A 02/03-16

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 22 January 2003 at 2:30 pm

I. Tabling of Papers
Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments L.N. No.
1.Insurance Companies Ordinance (Amendment of Part 1 of Third Schedule) Regulation 20032/2003
2.Insurance Companies Ordinance (Amendment of Part 8 of Third Schedule) Regulation 20033/2003
3.Telecommunications (Telecommunications Apparatus) (Exemption from Licensing) Order4/2003
4.Barristers (Admission) Rules5/2003
5.Legal Practitioners (Fees) (Amendment) Rules 20026/2003
6.Practising Certificate (Barristers) (Amendment) Rules 20027/2003
7.Barristers (Advanced Legal Education Requirement) Rules8/2003
8.Barristers (Qualification for Admission and Pupillage) Rules 9/2003
9.Import and Export (General) Regulations (Amendment of Seventh Schedule) Notice 200310/2003
10.Securities and Futures (Insurance) Rules11/2003
11.Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571) (Commencement) Notice 200312/2003
12.Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571) (Appointment of Day ── Repeal of Ordinances) Notice13/2003
13.Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571) (Appointed Day ── Unified Exchange Compensation Fund) Notice14/2003
14.Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571) (Appointed Day ── Futures Exchange Compensation Fund) Notice15/2003
15.Banking (Amendment) Ordinance 2002 (6 of 2002) (Commencement) Notice 200316/2003
16.Solicitors (Group Practice) Rules (L.N. 122 of 2002) (Commencement) Notice 200317/2003


Other Papers

1. No.54-Employees Compensation Assistance Fund BoardAnnual Report 2001/2002
(to be presented by Secretary for Economic Development and Labour)

2. No.55-Equal Opportunities CommissionAnnual Report 2001/02
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

3. Report of the Bills Committee on Adaptation of Laws Bill 2001
(to be presented by Hon Margaret NG, Chairman of the Bills Committee)

4. First Report of the Legislative Council Select Committee on Building Problems of Public Housing Units
(to be presented by Hon Miriam LAU, Chairman of the Select Committee who will address the Council)


II. Questions

1. Hon James TO to ask:(Translation)

Under the Public Order Ordinance, the Commissioner of Police may impose conditions in respect of public meetings and public processions. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the criteria and restrictions that the Commissioner should observe in determining the conditions to be imposed;

    (b)the conditions imposed by the Commissioner in respect of the public meeting and public procession held on 15 December last year by various groups to oppose the enactment of laws to implement Article 23 of the Basic Law; and

    (c)the procedure followed by the authorities in dealing with cases in which the conditions imposed by the Commissioner were contravened during public meetings and public processions?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Security

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

The population in Yuen Long District (including Tin Shui Wai) has increased by over 30% over the past four years and two girls in the district were successively abducted and subsequently killed at the end of last year. With regard to the police strength in Yuen Long District, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the establishment of disciplined staff in Yuen Long Police District at present; how the ratio of police strength to the population in the district compares to the territory-wide ratio;

    (b)whether the police have formulated effective measures to reduce child abduction and violent crimes in the district; and

    (c)whether the police will expedite the review on their internal deployment of resources with a view to enhancing the police strength in the district as early as possible; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Security

3. Hon Miriam LAU to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the implementation of co-location of immigration and customs facilities at Huanggang and the new control point at Shenzhen Western Corridor, will the Government inform this Council whether:
    (a)the relevant authorities have completed the design and planning work in respect of the two control points as well as the relevant ancillary facilities; if so, of the details; if not, when such work is expected to be completed; and

    (b) it has discussed with the relevant Mainland authorities the possibility of providing public transport interchanges at the two control points, so that the public can travel to and from the clearance points by various means of public transport (including taxi, public light bus and public bus); if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officers to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and
WorksSecretary for Security


4. Hon James TIEN to ask:

Will the Government inform this Council whether it has:
    (a)investigated cases in which employers paid their foreign domestic helpers ("FDHs") less salaries than the minimum allowable wage; if it has, of the results;

    (b)investigated cases in which employment agencies overcharged FDHs; if it has, of the results; and

    (c)any concrete plans to prohibit the above unlawful practices; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

5. Hon Michael MAK to ask:(Translation)

A case concerning improper disposal of human body specimens used for educational purpose in landfill was revealed early this month. Regarding the disposal of clinical waste, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether guidelines have been issued to public and private medical institutions regarding the disposal of human body parts;

    (b)if such guidelines have been issued, whether the authorities concerned will impose penalties on the medical institutions which fail to comply with the guidelines; if penalty will be imposed, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)of the measures taken by the authorities concerned to monitor the transportation of clinical waste by the contractors, and the penalties imposed on the contractors who fail to comply with the procedures in disposing clinical waste?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

6. Hon Andrew CHENG to ask:(Translation)

Under existing Legislation, vehicle owners are required to be insured against third party risks in respect of their vehicles, and the insured persons in such insurance contracts are usually required to pay a specified amount of money (known as "insurance excess") to contribute to the compensation payable to the third party in the event of a traffic accident. It is learnt that, as a usual practice of the insurance industry, insurance companies will pay compensation to the third party concerned only after the insured person has paid the due amount of the insurance excess. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of complaints received by the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance ("OCI") involving claims concerning third party risks insurance of vehicles in the past three years;

    (b)how the OCI has handled these complaints; and

    (c)given that the third party in a traffic accident is not a contracting party to the relevant insurance contract, whether it will consider amending the relevant legislation to require insurance companies to pay compensation to the third party concerned within certain periods; if so, of the details and the legislative timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

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

Regarding security matters in public car parks, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of reported crimes which took place in the car parks of public housing estates in each of the past three years, together with a breakdown by the names of estates and the categories of crimes, and whether there has been an upward trend in such crimes; if so, whether the Administration has analysed the causes;

    (b)of the respective numbers and percentages of public car parks in public housing estates and other places in which 24-hour closed circuit television monitoring systems ("CCTMSs") have been installed; and

    (c)whether it will consider requiring all public car parks to install 24-hour CCTMSs; if not, of the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Security

*8. Hon Abraham SHEK to ask:(Translation)

Regarding the supply and demand of public rental housing ("PRH") flats, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective current numbers of PRH tenants who are required to pay double net rent or market rent;

    (b)of the respective numbers of PRH flats which were vacated for various reasons in each of the past five years; and

    (c)how it has arrived at the estimate that, apart from the vacated flats, only 25 000 PRH flats need to be produced annually in the coming years, in order to fulfil its pledge that applicants on the Waiting List will be allocated PRH flats in three years' time on average?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

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

A number of District Council ("DC") members have reflected to me that, subsequent to their complaints to the relevant government departments about local problems, such as gambling at public places, illegal on-street parking and illegal hawking, they or their offices had fallen victim to harassment. They suspect that this is due to their identity as complainants being divulged by the law enforcement officers concerned. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the measures taken by law enforcement departments to ensure the personal safety of complainants and the confidentiality of their identity;

    (b)whether it is an offence for law enforcement officers to divulge the identity of complainants without authorization; if so, of the stipulations in this respect; and

    (c)whether it will consider paying compensation to the DC members concerned after it has been substantiated that the vandalism done to their offices was the result of the divulgence of their identity as complainants by the law enforcement officers; if so, how the amounts of compensation are to be calculated; if not, of the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Home Affairs

*10. Hon Bernard CHAN to ask:(Translation)

It has been reported that an organization which claims to be committed to the promotion of local eco-tourism received donations exceeding one million dollars by organizing fund-raising excursions in the past four years. However, its fund-raising accounts are rather disorganised, and most of the money has been spent on the administration of the organization such as personal emoluments and rent of office premises. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)how existing laws monitor this kind of fund-raising activities; and

    (b)of the number of charitable bodies currently exempt from tax, and the simple and direct ways through which the public may ascertain if the organizers of fund-raising activities belong to this category?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

Regarding the local and non-local staff of the Securities and Futures Commission ("SFC"), will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
    (a)the current number of non-local staff of SFC, together with a breakdown by their ranks and pay bands;

    (b)how the work experience and qualifications of the local staff of SFC compare to those of their non-local colleagues of the same ranks; and

    (c)if SFC plans to implement any staff localization policy; if so, of the implementation timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

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

It was reported that in late November last year, a franchised bus caught fire while in motion. After investigation, the bus company concerned stated that the fire might have been caused by a leakage of some flammable liquid brought on board the bus by a passenger. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows if the franchised bus companies have, in the wake of the incident, tightened up their instructions to drivers to prohibit passengers from carrying on board any flammable substances; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)whether it plans to test the fire resistance of the design and materials used for various types of franchised buses; and

    (c)of the measures taken to prevent the occurrence of fire on franchised buses while in motion, including whether or not guidelines have been issued to the franchised bus companies; if such guidelines have been issued, of the relevant details?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

Regarding drug rehabilitation services, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the public expenditure on and manpower deployed for providing out-patient methadone treatment by the Department of Health, the respective numbers of persons who have received the treatment and those who have successfully been rehabilitated, in each of the past three years; and

    (b)whether it has compared the effectiveness of the Methadone Treatment Programme to other drug rehabilitation options and treatments with other medicines?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Security

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

Will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective numbers of reports received by the authorities about unknown gases permeating residential areas and school premises over the past three years; among these reports, the number of those in which the sources and types of gases were identified, together with a breakdown by the sources, types, and toxicity of those gases;

    (b)whether the equipment of the authorities can distinguish different gases immediately on the spot; and

    (c)of the relevant departments' procedures for handling reports of unknown gases?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Security

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

Regarding the waste separation bins provided by the Government in public places, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the current number of such bins as well as the average daily quantity of each type of waste collected;

    (b)how the figures in (a) above compare to the relevant figures 12 months ago; and

    (c)whether it has assessed the effectiveness of such bins in facilitating the separate recovery of waste; if so, of the results of the assessment; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

*16. Hon LEUNG Fu-wah to ask:(Translation)

Regarding applications made by non-profit-making organizations to modify the use of land which was originally granted to them at a nominal land premium, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the criteria for vetting and approving such applications; and

    (b)the number of cases approved in the past three years and the details of each case, including the name of the applicant, the original and newly approved uses, the area and the land value based on the new use?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

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

Regarding residents in partitioned public rental housing flats who have to share the use of balconies and sanitary facilities with the occupants of the adjacent flats, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective current numbers of single elderly and elderly households living in such flats;

    (b)of the respective numbers of cases in which single elderly and elderly households were allowed to be transferred from such flats to self-contained flats over the past three years;

    (c)whether it will consider allowing single elderly and elderly households living in such flats to be registered on the Waiting List again for the allocation of self-contained public rental housing flats; if not, of the reasons for that; and

    (d)whether it has set a timetable and allocated resources to transfer all occupants of such flats to self-contained flats; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

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

Regarding Bus-Bus Interchange ("BBI") schemes implemented by the franchised bus companies, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it has specific measures to encourage franchised bus companies to implement more BBI schemes; if so, of the details and the progress thereof; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)whether it has suggested to the relevant bus companies that they should provide fare discounts to passengers changing to other bus routes at the Ching Ma Bridge Toll Plaza; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)given that at present passengers may take free onward rides on some of the routes at the Shing Mun Tunnel Toll Plaza, whether it has suggested to the franchised bus companies that they should give passengers free onward rides at other places (such as the Western Harbour Tunnel Toll Plaza); if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

*19. Hon SIN Chung-kai to ask:(Translation)

In December last year, the Government assisted the International Telecommunication Union ("ITU") in holding in Hong Kong the International Telecommunication Union TELECOM ASIA 2002, which included staging the International Telecommunication Exhibition. It is learnt that ITU designated a fixed telecommunication network service ("FTNS") operator as the FTNS supplier for the exhibition. The FTNS operator was given priority to use the interconnection facilities for telecommunications network and provide telecommunications service at standard rates for individual exhibitors. Other FTNS operators were not allowed to provide paid telecommunications service to the exhibitors unless the service offered by the said operator could not meet the demand of the exhibitors. In this regard, will the Government inform this Council whether:
    (a)it knows the rationale for ITU's arrangement and requirement mentioned above;

    (b)the arrangement and requirement contravened the principle of fairness and limited exhibitors' choice of the requisite telecommunications service; and

    (c)it has assessed if the arrangement and requirement have had adverse impact on Hong Kong's image as a telecommunications hub in Asia; if it has, of the outcome?
Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Economic Development and Labour(in the absence of Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology)


*For written reply.

III. Bills

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

Adaptation of Laws Bill 2001 : Chief Secretary for Administration

IV. Motions
  1. Proposed resolution under the Public Bus Services Ordinance
    Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works to move the following motion:

RESOLVED that the franchise granted on 22 October 2002 conferring the right on Long Win Bus Company Limited to operate a public bus service on the routes specified in the Schedule of Routes (Long Win Bus Company Limited) Order 2001 (L.N. 72 of 2001) and in any subsequent order made by the Chief Executive in Council shall not, for the entire period of the franchise, be subject to sections 27, 28, 29 and 31 in Part V of the Public Bus Services Ordinance.

  • Proposed resolution under the Public Bus Services Ordinance
    Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works to move the following motion:


    • RESOLVED that the franchise granted on 22 October 2002 conferring the right on New World First Bus Services Limited to operate a public bus service on the routes specified in the Schedule of Routes (New World First Bus Services Limited) Order 2001 (L.N. 74 of 2001) and in any subsequent order made by the Chief Executive in Council shall not, for the entire period of the franchise, be subject to sections 27, 28, 29 and 31 in Part V of the Public Bus Services Ordinance.

  • Proposed resolution under the Public Bus Services Ordinance
    Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works to move the following motion:


    • RESOLVED that the franchise granted on 22 October 2002 conferring the right on Citybus Limited to operate a public bus service on the routes specified in the Schedule of Routes (North Lantau and Chek Lap Kok Airport)(Citybus Limited) Order 2001 (L.N. 75 of 2001) and in any subsequent order made by the Chief Executive in Council shall not, for the entire period of the franchise, be subject to sections 27, 28, 29 and 31 in Part V of the Public Bus Services Ordinance.

    V. Members' Motions
    1. Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
      Hon Mrs Selina CHOW to move the following motion:


      2. RESOLVED that in relation to the -
      (a)Admission and Registration (Amendment) (No. 2) Rules 2002, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 247 of 2002;

      (b)Legal Practitioners (Risk Management Education) Rules, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 248 of 2002;

      (c)Electoral Affairs Commission (Registration of Electors) (Legislative Council Geographical Constituencies) (District Council Constituencies) (Amendment) Regulation 2002, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 254 of 2002; and

      (d)Electoral Affairs Commission (Registration) (Electors for Legislative Council Functional Constituencies) (Voters for Election Committee Subsectors) (Members of Election Committee) (Amendment) Regulation 2002, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 255 of 2002,
    and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 8 January 2003, the period for amending subsidiary legislation referred to in section 34(2) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap. 1) be extended under section 34(4) of that Ordinance to the meeting of 26 February 2003.

  • Assisting low-income earners and the poor elderly

    Hon CHAN Yuen-han:
    • (Translation)

    That, as the current economic and employment situations remain acute, and low-income earners and the poor elderly who are not receiving the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance are very hard up, this Council urges the Government to provide them with different forms of assistance or allowances in transport, medical, housing and education services, etc., so as to improve the livelihood of these people and their families and relieve the pressure on them.

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

  • Promoting the use of English in Hong Kong

    Hon Mrs Selina CHOW:


    • That, as English is one of the two official languages in Hong Kong under the Basic Law, and in order to strengthen Hong Kong's position as Asia's world city, this Council urges the Government to adopt measures to promote the use of English with a view to maintaining its importance and improving its standard in Hong Kong.

    Public Officers to attend:Chief Secretary for Administration
    Secretary for Education and Manpower
    Clerk to the Legislative Council