A 00/01-25(1)

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 25 April 2001 at 2:30 pm

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments L.N. No.
1.Chiropractors Registration (Fees) Regulation79/2001
2.Chiropractors Registration Ordinance (Cap. 428) (Commencement) Notice 200180/2001
3.Statutes of the University of Hong Kong (Amendment) Statutes 200181/2001
4.Specification of Public Office82/2001
5.Merchant Shipping (Registration) (Amendment) Ordinance 2001 (9 of 2001) (Commencement) Notice 200183/2001
6.Merchant Shipping (Registration) (Fees and Charges) (Amendment) Regulation 2001 (L.N. 49 of 2001) (Commencement) Notice 200184/2001


Other Papers

1. No.78 -Audited Statement of Accounts of the Quality Education Fund together with the Director of Audit's Report for the year ended 31 August 2000
(to be presented by Secretary for Education and Manpower)

2. No.79-Audited Statement of Accounts of the Hong Kong Rotary Club Students' Loan Fund together with the Director of Audit's Report for the year ended 31 August 2000
(to be presented by Secretary for Education and Manpower)

3. No.80-Audited Statement of Accounts of the Sing Tao Foundation Students' Load Fund together with the Director of Audit's Report for the year ended 31 August 2000
(to be presented by Secretary for Education and Manpower)

4. No.81-Report of changes to the approved Estimates of Expenditure approved during the third quarter of 2000-01 (Public Finance Ordinance : Section 8)
(to be presented by Secretary for the Treasury)

5. No.82-Report No. 36 of the Director of Audit on the results of value for money audits - March 2001
(to be presented by the President)

6. No.83-Hospital Authority Annual Report 1999-2000 with Statement of Accounts and Auditors' Report
(to be presented by Secretary for Health and Welfare)

7. No.84-Report and Statement of Accounts of the Samaritan Fund together with the Director of Audit's Report for the year ended 31 March 2000
(to be presented by Secretary for Health and Welfare)

8. No.85-Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation Annual Report 2000
(to be presented by Financial Secretary)

9. Report of the Bills Committee on Drug Dependent Persons Treatment and Rehabilitation Centres (Licensing) Bill (to be presented by Hon Cyd HO, Chairman of the Bills Committee)


II. Questions

1. Hon CHAN Kwok-keung to ask: (Translation)

At present, the public can settle their electricity and Towngas bills at post offices by using the PayThruPost service. It is learnt that the Post Office has planned to extend the scope of this service to cover rates, Government rents and water bills. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
    (a)the establishment and experience of the staff of the Post Office can cope with the demand from the extended service;

    (b)it has consulted the staff of the Post Office before extending the scope of the service; if it has, of the consultation process and the outcome; and

    (c)it has plans to reduce the staff establishment of the collection offices under the Treasury accordingly; if it has, of the number of staff to be cut and the timetable for its implementation?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Services

2. Prof Hon NG Ching-fai to ask: (Translation)

The former Industry Department sponsored the Research Centre of the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in developing and managing the Manufacturing and Technological Database in Southern China and Hong Kong ("MTDB"), a database accessible to the public through the Internet. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the government department now tasked with monitoring the project and whether the department has regularly made assessment on the progress of the project to see if it is on schedule;

    (b)of the total amount of public money spent so far on the development and management of the MTDB; whether it has reviewed the usage and effectiveness of the MTDB; if so, of the details of the review; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether the Government has discussed with the Research Centre to enrich the content of the MTDB?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Industry

3. Hon David CHU to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the crackdown on the sale of pirated optical discs, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the present number and geographical distribution of the retail black spots for pirated optical discs;

    (b)the number of pirated optical discs seized in such retail outlets since January this year, together with their total estimated value; and

    (c)as some lawless elements, in order to avoid arrest, display notices in the retail outlets, telling customers to put down their money for the pirated optical discs they want to buy, and then either pick up the optical discs themselves or go elsewhere to collect them, the measures in place to combat the sale of pirated optical discs in this way?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Industry

4. Hon Margaret NG to ask:

Given the Government's obligation under international human rights treaties to eradicate racial discrimination in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council whether the Administration has plans to introduce anti-racial discrimination legislation; if so, of the legislative timetable and the present progress, and whether public consultation will be held; if not, of the reasons for that? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

5. Hon Timothy FOK Tsun-ting to ask: (Translation)

The Secretary for Home Affairs told the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council last month that the Administration was studying ways to assist members of the sports community in solving the financial difficulties they encountered in organizing sports activities after losing the sponsorship of the tobacco industry, and it was identifying suitable alternative sponsors for them. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the details and completion time of the above study; and

    (b)the progress of identifying suitable sponsors?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

*6. Hon Abraham SHEK to ask:

In connection with Construct for Excellence - Report of the Construction Industry Review Committee ("CIRC") submitted by CIRC to the Chief Executive on 18 January this year, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of its study, decision and follow-up actions taken on the 109 improvement measures recommended in the report; and

    (b)whether it will accept the report's recommendation to set up a statutory co-ordinating body for the construction industry; if so, of the specific plan and timetable for the setting up of such a body?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Works

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

The Innovation and Technology Fund ("ITF") was established in November 1999 to facilitate innovation and technology upgrading in industries. There are four programmes under the ITF, namely, Innovation and Technology Support Programme, University-Industry Collaboration Programme, General Support Programme and Small Entrepreneur Research Assistance Programme ("SERAP"). Regarding the operation of the ITF, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of projects and the amount of funding approved to date, with a breakdown of the approved projects and recipient companies by sector for each of the programmes; and

    (b)given that the SERAP provides financing for technology entrepreneurs on a dollar-for-dollar matching basis, and that the grant will only be recouped if the project is able to attract follow-on investment or generate revenue, of the number of recipient companies which have already started repaying the grant to the SERAP; and of the estimated economic benefits that have been brought to Hong Kong by these projects?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Industry

*8. Hon Audrey EU to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the imposition of criminal compulsory measures on Hong Kong residents by the relevant authorities in the Mainland and the established reciprocal notification mechanism between the Mainland public security authorities and the Hong Kong Police Force in respect of residents of the other side who have been detained or arrested for suspected criminal offences, or died of unnatural deaths, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of Hong Kong residents who have been subject to criminal compulsory measures by units other than public security authorities in the Mainland since the reunification, together with a breakdown by grounds for detention, and the respective numbers of those who have been released and those who are still serving their sentences; and

    (b)whether it will consider discussing with the relevant Mainland authorities the possibility of:

    (i)including those units, other than public security authorities, which have the power to impose criminal compulsory measures in the list of Mainland authorities participating in the notification mechanism; and

    (ii)extending the ambit of the notification mechanism so that arrangements can be made for officers of the HKSAR Government and the relevant families to visit those Hong Kong residents detained by the Mainland authorities;

    if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*9. Hon Michael MAK to ask: (Translation)

In the consultation document on health care reforms entitled "Lifelong Investment in Health", the Administration proposed to transfer the provision of general out-patient service from the Department of Health ("DH") to the Hospital Authority ("HA"). For that purpose, the Government will implement a pilot scheme in five general out-patient clinics to try out a new mode of operation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the implementation timetable, staffing arrangement, expenditure required and specific mode of operation of the pilot scheme; and

    (b)whether it has assessed if the transfer of DH's general out-patient service to HA will affect the salaries, terms and conditions of employment for and the morale of the staff now working in the out-patient clinics?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

*10. Hon Albert HO to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the noise nuisance caused by the West Rail project to residents in the vicinity, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the criteria adopted by the authority for issuing construction noise permits ("CNPs") to the contractors of the project for carrying out construction works in the evening and on public holidays;

    (b)the number of CNPs issued last year to the contractors of the project, and the average period of validity of these CNPs; and

    (c)the number of complaints about noise nuisance caused by the project which the Environmental Protection Department received last year?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment and Food

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

I have received a complaint from a member of the public who alleged that when he applied at the end of 1996 for a 60-day Crawler-mounted Mobile Crane Operation Course provided by the Construction Industry Training Authority ("CITA"), he was informed that he had to wait until August 2002 before he could be admitted to the course. In connection with the waiting time for admission to courses provided by various public-funded vocational training bodies, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the CITA has taken any measures, such as increasing training places, in the past five years to shorten the waiting time for admission to the course; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (b)of the courses provided by various vocational training bodies last year which had a waiting time for admission exceeding 12 months, and the measures such bodies have taken to shorten the waiting time for such courses?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

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

Regarding the corporatization of government departments, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the current progress and outcome of the study carried out in respect of this issue; and

    (b)whether it is considering corporatizing other government departments besides the Survey and Mapping Office of the Lands Department; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Chief Secretary for Administration

*13. Hon CHOY So-yuk to ask: (Translation)

Last month, the Home-School Co-operation Committee of the Education Department published this year's Kindergarten Profiles. It was reported that 124 kindergartens had refused to include in the Kindergarten Profiles information on the miscellaneous fees they would charge on the parents. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
    (a)it has assessed if such practice of these kindergartens has compromised the parents' right to be informed; and

    (b)it will consider ordering all kindergartens to make public such information; if not, of the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

*14. Hon Kenneth TING to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the impact of the decline in property prices on the financing of enterprises, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it has assessed how the decline of property prices in recent years affected the commercial and industrial enterprises, in particular the small and medium enterprises, in obtaining loans from financial institutions; and

    (b)of the measures in place to encourage financial institutions, in processing loan applications by enterprises, to put more emphasis on the business prospects of the enterprises concerned than on the value of the property used as collateral; and of the effectiveness of such measures?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Industry

*15. Hon CHAN Yuen-han to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the issue of Form One students attending secondary schools in districts other than those in which they attended their primary schools, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of Secondary One students who have to commute to schools in other districts in the current school year, and its percentage in the total number of Secondary One students; how these figures compare to those in the two previous school years;

    (b)of the estimated number of Secondary One students who will have to commute to schools in other districts in the next school year;

    (c)of the five districts expected to have the greatest numbers of students from other districts in the next school year; of the number of Secondary One students, the number of secondary schools completed and the additional number of Secondary One school places in each of these five districts in each of the past three years; whether land has been reserved in these districts for building schools; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (d)of the five districts which had the greatest numbers of newly-completed secondary schools in the past three years, and the number of Secondary One students from other districts and the additional number of Secondary One school places in these five districts in each of the past three years?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

*16. Hon NG Leung-sing to ask: (Translation)

In relation to the Government's sale of part of its interest in the MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRC") through an initial public offering in October last year, I have received a complaint from a member of the public who had intended to subscribe for MTRC shares, alleging that one of the receiving banks had refused to accept his subscription on grounds of his failure to complete the address box in the share subscription application form ("subscription form") in English. In connection with the use of Chinese and English in matters relating to the operation of the stock market, will the Government inform this Council whether:
    (a)it has assessed if the requirement that subscription forms must be completed in English is unfair to people who do not know English; if the assessment result is in the affirmative, in what way it should be held responsible in respect of those whose subscription forms had thus been rejected, and whether it will abolish such a requirement when shares of public organizations are offered for sale in the future; and

    (b)it is aware of any measures taken in the past two years as well as those which will be taken by the Securities and Futures Commission and the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong to facilitate and stipulate the use of both the Chinese and English languages by securities intermediaries in matters relating to the operation of the stock market, for the convenience of the investing public?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services

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

On the 25th of last month, a coach fully loaded with Hong Kong residents had an accident on the Shenzhen-Shantou Expressway on its way back to Hong Kong, resulting in many casualties. Regarding Hong Kong residents who died or sustained injuries as a result of traffic accidents outside the territory and the related assistance mechanism of the relevant authorities, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)as a reciprocal notification mechanism has been established between the Mainland Public Security Authorities ("Mainland Authorities") and the Hong Kong Police Force ("HKPF") in respect of residents of the other side who have been detained or arrested, or died of unnatural deaths, whether the Mainland Authorities has notified the HKPF of this incident at the earliest possible time; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)of the total number of Hong Kong residents who died or sustained injuries in the past three years as a result of traffic accidents in the Mainland, and the number of such accidents;

    (c)of its promotion efforts to publicize the contact telephone number of the Assistance to Hong Kong Residents Unit of the Immigration Department; and

    (d)whether it has identified room for improvement regarding the assistance it provides to Hong Kong residents outside the territory?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

Regarding the effect of the projected level of average daily turnover and the actual turnover in respect of stock transactions on the budgets of the Administration and the Securities and Futures Commission ("SFC"), will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the projected level of average daily turnover for the year 2001-02 when it worked out the income from stamp duty on stock transactions for that year, and the basis on which the projection was made;

    (b)of the basis on which SFC worked out the average daily turnover of stock for the year 2001-02 as around $11 billion when it prepared its budget for that year;

    (c)of the income in stamp duty on stock transactions for the year 2001-02 with reference to SFC's projected level of stock turnover; and

    (d)whether the Government and the SFC will make public revised estimates of the relevant revenues from time to time in the light of the actual daily turnover of stock in the coming few months, so as to avoid sending confusing messages to the market; if not, of the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Treasury

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

In view of the co-existence of the Overseas Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices, offices of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and the Hong Kong Tourism Board in many major cities of the world, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the existing staff establishment and annual payroll of each of these offices; and

    (b)whether it has considered merging the offices located in the same city in order to save public expenditure; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Industry

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

Regarding the unavailability of sea water for flushing in the Yuen Long district, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the volume of fresh water used for flushing in the district, and its percentage in the total volume of fresh water consumed by the district, in each of the past three years;

    (b)of the reasons why it is still unable to supply sea water for flushing to the district; and

    (c)whether it has plans to supply sea water for flushing to the district in the near future; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Works

*For written reply.

III. Statements

The Legislative Council and the Administration Working in Partnership : Chief Secretary for Administration

IV. Bills

First Reading

1. Revenue Bill 2001

2. Revenue (No.2) Bill 2001

3. Revenue (No.3) Bill 2001

Second Reading (Debates to be adjourned)

1. Revenue Bill 2001:Secretary for the Treasury

2. Revenue (No.2) Bill 2001:Secretary for the Treasury

3. Revenue (No.3) Bill 2001:Secretary for the Treasury


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

Drug Dependent Persons Treatment and Rehabilitation Centres (Licensing) Bill : Secretary for Security

V. Members' Motions

1. Expediting the establishment of a commercial credit reference agency

Hon Ambrose LAU: (Translation)

That, as the establishment of a commercial credit reference agency (CCRA) will help to increase the financing channels for small and medium enterprises and reduce authorized lending institutions' reliance on collateral, this Council urges the Government and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to expeditiously conclude the study on issues such as the CCRA's functions, structural framework, mode of operation, pace of development as well as the scope of information to be shared among lending institutions and their powers and responsibilities, and to put forward specific proposals for promoting a consensus among the financial sector and the enterprises on how the CCRA scheme should be implemented.

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Financial Services

2. Effective protection of statutory rights and benefits of employees
Hon LEUNG Fu-wah: (Translation)

That, although the Employment Ordinance has been in force for many years, it still happens that employees are often denied statutory compensation in the event of labour disputes; and in view of the changes in the employment patterns in Hong Kong, employment-related ordinances need to be amended accordingly so that more employed persons are protected by law; in this regard, this Council urges the Government to:
    (a)relax the definition of "continuous contract" in the Employment Ordinance to reasonably cover all paid employees, including part-time employees;

    (b)extend the applicability of the Employment Ordinance to Government employees on non-civil service contract terms; and

    (c)impose punitive measures on employers who deliberately delay making statutory payments, such as the severance payment, so as to ensure effective protection of the statutory rights and benefits of employees.


    Amendment to Hon LEUNG Fu-wah's motion
    Hon LEE Cheuk-yan:     (Translation)

    To delete "and" after "non-civil service contract terms;" and substitute with "(c) formulate measures to prevent employers from covering up the actual employment relationship by means of contracts for service in order to shirk their statutory duties towards their employees, and to examine the possibility of extending to the self-employed the applicability of the occupational safety and industrial accident victims protection system; (d) amend Part VIA of the Employment Ordinance in order to grant employees the right against unfair dismissal, and to abolish the requirement that the severance payments or long service payments payable to employees on a pro-rata basis under the provisions of that Part be reduced by the employers' contributions to the occupational retirement schemes or mandatory provident fund schemes; and"; to delete "(c)" and substitute with "(e)"; and to add "or fail to grant their employees statutory rest days, statutory holidays or annual leave," after "impose punitive measures on employers who deliberately delay making statutory payments, such as the severance payment,".
Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Education and Manpower

Clerk to the Legislative Council