A 08/09-21

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 11 March 2009 at 11:00 am

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
1.Tramway Ordinance (Alteration of Fares) (Amendment) Notice 200933/2009
2.Tramway Ordinance (Commencement of Alteration of Fares) Order 200934/2009
3.Prevention and Control of Disease Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 1) Notice 200935/2009

II. Questions

1. Hon WONG Yung-kan to ask: (Translation)

    At present, mariculturists affected by marine works projects in Hong Kong waters are eligible for ex-gratia allowances if one of the following two criteria is met: (a) the shortest water distance between the designated boundary of a sand dredging or mud disposal operation and the gazetted zone boundary of a fish culture zone ("FCZ") is five kilometres or less, or (b) the concentration of suspended solids in a FCZ reaches the prescribed levels (i.e. 100% more than the highest level recorded in the zone during the past five years or 50 milligrams per litre of sea water). Given that such eligibility criteria have not been revised since December 2000, will the Government inform this Council whether it will review the eligibility criteria, such as considering extending the shortest water distance to "15 kilometres or less" and lowering the prescribed concentration level of suspended solids; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

2. Hon CHEUNG Man-kwong to ask: (Translation)

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority ("HKMA") has been established for 16 years but its terms of reference, governance structure and matters relating to the appointment and removal of its management etc. have not yet been provided in a piece of legislation at present. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)given that the existing legislation has not provided for the tenure of office of the Chief Executive of HKMA and there are speculations in the community over the future move of the incumbent Chief Executive, whether the authorities have assessed if these uncertain factors have an adverse impact on the stability of the monetary and financial systems of Hong Kong;

    (b)since it has been reported that the remuneration arrangement for the Chief Executive of HKMA has all along been a subject of criticism, whether the authorities have any plan at present to change the arrangement so as to enhance the accountability of HKMA; and

    (c)whether the authorities have any plan at present to formulate a new piece of legislation to prescribe the status and organizational structure of HKMA, as well as to provide for the selection process, tenure of office, removal procedure and remuneration arrangement etc. of the Chief Executive of HKMA?
Public Officer to reply : The Financial Secretary

3. Hon IP Wai-ming to ask: (Translation)

To tie in with the implementation of Qualifications Framework ("QF"), the Education Bureau has so far assisted 12 industries in setting up the Industry Training Advisory Committees ("ITACs"), and the ITACs are to draw up Specifications of Competency Standards ("SCSs") for the respective industries. Moreover, the functions of the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications ("HKCAAVQ") include assessing the qualification levels of courses related to job-specific skills. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the total number of job-specific skills courses of various levels under QF assessed by HKCAAVQ since 1 October 2007 and, among them, the respective numbers of those which meet and do not meet SCSs of the respective industries;

    (b)whether it has assessed if the existence of some courses which do not meet SCSs of the respective industries will affect the work of the ITACs of the respective industries in drawing up SCSs; if it has, of the results; if it has not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)regarding the industries which have not yet drawn up SCSs, whether those courses whose levels have been assessed prior to the drawing up of SCSs will be affected (including whether these courses have to be re-assessed) when the ITACs concerned have finished drawing up SCSs; if so, of the details of the relevant arrangements; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education

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

There have been comments that there are problems with the conduct of quite a number of media organizations in recent years, which have far-reaching impact on the social trend and young people. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows if the number of complaints received by the authorities or the related organizations in the industry about the problems of printed and electronic media organizations' behaviour and conduct, as well as the number of cases of these organizations being penalized for such acts, had been on the rise in the past two years; and whether it had reviewed in the period if the existing measures were adequate for handling these complaints;

    (b)given that the dissemination of news and messages via the Internet is becoming more and more popular, whether the authorities have noticed if the situation of some media organizations adopting immoral practices to report and publish contents of messages (including texts, photographs and footages) is getting more and more serious; whether it had issued warnings to or instituted prosecutions against the media organizations concerned in the past two years; and

    (c)under the premise of respecting press freedom and protecting intellectual property rights, how the authorities monitor media organizations in exercising self-regulation to refrain from infringing on the intellectual property rights of others?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

5. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)

Last year, based on estimated increases in fuel prices, staff salaries, tunnel tolls and other operating costs, the Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited ("KMB") applied for increase in fare by 9% on average, and the Government subsequently approved a 4.5% increase. On the other hand, international crude oil prices have continued to fall since the fourth quarter of last year, and has remained at a low level of US$30 to US$40 per barrel recently. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the actual rate of increase in KMB's operating costs last year and the authorities' latest estimation of the change in such costs this year; whether the Government has assessed, having regard to factors such as the substantial drop in oil prices and rise in patronage during the economic downturn, if the fare increase approved by the authorities last year was too high; if it has, of the assessment results;

    (b)of the "supportable fare adjustment rate" calculated with the latest data; and as the Government has emphasized that the formula employed to calculate such adjustment does not operate as an automatic determinant of the bus fare adjustment outcome, whether the Government has assessed if it may take the initiative to activate the mechanism to demand KMB to reduce fares when the formula yields a negative result or when there is a reverse in the "basket of factors for consideration" (e.g. a substantial reduction in operating costs due to the drop in oil prices or a decrease in household income); and

    (c)in response to the substantial reduction in operating costs of bus companies as a result of the sustained low level of international oil prices, the anticipated increase in bus patronage due to the sustained economic downturn, as well as the falling trend in household income, whether the Government will take the initiative to demand KMB to lower fares, so as to assist the public in countering economic adversities?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

6. Hon Paul TSE to ask: (Translation)

During the Question and Answer Session of this Council on 15 January this year, the Chief Executive pointed out that the contribution of the tourism industry to the gross domestic product was less than 3%. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)what method and elements were used for computing the aforesaid percentage;

    (b)whether Hong Kong's method differs from that of other places (e.g. neighbouring places such as Macao, Singapore and Taiwan) and international organizations such as World Trade Organization; if so, of the differences?
Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

*7. Hon WONG Yuk-man to ask: (Translation)

Under the Deposit Protection Scheme and the Government's full guarantee measure implemented since October last year for customer deposits held in all authorized institutions in Hong Kong, deposits which are not protected include time deposits with a maturity exceeding five years, structured deposits, secured deposits, bearer instruments, offshore deposits and other financial products such as bonds, stocks, warrants, funds and insurance policies. The deposits of customers of integrated accounts who have applied for secured overdraft facility may not be protected, even if the amount of such facility is small. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority ("HKMA") has thus required banks to inform their customers in writing before 31 May 2009 which deposits are not protected. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the reasons for time deposits with a maturity exceeding five years not being protected;

    (b)of the reasons for stocks kept in banks not being protected;

    (c)what measures HKMA has to sanction banks which do not follow its guideline to issue notice before 31 May 2009 to their customers who are not under protection; and

    (d)whether it has assessed, in the event of a bank failure before 31 May 2009, if their customers who have applied for secured overdraft facility but have never received the aforesaid written notice will have their deposits protected?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

*8. Hon WONG Ting-kwong to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Bureau indicated that counterfeit Hong Kong banknotes with a total face value of over three million dollars were seized last year, and emphasized that there was no technology available on the Mainland "to produce counterfeit Hong Kong banknotes of such high quality", estimating that those counterfeit banknotes were most probably circulated into the Mainland through money exchanges in Hong Kong. In this regard, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective numbers of cases of counterfeit Hong Kong banknotes being seized by and reported by members of the public to the Police last year, as well as the number and major denominations of the counterfeit banknotes concerned;

    (b)of the level of the imitation skills in respect of the counterfeit Hong Kong banknotes seized last year, and whether the general public and banknote authentication devices can tell if they are counterfeit banknotes;

    (c)whether the Police has found out if it is true that counterfeit Hong Kong banknotes were circulated into the Mainland through money exchanges in Hong Kong; if it is true, whether the Police will step up monitoring the related money exchange activities in Hong Kong; if not, of the reasons for that; and

    (d)of the measures taken by the Police to monitor counterfeit Hong Kong banknotes activities, and the effectiveness of the collaborative efforts of the Police and the Guangdong Provincial Public Security Bureau in combating counterfeit banknotes activities?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

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

Quite a number of elderly care organizations and poor elderly people have all along been dissatisfied with the policy on burial service and the management of public columbaria in Hong Kong. They are especially concerned about the acute shortage of columbarium niches, the heavy burden of burial expenses and the management of Gardens of Remembrance where members of the public may scatter cremated ashes. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it has assessed the demand for columbarium niches in the coming 10 years and planned for the construction of columbaria strictly according to such demand, so as to resolve in the long run the problem of insufficient columbarium niches; if it has, of the relevant demand figures and plans for construction of columbaria;

    (b)whether it will provide incentives to attract undertakers to recommend to members of the public the use of eco-coffins and ways of burial which are cheaper and more environment friendly, so as to reduce the burden on poor elderly people and promote environmental protection; and

    (c)whether it has, having regard to the need and expectation of the public in Hong Kong, formulated rules and regulations on the management of Gardens of Remembrance and deployed dedicated personnel to manage them; if so, of the details of the relevant arrangements; if not, whether it will consider formulating the management rules and regulations, and increasing the manpower in this regard?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

*10. Hon Paul CHAN to ask: (Translation)

The Government injected $300 million into the Film Development Fund ("FDF") in 2007 to expand its scope to finance film productions with a production budget not exceeding $12 million, with the maximum contribution set at 30% of the production budget or $3.6 million. I have recently received complaints from members of the film sector pointing out that the FDF provides limited funding support for small-to-medium budget film productions on the conditions of cost recoupment and profit sharing. Such a measure has not only increased administrative and accounting work for small-to-medium film producers, but has also rendered the funding support to be of little benefit to the development of the film industry. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the total number of applications for funding support for film productions received by FDF since the Government's injection of fund in 2007, together with the production budget, amount of funding support, film title, name of production company and name of director, etc., in respect of each application; and for other film-related projects receiving funding support, the total amount of funding support approved, the number, as well as the contents and the categories of the projects;

    (b)whether it has estimated when the commitment of FDF will be used up, and whether it has plans to adjust the ceiling of funding support; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (c)whether it has completed the review on the effectiveness of FDF since the commencement of its operation, including whether it can help promote more film-related activities, increase employment opportunities in the industry, nurture film talents and enhance the overall image of Hong Kong; if so, of the details and whether it has sought the views of the film sector during the review process; if so, of the views; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (d)whether it will cancel the arrangement of profit sharing as a condition for funding support and retain only the requirement of cost recoupment, so as to reduce administrative and accounting work for applicants?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

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

Recently, there were media reports that the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs had allowed a Motor Driver, who had served him for a number of years but was not qualified for driving saloon cars for directors of bureaux, to act up in a Chauffeur post, which is at the next higher rank, so that the driver could continue to provide chauffeur service to him. The driver concerned receives an acting allowance of over $1,000 per month and has acted up in that post for as long as seven consecutive years. Under the existing regulations, acting appointments lasting or expected to last for longer than six months should be approved by the appropriate authority for substantive appointment, and the need for making acting arrangements should be reviewed on a regular basis. In addition, the Government Chauffeurs Union indicated that it had lodged complaints against the acting appointment for a number of times, but the Government had not taken heed of them. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)during the period when the driver was acting up in the Chauffeur post, whether the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau had made any request in writing or orally to the government department concerned for allowing the driver to continue to work in the post concerned; if so, of the details;

    (b)why the driver was allowed to act up for as long as seven years; how many reviews of the acting arrangement had been conducted by the authority for substantive appointment during the period; and of the decision made in each review; and

    (c)whether it has assessed if allowing the driver to act up on a long-term basis has hindered the promotion of other qualified drivers; if it has conducted such an assessment, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

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

To avoid the health of consumers being affected due to inappropriate use of prepackaged foods, the Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) Regulations (Cap. 132 sub. leg. W) provide that "Where special instructions are needed in order that appropriate use may be made of a prepackaged food, such instructions shall be legibly marked or labelled on the food". However, the labels on preparation method of certain brands of milk powder produced in Japan, which are on sale in Hong Kong, are in Japanese only. Furthermore, smoking points vary with different types of olive oils, and carcinogenic substances will be produced when products with low smoking points are cooked at a high temperature. Yet, relevant descriptions or instructions are not labelled on some of these products. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it has assessed if the aforesaid examples comply with the requirement of the above provision; if the assessment result is in the negative, of the reasons for that;

    (b)whether there was any food manufacturer or agent prosecuted in the past three years for selling prepackaged foods not in compliance with the requirement of the above provision; if so, of the number of such cases each year, and the penalties imposed on the convicted persons; and

    (c)how the Government monitors if the food manufacturers and agents concerned comply with the requirement of the above provision?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

*13. Hon Miriam LAU to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that the Hong Kong Shaolin Wushu Culture Centre ("Shaolin Centre"), which had once been very prosperous and attracted many lovers of martial arts and tourists from around the world to enrol and visit, lost its attraction before the Chinese New Year due to management problems. All the Shaolin monks who taught martial arts there have left, all martial arts classes have been suspended, and even the special vegetarian meal services which are very popular with tourists have nearly stopped. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)given that the Home Affairs Bureau's aim of supporting the development of the Shaolin Centre in Tai O a few years ago was to promote the culture and spirit of Chinese traditional Shaolin martial arts, and make it blend with the natural scenery of Tai O to become a unique tourist attraction, whether the authorities have kept in view and followed up the management and operation of the Shaolin Centre since its opening in 2006; if so, of the situation in this regard; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)whether the authorities will provide assistance to enable the Shaolin Centre to restore smooth operation, so as to continue to promote martial arts as well as foster the tourism and economy of Tai O; and

    (c)given that it has been reported that the Hong Kong Shaolin Temple is applying to the Government for allocation of a 50 000-square-metre site for the construction of a temple and a Shaolin park, which are of a scale comparable to the Shaolin Temple in Songshan, Henan Province, so as to provide opportunities for people to learn martial arts and practise meditation in Hong Kong, whether the authorities will equally support this plan actively in order to promote Shaolin martial art culture; if so, how they ensure the smooth implementation of the plan and prevent the recurrence of circumstances similar to the near paralysis of the operation of the Shaolin Centre?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

*14. Dr Hon David LI to ask:

In response to my question at the Council meeting of 24 October 2007, the Government advised that the site adjacent to the Sunny Bay MTR Station, which had earlier been designated for use as an "emergency vehicle holding area" for the Hong Kong Disneyland, had been returned to the Lands Department ("LandsD") in February 2007, and that LandsD planned to let the site by short-term tenancies at full market rental. To date, the site remains unused. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the current status of the site;

    (b)whether the proposed use of the site mentioned in the said response has encountered any opposition and, if so, of the nature of the objections; and

    (c)of the timetable for achieving market rental for the site?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

*15. Dr Hon Priscilla LEUNG to ask: (Translation)

The latest seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate has risen to 4.6% and the number of unemployed persons has also exceeded 150 000. It has been reported that the unemployment rate might reach 6% by the end of the year, with the Financial Secretary ("FS") recently not ruling out the possibility of the unemployment rate rising to 8%. There have been comments that in his Budget Speech delivered on 25 February, FS had not proposed any new measure which would provide real assistance to the unemployed to undergo training and switch occupation. Instead, he only indicated that he would earmark $400 million non-recurrent funding for the Labour Department to enhance and integrate its various employment programmes at present. Moreover, applications for subsidy under the Continuing Education Fund are not restricted to unemployed persons and the subsidy has been capped at $10,000, while the target group of the Employees Retraining Board ("ERB") is limited to people with education attainments of sub-degree or below, resulting in the middle-class or the professionals with higher education attainments being unable to benefit from its services when they become unemployed. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether at present it has any specific programme to assist the middle-class people who have become unemployed after the onset of the financial tsunami to switch occupation;

    (b)whether it will consider setting up an "interest-free loan fund for occupation switching" specifically for unemployed persons to apply, so as to finance them to take occupational value-added or occupation switching courses organized by tertiary institutions or training organizations according to their professions;

    (c)whether it will consider expanding the target group of ERB to include unemployed persons with any education attainments; and

    (d)of the principles adopted by the authorities for deciding which new occupation areas unemployed persons should switch to before providing them with retraining?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

*16. Hon WONG Sing-chi to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that during the period from April 2006 to August 2008, the Hospital Authority received 39 reports of wrong intake of medicines by elderly residents in residential care homes for the elderly ("RCHEs") and, among them, three elderly residents passed away allegedly because of this. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of reports received in each of the past three years of medicines being dispensed wrongly at RCHEs; whether it had carried out investigations into such incidents occurring in private and government-aided RCHEs respectively; if so, of the respective details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)whether it will step up regulation on private and government-aided RCHEs respectively and require that they must comply with the relevant stipulations in the Code of Practice for Residential Care Homes (Elderly Persons) when dispensing medicines; if so, of the respective details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether it will consider increasing the subventions granted to private and government-aided RCHEs respectively, so as to minimize the incidents of medicines being dispensed wrongly which are caused by insufficient manpower in the institutions; if so, of the respective details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

*17. Hon KAM Nai-wai to ask: (Translation)

The Cycling Study Final Report, which was published by the Transport Department in 2004, pointed out that any proposals to expand the role of cycling in the urban areas of Hong Kong and Kowloon must first remedy the very vulnerable condition of cyclists in these areas which arose due to factors such as high traffic flows and speeds on many roads. On the other hand, there are very few cycle tracks on Hong Kong Island, and also the Government has no plan to construct cycle tracks on the Island at present. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)apart from confirming to study the provision of cycling facilities along the Hong Kong Island East harbourfront for leisure and recreational purposes, whether it will expeditiously study the feasibility of constructing cycle tracks along other harbourfront areas on Hong Kong Island;

    (b)of the criteria and mechanism the authorities will adopt for considering the priorities of various proposals to construct cycle tracks in various locations in urban areas, when the proposals are received at the same time; and

    (c)how various government departments will complement the intentions of District Councils to use the funds for district minor works projects programme to construct harbourfront cycle tracks, so as to achieve optimum use of resources?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

*18. Dr Hon LAM Tai-fai to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the Secretary for Home Affairs' reply on 11 February this year to my question on soccer development in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the commencement and expected completion dates of the consultancy study to examine the similarities and differences of soccer development in Hong Kong and in neighbouring regions; whether it will report to this Council the contents and major areas of the study;

    (b)whether it has assessed if the situation of the continuous drop of Hong Kong men's football team in the world ranking of the Fédération Internationale de Football Association from being 119th in 2003 to 152nd this year will seriously affect the image of the Hong Kong sports sector; if it will, of the solutions to restore the image of the Hong Kong sports sector; if not, the reasons for that;

    (c)whether it knows the total ticket sales of the first division soccer matches (League and Cup) in each of the three seasons between 2005 and 2008;

    (d)whether it has assessed how the Mong Kok Stadium, upon completion of the improvement works, can assist in promoting soccer development; whether the Government and the Hong Kong Football Association have any detailed plan in place in this regard; if so, of the contents of the plan; whether it has assessed the attendances per season for the first division soccer matches to be held at the Mong Kok Stadium upon completion of the improvement works; if it has, of the assessment result and the criteria adopted; if not, the reasons for not carrying out such an assessment;

    (e)given that the Government said that upon completion of the improvement works, the Mong Kok Stadium would provide a finer sports activity venue for Hong Kong to assist in promoting the development of soccer on the one hand and, on the other hand, to stage more large-scale community activities, of the percentage of these two types of activities to be held at the venue as estimated by the Government, as well as what events of these two types are planned to be held respectively;

    (f)whether it knows the number of matches and attendances of the first division soccer matches (League and Cup) held at the Hong Kong Stadium in each of the previous three seasons; and

    (g)given that soccer is one of the sports events funded by the Sports Subvention Scheme administered by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, whether the Government had reviewed in the past two years the effectiveness of the scheme in promoting soccer development; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

*19. Hon Starry LEE to ask: (Translation)

It is learnt that parts of the related works of quite a number of major infrastructural projects (including the Kai Tak Development, Central Kowloon Route and Shatin to Central Link) will commence consecutively in the To Kwa Wan and Ma Tau Kok districts. As the project sites concerned are in close proximity to residential areas and the works will involve reclamation, it is anticipated that a large number of dump trucks will enter and leave the districts during the construction period, and that the noise and air pollution problems arising from the works will have great impact on the residents of Grand Waterfront and Wyler Gardens, as well as the schools and the residential area nearby. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the measures the authorities will put in place to mitigate the noise problem arising from the works;

    (b)whether it knows the average daily number of works vehicles entering and leaving the sites concerned during the construction period of the works concerned; and whether diversion of traffic is necessary to facilitate the construction works; if so, of the details; and

    (c)whether it is necessary to relocate the bus terminus at Kowloon City Ferry Pier to facilitate the construction works; if so, which bus routes will be affected and when the diversion of the bus routes will be implemented?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

*20. Hon CHEUNG Kwok-che to ask: (Translation)

Some local organizations have repeatedly relayed to me that the Government has underestimated the number of street sleepers in Hong Kong and the situation of insufficient residential places for them. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)how the authorities will improve the existing information system for collecting statistics on street sleepers in Hong Kong;

    (b)of the average number of registered street sleepers each month from February 2008 to January this year, and whether this number had risen as compared to that of the preceding 12 months;

    (c)whether it knows the specified time restriction on stay of the residential places currently provided to street sleepers by various non-government organizations (including the three street sleepers' shelters operated by Street Sleepers' Shelter Society Trustees Incorporated), and whether it has looked into the situation of street sleepers staying beyond the specified time restriction on stay; if it has, of the details;

    (d)of the time normally taken by the Social Welfare Department ("SWD") to vet and approve street sleepers' applications for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance;

    (e)whether there are street sleepers receiving assistance from charitable/trust funds administered by SWD (including Li Po Chun Charitable Trust Fund, Tang Shiu Kin & Ho Tim Charitable Fund, Kwan Fong Trust Fund for the Needy and Brewin Trust Fund); if so, of the details; and

    (f)of the operations, in terms of funding, materials and the residential services provided, of the three Integrated Services Teams for Street Sleepers subvented by SWD last year?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

* For written reply

III. Motions

1.Proposed resolution under the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance

Secretary for Security to move the following motion:

RESOLVED that the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (Indonesia) Order, made by the Chief Executive in Council on 11 November 2008, be approved.

(The Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (Indonesia) Order
was issued on 21 November 2008 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 165/08-09)

2.Proposed resolution under the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance

Secretary for Security to move the following motion:

RESOLVED that the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (Japan) Order, made by the Chief Executive in Council on 11 November 2008, be approved.

(The Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (Japan) Order
was issued on 21 November 2008 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 165/08-09)

3.Proposed resolution under the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance

Secretary for Security to move the following motion:

RESOLVED that the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (Sri Lanka) Order, made by the Chief Executive in Council on 11 November 2008, be approved.

(The Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (Sri Lanka) Order
was issued on 21 November 2008 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 165/08-09)

IV. Members' Motions
  1. Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

    Dr Hon Samson TAM to move the following motion:

    RESOLVED that in relation to the-

    (a)Telecommunications (Designation of Frequency Bands subject to Payment of Spectrum Utilization Fee) (Amendment) Order 2009, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 20 of 2009;

    (b)Telecommunications (Level of Spectrum Utilization Fees) (Second Generation Mobile Services) (Amendment) Regulation 2009, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 21 of 2009; and

    (c)Telecommunications (Determining Spectrum Utilization Fees by Auction) (Amendment) Regulation 2009, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 22 of 2009,

    and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 11 February 2009, the period for amending subsidiary legislation referred to in section 34(2) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap. 1) be extended under section 34(4) of that Ordinance to the meeting of 1 April 2009.

  2. Promoting medical check-up for the whole community

    Hon CHAN Kin-por: (Translation)

    That, as the population of Hong Kong is ageing, which will exert great pressure on the healthcare system, yet the general public often neglect the importance of undergoing regular medical check-up and do not seek medical consultation until their clinical conditions have worsened, which will not only affect their chance of being cured, but also substantially increase the public healthcare expenditure; this Council urges the Government to comprehensively plan afresh policies on prevention of non-communicable diseases and health promotion, including:

    (a)expeditiously studying the provision of regular basic medical check-ups for Hong Kong residents gradually and systematically, so as to prevent diseases through early diagnosis and treatment;

    (b)at the same time, formulating suitable medical check-up plans for different high-risk groups; and

    (c)promoting healthy living and health education to encourage the public on all fronts to do more exercise, so as to enable Hong Kong to develop into a genuinely healthy city.

    Amendments to the motion
    (i)Hon CHAN Hak-kan: (Translation)

    To delete "as the population of Hong Kong is ageing" after "That," and substitute with "with the ageing of the Hong Kong population"; to delete "great" after "which will exert" and substitute with "even greater"; to delete "gradually and" after "Hong Kong residents"; and to add "through such means as medical check-up vouchers or other financial incentives" after "systematically".

    (ii)Hon WONG Kwok-hing: (Translation)

    To delete ", as the population of Hong Kong is ageing, which" after "That" and substitute with "the Hong Kong Population Projections 2004-2033 released by the Government in 2004 anticipated that the population aged 65 and over in Hong Kong would rise to 27% in 2033, the serious ageing of the population"; to add "and subsidizing the poor to undergo medical check-ups," after "systematically,"; to delete "and" after "high-risk groups;"; and to add "increasing the quotas at the elderly health centres to provide medical check-up, health assessment, counselling and health education services to more elderly persons at low fees, so that elderly patients can receive appropriate treatment expeditiously; and (d)" after "(c)".

    (iii)Dr Hon LEUNG Ka-lau: (Translation)

    To delete "the population of Hong Kong is ageing, which will exert great pressure on the healthcare system, yet" after "That, as"; to delete "their chance of being cured" after "which will not only affect" and substitute with "the curative effects"; to delete "public" after "but also substantially increase the"; to delete "non-communicable" after "prevention of"; to add "and promote healthy living and health education to encourage the public on all fronts to do more exercise so as to enable Hong Kong to develop into a genuinely healthy city, as well as immediately launch a screening programme for common diseases," after "health promotion,"; and to delete "expeditiously studying the provision of regular basic medical check-ups for Hong Kong residents gradually and systematically, so as to prevent diseases through early diagnosis and treatment; (b) at the same time, formulating suitable medical check-up plans for different high-risk groups; and (c) promoting healthy living and health education to encourage the public on all fronts to do more exercise, so as to enable Hong Kong to develop into a genuinely healthy city" after "(a)" and substitute with "high blood pressure, diabetic and cholesterol tests; (b) fecal occult blood test; (c) breast examination and Pap smear test; (d) Hepatitis B test; (e) optometry examination; and (f) extending dental care to pre-school children, secondary students and the elderly".

    (iv)Hon Albert CHAN: (Translation)

    To add "providing free and comprehensive medical check-up services to the grassroots; (b)" after "(a)"; to delete the original "(b)" and substitute with "(c)"; and to delete the original "(c)" and substitute with "(d)".

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Food and Health

  3. Reviewing the Interception of Communications and Surveillance Ordinance

    Hon Cyd HO: (Translation)

    That, as the report released by the Commissioner on Interception of Communications and Surveillance in June 2008 has revealed that currently there are many malpractices in the enforcement actions of the law enforcement agencies, this Council urges the Government to immediately review the Interception of Communications and Surveillance Ordinance.

    Amendments to the motion
    (i)Hon LAU Kong-wah: (Translation)

    To delete "as the report" after "That," and substitute with "the reports"; to add "June 2007 and" after "Surveillance in"; to delete "has" after "June 2008" and substitute with "have"; to add "arousing public concern," after "agencies,"; to add ", in the light of the various recommendations mentioned in the two annual reports by the Commissioner, expeditiously adopt measures to comprehensively review the existing code of practice under the Interception of Communications and Surveillance Ordinance and make appropriate amendments thereto; in addition, the Government should strive to improve the attitude of law enforcement officers in taking law enforcement actions, enhance their understanding of the Interception of Communications and Surveillance Ordinance, and honour its undertaking to" after "the Government to"; and to add "after the Commissioner has submitted the second full-year report" immediately before the full stop.

    (ii)Hon James TO: (Translation)

    To delete "report" after "as the" and substitute with "reports"; to add "June 2007 and" after "Surveillance in"; to delete "has" after "June 2008" and substitute with "have"; and to add ", comprehensively improve the mechanisms and procedures for supervising the interception of communications and covert surveillance, as well as consider introducing a change whereby officers independent of the Hong Kong Police Force and the Independent Commission Against Corruption are responsible for interception of communications, so as to prevent law enforcement officers from abusing their powers and protect the rights of the people; and expeditiously table the 2008 annual report by the Commissioner on Interception of Communications and Surveillance in the Legislative Council and release it to the public after receiving it" immediately before the full stop.

    (iii)Hon LEUNG Kwok-hung: (Translation)

    To add ", and with regard to the lack of existing legislation to regulate law enforcement agencies permanently keeping information about individuals/organizations collected by intercepting communications under the pretext of 'intelligence', restrict such practice by enacting legislation so as to protect the privacy of the people and prevent the Government from abusing its power" immediately before the full stop.

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Security


Clerk to the Legislative Council