 |
A 05/06-5
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 2 November 2005 at 11:00 am
I.Tabling of Papers
| Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments |
L.N. No. |
| 1. |
Water Pollution Control (General) (Amendment) Regulation 2005 |
178/2005
|
| 2. |
Specification of Arrangements (Government of the Kingdom of Thailand) (Avoidance of Double Taxation on Income and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion) Order |
179/2005
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| 3. |
Air Pollution Control (Reduction of Fee for Permit for Open Burning) Regulation 2005 |
180/2005
|
| 4. |
Air Pollution Control (Specified Processes) (Amendment) Regulation 2005 |
181/2005
|
| 5. |
Ozone Layer Protection (Fee Reduction) Regulation 2005 |
182/2005
|
| 6. |
Noise Control (General) (Fee Revision) Regulation 2005 |
183/2005
|
| 7. |
Noise Control (Air Compressors) (Fee Revision) Regulation 2005 |
184/2005
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| 8. |
Noise Control (Hand Held Percussive Breakers) (Fee Revision) Regulation 2005 |
185/2005
|
| 9. |
Dumping at Sea (Fees Adjustment) Regulation 2005 |
186/2005
|
| 10. |
Building Management (Fee Revision) Regulation 2005 |
187/2005
|
| 11. |
Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation (Revision of Licence Fees) Regulation 2005 |
188/2005
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| 12. |
Preservatives in Food (Amendment) Regulation 2005 |
189/2005
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| 13. |
Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Amendment of Second Schedule) Order 2005 |
190/2005
|
| 14. |
Securities and Futures (Investor Compensation - Levy) (Amendment) Rules 2005 (Commencement) Notice |
191/2005
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Other Papers
| 1.No.22 |
- |
Audited Statement of Accounts of the Customs and Excise Service Welfare Fund and its Summary, together with the Director of Audit's Report
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(to be presented by Secretary for Security)
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| 2.No.23 |
- |
The Government Minute in response to the Report No.44 of the Public Accounts Committee dated July 2005
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(to be presented by Chief Secretary for Administration, who will address the Council)
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| 3.No.24 |
- |
The Government Minute in response to the Seventeenth Annual Report of the Ombudsman issued in June 2005
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(to be presented by Chief Secretary for Administration, who will address the Council)
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| 4.No.25 |
- |
Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation Annual Report 2004/2005
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(to be presented by Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology)
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| 5.No.26 |
- |
Hong Kong Productivity Council Annual Report 2004/2005
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(to be presented by Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology)
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6.Report of the Bills Committee on Revenue (Abolition of Estate Duty) Bill 2005
(to be presented by Hon Miriam LAU, Chairman of the Bills Committee)
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II.Questions
1. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask:
(Translation) In his Policy Address delivered last month, the Chief Executive said that district-based poverty alleviation initiatives would be strengthened. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) |
whether it has conducted independent and thorough studies of the poverty problems in various districts to help the authorities understand the causes and state of poverty in these districts; how it will address the poverty problems in various districts, and whether it will set time-bound targets on poverty eradication for various districts;
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| (b) |
how it will pull together people from various strata of the local communities to take part in poverty alleviation initiatives; of the respective roles played by local social welfare agencies, poverty concern groups and district councils, and the current progress of poverty alleviation initiatives in various districts; and
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| (c) |
of the resources available to assist poverty alleviation initiatives in various districts, the amount of funds involved and the specific timing of funding allocation, and whether all the revenue to be generated from the Personalized Vehicle Registration Marks Scheme will be used for district-based poverty alleviation initiatives?
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Public Officer to reply : Financial Secretary
2. Hon Emily LAU to ask:
(Translation) It has been reported that during the recruitment exercise for Inspectors of Customs and Excise conducted early this year, the Customs and Excise ("C&E") Department adopted the same criteria for both genders in testing the physical fitness of applicants. Some female applicants consider that, given the physiological differences between both genders, the adoption of the same criteria is unfair and may be regarded as sex discrimination. In this regard, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
| (a) |
whether they have assessed if the C&E Department's adoption of the same criteria for both genders in testing the physical fitness of applicants has contravened the Sex Discrimination Ordinance; if the assessment result is in the affirmative, how the authorities will make improvements; if the assessment result is in the negative, of the justifications for that;
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| (b) |
of the other disciplined services which have also adopted the same criteria for both genders in testing the physical fitness of applicants, and the disciplined services adopting different criteria and their reasons for doing so; and
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| (c) |
of the respective up-to-date numbers of male and female applicants who attended the physical fitness tests in the recruitment exercises conducted by the various disciplined services this year and, among these applicants, the respective numbers and percentages of male and female applicants who passed the tests?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security
3. Ir Dr Hon HO Chung-tai to ask:
(Translation) During the visit to the Pearl River Delta in September this year, Legislative Council Members were deeply impressed by the urban greening efforts made by the cities including Shenzhen, Dongguan, Guangzhou and Zhongshan. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) |
whether it has formulated any greenery scale guidelines or requirements for the urban development of Hong Kong which involves road planning and community planning, etc; if not, whether it will consider introducing the relevant requirements with reference to the experience of other places including Mainland cities, with a view to further greening up the urban area and thereby improving the environment of the community; and
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| (b) |
whether it will arrange for officials of the Government's relevant works departments to visit Mainland cities and engage in exchanges, so that they can learn about the successful experience of such cities in person, and thereby enhance the urban greening efforts in Hong Kong?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works
4. Hon Andrew CHENG to ask:
(Translation) A few dozen confirmed or suspected cases of human infection of avian influenza have been detected throughout the Southeast Asian region since the end of last year. The World Health Organization has predicted that the pandemic will spread rapidly in the near future, leading to a possible death toll of tens of millions. Regarding the prevention of a local outbreak of human infection of avian influenza, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) |
whether the authorities have adopted special immigration control measures to prevent the import of avian influenza through imported labourers from infected areas, and the details of the infectious disease notification mechanisms established between the Hong Kong authorities and the governments of the neighbouring regions (especially the infected areas);
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| (b) |
whether the anti-influenza drug "Tamiflu" in oral dosage form currently stockpiled by the authorities can effectively treat patients infected with avian influenza and relieve their symptoms, and of the efficacy and experience of using the drug in the infected areas; and
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| (c) |
whether free influenza vaccination will be given to all elderly people; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food
5. Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG to ask:
(Translation) Regarding the psychiatric specialist services provided at public hospitals, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) |
of the average number of new cases handled last year by each out-patient clinic, and the respective longest waiting time for new cases involving the elderly, adults and adolescents;
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| (b) |
of the average number of out-patients treated per hour by a doctor last year, and the average and maximum number of cases currently handled by the psychiatric medical social workers; and
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| (c) |
whether the authorities have concrete plans to increase the staffing of psychiatric specialist doctors and social workers, so as to shorten patients' waiting time, extend the time for each consultation and reduce the caseload of these staff; if they have, of the details and the implementation timetable of the plans; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food
6. Hon CHEUNG Man-kwong to ask:
(Translation) The package of proposals put forth by the Government last month on the methods for selecting the Chief Executive in 2007 and for forming the Legislative Council in 2008 did not include a timetable and specific process for the elections of the Chief Executive and of all members of the Legislative Council by universal suffrage ("dual elections by universal suffrage"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) |
given that the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress ruled out the implementation of the dual elections by universal suffrage in 2007 and 2008, whether the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has discussed with the Central Government in the past year a specific timetable and the process regarding the implementation of the dual elections by universal suffrage; if it has, of the results of the discussion; and
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| (b) |
of the specific work to arrange for all members of the Legislative Council to visit Beijing so that they can reflect to the Central Government officials the views of Hong Kong people on matters relating to constitutional development, including when and how dual elections by universal suffrage will be implemented?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional Affairs
*7. Hon Abraham SHEK to ask:
It has been reported that the consultancy study on the remuneration packages for senior executives of the Hospital Authority ("HA") found that its former Chief Executive was underpaid by at least 20%. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
| (a) |
if HA will take into account its current deficit in determining the adjustment of the salaries of its Chief Executive and other senior executives;
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| (b) |
the HA's timetable for implementing the consultancy report's suggestions that HA's senior executives' annual bonus should be abolished and that any change to the remuneration of individual senior executives should be subject to their performance as determined by an independent panel; and
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| (c) |
if a mechanism will be drawn up by HA to ensure that members of the independent panel will assess the performance of HA's senior executives and adjust their remuneration in a fair and objective manner?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food
*8. Hon Bernard CHAN to ask:
(Translation) Will the Government inform this Council of the average percentage of the amount of salaries tax in the income of the payers of the tax, excluding those who paid at the standard rate, and the highest and lowest amounts of tax paid by them in the past three financial years? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
*9. Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung to ask:
(Translation) The Customs and Excise Department recently found for the first time the selling of counterfeit jewellery by a shop participating in the "No Fakes Pledge" Scheme. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) |
of the number of complaint cases in the past three years alleging the selling of counterfeit goods by shops participating in the Scheme, and the number of shops whose membership of the Scheme was terminated for non-compliance with the code of the Scheme; and
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| (b) |
whether actions will be taken regularly to ascertain that the shops participating in the Scheme sell genuine goods only, so as to protect the interests of consumers; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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| Public Officer to reply |
: |
Secretary for Economic Development and Labour
(in the absence of Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology)
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*10. Hon Howard YOUNG to ask:
(Translation) Recently, some travel agents, in collaboration with small airlines, offer outbound tours at very low prices. Some people who have joined such tours have reflected to me that, as the aircrafts owned by these airlines are few in number and rather old and worn-out, flights are often delayed or cancelled because of failure or emergency repairs of such aircrafts, thereby causing disruption to the tour itineraries. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council how the authorities monitor the flight services provided by these airlines to ensure aviation safety and protect the rights and interests of consumers? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Development and Labour
*11. Hon CHAN Yuen-han to ask:
(Translation) Regarding the non-local staff recruited by the Hong Kong Disneyland ("HKD"), will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) |
of the current number of such staff, together with breakdowns by the positions taken up by them and in accordance with the table below; and
| The type of labour importation scheme under which employment visas were granted |
Number of staff
|
| General Policy on Entry for Employment |
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| Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals |
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| Admission of Mainland Students Graduated from University Grants Committee-funded Institutions in Hong Kong |
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| Supplementary Labour Scheme |
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| Foreign Domestic Helpers
|
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| (b) |
whether, before recruiting these non-local staff, HKD has conducted any local recruitment exercise and adopted the principle of according priority of employment to local residents; if not, of the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Development and Labour
*12. Hon TAM Heung-man to ask:
(Translation) I have received complaints that some Home Ownership Scheme estates in Diamond Hill have been plagued by the traffic noise from the Tate's Cairn Highway since the completion of the estates, and the noise level in the area is also higher than as stipulated in the law, but no noise mitigation facilities have been put in place there. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) |
whether it plans to install any noise mitigation facilities at the above location to solve the noise problem; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
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| (b) |
whether it has consulted the relevant District Council on the above problem; if it has, of the consultation results and progress of the follow-up actions; if not, when such consultation will be carried out; and
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| (c) |
whether it has reviewed the existing policy on the provision of noise mitigation facilities on busy roads; if it has, of the review results and progress of the follow-up actions; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works
*13. Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung to ask:
(Translation) I have received complaints about the different treatments to male and female prisoners by the Correctional Services Department. For example, it is more difficult to obtain approval for additional visits to female prisoners; in the case of a married couple who are both prisoners, only the wife is allowed to visit the husband; and female prisoners generally work longer hours. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) |
of the differences in treatment to male and female prisoners in respect of visits and working hours;
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| (b) |
whether it has assessed if such differences violate the Sex Discrimination Ordinance (Cap. 480), and whether improvements will be made; and
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| (c) |
whether it provides an adequate supply of personal hygiene items, including sanitary napkins and soap, for female prisoners according to their physiological needs; if not, of the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security
*14. Hon Ronny TONG Ka-wah to ask:
(Translation) In June this year, the Competition Policy Advisory Group ("COMPAG") established the Competition Policy Review Committee ("the Committee") to review the existing competition policy and the composition, terms of reference and operations of COMPAG. The authorities have indicated that the Committee would complete its review within 12 months from its establishment. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) |
of the number of meetings held by the Committee so far, the duration of each meeting, and the average attendance rate of its members;
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| (b) |
of the methodology adopted by the Committee for conducting its review; the criteria adopted for selecting representations and individuals to attend meetings with the Committee; the representations and individuals with whom it has met so far; and
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| (c) |
whether the Committee has drawn any preliminary conclusions; if it has, of the conclusions?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Development and Labour
*15. Hon Albert CHAN to ask:
(Translation) Recently, I have received many complaints from members of the public that Internet computer services centres (commonly known as "Internet cafes") operating in the vicinity of residential buildings cause nuisances and deterioration in law and order. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) |
of the respective numbers of Internet cafes at the end of June this year and in each of the past three years;
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| (b) |
of the number of complaints received in each of the past three years by the relevant authorities about the nuisances caused by Internet cafes or their customers to nearby residents;
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| (c) |
of the number of reports on crimes involving Internet cafes received by the Police in each of the past three years; and
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| (d) |
whether it will consider regulating the operation of Internet cafes so as to ensure public peace and safety in the community; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs
*16. Hon LAU Kong-wah to ask:
(Translation) With regard to the setting up and operation of liquefied petroleum gas ("LPG") filling stations, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) |
whether the authorities have received complaints, over the past three years, about the long queuing time during rush hours for LPG vehicles seeking service at LPG filling stations built on sites awarded by the Government at nil land premium because such filling stations were not in full operation; if so, of the follow-up actions taken, and whether it has negotiated with the operators to ensure full operation of LPG filling stations during rush hours; if it has not, the reasons for that;
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| (b) |
how the LPG prices at LPG filling stations built on land at nil land premium compare to those at other LPG filling stations; and
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| (c) |
of the existing locations of LPG filling stations, as well as the number and locations of new LPG filling stations planned to be set up in the next three years?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works
*17. Hon CHOY So-yuk to ask:
(Translation) It has been reported that a private company conducted a pilot test on waste incineration at Tuen Mun in April this year. If the monitoring report of the pilot test is approved by the Environmental Protection Department, the company can implement a waste incineration demonstration scheme for a period of 16 weeks according to the licensing conditions. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) |
whether the company may request an extension of the period during the implementation of the scheme;
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| (b) |
of the criteria in deciding whether the application for the extension of the period should be approved; and
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| (c) |
how it will avoid an indefinite extension of the scheme?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works
*18. Hon Emily LAU to ask:
(Translation) In December 1999, the Government and The Walt Disney Company set up a joint venture company to establish Hong Kong Disneyland ("HKD"), with a shareholding ratio of 57:43. Regarding the financial arrangements for HKD, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
| (a) |
apart from spending $13.7 billion on the reclamation and infrastructure works, as well as injecting $3,250 million into the joint venture company and providing it with a loan of $6.1 billion, of the amount of each item of expenditure incurred so far by the Government in building HKD and associated facilities (including cleaning up the contaminated soil at Penny's Bay, compensating the fishermen affected and injecting funds into the MTR Corporation Limited for the construction of the Disneyland Resort Line);
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| (b) |
whether they will brief this Council on the detailed accounts in respect of the construction and operation of HKD and other relevant information, including the operating cost, daily attendance, income generated from the sale of merchandise and other incomes; if not, the reasons for that; and
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| (c) |
whether they have assessed if there is any conflict in the Government's roles as the rule-setting authority for the market on the one hand, and as a market participant for being the majority shareholder of a private company on the other; if there is conflict, how the authorities intend to address it and whether they will sell the Government's shares in the joint venture company through listing; if there is no conflict, the rationale for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
*19. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask:
(Translation) Regarding services provided by maternal and child health centres of the Department of Health ("DH"), will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) |
of the number of complaints received by the authorities in the past three years about such services and their main contents, and whether the authorities have adopted corresponding improvement measures;
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| (b) |
as some women have complained that after giving birth in hospitals of the Hospital Authority ("HA"), they are still required to fill in information on their childbirth in the hospitals again when carrying their new-born babies to the maternal and child health centres for treatment, whether the authorities have assessed if this indicates inadequacies in the exchange of information between HA and DH on the women giving birth and their babies (e.g. their medical records); if there are inadequacies, whether improvements will be made by the authorities;
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| (c) |
given that traditional whole cell vaccines, Hepatitis B vaccines and oral polio vaccines, etc, used in the current infant immunization programme administered by maternal and child health centres require several injections and may cause such adverse reactions as swelling around the injection sites and high fever among 30 to 50% of the infants injected with these vaccines, whether the authorities have compared and studied the effects of the above vaccines and the relatively new combined acellular vaccines; if they have, of the results; whether the authorities will consider adopting these relatively new combined acellular vaccines so as to reduce the number of injections required and adverse reactions; and
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| (d) |
as the current infant immunization programme does not provide Haemophilus influenzae type B vaccines which have been adopted by many countries in their immunization programmes, whether the authorities will consider following the practice of these countries; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food
*20. Hon Abraham SHEK to ask:
According to the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Report, Hong Kong's global ranking plunged from the third place in 1999 to the twenty-eighth in 2005. On the other hand, the Economic and Employment Council ("EEC") Subgroup on Business Facilitation currently only has two task forces, i.e. Pre-construction Task Force and Retail Task Force. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) |
whether the Financial Secretary, being the EEC Chairman, plans to establish new task forces for improving the licensing regime and eliminating regulatory barriers for different economic sectors;
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| (b) |
as it has been reported that deteriorating pollution and rising inflation have adversely affected investors' commercial decisions, of the ways the authorities have to tackle these problems; and
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| (c) |
as the above Report attributed the fall in Hong Kong's position to a weakening in perceived judicial independence and in the protection of property rights as well as rise in corruption levels and government favouritism in policy-making, whether the authorities will set a timetable for reviewing Hong Kong's competitiveness in the light of these comments?
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Public Officer to reply : Financial Secretary
*For written reply.
III.Bills
Second Reading (Debate to resume), Committee Stage and Third Reading
| Revenue (Abolition of Estate Duty) Bill 2005
|
: |
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
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IV. Motions
Proposed resolution under the Tung Chung Cable Car Ordinance
Secretary for Economic Development and Labour to move the following motion: RESOLVED that the Tung Chung Cable Car Bylaw, made by the MTR Corporation Limited on 17 October 2005, be approved.
(The Tung Chung Cable Car Bylaw has been issued
on 19 October 2005 under LC Paper No.
CB(3) 64/05-06)
V. Members' Motions
- Perfecting the food safety regulatory mechanism
Hon WONG Yung-kan:
(Translation)
That, as a number of food safety incidents which occurred recently in Hong Kong have exposed the Government's shortcomings in the regulation of food safety, its slow reaction to emergencies and the inadequacies in the notification system between Hong Kong and the Mainland, and have also seriously affected the public's confidence in the Government's capability to perform the gate-keeping role, this Council urges the Government to:
| (a) |
expeditiously implement the plan to re-organize the food safety regulatory framework after consulting this Council and the public at large, to ensure that the posts of frontline staff are not affected by the re-organization plan, and to enhance training for staff so that they can grasp the ever-changing food safety knowledge and meet the related new technological requirements;
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| (b) |
strengthen and re-organize the existing consultative framework on food safety by including representatives from the agriculture and fisheries industries, catering industry, veterinary profession and consumer organizations, so that they can more comprehensively advise the Government on food safety matters;
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| (c) |
step up Hong Kong's monitoring of foods at source at their places of origin;
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| (d) |
conduct a comprehensive review of the existing standards and legislation on safe production of foods, including strictly regulating the use of drugs and chemicals and their residue contents in foods as well as the microbe counts in foods, etc, so as to ensure food safety;
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| (e) |
perfect the food safety notification systems between Hong Kong and the Mainland as well as other places supplying food to Hong Kong, and to strengthen co-operation with the Mainland in combating food smuggling;
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| (f) |
devote more resources to enhance the Government's capability in food testing and hygiene inspection;
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| (g) |
study the establishment of a food tracking system and the implementation of food recall arrangements, so as to raise the Government's capability in handling food safety incidents;
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| (h) |
study the establishment of a food safety certification mechanism whereby identification labels are awarded to safe, quality food products so as to help consumers make their choices; and
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| (i) |
expedite the pace in promoting a quality production and management scheme for local agricultural and fishery products, and to establish a branding system for local products,
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in order to fully enhance Hong Kong's capability in regulating food safety and safeguard public safety in food consumption.
Amendment to motion
Hon Tommy CHEUNG: (Translation) To delete "devote more resources to" after "(f)" and substitute with "through streamlining of administrative work and suitable deployment of resources,"; and to delete "food testing and hygiene inspection" after "enhance the Government's capability in" and substitute with "sampling inspection and testing of food, and perfect the hygiene inspection system based on the existing risk assessment mechanism".
Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food
- Comprehensively developing the border area
Hon WONG Ting-kwong: (Translation)
That, as the Chief Executive has announced in his Policy Address the decision to significantly reduce the size of the closed area and to redraw the limits of the new closed area so as to release land for redevelopment, this Council urges the Government to expedite the completion of the realignment of the closed area and formulation of the planning proposals, and to devise an overall strategy on this basis to comprehensively develop the border area between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, so as to create new growth areas for Hong Kong's economy, promote co-operation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, facilitate the development of Hong Kong's trade in services, industries and tourism, and create new employment opportunities.
Amendment to motion
Hon SIN Chung-kai:
(Translation)
To add "; but given the presence of many sites of ecological and conservation value, such as wetlands and streams within the closed area, the Government must, in considering the development of these sites, ensure that the development plan is in line with the principles of sustainable development and nature conservation, and should conduct a comprehensive ecological assessment of the plan and then formulate suitable conservation measures and conduct planning in a prudent manner; the Government should also allow stakeholders, including green groups, to participate in the planning process with a view to ensuring that the policy of sustainable development can materialize" after "create new employment opportunities".
| Public Officers to attend |
: |
Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands
Secretary for Security
|
Clerk to the Legislative Council
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