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A 07/08-12
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 19 December 2007 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers
| Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments | L.N. No.
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| 1. | Import and Export (General) Regulations (Amendment of Seventh Schedule) (Republic of the Congo) Notice 2007 | 232/2007
| | 2. | Statutes of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (Amendment) (No. 3) Statutes 2007 | 233/2007
| | 3. | Patents (Amendment) Ordinance 2007 (Commencement) Notice | 234/2007
| | 4. | Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (Corruption) Order (Commencement) Notice | 235/2007
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Other Papers
| 1. | No.43 | - | Queen Elizabeth Foundation for the Mentally Handicapped Report and Accounts 2006-2007
| (to be presented by Secretary for Labour and Welfare)
| | 2. | No.44 | - | Annual Report of The Prince Philip Dental Hospital by its Board of Governors, and Audited Statement of Accounts and Auditor's Report for the Hospital, for the period from 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007
| (to be presented by Secretary for Food and Health)
| | 3. | No.45 | - | The Accounts of the Lotteries Fund 2006-2007
| (to be presented by Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury)
| | 4. | No.46 | - | Hong Kong Tourism Board 2006-2007 Annual Report
| (to be presented by Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development)
| | 5. | No.47 | - | Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Hong Kong Annual Report 2006-2007
| (to be presented by Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs)
| | 6. | No.48 | - | Secretary for Home Affairs Incorporated Audited Financial Statements together with the Director of Audit's Report for the year ended 31 March 2007
| (to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)
| | 7. | No.49 | - | Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fund Audited Financial Statements together with the Director of Audit's Report and the Report of the Board of Trustees for the period from 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007
| (to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)
| | 8. | No.50 | - | The Brewin Trust Fund Audited Financial Statements together with the Director of Audit's Report and Report by the Brewin Trust Fund Committee on the Administration of the Fund for the year ended 30 June 2007
| (to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)
| | 9. | No.51 | - | The Sir Murray MacLehose Trust Fund Audited Financial Statements together with the Director of Audit's Report and Trustee's Report for the year 1 April 2006 to 31 March 2007
| (to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)
| | 10. | No.52 | - | Grantham Scholarships Fund Audited Financial Statements together with the Director of Audit's Report and Report by the Grantham Scholarships Fund Committee on the Administration of the Fund for the year ended 31 August 2007
| (to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)
| | 11. | No.53 | - | Report by the Chinese Temples Committee on the Chinese Temples Fund together with Audited Statements and Director of Audit's Report for the year ended 31 March 2007
| (to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)
| | 12. | No.54 | - | Report by the Chinese Temples Committee on the General Chinese Charities Fund together with Audited Statements and Director of Audit's Report for the year ended 31 March 2007
| (to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)
| | 13. | No.55 | - | Hong Kong Housing Authority Annual Report 2006-2007
| (to be presented by Secretary for Transport and Housing)
| | 14. | No.56 | - | Hong Kong Housing Authority Audited Financial Statements together with the Director of Audit's Report for the year ended 31 March 2007
| | (to be presented by Secretary for Transport and Housing)
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II. Questions
1. Hon CHEUNG Hok-ming to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that following a number of fatal traffic accidents in recent years involving reversing heavy vehicles, the Government has been encouraging the installation of reversing video devices ("RVDs") in vehicles, but the RVDs in many vehicles are actually illegal installations because they can also play Digital Versatile Discs. It has also been reported that the Transport Department has recommended the public to make an application to the Department before installing such devices. The relevant trades have criticized the Government for being too harsh in not permitting such television monitors to display visual images that are for entertainment purpose, and the trades are at a loss as the Government has not given clear guidelines on the installation of such devices. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
| (a) | it knows the current numbers of various types of vehicles in Hong Kong with RVDs installed; if it does not have such data, of the reasons for that;
| | (b) | the authorities have widely made known to the vehicle trade and vehicle owners details of the Transport Department's "A Guide for the installation of Devices to Assist Reversing of Goods Vehicles", the above restriction on such devices, and the recommendation that an application should be made to the authorities before installing such devices; and whether the Government had launched any large-scale publicity and promotional activities on such matters last year; and
| | (c) | the authorities will consider relaxing the above restriction; if not, how the authorities resolve the problem that currently the RVDs in many vehicles are illegal installations?
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| Public Officer to reply | : | Secretary for Transport and Housing
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2. Hon Andrew LEUNG Kwan-yuen to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported when the Chief Executive met with the Premier of the State Council while he was in Beijing earlier to report on his work, the Premier made suggestions on four aspects, namely, innovation, knowledge, talents and the environment, regarding the development of Hong Kong, and pointed out that Hong Kong's neighbouring countries had been actively developing and reforming their industries in recent years, and had introduced the new elements of technology and innovation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the amount of investments in scientific research, development and encouraging creativity relating to commerce and industry made respectively by the Government and the commercial and industrial sectors in the past five years, and the proportion of such investments in the gross domestic product;
| | (b) | whether the Government has plans to introduce new policies and measures to induce and encourage enterprises to inject more resources in the three areas mentioned in (a) on their own initiative; if it has, of the details of such plans; if not, the reasons for that; and
| | (c) | given the Government's strong financial position at present, whether the authorities will, in addition to those funding plans already announced, inject more resources to develop innovative technologies and creative industries, so as to encourage more local and overseas enterprises to engage in creative industries in Hong Kong, and assist Hong Kong in establishing a regional cluster of creative industries; if they will, of the relevant details; if not, the reasons for that?
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| Public Officer to reply | : | Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
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3. Hon CHOY So-yuk to ask: (Translation)
The two free-to-air domestic television broadcasters will launch digital terrestrial television ("DTT") on 31st of this month, and are constructing six transmission stations expeditiously in order that viewers in 75% of the districts in the territory can enjoy digital broadcasting before the Beijing Olympics in August next year. There have been comments expressing concerns that the launch of DTT will trigger off a trend of old analog television ("TV") sets being replaced, resulting in a large number of TV sets being discarded at landfills and creating an environmental disaster. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the anticipated number of analog TV sets which will be disposed of from now to the time of the Beijing Olympics, the amount of electronic waste generated as a result and, among such electronic waste, the quantity which will eventually be discarded at landfills;
| | (b) | of the existing recovery channels for old TV sets, the daily capacity of such channels for handling TV sets, the existing channels through which old TV sets may be shipped to other places as second-hand TV sets, as well as the specific measures to increase recovery of old TV sets and to promote the proper disposal of TV sets; and
| | (c) | whether it will expedite the legislative process for the Producer Responsibility Schemes to compel manufacturers to recover and dispose of electronic products properly; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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| Public Officer to reply | : | Secretary for the Environment
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4. Hon Fred LI to ask: (Translation)
It is learnt that the Government is now negotiating with The Walt Disney Company about the expansion of Hong Kong Disneyland ("HKD"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the estimated amount of funds that the Government is required to inject for the HKD expansion project, the factors to be taken into consideration in deciding whether or not to inject funds, as well as the impact on the funds injection decision if another Disneyland is confirmed to be built in Shanghai;
| | (b) | of the new provisions for cooperation proposed by the Government as a condition of its agreement to inject funds; how it will ensure that the injection of funds will enable this Council to monitor whether the public funds are properly used; and
| | (c) | whether it has constantly reviewed the position of HKD in terms of financial arrangements, profitability, expected attendances, its attractiveness to visitors and public expectation, etc., and whether HKD's current position in these areas differs significantly from the projections originally made when it decided to invest in the construction of HKD?
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| Public Officer to reply | : | Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
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5. Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to ask: (Translation)
In reply to my question on 9 May this year, the former Secretary for Education and Manpower said that the income generated from the provision of private consultation services at the Li Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine ("the Faculty") of the University of Hong Kong could only be used for academic research, attendance of overseas academic seminars and other professional development purposes. However, some doctors told me that since April this year, the Faculty had apportioned as high as 50% of the income from private consultations to individual teaching staff as income. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
| (a) | the reasons for the Faculty apportioning part of the income from private consultations to its teaching staff and the details concerned, the measures to prevent the abuse of such practice, and how the Faculty ensures that the resources for academic research will not be reduced;
| | (b) | the number of teaching staff to whom the Faculty has apportioned the income from such consultations so far and the total amount involved, and the respective amounts of money received by the five teaching staff who have been apportioned the highest amounts of such income; and
| | (c) | whether the Faculty has considered, by making reference to the practice of other universities, deducting a certain amount from the original remuneration of the teaching staff because additional income is derived during office hours?
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| Public Officer to reply | : | Secretary for Education
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6. Hon Martin LEE to ask: (Translation)
It has been learnt that every day in Hong Kong, about 7 500 prisoners and inmates are engaged in various types of industrial work (including the production of traffic signs, office furniture, concrete products, shoes, uniforms and linen, litter containers, metal barriers and envelopes, as well as the provision of services such as laundry, printing, and book-lamination, etc.) in workshops operated by the Industries Section of the Correctional Services Department. One of the objectives to engage prisoners and inmates in such work is to help them understand quality concepts and acquire some technical skills in different trades which will be beneficial for their rehabilitation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | apart from providing goods and services for government departments, how the above work can enhance the trade and vocational skills of prisoners and inmates; and
| | (b) | whether it has considered extending the trades currently covered by the Correctional Services Industries ("CSI") to those trades and work that require higher skills (e.g. computer operation and typing, basic web page design and telephone operator services, etc.), so as to further develop the vocational skills of prisoners and inmates, and whether it had conducted any studies in the past five years on widening the scope of CSI; if it had, of the results?
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| Public Officer to reply | : | Secretary for Security
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*7. Hon James TIEN to ask: (Translation)
At present, tenants of public rental housing ("PRH") flats who have purchased a flat under the Home Ownership Scheme are required to surrender the PRH flats they originally occupy within 60 days from taking possession of the purchased flats. They may apply for deferral of surrendering their PRH flats for a maximum of 30 days, in respect of which they are required to pay an occupation fee equivalent to triple the net rent plus rates. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the justifications for setting the time frame for the surrender of PRH flats at 60 days;
| | (b) | of the justifications for setting the above occupation fee at an amount equivalent to triple the net rent plus rates; and
| | (c) | whether it will review the existing requirements, including the consideration of relaxing the above 60-day time frame?
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| Public Officer to reply | : | Secretary for Transport and Housing
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*8. Hon CHEUNG Man-kwong to ask: (Translation)
It has been learnt that the existing Financial Assistance Scheme for Post-secondary Students stipulates that students enrolled in accredited self-financing sub-degree programmes may apply for financial assistance under the Scheme only when they are attending such courses. If they have graduated and moved on to top-up degree programmes which are not publicly funded, they no longer meet the eligibility criteria for the Scheme and may only apply for non-means-tested loans. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the reasons for imposing the above restriction on applications;
| | (b) | among the students who had applied for non-means-tested loans from the 2004-2005 school year to the present, of the respective numbers of students enrolled in publicly-funded local degree programmes, self-financing local degree programmes, top-up degree programmes jointly offered by local and overseas institutes and non-local degree programmes; among them, the number of students who had received financial assistance under the above Scheme and obtained a sub-degree; and
| | (c) | given the shortage of publicly-funded top-up degree places and the above restriction on applications, how the Government, apart from providing non-means-tested loans to those sub-degree graduates in need, ensures that they are not denied access to degree programmes due to their lack of means?
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| Public Officer to reply | : | Secretary for Education
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*9. Hon WONG Ting-kwong to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the Government is negotiating with The Walt Disney Company ("Walt Disney") of the United States on the injection of funds into their joint venture, the Hong Kong Disneyland ("the park"), for its expansion, and the Government is conducting a financial consultancy study in this respect. It has also been reported that Walt Disney has decided that the repayment period for the bank loan of about $2.3 billion, which was obtained when the park was developed, should be shortened from 15 years to one year, so as to reduce the interest expenses. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the latest progress of the above negotiation on the injection of funds;
| | (b) | of the scope of the above financial consultancy study, and when the recommendations of the study can be submitted to the relevant authorities;
| | (c) | of the party responsible for the early repayment of the above loan, and whether the arrangement for the early repayment of the loan will affect the shareholding ratio between the Government and Walt Disney; and
| | (d) | when the Government has to apply to this Council for funds for injection into the park and the early repayment of the above loan, what justifications the Government will put forth to seek this Council's approval of such funding proposals?
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| Public Officer to reply | : | Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
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*10. Hon Abraham SHEK to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that autistic children studying in ordinary schools are often bullied by their schoolmates. They are prone to feel isolated and helpless, and some even have developed a tendency to commit suicide. Although the schools concerned have taken positive steps to solve the problem, such children are still exposed to different degrees of verbal and physical abuses from time to time. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the current number of autistic children in Hong Kong, and how many of them are studying in ordinary schools;
| | (b) | how the authorities will strengthen the support to those autistic children who are bullied and discriminated against in schools and their parents, in order that such children can be accepted by their schoolmates and will grow up healthily; and
| | (c) | given that some students and their parents do not understand and accept autistic children, whether the authorities will consider organizing large-scale publicity and promotion campaigns to enhance public understanding of autistic children and foster the development of an inclusive culture in the community?
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| Public Officer to reply | : | Secretary for Education
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*11. Hon TSANG Yok-sing to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that currently, about 100 private independent kindergartens have applied for conversion to non-profit-making kindergartens but only 31 of them have converted successfully. According to the report, the authorities had indicated that the vetting and approving of applications from kindergartens for the grant of exemption from tax under section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112) would take eight weeks only. However, a kindergarten criticized that having submitted its application for 10 months, it had not yet converted successfully, which had seriously affected its enrolment exercise which commenced in November this year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it has plans to help kindergartens applying for conversion to non-profit-making kindergartens understand the relevant application procedures more clearly and to vet and approve such applications expeditiously; if it has, of its plans; if not, the reasons for that?
| Public Officer to reply | : | Secretary for Education
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*12. Hon Albert CHAN to ask: (Translation)
Recently, some members of the public have reflected to me that, on certain long-haul franchised bus routes, while they only need to pay section fares when boarding the bus at the end part of the bus journey, they have to pay full fares on the return journey even though they just ride for a short distance. As such, some passengers would rather spend time waiting for short-route buses which charge lower fares. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the respective numbers of existing long-haul franchised bus routes with and without section fares charged according to the distance travelled by the passengers ("distance-based section fares");
| | (b) | of the reasons for not providing distance-based section fares on some long-haul franchised bus routes; and
| | (c) | whether it will consider reviewing the existing policy and require distance-based section fares to be provided on all long-haul franchised bus routes, so that short-haul passengers need not pay full fares when travelling on such routes; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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| Public Officer to reply | : | Secretary for Transport and Housing
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*13. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)
According to the statistics released by the Census and Statistics Department on 22 November, the year-on-year increases in the prices of pork and beef in the Composite Consumer Price Index for October were 28.3% and 31.3% respectively. Moreover, Ng Fung Hong Limited raised the wholesale price of live pigs by 8% in late November, and there is pressure for beef prices to rise because of the unstable supply of live cattle to Hong Kong. I have learnt that rising fresh food prices have imposed a heavy burden on the grass roots. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
| (a) | of the measures in place to tackle the surge in fresh food prices;
| | (b) | whether they have assessed the impact of the sharp rise in fresh food prices on the grass roots; if so, of the assessment results; and
| | (c) | of the measures in place to ease the economic pressure arising from the rise in fresh food prices on the grass roots?
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| Public Officer to reply | : | Financial Secretary
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*14. Dr Hon David LI to ask:
Regarding mainland arrivals holding One-way Permits ("OWPs") under the daily quota of 150 persons, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the total number of arrivals who entered Hong Kong for settlement under the OWP Scheme between 1 January 2003 and the present;
| | (b) | whether it tracks the employment of arrivals under the OWP Scheme as a distinct group and, if so, how their unemployment rates for the past four quarters compare with the overall unemployment rates for the corresponding periods;
| | (c) | of the total number of arrivals under the OWP Scheme who enrolled in government-funded training and retraining programmes in the past five years; and
| | (d) | whether it has assessed the effectiveness of the various training and retraining programmes in assisting arrivals under the OWP Scheme in securing employment; if so, of the results?
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| Public Officer to reply | : | Secretary for Labour and Welfare
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*15. Hon SIN Chung-kai to ask: (Translation)
Will the Government inform this Council whether:
| (a) | any measures are in place to enhance and evaluate the information and technology ("IT") capability of the staff of various bureaux and departments; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
| | (b) | any mechanisms are in place to evaluate the progress in computerization, such as IT application and electronic delivery of services, of various bureaux and departments each year, and whether bureaux and departments will be required to submit reports on computerization on a regular basis; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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| Public Officer to reply | : | Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
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*16. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)
In reply to my question at the Council meeting on 2 November 2005, the authorities said that they had implemented improvement measures in respect of the service workflow of and staff communication skills in the maternal and child health centres ("MCHCs") of the Department of Health, and would strengthen the exchange of information with the Hospital Authority ("HA"). However, recently, I still received complaints from women who had just given birth that some MCHC staff were very rude and their work efficiency was low (e.g. some counter staff only responded to clients with scripted answers and spoke in a very impolite tone), and the service workflow was complicated and slow. Moreover, the women were required to fill in their particulars repeatedly and asked many times about related information on their giving birth in hospitals, which had subjected them to unnecessary pressure. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the number and main contents of cases of complaints against MCHCs received by the authorities in the past two years;
| | (b) | of the improvement measures implemented by the authorities in the past two years in respect of the operation and attitude of staff of MCHCs and their exchange of information with HA, etc.; and whether an assessment has been made to see if the above complaints reflect that such improvement measures are ineffective; if such an assessment has been made, of the results; and
| | (c) | whether the authorities will comprehensively review the overall management structure, operation and service workflow of MCHCs, and strengthen staff training and the exchange of information with HA, and even consider putting MCHCs under the management of HA, so as to deliver a truly woman and baby-oriented service?
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| Public Officer to reply | : | Secretary for Food and Health
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*17. Hon LAU Kong-wah to ask: (Translation)
Will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the number of cases of local infections of Staphylococcus aureus in the past two years and, among such cases, the percentage of those caused by drug-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, as well as the respective numbers of cases resulting in death and amputation for treatment reason;
| | (b) | whether the authorities have looked into the channels of infection for the aforesaid cases; among these cases, of the number and percentage of those cases in which infection was suspected to have taken place at beauty parlours or massage establishments; and
| | (c) | of the details of the hygiene guidelines on the prevention of Staphylococcus aureus infections issued to beauty parlours or massage establishments?
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| Public Officer to reply | : | Secretary for Food and Health
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*18. Hon Abraham SHEK to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that recently there were a number of fatal traffic accidents involving the use of mobile telephones by professional drivers at the time of accident. Furthermore, many taxi drivers offering fare discounts were found using several mobile telephones concurrently while driving to communicate with passengers who called to book a taxi, and when taking down the booking information, they did not hold the steering wheel with both hands, thus posing a threat to road safety. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the number of traffic accidents since January 2007 which involved professional drivers using mobile telephones when the accidents took place, together with a breakdown by the class of vehicles involved;
| | (b) | given that under the existing legislation, a driver must not use a mobile telephone while holding it in his hand or between his head and shoulder if a motor vehicle being driven by him is in motion, whether it will step up enforcement efforts to prosecute offending drivers; and
| | (c) | whether it will consider legislating for a total ban on the use of mobile telephone by professional drivers while driving; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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| Public Officer to reply | : | Secretary for Transport and Housing
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*19. Hon TSANG Yok-sing to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that a survey conducted by a concern group on animal rights and interests revealed that one out of every three respondents had bought pet dogs suffering from diseases such as Canine Distemper or skin diseases, etc., and they had to spend tens of thousands of dollars to cure such dogs. The concern group criticized the Government for not making sufficient efforts to monitor the sources of animals in pet shops. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
| (a) | currently there is legislation regulating the sources of animals (especially private animal breeding farms) for sale in pet shops; if there is, of the relevant legislation; if not, how it will step up the relevant monitoring work; and
| | (b) | it has plans to step up its efforts to combat activities to smuggle cats and dogs into Hong Kong; if it has, of the details of such plans; if not, the reasons for that?
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| Public Officer to reply | : | Secretary for Food and Health
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*20. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the assistance provided by the Government to low-income people, will the Government inform this Council whether:
| (a) | it has conducted a study to understand the impact of high inflation rate on low-income families; if it has, of the results of the study; and whether it will consider bringing in more food suppliers and assisting them in competing fairly with existing suppliers in the market, so as to help to curb inflation;
| | (b) | it has assessed the impact on low-income families when the Social Security Assistance Index of Prices fails to reflect the actual high inflation rate, and whether it will consider resuming the adoption of the method whereby the rates of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance payments are determined on the basis of the inflation forecast for the following year, and shortening the cycle for adjusting such rates from one year to six months;
| | (c) | it will waive public housing rents immediately, and waive the rates for the whole of the next financial year, and extend the rates concession to government rent to waive the government rent of the same quarter simultaneously, subject to a ceiling of $5,000 for both waivers for each tenement per quarter; and
| | (d) | it will consider immediately increasing the rate of disability allowance, as well as increasing the rate of transport allowance for low-income families, and providing these families with food grants?
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| Public Officer to reply | : | Secretary for Labour and Welfare
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*For written reply.
III. Bills
First Reading
| | 1. | Legislative Council (Amendment) Bill 2007
| | 2. | Prevention and Control of Disease Bill
| Second Reading (Debates to be adjourned)
| | 1. | Legislative Council (Amendment) Bill 2007 | : | Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs
| | 2. | Prevention and Control of Disease Bill | : | Secretary for Food and Health
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IV. Motions
- Proposed resolution under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance
Secretary for Food and Health to move the following motion:
RESOLVED that the following Regulations, made by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board on 22 November 2007, be approved -
| (a) | the Pharmacy and Poisons (Amendment)(No. 5) Regulation 2007; and
| | (b) | the Poisons List (Amendment)(No. 5) Regulation 2007.
| (The two Regulations were issued on 27 November 2007
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 183/07-08)
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- Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury to move the following motion:
RESOLVED that the Securities and Futures (Contracts Limits and Reportable Positions) (Amendment) (No. 2) Rules 2007, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 198 of 2007 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 31 October 2007, be amended, in section 2 -
| (a) | in the new section 4(7)(a) and (8), in the English text, by adding "holding or controlling" before "the excess";
| | (b) | in the new section 4(10) -
| | (i) | by repealing the definition of "specified contract" and substituting -
" "specified contract" (指明合約) means any of the following futures contracts or stock options contracts -
| | | (a) | Hang Seng Index futures and options contracts;
| | | (b) | Hang Seng China Enterprises Index futures contracts and options contracts;";
| | (ii) | by repealing the definition of "specified percentage" and substituting -
" "specified percentage" (指明百分率) means 50%.";
| | (c) | by repealing the new section 4(11).
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V. Members' Motions
- Motion for the adjournment of the Council
Dr Hon YEUNG Sum: (Translation)
That this Council do now adjourn for the purpose of discussing the Report by the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on the Public Consultation on Constitutional Development and on whether there is a need to amend the methods for selecting the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and for forming the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in 2012.
| Public Officers to attend | : | Secretary for Justice
Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs
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- Applying for the inscription of "Hong Kong style cafes culture" as "intangible cultural heritage of humanity"
Hon CHOY So-yuk: (Translation)
That, as Hong Kong style cafes are commonplace eateries which originated from Hong Kong, and with the mobility of population and spread of culture, Hong Kong style cafes are prevalent among the Chinese communities around the world, this Council urges the Government to recognize the unique local culture of such cafes, assign a designated department to compile an inventory as well as a database of "intangible cultural heritage", including Hong Kong style cafes, and actively pursue with the State's Ministry of Culture the application for the inscription of Hong Kong style cafes as "intangible cultural heritage of humanity" with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization; this will not only help promote and develop local culture, establish in the international community Hong Kong's positive image of preserving its local culture and boost the development of Hong Kong's tourism industry, but will also be conducive to enhancing the culture of such cafes and the catering business.
Amendment to motion
Hon Tommy CHEUNG: (Translation)
To add "and best reflect Hong Kong's culinary characteristics of blending the East and the West" after "originated from Hong Kong"; and to add "keep documentary records of the historical evolution of these cafes from 'tai pai dongs' and sorbet cafes to the present as well as the recipes for the traditional specialties of such cafes, endeavour to preserve culinary culture with special characteristics so as to enable it to pass on continuously," after "database of 'intangible cultural heritage', including Hong Kong style cafes,".
Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Home Affairs
- Establishing a geological park in the eastern part of the New Territories
Hon CHEUNG Hok-ming: (Translation)
That, as the eastern part of the New Territories has a unique geological environment but the SAR Government does not attach much importance to it, this Council urges the Government to put forward proactive conservation proposals and improve the planning of this area, so as to develop the eastern part of the New Territories into a geological park of conservation, science popularization and tourism value, as well as to make recommendation to the Central Government to strive for its grading as a national geological park and apply to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization for its listing as a world geological park.
Amendment to motion
Hon Audrey EU: (Translation)
To delete "improve the planning of this area, so as to develop" after "conservation proposals and" and substitute with "plan the area according to the principle of sustainable development and, taking into account the area's ecological carrying capacity and modelling on a marine park, develop"; and to delete "tourism" after "science popularization and" and substitute with "eco-tourism".
Amendment to Hon Audrey EU's amendment
Hon LI Kwok-ying: (Translation)
To add ", including protecting the unique, rare and spectacular geological features of the area and, in particular, safeguarding the stone columns and stone walls with rhyolitic columnar joints, which are found in Sai Kung but rare in the world, from being damaged in the future, the Government should request the Central Government to apply to the United Nations for listing the site as a World Natural Heritage Site" after "the principle of sustainable development".
Public Officer to attend : Secretary for the Environment
Clerk to the Legislative Council
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