A 03/04-2

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 15 October 2003 at 2:30 pm

I. Tabling of Papers
Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
1.Air Navigation (Hong Kong) Order 1995 (Amendment of Schedule 16) Order 2003214/2003
2.Declaration of Geographical Constituencies (Legislative Council) Order 2003215/2003
3.Clubs (Safety of Premises) (Exclusion) (Amendment) Order 2003216/2003
4.Dangerous Goods (Consignment by Air) (Safety) Regulations (Amendment of Schedule) Order 2003217/2003
5.Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Safety Officers and Safety Supervisors) (Amendment) Regulation 2001 (L.N. 100 of 2002) (Commencement) Notice 2003218/2003
6.Gambling (Amendment) Regulation 2002 (L.N. 92 of 2002) (Commencement) Notice 2003

219/2003
Other Papers

1. No.4 -Report by the Trustee of the Prisoners' Education Trust Fund for the period from 1 April 2002 to 31 March 2003
(to be presented by Secretary for Security)

2. No.5 -Electrical and Mechanical Services Trading Fund Annual Report 2002/03
(to be presented by Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works)

3. No.6 -Urban Renewal Authority Annual Report 2002-2003
(to be presented by Financial Secretary)

4. No.7 -Electoral Affairs CommissionReport on the Recommended Delineation of Geographical Constituencies for the 2004 Legislative Council Elections
(to be presented by Secretary for Constitutional Affairs)

5. No.8 -The Government Minute in response to the Report No.40 of the Public Accounts Committee dated July 2003
(to be presented by Chief Secretary for Administration, who will address the Council)

6. No.9 -The Legislative Council Commission's Response to Public Accounts Committee Report No. 40 on "Subvention for Staff Emoluments of The Legislative Council Commission"
(to be presented by Hon Miriam LAU, Deputy Chairman of The Legislative Council Commission, who will address the Council)

II. Questions

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

It has been reported that some secondary educational institutions oppose the adoption of a schooling structure comprising a five-year secondary course, a one-year matriculation course and a four-year undergraduate programme (the "5+1+4 structure") to expedite the plan to change the academic structure of university education from three years to four years, as they consider that such a schooling structure will cause confusion. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
    (a)it accepts the above opposing view; if so, of the reasons for that;

    (b)it has given up the "5+1+4 structure" and will adopt a schooling structure comprising a three-year junior secondary course, a three-year senior secondary course and a four-year undergraduate programme instead; if so, of the details and the implementation timetable; and whether the authorities will allocate additional resources for the implementation of such a schooling structure; if so, of the details and the implementation timetable; and

    (c)it will implement corresponding curriculum reforms in the light of the changes in the structure of secondary and university education; if so, of the details?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

2. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the numbers of inspections carried out and warnings issued under the Bedspace Apartments Ordinance and Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance respectively in each of the past three years, as well as the follow-up actions taken by the Administration after issuing the warnings;

    (b)the number of bedspace apartments and hotels/guesthouses which had their business licences revoked for violating the above ordinances in each of the past three years, broken down by the offences committed; and

    (c)the current number of rental en suite units with kitchens and toilets in Hong Kong as well as the districts in which they are mainly located, and whether the above ordinances are applicable to these units; if not, of the means by which the construction structure, fire safety facilities and environmental hygiene conditions of these units are monitored by the authorities at present?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

3. Hon Andrew CHENG to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the fares of franchised buses, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the criteria adopted by the franchised bus companies for determining whether sectional fares should be implemented on individual routes, the number of sections and the respective fares;

    (b)whether measures are in place to encourage the franchised bus companies to implement sectional fares on more routes or increase the number of sections for routes with sectional fares, and to reduce the fares of various sections to alleviate the burden on passengers; if so; of the particulars of the measures; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether the franchised bus companies applied to the Government for reducing the sectional fares of certain routes or increasing the number of sections over the past three years; if so, of the details of each application, including the name of the bus company making the application, the route numbers involved, the outcome of the application; if some of the applications were rejected by the Government, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

4. Hon Michael MAK to ask: (Translation)

During his meeting with a Hong Kong delegation on the 10th of last month, XU Kuangdi, vice-chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, said that he believed the march on the 1st of July "was a 'bad thing', but it could be turned into a 'good thing'". Also, there are many public comments that the march attended by 500 000 people has set off a crisis in governance. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it has studied the meaning of the "bad thing" and "good thing" in Mr XU's comment;

    (b)of the lessons which the Government has learned from this "crisis in governance"; whether it has assessed how it can gauge public opinions in a better and more accurate way in performing its work, to avoid setting off massive processions again; and

    (c)as the Government has indicated that the Chief Executive and the principal officials will strengthen their communication with Members of this Council, civic organizations, religious groups, etc. through regular meetings, of the specific approach to be adopted?
Public Officer to reply : Chief Secretary for Administration

5. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)

After announcing the withdrawal of the National Security (Legislative Provisions) Bill, the Government has not publicly explained the way forward for the public consultation on the making of legislation to implement Article 23 of the Basic Law ("BL23"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
    (a)it will commence the making of the legislation concerned only after the Chief Executive and all Members of the Legislative Council are returned by universal suffrage; and

    (b)it will publish a white bill for public consultation on the contents of the provisions of the bill to implement BL23?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

6. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that following the exposure of the questionable loan made out by the Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited to New Nongkai, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority ("HKMA") deployed a working group to conduct thorough investigations on all local Chinese banks, to find out if unusual arrangements had been made for their major loan accounts. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
    (a)of the reasons for the HKMA's deploying a working group to conduct the above investigations and the results thereof;

    (b)whether the HKMA has taken other measures to ensure the quality of the loans granted by Chinese banks; and

    (c)whether the HKMA deploys staff to conduct regular investigations on banks to ascertain if unusual arrangements have been made for their loan accounts; if regular investigations have been conducted, of the number of such investigations, the banks investigated and the results thereof respectively in the past three years; if regular investigations have not been conducted, whether the HKMA will consider doing so with a view to preserving the confidence of local and international investors in local banks?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

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

I have received a complaint that a member of the public was charged with littering by staff of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department on Kin Wah Street, North Point, after leaving a small bag of garbage next to a public rubbish bin which was already full. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it regularly reviews the adequacy of the number of public rubbish bins and their clearing frequencies, so as to prevent recurrence of the above situation; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

*8. Hon LAU Wong-fat to ask: (Translation)

In reply to my question on 12 February this year, the Administration advised that "the Security Bureau is now reviewing the coverage of the Frontier Closed Area. We intend to consult the concerned parties on the outcome of the review in mid-2003". In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether the review has been completed; if so, of its conclusions? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

Will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the total amount of funds raised by local organizers of charitable fund-raising activities in the past year;

    (b)whether it has received complaints about the mechanism for monitoring local organizers of charitable fund-raising activities over the past three years; if so, of the details; and

    (c)whether, in the past three years, it had prosecuted any staff of charitable fund-raising organizations or people involved in fund-raising activities for embezzling the funds raised; if so, of the details?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

It was reported that on the 7th of last month, Mainland customs officers forcibly boarded a cargo ship near Wong Mau Chau in Sai Kung within Hong Kong waters, and escorted the ship to the Mainland for detention and investigation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows the details of the incident, including whether Mainland customs officers took law enforcement actions within Hong Kong waters;

    (b)whether the Police had received any request from the Mainland customs authorities for assistance in pursuing the cargo ship before it was intercepted;

    (c)of the number of cases in which the Police received requests from the Mainland customs authorities for assistance in pursuing cargo ships sailing within Hong Kong waters in the past three years; and

    (d)of the number of cases in which Mainland customs officers took law enforcement actions within Hong Kong waters over the past three years, and whether they had contacted the Hong Kong Police in advance on each occasion?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

Will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it provides information on vacancies of jobs which are designated for application by discharged prisoners only; if so, of the details, such as the numbers and titles of the jobs concerned, in the past two years;

    (b)of the employment rate of discharged prisoners in the past year; and

    (c)whether it has put in place mechanisms to follow up the employment situation of discharged prisoners?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority ("HKMA") issued a press release last month to alert the public to a suspected Internet fraud involving a website with the domain name similar to that of a bank's former subsidiary. Moreover, it has been reported that in recent months there have been cases of swindlers impersonating staff of licensed banks and sending out e-mails with the intent of obtaining bank account particulars of the e-mail recipients so as to defraud them. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the current number of authorized institutions under the Banking Ordinance which adopt e-Certs (e.g. server certificates or other technologies) for consumers to verify the authenticity of their websites;

    (b)whether it has formulated any measures or guidelines requiring the attachment of e-Certs to the websites of all the authorized institutions (including licensed banks or virtual banks providing services to their clients through Internet or other electronic forms) and to the electronic messages (such as e-mails and mobile short messages) sent out by the institutions, to facilitate the verification of the authenticity of the websites and the identity of the senders of electronic messages; and

    (c)whether it has drawn up plans to educate consumers to guard against Internet fraud or deception; if so, of the details?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

*13. Hon Henry WU to ask: (Translation)

In June this year, the Government published in the Gazette the list of firms for the provision of financial consultancy services to bureaux/departments ("the list"), and set out at the same time the two criteria used for selection of firms to be included in the list: (i) the business of the firm is to provide financial consultancy services; and (ii) the firm must be a registered company in Hong Kong or possess a valid Hong Kong business registration certificate. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it has adopted criteria other than the two listed above, such as the size of the firm, for selection of firms for inclusion in the list;

    (b)of the number of firms which applied for inclusion in the list in the past three years, the number of rejected cases among them and the reasons for rejection; the number of specific tasks for which bureaux/departments invited firms on the list to submit expressions of interest, with details such as the names of the tasks, the amount of financial consultancy fees involved, the names of firms invited to submit expressions of interest and the names of those selected; and

    (c)of the mechanism for continuously monitoring whether the firms should be retained on the list?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

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

I have received many complaints that some roadside bus stops are improperly positioned, for example, being too close to road junctions, pedestrian crossings or car-park accesses, which does not conform to road safety standards and is prone to causing accidents. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the number and locations of bus stops the positions of which do not conform to road safety standards;

    (b)the number of traffic accidents due to improperly positioned bus stops and the number of casualties thus caused last year; and

    (c)the measures the Administration will adopt to improve the situation of bus stop locations not conforming to road safety standards?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

The Hospital Authority ("HA") launched the Voluntary Early Retirement Scheme at the end of last year for full-time non-civil-servant staff, whereas the second Voluntary Retirement Scheme introduced by the Government at the beginning of this year was open to civil servants of the HA and Health Department ("HD"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective numbers of staff in the medical, nursing and allied health grades in the above two organizations who have been approved to leave their service in respect of each of the above two voluntary retirement schemes, and the following figures in connection with those numbers: (i) breakdowns of the numbers by the ranks of the staff concerned and the types of medical institutions to which they belonged;(ii) the respective percentages of the numbers in the total numbers of applicants, and the relevant percentages in respect of each grade and rank; and(iii) the respective percentages of the numbers in the total numbers of staff, and the relevant percentages in respect of each grade and rank; and

    (b)in view of the huge pressure brought by the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome on the medical system of Hong Kong, will the authorities concerned consider retaining those staff who have been approved to leave their service; if not, of the plan it will put in place to ensure sufficient health care staff to meet the service needs when there is an epidemic?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

Regarding the body checks conducted by staff of the Correctional Services Department ("CSD") on persons detained in penal institutions for detection of internal concealment of drugs, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective numbers of persons detained in penal institutions in each of the past three years and, among them, the number of those who were found to have drugs concealed inside their bodies, and the types and amounts of drugs seized;

    (b)of the methods used by CSD staff for conducting the above body checks and whether these methods have been reviewed by the authorities; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (c)whether it has studied if the checks can be conducted with the aid of scientific and technological devices; if so, of the results; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (d)whether it knows the methods used by other countries and regions for conducting such checks and whether they have tried new methods for the purpose; if they have, of the details?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

On the 26th of last month, the Electoral Affairs Commission ("EAC") withdrew its previous decision to shorten the polling hours for the forthcoming District Council Elections. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council whether they know:
    (a)if the EAC has gathered information on the polling hours for elections held in foreign countries; if so, of the details;

    (b)if the polling hours in Hong Kong are the longest, compared to those for the countries mentioned in the reply to (a) above; and

    (c)the supporting facilities put in place in the countries with shorter polling hours than those in Hong Kong to facilitate the voting of electors?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional Affairs

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

The High Court ruled in September last year that sections 67C(2), (4) and (6) of the Criminal Procedure Ordinance, concerning the arrangements for the minimum terms to be determined by the Chief Executive in respect of minors convicted of murder, were inconsistent with Article 80 of the Basic Law which provides that the judicial power should be exercised by the courts. The Government subsequently indicated to me that it would not lodge any appeal against the ruling of the Court, and undertook to introduce a bill into the Legislative Council within the last Legislative Council session to amend the relevant provisions of the Ordinance. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the reasons for not honouring its undertaking; and

    (b)the legal basis for the continued detention of those offenders convicted of murder, despite the relevant ruling of the Court?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

It has been reported that there have been four cases of people jumping off the Tsing Ma Bridge to commit suicide since the Bridge was open to traffic in 1997. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it plans to take measures, such as installing safety nets under the Bridge, to minimize and prevent cases of people jumping off the Bridge to commit suicide? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

In late August this year, an unguarded suspect escaped custody from the Mongkok Police Station by crawling through the gap under an unguarded electronic gate at the police station's carpark entrance and exit point. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of police stations where electronic gates were installed at the entrance and exit points in the past 12 months to dispense with deploying police officers on gate guard duty;

    (b)whether the Police has issued guidelines to police officers on how to prevent suspects from escaping whilst they are detained at police stations for the laying of charges; and

    (c)whether the Police has reviewed the security facilities at police stations in the past three years; if so, of the results of the review; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*For written reply.

IIA. Statements

Government's policy on housing : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

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

    Hon Miriam LAU to move the following motion:


    2. RESOLVED that in relation to the -

    (a)Registration of Persons (Amendment) Regulation 2003, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 165 of 2003;

    (b)International Organizations (Privileges and Immunities) (Office of the Commission of the European Communities) Order, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 166 of 2003;

    (c)Administration of Estates by Consular Officers Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule) Order 2003, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 167 of 2003;

    (d)Consular Conventions (Application of Section 3) Order, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 168 of 2003; and

    (e)Statutes of the University of Hong Kong (Amendment) (No. 2) Statutes 2003, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 186 of 2003,

    and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 9 July 2003, the period for amending subsidiary legislation referred to in section 34(2) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap. 1) and deemed to be extended under section 34(3) of that Ordinance, be extended under section 34(4) of that Ordinance to the meeting of 5 November 2003.


  • Better contingency mechanism and preventive measures on the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome

    Hon Michael MAK:
    •  (Translation)

    That, in view of the possible resurgence of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), this Council urges the Government to devise a better contingency mechanism and adopt preventive measures to safeguard public health and ensure that the spread of the disease can be effectively contained in case of an outbreak, with a view to minimizing the damage; these measures should include:

      (a)enhancing the coordination and collaboration of the work of public and private medical institutions as well as residential care homes for the elderly in the treatment and prevention of SARS, and issuing standardized guidelines in this respect;

      (b)providing sufficient and proper protective gears as well as infection control training to front-line health care workers to ensure that they work in a safe environment;

      (c)expediting the construction of isolation facilities in public hospitals;

      (d)establishing a clear mechanism for reporting confirmed and suspected SARS cases for public and private medical institutions;

      (e)implementing primary health education more extensively in the community and at schools so as to enhance public understanding and awareness of infectious diseases;

      (f)promoting continuously with all efforts the territory-wide participation in sustainable measures on public health and cleanliness; and

      (g)vigorously enforcing quarantine and health measures at exit and entry points.

      Amendments to Hon Michael MAK's motion
      (i)Hon CHAN Kwok-keung: (Translation)

      To add "in winter" after "That, in view of the possible resurgence of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)"; to delete "and" after "(f) promoting continuously with all efforts the territory-wide participation in sustainable measures on public health and cleanliness;" and to add "; and (h) implementing as soon as possible the recommendations of the SARS Expert Committee" after "(g) vigorously enforcing quarantine and health measures at exit and entry points".

      (ii)Hon Mrs Sophie LEUNG: (Translation)

      To add "take into full consideration the views of the Legislative Council Panel on Health Services on the Report of the SARS Expert Committee, promptly follow up the recommendations of the Report, and expeditiously" after "this Council urges the Government to"; and to delete "; these measures should include: (a) enhancing the coordination and collaboration of the work of public and private medical institutions as well as residential care homes for the elderly in the treatment and prevention of SARS, and issuing standardized guidelines in this respect; (b) providing sufficient and proper protective gears as well as infection control training to front-line health care workers to ensure that they work in a safe environment; (c) expediting the construction of isolation facilities in public hospitals; (d) establishing a clear mechanism for reporting confirmed and suspected SARS cases for public and private medical institutions; (e) implementing primary health education more extensively in the community and at schools so as to enhance public understanding and awareness of infectious diseases; (f) promoting continuously with all efforts the territory-wide participation in sustainable measures on public health and cleanliness; and (g) vigorously enforcing quarantine and health measures at exit and entry points" after "with a view to minimizing the damage".

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

  • Boundary crossing arrangements for Mainlanders visiting Hong Kong individually

    Hon Miriam LAU:
    • (Translation)

    That, as the relaxation of restrictions on Mainlanders visiting Hong Kong individually has led to a substantial increase in the tourist arrivals from the Mainland, imposing heavy pressure on immigration and customs clearance at border control points, this Council urges the Government to expedite and implement the various boundary crossing infrastructural projects, upgrade the supporting facilities for immigration and customs clearance at border control points, and make flexible arrangements as well as deploy sufficient manpower for clearance processing at border control points, so as to facilitate the cross-boundary passenger flow to the fullest extent.

    Amendment to Hon Miriam LAU's motion
    Hon James TO:     (Translation)

    To delete "sufficient" after "and make flexible arrangements as well as deploy" and substitute with "additional"; and to add "on the one hand, and keep close watch on security at border crossings on the other, sparing no effort in detecting and investigating criminal activities including theft, smuggling of contraband, etc. at border control points, in order to uphold the rule of law and safeguard the safety of inbound travellers and Hong Kong people" after "so as to facilitate the cross-boundary passenger flow to the fullest extent".

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Security

    Clerk to the Legislative Council