A 04/05-13

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 5 January 2005 at 2:30pm

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments L.N. No.
1.Air Transport (Licensing of Air Services) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulation 2004215/2004
2.Lai Chi Wo (Special Area) Order 2004216/2004
3.Designation of Libraries (No. 2) Order 2004217/2004
4.Air Pollution Control (Petrol Filling Stations) (Vapour Recovery) (Amendment) Regulation 2004218/2004
5.Deposit Protection Scheme Ordinance (Commencement) (No. 3) Notice 2004219/2004
6.Companies Ordinance (Amendment of Eighth Schedule) Order 2004 (Commencement) Notice 2004220/2004
7.Building (Administration) (Amendment) Regulation 2004221/2004
8.Building (Oil Storage Installations) (Amendment) Regulation 2004222/2004
9.Quarantine and Prevention of Disease Ordinance (Amendment of First Schedule) (No. 3) Order 2004223/2004
10.Prevention of the Spread of Infectious Diseases Regulations (Amendment of Form) (No. 3) Order 2004224/2004

Other Papers

1. No.47-Report of changes to the approved Estimates of Expenditure approved during the second quarter of 2004-05 (Public Finance Ordinance : Section 8)
(to be presented by Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury)

2. No.48-Employees Retraining Board
Annual Report 2003-2004
(to be presented by Secretary for Education and Manpower)

3. No.49-Consumer Council
Annual Report 2003-2004
(to be presented by Secretary for Economic Development and Labour)

4. No.50-Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health
Annual Report 2003-2004
(to be presented by Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food)

II. Addresses

Hon CHOY So-yuk to address the Council on Waste Disposal (Designated Waste Disposal Facility) (Amendment) Regulation 2004 and Waste Disposal (Charges for Disposal of Construction Waste) Regulation, which are subsidiary legislation laid on the Table of the Council on 3 November 2004.

III. Questions

1. Hon Jeffrey LAM Kin-fung to ask: (Translation)

The Housing Authority ("HA") announced on the 19th of last month that in consideration of the legal and other implications that might arise from the relevant lawsuits, it had decided to postpone the listing of The Link Real Estate Investment Trust ("The Link REIT"), for which the procedure for public offering had already been completed. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it has evaluated the tangible and intangible economic losses resulting from the failure to list The Link REIT as scheduled; if it has, of the results;

    (b)whether it has evaluated the respective responsibilities to be borne by the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, Securities and Futures Commission, Housing Authority, the investment banks and consultants concerned, and the relevant bureaux and departments for the failure to list The Link REIT as scheduled; if it has, of the results; and

    (c)of the lessons learnt from the incident, and whether it has assessed how the future privatization plans of public assets will be affected by political factors?
Public Officers to reply :Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

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

The application forms for The Link Real Estate Investment Trust ("The Link REIT"), which was offered for sale to the public last month, specified that except for the Chinese names, applicants should complete the forms in English; otherwise their applications might be rejected. Such a practice has caused inconvenience to some members of the public who intended to subscribe for The Link REIT. According to the Administration's reply to a relevant question raised in this Council in April 2001, the Securities and Futures Commission would discuss with members of the Federation of Share Registrars and market participants to explore possible means to allow investors to complete subscription forms in Chinese in the future. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)given that it has been more than three and a half years since the Administration replied to the above question in April 2001, of the reasons for the failure of the authorities concerned to make arrangements to allow investors to complete the subscription forms in Chinese;

    (b)given that stakeholders of the securities sector expected a large number of retail subscribers of The Link REIT, whether the authorities concerned had considered allowing such retail subscribers to complete the application forms for The Link REIT in Chinese; and

    (c)given that the authorities concerned announced last month that the listing of The Link REIT had been put on hold, whether they will consider adopting measures to allow members of the public to complete subscription forms in Chinese when they arrange for the listing of The Link REIT and other public assets in the future?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

3. Hon TAM Heung-man to ask: (Translation)

Regarding Hong Kong's tax system and tax assessment, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the time when the last comprehensive review of the Inland Revenue Ordinance was conducted, and whether it has assessed if the current Inland Revenue Ordinance confers excessive discretionary powers on the Commissioner of Inland Revenue; if it has, of the assessment results; and whether it will consider conducting a comprehensive review of the Ordinance; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)of the measures to enhance the fairness and transparency in tax assessment, and whether it will follow the practice of publishing the Assessors' Manual, which has been adopted in countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States of America, to inform taxpayers of the assessment criteria of the Inland Revenue Department; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether it has assessed if Hong Kong lags behind other developed economies in its tax system; if the assessment results show that Hong Kong's tax system so lags behind, of the authorities' strategies to eliminate such situation?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

4. Hon Albert Jinghan CHENG to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the AsiaWorld-Expo ("AWE") and the temporary use of the Tamar Site for exhibition purposes, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether there are any undisclosed agreements with AWE; if so, of their details and whether they include an undertaking that new exhibition venues will not be built, nor will existing exhibition venues be expanded, within five years after the commissioning of AWE; and whether the documents and correspondence exchanged between the Administration and the AWE shareholders will be made public;

    (b)although the authorities have indicated that AWE and the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre ("HKCEC") will complement each other, the promotional materials of AWE indicate that exhibitions organized by AWE will principally be similar to those organized by the Trade Development Council ("TDC") and other private exhibition organizers, whether AWE is acting in contravention of the above complementary arrangements; if so, whether the accountable officials concerned have failed to discharge their supervisory duty; and

    (c)the authorities indicated earlier that they were prepared to permit TDC's temporary use of the Tamar Site for exhibition purposes under short-term tenancies for the periods 10 April to 8 May and 26 September to 23 October in the three years of 2005 to 2007, but the tenancies have not yet been granted so far; since recruiting exhibitors takes time, and delay in granting the tenancies will affect the exhibiting activities scheduled for the peak season in April this year, thereby dealing a direct blow to the conference and exhibition sector as well as the related economic and business activities in Hong Kong, why the authorities have not yet granted such tenancies?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology

5. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the implementation of "gender mainstreaming" promoted by the Women's Commission to take account of women's needs and perspectives, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council of:
    (a)the progress made in the implementation of "gender mainstreaming" by various government departments, and specific results achieved thereof;

    (b)the policies and measures implemented by the Government which have taken into account or made an assessment of gender perspectives, and those which have not, together with the reasons for that; and

    (c)the reasons why the majority of the civil servants who have participated in the gender-sensitivity training programmes conducted in the past three years are either from the Social Welfare Department and the Hong Kong Police Force or are newly-recruited Administrative Officers, and whether they have plans to encourage civil servants from other departments to participate in the relevant training programmes; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

6. Hon Alan LEONG Kah-kit to ask: (Translation)

In early 1998, the predecessor of the Urban Renewal Authority ("URA"), the Land Development Corporation, announced the implementation of 26 redevelopment projects, including the Kwun Tong Town Centre redevelopment project. So far, 18 out of those projects have commenced and even completed the acquisition, compensation and rehousing of the affected residents in relation to these projects. However, the Kwun Tong Town Centre redevelopment project has not yet commenced. The residents have been waiting hard for almost seven years to date and are faced with the threat of their landlords forcing them to move out in order to obtain vacant possession. As for the other seven projects, except for implementing the two projects in Tai Kok Tsui in mid-December 2004, URA has not commenced the other five redevelopment projects in 2004. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the dates of the acquisition, compensation and rehousing of the affected residents in relation to the Kwun Tong Town Centre redevelopment project have been extended indefinitely, making it impossible for the project to commence; if not, of the implementation timetable and whether URA has any plans to rehabilitate rather than redevelop the premises in the Kwun Tong Town Centre;

    (b)of the measures to be taken by the Administration and URA, between now and the commencement of the acquisition, compensation and rehousing of the affected residents in relation to the Kwun Tong Town Centre redevelopment project, to help the residents who are being forced to move out by their landlords; and

    (c)whether it knows why URA has not commenced the above five redevelopment projects in 2004; whether the Administration has deferred the implementation of the URA's Annual Business Plan approved in 2004; and whether the Administration and URA will abandon the five projects?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

*7. Hon WONG Ting-kwong to ask: (Translation)

According to the results of a survey conducted by the Census and Statistics Department, as at 1 June this year, the respective numbers of regional headquarters ("RHOs") and regional offices ("ROs") set up in the territory by companies incorporated outside Hong Kong had increased by 13.7% and 12%, compared to the figures of the same time last year; and these percentage increases are the biggest since 2000. However, 33% of the RHOs and 26% of the ROs considered that high rentals for residential and business accommodation are not business-friendly. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it has studied if the implementation of the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement is the main reason for the increase in the number offices of companies located in Hong Kong; if it has, of the results of the study; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)among these RHOs/ROs, the number of those which are mainly engaged in import/export trades, and how the figure compares with that of the same time last year; and

    (c)the measures in place to lower business costs in order to attract more companies incorporated outside Hong Kong to set up their RHOs or ROs in the territory?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology

*8. Hon LAU Chin-shek to ask: (Translation)

In the consultation document on reforming the academic structure for senior secondary education and higher education, the Government states that the existing practices for students with special educational needs ("SEN") would continue in the new senior education system. The needs of SEN students, including those with visual impairment, hearing impairment, physical disability or emotional and behavioural problems, as well as the needs of gifted students, would be catered for in the new system through a differentiated curriculum. In this regard, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the details of the above curriculum;

    (b)whether it has any plans to provide additional resources to adequately cater for the needs of SEN students under the proposed new senior education system; if it has, of the details of the additional resources; and

    (c)whether it will consult the parents of the students concerned and the relevant bodies on how to incorporate special education into the proposed new senior education system; if it will, of the details?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

*9. Hon Andrew LEUNG Kwan-yuen to ask: (Translation)

Since 1990, employers taking out insurance cover for their employees are required to pay a levy set at a certain percentage of the premium through insurers. The management board concerned will subsequently distribute the levy to the Employees Compensation Assistance Fund Board, the Occupational Safety and Health Council and the Occupational Deafness Compensation Board ("ODCB"). The levy rate has gradually risen from 2% at the initial stage to 6.3% at present. Moreover, the Administration has implemented the Employees Compensation Insurer Insolvency Scheme since April 2003, with a levy rate charged at 2% of the premium. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)as it has planned to increase the percentage of levy distributed to ODCB from 1.2% to 1.8% on 1 July 2007, whether it will adjust the percentage of levy distributed to ODCB in accordance with any increase or decrease in the number of compensation claims received by ODCB; and

    (b)whether it has assessed the funding requirement of the three management boards mentioned above and reviewed the employees' compensation insurance levy plan, including whether these management boards can be self-financing and require no levies from employers, as well as lowering the levy rate?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

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

At present, the gender benchmark adopted for the appointment of members to advisory and statutory bodies is set at 25%; that is, at least 25% of the members of such bodies are of either sex. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective total numbers of male and female members of advisory and statutory bodies and their ratio, as well as a breakdown of the number of advisory and statutory bodies by the percentage of female members in the total membership (in groups each covering 5%);

    (b)when it expects all advisory and statutory bodies to attain the 25% gender benchmark; and

    (c)whether it has any plan to raise the gender benchmark?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

*11. Dr Hon David LI to ask:

Regarding the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation Business Travel Card Scheme, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of such Cards issued each year since the implementation of the Scheme;

    (b)of the average processing time for applications for such Cards; and

    (c)whether it has evaluated the Scheme's target group's awareness of the Scheme; if it has, of the evaluation results?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*12. Dr Hon YEUNG Sum to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council of the following in respect of each school district:
    (a)the numbers of students and classes in each grade of kindergartens, primary schools and secondary schools in September 2004;

    (b)the respective numbers of secondary and primary schools and the total numbers of standard classrooms;

    (c)the respective numbers of whole-day government and subsidized secondary and primary schools; and

    (d)the estimated respective numbers of children who will be in the age groups for Primary One and Secondary One in 2008/09 and in the two subsequent school years?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

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

Will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the names of the civil servants ranked at Directorate Pay Scale point 4 or above who retired in the past ten years, the titles of their posts before retirement and the dates of their retirement; and

    (b)whether these officials took up employment in private or statutory bodies after retirement; if so, of the respective titles of the posts, the dates of their appointment to these posts, and whether they took up these posts within the first three years after retirement?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Civil Service

*14. Dr Hon Joseph LEE Kok-long to ask: (Translation)

It is learnt that in Hong Kong, the suicidal mortality rate of the elderly has always been comparatively higher than those of other age groups. There are also survey findings which indicate that nearly 40 000 elderly persons in Hong Kong are suffering from depressive illnesses, but 80% of them have not sought medical assistance. On the other hand, the figures of newly reported elder abuse cases during the first quarter of 2004 reveal that psychological abuse cases are the second largest category of all cases reported. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether Mental Health Community Service or Community Psychogeriatric Nursing Service has been provided to the above vulnerable elders; if so, of the number of cases handled by the authorities, the average waiting time for a case, as well as the average number of cases required to be handled by a nurse in each of the past five years; and

    (b)whether there are any plans to review the above services; if so, of the review timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

*15. Hon Daniel LAM Wai-keung to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the Concept Plan for Lantau, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it will adjust the development objectives and infrastructure planning of Lantau, so as to achieve balanced development of different areas in Lantau and enable the residents of different areas to share the fruit of development;

    (b)whether and how the local community may participate in the projects currently proposed under the Concept Plan, which include the development of a logistics park, a theme park, a museum, an eco-tour centre, a leisure and recreational centre, as well as the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge under planning;

    (c)apart from those mentioned in (b) above, of the development projects to be carried out in Lantau; and

    (d)whether it will consider incorporating the planning of the islands in the vicinity of Lantau into the Concept Plan?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

*16. Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)

The surcharge of ten cents per passenger trip levied on users of Octopus tickets since July 2000 is, according to the MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL"), for funding the retrofitting of platform screen doors ("PSDs") at MTR stations. MTRCL said at the time that the entire retrofitting programme would be completed by 2006. On the other hand, some organizations for the blind have told me about the frequent occurrence of accidents involving blind MTR passengers falling onto the rail track. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
    (a)the total amount of surcharge received by MTRCL since levying the additional fares;

    (b)the number of blind MTR passengers who accidentally fell onto the rail track over the past four years;

    (c)whether MTRCL will expedite the retrofitting of PSDs, so that the completion date of the retrofitting programme can be advanced; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (d)the measures that MTRCL will take to ensure the safety of blind persons awaiting trains on the platforms of at-grade and overhead MTR stations where PSDs have not been retrofitted?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

*17. Hon Abraham SHEK to ask:

Regarding Hong Kong's economic co-operation and integration with the Mainland, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the progress of the issues which were raised in the Pan-Pearl River Delta Regional Cooperation and Development Forum held in June last year;

    (b)the plans regarding the co-operation and development of the Pan-Pearl River Delta Region in the coming year; and

    (c)the efforts and progress made by the Government in boosting Hong Kong's role in the Pearl River Delta, which is a target set in the 2004 Policy Agenda?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional Affairs

*18. Hon Audrey EU to ask: (Translation)

Starting from the 2004/05 school year, new teachers recruited to teach Chinese and English language subjects in primary and secondary schools must have a Bachelor of Education degree in the relevant language subject or a first degree in the relevant language subject and qualifications of relevant teacher training. It has been reported that 86% of the serving language teachers in primary schools as well as 42% and 51% of the serving Chinese and English teachers in secondary schools have not yet acquired such qualifications. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)regarding the Professional Development Incentive Grant Scheme for Language Teachers launched last April to enhance the subject knowledge and pedagogical skills of language teachers, whether it has assessed the effectiveness of the Scheme; if it has, of the assessment results; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (b)of the further measures to enhance the language proficiency of language teachers?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

*19. Hon TSANG Yok-sing to ask: (Translation)

The Census and Statistics Department carries out quarterly surveys on the employment earnings and wage rates of the Hong Kong population, and gives a breakdown of the relevant data by industry/occupation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the relationship between employment earnings and wage rates;

    (b)of the distribution of employment earnings and wage rates in each of the past three years (including the highest, median, average and lowest figures), broken down by industry/occupation; and

    (c)whether it will consider switching from its current practice of making mandatory requirement on wage rates for service contracts (excluding construction services) that rely heavily on the deployment of non-skilled workers to making a mandatory requirement on employment earnings of the workers concerned, so as to expressly specify their wages, and whether it knows if various public bodies will consider making similar mandatory requirements on employment earnings?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

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

Will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the number of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance ("CSSA") cases in each month of last year, in which the categories thereof underwent the following changes:

    (i)from low earning cases to unemployment cases;

    (ii)from unemployment cases to low earning cases; and

    (iii)from unemployment cases to low earning cases, and back to unemployment cases again;

    (b)the number of participants in the Support for Self-reliance Scheme implemented by the Social Welfare Department ("SWD") in each of the past two years and, among these participants, the respective numbers of unemployed and low earning CSSA recipients who have secured full time paid employment through the Scheme;

    (c)the number of participants in the Ending Exclusion Project implemented by SWD in each of the past two years and, among these participants, the numbers of single parent CSSA recipients who were ready for employment and secured paid employment respectively; and

    (d)the movement of the Social Security Assistance Index of Prices ("SSAIP") and the rate of change in the actual prices of all the commodities and services in such Index in each month of the past two years; and whether there were opposite movements between SSAIP and Consumer Price Index (A) in the past two years; if so, of the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

*For written reply.

IV. Bills

First Reading

Transfer of Sentenced Persons (Amendment) (Macau) Bill

Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)

Transfer of Sentenced Persons (Amendment) (Macau) Bill :Secretary for Security

V. Motions

  1. Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

    Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works to move the motion to amend the Waste Disposal (Charges for Disposal of Construction Waste) Regulation, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 166 of 2004 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 3 November 2004.

    (Contents of the motion are contained in the Appendix)


  2. Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

    Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works to move the following motion:

    RESOLVED that the Waste Disposal (Designated Waste Disposal Facility)(Amendment) Regulation 2004, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 165 of 2004 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 3 November 2004, be amended -

      (a)in section 3, in the new section 3A, by adding -

        "(3) The Director shall give notice in the Gazette of the criteria adopted from time to time to determine, for the purposes of subsections (1) and (2), whether any waste falls within a type of construction waste specified in column 3 of Schedule 2.

        (4) A notice under subsection (3) is not subsidiary legislation.";
      (b)in section 4(7), in the new section 4(4A)(c), by adding "temporarily" after "close".

VI. Members' Motions

  1. Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

    Hon Miriam LAU to move the following motion:

    RESOLVED that in relation to the -

      (a)Telecommunications (Designation of Frequency Bands subject to Payment of Spectrum Utilization Fee) (Amendment) Order 2004, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 208 of 2004;

      (b)Telecommunications (Method for Determining Spectrum Utilization Fees) (Third Generation Mobile Services) (Amendment) Regulation 2004, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 209 of 2004;

      (c)Telecommunications (Level of Spectrum Utilization Fees) (Second Generation Mobile Services) Regulation, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 210 of 2004;

      (d)Employees' Compensation Ordinance (Amendment of Second Schedule) Order 2004, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 213 of 2004; and

      (e)Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 2) Order 2004, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 214 of 2004,

      and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 15 December 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 2 February 2005.


  2. The Fourth Report of the Constitutional Development Task Force

    Hon Albert Jinghan CHENG: (Translation)

    That this Council expresses deep regret that, in the Fourth Report of the Constitutional Development Task Force published recently, the Government has disregarded public opinion and rejected the demand of the majority of Hong Kong people for the election of the Chief Executive and all Members of the Legislative Council for the next term by universal and equal suffrage, but has failed to put forward a specific proposal; furthermore, as the Government has an unshirkable constitutional duty to answer, as far as possible, the public's strong demand for universal suffrage, this Council urges the Government to expeditiously present to the Council a constitutional reform proposal, which includes the methods for selecting the Chief Executive in 2007 and for forming the Legislative Council in 2008, to facilitate discussion by the public and this Council.

    Public Officers to attend :Secretary for Justice
    Secretary for Constitutional Affairs


  3. Development of the West Kowloon Cultural District

    Hon Alan LEONG Kah-kit: (Translation)

    That, as the Administration has decided to award the development of the 40-hectare West Kowloon Cultural District ("the WKCD development") to a single consortium in one go and allows the public only 15 weeks to comment on the three proposals selected in the first stage, such course of action has failed to ensure the optimal use of precious land resources in Hong Kong and safeguard public interests while nurturing arts and culture, this Council strongly asks the Administration to:

      (a)extend the consultation period to six months to allow sufficient time for public participation;

      (b)make public all the proposals submitted to the Government by persons interested in participating in the WKCD development, including information on financial arrangements, so as to enable the public to fully grasp the details of the development proposals during the consultation period;

      (c)remove the requirement that the canopy, which requires huge funds to construct, be a mandatory component of the WKCD development;

      (d)withdraw the decision to award the entire piece of land together with the WKCD development by way of one single tender, and break the lot into smaller pieces of land for public tender or auction in the market by batches so that small and medium developers in Hong Kong can participate in the development, with a view to maximizing the proceeds from the land sale; and

      (e)formulate long-term and sustainable policies on Hong Kong's arts and culture, use the proceeds from the sale of the 40 hectares of land to support and promote the related policies and, in drawing up the specific details and implementing the policies, allow institutionalized participation of the civil society and, in particular, solicit and adopt the views of the local art and cultural sectors.

      Amendments to Hon Alan LEONG Kah-kit's motion
      (i)Hon CHEUNG Hok-ming: (Translation)

      To delete "the Administration has decided to award" after "That, as"; to delete "40-hectare" after "the development of the"; to add "has aroused extensive discussions and concerns of various sectors of the community, and such concerns include the Administration's decision to award the WKCD development" after "('the WKCD development')"; to delete "allows the public" after "in one go and" and substitute with "the provision of"; to delete "to comment on the three proposals selected in the first stage, such course of action has failed to ensure the optimal use of precious land resources in Hong Kong and safeguard public interests while nurturing arts and culture" after "only 15 weeks" and substitute with "for public consultation"; to delete "remove the requirement that" after "(c)" and substitute with "after fully consulting the public and summing up their views expressed during the consultation period, evaluate whether it is necessary to make"; to delete ", which requires huge funds to construct, be" after "the canopy"; to delete ";" after "mandatory component of the WKCD development" and substitute with ", review"; to delete "(d) withdraw"; to delete "break" after "one single tender, and" and substitute with "examine whether"; to add "should be broken down" after "the lot"; to add ", and consider setting up a statutory body with broad representation to further promote and take forward the WKCD development" after "proceeds from the land sale"; to delete the original "(e)" and substitute with "(d)"; to add "lest the WKCD development become a property-oriented project" after "the related policies"; and to add "take into account the blend of eastern and western arts and culture to highlight the edge of Hong Kong as the meeting point of East and West, as well as" after "implementing the policies,".

      Amendment to Hon CHEUNG Hok-ming's amendment
      Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki:       (Translation)

      To delete "consider setting up" after "land sale, and" and substitute with "must set up"; to add "of public opinion" after "a statutory body with broad representation"; and to add "; and in carrying out the consultation, public opinion must be sought on whether the Government should proceed with the 'one single tender' arrangement and the construction of the canopy and, in the absence of full and extensive consensus and agreement of the community, such plans must not be proceeded with" after "take forward the WKCD development".

      (ii)Hon CHAN Yuen-han: (Translation)

      To add "Hong Kong does not have a culture and heritage commission at present and" after "That, as"; to delete "and" after "proceeds from the land sale;" and add "(e) re-establish a culture and heritage commission dedicated to the planning of cultural development projects; and" thereafter; and to delete the original "(e)" and substitute with "(f)".

      (iii)Hon James TO: (Translation)

      To delete "and" after "proceeds from the land sale;"; to add "part of" after "Hong Kong's arts and culture, use"; and to add "; and (f) set up a West Kowloon Cultural District development authority, which should be a statutory body comprising members from various sectors, to take up the planning, development and management of the West Kowloon Cultural District" after "the local art and cultural sectors".

    Public Officer to attend : Chief Secretary for Administration

  4. That this Council do now adjourn

    Hon LEE Wing-tat: (Translation)

    That this Council do now adjourn for the purpose of enabling Members to debate the following issue: Measures taken by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in regard to tsunami victims in South Asia, as well as the Hong Kong people whose whereabouts remain unknown or who are still stranded in the disaster-stricken areas.

    Public Officer to attend : Chief Secretary for Administration
Clerk to the Legislative Council