Council Meeting ( Agenda ) 30 April 2003

A 02/03-25

Legislative Council

Agenda
Wednesday 30 April 2003 at 2:30 pm

IA. Presentation of Petitions

Hon Michael MAK to present a petition.

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments		L.N. No.
1.	Antiquities and Monuments (Declaration of Proposed Monument) Notice 2003	100/2003
2.	Import and Export (General) Regulations (Amendment of Seventh Schedule) (No. 4) Notice 2003	101/2003
3.	Massage Establishments (Amendment) Ordinance 2001 (28 of 2001) (Commencement) Notice 2003	102/2003
4.	Massage Establishments (Amendment) Regulation 2003 (L.N. 51 of 2003) (Commencement) Notice 2003	103/2003
5.	Fugitive Offenders (Sri Lanka) Order (L.N. 28 of 2003) (Commencement) Notice 2003	104/2003
6.	Prevention of the Spread of Infectious Diseases (Amendment) Regulation 2003	107/2003
7.	Frontier Closed Area (Permission to Enter) (Amendment) Notice 2003	108/2003
8.	Juvenile Offenders (Amendment) Ordinance 2003 (6 of 2003) (Commencement) Notice 2003	109/2003

Other Papers

1. No.77	-	Report No. 40 of the Director of Audit on the results of value for money audits - March 2003
(to be presented by the President)
2. No.78	-	Report of changes to the approved Estimates of Expenditure approved during the third quarter of 2002-03 (Public Finance Ordinance : Section 8)
(to be presented by Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury)
3. No.79	-	Annual Report 2002 Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation
(to be presented by Financial Secretary)

II. Questions

1. Hon Michael MAK to ask: (Translation)

On 12th of this month, the Chief Executive met the President of the State in Shenzhen. During the meeting, the Chief Executive reported on the development of atypical pneumonia in Hong Kong and the series of measures taken by the HKSAR Government to combat the disease, and said that the HKSAR Government would strengthen the cooperation and exchanges with Guangdong Province in this respect. The President pledged full support of the Central Government should the SAR require the help of the Mainland, for example in acquiring medical supplies and protective gears. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	whether the issue of setting up a notification mechanism on serious diseases between the governments of HKSAR and Guangdong Province was raised during the meeting; if so, of the details and progress of the notification mechanism; of the consensus reached between the two governments on the prevention and treatment of atypical pneumonia, and whether they will consider formulating common preventive and treatment measures to combat the disease;
(b)	whether, in consideration of the facilities and equipment of the HKSAR Government at present, it has assessed the need to receive material assistance from the Central Government; if it has, of the assessment results; if it has not, of the measures taken and the additional facilities or equipment provided to reduce the risks of infection on frontline health care personnel; and
(c)	whether it is aware of the amount of money spent by the Hospital Authority ("HA") since the outbreak of atypical pneumonia on purchasing supplies and equipment and employing additional staff to combat the disease; whether HA has assessed the time and the amount of money required to combat the disease, and whether the Government's creation of a commitment of $200 million for HA, the Department of Health, the Information Services Department and other bureaux/departments to combat the disease, is sufficient for providing HA with the amount of money it requires; if it has, of the assessment results; if HA considers the commitment to be insufficient for providing the amount of money HA requires, whether HA has plans to seek additional financial support from the Government?

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

2. Hon MA Fung-kwok to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the dissemination of information relating to atypical pneumonia (or known as "Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome"), will the Government inform this Council whether:

(a)	it has adopted the same methods and standards as those of the World Health Organization in defining and classifying the figures of such cases;
(b)	it will review the existing mechanism for disseminating information and consider putting in place a spokesman system; and
(c)	apart from holding briefings on an irregular basis for consuls of various countries in Hong Kong, other measures will be adopted to keep overseas regions informed of the latest position of the disease in the territory?

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

3. Hon CHEUNG Man-kwong to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the Financial Secretary's tendering his resignation to the Chief Executive and his being asked by the latter to stay, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the procedures for a principal official under the accountability system to resign and for the Chief Executive to accept the resignation or to ask the official concerned to stay;
(b)	of the procedure of the Chief Executive's Office for recording the resignation, acceptance of resignation and the asking of the official concerned to stay, mentioned in (a); and
(c)	whether the procedures mentioned in (b) include recording the dates and times of receipt of the resignation letter from a principal official under the accountability system and the Chief Executive's asking the relevant official to stay; if so, of the dates and times of the receipt of the Financial Secretary's resignation and the Chief Executive's asking the official concerned to stay?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional Affairs

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

The 2003 Policy Address states that in response to a proposal by the SAR Government, the Central Government agreed to study further relaxation of current restrictions to facilitate Mainland residents' visits to Hong Kong, including allowing Guangdong Province residents to visit individually. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it has:

(a)	proposed to impose requirements on the financial capacity of the Guangdong Province residents seeking to visit Hong Kong individually; if it has, of the proposed requirements; if not, the reasons for that; and
(b)	formulated any measures to strengthen the efforts against illegal residence and black market labour, to tie in with allowing individual Guangdong Province residents to visit Hong Kong; if it has, of the details of such measures; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

Regarding the foundation strengthening and remedial works for Tin Chung Court and the remedial works for Tin Yuet Estate in Tin Shui Wai, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the latest estimated expenditure of the foundation strengthening works for Blocks K and L of Tin Chung Court, and whether the works for Block L will be completed by the end of this month, as this Council was advised earlier;
(b)	of the causes of the cracks and seepage recently found in a number of flats in Tin Yuet Estate, including Yuet Fu House and Yuet Kwai House where remedial works have just been completed, as well as the follow-up measures taken in this regard; and
(c)	whether, when the prospective tenants were allocated flats in Yuet Fu House and Yuet Kwai House, they were informed that major remedial works had been carried out in these two housing blocks; if not, of the reasons, and whether it will approve their applications for transfer on grounds of concern about the structural safety of the blocks?

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

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

With regard to the use of precast paving slabs for pavement surfaces, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the total area of pavement surfaces paved with precast paving slabs over the past two years and the amount of public expenditure involved, as well as the corresponding figures anticipated for the current and the coming year;
(b)	of the methods employed by the relevant authorities to remove the weeds growing along the slits between the paving slabs and, if such methods include the use of herbicide, the measures in place to prevent the natural environment from being damaged; and
(c)	as I have witnessed workers of utility companies leaving work vehicles and heavy machinery on the slab-paved pavements during repair works on underground facilities, how the authorities ensure that the utility companies concerned will properly carry out repairs to the pavement surfaces damaged as a result?

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

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

In the prequalification exercise completed at the end of last year, the Special Selection Board for the Tamar Development Project selected five applicants for participation in the tendering. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether, in order to maintain the impartiality of the Board in its assessment of tenders, guidelines have been issued to Board members and the public officers concerned to specify that, outside the meetings for tender assessment, no comments should be given in private to any prequalified applicants or architect partners on their submitted designs or design concepts, nor should there be any unofficial contacts with these applicants or architects and, where contacts with the prequalified applicants are unavoidable, the details and the course of such contacts should be made public; if such guidelines have been issued, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and whether any guidelines will be compiled prior to the commencement of the tendering? Public Officer to reply : Chief Secretary for Administration

*8. Hon LEE Cheuk-yan to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the contracts awarded by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, Government Property Agency, Housing Department and Leisure and Cultural Services Department for outsourcing cleaning, security guard and property management services, will the Government inform this Council of:

(a)	the respective numbers of such contracts awarded in the previous and current financial years; and
(b)	the criteria for awarding such contracts, the effective dates of the respective contracts, the service locations, the respective numbers of cleaning workers, security guards and property attendants recruited to provide the services concerned, as well as the amount of wages the contractors undertook to pay these staff in the previous financial year?

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

*9. Hon Miriam LAU to ask: (Translation)

According to "The Second Parking Demand Study - Final Report" ("the Report") published by the Transport Department in November last year, there were shortfalls of 3 300 and 9 000 parking spaces for coaches and goods vehicles respectively ("GV") in Hong Kong in 2000. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the number of sites granted for coaches and GV parking in each of the past three years, as well as the locations and sizes of the sites, and the estimated numbers of parking spaces provided;
(b)	as the Report recommends that where parking shortage is justified and the maximum plot ratio requirements under the Buildings Ordinance are met, the Government may make use of the opportunity afforded by redevelopment proposals to require developers to provide more parking spaces and, under such initiatives, consideration should particularly be given to requiring developers to provide more GV parking spaces in areas where severe shortages of GV parking spaces are anticipated, whether the Government has considered implementing the recommendation with a view to increasing the supply of coaches and GV parking spaces; if so, of the outcome of its consideration; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c)	as the Report also recommends that short-term tenancy sites and vacant private development sites may be temporarily used for coaches or GV parking, whether the Government has considered the recommendation; if so, of the outcome of its consideration; if not, the reasons for that?

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

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

With regard to the commissioning of consultants by various policy bureaux to conduct studies on the formulation and assessment of policies, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)

of the consultancy reports completed in the past two financial years, the respective numbers of reports which have and have not been published (please list out the relevant details in the table below);

Responsible policy bureau	Consultancy firm	Details of the study	Consultancy fee Has the report been published?	If so, the publication channel	If not, the reasons for that

(b)

of the number of consultancy reports expected to be completed in the 2003-04 financial year and, among them, the respective numbers of reports which will and will not be published (please list out the relevant details in the table below); and

Responsible policy bureau	Consultancy firm	Details of the study	Consultancy fee Has the report been published?	If so, the publication channel	If not, the reasons for that

(c)

whether there are criteria for deciding whether or not to publish the reports on the consultancy studies on the formulation and assessment of policies commissioned by the Government; if there are, of the details of such criteria; if not, the measures it has for ensuring that the public is aware of the findings of such consultancy studies and for ascertaining whether such studies have value for money?

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

*11. Hon CHAN Yuen-han to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that the security and public facilities of public housing estates are inconvenient for use by the elderly and mobility-handicapped persons. For example, it is difficult for the elderly to memorize the password for opening the security gate whilst wheelchair bound persons are unable to open the security gate and operate the door-telephone with keypads which are installed at heights without considering the needs of the disabled. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

(a)	it has assessed if the existing security facilities in public housing estates are convenient for use by the elderly and mobility-handicapped persons; if it has, of the assessment results;
(b)	it has considered installing smart card systems for the existing security gates in public housing estates or other security facilities for the convenience of the elderly and mobility-handicapped persons; and
(c)	it plans to improve the existing public facilities which are not suitable for use by the elderly and mobility-handicapped persons; and whether it will consider involving them in the design work for the construction of public housing estates in future so that the facilities thereof can meet their needs?

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

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

Regarding the local construction industry's participation in overseas construction projects, will the Government inform this Council whether:

(a)	it has promoted the local construction industry in overseas communities through the Hong Kong Government's overseas offices, the Trade Development Council or other channels, with a view to facilitating the industry's entry into the overseas markets; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(b)	it has kept a watch on the local construction industry's participation in bidding for overseas construction projects, and provided market information and other kinds of assistance to the local construction industry in this regard; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c)	it plans to assist the local construction industry in taking part in the reconstruction of Iraq when the war between the United States and Iraq is over?

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

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

Will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the title of each post remunerated at D4 or above of the Directorate Pay Scale, or equivalent, in policy bureaux and departments at present and, for each of these posts, the names of the present and last two officers in the post, their ages and seniority when they took up the post, their lengths of service in the post and the reasons for the out-going officers' leaving the post;
(b)	of the criteria adopted in deciding on the promotion of directorate grade officers; whether the estimated period of stay in the post after an officer is promoted and the effects on the operation of the relevant departments when the officer leaves the post in future are included as part of the criteria; if not, whether it will consider setting these factors as the criteria; and
(c)	whether it has assessed the effects of the directorate grade officers' length of service on the continued development, operation and policy implementation of the departments they serve, if so, of the results of assessment; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Civil Service

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

The annual financial statements of the Hong Kong Electric Company Limited ("HEC") for the year 2002 disclose that HEC has adopted a new approach in the recognition of income from electricity sales. Under the new approach, income is recognized on the basis of units of electricity consumed by customers, instead of the total electricity sold as recorded on all meters, during the year. As the earnings of HEC are regulated by the Government under a Scheme of Control, will the Government inform this Council of:

(a)	the application details of the new approach, with illustrations by specific examples; a comparison of HEC's electricity sales and income last year based respectively on the new and old recognition approaches; and
(b)	the rationale for HEC's adopting the new approach, and whether the Government has been consulted or notified in advance; if not, whether and how it will follow up?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

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

Regarding the incident in which a secondary school suddenly refused to lend out its venue for holding the Advanced Supplementary Level Examination on 28 March this year - the day of the examination, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the details of the incident and how the authorities handled it;
(b)	whether similar incidents had happened before; if so, of the details of the incidents and how the authorities handled them;
(c)	whether the affected candidates have lodged any complaints; if they have, of the number and details of the complaints and how the authorities handled them;
(d)	whether the marks of the relevant examination paper of the affected candidates will be adjusted; if they will, of the adjustment details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(e)	whether disciplinary actions will be taken against the secondary school concerned; if so, of the details of the disciplinary actions; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

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

Regarding road excavation works carried out on the pavements along Nathan Road (Tsim Sha Tsui section) and King's Road, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)

of the respective numbers of pavement sections on which such works were carried out last year;

(b)

for each road during last year, of

(i)	the respective numbers of days on which no such works were carried out;
(ii)	the respective numbers of days on which more than five works items were carried out at the same time; and
(iii)	the largest number of works items carried out at the same time on a single day; and

(c)

if the answers to item (a) above indicate that fewer works items were carried out on the pavements along King's Road, whether it has assessed if the situation is attributable to the comprehensive resurfacing works carried out on the pavements of the road, and whether such an approach is more cost-effective?

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

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

It is learnt that problems such as cracked walls, exposed steel reinforcements and concrete spalling appear in many flats in public housing rental estates, threatening the safety of the tenants and adversely affecting their daily life. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the current number of flats which require repair works because of the above problems, with a breakdown by housing estates;
(b)	of the average time taken last year by the Housing Department ("HD") for such repair works; and
(c)	whether HD will allow tenants of the relevant flats to transfer to other flats before the commencement of large-scale repair works of this nature; if it will, of the number of tenants who may now apply for transfer?

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

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

The Office of the Telecommunications Authority requires external telecommunications services operators ("ETSOs") to pay local access charges ("LAC") to fixed telecommunications network operators ("FTNOs") as compensation for the latter's network resources being used by the former in the carriage of external telecommunications. The Telecommunications Authority issued a statement in June 2001 to announce the adjustment in the calculation of LAC and its level with effect from 1 July in the same year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	how the factors for determining the calculation method and level of LAC in Hong Kong compare to those in respect of similar charges in other countries and regions with open telecommunications markets (such as the United Kingdom, the United States and Australia); and of the reasons for adopting different practices in these places;
(b)	whether it has assessed the impacts of the overseas practices mentioned in (a) on the local telecommunications industry (particularly external telecommunications services); if it has, of the assessment results;
(c)	of the respective percentages of LAC in the cost to ETSOs for providing services in the major retail markets of external telecommunications services, in each of the past three years;
(d)	whether it has assessed the impacts of the cost percentages mentioned in (c) on the promotion of fair competition in the local telecommunications industry (particularly between FTNOs and ETSOs); if it has, of the assessment results; and
(e)	whether it will conduct regular reviews on the calculation method and level of LAC; if it will, when the next review will be conducted?

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

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

In order to alleviate the air pollution caused by emissions from public transport, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:

(a)	given that the Kowloon Motor Bus Co. (1933) Ltd. plans to introduce, in this year, 50 buses which meet the Euro IV emission standards, whether the Authorities have suggested to the company to arrange for such buses to serve the busy areas;
(b)	whether they plan to discuss with franchised bus companies the rationalization of the existing bus routes and schedules to avoid an excessive number of buses crowding in the same area, and aggravating the air pollution problem in the areas concerned; and
(c)	of the policies or measures in place to encourage public transport operators to introduce vehicles which are more environmentally-friendly?

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

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

Will the Government inform this Council whether it has discussed with the Macao Special Administrative Region Government the promotion of economic integration among Hong Kong, Macao and the Pearl River Delta Region; if so, of the number of such discussions held in the past 12 months and the topics covered; if not, the reasons for that? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional Affairs

*For written reply.

III. Bills

First Reading

1. Buildings (Amendment) Bill 2003

2. Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (Amendment) Bill 2003

3. Deposit Protection Scheme Bill

Second Reading (Debates to be adjourned)

1. Buildings (Amendment) Bill 2003	:	Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands
2. Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (Amendment) Bill 2003	:	Secretary for Education and Manpower
3. Deposit Protection Scheme Bill	:	Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

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

Law Amendment and Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2003

Secretary for Justice

IV. Members' Bills

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

Daughters of Mary Help of Christians Incorporation (Amendment) Bill 2002

Hon Andrew WONG

V. Members' Motions

Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

Hon Andrew WONG to move the following motion:

(a)

Maximum Amount of Election Expenses (Village Representative Election) Regulation, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 81 of 2003; and

(b)

Electoral Procedure (Village Representative Election) Regulation, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 82 of 2003,and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 2 April 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 21 May 2003.

The whole community battling against adversity
Hon LAU Kong-wah:

(i)	Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung:(Translation)
	To add ", front-line cleansing workers" after "That this Council expresses gratitude to the medical and health care personnel"; to add "as the numbers of infections and deaths remain persistently high, and the infections among medical and health care personnel are particularly worrying, the epidemic has already posed a threat to the very survival of Hong Kong," after "in order to cope with the current acute situation;"; to delete "also" after "this Council" ; to add "Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" after "urges the"; to delete "take the lead in offering assistance to" after "Government to" and substitute with "accord top priority to the task of tackling atypical pneumonia; to take all practicable measures to contain the epidemic; to increase the strength of the measures to rescue the market and alleviate people's hardship so that"; to delete "," after "and the employees thus affected" and substitute with "will be given concrete and sufficient assistance; to allocate additional resources for purchasing protective gear for medical and health care personnel and cleansing workers to fight the epidemic, and for providing the poor with the basic necessities for epidemic prevention;"; and to add "; at the same time, this Council demands that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government urge the Central People's Government to oblige local governments at various levels to honestly disclose information on the epidemic situation in various places and enhance the exchange of information and cooperation with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government" after "and to vigorously promote health and hygiene activities with a view to enhancing the physical and mental health of residents".
(ii)	Dr Hon LAW Chi-kwong:(Translation)
	To delete "atypical pneumonia" after "That this Council expresses gratitude to the medical and health care personnel in Hong Kong and all organizations taking part in the battle against" and substitute with "severe acute respiratory syndrome"; to delete "atypical pneumonia" after "positive spirit in its battle against" and substitute with "the epidemic"; to delete "atypical pneumonia" after "this Council also urges the Government to take the lead in offering assistance to industries and trades hard hit by the outbreak of" and substitute with "the epidemic"; to delete ", and" after "and the employees thus affected" and substitute with "; to take decisive measures and allocate additional resources for the deployment of more medical and health care personnel in the public sector to fight the epidemic; to take comprehensive measures to stop the further spread of the epidemic through passenger movements to and from the territory; to improve the maintenance and management of buildings; to employ more staff"; to delete "and hygiene activities" after "to vigorously promote health" and substitute with "education and public hygiene work; and to provide support and information for educational institutions, education workers and ethnic minorities, etc.," and to add "strengthening the immunization efforts and" after "with a view to".
(iii)	Hon Michael MAK:(Translation)
	To add "commit sufficient resources for front-line medical and health care personnel fighting the epidemic, to establish a research fund in order to further understand and control the epidemic, as well as to" after "this Council also urges the Government to".

Public Officers to attend

Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food
Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

Labour Day
Hon LAU Chin-shek:

Amendment to Hon LAU Chin-shek's amendment
Hon LEUNG Fu-wah:

Amendment to Hon LEUNG Fu-wah's amendment
Hon Andrew CHENG:

: Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

Clerk to the Legislative Council

Legislative Council

Agenda Wednesday 30 April 2003 at 2:30 pm

Agenda
Wednesday 30 April 2003 at 2:30 pm