A 07/08-4

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 24 October at 11:00 am,
Thursday 25 October and Friday 26 October 2007 at 9:00 am on each day

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
1.Declaration of Geographical Constituencies (Legislative Council) Order 2007186/2007
2.Companies (Amendment) Ordinance 2004 (Commencement) (No. 2) Notice 2007187/2007
3.Financial Reporting Council Ordinance (Commencement) (No. 3) Notice 2007188/2007
4.Companies Ordinance (Amendment of Eighth Schedule) Order 2007 (Commencement) Notice189/2007
5.Fugitive Offenders (Malaysia) (Amendment) Order 2007 (Commencement) Notice190/2007

Other Papers

1.No.17-Traffic Accident Victims Assistance Fund
Annual Report for the year from 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007
(to be presented by Secretary for Labour and Welfare)

2.No.18-Annual Report 2006-2007 of the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund Board
(to be presented by Secretary for Labour and Welfare)

II. Questions for Written Replies

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

Some District Council ("DC") members have pointed out that the problems of fire safety, electrical installation, unauthorized building works and water seepage, etc, arising from unauthorized conversion by owners of their residential units into cubicle apartments for rental purpose have become increasingly serious. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of complaints about unauthorized conversion of residential units into cubicle apartments received by the Government in the past three years, broken down by 18 DCs;

    (b)whether it will consider introducing a licensing scheme to regulate the relevant contractors, building materials used, as well as the partition and layout of cubicle apartments, etc.; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether it will consider tackling the cubicle apartment problems in individual districts in a targeted manner through cooperation among departments (including the Fire Services Department, Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, Buildings Department, and Food and Environmental Hygiene Department) and the setting up of a joint working group comprising these departments and the DCs of districts in which the problems of cubicle apartments are relatively more serious?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

Will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the effectiveness of the Marking Scheme for Estate Management Enforcement implemented in Public Housing Estates ("the Marking Scheme") by the authorities concerned in public housing estates in the past two years, as well as the names of the five housing estates with the most cases of allotment of points; and

    (b)given that the Marking Scheme may not necessarily be applicable to estates under the Tenants Purchase Scheme, of the number of reports received in the past two years by the authorities concerned about misdeeds under the Marking Scheme committed by tenants of such estates, with a breakdown by housing estates, and the measures in place to extend the Marking Scheme to such estates?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

3. Hon Albert HO to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the vetting and approving of plans of building works by the departments concerned, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)following the adoption of the layout plan of an area by the Planning Department, whether amendments will be made to the relevant Outline Zoning Plan ("OZP") to achieve consistency in the planning requirements specified in both plans; if so, of the amendment procedures, and taking Tuen Mun New Town Area 20 Layout Plan No. L/TM/20/1G as an example, why the planning requirements for the different types of residential sites specified therein have not been reflected in the relevant OZP No. S/TM/22;

    (b)whether the Building Authority ("BA"), in vetting and approving a plan of building works, will consider, besides the planning requirements of the relevant OZP, if the plan has contravened the planning requirements of the relevant layout plan; whether he will approve a plan that is in contravention of the height limit requirements specified in the layout plan, and what channels are available for the affected residents to appeal against BA's decision to approve the plan;

    (c)whether adopted layout plans fall within the meaning of "any approved or draft plan" specified in section 16(1)(d) of the Buildings Ordinance (Cap. 123); if not, whether amendments will be made to the legislation to provide that BA has to take into account the relevant layout plan in vetting and approving a plan of building works; and

    (d)whether there are guidelines specifying that the relevant departments have to consult the affected residents in vetting and approving plans of building works of redevelopment projects; if so, of the consultation procedures, and the information to be made available to the residents to help them understand how the redevelopment projects will affect them?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

4. Hon LI Fung-ying to ask: (Translation)

In recent years, Internet computer services centres (commonly known as "Internet cafes") have become one of the major places of leisure for young people and students. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the year-end number of Internet cafes and the annual number of inspections of such premises by law enforcement officers in each of the past three years;

    (b)of the respective numbers of cases in which the persons in charge or customers of such premises were prosecuted and convicted over the past three years, together with a breakdown by the offences involved and the penalties imposed by the court on the convicted persons; and

    (c)given that Internet games and computer games may contain such objectionable contents as obscenity, gambling and violence, whether it has considered introducing legislation, with reference to relevant legislation in neighbouring regions, to regulate the operation of Internet cafes; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

In mid September this year, demolition works were carried out at King Yin Lei, a traditional Chinese-style mansion at 45 Stubbs Road, Wan Chai, which aroused the grave public concern about the current work on heritage conservation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it has assessed the impact of the damage done to King Yin Lei on its future grading and conservation; if it has, of the results;

    (b)given that an expert panel under the Antiquities Advisory Board has been conducting a heritage assessment of some 1 400 buildings with historic value in Hong Kong since March 2005, which of these buildings have not been graded as historic buildings and the reasons for that, which buildings are being graded or pending grading, please list such buildings by the districts in which they are located; of the number of items assessed by the panel each year, as well as the measures to expedite the current progress of heritage assessment;

    (c)whether the authorities have examined which of the graded historic buildings that have not been declared as monuments have strong justifications for being classified as "sites of cultural heritage", so that they can be protected under the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (Cap. 499); if they have, of the results (including details of the justifications); and

    (d)of the means through which the authorities will assess non-building heritage (for example, the boundary stones of the Victoria City), so that such heritage can be permanently preserved?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

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

Regarding the environmental protection measures implemented in public housing estates ("PHEs") and government premises, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective names of PHEs in which there are both used clothing recycling bins and rechargeable batteries recycling bins, used clothing recycling bins only, rechargeable batteries recycling bins only, and none of such bins;

    (b)whether the authorities will consider providing the above two types of recycling bins in PHEs in which such bins are not yet available, so as to support environmental protection; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether it has reviewed the effectiveness of each of the existing energy saving measures implemented in all government premises; if it has, of the outcome of the review, and whether it will implement new energy saving measures; if it will, of the details of such measures; if it will not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

7. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)

The Government launched a pilot Transport Support Scheme ("TSS") in June this year to help needy unemployed persons and low-income employees living in Tuen Mun, Yuen Long, North and Islands districts to work across districts. Low-income employees may receive a Cross-district Transport Allowance of $600 per month for up to six months, while job seekers and those who wish to change jobs may receive a Job Search Allowance of up to $600. According to government information, only 4 071 applications were recorded as of the end of this September, accounting for only 5% of the estimated 80 000 applicants, and the amount of allowances involved represented only 0.4% of the commitment set aside for this purpose. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)how the TSS has been implemented in the districts concerned, including the respective numbers of applicants and beneficiaries as well as the total amount of allowance granted so far in respect of each district;

    (b)of the number of complaints received so far about the TSS and their subjects, as well as the number of substantiated abuse cases;

    (c)given the public's lukewarm response to the TSS, whether it will consider conducting a review immediately to find out the reasons for that;

    (d)whether it will consider immediately stepping up publicity, streamlining the application procedures, increasing the amount of allowances, or relaxing the eligibility criteria, such as relaxing its restriction on district of residence to make it a territory-wide scheme, raising the personal asset limit or income limit, lowering the number of monthly working hours required and relaxing the restriction on the districts where the applicants go to work from another district (e.g covering frontier closed areas); and

    (e)whether it will consider allocating additional resources to provide support for the scheme's participants on various fronts, such as home visits or referral services, as well as extending the duration of the TSS?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

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

Regarding the handling of patient complaints by The Prince Philip Dental Hospital which is subsidized by the Government, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows the details of the Hospital's redress system in handling patient complaints (including whether the Hospital has set up an independent committee to handle such complaints);

    (b)whether it knows the number of patient complaint cases handled by the Hospital, its percentage in the annual total service caseload of the Hospital and, among them, the number of substantiated complaint cases, in each of the past five years; and

    (c)whether the Government will consider putting the Hospital within the purview of The Ombudsman?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

9. Hon Albert CHAN to ask: (Translation)

Recently, some members of the public have reflected to me that larvae of mosquitoes had been found breeding in a public housing estate, and the Government had prosecuted, under sections 27(3A) and 150 of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132), the person in charge of the cleansing company responsible for the estate's cleansing work for failure to properly remove the accumulation of water. However, the Government had failed to properly deal with the problem of mosquitoes breeding on vacant government land, while the problem on deserted farmland owned by land developers is also very serious. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council, in the past three years:
    (a)of the number of prosecutions instituted under the above legal provisions each year and, among such prosecutions, the respective numbers of cases involving land owners, property management companies and cleansing companies; and

    (b)whether it had instituted prosecutions in relation to the breeding of mosquitoes found on vacant government land as well as private and deserted farmland respectively; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

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

It has been reported that the Division of Clinical Psychology of the Hong Kong Psychological Society has pointed out that at present, no statutory regulatory mechanism has been established for formulating the professional qualifications of clinical psychologists; there is only the registration regime for clinical psychologists administered by the Society. Some courses have also claimed to be able to help those enrolled gain psychologist qualifications. However, in reality, only the University of Hong Kong and The Chinese University of Hong Kong are currently recognized in Hong Kong for providing courses which meet the standards, while the "qualifications" obtained through the courses available in the community are not recognized in Hong Kong. The existing legislation also fails to regulate the relevant situation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the existing regulation of the professional qualifications of people providing clinical psychology consultation services and clinical psychology courses; and

    (b)how it will step up regulation of the above, so as to prevent unqualified people from providing the services concerned and unrecognized institutions from offering the courses concerned?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

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

Will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the current number of unemployed persons with Secondary 3 or lower academic qualifications, and its percentage in the total unemployed population;

    (b)the respective numbers of places currently offered by various retraining programmes, as well as the situation of oversubscription of such programmes; and

    (c)the measures to provide training to enhance the vocational skills of all those who have sought employment through the Labour Department but are not employed, so as to increase their chances of being employed?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

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

Will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective numbers of illegal entrants ("IEs") arrested and convicted in the past two years, together with a breakdown by nationality;

    (b)of the total amount of medical expenditure incurred for inmates in the past three years, as well as the portion of that for IEs; and

    (c)whether it has assessed the prevalence of IEs coming to Hong Kong to commit crimes in order to receive medical treatment in prison, and whether it has explored measures to curb the trend, including discussing with the countries concerned the signing of agreements on the transfer of sentenced persons?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

13. Hon Alan LEONG Kah-kit to ask: (Translation)

In June 2002, the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation ("KCRC") was awarded the development right for the Shatin to Central Link ("SCL"). In August 2002, KCRC submitted a revised scheme proposing to add a station at Tsz Wan Shan; then in September 2004, it submitted a draft final proposal offering to provide an automated people mover ("APM") system linking the Diamond Hill Station of SCL and the Tsz Wan Shan area instead; and yet in July 2005, it submitted a new scheme in which the proposed facilities were abandoned. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows the reasons for each revision of the SCL scheme made by KCRC;

    (b)whether it has estimated the respective increases in SCL's construction cost (expressed at today's prices) and time arising from the provision of the Tsz Wan Shan Station and APM system; and

    (c)given that it has undertaken to finalize the SCL within six months after the legislative procedure for the rail merger is completed, whether it will take steps to enable the residents in Tsz Wan Shan to learn about the details as well as the merits and demerits of different options before the scheme is finalized; if it will, of the relevant details and timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

14. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)

A member of the public has complained to me about the way the Hong Kong Baptist University handled an incident of suspected academic plagiarism. In response to my enquiry, the Education Bureau ("EB") pointed out that all the University Grants Committee ("UGC")-funded institutions have established mechanisms, procedures and guidelines for handling complaints about plagiarism in academic research results. EB further advised that "on the premise that institutional autonomy should be respected, it is inappropriate for the Administration and UGC to interfere in how the institutions handle matters of academic plagiarism". In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
    (a)whether they know the details of the mechanisms, procedures and guidelines of UGC-funded institutions for handling complaints about plagiarism in academic research results;

    (b)how the authorities ensure that UGC-funded institutions will handle incidents of academic plagiarism or fraud in a fair and impartial manner; and

    (c)whether there is currently any organization responsible for investigating complaints about the failure of the top management of UGC-funded institutions, including their Vice-Chancellors/Presidents, to handle incidents of suspected academic plagiarism in a fair manner, and whether a mechanism is in place to deal with the appeals lodged by complainants aggrieved by the outcomes of their complaints; if there is such a mechanism, of the appeal procedures?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education

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

Regarding the implementation of the Electronic Service Delivery Scheme, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)as the development of wireless technologies is increasingly mature and the Government will provide free Wi-Fi services at government premises in the coming two years, whether it has plans to introduce new technologies or measures, such as location-based applications, in order to deliver e-government services through wireless and mobile channels; if it has, of the relevant details and timetable; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)as the direction of Internet applications is moving towards Web 2.0, whether it has considered applying the Web 2.0 concept in government web-sites or in the process of delivering electronic public services, so as to enhance public interaction and participation; if it has, of the relevant details; if not, the reasons for that, and

    (c)to facilitate the public's handling of various electronic public services provided by government departments and public organizations, whether it has considered establishing a dedicated electronic account system for people to configure, retain, manage and update the records and personal particulars in their own accounts; if so, of the relevant details and timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

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

Regarding the issuance of One-way Permits ("OWPs"), will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of mainland residents who were granted OWPs for entry into Hong Kong in each of the past two years and, apart from family reunion, whether there were other reasons for their being granted OWPs; if there were, of the details; and

    (b)whether it will consider reviewing the existing system for the issuance of OWPs (including empowering the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to approve and issue OWPs) with the relevant mainland authorities, so as to provide more channels for the mainland residents in need to apply for settlement in Hong Kong?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

17. Dr Hon David LI to ask:

I have learnt that the Hong Kong Disneyland overflow car park adjacent to the Sunny Bay MTR Station has remained unused since the opening of the theme park. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
    (a)it projects that the above overflow car park will be used by the Hong Kong Disneyland in the foreseeable future; if not, whether there are any plans to put the site in question to better use; and

    (b)the agreement with the Hongkong International Theme Parks Limited ("HKITP") allows the above site to be returned to the Government or to be used as a temporary car park for non-Disneyland use; if so, under what conditions may such arrangements be made, including but not limited to any payments to HKITP, and the earliest date of making such arrangements?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

18. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)

Following the Standard Chartered Hong Kong Marathon 2007 held in March this year, some academics and runners made the following suggestions: advancing the race day, changing the routes of the event, extending the duration of the race and road closure, setting higher eligibility criteria for joining competitive races, reducing the maximum number of participants, adjusting the starting time for various races to avoid participants from obstructing each other, holding a separate long-distance running carnival for those who just wish to participate, opening some sections of the routes for members of the public to line both sides as spectators and arranging for the event to be televised so as to enhance the atmosphere of competition, stepping up efforts to promote correct knowledge of long-distance running, as well as urging participants to adopt a responsible and serious attitude in joining the event and be well-prepared for the race. In its reply to my relevant question in March this year, the Administration said that preliminary results of the assessment by the Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association ("HKAAA") on the aforesaid suggestions were expected to be available in June or later this year. Regarding the future arrangements for this event, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows the aforesaid preliminary assessment results, and which of the aforesaid suggestions will be implemented; if some of the suggestions will not be implemented, of the reasons for that;

    (b)given that during the Chicago Marathon held early this month, a participant died suddenly, hundreds of runners felt unwell and the event was cut short, whether HKAAA has looked into the causes thereof and drawn on the experience as reference for next year's race; and

    (c)whether it has, in collaboration with HKAAA, devised a contingency mechanism for next year's race to deal with any emergencies; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

It has been reported that the Hong Kong Association for Continuing Education has criticized the Government's present policy of reviewing the Financial Assistance Scheme for Designated Evening Adult Education Courses every three years, and has also pointed out that the results of the review on the 3-year Financial Assistance Scheme which has been implemented since the 2005-2006 school year will affect the financial assistance to be received by students enrolled in these courses in the 2008-2009 school year. However, up till now, the Government has not yet provided information on this. The Association has also criticized the inadequacy of the above Financial Assistance Scheme as it only caters for students in Secondary 4 or above and subsidizes only 30% of the tuition fees. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it has completed the above review; if it has, of the results; if not, when it will announce the results of the review;

    (b)of the number of students currently enrolled in the evening junior secondary courses (i.e. Secondary 1 to 3) run by government secondary schools, and how the Government assists those, among such students, who need financial assistance; and (c) whether it will make the above Financial Assistance Scheme a permanent one, without having to review it again after three years; if it will, of the progress; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education

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

Currently, trading in the stocks of a number of listed companies has been suspended for a long time and the longest period of suspension is more than three years. As a result, the funds of minority shareholders have been frozen for a prolonged period of time, but in many cases the companies concerned have not disclosed the reasons for such suspensions. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows the number of listed companies with stock trading suspended for more than 12 months, and the reasons why trading in these stocks has not resumed for such a long period;

    (b)whether it knows the criteria adopted by regulatory bodies for deciding on the suspension and resumption of stock trading; and

    (c)whether it will review the existing mechanism for the suspension of stock trading of listed companies and adopt measures to enhance its transparency, such as disclosing the criteria adopted for deciding on the suspension and resumption of stock trading?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

III. Members' Motions

(Continuation of the unfinished part of the motion moved at the last Council meeting)

  1. Development of the convention and exhibition industry

    Hon Andrew LEUNG Kwan-yuen: (Translation)

    That, as the convention and exhibition industry brings about enormous direct and indirect economic benefits to Hong Kong every year, and the Mainland, Macao and many Southeast Asian cities have built or expanded their convention and exhibition spaces in recent years and launched measures and promotional activities to attract large-scale international exhibitions; in the face of keen competition from the neighbouring regions, this Council urges the Government to ensure that Hong Kong provides competitive convention and exhibition venues and supporting facilities to maintain its position as the convention and exhibition capital of Asia.

    Amendment to motion
    Hon WONG Ting-kwong:     (Translation)

    To add ", which is a new point of growth in the economy of Hong Kong in addition to the four pillar industries," after "convention and exhibition industry"; to add "optimize the use of border areas and vacated factory buildings to" after "urges the Government to"; to add ", thus turning Hong Kong into an all-year-round capital of international exhibitions and sales, so as" after "supporting facilities"; to add "leading" after "to maintain its"; to delete "as" after "position" and substitute with "in"; and to delete "capital of" before "Asia" and substitute with "industry in".

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

(Motion to be moved at this Council meeting)

  1. Motion of Thanks

    Hon Miriam LAU: (Translation)

    That this Council thanks the Chief Executive for his address.

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

    To add ", but strongly requests the Government to increase the rates of the Old Age Allowance for the elderly" immediately before the full stop.

    Amendment to Hon Albert HO's amendment
    Hon Fred LI:     (Translation)

    To delete "Old Age Allowance" after "the rates of the" and substitute with "Normal Old Age Allowance and Higher Old Age Allowance"; and to add "to $900 and $1,000 per month respectively, so as to improve the life of the poor elderly" immediately before the full stop.

    (ii)Hon Andrew CHENG: (Translation)

    To add ", but expresses deep disappointment that, despite a huge surplus in the government treasury, the Chief Executive only deploys a meagre amount of resources to enhance the medical services for the elderly, which is hardly sufficient to meet the medical needs of the elderly in the lower class; this Council urges the Chief Executive and the Government to adopt measures and devote more resources to enhance the medical services for the elderly, including extending the beneficiaries of the health care vouchers to all senior citizens aged 65 or above, increasing the amount of subsidy for each elderly recipient, offering half-fee concession for public medical services to all senior citizens, setting up a fund to subsidize dental services for the elderly, and providing all senior citizens with free vaccination against influenza, etc" immediately before the full stop.

    (iii)Hon Frederick FUNG: (Translation)

    To add ", and at the same time urges the Government to set up an ad hoc committee headed by the Chief Secretary for Administration to tackle the problem of poverty, and to expeditiously implement the recommendations put forward by the Commission on Poverty and the Legislative Council Subcommittee to Study the Subject of Combating Poverty in their reports, as well as to deploy more resources to develop social enterprises" immediately before the full stop.

    (iv)Hon Emily LAU: (Translation)

    To add ", but as the majority of people support the implementation of dual universal suffrage in 2012, this Council expresses regret at the Chief Executive's lack of commitment to the expeditious implementation of dual universal suffrage and his failure to make every effort to convince those who are against the implementation of dual universal suffrage in 2012" immediately before the full stop.

    (v)Hon Albert CHAN: (Translation)

    To add ", but expresses deep regret at and strong condemnation of the policy address's failure to respond specifically to the hardship and pressure of the life of the grass-roots people" immediately before the full stop.

    (vi)Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung: (Translation)

    To add ", but expresses deep regret that the Chief Executive has not taken any concrete steps to prescribe a statutory minimum wage and standard working hours, nor has he offered any assistance to the serving non-civil service contract staff in resolving their plight of possible loss of job, while at the same time disregarding protection for the livelihood of the grass-roots workers" immediately before the full stop.

    Public Officers to attend are listed in the Appendix

Clerk to the Legislative Council