A 05/06-26

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 10 May 2006 at 11:00 am

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
1.Air Navigation (Hong Kong) Order 1995 (Amendment of Schedule 16) Order 200674/2006
2.Dangerous Goods (Consignment by Air) (Safety) (Amendment) Regulation 200675/2006
3.Dangerous Goods (Consignment by Air) (Safety) Regulations (Amendment of Schedule) Order 200676/2006
4.Dangerous Drugs (Fee Revision) Regulation 200677/2006
5.Antibiotics (Fee Revision) Regulation 200678/2006
6.Pharmacy and Poisons (Pharmacy and Poisons Appeal Tribunal) (Fee Revision) Regulation 200679/2006
7.Quarantine and Prevention of Disease (Scale of Charges) (Charges Revision) Regulation 200680/2006
8.Dentists (Registration and Disciplinary Procedure) (Fee Revision) Regulation 200681/2006
9.Ancillary Dental Workers (Dental Hygienists) (Fee Revision) Regulation 200682/2006
10.Medical Registration (Fee Revision) Regulation 200683/2006
11.Midwives Registration (Fee Reduction) Regulation 200684/2006
12.Nurses (Registration and Disciplinary Procedure) (Fee Revision) Regulation 200685/2006
13.Enrolled Nurses (Enrolment and Disciplinary Procedure) (Fee Revision) Regulation 200686/2006
14.Medical Laboratory Technologists (Registration and Disciplinary Procedure) (Fee Revision) Regulation 200687/2006
15.Occupational Therapists (Registration and Disciplinary Procedure) (Fee Revision) Regulation 200688/2006
16.Radiographers (Registration and Disciplinary Procedure) (Fee Revision) Regulation 200689/2006
17.Optometrists (Registration and Disciplinary Procedure) (Fee Revision) Regulation 200690/2006
18.Physiotherapists (Registration and Disciplinary Procedure) (Fee Revision) Regulation 200691/2006
19.Chiropractors Registration (Fee Revision) Regulation 200692/2006
20.Chinese Medicine Practitioners (Fee Revision) Regulation 200693/2006
21.Chinese Medicine (Fee Revision) Regulation 200694/2006
22.Import and Export (Strategic Commodities) Regulations (Amendment of Schedule 1) Order 200695/2006

Other Papers

1.No.91-The Government Minute in response to the Report No.45 of the Public Accounts Committee dated February 2006
(to be presented by Chief Secretary for Administration, who will address the Council)

2.Report of the Bills Committee on Chief Executive Election and Legislative Council Election (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2006
(to be presented by Hon Howard YOUNG, Chairman of the Bills Committee)

II. Questions

1. Hon Vincent FANG Kang to ask: (Translation)

To prevent human affection of avian influenza, the Government has implemented a number of measures over the past two years to segregate live poultry from customers. Such measures include re-designing live chicken stalls in several markets to completely segregate live chickens from customers with full-height glass panels. The Administration has recently indicated that it is actively considering the establishment of a central slaughtering plant for live chickens to forbid retail sale of live chickens. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a)of the number of markets in which the Government originally planned to install segregation devices, the number of markets in which installation has been completed and the average amount of investment in each market, the number and locations of markets in which installation works have not begun, the amount of provisions for such purposes, and whether installation will commence as originally planned;

    (b)whether it has assessed if the segregation devices have achieved the goals of minimizing the contact between people and live poultry and reducing the risk of an outbreak of avian influenza; and

    (c)if the above goals have been achieved, whether the Government will consider allowing stalls with segregation devices to continue operation after the implementation of central slaughtering for live chickens; if not, how the Government will dispose of the devices?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

2. Dr Hon YEUNG Sum to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that the Education and Manpower Bureau is conducting a comprehensive review on the policy on Early Childhood Education ("ECE"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a)of the details and completion date of the review; and

    (b)whether it will fully subsidize ECE and introduce measures to upgrade the qualifications of kindergarten teachers; if it will, of the details, the annual expenditure involved in subsidizing ECE and the annual number of kindergarten teachers whose pay will be fully subsidized; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

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

Some members of the public have reflected to me that as the number of people crossing the boundary via the Lok Ma Chau ("LMC") Control Point has been increasing, the Control Point and Huanggang Port have become very crowded. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a)of the respective daily average numbers of Hong Kong residents and overseas travellers crossing the boundary via Lo Wu Terminal and the LMC Control Point in the past year, and the respective increases in numbers over the preceding year;

    (b)of the projected percentage increase in the daily average number of passengers crossing the boundary via the LMC Control Point after the commissioning of the Long Valley spur line of the Kowloon-Canton Railway; and

    (c)whether it plans to ease the congestion at the LMC Control Point, including reducing the fare for travelling to and from Lo Wu Terminal along the East Rail, so as to encourage passengers who originally intend to cross the boundary via the LMC Control Point to switch to Lo Wu Terminal; if so, of the details of the plan; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

Regarding the compensation and assistance provided by the Housing Department ("HD") to factory buildings tenants affected by its clearance programmes, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a)of the reasons for offering ex-gratia allowances to factory tenants and the method for calculating the allowances; how this calculation method compares with those adopted by the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation and the Urban Renewal Authority, and whether HD will conduct a review with reference to the results of the comparison;

    (b)of the criteria adopted by HD for determining whether it will assist factory tenants in re-establishing their businesses elsewhere, and why HD has not rendered any assistance to some tenants of Tai Wo Hau Factory Estate, which will be demolished soon; and

    (c)whether it knows the number of workers currently employed by the tenants of Tai Wo Hau Factory Estate, and the anticipated numbers of workers who will continue to be employed and who will become unemployed after the factory tenants' vacation, and whether the allowances offered by HD to factory tenants cover the cost of severance payments?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

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

Applications for registration marks under the Personalized Vehicle Registration Marks Scheme introduced by the Government were closed on 2 May this year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a)of the total number of applications received and, among them, the number of applications which did not meet the requirements and the reasons for that;

    (b)among the applications received, of the number of those whose combinations of marks include the names of persons or companies and the details of such combinations; and

    (c)whether the number of applications to reserve unassigned vehicle registration marks ("UVRMs") has reduced after the introduction of the above Scheme; and whether the Scheme has affected the revenue from the existing auctions of vehicle registration marks ("VRMs"), together with the respective numbers of applications for UVRMs and amounts of revenue from auctions of VRMs in the first four months of this year and in the same period last year?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

6. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)

It is learnt that the British Government attaches great importance to women's rights and interests and is determined to eradicate women's poverty, as demonstrated by its adoption of the recommendations made by the Women and Work Commission, which included the recruitment of low-skilled women to work in trades and industries with skill shortages and the provision of the relevant skill training for them, with some 10 000 women expected to benefit as a result. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a)of the current number of low-skilled women in the local labour force, with a breakdown by their age, district of residence and family income;

    (b)of the trades and industries currently experiencing skill shortages, the skills required for the relevant job vacancies, and the training needed for new recruits; whether it will consider following the above practices in Britain; if not, of the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether the Women's Commission has conducted studies on improving the employment situation for low-skilled women and made recommendations in this regard; if it has not, how the Administration will look into this subject in conjunction with the Commission, so that the Commission can fulfil its role as a central mechanism to promote women's rights and interests?
Public Officers to reply :Secretary for Economic Development and Labour
Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

Some persons with disabilities have told me that the access facilities provided at the entrances and exits of Mass Transit Railway ("MTR") stations are not convenient for wheelchair-bound persons. Some pregnant, infirm or disabled persons who are not wheelchair-bounded have also told me that there is often inconvenience and even danger to them in entering and leaving MTR stations as there are inadequate access facilities for them. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a)whether it knows the measures adopted by the MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL") to help pregnant, infirm or disabled persons who are not wheelchair-bounded and ensure their safety in entering and leaving the stations; and

    (b)as some MTR stations have not yet been installed with lifts that link up the station premises with the walkways outside, whether the authorities have urged MTRCL to install such facilities to facilitate wheelchair-bounded persons and others in need to enter and leave the stations; if they have, of the details, and whether MTRCL has any plan in this regard; if it has such plan, of the details and timetable; if it has not, whether the authorities plan to set up a committee to study and follow up the issues relating to the improvement of access facilities of the MTR system, with a view to facilitating the infirm and others in need to enter and leave the stations?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

*8. Hon CHEUNG Man-kwong to ask: (Translation)

Regarding higher education, will the Government inform this Council of the following from the 2000/2001 academic year to the present:

    (a)the numbers of places in the following categories provided respectively by institutions funded by the University Grants Committee, the Vocational Training Council and other higher education institutions:

    (i)degree-level programmes;

    (ii)sub-degree programmes, with a breakdown by those at associate degree, higher diploma, professional diploma, diploma and below levels, as well as their respective percentages;

    (iii)two-year and three-year programmes below the degree level, as well as the ratio between these two categories; and

    (iv)programmes at pre-associate degree level (including foundation diploma courses), as well as the ratio between the numbers of places at this level and those at associate degree level, as well as the changes in such numbers each year;

    (b)the respective numbers of entrants who were Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination certificate holders, Project Yi Jin graduates, secondary five school-leavers, or mature students, admitted to each of the above category of programmes each year and their respective percentages; and

    (c)the respective annual numbers of secondary five and secondary seven school-leavers who left Hong Kong for further studies?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

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

Regarding child and juvenile delinquency in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a)of the respective numbers of juveniles aged between 10 and 14 who were arrested, prosecuted and convicted since 2002, together with a breakdown by their age (in five age groups) and the category of offences allegedly committed by them;

    (b)of the details of the additional support services provided by the authorities to enable the rehabilitation of unruly children below the age of 10 after the minimum age of criminal liability has been raised to 10; and

    (c)whether the authorities plan to raise the minimum age of criminal liability to 12 or 14 years of age; if they have, of the details and the timetable of the plan; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

It has been reported that earlier a wheelchair-bound person went to a restaurant in a shopping arcade to have meal there. Three tables of the restaurant were near its entrance and were accessible without going up or down the stairs, while the other tables were located either on a platform or at the basement. As the three tables had been taken by other customers at the time, the family members of the wheelchair-bound person suggested seating the person with the wheelchair at other tables. However, the manager of the restaurant did not accept the suggestion on the ground that damage to the marble riser had to be avoided. The wheelchair-bound person and his family members therefore had to wait for one of the three tables. On the other hand, in answering media enquiries about the incident, the Buildings Department ("BD") said that the platform was suspected to be an illegal structure. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a)of the number of shops (including restaurants) inspected by BD in the past 10 years to ensure that there were no illegal structures obstructing access by the disabled, and the number of inspected shops which have been prosecuted by BD; and

    (b)whether the existing legislation have provisions forbidding shops (including restaurants) after occupation from making unauthorized alterations to their facilities in order to ensure that the disabled can have access to the shops?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

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

In recent years, many health maintenance companies are selling medical discount cards over the telephone, claiming that medical practitioners in various districts of the territory have participated in the relevant schemes, and that by paying just a few hundred dollars, the subscribers will enjoy free body check and medical consultations at designated clinics at low charges. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a)whether it knows the number of health maintenance companies now offering medical discount cards, and the total number of such subscribers;

    (b)of the means by which the public can verify the claims made by these companies or lodge complaints;

    (c)of the measures to monitor the sale of medical discount cards and the operation of the relevant schemes; and

    (d)whether it will step up consumer education in this regard?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

*12. Hon Abraham SHEK to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that up to January this year, the number of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance ("CSSA") fraud cases in the 2005-06 fiscal year substantially increased by almost 20% as compared to the figure in the same period of last year, and the amount involved was $40 million. The Social Welfare Department ("SWD") has indicated that the increase in the number of cases is mainly attributable to the public's initiative in reporting fraud cases and the Government's enhanced publicity efforts. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a)among the 3 800-odd CSSA fraud cases handled by the authorities last year, of the respective numbers of cases disclosed through reporting by the public and cross-checking by SWD;

    (b)as persons defrauding CSSA payments can be identified by SWD, upon receipt of reports of fraud cases, through data matching with other government departments and public organizations (such as the Land Registry, Companies Registry, Transport Department and Hospital Authority, etc), whether SWD will consider incorporating the data-matching mechanism into its cross-checking exercise on CSSA applicants, so as to reduce the number of fraud cases; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether it has assessed if SWD's manpower and experience are inadequate for investigating CSSA fraud cases, hence necessitating the secondment of police officers from the Commercial Crime Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force to SWD to assist in its investigation work, as well as the appointment of four retired police officers as fraud investigation advisers this year; if it has, of the assessment results; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

In view of the ageing of buildings in Hong Kong, the Government plans to implement the Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme to require owners of private buildings aged 30 years or above to engage qualified inspectors to inspect their buildings every seven years and to undertake the necessary repair works specified by the inspectors. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a)of the annual number of jobs expected to be created upon the implementation of the Scheme; and

    (b)whether it has assessed if the unemployed construction workers can benefit from the implementation of the Scheme, and whether it will provide subsidy for those construction workers who intend to engage in building maintenance work to take retraining courses?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

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

At present, members of the public can settle at post offices bills issued by some of the public utility companies and government departments. It is learnt that when the due dates of such bills are approaching, in particular when the due dates of various bills are rather close to one another, and at certain small post offices, people need to wait for a long time to have their bills settled. In this regard, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a)of the number of bills handled by Hongkong Post each month and the annual gross profits derived from bill payment services in the past three years;

    (b)of the respective current numbers of counter staff responsible for bill payment services and other services in each post office;

    (c)whether it has conducted any survey on the longest waiting time acceptable to members of the public when they pay their bills and, based on the findings, review the appropriateness of the relevant service pledges (i.e. to serve 98% of customers within 25 and 10 minutes during peak hours/periods and other hours respectively); if it has, of the findings of the survey and review; if not, whether it will conduct such a survey and review; and

    (d)of the measures Hongkong Post will adopt to reduce the waiting time for making payment, such as discussing with the public utility companies and government departments concerned the spreading out of the due dates of their regular bills and increasing the numbers of counters and staff providing such services?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

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

Will the Government inform this Council of:

    (a)the number of nurses, mode of appointment and number of nurse vacancies in the Department of Health ("DH"), as well as the number of new recruits in each of the past five years;

    (b)the existing manpower distribution of nurses of DH in its various service areas;

    (c)the details of nurses currently appointed by DH on contract terms and the relevant contract periods, and whether DH will consider recruiting nurses on permanent terms of appointment; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (d)the estimated nursing manpower required by DH in the coming three years?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

Regarding Non-Civil Service Contract ("NCSC") staff, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a)of the respective numbers of NCSC staff and civil servants, and provide a comparison of the remuneration and fringe benefits for NCSC staff with those for their civil servants, broken down by the groupings in the form appended below:

    Departments employing NCSC staff Grade Current number of NCSC staff Current number of civil servants Comparison of the average starting salaries and fringe benefits for NCSC staff with those for civil servants Comparison of the average salaries and fringe benefits for NCSC staff after five years of service with those for civil servants after five years of service
    Department A Grade 1



    Grade 2



    Department B Grade 1



    Grade 2




    (b)as the Civil Service Bureau is reviewing the situation of NCSC staff with the relevant departments, whether consultation meetings will be arranged for these staff or the representatives of their staff unions to reflect their views; if so, of the detailed arrangements for such consultation meetings; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Civil Service

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

An organisation placed an advertisement in the newspaper earlier on and claimed that some of its members possess the qualification of "homeopathy practitioner recognized in the United Kingdom". Another organisation also placed advertisements in local publications targeted at Filipinos, claiming that its medical professionals can provide treatment of skin diseases and beauty services. However, I have learnt that the persons mentioned in the above advertisements are not medical practitioners registered in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a)of the number of investigations conducted by the authorities in each of the past five years regarding suspected contravention of section 28 of the Medical Registration Ordinance in relation to "Unlawful use of title etc. and practice without registration" and, among the prosecutions instituted, the number of convictions and the penalties imposed;

    (b)whether it plans to amend the legislation to tighten control on the use of the title of "medical practitioner" by any persons to indicate or imply their possession of the relevant medical professional qualifications; and

    (c)whether it will launch publicity targeted at the general public or ethnic minorities, in order to prevent them from being misled by the information in advertisements involving improper use of the title of "medical practitioner" and seeking treatment from the persons concerned, thereby suffering from bodily injury?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

Recently, I have received complaints from members of the public that many metal cages were placed illegally in public places for collecting used clothes, posing a hazard to the environmental hygiene of the community. They have also pointed out that under the Land (Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance, the Lands Department can confiscate such cages three days after posting a notice for clearance of the cages concerned. However, the owners of the cages have usually moved them elsewhere before the Lands Department takes the clearance action. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a)of the number of complaints received in each of the past three years about the illegal placing of such cages, and the number of cages confiscated as well as their locations;

    (b)whether currently there are any measures to prevent an increasing number of metal cages being illegally placed in public places for collecting used clothes; if so, of the details of the measures; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether the Lands Department will consider enhancing its cooperation with the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department by arranging for the latter to confiscate cages illegally placed in public places for collecting used clothes; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

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

Will the Government inform this Council of the respective daily total amounts of various pollutants emitted by vehicles in Hong Kong at present, together with breakdowns by the emission standard to which these vehicles meet and the class of vehicle, as well as the respective percentages of such amounts against the relevant total amounts of pollutants emitted? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

Regarding the classification of articles under the Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance (Cap. 390) by the Obscene Articles Tribunal ("OAT"), will the Government inform this Council of:

    (a)the standards used by OAT for classification of articles, and whether these standards are based on the relevant international standards; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)the specific procedure currently adopted by OAT in classifying articles, and the measures in place to ensure that the composition of the OAT is broadly representative; and

    (c)the number of appeals to OAT against its classification in each of the past three years and, among such appeals, the number of those allowed?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology

*For written reply.

III. Bills

Second Reading (Debate to resume), Committee Stage and Third Reading

Chief Executive Election and Legislative Council Election (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2006 :Secretary for Constitutional Affairs

IV. Members' Motions

  1. Perfecting the framework of advisory and statutory bodies

    Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG: (Translation)

    That, whereas the Chief Executive has earlier on candidly admitted in a radio programme that there is a difference in the closeness of his relationship with the political parties of the Legislative Council and he would maintain a particularly good relationship with the parties that support the Government, and there have been queries that the Government practises favouritism towards pro-government people and parties in the appointment of members of advisory and statutory bodies (ASBs), given that ASBs serve as a framework for the Government to extensively solicit public opinions and as an important channel for public participation in politics for more equitable distribution of social resources, this Council urges the Government to adopt measures to perfect the framework of ASBs; such measures should include:

      (a)strictly adhering to the "six-six principle", whereby no member of an ASB shall serve on the ASB for more than six years or serve on more than six ASBs at any one time;

      (b)upholding the principle of selection on merit, inviting the major stakeholder groups concerned to nominate representatives to ASBs, and reducing the appointments to ASBs ad personam, so as to enable ASBs to have a more representative and diversified composition;

      (c)enhancing the transparency of ASBs by uploading onto the internet the agenda, minutes and relevant documents of all their meetings, and disclosing the information on the members of the ASBs as well as their public service, political background and attendance rates at ASB meetings, etc;

      (d)disclosing the procedure for appointing ASB members, including uploading onto the internet information on the vacancies in ASBs and the nominees, so as to facilitate members of the public in making nominations;

      (e)increasing the ratio of women on ASBs, and allowing more people of ethnic minorities and those with disabilities to service on ASBs, so that people from different walks of life have equal opportunities to participate in public affairs; and

      (f)introducing clear guidelines on the appointment of public officers, and actively studying the appointment of an independent commissioner to monitor the appointment of ASB members by the Government.

      Amendments to motion
      (i)Hon Howard YOUNG: (Translation)

      To delete "whereas" after "That," and substitute with "as"; to delete "and there have been queries" after "support the Government," and substitute with "which has led to public queries"; to delete "and as an important channel for public participation in politics for more equitable distribution of social resources" after "solicit public opinions"; to delete "upholding" after "(b)" and substitute with "adhering to"; to delete ", inviting the major stakeholder groups concerned to nominate representatives to ASBs, and reducing the appointments to ASBs ad personam" after "the principle of selection on merit" and substitute with "and, in inviting the major groups concerned to nominate persons to ASBs, at the same time disclosing information on the vacancies in ASBs; and strengthening the present self-nomination and nomination systems"; to delete "uploading onto the internet the agenda, minutes and relevant documents of all their meetings, and" after "transparency of ASBs by"; to add "to the public" before "the information on the members of the ASBs"; to add "and arranging post-meeting press briefings as far as practicable;" after "attendance rates at ASB meetings, etc;"; to delete "(d) disclosing the procedure for appointing ASB members, including uploading onto the internet information on the vacancies in ASBs and the nominees, so as to facilitate members of the public in making nominations;"; to delete the original "(e)" and substitute with "(d)"; to delete "equal" after "different walks of life have" and substitute with "adequate"; to delete the original "(f)" and substitute with "(e)"; and to delete "actively studying the appointment of an independent commissioner to monitor the appointment of ASB members by the Government" after "appointment of public officers, and" and substitute with "enhancing the support to new appointees so that they can commence work as soon as possible and contribute their expertise".

      (ii)Hon Frederick FUNG: (Translation)

      To add "without regard to closeness of relationship" after "the principle of selection on merit"; and to add "District Councils and other" after "inviting the".

      Amendment to Hon Frederick FUNG's amendment
      Hon Albert HO:       (Translation)

      To add "avoiding conflict of interests, consulting the Legislative Council (LegCo) before appointing chairmen of important statutory bodies, accepting LegCo's nomination of its Members to be members of important statutory bodies," after "without regard to closeness of relationship,".

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Home Affairs

  2. Strengthening the development of post-secondary education and upgrading the quality of sub-degree courses

    Hon CHEUNG Man-kwong: (Translation)

    That, although the Government has announced that it has exceeded the policy objective of providing tertiary education for 60% of senior secondary school leavers, a series of problems have arisen as a result of the substantial increase in the number of self-financing sub-degree places over the past five years, this Council considers that the Government should, apart from meeting the quantitative objective, also strengthen the development of post-secondary education and upgrade the quality of post-secondary courses; in this connection, this Council urges the Government to allocate more resources and adopt measures to address such problems as the varied quality of sub-degree courses, inequality under various student financial assistance schemes, and difficulties encountered by students in pursuing further studies and securing employment; such measures should include:

      (a)setting up a quality assurance mechanism to ensure the quality of sub-degree courses and recognition of the qualifications conferred;

      (b)facing up to the situation of over-supply of sub-degree places, and preventing vicious competition among institutions;

      (c)combining the Local Student Finance Scheme and the Financial Assistance Scheme for Post-secondary Students, so that all full-time students are treated equally and provided with the same level of assistance according to their financial needs;

      (d)providing appropriate facilities and student development services to post-secondary students, having regard to their education needs within and outside schools; as well as providing institutions with an option to extend their loan repayment period, so as to relieve their financial pressure and enable them to utilize most of the tuition received for teaching purpose; and

      (e)gradually increasing the number of degree places in keeping with the needs arising from social development and the academic structure reform, so as to allow outstanding graduates of sub-degree courses to pursue subsidized degree courses, thereby eliminating the bottleneck in pursuing further studies.

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Education and Manpower

Clerk to the Legislative Council