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A 03/04-31
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 9 June 2004 at 2:30 pm
I. Tabling of Papers| Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments | L.N. No.
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| 1. | Tax Reserve Certificates (Rate of Interest) (No. 4) Notice 2004 | 106/2004
| | 2. | Broadcasting (Amendment) Ordinance 2004 (8 of 2004) (Commencement) Notice 2004 | 107/2004
| | 3. | Import and Export (Strategic Commodities) Regulations (Amendment of Schedule 1) Order 2004 (L.N. 65 of 2004) (Commencement) Notice 2004 | 108/2004
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Other Papers | 1. | Report of the Finance Committee on the examination of the Estimates of Expenditure 2004-05
| (to be presented by Hon Philip WONG, Chairman of the Finance Committee, who will address the Council)
| | 2. | Report of the Bills Committee on Hong Kong Sports Development Board (Repeal) Bill
| (to be presented by Hon NG Leung-sing, Chairman of the Bills Committee)
| | 3. | Report of the Bills Committee on Airport Authority (Amendment) Bill 2004
| | (to be presented by Hon SIN Chung-kai, Chairman of the Bills Committee)
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II. Questions
1. Hon LI Fung-ying to ask: (Translation)
Regarding drivers of vehicles of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government involved in traffic incidents while on duty in the Mainland, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether there have been any such incidents since 2002; if so, of the number and the details of the incidents, and whether the drivers involved were blackmailed by unruly elements in the Mainland; if so, of the number and the details of the blackmail;
| | (b) | of the support and protection provided by the Hong Kong authorities to the drivers of government vehicles, who need to be on duty in the Mainland and are involved in such incidents; and
| | (c) | whether it has issued working guidelines for the drivers of government vehicles on duty in the Mainland to get familiar with Mainland traffic regulations and educate them on ways to deal with traffic incidents and other situations such as blackmail; if it has, of the details of the guidelines; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
2. Hon CHAN Yuen-han to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the Government procured last year 200 000 influenza vaccines for use by the Hospital Authority and the government departments concerned. While the validity of the vaccines will expire by the end of this month, there is still plenty of stock left. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the total value and average unit cost of the vaccines;
| | (b) | which official or committee made the decision on the quantity of the vaccines to be procured, the criteria on which the decision was based and the number of vaccines still in stock at present; and
| | (c) | whether it has taken measures to use the vaccines before the expiry date as far as possible so as to avoid wastage; if it has, of the measures taken and whether they include the offer of free vaccination to the elderly who are not living in residential care homes or suffering from the specified chronic illnesses?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food
3. Hon Albert CHAN to ask: (Translation)
I have recently received a number of complaints alleging that the research results of many academics in tertiary institutions have been plagiarized by other academics. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
| (a) | the total numbers of complaints involving alleged plagiarism received by the relevant authorities of tertiary institutions in each of the past three years, with a breakdown by institutions;
| | (b) | among the above complaints, the number of those that have been substantiated, the positions of the academics confirmed to have committed plagiarism, the institutions they belonged to and the penalties imposed on them; and
| | (c) | whether the relevant authorities have put in place measures to curb plagiarism; if they have, of the details of such measures; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower
4. Hon Fred LI to ask: (Translation)
At the end of last month, several newspapers published a political commentary by an Assistant Director of Immigration published in the department's internal publication. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether it has assessed if the officer's act has violated the principle of political neutrality that civil servants should uphold; if the assessment result shows that it has not, of the justifications;
| | (b) | how the existing Civil Service Regulations and Codes define and regulate the circumstances under which a civil servant may openly publish political commentaries carrying his official title; whether staff of the disciplined services are subject to tighter regulation; and
| | (c) | of the specific measures it has put in place to ensure that civil servants will not be affected by their political stance in discharging their official duties, they will not be asked by their superiors to state their position on a political subject, and similar incidents will not recur?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Civil Service
5. Hon WONG Yung-kan to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the last avian influenza case in the Mainland was reported over three months ago, which satisfies the time requirement set by the World Organization for Animal Health for lifting the restriction on the suspension of importation of live poultry from infected places. Moreover, the Government has resumed the importation of live chickens from the Mainland on a trial basis since late April this year, with none of the imported live chickens found infected with avian influenza. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the scientific and legal basis for still imposing restrictions on the quantity of live chickens imported from the Mainland;
| | (b) | whether it has worked out a timetable for resuming the normal importation of live chickens; if so, of the details; and
| | (c) | whether it knows the reasons for the absence of importation of day-old chickens from the Mainland to Hong Kong despite that the Hong Kong authorities have already permitted the resumption of unlimited importation of day-old chickens since late April this year, and of the follow-up actions taken by the Hong Kong authorities in this regard?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food
6. Hon Abraham SHEK to ask:
Regarding the appointment of permanent secretaries of policy bureaux and heads of government departments following the implementation of the accountability system for principal officials, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether special mechanism is in place for selecting permanent secretaries, deputy secretaries and heads of departments and for assessing the candidates for appointment to these posts in terms of their capability, conduct and so on; if so, of the details of such a mechanism and the procedures for selection and assessment; if not, how the candidates are selected for appointment to such posts;
| | (b) | whether the principal officials under the accountability system have taken part in the selection process or given their views on the selection; if so, how it ensures that the selection process is conducted in a fair and just manner; if not, how it will enable the principal officials to select the candidates that they consider most suitable; and
| | (c) | since the implementation of the above accountability system, how many senior civil servants have become candidates for appointment to the relevant posts and, among them, the respective numbers of those who have been selected for appointment and those who have not?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Civil Service
*7. Hon SZETO Wah to ask: (Translation)
Twenty-one Legislative Council Members of the "pro-democracy camp" wrote to the Chief Executive on 14 April this year, requesting him to publish the draft of the report on whether there was a need to amend the methods for selecting the Chief Executive in 2007 and for forming the Legislative Council in 2008 and to present it to the Legislative Council for debate, before submitting the report to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress ("NPCSC"), so as to ensure that public opinion was reflected in the report. While the Chief Executive's Office replied on 16 April that the Chief Executive would meet Members of this Council on the afternoon of that day, the report had already been submitted to NPCSC on the preceding day. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of the reasons for the Chief Executive:
| (a) | not proposing a meeting with Legislative Council Members before submitting the report to NPCSC; and
| | (b) | not acceding to the above requests made by the Legislative Council Members of the pro-democracy camp?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional Affairs
*8. Dr Hon David LI to ask:
On 1 July last year, the Government introduced a revised policy governing the employment of dependants of persons granted entry into Hong Kong to take up employment. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
| (a) | the number of the above dependants who have applied to the Director of Immigration for permission to work since the introduction of the revised policy and, among them, the number of those whose applications were successful;
| | (b) | the average man-hours used for vetting the relevant applications, broken down by rank of staff; and
| | (c) | the estimated number of jobs that, as a result of the implementation of the revised policy, have been made available so far to Hong Kong residents who have the right to take up employment?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security
*9. Hon Albert HO to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the Government's environmental protection projects, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the progress so far concerning the study on the levying of a tyre tax, mentioned by the Financial Secretary in this year's Budget; whether it has plans to introduce other taxes relating to environmental protection;
| | (b) | of the progress in the establishment of a waste recovery park in Tuen Mun, and whether the project has been delayed; and
| | (c) | whether it has plans to promote the development of environmental protection industries, including the waste recovery industry; if it has, of the details of the plans and implementation timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works
*10. Hon Audrey EU to ask: (Translation)
Will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the respective numbers of individual and corporate electors who have registered for various functional constituencies so far; and
| | (b) | whether it has assessed if the concept of "balanced participation" referred to in the Second Report of the Constitutional Development Task Force can be put into practice with such numbers of electors; if it has, of the assessment results?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional Affairs
*11. Hon WONG Sing-chi to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the development plan for the former Kai Tak Airport site, will the Government inform this Council of:
| (a) | the details of the plan, including the planning restrictions to be imposed, such as the restrictions on building height and development density, as well as the maximum area of land for development and the maximum floor area permitted; and
| | (b) | the total cost of the development plan?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands
*12. Hon Bernard CHAN to ask: (Translation)
It is reported that the owner of a commercial building in Central is suspected to have breached the lease conditions by allocating for its own use 80% of the parking spaces in the building's public car park while providing only a hundred or so rentable parking spaces for the public. However, it is difficult for the Government to impose a fine on the building owner due to the absence of penalty clauses in the relevant lease. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the number of inspections conducted in commercial buildings over the past three years to ensure compliance with lease conditions, and the number of buildings where breaches were identified during those inspections;
| | (b) | how it investigated and followed up the breaches mentioned in item (a), and whether, as in the case of the above building, the Government is unable to punish the other owners of buildings where breaches were identified; and
| | (c) | whether it will consider amending the lease conditions of the above building for more effective execution of the relevant conditions?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands
*13. Hon TAM Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)
I have repeatedly received complaints by the public about the charges and marketing practices of various telecommunication services. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
| (a) | the respective numbers of complaints received last year by the Office of the Telecommunications Authority ("OTA") and Consumer Council relating to fixed network telephone service, broadband Internet service and mobile telephone service, and how these figures compare to those of the preceding two years;
| | (b) | the number of investigations conducted by OTA in each of the past three years into the complaints against telecommunication service operators' employing misleading or deceptive means in marketing, as well as the investigation results; and
| | (c) | the measures in place to step up efforts in monitoring the business practices of telecommunication service operators, with a view to protecting the rights of consumers?
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| Public Officer to reply | :
| Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
(in the absence of Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology)
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*14. Hon CHOY So-yuk to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the contractor commissioned by a government department to clear the access road leading to the Tin Hau Temple in Sai Kung is suspected of cutting down the bamboo groves in the vicinity while carrying out the weeding operations, and that some of the bamboo sticks felled have even been used by staff of the department concerned as support for temporary tents. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the quantities of bamboo trees the authorities planted in each of the past three years;
| | (b) | whether there have been any changes in the sizes of the bamboo groves in Hong Kong over the past three years; if so, whether the groves have increased or decreased in size and of the extent of such changes;
| | (c) | whether it has investigated the circumstances of the above case; if it has, of the investigation results and whether negligence on the part of government department is involved; if not, the reasons for that; and
| | (d) | of the measures in place to prevent recurrence of similar cases?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs
*15. Hon Henry WU to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the policy on investment immigration, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the total number of applications for investment immigration received since the implementation of this policy and among them, the details of applications approved and rejected, including the applicants' nationalities and places of origin, as well as the projects and amounts of investments;
| | (b) | whether it has assessed if the policy has achieved the expected effects; if so, of the results; if not, the reasons for that;
| | (c) | whether it has assessed the differences between the Hong Kong's eligibility criteria for investment immigration under the existing policy and those set by neighbouring countries or places; if so, of the assessment results; if not, the reasons for that; and
| | (d) | whether it will review and relax the eligibility criteria for applications for investment immigration?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security
*16. Hon Michael MAK to ask: (Translation)
As stipulated by the Nursing Council of Hong Kong ("NCHK"), enrolled nurses ("ENs") taking the Higher Diploma course in Nursing offered by the Open University of Hong Kong ("OUHK") may apply to be registered nurses ("RNs") upon completion of a clinical practicum training of 1 800 hours. The OUHK may, having regard to the previous clinical experience of individual students, recommend that NCHK approve shortening the duration of their clinical practicum training by up to a maximum of 200 hours. ENs sponsored by Hospital Authority ("HA") to take the above course will be appointed as RN students during such training period. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
| (a) | if OUHK has discussed with HA the clinical practicum training period of the above course over the past 12 months; if it has, of the discussion results;
| | (b) | if the contract terms of RN students employed by HA are standardized at 1 800 hours; if so, of the reasons for that; and
| | (c) | if HA has dealt with the contract terms of individual students in a flexible manner in accordance with the decision of NCHK on the clinical practicum training period of such students; if it has, of the arrangements in this regard; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food
*17. Ir Dr Hon HO Chung-tai to ask: (Translation)
Will the Government inform this Council of:
| (a) | the number of students who dropped out from sub-degree and degree programmes over the past year and their reasons for doing so, as well as the academic departments involved and the years of study at which they dropped out from the programmes;
| | (b) | the total wastage of resources caused by the dropout of students; and
| | (c) | the measures in place to remedy the dropout situation?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower
*18. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)
Will the Executive Authorities inform this Council whether they know the respective current numbers of retired directorate and non-directorate civil servants who are now employed by statutory bodies, broken down according to the form below?
Statutory body Job nature Whether allowed to continue to receive monthly pensions whilst being employed
| Statutory body | Job nature
| Whether allowed to continue to receive monthly pensions whilst being employed
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| Yes: | No:
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| No. of directorate officers | No. of non-directorate officers | No. of directorate officers | No. of non-directorate officers
| | Body 1 | Job 1 |
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| | Job 2 |
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| | ...... |
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| | Body 2 | Job 1 |
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| | Job 2 |
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| | ...... |
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Civil Service
*19. Hon LAU Kong-wah to ask: (Translation)
The fixed penalty for spitting and littering offences under the Fixed Penalty (Public Cleanliness Offences) Ordinance (Cap. 570) has been increased from $600 to $1,500 since 26 June last year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the respective numbers of verbal warnings and fixed penalty notices issued by various law enforcement departments in respect of such offences in each month since the penalty was increased, the number of cases in which assistance from the Police was sought due to clashes between law enforcement officers and the offenders, and the reasons for the clashes; and
| | (b) | whether it has reviewed the effectiveness of the increased penalty in deterring the public from spitting and littering in public places?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food
*20. Hon LI Fung-ying to ask: (Translation)
Regarding drink driving, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the number of accidents in which casualties of other parties were caused by drunk drivers since 2001, and that of drivers prosecuted for drink driving as well as the prosecution results; and
| | (b) | whether it will consider increasing penalties for drunk drivers to enhance the deterrent effect; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works
*For written reply.
III. Bills
Second Reading (Debates to resume), Committee Stage and Third Reading
| 1. Hong Kong Sports Development Board (Repeal) Bill | : | Secretary for Home Affairs
| | 2. Airport Authority (Amendment) Bill 2004 | : | Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
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IV. Motions
- Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
Secretary for Education and Manpower to move the following motion:
Resolved that the Education (Exemption)(Private Schools Offering Non-Formal Curriculum) Order, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 76 of 2004 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 12 May 2004, be amended -
| (a) | in Schedule 2, in section 7(b) of Part 2, by adding before the semicolon "or under the Prevention of Child Pornography Ordinance (Cap. 579)";
| | (b) | in Schedule 3, in section 6(b) of Part 2, by adding before the semicolon "or under the Prevention of Child Pornography Ordinance (Cap. 579)".
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Proposed resolution under the Fixed Penalty (Criminal Proceedings) Ordinance
Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works to move the following motion:
RESOLVED -
| (a) | that the Schedule to the Fixed Penalty (Criminal Proceedings) Ordinance be amended, in item 53, by adding "private" before "light"; and
| | (b) | that this Resolution shall come into operation on a day to be appointed by the Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works by notice published in the Gazette.
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V. Members' Bills
First Reading
Wing Hang Bank, Limited (Merger) Bill
Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned) | Wing Hang Bank, Limited (Merger) Bill | : | Dr Hon David LI
| | Public Officer to attend | : | Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
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VI. Members' Motions
- Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
Hon Andrew WONG to move the following motion:
RESOLVED that in relation to the Electoral Affairs Commission (Electoral Procedure) (Legislative Council) (Amendment) Regulation 2004, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 84 of 2004 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 19 May 2004, 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 7 July 2004.
Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Constitutional Affairs
- Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
Dr Hon LO Wing-lok to move the following motion:
RESOLVED that in relation to the Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) (Amendment) Regulation 2004, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 85 of 2004 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 19 May 2004, 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 7 July 2004.
- Demonstrating the people's power on 1 July
Hon LEE Cheuk-yan: (Translation)
That this Council appeals to all the people of Hong Kong to demonstrate once again on 1 July this year the people's power and express Hong Kong people's determination to fight for universal suffrage, defend the core values of Hong Kong and improve the governance of the Government and people's livelihood.
Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Constitutional Affairs
- Enhancing the attractiveness of Hong Kong to tourists
Hon Howard YOUNG: (Translation)
That, in view of the immense efforts of Hong Kong's neighbouring territories in enhancing the attractiveness of their tourist facilities and the opening of Hong Kong Disneyland next year, this Council urges the Government to step up its external publicity in promoting Hong Kong as an international tourist centre, and to comprehensively review, enhance and strengthen the attractiveness and competitiveness of various ancillary tourist facilities so as to cater for the increasing demands of tourists, and to devote all its effort to attract more tourists with high spending power to visit Hong Kong.
Amendment to Hon Howard YOUNG's motion
Hon CHAN Kam-lam: (Translation)
To add "; at the same time, this Council urges the Hong Kong Government to accelerate its communication with other governments in the Pan-Pearl River Delta ('PPRD') Region to materialize, as early as possible, the co-operation and development in tourism within the PPRD Region and synergize the complementary advantages of the various regions" after "demands of tourists".
Amendment to Hon CHAN Kam-lam's amendment
Hon Miriam LAU: (Translation)
To add ", including perfecting the transport infrastructure, improving boundary-crossing facilities and alleviating the congestion problem at the boundary," after "within the PPRD Region"; and to add "reinforce Hong Kong's position as a 'cosmopolitan tourist centre' and" after "various regions, and to".
| Public Officer to attend | :
| Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works
(in the absence of Secretary for Economic Development and Labour)
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Clerk to the Legislative Council
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