A 07/08-24

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 23 April 2008 at 11:00 am

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments		L.N. No.
1.	Air Navigation (Hong Kong) Order 1995 (Amendment) Order 2008	77/2008
2.	Fugitive Offenders (Transnational Organized Crime) Order	78/2008
3.	Trade Descriptions (Provision of Information on Natural Fei Cui) Order	79/2008
4.	Trade Descriptions (Provision of Information on Diamond) Order	80/2008
5.	Trade Descriptions (Provision of Information on Regulated Electronic Products) Order	81/2008
6.	Trade Descriptions (Marking) (Gold and Gold Alloy) (Amendment) Order 2008	82/2008
7.	Trade Descriptions (Marking) (Platinum) (Amendment) Order 2008	83/2008
8.	Trade Descriptions (Definition of Platinum) (Amendment) Regulation 2008	84/2008
9.	Preservatives in Food (Amendment) Regulation 2008	85/2008
10.	The English Schools Foundation (Amendment) Ordinance 2008 (Commencement) Notice	86/2008
11.	Fugitive Offenders (Terrorist Bombings) Order (Commencement) Notice	87/2008
12.	Fugitive Offenders (Maritime Safety) Order (Commencement) Notice	88/2008
13.	Specification of Arrangements (The Mainland of China) (Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income) (Second Protocol) Order	89/2008
14.	Specification of Arrangements (The Mainland of China) (Avoidance of Double Taxation on Income) (Revocation) Order	90/2008

Other Papers

1.	No.87	-	Annual Report and Financial Report 2006-2007 of the Vocational Training Council
(to be presented by Secretary for Education)
2.	No.88	-	Audited Statement of Accounts together with the Director of Audit's Report of the Education Development Fund for the year ended 31 August 2007
(to be presented by Secretary for Education)
3.	No.89	-	Audited Statement of Accounts together with the Director of Audit's Report of the Quality Education Fund for the year ended 31 August 2007
(to be presented by Secretary for Education)
4.	Report of the Bills Committee on Mainland Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Bill
(to be presented by Hon Margaret NG, Chairman of the Bills Committee)
5.	Report of the Bills Committee on Legislative Council (Amendment) Bill 2007
(to be presented by Hon Howard YOUNG, Chairman of the Bills Committee)

II. Questions for Written Replies

1. Hon Howard YOUNG to ask: (Translation)

I have learnt that since the Travel Insurance Agents Examination was introduced on 15 May 2006, as at 31 January 2008, a total of 6 568 candidates have attempted the examination with a passing rate of 45%. However, of the 2 943 candidates who passed the examination, only 1 914 have registered with the Insurance Agents Registration Board. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	whether it has collected any statistics about the increase in the total amount of travel insurance premium since the implementation of the Travel Insurance Agents Registration System; if it has, of the relevant details;
(b)	whether it has conducted any study on the low passing rate of the above examination; if it has, of the outcome of the study and the measures taken by the Government to raise the passing rate of the examination;
(c)	of the measures it has taken to encourage more candidates who have passed the above examination to register as travel insurance agents; and
(d)	given that at present travel insurance agents are only allowed to sell travel insurance for the tour or travel package which they are arranging for the clients but not other forms of insurance, including annual travel insurance policy, and it is quite common nowadays for people to travel abroad several times each year, insurance companies have accordingly launched annual travel insurance plans to save people from the hassle of having to take out an insurance policy each time they travel, and such companies also offer premium discounts, whether the authorities will consider allowing travel insurance agents to sell annual travel insurance policy as well; if they will, when the authorities will implement the new arrangement; if not, of the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

2. Hon James TIEN to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that as the problem of aged underground water mains is becoming increasingly serious in Hong Kong, incidents of suspension of water supply have occurred from time to time in some districts. The authorities have implemented the Replacement and Rehabilitation Programme of Water Mains ("the Programme") since 2000, but it is anticipated that all the works for replacing and rehabilitating water mains can only be completed by 2015. On 30 March this year, the valve in an underground fresh water pipe (600 mm in diameter) beneath a section of Tai Po Road off Wo Che Estate broke down, resulting in suspension of fresh water supply in a number of housing estates and villages in Fo Tan area in Shatin. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	apart from old water pipes, whether the Programme which is under implementation covers the replacement and rehabilitation of other components (such as valves) as well, and the latest progress of the Programme;
(b)	of the respective numbers of incidents of suspension of fresh water and salt water supplies in the past three years, which were caused by aged water mains or other aged components, broken down by district;
(c)	pending the replacement of water supply facilities which have been in use for a long time, whether the authorities will step up inspection of such facilities in various districts, so as to replace or rehabilitate them earlier once problems of ageing, rusting or cracking are detected; and
(d)	whether it will review afresh whether the above Programme can be expedited for earlier completion; if the outcome of the review indicates that the Programme can be expedited for earlier completion, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

3. Hon Andrew CHENG to ask: (Translation)

Regarding traffic congestion in the three road-harbour crossings, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the average waiting time for motorists to use the above three harbour crossings during the peak and non-peak hours in the past three years, and whether congestion in the harbour crossings has shown signs of deterioration; and
(b)	whether it has examined the annual losses, in terms of social costs, caused by traffic congestion in the above harbour crossings; if so, of the detailed outcome; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

4. Hon Martin LEE to ask: (Translation)

Regarding air pollution in districts with heavy traffic, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	whether air pollution in Mongkok, Causeway Bay and Central has shown signs of deterioration in the past three years;
(b)	of the policies the Government had implemented to reduce air pollution in districts with heavy traffic in the past five years, as well as the expenditure involved, and whether it has assessed the effectiveness of such policies; if it has conducted such an assessment, of the outcome; and
(c)	whether it has looked into the main sources of air pollution in districts with heavy traffic, as well as the impact of public transport and other commercial vehicles on air pollution in such districts?

Public Officer to reply

:

Secretary for Transport and Housing (in the absence of Secretary for the Environment)

5. Dr Hon YEUNG Sum to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the Tertiary Student Finance Scheme - Publicly-funded Programmes ("TSFS") and the Financial Assistance Scheme for Post-secondary Students ("FASPS") ("financial assistance schemes"), will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	among the cases in which financial assistance in the form of a grant was provided under these financial assistance schemes in the current school year, of the respective number and percentage of those in which the grant is less than $20,000, as well as the average amount of loan approved in such cases;
(b)	of the interest income of each financial assistance scheme in each of the past 10 years;
(c)	of the reasons for some cases turning into bad debts; together with a breakdown, by such reasons, of the bad debt cases of each financial assistance scheme in the past 10 years; and the respective numbers of defaulting cases in the past 10 years with over five, 10 and 15 instalments overdue under each financial assistance scheme;
(d)	of the additional charges payable by borrowers for defaulting loans, together with the name, amount and method of calculation of each item; and the total amount of additional charges payable in the defaulting loan cases in each financial assistance scheme in each of the past 10 years; and
(e)	whether it will change the existing low-interest loans under TSFS to interest-free loans; and whether it will increase the direct subsidy for students who are only eligible to apply for assistance under FASPS (especially sub-degree students) or offer interest-free loans for them to meet their living expenses; if it will, of the implementation date; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education

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

The Supplementary Medical Professions Ordinance (Cap. 359) provides for a statutory framework for the registration, discipline and management of medical laboratory technologists, occupational therapists, optometrists, physiotherapists and radiographers. While the Ordinance stipulates that the Chairman of the Supplementary Medical Professions Council is appointed by the Chief Executive, it does not provide that the chairmanship shall not be taken up by a member of the supplementary medical professions. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	whether regular reviews had been conducted by the Government on the operation of the Supplementary Medical Professions Council during the 20-plus years since its establishment, and whether it has considered establishing a council for each of the above five supplementary medical professions; if there is no such consideration, of the reasons for that; and
(b)	whether it will amend the above Ordinance to stipulate clearly that the chairmanship of the Council must be taken up by a member of the above professions; if it will, of the relevant timetable; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

7. Hon Fred LI to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the assessment on whether a place, building, site or structure should be declared a monument or graded as a historic building, will the Government inform this Council whether there are guidelines specifying that:

(a)	the relevant assessment reports must be uploaded onto the Government web site for public information, or such reports must be made available for public inspection; if not, whether the Government will consider formulating relevant measures, and whether arrangement can be made to upload the relevant assessment reports in cases which involved the declaration of monuments or grading of historic buildings in the past five years onto the Government web site for public inspection;
(b)	the relevant meetings, at which the Antiquities Advisory Board ("AAB") discusses the above individual assessment cases, should be held in public; if not, whether the Government will request AAB to consider formulating the relevant guidelines; and
(c)	AAB must conduct public hearings on the above individual assessment cases to allow the public to give views on the cases concerned to the Board; if not, whether the Government will request AAB to consider formulating the relevant guidelines?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

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

In connection with the disclosure by property developers and estate agents to prospective property buyers that certain facilities in private developments shall be open for public use in accordance with the land leases or deeds of dedication concerned, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	given that some sales brochures or property information provided by estate agents to prospective property buyers had depicted the club house and public open space on the podium as "club house with podium garden for exclusive use of residents", while some sales brochures stated that "owners shall be responsible for the maintenance of various items spelt out in clause 26(a) of the Special Conditions of the Land Grant" but failed to provide the contents of the clause, whether the Government and the Estate Agents Authority are aware of such situations;
(b)	whether the Government has studied if consumers have been misled by such sales brochures and property information into believing wrongly that the public open space in the developments were for residents' exclusive use, and whether such sales brochures and property information have listed out the obligations to be discharged by property owners;
(c)	whether it can set out in detail the information to be provided in sales brochures as stipulated in the Lands Department Consent Scheme, and whether the scope and conditions of opening up the facilities (such as open space) for public use in accordance with the land leases or deeds of dedication as well as the relevant obligations of owners are included in the information; if they are not included, whether the Government will amend the relevant requirements so that prospective buyers can have access to the relevant information through such sales brochures; and
(d)	whether it knows if the information referred to in (c) are included in the guidelines issued by the Real Estate Developers Association of Hong Kong to its members on sales brochures; if such information is not included, whether it will ask the Association to revise the relevant guidelines?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

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

Many times on Sunday, I found that different types of activities were carried out in the Chater Road Pedestrian Precinct. As a result, the precinct was very congested. Pedestrians not only have no room for activities, but even find it very difficult to pass through the Precinct, and they found it very inconvenient. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the number and nature of complaints received by the authorities relating to above situation in the past three years;
(b)	given that according to the information on the web site of the Transport Department, two of the objectives for implementing pedestrian schemes, including setting up pedestrian precincts, are to improve pedestrian safety and mobility as well as to improve the overall pedestrian environment, whether the Government has assessed if the situation of the above pedestrian precinct contradicts these two objectives; if such an assessment has been made, of the outcome; and
(c)	whether it will review the current utilization of the above pedestrian precinct and introduce improvement, so as to achieve the objectives mentioned in (b); if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

10. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)

The section of Route 8 between Shatin and Cheung Sha Wan opened on 21 March this year. During my earlier site visit, I found that the works on the bus-bus interchange stations located at the exits of Eagle's Nest Tunnel on that section had also been completed. However, it has been reported earlier that Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited does not have any plan in the short term to introduce bus routes plying that section, and will consider whether or not to modify the existing bus routes to include that section after another section of Route 8 between Tsing Yi and Cheung Sha Wan has opened. Moreover, I have also been told by the Transport Department that it will consider approving the introduction of public light bus ("PLB") routes plying Route 8. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the estimated number of bus routes which can be accommodated by the 100-metre long modal interchange links for buses located along the eastbound and westbound carriageways of Route 8, taking into account the design of the project or with reference to the information on similar modal interchange links of other tunnels;
(b)	whether the Government has discussed with various franchised bus companies before the opening of the above section on introducing bus routes plying the section; given that the works of the section between Tsing Yi and Cheung Sha Wan will not affect the traffic plying between Shatin and Kowloon via Route 8, whether the Government knows why the franchised bus companies do not introduce bus routes plying between Shatin and Kowloon via Route 8; whether the Government has discussed with the franchised bus companies the introduction of the bus routes concerned expeditiously upon the opening of the above section; if it has, of the progress and the possibility of speeding up the progress of introducing the bus routes concerned;
(c)	of the progress of introducing the above PLB routes and the anticipated time for successful introduction of such PLB routes; and
(d)	whether the Government has estimated the losses incurred so far by not being able to introduce the above bus routes, such as the amount of tunnel tolls forgone, as well as the social costs arising from bus congestion on other highways?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

11. Dr Hon David LI to ask:

In order to promote electronic commerce, the Hongkong Post ("HK Post") offered the public the option of embedding a digital certificate ("e-Cert") in their smart identity cards ("IDs"), for free use in the first year, between June 2003 and March 2007. The free use period had subsequently been extended several times, and eventually was extended to three years for all smart ID e-Certs issued on or before 31 March 2007. In November 2006, the Government awarded a contract to an outside contractor to run the e-Cert programme for four years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the total number of the above free e-Certs which were issued between June 2003 and the end of 2004, and were therefore due for renewal in or before the end of 2007; among them, the number of those which were renewed upon the expiry of the three-year free use period and the total revenue collected thereon;
(b)	whether HK Post or the above outside contractor is responsible for meeting the cost of managing the renewal exercise for smart ID e-Certs; if HK Post is responsible, of the costs of managing the renewal exercise up to the end of 2007, including but not limited to the costs of publicity, printing, mailing, computer equipment, web development and personnel;
(c)	of the standard number of reminder notices sent to a holder of smart ID e-Cert which is due for renewal, broken down by the means (i.e. mail, e-mail and Short Message Service) of sending the notices; and
(d)	whether the contract between HK Post and the above outside contractor stipulates a minimum number of valid e-Certs during the contract period; if so, of the nature of any associated penalties or fees should the number of valid e-Certs fall below the minimum requirement?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

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

It is learnt that a vacancy arising from the retirement of a Consultant of Tuen Mun Hospital was left vacant for a long time before being filled by a promoted doctor, resulting in the medical services of the hospital being adversely affected in the period concerned. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:

(a)	in each of the past three years, the respective year-end numbers of incumbent Consultants, Associate Consultants and Senior Medical Officers ("SMOs") in public hospitals, as well as the respective numbers of those who left and those who were appointed to such posts;
(b)	the respective average periods for which vacancies of Consultants, Associate Consultants and SMOs in public hospitals in the past three years were left vacant before being filled;
(c)	the respective five longest periods for which vacancies were left vacant among those vacancies of Consultants, Associate Consultants and SMOs in hospitals under the New Territories West Cluster in the past three years, and the reasons for such vacancies being left vacant for a prolonged period; and
(d)	if the Hospital Authority has considered taking measures to expedite the filling of vacancies of doctors; if it has not, of the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

13. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)

On 5 October last year, the Police arrested 15 conservationists who protested against the demolition work at Lee Tung Street in Wan Chai. They were detained for investigation overnight and strip-searched in a police station. Some of them even claimed that they had been sexually harassed by police officers. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council whether:

(a)	they have investigated if any police officer has committed acts of sexual harassment; if so, of the investigation findings, and the follow-up actions to be taken; if not, the reasons for that; and
(b)	they have provided training courses on how to handle sexual harassment cases for police officers; if so, of the details, including the annual number of police officers receiving such training; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

Regarding the three non-means tested loan schemes, which are applicable respectively to full-time tertiary students who are covered by Tertiary Student Finance Scheme - Publicly-funded Programmes ("TSFS"), full-time students who are covered by Financial Assistance Scheme for Post-secondary Students ("FASP") and eligible students who are not covered by TSFS and FASP, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the following in respect of each loan scheme each year since 1998:
	(i)	the interest income, and how much of it is related to the 1.5% risk-adjusted factor;
	(ii)	the respective total amounts of interest paid by borrowers during their study periods and on completion/cessation of their studies;
(b)	of the reasons for some cases turning into bad debts, together with a breakdown, by such reasons, of the bad debt cases of each loan scheme since 1998; the respective numbers, since 1998, of defaulting loan cases of each loan scheme with over 15, 20 and 25 instalments overdue;
(c)	of the additional charges payable by borrowers for defaulting loans, together with the name, amount and method of calculation of each item; the total amount of such additional charges payable in the defaulting loan cases in each loan scheme since 1998; and
(d)	given that the majority of borrowers have repaid their loans on time, whether the Government will cancel the charging of interest based on the risk-adjusted factor in various loan schemes; if it will, of the implementation date; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education

15. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)

Data from the Department of Health reveal that the obesity problem among primary school students is worsening, with the obesity rate increasing from 19.4% in 2005-2006 to 20.2% in 2006-2007. The causes can be attributed to such factors as children's life style and their eating habits, etc., which include their preference for foods that are high in fat, sugar or salt (generally referred to as "junk food"). Obesity not only affects children's physical and psychological development, but also increases their risk of developing a number of chronic diseases in the future, which in turn adds to the burden of health care on the community. In view of this, the authorities in the United Kingdom have, since last year, gradually imposed a ban on the broadcast of junk food advertisements during or soon before and after children's television ("TV") programmes and programmes which are especially popular with children under 16. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether, apart from keeping up its efforts to promote EatSmart in schools, it will, following the practice in the United Kingdom, restrict the broadcast of junk food TV advertisements during children's programmes or family viewing time, and regulate the contents of such advertisements, so as to reduce children's access to information about such food, thereby promoting the development of healthy eating habits among children from childhood; if not, of the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

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

Some private housing estates plan to install television broadcasting systems for broadcasting to their residents information such as estate notices as well as dining and entertainment tips. The operating costs of such systems and services are to be covered by the revenue from television advertising. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:

(a)	the number of applications received last year by the relevant authorities from operators of such television broadcasting systems for the waiving of a television service licence;
(b)	the major factors considered by the relevant authorities in deciding whether or not to grant approval for such applications; and
(c)	if the relevant authorities will consider relaxing the approving criteria concerned, so as to facilitate the residents' access to more information through such television broadcasting systems; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

17. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)

Recently, several members of the public, who have entered into contracts of stock options known as "accumulators" with banks, have sought my assistance. They claimed that some bank staff had sold these accumulator contracts in a misleading manner, resulting in substantial financial losses on their part. Moreover, it has been reported that claims for default payments and interests in connection with these contracts have recently been filed with the court by banks against their clients. I have also received complaints about warrants and other derivatives. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	in the past two years, whether the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, other government departments, the Consumer Council or the Securities and Futures Commission ("SFC") have received any complaint regarding accumulator contracts, warrants or other derivatives; if they have, of the number of complaints received, broken down by the type of complaints (such as sales practices and unclear contract terms);
(b)	given that at present, the selling of investment products by securities firms must be conducted by persons holding relevant licences issued by SFC, whether such selling activities conducted by banks are subject to any regulation;
(c)	although I understand that the Government should not intervene in private contractual matters, however, since some market participants have recently stated that the design of accumulator contracts are unfair to investors, and that the issue is worth the Government's concern, whether the Government has examined the problems brought about by these contracts, or strengthened education for consumers and reminded them of the risks inherent in the relevant investment products; and
(d)	whether it knows the number of claims for compensation in respect of accumulator contracts filed with the court in the past three years?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

18. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that, on 15 January this year, when handling a traffic accident involving a private car driven by an off-duty police officer, the police officers at the scene allowed the driver to stay in the car and drink plenty of plain water. They seemed to have deliberately employed delaying tactics to buy time and, consequently, the driver was breathalysed almost an hour after their arrival at the scene. As the driver's alcohol level was tested to be slightly lower than the prescribed limit, he was only cautioned. It has also been reported that in respect of the time taken from the arrival of police officers at the scene of a traffic accident to the conduct of screening breath test(s), there is a big difference between this accident and another accident. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:

(a)	whether they have received any report from the police officers handling the above traffic accident, indicating a delay in conducting the breath test on the driver; if so, of the details of the report;
(b)	whether they have followed up and investigated the police officers' way of handling the breath test in question; if so, of the relevant details; if not, the reasons for that;
(c)	among the breath tests conducted by police officers on drivers at the scene of traffic accidents in the past three years, of the number and percentage of those in which the alcohol levels of drivers breathalysed did not exceed the prescribed limit; and
(d)	whether, in the past three years, police officers had acceded to the request of drivers involved in traffic accidents for delaying the taking of breath tests, or allowed them to drink plenty of plain water before the tests; if so, of the details?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

19. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)

On promoting the development of social enterprises ("SEs"), will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the details of the Pilot Scheme to facilitate eligible SEs in bidding 38 government cleansing contracts, including the number of contracts awarded by each participating department and the districts covered, the periods and commencement dates of the contracts, the tender process and expiry dates, the eligibility criteria for bidding, the number of bids received, how the tender assessment mechanism prevents the situation that the lowest bids are always the winning bids, and how it prevents the successful SEs from making pledges of services beyond what is required in the contracts and being unable to honour such pledges after being awarded the contracts, whether it will consider providing the reasons and information concerned for the SEs whose bids are unsuccessful, as well as when it will review the Scheme;
(b)	given that in reply to my question on 25 April last year, the former Financial Secretary said that the policy bureaux and government departments represented in the defunct Commission on Poverty were expected to procure about $32 million worth of goods and services from SEs during 2007-2008, of the details of the procurement in this respect by these policy bureaux and government departments during that financial year, including the actual values, quantities or times of the procurement, the types of the goods and services involved, how these figures and types compare with those in 2006-2007, and the estimated figures and types of the procurement in 2008-2009;
(c)	when the dedicated web site on SEs and the directory of SEs will be launched, and whether the SEs which have not been recognized as charitable institutions or trusts of a public character under section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112) will be included;
(d)	whether the promotional activities at idistrict level to be organized by the Government in the second half of this year will include holding display and sales activities at government and other venues, so as to promote directly the goods and services of SEs to the public, and whether government venues will be offered for free or at low charge to SEs for holding display and sales activities; and
(e)	of the details (including the numbers and backgrounds of the mentees and mentors at present, the estimated numbers of mentees and mentors to be registered, the expiry date for the registration of mentees) of the Mentorship Scheme under the Social Enterprises Partnership Programme launched by the Home Affairs Department, whether it will relax the eligibility criteria for registering as mentees by allowing the staff of all SEs (including those mentioned in (c)) to participate, of the latest progress of the Matching Forum (including the number of organizations and the areas matched, as well as the backgrounds and work plans of these areas)?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

In the past, the Government has assisted in financing the construction of new railway lines by means of granting property development rights for land along the proposed railway or providing grants to the two railway corporations. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the respective amounts of revenue that each railway corporation derived from property development projects in each of the past five years, and the relevant figures estimated by the Government (based on the estimates made at the time when the relevant development projects were approved by the Government);
(b)	whether it has assessed if the amounts of revenue that the two railway corporations derived from property development projects in the past have far exceeded the Government's original estimates; if the assessment result is in the affirmative, of the reasons for that; and how the Government ensures that the relevant estimates made in the future will be more accurate; and
(c)	of the respective and total amounts of grants the Government provided in each of the past five years to the two railway corporations for the development of new railway lines?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

III. Bills

Second Reading (Debates to resume), Committee Stage and Third Reading
1.	Appropriation Bill 2008	:	The Financial Secretary
	Other Public Officers to attend the Second Reading debate	:	Secretary for Education Secretary for Food and Health Secretary for Labour and Welfare
	(i) Proposed resolution under Rule 69(3) of the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Dr Hon YEUNG Sum to move the following motion: RESOLVED that head 53 be reduced by $4,650,000 in respect of subhead 000. Other Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs (ii) Proposed resolution under Rule 69(3) of the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Dr Hon YEUNG Sum to move the following motion: RESOLVED that head 137 be reduced by $4,650,000 in respect of subhead 000. Other Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs (iii) Proposed resolution under Rule 69(3) of the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Dr Hon YEUNG Sum to move the following motion: RESOLVED that head 138 be reduced by $4,650,000 in respect of subhead 000. Other Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs (iv) Proposed resolution under Rule 69(3) of the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Dr Hon YEUNG Sum to move the following motion: RESOLVED that head 139 be reduced by $4,650,000 in respect of subhead 000. Other Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs (v) Proposed resolution under Rule 69(3) of the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Dr Hon YEUNG Sum to move the following motion: RESOLVED that head 141 be reduced by $4,650,000 in respect of subhead 000. Other Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs (vi) Proposed resolution under Rule 69(3) of the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Dr Hon YEUNG Sum to move the following motion: RESOLVED that head 142 be reduced by $3,940,000 in respect of subhead 000. Other Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs (vii) Proposed resolution under Rule 69(3) of the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Dr Hon YEUNG Sum to move the following motion: RESOLVED that head 144 be reduced by $4,650,000 in respect of subhead 000. Other Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs (viii) Proposed resolution under Rule 69(3) of the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Dr Hon YEUNG Sum to move the following motion: RESOLVED that head 147 be reduced by $4,650,000 in respect of subhead 000. Other Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs (ix) Proposed resolution under Rule 69(3) of the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Dr Hon YEUNG Sum to move the following motion: RESOLVED that head 151 be reduced by $4,650,000 in respect of subhead 000. Other Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs (x) Proposed resolution under Rule 69(3) of the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Dr Hon YEUNG Sum to move the following motion: RESOLVED that head 152 be reduced by $4,650,000 in respect of subhead 000. Other Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs (xi) Proposed resolution under Rule 69(3) of the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Dr Hon YEUNG Sum to move the following motion: RESOLVED that head 156 be reduced by $4,650,000 in respect of subhead 000. Other Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs (xii) Proposed resolution under Rule 69(3) of the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Dr Hon YEUNG Sum to move the following motion: RESOLVED that head 158 be reduced by $4,650,000 in respect of subhead 000. Other Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs (xiii) Proposed resolution under Rule 69(3) of the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Hon James TO to move the following motion: RESOLVED that head 122 be reduced by $47,790,000 in respect of subhead 000. Other Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Security (xiv) Proposed resolution under Rule 69(3) of the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Hon James TO to move the following motion: RESOLVED that head 122 be reduced by $80,000,000 in respect of subhead 103. Other Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Security
2.	Mainland Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Bill	:	The Secretary for Justice
3.	Legislative Council (Amendment) Bill 2007	:	Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs

Clerk to the Legislative Council