A 06/07-12

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 20 December 2006 at 11:00 am

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
1.Designation of Libraries (No. 2) Order 2006271/2006
2.Education Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 3) Notice 2006272/2006
3.Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (Israel) Order (Commencement) Notice273/2006

Other Papers

1.No.40-Secretary for Home Affairs Incorporated Audited Statement of Accounts and Auditor's Report for the year ended 31 March 2006
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

2.No.41-Report of the Board of Trustees for Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fund for the period from 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

3.No.42-Consumer Council Annual Report 2005-2006
(to be presented by Secretary for Economic Development and Labour)

4.No.43-Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Hong Kong Annual Report 2005-2006
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

5.No.44-The Accounts of the Lotteries Fund 2005-2006
(to be presented by Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury)

6.No.45-Report of the Chinese Temples Committee Signed and Audited Statement of Accounts together with the Auditor's Report of the General Chinese Charities Fund for the year ended 31 March 2006
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

7.No.46-Grantham Scholarships Fund Signed and Audited Statement of Accounts together with the Auditor's Report and Report by the Grantham Scholarships Fund Committee on the administration of the Fund for the year ended 31 August 2006
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

8.No.47-Report of the Chinese Temples Committee Signed and Audited Statement of Accounts together with the Auditor's Report of the Chinese Temples Fund for the year ended 31 March 2006
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

9.No.48-The Sir Murray MacLehose Trust Fund Signed and Audited Statement of Accounts together with the Auditor's Report and Trustee's Report for the period from 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

10.No.49-Report of the Brewin Trust Fund Committee Audited Statement of Accounts together with the Auditor's Report and Report by the Brewin Trust Fund Committee on the administration of the Fund for the year ended 30 June 2006
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

11.No.50-Hong Kong Housing Authority Annual Report 2005-2006
(to be presented by Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands)

12.No.51-Hong Kong Housing Authority Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2006
(to be presented by Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands)

13.No.52-Annual Report of The Prince Philip Dental Hospital by its Board of Governors, and Audited Statement of Accounts and Auditor's Report for the Hospital, for the period from 1 April 2005 to 31 March 2006
(to be presented by Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food)

14.No.53-Electoral Affairs Commission Report on the Recommended Constituency Boundaries for the 2007 District Council Election
(to be presented by Secretary for Constitutional Affairs)

15.No.54-The Government Minute in response to the Eighteenth Annual Report of the Ombudsman issued in June 2006
(to be presented by Chief Secretary for Administration, who will address the Council)

II. Addresses

Hon Albert HO to address the Council on the Protection of Children and Juveniles (Places of Refuge) (Amendment) Order 2006, Places of Detention (Juvenile Offenders) Appointment (Consolidation) (Amendment) Order 2006, Probation of Offenders (Approved Institution) (Consolidation) (Amendment) Order 2006, Reformatory School (Establishment) (Consolidation) (Amendment) Order 2006, Immigration (Places of Detention) (Amendment) Order 2006 and Remand Home (Amendment) Rules 2006, which are subsidiary legislation laid on the Table of the Council on 1 November 2006.

III. Questions

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

It has been reported that, in order to save costs and meet the demand for bus service during peak hours, the Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited ("KMB") has, in the recent two years, changed the daily driving hours of most of its bus drivers from one session to two. Under the new duty arrangement, bus drivers are given a break of three to four hours after driving for about seven hours in the morning, and then they resume driving for another three to four hours. Some bus drivers have indicated that it is difficult for them to go home for a rest during the break, and the long duty period of 13 to 14 hours has not only caused chronic fatigue, but has also affected their family life. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of traffic accidents involving KMB buses and, among such accidents, the number of those caused by mistakes on the part of the bus drivers, in each of the past three years; and

    (b)given that many bus drivers have admitted in a questionnaire survey conducted by academics that they do not have enough sleep and have dozed off while driving, whether the authorities will review afresh such issues as the total daily working hours of bus drivers of franchised bus companies, their duty arrangements and whether they are provided with adequate and reasonable rest time, etc?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

2. Dr Hon LUI Ming-wah to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that some individuals in the political and financial sectors and academics recently indicated that their family members had moved to live in other places as the problem of air pollution was serious in Hong Kong. In addition, some securities companies have lowered the investment ratings of the shares of three local real estate companies because of Hong Kong's air pollution problem, and have recommended instead the shares of the properties sector in other places. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows the latest average air pollution indices ("APIs") and the average life expectancy in various famous overseas cities, namely, New York, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Chicago, London and Singapore; and

    (b)whether the APIs currently adopted in Hong Kong can be compared to the APIs adopted in the above cities; if so, of the results of the comparison; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

3. Hon TAM Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)

As there is great public concern about whether the disposition of newly constructed buildings will create the wall effect, which is not conducive to air ventilation in the districts, will the Government inform this Council, in order to improve air ventilation:
    (a)whether it plans to set building height limits for waterfront sites on the Application List; if so, of the relevant details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)whether it plans to apply the new Qualitative Guidelines on Air Ventilation, which are contained in the Urban Design Guidelines issued by the Planning Department, to assess all the proposed property development projects above railway stations, and request the developers concerned to amend their building designs according to such Guidelines; if so, of the relevant details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether it plans to enact legislation to enforce the Qualitative Guidelines on Air Ventilation; if so, of the relevant details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

4. Hon Daniel LAM Wai-keung to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that on 13 November this year, a boy, while cycling on a narrow village road in Fu Tei Pai Tsuen of North District, came across a heavy garbage truck of a cleansing contractor of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department. When the boy stopped beside the truck to give way to it, he lost balance on the sloping ground and fell with his bicycle. He was then run over by the truck and died at the scene. Regarding village road safety, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective numbers of villages in the New Territories ("NT") already provided with standard rural vehicular access by the Government and those not yet provided with such access, as well as the reasons for the Government's non-provision of such access to the villages concerned;

    (b)of the number of applications to the Government for the provision of standard rural vehicular access in each of the past five years, the decisions made by the authorities on such applications and the justifications for the decisions, the estimated and actual expenditure on the provision of rural vehicular access in each year of the same period, as well as the latest progress of the approved projects; and

    (c)given the increase in traffic flow in NT in recent years with heavy vehicles travelling in and out of rural areas more frequently, whether the Government has studied measures to improve narrow village roads and enhance road safety in rural areas, with a view to avoiding traffic accidents; if so, of the details of the study; if not, the reasons for that, and whether it will carry out such study in the future?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

5. Hon WONG Yung-kan to ask: (Translation)

Many farmers have recently related to me that wild pigs are often spotted in the eastern and northern parts of the New Territories. These farmers complained that their crops were damaged by wild pigs, and they also worried about being attacked by wild pigs. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the total number of reports received by the government departments concerned about wild pigs being spotted or crops being allegedly damaged by wild pigs, the property losses caused and the number of persons injured by wild pigs, as well as the number of wild pigs captured, in each of the past three years;

    (b)whether it has taken measures to stop wild pigs from causing nuisance to the public; and (c) whether it has conducted regular surveys on the number of wild pigs in Hong Kong and adopted measures to control their number?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

6. Hon Fred LI to ask: (Translation)

As currently there is legislation (i.e. the Public Health (Animals and Birds) (Chemical Residues) Regulation) prohibiting the feeding of prohibited chemicals to food animals by farmers and prescribing the maximum residue limits ("MRLs") of agricultural and veterinary chemicals in the tissues of the food animals, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)as the authorities have enacted regulatory provisions on the chemical residues in food animals, of the reasons why similar provisions have not been enacted for fruits and vegetables;

    (b)whether it will enact relevant regulatory provisions for fruits and vegetables in accordance with the standards prescribed by the Codex Alimentarius Commission of the United Nations in respect of the MRLs of pesticides in various kinds of fruits and vegetables ("the relevant international standards"); if so, of the legislative timetable; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)in the absence of any legislation empowering the authorities to take enforcement actions, of the measures in place to stop traders from selling local or imported fruits and vegetables with pesticide residues of such levels exceeding the relevant international standards?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

Some community organizations and environmental scholars have recently pointed out that Hong Kong's Air Quality Objectives ("AQOs") are seriously outdated and set at levels far below the standards prescribed in the new Air Quality Guidelines ("AQGs") announced by the World Health Organization ("WHO") in October this year, thereby exposing the public to health hazards. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)as the current AQOs of Hong Kong were established in 1987 and have not been updated for almost 20 years since then, whether the authorities know the number of times that WHO, the United States of America, the European Union, Norway, Japan and New Zealand have amended their respective guidelines/standards on air quality during this period, and why Hong Kong has all along not amended its AQOs accordingly;

    (b)of the findings of the analyses of air pollution in Hong Kong in the past three years based on Hong Kong's AQOs and WHO's new AQGs respectively; and

    (c)whether it has assessed the respective impact on Hong Kong if its AQOs have not been immediately amended to comply with the standards prescribed in WHO's new AQGs and if the AQOs have been so amended; if it has, of the assessment results?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

Recently a magazine house collected some samples of seafood and vegetable from supermarkets which were imported from foreign countries, and sent them to a laboratory for chemical tests. The heavy metal concentrations of some of the samples were found to have exceeded the statutory maximum permitted levels. In this regard, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of samples taken from foods imported from places other than the Mainland for microbiological or chemical tests, and

    (i)its percentage in the total number of samples taken in that year, and

    (ii)among these samples, the number of those found to contain harmful substances, in each of the past two years;

    (b)of a breakdown of those samples mentioned in item (a) by their places of origin and types; and

    (c)whether it has assessed if adequate measures are in place to ensure that foods imported from places other than the Mainland are safe for human consumption, and of its improvement plans?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

The disciplinary proceedings surrounding the Harbour Fest case conducted by the Civil Service Bureau earlier on was completed in October 2005. The government officer concerned has appealed to the Chief Executive against the decision of the Secretary for the Civil Service ("SCS") on the outcome of the proceedings. In reply to my question at the Legislative Council meeting on 24 May this year, SCS said that the appeal was still being dealt with, and the authorities had not confirmed when the appeal would be disposed of. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the appeal has been disposed of; if not, whether the authorities have studied if there will be unnecessary delay in the processing of the appeal should the appeal fail to be disposed of before the expiry of the incumbent Chief Executive's term of office; if they have, of the outcome of the study; and

    (b)whether it will set a time limit for processing appeal cases of this nature according to public expectation and the principle of natural justice?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Civil Service

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

Under the Air Pollution Control (Petrol Filling Stations) (Vapour Recovery) (Amendment) Regulation 2004, which came into operation on 31 March last year, oil companies are required to install, within the following 36 months, a vapour recovery system ("recovery system") in each petrol dispenser of their petrol filling stations to recover the petrol vapour displaced from the fuel tanks of vehicles when they were being refuelled and return it to the petrol storage tank in the station, so as to reduce the release of volatile organic compounds into the environment. According to a media report in October this year, only 13% of the 280 petrol filling stations in Hong Kong had been installed with the recovery systems. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)how the progress in installing the recovery systems by oil companies compares with that originally anticipated by the Government;

    (b)whether it knows the reasons for the slow progress of installing the recovery systems; and

    (c)whether it will take measures to expedite the installation of the recovery systems by oil companies; if so, of the details of such measures?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

Given that a fatal accident has occurred in the sauna room in the clubhouse of a private housing estate, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the government departments to which clubhouses of private housing estates ("clubhouses") should submit their applications for providing sauna rooms and the conditions with which they should comply under the existing legislation;

    (b)of the Government's current regulatory measures to ensure the safety of users of sauna rooms of clubhouses; and

    (c)whether it plans to step up regulating sauna rooms of clubhouses, such as conducting regular inspections, so as to avoid recurrence of serious accidents?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

*12. Hon Bernard CHAN to ask:

Under the notification mechanism set up by the law enforcement authorities of the Mainland and Hong Kong, the Immigration Department would pass to the relevant mainland authorities information about mainland visitors convicted of criminal offences in Hong Kong, so that the latter could closely scrutinize the future applications made by these persons for exit endorsement for Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the number of such cases passed under the notification mechanism to the relevant mainland authorities last year; and

    (b)the number of visitors from the Mainland with previous convictions in Hong Kong who were convicted again, broken down by the type of offences, each year since the introduction of the Individual Visit Scheme in July 2003?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

It has been reported that the recent death of an under-aged girl in a disco due to drug abuse has aroused controversies over the role of the Liquor Licensing Board ("the Board") and the liquor licensing mechanism. At present, the Police will provide information on premises selling liquor, where irregularities have been found, for the Board's reference in considering applications for renewal of liquor licences. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it will enhance the statutory powers of the Board so that the Board can implement a penalty point system for liquor licensees; if such a system is implemented, whether it will require that:
    (a)penalty points be given to liquor licensees in respect of premises selling liquors where irregularities were found or serious nuisances were caused to the residential premises in their vicinity;

    (b)the validity period of a liquor licence be linked to the number of penalty points given to the licensee, so that the Board may issue licences of different validity periods in accordance with the numbers of penalty points given to the licensees, so that licensees will enhance the management of their premises;

    (c)the Police's comments on the subject premises be incorporated into the penalty point system to ensure that such comments will be fully taken into account when applications for liquor licenses are considered; and

    (d)comments from the relevant District Councils be incorporated into the penalty point system to ensure that such comments will be fully taken into account, so that the Board can adopt more objective criteria in considering applications for liquor licences, thereby reducing controversies in the community in this regard?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

According to the Code of Practice for the Keeping of Dogs on Construction Sites in Hong Kong issued by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department ("AFCD"), upon completion of a project on a construction site, the contractor concerned must re-home and move the dogs on the site ("construction site dogs") to a new location. If there is no alternative, the officer-in-charge of the site should surrender them to AFCD. It has been reported that although a number of large-scale contractors signed the above Code last year, there are still about 4 000 construction site dogs which become stray dogs every year, indicating that some contractors have not complied with the Code. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective estimated current numbers of construction site dogs in Hong Kong and those which were abandoned;

    (b)of the total number of construction site dogs surrendered to AFCD in the past year;

    (c)of the number of non-compliance cases (including failure to have the dogs licensed, or cause the dogs to be vaccinated against Rabies and micro-chipped) found in the past year by AFCD during its inspection of construction sites to ensure contractors' compliance with the above Code; and for cases in which the dog owners were penalized as a result, of the number of construction sites and the penalties involved; and

    (d)whether it will consider enacting legislation to enhance regulating the keeping of dogs on construction sites, in order to prevent construction site dogs from being abandoned; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

It has been reported that The Link Management Limited ("The Link") is planning to set up a medical centre in one of its shopping malls, which will group general, dental and specialist clinics as well as medical laboratories together to provide one-stop medical services. The Link also requires some of the clinics in that shopping mall to move to the car park or secluded corners. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows the details of the above plan, and whether The Link will extend this plan to all its shopping malls; if so, of the timetable for implementing this plan in individual shopping mall;

    (b)whether it knows the criteria for selecting the site for the above medical centre, and how the needs of people seeking medical treatment have been taken into consideration; and

    (c)given that the number of people seeking treatment from Chinese medicine practitioners is increasing, whether it knows if The Link will consider including Chinese medicine clinics in the above medical centre; if so, of the details?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

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

Since the commissioning of the cross-boundary Tuen Mun Ferry Terminal ("TMFT") early last month, the ferry services to and from Macao have not been launched as planned, and only four ferry trips are provided each day to and from Zhuhai's Jiuzhou Port. Many commercial tenants in the vicinity of the TMFT have complained that, while the pedestrian flow in the area has not greatly increased following the commissioning of the TMFT, the landlords have substantially increased the rents of their shops on grounds that TMFT has been commissioned with the ferry services in operation, making it difficult for them to operate. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the reasons why the ferry services between Tuen Mun and Macao have not yet been launched, and when the Government expects such services to be launched;

    (b)whether it has measures to assist the operator of the TMFT in launching the ferry services to and from Macao as early as possible; if so, of the details of such measures; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether it has measures to alleviate the hardship faced by the commercial tenants concerned; 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

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

It is learnt that the numbers of local pregnant women and women from the Mainland giving birth in Hong Kong are both increasing in recent months. This puts pressure on the obstetrics and gynaecology ("O&G") services of the public and private hospitals in Hong Kong. Some members of the public have relayed to me that many local pregnant women are hence unable to receive comprehensive antenatal care. For example, the number of antenatal check-ups arranged for each pregnant woman keeps decreasing. Some of them are even not provided with certain basic antenatal check-up services such as ultrasound examination, etc. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
    (a)in each of the past five years, the average number of bed days of women giving birth in the public hospitals in Hong Kong, the average number of antenatal check-ups arranged for each pregnant woman and the time interval between each check-up, as well as the services usually offered in such check-ups;

    (b)in each of the past five years, the resources (including the number of different types of health care personnel) and funding that the Hospital Authority provided to each of the O&G departments in public hospitals, with a detailed breakdown of the funding by expenditure items, including the salaries of health care personnel and other staff, as well as the expenses on drugs and medical facilities; and

    (c)the maximum number of delivery cases that each of the public and private hospitals in Hong Kong can handle each year at present, as well as the estimated maximum number of delivery cases that each of these hospitals can handle in each of the next three years?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

Regarding incidents of objects being thrown from a height in public rental housing ("PRH") estates, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of relevant reports received by the authorities concerned and the number of persons convicted of throwing objects from a height in the past two years, with a breakdown by housing estates;

    (b)of the PRH estates installed with Falling Object Monitoring Systems ("FOMSs") at present, and whether some FOMSs are not activated for long periods; if so, of the reasons for that;

    (c)whether it has reviewed the effectiveness of the FOMSs; and

    (d)whether it will consider installing FOMSs in all PRH estates in Hong Kong; if so, of the timetable for installation?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

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

Under Parts 1 and 2 of Schedule 1 of the Broadcasting Ordinance (Cap. 562), "a disqualified person" includes the proprietor of a local newspaper, a person who exercises control over the proprietor, or an associate of the proprietor or the person. Unless the Chief Executive in Council is satisfied that the public interest so requires and approves otherwise, a disqualified person shall not become the holder of a domestic pay television programme service licence, and he shall not exercise control of a licensee ("cross-media ownership restrictions"). In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
    (a)given that the Chairman of PCCW Limited ("PCCW") acquired 50% interest in the Hong Kong Economic Journal through an off-shore company owned by an off-shore discretionary trust in August this year, and that a subsidiary of PCCW is holding the licence mentioned above, whether the relevant authorities have assessed if the Chairman of PCCW has breached the cross-media ownership restrictions;

    (b)if the assessment result in item (a) is in the affirmative, whether the relevant authorities have so far received an application from the Chairman of PCCW for exemption from the cross-media ownership restrictions; if so, of the criteria the Chief Executive in Council will adopt for determining whether it "is satisfied that the public interest so requires" when it processes the application; and

    (c)if the assessment result in item (a) is in the negative, whether the relevant authorities have reviewed if there are loopholes in the relevant provisions which allow the person concerned to bypass the cross-media ownership restrictions by means of a trust; if the review outcome is in the affirmative, whether the authorities plan to amend the relevant provisions; if the review outcome is in the negative, of the justifications for that?
Public Officer to reply :Secretary for Economic Development and Labour
(in the absence of Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology)

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

Regarding "Subhead 080 - Transfers from Funds" under "Head 9 - Loans, Reimbursements, Contributions and Other Receipts" of the General Revenue Account, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of a breakdown, by the names of the funds concerned, on the annual estimate for the subhead since 1997-1998;

    (b)of the criteria adopted for determining the annual estimate for the subhead; and

    (c)of the criteria adopted for determining the amounts to be transferred from various funds to the subhead; whether deviation from such criteria has ever occurred since 1997-1998; if so, of the details?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

*For written reply.

IV. Bills

First Reading

1. Employment (Amendment) Bill 2006

2. District Councils (Amendment) Bill 2006

Second Reading (Debates to be adjourned)

1. Employment (Amendment) Bill 2006:Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

2. District Councils (Amendment) Bill 2006:Secretary for Constitutional Affairs

V. Motions

Proposed resolution under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance

Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food to move the following motion:

Resolved that the following Regulations, made by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board on 27 November 2006, be approved -

(a)the Pharmacy and Poisons (Amendment)(No. 5) Regulation 2006; and

(b)the Poisons List (Amendment)(No. 5) Regulation 2006.

(The two Regulations were issued on 29 November 2006
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 180/06-07)

VI. Members' Motions
  1. Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

    Hon James TO to move the following motion:

    RESOLVED that in relation to the -

    (a)Fugitive Offenders (Germany) Order, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 251 of 2006; and

    (b)Fugitive Offenders (Republic of Korea) Order, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 252 of 2006,

    and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 22 November 2006, 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 10 January 2007.

  2. Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

    Hon Audrey EU to move the following motion:

    RESOLVED that in relation to the Air Pollution Control (Volatile Organic Compounds) Regulation, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 258 of 2006, and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 29 November 2006, 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 17 January 2007.

  3. Increasing the Government's share in the investment income of the Exchange Fund

    Hon Howard YOUNG: (Translation)

    That this Council urges the Government to revise the existing agreement between the Government and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority on the methodology for sharing the investment income of the Exchange Fund, so as to increase government revenue in this regard.

    Amendment to motion
    Hon CHAN Kam-lam:     (Translation)

    To delete "increase government revenue in this regard" after "so as to" and substitute with "allocate more investment income of the Exchange Fund to the Government, and ensure that there is stable government revenue from the investment income; in determining the level of additional investment income of the Exchange Fund to be allocated to the Government, the principle of keeping expenditure within the limits of revenues in drawing up the budget, striving to achieve a fiscal balance, avoiding deficits and keeping the budget commensurate with the growth rate of the gross domestic product must be strictly followed".

    Public Officer to attend : Financial Secretary

  4. Urging the Central Government not to interfere in the HKSAR's internal affairs

    Hon Emily LAU: (Translation)

    That this Council urges the Central Government not to interfere in the HKSAR's internal affairs, including the Chief Executive election, and urges the Administration to make every effort to defend the HKSAR's high degree of autonomy and Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong under "one country, two systems".

    Amendment to motion
    Hon Howard YOUNG:     (Translation)

    To delete "not to interfere" after "Central Government" and substitute with "to continue to maintain the policy of not interfering"; and to delete ", including the Chief Executive election, and urges the Administration to" after "HKSAR's internal affairs" and substitute with "in accordance with the Basic Law, and requests the HKSAR Government to continue to".

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Constitutional Affairs

Clerk to the Legislative Council