A 07/08-18

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 20 February 2008 at 11:00 am

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
1.Specification of Arrangements (Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg) (Avoidance of Double Taxation on Income and Capital and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion) Order18/2008
2.Import and Export (Fees) (Amendment: Fee Revision) Regulation 200819/2008
3.Chemical Weapons (Convention) Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 4: Revision of Permit Fee) Order 200820/2008
4.Antiquities and Monuments (Withdrawal of Declaration of Proposed Monument) (No. 128 Pok Fu Lam Road) Notice21/2008
5.Tax Reserve Certificates (Rate of Interest) Notice 200822/2008
6.Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications (Appeal) Rules25/2008
7.Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications Ordinance (Commencement) Notice 200826/2008
8.Tsing Sha Control Area Ordinance (Commencement) Notice27/2008
9.Tsing Sha Control Area (General) Regulation (Commencement) Notice28/2008
10.Tsing Sha Control Area (Tolls, Fees and Charges) Regulation (Commencement) Notice29/2008

Other Papers

1.No.68-The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts Annual Report 2006-2007 and the Financial Statements and Auditor's Report for the year ended 30 June 2007
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

2.No.69-Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications Annual Report 2006-2007
(to be presented by Secretary for Education)

3.No.70-Audited Statements of Accounts and Report on Activities of the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority for the year ending 31 August 2007
(to be presented by Secretary for Education)

4.No.71-Li Po Chun Charitable Trust Fund Signed and Audited Financial Statements together with the Auditor's Report and Report by the Trustee on the Administration of the Fund for the year ended 31 August 2007
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

5.No.72-Report of the Public Accounts Committee on the Reports of the Director of Audit on the Accounts of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for the year ended 31 March 2007 and the Results of Value for Money Audits (Report No. 49)
(February 2008 - P.A.C. Report No. 49)
(to be presented by Dr Hon Philip WONG, Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, who will address the Council)

6.Report of the Bills Committee on Domicile Bill
(to be presented by Hon James TO, Chairman of the Bills Committee)

II. Questions

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

Reports of rats found on civilian passenger aircraft are heard from time to time. In addition to spreading germs and posing hygiene hazards, rats may even bite and damage the electrical wires on the aircraft, jeopardizing flight safety. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
    (a)it knows if there were cases of rats found on arriving civilian passenger aircraft in the past five years; if there were such cases, of the number; and

    (b)the hygiene conditions of arriving civilian passenger aircraft are subject to regulation under the laws of Hong Kong; if so, of the regulatory measures adopted by the responsible government department(s) to ensure that the hygiene conditions of aircraft are satisfactory, to avoid passengers' health or even flight safety from being affected?
Public Officers to reply :Secretary for Food and Health
Secretary for Transport and Housing

2. Hon Bernard CHAN to ask: (Translation)

Since the launch of the West Kowloon Cultural District Development project consultation exercise, there has been a growing interest in the relevant issues among members of the community, and quite a number of organizations even bring in famous foreign artistic works for exhibition in large shopping arcades and other venues in Hong Kong. Some members of the public have reflected to me that such activities help encourage art development and enhance the quality of life of members of the public. However, there seemed to be very few local artistic works among such exhibits. In fact, the quality of many local artistic works is also very high, and they should be given opportunities for exhibition. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether there is currently a policy specifying that the authorities should earmark space in public places, premises of government departments or properties and venues under their management for displaying artistic works (especially the local ones); if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)in the past three years, of the average annual amount of funds expended by the Government in acquiring or hiring local artistic works for exhibition purposes, as well as the average quantity of artistic works involved per year; and

    (c)apart from those measures mentioned in the paper provided for the meeting of the Panel on Home Affairs of this Council on 9 November 2007, what other measures the authorities currently have to promote local art in the community; and whether they will consider making reference to overseas practice to require the individuals or organizations concerned, when constructing new buildings in urban areas, to earmark capital of not less than a certain percentage of the construction costs of such buildings for developing public art, so as to further promote local art?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

3. Hon Ronny TONG Ka-wah to ask: (Translation)

According to the Police General Orders, the Duty Officer of a police station, or an officer detailed by him, will search a detained person prior to the person being secured in a Temporary Holding Area or cell block, and the search may involve the removal of the person's clothing worn next to the skin ("strip searches"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the responsible police officers are required, when conducting strip searches, to comply with any other guidelines, in addition to the Police's internal guidelines and the Police General Orders; if so, of the details of those other guidelines; who may make the final decision on whether or not a strip search is necessary; and the consequence of a detained person's refusal to a strip search;

    (b)whether the responsible police officers will ensure the detained persons' privacy during strip searches; if they will not, of the reasons for that; if they will, of the measures to be adopted (whether such measures include ensuring that police officers or other persons who have nothing to do with the searches will not appear at the places where the strip searches are conducted); and what measures the Police will adopt to ensure that the procedures for strip searches comply with the requirements under Article 28 of the Basic Law and Articles 3 and 6 in Part II of the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance; and

    (c)of the total number of complaints regarding strip searches received by the Complaints Against Police Office of the Hong Kong Police Force and the Independent Police Complaints Council in each of the past five years, and among these complaints, the number of substantiated cases, the number of unsubstantiated cases and the reasons why these cases were found unsubstantiated, together with a breakdown of all the cases by the receiving organization, year of receipt of the complaint and outcome of investigation?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

4. Hon Albert CHAN to ask: (Translation)

Recently, quite a number of parents of primary and secondary school students have reflected to me that their children could not enjoy the Christmas and New Year holidays, nor could they join their families in travelling abroad during the holidays, because they have to prepare for the mid-term examinations scheduled to be held immediately after the holidays. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
    (a)it knows the respective numbers of primary and secondary schools which held the mid-term examinations immediately before and after the Christmas and New Year holidays in the current school year; and

    (b)it will advise schools to avoid scheduling the mid-term examinations to be held immediately after the Christmas and New Year holidays; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education

5. Hon Andrew CHENG to ask: (Translation)

It is learnt that Airport Authority ("AA") is conducting an open tender exercise for the development of a new cargo terminal. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
    (a)the expiry dates of the franchises granted to the two existing air cargo terminal operators at the time when they signed the relevant agreements with AA in 1995 and 1996 respectively, and the latest expiry dates of such franchises; if the franchises have been extended, the respective amounts of payment made by the operators concerned for such extension; if no payment was required, of the reasons for that;

    (b)the circumstances under which the franchise granted to the new cargo terminal operator will be extended, and the amount of payment to be made to AA for such extension; if no payment is required, of the reasons for that; and

    (c)if AA has taken specific measures to ensure that all interested tenderers are aware, before submitting their bids, that the successful bidder has the chance of the franchise being extended; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

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

Regarding hygiene conditions and product safety of disposable tableware, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the quantities of various kinds of disposable tableware used by restaurants, universities and secondary and primary schools annually; and

    (b)whether it has monitored the hygiene conditions and product safety of such tableware, such as by conducting regular sample tests for bacteria content on the surfaces of such tableware, and for determining whether it will release harmful substances when coming into contact with hot, fatty or acidic substances; if so, of the monitoring results in the past two years; if not, the reasons for that, and whether a monitoring mechanism will be established?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

*7. Hon LAU Chin-shek to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)in the past five years, whether the Government had collected relevant data according to the races of stakeholders when it implemented policies and measures on education, employment, health care, housing, social welfare or security, as well as provided the related public services, so as to facilitate more comprehensive consideration by the policy bureaux concerned when formulating policies; if it had, please list such policies, measures and public services; if it had not, what measures (other than legislating against racial discrimination) the Government has in place to ensure that its policies, measures and public services can cater for the needs of local residents of different races, and promote racial harmony and sustainable development of a pluralistic society;

    (b)whether the Government has any measure or plan to require all government departments to collect relevant data according to the races of stakeholders, so as to review if the relevant policies, measures and public services will effectively promote racial equality and racial harmony; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)in the past three years, whether various policy bureaux and government departments, either on their own or through commissioning community organizations, had conducted surveys or researches with local residents of different races as their targets; if they had, of the following about the survey or research projects: when they were conducted, the responsible government departments or organizations, the expenditure involved, whether they have been completed and (if completed) the results thereof, broken down by project name; if no such surveys or researches had been conducted, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs

*8. Hon Timothy FOK Tsun-ting to ask: (Translation)

The Recommendation Report of the Consultative Committee on the Core Arts and Cultural Facilities of the West Kowloon Cultural District recommends that efforts be made to promote arts education on a much wider scale in schools and the community. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether discussions on the aforesaid recommendation have been held with the local arts and cultural sector; if so, of the suggestions and comments made by members of the sector; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (b)of the suggestions made by schools and the community for implementing the above recommendation?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

*9. Hon Mrs Anson CHAN to ask: (Translation)

While the Employees Retraining Board ("ERB") published a Consultative Document on the Future Directions for the Employees Retraining Board in the middle of last month, ERB had, in December last year, relaxed the enrolment requirements for its courses in respect of minimum age (lowered from 30 to 15 years old) and highest education attainment (elevated from below Secondary 3 to sub-degree or below). It is reported that 1 200 young people had enrolled in ERB courses in December last year alone, and ERB plans to provide courses at Qualifications Frameworks Levels 1 to 4 and make further efforts to seek recognition by tertiary institutions of the credits obtained upon completion of its courses. In this regard, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
    (a)the reasons for ERB not conducting any consultation before relaxing the minimum age and highest education attainment requirements for enrolment; and the reasons for ERB relaxing the age and education attainment requirements for admission prior to the publication of the said Consultative Document, given that the consultation period on the Consultative Document will last from 24 January to 31 March this year;

    (b)whether the 1 200 young trainees mentioned above have attended or are attending courses organized by the Vocational Training Council ("VTC") or Labour Department, such as the Youth Pre-employment Training Programme; if so, the titles of the courses, and the number of ERB trainees who have taken or are taking such courses, broken down by course titles;

    (c)the progress made by ERB in seeking recognition by tertiary institutions of the credits obtained upon completion of its courses; whether any specific articulation arrangement and implementation timetable have been formulated;

    (d)as it is reported that these 1 200 young people were mainly enrolled in courses on property management, hotel, catering and clerical personnel and ERB also plans to launch courses relating to finance and accounting, exhibition, logistics, etc., of the annual numbers of places of similar courses provided by VTC, annual expenditure thus incurred, as well as the service targets of these courses;

    (e)whether there are any differences between the higher diploma courses of VTC and those of ERB covering the same subjects in terms of academic qualifications; if there are, of the details; if not, whether it has assessed if there is any duplication of resources; and

    (f)as many sub-degree graduates of recent years have encountered difficulties both in moving on to senior year undergraduate articulation courses and in employment, how ERB ensures that those people who have completed its courses, in particular courses at Levels 3 and 4, will not encounter the same difficulties; and how ERB ensures that prospective employers will recognize the academic qualifications it awards?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

*10. Hon CHAN Kam-lam to ask: (Translation)

In accordance with the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance (Cap. 485), an employer may apply for withdrawal of money from the employer-funded portion of the accrued benefits in an employee's Mandatory Provident Fund ("MPF") account for offsetting the long service payment or severance payment made to the employee. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows the following in respect of each year since the implementation of the MPF system in 2000:
    (a)the number of cases of accrued benefits in MPF accounts being used to offset long service payments or severance payments, and the total amount of money involved; among such cases, the number of those in which the full amounts of long service payments or severance payments were offset by accrued benefits, as well as the percentage of such cases in all cases; and

    (b)the number of cases in which employers who made long service payments or severance payments to their employees and did not apply for withdrawal of money from the MPF accounts of the employees concerned for offsetting the relevant expenses; among such employers, the number of those who had made voluntary contributions to MPF trustees for their employees?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

*11. Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)

It is the Government's policy to develop a barrier-free physical environment for people with disabilities ("PWDs"). In accordance with this policy objective, newly constructed or substantially altered private buildings are required by the Building (Planning) Regulations (Cap. 123 sub. leg. F) and other relevant subsidiary legislation under the Buildings Ordinance (Cap. 123) to provide access and facilities for PWDs, and the obligatory and recommended design requirements for the provision of the access and facilities are set out in the "Design Manual: Barrier Free Access 1997" ("Design Manual"). Yet, quite a number of disabled students who are currently studying in special schools and their parents have told me that no upgrading works had been carried out in accordance with the Design Manual to improve the access and facilities in such schools, and the disabled students, especially those who are wheelchair bound, find the inadequate provision of barrier-free facilities in the schools very inconvenient. They have also pointed out that as wheelchairs occupy more space, some special schools which were converted from primary schools simply cannot provide sufficient manoeuvring space for students. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the current number and types of special schools the premises of which do not comply with the obligatory design requirements stipulated in the Design Manual;

    (b)whether the Government has formulated any specific plan to carry out redevelopment or improvement works for the special schools referred to in (a) to ensure that their school premises comply with the requirements stipulated in the Design Manual; if so, of the details of the plan; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether the Government has any policy of requiring all special schools in Hong Kong, including those constructed or converted before 1997, to achieve the target of providing barrier-free access and facilities?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education

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

Some members of the public have pointed out to me that, although the Government considers District Council ("DC") membership as a form of public service, it is indeed necessary for DC members to devote much time, attention and efforts to council work. With the enhancement of the functions of DCs and the increasing aspirations of members of the public, DC membership is actually not different from a full-time job, but DC members do not have medical benefits, employees' compensation insurance cover or retirement protection. On the other hand, with effect from the Fourth Legislative Council ("LegCo"), the Government will provide LegCo Members with end-of-service gratuities as a form of protection to help them tide over a period of time should they decide not to seek re-election or fail to be re-elected. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it will:
    (a)consider, with reference to the gratuity package for LegCo Members, offering end-of-service gratuities to DC members, so that they need not worry about their future and can fully dedicate themselves to the work of DCs; and

    (b)provide DC members with medical benefits which are on par with those for civil servants?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

Since the launch of the Hong Kong Childhood Immunisation Programme ("CIP") by the Department of Health in the 1960s, except for the addition of the hepatitis B vaccine in 1988 and the introduction of the combined diphtheria, tetanus, acellular pertussis and inactivated poliovirus vaccines in February 2007 to replace the original oral poliovirus vaccine and whole-cell pertussis vaccine, no other vaccines have been added, and no major reform on CIP has been carried out. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the differences between CIP and similar programmes in the West and developed places in the Asian region;

    (b)whether the World Health Organization has laid down a set of international recommendations on childhood immunisation; if it has, whether CIP complies with such recommendations; if it does not, of the reasons for that; and

    (c)given that the Department of Health has indicated that apart from the vaccines recommended in CIP, some private doctors may inoculate children with other self-financed vaccines (including pneumococcal vaccine, influenza vaccine, chickenpox vaccine, hepatitis A vaccine, meningococcal vaccine, Japanese encephalitis vaccine and Haemophilus influenzae type B vaccine), whether the Government will consider including some of those vaccines in CIP within the next three years; if it will, of the vaccines to be included and the time for implementation; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

*14. Hon Albert HO to ask: (Translation)

Schedule 1 to the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Cap. 486) sets out the data protection principles and, among them, Principle 4 requires data users to take all practicable steps to ensure that personal data held by them are protected against unauthorized or accidental access, processing, erasure or other use. However, the Ordinance does not impose an express mandatory legal responsibility on data users to inform the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data ("the Commissioner") and the persons affected when there are problems with the security of data or leakages of the personal data held by them. The Commissioner is reviewing whether contravention of the data protection principles in the Ordinance should be made an offence. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of cases involving problems with security of personal data or leakage of such data which had been brought to the attention of the Commissioner in the past three years and, among them, the number of cases in which the data users took the initiative to inform the Commissioner and the persons affected of the relevant situation;

    (b)whether it has studied if the aforesaid legal responsibility should be added to the Ordinance; if so, of the outcome of the study; if not, whether it will carry out such a study; and

    (c)of the progress of the above review?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs

*15. Hon CHAN Yuen-han to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the provision of education to non-Chinese speaking ("NCS") students, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the criteria for selecting schools designated for receiving intensive on-site support to enhance the learning and teaching of NCS students (whether the criteria include the number of NCS students in the school concerned and the need for providing support due to insufficient teachers with relevant experience); details of the related on-site support; the channels and ways to become a "designated school"; in the past two years, the annual expenditure on the provision of intensive on-site support to each of the "designated schools" by the Government, and the number of schools which had applied to become "designated schools" but were rejected by the authorities;

    (b)which university had been commissioned by the Education Bureau ("EDB") to run the Chinese Learning Support Centre; in the past three years, of the respective numbers of primary and secondary schools which had been provided with remedial programmes after school hours or during holidays by the Centre, the respective numbers of primary and secondary schools which had been assisted in developing related teaching resources and provided with professional advice by the Centre, and the annual expenditure of the Centre;

    (c)in the past three years, of the total number of Primary 1 to Primary 4 NCS students participated in the 4-week Summer Bridging Programme provided by EDB, the percentage of such students in the total number of NCS students, the annual expenditure of the Programme, and whether EDB had conducted any evaluation on the teaching efficacy of the Programme; if it had, of the evaluation results; and

    (d)although the Executive Summary of the Consultation Paper on Developing a "Supplementary Guide to the Chinese Language Curriculum for Non-Chinese Speaking Students" is available in both Chinese and English, why the Consultation Paper proper is available only in Chinese but not English; whether the authorities will consider providing the English version of the Consultation Paper proper and extend the consultation period for the Paper; if not, how the authorities ensure that ethnic minority groups, NCS students and their parents who are illiterate in Chinese can fully understand the contents of the Paper and respond to it, so that the Guide, which is to be issued in future, can actually and effectively facilitate NCS students to learn Chinese?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education

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

As young children often encounter accidents while they were alone at home, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of a breakdown, by the type of accident, of the number of accidents concerned which occurred in the past three years;

    (b)whether it has looked deeply into the reasons for parents leaving their young children alone at home; if so, of the outcome, and any plans in place to enhance assistance to parents in need in taking care of their young children; and

    (c)whether it has studied if it should be legislated to expressly prohibit the leaving of young children alone at home; if so, of the outcome?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

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

Recently, I have received complaints from members of the public that the Water Supplies Department ("WSD") does not provide electronic bills to the public, and has thus failed to save paper and public money as far as practicable. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the total number of water bills issued by WSD last year; and

    (b)whether WSD will provide electronic bills; if so, when it will be tried out and then fully implemented, of the estimated number of users who will opt for receiving such bills, and the estimated average amount of paper to be saved each year upon implementation; if electronic bills will not be provided, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

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

The Government has awarded a contract for the provision of wireless Internet access facilities at 350 government premises by June 2009 and since last month, tenants in about 120 public rental housing estates can enjoy free wireless Internet access service at designated areas within the estates. In connection with the promotion of wireless Internet access, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it plans to provide free wireless Internet access in commercial districts so as to strengthen Hong Kong's status as an Asian business centre;

    (b)whether it knows which Asian countries or cities provide free wireless Internet access for their citizens; if it does, of the details;

    (c)whether it plans to provide any form of financial assistance to indigent families that cannot afford the expenses on purchase of personal computers and monthly charges for Internet access; and

    (d)as some people are ignorant about the computer and Internet, whether the Government will organize in various districts free courses on basic computer operation and Internet surfing for them?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

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

Regarding health care expenditure, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective public, private and overall health care expenditure as a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product in each of the past five years;

    (b)of the number of attendances and the total bed-days in each of the past five years in respect of non-eligible persons ("NEPs") receiving in-patient health care service provided by the Hospital Authority ("HA"); the total expenditure and income in this respect; and after deducting the expenditure on the provision of health care service to NEPs, the ratio of HA's annual expenditure to the Hong Kong population;

    (c)of the per capita public health care expenditure in each of the past five years;

    (d)whether the public health care expenditure had increased correspondingly with population growth in the past five years; and

    (e)given that the Government will increase its recurrent expenditure on public health care from the present 15% to 17% in 2011-2012, of the estimated increase in per capita public health care expenditure in 2011-2012 after discounting population growth and increase in unit cost of health care service?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

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

On 1 June 2000, the Government implemented a new civil service entry system under which recruits joining basic ranks in civil service grades would be appointed on three-year probationary terms, to be followed by three-year agreement terms (commonly known as the "3+3 model"), before they can be considered for appointment on the prevailing permanent terms. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the up-to-date number, broken down by grade (excluding the teaching grade), of employees appointed under the 3+3 model who have completed the three-year probationary period and three-year agreement period and, among them, the respective numbers of those who have been and those who have not been offered further appointment on permanent terms, as well as the reasons why some of them have not been offered further appointment on permanent terms;

    (b)of the up-to-date number of teachers appointed under the 3+3 model who have completed the three-year probationary period and three-year agreement period and, among them,

    (i)the number of those who have been offered further appointment on permanent terms, together with a breakdown by their current rank and the type of schools (i.e. secondary school or primary school) in which they are teaching;

    (ii)the number of those who have not been offered further appointment on permanent terms, the reasons thereof and their current remuneration package; and

    (c)whether it will comprehensively review the impact of the 3+3 employment model on attracting talents to join the civil service and retaining staff; if it will, of the review proposal; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Civil Service

*For written reply.

III. Bills

First Reading

1. Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008

2. Fixed Penalty (Smoking Offences) Bill

3. West Kowloon Cultural District Authority Bill

4. Air Pollution Control (Amendment) Bill 2008

5. Road Traffic Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2008

Second Reading (Debates to be adjourned)

1.Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2008:The Secretary for Justice

2.Fixed Penalty (Smoking Offences) Bill:Secretary for Food and Health

3.West Kowloon Cultural District Authority Bill:Secretary for Home Affairs

4.Air Pollution Control (Amendment) Bill 2008:Secretary for the Environment

5.Road Traffic Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2008:Secretary for Transport and Housing

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

Domicile Bill:The Secretary for Justice

IV. Motions

Proposed resolution under the Import and Export Ordinance

Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development to move the following motion:

RESOLVED that the Import and Export (Registration) (Amendment) Regulation 2008, made by the Chief Executive in Council on 15 January 2008, be approved.

(The Regulation was issued on 24 January 2008
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 340/07-08)

V. Members' Motions

  1. Proposed resolution under Article 75 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China

    Hon TSANG Yok-sing to move the following motion:

    RESOLVED that Rule 28(2) of the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region be amended by repealing everything after "the President may" and substituting "allow short and succinct questions to be put to the public officer making the statement, if in the opinion of the President the questions are relevant to the statement.".

  2. Report of the Subcommittee on Review of the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme

    Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG: (Translation)

    That this Council notes the Report of the Subcommittee on Review of the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme.

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

  3. Transformation of old industrial areas

    Hon CHAN Kam-lam: (Translation)

    That, as there is an increasing shortage of commercial land available for development and, at the same time, many old industrial areas in Hong Kong have a serious ageing problem and the situation of factory building units being left vacant, converted into warehouses or used for other non-industrial purposes is prevalent, the precious land resources are not fully utilized, this Council urges the Government to take proactive measures to comprehensively re-plan the old industrial areas to provide a basis for compliance in the course of transformation, with a view to fully utilizing their potentials for development and achieving the objective of optimizing the use of land resources; the specific measures include:

    (a)fully relaxing the land uses of industrial land, implementing the payment of extra premium by instalments, as well as re-examining and amending the definition of "industrial use" and "factory";

    (b)strengthening the role of the Urban Renewal Authority to enable it to actively participate in the redevelopment of old industrial areas;

    (c)rationalizing the road layout and increasing transport ancillary facilities in the old industrial areas; and

    (d)increasing leisure and recreational facilities as well as expanding green areas in the old industrial areas.

    Amendments to motion
    (i)Hon Alan LEONG Kah-kit: (Translation)

    To add "Hong Kong is a small place with a large population," after "That, as"; to add ", many communities also need land allocation to enhance and increase community facilities" after "land available for development"; to delete "strengthening" after "(b)" and substitute with "expeditiously reviewing the Urban Renewal Strategy and studying realigning"; to delete "participate in the redevelopment" after "to enable it to actively" and substitute with "complement the renewal"; to delete "and" after "transport ancillary facilities in the old industrial areas;"; and to add "; (e) according to the needs of different communities, studying changing the land uses of old industrial areas to improve the medical, welfare and educational support for the communities; and (f) encouraging re-planning of vacant factory buildings to provide development opportunities for creative industries, cultural industries, social enterprises and various small and medium enterprises" immediately before the full stop.

    (ii)Hon SIN Chung-kai: (Translation)

    To add "as well as cultural, recreational and leisure facilities," after "available for development"; to add "the Forbearance Fee for Commercial Use in Existing Industrial Buildings charged by the Government is high and it is not easy to apply to the Town Planning Board for changing land uses," after "prevalent,"; to add ", on the one hand," after "measures to"; to add ", allow more diversified land uses, including land for commercial, cultural, recreational and leisure facilities as well as open space, lower the density of development, increase public space and reduce screen effect" after "re-plan the old industrial areas"; to add "and on the other hand, study implementing" after "the use of land resources;"; to add "which" after "the specific measures"; to add "reviewing the relevant planning control polices on industrial and commercial land use," after "(a) fully"; to add "part of the" after "relaxing the land uses of"; to add "to facilitate more creative industries and suitable promotional activities to be held in old factory buildings, so as to enhance their room for development" after " 'industrial use' and 'factory' "; to add "reducing the Forbearance Fee for Commercial Use in Existing Industrial Buildings in the Metro Area, so as to assist in converting the industrial buildings in the Metro Area to commercial use; (c) relaxing the approval criteria for converting single or multiple industrial building units to commercial use, so that industrial buildings with fragmented ownership can more easily change the use of individual units; (d) expeditiously developing suburban centres in the New Territories to provide cheaper industrial and commercial land as well as to create more job opportunities for the new towns in their vicinity; (e)" after "(b)"; to add "and renovation" after "redevelopment"; to add ", constructing green industrial buildings and alleviating the crowdedness arising from densely-built factory buildings in the urban area" after "of old industrial areas"; to delete the original "(c)" and substitute with "(f)"; to add ", and using footbridges to connect industrial buildings to separate pedestrian and vehicle passages, so as to reduce the chances of people breathing in exhaust air" after "transport ancillary facilities in the old industrial areas"; to delete the original "(d)" and substitute with "(g)"; and to delete "leisure and recreational" before "facilities as well as" and substitute with "cultural, recreational and leisure".

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Development

Clerk to the Legislative Council