Council Meeting ( Agenda ) 3 July 2002

A 01/02-32

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 3 July 2002 at 2:30pm

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments		L.N. No.
1.	Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Replacement of Schedule 6) Order 2002	107/2002
2.	Rules of the High Court (Amendment) Rules 2002	108/2002
3.	Tax Reserve Certificates (Rate of Interest) (No. 7) Notice 2002	109/2002
4.	Rate of Deductible Interest Notice	110/2002

Other Papers

1. No.91 - Report by the Controller, Government Flying Service on the administration of the Government Flying Service Welfare Fund for the year ended 31 March 2002
(to be presented by Secretary for Security)
2. No.92 - Report by the Commissioner of Correctional Services on the administration of the Prisoners' Welfare Fund for the year ended 31 March 2002
(to be presented by Secretary for Security)
3. No.93 - 2001 Annual Report by the Commissioner of the Independent Commission Against Corruption Hong Kong Special Administrative Region
(to be presented by Hon SIN Chung-kai, who will address the Council)
4. No.94 - Sir Robert Black Trust FundAnnual Report for the year 1 April 2001 to 31 March 2002
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)
5. No.95 - The Fourteenth Annual Report of the Ombudsman, Hong Kong (June 2002)
(to be presented by Chief Secretary for Administration)
6. No.96 - Airport Authority Hong Kong Annual Report 2001/2002
(to be presented by Financial Secretary)
7. No.97 - Sir David Trench Fund for Recreation Trustee's Report 2001-2002
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)
8. No.98 - Independent Commission Against Corruption Complaints CommitteeAnnual Report 2001
(to be presented by Hon TAM Yiu-chung, who will address the Council)
9. No.99 - Construction Industry Training Authority Annual Report 2001
(to be presented by Secretary for Education and Manpower)
10. Report of the Panel on Manpower 2001/2002 (to be presented by Hon LAU Chin-shek, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)
11. Report of the Panel on Commerce and Industry 2001/2002 (to be presented by Hon Kenneth TING, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)
12. Report of the Panel on Public Service 2001/2002 (to be presented by Hon TAM Yiu-chung, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)
13. Report of the Panel on Housing 2001/2002 (to be presented by Hon Albert HO, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)
14. Report of the Panel on Security 2001/2002 (to be presented by Hon James TO, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)
15. Report of the Panel on Constitutional Affairs 2001/2002 (to be presented by Hon Andrew WONG, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)
16. Report of the Panel on Food Safety and Environmental Hygiene 2001/2002 (to be presented by Hon Fred LI, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)
17. Report of the Panel on Financial Affairs 2001/2002 (to be presented by Hon Ambrose LAU, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)
18. Report of the Panel on Education 2001/2002 (to be presented by Hon YEUNG Yiu-chung, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)
19. Report of the Panel on Welfare Services 2001/2002 (to be presented by Hon CHAN Yuen-han, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)
20. Report of the Panel on Information Technology and Broadcasting 2001/2002 (to be presented by Hon SIN Chung-kai, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)
21. Report of the Panel on Health Services 2001/2002 (to be presented by Hon Mrs Sophie LEUNG, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)
22. Report of the Bills Committee on Land Registration (Amendment) Bill 2000 (to be presented by Hon Albert CHAN, Chairman of the Bills Committee )
23. Report of the Bills Committee on Fire Safety (Buildings) Bill (to be presented by Hon IP Kwok-him, Chairman of the Bills Committee )
24. Report of the Bills Committee on Karaoke Establishments Bill (to be presented by Hon James TO, Chairman of the Bills Committee )

II. Questions

1. Hon Albert CHAN to ask: (Translation)

In reply to my question on 4 July last year, the Government stated that it had already implemented a series of measures to effectively reduce the impact of aircraft noise on residents. Nevertheless, I learn that aircraft noise remains a nuisance to a large number of residents. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the areas in which the highest aircraft noise levels recorded exceeded 70 decibels, the names of the specific locations within these areas and the highest noise level recorded in each area last year; how these figures compare to those of the previous year; and of the highest aircraft noise levels recorded last month at various stationary noise monitoring terminals between midnight and 7 a.m.;
(b)	of the new measures to reduce the nuisances caused to residents living under the flight paths; and
(c)	as a number of residential estates are now completed or will soon be completed successively at Ma Wan and Sham Tseng, and the residents may not be aware of the serious aircraft noise problem until after they have moved in, how the Government deals with the aircraft noise problem in these estates?

Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

2. Hon IP Kwok-him to ask: (Translation)

It was reported that in March this year, a District Council ("DC") member was assaulted and injured just after he had left his DC member's office, and had to be sent to hospital for treatment. The incident allegedly had to do with the remarks he had made at an Area Committee meeting a few days earlier. The Home Affairs Department later stated that "since DC members are not government employees, they would not be entitled to compensation even if they were injured because of the discharge of duties. However, members may approach the Social Welfare Department to ascertain the eligibility of the victims in such cases for compensation under the Criminal and Law Enforcement Injuries Compensation Scheme." In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	given that DC members are public officers, of the reasons for the Administration not paying compensation to DC members who are injured because of performing their duties; and
(b)	since DC members are not entitled to any employees' compensation for death and injury, whether the Administration will consider taking out insurance for DC members with a view to providing them with similar protection; if not, of the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Home Affairs

3. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)

The Administration formally implemented the Fixed Penalty (Public Cleanliness Offences) Ordinance with effect from the 10th of last month, by issuing fixed penalty notices to persons who commit offences such as littering, spitting, unauthorized display of bills and etc. On the first day of enforcement, a law enforcement officer was assaulted and injured by an offender. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	whether it has assessed the specific benefits to public cleanliness brought about by the implementation of the new ordinance;
(b)	of the difficulties currently faced by law enforcement officers, and whether it will consider providing them with more support; and
(c)	of the measures in place to strengthen civic education in order that more residents identify themselves with the importance of keeping Hong Kong clean?

Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

It is learnt that the passing rates of various papers of the Language Proficiency Assessment for Teachers (English Language), released at the end of May, showed a drastic decline as compared to those of last year. As the authorities concerned had decided not to require the candidates to reveal whether they were serving teachers, teacher trainees or other persons so as to minimize the psychological burden on them, there is no way for the authorities to distinguish the performance of different groups of candidates. In this regard, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the justifications in support of the argument that "the psychological burden on the candidates will be alleviated if they are not required to reveal their status"; whether it will alter this practice by requiring candidates to reveal their status, with a view to obtaining accurate information on the performance of different groups of candidates for drawing up effective measures to improve their proficiency in English;
(b)	whether it has assessed the reasons for the decline in this year's passing rates, and whether it will form a task force to conduct a comprehensive study of the relevant factors and solutions; and
(c)	of the further measures to ensure that all serving English teachers will attain the stipulated benchmark on English standard by the end of the 2005-06 school year?

Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Education and Manpower

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

As there have been reports from time to time about swindlers setting up modelling agencies and approaching people on the street with the intent to defraud, on the pretext of arranging modelling jobs for them, will the Government inform this Council of:

(a)	the number of such fraud cases cracked down by the Police, the number of such agencies involved, as well as the average and the highest amounts of money that the victims lost, in each of the past three years;
(b)	the common ploys used by the swindlers, whether the majority of the victims were young people, and whether there was a higher incidence of such cases during the summer vacation; and
(c)	the measures taken against such frauds, and whether it has reviewed the effectiveness of these measures?

Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Security

6. Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that the Education Department ("ED") has instructed 47 primary schools to operate less Primary One classes in the coming school year, and the total number of classes reduced is as many as 130. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the justifications for and the details of ED's instruction;
(b)	whether the number of teaching posts in such schools will be reduced as a result; ED will ask such schools to make some teachers redundant, and the amounts of subsidy granted to such schools will be reduced; and
(c)	whether ED has considered adopting alternative measures (such as reducing the size of each class); if it has, of the details; if it has not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Education and Manpower

*7. Hon Martin LEE to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government:

(a)	provide this Council with a "long-term growth curve" of Hong Kong's Gross Domestic Product ("GDP") (compiled by using the expenditure approach and applicable to the ensuing text) calculated on the basis of constant market prices, and with an analysis of the duration of each economic cycle and the years when each cycle began and ended, since GDP was first compiled;
(b)	provide an analysis of the short-term impact of the public expenditure on GDP; and
(c)	advise this Council of the elasticity of GDP relative to the public expenditure and of the multiplier effect of public expenditure, calculated by using the latest data;

Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

*8. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council of the respective amounts of Hong Kong's direct investment and the number of investment items outside Hong Kong in each quarter of the past five years, broken down by the economy entity where the investment was made and details of the trade categories involved? Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

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

It has been reported that, according to the results of a survey recently conducted by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University on the possibility of relocating industrial processes in Hong Kong, nearly 90% of the interviewed factory operators indicated their intention to retain some manufacturing processes in Hong Kong if concessions and treatments equivalent to those offered by the Mainland authorities are provided in Hong Kong. Moreover, businessmen, industrialists and academics have suggested that the Administration should allocate more resources to upgrade the image of products bearing the "Made in Hong Kong" label in order to stimulate sales. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it will:

(a)	make reference to the findings of the survey and consider providing concessions and treatments on par with those in the Mainland to attract factory operators to relocate manufacturing processes (particularly those for high value-added products) back to Hong Kong or to retain them here; and
(b)	allocate more resources to promotional activities to boost world-wide consumers' confidence in the quality of products manufactured in Hong Kong?

Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology

*10. Hon Mrs Sophie LEUNG to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that 70% of the persons in Hong Kong aged between 19 and 39 suffer from myopia and 60% to 70% of these will consider undergoing laser vision correction surgeries in order to improve their eyesight. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

(a)	it knows the number of persons who underwent laser vision correction surgeries in Hong Kong in each of the past three years and, among them, the number of cases in which the surgeries resulted in deterioration of eyesight;
(b)	it knows if the relevant authorities have received complaints about such surgeries; if they have, of the subject matters and outcome of the complaints; and
(c)	it plans to tighten the regulation of such surgeries so as to protect the interests of consumers?

Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

*11. Hon Henry WU to ask: (Translation)

At present, the choice of traditional Chinese characters, which differ one from another by the presence or absence of a radical, for forming certain Chinese terms has not been standardized. Regarding the use of such terms in government documents and the laws, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the government departments responsible for laying down the parameters for the choice of characters when using such terms in government documents and the laws, and for the selection of characters for particular terms; as well as the principles and procedure adopted by these departments for making the decisions concerned;
(b)	if more than one department is involved, whether there is a department or official responsible for the coordination work and for making the final decisions on the selection of characters; if there is, of that department or official and details of the relevant work, and whether a mechanism has been set up to examine the objections raised by members of the public to such final decisions; if there is no such department or officer for the coordination work, the reasons for that; and
(c)	of the justifications for choosing the less commonly used characters to form certain terms, instead of those which have been in use for a long time and are generally accepted, such as using"分"instead of"份"in the Chinese term for "Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card" in government documents?

Public Officer to reply: Secretary for the Civil Service

*12. Dr Hon TANG Siu-tong to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council of the estimated population, as at 30 June next year, in each of the 390 constituencies demarcated by the Electoral Affairs Commission in 1999 for the first District Councils elections?

Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Constitutional Affairs

*13. Hon Fred LI to ask: (Translation)

Last year, the Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation submitted to the Town Planning Board ("TPB") a planning application in respect of a housing construction project in Kwun Tong for the elderly. Some members of the Kwun Tong District Council ("KTDC") told me that KTDC had not been consulted on the planning application, but instead, the Kwun Tong District Office sent a letter to the district council ("DC") members for the area at which the proposed project would be located and to those for nearby areas, asking them to put forward any views they might have within seven days from the date of the letter. The DC members concerned complained that they did not have sufficient time to consult the residents and community organizations which might be affected by the project. Regarding the above incident and the consultation arrangements, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the reasons for not conducting public consultation on the planning application but instead, sending letters to individual DC members asking them to put forward their views within a short period;
(b)	how the respective public consultation procedures adopted by TPB for vetting planning applications and for revising statutory plans compare with each other;
(c)	whether the Planning Department ("PD") which provides service to TPB may consult DCs directly regarding the vetting of planning applications, and whether PD will consider so consulting in the future in order to save time; if this will not be considered, of the reasons for that; and
(d)	whether it will review the consultation arrangements with the aim of ensuring that those who may be affected by the projects will be fully consulted and have the opportunities to make submissions; if not, of the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

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

Regarding the installation of traffic signs on expressways and trunk roads, will the Government inform this Council whether it will:

(a)	light up such traffic signs so that motorists can see them clearly at night; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(b)	enlarge the size of speed limit signs; and
(c)	install directional traffic signs way ahead of the entry and exit of each expressway and trunk road, so that drivers may choose the lanes in advance?

Public Officer to reply: Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

*15. Hon IP Kwok-him to ask: (Translation)

The Home Affairs Bureau released the Report of the Working Group on District Councils Review in July 2001 and undertook that it "would take proactive measures with a view to appointing more District Council ("DC") members to advisory and statutory bodies, especially those which are concerned with people's livelihood." I moved a motion on the Report for debate at the Council meeting on 31 October 2001 and the motion was carried. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the respective numbers of DC members who have been appointed to advisory and statutory bodies to date since 1 November last year, together with a breakdown of such numbers by new appointments and re-appointments and by whether or not the seats concerned are newly added; and
(b)	of such figures for each of the past five years?

Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Home Affairs

*16. Hon Emily LAU to ask:

It has been reported that Hong Kong is the major market for the world's shark's fin trade, and 50% to 70% of the trade is estimated to take place here. There are accusations that the trade is pushing some shark species into extinction. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council whether:

(a)	they are aware of the severity of the problem; and
(b)	they have plans to tackle it; if so, of the details of such plans?

Public Officer to reply: Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

Regarding security arrangements in the campuses of various tertiary institutions, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the numbers of crimes, broken down by the type of crimes and by institution, reported to the police which were committed within the campuses of various institutions in each of the past three years and, among them, the respective numbers of detected cases and the numbers of cases in which the proven offenders were students of the institutions concerned;
(b)	whether it knows the number of theft cases reported to the authorities of the institutions concerned which took place inside the libraries on campus in the past three years, and the number of such cases in which the suspects were caught; and
(c)	whether it has, in collaboration with the institutions concerned, reviewed the existing campus security measures?

Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Education and Manpower

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

Regarding real estate developers' applications for assessment of premium and their being granted exemptions from paying land premium in respect of development projects, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the number of applications, made between September 2001, when suspension of sale of Home Ownership Scheme flats was announced, and June this year, by real estate developers for assessment of regrant premium in respect of development projects, and the details of each application, including the area and location of the site, as well as the assessed land premium;
(b)	how the number and details of these applications compare to those of the applications made in the same period in each of the five preceding fiscal years;
(c)	of the total area of green features which have been allowed, since the issuance of the Joint Practice Notes on Green and Innovative Buildings in February 2001, to be excluded from the calculation of Gross Floor Area under the Building Ordinance (Cap. 123), hence exempted from paying the land premium; and, in respect of each application allowed, the name of the development project, developer, type(s) of green features, area exempted, as well as the estimated land premium of the exempted area; and
(d)	as it is learnt that, in calculating flat prices, some developers boost their profits from the sale of domestic flats by inflating the flats' Gross Floor Area which includes the area of some green features which have been exempted from land premium, whether the authorities have assessed the appropriateness of such practice; if the assessment finds the practice to be appropriate, of the reasons; if no assessments have been made, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

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

With respect to street name plates, will the Government inform this Council whether:

(a)	it has statistics on the percentage of road junctions installed with street name plates at present, and whether it has plans to install street name plates at each road junction to assist motorists and pedestrians (especially tourists) who are not familiar with the roads in finding their way;
(b)	it plans to provide Braille street name plates for the visually impaired; if so, of the details; if not, the measures to assist the visually impaired in finding out where they are;
(c)	it plans to show the street names in bigger characters and install a lighting system for street name plates so that they can be seen clearly by motorists and pedestrians at night; and
(d)	it plans to improve the appearance of the existing street name plates; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply: Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

*20. Dr Hon David CHU to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that, according to the results of a survey recently conducted by the Chinese University of Hong Kong, over 30% of the primary school pupils surveyed indicated that they had been bullied at school by schoolmates in the preceding three months, and the forms of bullying included pushing, bumping, teasing and isolating; the situation is worse than that in the United Kingdom and the United States of America. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	whether the Education Department ("ED") has conducted similar studies to look into the problem of bullying at school; if so, of the results of such studies, as well as the follow-up actions taken; if not, whether it will consider doing so; and
(b)	of ED's measures to alleviate the problem of bullying at school?

Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Education and Manpower

*For written reply.

III. Bills

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

1. Land Registration (Amendment) Bill 2000	:	Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands
2. Fire Safety (Buildings) Bill	:	Secretary for Security
3. Karaoke Establishments Bill	:	Secretary for Security

IV. Motions

Proposed resolution under the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine Ordinance
Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food to move the following motion:

RESOLVED that the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine (Amendment) Regulation 2002, made by the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine on 7 June 2002, be approved.

CB(3) 720/01-02

V. Members' Motions

Proposed resolution under Article 75 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China

Hon TSANG Yok-sing to move the motion in the Appendix.

Report of the Sports Policy Review Team
Hon IP Kwok-him:

: Secretary for Home Affairs
Trade policy

Hon Bernard CHAN:

(a)	support the abolition of trade practices in the European Union, the United States and other developed economies that discriminate against poor workers in such sectors as agriculture and textiles in China and other developing countries; and
(b)	emphasize the importance of market access in alleviating world poverty and inequality.

Amendment to Hon Bernard CHAN's motion
Hon LEE Cheuk-yan:

To delete "arguing the case for free trade in international forums" after "That this Council urges the Government, when", and substitute with "participating in discussions on trade policies and negotiations on trade agreements at international meetings"; to delete "and" after "in China and other developing countries;"; to delete "market access" after "(b) emphasize the importance of", and substitute with "fair trade"; and to add "; (c) request the World Trade Organization to strengthen its co-operation with the International Labour Organization, and support the incorporation in trade agreements of provisions for protecting fundamental labour rights; and (d) duly consult Hong Kong people and concern groups through public hearings or other similar means before attending such meetings" after "in alleviating world poverty and inequality".

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology Clerk to the Legislative Council

Legislative Council

Agenda Wednesday 3 July 2002 at 2:30pm

Agenda

Wednesday 3 July 2002 at 2:30pm