A 06/07-17

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 31 January 2007 at 11:00 am

I. Tabling of Papers
Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments L.N. No.
1.Market (Cessation of Application of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance) Declaration 200710/2007
2.Public Health and Municipal Services (Cessation of Designation as Public Market) Order 200711/2007
3.Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Amendment of Tenth Schedule) Order 200712/2007
4.Fugitive Offenders (Republic of Korea) Order (Commencement) Notice13/2007

Other Paper

Report of the Bills Committee on Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel Bill
(to be presented by Hon Margaret NG, Chairman of the Bills Committee)

II. Questions

1. Hon Mrs Sophie LEUNG to ask: (Translation)

The "EatSmart@school.hk" Campaign has been launched in full scale in all primary schools in Hong Kong since the 2006-2007 school year, aiming at improving the eating habits of school children. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)given that the target respondents of the survey entitled "Baseline Assessment of Promoting Healthy Eating in Primary Schools" conducted by the authorities from February to March 2006 included students and parents but were confined to Primary Four and Five pupils and their parents, of the justifications for determining the target respondents, and the reasons for not including pupils of the other grades and their parents;

    (b)given that the cross-sector Steering Committee set up by the Government for the above Campaign comprises representatives from 10 sectors including government departments, professional and educational bodies only, why representatives of parents, teachers and the catering sector, in particular food suppliers, have not been included; of the criteria adopted for determining the composition of the Committee; and whether it has assessed how the Committee with such composition can provide comprehensive advice on and direct the above Campaign; if it has, of the assessment results; and

    (c)of the number and details of the new promotional and related activities to be organized by the Government for the Campaign?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

2. Hon Albert Jinghan CHENG to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that since artificial trans fats will increase the risk of suffering from cardiovascular diseases, the use of such substance in food production will be banned in restaurants in New York City ("NYC") of the United States of America ("US") from July this year. In addition, a number of restaurant chains in US have also announced that they will reduce the use of artificial trans fats or switch to other types of vegetable oil in food production. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it has studied the trend and causes of Hong Kong people suffering from cardiovascular diseases in recent years; if it has, whether the causes of the diseases are related to the consumption of food containing artificial trans fats;

    (b)whether it plans to follow the practice of NYC authority to ban the use of artificial trans fats in food production in restaurants; and

    (c)whether there is requirement that the level of artificial trans fats should be specified on the packages of imported food and local food products to facilitate easy identification by the public?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

The exhaust emissions from diesel private cars and alternative hydrogen-fuelled environmentally-friendly vehicles currently produced by various European automobile manufacturers are as low as those from petrol private cars. However, some car owners have indicated that the legislation governing the registration of diesel private cars is so stringent that the owners of such cars often have to convert the car compartments of these vehicles before they can be registered as vans. As a result, such environmentally-friendly vehicles are not popular in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it has studied the difference between the quantity of air pollutants, such as respirable suspended particulates and nitrogen oxides, emitted from petrol and diesel private cars with the same horsepower; if it has, of the findings;

    (b)whether it will consider lowering the current emission standards for registration of diesel private cars, so that such type of environmentally-friendly cars can be registered; and

    (c)whether it has studied if the introduction of the above alternative hydrogen-fuelled environmentally-friendly vehicles will help reduce the exhaust emissions from vehicles in Hong Kong; if it has, of the findings of the study; if not, whether it will consider conducting such study?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

As the number of child abuse cases has been on the rise in recent years, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective numbers of reported cases and requests for assistance involving child abuse in each district in each of the past three years; and among such cases, the respective numbers of those in which the abuser was the unmarried or single parent of the abused child;

    (b)how the authorities will enhance the existing mechanism for handling child abuse cases with a view to facilitating early identification of families with high risks of child abuse on the basis of the profile of such families, and providing timely assistance to such families; and

    (c)whether it will flexibly allocate additional resources to districts in which there are more child abuse cases, in order to support the implementation by non-government organizations of specific service programmes or pilot schemes on district coordination mechanism for handling problems of child abuse; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

5. Hon TSANG Yok-sing to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that some members of the public have contracted eye diseases as a result of using cosmetic contact lens. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows the respective numbers of such reported cases received by the authorities concerned in each of the past three years; and

    (b)how the quality, registration, sale, examination and fitting of cosmetic contact lens are regulated by the Government at present?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

6. Hon TAM Heung-man to ask: (Translation)

Two kinds of allowances, namely the Disability Allowance ("DA") and the Old Age Allowance ("OAA"), were provided to eligible persons under the Social Security Allowance Scheme administered by the Social Welfare Department ("SWD"). In her direct investigation report published in November last year, the Ombudsman found many loopholes in the DA scheme, resulted in allowances being erroneously paid. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it has, in response to the aforesaid report, formulated concrete measures to improve the DA scheme; if it has, of the details of such measures; if not, whether and when it will formulate such measures;

    (b)whether it has conducted internal investigations into whether the erroneous payment of allowance involved maladministration by government officers and instituted disciplinary proceedings against the officers concerned; if it has, of the progress of the investigations; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)given that loopholes have been found in the DA scheme, whether SWD has reviewed if there are inadequacies in the OAA scheme as well; if it has, of the outcome of the review; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

*7. Hon Abraham SHEK to ask:

So far, the Government has been able to further advance the delivery of eight out of the 25 leisure and cultural services ("LCS") priority projects. With a view to further exploring ways to speed up the delivery of LCS projects, the Government has established a steering committee to oversee the implementation of these projects and to resolve problems impeding progress. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)how the steering committee resolves problems in meeting the administrative requirements relating to land utilization and plot ratio before these projects are launched, so as to speed up the implementation of the projects; and

    (b)whether it will further review the time frame for the delivery of the remaining 17 LCS priority projects mentioned above?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

*8. Hon Martin LEE to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the local consumption of Nostoc flagelliforme, i.e. hair moss, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows, in each of the past five years, the quantity of Nostoc flagelliforme imported into Hong Kong, from where Nostoc flagelliforme is imported for sale in the market, and of the quantity of illegally imported Nostoc flagelliforme seized by the Government in the territory;

    (b)whether it has conducted sampling tests on Nostoc flagelliforme for sale in the local market in the past five years; if so, of the quantity of fake Nostoc flagelliforme found; and

    (c)whether it has studied, from the environmental protection perspective, introducing legislation to prohibit the import of Nostoc flagelliforme; if it has, of the study results; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

With regard to the supply of private housing land and private residential units, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective numbers of unsold private residential units which were under construction and which were completed as at the end of December 2006;

    (b)of the total area of disposed residential sites for which construction had yet to start, and the estimated number of residential units to be constructed, as at the end of December 2006, together with a breakdown by the types of the sites (for example, sold Government sites, Railway/Urban Renewal Authority ("URA")/ privately-owned sites with planning approval for residential use and for which requisite lease modifications or land exchanges have been executed with the Government, etc); and

    (c)in respect of potential private housing land supply,

    (i)of the total area of the sites included in the List of Sites for Sale by Application ("Application List") and the estimated number of units to be constructed; and

    (ii)of the total area and the permissible gross floor area of the sites which have not been included in the Application List but intended to be disposed of in the next five years, together with a breakdown by the types of the sites (for example, Government residential sites which are yet to be sold, Railway/URA sites which are yet to be awarded to joint venture developers, and privately-owned sites with planning approval for residential use but for which requisite lease modifications or land exchanges have yet to be agreed with the Government, etc)?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

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

Will the Government inform this Council of the numbers (or provisional numbers) of students and classes in secondary and primary day schools in Hong Kong in the 2006-2007 school year, broken down by sector (including government, aided, Direct Subsidy Scheme, private and international schools) and by grade? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

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

An associate professor of a local university has stated in a web blog that recently some Hong Kong businessmen imported to Hong Kong used pachinko machines installed with circuit boards and transistors, which contain toxic heavy metals such as lead and mercury, in the name of old machinery, and workshops have been set up in Yuen Long to dissemble the machinery parts for delivery to the Mainland. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows the number of the above pachinko machines that were imported to Hong Kong in the name of used machinery in the past year, and whether it has taken up the matter with the government of the country from which such machines originated;

    (b)whether it will consider establishing a mechanism to plug the loopholes through which businessmen import such pachinko machines to Hong Kong in the name of used machinery;

    (c)whether it has studied if the acts, including importing pachinko machines, dissembling them and reshipping their parts, of the above-mentioned Hong Kong businessmen have violated the existing laws of Hong Kong; if they have violated the law, of the details, including the penalty which may be imposed;

    (d)whether it has discovered that the chemical contents, such as lead or other heavy metals, of the above-mentioned workshops have reached a level which may pose a threat to public health; if it has, of the details; and

    (e)given that the harmful pollutants of pachinko machines come primarily from circuit boards, whether it has studied if such harmful pollutants are subject to the regulation of the existing laws of Hong Kong; if they are subject to such regulation, of the details; if they are not, whether the Government will enact legislation to regulate the means of disposing circuit boards with harmful pollutants; if it will, of the criteria adopted by the Government for determining the quantity and concentration of the harmful pollutants contained in the circuit boards?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

Through annual subventions, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department provides funding support to five non-profit-making arts organizations, namely, the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, Hong Kong Dance Company, Hong Kong Repertory Theatre, Hong Kong Philharmonic Society and Hong Kong Arts Festival Society. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of the following in respect of the past three years:
    (a)the respective annual amounts of funding received by each of the above organizations, and their respective percentages in the total annual expenditures of the organizations concerned;

    (b)the respective annual numbers of performance activities held by each of the above organizations at various cultural performance venues (including town halls and civic centres) in the New Territories, together with a breakdown by the nature of such activities; and

    (c)the respective annual average usage rates of the cultural performance venues at various districts in the New Territories, and the respective usage rates of such venues excluding the performance activities held by the above organizations?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

I have learnt that the Hospital Authority ("HA") has decided to reduce, gradually in three months' time from January this year, a total of 75 beds, or about 20% of the beds, at Tseung Kwan O Hospital. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows if HA has conducted prior consultation on its above decision; if HA has done so, of the time and results of consultation; if it has not, the reasons for that;

    (b)whether it knows the ratio of hospital beds to population in Tseung Kwan O after the reduction of the hospital beds, and how HA ensures that the medical services in that area will not be affected by the reduction of the hospital beds; and

    (c)whether it has assessed the impact of the above decision on the expansion plans for Tseung Kwan O Hospital and Haven of Hope Hospital; if it has, of the assessment results?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

According to the results of a survey, the information technology ("IT") industry will face a serious shortage of manpower in the coming three years. In addition, people in the industry have told me that many IT students do not join the IT sector after graduation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of Mainlanders granted approval to engage in IT work in Hong Kong each year since the launch of the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals ("the Scheme") in July 2003, together with a breakdown by the types of jobs in which they were mainly engaged when the approval was granted, such as software development, information security, network technologies and scientific researches;

    (b)whether it will relax the vetting and approving criteria for the Scheme, including that the job which the Mainlander is employed to take up in Hong Kong cannot be readily taken up by the local work force; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (c)whether it has formulated new measures to relieve the manpower shortage in the local IT industry in the short term and resolve the problem in the long run; if it has, of the details; and

    (d)whether it plans to conduct in the near future a survey on the future demand and supply of IT manpower, to enable a more accurate grasp of the situation; if it has, of the details of its plan; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology

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

Recently, I received many complaints from members of the public that the light emitted from advertising light boxes ("ALBs") on the external walls of many buildings has caused nuisance to residents, making it difficult for them to fall asleep. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of complaints received in each of the past three years about the nuisance caused to residents by ALBs on the external walls of buildings, and the number of cases in which such complaints were successfully handled and residents concerned were no longer affected by the nuisance; and

    (b)whether it will consider strengthening the regulation of ALBs on the external walls of buildings to ensure that they will not cause nuisance to residents; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

A number of submarine cables were damaged by a severe earthquake which occurred in Luzon Strait on the 26th of last month. External telecommunications services in Hong Kong (including IDD calls, roaming calls and Internet access to overseas web sites) were seriously affected for several days following the earthquake. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
    (a)whether they have assessed the impact of this incident on small and medium enterprises ("SMEs"), including the number of SMEs which have suffered economic losses and the total amount of such losses, as well as the number of SMEs which have not yet resumed normal operation and the relevant details;

    (b)whether they know the details of the insurance taken out by SMEs against business losses arising from natural disasters; and

    (c)of the measures in place to assist the SMEs affected?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology

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

The Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon 2007 will be held on the 4th of March this year. When the event was held last year, the participation of many runners who had not been adequately trained for running, coupled with the serious air pollution on that day, resulted in a number of participants feeling unwell, and the sudden death of a man. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it has taken the initiative to contact the Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association, the event organizer, to find out the new measures formulated by the Association for this year's event to prevent the recurrence of the aforesaid situation; if so,
    (a)of the specific details of these new measures, such as reviewing the eligibility criteria for joining the race; providing the relevant training, promoting the knowledge of long-distance running and organizing warm-up races; improving the routings and order at the start of the race; reviewing the number and distribution of water stations, first-aid stations, medical staff and event personnel; improving the arrangements for dealing with such situations as emergencies, serious air pollution or inclement weather, etc; and

    (b)whether it has assessed if such new measures are adequate and will be effective; if so, of the assessment result; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

Regarding occupational safety of supermarket staff, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective numbers of cases in which supermarket staff, such as cashiers and tally clerks, were injured at work or confirmed to have suffered from occupational diseases in each of the past five years; and

    (b)of such cases in the past year, what types of work injuries and occupational disease cases are of the highest number, and what are the posts involved?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

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

Will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective numbers of foreign domestic helpers ("FDHs") prosecuted and convicted in each of the past three years, with a breakdown by the category of crimes involved and how they were uncovered (e.g. from reports by employers), as well as the maximum and minimum penalties imposed on the convicts by the Court;

    (b)as employers are required to provide air tickets for FDHs to return to their places of origin upon expiry or termination of their employment contracts, whether the authorities have reviewed if this requirement has affected the employers' decision on whether or not to report their FDHs to the authorities for crimes allegedly committed by them; and

    (c)whether it will stipulate that applications for taking up of employment in Hong Kong as domestic helpers from abroad shall be accompanied by a certificate of no criminal conviction from the FDHs' places of origin?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

Since the end of 2004, the Buildings Department and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department have progressively set up Joint Offices in various districts to provide "one-stop" service for handling public complaints about water seepage in private buildings. When the source of water seepage has been identified, the Joint Office concerned may issue a Nuisance Notice to the relevant person(s) or apply to the Court for a Nuisance Order, requiring that person(s) to abate the nuisance. Failure to comply with the Notice or Order may result in prosecution. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the following in respect of each Joint Office since its establishment:

    (i)the number of complaints about water seepage received;

    (ii)the number of instances in which an application for a warrant was made to the Court to enter the flat in question to investigate the cause of water seepage;

    (iii)the number of cases in which the cause of water seepage was identified, and the average time taken between the receipt of a complaint and identification of the source of water seepage; and

    (iv)the respective numbers of instances in which a Nuisance Notice was issued and an application was made to the Court for a Nuisance Order; the respective numbers of cases in which prosecution was instituted against the person who failed to comply with the Notice or Order, the respective numbers of convictions and the penalties imposed by the Court; and

    (b)among the cases for which water seepage tests were conducted by various Joint Offices, of the percentage of those in which only the colour test is conducted; as there are complaints that the test is ineffective, whether the Joint Offices will totally switch to using other more effective methods; if it will, of the timetable and details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

*For written reply.

III. Bills

First Reading

Housing (Amendment) Bill 2007

Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)

Housing (Amendment) Bill 2007 :Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

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

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

IV. Members' Motions

  1. Assisting in the transformation of factory buildings

    Hon Mrs Selina CHOW: (Translation)

    That, as factories have been relocated to the north in large numbers and the economy of Hong Kong has totally shifted towards being dominated by service industries, which has resulted in a high vacancy rate of local factory buildings and has turned some traditional industrial districts into "stricken areas", which is a tremendous waste of social resources, this Council urges the Government to adopt in a timely and appropriate manner more flexible policies to assist in the transformation of traditional factory buildings, so as to adapt to the present economic and commercial development situation, which include:

    (a)reviewing afresh and amending the definitions of "industrial use" and "factory" in the relevant legislation and policies;

    (b)on the premise of meeting building safety requirements, enhancing the coordination among relevant departments to provide one-stop services, so as to streamline and expedite the processing and approval of applications by factory building owners for changing the use of land or factory buildings; and

    (c)at town planning level, encouraging overall planning for vacated factory buildings in old industrial areas, such as developing theme areas for creative industries, electrical appliance cities and merchandizing cities,

    so that trades other than the traditional industries can also make use of factory buildings for their development, with a view to revitalizing old industrial areas, reviving community economy and creating more employment opportunities.

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

  2. A comprehensive review on mental health policy

    Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki: (Translation)

    That, as the number of consultations by psychiatric patients in Hong Kong increases significantly every year and the annual number of consultations and first consultations at the psychiatric specialist out-patient service of public hospitals also rises drastically, but the Government fails to provide adequate support in this respect, resulting in a serious shortage of resources and health care personnel in psychiatric services at present and dire challenges for diagnosis, treatment, medication, hospitalization and rehabilitation services, as well as patients being denied more suitable medicines and better treatment, this Council urges the Government to:

    (a)expeditiously conduct a comprehensive review on Hong Kong's mental health policy to cause the public to pay proper attention to mental health;

    (b)allocate more resources to psychiatric services for recruiting more health care and other specialist personnel, strengthening relevant training for health care personnel across the board, enhancing the ability of family doctors to treat relevant illnesses and improving the existing psychiatric services in such areas as diagnosis, treatment, medication, hospitalization and rehabilitation;

    (c)integrate and coordinate the territory's medical and social services in mental health, and explore a new funding mechanism, so that the public can enjoy more comprehensive mental health services;

    (d)invite people concerned across the community, including frontline health care personnel, patients and their family members, social workers, social welfare organizations, academics and other people who are concerned about mental health in Hong Kong, to jointly take part in the formulation and review of the overall mental health policy;

    (e)enhance public education on mental health, so as to deepen the public's understanding of mental health and reduce discrimination of the community against mental patients and ex-mental patients; and

    (f)conduct regular studies on the situation of and policy on mental health in Hong Kong, so that corresponding measures can be taken to upgrade the mental health services in Hong Kong.

    Amendments to motion
    (i)Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG: (Translation)

    To add "currently Hong Kong attaches little importance to mental health," after "That, as"; to add "," after "every year"; to add "not to mention those patients with hidden symptoms in the community," after "rises drastically,"; to add "and suitable rehabilitation services to help them integrate into the community" after "better treatment"; to add "set up a mental health council to" after "(a) expeditiously"; to delete "to cause the public to pay proper attention to mental health" after "Hong Kong's mental health policy" and substitute with "and coordinate mental health services to enhance inter-departmental cooperation and cause the public to attach greater importance to mental health"; to add "(c) improve the facilities in acute wards and closed wards for psychiatric services and implement a triage system, so as to provide patients with a more suitable environment for treatment; (d) comprehensively enhance the quality of rehabilitation services, which includes reforming sheltered workshops and implementing a case management system, so that ex-mental patients can obtain adequate and comprehensive services in the community;" after "hospitalization and rehabilitation;"; to delete the original "(c)" and substitute with "(e)"; to delete the original "(d)" and substitute with "(f)"; to add ", educators" after "academics"; to delete the original "(e)" and substitute with "(g)"; to delete "public education on mental health, so as to deepen" after "enhance"; to add "through formal education and public education," after "understanding of mental health"; and to delete the original "(f)" and substitute with "(h)".

    (ii)Dr Hon Joseph LEE Kok-long: (Translation)

    To add "prevention," after "dire challenges for"; to delete "to cause the public to pay proper attention to mental health" after "Hong Kong's mental health policy" and substitute with "and regularly conduct studies and reviews, as well as make appropriate adjustments in the light of the relevant results, so as to support and upgrade mental health services"; to add "prevention," after "in such areas as"; to add "(c) strengthen community psychiatric services, enhance the functions of community psychiatric health care teams and provide primary mental health services in areas such as prevention, education and assessment;" after "hospitalization and rehabilitation;"; to delete the original "(c)" and substitute with "(d)"; to delete "social" after "the territory's medical and" and substitute with "community rehabilitation"; to delete the original "(d)" and substitute with "(e)"; to add "and" after "overall mental health policy;"; to delete the original "(e)" and substitute with "(f)"; to add ", cause them to pay proper attention to the importance of mental health" after "understanding of mental health"; and to delete "; and (f) conduct regular studies on the situation of and policy on mental health in Hong Kong, so that corresponding measures can be taken to upgrade the mental health services in Hong Kong" after "ex-mental patients".

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

Clerk to the Legislative Council