A 02/03-26

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 7 May 2003 at 2:30 pm

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments		L.N. No.
1.	Births and Deaths Registration Ordinance (Amendment of First Schedule) Order 2003	110/2003
2.	Foreign Lawyers Practice (Amendment) Rules 2003	111/2003

Other Papers

1. No.80	-	Annual Report 2001-2002Hong Kong Broadcasting Authority
(to be presented by Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology)
2. Report of the Bills Committee on Occupational Deafness (Compensation) (Amendment) Bill 2002 (to be presented by Dr Hon LO Wing-lok, Chairman of the Bills Committee)

II. Questions

1. Dr Hon David CHU to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the project consultancy agreements worth $1.3 million or above and construction contracts worth $50 million or above awarded by the Government over the past three years, will the Government inform this Council, in respect of each agreement or contract, of the projects involved, the sum as well as the name of the consultancy firm and contractor awarded such agreement or contract? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

The outbreak of atypical pneumonia in Hong Kong has resulted in local jewellery and watch traders being barred from participating in the World Jewellery & Watch Fair held in Switzerland early last month, and the Malaysian Government imposing entry restrictions on Hong Kong residents at one time. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the reasons for the SAR Government not requesting the Central People's Government ("CPG") to take up the above matters with the Swiss and Malaysian governments through diplomatic channels;
(b)	whether it knows if CPG has taken the matters up with the governments of the two countries at the diplomatic level; if it has, of the details; and
(c)	whether it will consider seeking CPG's assistance at diplomatic level when Hong Kong people or Hong Kong are unfairly treated in the future by overseas authorities in such matters as relating to commerce and trade as well as entry into and exit from their territories; and of the criteria adopted for deciding whether or not to seek such assistance?

Public Officers to reply

:

Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology Secretary for Security Secretary for Constitutional Affairs

3. Hon HUI Cheung-ching to ask: (Translation)

As Hong Kong's export and re-export trade has been adversely affected by the local atypical pneumonia outbreak, will the Government inform this Council of the measures to:

(a)	assist those Hong Kong businessmen who had enrolled in overseas marketing activities but were suddenly disqualified by the overseas authorities on grounds of preventing the spread of the epidemic, in claiming damages from the relevant authorities;
(b)	persuade overseas authorities to allow Hong Kong businessmen who are certified as not infected to participate in marketing activities held in their countries, and persuade overseas businessmen to keep coming to Hong Kong to participate in marketing activities here; and
(c)	protect Hong Kong's exports and re-exports from exclusion by overseas countries because of the outbreak of the local epidemic?

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

4. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council, since the Fixed Penalty (Public Cleanliness Offences) Ordinance (Cap. 570) came into operation in June last year:

(a)	of the number of fixed penalty notices issued to persons who committed spitting offences in public housing estates ("PHEs") each month, and the percentage of this number in the total number of fixed penalty notices issued in respect of spitting;
(b)	as the cleansing works in most PHEs are now undertaken by private contractors, whether the public officers specified in the above Ordinance have carried out their duties to enforce the Ordinance in those PHEs where the cleansing works are assigned to private contractors; if they have, of the number of fixed penalty notices issued by them in such PHEs each month; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c)	whether the staff of private contractors responsible for the cleansing works in PHEs have been authorized to enforce the Ordinance; if so, of the details; if not, whether the authorities will consider authorizing them to do so?

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

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

According to the "Main Findings of an Investigation into the Outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ("SARS") at Amoy Gardens" released by the Department of Health, each block of Amoy Gardens has eight vertical soil stacks for collecting effluent from the same numbered units on all floors. The soil stack is connected to the water closets, the basins, the bathtubs and the bathroom floor drains. Recent studies have shown that coronavirus exists in the stools of many patients with SARS, where it can survive for longer periods than on ordinary surfaces. Furthermore, it has been reported that soil stacks in old buildings are made of iron pipes, where bacteria can breed easily. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

(a)	it has statistics on the number of residential buildings in Hong Kong with soil stacks design similar to that in Amoy Gardens; if it has, of the percentage of such buildings in all residential buildings in the territory;
(b)	it has considered amending the legislation to require separate discharge of effluent and stools in the future design of soil stacks for residential buildings, in order to reduce the spreading of bacteria and viruses; if it has, of the timetable for amending the legislation; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c)	it has considered asking owners or owners' corporations of old buildings to replace soil stacks made of iron pipes; if it has, of the timetable for the replacement; if not, the reasons for that?

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

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

It is learnt that, between 1898 and 1904, the Government carried out a systematic land survey in the New Territories and demarcation district plans were drawn up for the land. As such plans were produced at a scale of 16 inches or 32 inches to 1 mile (i.e. 1:3 960 or 1:1 980), they are rather sketchy and incomplete by modern day standards, resulting in unclear land boundaries which have often led to disputes over land titles. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it plans to resurvey the 210 000 old schedule lots in the New Territories based on the current standards; if so, of the commencement date of the survey, and how long it will take to complete the work; if not, the reasons for that? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

*7. Hon Mrs Sophie LEUNG to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that a reading literacy study conducted among students from 35 countries and regions reveals that Hong Kong children top the list in reading literacy at the time of admission to Primary One, but rank 14th when they are in Primary Four. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

(a)	it has conducted a comprehensive assessment of the reading literacy of primary and secondary school students at different stages of schooling; if so, of the assessment results; if not, the reasons for that;
(b)	it has assessed the effectiveness of the measures adopted to nurture a reading culture among children; and
(c)	it has formulated objective indicators for assessing children's reading literacy on a regular basis; if so, of the details of such indicators; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

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

Regarding the "private services" provided by the Hospital Authority ("HA"), will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the expenditure on and manpower deployed to provide such services, and the percentages of such figures in the respective totals, as well as the relevant income to expenditure ratio, in each of the past five years;
(b)	of the number of attendances of such services by "non-eligible" persons, as classified by HA, and the related expenditure in each of the past five years, together with the percentages of such figures in the respective totals; and
(c)	whether it has assessed if it is essential for HA to provide such services; if it has, of the detailed results of the assessment; if such services or some of them are assessed to be essential, of the detailed justifications and whether the relevant authorities will impose different levels of charges according to the eligibility or otherwise of the patients?

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

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

Under section 9 of the Immigration Service Ordinance (Cap. 331), the Director of Immigration may make Service standing orders but such standing orders are not released to the public. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the number of applications received each year for inspecting the standing orders since the implementation of the Code on Access to Information, and the respective numbers of such applications which were fully, partly and not accepted as well as the number of withdrawn applications, together with the authorities' justifications for partly or not accepting such applications;
(b)	as legal proceedings have been instituted by members of the public who were aggrieved by the decisions made by the authorities under the standing orders, but even the court was not aware of the contents of the standing orders, whether the authorities have assessed if the practice of not publishing the standing orders complies with the provisions stipulated in the Basic Law and the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance (Cap. 383) which safeguard the public's right to fair hearing before the court; if it has, of the assessment results; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c)	given that from 1997 onwards, the public can have access to the police general orders made by the Commissioner of Police under section 46 of the Police Force Ordinance (Cap. 232), whether the authorities have considered, by reference to the Police practice, allowing public to have access to the standing orders; if they have, of the outcome of their consideration; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

According to the Report of the Task Force on Population Policy released in February this year, the Government will encourage young people of Hong Kong families who are receiving education overseas to return to live and work in Hong Kong. Concerning the implementation of the initiative, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the bureau, department or official responsible for coordinating the implementation of the initiative;
(b)	whether it will specifically target at those students who are furthering their studies in certain countries, places or disciplines;
(c)	whether specific measures have been devised; if so, of the details of these measures and the implementation schedule; if not, the reasons for that;
(d)	of the specific duties to be performed by the Economic and Trade Offices set up overseas to support the implementation of the initiative; and
(e)	whether it has assessed if the initiative is, in terms of the approach and the goal, consistent with the Financial Secretary's previous advocacy that local students should be encouraged to work in the Mainland; if it is, of the rationale?

Public Officer to reply : Chief Secretary for Administration

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

I have received complaints from the public that when resurfacing the North Point section of the Island Eastern Corridor with low noise material recently, the Administration has only carried out resurfacing works in the road sections adjacent to areas which are sparsely populated and do not have noise problems. However, for the parts of the Island Eastern Corridor adjacent to densely populated areas such as the Provident Centre, City Garden and Harbour Heights, the Administration has not carried out any resurfacing works. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	whether it will resurface the entire North Point section of the Island Eastern Corridor; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(b)	of the criteria for determining the priority of resurfacing different sections of the Island Eastern Corridor and whether they include the population density of the areas in the vicinity of the road sections concerned; and
(c)	of the costs of resurfacing the North Point section of the Island Eastern Corridor?

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

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

I have received complaints from members of the public that many real estate agencies display on their shop windows, leaflets and newspaper advertisements the "recommended counter-offer prices" or "test counter-offer prices" for the residential properties put up for sale, without indicating whether they have been commissioned by the owners concerned to sell their properties. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:

(a)

the total number of such complaints received by the Estate Agents Authority ("EAA") since January last year; and

(b)

whether the EAA has assessed if estate agents' practice of displaying recommended or test counter-offer prices contravenes section 9(3) of the Estate Agents Practice (General Duties and Hong Kong Residential Properties) Regulation (Cap. 511, sub. leg.), which stipulates that a licensed estate agent shall not advertise a residential property at a price or on terms different from that instructed by the owner concerned; if the outcome of the assessment is in the affirmative, of the measures taken by the EAA to curb such practice to safeguard property owners' interests; if the outcome is in the negative, of the rationale for that?

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

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

It is learnt that for several years, some external telecommunications services ("ETS") operators have been providing ETS not through the numbers specified under the numbering plan allocated by the Office of the Telecommunications Authority, in order to evade the payment of local access fees and universal service contribution fees to fixed telecommunications network services ("FTNS") operators. Instead, these ETS operators provide the relevant services through the following practices: (1) international direct dialling ("IDD") calls from other places are connected to the switch of local ETS operators and then forwarded directly or indirectly through local telephone numbers (but not those specified under the numbering plan) to the call recipients in the local telephone network; or (2) ETS from Hong Kong to other places are provided through access numbers other than those specified under the numbering plan. Since such practices contravene the terms and conditions of the relevant telecommunication licences, the Telecommunications Authority has imposed fines on the operators concerned under section 36C of the Telecommunications Ordinance (Cap. 106). Such practices also render FTNS operators unable to distinguish whether these calls are IDD calls and charge the relevant ETS operators local access fees and universal service contribution fees. Moreover, the lower service fees charged by ETS operators adopting such practices have exerted competition pressure on other ETS operators who abide by the terms and conditions of the relevant telecommunication licences. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the number of cases the authorities handled in the past three years relating to the provision of ETS through the above practices, the sources of these cases (such as reports received, complaints from consumers or other ETS operators, and investigations initiated by the authorities concerned), how the authorities handled these cases, the progress of these cases, the number of cases in which a fine was imposed, and the amounts of fines involved;
(b)	whether it has assessed the impact of such practices on the business of FTNS operators and other ETS operators, as well as the economic losses they suffered; if it has, of the assessment results;
(c)	whether it has drawn up measures to actively monitor the telecommunications services operators' compliance with the relevant terms and conditions of the telecommunication licences; if it has, of the details of these measures; and
(d)	whether it has drawn up measures to strengthen cooperation with the telecommunications regulatory bodies and telecommunications services operators in other places to tackle the problem of ETS operators providing ETS through the above practices; and whether it has considered criminalizing such practices?

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

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

It has been reported that the Government plans to refurbish the O'Brien Road Footbridge in Wanchai, and earmark advertising spaces at the footbridge for lease, with a view to raising government revenue. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the details and estimated expenditure of the above project;
(b)	of the estimated annual revenue from leasing such advertising spaces; and
(c)	whether it has provided advertising spaces at other footbridges for lease, so as to generate additional revenue for the Government; if it has, of the amount of revenue from the lease of such advertising spaces in the past year; if not, whether works similar to those for the O'Brien Road Footbridge will be carried out for other footbridges?

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

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

Regarding the traffic safety of public light buses ("PLBs"), will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the number of enforcement actions mounted by the Police against PLBs speeding, along the Kwai Chung section of Castle Peak Road in each of the past three years, and the number of prosecutions consequently instituted against PLB drivers for speeding; and
(b)	whether it will consider expediting the implementation of the plans to fit seat belts to rear seats and install speed display devices inside PLBs?

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

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

Regarding the professional grade officers employed by government departments on non-civil service contract ("NCSC") terms, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the numbers of officers in each professional grade who were employed on NCSC terms in each of the departments concerned, as at the end of each of the past three years;
(b)	of the average percentage point by which the salary of NCSC officers of each professional grade is lower than the mid-point salary of civil servants of comparable ranks or with similar responsibilities;
(c)	whether the salaries of NCSC officers with the same entry professional qualifications employed by different departments are comparable; if not, of the differences in their salaries; and
(d)	whether guidelines have been issued to heads of departments stipulating that the salaries of NCSC officers should be pitched at levels comparable to those of civil servants of comparable ranks or with similar responsibilities; if so, of the details of the guidelines concerned; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Civil Service

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

The Government established the International Events Fund ("IEF") in 1998 to provide financial support for staging international events in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:

(a)	the current balance of the IEF;
(b)	the names of the events which the IEF has supported so far, the amounts and types of financial support given to these events, and the names of their organizers; among such events, those which were not held as scheduled and the reasons for that, as well as the events the organizers of which failed to meet their contractual obligations to repay the loans provided by the IEF and the outstanding amounts involved; and
(c)	the details of the mechanism adopted by the relevant authorities to recover the debts from the event organizers concerned; and whether the effectiveness of the mechanism has been reviewed?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

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

It has been reported that cases of wild monkeys causing nuisance to the public in Shatin have increased recently, and some of the monkeys even blatantly snatch food from people's hands and intrude into the homes of local residents, thereby posing a safety hazard to the community. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the number of wild monkeys in Shatin; whether there is a trend in the increase in the number of these monkeys over the past three years; and of the number of complaints about these monkeys received by the authorities during the same period;
(b)	whether it plans to contain the number of wild monkeys, such as by performing sterilizations on them; if it has, of the details of such plans; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c)	whether it has measures to regularly monitor the health conditions of the wild monkeys, with a view to preventing them from transmitting diseases to the public?

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

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

It has been reported that the low price of methadone in Hong Kong had attracted many Mainlanders to cross the border for drug treatment in the past, resulting in abuse of the local medical services. Upon the revision of medical fees on 1 April this year, the charge on methadone treatment has also been increased accordingly. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the respective number of Mainlanders who received methadone treatment and the total number of treatments they received over the past three years;
(b)	whether, prior to the revision of medical fees, non-local people taking methadone were required to produce proof of identity for the authority to check their eligibility for receiving methadone treatment; and
(c)	whether it has assessed if the number of Mainlanders who cross the border to receive methadone treatment will decrease upon the revision of medical fees; if assessments have been made, of the details of the assessment results; if the results indicate that there will be a reduction in the number of these Mainlanders, of the estimated savings in the expenditure on purchasing methadone?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

Regarding the strengthening of cooperation between the service sector in Hong Kong and its counterpart in Guangdong Province following our country's accession to the World Trade Organization, will the Government inform this Council whether it has studied the possibility of seeking an earlier opening up of the service sector of Guangdong Province to Hong Kong; if it has, of the study results; and whether the authorities will take the initiative to communicate with the Guangdong Provincial Government regarding the opening up of its service sector to Hong Kong; if they will not, the reasons for that? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology

*For written reply.

III. Bills

First Reading

Merchant Shipping (Liability and Compensation for Oil Pollution) (Amendment) Bill 2003

Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)

Merchant Shipping (Liability and Compensation for Oil Pollution) (Amendment) Bill 2003

:

Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

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

Occupational Deafness (Compensation) (Amendment) Bill 2002

:

Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

IV. Motions

1. Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
   Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology to move the following motion:

RESOLVED that the Import and Export (General)(Amendment)(No. 2) Regulation 2003, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 93 of 2003 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 9 April 2003, be amended -

(a)	in section 3, by repealing and substituting ;
(b)	in the Chinese text, in section 4, in the new regulations 6A(2), 6BA(2), 6BC(2) and 6BE(2), by repealing and substituting ;
(c)	in section 7, in the new Eighth Schedule -
	(i)	in the Chinese text, in regulations 6A(2), 6BA(2), 6BC(2) and 6BE(2), by repealing and substituting ;
	(ii)	in regulations 6B(3)(a)(i) and (3)(b)(ii)(A) and 6BD(3)(a)(i) and (3)(b)(ii)(A), by repealing "certified copy or certified extract of the manifest of the importing vessel, aircraft or vehicle" and substituting "copy or extract of the manifest of the importing vessel, aircraft or vehicle, duly certified by the import carrier";
	(iii)	in regulations 6BB(3)(a)(i) and (3)(b)(ii)(A) and 6BF(3)(a)(i) and (3)(b)(ii)(A), by repealing "certified copy or certified extract of the manifest of the exporting vessel, aircraft or vehicle" and substituting "copy or extract of the manifest of the exporting vessel, aircraft or vehicle, duly certified by the export carrier".

Proposed resolution under the Public Finance Ordinance
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury to move the following motion:

RESOLVED with respect to the Land Fund established by resolution made and passed by the Provisional Legislative Council on 23 July 1997 and published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 398 of 1997, that a sum of $120,000,000,000 be transferred from the Land Fund to the general revenue.
V. Members' Motions

1. Proposed resolution under Article 75 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
   
   Hon TSANG Yok-sing to move the following motion:

RESOLVED that Rule 54 of the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region be amended, by adding - "(5A) In subrule (5), "the chairman of the House Committee" shall mean "the deputy chairman of the House Committee" if the former is not available for consultation because of his absence from Hong Kong or of other reasons when the Member or public officer in charge of the bill seeks to consult him.".

Vote of no confidence in the Financial Secretary

Hon Margaret NG:

(Translation)

That this Council has no confidence in the Financial Secretary, Mr Antony LEUNG.

Public Officers to attend

:

Chief Secretary for Administration Financial Secretary

Atypical pneumonia dealing a blow to Hong Kong's economy

Dr Hon David CHU:

(Translation)

That, as the atypical pneumonia epidemic has dealt a severe blow to Hong Kong's business environment and international image and caused a worsening of the unemployment rate, this Council urges the Government, under the premise of ensuring that the prime task of battling against the epidemic is carried through, to conduct an in-depth assessment of the impact of the epidemic on the local economy and the Government's finances, and to actively work out strategies with various industries and trades with a view to promptly launching a series of effective measures that can turn crises into opportunities, assist the community in tiding over the difficult times, and expeditiously restore the confidence of the public, tourists, investors and the international community in Hong Kong.

Public Officer to attend : Financial Secretary

Clerk to the Legislative Council