A 01/02-34

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 10 July 2002 at 2:30pm



I. Tabling of Papers
Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.

Airport Authority (Permitted Airport-related Activities) Order127/2002

Other Papers

1. No.100-Hong Kong Trade Development Council Annual Report 2001/02
(to be presented by Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology)

2. No.101-Report of the Public Accounts Committee on Report No. 38 of the Director of Audit on the Results of Value for Money Audits and Supplemental Report of the Public Accounts Committee on Report No. 37 of the Director of Audit on the Results of Value for Money Audits
(July 2002 - P.A.C. Report No. 38)
(to be presented by Hon Eric LI, Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, who will address the Council)

3. No.102-Clothing Industry Training Authority Annual Report 2001
(to be presented by Secretary for Education and Manpower)

4. Committee on Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Progress Report for the period July 2001 to June 2002
(to be presented by Hon TSANG Yok-sing, Chairman of the Committee)

5. Report of the Panel on Administration of Justice and Legal Services 2001/2002
(to be presented by Hon Margaret NG, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)

6. Report of the Panel on Transport 2001/2002
(to be presented by Hon Miriam LAU, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)

7. Report of the Panel on Planning, Lands and Works 2001/2002
(to be presented by Dr Hon TANG Siu-tong, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)

8. Report of the Panel on Economic Services 2001/2002
(to be presented by Hon James TIEN, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)

9. Report of the Panel on Environmental Affairs 2001/2002
(to be presented by Hon CHOY So-yuk, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)

10. Report of the Bills Committee on Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2001
(to be presented by Hon Margaret NG, Chairman of the Bills Committee)

11. Report of the Bills Committee on Import and Export (Electronic Transactions) Bill 2001
(to be presented by Hon Kenneth TING, Chairman of the Bills Committee)

12. Report of the Bills Committee on Public Officers Pay Adjustment Bill
(to be presented by Hon Mrs Selina CHOW, Chairman of the Bills Committee)

13. Report of the Bills Committee on Drug Trafficking and Organized Crimes (Amendment) Bill 2000
(to be presented by Hon James TO, Chairman of the Bills Committee)

14. Report of the Bills Committee on United Nations (Anti-Terrorism Measures) Bill
(to be presented by Hon LAU Kong-wah, Chairman of the Bills Committee)

15. Report of the Bills Committee on Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Amendment) Bill 2002
(to be presented by Hon Ambrose LAU, Chairman of the Bills Committee)


II. Questions

1. Hon TSANG Yok-sing to ask: (Translation)

Regarding establishments which mainly engage in the business of renting out computers with Internet access on a time charge basis (commonly known as "Internet cafes"), will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the estimated number of such establishments at present;

    (b)of the number of fire outbreaks in such establishments over the past three years and, among them, the number which involved contravention of fire safety legislation by the persons-in-charge of the establishments concerned; and

    (c)whether, given the usually large number of customers in such establishments, the authorities concerned have assessed the necessity to stipulate more stringent requirements on fire safety measures for such establishments; if the assessment is in the affirmative, of the legislative timetable; if not, the justifications for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

2. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)

Last month, the Chief Secretary announced a drastic reduction in the number of Home Ownership Scheme ("HOS") units to be put up for sale in the coming few years. It is learnt that the authorities are considering converting several HOS sites, which involve about 12 000 units in total, for other purposes and decelerating the progress of some public housing under construction. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
    (a)it will consider allocating all the 20 000 HOS units to be completed in the three fiscal years between 2004-05 and 2006-07 for use as public rental housing, so as to further shorten the waiting time for public rental housing, and to relax the standard on living area per person stipulated for applications for transfer by overcrowded households; if not, of the reasons for that; and

    (b)the proposals to convert HOS sites for other purposes and to decelerate the progress of public housing construction will bring about financial losses for the Housing Authority; if so, of the amount?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

3. Hon Andrew CHENG to ask: (Translation)

The Gambling (Amendment) Ordinance 2000, which is targeted at gambling activities between people in Hong Kong and offshore gambling companies, came into operation on 31 May this year. However, it has been reported that some offshore gambling companies are still accepting bets from Hong Kong through various means. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the respective numbers of offshore bookmakers, intermediaries and punters arrested by the Police for involvement in the above gambling activities since the commencement of the Ordinance;

    (b)the number of offshore gambling companies which have stopped accepting bets from Hong Kong since the commencement of the Ordinance; and

    (c)the number of offshore gambling companies which are still accepting bets from Hong Kong, their means of accepting such bets and the measures taken by the Police to combat such gambling activities?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

It was reported that, in order to reduce the chance of a gaseous explosion, the authorities in the Philippines had recently promulgated new measures banning the use of mobile phones within petrol filling stations, and requesting operators of petrol filling stations to post notices at prominent positions within their stations to ask motorists to switch off their mobile phones before entering petrol filling stations. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
    (a)it has ever heard of any incident of gaseous explosion triggered by mobile phones within petrol filling stations; if it has, of the details of the incidents;

    (b)it has assessed the possibility of a gaseous explosion caused by the use of mobile phones; if it has, of the details of the assessment; and

    (c)local oil companies currently implement measures to restrict or prohibit the use of mobile phones within petrol filling stations; if they do, of the details; whether it has assessed if such measures are adequate and effective, and whether it will consider issuing guidelines to oil companies or introducing legislation to ban the use of mobile phones within petrol filling stations?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

5. Hon Miriam LAU to ask: (Translation)

The Government of the United States of America ("USA") announced the Container Security Initiative in February this year to prevent terrorists from smuggling illegal items, including explosives and nuclear weapons, into USA by using containers. The measures under the Initiative include the stationing of custom officers in various ports worldwide to pre-screen containers before they are shipped to USA. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the details of the container pre-screening measure, and the latest development of the discussion between the Administration and the USA Government in this regard;

    (b)whether it has assessed the impact of the container pre-screening measure on Hong Kong's logistics industry and, in particular, the efficiency and costs of port operation; if it has, of the outcome of the assessment; and

    (c)whether it will widely consult consignors and other affected parties in Hong Kong and assist them in meeting the requirement of the container pre-screening measure; if so, of the consultation timetable and details of the assistance that the Administration will provide; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology

6. Hon Margaret NG to ask: (Translation)

In May 2002, the Court of Appeal of the High Court ruled that although an appellant was paying monthly maintenance to his ex-wife under a court order, he was nonetheless not entitled to the Married Person's Allowance ("MPA") because "ex-wife" does not fall within the definition of a "spouse" in the Inland Revenue Ordinance. However, in giving the ruling, the Court commented that "the position under the legislation as it stands seems unfair and inequitable". In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether, in the light of the Court's comment, it will consider amending the Ordinance to permit a divorced taxpayer paying his or her ex-spouse maintenance pursuant to a court order to claim the MPA or to provide other tax relief, such as the introduction of a tax allowance for maintenance payments; if it will not, why not? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

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

Regarding the Certificate of Absence of Marriage Record issued by the Immigration Department, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of applications for the Certificate received and the number of Certificates issued in each of the past three years;

    (b)whether it has compiled statistics on the sex and age distribution of the applicants in the past three years; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether it has analyzed the trends in the number of applications for the Certificate and in the demographic characteristics of the applicants over the years; if it has, of the outcome, and whether it has, in formulating various social policies, made reference to the outcome of the analysis; if it has not made such an analysis, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

Regarding government properties, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the amount and percentage of rental income derived from each category of government properties (including commercial premises, canteens, advertisement spaces, car-parks and automatic teller machines) for this fiscal year, and, based on the latest estimation, the aggregate market values of each category of properties;

    (b)the respective percentages of government-constructed and purchased properties in the total number of office buildings currently owned by the Government; the total amount of public money spent on the purchase of properties in each of the past three fiscal years, together with a list of information on those properties costing over $10 million, including the purchase dates and prices, locations and present uses;

    (c)the criteria adopted for purchase-or-lease decisions; and

    (d)the information on those non-governmental organizations currently leasing government properties on concessionary terms, including the names of the organizations, districts in which the properties are located, brief accounts of the concessionary terms, and the rents currently paid by these organizations as percentages of the market rentals?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

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

Will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of complaints the authorities concerned received in the past two years from Hong Kong businessmen about infringement of their patent rights in Hong Kong and in the Mainland respectively;

    (b)how the authorities concerned have assisted these complainants, and the number of cases in which the complainants successfully claimed damages and obtained injunctions against the persons infringing their rights in the past two years; and

    (c)whether it will draw up measures and policies to further protect the patent rights of Hong Kong businessmen?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology

*10. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of Food and Environmental Hygiene Department ("FEHD") staff attacked while discharging duties in each of the past three years, and provide a breakdown by the type of duties they were discharging when being assaulted;

    (b)of the equipment currently provided and guidelines issued by the FEHD to its staff for safeguarding themselves; and

    (c)whether it regularly assesses the effectiveness of the aforesaid equipment and guidelines, and the risk of FEHD's staff being assaulted while discharging duties; if it has, of the outcome of the last assessment; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

Will the Government inform this Council of the respective numbers of male and female serving kindergarten teachers ("KTs"), as well as the prospective male and female KTs currently enrolled in training programmes for Qualified KTs; and if male KTs accounts for a very low percentage in the total number of KTs, whether it knows the reasons for that, and whether it has formulated a policy to encourage more men to become KTs? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

*12. Hon Howard YOUNG to ask: (Translation)

In the light of the incident on 1 May this year, the first day of the Mainland's Labour Day Holidays, in which passengers waiting for immigration and customs clearance were congested at the Lok Ma Chau Control Point, caused by an unexpectedly high number of visitors from the Mainland, will the Government inform this Council of the special measures it will adopt during the Mainland's National Day Holidays in October to avoid chaos or prolonged waiting time for immigration and customs clearance at various control points? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

Regarding the vacancy rate of public rental housing ("PRH") units in Tuen Mun, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the vacancy rate and number of vacant units in the district at the end of each of the past three years;

    (b)whether the vacancy rate of PRH units in the district is higher than those in Tin Shui Wai and Yuen Long; if so, of the reasons for that;

    (c)whether more proactive measures, such as speeding up the allocation of PRH units to prospective tenants and arranging for the transfer of overcrowded families, will be introduced to reduce the vacancy rate of PRH units in the district; and

    (d)whether it will reduce the rent of the PRH units in the district and other estates with high vacancy rates, with a view to attracting more prospective tenants to choose to move into these estates?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

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

Will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the number of teachers who were declared bankrupt by the Court, and its percentage in the total number of bankruptcy cases, in each of the past five years;

    (b)the follow-up actions taken by the schools concerned and the Education Department on those teachers who have been declared bankrupt; and

    (c)the measures it will adopt to enhance financial prudence among teachers and to help them grasp financial management knowledge?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

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

Residents in Shek O have told me that the district does not have any recreational facilities and activity centres for the elderly. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
    (a)it plans to provide recreational facilities for the elderly in the district; and

    (b)it will consider constructing an activity centre for the elderly in the district (for instance, on a piece of vacant land adjacent to the Shek O Bus Terminus); if it will, of the details, if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

When the Government invited tenders for the Shatin to Central Link ("SCL"), the Government stated that, to ensure a level playing field, it would consider only those bidding proposals which fully conformed to all the requirements, including railway alignment, specified in the Project Brief ("Conforming Proposals"), and that only after the operator had been selected would it evaluate the non-Conforming Proposals, if any, submitted by the winning corporation. The Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation ("KCRC") was awarded the SCL project on 25th of last month. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the reasons for not providing, when the railway alignment in the Project Brief was being drawn up, stations at densely populated areas not being served by any mass transit system (such as Tsz Wan Shan);

    (b)of the optimized options proposed in the non-Conforming Proposal submitted by KCRC and whether they include additional stations at Tsz Wan Shan and Whampoa; if so, of the impact of building the two stations on the construction costs and opening date of the railway; if not, whether it will request KCRC to provide the two stations in the railway alignment; if no such request will be made, of the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether it will conduct public consultations on the optimized options in the non-Conforming Proposal submitted by KCRC; if not, of the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

Regarding persons who take up employment illegally in Hong Kong after entering the territory on visit visas, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of such illegal workers arrested in each of the past three years, together with a breakdown by the trades in which they were employed as well as their countries of origin;

    (b)of the leads and procedures usually followed by the authorities in arresting such illegal workers;

    (c)whether it has examined why more such illegal workers are found in certain trades;

    (d)whether those persons who have been convicted of working illegally in Hong Kong are put on a blacklist of persons to be refused future re-entry into Hong Kong; and

    (e)of the further measures to tackle the problem of such persons taking up employment illegally?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*18. Hon Emily LAU to ask:

On 30th April this year, the Administration announced the re-appointment of a member of the Culture and Heritage Commission for another year, who attended only four of the Commission's 21 meetings in the last financial year. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
    (a)of the justifications for re-appointing the member who was absent at the Commission's meetings for many times;

    (b)whether the member's capacity as a member of the 800-member Election Committee has any bearing on her re-appointment; and

    (c)of the respective numbers of members of other advisory bodies re-appointed since 1st January this year, whose attendance rates at meetings in the year before re-appointment were below 25%?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

Will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the contents of the latest employment contracts signed between the Government and the Chief Secretary for Administration, Financial Secretary, Secretary for Justice, various Directors of Bureaux and Director of the Chief Executive's Office, as well as information on the investments and interests declared by them;

    (b)the differences between the contents of the above employment contracts, as well as the requirements on declaration of interests, and those as contained in the papers in this regard submitted to the Subcommittee to Study the Proposed Accountability System for Principal Officials and Related Issues of this Council; and

    (c)the information on the declarations made, in accordance with the Code for Principal Officials under the Accountability System, by the above officials to the Chief Executive, including whether they have links in any form with any political party, whether they are members of any political party and whether they hold any positions in political parties?
Public Officer to reply : Chief Secretary for Administration

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

Regarding traffic safety of motorcycles inside the tubes of cross-harbour tunnels, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective numbers of traffic accidents which took place inside various tunnel tubes in the past three years, and the number of these accidents which involved motorcycles;

    (b)of the differences between the provisions applicable to motorcycles and to other vehicles as laid down in the traffic control regulations for cross-harbour tunnels; and

    (c)whether motorcycles are prohibited from overtaking in cross-harbour tunnels (except at the time of traffic congestion and slow traffic movement) under the existing legislation; if so, of the penalties stipulated in and other relevant details of such provisions; if not, whether it will consider making such a provision?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

*For written reply.

III. Bills

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

1. Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2001:Secretary for Justice
2. Import and Export (Electronic Transactions) Bill 2001:Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology
3. Public Officers Pay Adjustment Bill : Secretary for the Civil Service
4. Drug Trafficking and Organized Crimes (Amendment) Bill 2000:Secretary for Security
5. United Nations (Anti-Terrorism Measures) Bill:Secretary for Security
6. Supplementary Appropriation (2001-2002) Bill 2002:Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
7. Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Amendment) Bill 2002:Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury


IV. Motions
  1. Proposed resolution under the Copyright (Suspension of Amendments) Ordinance 2001
    Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology to move the following motion:
    2.

    RESOLVED that the Copyright (Suspension of Amendments) Ordinance 2001 (Amendment) Notice 2002, made by the Secretary for Commerce and Industry on 18 June 2002, be approved.

    (The above Notice has been issued on 20 June 2002 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 740/01-02)


  • Proposed resolution under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance
    Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food to move the following motion:
    •

    RESOLVED that -

      (a)the Pharmacy and Poisons (Amendment)(No. 3) Regulation 2002; and

      (b)the Poisons List (Amendment)(No. 3) Regulation 2002,

    made by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board on 17 June 2002, be approved.

      (The two Regulations have been issued on 21 June 2002 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 745/01-02)
    V. Members' Bills
    Second Reading (Debate to resume), Committee Stage and Third Reading

    CITIC Ka Wah Bank Limited (Merger) Bill:Dr Hon David LI
    Public Officer to attend:Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury


    VI. Members' Motions

    1. Alleviating the hardship of negative-equity property owners
      Hon Albert CHAN:
      2. (Translation)

      That, whereas Hong Kong's economy has continued to be in the doldrums since the onset of the Asian financial turmoil, with the unemployment rate rising continuously, suicide cases occurring repeatedly, and many negative-equity property owners under severe pressure, the Government has not been doing its best to assist such persons, this Council urges the Government to expeditiously formulate effective measures to help negative-equity property owners tide over their difficulties, and to call on the banking sector, real estate developers and social service organizations to actively assist these people in relieving their pressure; this Council also hopes that negative-equity property owners will bravely face up to the adversity and cherish their precious lives.

      Amendments to Hon Albert CHAN's motion
      (i)Hon CHAN Kam-lam: (Translation)

       To delete "whereas" after "That,", and substitute with "as"; to delete "the Government has not been doing its best to assist such persons," after "and many negative-equity property owners under severe pressure,"; to add "with the Hong Kong Housing Society" after "this Council urges the Government to expeditiously formulate"; to add "such as setting up a secondary market for the Sandwich Class Housing Scheme and deferring the repayment period of the second mortgage loan under the Scheme," after "effective measures to help negative-equity property owners tide over their difficulties,"; to add ", the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation Limited" after "and to call on the banking sector, real estate developers"; and to delete "these people" after "and social service organizations to actively assist", and substitute with "negative-equity property owners".

      (ii)Hon Howard YOUNG: (Translation)

      To add "the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation Limited, the Hong Kong Housing Society," after "and to call on the banking sector,".

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

    2. Giving priority to employment
      3. Hon CHEUNG Man-kwong: (Translation)

      That, with the implementation of the accountability system, this Council requests Tung Chee-hwa's Administration to accord priority, in the next five years, to tackling the serious problem of unemployment and lowering the unemployment rate, and to adopt "achieving full employment" as an important indicator for determining whether the implementation of his policies is successful or not.

      Amendment to Hon CHEUNG Man-kwong's motion
      Hon Tommy CHEUNG:       (Translation)

      To delete "Tung Chee-hwa's Administration" after "That, with the implementation of the accountability system, this Council requests", and substitute with "the relevant policy bureaux of the Government"; to delete "indicator" after "and to adopt 'achieving full employment' as an important", and substitute with "objective"; to delete "determining whether" after "for"; to delete "his" after "the implementation of"; and to delete "is successful or not" after "policies".

      Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Economic Development and Labour
    Clerk to the Legislative Council