A 02/03-6

Legislative Council

Agenda
Wednesday 6 November 2002 at 2:30 pm


I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
1.Specification of Public Office158/2002
2.Chinese Medicine (Fees) Regulation159/2002
3.Chinese Medicines Regulation160/2002
4.Chinese Medicines Traders (Regulatory) Regulation161/2002
5.Hospital Authority Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 1) Order 2002 162/2002
6.Tax Reserve Certificates (Rate of Interest) (No. 8) Notice 2002 163/2002


Other Papers

1. No.19-Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health Annual Report 2001-2002
(to be presented by Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food)

2. Report of the Bills Committee on Immigration (Amendment) Bill 2001
(to be presented by Hon James TO, Chairman of the Bills Committee)


II. Questions

1. Hon Kenneth TING to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that in a crackdown on a loan-shark syndicate early last month, the Police discovered that half of the debtors were owners of small and medium enterprises ("SMEs"). These debtors resorted to borrowing from the loan-shark syndicate at an annual interest rate as high as 400% to deal with their cash flow problems because they were not able to secure loans from authorized financial institutions. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
    (a) in the light of the case mentioned above, it will review expeditiously the effectiveness of each of the public-funded SMEs financial support schemes in relieving SMEs' capital flow problems; if it will, how this will be conducted; if not, of the reasons for that; and

    (b) it will urge the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to expeditiously study whether the banks' lending policies are too rigid and unreasonable, compared to those in other countries?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology

2. Hon Ambrose LAU to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that only some 40 000 Mainlanders in 1 900 tour groups visited Hong Kong under the Group Tour Scheme during the Mainland's National Day holidays this year, representing a drop of 23% and 30% respectively in the numbers of tour groups and tourists, from the corresponding figures for the Mainland's Labour Day holidays this year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a) whether the Administration and the Hong Kong Tourism Board have assessed why the number of Mainland tourists who visited Hong Kong under the Group Tour Scheme was smaller than expected; if they have, of the outcome;

    (b) whether it will work with the industry to gauge systematically the comments of Mainland tourists on the Group Tour Scheme, with a view to taking pertinent measures to improve service quality and enhance Hong Kong's attraction to Mainland tourists; and

    (c) as there are malpractices in some shops (commonly known as "black shops") which sell goods to tourists at exorbitant or unreasonable prices and thus seriously damage Hong Kong's reputation as a "Shoppers' Paradise", whether it has reviewed the effectiveness of current measures to counteract such black shops and to safeguard tourists' interest; if it has, of the outcome; and how it will restore expeditiously Mainland tourists' confidence to shop in Hong Kong?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

3. Hon Mrs Selina CHOW to ask: (Translation)

Since mid-September this year, the authorities have closed off part of the traffic lanes along a section of Nathan Road within Tsim Sha Tsui and implemented traffic diversion measures to facilitate the extension works of the MTR Tsim Sha Tsui Station. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a) of the number of complaints lodged by shop owners with the relevant authorities on the ground that the road closure and traffic diversion measures have caused their business turnover to drop;

    (b) whether it has assessed the financial losses suffered by shop owners as a result of the road closure and traffic diversion measures; if so, of the results of the assessment; and

    (c) whether the relevant authorities will pay compensation to the affected shop owners; if so, of the criteria and mechanism for determining the amount of compensation?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

4. Hon Albert HO to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the consultation on legislative proposals to implement Article 23 of the Basic Law, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a) whether it will compile a compendium of the submissions received during the consultation period; if it will, of the time to publish the compendium; if not, the reasons for that and how it will deal with the submissions received;

    (b) whether, to date, it has decided to revise or considered revising the proposals set out in the Consultation Document on Proposals to Implement Article 23 of the Basic Law; if it has, of the proposals involved as well as the reasons and details of the revision; and

    (c) as the Administration is already preparing the drafting instructions for the relevant bill while the consultation period has not yet expired, how the Administration currently formulates the definite policies on the legislation for implementing Article 23 of the Basic Law and prepares the drafting instructions for the relevant bill for the Department of Justice to proceed with the drafting of the bill?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

Regarding the installation of noise barriers at roadsides to alleviate noise nuisances caused by road traffic to neighbouring residents, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a) of the total expenditure on the installation of noise barriers in the past three years;

    (b) of the annual budget for noise barrier projects for the coming three years; and

    (c) given the negative effects of noise barriers on roadscape and motorists, whether it has explored more new and effective ways to mitigate traffic noise; if so, of the results?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

It has been reported that the Urban Renewal Authority ("URA") plans to modify some of its redevelopment projects as revitalization or rehabilitation projects, so as to relieve its financial pressure. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
    (a) it knows if any of the 25 redevelopment projects announced in 1998 will be modified as revitalization or rehabilitation projects; if so, of the details;

    (b) it knows if URA will consult the public before deciding which option of development, i.e. redevelopment, revitalization or rehabilitation, should be adopted for a particular project; if so, of the consultation procedures; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c) as the cooperation agreement between URA and the Hong Kong Housing Society provides the latter with autonomy over development projects, the authorities concerned have assessed if such autonomy will affect the original mode of development of the 25 redevelopment projects, as well as the residents affected by such projects; if so, of the assessment results?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

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

The use of "alcohol candle" (solidified alcohol) on dining tables as fuel for preparing hotpots or keeping the food warm has become very popular among restaurants in Hong Kong in recent years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
    (a) the use of "alcohol candle" by restaurants for such purposes is in violation of their licensing conditions; if so, whether the Fire Services Department and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department have ever instituted prosecutions against the restaurants concerned;

    (b) it will conduct extensive publicity programmes among restaurants so that they will not unwittingly violate the licensing conditions; and

    (c) it will consider relaxing the licensing conditions for restaurants to allow them to use "alcohol candles"?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

It has been reported that the MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRC") is planning to seek a $4 billion capital injection from the Government to finance the construction of the MTR South Island Line. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a) of the criteria for deciding whether or not to provide financial support for MTRC;

    (b) of the form of support (such as cash injection or the granting of property development rights) that it will consider; and

    (c) whether it has studied the appropriateness of using public money to subsidize MTRC, which is a listed company?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

*9. Dr Hon David CHU to ask: (Translation)

It was reported that the hygiene conditions of a local ice-making plant were unsatisfactory and coliform was detected in the ice particles it produced. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
    (a) inspections have been conducted by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department on all ice-making plants in the territory; if so, of the number of inspections in the past year;

    (b) any ice-making plant operator has been prosecuted for producing ice particles that contain bacteria or for poor hygiene conditions; if so, of the number of such prosecutions; and

    (c) consideration will be given to introducing legislative amendments to require ice-making plants to have a food business licence, so as to strengthen the regulation of such plants?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

Regarding the expenditure of tertiary institutions on full-time courses for training staff of the medical, nursing and allied health professional grades, as well as the employment situation of the graduates concerned, will the Government inform this Council of the following, in respect of each grade:
    (a) the total expenditure, number of graduates and per capita cost for training the graduates of the respective institutions in each of the past five years;

    (b) the respective total numbers of places for bachelors' degree, diploma and high diploma courses in each of the next five years;

    (c) the employment situation of graduates of the respective institutions at the end of the graduation year over the past five years; and, among them, the number and percentage of those who were involved in duties related to their studies, and their average starting salaries; and

    (d) the respective numbers of graduates employed/to be employed by government departments and public-funded organizations in each of the past five years and next five years, as well as the terms of appointment concerned?
Public Officer to reply:Secretary for the Civil Service(in the absence of Secretary for Education and Manpower)


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

It is learnt that, since June 2000, the European Union has implemented the "eEurope" Plan to promote the use of Open Source Software ("OSS") in the public sector and encourage its member states to use OSS for the implementation of e-government projects, so as to set an example for the private sector. The "e-Government Interoperability Framework" Plan introduced by the United Kingdom in the same year has also formulated a clear policy on the use of OSS. France, Brazil, Spain, Mexico and Peru have drawn up relevant legislation or rules for the use of OSS. Moreover, Germany, Malaysia and the Mainland have promoted the use of OSS through non-legislative means. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
    (a) it has knowledge of the plans implemented and the measures adopted by the above organizations and countries in promoting the use of OSS; and

    (b) it will consider making reference to the overseas experience concerned so as to promote the use of OSS in Hong Kong; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology

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

Will the Government inform this Council of the following, broken down by the patients' age profile (in age groups each covering five years):
    (a) the number of attendances at the accident and emergency departments of public hospitals in each of the past five years; and

    (b) a breakdown of the numbers in (a), according to the patients' triage categories based on the urgency of their cases?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

At present, a significant number of residents live in small flats with limited space for maneuvering. The situation is particularly grave among overcrowded families living in public rental housing ("PRH") estates. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a) of the respective numbers of households in PRH and private housing with living space per person under 5.5 square metres, the smallest living space per person and the number of such households;

    (b) whether it has assessed if the living conditions of overcrowded families have affected the overall quality of life of Hong Kong residents and are detrimental to the growth of children and young people; and

    (c) whether the Administration has laid down an overall policy to alleviate the living conditions of the overcrowded families; if so, of the details of the policy and its implementation; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

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

It is learnt that there are quite a number of public bus routes in the Mainland connecting different provinces and cities, with designated terminals for selling tickets and for boarding and alighting. In Hong Kong, people rely mostly on trains as the means of land transportation for travelling to and from the Mainland, and cross-boundary coach routes are limited and without a designated venue for selling tickets and boarding and alighting. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it will consider encouraging the provision of more coach routes between Hong Kong and different provinces and cities in the Mainland and designating venues for selling tickets and for boarding and alighting in Hong Kong, so as to relieve the pressure on trains and the Lo Wu Boundary Crossing; if not, of the reasons for that?

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

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

Regarding traffic accidents involving professional drivers, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a) of the number of serious traffic accidents involving vehicles driven by such drivers in each of the past three years, together with a breakdown by the types of vehicles; and whether such figures have shown an upward trend on a yearly basis;

    (b) whether it has studied the correlation between long working hours of such drivers and the incidence of traffic accidents; if so, of the conclusions and the relevant data; and

    (c) whether it knows the normal duration of rest breaks available to bus drivers of each franchised bus company after completing each bus journey; whether it has assessed if the duration of such rest breaks is adequate; if it is assessed to be inadequate, whether it will require the bus companies concerned to extend the duration of such rest breaks?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

*16. Hon Mrs Selina CHOW to ask: (Translation)

It was reported that the number of crimes involving credit cards, including theft of credit cards, use of counterfeit credit cards, or using false information to apply for credit cards, and so on, was higher around the Christmas holidays last year than the ordinary days. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of the measures the Police will take to step up efforts against such crimes during the coming Christmas?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

Regarding the Housing Department's arrangement for single person households to share public rental housing ("PRH") units with unrelated single persons, or to move into PRH units with shared use of common facilities, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a) the criteria for allocating such flats to PRH applicants prior to November 2001;

    (b) the number of cases in which applications for transfer were made because of grudges against fellow occupants in the past three years; and

    (c) the current respective numbers of these flats and self-contained one-person units available for application for transfer?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

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

I have learnt that it is the practice of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department ("LCSD") to require applicants for using its venues to hold territory-wide sports events must have the prior consent of the relevant National Sports Associations ("NSAs") of the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China ("SF&OC"). However, LCSD has recently rented out its sports venue to a local amateur basketball association for holding a territory-wide basketball competition without consulting the Hong Kong Basketball Association of SF&OC. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a) whether LCSD has changed its practice to allow any organization to apply for the use of its venues to hold territory-wide sports competitions without the prior consent of the relevant NSAs of SF&OC; if so, of the reasons for such a change;

    (b) if LCSD has changed its practice, whether it has considered if such a change will:

    (i)cause the public to doubt the representativeness of the territory-wide sports competitions held at LCSD venues and the recognition of such competitions by the relevant NSAs; and

    (ii)discourage the public from participating in sports competitions and affect the standards of play and selection of local athletes, thereby undermining Hong Kong's reputation in the international sports arena;

    (c) if LCSD has not changed its practice, of the reasons for not adhering to this practice in approving the venue application in respect of the above-mentioned basketball competition; and

    (d) of the criteria adopted by LCSD for approving future applications for using its venues to hold territory-wide sports competitions?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

*19. Dr Hon David CHU to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that the rentals of some market stalls outsourced by the Housing Authority ("HA") to single operators have, instead of decreasing in line with HA's rent rebate scheme, risen against the market trend at a time of economic downturn, causing grievances among the tenants of the markets concerned. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a) of the respective median rents of market stalls of various outsourced markets before and after the outsourcing;

    (b) as there is no provision in the tenancy agreements between the HA and single operators for regulating the levels of rental adjustments for the stalls of the markets concerned, and the tenants of the markets concerned are experiencing business hardship, whether the Housing Department ("HD") will consider strengthening its regulation over the rentals of market stalls determined by single operators;

    (c) of a breakdown by subject of the numbers of complaints against single operators received by HD in each of the past five years; and

    (d) of the measures (such as punitive measures) adopted by HD, apart from assessing the performance of single operators and not renewing the tenancy agreements with those who have failed to meet the required performance standard, to ensure that the quality of services provided by single operators during their agreement period is up to HD's prescribed standard?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

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

It is learnt that the tenants of Kwai Shing East Estate Market, which is one of the markets outsourced by the Housing Authority ("HA") to single operators ("outsourced markets") for management, went on a two-day strike in early October this year due to unreasonable rents, and air-conditioning, management and other fees charged by the single operator. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
    (a) it knows how the single operators calculate the air-conditioning, management and other fees payable by tenants of outsourced markets;

    (b) HA has monitored the fees mentioned in (a) to see if they are reasonable and charged according to the sizes of the market stalls; and how such fees compare to those of the markets managed by the Housing Department; and

    (c) the management problems in an outsourced market (such as strikes by market tenants) will be used as a reference when HA considers whether to renew the tenancy agreement with the single operator; if it will, of the details?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

*For written reply.

III. Bills

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

Immigration (Amendment) Bill 2001 : Secretary for Security

IV. Members' Motions
  1. Developing offshore fishing industry

    Hon WONG Yung-kan:
    2.  (Translation)

    That, as Hong Kong's inshore fishing industry has been wilting continuously in recent years as a result of dwindling marine resources in the South China Sea, the livelihood of fishermen engaging in capture fishery has been seriously affected; moreover, many coastal countries or areas in the world have been actively developing offshore fishing for more than a decade, and a consultancy study on the feasibility of offshore fishing commissioned earlier by the Government has also concluded that Hong Kong has the potential for developing offshore fishing, this Council urges the Government to expeditiously formulate a policy on developing offshore fishing, including the provision of technical support, loan arrangements, manpower training and liaison with the relevant overseas and Mainland authorities, so as to ensure the restructuring of the local fishing industry towards offshore fishing, thereby keeping in tune with the direction of China's fishing policy and enhancing the international status of Hong Kong's fishing industry.

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

  2. Emissions trading

    Hon CHOY So-yuk:
    3.  (Translation)

    That this Council urges the Government to embark on, as soon as possible, a study on the feasibility of implementing emissions trading in Hong Kong or jointly with the neighbouring territories, and to implement as far as possible specific pilot schemes to ascertain whether conditions exist in the region for adopting emissions trading as a means to control the total volume of emissions.

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


Clerk to the Legislative Council