A 04/05-6

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 3 November 2004 at 2:30pm

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
1.Waste Disposal (Designated Waste Disposal Facility) (Amendment) Regulation 2004 165/2004
2.Waste Disposal (Charges for Disposal of Construction Waste) Regulation 166/2004
3.Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Public Markets) (Designation and Amendment of Tenth Schedule) (No. 3) Order 2004167/2004
4.Declaration of Markets Notice (Amendment) (No. 3) Declaration 2004 168/2004
5.Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (Portugal) Order (Cap. 525 Sub. Leg. L) (Commencement) Notice 2004169/2004
6.Fugitive Offenders (Portugal) Order (Cap. 503 Sub. Leg. U) (Commencement) Notice 2004 170/2004


II. Questions

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

The Town Planning Board ("TPB") received an application in July this year to alter the planned land use of a lot at Ap Lei Chau waterfront from the existing "Other Specified Uses" annotated "Liquified Petroleum Gas And Oil Products Transit Depot" to "Residential (Group A)". It is learnt that many nearby residents object to the proposed residential development project. In regard to land zoned for "Other Specified Uses", will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the criteria adopted by relevant departments and TPB in considering applications for rezoning the land from "Other Specified Uses" to residential or commercial uses; and among those criteria, of the weight of factors such as "objection from nearby residents", "adequacy of amenities in the area in which the lot is situated" as well as "additional road traffic load brought about by development upon changes in land uses";

    (b)given that there are normally provisions in the leases of land zoned for "Other Specified Uses" which provide that the Government may resume the land once it had ceased to be used for the specified uses for over 12 months, whether the authorities have resumed any land on such grounds in the past five years; and

    (c)of the current number of pieces of private lands zoned for "Other Specified Uses" that were granted through land exchange or directly by way of private treaty, and the total area thereof?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

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

It is learnt that a Hong Kong resident was detained by criminals in the Mainland for four days, during which he was robbed of his automatic teller machine ("ATM") card and compelled to disclose the personal identification number of the card. The victim's ATM card had access to two bank accounts. In addition to withdrawing cash up to the daily limit from the two bank accounts via ATMs on each of the four days, the criminals also bought cash vouchers, through Easy Pay System ("EPS"), from self-vending terminals of the Hong Kong Jockey Club ("HKJC") and encashed the vouchers right afterwards. The victim suffered a loss of more than $400,000 as a result. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of cases reported to the authorities over the past three years in which criminals committed crimes by encashing cash vouchers bought from the HKJC, and the total amount of money involved;

    (b)as at present a daily limit has already been set for withdrawal of cash via ATMs from each bank account, whether the authorities will recommend to banks that ATM card-holders be also allowed to set the daily cash withdrawal limit for each of their ATM cards; and

    (c)whether the authorities will recommend to banks that ATM card-holders be allowed to set their own limits on cash transfers made through EPS to individual merchants, so as to reduce the amounts of cash that criminals may obtain by encashing cash vouchers bought from the HKJC; if so, of the details of such recommendations; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
Secretary for Security

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

It has been reported that the Housing Department has reduced the contract payments to companies which have entered into cleaning and security guard service contracts with it. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the number of companies involved in the reduction over the past three years as well as the extent of and the reasons for the reduction;

    (b)the number of companies which have consequently reduced their manpower or the wages payable to their employees; and

    (c)the respective minimum wage levels imposed by government departments at present in outsourcing various non-skilled services posts, and whether the reduced wage levels of the employees concerned still comply with the above requirements?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

4. Hon Albert HO to ask: (Translation)

Members of the legal profession and the public have reflected to me the long time taken by the courts to deliver judgments on many cases after the conclusion of their hearings. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective average time taken by the District Court, as well as the Court of First Instance and the Court of Appeal of the High Court to deliver judgments on cases after the conclusion of their hearings (including preliminary hearings and the actual trials) in each of the past two years, and the respective numbers of cases in which the time taken was less than six months, six months to less than nine months, nine months to less than 12 months and 12 months and above;

    (b)whether it was necessary for the judges of the above tiers of courts to work overtime continuously in the past three years; if so, whether the relevant authorities will appoint more judges in order to reduce their workload; and

    (c)whether the relevant authorities will allocate additional resources or implement other measures, so as to expedite the delivery of judgments by the courts?
Public Officer to reply : Chief Secretary for Administration

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

To provide funding for infrastructural projects as well as other investment projects, the Government has issued bonds worth a total of $26 billion in the market through government bonds and the Hong Kong Link 2004 Limited Retail Bonds. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the total amount of the funds so raised that it plans to allocate for infrastructural projects as well as the details of the projects involved, including the names of such projects, the estimated amount of expenditure and whether the projects concerned are new projects or on-going ones, and the total amount of funds that will be allocated for the new projects;

    (b)as the 2004 Policy Address has stated that the Government plans to earmark an average of $29 billion per year for capital works projects for the next five years, and now that it has raised $26 billion through the issuance of bonds in the market, whether the expenditure on infrastructure for the financial year 2004-05 will be increased as a result; if so, of the details; and

    (c)in the light of the keen market response to the issuance of government bonds, whether the authorities plan to issue bonds again; if so, of the details?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

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

I have learnt that the Hospital Authority ("HA") has not only been plagued with very serious fiscal deficits in recent years, but has also to pay out huge costs each year for medical incidents and the consequent lawsuits, thereby aggravating its financial burden. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows the amount of compensation paid and litigation costs borne by HA each year as a result of medical incidents since its establishment; and

    (b)of the measures adopted by the Government and HA to lower such expenses, and whether they include enhancing the communication and mutual support between medical staff, HA and patients; if so, of the details?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

It has been reported that at the end of August this year, a landing flight had to switch to manual operation temporarily and abort landing at the Hong Kong International Airport ("HKIA") due to a sudden encounter with windshear. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of aborted landings at HKIA since its opening, and the situations under which such aborted landings took place;

    (b)whether there are any data or signs to indicate that aborted landings are affected by changes in seasons or related to windshear;

    (c)of the existing monitoring and contingency measures taken by the Civil Aviation Department and HKIA to deal with aborted landings and encounters with windshear by aircraft; and

    (d)since the Hong Kong Observatory has spent $9.5 million on procuring the world's first Light Detection and Ranging System for use in airport weather alerts with a view to facilitating better detection of changes in wind direction and air current, whether the system has served its purpose during the aborted landing incident in August this year; if it has, of the details?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

*8. Hon TAM Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that a number of recent medical incidents were suspected to be related to the shortage of medical and health care personnel. Besides, homes for the elderly have also experienced shortage of nursing manpower for a long time. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
    (a)it knows the respective numbers of nursing staff at various ranks in the Hospital Authority ("HA") who left employment over the past three years, and whether there has been an increase in the wastage of HA nursing staff during that period; if so, the reasons for that;

    (b)it has any plan to re-open the seven closed nursing schools so as to increase the nursing manpower; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (c)it has any plan to help those who have completed nursing training in the Mainland to become qualified for practice in Hong Kong, in order to alleviate the shortage of nursing manpower; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (d)it has other plans to ensure the availability of sufficient nursing manpower, thereby safeguarding the quality of public health care services as well as services for the elderly; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

It has been reported that the number of accidents involving passengers falling onto the rail track has reduced markedly since the retrofitting of screen doors at MTR stations by the MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
    (a)the number of accidents involving MTR passengers falling onto the rail track and the casualties involved in the past year;

    (b)the respective numbers and names of the stations where screen doors have been and have not yet been retrofitted;

    (c)whether MTRCL has formulated a detailed retrofitting plan for the stations where screen doors have not yet been retrofitted; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (d)whether the reasons stated in (c) include technical problems; if so, whether the authorities have assessed if such technical problems are real; if assessment has been made, of the results, as well as the measures in place to ensure that MTRCL can retrofit screen doors at all stations?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

It is learnt that a piece of land in Ap Lei Chau zoned for "Government, Institution or Community" uses and granted directly by way of private treaty has been derelict since the relocation of a primary school on that site in 1994, giving rise to the breeding of mosquitoes and insects, as well as causing other environmental and hygiene problems. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it is waiting for the grantee of the above site to apply for alteration of land use; if so, of the criteria to be adopted in considering the application for rezoning the site to residential or commercial uses;

    (b)why it has not yet resumed the land; and whether it will consider enforcing the provisions in the land lease for immediate land resumption, so as to improve the environmental and hygiene conditions of the area; and

    (c)of the current number of pieces of land in the territory which were granted directly by way of private treaty, have been derelict for over 12 months, and which are zoned for "Government, Institution or Community" uses or zoned for "Other Specified Uses" for the provision of communal facilities, their locations and particulars of grantees, and the reasons for not enforcing the land resumption provisions in the land leases to protect public property and ensure optimum use of land resource?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

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

It has been reported that due to the excessive number of stalls selling the same type of products and poor patronage, many stalls in the new Tai Po Hui Market, which came into operation on 1 September this year, have difficulties in keeping business afloat, and quite a number of them have even closed down. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the data and methodology used to determine the number of stalls selling the same type of products;

    (b)the current vacancy rate of the stalls in the market;

    (c)the total rental income forgone as a result of the stalls being left vacant since the opening of the market; and

    (d)measures to improve the market's business environment?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

Regarding the land premium for petrol filling station sites, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the average per-square-metre premium of leases granted in each of the past five years by the authorities for land used as petrol filling station;

    (b)whether it has looked into how land premium for petrol filling station sites affects the retail prices of motor vehicle fuel; if it has, of the findings; and

    (c)whether it will consider providing premium waiver in granting new land leases for petrol filling station sites as a means of lowering the fuel prices for motor vehicles?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

*13. Hon Howard YOUNG to ask: (Translation)

The impact of the Guangzhou Baiyun Airport on Hong Kong's aviation industry has become more apparent since its commissioning on 5 August this year. As the airfares of flights between Guangzhou and Southeast Asia are lower than those from Guangzhou to Southeast Asia via Hong Kong, quite a number of mainland tourists have shifted to direct flights from Guangzhou to Southeast Asia. Consequently, Hong Kong's position as a point of transit, the business of travel agents, the passenger volume of the flights concerned and the transit passenger throughput at the Hong Kong International Airport ("HKIA") have been affected, putting Hong Kong's tourism industry under pressure. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)how it will assist the industry in facing competition; whether it has considered reducing the charges of HKIA or introducing concessionary measures to give flights departing from Hong Kong room for fare reduction, so as to enhance their competitiveness; and

    (b)of the measures in place to reinforce Hong Kong's status as an aviation hub, attract more local and mainland airlines to operate flights between Hong Kong and the Mainland, and extend our aviation network so as to broaden the customer base for direct flight and transit services?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

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

Regarding the full-time degree, sub-degree and higher diploma programmes operated on a self-financing basis by University Grants Committee ("UGC")-funded tertiary institutions, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows, in respect of each of the past three academic years:
    (a)the respective numbers of such programmes at various academic levels operated by each UGC-funded institution, and their respective percentages in the total number of programmes provided by respective institutions at the corresponding academic levels;

    (b)the number of students enrolled in such programmes operated by each UGC-funded institution, and the respective numbers and percentages of such students who received financial assistance under various student financial assistance schemes; and

    (c)in relation to each of the student financial assistance schemes, the number of recipients who, after graduation from these programmes, have: (i) defaulted in repayment of loans, and the average amount of loans defaulted; and (ii) applied for deferment of loan repayment, together with a breakdown of such applications by the justifications provided?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

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

It has been reported that the Scheme of Control Agreements ("SCAs") between the Government and the CLP Power Hong Kong Limited ("CLP") and the Hong Kong Electric Company Limited ("HEC") will expire in 2008. The Economic Development and Labour Bureau originally planned to release a consultation document on the post-2008 electricity market restructuring of Hong Kong in 2002, but the consultation document has not yet been released so far. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the progress of the review on the post-2008 regulatory framework for the electricity market in Hong Kong following the 2003 Interim Review of SCAs; and the report on the recommendations of the Government energy advisors on the review of the framework or relevant details;

    (b)of the progress of its discussions with CLP and HEC on the review (including the number of meetings held, scope of areas discussed and specific timetable for discussions);

    (c)of the procedure, content and timetable of the public consultation on the review;

    (d)whether it will consult the Legislative Council ("LegCo") and its Panels on Economic Services and Environmental Affairs on the review; if it will, of the specific timetable and whether it will submit progress reports on the review to the LegCo;

    (e)whether it will consider adding new clauses to SCAs when reviewing the existing agreement to encourage the power companies to take into account, apart from economic considerations, environmental considerations in their decisions on production, such as requiring the power companies to supply a certain percentage of electricity by renewable energy sources;

    (f)as currently the Environmental Protection Department only publicizes the annual total amount of exhaust emissions by CLP and HEC, whether the authorities will, in conducting the review, require the two power companies to publicize in future their amounts of exhaust emissions separately and list out in detail the amount of emissions and sources of various pollutants (such as suspended particulates and sulphur dioxide etc); and

    (g)as the current control of air pollutant emissions is measured in terms of the concentration of pollutants per cubic metre of air instead of the total amount of pollutants emitted, whether the authorities will consider setting a limit on the annual total amount of pollutant emissions by CLP and HEC so as to improve the air quality more effectively?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

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

During the first seven months of this year, the increases in the average pump prices of unleaded petrol and ultra low sulphur diesel were $0.1/litre and $0.15/litre higher than the increases in their respective average import prices. It is learnt that despite decreases in the import prices of unleaded petrol in February and June this year as compared with those in their preceding months, its pump prices increased instead in the same periods. Moreover, the four oil companies adjusted their pump prices and provided discounts at almost the same pace. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
    (a)of the monitoring measures in place to ensure that the adjustment of the pump prices of oil by the oil companies will be more transparent and will better reflect the actual situation of the market;

    (b)as the oil companies frequently increase the pump prices of oil by reason of an increase in the import prices, whether the authorities will adopt the average import prices as a benchmark for monitoring oil prices; if not, of the reasons for that;

    (c)whether they will advise the oil companies to import those types of oil with lower costs to offer alternative choices for consumers; if not, of the reasons for that; and

    (d)whether they will introduce fair competition law to curb collaborative price fixing practices among the oil companies?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

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

Under the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112), an employee may apply for a deduction in respect of his contributions to a Mandatory Provident Fund Scheme ("MPFS") or any Recognized Occupational Retirement Schemes ("RORS") in connection with the assessment of his salaries tax payable, and the amount deductible is capped at an amount equivalent to mandatory contributions. However, the Inland Revenue Department ("IRD") requires employers to provide in the tax returns their employees' total income rather than the amount after deducting employees' contributions to retirement schemes. Some members of the public claim that they had to pay more tax as their total income, instead of the income net of contributions, had been used for tax assessment. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective current numbers of employees who have joined the MPFS and RORS and are required to make contributions to the Schemes;

    (b)of the number of objections, received by IRD each year since the implementation of MPFS in December 2000, in which taxpayers objected to their tax assessment on grounds that their employee's MPF contributions have not been deducted and, among these objections, the number of cases allowed;

    (c)whether it has assessed the number of cases each year since the implementation of MPFS in which taxpayers did not raise objection to their tax assessment even though their employee's MPF contributions have not been deducted, and the total amount of money involved; whether it will review these cases and refund the excess tax collected to the taxpayers concerned; and

    (d)of the measures to be adopted to avoid the recurrence of excess tax collection?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

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

It has been reported that 53 locations in the New Territories have become sites for processing waste plastic bottles and, among them, 14 sites are operated illegally. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)as the above illegal operation is related to land use and planning, of the measures taken by the authorities in these two aspects to prevent recurrence of similar incidents; and

    (b)of the sources of the plastic bottles processed at the above sites and whether they are imported illegally; if so, of the measures that have been or will be taken to prevent the persistence of such illegal importation?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

*19. Hon LI Fung-ying to ask: (Translation)

A serious traffic accident involving two public light buses ("PLBs") and a taxi took place last month on King's Road, North Point, causing the death of two PLB passengers on board. The accident was suspected to be related to dangerous driving and speeding of the PLB drivers. Regarding the safety of PLB operations, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of traffic accidents involving PLBs since 2000 and their causes; among them, the respective numbers of casualties involving drivers, passengers and pedestrians and whether the PLBs involved were installed with speed display devices ("SDDs") or other safety improvement measures;

    (b)of the current number of registered PLBs in Hong Kong; and the respective numbers of those which are fitted with SDDs and rear seat belts;

    (c)whether it has assessed the effectiveness of the installation of SDDs on PLBs; if so, of the outcome; if not, the reasons for that;

    (d)how the authorities have been enforcing the legislation on PLB seat belts since the relevant legislation took effect in August this year, including whether it has issued warnings to or instituted prosecutions against persons in contravention of the relevant legislation; if so, of the respective numbers of warnings and prosecutions; if not, the reasons for that, and whether it will step up enforcement in future;

    (e)for those PLBs registered before the above commencement date but have not yet been installed with rear seat belts, of the measures the authorities have in place to ensure their safety while travelling on the road;

    (f)of the measures to assist the minibus industry in expediting SDD installation and in replacing the existing minibuses with new models which are fitted with rear seat belts; and

    (g)of the particular measures to enhance PLB drivers' awareness of safe driving?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

In reply to a question raised at the Legislative Council meeting on 4 December 2002, the Secretary for Education and Manpower advised that the Government would enhance national education in primary and secondary schools, so as to strengthen the students' awareness of their national identity and nationalism, and would accordingly take six measures, including curriculum reform, strengthening elements of national education in the school curriculum, enhancing teachers' training, providing subsidy schemes, producing learning and teaching resources and undertaking a research project. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
    (a)given that one of the above measures was the production of an educational television programme entitled "I love China" in the 2002-03 school year for kindergarten students, whether the programme teaches the students to distinguish between "I love China" and "I love the Communist Party of China"; if so, of the relevant details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)of the position and effects in implementing the above measures;

    (c)of the estimated and actual expenses for each of the above measures;

    (d)whether the national education programme gives an account of the "June 4th incident", the history of democratic movements in both China and Hong Kong and the "great marches on July 1"; if so, of the relevant details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (e)whether they have consulted students, teachers and parents on the above measures; if so, of the consultation results; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

*For written reply.

III. Members' Motions

  1. Reducing the duty on ultra low sulphur diesel

    Hon Miriam LAU: (Translation)

    That this Council urges the Government to reduce the rate of duty on ultra low sulphur diesel to $0.55 per litre until 31 December 2005, and to conduct a further review before that date.

    Amendments to Hon Miriam LAU's motion
    (i)Hon Ronny TONG Ka-wah: (Translation)

    To delete "reduce the" after "the Government to" and substitute with "expeditiously review the current"; and to delete "to $0.55 per litre until 31 December 2005, and to conduct a further review before that date" after "ultra low sulphur diesel" and substitute with "with a view to easing the hardship caused by the high cost of ultra low sulphur diesel to the affected industries, especially the transport industry which is the hardest hit, and to ensure that end-users of ultra low sulphur diesel can really benefit from any reduction of the duty rate".

    (ii)Hon WONG Kwok-hing: (Translation)

    To add "and study the phasing-out of the duty" after "before that date".

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

  2. Alleviating the disparity between the rich and the poor

    Hon Frederick FUNG: (Translation)

    That, as the Hong Kong economy has entered an inflation period, yet the unemployment rate remains high, with wages not showing an evident rebound and the disparity between the rich and the poor becoming more serious, this Council urges the Government to set up an interdepartmental committee on aiding the poor to comprehensively examine the disparity between the rich and the poor in Hong Kong and establish a poverty line, so as to enable a more effective allocation of social resources and safeguard the basic needs of the grass-roots people; at the same time, the Government should co-ordinate the efforts of various departments in formulating corresponding policies as well as measures to help get rid of poverty, with a view to narrowing the gap between the rich and the poor, reducing social conflicts in the long run and promoting harmonious social development. Amendments to Hon Frederick FUNG's motion

    (i)Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG: (Translation)

    To add "the general public has not yet been able to benefit from the economic recovery and" after "yet"; to delete "an interdepartmental" after "urges the Government to set up" and substitute with "a"; and to add ", which should consist of representatives from relevant government departments, community organizations and academic institutions," after "aiding the poor".

    (ii)Hon James TIEN: (Translation)

    To delete "an" after "to set up" and substitute with "a governmental"; to delete "and establish a poverty line" after "the rich and the poor in Hong Kong"; to add "enhance the self-help capability of the socially disadvantaged groups and" after "so as to"; and to add ", thereby helping those who are most in need" after "allocation of social resources"; to delete "safeguard" after "and" and substitute with "safeguarding"; and to delete "in the long run" after "reducing social conflicts".

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


Clerk to the Legislative Council