A 00/01-4(1)
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 18 October 2000 at 2:30 pm
I. Tabling of Papers
| Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments | L.N. No.
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| 1. | Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Passports Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule) Notice 2000 | 277/2000
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| 2. | Aerial Ropeways (Fees) (Amendment) Regulation 2000 | 278/2000
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| 3. | Insurance Companies (Actuaries' Standards) Regulation | 279/2000
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| 4. | Lifts and Escalators (Safety) (Fees) (Amendment) Regulation 2000 | 280/2000
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| 5. | Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Loadshifting Machinery) Regulation (L.N. 85 of 2000) (Commencement) Notice 2000 | 281/2000
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Other Papers
| 1. No.3 | - | Clothing Industry Training Authority Annual Report 1999
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(to be presented by Secretary for Education and Manpower)
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| 2. No.4 | - | Construction Industry Training Authority Annual Report 1999
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(to be presented by Secretary for Education and Manpower)
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| 3. No.5 | - | The Land Registry Trading Fund Hong Kong Annual Report 1999-2000
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(to be presented by Secretary for Planning and Lands)
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| 4. No.6 | - | Companies Registry Annual Report 1999-2000
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(to be presented by Secretary for Financial Services)
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| 5. No.7 | - | Electrical and Mechanical Services Trading Fund Annual Report 1999/2000
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(to be presented by Secretary for Works)
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| 6. No.8 | - | Report of changes to the approved Estimates of Expenditure approved during the first quarter of 2000-01 (Public Finance Ordinance : Section 8)
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(to be presented by Secretary for the Treasury)
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| 7. No.9 | - | Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health Annual Report 1999-2000
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(to be presented by Secretary for Health and Welfare)
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| 8. No.10 | - | The Legislative Council Commission Annual Report 1999-2000
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(to be presented by Chairman of The Legislative Council Commission)
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| 9. No.11 | - | The Government Minute in response to the Report No. 34 of the Public Accounts Committee dated June 2000
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| (to be presented by Chief Secretary for Administration, who will address the Council)
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II. Questions
1. Hon Kenneth TING to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the confusion caused to Hong Kong businessmen by the different as well as the ever-changing enforcement standards adopted by the customs authorities of various provinces and municipalities in the Mainland, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | how it will assist Hong Kong businessmen in solving the problem; and
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| (b) | whether it will set up a dedicated office or increase the manpower resources under the existing framework for handling relevant complaints lodged by Hong Kong businessmen, as well as to assist them in reflecting their views directly to the customs authorities of various provinces and municipalities?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Commerce and Industry
2. Hon Albert HO to ask: (Translation)
At present, it is commonly stipulated in credit card agreements that cardholders are required to compensate the card issuer for all the fees and expenses incurred for recovering outstanding credit card debts. The Court of First Instance of the High Court ruled in July this year that this indemnity clause was unconscionable and therefore could not be enforced. The Court also criticized the card issuer for charging exorbitant interests. Regarding the protection of the interests of credit card holders, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether the Hong Kong Monetary Authority ("HKMA") has assessed if the aforesaid clause and practice is in line with the provisions of the Code of Banking Practice; whether the HKMA has found in the past two years that authorized institutions acting in violation of the spirit and provisions of the Code, and consequently infringed upon the rights of credit card holders; if it has, of the follow-up actions HKMA has taken;
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| (b) | given that the Code of Banking Practice is not law and has no binding effect on those credit card issuers which are not authorized institutions, whether it will enact laws to enhance the protection of the interests of credit card holders; and
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| (c) | whether, in order to comply with the spirit of the above ruling, it will enact stipulations setting an upper limit on the amount the card holders should share in respect of the fees incurred for recovering outstanding credit card debts, and prohibiting card issuers from charging card holders exorbitant interests?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Financial Services
3. Hon CHAN Kam-lam to ask: (Translation)
Recently, the Housing Department informed tenants of Ping Tin Estate in Kwun Tong that, in order to avoid endangering the lives of the tenants when the PVC pipes installed in the balconies are on fire, they are required to engage their own contractors to carry out the relevant fire safety works before retrofitting their balconies with windows. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the names of the public rental housing estates with the same balcony design as that of Ping Tin Estate, and the respective numbers of residential units in these estates;
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| (b) | whether all the tenants of this type of units are allowed to retrofit their balconies with windows; and
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| (c) | of the estimated cost of the fire safety works for each household; and whether it plans to carry out such works for all the units of the same type; if it has not, of the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Housing
4. Hon LAW Chi-kwong to ask: (Translation)
The Environmental Protection Department issued to the Container Terminal 9 ("CT9") contractor a permit for conveying, from July this year onwards, the seriously contaminated mud dredged from the Tsing Yi seabed to Mainland waters for disposal. On 19 September, the Department requested the contractor to submit detailed information to enable it to investigate if the dumping operation conformed to environmental protection principles. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the reasons for not suspending the relevant permit at the time the Department launched the investigation; and of the current projects in respect of which disposal permits of this type have been issued to the contractors concerned;
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| (b) | whether it will review the stipulations and procedure for issuing this type of permits; and
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| (c) | of its plan to enhance the co-operation with the relevant authorities in the Mainland, with a view to ensuring that trans-boundary disposal of mud will not endanger the natural environment?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for the Environment and Food
5. Hon CHAN Yuen-han to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the granting of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance ("CSSA") to families with members aged 21 or above who are still attending schools, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether, when calculating the amount of CSSA payments, the authorities equally treat families with members aged 21 or above who are still attending schools, and those with students aged below 21; if not, of the details and the reasons for that;
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| (b) | of the number of CSSA cases over the past three years involving families with members aged 21 or above who are still attending schools; and
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| (c) | of the other kinds of assistance which are available for application by CSSA recipient family members aged 21 or above who are still attending schools; and during the period before such family members receive other assistance, of the arrangement to assist such families in tackling their financial hardships?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Health and Welfare
6. Hon LAU Kong-wah to ask: (Translation)
It was reported that asbestos had been found in some construction materials used in certain Home Ownership Scheme ("HOS") estates completed before 1984. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the names of the HOS estates where asbestos-based construction materials have been used and the number of units involved, and the reasons for not disclosing the use of such materials in the past;
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| (b) | when the authorities concerned knew of the use of asbestos-based construction materials in these estates, and of the reasons for not informing the owners concerned immediately after it knew of that; and
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| (c) | whether the authorities concerned will remove the building components containing asbestos for the owners concerned and bear the costs involved; if so, of the works schedule and the details thereof; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Housing
*7. Hon Fred LI to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the Hong Kong Housing Authority's collection of rent deposit from domestic and commercial tenants of public rental housing, will the Government inform this Council whether it is aware of:
| (a) | the rationale for collecting the deposit;
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| (b) | the uses of the revenues from the deposit;
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| (c) | the current total accumulated amounts of deposit as well as the total amounts of interest gained in the past three years from the deposit collected respectively from domestic and commercial tenants; and
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| (d) | the reasons for not paying interest gained from the deposit to the tenants concerned on a regular basis?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Housing
*8. Hon TAM Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)
Will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the number of taxpayers granted the dependent parent allowance in each of the past three years; and
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| (b) | given that the economic restructuring and persistently high unemployment rate in the territory have rendered many people out of work before the retirement age and dependent on their children, whether it has plans to relax the requirement that dependent parents must reach 60 before claim for that allowance can be made, so as to alleviate the financial burden of the taxpayers concerned; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for the Treasury
*9. Hon CHAN Kwok-keung to ask: (Translation)
Will the Government inform this Council of,
| (a) | the number of cases in which the recipients of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) found jobs and changed to the low income CSSA category; and
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| (b) | the number of cases in which the recipients ceased receiving CSSA, with a breakdown by reasons for the cessation,
since January of last year?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Health and Welfare
*10. Hon LAU Kong-wah to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the Administration plans to redesign certain traffic signs. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of its considerations and the criteria adopted in deciding which traffic signs need to be redesigned;
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| (b) | whether, in redesigning the traffic signs, reference has been made to similar traffic signs used in other countries;
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| (c) | of the total number of existing traffic signs to be replaced upon adopting the new design; and
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| (d) | of the estimated costs involved in redesigning and installing these traffic signs?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Transport
*11. Hon LAW Chi-kwong to ask: (Translation)
It is learnt that vehicles fuelled by rapeseed oil emit less smoke but more nitrogen oxides than those fuelled by diesel. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
| (a) | the chassis dynamometers used at authorized vehicle emission testing centres can effectively measure the amounts of nitrogen oxides emitted by vehicles; if not, whether additional equipment will be procured for this purpose; and
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| (b) | it will consider enacting legislation to prohibit the sale of motor vehicle fuel which has not been accredited as meeting the environmental standards by the Environmental Protection Department?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for the Environment and Food
*12. Hon TAM Yiu-chung to ask:(Translation)
Since last year, the Social Welfare Department has strictly enforced the rule that applications for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance ("CSSA") have to be made on a household basis. Consequently, elderly persons living with their family may not apply for CSSA on their own. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | since the strict enforcement of the above rule by the Department last year, of the number of elderly persons living with their families who had their payments curtailed for the following reasons:
| (i) | total household income exceeded the prescribed limit;
| | (ii) | unable to provide proof of income of family members; and
| | (iii) | other reasons, please provide a breakdown by the reasons;
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| (b) | of the number of complaints received arising from the strict enforcement of the rule; and
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| (c) | whether there is any plan to review the above rule so that elderly persons who do not receive financial support from family members living with them can apply for CSSA on an individual basis; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Health and Welfare
*13. Hon CHAN Kwok-keung to ask: (Translation)
Will the Government inform this Council whether:
| (a) | it knows the statutory bodies which have specified, in their employment contracts, that the employer may terminate immediately the service of an employee who has been declared bankrupt by the Court; of the posts and ranks of the employees involved, and of the criteria adopted for determining the selected posts and ranks; and
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| (b) | it has, through issuing guidelines to these statutory bodies or by other means, regulated the terms of the employment contracts laid down by these bodies?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Education and Manpower
*14. Hon Bernard CHAN to ask:
The Mandatory Provident Fund ("MPF") System will commence on 1 December this year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
| (a) | the latest enrolment position of the MPF schemes;
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| (b) | if the latest enrolment position is in line with the enrolment schedule designed by the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority; and
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| (c) | the measures that the Authority will take or has taken to urge employers to enrol their employees in a MPF scheme as soon as possible?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Financial Services
*15. Hon Fred LI to ask: (Translation)
It was reported that the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("the Liaison Office") asked leaders of the local Catholic diocese to adopt a low key approach in handling activities in celebration of the Vatican's canonization on October 1 of 120 Catholic missionaries and their followers who had been killed in China a hundred years ago. The diocese later disclosed also that some scheduled religious exchange activities with its Mainland counterparts had been put on hold, probably due to the said canonization. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether it has assessed if the Liaison Office's act of asking the diocese to adopt a low key approach in respect of the canonization is beyond its prescribed function;
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| (b) | in respect of the cessation of the above exchange activities, whether it will offer assistance to the diocese; if not, of the reasons for that; and
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| (c) | of the measures it may take in this particular case to defend the freedom of religious belief that can be enjoyed by Hong Kong residents under Article 32 of the Basic Law?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Home Affairs
*16. Hon CHOY So-yuk to ask: (Translation)
In order to provide better services to visitors to Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council whether it will discuss with relevant organizations such as the Hong Kong Tourist Association and associations of taxi operators the implementation of the following proposals:
| (a) | the installation of electronic display boards at tourist attractions to provide, in several languages, road maps of nearby areas and relevant information about such attractions, as well as advice for consumers;
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| (b) | the provision of English translation machines to taxi drivers who are not fluent in English so as to facilitate their communication with English-speaking visitors; and
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| (c) | the installation of an electronic road information system on taxis so that visitors can be taken to their destinations more quickly?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Economic Services
*For written reply.
III. Statements
Chief Secretary for Administration's recent visit to Beijing : Chief Secretary for Administration
IV. Bills
First Reading
1. Inland Revenue (Amendment) Bill 2000
2. Stamp Duty (Amendment) Bill 2000
3. Immigration (Amendment) Bill 2000
4. Rehabilitation Centres Bill
Second Reading (Debates to be adjourned)
| 1. Inland Revenue (Amendment) Bill 2000 | : | Secretary for the Treasury
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| 2. Stamp Duty (Amendment) Bill 2000 | : | Secretary for the Treasury
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| 3. Immigration (Amendment) Bill 2000 | : | Secretary for Security
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| 4. Rehabilitation Centres Bill | : | Secretary for Security
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V. Members' Motions
1. Impoverishment of marginal workers
Hon CHAN Yuen-han: (Translation)
That, in view of the aggravation of the problem of poverty and the increasing number of "marginal workers" in Hong Kong, this Council urges the Government to face up to the plight of marginal workers and to put in place the following measures to alleviate their hardship:
| (a) | implementing an economic development strategy that "prioritizes the provision of employment", for example by promoting the waste recycling and recovery industries, developing community and personal services, as well as strengthening the assistance for small and medium-sized enterprises, so as to create employment opportunities for the unemployed and provide opportunities for the low-salaried and less skilled workers to find better jobs and improve their livelihood;
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| (b) | introducing progressive tax bands for profits tax, so as to improve social services and reduce the disparity in the living standards between the rich and the poor;
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| (c) | implementing a "re-employment support scheme" and, in the long run, considering the establishment of a more comprehensive unemployment protection system to provide unemployed workers with financial security and opportunities for participating in skills enhancement training while they are seeking employment, thereby facilitating their re-joining the workforce;
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| (d) | reviewing expeditiously the existing labour-related legislation with a view to safeguarding the rights and interests of marginal workers who are in difficulties, for example, by abolishing the requirement that only those employees who have worked continuously for the same employers for four weeks and at least 18 hours a week will be protected under the Employment Ordinance, so as to prevent employers from evading their responsibility for providing employment protection to their employees; and
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| (e) | re-structuring the framework for providing training for workers, pooling the training resources, as well as encouraging trade associations and labour unions to play an active role in training workers.
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Amendment to Hon CHAN Yuen-han's motion
Hon WONG Sing-chi: (Translation)
To delete "implementing a "re-employment support scheme" " after "(c)" and substitute with "enhancing the supports under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme for assisting the unemployed and the low-salaried in rejoining the workforce, including granting special allowances for job-seeking purposes and raising the level of disregarded earnings,"; to delete "a more comprehensive unemployment protection" and substitute with "an unemployment insurance"; to delete "and" after "prevent employers from evading their responsibility for providing employment protection to their employees;"; and to add "; and (f) legislating against age discrimination in order to protect the middle and old-aged marginal workers from not being offered employment solely because of their age" after "to play an active role in training workers".
Public Officer to attend
: Secretary for Education and Manpower
2. Creating employment opportunities
Hon Fred LI: (Translation)
That, in view of the persistently high unemployment rate in Hong Kong and the increasing number of low-income earners, this Council urges the Government to:
| (a) | encourage employers, through tax concessions, to create more new jobs and offer them to the unemployed who have undergone training;
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| (b) | assist the socially-disadvantaged groups to set up community co-operative societies, so as to create jobs and posts to provide services for the local community;
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| (c) | legislate for a quota system for the employment of the disabled, so as to increase their chance of getting employed;
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| (d) | create the posts of teaching assistants and information technology co-ordinators; and
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| (e) | set up referral centres for part-time domestic helpers so as to create more part-time employment opportunities for women.
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Amendment to Hon Fred LI's motion
Hon Howard YOUNG: (Translation)
To delete "legislate for a quota system for the employment of the disabled," after "(c)" and substitute with "encourage employers, through tax concessions, to employ the disabled"; and to delete "chance of getting employed" and substitute with "employment opportunities".
Public Officer to attend
: Secretary for Education and Manpower
Clerk to the Legislative Council
