A 05/06-27

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 17 May 2006 at 11:00 am

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
1.Broadcasting (Revision of Licence Fees) Regulation 200698/2006
2.Fire Service (Installation Contractors) (Fee Revision) Regulation 200699/2006
3.Fire Services Department (Reports and Certificates) (Fee Revision) Regulation 2006100/2006
4.Dangerous Goods (General) (Fee Revision) Regulation 2006101/2006
5.Timber Stores (Fee Revision) Regulation 2006102/2006
6.Chief Executive Election and Legislative Council Election (Miscellaneous Amendments) Ordinance 2006 (Commencement) Notice103/2006

Other Papers

1.No.92-Securities and Futures Commission Annual Report 2005-06
(to be presented by Financial Secretary)

2.Report of the Bills Committee on Dentists Registration (Amendment) Bill 2005
(to be presented by Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki, Chairman of the Bills Committee)

II. Questions

1. Hon Albert HO to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Corridor will open shortly and, by then, the traffic flow of northwest New Territories will increase. On the other hand, as the daily traffic volume of Route 3 falls short of expectation, the Government is exploring with the operator of Route 3 the proposal to adjust its tolls downwards to attract more vehicles to Route 3. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a)apart from the traffic management measures and road projects which have been proposed by the authorities, whether there are other options for relieving the pressure brought by the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Corridor on the traffic of northwest New Territories;

    (b)of the progress of the discussion between the authorities and the operator of Route 3 on the proposal to adjust its tolls downwards; and

    (c)whether it will consider enacting legislation to allow the authorities to buy back Route 3 from its operator on grounds of significant public interests, at a price determined according to an independent and reasonable assessment by the Judiciary; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply :Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food
(in the absence of Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works)

2. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)

The relevant authorities of Hong Kong and the Mainland reached an agreement in August last year, which stipulates that only registered farms approved by the Mainland authorities concerned are allowed to export freshwater fish to Hong Kong, and that every consignment of fishery products must be accompanied with a health certificate issued by the Mainland authorities concerned certifying that the products do not contain malachite green or any other harmful substances. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

    (a)freshwater fish imported without the relevant health certificate may be sold legally in Hong Kong after being tested and confirmed as not containing harmful substances by the authorities concerned; if so, of the reasons;

    (b)it will consider introducing legislation to prohibit the import of such freshwater fish; if it will, of the legislation timetable, and what measures will be taken to prohibit the import of such freshwater fish before the legislative process is completed; and

    (c)triad members are involved in the import of such freshwater fish; if so, of the measures in place to combat these activities?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

3. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that, at a seminar held on the 27th of last month in Beijing, a Mainland member of the Committee for the Basic Law has remarked that the following six basic conditions have to be fulfilled before universal suffrage may be implemented in Hong Kong: (a) politically, there is consensus on universal suffrage among the various sectors of the community and such consensus is endorsed by the Central Authorities; (b) economically, the implementation of universal suffrage facilitates the development of a capitalist economy and guarantees the economy of Hong Kong against recession; (c) legally, laws have been enacted to implement Article 23 of the Basic Law and the laws on the development of political parties have been further perfected; (d) educationally, there is sufficient national education in Hong Kong; (e) in the sphere of political culture, instead of pursuing a culture that is simply confrontational in nature, the different sectors of Hong Kong seek to establish an active and constructive political culture; and (f) regarding the way of life, the various sectors of the community and the public have sufficient time to accept new way of life brought about by the implementation of universal suffrage e.g. a Chief Executive elected by universal suffrage will face greater pressure from public opinions and his ways of handling matters will change accordingly. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:

    (a)whether officials of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("HKSAR") Government attended the seminar mentioned above; if so, of the post titles and names of the officials concerned; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)whether the above six conditions are the consensus reached between the Central People's Government and the HKSAR Government on matters relating to universal suffrage; and

    (c)given that the Mainland authorities in charge of Hong Kong affairs are discussing issues on the implementation of universal suffrage in Hong Kong, whether the authorities in the HKSAR will initiate relevant discussions in Hong Kong; if so, of the forums for such discussions and their contents and directions; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional Affairs

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

With regard to Mainland tourists visiting Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a)of the respective numbers of Mainland tourists to Hong Kong during the Chinese New Year and May 1 "golden week" holidays this year and, among these tourists, the respective numbers of those who travelled individually and those who travelled in tour groups, as well as how such figures compare to those for the past two years;

    (b)how Hong Kong's hotel room prices during the above two festive periods compare to those for the corresponding periods last year, and whether it has assessed the correlation between hotel room prices and the number of tourists from the Mainland; and

    (c)of the numbers of complaints lodged by Mainland tourists received by the relevant authorities in each of the past two years and in the first four months of this year respectively, about being compelled by local tour guides to buy goods or dishonest marketing practices of shop operators, etc, together with a breakdown by the subject matter of the complaints, and whether the authorities concerned have any new measures to curb such practices?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

5. Hon CHEUNG Hok-ming to ask: (Translation)

Many land lots in northwest New Territories are being used as logistics back-up sites in recent years. On the other hand, some people of the logistics industry have complained to me that instead of injecting resources to assist in the development of the logistics industry, the Government has throttled it by regulating it through town planning. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a)of the names and locations of the supporting infrastructures (such as roads) built or improved by the authorities as well as the costs involved in each of the past four years;

    (b)of the locations and sizes of the land lots designated as "Open Storage" zones or areas in northwest New Territories in each of the past four years; the number of applications received by the authorities for changing the land uses of the land lots in northwest New Territories into "Open Storage", the sizes of the land lots involved as well as the reasons for the authorities' approving or rejecting these applications; and

    (c)whether it has assessed the impact of restricting open storage operations by means of planning on the economy and employment situation of Hong Kong; if so, of the assessment results; whether the authorities will consider re-formulating a policy on comprehensive land use planning for the land in northwest New Territories, so as to tie in with the commissioning of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Corridor, thereby promoting the long-term development of the logistics industry in Hong Kong; if so, whether the policy concerned will include a package of proposals to achieve a balance between the operations of the logistics back-up base and the impact of such operations on the environment?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

6. Hon Fred LI to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that, following the gas explosion at Wai King Building in Ngau Tau Kok last month, the Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited ("Towngas") has used Flame Ionization Detector ("FID") to inspect, throughout the territory, pipes of the same type as those involved in the explosion. In the inspections, gas leaks were detected in pipes at 51 locations, and corroded pipes were found at three of these locations. In addition, Towngas indicated that it would increase the frequency of inspecting its pipeline network from three to six times a year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:

    (a)the details of these 51 pipeline locations and the leakage problem;

    (b)the reasons for pipe corrosion at the above three locations, and whether the authorities will request Towngas to replace their gas pipes with stainless steel pipes in order to avoid the occurrence of accidents; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)the reasons for using FID by Towngas in its inspections, the differences between the current inspection exercise and those conducted previously, and the reasons for increasing the frequency of inspection?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

*7. Hon Mrs Sophie LEUNG to ask: (Translation)

Regarding sex education in schools, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a)whether the authorities will consider revising or updating the Guidelines on Sex Education in Schools published in 1997, to meet the development needs of young people nowadays;

    (b)as the above Guidelines are recommendations for reference only and not compulsory for schools to follow, of the current number of schools which have developed sex education programmes in accordance with the recommendations in the Guidelines; and

    (c)whether assessments are conducted regularly on sex education programmes in schools, if so, of the results of the latest assessment?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

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

Given that the number of bank branches has been decreasing in recent years, will the Government inform this Council whether:

    (a)it has studied the feasibility of banks providing deposit and withdrawal services in post offices and of the Hongkong Post ("HKP") running such services on its own, including the technical difficulties involved; if so, of the results of the study; if not, whether it will conduct such a study; and

    (b)the Social Welfare Department plans to provide recipients the option of collecting Comprehensive Social Security Assistance payments, disability allowance and old age allowance at post offices; if so, of the details of the plan; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

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

The Education and Manpower Bureau ("EMB") issued a circular to schools (Circular No. 4/2006) in March detailing the nine measures announced on 27 February this year to relieve teachers' workload. Four of such measures aimed at simplifying the administrative procedures, including further improvements to the arrangements for External School Review ("ESR") to be implemented in the 2006-07 school year. However, in a workshop on ESR held last month, in response to teachers' questions about the detailed arrangements for the measures, an officer from EMB stated that as ESR had commenced in the 2003-04 school year, for the sake of fairness, the ESR arrangements would neither be simplified nor changed. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a)of the concrete implementation arrangements, dates of implementation, resources involved and expected outcomes regarding the four measures to simplify the administrative procedures;

    (b)whether the above officer's statement represents the Government's position; if so, whether the statement contradicts the contents of the above circular, and if so, of the reasons for that; if the statement is not the Government's position, how the authorities will deal with the inconsistency between the statement and the Government's position; and

    (c)whether it plans to review the implementation and effectiveness of the nine measures in three years, so that teachers may better focus on teaching, thereby enhancing the quality of teaching?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

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

At a meeting of the 2005 Hong Kong Rehabilitation Programme Plan Review Working Group, an officer of the Transport Department pointed out that for "barrier-free taxis" accessible by wheelchairs to be introduced in Hong Kong, some technical difficulties had to be overcome, including the requirement that the type of taxis used should be fuelled by Liquefied Petroleum Gas ("LPG"), accessible by wheelchair and up to the safety standards for LPG filling. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a)of the progress in sourcing the suitable type of vehicles; if no progress has been made, of other concrete solutions; and

    (b)whether it has set a specific timetable for the introduction of barrier-free taxis; if so, of the details?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

Will the Government inform this Council:

    (a)of the respective numbers of schools, students and classes in each grade in respect of each type of secondary and primary schools (including government, aided, Direct Subsidy Scheme, private and international schools) in each of the school years from 2004-05 to 2010-11;

    (b)in respect of secondary and primary schools, of the respective current annual average costs per class and per student, and the respective numbers of standard classrooms which are in use and left vacant; and

    (c)whether it has estimated the following in each of the school years from 2006-07 to 2010-11:

    (i)the respective numbers of children who will be in the age groups for Primary One and Secondary One;

    (ii)the accumulated savings in public expenditure due to class reduction and school closure; and

    (iii)the additional public expenditure which will be incurred each year if small class teaching is implemented in all government and subsidized primary schools, and of how such amounts are worked out?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

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

Regarding the public transport services to and from North Lantau (including Tung Chung), will the Government inform this Council:

    (a)of the existing number of bus routes and the respective average frequencies of each route during peak hours and non-peak hours;

    (b)of the average daily patronage of the MTR Tung Chung Line and its respective average frequencies during peak hours and non-peak hours; and

    (c)whether, in view of the population growth in the area, the MTR Corporation Limited has plans to increase the train frequency of the Tung Chung Line in the near future; if not, of the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply :Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food
(in the absence of Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works)

*13. Hon Andrew CHENG to ask: (Translation)

The Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation ("KCRC") introduced two monthly ticket schemes, namely East Rail One-Month Pass and Ma On Shan Rail One-Month Pass, in April last year and January this year respectively. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a)of the average number of monthly tickets sold each month under each of the above schemes;

    (b)whether the patronage of the East Rail and Ma On Shan Rail has increased and the financial position of the two Rails has improved after the introduction of the monthly ticket schemes; if so, of the average increase per month in the patronage of the two Rails, as well as the details of improvements in their financial position; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether KCRC has conducted any passenger opinion surveys on the monthly ticket schemes, with a view to making improvements; if so, of the outcome of the surveys and the improvements made; if not, whether such surveys will be conducted?
Public Officer to reply :Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food
(in the absence of Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works)

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

It is learnt that wild monkeys often appear in rural areas, especially in the Kam Shan Country Park, and some monkeys even try to snatch the visitors' foods and attack them. As such situation is detrimental to the development of eco-tourism and green tourism, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a)of the estimated number of wild monkeys in Hong Kong at present and the locations where they mainly frequent;

    (b)of the number of complaints or reports received in the past three years by the departments concerned about nuisances or attacks by monkeys and the follow-up actions taken by the authorities; and

    (c)apart from prohibiting the feeding of monkeys in country parks, of the other measures in place to prevent over-proliferation of wild monkeys, confine their scope of activities and prevent them from harming human beings?
Public Officer to reply :Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food
(in the absence of Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works)

*15. Hon LI Kwok-ying to ask: (Translation)

Regarding a recent incident in which wrong medicines were allegedly dispensed to elderly residents at a residential care home for the elderly ("RCHE"), will the Government inform this Council:

    (a)of the progress of the investigation into this incident, and the follow-up actions to be taken;

    (b)whether the authorities received complaints about the wrong dispensation of medicines at RCHEs in the past year; if so, of the details;

    (c)whether prosecutions have been instituted in respect of the above complaints in the past year; if so, of the number and results of these prosecutions, and whether it will publish the names of the RCHEs prosecuted and the details of the wrong dispensation; and

    (d)of the measures to perfect the procedure for dispensing medicines at RCHEs and enhance their employees' awareness of medicine safety?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

It has been reported that the Government is currently conducting studies on the recycling of water which has been used for washing or flushing into "reclaimed water" after treatment by microfiltration or reverse osmosis. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a)although there is an international trend of using "reclaimed water" for industrial and agricultural purposes, the scale of Hong Kong's agricultural industry is not large and the majority of its industrial production facilities have been relocated to the Mainland, whether the authorities have assessed how "reclaimed water" should be used in Hong Kong; if so, of the assessment results;

    (b)of the measures to remove the public's psychological obstacles in using (or even consuming) "reclaimed water" in their daily lives, so that they will feel at ease in using "reclaimed water"; and

    (c)whether it has assessed if the local demand for Dongjiang water will be reduced as a result of the widespread use of "reclaimed water" in Hong Kong; if so, of the assessment results?
Public Officer to reply :Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food
(in the absence of Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works)

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

Will the Government inform this Council:

    (a)whether the Buildings Department and other relevant departments conducted inspections in various districts throughout the territory in the past five years to ascertain the numbers of abandoned signboards in these districts, understand their conditions and assess the risks they posed; if so, of the resources and manpower deployed by the authorities for such inspections, as well as the current numbers of abandoned signboards in various districts and the risks they pose; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)of the number of abandoned signboards removed by the authorities for the owners concerned in each of the past five years and the amount of public money involved, as well as the number of cases in which the removal costs were successfully recovered; and

    (c)of the existing measures to deal with the problem of abandoned signboards for protecting public safety and for avoiding the use of public money to remove abandoned signboards for the owners concerned, whether the authorities have assessed the adequacy and effectiveness of such measures, and whether they will consider introducing a signboard registration system to ensure that owners of signboards are responsible for removing their signboards?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

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

It has been reported that, due to the implementation of the voluntary retirement and voluntary departure schemes by the Hospital Authority ("HA") in recent years, coupled with the growing demand for nursing manpower in the private medical sector, the wastage rate of HA nurses has been on the rise. Nursing staff unions state that the problems of frontline nursing manpower shortage and succession gaps in nursing management personnel will emerge in public hospitals in the future. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:

    (a)the respective numbers of HA nursing staff who were promoted, newly recruited or who departed in the past five years, broken down by rank and hospital cluster;

    (b)the number of nursing management personnel reaching retirement age as anticipated by HA in each of the coming five years, broken down by rank and hospital cluster; and

    (c)whether HA will assess the projected wastage rate of nursing management personnel and train up its nursing staff to fill the vacancies concerned as soon as possible; if it will, of the details of the training programme and the implementation timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

I have recently received requests for assistance from several members of the public who allege that they have been in adverse possession of some land lots in the New Territories for several decades and their houses, properties, crops, etc. on these land lots were demolished or sabotaged recently by persons sent by those who claimed to be the land owners, and some disused village houses were also flattened. Their reports of the incidents to the Police seeking assistance were not entertained. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a)of the legislation and measures in place to protect private properties on private land;

    (b)how police officers should handle these cases for assistance under police internal guidelines;

    (c)of the number of request for assistance cases received by the Police concerning sabotage of properties on private land in each of the past three years, together with a breakdown of such cases by districts; and among them, the number of cases which were not entertained; the respective numbers of persons who were arrested and prosecuted for criminal damage, as well as the penalties imposed by the court on those convicted; and

    (d)whether the relevant authorities will review the existing legislation and the way the Police handle such cases, in order to effectively protect private properties on private land; if not, of the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

The Hong Kong Energy Efficiency Registration Scheme for Buildings, launched by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department ("EMSD") in 1998, stipulates the energy efficiency requirements of lighting, air conditioning, electrical, lift and escalator installations. A registration certificate will be issued to a building which meets such requirements. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a)of the number of registration certificates issued by EMSD in each of the past five years and the types of installation involved;

    (b)whether it will extend the scope of the above Scheme; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (c)whether it will further encourage public participation in the Scheme; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (d)whether installations used in newly-built government buildings have to meet the above energy efficiency requirements; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply :Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food
(in the absence of Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works)

*For written reply.

III. Bills

First Reading

Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel Bill

Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)

Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel Bill :Secretary for Security

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

Dentists Registration (Amendment) Bill 2005 :Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

IV. Motions

Proposed resolution under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance

Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food to move the following motion:

RESOLVED that the following Regulations, made by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board on 26 April 2006, be approved -

(a)the Pharmacy and Poisons (Amendment)(No. 2) Regulation 2006; and

(b)the Poisons List (Amendment)(No. 2) Regulation 2006.

(The two Regulations have been issued on 27 April 2006
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 516/05-06)

V. Members' Motions

  1. Supporting the conclusions and recommendations of the Public Accounts Committee on the development of a site at Sai Wan Ho

    Dr Hon Philip WONG: (Translation)

    That, as recently the community is widely concerned that the conclusions made by the Government-appointed Independent Committee of Inquiry on the Sai Wan Ho Development on Inland Lot No. 8955 in its report published on 9 May this year are not in total accord with those made by the Public Accounts Committee ("PAC") in its report laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 15 February this year regarding the development of a site at Sai Wan Ho, this Council reaffirms its support for the conclusions and recommendations of PAC and urges the Government to fully implement the recommendations of PAC.

    Public Officer to attend :Chief Secretary for Administration
    Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

  2. Financial assistance to patients of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and their families

    Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG: (Translation)

    That, in view of the ex-gratia nature and the anticipated shortfall of the Trust Fund for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ("the Trust Fund"), this Council urges the Government to implement the following measures to assist the patients of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ("SARS") and/or their families:

    (a)relaxing the Trust Fund's $500,000 ceiling on special ex-gratia financial assistance for each eligible recovered or "suspected" SARS patient;

    (b)extending the scope of the Trust Fund to cover also families of the deceased "suspected" SARS patients;

    (c)granting special ex-gratia relief payments to families with deceased elderly SARS patients irrespective of whether the affected families had been relying on the deceased for financial support; and

    (d)injecting additional funds into the Trust Fund.

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

  3. Review on Urban Renewal Strategy

    Hon Alan LEONG Kah-kit: (Translation)

    That, as the vision and direction of urban renewal set out in the Urban Renewal Strategy ("the Strategy") often deviate greatly from the ideal when they are put in practice, which not only seriously jeopardizes the interests of the affected residents and shop operators who are deeply dissatisfied and frustrated due to their being deprived of their rights to choose and their misery, and even impedes the efficacy of the Hong Kong community as a whole in dealing with the problem of urban ageing; and as the Urban Renewal Authority ("URA") gives people the impression of focusing solely on commercial interests when launching redevelopment projects and also fails to observe the principles set out in the Strategy, such as the "people-centred" approach, this Council urges the Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands to face up to the deficiencies and shortcomings of the existing Strategy, to immediately discharge his statutory duty to review the Strategy which has been in force for five years, after conducting public consultation, and to create conditions for URA to play the role of a more forward-looking pioneer to more effectively address the problem of urban ageing; the issues to which special attention should be paid in conducting the review should include:

    (a)devising a comprehensive urban regeneration strategy, and adopting a more flexible and creative mindset that could better meet the needs of the local community, in order to replace the existing strategy which is led under a demolition and redevelopment mode;

    (b)implementing a community planning regime whereby relevant professionals are encouraged to participate in the early stage of consultation to help consolidate the views of different sectors on urban regeneration, so as to enable the relevant parties to participate effectively and truly implement universal planning through a bottom-up approach; and striving to retain the cultural and economic activities which have local characteristics, with a view to preserving the original planning layout, social network and living style in the local communities;

    (c)not adopting a separatist attitude when devising updated blueprints and formulating reform strategies for local communities, but rather promoting coordination among the communities and making concerted efforts together with neighbouring communities in pursuing overall developments, so as to achieve the best synergy;

    (d)elevating to the cross-bureaux level the planning and decision-making in urban regeneration; removing unnecessary bureaucratic restrictions so that different departments can all take part in planning new communities, thereby more effectively addressing the economic, social and cultural problems caused by changes in the local communities; and strengthening social impact assessments to fully reflect the implications of the projects on different groups in the local communities;

    (e)reviewing the legislation such as that which relates to buildings and town planning, etc, in order to better tie in with the different needs of the urban regeneration projects; and providing adequate choices for the affected residents; and

    (f)adopting more flexible financing and loan options to more effectively assist residents and shop operators in improving the community environment; and preventing URA from operating on a purely commercial model or even reducing itself to becoming a statutory real estate developer.

    Amendments to motion
    (i)Hon CHEUNG Hok-ming: (Translation)

    To delete "greatly" after "often deviate"; to delete "ideal" before "when they are put in practice" and substitute with "expectation of the affected residents and shop operators"; to delete "which not only seriously jeopardizes the interests of the affected residents and shop operators who are deeply dissatisfied and frustrated due to their being deprived of their rights to choose and their misery, and even impedes" after "put in practice," and substitute with "causing many social conflicts, thereby impeding"; to delete "; and as the Urban Renewal Authority ('URA') gives people the impression of focusing solely on commercial interests when launching redevelopment projects and also fails to observe the principles set out in the Strategy, such as the 'people-centred' approach" after "urban ageing", to delete "to face up to the deficiencies and shortcomings of the existing Strategy, to immediately discharge his statutory duty" after "Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands"; to delete "after conducting public consultation," after "five years,"; to delete "URA" after "create conditions for" and substitute with "the Urban Renewal Authority"; to delete "replace the existing strategy which is led under a demolition and redevelopment mode" after "meet the needs of the local community, in order to" and substitute with "take forward fully the four major directions of urban regeneration, namely redevelopment, rehabilitation, preservation and revitalization"; to add ", on the premise of giving due consideration to social needs and the residents' interests," after "bottom-up approach; and"; to delete "elevating to the cross-bureaux level the planning and decision-making in urban regeneration;" after "(d)"; to delete "so that different departments can all take part in planning new communities" after "bureaucratic restrictions" and substitute with "when implementing urban regeneration programmes, and enhancing communication among various departments to take in different views"; to add "and policies" after "reviewing the legislation"; to delete "that which relates" before "to buildings" and substitute with "those which relate"; to delete "and" after "to buildings" and substitute with ","; to add "and land resumption" after "town planning"; to delete "and" after "affected residents;"; and to delete "; and preventing URA from operating on a purely commercial model or even reducing itself to becoming a statutory real estate develop" after "improving the community environment" and substitute with "; and (g) actively preserving buildings of historical and cultural significance and ensuring the protection for old and valuable trees when implementing urban regeneration programmes".

    (ii)Hon Frederick FUNG: (Translation)

    To add "; furthermore, URA did not duly consult the district councils concerned when it planned and implemented the urban regeneration projects whereas the existing compensation mechanism for redevelopment fails to give the affected residents adequate protection" after " 'people-centred' approach"; to add "(b) on the premise of safeguarding the interests of residents in old districts as well as protecting buildings of historical value and cultural features, expediting by URA the demolition of buildings which are too dilapidated for rehabilitation so as to protect the personal safety and improve the living quality of the residents; (c) honouring by URA its undertakings to complete the unfinished redevelopment projects of the Land Development Corporation as soon as possible;" after "under a demolition and redevelopment mode;"; to delete the original "(b)" and substitute with "(d)"; to add "the statutory involvement of district councils is specified and" after "implementing a community planning regime whereby"; to add "to join hands" after "in the early stage of consultation"; to delete the original "(c)" and substitute with "(e)"; to delete the original "(d)" and substitute with "(f)"; to add "(g) comprehensively reviewing the existing compensation mechanism for redevelopment, such as the enforcing and approving details etc, and duly consulting the affected residents for making relevant improvements, so as to plug the loopholes in the existing mechanism;" after "different groups in the local communities;"; to delete the original "(e)" and substitute with "(h)"; and to delete the original "(f)" and substitute with "(i)".

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

    To add "antiquities and monuments" after "which relates to buildings, town planning,"; to add "reserving space for sustainable development of the communities" after "etc,"; and to add "; and prior to amending legislation, adopting special measures to save those communities with cultural features from demolition" after "adequate choices for the affected residents".

    (iv)Hon James TO: (Translation)

    To add "; and this Council considers that the substance of the above review should not affect the entitlement of the residents of the properties which are being purchased in respect of reasonable rehousing, which is aimed at in-situ rehousing as far as possible, and reasonable compensation, i.e. the amount payable to an owner-occupier should be no less than the value of a seven-year-old notional flat in the same locality, as stipulated in the law" after "a statutory real estate developer".

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

Clerk to the Legislative Council