A 04/05-28

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 11 May 2005 at 11:00 am

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
1.International Organizations (Privileges and Immunities) (World Trade Organization) Order62/2005
2.Country Parks and Special Areas (Amendment) Regulation 200563/2005
3.Hong Kong Wetland Park (Special Area) Order 200564/2005
4.Road Traffic (Safety Equipment) (Amendment) Regulation 200565/2005
5.Road Traffic (Traffic Control) (Amendment) Regulation 200566/2005
6.Road Traffic (Registration and Licensing of Vehicles) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulation 200567/2005
7.Road Traffic (Construction and Maintenance of Vehicles) (Amendment) Regulation 200568/2005
8.Securities and Futures (Contracts Limits and Reportable Positions) (Amendment) Rules 200569/2005
9.Banking (Specification of Class of Exempted Charges) Notice 70/2005

Other Papers

1. No.87-Early Retirement Ex-gratia Payment Fund
(to be presented by Secretary for Education and Manpower)

2. No.88 -Securities and Futures Commission
Annual Report 2004-05
(to be presented by Financial Secretary)

II. Questions

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

In June 2003, the Government informed Members of this Council that it was considering the idea of renovating vacated factory buildings of the Housing Authority for development into creative arts village(s) in order to promote development of creative industries. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the departments involved in the factory building renovation project, the progress of the project and when the project details will be announced;

    (b)the criteria adopted for selecting the site(s) of the creative arts village(s), how the relevant sectors will be consulted on the site selection, and of the sites being considered; and

    (c)the modes of operation and management proposed for the creative arts village(s), for how long it(they) will operate, and whether the relevant sectors will be consulted in this regard?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

2. Hon Margaret NG to ask:

There is no provision in the Legal Aid in Criminal Cases Rules which authorizes the Director of Legal Aid to pay fee, other than a fixed brief fee, to the Counsel in criminal cases, for his work in preparing for a trial or an appeal, irrespective of how much work he has done. In his speech at the Opening of the Legal Year 2005, the Chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association pointed out that the rules governing Counsel fees in criminal legal aid cases were outmoded and would not attract enough barristers to practise criminal law. As thorough preparation may save a great deal of court time and is in the public interest, will the Government inform this Council whether it plans to amend existing legislation to make provisions for appropriate payment for preparation work undertaken by Counsel in criminal legal aid cases; if so, of the details of the plan; if not, the reasons for that? Public Officer to reply : Chief Secretary for Administration

3. Hon WONG Kwok-hing to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the Tenants Purchase Scheme ("TPS") Phase 6B, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
    (a)the reasons for re-introducing the TPS this year, whether it has assessed the impact of the TPS on the property market before re-introducing the TPS concerned, and considered extending the TPS phase to other public housing estates or introducing a new TPS phase in the light of market changes;

    (b)as the public areas adjacent to TPS estates will be designated as public areas and subject to the Deed of Mutual Covenant ("DMC") for TPS estates, the criteria for delineating the areas to be included; and whether the authorities will consult the residents of TPS estates before making the relevant DMC; if so, of the details of such consultation; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)given that the Housing Department, in response to the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in the community in 2003, decided to defer the sale of flats under the TPS Phase 6B pending the inspection and maintenance of sewage systems of the estates concerned, the reasons for the authorities' repeated refusal to carry out comprehensive replacement works to the sewer pipes of Cheung Fat Estate in Tsing Yi, which is under the TPS concerned, before putting up the flats of the estate for sale, and whether the maintenance plans for TPS estates will only proceed upon the completion of those for non-TPS estates?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

4. Hon Fred LI to ask: (Translation)

Today is the 11th day since the hefty toll increase of the Eastern Harbour Crossing ("EHC") came into effect on 1st of May. Regarding the vehicular volume of the three cross-harbour road tunnels, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)how the respective vehicular volumes of the three cross-harbour road tunnels since 1st of May compare to those before the toll increase, and whether there is any discrepancy between the actual figures and those predicted by the Administration; if so, of the extent of discrepancy;

    (b)of the effectiveness of the short-term measures implemented by the Administration to relieve the traffic congestion at the Cross-Harbour Tunnel; and

    (c)of the progress of the Government's negotiation with the commercial group holding a portion of the interests in the EHC and the Western Harbour Crossing on the ways to address the problem of uneven distribution of traffic among the three tunnels?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

5. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)

The school-based after-school learning and support programmes introduced by the Government will cater for Primary 1 to Secondary 7 students who are receiving Comprehensive Social Security Assistance payments or full grant under the Student Financial Assistance Scheme, or such students who cannot take part in fee-charging learning activities because their families are poor. In particular, the programmes will also target at students who do not have adequate parental support and guidance, because their parents are too busy earning a living or are themselves not competent enough to provide support. The grant under the programmes should not be used for providing material assistance to students, such as school uniform, musical instruments, etc. Moreover, the Government has earmarked a recurrent provision of $75 million per annum to implement the programmes. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the criteria for identifying those students who cannot take part in fee-charging learning activities because their families are poor, and the criteria for identifying those students who do not qualify; apart from encouraging schools to open up the programmes to all students, how the authorities can avoid labelling poor students in the process of receiving applications from students and their participation in the activities of the programmes;

    (b)of the measures to encourage poor students to take part in such activities, whether they include assisting poor students who are not provided with material assistance for participating in such activities, as well as the specific measures adopted by the authorities to facilitate co-operation between schools and non-governmental organizations in implementing the programmes; and

    (c)how the provision of $75 million, the maximum amount of grant which can be applied for each activity and the cap on the maximum subsidy per eligible student are determined?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

*6. Hon CHIM Pui-chung to ask: (Translation)

The recent approval by the Japanese Government of the history textbooks for secondary schools written by a right-wing group, which distort the historical facts of Japan's invasion of its neighbouring countries, including China, during the Second World War, has aroused objections by residents in Hong Kong and in the Mainland. Regarding history and national education in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)how it enhances history and national education in primary and secondary schools; and

    (b)how the authorities will continuously promote and enhance history and national education in primary and secondary schools after implementing the 3+3+4 schooling structure?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

*7. Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to ask: (Translation)

One of the measures under the Pearl River Delta Regional Air Quality Management Plan is to set up a regional air quality monitoring network, but details of the network have not been provided by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the specific locations of and site selection criteria (such as the altitude, nature of land use and environment of the site) for the 16 monitoring stations of the regional air quality monitoring network in the Pearl River Delta;

    (b)whether it has drawn up any technical memorandum on the construction of the air quality monitoring stations; if so, whether the memorandum will be made public;

    (c)of the timeframe for releasing details of the monitoring network concerned; and

    (d)how the authorities will disseminate air quality information collected by the above monitoring network after it has been commissioned, and whether such information will include air pollution index and health tips?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

*8. Hon KWONG Chi-kin to ask: (Translation)

The Third Generation Communication and Mobilizing System in the Fire Services Communication Centre started operation first in the New Territories Fire Command ("NTFC") on 1 March. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)since the commissioning of the new System,
    (i)of the percentage of times for which fire engines of NTFC reached the scenes within six minutes (i.e. target arrival time) from the time building fire calls in built-up areas were received;

    (ii)of the percentage of times for which ambulances arrived at the addresses calling for ambulances within 12 minutes (i.e. target arrival time) from receiving emergency ambulance calls;

    (iii)how the above percentages compare to the relevant percentages for the 12 months prior to the operation of the new System; and

    (iv)of the average time taken for ambulances of NTFC to depart for action ("the deployment time"), after the Fire Services Communication Centre has received emergency ambulance calls, the difference between this average time and that in the 12 months prior to the operation of the new system, and the causes of the difference;

    (b)whether it has assessed, with the commissioning of the new System, if the target deployment time for emergency ambulance services may be shortened from two minutes to one minute, thereby reducing the overall target arrival time from 12 minutes to 11 minutes after; and

    (c)the reasons for delaying the full operation of the new System and the extra expenses incurred as a result of the delay?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

It was reported that during the four-and-a-half years since 2000, there were a total of over 5 000 cases of injuries sustained by public hospital staff while they were conducting manual handling operations, representing 25% of the overall figure of work injury in public hospitals in the same period. Moreover, 64% and 30% of the staff injured were frontline support services staff and nurses respectively. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
    (a)the number of work injuries in public hospitals in each of the past five years, with a breakdown by the relevant causes and conditions of the injured;

    (b)the respective numbers of various types of technical aids for manual handling operations procured in the past five years for various public hospitals and the existing numbers of such aids, their utilization rates, as well as the ratios of the number of staff required to operate such aids to the number of such aids;

    (c)whether the Hospital Authority ("HA") has assessed the impact of work injury cases on the workload of frontline staff, the quality of public medical services and the injured staff; if it has, of the assessment results;

    (d)whether HA has assessed the effectiveness of its Manual Handling Accidents Prevention Campaign launched last year and the introduction of the relevant safety guidelines on the reduction in such work accidents; if it has, of the assessment results;

    (e)whether HA has set a target number of reduction in work injury cases for the coming three years; if it has, of that number; and

    (f)whether HA has assessed if the shortage in nursing manpower is one of the causes for nurses getting injured at work; if it has and the results are affirmative, of the short-term or long-term measures to be adopted by the authorities to relieve the shortage?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

In regard to the assistance provided by the authorities concerned to Hong Kong residents in the Mainland, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the total number of requests for assistance received in the past three years by the Hong Kong Government's offices in the Mainland from Hong Kong residents in the Mainland or their family members, together with a breakdown by the nature of such requests;

    (b)of the concrete assistance currently provided by the authorities concerned to Hong Kong residents in the Mainland who encounter:

    (i)disputes with local commercial or government organizations;

    (ii)legal problems; and

    (iii)personal safety problems; and

    (c)with the increase in economic and trading activities between Hong Kong and the Mainland, whether the authorities concerned will expand the functions of the Government's offices in the Mainland so as to provide more comprehensive support to Hong Kong residents in the Mainland; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

Recently I have received complaints from many members of the public that many companies (such as telecommunications companies and small and medium-sized enterprises) not only require their employees and job applicants to declare whether they have criminal or bankruptcy records, but also require job applicants to disclose information about their debts. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the above companies have acted in breach of the law or Government guidelines;

    (b)of the measures to stop employers from requiring their employees and job applicants to provide the above information; and

    (c)whether it will discuss with the employers concerned and request them to stop requiring their employees and job applicants to provide the relevant information (including bankruptcy records and particulars of their debts); if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

Will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective numbers of trees which match the following descriptions and their locations:

    (i)with a trunk diameter of or over 0.8 metre, or a girth of or over 2.5 metres, or a height of or over 15 metres;

    (ii)of special ecological or scientific research value; and

    (iii)banyan trees growing on walls;

    (b)of the current health conditions of the trees mentioned above;

    (c)whether it carries out regular inspections of the trees mentioned above; and

    (d)whether it has formulated special measures to conserve the trees mentioned above; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

It has been reported that 30% of the children born with the congenital defect "hare-lip and cleft palate" have experienced rejection and discrimination, and schools are even the most common places where they are discriminated against. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the average number of complaints about the above situation received by the Education and Manpower Bureau in each of the past three years, and the major areas of discrimination involved;

    (b)whether any schools or teachers have been admonished or prosecuted for discriminating against students with disabilities in the past three years; if so, of the relevant details; and

    (c)whether it has reviewed the effectiveness of the existing measures in preventing schools from discriminating against students with disabilities; if it has, of the review results?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

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

It was reported that a Hong Kong resident who had bought an unlawful Mark Six lottery ticket in the Mainland and won the lottery was, instead of being awarded the prize money, detained by the bookmaker for more than three months to extort money from his family. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of reported cases in which Hong Kong residents who had won lotteries were detained in the Mainland when they collected the prize money from bookmakers over the past three years, and the actions taken by the authorities upon receipt of such reports;

    (b)of any measures to assist Hong Kong residents in ascertaining whether lottery tickets sold in the Mainland are lawful ones; and

    (c)whether there is evidence indicating that Hong Kong residents are involved in operating unlawful lotteries in the Mainland; if so, of the specific cases?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

Regarding the various district-based advisory committees, such as Area Committees, District Fight Crime Committees and District Fire Safety Committees, whose members are appointed by the Director of Home Affairs, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
    (a)of the political affiliation, gender, occupation and professional background of each member of these committees;

    (b)of the criteria adopted by the Director of Home Affairs for appointing and re-appointing these members, and how these criteria ensure that people from different sectors of the community have equal opportunities to participate in these committees;

    (c)whether they have compiled statistics on these members' attendance rates at meetings; if so, whether their attendance rates will affect their chances of being re-appointed; if not, of the reasons for that;

    (d)whether they will invite the elected district council members and the public to nominate people from different sectors of the community to serve as members of these committees; if so, when this will be implemented; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (e)whether channels exist for the public to have access to the agendas, documents and minutes of meetings of these committees as well as the attendance rates of their members; if so, of the details of such channels; if not, the reasons for that, and how the authorities safeguard the public's right to know and allow the public to monitor the operation of these committees?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

In 2000, the Housing Authority endorsed a more flexible production strategy, including the wider use of non-standard blocks and site-specific designs to meet housing demand, and the provision of more diversified designs of public housing to enrich the cityscape. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of public housing units produced under the above strategy and the names of the housing estates concerned;

    (b)whether, apart from the use of site-specific designs, the strategy has regard for the need for harmony with local community characteristics, which include the styles, appearances and heights of the surrounding buildings, the nearby natural environment, and the population structure of the community concerned and the residents' living patterns etc.; and

    (c)whether it has assessed if the above strategy can achieve the desired effect; if it has, of the assessment results, and whether it has collected the views of the community or the residents on the housing designs; if it has, of the details of these views; if it has not collected such views, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

*17. Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that the Hong Kong Observatory has advised that Hong Kong and other regions around the globe have been affected by warming, and it is projected that the annual mean in Hong Kong in the last decade of this century will be 26.5 degrees Centigrade, 3.5 degrees higher than the average recorded between 1961 and 1990. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
    (a)it has conducted researches on the relationship between global warming and infectious diseases;

    (b)it has conducted researches on the causes of the increase in the number of infectious disease (such as dengue fever) patients, and on the relationship between such increase and global warming;

    (c)it has assessed the impact of the infectious diseases caused by global warming on the local health care system (for instance, whether health care costs have risen); and

    (d)it has maintained liaison and regular exchange with the World Health Organization and Mainland health authorities regarding the relationship between global warming and infectious diseases; if not, whether it has plans to establish a relevant research and exchange mechanism with the international medical and health authorities and the Mainland health authorities?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

Regarding crackdowns on illegal workers, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of operations against illegal workers and the number of employers convicted last year of employing illegal workers, with a breakdown of such employers by trade; and how these figures compare to those of the previous two years;

    (b)whether they have detected cases in which arrangements were made by lawless elements for illegal workers to arrive in groups for employment in Hong Kong; if so, of the numbers of such cases in the past three years;

    (c)whether they have assessed the effectiveness of operations against illegal workers in protecting the employment opportunities of local workers; if so, of the assessment results; and

    (d)whether they plan to impose heavier penalties for employing illegal workers and taking up employment illegally so as to enhance the deterrent effect; if so, of the details of the plan; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

With respect to the services provided by the Hongkong Post, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective numbers of persons who visited post offices for mailing and bill payment in the past two years, and the existing manning ratios for post office counters providing these two types of services;

    (b)whether it has reviewed if the queuing time for mailing at counters has become longer in recent years due to an increasing number of people using the bill payment services;

    (c)of the basis on which the Hongkong Post determines the daily number of mail collections and the daily collection times for posting boxes, as well as the locations of new posting boxes; and

    (d)whether the Hongkong Post will instruct its frontline staff to heed the mail volumes when collecting mails from posting boxes, so that more mail collections can be arranged where necessary?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

*For written reply.

III. Bills

First Reading

1. Revenue (Abolition of Estate Duty) Bill 2005

2. Smoking (Public Health) (Amendment) Bill 2005

Second Reading (Debates to be adjourned)

1.Revenue (Abolition of Estate Duty) Bill 2005 :Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

2.Smoking (Public Health) (Amendment) Bill 2005 :Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

IV. Members' Motions

  1. Regretting interpretation of the Basic Law by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress

    Hon LEUNG Kwok-hung: (Translation)

    That this Council regrets that the HKSAR Government has twice requested the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress ("NPCSC") to interpret the provisions of the Basic Law in 1999 and 2005 respectively and requests the NPCSC to withdraw its decisions in the last two interpretation exercises, and demands the SAR Government to apologize to the people of Hong Kong for having done so and undertake not to further request the NPCSC to interpret the Basic Law; furthermore, this Council also urges the NPCSC to rescind its decision made on 26 April 2004 to rule out the election of the Chief Executive and all Members of the Legislative Council by universal suffrage in 2007 and 2008 respectively in Hong Kong which throttles the rights of the people of Hong Kong to the full implementation of election by universal suffrage in 2007 and 2008, as well as demands the Chief Secretary for Administration, Hon Donald TSANG Yam-kuen, to rescind the four constitutional development reports, so as to give a true account of the facts.

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

  2. Comprehensive review of the Inland Revenue Ordinance

    Hon TAM Heung-man: (Translation)

    That, as it has been nearly 30 years since the Government conducted a comprehensive review of the Inland Revenue Ordinance ("IRO") in 1976, in order to further strengthen and expand Hong Kong's edge as an ideal place for investment in the international arena, this Council urges the Government to, under the principle of maintaining a simple tax regime with low tax rates:

    (a)expeditiously conduct a comprehensive review of the IRO, so as to ensure that it meets the needs of the current economic environment and mode of business;

    (b)make the provisions of the IRO more simple and certain, and enhance consistency in its implementation; and

    (c)establish a statutory advisory body on taxation for conducting a policy study on the IRO, and ensure that members of the advisory body come from different sectors,

    with a view to enhancing Hong Kong's competitiveness and its attractiveness to international investors.

    Amendments to motion
    (i)Hon Patrick LAU Sau-shing: (Translation)

    To delete "as it has been nearly 30 years since the Government conducted a comprehensive review of the Inland Revenue Ordinance ('IRO') in 1976," after "That,"; to delete ": (a) expeditiously conduct a comprehensive review of the IRO, so as to ensure that it meets the needs of the current economic environment and mode of business; (b) make the provisions of the IRO more simple and certain, and enhance consistency in its implementation; and (c) establish a statutory advisory body on taxation for conducting a policy study on the IRO, and ensure that members of the advisory body come from different sectors" after "low tax rates"; and to add "examine the specific issues relating to Hong Kong's taxation system and the implementation of the Inland Revenue Ordinance," before "with a view to enhancing Hong Kong's competitiveness".

    (ii)Hon LEE Cheuk-yan: (Translation)

    To add "fully implement the principle of 'those who have the means pay more' and to" after "in order to"; to delete "and" after "enhance consistency in its implementation;"; to add "; and (d) consider introducing progressive profits tax" after "come from different sectors"; and to add "maintaining abundant tax revenues to cope with Hong Kong's development and social needs, and to" after "with a view to".

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

Clerk to the Legislative Council