A 06/07-29

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 23 May 2007 at 11:00 am

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
1.Fugitive Offenders (Malaysia) (Amendment) Order 200782/2007
2.Fugitive Offenders (Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism) Order83/2007
3.Telecommunications (Method for Determining Spectrum Utilization Fee) (Code Division Multiple Access Mobile Telecommunications Service) Regulation84/2007
4.Telecommunications (Designation of Frequency Bands Subject to Payment of Spectrum Utilization Fee) (Amendment) Order 200785/2007
5.Companies Ordinance (Amendment of Eighth Schedule) Order 200786/2007
6.Registration of Persons (Invalidation of Identity Cards) Order 200787/2007
7.Road Traffic (Traffic Control) (Designation of Prohibited and Restricted Zones) (Amendment) Notice 200788/2007
8.Specification of Factors (Financial Exposure of Authorized Institution) Notice 200789/2007
9.Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications Ordinance (Commencement) Notice 200790/2007
10.Births, Deaths and Marriages (Digital Image) Ordinance (Commencement) Notice91/2007
11.Building Management (Amendment) Ordinance 2007 (Commencement) Notice 200792/2007
12.Construction Workers Registration Ordinance (Commencement) (No. 2) Notice 200793/2007
13.Employment (Amendment) Ordinance 2007 (Commencement) Notice94/2007
14.Import and Export (Fees) (Amendment) Regulation 2007 (Commencement) Notice95/2007

Other Papers

1.No. 92-Annual Report 2005-2006
Hong Kong Broadcasting Authority
(to be presented by Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology)

2.Report of the Bills Committee on Unsolicited Electronic Messages Bill
(to be presented by Hon Howard YOUNG, Chairman of the Bills Committee)

II. Questions

1. Hon Vincent FANG to ask: (Translation)

In announcing this year's Budget, the Financial Secretary stated that rates for the first two quarters of the current year would be waived, subject to a ceiling of $5,000 per quarter for each rateable tenement. However, tenants of the Government-run wholesale food markets have relayed to me that they have not yet received any rates concession notice from the authorities concerned. In addition, I have learnt that the Rating and Valuation Department ("R&VD") will revaluate the rateable values of properties in the current financial year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether rates are included in the rents paid by tenants of all the current Government-run wholesale and retail non-staple food markets; if not, whether it is the case that R&VD has not collected rates from such markets, or that the government departments which managed these markets have paid the rates concerned on their own; if rates are included, whether the tenants concerned will receive the above rates concession; if so, when and how the Administration will rebate the relevant sum to them, and of the circumstances under which the tenants will be denied such concession; and

    (b)whether the above revaluation of rateable values of properties will cover wholesale and retail markets, including the markets under government departments; if so, whether according to the existing policy, the Administration will reduce the rents concerned because the revaluated rateable values of such markets are lower than the current values?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

2. Ir Dr Hon HO Chung-tai to ask: (Translation)

Under the Road Traffic (Traffic Control) Regulations, drivers are not allowed to sound their car horns except to warn other road users of danger. I have received complaints that many drivers sounded their car horns indiscriminately, which not only damages the serenity of the neighbourhood, easily causes traffic accidents by distracting other drivers, but might also give the visitors a bad impression of Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the basis for determining whether an individual road section should be designated as a silent zone; whether it will consider extending the scope of silent zones to cover, in particular, road sections in the vicinity of schools, residential areas and commercial areas; if it will not, of the reasons;

    (b)of the number of drivers prosecuted in the past three years by the Police for sounding car horns indiscriminately or in silent zones; and

    (c)whether it will step up publicity efforts among drivers to urge them to drop the undesirable habit of sounding car horns indiscriminately?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

It has been reported that serious security loopholes are found in the Wi-Fi wireless Internet access service provided in some local venues. So long as hackers are equipped with suitable software, they may intrude clandestinely to steal the Wi-Fi web surfers' information and the contents of their instant messages. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it has discussed with network providers of Wi-Fi service and managers of venues where such service is provided how to prevent the service users' information and the contents of their instant messages from being stolen; if it has, of the details; if not, whether it plans to follow-up the matter;

    (b)whether it has plans to step up publicity and education to remind the public of the risks of using Wi-Fi Internet access; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)how the Government safeguards the service users' information against theft when providing Wi-Fi service in its venues?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology

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

About the financial position of the Hong Kong Disneyland ("the park"), a joint venture between the Government and the Walt Disney Company ("Walt Disney") of the United States, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the projected and actual financial figures of the park, including attendance, revenue generated from patronage and shops as well as the profit and loss situation, since its opening in September 2005;

    (b)as a revolving credit facility of a sum of about USD300 million for the park has to be reviewed in September this year in accordance with the park's financial performance, of the progress of the discussions between the Government and Walt Disney about the future financing arrangement for the park, the financing options being considered as well as whether it has been confirmed that there is no need for injection of public funds; and

    (c)whether the Government has discussed expediting the expansion plan of the park or taking other measures to improve the financial position of the park with Walt Disney; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

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

The Secretary for Constitutional Affairs has indicated that the Government will set out in the green paper on constitutional development the views put forth by the Commission on Strategic Development ("CSD") and the community on the options for implementing universal suffrage. He has also pointed out that the proposal for universal suffrage should satisfy five conditions, which include being consistent with the Basic Law, not requiring any amendments to the main provisions of the Basic Law, having majority support among Hong Kong people, securing two-thirds majority in the Legislative Council, and being considered seriously by the Central Authorities. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the condition that the proposal for universal suffrage should not require any amendments to the main provisions of the Basic Law is set on the basis of the instruction of the Central Government or the Chief Executive ("CE"); if neither is the case, of the legal basis for setting such a condition;

    (b)of the meaning of "being considered seriously by the Central Authorities" which is among the above five conditions, and how the public know the circumstances under which the proposal concerned will or will not be considered seriously by the Central Authorities; and

    (c)given that during CSD's discussion on the possible models for selecting CE by universal suffrage, more members supported using the composition of the Election Committee as a basis for considering the composition of the nominating committee for the CE candidature; whether the Government has studied if such a composition method will deprive the general public of their nomination right, and will thus be inconsistent with Article 25 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; if it has, of the results of the study; if the study results show that such a composition method is consistent with the relevant requirement, of the justifications for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional Affairs

6. Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)

After consultation, the Law Reform Commission of Hong Kong published, by phases between 2002 and 2005, four Reports on "Guardianship of Children", "International Parental Child Abduction", "The Family Dispute Resolution Process" and "Child Custody and Access" respectively. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)when the Government will proceed with legislative amendments to implement the recommendations made in the aforesaid Reports, and of the complementary measures to facilitate law enforcement;

    (b)given that the policy areas covered in the aforesaid Reports are currently under the purview of different departments, how the Government ensures sufficient and good communication among various departments in implementing the relevant policies; and

    (c)of the mechanism in place to enhance public awareness of the recommendations made in the aforesaid Reports and how it ensures that children's views are fully considered in the process to formulate the relevant policies?
Public Officers to reply :Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food
Secretary for Home Affairs

*7. Dr Hon YEUNG Sum to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the immunization service provided by the Department of Health, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the morbidity rate of streptococcus pneumoniae disease and meningitis in Hong Kong; the countries which have included the vaccines against these two diseases in their national immunization programmes; the respective estimated cost and cost-effectiveness of including each of these two vaccines in the Childhood Immunization Programme ("CIP");

    (b)whether it will consider including the above two vaccines in CIP; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)when vaccine against hepatitis B was first included in CIP; the estimated number of people in Hong Kong who have not been inoculated with such vaccine; whether it will consider inoculating these people with such vaccine; if it will, of the details; if not, the estimated number of new cases of hepatitis B in Hong Kong in the coming five years and the medical expenses to be incurred?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

*8. Hon James TIEN to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that the Sai Kung District Lands Office admitted that while it had been notified by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department in mid-February this year of the suspected presence of red fire ants on the government land in Area 65 of Tseung Kwan O, it was not until 18 April this year that the authorities formally sent staff to eradicate the red fire ants. As a result, the situation had deteriorated, in that the number of red fire ant mounds has increased from several dozens to several thousands. Regarding the work on eradicating red fire ants, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the reasons for the delay in eradicating red fire ants at the above location;

    (b)whether it has reviewed the communication and cooperation between government departments in eradicating ants; if so, of the outcome of the review; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)how the Government ensures the eradication of all red fire ants in Tseung Kwan O district, and monitors whether red fire ants are present in various districts in the New Territories?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

Regarding the attendance at the meetings of various statutory bodies, advisory bodies and the committees under these bodies by directors and permanent secretaries of bureaux in their capacity as members, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the details of the cases in which the attendance rates at the meetings concerned of such bodies/committees in the past two years by the aforesaid officials in their capacity as members were lower than 50%, including the names of the statutory bodies/advisory bodies/ committees concerned, the post titles of the officials and their respective attendance rates;

    (b)whether it had reviewed in the past two years the relevant attendance rates of the aforesaid officials; if so, of the department which conducted the review, and the outcome of the review; if not, the reasons for that, and whether it will conduct such a review; and

    (c)whether there are measures in place to improve the relevant attendance rates; if so, of the details of such measures?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

As there are cases of overseas governments filing lawsuits against tobacco companies there, will the Government inform this Council whether:
    (a)it has collated details of the lawsuits filed in recent years by overseas governments and community organizations against tobacco companies there in relation to diseases caused by smoking; if so, of the details of each case in the past five years in which judgment was made in favour of the plaintiff(s), including the country where the lawsuit was filed, the plaintiff(s), the grounds for bringing the lawsuit and the court ruling;

    (b)it is aware of the lawsuits filed in the past two years by the British Columbia Government in Canada against a number of tobacco companies there to recover the health care expenditure on diseases caused by smoking; if so, of the details; and

    (c)it has assessed the amount of public health care expenditure spent in Hong Kong annually on diseases caused by smoking, and whether it will study the prospect of success in recovering the relevant expenditure through lawsuits against tobacco companies?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

It has been reported that at present, as estimated by members of the trade, half of the drug stores sell products of proprietary Chinese medicine which are spurious or allude to particular trade marks, and the number of complaints about proprietary Chinese medicine received by the Consumer Council in the first three months of this year is already equivalent to 76% of the figure for the whole of last year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of inspections and test purchases conducted to tackle the aforesaid problem by the government departments concerned over the past three years;

    (b)of the number of prosecutions instituted by the relevant authorities over the past three years, together with a breakdown by the offences involved, and among such prosecutions, the number of convicted cases and the penalties imposed by the court on the convicted persons; and

    (c)whether new measures will be put in place to curb the aforesaid problem to safeguard public health; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

Will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the purposes of and criteria for appointing government officials to be members of the governance structure of public bodies, and list in the table below the names of the public bodies to which government officials have been appointed as members of their governance structures in the past three years, as well as the titles and names of such government officials:

    Names of public bodiesPost titles and names of government officials





    (b)of the number of meetings held by the governance structure of each of the above public bodies in the past three years, the attendance of the above government officials at such meetings and their attendance rates, as well as the post titles and names of those government officials whose attendance rates were below 60%, broken down by public bodies; and

    (c)whether it has set up any mechanism to prescribe the minimum attendance rate for the government officials concerned at the above meetings; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

Regarding the promotion of breastfeeding, will the Government inform this Council whether:
    (a)it has studied the difficulties and limitations in providing breastfeeding facilities in major shopping centres, restaurants, civic centres and places of amusement; if it has, of the findings of the study;

    (b)it has, according to the "Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding" issued by the World Health Organization, requested private hospitals to decline the offer of donation or sponsorship of free or low-priced breast milk substitutes; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)it has any plan to step up publicity on the benefits of breast milk to newborn babies; if so, of the details of the specific measures?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

Regarding the School Dental Care Service administered by the Department of Health, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number and percentage of primary school pupils who participated in the aforesaid service in each of the past three years;

    (b)of the details of the publicity and promotional activities conducted to enhance the knowledge of school children on oral hygiene, and the amount of public expenditure incurred annually; and

    (c)whether it will consider extending the coverage of the aforesaid service to secondary school students; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

Given the growing popularity in payments by Octopus cards, and the number of cases of patients defaulting on drug charges has dropped by 80% after the introduction of Octopus payment machines by the Hospital Authority, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of public service organizations which accept payments by Octopus Cards;

    (b)whether the Government has discussed with Octopus Cards Limited ("OCL") extending the usage of Octopus Cards so that the public may pay tunnel tolls and various public utility bills at post offices, as well as hire charges for venues under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department by Octopus cards; if it has, of the progress of the discussion; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)given that OCL's representatives had joined the delegation led by the Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology to attend the Pan-Pearl River Delta Trade Fair in Guangzhou in July 2004 to promote Octopus services, and that civilian exchanges between the Mainland and Hong Kong have become increasingly active in recent years, whether the Commerce, Industry and Technology Bureau and the Innovation and Technology Commission have assisted OCL in promoting Octopus services in the Mainland over the recent years, with a view to facilitating Hong Kong people who go north for spending; if they have, of the details?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

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

Will the Government inform this Council whether it knows who is responsible for approving and monitoring matters concerning the use of donations received by the University of Hong Kong as a whole and by its individual faculties, including the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine; whether the University and its faculties, including the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine, have set up any committees to deal with such matters; if they have, of the membership list(s) of such committee(s), the number of meetings held in the past five years, details of the review(s) on the use of donations and the specific recommendations, and the progress of implementing such recommendations? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

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

The Internship Programme ("IP") operated under the Innovation and Technology Fund since July 2004 aims to provide funding support to universities for employing fresh graduates from tertiary institutions as interns to assist in research and development projects funded under the Matching Grant for Joint Research Scheme of the University-Industry Collaboration Programme or the Innovation and Technology Support Programme. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)given that the Government had indicated that it would review IP two years after its implementation, whether the Government has completed the review; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)whether it has studied the reasons for the downward trend in the number of IP applications in recent years (the numbers of applications received in the three financial years starting from 2004-2005 being 39, 12 and six respectively); if it has, of the results of the study; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether it has made any assessment on whether IP can achieve its objective of nurturing professional research experts, which includes gathering relevant information (such as the percentage of the number of interns who continued to work in the innovative technology sector among those who had completed the Programme successfully, their scope of work and employers' names) and examining the reasons for interns giving up the relevant research work; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology

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

Currently, the Environmental Protection Department ("EPD") has set up 14 air quality monitoring stations ("AQMSs") in Hong Kong, among which three are roadside AQMSs. It has been reported that in the past eight years, EPD had not reviewed the number of AQMSs in the light of the development of and population movement in Hong Kong. For example, the population in Tseung Kwan O had increased rapidly in the last decade, and the traffic volume had increased correspondingly, but the Government has not set up any AQMS in the district. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the criteria for determining the locations of AQMSs, and whether the factors of population and traffic volume are among such criteria; and

    (b)whether it has any plan to re-evaluate the locations of various AQMSs and increase the number of roadside AQMSs; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

Recently, some members of the public have relayed to me that liquefied petroleum gas ("LPG") prices at dedicated LPG filling stations had increased in the first two months of this year, despite the fact that the average import unit value of LPG has dropped in recent months from its peak in January this year, and the difference between LPG prices at dedicated and non-dedicated LPG filling stations is widening. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the reasons for the increase in LPG prices at dedicated LPG filling stations in the first two months of this year;

    (b)whether there are measures to regulate LPG prices at dedicated LPG filling stations; if so, of the details of such measures; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether it will adopt new measures to limit the increase in LPG prices at dedicated LPG filling stations; if so, of the details of such measures; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

Regarding the facilities provided by the Government at its recreation venues, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the standards and procedures adopted for assessing the demand for various recreational facilities in different communities, and the criteria used for determining the types of facilities to be provided at its recreation venues;

    (b)of the respective numbers of pebble walking trails provided at venues managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and the Housing Department; as there are press reports that improper use of such facilities may cause injuries to the soles, whether the Government has studied the merits and demerits of such facilities before introducing them, and whether guidelines on their safe use have been posted in their vicinity, as well as whether it will remove these facilities; and

    (c)among the jogging tracks currently provided by the Government in its parks and other outdoor venues (for example, those along Tolo Highway and Shing Mun River), of the number and total length of those which are surfaced with vibration-absorbing materials, the respective percentages of these figures in the relevant totals, as well as the specific locations of such tracks; as there are press reports that knee joints are more vulnerable to strain from the impact of jogging on hard surfaces for a long period of time, whether the Government will consider surfacing all jogging tracks with vibration-absorbing materials
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

*For written reply.

III. Bills

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

1.Import and Export (Amendment) Bill 2007 :Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology

2.Unsolicited Electronic Messages Bill :Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology

3.Revenue (No. 2) Bill 2007 :Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

IV. Members' Motions

  1. Policies on sustainable urban development and green buildings

    Prof Hon Patrick LAU Sau-shing: (Translation)

    That, in view of the United Nations' earlier warning that within this century, global warming will cause hundreds of millions of people to face disasters such as fresh water shortage, famine, flooding, diseases, and the rise in sea level will even pose a threat to the coastal lands in Asia including the Pearl River Delta region, from which Hong Kong can hardly be immune; in order to alleviate the greenhouse effect arising from imbalanced urban development and to eliminate the adverse effects of undesirable high-density building developments on weather and the environment, this Council urges the Government to expeditiously formulate and implement policies on sustainable urban development and green buildings, including:

    (a)reviewing the existing legislation relating to urban planning and buildings, and introducing sustainable planning and green building principles;

    (b)studying the formulation of a Code of Practice for introducing a "green building labelling" system, and fully assessing the environmental performance of buildings during the design stage and after their being put to use on the basis of energy efficiency, greening ratio, air ventilation, renewable energy, household waste treatment and design parameters which are conducive to good weather and urban environment; and

    (c)the Government and public organizations taking the lead in fully applying the relevant policies to both new and existing public buildings, educating the public, and offering incentives to actively promote market compliance,

    so as to alleviate the impact of global warming on Hong Kong and to build a pleasant city which is sustainable through the implementation of policies on urban development and green buildings that are conducive to good weather and environment.

    Amendment to motion
    Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki:     (Translation)

    To delete ", in view of" after "That" and substitute with "this Council agrees with"; to delete "this Council urges" after "the environment,"; to add "has" before "to expeditiously formulate"; to add "(a) reorganizing the Town Planning Board (TPB), appointing a non-government official as its chairman and setting up an independent secretariat, so that the decisions of the TPB can more fairly and truly reflect public opinion;" after "including:"; to delete the original "(a)" and substitute with "(b)"; to delete the original "(b)" and substitute with "(c)"; to delete the original "(c)" and substitute with "(d)"; to delete "fully" after "taking the lead in"; and to delete "both new and existing public buildings" after "relevant policies to" and substitute with "various development projects, including property developments above the stations of the two railways, redevelopment projects of the Urban Renewal Authority, the West Kowloon Cultural District, waterfront developments along Central, Wanchai and Causeway Bay, as well as public buildings to be developed in the future".

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

  2. Safeguarding the safety of live and fresh food

    Hon TAM Yiu-chung: (Translation)

    That, as the Mainland Government has, with effect from 1 April this year, strengthened its inspection and quarantine management system for vegetables supplied to Hong Kong, including designating supply farms, implementing label identification and lead-seal control, and regularizing certification and voucher management, etc, and such requirements will be extended to fruits and melons on 1 July and 1 October respectively; furthermore, quarantine and seal identification measures for vessels carrying fresh water fish from Guangdong Province to Hong Kong have also been enforced since 1 May, so as to eradicate the smuggling of fish into Hong Kong; however, the Hong Kong SAR Government has not yet made any complementary import quarantine arrangements, nor has it publicized the Mainland Government's new regulations to the public, hence making it possible for unscrupulous traders to exploit Hong Kong's import quarantine loopholes and bring unquarantined live and fresh food into the territory for sale in the market, thereby endangering the public's health, this Council urges the Government to expeditiously adopt measures to complement the Mainland's new management regulations for food supplied to Hong Kong, and fully safeguard the safety standards of live and fresh food in the territory, including:

    (a)enacting a food safety law to bring live and fresh food such as vegetables and fruits, aquatic products and poultry eggs, etc, into the regulatory ambit, prescribing relevant food safety standards and enforcing import quarantine at border control points, so as to ensure the safety of imported live and fresh food;

    (b)implementing a food importer registration scheme and requiring food importers to keep their import and sales records, so as to enhance the enforcement authorities' ability to trace the sources and destinations of food;

    (c)disseminating information about the new regulations promulgated by the Mainland Government and the list of designated food supply bases to the trade, and uploading such information onto the Government's website, so as to enhance the awareness of the trade and the public; and

    (d)strengthening liaison with the local trade to assess the impact of the new regulatory measures implemented by the Mainland and Hong Kong on the operations of the trade, and assisting the trade in making adaptation;

    besides, the Government should also assist in improving the mode of operation of local agricultural and breeding farms, so as to increase the supplies of safe and high quality local agricultural and fishery products.

    Amendments to motion
    (i)Hon Vincent FANG Kang: (Translation)

    To add "the Hong Kong SAR Government has indicated that legislation will be enacted within the current year to strengthen the control of imported poultry eggs and cultured aquatic products, while" after "That, as"; to add "so far" after "however,"; to delete "complementary" after "not yet made any"; to add "and complementary management measures" after "import quarantine arrangements"; to add "and market management" after "Hong Kong's import quarantine"; to add "set of comprehensive live and fresh" after "enacting a"; to add "according to international practices and local needs," after "food safety standards"; to add "as well as implementing the arrangement for all live and fresh food to be distributed in the Government's wholesale food markets," after "border control points,"; to add "while enacting the above legislation, setting up at the same time an emergency relief fund for the live and fresh food industry to provide, in the event of adversity in the industry, emergency assistance to the affected trades, so as to tide them over the difficult times;" after "imported live and fresh food;"; and to add ", and assist Hong Kong businesses which invest in agriculture and fishery industries in the Mainland in obtaining priority for reverse export of their standards-compliant products to Hong Kong for sale in the market" after "agricultural and fishery products".

    (ii)Hon Fred LI: (Translation)

    To add ", as well as studying the expansion of the Man Kam To Food Control Office, and stepping up random inspection of vehicles carrying vegetables and fruits to reduce the chance of vegetables and fruits from unknown sources being brought into Hong Kong" after "the safety of imported live and fresh food"; and to add "and further promote organic farming, including rendering more technical support to farmers and assisting the trade in expanding the market," after "breeding farms,".

    Amendment to Hon Fred LI's amendment
    Hon Tommy CHEUNG: (Translation)

    To delete "the safety of" after "so as to ensure" and substitute with "that the safety standards of"; to add "comply with international practices and local needs; implementing the arrangement for all live and fresh food to be distributed in the Government's wholesale food markets" after "imported live and fresh food"; to add ", so as to protect the public's health" after "brought into Hong Kong"; and to add "assist Hong Kong businesses which invest in agriculture and fishery industries in the Mainland in obtaining priority for reverse export of their standards-compliant products to Hong Kong for sale in the market," after "breeding farms,".

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

Clerk to the Legislative Council