A 06/07-21

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 14 March 2007 at 11:00 am

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments L.N. No.
1.Land Registration (Amendment) Regulation 200736/2007
2.Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Amendment of Second Schedule) Order 200737/2007
3.Statutes of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Amendment) Statutes 200738/2007

Other Papers

1.No.76-Report by the Controller, Government Flying Service on the Administration of the Government Flying Service Welfare Fund, together with the Director of Audit's Report, for the year ended 31 March 2006
(to be presented by Secretary for Security)

2.No.77-Report of changes to the approved Estimates of Expenditure approved during the third quarter of 2006-2007 (Public Finance Ordinance : Section 8)
(to be presented by Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury)

3.No.78-The Lord Wilson Heritage Trust Annual Report 2005-2006
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

II. Questions

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

The Government has advised that Smart Identity ("ID") Cards has multi-application capability, which brings convenience to members of the public. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the types of data that can be stored in Smart ID Cards at present;

    (b)whether it has considered storing, in the Smart ID Cards of construction workers, the records of their attendance at recognized safety training courses, so that they may be allowed to enter construction sites without carrying green cards; and

    (c)whether it plans to permit Smart ID Cards to store all the professional and academic certifications issued by government departments and recognized academic institutions, thereby reducing the number of certification cards to be issued and facilitating verification by potential employers; if so, of the details of such plans; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology

2. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that a professor of the Hong Kong Baptist University claims that a senior official from the Education and Manpower Bureau ("EMB") has attempted to interfere in matters relating to the university's award of honorary doctorates by requesting the Council chairman of the university to remove a person's name from the list of recipients concerned, but the request was turned down. It has also been reported that according to the senior management of the Lingnan University, similar incidents have occurred in their university too. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council whether:
    (a)they know the criteria adopted by publicly-funded universities for determining the recipients of honorary doctorates; and

    (b)EMB officials had, in the past three years, expressed views to universities on matters relating to the award of honorary doctorates; if so, of the details concerned and the reasons for expressing such views?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

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

The number of publicly-funded first-year first-degree places has been maintained at 14 500 since the 1994-1995 school year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the criteria used as the basis for setting the number of first-degree places each year at the level of 14 500; and

    (b)whether such places will be increased so that more local students of the appropriate age group and associate degree graduates can pursue further studies; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

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

Regarding the obstetrics and gynaecology services at the North District Hospital, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
    (a)given that it has been reported that the New Territories East Cluster of the Hospital Authority ("HA") has recently abolished the emergency gynaecology services at the North District Hospital and redeployed the manpower there to the Prince of Wales Hospital, resulting in patients seeking emergency gynaecology services in that district having to go to the Prince of Wales Hospital, which is about 30-minute drive from the North District, for such services, whether HA has assessed the additional risks posed by such an arrangement to patients seeking emergency gynaecology services (especially those experiencing extra-uterine pregnancy or miscarriage, etc); if so, of the assessment results;

    (b)whether HA has considered recruiting additional staff to solve the problem and hence there is no need to abolish the above services; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)given the increasing demand for obstetrics services from residents in the North District, whether HA will consider providing obstetrics beds at the North District Hospital; if so, of the timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

5. Hon Albert CHAN to ask: (Translation)

In reply to my question at the Council meeting on 3 May last year, the Government said that it would continue to combat illegal practices employed by debt collection agencies ("DCAs"). However, I have learnt that there is a deteriorating trend in the harassment of members of the public by DCAs in recovering debts. Some banks, finance companies, telecommunications companies, beauty service companies and even tutorial teachers have hired DCAs to collect money owed by their customers, causing many people to suffer harassment. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of cases reported by the public to the Police since 1 April last year about harassment by DCAs, how the figure compares to those in the two years preceding April last year, and the Government's average expenditure incurred in handling such cases;

    (b)whether it will reconsider accepting the recommendations of the Law Reform Commission of Hong Kong made in 2002 of creating a criminal offence of harassment of debtors and others and introducing a statutory licensing system to regulate DCAs; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether it will consider stepping up law enforcement actions to curb the harassing practices of DCAs in recovering debts; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

Some organizations have found that during the Lunar New Year last month, goods in a number of supermarkets were stacked very high. Goods were also placed at entrances and exits, in the space between goods shelves and along passages, and they obstructed fire escapes. Some goods even blocked the sprinklers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it has stipulated standards for the width of passages in supermarkets; if so, of such standards; if not, whether it will stipulate such standards;

    (b)whether the Fire Services Department and other government departments concerned had carried out inspections in the past three years to ascertain if the passages and fire escapes in supermarkets complied with the safety standards; if so, of the respective numbers of inspections made and prosecutions instituted; and

    (c)whether it has assessed if placing goods along passages and stacking goods excessively high violate the requirements of the Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance; if it has, of the assessment results; and whether the Labour Department had carried out inspections in the past three years to ascertain if supermarkets complied with the requirements of the Ordinance; if so, of the respective numbers of inspections made and prosecutions instituted?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*7. Hon Miriam LAU to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that from time to time in recent years some people were found using forged vehicle licences ("vehicle licence discs") and vehicle registration marks to operate taxis (commonly known as "shadow taxis"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of shadow taxis found in each of the past three years, and whether they are taxis which had been reported missing; if not, of the sources of such vehicles;

    (b)whether it will enhance the security features of vehicle licence discs; if so, of the details; if not, how it can prevent the discs from being forged;

    (c)whether the rights and interests of passengers of shadow taxis are safeguarded in the event of traffic accidents; and

    (d)whether it will take measures to combat the operation of shadow taxis; if so, of the details of the measures concerned; if not, how it can safeguard the rights and interests of the drivers, owners and passengers of taxis?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

*8. Hon Abraham SHEK to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that the Water Supplies Department ("WSD") mistakenly issued water bills of huge amounts to a number of domestic customers last year, which involved various errors made by the staff of WSD. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of investigations conducted since January 2006 by WSD into cases involving incorrect taking of water meter readings by its staff, the total water charges involved and the disciplinary actions imposed on the staff who had made mistakes;

    (b)of the criteria adopted by WSD for assessing the water charges payable by consumers during the period for which the readings of their water meters have not been taken, the number of complaints received since January 2006 about the assessed amount, and the results of the follow-up actions taken;

    (c)given that in the event of disputes lodged by consumers about high water charges, WSD often asks the consumers concerned to hire plumbers themselves to conduct leakage inspections on the pipes inside their buildings, whether WSD has considered adopting more proactive measures (such as setting up a task force) to assist consumers in following up the relevant issues; and

    (d)of the respective circumstances under which WSD will exercise discretion to reduce the water charges in dispute and allow water charges to be settled by instalments?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

It has been reported that although the unemployment rate for the most recent quarter remained at 4.4%, the number of cases involving unemployed persons aged below 30 who had been receiving Comprehensive Social Security Assistance continuously for three years had increased rather than decreased. It has also been reported that currently there are about 18 000 hermit youths in Hong Kong, representing a sharp two-fold increase over the projection of 6 000 in 2005. The figure has directly pushed up the unemployment rate for youth and the situation is serious. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it has conducted surveys on unemployed youth aged between 15 and 29 (covering such aspects as the duration of their unemployment, educational qualifications, strengths, districts of residence, family background, and whether they have to support parents and make mortgage repayments, etc.); if so, of the survey results; if not, whether it will consider conducting a comprehensive survey;

    (b)of the number of cases, received by the Government in each of the past three years, in which unemployed youth requested for assistance and, among such cases, the number of those in which the Government had successfully assisted them in securing employment; and

    (c)whether the authorities have, besides continuing to implement the Youth Pre-employment Training Programme and the Youth Work Experience and Training Scheme as well as setting up Youth Employment Resource Centres, formulated short-term, mid-term and long-term measures to assist youth (especially hermit youths) in entering the job market, so as to thoroughly improve the employment situation of youth; if so, of the details?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

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

Will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)how it monitors the utilization of the Travel Industry Compensation Fund ("TICF"), and whether it will put TICF under the direct management of the Tourism Commission;

    (b)given that TICF is made up of collection of levy at a rate of 0.15% from the outbound tour fees received, whether it will consider suspending or reducing the levy when the surplus of TICF has accumulated to a certain level; and

    (c)whether it will discuss with the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong utilizing TICF to take out indemnity insurance collectively on behalf of travel agents, so as to enhance the protection for outbound tour group members?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

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

Two years ago, the trunk of the Wishing Tree in Lam Tsuen in Tai Po snapped off as it was unable to bear the weight of the heavy paper placards, resulting in substantial depletion of its vitality. It has been reported that some members of the public have recently moved to make wishes at Hang Ha Po, which is only a few minutes' walk from Lam Tsuen. Loads of paper placards with oranges are being hanged on a big tree at the roadside there. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it has advised the owner of the land on which the above big tree at Hang Ha Po is situated to protect the trees; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)whether it has deployed professionals to inspect the condition of that tree; if it has, of the details of the inspection; if not, the reasons for that;

    (c)whether it has investigated the source from which the paper placards hanging on that tree were purchased; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (d)in order to prevent that tree from suffering the same fate as the Wishing Tree, whether the authorities will, apart from stepping up education and publicity efforts, adopt measures with greater deterrence (including stepping up patrol, clearing unlicensed hawkers who sell paper placards, or even considering imposing a total ban on the sale of paper placards attached with heavy objects) with a view to curbing the act of throwing paper placards with oranges onto that tree; if it will, of the details of the measures concerned?
Public Officer to reply :Secretary for Education and Manpower
(in the absence of Secretary for Home Affairs)

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

To tackle the problem of shortage of Internet Protocol ("IP") addresses, the relevant international standards organization advocated in 1994 that the IP adopted for Internet infrastructure be migrated from version 4 to version 6 ("IPv6"). As the Government has indicated, in the public consultation document issued for formulating the 2007 Digital 21 Strategy, that it would take the lead in migrating to IPv6 and adopt the new protocol in its internal network by the end of 2008, will the Government inform this Council whether it has:
    (a)devised a work plan in this respect, such as setting up a coordination task force, establishing a research and development centre to support the development of products and services compatible with IPv6; if it has, of the details, timetable and public expenditure involved; and

    (b)discussed and exchanged views with the local industries (e.g. Internet service providers) or the relevant organizations in other places, in particular those of the Mainland, on issues of technological development and standards relating to IPv6; if it has, of the form and timetable of such contacts, the issues discussed as well as the consensus reached?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology

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

Sections 5 and 6 of the Dangerous Drugs Regulations (Cap. 134A) require that a registered medical practitioner shall, upon prescribing a dangerous drug, make an entry of the particulars of the drug in a register in ink or otherwise so as to be indelible. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether the existing law also allows a registered medical practitioner to make and store such entries by computer, instead of in the above handwritten form? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

Regarding cancer cases, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the number of cancer cases newly diagnosed each year since 2002, together with a breakdown by type of cancer and patients' age profile (in age groups each covering five years);

    (b)the latest five-year relative survival rates for various types of cancer; and

    (c)the types of cancer showing an upward trend in age-standardized incidence rates in the past three years, and the channels through which such information is publicized to the public by the relevant authorities?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

The Shatin to Central Link ("SCL") was originally scheduled for completion by 2011. However, since the project was awarded to the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation ("KCRC"), the construction date for SCL has still not yet been set. In introducing the Rail Merger Bill last year, the Government indicated that it would discuss with the MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL") the funding and implementation details of SCL. Moreover, the Government has recently said that it will study the possibility of implementing SCL in phases, but has not reached a final decision regarding phased implementation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the total amount of resources allocated by the Government and KCRC for the planning and study of the construction of SCL since KCRC's participation in bidding for the project, why the construction date for SCL has not yet been set, whether the Government has taken into account the expectations of the residents along the proposed alignment of SCL in considering when to construct SCL, whether the Government has assessed if the lack of a construction date for SCL will result in a waste of resources, is a breach of its promise to complete SCL by 2011, and will affect the Government's credibility in honouring contractual obligations; if such an assessment has been made; of the results; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)given that it has been reported that the Government has promised that the rail merger will not affect the construction of SCL, whether it has assessed if the implementation of SCL in phases is a breach of such promise, and of the MTRCL's position regarding the implementation of SCL in phases; and

    (c)of the latest financing arrangements for the construction of SCL, the latest development in the Government's negotiations with MTRCL regarding SCL, and the Government's position and specific principles in the negotiations concerning issues such as the financing arrangements?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

Under the Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) (Amendment) Regulation 2004, if prepackaged food products contain any of the eight categories of substances that are known to cause allergy in some people, the name of the substance shall be specified in the list of ingredients on the labels concerned. The grace period for this requirement will expire in July this year. However, members of the food industry have indicated that it is difficult for them to comply with the requirement. They point out that the majority of the food products for sale in Hong Kong are imported from the Mainland or foreign countries and some of these places do not have similar labelling requirements. Importers and retailers may not be able to obtain information on the composition of the food products concerned; hence it is difficult for them to label the food products accordingly. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
    (a)whether they have taken heed of the worries of members of the food industry; if so, how assistance will be provided to them to solve the technical problems of labelling imported foods as required;

    (b)of the measures in place to assist members of the food industry in adapting to the labelling requirement; and

    (c)whether the authorities will consider deferring the implementation of the labelling requirement to allow members of the food industry more time to make preparations?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

I have learnt that a number of imported drugs have been deregistered recently by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the agents of deregistered drugs are liable to buy back the drugs concerned from doctors, pharmacies and hospitals; if so, whether the authorities will provide assistance to doctors, pharmacies and hospitals when the agents refuse to buy back the drugs; and

    (b)of the measures the authorities have in place to prevent doctors, pharmacies or hospitals from being inconvenienced or suffering losses because of sudden deregistration of drugs?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

The Government adopted a new approach in July last year to deter recyclers from placing cages on the streets to collect used clothes. It has been reported that the problem has rekindled recently, with collection cages more roughly made than previous ones being placed on the streets for over a week and not removed. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the following from July last year to February this year:

    (i)the respective numbers of collection cages seized in various districts each month; and

    (ii)the number of persons prosecuted for placing collection cages on the streets and the penalties imposed on them;

    (b)of the number of staff deployed to implement the new approach, and whether additional staff will be deployed; and

    (c)whether it has reviewed the effectiveness of the new approach; if it has, of the outcome of the review, including the areas for improvement identified; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply :Secretary for Education and Manpower
(in the absence of Secretary for Home Affairs)

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

Under the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112), the owner of any land or buildings or land and buildings shall pay property tax to be computed at the standard rate on the net assessable value (80% of the rental income after deducting the rates paid by the owner) of the relevant land or/and buildings. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)(i)of a breakdown, by groupings in terms of whole- year rental income of the tenements concerned, of the total amount of property tax charged by the Government each year; and

    (ii)of the annual number of tenements which are subject to property tax, together with a breakdown by the type of buildings, since the tax year 1997-1998; and

    (b)given that the number of "sole tenants" (i.e. households which rent the whole tenements) living in private buildings has been around 170 000 to 220 000 since 2000, as revealed in the Quarterly Reports on General Household Survey published by the Census and Statistics Department, why the number of property tax demand notes issued for each of the relevant tax years by the Inland Revenue Department were around 80 000 to 90 000 only?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

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

Regarding the latest summary results of the 2006 population by-census announced by the Census and Statistics Department and the compilation of the Gini Coefficient, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether, in the past, it had announced the summary results of population census and the relevant Gini Coefficients at the same time; given that some academics have pointed out that with the advanced computer technology nowadays, the compilation of the Gini Coefficient is not difficult, why the Government has not announced the latest Gini Coefficient together with the summary results of the 2006 population by-census at the same time;

    (b)whether it will consider immediately announcing the Gini Coefficient compiled according to the existing arrangement, so as to let the public know the latest situation of disparity between the rich and the poor; and

    (c)given that the authorities had pointed out in the past that the Gini Coefficient did not take into account the income redistribution effect brought about by taxation, welfare assistance and Government subsidies in various services, whether the authorities will change the types of data to be included in the compilation of the Gini Coefficient; if so, of the details of the new data to be included, and whether the authorities have assessed if the inclusion of the effect of Government assistance and subsidies in the compilation of the Gini Coefficient will render the Coefficient so compiled useless in comparing with the relevant Coefficients announced in Hong Kong in the past and those of other places, as well as distort the original purpose of the Gini Coefficient to measure the disparity in household income?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

*For written reply.

III. Members' Motions

  1. Air Pollution Control (Volatile Organic Compounds) Regulation

    Hon Audrey EU: (Translation)

    That this Council notes the Air Pollution Control (Volatile Organic Compounds) Regulation which was published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 20 of 2007 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 28 February 2007.

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

  2. Legislating against the use of artificial trans fats in food production

    Hon Albert Jinghan CHENG: (Translation)

    That, as cardiovascular disease is the second leading cause of deaths in Hong Kong, and medical research also reveals that consumption of food containing trans fats will increase the risk of contracting coronary heart disease, and given that some countries such as Denmark have legislated as early as 2003 to prescribe the permissible maximum level of trans fats in food, the use of artificial trans fats in food production in restaurants will also be gradually banned in places such as New York, Chicago and Massachusetts to safeguard public health, this Council urges the Government to follow the practice of these places to expeditiously legislate against the use of artificial trans fats in food production in local restaurants, to prescribe the permissible maximum level of trans fats for all imported and locally produced food, and to require the trans fats contents in food to be listed on the package labels for identification by consumers.

    Amendments to motion
    (i)Hon Fred LI: (Translation)

    To add "the health problems caused by trans fats in food have increasingly aroused international concern, and" after "That, as"; to delete "and" after "Hong Kong," and substitute with "with"; to delete "reveals" after "medical research also" and substitute with "revealing"; and to add "expeditiously legislate for the Labelling Scheme on Nutrition Information and, when implementing Phase I of the Scheme," after "and to".

    (ii)Hon Vincent FANG Kang: (Translation)

    To add "artificial" after "consumption of food containing"; to add "and some places such as New York, Chicago and Massachusetts have banned or are studying whether there is a need to ban" after "trans fats in food,"; to delete "will also be gradually banned in places such as New York, Chicago and Massachusetts" after "food production in restaurants"; to delete "to follow the practice of these places to expeditiously" after "this Council urges the Government" and substitute with ", after studying the international practices, local factors and eating habits of the public, to consider whether there is a need to"; to delete "to prescribe the" after "local restaurants," and substitute with "and to study whether a"; to add "artificial" after "permissible maximum level of"; to add "should be prescribed" after "trans fats"; to delete "to require the" after "locally produced food, and" and substitute with "whether the artificial"; to delete "to" after "trans fats contents in food" and substitute with "should"; and to delete "package labels" after "be listed on the" and substitute with "nutrition labels of the packages".

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

Clerk to the Legislative Council