A 02/03-21

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 12 March 2003 at 2:30 pm

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
1.Public Revenue Protection (Revenue) Order 200359/2003
2.Schedule of Routes (Citybus Limited) Order 200360/2003
3.Schedule of Routes (Citybus Limited) (North Lantau and Chek Lap Kok Airport) Order 200361/2003
4.Schedule of Routes (Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited) Order 200362/2003
5.Schedule of Routes (Long Win Bus Company Limited) Order 2003 63/2003
6.Schedule of Routes (New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Limited) Order 200364/2003
7.Schedule of Routes (New World First Bus Services Limited) Order 200365/2003
8.Immigration (Anchorages and Landing Places) (Amendment) Order 2003 66/2003
9.Employees Retraining Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 2) Notice 200367/2003


Other Papers

1. No.69-Hong Kong Tourism Board 2001/2002 Annual Report
(to be presented by Secretary for Economic Development and Labour)

2. Report of the Bills Committee on Juvenile Offenders (Amendment) Bill 2001
(to be presented by Hon Margaret NG, Chairman of the Bills Committee )

3. Report of the Bills Committee on Fire Services (Amendment) Bill 2001
(to be presented by Hon IP Kwok-him, Chairman of the Bills Committee )


II. Questions

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

A man with a history of mental illness was suspected of setting fire to a subway train car in Taegu, South Korea on 18 February this year, in which hundreds of people were killed, injured or missing. As the Mass Transit Railway and the Kowloon and Canton Railway are the major means of public transport used by millions of commuters in Hong Kong every day in crowded train cars, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
    (a)the safety facilities currently installed in the cars and on the platforms of the Mass Transit Railway Corporation and the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation for minimizing the risk of fire, and for ensuring public safety in case of fire;

    (b)whether a set of contingency plan for emergencies has been formulated by the two railway companies and the Police; if so, of the details of the plan; and

    (c)as railway systems are often the target of terrorist attacks, whether the Administration has strengthened the precautionary measures of the two railway systems in the light of the tense atmosphere worldwide; if so, of the details of the measures; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply :Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

2. Hon Abraham SHEK to ask:

It has been reported that according to a survey, 20% of the respondents among the matriculation students chose "education" as one of the first three major subjects to study in university, and as high as 60% of the responding students who had poorer results in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination ("HKCEE") made this choice. Regarding the quality of prospective teachers, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)how the freshmen in universities majoring in education compared to those majoring in other subjects in terms of their HKCEE results, in each of the past five years;

    (b)if the comparison results indicate that the freshmen majoring in education have poorer HKCEE results, whether it has assessed the impact of this phenomenon on the quality of future teachers; if it has, of the results; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether it has considered relaxing the present requirement that all newly inducted teachers must hold a degree, diploma or certificate in education so that non-education major graduates who have achieved excellent academic results in university can enter into the teaching profession directly; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply :Secretary for Education and Manpower

3. Hon LAU Ping-cheung to ask: (Translation)

Since 1979, a total of eight felt earthquakes have occurred with epicentres within 100 km of Hong Kong. It is reported that the Government has commissioned a consultancy study to comprehensively look into the effects of earthquakes on the structural safety of buildings in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the study will assess the extent of the damage caused to Hong Kong by earthquakes measuring seven on the Richter scale within a distance of 300 km from Hong Kong; if so, of the details; if not, whether the authorities will assess the extent of the damage caused by earthquakes of this magnitude to new reclamation areas and man-made slopes in the territory; and

    (b)of the details of the contingency plans to deal with natural disasters including earthquakes?
Public Officers to reply:Secretary for Security
Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works
Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

4. Dr Hon YEUNG Sum to ask: (Translation)

The Administration indicated at the end of 2000 that, according to calculations based on population growth and aging, the recurrent expenditure of the Hospital Authority ("HA") for the next three years should increase in the region of 2.3% per annum. However, in August last year, the Financial Secretary demanded all policy bureaux to cut their operating expenditure by 4.8% cumulatively over the next four years, and the Chief Executive also indicated in his Policy Address delivered in this January that the Government would cut its spending in the operating accounts by $20 billion in the next three years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective amounts of HA's budget deficit for the current and the next fiscal years, whether HA will have sufficient reserves to cope with the deficit, and the measures the Government and HA will take in tackling HA's budget deficit;

    (b)whether, according to the Administration's assessment, the numbers of beds and health care staff in public hospitals will be reduced in the next three years due to resource constraints; if so, of the numbers and percentages of hospital beds and staff to be reduced; and

    (c)whether HA is allowed to retain, or required to deliver to the government coffers, the additional income derived from the accident and emergency service charges introduced at the end of November last year as well as the new charges to be introduced in April this year?
Public Officer to reply :Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

Under existing policy, eligible civil servants on local terms may claim Overseas Education Allowance ("OEA") for their children's schooling in the United Kingdom only. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of civil servants eligible for OEA;

    (b)of the respective numbers of civil servants claiming OEA and the amounts of public money involved in the previous financial year and the current financial year to date; and

    (c)whether, on the principle of fairness, it will consider extending the OEA scheme to cover other countries?
Public Officer to reply :Secretary for the Civil Service

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

It has been reported that the Chairman of the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation ("KCRC") has indicated that the Corporation is examining the possibility of adjusting the passenger fare structure of its East Rail, with the intention of raising gradually in the next few years fares for journeys between Sheung Shui and Hung Hom whilst lowering those for journeys to and from Lo Wu Station, thus reducing the level of subsidy from passengers travelling to and from Lo Wu Station to other passengers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
    (a)the rationale behind KCRC's adopting the existing passenger fare structure of its East Rail;

    (b)the respective profits derived by KCRC from the cross-border and non cross-border patronage of its East Rail in each of the past five years; and

    (c)KCRC's forecast of the effect of its profits from property developments on the passenger fares of its East Rail, in each of the next five years?
Public Officer to reply :Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

*7. Hon WONG Sing-chi to ask: (Translation)

The Architectural Services Department ("ArchSD") planned last year to contract out its activities progressively with a view to outsourcing 90% of its new projects and 80% or even all of its maintenance jobs within seven years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the percentages of new projects and maintenance works undertaken by ArchSD and private contractors respectively in the past year, and the respective values and time spans of individual outsourced projects;

    (b)of the details of the projects to be outsourced by ArchSD in the coming year; and

    (c)whether ArchSD has considered, in outsourcing new projects for the planning of old urban areas and urban renewal, organizing a competition on planning concepts, with a view to selecting private contractors whose project designs can integrate different planning concepts and give full play to the local characteristics of the districts; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply :Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

With regard to young mothers under the age of 18 and single parents under the age of 21, will the Government inform this Council of the following, for each of the past three years:
    (a)a breakdown by age of young mothers under the age of 18 and, among them, the respective numbers of those who have received counselling by social workers upon childbirth and those who are students; whether these students have resumed their studies after childbirth; if so, of the details;

    (b)the number of divorce cases involving young parents under the age of 21 and, among them, the number of those who have received counselling by social workers; and

    (c)these single parents' accommodation situation (e.g. whether they have their own nuclear families, live with their own parents or live with their former spouses) and employment situation?
Public Officer to reply :Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

*9. Dr Hon LAW Chi-kwong to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the provision of services and the manpower in public hospitals, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the forecast of the following figures at the end of this and each of the coming three fiscal years: the number of staff members in each rank of the medical, nursing and allied health grades, the number of beds, the ratio of beds to population and the ratio of beds to manpower of health care personnel;

    (b)how the above figures compare to the actual figures concerned in each of the past three fiscal years; and

    (c)whether it has assessed if the standard of health care services provided by public hospitals will be compromised due to a reduction in health care personnel in the coming three fiscal years; if it has, of the details?
Public Officer to reply :Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

It is learnt that since the commissioning of the Hong Kong International Airport at Chap Lam Kok, the Civil Aviation Department has adopted a series of measures to abate aircraft noise. However, residents in Tsing Yi District have been lodging complaints about the excessive aircraft noise that affects their life. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of complaints received over the past year about aircraft noise;

    (b)of the number of times when aircraft noise level in Tsing Yi District exceeded the standard and the noise level concerned in each month of the past year;

    (c)of the number of flights that took off in the northeasterly direction and deviated from the "Standard Instrument Departure" tracks between 11pm and 7am over the past year; the reasons for the deviation and whether the noise generated exceeded the standard level; and what follow-up actions have been taken; and

    (d)as the present measures fail to fully abate the nuisances of aircraft noise to Tsing Yi residents, what further measures will be adopted to completely resolve the problem?
Public Officer to reply :Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

*11. Hon Michael MAK to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the handling of financial matters by the staff of care and attention homes, long stay care homes for mental patients and hostels for mentally handicapped persons on behalf of their residents, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows the current number of residents in each of the above institutions which are managed by the Hospital Authority or subsidized by the Social Welfare Department and, among them, the numbers of those whose financial matters are handled by the staff of the institutions;

    (b)whether it knows the ranks and number of the staff who are authorized to handle financial matters on behalf of the residents, the type of financial matters being handled, and the average number of residents whose financial matters are handled as well as the average amount of money being dealt with each year by each of the staff;

    (c)of the total number of reported cases or complaints received in the past five years regarding suspected stealing of money from the residents by the staff of these institutions, the number of prosecutions instituted against the staff concerned and the penalties imposed by the court on those convicted; and

    (d)whether and how the institutions concerned impose their own punishments on the staff who have been convicted by the court?
Public Officer to reply :Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

Regarding computer crimes, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)how the detection rates of computer crimes compare with those of other crimes in the past three years; if computer crimes had lower detection rates, of the reasons for that;

    (b)of the respective numbers of staff responsible for the investigation of computer crimes in law enforcement departments, and the changes in the numbers over the past three years;

    (c)of the criteria for selecting law enforcement officers for the investigation of computer crimes; whether pre-job training or relevant academic qualifications are included in the criteria; whether the authorities have assessed if these criteria can ensure the officers' capability in investigating crimes committed with computers and information technology; if they have, of the assessment results; and

    (d)whether it has plans to provide additional resources to ensure that the knowledge of computer forensic examiners can cope with computer crimes; if it has, of the details of the plans and the resources required?
Public Officer to reply :Secretary for Security

*13. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that, in the first 11 months in 2002, more than 21 000 applications were received from employees for ex-gratia payment from the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund, which was 30% higher than those for the same period in the previous year, and that some employers have dishonestly shifted to the Fund their liability to pay wages, for example, by transferring away their companies' property. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
    (a)of the measures in place to educate and encourage employees to report to the Labour Department early on default wages payment, so as to protect their own rights and interests;

    (b)of the effectiveness of the new measures taken in recent months to guard against abuse of the Fund; and

    (c)whether they will consider amending the legislation to increase the penalty for abuse of the Fund, in order to enhance the deterrent effect?
Public Officer to reply :Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

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

It was reported that a 200-odd-pound compressed gas cylinder containing compressed gases commonly known as refrigerants, and used for maintenance of central air-conditioning units, fell to the ground from a height in Stanley Street, Central. Some experienced air-conditioning mechanics suspected that the incident was caused by exposure of the cylinder to strong sunlight or mistakes in operating the cylinder, leading to the leakage of refrigerants from the cylinder and the consequential fall of the cylinder to the ground. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of incidents caused by compressed gas cylinders in each of the past three years;

    (b)of the connection of refrigerants with the above incident; and

    (c)whether, to prevent accidents, the authorities will strengthen their efforts to educate the relevant trade on the proper ways to handle compressed gas cylinders?
Public Officer to reply :Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

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

Will the Government inform this Council of the respective numbers of cases, in the past three years, in which motorists put up a defence against prosecutions by the police for red-light or speeding offences and, among them, the respective numbers of proven cases of wrong prosecutions by the police, as well as the reasons for such wrong prosecutions? Public Officer to reply :Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

*16. Hon Cyd HO to ask: (Translation)

With regard to the movies banned from public screening in Hong Kong upon submission for the first time to the Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority for examination, will the Government inform this Council of the number of such movies between 1965 and the end of 1974, their titles, year of examination and place of production and the reasons for imposing the ban, as well as the number of those on which the ban was lifted upon excision, their titles and the year when the ban was lifted?
Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Economic Development and Labour
(in the absence of Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology)


*17. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the conservation of electricity, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
    (a)whether they have assessed the scope for reducing electricity consumption in various types of buildings, including government offices, commercial and industrial buildings, residential buildings; if so, of the assessment details;

    (b)of the effectiveness of the measures to encourage conservation of electricity among electricity users in government departments and private buildings; and

    (c)of the plans to strengthen efforts to educate and encourage government departments, the private sector and the general public to conserve electricity?
Public Officer to reply :Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

It is reported that due to a shortage of study rooms provided by the Government, some people have to turn to libraries for their study. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number, average seating capacity and opening hours of the study rooms in each of the 18 administrative districts in the territory;

    (b)whether there are plans to extend the opening hours of study rooms, including keeping them open on public holidays; and

    (c)whether there are plans to provide additional study rooms or places for such purpose; if so, of the details?
Public Officer to reply :Secretary for Education and Manpower

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

Hoi Fu Court ("HFC") in Tai Kok Tsui, the first public housing estate included in the Buy-or-Rent Option, comprises four blocks which are rented out and one already sold. As the owner-occupiers of HFC have set up the Owners' Corporation, the relevant departments consider it inappropriate for the tenants to form a mutual aid committee. It is learnt that some tenants consider that their interests have been compromised unfairly. Moreover, there are often divergence of views and conflicts between tenants and owner-occupiers on property management matters. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)given that the consent of all owners is required for amending the Deed of Mutual Covenant ("DMC") of the estate, whether it will consider enacting laws to enable the splitting of the DMC concerned into rented-out and sold portions, so as to resolve the current property management problem of the estate; if it will, of the details; if not; the reasons for that; and

    (b)whether it has reviewed the circumstances under which property management of a public housing estate with both owner-occupiers and tenants is governed by a single DMC; if it has, of the results of the review and the specific solutions proposed?
Public Officer to reply :Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

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

It has been reported that, since 1 January this year, the Guangdong Provincial authority has implemented a new policy to allow temporary residents in eight cities of the Province to apply locally for visiting Hong Kong. However, they are not allowed to bring along their elderly parents whose permanent registered residence is not in these cities. When implementing this policy, some of these cities have imposed additional restrictions, such as a maximum of two visits to Hong Kong every year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it has held discussions with the Central People's Government or the Guangdong provincial authorities about relaxing the above policy to allow temporary residents to bring along their elderly parents whose permanent registered residence is not in these cities to visit Hong Kong, and issuing instruction to lift the additional restrictions; if so, of the results of the discussions; if the policy will be relaxed and such instruction will be issued, of the effective date; if they will not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply :Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

*For written reply.

III. Bills

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

1. Juvenile Offenders (Amendment) Bill 2001:Secretary for Security

2. Fire Services (Amendment) Bill 2001:Secretary for Security


IV. Members' Bills

First Reading

The Bank of East Asia, Limited (Merger of Subsidiaries) Bill

Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)

The Bank of East Asia, Limited (Merger of Subsidiaries) Bill : Hon NG Leung-sing

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

V. Members' Motions
  1. Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

    Hon Margaret NG to move the following motion:


    2. RESOLVED that in relation to the -

    (a)Trade Marks Rules, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 30 of 2003; and

    (b)Trade Marks Ordinance (Cap. 559) (Commencement) Notice 2003, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 31 of 2003,

and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 12 February 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 2 April 2003.

  • Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

    Hon Kenneth TING to move the following motion:


    • RESOLVED that in relation to the -

      (a)Import and Export (General) (Amendment) Regulation 2003, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 32 of 2003;

      (b)Import and Export (Registration) (Amendment) Regulation 2003, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 33 of 2003;

      (c)Import and Export (Removal of Articles) (Amendment) Regulation 2003, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 34 of 2003;

      (d)Reserved Commodities (Control of Imports, Exports and Reserve Stocks) (Amendment) Regulation 2003, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 35 of 2003;

      (e)Dutiable Commodities (Amendment) Ordinance 2001 (19 of 2001) (Commencement) Notice 2003, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 39 of 2003; and

      (f)Import and Export (Electronic Transactions) Ordinance 2002 (24 of 2002) (Commencement) Notice 2003, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 40 of 2003,

    and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 19 February 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 9 April 2003.

  • Medical fee waiver mechanism

    Hon Frederick FUNG:
    •  (Translation)

    That, as the Government will introduce very shortly a new charging scheme for public health care services and, in parallel, enhance the existing medical fee waiver mechanism, this Council urges the Government to relax the eligibility criteria under the mechanism so as to benefit more people from the socially disadvantaged groups, such as elderly persons, low-income earners and chronic patients.

    Amendment to Hon Frederick FUNG's motion
    Hon YEUNG Yiu-chung:     (Translation)

    To add ", including relaxing the asset-assessment criteria for unsupported elderly persons, and to extend the maximum fee-waiver period for chronic patients from six months to one year," after "this Council urges the Government to relax the eligibility criteria under the mechanism".

    Amendments to Hon YEUNG Yiu-chung's amendment

    (i)Dr Hon LAW Chi-kwong: (Translation)

    To add "providing half-fee concessions for all elderly persons, and" after "this Council urges the Government to relax the eligibility criteria under the mechanism, including"; to add "to apply for a higher fee waiver" after "relaxing the asset-assessment criteria for unsupported elderly persons"; to add "exempt patients on disability allowance from payment of medical fees and charges and" after ", and to"; and to add "other" after "extend the maximum fee-waiver period for".

    (ii)Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung:(Translation)

    To delete "relaxing the asset-assessment criteria for unsupported elderly persons and to extend the maximum fee-waiver period for chronic patients from six months to one year" after "this Council urges the Government to relax the eligibility criteria under the mechanism, including" and substitute with "fully waiving the new and increased fees and charges in respect of elderly persons and chronic patients".

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

  • Legislating against racial discrimination

    Hon Audrey EU:
    •  (Translation)

    That this Council urges the Government to adopt the recommendations of the relevant United Nations committees and expeditiously legislate against racial discrimination to ensure that new arrivals from the Mainland and ethnic minorities in Hong Kong can enjoy equal opportunities in such areas as education, employment and access to social services.

    Amendment to Hon Audrey EU's motion

    Hon YEUNG Yiu-chung:     (Translation)

    To delete "new arrivals from the Mainland and" after "expeditiously legislate against racial discrimination to ensure that" and substitute with "all different"; and to delete "minorities" after "ethnic" and substitute with "groups".

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Home Affairs Clerk to the Legislative Council