A 06/07-24

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 25 April 2007 at 11:00 am

I. Tabling of Papers
Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
1.Public Health and Municipal Services (Setting Aside Places for Use as Public Pleasure Grounds) Order 200757/2007
2.Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Amendment of Fourth Schedule) Order 200758/2007
3.Antiquities and Monuments (Declaration of Proposed Monument) (No.128 Pok Fu Lam Road) Notice59/2007

Other Papers

1.No.88-Hong Kong Tourism Board
2005-2006 Annual Report
(to be presented by Secretary for Economic Development and Labour)

2.No.89-Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation
Annual Report 2006
(to be presented by Financial Secretary)

3. Report of the Bills Committee on Shenzhen Bay Port Hong Kong Port Area Bill
(to be presented by Hon LAU Kong-wah, Chairman of the Bills Committee)

4.Report of the Bills Committee on Building Management (Amendment) Bill 2005
(to be presented by Hon James TO, Chairman of the Bills Committee)

II. Questions

1. Hon LEUNG Kwok-hung to ask: (Translation)

Early last month, the Police objected to the League of Social Democrats holding a public procession in the evening of the tenth of last month, on the grounds that the procession might cause serious traffic inconvenience and pose a threat to public safety. In the said evening, the Police even deployed hundreds of police officers to stop the League from holding the procession, and warned those present that the Police could arrest them under the Public Order Ordinance should they insist on holding the procession. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)given that there were past cases in which the Police did not stop the holding of public processions to which they objected (but reserved the right to institute prosecution afterwards), why the Police adopted a different practice in handling the aforesaid procession, and whether guidelines have been issued to front-line police officers on the handling of public processions to which the Police object;

    (b)in respect of each of the past five years, of the respective numbers of public processions and public meetings to which the Police objected, a breakdown of such numbers by the reasons for objection, the respective numbers of public processions held in the evening to which the Police objected and did not object (including processions commencing in the afternoon), the basis on which the relevant decisions were made, as well as the reasons for objection; and

    (c)whether it will consider amending the Public Order Ordinance by repealing the provisions empowering the Police to object to the holding of public processions and public meetings, so as to give effect to the right to peaceful expression of views enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

I have received quite a number of complaints from the public that recently, when they went to the Registration and Electoral Office ("REO") to inspect the returns lodged by the Chief Executive ("CE") election candidates in respect of their election expenses and election donations, they were only allowed to read but not write down the particulars. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
    (a)REO had allowed members of the public to write down the particulars of the candidates' returns in the past; if so, of the reasons for adopting a different practice for the CE election held recently;

    (b)it is an offence for members of the public to write down the particulars of the returns lodged by candidates; if so, of the details of the relevant provisions; if not, whether it will consider letting members of the public to do so; and

    (c)it will consider uploading copies of the returns lodged by CE election candidates onto a government web site, so as to facilitate public inspection of the particulars therein; if it will, when it will be implemented; if not, of the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional Affairs

3. Hon Abraham SHEK to ask:

It has been learnt that from time to time since 2005, various forms of building height restrictions and plot ratio reduction have been introduced to approved Outline Zoning Plans. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the policy objective of introducing the above building height restrictions and plot ratio reduction; and

    (b)the districts and private sites to which such restrictions and reduction have been introduced since 2005, as well as the estimated loss of revenue and of the value of land because of such restrictions and reduction?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

4. Hon CHEUNG Hok-ming to ask: (Translation)

The bus fare adjustment mechanism, which allows fares to go upward and downward, has been implemented for more than a year. The fare concession initiatives of the franchised bus companies, however, impose a restriction which requires a passenger to make a return trip on the same bus route or route of the same group on the same day in order to be entitled to a fare discount on the return trip. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
    (a)the total number of passengers benefited from the above restrictive fare concession initiatives since their implementation, and the top and bottom 10 bus routes ranked according to the number of passengers benefited from the initiatives; the aggregate amount of fare discounts offered to passengers and the average amount of fare discount enjoyed by each passenger, broken down by long, medium and short distance bus routes; and

    (b)if the actual number of passengers benefited from the bus fare concession initiatives is substantively smaller than that originally estimated; if so, whether the Government will consider asking the franchised bus companies to withdraw the above restrictive fare concession initiatives and replacing them with single-trip fare concession initiatives which offer a fare discount for each trip?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

5. Hon LEE Cheuk-yan to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that staff of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department have, at the government kennels in Sheung Shui, killed with shotguns the pigs surrendered by pig farmers participating in the voluntary surrender scheme for pig farm licences. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the reasons for handling those pigs with the above means;

    (b)whether it has assessed if handling those pigs with the above means is in breach of the provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance; if it has, of the results of the assessment; and

    (c)whether it will consider using other means to handle the pigs surrendered by pig farmers participating in the above scheme?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

Hong Kong has abolished estate duty since February last year, in order to attract more foreign and local investment, promote the development of asset management business and boost the financial market. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the revenue from estate duty in the 2006-2007 financial year, the difference between such revenue and its estimated figure, as well as the reasons for the difference;

    (b)whether it has calculated the new investments from abroad and by local investors so far brought about by the abolition of estate duty, especially those in the asset management business; and

    (c)whether it has formulated other measures to promote the development of asset management business for more business opportunities and employment?
Public Officer to reply : Financial Secretary

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

In an article published in mid-February this year, a retired investment banker has commented that the investment returns stated in "A Five-year Investment Performance Review of the MPF System" released by the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority ("MPFA") might have been overestimated, and the high fees charged by Mandatory Provident Fund ("MPF") service providers have adversely affected the MPF investment performance. The article has aroused wide public concern. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it has assessed if MPFA has covered up the excessively high fees charged by MPF service providers and the relatively low rates of return in the above report; if assessment has been made, of the results; and why the report did not use the compound annualized rate of return which is considered by market participants to be a better indicator to reflect the truth, and did not include expenses, such as the transaction levy, in calculating and analyzing the MPF investment returns;

    (b)whether it will request MPFA to conduct a central MPF settlement exercise annually, and to make a detailed comparison of the rates of return, expenses and costs, transaction levy, risk levels and investment performance of the products offered by various MPF service providers, so as to enhance the transparency of MPF schemes; and

    (c)given that the MPF Industry Schemes for employees in the catering and construction industries are currently run by only two operators, and the employees in those industries consider that there is a lack of competition, whether the authorities concerned have studied if the maintenance fees charged by such operators are on the high side; if they have, of the results of the study; if not, whether they will conduct the relevant review and consider introducing measures to ensure effective investment performance of such MPF schemes?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security
(in the absence of Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury)

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

At present, the Housing Department may alter the facilities in the flats of elderly tenants living in public housing estates ("PHEs") according to the individual needs of such tenants to facilitate their daily living. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the current number of elderly tenants awaiting the Housing Department to alter the facilities in their flats (with a breakdown by housing estates) and the estimated time, manpower and resources required to complete the works concerned;

    (b)of the average time taken by the Housing Department from the receipt of recommendations by social welfare agencies or occupational therapists to the completion of the works concerned, and the procedures involved;

    (c)whether the Housing Department will take the initiative to visit and inspect the flats of the elderly tenants so that works can be carried out to alter the facilities therein according to their needs; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (d)whether the Government will consider expanding the scope of this measure so that alterations at a low charge or free of charge can be made to the facilities in the flats of the non-PHE singleton elderly people who have such needs; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

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

At the Legislative Council meeting on 21 June 2006, I asked a question on curbing the unauthorized entry of mainland fishermen into Hong Kong waters to fish. In reply, the Administration said that it considered the existing measures adequate for safeguarding the interests of local fishermen and conserving the ecology of the local waters. However, recently I still received requests for assistance from quite a number of people, who said that during the period between 31 December 2006 and 3 January 2007, an average of 10 to 15 mainland fishing vessels were spotted making unauthorized entry into the waters off Tai A Chau and Siu A Chau each day, and a total of 140 fishing nets set up there by Cheung Chau fishermen had been torn away by such vessels. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)since July 2006, of the manning scale of Marine Police officers patrolling the waters south of Lantau, including the waters near Tai A Chau, Siu A Chau, Peng Chau and Cheung Chau;

    (b)since July 2006, of the number of cases involving mainland fishing vessels suspected of making unauthorized entry into and fishing illegally in Hong Kong waters, and the respective numbers of cases in which the persons involved were prosecuted and convicted; and

    (c)whether, apart from those measures mentioned in its reply to the above question, the Government will take other measures to tackle the problem of mainland fishing vessels making unauthorized entry into and fishing illegally in Hong Kong waters, so as to protect the interests of local fishermen and conserve the ecology of local waters; if so, of the details of such measures; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

Last year, the Government awarded a works contract worth $768 million to commission a contractor to operate the public fill reception facilities (including two fill banks) in Hong Kong and deliver public fill to the designated reception points on the Mainland. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
    (a)as presently, the fill banks concerned are almost filled up, of the reasons for the authorities contracting out the operation of the public fill reception facilities to the contractor;

    (b)of the respective costs per tonne for the disposal of public fill in Hong Kong and on the Mainland, the costs for operating the public fill reception facilities in Hong Kong, the costs for the construction of infrastructural facilities at the fill reception sites on the Mainland, the staff payroll and administrative costs involved in operating these facilities and the costs of other related works;

    (c)as the public fill delivered to the Mainland has economic value, of the reasons for the authorities not charging fees from the mainland authorities and instead paying fees to the latter through contract payment to the contractor;

    (d)of the works which the mainland authorities need to undertake for receiving public fill from Hong Kong and the costs involved; and

    (e)of the benefits to be brought to Hong Kong by delivering public fill to the Mainland?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

A company has relayed to me that the Government currently sends, to the companies concerned by fax, tender invitations for government works projects together with the tender specifications which contain tens of pages. Such an arrangement is a waste of paper for those companies which do not intend to participate in the tender exercise and is also not environmentally-friendly. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
    (a)it will consider issuing guidelines to change the above tender arrangement (e.g. only the tender invitation will be faxed, and the entire tender specifications will be issued only when the recipient companies have indicated interest in participating in the tender exercise); if it will, of the details of the relevant guidelines; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (b)it will explore using other means (such as by e-mail, etc.) to invite private companies to participate in tender exercises for government works projects?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Security
(in the absence of Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury)

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

It has been reported that in January 2005, the Guangdong police authorities and the Judiciary Police of Macao had signed an agreement under which the anti-drug units of both sides would co-operate in the transfer to Macao of Macao residents arrested for taking drugs within the Guangdong Province. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the Hong Kong Police Force has signed a similar agreement with the Guangdong authorities; if it has, of the specific procedure for transfer provided under the agreement; if it has not, the procedure currently followed by the Guangdong authorities in sending back to Hong Kong the Hong Kong people arrested for taking drugs on the Mainland;

    (b)of the number of Hong Kong people arrested on the Mainland for taking drugs and subsequently sent back to Hong Kong in the past three years, and the number of them who were under 21 years of age; and

    (c)whether law enforcement agencies of the territory have reviewed and discussed with the mainland authorities the problems of cross-boundary drug trafficking and Hong Kong people (especially youngsters) taking drugs on the Mainland over the past three years; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

In reply to my question at the Legislative Council meeting on 18 October last year, the Secretary for Constitutional Affairs said that if the third term Chief Executive ("CE") took the view that it was necessary to consider reshuffling the responsibilities among the existing policy bureaux, the suggestions received in the consultation sessions held by CE prior to the delivery of the 2006-2007 Policy Address would be referred to. It has been reported that CE had indicated in his election platform that he would reshuffle the existing three departments and 11 bureaux. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it has conducted an internal study of the functions and structures of various policy bureaux as well as the distribution of responsibilities among them; if so, of the preliminary results of the study, and whether the above relevant suggestions received from various sectors have been referred to and adopted; if so, of the details of those suggestions adopted;

    (b)of the functions of the Development Bureau which the Chief Executive earlier proposed to set up; whether the work of this bureau will overlap with that of the existing Housing, Planning and Lands Bureau and of the Environment, Transport and Works Bureau ("ETWB"), whether the Government will reshuffle the responsibilities of the above two policy bureaux; and to avoid giving members of the public the impression that the Government only cares about development and neglects conservation, whether the Government will consider setting up an Environmental Protection Bureau with dedicated responsibility for environmental protection work, which currently falls within ETWB's policy portfolio, so that the Government can take forward environmental protection efforts in a more focused and independent manner; if not, of the reasons for that;

    (c)given that the scope of the Health, Welfare and Food Bureau ("HWFB")'s existing policy portfolio is too wide, whether the Government plans to restructure the bureau and hive off some of its functions; if so, of the details of the plan; if not, the reasons for that;

    (d)whether it will consider my repeated suggestion that one single policy bureau should be designated to be responsible for labour-related matters (including employment support, unemployment assistance, protection of labour rights and upgrading of skills, etc), which are currently the respective responsibilities of HWFB and the Economic Development and Labour Bureau, so as to facilitate coordination of the relevant work and more effective allocation and utilization of resources; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (e)given the public's increasing interest in culture as well as my repeated mentioning of the necessity to set up an independent bureau for cultural affairs, whether the Government will consider setting up a new Cultural Affairs Bureau to be responsible for all the work relating to culture, and to be involved in the process of formulation of policies by other policy bureaux, so that cultural concerns in the community can be fully reflected in the policies introduced by the Government; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional Affairs

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

Recently, I received a complaint from a member of the public alleging that the patent registration system of Hong Kong fails to provide sufficient protection for the intellectual property rights of inventors. If small and medium enterprises ("SMEs") discover acts of infringement involving their inventions, they can only resort to costly civil proceedings. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective numbers of applications for registration of patents received and approved in each of the past three years by the Patents Registry under the Intellectual Property Department;

    (b)whether they know the difficulties faced by SMEs in applying for registration of patents in Hong Kong;

    (c)whether they will consider criminalizing acts of infringement involving patents registered in Hong Kong; and

    (d)of the number of civil cases involving acts of infringement of patents registered in Hong Kong in the past three years, and the number of such cases in which the courts ruled in favour of the plaintiffs?
Public Officer to reply :Secretary for Constitutional Affairs
(in the absence of Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology)

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

Regarding the promotion of the development of social enterprises ("SEs"), will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the types of jobs to be created by the Enhancing Self-Reliance Through District Partnership Programme, together with a breakdown of the number of jobs to be created and average wages by the types of jobs, and how it ensures that participants from socially disadvantaged groups will receive reasonable wages;

    (b)of the details of the pilot scheme for facilitating SEs which employ able-bodied unemployed persons to participate in public procurement (including the mode of operation, the implementation timetable, the size, types and number of contracts, the number of unemployed persons recruited and the average percentage of such persons in the total number of employees of the SEs concerned, as well as the estimated number of beneficiaries and the results of the assessment on the effectiveness of the scheme in alleviating poverty);

    (c)of the progress in promoting the products and services of SEs to persons responsible for public procurement (including the government departments already using such products and services, the types and quantity of these products and services, and the amounts of money involved); whether it will consider drawing up a timetable to require all government departments and public bodies to gradually use these products and services; as well as the estimated number of beneficiaries and the results of the assessment on the effectiveness of the efforts concerned in alleviating poverty;

    (d)of the expected completion date of the report on the regulatory framework of SEs and the preliminary study results; and whether it will consider relaxing the relevant requirements in the Co-operative Societies Ordinance (Cap. 33); and

    (e)given that the term of the Commission on Poverty will expire at the end of June this year, whether the Government will consider establishing a new department under the Chief Secretary for Administration's Office to promote the future development of SEs; if not, which government department will be responsible for the continued promotion of the development of SEs after the expiry of the term of the Commission?
Public Officer to reply : Financial Secretary

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

According to the results of a questionnaire survey that I have conducted, nearly 40% of Hong Kong people need to travel to and from the Mainland because of work. Regarding the support provided by the Government to Hong Kong people working on the Mainland, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the Office of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in Beijing and the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices in Guangdong, Shanghai and Chengdu have formulated guidelines for handling cases of Hong Kong people seeking assistance; if they have, of the details of the relevant guidelines; if not, whether they will consider formulating such guidelines;

    (b)of the numbers of cases of Hong Kong people seeking assistance handled by the above offices in the past three years, and details of the follow-up actions taken on such cases; and

    (c)whether it will consider enhancing the support services provided to Hong Kong people who, because of work, need to travel to and from the Mainland; if it will, of the services involved; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional Affairs

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

I have recently received complaints that some securities analysts have published articles in newspapers mentioning their personal investment decisions and actions, which may mislead the small investors in the stock market. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows if the authorities concerned:
    (a)had received complaints in the past three years about securities analysts expressing in the media views which might mislead investors; if they have, of the number of such complaints and how they were followed up;

    (b)currently have mechanisms in place for preventing securities analysts from expressing in the media views that may mislead investors; if they have, of the details of such mechanisms; if not, whether the Government will consider establishing the relevant mechanisms; and

    (c)will consider stepping up education for investors on how to comprehend and interpret views of securities analysts; if they will, of the relevant details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Security
(in the absence of Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury)

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

Many residents in Tseung Kwan O South have relayed to me that they often smell a foul odour from an unknown source in spring and summer. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of such complaints received by the relevant government departments in the past 12 months, and the follow-up actions taken;

    (b)whether it has investigated the source of the foul odour and its impact on human health; and

    (c)whether it will consider installing a stationary gas monitoring device in the district to assist in tracing the source of the foul odour?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

Will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the current numbers of primary and secondary school students who cross the boundary to attend school every day from Shenzhen to Hong Kong and those who do so vice versa;

    (b)the total number of students enrolled in rural schools at present and in each of the past five years, and the number of cross-boundary students among them, together with a breakdown by districts; and

    (c)the number of rural schools which ceased operation due to under-enrolment in each of the past five years?
Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Home Affairs
(in the absence of Secretary for Education and Manpower)

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

Will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the existing number of private streets freely accessible by the public in the territory, and their geographical distribution;

    (b)whether the maintenance of these private streets is required to meet certain established standards; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)how it tackles the environmental hygiene problems arising from poor maintenance of private streets?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

*For written reply.

III. Bills

First Reading

1. Civil Justice (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2007

2. Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2007

Second Reading (Debates to be adjourned)

1.Civil Justice (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2007:Chief Secretary for Administration

2.Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2007:Secretary for Justice

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

1.Shenzhen Bay Port Hong Kong Port Area Bill:Secretary for Security

2.Building Management (Amendment) Bill 2005:Secretary for Home Affairs

IV. Members' Motions

  1. Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

    Hon Fred LI to move the following motion:

    RESOLVED that in relation to the -

    (a)Sewage Services (Sewage Charge) (Amendment) Regulation 2007, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 45 of 2007; and

    (b)Sewage Services (Trade Effluent Surcharge) (Amendment) Regulation 2007, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 46 of 2007,

    and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 28 March 2007, the period for amending subsidiary legislation referred to in section 34(2) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap. 1) be extended under section 34(4) of that Ordinance to the meeting of 16 May 2007.

  2. Proposed resolution under the Sewage Services Ordinance

    Hon Fred LI to move the following motion:

    RESOLVED that in relation to the Technical Memorandum on Procedures and Methods for Sampling and Analysis of Trade Effluents, published in Special Supplement No. 5 to the Gazette on 23 March 2007, and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 28 March 2007, the period for amending technical memorandum referred to in section 13(3) of the Sewage Services Ordinance (Cap. 463) be extended under section 13(5) of that Ordinance to the meeting of 16 May 2007.

  3. Overseas experience in air quality control, management of municipal solid waste, renewable energy and total water management

    Hon CHOY So-yuk: (Translation)

    That this Council notes the Report of the Delegation to Study Overseas Experience in Air Quality Control, Management of Municipal Solid Waste, Renewable Energy and Total Water Management and urges the Government to consider the findings therein.

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

  4. Protecting the right of the Chinese victims to demand compensation from Japan

    Hon Albert HO: (Translation)

    That this Council strongly requests that in interpreting the China-Japan Joint Statement (1972) and the China-Japan Peace and Friendship Treaty (1978), the Japanese Government and the relevant authorities must not unilaterally affirm that the two aforesaid agreements have nullified the right of the Chinese people to demand compensation from the Japanese Government and corporations in respect of personal losses and sufferings arising from the war crimes committed during the Second World War ("WWII"), and that the Chinese people have, under these two agreements, given up their right to demand such compensation, and demands the Japanese Government to expeditiously legislate for the making of righteous compensation to the victims of the war crimes committed during the WWII; this Council also urges the Central Government to take measures to protect the right of the Chinese people victimized by the war crimes committed during the WWII to demand compensation from Japan and provide them with humane care.

Clerk to the Legislative Council