A 05/06-11

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 14 December 2005 at 11:00 am

I. Tabling of Papers
Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
1.Film Censorship (Fee Reduction) Regulation 2005221/2005
2.Public Health and Municipal Services (Setting Aside Places for Use as Public Pleasure Grounds) (No. 3) Order 2005222/2005
3.Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Amendment of Fourth Schedule) (No. 3) Order 2005223/2005

Other Papers

1. No.38-Queen Elizabeth Foundation for the Mentally Handicapped Report and Accounts 2004-2005
(to be presented by Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food)

2. No.39-Forty-fourth Annual Report on the Social Work Training Fund by the Trustee of the Fund for the year ending on 31 March 2005
(to be presented by Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food)

3. No.40-Hong Kong Arts Development Council Annual Report 2004/2005
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

4. No.41-Estate Agents Authority Annual Report 2004/2005
(to be presented by Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands)

5. Report of the Bills Committee on Revenue (Personalized Vehicle Registration Marks) Bill 2005
(to be presented by Hon CHAN Kam-lam, Chairman of the Bills Committee)

II. Questions

1. Hon Patrick LAU Sau-shing to ask: (Translation)

The Smart Identity Card ("ID Card") readers currently used by the Immigration Department verify the identity of ID Card holders by matching their fingerprints with the fingerprint data stored in their ID Cards. It is learnt that this identity verification method is not applicable to some members of the public, thus precluding them from using the Automated Passenger Clearance System (commonly known as "e-Channel") to complete immigration clearance procedure. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of Smart ID Card holders whose identity cannot be verified by the said readers and its percentage in the total number of Smart ID Card holders, together with a breakdown by their gender and age profile;

    (b)as the authorities had commissioned a consultant to conduct a feasibility study before implementing the Hong Kong Smart ID Card Replacement Exercise, whether the above problem had been identified in the feasibility study; if so, of the reasons for the authorities making the decision to choose fingerprints as the biometric data to be stored in Smart ID Cards; if not, whether the Government may claim compensation from the consultant; and

    (c)of the causes of the above problem, and whether such problem can be resolved by way of technology enhancement; if so, of the costs involved; if not, whether it has, by making reference to the relevant practices adopted overseas, made any efforts to explore other methods to resolve the problem?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

2. Hon LAU Chin-shek to ask: (Translation)

The non-civil service contract ("NCSC") staff scheme was introduced in 1999 to enable Heads of Departments ("HoDs") to employ staff on fixed term contracts outside the civil service establishment, to meet service needs that were short-term or did not require keeping staff on a long-term basis, or required staff on a part-term basis, or where the mode of delivery of the service was under review or likely to be changed. However, I have learnt that many NCSC employees have been employed in the same posts for over three consecutive years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the scope of the scheme will be changed; if so, of the details; if not, how the Government changes the situation in which employment on a consecutive basis is inconsistent with the original purposes of the scheme;

    (b)of the measures to prevent abuse of the scheme by HoDs; and

    (c)whether it will consider changing the NCSC posts which have long-term needs to posts in the civil service establishment?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Civil Service

3. Hon Albert HO to ask: (Translation)

A man was prosecuted and convicted for driving a vehicle at a speed of 97 kilometres per hour ("km/hr") along a particular section of the Lantau Link in July last year, which exceeded the speed limit of 80 km/hr for that road section. The man subsequently lodged an appeal. In September last year, a Judge of the High Court ruled in favour of the appellant on grounds that the speed limit of 80 km/hr for the road section was invalid because the authorities had not, as required by the law, published a notice of it in the Gazette, and the traffic sign stipulating the relevant speed limit was therefore misleading to the appellant. Since then, the Department of Justice has not lodged an appeal against the ruling and the authorities have not yet published a notice of the speed limit for that road section in the Gazette. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the reasons for not publishing, immediately after the relevant authority had decided not to lodge an appeal, a notice of the relevant speed limit in the Gazette;

    (b)whether the Police has, since September last year, instituted any prosecution against drivers on grounds that they had driven in excess of the speed limit on that road section; if so, of the number of prosecutions instituted and the speed limit on which the prosecutions were based; and

    (c)as a notice for the relevant speed limit has not been published in the Gazette, of the legal basis for the Police's law enforcement actions?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

4. Hon Mrs Selina CHOW to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that the activities of Mainland beggar syndicates in Hong Kong have become increasingly vigorous since more citizens of Mainland cities have been permitted to visit Hong Kong under the Individual Visit Scheme, and quite a number of physically crippled or old people are begging on the streets of Central, Causeway Bay, Tsim Sha Tsui and Mong Kok, where pedestrian flow is heavy. Some of them are controlled by syndicates which keep watch for them. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of Mainland persons arrested by the police for begging in Hong Kong each year since the implementation of the Individual Visit Scheme in August 2003; the number of those who have been successfully prosecuted, and the penalty generally imposed on them by the court;

    (b)of the information the police have about controlled Mainland beggar syndicates; whether they have established a mechanism for communicating with the Mainland public security authorities to facilitate co-operation in preventing such syndicates from coming to Hong Kong, or to prohibit Mainland persons who have been arrested for begging in Hong Kong from re-entering Hong Kong within a specified period; and

    (c)as the Individual Visit Scheme has been further extended, since November this year, to four more cities, i.e. Chengdu, Jinan, Shenyang and Dalian and will be extended to other places of the Pan-Pearl River Delta region, of the corresponding measures to be taken by the police to prevent Mainland beggar syndicates from taking advantage of such opportunities to increase their activities in Hong Kong?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

5. Hon KWONG Chi-kin to ask: (Translation)

Recently, a former senior staff member of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority joined a private bank after having left service for six months. Regarding former senior staff of statutory regulators taking up outside work after leaving service, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the present posts and numbers of senior staff of statutory regulators with remunerations equivalent to directorate civil servants, with a breakdown by institution;

    (b)whether statutory regulators impose any regulations on the taking up of outside work by the former senior staff mentioned in (a) after leaving service; if so, of the details of the regulations and whether they are the same as those currently adopted by the Government for directorate civil servants; if there are no regulations or they are different, the reasons for that; and

    (c)as the Government plans to implement from 1 January next year the modified policy and arrangements governing the taking up of outside work by directorate civil servants after leaving government service, whether the scope of such policy and arrangements will be extended to the senior staff of the regulators mentioned above; if not, the reasons for that and whether the Government will consider extending the scope?
Public Officers to reply :Secretary for Home Affairs
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

6. Hon Margaret NG to ask:

In late 1999, the Government and The Walt Disney Company set up a joint venture company - the Hong Kong International Theme Parks Limited ("HKITP") to build and operate the Hong Kong Disneyland. In its paper submitted to the Finance Committee of this Council for its meeting on 26th November 1999, the Administration stated that two non-executive independent directors mutually agreed by both shareholders would be appointed to the Board of Directors of HKITP. It has been reported that such appointments have yet to be made. Concerning the governance of HKITP, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the reasons for its failure to-date to appoint the independent directors and not regularly keeping this Council informed of the progress in this respect;

    (b)of the action it has taken, since the establishment of HKITP, in regard to appointing the independent directors; and

    (c)whether, in accordance with the principles of transparency in and accountability for public finance, it will publish all the directors' reports and audited financial statements of HKITP since its establishment; if it will, of the timing for that; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officers to reply :Secretary for Economic Development and Labour
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

*7. Hon Timothy FOK Tsun-ting to ask: (Translation)

As a cyclist was killed some time ago in a collision with a public light bus during a cycling road race, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the measures to be taken in future cycling road races to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents; and

    (b)the currently permitted locations for holding cycling competitions, and whether additional cycling competition and training facilities will be provided; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

Regarding the selection of contractors to undertake information technology ("IT") projects, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the numbers of contracts for IT projects awarded in each of the past three years and, amongst such contracts, the numbers of those awarded to the contractors whose bid prices were the lowest among all the bids that had fully met the technical specifications stipulated in the tender documents concerned; and

    (b)as more advanced technologies will bring more benefits for IT projects, such as longer serviceable lifespan and more room for future enhancement, how it assesses and compares the cost effectiveness of the following two types of bids: those adopting more advanced technologies but have higher bid prices and those adopting less advanced technologies but have lower bid prices?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology

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

In recent years, an increasing number of metal cages are put in public places over a prolonged period for collecting used clothes, with banners hung around them appealing to the public to donate used clothes in the name of environmental protection and charity. Some members of the public consider that these metal cages have negative impacts on environmental hygiene and are eyesores, and suspect that they are placed by profit-making businessmen. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the total number of relevant complaints received by the authorities in the past three years, with a breakdown by their contents and the districts involved;

    (b)the number of applications received since January this year by the Lands Department for placing metal cages in public places to collect used clothes, and how the public can tell whether the activities of collecting used clothes have been authorized;

    (c)the number of prosecutions instituted against those who placed metal cages in public places to collect used clothes without authorization in the past three years, the charges laid against them and the number of convicted cases; and

    (d)the measures to strengthen the regulation of such activities?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

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

Many members of the printing industry have reflected to me that the numbers of factories and workers in the industry have dropped continuously. They have said that under the existing procurement policy of the Government, many government printing jobs have been outsourced to non-local factories, resulting in a large number of unemployed printing workers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of factories in the printing industry, the number of workers employed as well as the unemployment rate in the industry in each of the past three years;

    (b)of the number of local printing factories which relocated to the Mainland and the number of local printing workers who, as a result, had to work in the Mainland in each of the past three years, as well as the number of local printers which arranged for the relevant work to be carried out in the Mainland after they had successfully tendered for government printing jobs last year;

    (c)of the respective numbers of printing-related government procurement contracts with a contract value of not more than $1.3 million and $1.3 million or above awarded to local and non-local printing factories, as well as the percentage of contracts awarded to local printing factories in all the relevant contracts in each of the past three years;

    (d)of the measures to support the development of the printing industry in Hong Kong and to facilitate the employment of printing workers, as well as the effectiveness of such measures;

    (e)whether it will stipulate that a specified percentage of outsourced government printing jobs must be awarded to local printing factories, in order to support the development of the local printing industry; and

    (f)whether it will consider revising the existing marking scheme for assessing tenders pertaining to printing-related government procurement contracts, so that it will, apart from tender price, include new criteria for assessment, e.g. requiring the relevant work to be carried out in Hong Kong and according priority to employing local workers etc, in order that more government printing contracts can be awarded to local factories and hence safeguard the employment of local printing workers?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

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

Tuckshops in local primary and secondary schools provide snacks and cooked foods to students. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of primary and secondary schools with tuckshops, and the number of such tuckshops which offer cooked foods, including boxed lunches, sandwiches and noodles;

    (b)whether such tuckshops are required to hold a licence; if so, of the type of licence required, and how the authorities regulate the tuckshops holding that type of licence; if not, the reasons for that, and how the authorities ensure that such tuckshops provide quality and safe foods; and

    (c)whether it has imposed restrictions on the types of foods sold at such tuckshops, with a view to cultivating balanced and healthy eating habits among students; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and whether there are any plans and measures to cultivate such habits among students?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

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

It was reported that five members of the Hawker Control Team under the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department were assaulted and injured in an operation to clear unlicensed hawkers in the middle of last month. Regarding the personal safety of public officers, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective numbers of public officers who were assaulted and injured while performing duties in each of the past three years, with a breakdown by their departments, modes of employment and ranks; and the results of the follow-up actions taken regarding these cases;

    (b)whether there are measures to protect the personal safety of public officers performing duties; if so, of the details of such measures; and whether it has regularly reviewed the effectiveness of these measures; if it has not, of the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether it will introduce new measures to enhance the protection of the personal safety of public officers performing duties?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Civil Service

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

According to the Government's reply to a written question last month, there were huge differences in the annual average per-square-metre amount of electricity consumed last year by the Government Offices in various districts. For example, the per-square-metre amount of electricity consumed by the Tuen Mun Government Offices was more than nine times that of the Canton Road Government Offices. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the reasons for the huge differences in the per-square-metre amount of electricity consumed by various Government Offices;

    (b)the gross floor areas of the offices in each Government Office and the number of staff accommodated therein; and

    (c)the measures adopted by various Government Offices to save electricity?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

The "Building a Healthy Tomorrow Discussion Paper on the Future Service Delivery Model for our Health Care System" published in July this year recommended that the Government should review the fees and charges of accident and emergency ("A&E") service and specialist out-patient service of public hospitals, such that hospital services will not cost significantly less compared to a family doctor's service. This step is essential towards minimizing the unnecessary attraction for patients to utilize public hospital services. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the criteria adopted by the Hospital Authority ("HA") for calculating medical costs, and how HA estimates its expenses and the amount of deficits for the coming five years;

    (b)of the fees and charges, costs and the relevant calculation methods of the services provided by the public medical system, including those of the A&E service, general and specialist out-patient services, in-patient service and surgery; patients' average length of stay in hospital, broken down by specialty, type of surgery and disease;

    (c)how the information mentioned in (b) compares to that of the services provided by the local private medical system and by overseas public and private medical systems; and

    (d)of the plans and incentives to encourage the public to reduce abusing public hospital services, take out medical insurance voluntarily, and turn to private clinics or private hospitals for treatment?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

On 1 September this year, a Vietnamese carrying three bullets was arrested at Man Kam To while attempting to enter Hong Kong illegally. When making a plea in mitigation through his lawyer at the trial, he claimed that he had carried the bullets to ensure that he would be jailed in Hong Kong, so that he could receive assistance in drug withdrawal. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the number of illegal entrants arrested in each of the past three years who stated that they came to Hong Kong with a view to serving imprisonment terms here, with a breakdown by their nationalities, reasons for hoping to be jailed (e.g. for the earnings from work, medical treatment or drug withdrawal in prison) and means of entry; and

    (b)the measures adopted to curb the illegal entry of foreigners seeking to serve imprisonment terms in Hong Kong and the effectiveness of such measures?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*16. Hon LEE Wing-tat to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)as the authorities intend to relocate their staff currently working in the Government Secretariat, which comprises the Main Wing, East Wing and West Wing of the Central Government Offices and the Murray Building, to the proposed new Central Government Complex at Tamar, of their plan to dispose of the current site of the Government Secretariat, and whether they will redevelop the site; and

    (b)when redeveloping the above site, whether the authorities will impose any restrictions on the land use, building height and development intensity of the site on the grounds of over-intensified development and excessive traffic load in Central at present, as well as the site having a unique cultural and historical value?
Public Officer to reply : Chief Secretary for Administration

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

In reply to my question at the Council meeting on 23 June last year, the Government said that arrest action with subsequent prosecution was the most effective way to deal with unlicensed hawking activities as this would bring such activities to an immediate halt, and the staff of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department could also forfeit the equipment and commodities of the hawkers. However, I note that unlicensed hawking activities have shown no sign of declining in recent years. Regarding the cost-effectiveness of controlling unlicensed hawkers, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the total public expenditure on controlling unlicensed hawkers, the number of prosecutions instituted against them and the average amount of public funds spent on each prosecution in the year 2004-05; and

    (b)whether it will re-consider using less costly ways in taking enforcement actions against unlicensed hawkers, such as issuing fixed penalty notices in place of summonses; if so, of the relevant details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

According to a household health survey jointly conducted by the Department of Health and the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong, around 40% of people will buy drugs at pharmacies for self-treatment when they feel unwell. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the existing channels through which the public can obtain information about diseases and drugs, as well as the manpower and financial resources deployed for providing such information in the last financial year;

    (b)whether it will allow drug dealers to advertise drugs with proven clinical efficacy, so that the public may know about the efficacy of the drugs;

    (c)of the current number of retail pharmacies where drugs are dispensed by registered pharmacists and its percentage in the total number of retail pharmacies and drug stores; whether it has assessed the supply and demand situation of registered pharmacists and formulated the relevant training programmes accordingly; and

    (d)whether it will strengthen public health education so that the public have a basic understanding of diseases, thus refraining from buying drugs at pharmacies for self-treatment when they have contracted highly infectious diseases, which may cause delay in treatment and lead to the spread of the disease in the community; if so, of the details of the relevant education work; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

The Housing Authority plans to launch the Total Maintenance Scheme in January next year to carry out inspections and repairs for more than 600 000 public rental housing ("PRH") flats. The Housing Department ("HD") will dispatch In-flat Inspection Ambassadors ("IIAs") to tenants' flats to carry out in-flat inspections. It has been reported that tenants will be required to shoulder the expenses for repairing the fixtures inside their flats which they damaged and they will incur seven penalty points under the Marking Scheme for Tenancy Enforcement in Public Housing Estates if they refuse IIAs entry to their flats for inspections. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether clear guidelines have been drawn up for distinguishing the damage to the fixtures inside PRH flats caused by the tenants from that due to natural wear and tear; if so, of the details of the guidelines and whether they will be made public;

    (b)of the mechanism for resolving the disagreements between HD and tenants over the sharing of repair expenses, as well as the measures to assist those tenants who cannot afford such expenses;

    (c)of the specific arrangements for IIAs' entry to PRH flats for inspections; and how it will be ensured that no undue inconvenience is caused to the tenants; and

    (d)whether tenants of PRH flats will be consulted on the penalty clause for refusing IIAs entry to their flats for inspections; if not, of the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

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

It has been reported that the University of Hong Kong disallows serving shark's fin dishes in all on-campus restaurants, regardless of whether or not they have been outsourced. Moreover, should shark's fin dishes be offered at banquets held by the university, it will not pay for the consumption of the shark's fin. Similar practice has also been adopted by large enterprises such as Swire Properties Limited and The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether the Government, as the largest organization in Hong Kong, will follow the above practice; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

*For written reply.

III. Bills

First Reading

Employment (Increase in Penalty for Offences under Section 63C) Bill 2005

Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)

Employment (Increase in Penalty for Offences under Section 63C) Bill 2005 :Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

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

Revenue (Personalized Vehicle Registration Marks) Bill 2005 :Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

IV. Motions

Proposed resolution under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance

Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury to move the following motion:

RESOLVED that Schedule 1 to the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance (Cap. 109) be amended, in paragraph 1A of Part III -

(a)in subparagraph (a), by repealing "31 December 2005" and substituting "31 December 2006";

(b)in subparagraph (b), by repealing "1 January 2006" and substituting "1 January 2007".

V. Members' Motions

  1. Proposed resolution under the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China

    Hon TSANG Yok-sing to move the following motion:

    RESOLVED that Rule 46(1) of the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region be amended by adding "and Annex I and Annex II to" after "and 159 of".

  2. Franchised bus fares

    Hon Andrew CHENG: (Translation)

    That, in anticipation of the implementation of the fare adjustment mechanism that allows fares to go upward and downward in January 2006, which will apply to franchised bus companies, this Council urges the Government to discuss with various franchised bus companies:

    (a)cancelling the proposed arrangements for advance payment of the return journey fares, and providing fare reduction initiatives that are more reasonable, including reducing the single journey fares by at least 10% so as to benefit all passengers;

    (b)offering more comprehensive bus-bus interchange concessions;

    (c)improving the existing fare structures, expeditiously revising the scale of fares under the Public Bus Services Ordinance as well as the route groupings under the scale, reformulating the existing guidelines on the setting of fares, and determining the full and sectional fares of each bus route according to the distance of the journey on condition that the burden on long-haul passengers will not be increased, so that the fare structures become more transparent and reasonable and the fares paid by each passenger are as fair as possible; and

    (d)introducing one-day and one-week travel pass as well as monthly ticket schemes for buses, so as to allow choices for local passengers and tourists;

    and to expeditiously reach a consensus with them on these fare arrangements to facilitate the implementation of the fare adjustment mechanism that allows fares to go upward and downward.

    Amendments to motion
    (i)Hon Miriam LAU: (Translation)

    To delete ", in anticipation of the" after "That" and substitute with "this Council supports the expeditious"; to delete "this Council" after "apply to franchised bus companies," and substitute with "and"; to add "a reasonable form of" after "and providing"; to delete "initiatives that are more reasonable, including reducing the single journey fares by at least 10%" after "fare reduction"; to delete "all" after "so as to benefit" and substitute with "more"; to delete "(c) improving the existing fare structures, expeditiously revising the scale of fares under the Public Bus Services Ordinance as well as the route groupings under the scale, reformulating the existing guidelines on the setting of fares, and determining the full and sectional fares of each bus route according to the distance of the journey on condition that the burden on long-haul passengers will not be increased, so that the fare structures become more transparent and reasonable and the fares paid by each passenger are as fair as possible; and" after "bus-bus interchange concessions;"; to delete the original "(d)" and substitute with "(c)"; to delete "introducing" before "one-day and one-week travel pass" and substitute with "studying the introduction of"; to add "(d) studying the introduction of a monthly Free-ride Day for the elderly to encourage them to go out more often with a view to promoting their integration into the community; and (e) studying the introduction of travel concessions for people with disabilities;" after "local passengers and tourists;"; and to delete "these fare arrangements to facilitate the implementation of the fare adjustment mechanism that allows fares to go upward and downward" after "consensus with them on" and substitute with "the relevant fare arrangements in order that such arrangements can be implemented in January next year and that the public can enjoy fare reductions and concessions as early as possible; at the same time, this Council also urges the Government to actively explore with various franchised bus companies ways to solve the technical problems regarding the introduction of sectional fares for buses and, on condition that the burden on long-haul passengers will not be increased, to expeditiously introduce sectional fares for buses after identifying reasonable and feasible implementation methods".

    Amendment to Hon Miriam LAU's amendment
    Hon LEE Wing-tat:     (Translation)

    To add ", including offering, in the return journey, a reduction of not less than 10% of the fares for both the forward and return journeys taken," after "a reasonable form of fare reduction"; to delete "studying the introduction of" after "(c)" and substitute with "ways to expeditiously introduce"; to delete "studying" after "(d)"; to delete "studying" after "(e)"; to delete "actively explore" after "urges the Government to" and substitute with "discuss"; to delete "ways to solve the technical problems regarding the introduction of sectional fares for buses" after "with various franchised bus companies"; and to add "encourage them" before ", on condition".

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

    To add ", including extending the interchange concessions to more routes and introducing additional inter-company interchange concessions" after "bus-bus interchange concessions"; to delete "and" after "as fair as possible;"; to add "and (e) reintroducing the holiday fare concessions for the elderly, such as the one-dollar flat fare holiday concession for the elderly which was terminated earlier, offering half-fare concessions to all full-time students in the territory, and studying the introduction of travel concessions for people with disabilities;" after "local passengers and tourists;"; to delete "to facilitate the implementation of" after "fare arrangements" and substitute with ", as well as to implement"; and to add "after it has been thoroughly discussed and generally accepted by the community at large" after "upward and downward".

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

  3. Conservation of energy

    Hon CHOY So-yuk: (Translation)

    That, in order to more effectively promote energy conservation and enhance energy efficiency so as to achieve the objectives of protecting the environment and conserving the resources on the earth, this Council urges the Government to:

    (a)formulate a comprehensive and effective energy conservation policy;

    (b)establish an energy conservation committee which is independent of the Government to coordinate the Government's and the two power companies' resources and initiatives for promoting energy conservation;

    (c)take the lead in drawing up internal energy conservation programmes within various departments, to appoint an energy manager to oversee the implementation of energy conservation initiatives, and to provide annual reports reviewing the effectiveness of the initiatives;

    (d)make it mandatory for proposed government buildings to pass the energy efficiency assessment prior to construction in order to ensure that the designs, materials and facilities of such buildings meet the energy conservation requirements;

    (e)actively promote the implementation of green roof projects on buildings, especially government buildings such as hospitals and schools, etc, throughout the territory;

    (f)expeditiously implement the mandatory energy efficiency labelling scheme;

    (g)promote the provision of economic incentives by the two power companies with a view to encouraging their customers to use energy-saving electrical appliances;

    (h)promote the introduction of an effective mechanism, including the provision of economic incentives, by commercial properties with a view to encouraging commercial tenants to reduce electricity consumption; and

    (i)actively enhance, through publicity and education, the public's knowledge and awareness of energy conservation.

    Amendments to motion
    (i)Hon SIN Chung-kai: (Translation)

    To add "(b) establish a computer database on the energy consumption of products so that the public can have access to information about the energy efficiency of the products before deciding to buy such products;" after "energy conservation policy"; to delete the original "(b)" and substitute with "(c)"; to delete the original "(c)" and substitute with "(d)"; to delete the original "(d)" and substitute with "(e)"; to delete the original "(e)" and substitute with "(f)"; to delete the original "(f)" and substitute with "(g)"; to delete the original "(g)" and substitute with "(h)"; to delete the original "(h)" and substitute with "(i)"; and to delete the original "(i)" and substitute with "(j)".

    (ii)Hon Vincent FANG Kang: (Translation)

    To delete "establish an energy conservation committee which is independent of the Government to coordinate the Government's and the two power companies' resources and initiatives for promoting energy conservation" after "(b)" and substitute with "enhance the functions of the existing Energy Efficiency and Conservation Sub-committee, and empower it to submit energy conservation proposals to the Government on its own initiative"; to delete "appoint an energy manager to oversee" after "various departments, to" and substitute with "enhance the efforts of the existing green managers in various departments in overseeing"; and to add "in respect to those products which have joined and achieved satisfactory results under the voluntary Energy Efficiency Labelling Scheme" after "labelling scheme".

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

Clerk to the Legislative Council