A 00/01-35(1)
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 27 June 2001 at 2:30 pm
I. Tabling of Papers| Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments | L.N. No.
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| 1. | Public Health (Animals and Birds) (Chemical Residues) Regulation | 146/2001
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| 2. | Estate Agents (Licensing) (Amendment) Regulation 2001 | 147/2001
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| 3. | Harmful Substances in Food (Amendment) Regulation 2001 | 148/2001
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| 4. | Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Amendment of First Schedule) Order 2001 | 149/2001
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Other Papers | 1. No.93 | - | Report by the Trustee of the Correctional Services Children's Education Trust for the period 1st September 1999 to 31st August 2000
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(to be presented by Secretary for Security)
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| 2. No.94 | - | Report of the Independent Police Complaints Council 2000
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(to be presented by Hon Eric LI, who will address the Council)
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| 3. No.95 | - | Audited Statement of Accounts of the Director of Social Welfare Incorporated together with the Director of Audit's Report for the year ended 31 March 2000
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(to be presented by Secretary for Health and Welfare)
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| 4. No.96 | - | The Thirteenth Annual Report of the Ombudsman, Hong Kong (June 2001)
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(to be presented by Chief Secretary for Administration)
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5. Report of the Panel on Home Affairs 2000/2001
(to be presented by Hon Andrew CHENG, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)
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6. Report of the Panel on Housing 2000/2001
(to be presented by Hon CHAN Kam-lam, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)
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7. Report of the Panel on Welfare Services 2000/2001
(to be presented by Hon LAW Chi-kwong, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)
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8. Report of the Panel on Information Technology and Broadcasting 2000/2001
(to be presented by Hon SIN Chung-kai, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)
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9. Report of the Panel on Environmental Affairs 2000/2001
(to be presented by Prof Hon NG Ching-fai, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)
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10.Report of the Bills Committee on Immigration (Amendment) Bill 2000
(to be presented by Hon Ambrose LAU, Chairman of the Bills Committee)
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II. Questions
1. Hon Ambrose LAU to ask: (Translation)
To raise the professional status and enhance the local insurance intermediaries' knowledge in insurance, the Insurance Intermediaries Quality Assurance Scheme was launched on 1 January last year. Under the Scheme, all persons engaged in the insurance intermediary business, other than those exempted, are required to pass the Insurance Intermediaries Qualifying Examination, and non-exempted in-service intermediaries have to pass the Examination within a grace period of two years. It has been reported that up to the middle of last month, the passing rate of the Examination stood at about 50%. In this regard, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the average passing rate for each paper since the launch of the Examination;
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| (b) | whether it plans to take measures to assist and ensure that all the insurance intermediaries can pass the Examination before the deadline; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
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| (c) | whether it will consider extending the grace period so as to allow sufficient time for the insurance intermediaries to pass the Examination?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Financial Services
2. Hon NG Leung-sing to ask: (Translation)
The Administration initiated the latest Port Development Strategy Review in May last year with the objective of formulating an updated planning framework for the provision of port facilities, so that the Government could reserve land and marine sites well in advance for the future development of port facilities to enhance various value-added services. The review was expected to be completed by mid-2001. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the progress of the review; if it has been completed, of its findings;
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| (b) | whether reference has been made in the review to the developments of the ports in neighbouring countries and regions and their port development strategies; if so, of the details; and
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| (c) | how Hong Kong's port development strategy will tie in with China's imminent accession to the World Trade Organization and its policy to vigorously develop the Western Region, and how the ports in Hong Kong will be enhanced in terms of service quality and cargo handling capacity so as to strengthen the territory's position as the leading transportation and logistics hub in the region and in the world?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Economic Services
3. Hon Andrew CHENG to ask: (Translation)
The Guidelines for Ensuring Safety of Pupils on School Transport Vehicles, issued by the Education Department for school bus services operators to observe, stipulate that escorts must be provided on school buses with 17 or more seats while carrying primary and kindergarten pupils and, if possible, seat belts should be fitted and used in respect of a near side front seat. Regarding the safety of school transport vehicles ("STVs") carrying primary and kindergarten pupils to and from school, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the current number of STVs issued with a valid Passenger Service Licence and, among them, the number of those with less than 17 seats;
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| (b) | of the number of traffic accidents involving STVs and the resultant casualties in each of the past three years, together with a breakdown of such casualties by STV drivers, escorts and pupils; and
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| (c) | whether it will consider stipulating that each seat on STVs be fitted with a seat belt, that the driver and the escort must ensure that all pupils have fastened their seat belts before the STV is allowed to move, and that escorts be provided on STVs with less than 17 seats; if not, of the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Transport
4. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)
The Home Affairs Department maintains a list of "target buildings" in various districts with potential fire and safety hazards for building management improvements. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the name of each of the buildings on the "target buildings" list, the district in which it is located and the date it was included in the list, and the number of buildings that have been removed from the list, as at 31 March this year;
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| (b) | of the reasons for some buildings not having been removed from the list after more than five years; and
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| (c) | whether it will consider making a performance pledge to undertake to assist each target building in improving its management up a level that would allow its removal from the list within certain number of years after being listed?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Home Affairs
5. Hon Michael MAK to ask: (Translation)
Regarding fire safety in residential care homes for the elderly ("RCHEs") and school dormitories, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the total number of RCHEs and school dormitories, including those of nurseries, kindergartens, primary schools, secondary schools and tertiary institutions, in Hong Kong at present;
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| (b) | of the fire safety requirements for RCHEs and school dormitories, such as the installation of automatic sprinkler systems; whether it regularly inspects such fire services installations, and whether the responsible persons concerned are required to regularly arrange testings on these fire safety systems and conduct fire drills; and
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| (c) | whether the staff members in RCHEs and school dormitories are required to receive training in fire safety and fire drills?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Security
6. Hon HUI Cheung-ching to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the operation of helicopter services between Hong Kong and the Mainland, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether it has discussed with the Mainland authorities the introduction of regular helicopter flights between Hong Kong and the Mainland; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
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| (b) | of the measures to attract investors to operate such services, to boost the business and tourism activities between Hong Kong and the Mainland?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Economic Services
*7. Hon SIN Chung-kai to ask: (Translation)
Some residents in certain districts in the territory, such as Kau Wah Keng Village in Lai Chi Kok, cannot have clear viewing of local free television programmes because the reception of radio signals in these districts is obstructed by slopes or buildings. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the number of complaints received in the past three years about problems in the reception of radio signals of free television programmes, together with a breakdown by districts and, among them, the number in which the reception problems were caused by the obstruction of radio signals by newly-completed buildings; and
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| (b) | how the Office of the Telecommunications Authority coordinates the construction of new television transposers across the territory; of the factors in deciding the construction of new transposers, and the time required from planning to completing the construction of these transposers?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting
*8. Hon LI Fung-ying to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that, according to the findings of a survey, some employment agencies aided and abetted employers in exploiting or reducing their foreign domestic helpers' ("FDHs") statutory salaries and benefits, and Indonesian domestic helpers were the worst treated. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
| (a) | the number of complaints received by the Labour Department from January 2000 to May this year about such exploitation or reduction of FDHs' salaries and benefits, together with a breakdown by their nationality, the amount of salaries underpaid, the number of days of statutory holiday and other benefits reduced;
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| (b) | the number of complaint investigations concluded during the same period and, in respect of such cases, the number of employers involved, the number of FDHs whose complaints were substantiated, and whether the employment agencies involved were punished; if not, of the reasons for that; and
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| (c) | the measures the relevant departments will take to ensure that FDHs are given their statutory labour rights and benefits?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Education and Manpower
*9. Hon CHAN Yuen-han to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that a candidate in this year's Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination ("HKCEE"), who suffers from hearing impairment and mild spastics, has complained about the improper arrangements made by the Hong Kong Examinations Authority ("HKEA"), alleging that he had not been provided with suitable auxiliary aids and allowed additional examination time for taking the examinations. Regarding the arrangements for disabled candidates sitting public examinations, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the number of disabled candidates in public examinations (including the HKCEE and the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination) in each of the past five years;
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| (b) | of the number of complaints received by HKEA from disabled candidates about the examination arrangements for them over the past five years, and the details of such complaints;
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| (c) | whether disabled candidates are required to take the examinations at designated venues where auxiliary aids are available, or whether the necessary auxiliary aids are sent to the examination venues concerned according to the needs of individual candidates;
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| (d) | of the criteria adopted by HKEA in determining the additional examination time to be allowed for each disabled candidate; and
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| (e) | whether HKEA has considered increasing or replacing the auxiliary aids for disabled candidates; and whether the authorities will review the existing examination arrangements for such candidates; if it will, of the specific timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Education and Manpower
*10. Hon Kenneth TING to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that due to the recent shortage of capital outlets, local banks have become more active in furnishing loans to small and medium enterprises ("SMEs"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
| (a) | there is an obvious upward trend in the total amount of unsecured loans furnished by local banks to the commercial and industrial sectors; if so, of the specific statistics;
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| (b) | it will regularly compile and publish the statistics mentioned in item (a) above; if so, of the arrangements concerned; if not, the reasons for that; and
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| (c) | it knows if banks, in vetting and approving the loan applications of SMEs, have gradually lowered the requirements on the financial documents to be submitted; if that is the case, of the details?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Financial Services
*11. Hon Cyd HO to ask: (Translation)
It was reported that the Mainland authorities and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("HKSAR") Government would be able to sign an agreement on the transfer of sentenced persons next year at the earliest. Upon the signing of the agreement, some 500 Hong Kong residents serving sentences in the Mainland and more than 3 000 Mainland residents serving sentences in Hong Kong might apply of their own volition for transfer to their respective places of residence to serve the remainder of their sentences. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the statistical breakdown of the Hong Kong residents serving their sentences in the Mainland, and the Mainland residents serving their sentences in Hong Kong, according to their terms of imprisonment, as follows:
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| (i) | less than two years;
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| (ii) | two years to less than seven years;
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| (iii) | seven years to less than ten years; and
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| (iv) | ten years or more;
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| (b) | whether, in the absence of an agreement on the transfer of sentenced persons, the HKSAR Government has been notified by the Mainland authorities in the past five years of requests from Hong Kong residents serving their sentences in the Mainland for transfer to Hong Kong to serve the remainder of their sentences; if so, of the total number of such applications referred by the Mainland authorities and, among them, the number of those which have been rejected as well as the reasons for rejection;
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| (c) | whether, in the absence of an agreement on the transfer of sentenced persons, the HKSAR Government has received in the past five years any applications from Mainland residents serving sentences in Hong Kong for transfer to the Mainland to serve the remainder of their sentences; if so, of the total number of such applications received and the number of those referred to the Mainland authorities for follow-up actions, as well as the number of applications which have been rejected and the reasons for rejection; and
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| (d) | whether, in formulating the terms of the above-mentioned agreement, the authorities concerned have made reference to the United Nation's Model Treaty on the Transfer of Supervision of Offenders Who Have Been Conditionally Sentenced or Conditionally Released to ensure that the terms of the agreement comply with the standards as provided for in the international human rights treaties; if not, of the justifications for that?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Security
*12. Hon CHOY So-yuk to ask: (Translation)
The Environmental Protection Department ("EPD") had issued a loading permit to the contractor of Container Terminal 9 for the disposal of highly contaminated mud in Mainland waters between July and September last year. Thereafter, the EPD refused to grant a new permit to the contractor. As a result, the contractor lodged an appeal against the EPD's decision with the Appeal Board under the Dumping at Sea Ordinance (Cap. 466). The Appeal Board dismissed the appeal at the end of last month. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the reasons for the EPD granting the permit to the contractor last year;
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| (b) | whether it has re-assessed if the granting of the permit constituted dereliction of duty on the part of the EPD, and whether the EPD will make a public apology for that matter;
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| (c) | whether the EPD or the contractor has put forth any remedial measures in respect of the Mainland waters contaminated by the mud; if so, of the relevant details; if not, the reasons for that; and
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| (d) | of the experience and lessons learned from the incident, as well as the measures it will adopt to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for the Environment and Food
*13. Hon SIN Chung-kai to ask: (Translation)
It is learnt that because the radio signals of the mobile phone networks in the Mainland ("Mainland networks") are stronger than those of the local mobile phone networks ("local networks") in the border areas of Hong Kong, such as Lo Wu, Sheung Shui, Tung Ping Chau, Kat O and Ap Chau, mobile phone users in these districts are often automatically connected to China roaming services provided through the Mainland networks. As a result, they have to pay the exorbitant fees chargeable on China roaming services when they make or receive local calls. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the respective numbers of such complaints received by the Office of the Telecommunications Authority and the Consumer Council over the past three years;
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| (b) | whether it has measured the strength of radio signals of the Mainland networks in border areas; if it has, of the details;
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| (c) | whether it has discussed with the relevant Mainland authorities with a view to solving this problem; if it has, of the details, progress and outcome of the discussion; and
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| (d) | of the measures to improve the reception of radio signals of the local networks in border areas?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting
*14. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the declaration by public officers of their purchase of properties, and the receipt of preferential treatment by them in purchasing properties, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
| (a) | of the existing mechanism for public officers to make the above declarations, as well as the ranks of public officers who are required to make the declarations;
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| (b) | of the arrangement made for members of the public to read the particulars declared by public officers;
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| (c) | whether they have found public officers to have received preferential treatment from real estate developers, such as purchasing properties at prices below market values or enjoying priority in purchasing properties, in the past ten years; if so, of the details and whether they have assessed if the receipt of preferential treatment by public officers constitutes a breach of the laws of Hong Kong or the internal guidelines of the civil service; and
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| (d) | whether they have assessed if it is necessary to ask the Independent Commission Against Corruption to investigate the cases stated in (c) above; if it is assessed to be unnecessary, of the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for the Civil Service
*15. Hon LAU Kong-wah to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the enforcement against unlicensed hawkers in the Tenants Purchase Scheme ("TPS") estates, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the names and the total number of TPS estates where unlicensed hawking activities are rampant;
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| (b) | whether enforcement operations against unlicensed hawkers in such estates are conducted regularly; and
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| (c) | whether enforcement operations against unlicensed hawkers within TPS estates by the Housing Department and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department respectively differ from the operations carried out by these two departments respectively within public rental housing estates; if so, of the details?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Housing
*16. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)
At present, the Police require drink-driving suspects to undergo breath tests on the spot. It has been reported that the portable screening devices used for such tests (commonly known as "breathalysers") have been found defective and the alcohol concentration readings indicated have far exceeded the actual concentration. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
| (a) | of the details and causes of the malfunctioning of such screening devices;
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| (b) | how they handle queries raised by drivers undergoing breath tests on the results of such tests, and how they ensure that, where the actual alcohol concentrations in the breath specimens have not exceeded the prescribed limits, the drivers concerned will not be wrongly prosecuted for drink-driving; and
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| (c) | how they ensure that such portable screening devices operate properly and accurately?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Transport
*17. Hon LAU Kong-wah to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the promotion of the Octopus system, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
| (a) | the number of public light buses ("PLBs") installed with Octopus processors, together with a breakdown of such PLBs by the routes they serve;
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| (b) | if the operator of the system (i.e. the Creative Star Limited) has studied the feasibility of installing Octopus processors on taxis; if it has, of the details; and
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| (c) | if the operator plans to install Octopus processors and add-value machines at large supermarkets, post offices, fast food chains and other food premises; if so, of the details?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Transport
*18. Hon CHOY So-yuk to ask: (Translation)
It was reported that the Civil Engineering Department had recently directed a contractor to undertake sand-dredging operations in the waters west of Po Toi Island without first completing the water quality impact assessment. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether the sand extracted will be used in the reclamation project for the Hong Kong Disneyland;
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| (b) | how the Department can ensure that the sand-dredging operations will not affect the corals in the nearby waters; and
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| (c) | of the contingency measures the Department will adopt if the results of the water quality impact assessment confirm that extracting sand in large quantities in the waters concerned will have an impact on the marine ecosystem there?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Works
*19. Hon Eric LI to ask: (Translation)
Will the Government inform this Council whether, to enable young people to cope better in their daily lives, it will consider including in the secondary school curriculum a practical subject covering topics such as the harms of abusing psychotropic substances and drugs, as well as proper handling of personal finance; and whether it will put in place measures to ensure that the school authorities and students will attach due importance to the subject?
Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Education and Manpower
*20. Hon Ambrose LAU to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that, according to the findings of a survey conducted by the Hong Kong Council of Social Service, about 355 000 local children are currently living below the poverty line, and they account for about one-fifth of the total child population in Hong Kong. In this regard, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether it has statistics on the current percentage of impoverished children in the total child population in the territory; if so, how this percentage compares to those of other countries and regions with economic situations similar to those of Hong Kong;
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| (b) | whether the existing policies on education, welfare, culture and recreation and other relevant areas have specifically catered for the needs of impoverished children by providing them with additional support; if so, of the details; and
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| (c) | of the long-term strategies in place for enhancing the support for impoverished children and formulating a more comprehensive welfare policy for children?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Health and Welfare
*For written reply.
III. BillsFirst Reading
Noise Control (Amendment) Bill 2001
Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)
Noise Control (Amendment) Bill 2001
: Secretary for the Environment and Food
Second Reading (Debates to resume), Committee Stage and Third Reading
| 1. Immigration (Amendment) Bill 2000 | : | Secretary for Security
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| 2. Post Secondary Colleges (Amendment) Bill 2001 | : | Secretary for Education and Manpower
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| 3. Employment (Amendment) Bill 2001 | : | Secretary for Education and Manpower
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IV. Members' Motions 1. Increasing the opportunities for tertiary education
Hon CHEUNG Man-kwong: (Translation)
That, with regard to the Government's plan to achieve a 60% tertiary education popularization rate within 10 years, this Council urges the Government to:
| (a) | provide sufficient educational resources to ensure that while tertiary education is being developed, the quality of basic education will continue to be enhanced;
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| (b) | ensure that the qualifications and quality of the various degrees conferred by the tertiary institutions, including the bachelor's degree, the associate degree, the professional diploma and the higher diploma, are recognized;
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| (c) | ensure that the new associate degree courses dovetail with the local and overseas bachelor's degree courses, and provide more university places so that the increasing number of graduates from associate degree courses can enrol in university degree courses;
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| (d) | formulate a progression schedule to ensure that local tertiary education places are increased annually, in order to realize the target tertiary education popularization rate; and
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| (e) | provide adequate assistance to students, so that young people who have the ability to receive tertiary education will not fail to complete their studies due to financial difficulties.
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Amendment to Hon CHEUNG Man-kwong's motion
Hon YEUNG Yiu-chung: (Translation)
To delete "and" after "in order to realize the target tertiary education popularization rate;"; and to add "; and (f) actively promote the development of private universities" after "due to financial difficulties".
Public Officer to attend
: Secretary for Education and Manpower
2. Through train to Shenzhen
Hon LAU Kong-wah: (Translation)
That this Council urges the Government to consider exploring with the relevant Mainland authorities the feasibility of operating a Sheung Shui-Shenzhen express rail line and a Hung Hom-Shenzhen through train service, with a view to relieving the congestion caused by the increase in travellers crossing the border between Lo Wu and Shenzhen.
Amendment to Hon LAU Kong-wah's motion
Hon WONG Sing-chi: (Translation)
To add ", to relieve the congestion caused by the increase in travellers crossing the border between Lo Wu and Shenzhen," after "That"; to add "advancing the completion date of the Northern Link, and" after "this Council urges the Government to consider"; to add "the feasibility of providing other additional cross-border passenger rail lines, including" after "exploring with the relevant Mainland authorities"; to delete "a Sheung Shui-Shenzhen" after "the feasibility of operating" and substitute with "an"; to add "between Sheung Shui or other districts and Shenzhen," after "express rail line"; and to delete ", with a view to relieving the congestion caused by the increase in travellers crossing the border between Lo Wu and Shenzhen".
Public Officer to attend
: Secretary for Transport
Clerk to the Legislative Council
