A 07/08-31

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 4 June 2008 at 11:00 am

I. Tabling of Papers
Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
1.Shipping and Port Control (Amendment) Regulation 2008148/2008
2.Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicles) (Amendment of Schedule 5) (No. 2) Regulation 2008149/2008
3.Merchant Shipping (Local Vessels) (General) (Amendment) Regulation 2008150/2008
4.Merchant Shipping (Limitation of Shipowners Liability) (Rate of Interest) (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2008151/2008

II. Questions

1. Hon Albert CHAN to ask: (Translation)

I have learnt that in recent years, quite a number of pine trees in various parts of Hong Kong, especially Chinese red pines, have been infected, and some of them even died as a result. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective numbers of pine trees of various species which had been infected and died from infection in each of the past five years; and

    (b)whether the authorities know the causes of infection for the above pine trees, and whether currently there are measures and new methods to prevent pine trees from being infected and dying as a result, so as to reduce the death of pine trees; if there are such measures and methods, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment

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

To address public concern about issues such as wall effect brought about by development projects and protection of ridgelines and landscapes, the Government is implementing measures to lower the development intensity of some areas in Hong Kong, including stipulating development restrictions, such as plot ratio restrictions and building height restrictions, in the relevant outline zoning plans and land sale or lease conditions. However, such restrictions do not apply to planning applications which have already been approved. Hence, even in crowded old districts such as the Wan Chai District, private developers still have opportunities to launch large-scale development projects and build skyscrapers, without being subject to such development restrictions, which will also affect the traffic in the district. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the existing policy on assessing and approving private developers' applications to the Government for exchanging for or procuring government land, by way of land exchange, for undertaking development projects;

    (b)how such a policy ties in with the above measure for lowering development intensity; and

    (c)of the procedure for assessing and approving applications for extension of the validity of planning permission and how such procedure ties in with the above measure for lowering development intensity (e.g. how the validity of the planning permission granted in 1994 for constructing a 93-storey building at Queen's Road East and Kennedy Road in Wan Chai has been extended to the present)?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

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

Relevant groups and individuals have expressed concern about employers defaulting on wages in recent years. In the Chief Executive's Question and Answer Session on 15 May this year, the Chief Executive undertook to expeditiously address the problem of employers not complying with the awards made by Labour Tribunal ("LT") in which they were required to pay the outstanding amount of money owed to the employees concerned. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)given that this Council's Panel on Manpower passed a motion in December last year urging the Government to amend section 64B of the Employment Ordinance on the criminal liability of the responsible persons of a body corporate with regard to wage offences, whether the authorities will make the relevant amendments expeditiously; if they will, when they will put forward the amendment proposal;

    (b)besides the seven options proposed at the meeting of the Panel on Manpower in April this year, whether the authorities have considered taking other practicable and feasible options to combat the problem of employers defaulting LT awards; if they have, of the details; and

    (c)besides the above options, whether the authorities have other options to ensure that employees, upon obtaining LT's judgement in their favour and irrespective of whether or not their employers have defaulted LT awards, can receive LT awards as soon as possible, if so, of the details, and when such options can be implemented at the earliest?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

4. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)

When he attended the meeting of this Council on 15th May, the Chief Executive confirmed that, in vetting fare increase applications by public transport operators, the Government would put public affordability first as the most important consideration that would take precedence over shareholders' interests, and he would put forward more specific measures in this year's Policy Address to alleviate the burden of rising prices on people's livelihood. On the other hand, the inflation rate for April this year was as high as 5.4%, which represented an increase of 1.2 percentage point over that of March and was higher than the Government's estimate of 4.5% made when this fiscal year's Budget was published. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it will adjust upwards the estimated annual inflation rate, and whether it has assessed the impact of last month's earthquake in Sichuan Province on the food prices and supplies in Hong Kong;

    (b)how it ensures that "public affordability" will take precedence over the relevant shareholders' interests as a factor for consideration in vetting fare increase applications by public transport operators, and of the objective criteria for assessing if the relevant rates of increase are within public affordability; and

    (c)whether it has assessed if it will be too late to announce, in the Policy Address in October this year, measures to further alleviate the pressure of inflation on the public; whether it will consider implementing some new measures as soon as possible, so as to alleviate the pressure of inflation on low-income families?
Public Officer to reply : The Financial Secretary

5. Hon Martin LEE to ask: (Translation)

Recently, the Chief Executive appointed the first batch of eight Under Secretaries at the rank of Deputy Director of Bureau and nine Political Assistants to Directors of Bureaux. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the monthly salary and fringe benefits of each Under Secretary and Political Assistant, and whether there are any differences among the fringe benefits of various Under Secretaries;

    (b)which of these Under Secretaries and Political Assistants are holding foreign passports; given that Article 61 of the Basic Law provides that the principal officials of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall be Chinese citizens who are permanent residents of the Region with no right of abode in any foreign country, whether the authorities have assessed if it is a breach of this provision for an Under Secretary holding a foreign passport to act as a principal official at the rank of Director of Bureau; and

    (c)given that Article 15 of the Basic Law provides that the principal officials shall be appointed by the Central People's Government ("CPG"), whether the authorities have assessed if CPG's appointment is required before these Under Secretaries act as principal officials at the rank of Director of Bureau in the future; if the assessment result is that this is not required, of the rationale for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs

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

Will the Government inform this Council of the respective total amounts of private donations secured and government matching grants received by each tertiary institution since the implementation of the Matching Grant Scheme ("MGS") in 2003, and when it will review the effectiveness of the Fourth MGS (i.e. the latest round of MGS)? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education

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

I have conducted a survey earlier and the outcome indicates that the problem of accountants working excessively long hours is rather serious. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it will consider commencing in the near future a study on stipulating standard working hours, and drawing up other measures to alleviate the problem of excessively long working hours; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

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

Under the Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57), if an employee has accumulated sufficient number of paid sickness days, the sick leave is supported by an appropriate medical certificate, and the sick leave taken is not less than four consecutive days, the employee shall be entitled to sickness allowance. The daily rate of sickness allowance is a sum equivalent to four-fifths of the average daily wages earned by an employee in the 12-month period preceding the sickness day or the first sickness day. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of cases received by the Labour Department in the past three years regarding failure of employers to pay sickness allowance to their employees, the trades in which the employees concerned were engaged, as well as the number of cases in which the employers concerned were prosecuted and convicted; and

    (b)whether the Government will amend the relevant legislation to raise the daily rate of sickness allowance to a sum equivalent to 100% of the average daily wages earned by an employee in the 12-month period preceding the sickness day or the first sickness day, and reduce the number of sickness days, which are required for an employee to qualify for sickness allowance, from not less than four consecutive days to not less than two consecutive days; if not, of the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

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

I have learnt that audible air defence and emergency alarm facilities are provided in major cities on the Mainland and in many countries around the world. These cities will regularly sound the alarms to test such facilities, and as a means of providing public education. Government-specified air defence and emergency refuges are also provided in these cities in preparation for the occurrence of catastrophes. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether there are such facilities in Hong Kong; if so, of the details such as the locations of such facilities and the installations therein, etc.; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)apart from the above facilities, whether currently there are any other similar emergency facilities and installations in Hong Kong; if so, of the details; and

    (c)whether it has implemented or has any plan to implement education policy or measures relating to catastrophes; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

Recently, a survey report has pointed out that there is a trend of the youngsters in Tuen Mun abusing drugs at a younger age. The average age at which they first abused drugs had dropped from 16 in 2004 to 15 in 2007, and the youngest first-time drug abuser was as young as 12 years old. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the details of the strategies to combat juvenile drug abuse from a holistic perspective, which were consolidated by the Task Force on Youth Drug Abuse led by the Secretary for Justice; and

    (b)the details of the existing cooperation initiatives with the mainland authorities to combat cross-boundary drug abuse, and whether it will consider strengthening cooperation and communication with the mainland authorities (including raising the penalties concerned, establishing a notification mechanism under which the mainland authorities will notify the Hong Kong Police of cases of drug abuse by Hong Kong youngsters on the Mainland) for combating cross-boundary drug abuse more effectively and grasping more comprehensive information to facilitate the provision of drug treatment and related support to drug abusers?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

The Cycling Study Final Report which was published by the Transport Department in 2004 recommended that the expansion of the role of cycling was not advisable at that point in time due to poor underlying safety conditions (including the physical constraints in Hong Kong and cyclists' riding habits) then. However, according to the information on the web site of the Civil Engineering and Development Department ("CEDD"), the Government will connect various scattered cycle tracks in the New Territories to form New Territories Cycle Track Network. CEDD has earlier also recommended that a waterfront cycle track be constructed in Tseung Kwan O along the Cross Bay Link which is under planning. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it will make reference to the above recommendation of CEDD and consider constructing more cycle tracks in new development areas, such as the West Kowloon Reclamation, when planning for such areas, so as to enhance the role of bicycle as a supplementary mode of transport;

    (b)whether it plans to construct cycle tracks along the Hung Hom waterfront and various waterfront promenades under planning;

    (c)given that Beijing municipal authority has recently subsidized private organizations to provide cycle rental service outside many underground railway stations in the municipality, in order to alleviate traffic congestion and air pollution problems in the central business district, whether the Government will make reference to such arrangement and similar policy directions adopted overseas, and explore making similar arrangements in Hong Kong; and

    (d)in view of the above plan for improving the cycle track network in the New Territories, whether the Government has conducted any study on developing cycling tourism?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

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

In reply to a question raised by a Member at this Council's meeting on 21 November 2007 regarding the Police sending their officers to conduct an investigation at the offices of the Oriental Press Group, the Secretary for Security said that there was absolutely no intention on the part of the Police to infringe the freedom of the press. However, I have recently received two more complaints alleging that the Police had hindered news reporting by reporters of the Group. The first complaint alleged that when a reporter of the Group was reporting on a taxi robbery at Pat Heung in Yuen Long on 16 April this year, a plain-clothed police officer provided news information only to the reporter of another newspaper organization at the scene. The reporter of the Group subsequently lodged a complaint with the Complaint Against Police Office about the unfair treatment. The second complaint alleged that when a reporter of the Group was reporting on a criminal damage case in Ma On Shan on 18 April this year, police officers at the scene scolded him using foul language and restrained him from taking photographs. After the reporter had called the Police, a police officer said that follow-up action would be taken. However, the reporter has not received any further information so far. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the Police have conducted any investigation on the above two complaints; if so, of the outcome, including whether it has indicated any dereliction of duty on the part of police officers; if there is such dereliction of duty on the part of police officers, of the penalties imposed on them; if no investigation has been conducted, the reasons for that;

    (b)besides the Force Procedures Manual, whether the Police have issued any other guidelines to frontline police officers to guide them on how to strike a balance between conducting investigations and facilitating news reporting by the media, in order to avoid hindering the progress of investigations while ensuring that freedom of the press is protected;

    (c)given that Chapter 39 of the Force Procedures Manual stipulates that "photographers and TV cameramen in particular should be given an opportunity to have vantage points; they have the right to take photographs or TV footage in a public place", how the Police ensure that frontline police officers discharge their duties in accordance with the guideline; and

    (d)whether the Police have issued any guidelines requiring police officers to treat different media organizations fairly; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*13. Dr Hon David LI to ask:

The Tourism Commission's web site shows that a number of studies on new tourism infrastructure were completed between 2003 and April 2006. No new study or public consultation exercise has been reported on the Commission's web site since then. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether, in the past three years, it had conducted:
    (a)any survey to find out the percentage of visitors who considered visiting tourism infrastructures which were built or inspired by the Government as the primary reason for coming to Hong Kong; if so, of the frequency, sample size, reliability and outcome of such surveys;

    (b)any value for money audit on the four tourism infrastructure projects (i.e. the Hong Kong Wetland Park, Ngong Ping 360, Hong Kong Disneyland and Phase II of A Symphony of Lights) which, according to the Tourism Commission's web site, were drivers of tourism growth; if so, of the outcome; and

    (c)any study to review the strategic positioning of Hong Kong as a popular tourist destination for mainland visitors; if so, of the primary attraction of Hong Kong to such visitors as indicated by the outcome of such studies?
Public Officer to reply :Secretary for Development
(in the absence of Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development)

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

Under the Housing Subsidy Policy, households who have been living in public rental housing or interim housing for 10 years or more are required to declare household income biennially. Households with a household income exceeding the relevant subsidy income limits are required to pay the net rent or licence fee (multiplied by 1.5 or two) plus rates, while those households who choose not to declare their household income have to pay the net rent or licence fee (multiplied by two) plus rates. In addition, according to the Policy on Safeguarding Rational Allocation of Public Housing Resources, households required to pay double net rent plus rates must also declare assets in the next cycle of declaration. If they have net assets which exceed the relevant net asset limits, or choose not to declare assets, they will be required to vacate their public housing flats. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it had reviewed the aforesaid two policies in the past five years, including reviewing if the requirement of making declarations biennially could be relaxed, in order to save administration costs;

    (b)of the respective numbers of tenants who paid 1.5 times or double net rent plus rates in each of the past three years; and

    (c)of the number of households which, upon their declaration of assets, were transferred to smaller public housing flats due to a reduction in their household size in each of the past three years?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

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

It is learnt that wearing protective helmets can effectively lessen the degree of head injury sustained by cyclists in the event of accidents, but there is no such requirement under existing legislation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the details of its work in the past five years to promote the use of safety equipment (e.g. protective helmets, elbow pads and knee pads) among cyclists;

    (b)whether it had conducted studies in the past five years on whether cyclists should be required to wear protective helmets, including the effectiveness of imposing such a requirement, as well as overseas experience and practice in this respect; if it had, of the results of the studies; if it had not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether it will consider requiring cyclists, especially children, to wear protective helmets, in order to lessen their degree of head injury in the event of accidents?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

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

Regarding the consumption of paper by various government departments, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the respective quantities of paper procured by various government departments in the past three years, and the expenditure involved;

    (b)the quantities of paper used (including those for printing annual reports) by various government departments in each of the past three years, as well as the trend in their paper consumption; and

    (c)the measures currently taken by various government departments to reduce the consumption of paper, and whether such measures include the replacement of printed copies with soft copies in the publication of annual reports?
Public Officer to reply :Secretary for the Environment
(in the absence of Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury)

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

Regarding the provision of public sewerage systems in villages, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the following, broken down by District Council ("DC") districts and Rural Committees ("RCs") concerned:

    (i)the names of villages covered by public sewerage systems at present;

    (ii)the names of villages where sewerage projects are being implemented; and

    (iii)the names of villages for which the design work of sewerage projects is underway, and the expected completion dates of such projects for each of these villages;

    (b)whether it will consider expediting the implementation of such projects by outsourcing the relevant work; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether it will consider strengthening communication with the villagers concerned through DCs and RCs, so as to enable villagers to know as early as possible about the implementation details of such projects, and more efficiently obtain their consent to the implementation of the projects?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment

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

Regarding the expansion project of the United Christian Hospital, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows if the Hospital Authority has plans to submit the above expansion project to the Government in this financial year; if so, of the details;

    (b)when it will seek funding approval of the Finance Committee of this Council;

    (c)when the expansion project is expected to commence and be completed; and

    (d)of the concrete measures to alleviate the shortfall in services and space of the hospital before completion of the expansion project?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

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

In the 2008-2009 Budget, the Financial Secretary proposed to waive rates for the current financial year, subject to a ceiling of $5,000 per quarter for each rateable tenement. This waiver measure is applicable to the properties under Hong Kong Housing Society ("HKHS") and Hong Kong Housing Authority ("HA"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows whether:
    (a)HKHS had passed on the full amount of the Government's rates concession for 2007 to tenants of its residential properties, commercial shops and parking spaces; if not, of the reasons for that, and whether HKHS, when it made the decision to increase the rents of its parking spaces with effect from 1 April this year, had taken into account the factor that it had not passed on the benefit concerned to its tenants last year, thereby reduced the percentage of rental increase;

    (b)HKHS will pass on the full amount of the Government's rates concession for this financial year to the tenants concerned; if not, of the reasons for that; and

    (c)those HA tenants who have to pay additional rents had benefited from the rates waiver measure last year; if not, of the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

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

Regarding the Police's handling of matters relating to the news covering activities of the media, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
    (a)given that the Police deployed in 2005 40 police officers to take up the new posts of Media Liaison Officer to assist the media in their news covering activities, whether the authorities have assessed if the expected effectiveness of these posts has been achieved; if so, of the details;

    (b)whether there are guidelines in the Force Procedures Manual specifying how frontline police officers should handle matters relating to the news covering activities of the media; if so, of the details, and whether any police officers were subject to disciplinary actions for breaching the relevant guidelines in the past five years; if so, of the details of the cases concerned;

    (c)of the number of complaints received by the Police in the past two years about police officers obstructing the news covering activities of reporters and hence hampering press freedom; the details of such complaints and the improvement measures adopted by the Police; and

    (d)whether the Police had provided information to individual media organizations selectively in the past five years; if so, of the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*For written reply.

III. Members' Motions

  1. Proposed resolution under the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance

    Hon James TO to move the following motion:

    RESOLVED that in relation to the Fugitive Offenders (Ireland) Order, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 96 of 2008 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 7 May 2008, the period for repealing an order referred to in section 3(3) of the Fugitive Offenders Ordinance (Cap. 503) be extended under section 3(5) of that Ordinance to the meeting of 25 June 2008.

  2. Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

    Hon KWONG Chi-kin to move the following motion:

    RESOLVED that in relation to the Pension Benefits Ordinance (Established Offices) (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2008, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 104 of 2008 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 7 May 2008, 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 25 June 2008.

  3. Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

    Hon Audrey EU to move the following motion:

    RESOLVED that in relation to the Sewage Services (Trade Effluent Surcharge) (Amendment) Regulation 2008, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 106 of 2008 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 14 May 2008, 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 2 July 2008.

  4. 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 16 of the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region be amended ?

    (a)in subrule (6), by repealing "45 minutes" and substituting "75 minutes";

    (b)in subrule (7), by repealing "one hour" and substituting "one and a half hours".

  5. Promoting the development of local football

    Hon Mrs Sophie LEUNG: (Translation)

    That, as football, being a very popular sport in Hong Kong, is well liked and widely supported by the community, the Government should capitalise on this favourable condition to promote the development of local football and establish team brands, which will not only raise the standards of sports activities, but can also promote social integration and enhance social cohesion; in this connection, this Council urges the Government to:

    (a)immediately conduct a detailed study to position the development of local football, formulate an overall development plan, set long-term and short-term goals, and implement the relevant initiatives, etc;

    (b)develop football training schemes for local youngsters and enhance the training for young football players with potential, so as to lay a good foundation for the development of local football;

    (c)provide support to promote the professionalization of local football, such as assisting the football sector in drawing up a clear framework and targets for the development of professional football players as well as career paths for coaches and managers, etc to be promoted to the management of football teams, thereby encouraging more football players to take up the sport as their career and facilitating the enhancement of the professional standards of the sport;

    (d)provide support for football teams to conduct overseas training and participate in overseas matches, so as to encourage exchange of experience and learning, and become stronger teams; and

    (e)draw reference from successful examples in Europe and America to create a favourable environment for establishing local football team brands.

    Amendments to motion
    (i)Hon CHOY So-yuk: (Translation)

    To delete ", as football, being" after "That" and substitute with "football sport in Hong Kong has developed for a period of time and is"; to delete "Hong Kong," after "popular sport in" and substitute with "the territory, which"; to add ", encourage renowned overseas football clubs to establish football academies in Hong Kong," after "local youngsters"; to add "(c) apart from supporting the Football District League and the Young Athlete Training Scheme, consider giving more funding support to football teams with outstanding performance, and formulate a long-term funding policy;" after "good foundation for the development of local football;"; to delete the original "(c)" and substitute with "(d)"; to delete "and facilitating" after "their career" and substitute with ", and strengthen the training of referees, so as to facilitate"; to add "overall" after "the enhancement of the"; to add "football" after "professional standards of the"; to add "(e) in order to meet their education needs, recommend young football players with outstanding performance in football matches for admission to universities and tertiary institutions so as to broaden the prospects of retired football players;" after "sport;"; to delete the original "(d)" and substitute with "(f)"; to delete "and" after "stronger teams;"; to delete the original "(e)" and substitute with "(g)"; and to add "; (h) build more football pitches across the territory and upgrade the facilities of existing football pitches, including converting the existing concrete pitches into natural turf, plastic or artificial turf pitches, so as to reduce the chances of football players sustaining injuries; and (i) encourage local radio and television stations to conduct live broadcast of football matches to cultivate the community's interest in watching local and overseas football matches" immediately before the full stop.

    (ii)Dr Hon YEUNG Sum: (Translation)

    To delete "and" after "local youngsters" and substitute with ","; to add "and deploy resources to support the future day-to-day operation of the Football Academy to be built in Tseung Kwan O" after "football players with potential"; to delete "and" after "stronger teams;"; to delete "and" after "in Europe" and substitute with ","; to add "and the Asian region" after "America"; and to add "; (f) include football as an elite sport to attract more talents; (g) allocate resources to promote the development of district football clubs; and (h) build more football pitches of different types in the community to address the problem of shortage of such venues" immediately before the full stop.

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Home Affairs

  6. Opportunities to Hong Kong brought about by the thawing cross-strait relations

    Hon TAM Yiu-chung: (Translation)

    That, as the new political situation in Taiwan presents major opportunities for the peaceful development of cross-strait relations and the "Three Direct Links" across the Taiwan Strait may hopefully be established earlier, this Council urges the SAR Government to expeditiously strengthen, through various channels, the close ties between Hong Kong and Taiwan, as well as study and implement various proactive measures in respect of finance, economic and trade, aviation and transportation, tourism, technology and immigration arrangements, etc, thereby enhancing Hong Kong's competitiveness and facilitating the four places on both sides of the Strait to achieve a win-win situation.

    Amendments to motion
    (i)Hon Albert HO: (Translation)

    To add "recently the peaceful handover of government administration and the change in the ruling party for the second time in Taiwan have given impetus to its democratic development, and" after "That,"; to delete "in Taiwan" after "political situation"; to delete "as well as study and implement various proactive measures in respect of" after "between Hong Kong and Taiwan," and substitute with "enhance exchanges at various levels between the two places in respect of politics, culture,"; to add "and their sharing of experience on civil society and democratic development, as well as study and implement various proactive measures, including arranging more mutual visits for politicians and the cultural sectors in Hong Kong and Taiwan," after "immigration arrangements, etc,"; to delete "facilitating" after "Hong Kong's competitiveness and" and substitute with "enabling"; and to add "strive for building a democratic China and" after "both sides of the Strait to".

    (ii)Hon Alan LEONG Kah-kit: (Translation)

    To add "and the role played by Hong Kong in the past as an intermediary among the three places on both sides of the Strait will also change as a result," after "established earlier,"; and to add "including setting up a cross-strait economic and trade exchanges department in the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau to handle economic issues arising from the 'Three Direct Links' across the Taiwan Strait in future," after "between Hong Kong and Taiwan,".

    (iii)Hon Jeffrey LAM Kin-fung: (Translation)

    To add "under the framework of the Basic Law, promote exchanges between the two places" after "between Hong Kong and Taiwan"; to add "including signing an Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement with Taiwan, etc," after "immigration arrangements, etc,"; and to add "to enable it to become a business platform in the Greater China region," after "Hong Kong's competitiveness".

    Amendment to Hon Jeffrey LAM Kin-fung's amendment
    Hon Miriam LAU:     (Translation)

    To delete "signing an Avoidance of Double Taxation Agreement with Taiwan" after "including" and substitute with "promoting with Taiwan arrangements for the avoidance of double taxation".

    (iv)Hon Howard YOUNG: (Translation)

    To add "including implementing measures such as granting visa-on-arrival to Taiwan travellers visiting Hong Kong," after "immigration arrangements, etc,".

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs

Clerk to the Legislative Council