A 04/05-5
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 27 October 2004 at 2:30pm
I. Tabling of Papers
| Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments | L.N. No.
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| 1. | Specification of Arrangements (Government of the Macao Special Administrative Region) (Avoidance of Double Taxation on Income from Aircraft Operation) Order | 162/2004
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| 2. | Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance 2002 (23 of 2002) (Commencement) Notice 2004 | 163/2004
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| 3. | Merchant Shipping (Prevention and Control of Pollution) (Specification of Substances) (Amendment) Order 2004 (L.N. 128 of 2004) (Commencement) Notice 2004 | 164/2004
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Other Papers
| 1. | No.18 | - | Traffic Accident Victims Assistance Fund
Annual Report for the year
from 1 April 2003 to 31 March 2004
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(to be presented by Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food)
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| 2. | No.19 | - | Office of the Telecommunications Authority
Trading Fund Report 2003/04
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(to be presented by Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology)
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| 3. | No.20 | - | Hongkong Post
Annual Report 2003/04
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| (to be presented by Secretary for Economic Development and Labour)
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II. Questions
1. Hon CHOY So-yuk to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that an expatriate teacher in an aided secondary school insulted the Chinese by making racially discriminatory remarks. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it:
| (a) | has followed up the incident; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
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| (b) | will issue warnings to or impose other penalties on the teacher where he is found to have committed acts of racial discrimination?
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| Public Officers to reply : | Secretary for Home Affairs
Secretary for Education and Manpower
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2. Hon Albert HO to ask: (Translation)
Since the opening of the Light Rail ("LR") Tin Shui Wai Extension last December, the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation ("KCRC") has not increased the number of LR train cars, making it necessary to deploy some existing train cars to the Extension. As a result, LR services in Tuen Mun and Yuen Long have become grossly inadequate, giving rise to complaints from many residents. Although supplemental bus services are currently provided by LR in the areas concerned, they have failed to attract passengers. I have carried out an investigation in the areas concerned and found that during the morning peak hours, passengers travelling on various LR routes have to wait for a long time on the platforms before they can board trains, and that the compartments are packed with passengers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the total number of LR train cars put into service each year since the commissioning of LR, and whether it has assessed if the existing number of train cars can cope with the population growth in North-West New Territories; if it has, of the assessment results;
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| (b) | whether it knows if KCRC will procure new train cars to solve the problem of inadequate LR services; if it will, of the details; and
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| (c) | whether it will open up the areas served exclusively by LR to other modes of public transport, so as to solve the problem of inadequate LR services; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works
3. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the former Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food said at the end of September this year that the Government was aware that elderly people have more faith in Chinese medical practitioners, and the Government was studying the provision of subsidies to elderly recipients of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance for seeking Chinese medical treatment. On the other hand, as there are only three public Chinese medicine out-patient clinics in Hong Kong and the authorities concerned have shelved the plan to set up 18 Chinese medicine out-patient clinics, there is a serious shortage of Chinese medicine out-patient services. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | as the elderly people concerned are required to obtain confirmation from western medical practitioners that western medical treatment has not been effective before they can be granted subsidies for Chinese medical treatment, whether the authorities have assessed if such a confirmation requirement will be seen as disregarding their right to choose and discrimination against Chinese medical practitioners; and
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| (b) | as the authorities appreciate that elderly people prefer seeking Chinese medical treatment and also intends to subsidize them, whether they will reconsider setting up the above 18 clinics; if so, whether they will consider giving priority to setting up such clinics in areas with a higher concentration of elderly people, so as to meet their greater needs?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food
4. Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to ask: (Translation)
The former Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food resigned on the 7th of July this year and agreed to stay on for a period of not more than three months, so as to allow the Chief Executive time to identify a successor. However, not until 4:20 pm on the 7th of this month - i.e. the day after the expiry of the said three-month period, did the Information Services Department issue a notice stating that the Chief Executive would hold a press conference at 5:30 pm on the same day to announce the appointment of the new Secretary and for the Secretary designate to meet the media. Yet the conference was suddenly called off half an hour before it was due to start. The Administration announced the appointment of the new Secretary only on the next day and the new Secretary reported for duty on 12 October. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the difficulties the Administration encountered in identifying and the appointment of the new Secretary;
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| (b) | of the measures, if any, to avoid changes in the arrangements for announcing such appointments; and
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| (c) | given that the hand-over period on the job for the outgoing Secretary and the Secretary designate lasted for only a few days, whether the Government has assessed its impact on the work of the policy bureau concerned; if it has, of the assessment results?
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Public Officer to reply :
Chief Secretary for Administration
5. Hon TSANG Yok-sing to ask: (Translation)
It is learnt that only a small portion of graduates from local bachelor's degree courses in Chinese medicine have become Chinese medical practitioners ("CMPs") upon graduation. Moreover, as no means of continuous training is available to them, their professional development is also affected. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether it knows the employment situation of the graduates in various years at the end of each year of graduation and, among them, of the number of graduates who are currently employed by the three public Chinese medicine out-patient clinics;
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| (b) | of the policies the authorities will adopt to enhance the professional development of these graduates; and
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| (c) | whether it will conduct planning and studies regarding the supply of and demand for CMPs and their development?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food
6. Hon LEE Wing-tat to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that some real estate developers have predicted that the supply of residential units will fall short of demand in 2007 and 2008. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
| (a) | the total area of private land scheduled to be put up for sale in the next five years; whether it has any plan to include more land in the List of Sites for Sale by Application, in particular those with a smaller site for development, so that small and medium-sized developers have the opportunity to participate; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
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| (b) | the projected supply and demand situation of residential units and the relevant figures in the next five years; and
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| (c) | the number of public rental housing units the authorities plan to provide in each of the next five years and, among them, the number of units which were originally built under Home Ownership Scheme projects?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands
*7. Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)
There has been heated discussion on the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance ("CSSA") System in the community recently. Some social organizations requested that the Government should, apart from suspending the cutbacks in CSSA payments, review the entire CSSA System and determine the level of CSSA payments with reference to the clients' basic and essential needs. On the other hand, a spokesman for the Health, Welfare and Food Bureau said that elderly or non able-bodied CSSA recipients who had special needs or difficulties could approach the Social Welfare Department ("SWD") for assistance, and SWD would exercise discretion in providing them with additional assistance. The Director of Social Welfare, however, criticized a survey on basic and essential needs conducted by the Hong Kong Council of Social Service as hazardous and impractical. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the scope of additional assistance provided by SWD to the above CSSA recipients;
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| (b) | whether SWD has any criteria or procedures for determining whether the special needs of these persons warrant additional assistance; if it has, of the details; if not, how it can ensure that different frontline staff are able to exercise discretion in an objective manner in determining whether additional assistance should be provided;
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| (c) | whether SWD had conducted any survey on basic and essential needs over the past three years; if it had, of the details and the outcome;
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| (d) | whether it will consider determining the level of CSSA payments by reference to basic and essential needs; if it will, of the implementation timetable; and
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| (e) | whether it will review the entire CSSA System and consult the public on the review; if it will, of the ways to proceed with the review (e.g. whether a working group will be formed) and the timetable of the review, including the time to issue the public consultation paper and to publish the outcome of the review?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food
*8. Ir Dr Hon HO Chung-tai to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the Government's plan to introduce "teaching by subject specialists" in primary schools for the subjects of Chinese language, English language and Mathematics, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the timing of launching the plan and its details;
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| (b) | of the estimated average number of additional teachers that each primary school has to employ because of the implementation of the plan; and
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| (c) | whether the plan will be extended to secondary schools?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Education and Manpower
*9. Ir Dr Hon HO Chung-tai to ask: (Translation)
The Chief Executive mentioned on the 7th of last month that he looked to private sector enterprises and charitable trusts to contribute funds for developing research areas of excellence. He also pointed out that the Government could and should play an active role in creating an environment conducive to scientific research pursuits. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether it knows the details of the donations made by local private sector enterprises and charitable trusts to local scientific research institutions in the past three years;
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| (b) | whether it has adopted any measures to encourage donations in this respect; if it has, of the relevant details;
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| (c) | of the total public spending on scientific research activities in the past three years and the major research topics involved; and
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| (d) | what plans it will implement in the coming three years to create an environment more conducive to scientific research pursuits?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology
*10. Hon LAU Kong-wah to ask: (Translation)
Regarding Mainland people taking up employment as domestic helpers illegally after entering Hong Kong on Exit-entry Permits for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macao or business visit endorsements, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the respective numbers of Mainland visitors arrested and convicted for taking up employment as domestic helpers illegally in each of the past three years, together with a breakdown by the type of travel documents held; and
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| (b) | whether the authorities have encountered any difficulties in investigating such cases and prosecuting the persons concerned, for instance, when both the employer and the employee claim that they are relatives and the work is unpaid; if so, of the counter measures to deal with the situation?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Security
*11. Hon Albert CHAN to ask: (Translation)
In reply to my question at the Legislative Council meeting on 8 October last year, the Government indicated that the Civil Aviation Department had implemented various noise mitigating measures to minimize the impact of aircraft noise on the communities near the flight path. For example, to avoid aircraft overflying more densely populated areas in the early hours, arrangements were made for flights departing Hong Kong between 11 pm and 7 am to use the southbound route via the West Lamma Channel as far as possible, while flights arriving in Hong Kong between midnight and 7 am were directed to land from the waters southwest of the airport, subject to flight safety not being affected. However, I have learnt that during the above hours, aircraft noise was still often causing nuisance to residents of many housing estates, including the Caribbean Coast in Tung Chung, the Seaview Crescent in Sham Tseng and Park Island in Ma Wan, making it difficult for them to sleep. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
| (a) | the number of flights with aircraft noise levels exceeding 75 decibels during the above hours, as recorded in Tung Chung, Sham Tseng and Ma Wan in the past 12 months, and their take-off and landing times; and
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| (b) | the measures to reduce the nuisance caused by aircraft noise to residents of these estates, including whether it will consider prohibiting the take-off and landing of aircrafts the noise levels of which exceed 75 decibels?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Economic Development and Labour
*12. Hon Audrey EU to ask: (Translation)
It is learnt that the number of applicants for Primary One ("P1") admission is declining year by year and the situation is particularly serious for schools in Sha Tin and Tai Po. Even schools with Year 2000 design premises providing better facilities are also affected. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of the total number of P1 classes reduced as compared with that in the preceding year for Year 2000 design schools in each of the past three years, as well as the names and locations of the schools concerned?
Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Education and Manpower
*13. Hon LAU Kong-wah to ask: (Translation)
In June 2000, the Legislative Council passed amendments to the Prevention of Copyright Piracy Ordinance to stipulate that any person who, without lawful authority, has in his possession in a place of public entertainment any video recording equipment commits an offence. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the number of cases about pirate recording or possession of video recording equipment in places of public entertainment reported to the authorities in each of the past three years and, among such cases, the respective numbers of those in which the suspects were prosecuted and convicted, as well as the reasons for some of the suspects not being convicted; and
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| (b) | whether, in taking enforcement actions, the authorities have detected loopholes in the Ordinance which make it difficult to institute prosecutions, and whether amendments will be proposed to the relevant provisions?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology
*14. Hon LI Kwok-ying to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the number of Mainland women giving birth in Hong Kong has been on the rise, resulting in an upsurge in the demand for obstetrician and neonatal services in hospitals, and that some woman patients who are about to give birth or have just given birth have to rest in mobile steel wheeled beds which are normally used for transporting patients into and out of nursing wards. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it:
| (a) | knows the respective numbers of cases in which Mainland pregnant women have used the services provided under the public health and medical care system in Hong Kong, and the resources involved, in 2002, 2003 and so far in 2004, and the number of cases in which fees have not been paid and the total amount involved, as well as the measures the Hospital Authority ("HA") has put in place to ensure that patients must settle the fees before they are discharged from hospitals;
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| (b) | knows the current usage rates of obstetrician and neonatal services provided in public hospitals in various districts, whether they are being used to capacity, and the short-term measures adopted by HA to alleviate overcrowding in nursing wards as well as the pressure faced by front-line medical personnel; and
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| (c) | has reviewed the demand for obstetrician and neonatal services in Hong Kong, having regard to its population policy and the trend of Mainland women coming to Hong Kong for childbirth; if so, of the review results; if not, the reasons for that, and whether it will review the relevant medical services in the light of the demand, and formulate long-term policies and measures accordingly?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food
*15. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)
On 10 August this year, the Court of First Instance of the High Court set aside the warrants issued earlier on by the court to the Independent Commission Against Corruption ("ICAC") authorizing it to search the offices of newspapers and the homes of journalists and to seize journalistic material. The ICAC lodged an appeal against the ruling but was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on the 11th of this month, on the ground that it had no jurisdiction to hear the appeal. However, the Court of Appeal held that it had been entirely lawful and justified for the ICAC to apply to the court for the warrants, and it raised doubts on a number of viewpoints and principles put forward by the Judge of the Court of First Instance. The views of the Court of Appeal have aroused concern among the community that the law enforcement departments may readily apply for warrants to search news agencies in executing law enforcement work, hence compromising the independence of news agencies and undermining the freedom of the press. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
| (a) | of the criteria adopted by the law enforcement departments in deciding to apply to the court directly for warrants to search news agencies and to seize journalistic material, instead of using alternative means which are more acceptable to others for obtaining the material concerned, such as asking news agencies to produce the required material voluntarily, or to apply to the court for a production order, as well as the rationale for setting such criteria, and whether they have assessed if those criteria can strike a balance between public interest and the freedom of the press;
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| (b) | whether the law enforcement departments will act in accordance with the viewpoints and principles put forward by the Judge of the Court of First Instance in executing law enforcement work in the future, such as applying for a search warrant only as "an investigative tool of last resort"; if so, whether the authorities will draw up relevant guidelines; if not, of the justifications for that; and
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| (c) | whether they will propose legislative amendments to provide that, before applying for a warrant to search news agencies, law enforcement departments have to try alternative means which are more acceptable to others for obtaining the required material, such as applying for a production order, so that the independent operation of news agencies is free from hindrance or undue interference?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Security
*16. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the broadcasting of audio-visual programmes inside buses by franchised bus companies since November 2000, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the respective numbers of buses of various franchised bus companies which are equipped with facilities for broadcasting audio-visual programmes, and the respective percentages of such buses in the bus fleets of various companies;
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| (b) | of the total number of complaints received from passengers about the broadcast in each of the past two years, broken down by the names of franchised bus companies and the subjects of complaint;
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| (c) | whether there is existing legislation governing the contents of these programmes and the broadcasting volume; if so, whether there have been any breaches of such legislation by franchised bus companies; and
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| (d) | of the measures currently adopted by the respective franchised bus companies to mitigate the impact of broadcasting audio-visual programmes inside buses on passengers?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works
*17. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the consultancy studies commissioned by the Central Policy Unit ("CPU") in the past three years, will the Executive Authorities:
| (a) | set out the details of such studies in the following table:
| Title of the study | Purpose and contents | Company/
Organization engaged | Date of the commissioning | Consultancy fee | Status of the study
(If it is completed, please specify the date of completion)
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| (b) | inform this Council whether the CPU has made public the contents and/or results of any studies; if not, whether it will consider changing such a practice; and
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| (c) | inform this Council of the guidelines adopted by the CPU in drawing up tendering documents to ensure compliance with the principles of fairness, impartiality and openness?
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Public Officer to reply :
Chief Secretary for Administration
*18. Hon TAM Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)
I have received complaints from members of the public about the long waiting time for the first appointment at specialist out-patient clinics operated by the Hospital Authority ("HA"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
| (a) | the respective average waiting times for the first appointments with the medical, surgical, paediatric, obstetric and gynaecological, ophthalmological and oncological specialist out-patient clinics operated by HA over the past three years;
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| (b) | the specialist out-patient service operated by HA with the longest waiting time for the first appointment, and the reasons for the longer waiting time required for such service; and
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| (c) | if there were any patients whose clinical conditions deteriorated over the past three years due to the excessively long waiting time; if so, the measures taken by HA to solve this problem?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food
*19. Hon Howard YOUNG to ask: (Translation)
During the construction of the East Rail Extension of Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation ("KCRC"), which commenced in April 2001, hoardings were erected everywhere in Tsim Sha Tsui ("TST"), one of the famous tourist areas. Coupled with the frequent traffic congestion caused by closure and diversion of several roads in the area and a dusty environment, the public and tourists were deterred from visiting TST and the businesses in the area were greatly affected. Upon the commissioning of the Extension last Sunday, the businesses in the area have improved slightly. However, as the Kowloon Southern Link ("KSL") to be constructed by KCRC will go through TST, tenants in the area worry that they will once again be subject to the impact of the rail construction works in the coming years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of the measures to minimize the impact of the works concerned on the tenants, road traffic and environment in the area during the construction of KSL, so as to avoid another blow to the tourism businesses in TST?
Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works
*20. Hon LEE Cheuk-yan to ask: (Translation)
Will the Government inform this Council of:
| (a) | the number of persons who came to Hong Kong on employment visas granted on the grounds of receiving training in the territory over the past three years (broken down by industry, occupation, place of origin and duration of employment contract);
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| (b) | the criteria adopted in vetting and approving applications for employment visas submitted on the above grounds; and
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| (c) | the measures in place to ensure that the above persons will not affect the employment opportunities of local workers?
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Public Officer to reply :
Secretary for Security
*For written reply.
III. Members' Motions
- Public inquiry on irregularities in the 2004 Legislative Council Election
Hon Margaret NG:
That this Council urges the Chief Executive to appoint an independent Commission of Inquiry to investigate the irregularities and general confusion on the polling day of the 2004 Legislative Council Election and make such recommendations as appropriate on improvement and disciplinary measures.
Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Constitutional Affairs
- Civil service policy
Hon WONG Kwok-hing: (Translation)
That this Council urges the Government, on the basis of full consultation with civil servants, to formulate a policy to stabilize the confidence of civil servants so as to boost their morale, and that the Government should, before formulating such a policy:
| (a) | cease the corporatization of departments, contractization of staff employment and indiscriminate outsourcing of services;
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| (b) | cease employing temporary staff in place of permanent staff; and
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| (c) | review the policy of imposing operating expenditure envelopes across the board and the practice of reducing civil service pay, benefits and establishment,
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so as to consolidate public confidence, give impetus to healthy social interactions, promote social prosperity and help build up the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.
Amendments to Hon WONG Kwok-hing's motion
| (i) | Hon LEE Cheuk-yan: (Translation)
To add "that, subject to compliance with the requirements of the International Labour Convention Nos. 98 and 151," after "That this Council urges"; to delete ", on the basis of full consultation with civil servants, to formulate" after "the Government" and substitute with "discuss with civil service unions the formulation of"; to delete "cease employing temporary staff in place of permanent staff; and" after "(b)" and substitute with "resume the recruitment of civil servants; (c) abort the target of reducing the civil service establishment to 160 000 by 2006-07, and determine the civil service establishment according to actual needs; and"; to delete "(c)" and substitute with "(d)"; to delete "," after "civil service pay" and substitute with "and"; and to delete "and establishment" after "benefits".
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| (ii) | Hon CHEUNG Man-kwong: (Translation)
To add "and the public" after "consultation with civil servants"; to delete "a policy" after "to formulate" and substitute with "policies"; to add "and ensure that all employees of the Government are under reasonable labour protection" after "to boost their morale"; to delete "before formulating such a policy" after "and that the Government should," and substitute with "at the same time as it formulates such policies"; and to delete ", contractization of staff employment and indiscriminate outsourcing of services; (b) cease employing temporary staff in place of permanent staff; and (c) review the policy of imposing operating expenditure envelopes across the board and the practice of reducing civil service pay, benefits and establishment, so as to consolidate public confidence, give impetus to healthy social interactions, promote social prosperity and help build up the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" after "(a) cease the corporatization of departments" and substitute with "; (b) ensure that the employment of persons outside the pensionable establishment, including those employed on contract terms as well as under outsourced service contract, is not done indiscriminately to replace staff on the pensionable establishment, and enhance the protection for staff employed on non-civil service terms in regard to their posts, pay and benefits; (c) formulate a policy, with restrictions and time limits, on the employment of temporary staff to prevent exploitation by the Government in the name of flexibility; (d) review the policy on civil service pay and benefits; and (e) draw up a reasonable and appropriate establishment of public servants".
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| (iii) | Hon Howard YOUNG: (Translation)
To add "and the public" after "full consultation with civil servants"; to add "civil service" after "to formulate a"; to add "that fits present-day circumstances while, at the same time, taking into account the need" after "policy"; to delete "so as to" after "confidence of civil servants" and substitute with ","; to delete ", and that" after "boost their morale" and substitute with "and balance public interests, hence"; to delete ", before formulating such a policy" after "the Government should" and substitute with "carefully examine the effectiveness of the following policies"; to delete "cease" after "(a)"; to delete "indiscriminate" after "staff employment and"; to delete "cease employing" after "(b)" and substitute with "the employment of"; to delete "review" after "(c)"; to delete "across the board and the practice of reducing" after "operating expenditure envelopes" and substitute with "and the arrangements in respect of"; and to delete "consolidate public confidence" after "so as to" and substitute with "optimize the use of public funds, enhance the efficiency of the civil service".
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Public Officer to attend :
Secretary for the Civil Service
Clerk to the Legislative Council
