A 00/01-28(1)

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 16 May 2001 at 2:30 pm

I. Tabling of Papers

1. No.86	-	Securities and Futures Commission Annual Report 2000-2001
(to be presented by Financial Secretary)
2. No.87	-	The Government Minute in response to the Report No. 35 of the Public Accounts Committee dated February 2001
(to be presented by Chief Secretary for Administration, who will address the Council)
3. Report of the Bills Committee on Telecommunications (Amendment) Bill 2001 (to be presented by Hon James TIEN, Chairman of the Bills Committee)

II. Questions

1. Hon Albert CHAN to ask: (Translation)

As it is common for financial institutions and estate agents to hire debt-collection agencies to recover debts from their clients, and these agencies often harass the debtors by various means, will the Government inform this Council whether:

(a)	the relevant regulatory authorities have taken measures to cause the financial institutions and estate agents to reduce engaging debt-collection agencies and to recover debts from their clients by legal proceedings instead; and
(b)	it plans to introduce legislation to regulate the means and activities of these debt-collection agencies?

Public Officers to reply

:

Secretary for Security Secretary for Financial Services Secretary for Housing

2. Hon CHEUNG Man-kwong to ask: (Translation)

Survey findings have shown that members of the public and tourists are dissatisfied with the hygiene conditions of public toilets in the territory. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the government departments responsible for monitoring the hygiene conditions of the public toilets managed by government departments or non-government organizations, and the division of duties among these departments; of the respective numbers of complaints received by these departments concerning unsatisfactory hygiene conditions of the public toilets in the past five years, together with a breakdown by the subject of complaint;
(b)	of the respective amounts of public expenditure on cleansing the public toilets managed by government departments and on public education on keeping the public toilets clean in the past five years; and
(c)	whether it has made reference to overseas experience and drawn up plans to improve the hygiene conditions of public toilets; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment and Food

3. Hon Kenneth TING to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council whether it has discussed with the Mainland customs authorities the setting up of joint customs clearance checkpoints so as to shorten the customs clearance time for cross-boundary vehicles; if so, of the progress of the discussion; if not, whether discussion will be held as soon as possible?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

4. Hon LAU Kong-wah to ask: (Translation)

The Hong Kong Cable Television Limited is progressively rolling out its hybrid fibre coaxial network to replace the Microwave Multipoint Distribution System ("MMDS") network. I have learnt that the company has yet to reach an agreement on technical arrangements for the roll-out of fibre-optic network with the owners' corporation of an estate. The company has stated that as it will have to return its MMDS frequencies to the Administration by the end of this month, its cable television and telecommunications services to the estate may be terminated. Regarding the installation of telecommunication lines and equipment by telecommunications service operators in the communal areas on private land, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	how the Administration will follow up the company's termination of cable television and telecommunications services to some estates;
(b)	whether it will assist owners' corporations and property management companies of private buildings in resolving their disputes with telecommunications service operators over technical problems with the installation of telecommunication lines and equipment; and
(c)	whether it will assist owners' corporations in claiming compensation from telecommunications service operators for the damage to the facilities in the estates as a result of the installation works; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting

5. Dr Hon LO Wing-lok to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council whether it will consider regulating the promotion of tobacco products by tobacco companies through the following channels: Internet, TV plots, film segments and television broadcast of sports competitions held in overseas venues which display tobacco advertisements; if it will not, of the reasons for that? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

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

Regarding the entertainment expenses of the offices of the Chief Secretary for Administration, the Financial Secretary, the Secretary for Justice ("offices of the Secretaries") and the bureaux, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the entertainment expenses of each of the offices of the Secretaries and bureaux in each of the past three fiscal years, as well as the amounts therein incurred by the Secretaries and the bureau secretaries themselves;
(b)	how it determines the annual estimates on entertainment expenses for the offices of the Secretaries and the bureaux, and whether it will publish the estimated and the actual entertainment expenses; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c)	whether it has laid down clear guidelines on the levels of entertainment expenses incurred for various types of social functions; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Treasury

*7. Dr Hon YEUNG Sum to ask: (Translation)

Regarding matters relating to people from the Mainland studying in local tertiary institutions, will the Government inform this Council of:

(a)	the number of Mainland students studying in local tertiary institutions in each of the past three academic years, together with a breakdown by the courses in which they enrolled;
(b)	the number and percentage of these students who received subsidies from public funds in tuition fees, academic expenses and living costs, and the average amount of subsidy granted to each of them in each year; and
(c)	the numbers of Mainland students who applied to stay in Hong Kong to pursue further studies or take up employment respectively upon completion of their courses, and the respective numbers of such students whose applications were approved in the past three years?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

*8. Hon Mrs Selina CHOW to ask: (Translation)

Regarding persons engaged in dispensing and nursing work in private clinics, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	whether existing legislation requires such persons to be registered nurses;
(b)	of the liability of private medical practitioners for the medical blunders of their employees who are not registered nurses; and
(c)	whether it plans to provide training for those engaged in dispensing and nursing work in private clinics so as to help them to obtain the relevant professional qualifications?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

*9. Dr Hon LUI Ming-wah to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council whether, in order to develop Hong Kong into a Chinese medicine centre, it will consider including the Chinese medicine trade into the Admission of Mainland Professionals Scheme; if not, of the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*10. Hon David CHU to ask: (Translation)

A voluntary Registration Scheme for Degradable Containers and Bags was launched by the Environmental Protection Department ("EPD") in December last year. Under the Scheme, suppliers of disposable environmentally-friendly food containers may commission designated laboratories, including the Hong Kong Productivity Council ("HKPC"), to test aspects of food safety, degradability and physical performance of the products which they supply. The EPD maintains, for public information, a register of the products which have passed the tests. It has been reported that, due to the high testing fees, so far only a few suppliers had sent their products to designated laboratories for testing. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the reasons for the poor response from suppliers of environmentally-friendly food containers to the Scheme;
(b)	whether it knows how the HKPC determined the levels of fees for the tests, and the fees currently charged by various laboratories designated for such tests; and
(c)	of the measures to encourage more suppliers to participate in the Scheme?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment and Food

*11. Hon Andrew CHENG to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the acquisition of the status of permanent resident and the right of abode by persons who have come to Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the respective numbers of applications approved and rejected in the past three years for establishing permanent residence by persons not of Chinese nationality, together with a breakdown of rejected cases by the applicants' nationalities;
(b)	whether entry restrictions and conditions of stay can be imposed by the authorities on persons not of Chinese nationality who hold permanent identity cards; if so, of the details; and
(c)	given that the Secretary for Security has said that persons who come to work in Hong Kong under the Admission of Mainland Professionals Scheme "can apply for the right of abode after they have resided in Hong Kong for seven years", of the procedure and eligibility for making such an application; whether the persons concerned can apply in Hong Kong; and the differences and similarities between this procedure and that applicable to other Chinese citizens?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*12. Hon Eric LI to ask: (Translation)

As at 31 March this year, the total amount approved by the Innovation and Technology Fund since its establishment in November 1999 was $355 million, representing only 7.1% of the $5 billion available in the Fund. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:

(a)	the reason for having approved only 7.1% of the available fund since the establishment of the Fund more than a year ago; and
(b)	the number of institutions which submitted financial statements containing auditors' qualifications in the applications for funding during this period; the number of applications which were withdrawn for this reason, and, of the total number of applications, the percentage of applications rejected on account of such qualifications?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Industry

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

It is learnt that when helicopters take off or land at a helicopter landing pad in Tai O, which is very close to the nearby residential stilt houses, the air current produced causes the galvanized sheet iron at the rooftop of the stilt houses to rattle and sweeps away the items that residents are drying in the sun, thereby affecting the lives of the residents and causing them property loss. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it plans to relocate the landing pad; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

Regarding the Non-means-tested Loan Scheme set up for students of tertiary institutions, will the Government inform this Council of:

(a)	the respective numbers of full-time and non-full-time students awarded loans in this school year, and their relative ratios;
(b)	the number of applications received since January last year for deferring repayment of loans, with a breakdown by the reasons for applying; and
(c)	the current number of cases in which repayment of loans has been outstanding for two or more consecutive quarters and its percentage in the total number of repayment accounts, as well as the total amount overdue?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

*15. Hon SIN Chung-kai to ask: (Translation)

Regarding information technology personnel ("IT personnel") in the Information Technology Services Department, the Computer Division of the Housing Department, the Computer Division of the Vocational Training Council and the Corporate Development and Information Services Division of the Hospital Authority, will the Government inform this Council of the following:

(a)	the current number and average length of service in each rank of these IT personnel;
(b)	the respective numbers of these IT personnel who were promoted and those who left the service in each of the past three years; and
(c)	the annual payroll for these IT personnel in the past three years?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting

*16. Ir Dr Hon HO Chung-tai to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that, in order to save fuel and avoid drawing in the foul air outside, many taxi drivers choose to close the air vents of their vehicles while in service, resulting in excessive carbon dioxide build-up inside the vehicles, which not only poses a health hazard to the drivers and the passengers, but may also lead to traffic accidents if the drivers fall unconscious after inhaling too much carbon dioxide. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the number of traffic accidents resulting from the above situation in the past three years;
(b)	whether publicity efforts have been made over the past three years to raise taxi drivers' awareness of the need to maintain good ventilation in their vehicles; and
(c)	whether it plans to introduce legislation to regulate the air quality inside taxis; if not, of the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

*17. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that a former Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Buddhist Association has written to the Administration complaining about the Association's unfairness in selecting managers, supervisors and principals for its schools, and the failure of the appointed school managers and supervisors to discharge their duties of supervising the schools concerned. Regarding the appointment of school managers, supervisors and principals by sponsoring bodies ("SBs"), will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:

(a)	whether they have investigated the above complaint; if so, of the findings; if the complaint is substantiated, the follow-up actions to be taken; and
(b)	of the mechanism in place to monitor the procedure adopted by SBs for appointing school managers, supervisors and principals, as well as the plans to prevent SBs from being unfair in handling such appointment matters?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

*18. Hon CHEUNG Man-kwong to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the demand and supply of hostel places for the moderately and severely mentally handicapped, will the Government inform this Council of:

(a)	(i)	the respective numbers of persons assessed to be moderately mentally handicapped or severely mentally handicapped;
	(ii)	the respective numbers of additional hostel places for moderately and severely mentally handicapped persons; and
	(iii)	the numbers of mentally handicapped persons aged above 15 who could not be admitted to the hostels and continued to attend special schools in each of the past five years;
(b)	the longest and average waiting time for admission to the hostels in the past five years; and
(c)	the measures in place to increase hostel places in the near future?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

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

Regarding the regulation of the installation of audio-visual facilities and the broadcasting of audio-visual programmes on buses by franchised bus companies, will the Government inform this Council of:

(a)	the number of complaints received from bus passengers last year about the nuisances caused by these programmes and the follow-up actions it has taken; and
(b)	the reasons for allowing the Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited and the Citybus Limited to install audio-visual facilities and broadcast audio-visual programmes on buses; and whether it plans to step up regulation in this respect?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

*20. Hon LAU Kong-wah to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the services provided to young people at risk, will the Government inform this Council of:

(a)	the average number of young night drifters approached for the first time by each outreaching social work team or integrated team in each month, as well as the effectiveness of such outreaching social work service and the difficulties encountered; and
(b)	the details of and the resources allocated for counselling service provided to the young people subject to supervision under the Superintendent's Discretion Scheme in various districts?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

*For written reply.

III. Bills

First Reading

Massage Establishments (Amendment) Bill 2001

Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)

Massage Establishments (Amendment) Bill 2001 : Secretary for Security

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

Telecommunications (Amendment) Bill 2001 : Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting

IV. Members' Motions

1. The 4 June incident

Hon SZETO Wah: (Translation)

That this Council urges that: the 4 June incident be not forgotten and the 1989 pro-democracy movement be vindicated.

2. Family policy

Hon LAW Chi-kwong: (Translation)

That this Council urges the Government to formulate a comprehensive family policy so as to establish a "family-oriented" society and encourage the community to attach more importance to the family; to this end, the Government should:

(a)	introduce a "family impact assessment" system, with a view to assessing the impact of existing and future social policies, legislation and measures on the family;
(b)	formulate labour laws and policies that facilitate employees in taking care of their family members;
(c)	through tax concessions, encourage family members to discharge more effectively their function of taking care of one another;
(d)	strengthen the co-operation between schools and parents, so that they may become partners in nurturing the younger generation; and
(e)	increase the social welfare support for people who have to take care of their disadvantaged families.



Amendment to Hon LAW Chi-kwong's motion

Hon Frederick FUNG: (Translation)

To delete "and" after "so that they may become partners in nurturing the younger generation;"; and to add "; and (f) recognize people's 'right to housing' so as to enable every family to have permanent, independent, self-contained and affordable accommodation" after "people who have to take care of their disadvantaged families".

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Health and Welfare

Clerk to the Legislative Council