01/02-5
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 7 November 2001 at 2:30pm
I. Tabling of Papers
| Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments | L.N. No.
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| Tax Reserve Certificates (Rate of Interest) (No. 11) Notice 2001 | 228/2001
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Other Papers| 1. No.21 | - | Occupational Deafness Compensation BoardAnnual Report 2000-01
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(to be presented by Secretary for Education and Manpower)
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| 2. No.22 | - | Statement of Accounts of the Customs and Excise Service Welfare Fund together with the Director of Audit's Report (2000-2001)
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(to be presented by Secretary for Commerce and Industry)
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| 3. No.23 | - | Report of the Chinese Temples Committee on the Administration of the Chinese Temples Fund for the year ended 31 March 2001
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(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)
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| 4. No.24 | - | Report of the Chinese Temples Committee on the Administration of the General Chinese Charities Fund for the year ended 31 March 2001
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| (to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)
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II. Questions
1. Hon YEUNG Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)
With effect from the last school year, recurrent subventions to aided schools are provided in the form of a block grant. Items paid out from the grant includes the salaries of clerical staff and janitors, but not the salaries and allowances of teaching staff. The grant is adjusted annually along with the price changes in the preceding year. As Hong Kong experienced deflation last year, aided schools have accordingly received lesser amounts of grant this school year. As a result, less money is available for paying the salaries of clerical staff and janitors. On the other hand, teaching staff received a salary increase this year in line with the pay adjustment for civil servants. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the reasons for not adopting the same mechanism to pay the salaries of teaching staff and other staff of aided schools;
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| (b) | of the respective total numbers of clerical staff and janitors currently employed by aided schools; and
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| (c) | of the measures it will adopt to improve the situation in which two different sets of salary adjustment mechanisms exist in a school as a result of the Administration's subvention policy?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Education and Manpower
2. Hon MA Fung-kwok to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the number of directorate officers in the Government and public-funded organizations, will the Government inform this Council of:
| (a) | the total number of directorate officers in its establishment as at 30 September this year; the total respective amounts of salaries and allowances paid to such officers in the previous fiscal year, as well as their respective percentages in the total salaries and allowances the Government paid out in that year;
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| (b) | the respective total numbers of persons employed by public-funded organizations and remunerated according to the Directorate Pay Scale as at 31 March each year since 1997 and as at 30 September this year; the total amount of salaries and allowances paid by such organizations to these employees in the previous fiscal year, as well as its percentage in their total staff remuneration cost for that year; and
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| (c) | the measures it has adopted to contain or reduce the number of directorate officers in the Government and public-funded organizations, and whether it has assessed the effectiveness of such measures; if so, of the results of the assessment?
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| Public Officers to reply | : | Secretary for the Treasury
Secretary for the Civil Service |
3. Hon NG Leung-sing to ask: (Translation)
On 11 September this year, the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York City completely collapsed just over one hour after fires raged in them upon the crash of two aeroplanes into them. It was reported that one of the causes of their collapse was the severe weakening of the load-bearing strength of the towers' steel-based load-bearing structure under extreme heat. Regarding the fire safety of these buildings in Hong Kong designed with a steel-based load-bearing structure, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the current number of such buildings in Hong Kong and the districts in which they are mainly located;
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| (b) | whether it has assessed the risk of such buildings collapsing due to failure to resist the strong heat caused by fire or other accidents; if so, of the details; and
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| (c) | whether it has drawn up any escape and rescue guidelines on the courses of action to be taken in the event of fire and other catastrophic incidents in such buildings; if so, of the details?
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| Public Officers to reply | : | Secretary for Planning and Lands
Secretary for Security |
4. Dr Hon YEUNG Sum to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the residential mortgages with outstanding loans exceeding the respective current market values of the mortgaged properties (commonly known as "negative equity" mortgages), will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the total number of residential mortgages at present; the number of negative equity cases among them and the total amount of outstanding loans involved, together with a breakdown of these cases by bands of two percentage points of mortgage interest rates;
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| (b) | of the number of negative equity mortgage cases in which the properties concerned are occupied by the homeowners who do not own other properties, and the total amount of outstanding mortgage loans involved; whether a survey has been conducted on the total amount of funds required for providing "mortgage relief" or "refinancing" for these cases; and
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| (c) | how the Administration arrived at its earlier estimate that a commitment of up to $300 billion in public funds would be needed to assist homeowners with negative equity mortgages, and whether it has plans to introduce more relief measures to help these homeowners?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Financial Services
5. Hon SZETO Wah to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the implementation of the early retirement scheme in the Hong Kong Institute of Education, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the details of the processes involved in the formulation of the scheme, including the means of consultation with the staff of the Institute and the roles played by the relevant Bureau and government departments in the processes;
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| (b) | of the respective establishment of lecturers in each academic department of the Institute as at 23 October this year, the numbers of lecturers on contract and pensionable terms in the respective establishment, the numbers of lecturers who joined and those who left the department in the past three years; as well as the long-term development needs of the various departments and whether, in determining these needs, consultation with the staff has been included; and
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| (c) | whether it knows if the Institute has assessed if it is a feasible arrangement to first allow the staff to express their interest in participating in the scheme on their own initiative and then let the management select which of them should retire early, and the impact of the scheme, upon implementation, on the image of the Institute, the morale of lecturers, the interests of students and the quality of teaching; if it has, of the results of the assessment; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Education and Manpower
6. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)
The Chief Executive undertook in his Policy Address 2001 to create over 30 000 job opportunities in the public sector. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
| (a) | the number of new job opportunities that will be created in the coming 12 months; the detailed timetable for creating the remaining job opportunities; and
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| (b) | any further measures it will take to reduce the unemployment situation aggravated by the deteriorating economy?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Education and Manpower
*7. Hon LEUNG Fu-wah to ask: (Translation)
The Government commissioned a consultancy study in 1998 to explore the feasibility of private sector participation in the provision of water supply services through various forms, including privatization, corporatization and outsourcing services. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | if it has made decisions on whether the private sector should participate in the provision of water supply services and the form of participation; if it has, of the details;
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| (b) | except for the announced outsourcing of transportation services and maintenance works, whether it has plans for outsourcing other work of the Water Supplies Department to private contractors; if so, of the reasons and implementation timetable, as well as the number of staff that will be affected; and
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| (c) | whether it has considered adopting a higher target for the Enhanced Productivity Programme of the Water Supplies Department, instead of going for privatization and corporatization?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Works
*8. Hon Fred LI to ask: (Translation)
With effect from 3 October, the public can pay general Government fees and charges at post offices via the PayThruPost service. It has been reported that on the first day the service was introduced, large crowds queued up at various post offices to make payments and, to cope with this, some post offices extended their service hours. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
| (a) | the number of payments of Government fees and charges made via the PayThruPost service and the average waiting time of the public who used this service to make payments on that day;
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| (b) | the names of the post offices which extended their service hours on that day and the respective time of their extension; and
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| (c) | ways to shorten the waiting time to make payments?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Economic Services
*9. Hon SIN Chung-kai to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the regulation of the contents of the programmes and advertisements broadcast by the RoadShow Group on franchised buses and public light buses, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | how the contents of these programmes and advertisements are regulated by existing legislation;
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| (b) | whether the above-mentioned service is within the meaning of "broadcasting service" ascribed by the Broadcasting Ordinance (Cap. 562); and
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| (c) | of the government departments or statutory bodies with which the public's views on or complaints about the contents of these programmes and advertisements may be lodged?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting
*10. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)
The Chief Executive announced in his Policy Address 1998 that the Government would undertake an Enhanced Productivity Programme ("EPP") to deliver productivity gains amounting to 5% of its operating expenditure between 1998 and 2002. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
| (a) | of the total amount of savings achieved through the implementation of the EPP;
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| (b) | of the total amount of expenditure incurred by the Administration on outsourcing work, and the percentage of such expenditure in its total operating expenditure, in the past three years;
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| (c) | of the total amount of expenditure incurred by the Administration on commissioning consultants, and the percentage of such expenditure in its total operating expenditure, in the past three years; and
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| (d) | whether outsourcing work and commissioning consultants run counter to the principle of reducing expenditure through productivity gains advocated under the EPP, and whether the Administration, in implementing the EPP, is simply transferring the work originally undertaken by civil servants to non-civil servants?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for the Treasury
*11. Hon LAW Chi-kwong to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the provision of infirmary services for the elderly, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the respective numbers of elderly persons waiting or qualified for admission to the infirmaries under the Hospital Authority ("HA") among all those who are living in various types of residential care homes for the elderly ("RCHEs");
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| (b) | of the unit cost of an infirmary bed under the HA; and the respective unit costs of taking care of the elderly persons who are qualified for admission to RCHEs in various subsidized RCHEs and private RCHEs which participate in the Bought Place Scheme or the Enhanced Bought Place Scheme;
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| (c) | whether assessment and comparison have been made regarding the service quality of the infirmaries under the HA, subsidized RCHEs and private RCHEs in taking care of vulnerable elderly persons; if so, of the results; and
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| (d) | whether it will consider allowing RCHEs to provide infirmary services as well, with a view to enhancing the coordination and continuity of services for the elderly; if not, of the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Health and Welfare
*12. Hon Cyd HO to ask: (Translation)
Regarding its installation of closed circuit television ("CCTV") cameras in public places, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether the faces of members of the public can be clearly captured by these devices;
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| (b) | of the number of CCTV cameras currently installed to monitor road traffic conditions; whether the Administration has made use of these devices to film the proceedings of public processions and handed the relevant films to the Police, the Customs and Excise Department or the Immigration Department; if so, of the relevant figures for the past five years;
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| (c) | of the number of CCTV cameras currently installed in public places, including public housing estates, shopping arcades, the airport and stadiums, for the purpose of maintaining law and order;
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| (d) | of the respective numbers of crimes detected in each of the past five years by the Police based on the clues provided by the films recorded in public places, together with a breakdown of such numbers by the nature of crimes;
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| (e) | whether it plans to install more CCTV cameras in public places; if so, of the details; and
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| (f) | whether it has drawn up any codes on the procurement, use, retention and destruction of the films recorded in public places; if so, of the details of such codes; if not, how it ensures compliance by relevant departments with the data protection principles stipulated in the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Cap. 486)?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Security
*13. Hon CHOY So-yuk to ask: (Translation)
A large number of young people participated in a dancing party organized by the Narcotics Division of the Security Bureau in conjunction with the Radio Television Hong Kong on the evening of the Dragon Boat Festival this year for promoting anti-drug messages. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether, in the light of the experience gained in the event, it will organize more similar events to encourage young people to participate in healthy dancing activities?
Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Security
*14. Hon Mrs Sophie LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
In June this year, a person was injured in an accident in which a liquefied petroleum gas ("LPG") cooking stove exploded, allegedly caused by gas leakage. It was reported that the cooking stove involved in the accident was bought from the Mainland and was not fitted with flame failure device. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
| (a) | the number of fire or explosion incidents caused by gas leakage from LPG cooking stoves without flame failure device, in each of the past three years; and
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| (b) | the measures taken to prevent such LPG cooking stoves from being brought into Hong Kong; if no measures have been taken, of the reasons for that, and whether it will consider introducing interception measures in order to reduce such accidents?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Economic Services
*15. Hon LAU Kong-wah to ask: (Translation)
The Post Office has extended the scope of its PayThruPost service to cover more than 130 items of government fees and charges since 3 October. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether the Post Office had assessed the increased demand for the service before extending its scope; if it had, of the reasons for a large number of people queueing up to make payments on the first day of the extension of the service; if no such an assessment had been made, of the reasons for that;
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| (b) | whether there is any discrepancy between the actual and forecast demands for the service in the last month;
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| (c) | of the additional manpower and number of service counters deployed by the Post Office for extending the scope of the service;
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| (d) | of the contingency measures to cope with the situation in which crowds of people queue up to make payments at post offices, as well as to avoid other services of the Post Office being affected as a result; and
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| (e) | given that the post offices are handling a much larger amount of cash each day than previously, of the corresponding measures the relevant authorities will take to prevent burglaries and robberies?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Economic Services
*16. Ir Dr Hon HO Chung-tai to ask: (Translation)
As various infrastructural projects will need to be carried out in Beijing in the next few years upon the city's successful bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games, will the Government inform this Council whether:
| (a) | it intends to bid to host some of the Olympic events in Hong Kong; if so, whether there is a need to develop infrastructural facilities in the territory for this purpose;
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| (b) | assistance will be given to local developers and contractors in bidding for contracts of the Olympic infrastructural works; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
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| (c) | it has made an assessment to identify Hong Kong's major competitors in bidding for the relevant works contracts; if so, of the basis for its assessment?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Home Affairs
*17. Hon TAM Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)
Regarding immigration clearance for holders of Re-entry Permit holders, will the government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the current number of persons holding valid Re-entry Permits;
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| (b) | of the difference in average immigration clearance time between holders of Re-entry Permits and Hong Kong Permanent Identity Cards; and
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| (c) | whether it will take measures to shorten the immigration clearance time for holders of Re-entry Permit, such as bar-coding the Permits or streamlining the relevant procedure, so as to speed up cross-border passenger flow; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Security
*18. Hon Fred LI to ask: (Translation)
The Chief Secretary for Administration announced on 3 September this year that the sale of Home Ownership Scheme ("HOS") flats would be suspended until the end of June next year, and that the number of HOS flats subsequently put on sale would be reduced. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of the specific arrangements for HOS estates which have already been completed but not yet occupied and those which will be completed in the next three years, with the following details:
| (a) | the respective names, locations, numbers of flats, estimated completion dates and planned vacant periods of the HOS estates that will be left temporarily unoccupied;
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| (b) | the respective names, locations, numbers of flats and estimated completion dates of the HOS estates that will be transferred to public rental housing; and
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| (c) | the respective names, locations and numbers of flats of the HOS estates that will be changed to be used for re-housing public housing tenants affected by the Comprehensive Redevelopment Programme of the Housing Authority; as well as the details of the relevant re-housing plans?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Housing
*19. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the linked exchange rate system, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
| (a) | of the advantages and disadvantages of maintaining the linked exchange rate system;
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| (b) | other than maintaining the linked exchange rate system, of the options the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region may have regarding exchange rate systems; and
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| (c) | of the circumstances under which the authorities will consider adjusting or changing the linked exchange rate system?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Financial Services
*20. Hon LAU Kong-wah to ask: (Translation)
Under the current rule, elderly persons who are receiving "old age allowances" may leave Hong Kong for not more than 180 days a year in order to continue to receive the allowance. In response to a question of this Council on 14 February this year, the Administration stated that the residence requirement was generous compared with other countries. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the details of the basis used to make the comparison, including the countries, social welfare items and residence requirements;
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| (b) | whether, in view of the possible differences in various aspects of the social environment between these countries and Hong Kong, it has assessed the appropriateness of making the comparison; and
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| (c) | whether, in view of the current economic downturn and as a large number of elderly people have settled outside Hong Kong, the Administration will consider abolishing the residence requirement to save them from having to travel to and from Hong Kong frequently?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Health and Welfare
*For written reply.
III. Bills
First Reading
Chemical Weapons (Convention) Bill
Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)
Chemical Weapons (Convention) Bill :
Secretary for Commerce and Industry
IV. Members' Motions
- Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
Hon James TO to move the following motion:
RESOLVED that in relation to the Rehabilitation Centres Regulation, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 195 of 2001 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 10 October 2001, the period referred to in section 34(2) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap. 1) for amending subsidiary legislation be extended under section 34(4) of that Ordinance to the meeting of 14 November 2001.
- Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
Hon IP Kwok-him to move the following motion:
RESOLVED that in relation to the -
| (a) | Election Committee (Appeals) Regulation, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 196 of 2001;
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| (b) | Election Committee (Registration) (Voters for Subsectors) (Members of Election Committee) (Appeals) Regulation, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 197 of 2001;
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| (c) | Legislative Council (Formation of Election Committee) (Appeals) (Repeal) Regulation 2001, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 198 of 2001;
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| (d) | Registration of Electors (Appeals) (Amendment) Regulation 2001, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 199 of 2001; and
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| (e) | Electoral Affairs Commission (Registration) (Electors for Functional Constituencies) (Voters for Subsectors) (Members of Election Committee) (Legislative Council) (Amendment) Regulation 2001, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 200 of 2001,
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and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 10 October 2001, the period referred to in section 34(2) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap. 1) for amending subsidiary legislation be extended under section 34(4) of that Ordinance to the meeting of 14 November 2001.
Upholding the rule of law
Hon Audrey EU: (Translation)
That, in order to maintain the competitive edge of Hong Kong in the rule of law, this Council urges the Government to:
| (a) | promote and implement reforms in legal education;
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| (b) | comprehensively review the demand for legal and related services;
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| (c) | expand the scope of legal aid services;
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| (d) | set up community legal service centres;
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| (e) | promote awareness and knowledge of the law in the community; and
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| (f) | promote studies on the legal systems of China and Hong Kong, and organize more international conferences on this subject.
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Amendment to Hon Audrey EU's motion
Hon Martin LEE: (Translation)
To delete "and" after "(e) promote awareness and knowledge of the law in the community;"; and to add "; and (g) declare in public and pledge that in future, after the provisions of the Basic Law have been interpreted by the Court of Final Appeal, it will not invite the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress to re-interpret the relevant provisions" after "(f) promote studies on the legal systems of China and Hong Kong, and organize more international conferences on this subject".
| Public Officers to attend | : | Chief Secretary for Administration
Secretary for Justice |
Reviewing the Old Age Allowance Scheme
Dr Hon YEUNG Sum: (Translation)
That this Council deeply regrets the Government's repeated delays in reviewing the Old Age Allowance Scheme, and urges the Government to immediately improve the scheme and increase the allowance rates, so as to improve the livelihood of the poor elderly.
Public Officer to attend :
Secretary for Health and Welfare
Clerk to the Legislative Council
