A 07/08-32

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 11 June 2008 at 11:00 am

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
1.Rules of the High Court (Amendment) Rules 2008152/2008
2.Rules of the District Court (Amendment) Rules 2008153/2008
3.High Court Fees (Amendment) Rules 2008154/2008
4.High Court Suitors' Funds (Amendment) Rules 2008155/2008
5.District Court Civil Procedure (Fees) (Amendment) Rules 2008156/2008
6.District Court Suitors' Funds (Amendment) Rules 2008157/2008
7.Lands Tribunal (Amendment) Rules 2008158/2008
8.Prevention and Control of Disease Regulation159/2008
9.Declaration of Increase in Pensions Notice 2008160/2008
10.Widows and Orphans Pension (Increase) Notice 2008161/2008

Other Papers

No.98

-Securities and Futures Commission
Annual Report 2007-2008
(to be presented by the Financial Secretary)

II. Questions

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

I have recently received complaints from community organizations concerning the common areas (such as podiums, sitting-out areas and parks) in public housing estates ("PHEs"), which are currently managed by The Link Management Limited ("The Link"). The complaints alleged that The Link requires community organizations or offices of District Council members or Legislative Council Members, which apply for conducting community activities or residents' meetings in such common areas, to submit proposals, take out insurance, and pay rental fees to The Link for using such venues. Regarding the management of common areas in PHEs, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the above common areas which are currently managed by The Link in each of the PHEs in Hong Kong, broken down by the type of estate (i.e. public rental housing estates or Tenant Purchase Scheme estates), and which of these areas are included in the sale and purchase agreement signed in 2005 when the Hong Kong Housing Authority sold its retail and car-parking facilities to The Link;

    (b)whether the arrangement that The Link or other out-sourced management companies charging organizations using the above common areas a fee has the approval of the Housing Department; if so, of the grounds for granting approval for charging fees and the number of approved cases; and whether the Housing Department has issued any guidelines to the management companies concerned regarding the lending of such common areas; if it has, whether the guidelines have included requirements such as submitting proposals, taking out insurance and paying rental fees, etc.; and

    (c)whether the authorities will conduct a review of the above requirements (including the fee-charging arrangement) regarding the lending of common areas in PHEs, so as to reduce the restrictions imposed on members of the public for using such areas for meeting, social gathering or receiving information purposes?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

2. Hon Albert HO to ask: (Translation)

Regarding matters relating to the development of Park Island ("PI"), a private residential property project, as well as the Ma Wan Park ("MWP") in Ma Wan by a developer, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)given that the developer surrendered in 1997 a piece of land which composed 98.7% of farmland in exchange for the land lot of PI, of the premium that should have been paid at that time by the developer for land exchange and modification of the land use, and the actual amount of premium undercharged by the Government then, together with the reasons therefor (please specify the description of each deduction item and the amount involved);

    (b)given that the developer was allowed to deduct the costs of developing MWP from the premium payable for the land lot of PI, and that the developer had revised the design of MWP during the period from 2003 to 2006 and changed the theme for MWP from active recreational facilities to a park with a theme based on "Naturally Hong Kong", whether the authorities have assessed the costs of developing MWP with the new design; if the costs have been reduced, whether the authorities have recovered the difference from the developer; if they have not recovered the difference, of the reasons for that; and

    (c)of the main terms set out in the MWP development agreement signed between the Government and the developer in 1997; and among the development requirements set out in the agreement, of those involving items that are still pending or have not yet been completed, together with the reasons therefor; and the differences between the current situation and the requirements as specified in the agreement, as well as the authorities' mechanism and ways to monitor the developer's compliance with the agreement?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

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

Regarding government departments' handling of incidents of leakage of personal data of the public, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)as files suspected to be internal and confidential documents of the Police were recently circulated on the Internet, whether, at the time when these incidents occurred, the Police had internal guidelines in place instructing police officers on the ways to use and protect personal data of the public; if they had, of the contents of the guidelines; whether the Police have, immediately after the leakage incident, thoroughly investigated if any police officer violated such guidelines, as well as whether they have contacted all affected persons informing them of the remedial actions to be taken in response to the incident and whether they have taken any disciplinary actions against the police officers who have violated the guidelines;

    (b)whether the Monetary Authority ("MA") has established any mechanism requiring banks to immediately report to MA incidents of leakage of personal data; if it has, why it had allowed Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited not reporting to it the loss of a server containing data of its customers until six days after the incident, and why MA had not made any announcement of the incident in the four days following receipt of the report; and

    (c)whether it will review the procedure for handling personal data by all government departments, and how it will enhance the confidence of the public in the handling of personal data by the Government?
Public Officers to reply:Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs
Secretary for Security
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

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

The proportion of expenditure on health to the total recurrent public expenditure ("proportion of health expenditure") has been dropping since 2000-2001. The proportion for this financial year is estimated to be 14.3%, which is lower than the actual proportion of 15.3% 10 years ago. On the other hand, the Hospital Authority ("HA") is facing various problems such as shortage of manpower and resources, unequal pay for the same work and patients not being prescribed appropriate medications. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the reasons for the proportion of health expenditure to have fallen to a 10-year low in this financial year, and whether it has assessed if this situation contradicts its repeated claims that it will continue to increase its commitment for healthcare services;

    (b)given that the proportion of health expenditure is lower than that of 10 years ago, whether it has assessed how HA can solve the problems it is facing at present; and

    (c)of the additional resources required to raise the proportion of health expenditure to the level of eight years ago (i.e. 15.4%), and whether it has assessed if the provision of additional resources can help HA improve its existing services?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

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

In order to alleviate the problem of air pollution in Hong Kong, the Government launched a scheme on 1 April last year to subsidize owners of over 70 000 pre-Euro and Euro I diesel commercial vehicles in Hong Kong to replace their old vehicles with new ones which comply with the prevailing Euro IV emission standards. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)given that according to the information provided by the authorities to this Council's Panel on Environmental Affairs, up to end of April 2008, the Government approved 5 355 applications made under the above scheme, of the respective percentages of the numbers of various classes of vehicles involved in such applications, in the total numbers of eligible vehicles concerned;

    (b)whether it has reviewed the effectiveness of the above scheme since its launch (including whether, given the trade's worry that replacement of vehicles may add to their burden, the amount of the grants concerned can attract more owners of heavy goods vehicles to participate in the scheme); and

    (c)whether it has estimated, among those eligible commercial vehicles under the above scheme, the current number of vehicles (including goods vehicles and coaches) which travel between Hong Kong and the Mainland; given that diesel suitable for use by Euro IV vehicles is currently not sold on the Mainland, thus posing difficulties to owners of commercial vehicles travelling between Hong Kong and the Mainland who intend to participate in the above scheme for replacement of their vehicles, whether the authorities will explore with the mainland authorities a timetable for bringing in such diesel on the Mainland and review the incentive periods (particularly that for owners of long-haul coaches) of the above scheme so as to tie in with the timetable?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment

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

The Chief Executive stated in his Policy Address last year that he "will adhere to the 'people-based' principle in public services planning and identify what our people need, so as to provide them with more efficient and convenient services". In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the specific measures taken by the Government in the past six months which used information technologies ("IT") to implement the "people-based" principle, and how these measures have achieved the target of "providing them with more efficient and convenient services";

    (b)of the work plans to be launched by various government departments in the coming six months under which IT will be used to provide members of the public with more efficient and convenient services; and

    (c)whether the concept of Web 2.0 has been introduced for the people to tell the Government through electronic channels what they think and need, so as to facilitate various government departments to deliver their services in adherence to the "people-based" principle?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

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

Regarding web sites set up by government departments and related organizations which use domain names ending with ".gov.hk", will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the web sites which have not yet met the requirements of priority levels 1 and 2 of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 formulated by the World Wide Web Consortium;

    (b)of the web sites which do not support or fully support open source browsers such as Firefox, thus rendering people using open source browsers unable to access all contents;

    (c)of the web sites which only provide documents in non-open standard formats (e.g. MS Word) for downloading by the public, thus rendering those who lack the means to buy the expensive software concerned unable to use these documents;

    (d)of the web sites the web pages of which do not have text only version or cannot be displayed in linear format, thus causing a barrier to the visually impaired in browsing their contents; and

    (e)whether it will request the relevant government departments and related organizations to improve the design of their web sites so as to ameliorate the situations mentioned in (a) to (d) above; if so, of the implementation timetable?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

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

It has been reported earlier that some residential care homes ("RCHs") for open bidding by non-governmental organizations have, between their obtaining occupation permits ("OPs") issued by the Buildings Department and their coming into formal operation, been left vacant for as long as several years, because the Social Welfare Department has still not put them out to tender although their construction had been completed for a few years (e.g. an RCH for the elderly at Hong Shue House of Lei Muk Shue Estate has been left vacant for three years and has still not been put out to tender). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)apart from the above RCH for the elderly in Lei Muk Shue Estate, whether currently there are any other RCHs for the elderly and RCHs for people with disabilities ("PWDs") in various districts which have been issued with OPs but have not yet come into formal operation; if so, in respect of the two types of RCHs, of the respective locations, duration of vacant periods (calculated from the issue of OPs) and reasons for being left vacant;

    (b)of the respective locations of RCHs for the elderly and RCHs for PWDs which came into operation in the past three years, and whether they had been left vacant before operation; if so, of the duration of vacant periods and reasons for their being left vacant; and

    (c)whether there are any concrete measures to expedite the tender process of newly-built RCHs for the elderly to ensure that they will come into operation expeditiously?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

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

Regarding the Cross-Harbour Tunnel at Hung Hom, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the designed service life of the Tunnel;

    (b)whether it had surveyed the structural condition of the Tunnel over the past five years to assess its remaining service life; if it had, of the result and whether reinforcement works were required, if no survey had been conducted, the reasons for that and when such survey will be conducted; and

    (c)whether the structural condition of the Tunnel has shown any sign of aging; if it has, of the remedies; if not, when such signs are expected to show?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

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

Regarding the development and management of the Ma Wan Park ("MWP"), will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the terms of development requirements set out in the MWP development agreement signed between the Government and the developer in 1997 (please list out the details), including the total area of MWP, the recreational facilities and amusement rides to be provided in Phase I, the theme adopted in the design of the park, the facilities to be provided in Phase II and the completion date of Phase II; and why the Government still proceeded to sign the agreement when it was aware that the development plan of Hong Kong Disneyland had already been confirmed;

    (b)given that the developer has revised the design of MWP from a theme of active recreational facilities to a park with a theme based on "Naturally Hong Kong", of the differences between the former and the new design of the park (please list out the details), including whether there is a change in the total area of MWP, and the facilities added and deleted; of the authorities' reasons for consenting to the revision of the design and deferral of the completion date of Phase I from June 2006 to 31 December 2008; whether the developer is required to make any payment to the Government for deferring the completion date; if not, of the reasons for that;

    (c)given that the Solar Tower, one of the facilities in Phase I of MWP, cannot be completed by the end of this year due to revisions made to the road scheme concerned, of the details of such revisions; whether the authorities have assessed the losses to the public caused by the delay in the commissioning of the facility as a result of the revisions made to the plans or design by the developer, and whether the developer has been requested to make compensation to the Government for such losses;

    (d)in addition to the setting up of a sinking fund, of the other terms relating to the operation, maintenance and management of MWP set out in the agreement, including the measures in place to deal with a shortage of operating funds for MWP;

    (e)of the channels available for the public to monitor the operation of MWP and the accounts of the sinking fund, as well as to lodge complaints about the management of the park; and

    (f)whether MWP is situated on government land, and how the authorities will draw up provisions governing the management of the park (including the opening hours and admission fees for various venues); when the drafting of such provisions will be completed; whether the District Council concerned will be consulted on such provisions; and whether such provisions will be submitted to the Legislative Council for scrutiny in the form of subsidiary legislation?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

*11. Hon Fred LI to ask: (Translation)

Recently, the Government is consulting the public again on the competition law. One of the proposals in the Consultation Paper is that the competition law should not apply to the Government or statutory bodies. Moreover, private sector undertakings' activities that are essential to fulfilling their obligation to provide essential public services should be excluded from the application of the competition law in so far as the prohibition in the law will obstruct the performance of the obligation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the definitions of the above statutory bodies and public services, and the respective lists of organizations which belong to these two categories; if the definition of statutory bodies includes business organizations (such as banks, etc.) established in accordance with Hong Kong legislation, whether the competition law will not apply to such organizations; and

    (b)given that quite a number of public service organizations (e.g. bus companies and the two power companies, etc.) are subject to regulation by the relevant scheme of control agreements ("SCAs") or licensing conditions, and such organizations, according to the above Consultation Paper, may also be exempted from regulation by the competition law, whether certain public service organizations (such as The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited) which are not subject to regulation by SCAs or licensing conditions will also be granted the same exemption?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

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

I have learnt that the Government is currently conducting a territory-wide registration exercise for trees in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government provide information on the existing trees in Hong Kong according to the following table?

Age of tree (years) Tree species Local species or not Quantity Distribution
20 or below



21 to 30



31 to 40



41 to 50



51 to 60



above 60



Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

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

It has been reported that some concern groups on elderly rights alleged that recently, the majority of residential care homes for the elderly ("RCHEs") bought discarded pork from meat stalls to make dishes for their residents in order to cut expenses, and that such RCHEs even reduced the quantity of food per meal provided to their residents. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of complaints received by the Government in the past three years about the quality of the food provided by RCHEs to their residents and among such complaints, the number of substantiated cases, and the penalties imposed on the RCHEs concerned;

    (b)whether the guidelines formulated by the Government on the quality of the food provided by RCHEs also set out the recommended quantity of food per meal;

    (c)whether it will consider including the quantity and quality of food provided by RCHEs in the licensing conditions for RCHEs; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (d)given that the allegation of the above concern groups involves the health of the elderly, whether the authorities will consider taking the initiative to conduct an investigation into the situation to address public concern; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

*14. Dr Hon David LI to ask:

In reply to my question at the Legislative Council meeting of 19 December 2007, the Government advised that no separate statistics were available on the enrolment of new arrivals from the Mainland in government-funded training programmes other than those provided under the Employees Retraining Scheme. Furthermore, no separate assessment had been made on the effectiveness of these programmes on the basis of the duration of residence of the trainees. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council what procedures are in place to evaluate the effectiveness of government-funded training programmes, when such procedures were last reviewed, and whether it will consider adding new evaluation criteria in order to better monitor the effectiveness of such programmes in assisting trainees (such as those who are new arrivals from the Mainland) in securing stable employment? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

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

I have recently received complaints from members of the public that next to Tai Po Centre, a sitting-out area which is adjacent to a liquefied petroleum gas store has been designated as a smoking area. This may endanger the lives of the residents nearby. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
    (a)it has received complaints from members of the public concerning the aforesaid smoking area since the commencement of the relevant provisions of the Smoking (Public Health) (Amendment) Ordinance 2006 on 1 January 2007; if so, of the follow-up actions taken;

    (b)it has assessed if smoking by members of the public in that area has safety implications; if it has, of the assessment results; if it has not, the reasons for that;

    (c)it will consider designating the sitting-out area as a no smoking area; and

    (d)it has compiled statistics on the current number of public pleasure grounds throughout the territory which are adjacent to liquefied petroleum gas stores and allow smoking; if so, of the details?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

Will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the numbers of families providing foster care service and children receiving such service at present;

    (b)whether the Social Welfare Department had, in the past six years, increased the allowance for foster families; if it had, of the rate of each increase; if not, the reasons for that and whether the amount of the allowance will be increased in view of the fact that it has not been increased for six years; and

    (c)as some foster families have told me that the current amount of allowance is inadequate to cover the actual expenses on caring for the children concerned, resulting in some foster children being deprived of a normal and healthy life, whether it will re-examine if the amount of the allowance should be increased?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

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

It has been reported that a Hong Kong resident suffering from acute liver failure and in urgent need of a liver transplant operation was recently admitted to hospital, but as there were insufficient cadaveric livers and his family members in Hong Kong were unsuitable for donating live liver, arrangement was made for a close relative on the Mainland, who was suitable for donating liver, to come to Hong Kong to do so to cure him. However, his close relative, being a non-eligible person ("NEP"), had to pay the public hospital concerned a big deposit as well as very expensive fee for staying at the intensive care unit for the liver transplant operation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the authorities' justifications for requiring that non-Hong Kong residents who donate human organs in Hong Kong to cure Hong Kong residents have to pay the medical fees concerned at the levels NEPs are charged, and whether the Hospital Authority has any mechanism for assessing and waiving the fees payable by NEPs for using public medical services;

    (b)the respective numbers of patients in Hong Kong who died last year because they were unable to obtain donated livers and kidneys for transplant operations; the current numbers of patients in Hong Kong who are waiting to receive a transplant of liver and kidney respectively; and whether the authorities know if the number of local cases of organ donation from deceased persons is lower than that in other places; and

    (c)the up-to-date total number of members of the public who have indicated consent to donate their organs, and among them, the number of those who indicated their consent last year, and whether the Centralized Organ Donation Register, which the Department of Health has planned to launch in the second quarter of 2008, has come into operation?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

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

It has been learnt that the Leisure and Cultural Services Department is conducting a detailed survey on the participation patterns of Hong Kong people in physical activities, and the survey is to be conducted in two phases in May and September this year in the form of face-to-face household interviews. The survey also includes a Government-commissioned study conducted by a university in Hong Kong on patterns of and data on participation in sports by people overseas, which has been completed earlier. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the purpose, scope and other details of the entire survey mentioned above; the preliminary results of the study on patterns of participation in sports by people overseas, and when the entire survey is expected to be completed as well as when the results are expected to be announced; and

    (b)the timetable for taking corresponding actions (including formulating future objectives and strategies for promoting sports, as well as introducing specific measures to encourage more members of the public to participate in sports and promote a culture of passion for sports in the community, etc.) in the light of the results of the above survey?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

Will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the number of accidents in the past two years which occurred in the public places of public housing estates ("PHEs"), involved estate facilities and resulted in casualties, together with a breakdown by the facilities involved in these accidents, as well as the improvement measures adopted by the authorities; and

    (b)among the accidents mentioned above, the number of those attributable to the fences along the corridors on each floor of PHE blocks being too low, and the names of the PHEs involved; whether the authorities will consider increasing the height of the fences to better safeguard the safety of residents?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

*20. Hon Bernard CHAN to ask: (Translation)

After the release of the Consultation Document on Healthcare Reform by the Government, there is a rising public concern about the development of public and private hospitals in the future. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
    (a)the latest statistics on the numbers and occupancy rates of beds in public and private hospitals, and such statistics in respect of each of the public and private hospitals; and

    (b)the respective numbers of additional beds to be provided in public and private hospitals in the coming three years, and whether the Government has assessed if these additional beds are sufficient to meet the demand of the public and resolve the problem of shortage of hospital beds; if it has, of the outcome of assessment?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

*For written reply.

III. Bills

First Reading

Supplementary Appropriation (2007-2008) Bill

Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)

Supplementary Appropriation (2007-2008) Bill : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

IV. Motions

  1. Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

    Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development to move the motion in Appendix I.

  2. Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

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

    RESOLVED that the Trade Descriptions (Provision of Information on Diamond) Order, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 80 of 2008 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 23 April 2008, be amended -

    (a)by renumbering section 2 as section 2(1);

    (b)in section 2(1), in the definition of "article of diamond", by repealing paragraphs (a), (b) and (c) and substituting -

    "(a)which is composed solely of diamond; or

    (b)which is inlaid with diamond for the purpose of adornment;";

    (c)in section 2, by adding -

    "(2) An article on which an object is mounted is regarded for the purposes of this Order as an article inlaid with that object.";

    (d)in section 3(2)(d), by repealing everything after "describe the" and substituting - "article -

    (i)as being composed solely of diamond;

    (ii)where the article is inlaid with both diamond and other precious stone, as being inlaid with both diamond and other precious stone; or

    (iii)where the article is inlaid with diamond but with no other precious stone, as being inlaid with diamond,

    as may be appropriate; and".

  3. Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

    Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development to move the motion in Appendix II.

  4. Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

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

    RESOLVED that the Trade Descriptions (Marking)(Gold and Gold Alloy)(Amendment) Order 2008, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 82 of 2008 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 23 April 2008, be amended -

    (a)in section 4(2), in the new paragraph 6(1)(d)(ii), by adding "by virtue of paragraph 5(1)" before "and the";

    (b)in section 10, by adding before subsection (1) -

    "(1A) The Third Schedule is amended in the English version of the Notice by repealing "Order 1984" and substituting "Order (Cap. 362 sub. leg.)".";

    (c)in section 10, by adding -

    "(2A) The Third Schedule is amended in the Chinese version of the Notice by repealing "《1984年商品說明(標記)(黃金及黃金合金)令》" and substituting "《商品說明(標記)(黃金及黃金合金)令》(第362章，附屬法例)".".

  5. Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

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

    RESOLVED that the Trade Descriptions (Marking)　(Platinum)　(Amendment) Order 2008, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 83 of 2008 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 23 April 2008, be amended -

    (a)in section 5(2), in the new paragraph 6(1)(d)(ii), by adding "by virtue of paragraph 5(1)" before "and the";

    (b)in section 11(1), by repealing everything after "by" and substituting "repealing "Order, every article made of platinum that is supplied or offered for supply in the course of trade or business" and substituting "Order (Cap. 362 sub. leg.), every article made of platinum that is supplied or offered for supply in the course of trade or business at retail level".";

    (c)in section 11(3), by repealing everything after "by" and substituting "repealing "令》，每一件在" and substituting "令》(第362章，附屬法例)，每一件在零售層面的".".

V. Members' Bills

First Reading

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Amendment) Bill 2008

Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Amendment) Bill 2008 :Hon Abraham SHEK

Public Officer to attend :Secretary for the Civil Service
(in the absence of Secretary for Education)

VI. Members' Motions

  1. Providing food and nutrition support to the grassroots

    Hon KWONG Chi-kin: (Translation)

    That the rise in food prices worldwide has led to a surge in local food prices, resulting in escalating inflation in Hong Kong, with last month's year-on-year Composite Consumer Price Index recording an increase of 5.4%, the income of the grassroots being eroded by inflation, forcing many grassroots and poor people to reduce their expenditure on food, buy less food or switch to buying food products of poorer quality, and some people even have to collect leftovers in the markets or at the back entrances of restaurants, such situations will easily lead to children who are growing up and the frail elderly suffering from malnutrition; in this connection, this Council urges the Government to formulate the following measures to assist the grassroots in countering the surge in food prices:

    (a)the Administration making reference to overseas practices and providing poor students with free breakfasts and lunches, as well as nutritious foodstuffs such as fruits and milk, etc to enable them to be well-fed and take in sufficient nutrition;

    (b)expeditiously providing rent-free units in poor and remote districts for setting up co-operatives which make bulk purchase of food, hot food centres or food banks, so as to provide meals as well as basic food and oil supplies to those poor people who have difficulty in paying for their daily meals;

    (c)issuing food coupons and meal coupons to those poor people who cannot benefit from food banks or hot food centres to enable them to have enough food for their daily meals;

    (d)closely monitoring the supply situation and price increase of basic food and oil supplies, and curbing large supermarket chains from manipulating the supply prices charged by suppliers;

    (e)encouraging the general public and private organizations to donate food to food banks and hot food centres; and

    (f)allocating more resources to provide free meal delivery service to the poor elderly.

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

    To add ", as" after "That"; to delete "for setting up" after "remote districts" and substitute with ", collaborating with voluntary bodies to establish social enterprises,"; to add "to sell food at low prices or even give it to poor families for free" after "hot food centres or food banks"; and to add "making inflationary adjustments to the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance rates and grants on a more frequent basis, and increasing the amount of Old Age Allowance to enable the recipients to buy sufficient food, as well as" after "(c)".

    (ii)Hon Frederick FUNG: (Translation)

    To delete "the" after "That" and substitute with ", as the Government has all along failed to formulate effective policies to alleviate poverty, and the recent"; to add "further" after "eroded by inflation,"; to add "the grassroots especially" after "situations will easily lead to"; to add "while ensuring that there will be no labelling effect on the grassroots in the process" after "the surge in food prices"; to delete "and" after "food banks and hot food centres;"; and to add "; and (g) immediately reviewing the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance system to ensure that poor people who have difficulty in paying for their daily meals can also be protected by the safety net" immediately before the full stop.

    (iii)Hon Mrs Selina CHOW: (Translation)

    To add "the tight global grain supply has caused" after "That"; to add "and" after "food prices worldwide"; to add "and, at the same time, maintaining close contact with Mainland suppliers to ensure that there is an ample supply of various types of food, foodstuffs, materials and livestock, so as to avoid a surge in food prices due to shortage of supply" after "by suppliers"; to delete "and" after "food banks and hot food centres;"; and to add "; (g) strengthening the monitoring of and support to non-governmental organizations to ensure that the quality of meals delivered to the elderly and that provided in residential care homes for the elderly will not be affected; and (h) expeditiously reviewing the weighting of food in the Social Security Assistance Index of Prices so that recipients of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance can maintain their purchasing power for food" immediately before the full stop.

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

  2. Implementation of "one country, two systems"

    Hon Martin LEE: (Translation)

    That this Council urges the Central Government to abide by the Basic Law and strictly require that no department of the Central Government, including the Central Government Liaison Office, and no local government in the Mainland shall interfere in the affairs which the Hong Kong SAR Government administers on its own in accordance with the Basic Law, so as to implement "one country, two systems", "Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong" with "a high degree of autonomy".

    Amendment to motion
    Hon TAM Yiu-chung:     (Translation)

    To delete "this Council urges" after "That" and substitute with ", as the Central Government has been proactively taking measures over the years to support the economic development, improvement of people's livelihood and promotion of democracy in Hong Kong, and vigorously facilitating exchanges and co-operation between the Mainland and Hong Kong in the areas of economy, education, science and technology, culture, health and sports, etc, this Council expresses deep gratitude and hereby expresses support to"; to add "continuing" after "the Central Government"; to add "the provision in" after "to abide by"; and to delete "and strictly require" after "the Basic Law"; to delete "Government, including the Central Government Liaison Office, and no local government in the Mainland" after "no department of the Central" and substitute with "People's Government and no province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government".

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs

Clerk to the Legislative Council