of discussions held over the past three years between the HKSAR Government and the Mainland authorities concerning the above project; the contents and progress of the discussions, and the reasons for the project not being finalized yet;
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| (b) | whether the business sectors in the territory and the Mainland support the project; and
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| (c) | whether it has considered other infrastructure projects for connecting Hong Kong and Zhuhai; if it has, of the details of its consideration; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Planning and Lands
3. Hon NG Leung-sing to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the Administration plans to relocate the cargo working areas on both sides of the Victoria Harbour. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the cargo working areas that it has decided to relocate and the details of the relocation, including the timetable, the locations of the new sites and the future use of the vacated sites;
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| (b) | whether it has assessed the impacts of the relocation of cargo working areas on the transport industry; if so, of the results of the assessment; if not, the reasons for that;
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| (c) | whether it has consulted the transport sector and other affected parties before making the decision to relocate the cargo working areas; if so, of the outcome of the consultation; if not, the reasons for that; and
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| (d) | of the other cargo working areas being considered for relocation?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Planning and Lands
4. Hon Cyd HO to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the appointment of principal officials from outside the civil service, will the Government inform this Council whether:
| (a) | their employment contracts impose restrictions on the commercial and political activities that they undertake within and outside Hong Kong after their departure from office; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
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| (b) | it will make public all the terms and conditions of the employment contracts and whether the appointees have passed the integrity checking; if so, of the form in which they will be made public; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for the Civil Service
5. Hon Albert CHAN to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the deployment of artificial reefs in Hong Kong waters to enhance fishery stocks so as to help improve the livelihood of local fishermen, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the existing locations in Hong Kong waters where artificial reefs have been deployed;
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| (b) | whether it has evaluated the effectiveness of artificial reefs in enhancing marine ecology and fisheries resources;
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| (c) | of the details of the future artificial reef deployment programme; and
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| (d) | of the other measures for enhancing fisheries resources in Hong Kong waters?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for the Environment and Food
6. Hon Cyd HO to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the restriction of the activities undertaken by as well as the provision of retirement protection for a former holder of the office of Chief Executive ("CE") after his departure from office, will the Government inform this Council whether:
| (a) | existing legislation imposes restrictions on the commercial or political activities that are undertaken by a former holder of the office of CE within or outside Hong Kong after his departure from office; if so, of the details; if not, whether it will conduct public consultation and enact relevant legislation in this respect; if legislation will be enacted, of the legislative timetable; if legislation will not be enacted, the reasons for that; and
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| (b) | it will set up for the office of CE a retirement protection scheme which provides different terms of protection according to different reasons for departure from office, such as completion of term of office, health problem or upon impeachment; if so, of the details?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Constitutional Affairs
7. Ir Dr Hon HO Chung-tai to ask: (Translation)
In view of a disabled group's complaints about the acute shortage of facilities for the disabled in public places, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the total number of such complaints received in the past three years and how these were followed up by the Equal Opportunities Commission;
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| (b) | of the specific plans to address the present lack of facilities for the disabled in public places; and
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| (c) | whether, in planning infrastructural projects, resources will be allocated for the provision of sufficient facilities for the disabled; if so, of the details?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Health and Welfare
8. Hon Fred LI to ask: (Translation)
Concerning refurbishment works carried out by the Housing Department in vacated public rental housing ("PRH") units before allocating them to tenants, will the Government inform this Council whether:
| (a) | all old PRH units are refurbished before they are allocated to tenants; if not, of the number of units allocated to tenants without refurbishment in the past three years, and the reasons for that;
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| (b) | PRH units are handed over to tenants before refurbishment works in them have been completed; if so, of their number in the past three years; and
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| (c) | after the tenants have moved into the PRH units for which refurbishment works have not started or completed, it will complete the outstanding refurbishment works for such units; if not, of the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Housing
9. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the emergence of drug-resistant bacteria as a result of the overuse of antibiotics, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
| (a) | whether incidence of diseases caused by drug-resistant bacteria infection is higher in Hong Kong than in advanced countries in America and Europe; if so, of the causes for that;
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| (b) | of the number of deaths caused by drug-resistant bacteria infection or associated complications in the past five years; and
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| (c) | of the measures to ensure that medical practitioners do not prescribe antibiotics casually, pharmacies sell antibiotics only upon the production of a medical practitioner's prescription, and members of the public do not take antibiotics indiscriminately?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Health and Welfare
10. Hon LAU Kong-wah to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the Correctional Services Department's ("CSD") administration of its penal institutions, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the number of cases in which prisoners or inmates breached the Prison Rules (Cap. 234 sub. leg.) or other rules enforced by the penal institutions in each of these institutions in the past year, together with a breakdown of such cases by the rules breached;
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| (b) | of the ratio between male and female prisoners or inmates in each of those penal institutions which accommodate both male and female prisoners or inmates, and the details of the administrative measures adopted for separating male and female prisoners or inmates;
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| (c) | how the maximum, medium and minimum security penal institutions compare with each other in terms of security facilities, administration, accommodation density and the manning scale of CSD officers, etc.; and
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| (d) | of the criteria adopted for determining which penal institution of a particular security level should be used for imprisoning each sentenced person, and the details of these criteria, such as the length of sentence and the offences on which they were convicted?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Security
11. Hon Ambrose LAU to ask: (Translation)
Regarding disposable environmentally-friendly food containers, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the number of suppliers of these food containers;
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| (b) | of the estimated share taken up by these food containers in the overall market of disposable food containers;
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| (c) | of the measures to prevent the public from being misled into buying "enviromentally-friendly" food containers which are actually not conforming to environmental protection principles or standards; and
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| (d) | whether it will consider enacting legislation to stipulate that food containers must conform to the relevant environmental protection and food safety standards before their suppliers can make such claims; if not, of the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for the Environment and Food
12. Hon SIN Chung-kai to ask: (Translation)
The Hong Kong Association of Banks Ordinance (Cap. 364) empowers the Hong Kong Association of Banks ("HKAB") to make rules pertaining to the conduct of banking business for banks to abide by. Since the deregulation of the remaining rules of the Rules on Interest Rates and Deposit Charges has been scheduled for July this year, will the Government inform this Council whether it plans to introduce amendments to the Ordinance to repeal the following powers of HKAB:
| (a) | to set the maximum interest rates on Hong Kong dollar deposits; and
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| (b) | to make rules pertaining to the minimum commissions and charges to be applied to other banking business;
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| if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Financial Services
13. Hon Albert CHAN to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the protection of the rights and benefits of ethnic minorities, will the Government inform this Council of:
| (a) | the present population of ethnic minorities in Hong Kong; and
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| (b) | the policies and measures for protecting their rights and benefits, particularly in education, culture and employment?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Home Affairs
14. Ir Dr Hon HO Chung-tai to ask: (Translation)
In December last year, a worker died after falling down a lift shaft in a building under construction. Regarding industrial safety in relation to lift shafts, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the respective numbers of industrial accidents in which workers fell down lift shafts and deaths resulting from such accidents in the past three years;
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| (b) | whether legislation is in place to regulate the safety of workers working on site near lift shafts; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
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| (c) | of the duties in this respect of the safety officers employed by principal contractors?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Education and Manpower
15. Hon Howard YOUNG to ask:
Regarding statistics on the licensing of guesthouses, will the Government inform this Council of:
| (a) | the respective numbers of licensed and unlicensed guesthouses operating at the end of each of the past three years, and the respective total numbers of guest rooms and beds involved;
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| (b) | the number of guesthouse licences it suspended in each of the past three years, and a breakdown by the reason for suspension; and
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| (c) | the number of guesthouse licence applications which it rejected in each of the past three years, and a breakdown by the reason for rejection?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Home Affairs
16. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that towards the end of last year, the Hong Kong Exhibition and Convention Centre and several hotels refused to lease meeting venues to Falun Gong followers, for reason that "the topic of the meeting was sensitive". In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council whether they have assessed if follow-up actions are required to ensure that Hong Kong residents can exercise the freedom of assembly as guaranteed under Article 27 of the Basic Law; if the assessment result is in the affirmative, of the details of the follow-up actions taken; if the assessment result is in the negative, the justifications for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security
17. Hon LAU Kong-wah to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the problem of juvenile crimes, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the respective numbers of persons aged 21 or below who were arrested for alleged criminal offences and those who were sentenced to penal institutions in each of the past three years, together with a breakdown by age group (each covering three years) and the type of offences involved;
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| (b) | based on the above figures, of the three crimes which registered the biggest increase over the past three years, and the reasons for such increase in these crimes;
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| (c) | whether the Administration has devised ways of dissuasion targeted respectively at youngsters who are in different age groups and those who have committed different types of offences, so as to prevent them from committing or re-committing crimes; and
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| (d) | whether it will study in detail the measures to combat and prevent juvenile crimes in this year; if so, of the details of the study?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Security
18. Hon YEUNG Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)
As there are children who cross the border every day for schooling in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the current number of children who travel from Shenzhen to Hong Kong for schooling everyday, with a breakdown by the districts of the schools they attend, whether or not these are village schools, and the classes they are attending; and
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| (b) | whether it will provide financial assistance for sponsoring bodies in Hong Kong to establish schools in Shenzhen for children who have the right to schooling in Hong Kong but who reside in Shenzhen, so as to save them from travelling long distance and crossing the border everyday; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Education and Manpower
19. Hon Henry WU to ask: (Translation)
With regard to the enquiries made by the Securities and Futures Commission ("SFC") and the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited ("SEHK"), when unusual movements in share prices or turnover of listed companies occur, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
| (a) | the number of such enquiries made by SFC and SEHK respectively in the past three years and, among these, the respective numbers of those made about the unusual rise or decline in share prices;
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| (b) | the respective criteria SFC and SEHK adopt in determining whether to make enquiries; and
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| (c) | if SFC and SEHK have decided not to make enquiries about unusual decline in share prices, and the reasons for reaching those decisions?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Financial Services
20. Hon YEUNG Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)
Will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the number of students admitted to village schools in each of the past five years;
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| (b) | how the facilities and resources of village schools compare to those of schools in the new towns; and
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| (c) | whether it will allocate resources to improve the facilities of village schools so that the students there are provided with the same quality of education as that offered by schools in the new towns; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Education and Manpower
III. Bills
First Reading
Appropriation Bill 2001
Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)
Appropriation Bill 2001 : Financial Secretary
Clerk to the Legislative Council
