A 08/09-23

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 1 April 2009 at 11:00 am and
Thursday 2 April 2009 at 9:00 am

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
1.Building (Minor Works) Regulation51/2009
2.Addiction Treatment Centre (Consolidation) (Amendment) Order 200952/2009
3.Detention Centre (Consolidation) (Amendment) Order 200953/2009
4.Prisons (Amendment) Order 200954/2009
5.Rehabilitation Centres (Appointment) (Amendment) Order 200955/2009
6.Training Centre (Consolidation) (Amendment) Declaration 200956/2009
7.Education Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 3) Notice 200957/2009

Other Papers

1.No. 77-The Financial Reporting Council Annual Report 2008
(to be presented by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury)

2.No. 78-Audited Statement of Accounts together with the Director of Audit's Report of the Hong Kong Rotary Club Students' Loan Fund for the year ended 31 August 2008
(to be presented by the Secretary for Education)

3.No. 79-Audited Statement of Accounts together with the Director of Audit's Report of the Sing Tao Foundation Students' Loan Fund for the year ended 31 August 2008
(to be presented by the Secretary for Education)

II. Questions for Written Replies

1. Dr Hon PAN Pey-chyou to ask: (Translation)

In connection with the recent spate of medicine incidents, resulting in the Hospital Authority ("HA") having to arrange for cessation of use and replacement of the questionable medicines concerned, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it will consider amending the content of GMP to require that each batch of oral medicine must be tested and proved to be free from bacteria or other contaminants before it leaves the factory;

    (b)whether it knows the amount of expenditure incurred by HA on the cessation of use and replacement of such questionable medicines, and whether it will claim compensation from the pharmaceutical manufacturers concerned;

    (c)whether it knows if HA chose to use the medicines of such pharmaceutical manufacturers because the selling prices were the lowest, and whether HA had looked into the reasons for the low selling prices for medicines before making the decision to use them; and

    (d)given the spate of medicine incidents involving pharmaceutical manufacturers with GMP certification, whether the Government has assessed if there is any negligence or dereliction of duty on the part of the staff responsible for regulating medicines?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

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

Regarding work-related injuries and occupational diseases of massage and acupressure practitioners, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows the number of cases of massage and acupressure practitioners seeking medical consultation in public hospitals due to work-related injuries in each of the past three years (with a breakdown by the type of work-related injury) and, among them, the number of cases of those who sought medical consultation being diagnosed to be suffering from musculoskeletal disorders or repetitive strain injury caused by work;

    (b)of the number of cases of claims relating to work-related injuries or occupational diseases being filed by employees who are engaged in massage and acupressure work with the Employees' Compensation Division of the Labour Department in each of the past three years, the types of work-related injuries or occupational diseases involved and, among them, the number of cases involving musculoskeletal disorders or repetitive strain injury caused by work; and

    (c)of the number of cases of employees suffering from musculoskeletal disorders or repetitive strain injury owing to massage and acupressure work seeking medical consultation from the Occupational Health Clinics of the Labour Department in each of the past three years (with a breakdown by the gender and the age group to which they belonged) and, among them, the number of cases in which the people who sought medical consultation were diagnosed to be suffering from the occupational diseases defined in the Employees' Compensation Ordinance (Cap. 282)?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

3. Hon Alan LEONG to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that the valued pieces of calligraphy painted at various places in Kowloon by the late Mr Tsang Tsou-choi, who is known as "the King of Kowloon", have become part of the collective memory of the people of Hong Kong, and hence have considerable conservation value. However, some residents of Kowloon East recently found that some of those valued pieces of calligraphy in Kai Yip Estate, Kowloon Bay, Tsui Ping Estate and Yue Man Square in Kwun Tong have been damaged, while exposure to wind and rain has faded some others. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the authorities have adopted specific conservation measures to preserve the valued pieces of calligraphy of Mr Tsang; if so, of the details of the measures; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (b)given that a valued piece of calligraphy of Mr Tsang on a concrete pillar opposite the Star Ferry Pier in Tsim Sha Tsui has become a distinctive tourist attraction after the authorities have encased it using a fibreglass panel and fixed a metal plaque on the ground to provide explanation, whether the authorities will make reference and properly conserve the valued pieces of calligraphy of Mr Tsang Tsou-choi in other places in this way; if not, of the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

4. Hon IP Kwok-him to ask: (Translation)

Members of District Councils ("DCs") are representatives of public opinions at district level. Through contacts with residents of the districts to which they belong, DC members understand and gauge public views on the governance of the Government, and reflecting public opinions is the focus of their work. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the current number of DC members who are members of advisory and statutory bodies; and

    (b)whether it has any plan to appoint all DC members as members of advisory and statutory bodies; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

5. Hon Tanya CHAN to ask: (Translation)

At its meeting on 13 February 2009, the Metro Planning Committee ("Committee") under the Town Planning Board approved an application filed by the owner of QRE Plaza, which is located at No. 196-206 Queen's Road East, Wan Chai, to rezone the site on the relevant Outline Zoning Plan ("OZP") where the aforesaid property is located from open space to commercial use, so as to reflect the existing use of that site. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it has assessed if the Committee's consent to the amendment to the planned use based on the existing use of the site is an isolated case or implies that the Committee has already changed the criteria it adopts for vetting and approving amendments to the planned use of sites;

    (b)of the current number of sites in Hong Kong the existing use of which is not consistent with the planned use as set out in the relevant OZP, as well as the relevant details; and

    (c)whether it will consider requesting the owners of the sites mentioned in (b) to apply to the Committee for amendment to the planned use of the sites concerned in accordance with the existing use, and whether the Government will review all the OZPs of Hong Kong after the amendments concerned are made; if so, of the details; if not, how the Government will deal with the problem of discrepancies between existing land use and planned land use?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

6. Hon Abraham SHEK to ask: (Translation)

The Department of Health introduced the Influenza Vaccination Subsidy Scheme ("IVSS") in November last year. It has been reported that up to the end of January this year, a total of 85 000 children had received influenza vaccinations, accounting for only 28% of the 300 000 eligible children. Moreover, a survey revealed that 41% of the parents interviewed did not know how to use the services under IVSS, 30% considered it unnecessary for their children to get vaccinated, and quite a number of parents did not let their children receive vaccination because they were concerned about the side effects of the vaccine. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it will continue to implement IVSS which ended on 31 March this year, given that the Secretary for Food and Health has pointed out that the influenza seasons are January to April and July to August this year, and that the coverage of IVSS is on the low side; if it will not, of the reasons for that; if it will, the details of that, and whether it will consider providing free vaccinations in public hospitals or public out-patient clinics, or sending personnel to schools to administer free vaccinations to children; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
    Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

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

    I often receive complaints from elderly people and organizations pointing out that the current acute shortfall in the supply of subsidized care and attention places for the elderly ("C&A places") has resulted in rather long waiting time for such places. On the other hand, as the quality of the services provided by private residential care homes for the elderly ("RCHEs") varied, they are not well received by the elderly people and hence the occupancy rates of such RCHEs are persistently on the low side. Those elderly people and organizations have also pointed out that the Government's faulty planning policy on care services of RCHEs has led to "collusion between business and the Government" and "transfer of benefits". In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
      (a)of the respective average waiting time of elderly people currently living in the community and private RCHEs for subsidized C&A places, broken down by District Council districts (excluding cases of elderly people waiting for admission to homes of their choice and cases of those being given priority allocation on grounds of special circumstances);

      (b)of the current respective numbers of elderly people who choose to wait for admission to the Chi Lin Nunnery Chi Lin Care and Attention Home in Wong Tai Sin, the Hong Kong Chinese Women's Club Madam Wong Chan Sook Ying Memorial Care and Attention Home for the Aged in Kwun Tong and the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Li Ka Shing Care and Attention Home for the Elderly in Sham Shui Po (excluding elderly people who are given priority allocation on grounds of special circumstances), and the average waiting time for admission to each of the RCHEs;

      (c)of the respective numbers of elderly people in each of the past five years who died while waiting for the Enhanced Bought Place Scheme ("EBPS") places and other subsidized C&A places;

      (d)among the 650 additional subsidized residential care places to be provided in the current financial year, of the respective numbers of those to be provided by non-governmental organizations ("NGOs") as well as EBPS places, and whether the Labour and Welfare Bureau, the Social Welfare Department and the Elderly Commission ("EC"), especially EC members who are operating private RCHEs, have jointly planned for the number of places to be allocated to these two types of homes;

      (e)whether the Government will immediately redirect the additional funding to be allocated to EBPS to C&A places provided by subvented and contract RCHEs so as to shorten the waiting time for these places; if so, when it will implement this arrangement; if not, of the reasons for that, and whether it has assessed if the provision of additional resources to EBPS every year involves "collusion between business and the Government" and "transfer of benefits"; if so, of the assessment results; and

      (f)whether the Government will consider granting sites in the next three years for constructing detached buildings to be used by NGOs for operating subsidized RCHEs; and whether it will consider allocating funds to fully subsidize RCHEs currently located in detached buildings to build additional storeys so as to optimize the use of land, increase the number of subsidized C&A places and create employment opportunities; if it will grant such sites and funding, when it will implement the plans concerned; if not, of the reasons for that?
    Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

    8. Hon Mrs Regina IP to ask:     (Translation)

    After meeting the leaders of Guangdong Province on 3 March this year in Beijing, the Chief Executive indicated that the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Guangdong Provincial Government had agreed to jointly plan for a development zone at the Lok Ma Chau Loop ("the Loop"), primarily for higher education and secondarily for research and development of new high technologies and creative industries. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
      (a)of the Government's specific ideas at present and suggestions received from various universities for implementing the aforesaid plan;

      (b)whether it has plans to develop higher education at the Loop using a corporate management approach, and offer university programmes with the Mainland and Asian markets as the target to admit a large number of students from these areas, so as to increase the revenue of local universities and enhance their world ranking; and

      (c)given that only 14 500 first-year first-degree places are funded by the University Grants Committee each year, meaning that only 18% of those in the appropriate age group can be enrolled, whether the Government will make use of the aforesaid plan to increase the opportunities for local students to receive university education and improve the quality of tertiary education?
    Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education

    9. Hon Paul CHAN to ask:     (Translation)

    After the meeting of the Task Force on Economic Challenges held in January this year, the Chief Executive indicated that if organizations which were interested in the vacant government sites available for short-term use had good proposals, they could contact the District Officers concerned for follow-up and coordination. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
      (a)of the number of applications for the lease of vacant government sites received from organizations since January this year, together with the content of the applications, the community projects for which the sites are to be used, the estimated expenditure, the number of employment places to be created and the anticipated economic benefit; when the first vacant government site is expected to be granted the earliest, and when the site concerned will be available for use;

      (b)of the criteria for vetting and approving such applications; and

      (c)given that the Government indicated in its reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on 25 February this year that the Lands Department had adopted a simplified procedure to process the applications received, of the reduction in the average time needed to vet and approve such applications?
    Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

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

    On 26 January 2005, I raised a question on the problems of soya product factories causing serious pollution to the streams in the Northwest New Territories and emitting stenches, and the Environmental Protection Department ("EPD") explained the enforcement efforts made in this regard. Several years have past but there are still residents relaying to me that despite their repeated complaints made to EPD relating to the problem concerned, the situation has not yet improved. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
      (a)of the operating licences such soya product factories located in the vicinity of streams are required to obtain;

      (b)how the existing legislation and measures regulate illegal sewage discharges from such factories;

      (c)apart from carrying out prolonged night-time ambush operations, of the measures the Government has put in place to tackle illegal sewage discharges from such factories late at night;

      (d)of the number of prosecutions instituted in each of the past three years against owners of such factories for causing pollution to streams; and

      (e)of the actions taken by EPD against the soya product factories concerned relating to the aforesaid problems since I raised the aforesaid question?
    Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment

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

    Regarding the development of warehouses for red wine, will the Government inform this Council whether:
      (a)it knows the types of buildings being used as warehouses for red wine, as well as the demand and supply of such warehouses;

      (b)it knows the number of factory building units converted into warehouses for red wine in each of the past three years, as well as the current percentage of such warehouses in the total number of warehouses for red wine in Hong Kong; and

      (c)it will examine ways to assist the development of warehouses for red wine, including whether it will consider waiving the land premium chargeable for conversion of factory building units into warehouses for red wine; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
    Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

    12. Ir Dr Hon Raymond HO to ask:

    It is learnt that some entrances/exits of the Mass Transit Railway ("MTR") stations are not equipped with lifts or escalators connecting the concourse level, which cause considerable inconvenience to the elderly and particularly the physically handicapped. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
      (a)the current number and percentage of MTR entrances/exits which are not equipped with lifts, stair lifts or escalators connecting the concourse level;

      (b)the average monthly number of times the stair lifts were used by wheelchair users at MTR stations in each of the past two years; and

      (c)if the MTR Corporation Limited has formulated any specific plan to improve the accessibility of the entrances/exits of MTR stations which are currently not equipped with lifts or escalators?
    Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

    13. Hon Paul TSE to ask:     (Translation)

    I have learnt that recently some foreign travellers complained about being deceived. They said that upon their arrival at the Hong Kong International Airport, someone who claimed to be a driver from the hotel in which they intended to stay drove them, in a car suspected to be a bogus hotel saloon, to the vicinity of the hotel, and then demanded excessively high fares from them. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
      (a)whether it knows if the Airport Authority Hong Kong and the Police have received similar complaints since last year; if so, of the total number of such cases, as well as the progress of the investigations concerned; and

      (b)what measures are in place to prevent a recurrence of such incidents; whether it will take measures shortly to raise the alertness of travellers, so as to avoid them from being deceived?
    Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

    14. Hon Albert CHAN to ask:     (Translation)

    In reply to my question raised on 17 December 2008 regarding cases of non-urgent conditions for specialist out-patient ("SOP") services at public hospitals, the Government only provided information on the waiting time for first appointment of new cases, and stated that such waiting time was not applicable to existing cases as the dates for follow-up consultation for these cases were arranged by doctors. Yet, I have received complaints from quite a number of members of the public that a remote date for follow-up SOP consultation was arranged for them. They are worried that their clinical conditions will worsen due to the lack of timely treatment over a prolonged period. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
      (a)in respect of existing cases of each SOP service, the average duration between the dates of follow-up consultations last year and the dates for the next consultations, as well as the number of existing cases as at the end of last year, broken down by the duration (i.e. less than one year, one year to less than two years, two years to less than three years, and three years or above) between the date of the last follow-up consultation and the date for the next;

      (b)in respect of existing cases of each SOP service at present, the longest duration between the date of the last follow-up consultation and the date for the next; and

      (c)whether the Hospital Authority will take any measure to improve the situation of existing SOP cases having to wait for a long time for follow-up consultation; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
    Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

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

    I have recently received complaints from residents of Prosperous Garden in Yau Ma Tei, pointing out that at present, the road traffic noise and exhaust gases generated from the heavy vehicle flows on the several elevated roads on the west side of their estate have caused serious nuisance to their daily life. In addition, as the Western Tunnel Portal of the Central Kowloon Route which the Government is planning to construct will be located on the west side of the estate, they worry that the nuisances caused to them may worsen in the future. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
      (a)of the number of relevant complaints received by the authorities from the estate's residents in the past three years and their main content; and

      (b)what criteria are adopted by the authorities at present in considering the installation of noise barriers on road sections which are close to residential buildings; how many road sections in Hong Kong are not installed with noise barriers even though they meet such criteria; and whether they include the section of Gascoigne Road Flyover near Ferry Street, which is adjacent to the estate?
    Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment

    16. Hon Audrey EU to ask:     (Translation)

    It has been reported that upon completion of the rehabilitation works for Shek O Quarry ("SOQ") in December this year, the Government plans to develop the quarry into a water sports centre and construct artificial nesting sites to provide a habitat for peregrine falcons. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
      (a)the latest progress and total expenditure of the SOQ rehabilitation works;

      (b)what benefits in conservation are expected of the artificial nesting sites; and

      (c)the planning and operational arrangements for the water sports centre, as well as details of the relevant tourism and transportation support plans?
    Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

    17. Dr Hon Joseph LEE to ask:     (Translation)

    It is learnt that the inflow of spurious pharmaceutical products into the market of Hong Kong occurs from time to time, and that taking spurious pharmaceutical products not only denies the patients appropriate treatment, but more seriously, it may also cause lowered immunity, permanent damage to organs or even death. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
      (a)of the respective quantities of various pharmaceutical products involved in detected cases of manufacturing, importing, exporting and selling spurious pharmaceutical products in each of the past five years, as well as the penalty imposed for each convicted case;

      (b)whether it knows the number of cases, in each of the past five years, of members of the public receiving treatment in public hospitals for disorders after taking spurious pharmaceutical products and, among such cases, the number of those resulting in deaths;

      (c)whether it had assessed in the past two years if the existing monitoring system can effectively combat the sale and import activities of spurious pharmaceutical products; if it had, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

      (d)whether it has considered increasing the penalties for manufacturing, selling and importing spurious pharmaceutical products, so as to strengthen their deterrent effect; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
    Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

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

    The Government permitted the provision of obnoxious facilities such as sewage treatment works and concrete batching plant many years ago in areas along Tin Wan Praya Road, which were far away from residential buildings, so that the pollution caused by these facilities would not affect the residents nearby. Yet, with the completion of major residential estates one after another in the area, such as Wah Kwai Estate, Ka Lung Court and South Horizons, these facilities are still in operation. Moreover, the MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL") also plans to use a piece of land in that area which is the closest to the residential buildings as a works area for supporting a rail project, so that the earth removed from tunnel excavation can be shipped away. In addition, the Government recently indicated that after the aforesaid concrete batching plant ceased operation on the 31st of March this year, it intended to lease the site through open tender for continued use as a concrete batching plant; furthermore, works to be conducted for the sewage treatment works to complement the Harbour Area Treatment Scheme are in the pipeline. As a result, the number of obnoxious facilities in that area will likely increase instead of decrease. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
      (a)of the respective uses of the various existing buildings and sites under planning at Tin Wan Praya Road, and their respective closest distances from the residential buildings, together with a map indicating the locations of these buildings and sites;

      (b)whether it has assessed if the aforesaid situation that the number of obnoxious facilities has all along been increasing after the construction of residential buildings in great numbers in the vicinity reflects faulty planning on the part of the Government; if the assessment result is in the negative; of the reasons for the Government deliberately permitting the provision of obnoxious facilities near residential buildings;

      (c)whether the authorities have conducted environmental impact assessment studies (including studies on the air quality) and assessments on the impact on public health for the provision of such additional obnoxious facilities;

      (d)whether the views of the residents and the District Council as gauged by the Southern District Office support the Government to continue to lease the site of the aforesaid concrete batching plant for such use and at the same time to set up an additional earth transfer station for MTRCL in that area; if the views are in the affirmative, of the evidence; if the views are in the negative, the legal justifications to enable the Government to follow public opinion and reject the provision of these two types of facilities in that area; and

      (e)whether it plans to relocate all the aforesaid obnoxious facilities away from the vicinity of residential buildings; if so, of the details and the implementation timetable?
    Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

    19. Hon Starry LEE to ask:     (Translation)

    It has been reported that recently there is an upward trend of cases of South Asians or Africans entering Hong Kong illegally or overstaying in the territory. Some of them even resort to seeking political asylum as a "cover" and hence are permitted to stay in Hong Kong temporarily. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
      (a)the respective numbers of foreign nationals entering Hong Kong illegally, overstaying and taking up employment illegally in Hong Kong in the past three years (with a breakdown by their country of origin); and among them, the respective numbers of those who applied for political asylum, were granted political asylum, appealed against rejection of their applications, and were repatriated to their places of origin eventually;

      (b)the average time it takes from the lodging of an application for political asylum to the application being approved or the repatriation of the applicant to his place of origin; what assistance and services the authorities provide to the applicant during this period; and

      (c)the current number of people who are allowed to stay in Hong Kong temporarily while the authorities are considering their applications for political asylum; and among them, of the number of those who have been found to have taken up employment in Hong Kong?
    Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

    20. Hon CHAN Hak-kan to ask:     (Translation)

    It has been reported that in the past few months, several fires broke out at waste recovery yards which produced a lot of dense toxic smoke and also spread to residential areas nearby. At present, many waste recovery yards are situated in open space in the rural areas of the New Territories and do not have adequate fire service installations. The Hong Kong Fire Services Department has indicated that waste recovery yards are not subject to the regulation of the Fire Services Ordinance (Cap. 95) unless chemicals are stored in them. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
      (a)how it assesses the fire risk of waste recovery yards;

      (b)whether it plans to review if waste recovery yards should be brought within the ambit of the Fire Services Ordinance; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

      (c)given that the financial tsunami has resulted in a decrease in the amount of waste exported, and the situation of waste accumulation at waste recovery yards is getting more and more serious, whether the authorities will introduce some temporary measures to assist recyclers in solving the problem of waste accumulation, so as to reduce the likelihood of fire at waste recovery yards; and

      (d)whether it will consider providing financial assistance to encourage recyclers to retrofit fire service installations at their recovery yards?
    Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

    III. Bills

    Second Reading (Debate to resume)

    Appropriation Bill 2009 :The Financial Secretary

    IV. Members' Motions

    1. Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

      Hon Miriam LAU to move the following motion:

      RESOLVED that in relation to the Independent Police Complaints Council Ordinance (Commencement) (No. 2) Notice 2009, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 36 of 2009 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 18 March 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 6 May 2009.

    2. Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

      Hon Albert CHAN to move the following motion:

      RESOLVED that the Public Revenue Protection Order 2009, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 27 of 2009 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 4 March 2009, be repealed.

      Public Officers to attend :Secretary for Food and Health
      Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
    Clerk to the Legislative Council