A 05/06-29

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 24 May 2006 at 11:00 am

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
1.Security and Guarding Services (Fees) (Amendment) Regulation 2006104/2006
2.Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants (Exemption for Appendix I Species) Order105/2006
3.Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants (Exemption for Appendices II and III Species) Order106/2006
4.Deposit Protection Scheme Ordinance (Amendment of Schedules 1 and 4) Notice 2006107/2006
5.Deposit Protection Scheme (Representation on Scheme Membership and Protection of Financial Products under Scheme) Rules108/2006
6.Deposit Protection Scheme (Payment of Contributions, Late Payment Fees and Rebates) Rules109/2006
7.Deposit Protection Scheme Ordinance (Commencement) Notice 2006110/2006
8.Air Pollution Control (Vehicle Design Standards) (Emission) (Amendment) Regulation 2006111/2006
9.Electoral Affairs Commission (Registration) (Electors for Legislative Council Functional Constituencies) (Voters for Election Committee Subsectors) (Members of Election Committee) (Amendment) Regulation 2006112/2006
10.Electoral Affairs Commission (Nominations Advisory Committees (Election Committee)) (Amendment) Regulation 2006113/2006
11.Electoral Affairs Commission (Electoral Procedure) (Election Committee) (Amendment) Regulation 2006114/2006
12.Airport Authority Ordinance (Map of Restricted Area) Order115/2006
13.Registration of Persons (Invalidation of Identity Cards) Order 2006116/2006
14.Securities and Futures (Financial Resources) (Amendment) Rules 2006117/2006
15.Securities and Futures (Client Securities) (Amendment) Rules 2006118/2006
16.Securities and Futures (Contract Notes, Statements of Account and Receipts) (Amendment) Rules 2006119/2006
17.Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Loadshifting Machinery) Regulation (Commencement) Notice 2006120/2006


Other Paper

Report of the Bills Committee on Construction Industry Council (No. 2) Bill
(to be presented by Hon KWONG Chi-kin, Chairman of the Bills Committee)

II. Questions

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

At the end of last month, the Financial Secretary appointed three persons to the Board of Directors of the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited ("HKEx"). One of them, who was also a non-executive director ("NED") of eight listed companies, was subsequently appointed Chairman by the Board, and the appointment has been approved by the Chief Executive ("CE"). About the prevention of conflict of interest of HKEx Board members, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it will ask the proposed candidates about their offices in other listed companies and the relevant details before appointing them to the Board of HKEx; and whether it has ever asked such candidates to resign from their offices in the listed companies concerned first in order to avoid conflict of interest;

    (b)whether CE had, before approving the appointment of the incumbent Chairman of HKEx, considered the fact that he was a NED of eight listed companies; if this fact had been considered, why he still approved the appointment; if not, of the reasons; and

    (c)whether it has assessed if there is any conflict of identity or interest in the situation that a person is concurrently a member of the Board of HKEx, which has the functions to regulate listed companies, and a NED of listed companies; and of the provisions under the existing legislation, Listing Rules and HKEx's Memorandum and Articles of Association which ensure that members of the Board of HKEx shall avoid conflict of interest and exercise due impartiality when dealing with matters involving the listed companies of which they are NEDs?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

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

Some medical practitioners have reflected to me that local drug importers or wholesalers can reap more profits by selling cough medicine containing Codeine to pharmacies than selling it to doctors. These importers or wholesalers often propose unreasonable conditions and high prices on this ground when negotiating on the sale of the drugs concerned with family doctors. Besides, the number of reported abusers of cough medicine containing Codeine was on the rise in the past five years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the authorities have investigated if such practice of drug importers or manufacturers has caused the continuous rise in the number of abusers of cough medicine containing Codeine; if they have, of the investigation results and the follow-up actions taken by the authorities; and whether they will consider amending the law to require importers or manufacturers to report to the Department of Health ("DH") information on the business units or institutions to which the relevant drugs are sold, and to empower DH to step up the monitoring of and follow-up to the sale of drugs in Hong Kong;

    (b)of the numbers of test-purchases conducted and prosecutions instituted against the sale of cough medicine containing Codeine in each of the past five years; and whether it has assessed if test-purchases and prosecutions can effectively prevent cough medicine abuse; if it has, of the assessment results, and whether more measures will be adopted to prevent such abuse; and

    (c)of the measures to ensure that family doctors can obtain adequate cough medicine for prescription to patients in need of it?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

3. Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)

The "Design Manual: Barrier Free Access" ("Design Manual") promulgated by the Government in 1997 sets out the requirements for the design of access in buildings to cater for the needs of people with disabilities. The Design Manual is being revised by the Government now and will be finalised after public consultation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective numbers of the buildings currently providing government and public services, and those of the Housing Society ("HS") or the Housing Authority ("HA"), that fully meet the existing requirements and recommendations of the Design Manual, as well as the respective percentages of these two figures in the total number of buildings of their category;

    (b)as the Buildings Department has, after inspecting 66 large-scale shopping arcades or commercial buildings, found irregularities in some of the facilities designated for use by the disabled in these buildings, and issued 66 advisory letters over the past ten years, of the estimated time required by the authorities to complete inspection of all shopping arcades or commercial buildings in Hong Kong to ascertain whether the access and facilities in those places are barrier-free, and the concrete plans to strengthen the monitoring and prosecution of shopping arcades and commercial buildings that fail to meet the requirements; and

    (c)of the concrete plans and implementation timetable to re-assess, on the basis of the requirements stipulated in the revised Design Manual, the buildings currently providing government and public services, as well as buildings, large-scale shopping arcades and commercial buildings of HS or HA, to ensure that they meet the relevant requirements?
Public Officers to reply:Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food
Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

4. Hon Audrey EU to ask: (Translation)

The disciplinary proceedings surrounding the Harbour Fest case conducted by the Civil Service Bureau ("CSB") earlier on have been completed. The government officer concerned appealed in October last year to the Chief Executive ("CE") against the outcome of the proceedings. It has been reported that there is no requirement regarding the time limit for CE to deal with the relevant appeals, and the average time taken in the past was three to four months. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the commencement and completion dates of the above disciplinary proceedings, and the number of hearings conducted;

    (b)of the numbers of cases in which disciplinary proceedings were instituted by CSB and those in which appeals were made to CE by the government officers concerned, and the time taken for CE to process such appeals in each of the past three years; and

    (c)whether it has considered establishing a mechanism to provide for a reasonable time limit for CE to deal with the appeals lodged by government officers against the outcome of disciplinary proceedings; if it has, of the details of the mechanism; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for the Civil Service

5. Hon LAU Wong-fat to ask: (Translation)

Despite police operations against drink driving from time to time, traffic accidents involving drink driving and causing casualties often take place at night and in the early hours. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the number of traffic accidents involving drink driving in each of the past three years; and

    (b)the measures taken and to be taken by the government department(s) concerned to combat drink driving?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

6. Hon CHAN Kam-lam to ask: (Translation)

It is learnt that with favourable conditions such as the extension of the Individual Visit Scheme to six more Mainland cities and the opening of the Hong Kong Disneyland, the number of Mainland visitors coming to Hong Kong during the last Labour Day Golden Week saw a 6% increase over that of last year. The increase, however, fell slightly short of expectation, and was lower than the 9% increase for Macau. The number of Mainland visitors joining package tours even decreased by nearly 20% over the same period last year. The Hong Kong Tourism Board ("HKTB") attributed the cause to unstable weather, Mainland students taking their mid-term examinations and change in travelling habits by Mainlanders etc. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it has assessed the factors, other than those listed by HKTB, which resulted in just a slight increase in the number of Mainland visitors coming to Hong Kong during the Labour Day Golden Week amidst the favourable conditions; and

    (b)how it will promote tourism?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

*7. Hon Tommy CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)

It is learnt that some of the new markets of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department ("FEHD") and markets in some public housing estates have no live poultry retail stalls. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the markets of FEHD and markets in public housing estates which have no live poultry retail stalls as well as their locations, and whether such stalls have never been set up in these markets;

    (b)whether it plans to set up live poultry stalls with facilities to segregate humans from chickens in the new markets of FEHD and those in public housing estates, and put them up for bidding by live poultry stall operators; if so, of the number of such stalls and their locations; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether it plans to relocate some live poultry stalls to markets which have no such stalls, so as to avoid such stalls being too densely located; if not, of the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

The Greening Master Plan Committee under the Steering Committee on Greening mapped out the Greening Master Plan for Tsim Sha Tsui ("GMP") last year, and the Finance Committee of this Council has also approved the funding for implementing the proposed green projects under GMP. On the other hand, the consultancy studies on "Area Improvement Study for Tsim Sha Tsui" ("AIS/TST") and "Area Improvement Plan for the Shopping Areas for Mong Kok" ("AIP/SAMK") commissioned by relevant authorities were launched in January 2004 and February 2006 respectively. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the overlapping areas between the AIS/TST and GMP in respect of tree planting programmes and other aspects;

    (b)as the green projects under GMP include the planting of trees on both sides and in the middle of Nathan Road, while the AIS/TST involves the development of pedestrian areas and other green projects in Tsim Sha Tsui district, of the mutual implications between the two plans consequentially, coordination among the authorities concerned, and whether needs to relocate trees and green belts under GMP are envisaged upon the implementation of the proposals in the AIS/TST;

    (c)whether the authorities concerned have requested the consultancy firms commissioned to conduct studies on the AIS/TST and AIP/SAMK to refer to GMP; if they have, of the details; and how these consultancy firms come into step with the Steering Committee on Greening; and

    (d)as GMP, AIS/TST and AIP/SAMK involve conducting environmental improvement works in similar areas, whether the authorities concerned have considered merging these studies for better coordination and lower consultancy fees; if they have, of the reasons for not merging the studies; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

*9. Dr Hon YEUNG Sum to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the implementation of the measures proposed by the Government in mid-2001 to enhance the role and functions of District Councils ("DCs"), the Government replied to a Member's question at the Council meeting on 26 April 2006. Regarding the reply, will the Government provide this Council with the following supplementary information:
    (a)as the authorities are studying and following up the 195 suggestions put forward by DCs in the past three years regarding district leisure and cultural facilities and services, of the details of such suggestions, broken down by DCs and the following categories:
    (i)construction of new leisure facilities;
    (ii)improvements to existing facilities;
    (iii)construction of new libraries or expansion of existing libraries, and provision of more mobile library service points;
    (iv)extension of the opening hours of libraries and mobile libraries;
    (v)expansion of library services;
    (vi)construction of new civic centres; and
    (vii)miscellaneous, for example, provision of carparks;

    (b)regarding the suggestions put forward by DCs in the past three years about district municipal facilities and services, of the details of the 13 suggestions that will be reviewed from time to time and the 11 that have not been accepted, broken down by DCs and the following categories:
    (i)construction of new public toilets or improvements to the facilities of existing toilets/aqua privy;
    (ii)installation of air-conditioning systems in markets/hawker bazaar;
    (iii)relocation of hawkers to fixed pitches with no restricted trading hours;
    (iv)allowing on-street hawkers to choose whether to move into a newly completed market;
    (v)construction or relocation of refuse collection points, dog latrine or central animal carcass collection point;
    (vi)construction of new or temporary markets, improvements to the electricity supply of existing markets or retention of the existing rental scheme; and
    (vii)disposal of home renovation waste; and

    (c)of the numbers of meetings with DC members by each Director of Bureau and Head of Government Department since the commencement of the current DC term, with indication for DC meetings among such meetings?
Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Education and Manpower
(in the absence of Secretary for Home Affairs)

*10. Hon MA Lik to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that a recorder of the Court of First Instance of the High Court and a deputy District Judge have joined a local political party as founding members. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
    (a)whether the rule in the existing Guide to Judicial Conduct that judges should refrain from membership in or association with political organizations is applicable to part-time judges; if so, how the Judiciary will deal with those judges who fail to comply; if not, of the reasons for that;

    (b)whether the appointment letters currently issued respectively to full-time and part-time judges have stipulations on judges joining political organizations and engaging in political activities; if so, of the details;

    (c)of the current channels through which the public and court users can know whether individual judges are members of or associated with political organizations; and

    (d)whether the Judiciary will, before appointing any person to be a judge, require him to make a statement pledging that he will refrain from membership in or association with political organizations while in service?
Public Officer to reply: Chief Secretary for Administration

*11. Hon Fred LI to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the total number of vegetable samples taken in the past year by the Vegetable Marketing Organization ("VMO") for testing to ascertain whether their levels of pesticide residues fail to comply with the local requirements or whether they contain any prohibited pesticides, as well as the respective numbers of vegetable samples taken by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department ("FEHD") from local farms, supermarkets, public markets, Man Kam To and other places for the purpose of conducting such tests;

    (b)of the respective vegetable samples taken in the past year by FEHD and VMO for conducting the above tests, and the vegetable samples which were detected to contain levels of pesticide residues not complying with the local requirements as well as the degree of non-compliance;

    (c)whether FEHD and VMO detected any vegetable samples containing prohibited pesticides in the past year; if so, of the number of samples, types of vegetables and the names of the prohibited pesticides involved;

    (d)whether FEHD and VMO have issued guidelines and codes of practice concerning the inspection of vegetables (e.g. which types of vegetables should be particularly targeted in a particular season, and the points to note when taking samples, etc); if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (e)as the authorities have urged supermarkets to improve the system for tracking and tracing the source of their vegetables and other farm produce, and will explore the feasibility of instituting a voluntary registration system for farmers engaged in commercial production of food produce and will consult the public on this matter, whether FEHD, VMO and the Customs and Excise Department have taken other measures to strengthen the control of the quality of vegetables; if so, of the details of such measures and whether they are temporary or long-term measures?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

It has been reported that the hospitals in the New Territories East Cluster have recently implemented a new policy whereby only half of the normal amount is dispensed in the prescription of the medicines "to be taken if needed". In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
    (a)when the policy began to be implemented, and whether the organizations concerned have been consulted before its implementation;

    (b)whether the hospitals in the New Territories East Cluster are currently implementing the policy, and whether the scope of the policy will be extended to other hospital clusters in the future; if so, of the implementation timetable; and

    (c)the rationale for dispensing only half of the normal amount in the prescription of the medicines "to be taken if needed", and whether it has assessed the impact of the policy on the conditions of the patients taking such medicines?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

It has been reported that the Government is actively conducting studies on the electronic road pricing ("ERP") scheme, with a view to resolving the traffic congestion problem in Central District, Wan Chai and Causeway Bay areas. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)as I learnt that studies on the above scheme started a few years ago and the scheme was subsequently abandoned due to the lack of adequate alternative roads, why the authorities are actively studying the scheme now;

    (b)as the authorities have already formulated plans (such as the provision of Central-Wan Chai Bypass) to improve the traffic congestion problem in Central District, etc, whether they have assessed if there is any need for the ERP scheme; if so, of the assessment results; and

    (c)whether it has assessed if the ERP scheme, while achieving relief in the scheme areas, will lead to an increase in the traffic flows in other areas, thereby causing the traffic conditions in those areas to deteriorate?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

Regarding education for non-Chinese speaking ("NCS") students, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
    (a)as the authorities have indicated that the three secondary schools which conventionally admit a larger number of NCS students have already put in place school-based curricula to assist their students in attaining the qualification of General Certificate of Secondary Education (Chinese), of the details of these curricula;

    (b)as the authorities have indicated that they will identify one or two schools in each of the five electoral constituencies to offer better support for NCS students, of the details of the work to identify such schools; and

    (c)of the details of the vocational training programmes in English offered by the authorities to NCS students?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Education and Manpower

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

Regarding private cars of Hong Kong crossing the boundary, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows if the number of private cars of Hong Kong which were granted boundary-crossing licences has increased over the past three years;

    (b)given that the Guangdong authorities have stipulated that Hong Kong businessmen have to make an industrial/commercial investment of over US$1 million in non-mountainous regions of the Guangdong Province before they may apply for a private car boundary-crossing licence, whether it will negotiate with the Guangdong authorities to relax this requirement; if not, of the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether simplified arrangements will be provided for private cars of Hong Kong with boundary-crossing licences to cross the boundary?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

The Government commenced the School-based After-school Learning and Support ("SALS") Programmes in the summer last year to provide cash grant to schools on application and non-governmental organizations ("NGOs") which work in partnership with schools to run the programmes. The mode of implementation of the programmes will be revised in the next school year to include community-based projects in addition to the current school-based subsidy. The Government will set aside $25 million from the recurrent provision of $75 million for the purpose of organizing community-based projects, with the remaining provision going to school-based subsidy, and the maximum subsidy per eligible student per annum, which is set for the purpose of calculating the amount of school-based subsidy, will be substantially reduced from $3,600 in this school year to $200 in next school year. Moreover, although the target group of the SALS Programmes is primary one to secondary seven students from families in receipt of the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance ("CSSA") and full-grant assistance under the Student Financial Assistance Scheme ("SFAS"), schools are also given the discretion to offer not more than 10% of the places reserved for the target students to those needy but not receiving CSSA or SFAS full grant. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the percentage of the schools and NGOs whose applications have been successful in the total number of applications since the commencement of the SALS Programmes, and the reasons for not approving the applications by those unsuccessful applicants, as well as the contents and forms of the after-school activities which have been subsidized;

    (b)how to assess the effectiveness of the SALS Programmes, and whether it will consider arranging regular meetings with school principals, teachers, persons in charge of NGOs, social workers and parents to seek their views on the programmes; if not, the reasons for that;

    (c)how to determine the provision of $25 million for community-based projects; of the estimated respective maximum amounts of grant for various districts, the maximum amount of grant which can be applied for each activity and the annual maximum subsidy per eligible student; how the priorities for the programmes proposed in various districts will be determined; whether restrictions will be imposed on the types of community-based support programmes, and whether they will consider providing additional amount of funding to NGOs for recruiting personnel to run community-based projects;

    (d)of the reasons for the authorities' substantial reduction of the maximum subsidy per eligible student per annum, the estimated number of students who will receive school-based subsidy in the next school year, and whether they have assessed the impact of the subsidy reduction on both schools and students; and

    (e)why the authorities have capped the above number of places under the SALS Programmes, which schools have discretion to offer, at not more than 10% of the places reserved for the target students of the programmes, and whether they have assessed the impact of such a cap on both schools and students?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Education and Manpower

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

In May 2004, I raised a question in this Council regarding the issue that most of the bus trips to and from Tin Shui Wai were not serviced by wheelchair-accessible buses with low platforms. It is learnt that currently most of these trips are still not serviced by low-platform buses, and wheelchair users often have to wait for more than 30 minutes for such buses. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective numbers of low-platform buses added to the fleets of various franchised bus companies since May 2004 and the respective rates of increase;

    (b)of the daily number of trips run by low-platform buses to and from Tin Shui Wai, and the percentage of such trips in the total number of relevant bus trips; how such figures compare with those in May 2004; and

    (c)whether it will consider including a clause in the future franchise agreements with the franchised bus companies, requiring them to retrofit in all in-service non-low-platform buses facilities which facilitate boarding and alighting of wheel-chaired passengers; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

Regarding fire safety measures in public housing estates and private buildings, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of cases received or discovered by the authorities last year concerning poor maintenance or malfunction of fire service equipment and obstruction of fire escapes in public housing estates and private buildings;

    (b)of the present position of the authorities' work in promoting fire prevention in public housing estates and private building over the territory, the fire safety measures implemented and their effectiveness; of the numbers of fire escape inspections, tests on fire service equipment and fire drills conducted by the authorities for public housing estates and private buildings in each of the past three years; and whether the authorities reviewed, in the past year, their fire safety work to see if there are loopholes; if they did, of the details and findings of the review; and

    (c)of the progress of the Estate Fire Safety Campaign launched by the Housing Department and its effectiveness in fire safety education, as well as the details and effectiveness of the fire safety campaigns organized by the District Fire Safety Committees of the Home Affairs Department in the past year?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Security

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

In an issue of Time Asia Magazine published this month, one article praises Seoul of South Korea for its efforts to clean up the environment while another casts doubt about whether the Hong Kong authorities have the imagination and determination to tackle the air pollution problem. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it has conducted studies on the amount of economic and manpower losses caused by air pollution in Hong Kong each year; if so, of the results;

    (b)whether it has studied the measures adopted in foreign countries to clean up the air, with a view to determining which of them are suitable for Hong Kong; if so, of the results; and

    (c)of the new long-term and short-term measures to clean up the air of Hong Kong?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

It has been reported that so far the property owner of the Sunbeam Theatre in North Point has only agreed to extend its tenancy agreement to August 2009. The Cantonese opera sector will then face the problem of lacking permanent performance venue. Regarding the assistance to facilitate the development of Cantonese opera, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of its specific plan to help the Cantonese opera sector solve the problem of lacking permanent performance venue; and

    (b)whether it will adopt the recommendation of the Chinese Artists Association of Hong Kong, which represents the Cantonese opera sector, to build, on the cleared site of the former North Point Estate, a standard theatre for use as a permanent performance venue for Cantonese opera; if it will, of the details; if not, how to ensure the passing on and development of the local Cantonese opera?
Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Education and Manpower
(in the absence of Secretary for Home Affairs)


*For written reply.

III. Bills

First Reading

Hazardous Chemicals Control Bill

Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)

Hazardous Chemicals Control Bill:Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works


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

1.Construction Industry Council (No. 2) Bill:Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

2.Revenue Bill 2006:Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury


IV. Motions
  1. Proposed resolution under the Road Traffic Ordinance

    Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works to move the following motion:

    Resolved that the period for which there remains in force the limit on the number of vehicles which may be registered as public light buses specified in the Public Light Buses (Limitation on Number) Notice (Cap. 374 sub. leg. K) and extended to 20 June 2006 by Legal Notice No. 141 of 2001, be further extended to 20 June 2011.

  2. 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 2 May 2006, be approved -

      (a)the Pharmacy and Poisons (Fee Revision) Regulation 2006; and

      (b)the Pharmacists (Disciplinary Procedure) (Fee Reduction) Regulation 2006.

      (The two Regulations have been issued on 4 May 2006
      under LC Paper No. CB(3) 534/05-06)

  3. Proposed resolution under the Radiation Ordinance

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

    Resolved that the following Regulations, made by the Radiation Board on 2 May 2006, be approved -

      (a)the Radiation (Control of Radioactive Substances) (Fee Revision) Regulation 2006; and

      (b)the Radiation (Control of Irradiating Apparatus) (Fee Reduction) Regulation 2006.

      (The two Regulations have been issued on 4 May 2006
      under LC Paper No. CB(3) 535/05-06)
V. Members' Motions
  1. Legislating to regulate medical devices

    Hon LI Kwok-ying: (Translation)

    That, as the Consumer Council's recent reports on the adverse after-effects caused by the use of Hydrophilic Polyacrylamide Gel (PAAG) for breast augmentation have aroused widespread public concern and exposed the loopholes in the existing system for regulating medical devices, this Council urges the Government to:

      (a)after consulting the various sectors concerned and the public, legislate to restrict or forbid the implantation of PAAG in human body, subject all medical devices and materials for implantation in human body to proper regulation, and expeditiously put forward a comprehensive legislative proposal for the regulation of medical devices;

      (b)review the existing regulatory system and legislation, in order to prevent exaggerated and false promotional claims about services and products for beauty care, body shape-up and plastic surgery, etc, so as to safeguard the health and interests of consumers; and

      (c)provide the public and users with more information about various medical devices so that they can make informed choices.


      Amendments to motion
      (i)Hon Vincent FANG Kang: (Translation)

      To delete "after-effects" after "Consumer Council's recent reports on the adverse" and substitute with "body reactions of some people"; to delete "use" after "caused by the" and substitute with "injection"; to add "in the Mainland and Hong Kong" after "breast augmentation"; to add "," after "public concern"; to add "and beauty" after "regulating medical"; to add "as well as materials which are used for implantation in human body by injection" before ", this Council urges the Government"; to add "set out clear definitions of the standards of medical and beauty devices as well as instructions on their use," after "implantation in human body to proper regulation,"; to add "(b) in respect of those beauty devices currently included in the list of listed medical devices, further perfect the listing system by requiring that the beauty devices with the highest risk must be operated by personnel who have been properly trained and certified in the relevant field;" after "comprehensive legislative proposal for the regulation of medical devices;"; to delete the original "(b)" and substitute with "(c)"; to delete "for beauty care, body shape-up and plastic surgery, etc" after "claims about services and products"; to delete the original "(c)" and substitute with "(d)"; to add "and beauty" after "more information about various medical"; and to add ", methods of using them and points to note," before "so that they can make informed choices".

      (ii)Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki: (Translation)

      To add "for inappropriate purposes, including breast augmentation" after "PAAG in human body"; to add "by limiting their use to properly trained medical personnel only" after "human body to proper regulation"; to add "regarding beauty care and plastic surgery services" after "regulatory system and legislation"; and to add "and advertisements" after "false promotional claims".

      (iii)Hon Fred LI: (Translation)

      To add "expeditiously legislate to regulate advertisements about services and products which claim to be able to slim the body, facilitate detoxification and regulate the immune system, as well as" after "(b)".

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

  2. Effective utilization of fiscal surplus

    Hon KWONG Chi-kin: (Translation)

    That, as the fiscal surplus in 2005-06 amounts to $14 billion, which exceeds the expected $4.1 billion by $9.9 billion, this Council urges the Government to effectively utilize the surplus to alleviate the disparity between the rich and the poor, stimulate the economy and increase employment opportunities.

    Amendments to motion
    (i)Hon James TIEN:(Translation)

    To delete "as" after "That," and substitute with "in view of the favourable factors that Hong Kong's economy rebounds continuously, the Government can eliminate the fiscal deficit at an earlier date and"; to add "adopt measures to" after "this Council urges the Government to"; to add "ease the tax burdens on the middle class," after "effectively utilize the surplus to"; and to add "; the measures should include: (a) reverting the salaries tax rate to the 2002-03 level; (b) extending the entitlement period for home loan interest deduction to the expiry of the mortgage period; (c) reducing the rates percentage charge by 0.5%; and (d) waiving the duty on ultra low sulphur diesel for one year, so as to ease the hardship of the relevant trades caused by the high operating cost as a result of the surging international oil prices" after "increase employment opportunities".

    (ii)Hon SIN Chung-kai:(Translation)

    To add "the Government has over-estimated the deficit and under-estimated the surplus over the years and" after "That, as"; to delete "expected" after "which exceeds the" and substitute with "revised surplus estimates of"; to add "improve its method for formulating the revised Budget so as to obtain more accurate revised surplus/deficit, and" after "this Council urges the Government to"; to delete "the" after "effectively utilize" and substitute with "this year's unexpected"; to add "meet the demands of the community, which include: (a) reverting the salaries tax allowance, tax bands and marginal tax rate to the 2002-03 level; (b) introducing a children's education allowance; (c) reverting the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance rates for the elderly and the disabled to the 2002-03 level, so that they can meet the living expenses under inflation; (d) expeditiously implementing more measures to alleviate poverty, which include the provision of transport subsidies to encourage residents in remote areas to seek employment; (e) setting up a children's development fund to enable children from low-income families to participate in extra-curricular activities; and (f) implementing small class teaching to improve the quality of education, so as to" after "surplus to"; to delete "stimulate" after "the rich and the poor," and substitute with "and ease the tax burden on the middle class and grass-roots, thereby stimulating"; to delete "increase" after "the economy and" and substitute with "increasing"; and to add ", so that the grass-roots can also share the fruits of economic recovery" after "employment opportunities".

    (iii)Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung: (Translation)

    To delete "the fiscal surplus in 2005-06 amounts" after "That, as" and substitute with "the Government has wrongly estimated the financial situation, the actual surplus in 2005-06, amounting"; to delete "," after "$14 billion"; to add "differs tremendously from the original estimates, and the fiscal deficit problem can be solved earlier," after "$9.9 billion,"; and to add "by implementing the following measures: (a) freezing or lowering the various government fees and charges for livelihood-related items, so as to ease the hardship of the socially disadvantaged groups; (b) allocating more resources to increase teaching posts for the implementation of small class teaching, so as to provide a quality learning environment as an investment in our future; and (c) creating permanent posts for converting non-civil service contract staff with longer years of service to permanent staff, so as to stabilize their employment prospects" after "employment opportunities".

    (iv)Hon Frederick FUNG: (Translation)

    To add "there is a substantial deviation in the Government's estimation on fiscal surplus, and" after "That, as"; to add "adopt measures to" after "this Council urges the Government to"; to add ", under the principle of 'combating poverty before reducing taxes', to help the poor families so that they can share the fruits of economic success, and to increase the current commitments in various livelihood-related policy areas, so as" after "effectively utilize the surplus"; to add "as well as to" after "the rich and the poor,"; and to add "; the measures should include: (a) enhancing livelihood protection for the socially disadvantaged, including reverting the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance ('CSSA') and the Disability Allowance rates to the levels prior to their reduction in 2003; (b) implementing the concept of 'second safety net' by providing financial assistance as well as such support services as housing, transport, medical, job placement and childcare to the poor who are not eligible for or not willing to receive CSSA; (c) freezing all charges for livelihood-related items, and increasing the financial commitments in the provision of medical services, education and social welfare in the light of the service demands; (d) promoting the economic development in local communities so as to increase the social capital and employment opportunities for the poor, and encouraging social enterprises to take up outsourced government service contracts; (e) gaining a full understanding of the needs of the unemployed, and setting up one-stop employment service centres to help the unemployed to find jobs and provide them with adequate support, including job placement, career enhancement and skills training; and (f) developing a diversified economy, such as environmental and creative industries, to provide employment opportunities to low-skilled workers, and enhancing the support and training for them, so as to slow down the trend of polarization in the job market; the reduction in rates and salaries tax should only be considered after the above measures have been implemented and when the financial situation permits" after "increase employment opportunities".

    (v)Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG: (Translation)

    To add "the socially disadvantaged groups are still living in hardship despite the improved economic situation, and" after "That, as"; to add ", allocate funds to enhance various measures to curb family violence so as to truly implement its policy of 'zero tolerance' to family violence, and revert the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance rates for the elderly, the vulnerable, the disabled, single parents and children as well as the Disability Allowance to the levels prior to their reduction in 2003, so as" after "effectively utilize the surplus"; and to add "; furthermore, the Government should also inject additional funds into the Trust Fund for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ('SARS') to strengthen the assistance to SARS patients and the families of those who died of SARS" after "increase employment opportunities".

    (vi)Hon CHAN Kam-lam: (Translation)

    To add "provide rates relief for one quarter of a year so as to enable the general public to share the fruits of economic recovery, and" after "this Council urges the Government to".

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