A 08/09-26

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 6 May 2009 at 11:00 am

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
1.Consular Relations (Additional Privileges and Immunities) (India) Order73/2009
2.Administration of Estates by Consular Officers Ordinance (Variation of Schedule: India) Order74/2009
3.Consular Conventions (Application of Section 3) (India) Order75/2009
4.Consular Relations (Additional Privileges and Immunities) (Italy) Order76/2009
5.Administration of Estates by Consular Officers Ordinance (Variation of Schedule: New Zealand) Order77/2009
6.Consular Conventions (Application of Section 3) (New Zealand) Order78/2009
7.Consular Relations (Additional Privileges and Immunities) (Russia) Order79/2009
8.Administration of Estates by Consular Officers Ordinance (Variation of Schedule: Russia) Order80/2009
9.Consular Conventions (Application of Section 3) (Russia) Order81/2009
10.Inland Revenue (Double Taxation Relief and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income) (Socialist Republic of Vietnam) Order82/2009
11.Electronic Transactions Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 3) Order 200983/2009
12.Electronic Transactions (Exclusion) (Amendment) Order 200984/2009
13.Port Control (Public Cargo Working Area) Order 200985/2009
14.Product Eco-responsibility Ordinance (Commencement) Notice86/2009
15.Product Eco-responsibility (Plastic Shopping Bags) Regulation (Commencement) Notice87/2009

II. Questions

1. Hon LEE Cheuk-yan to ask: (Translation)

Under the impact of the financial tsunami, the unemployment situation of various sectors in Hong Kong is deteriorating rapidly. Most middle-class people find it difficult to maintain their living once they lose their jobs. However, they are not eligible to apply for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance ("CSSA") because the values of their assets exceed the prescribed limit. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it will introduce interim measures, including temporarily relaxing the prescribed asset limit of the CSSA Scheme and setting up temporary loan schemes for the unemployed, so as to provide short-term financial assistance for the unemployed middle-class people; if it will; of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

2. Hon Tommy CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)

In mid April, a toddler mistakenly drank kerosene stored in a beverage bottle at home and had to be admitted to the intensive care unit of a hospital for treatment. Furthermore, in recent years, accidents involving children left unattended at home were reported from time to time, reflecting that some families do not have a high level of home safety awareness. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of reports received in each of the past three years of home safety incidents involving children, and the resultant casualties;

    (b)which government department is responsible for the publicity work to promote public awareness of home safety, of the publicity methods and channels used, and whether they include the use of television announcements in the public interest; and

    (c)of the amount of resources deployed by the Government to carry out the aforesaid publicity work in each of the past three years; and whether it has any plan to provide additional resources?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

3. Hon Andrew CHENG to ask: (Translation)

In recent years, Octopus, a contactless smartcard payment system, is widely used, but incidents of faulty deductions by the system concerned still occur from time to time. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows the number of Octopus cards and the number of products with Octopus functions in circulation as at the end of March this year, the total amount of deposits involved, and the interest income generated annually by such deposits;

    (b)whether it knows the number of reports of faulty deductions last year and, among them, the respective numbers of cases involving the transport and retailing sectors; the causes for the faulty deductions, as well as the number of such cases involving system failures; and

    (c)given the growing popularity of Octopus, what measures the Government has to regulate the system to ensure that incidents of faulty deductions due to system failures have been minimized; and apart from the Code of Practice for Multi-Purpose Stored Value Card Operation drawn up by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, whether the Government will consider adopting further measures to regulate the system?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

4. Hon Alan LEONG to ask: (Translation)

I have learnt that with the recent economic downturn in Hong Kong, the numbers of applications for bankruptcy as well as loan default cases have been rising continuously. In this regard, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)as debtors have to pay the Official Receiver's Office an administrative fee of approximately $9,000 upon filing a petition for bankruptcy, and many applicants are unemployed persons or recipients of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance who generally cannot afford the fee, whether the authorities will exempt such persons from paying the fee or allow them to pay the fee by instalment; if they will not, of the reasons for that;

    (b)as the authorities indicated in their response to a question raised by a Member of this Council on 11th February this year that the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau was following up on the recommendations of the Law Reform Commission's ("LRC") Report on Stalking and would consider the feasibility of introducing legislative proposals, of the progress of the study; if the outcome of the study indicates that the recommendations of the Report cannot effectively regulate the illegal practices employed by debt collection agencies, whether the authorities will reconsider adopting the recommendations of the LRC report on The Regulation of Debt Collection Practices published in 2002; if they will not, of the reasons for that; and

    (c)as under the existing legislation, a person who was discharged from bankruptcy years ago still has to repay his debts with the provident fund he receives upon retirement, and that a High Court judge pointed out in a decision made in the middle of last year that such an arrangement was harsh and considered that the Government should review and amend the existing legislation to extend retirement protection to such persons upon their retirement, whether the authorities will accept the suggestion to amend the law and revise the arrangement; if they will not, of the reasons for that?
Public Officers to reply:Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
Secretary for Security

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

It has been reported that some private residential care homes for the elderly ("RCHEs") advertise that they will apply, on behalf of elderly residents, for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance ("CSSA") free of charge, which may mislead the public into thinking that applications for CSSA will definitely be successful with the assistance of the RCHEs concerned, or that the payment of a fee is originally required for CSSA applications. Regarding the means of publicity used by private healthcare institutions and RCHEs, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective numbers of complaints received by the Consumer Council, Social Welfare Department and other relevant government departments in each of the past five years involving the use of exaggerated and faulty means of publicity by private healthcare institutions and RCHEs;

    (b)whether at present, there are guidelines or codes regulating the means of publicity used by private healthcare institutions and RCHEs as well as the contents of such publicity, so as to prevent the public from being misled; if there are, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether the Government will review and amend the Residential Care Homes (Elderly Persons) Ordinance to strengthen the regulation of the means of publicity used by RCHEs; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

6. Hon Jeffrey LAM to ask: (Translation)

The Chief Executive announced on 18 April that the mainland authorities will allow mainland group tour travellers to travel to Taiwan via Hong Kong on Hong Kong-based cruise liners, and are now studying the pilot implementation of this arrangement in four ports, namely Shanghai, Tianjin, Qingdao and Dalian. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows the respective numbers of Hong Kong-based cruise liners, the respective person-times of cruise travellers boarding and unboarding in Hong Kong and the number of Mainlanders among them, in 2007, 2008 and the first quarter of this year;

    (b)how the authorities will promote cruise travelling on Hong Kong-based cruise liners, so as to establish Hong Kong's position as a cruise hub; and

    (c)how the authorities will cooperate with the municipal governments of the aforesaid four ports in the promotion plan to attract and facilitate mainland travellers to travel by cruise; and when the relevant promotion plan is expected to be implemented?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

*7. Hon Vincent FANG to ask: (Translation)

During the period when he was drafting the 2009-2010 Budget, the Financial Secretary invited the public to express their views through repeatedly broadcasting a series of publicity messages ("PM") on various electronic media and placing advertisements on newspapers. Some members of the business sector have pointed out that the frequent broadcast of the publicity footages concerned on television during prime time not only wasted a large amount of public resources but also took up the time slots for commercial promotion. Furthermore, as the Financial Secretary had, in such messages, turned down all the requests of the public by claiming that they were not in compliance with economic principles, it was doubtful if the Government was serious about consulting the public. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the total expenditure (including sponsorship) on the aforesaid PM and newspaper advertisements, the number of times and duration for which such PM were broadcast on various electronic media, as well as the number of pages of such newspaper advertisements;

    (b)whether the free time slots provided by electronic media to the Government for broadcasting "announcements in the public interest" were used for the aforesaid PM; of the criteria for the utilization of such time slots (including how the subjects were selected); of the numbers of subjects publicized in such time slots in the past 12 months and their respective broadcast time, as well as the time and percentage taken up by the aforesaid PM relating to the Budget; and

    (c)whether the overall coordination and planning of the above PM and newspaper advertisements had been outsourced to public relations firms; if so, of the expenditure involved; if not, which government department was responsible for the work concerned?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

In reply to my question earlier, the Government advised that support had been provided to facilitate elderly people to age in the community, and as long as there was sufficient community care and support, elderly people who had long-term care needs could also age at home without the need to live in residential care homes for the elderly. However, I have learnt that while the enrolment rates of various day care centres for the elderly ("D/Es") in the 2008-2009 financial year have reached 110%, the Government has neither provided sufficient funding for the D/Es nor assisted them in acquiring more activity space to relieve the overcrowded situation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of elderly people in each District Council district currently waiting for day care services and the average waiting time; whether the Government will publish such information on the government web site for information of the public; if it will, when it will be implemented; if not, of the reasons for that and whether there are secrets behind it;

    (b)whether it has regularly assessed if the number of existing D/Es in each district is sufficient to meet the demand; if so, who is responsible for conducting such assessments, of the criteria adopted and frequency of conducting the assessments, and whether the assessment outcome is recorded; if the assessment outcome indicates that there are insufficient D/Es, why the Government has not allocated sufficient resources to improve the present situation; if no assessment has been conducted, of the reasons for that and whether it has reviewed if there is maladministration;

    (c)whether the Government will, in the next three years, allocate the premises of the several dozens of primary and secondary schools which have ceased operation to non-governmental organizations for operating D/Es, and fully subsidize the costs of the conversion works and operating costs concerned; if it will, when it will be implemented; if not, of the reasons for that;

    (d)among the current D/E users and those in each of the past 10 years, of the respective numbers of demented elderly people and those suffering from severe level of impairment, and the respective percentages of the D/E places taken up by these two categories of elderly people; of the 10 D/Es which admitted the highest numbers of these two categories of service users in 2008-2009; whether the Government will set up centres specializing in providing services for demented elderly people; if it will, when they will be set up; if not, of the reasons for that;

    (e)of the respective ratios, as stipulated by the Government, of nurses, occupational therapists, physical therapists, social workers and personal care workers to the service places in each D/E; whether the Government will immediately allocate additional funds to improve such manpower ratios; and whether it will simplify the contents of the D/E schedule of accommodation so as to relieve the heavy workload of social workers; if it will, when it will be implemented; if not, of the reasons for that; and

    (f)whether the additional elderly people taken in are covered in the current insurance policies taken out by the various D/Es; if so, whether they are fully protected under the insurance policies; if not, whether the Government will bear all the risks concerned; and whether it has assessed if the overcrowded situation in various D/Es at present has breached the Fire Services Ordinance (Cap. 95); if the assessment outcome is in the affirmative, of the solution to the problem?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

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

According to the information provided by the Hong Kong Mucopolysaccharidoses and Rare Genetic Diseases Mutual Aid Group, there are more than 30 Mucopolysaccharidoses patients in Hong Kong at present. They consider that as the number of Mucopolysaccharidoses patients is small, their needs have all along been neglected by the Government. Most patients can live up to 20 odd years only, and several of them are already in critical condition at present. Although the effective treatments for Mucopolysaccharidoses recently found in foreign countries have brought patients a hope for survival, the medical fee of over HK$4 million a year has rendered the local patients helpless. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the existing specific policies for assisting Mucopolysaccharidoses patients, and whether emergency measures are in place to support individual patients who are in critical condition; and

    (b)given that at present, many countries and places (including Macao) provide Mucopolysaccharidoses patients with subsidies to pay for their treatments, why Hong Kong is not doing the same?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

*10. Hon Cyd HO to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective numbers of existing mud dredging and disposal areas in Hong Kong waters, together with a map showing the submarine facilities (including sewage pipes and natural gas pipelines) therein; and

    (b)whether it has assessed the impact of mud dredging and disposal operations and the aforesaid submarine facilities within Hong Kong waters on the fishing industry; whether there are measures to assist the affected fishermen operating in Hong Kong waters to switch to distant-water fishing?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

*11. Hon CHAN Kin-por to ask: (Translation)

I have recently received complaints from members of the public concerning the execution of court orders by bailiffs. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of attempts made by bailiffs to execute court orders and the success rate in the past three years; as well as the reasons involved in the unsuccessful cases;

    (b)whether the Government will consider reducing or waiving the fees charged to creditors when the bailiffs fail to execute court orders, so that they will be more willing to use the services concerned; and

    (c)whether last year, it had studied if there was a need to give bailiffs more power, so as to increase their success rates in executing court orders?
Public Officer to reply : The Chief Secretary for Administration

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

Since the implementation of a total ban on smoking in workplaces and shopping malls, quite a number of smokers have moved to places near the entrances/exits of office buildings and malls to smoke. As a result, people entering or leaving such buildings have to pass through a virtual smoking area. At the meeting of this Council on 10 December 2008, I raised a question on the above situation, but it was not fully answered by the Government. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
    (a)it has assessed the impact of the above situation on passers-by; and

    (b)it will review the existing smoking ban with a view to finding a solution to this problem?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

*13. Hon Abraham SHEK to ask: (Translation)

Under the current land administration policy, where a lease modification confers an increase in land value, premium is payable on the part of the developer. To assess the amount of premium payable, the Lands Department ("LandsD") will deduct the relevant projected development costs and the developer's profit (calculated as a certain percentage of the development costs) from the enhancement in land value. It is learnt that LandsD raised the percentage at the end of last year, and commencement of private development projects can thus be expected to be expedited, and it also helps create more job opportunities. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)what measures are in place to reduce further the differences between the Government and developers over premium amount, so as to reduce the time taken for the premium valuation process;

    (b)given that there are comments that the Government has failed to follow closely the latest property market trend in premium assessment, whether the authorities will regularly review the aforesaid profit percentage and make timely adjustment according to market conditions; and

    (c)given that there are comments that premium assessment currently undertaken by LandsD lacks transparency, whether the authorities will consider reviewing the relevant mechanism and introducing an expert determination mechanism, so as to enable more development projects to commence as early as possible?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

*14. Hon Tanya CHAN to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that the HK-BEAM Society has commissioned an academic institution to conduct a review on the Building Environmental Assessment Method to study how the existing assessment criteria may be amended. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows the details of the above review, including the objective, scope, framework and work schedule; when the Government will adopt the new assessment criteria upon completion of the review, and what procedures need to be gone through; whether the Government will conduct grading assessments on all newly-built government buildings in accordance with the new assessment criteria and require such buildings to reach the specified grades; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)whether it will actively promote the adoption of the new assessment criteria by various public bodies and organizations in which the Government owns controlling stake (including the Hong Kong Housing Authority, Hong Kong Housing Society, Urban Renewal Authority, West Kowloon Cultural District Authority and the MTR Corporation Limited) in conducting grading assessments on all newly-built buildings (including residential buildings, commercial buildings and public facilities); if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether the Government will consider requiring all buildings (including residential and commercial ones), regardless of whether they are government or private buildings, in major new development areas (including Kai Tak Development Area and the river loop area of Shenzhen River) to be graded in accordance with the new assessment criteria and reach the specified grades; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and whether the Government will consider encouraging various property developers to conduct grading assessments on the buildings constructed by them in accordance with the new assessment criteria; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

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

Regarding the mortality rates of patients and turnover rates of healthcare staff in public hospitals under the Hospital Authority ("HA"), will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
    (a)the respective mortality rates of patients and turnover rates of healthcare staff in various acute hospitals and in various hospital clusters last year; and

    (b)if HA has looked into the reasons for the higher mortality rates of patients in some acute hospitals and hospital clusters and put forward improvement proposals; if it has, of the details; if not, whether it will conduct a review?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

*16. Dr Hon David LI to ask:

Regarding the designated advertising spaces on the external walls of government properties, which are managed by the Government Property Agency, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the total income from leasing such advertising spaces for the year ended 31 March 2009; and

    (b)the total number and gross area of such advertising spaces at present; and among them,

    (i)the total number and gross area of those which have not been taken up for a period of 12 months or more as at 31 March 2009; and

    (ii)the locations of those which measure 30 square metres or more in size each and have not been taken up for a period of three years or more as at 31 March 2009, and the reasons for their not being taken up?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

*17. Hon Paul TSE to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the total expenditure on the production and printing of annual reports of various government departments, as well as the 10 government departments with the highest relevant expenditure and the respective amounts, in each of the past three years;

    (b)of the procedure for vetting and approving the aforesaid expenditure; whether there is any mechanism currently in place to regulate the aforesaid annual expenditure incurred by various government departments; if so, of the details of the mechanism; if not, whether it will set up such a mechanism expeditiously; and

    (c)whether last year, it had studied the adoption of greener methods to publish annual reports; if it had, of the details; if not, whether it will conduct such a study expeditiously?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

In May 2008, I raised a question in this Council regarding the issue that most of the bus trips to and from Tin Shui Wai were not serviced by wheelchair-accessible low-floor buses. It is learnt that as most of these trips are at present still not serviced by low-floor buses, wheelchair users often have to wait for more than 30 minutes for such buses. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective numbers of low-floor buses added to the fleets of various franchised bus companies since May 2008 and the respective rates of increase;

    (b)of the daily number of trips run by low-floor buses to and from Tin Shui Wai at present, and the percentage of such numbers in the total number of relevant bus trips; how such figures compare with those in May 2008; and

    (c)whether it will reconsider adding a clause to the future franchise agreements with the franchised bus companies, requiring them to retrofit in all in-service non-low-floor buses facilities to make it convenient for wheel-chaired passengers to board and alight; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

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

At present, the remains of deceased civil servants who died on duty and had been buried for six years in Gallant Garden have to be exhumed for re-interment in permanent urn spaces or columbarium niches there after cremation. Yet, civil servants who died while performing exceptional bravery acts in their final duties may be given permanent earth burial in Gallant Garden. Some staff members of the disciplined services have recently relayed to me their views that such an arrangement labels civil servants who died on duty as brave and non-brave types. Moreover, the six-year exhumation arrangement not only shows no respect to the deceased but also reminds their relatives of their grief. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of earth burial spaces which have been taken up, as at the end of April this year, among the 110 earth burial spaces in Gallant Garden;

    (b)given that at present, the authorities have already stipulated the condition for civil servants to be buried in Gallant Garden (i.e. they have died as a result of injuries received in the actual discharge of their duties, without their own serious and willful misconduct, and on account of circumstances attributable to the nature of their duties), why the authorities still give different treatments to civil servants who died while performing bravery acts and other civil servants who also died on duty;

    (c)whether the costs for exhumation after six years of burial and relocation are at present borne by the Government or by the relatives concerned; and

    (d)whether it will consider abolishing the policy of differential treatments and allowing all civil servants who died on duty to be given permanent earth burial in Gallant Garden; if it will, when it will be implemented; if not, of the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Civil Service

*20. Hon CHEUNG Hok-ming to ask: (Translation)

Given that the Government is currently expediting the implementation of various major and minor public works projects in the New Territories, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the respective categories, names, locations and estimated expenditures of the public works projects and works feasibility studies which will be implemented in the next three years (with the use of a table);

    (b)the respective numbers of indigenous villages, licensed domestic structures and tenants of short-term tenancies that will be affected by the projects in (a), as well as the total number of residents who will be affected; and

    (c)the ways by which the Government will compensate and rehouse the indigenous villagers and other residents who will be affected by the projects in (a); the respective numbers of cases in the past three years of people affected by government projects raising objection to the projects or to the compensation and rehousing packages concerned, as well as how such cases were eventually settled?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

* For written reply

III. Bills First Reading

1. Voting by Imprisoned Persons Bill

2. Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Amendment) Bill 2009

3. Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2009

Second Reading (Debates to be adjourned)

1. Voting by Imprisoned Persons Bill:Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs

2. Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Amendment) Bill 2009:Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

3. Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2009:Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

IV. Members' Motions
  1. Demanding a comprehensive reform of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority

    Hon Albert CHAN: (Translation)

    That, as the Hong Kong Monetary Authority ('HKMA') has been seriously lacking transparency and accountability for many years and has failed to effectively monitor financial institutions, and its performance is disappointing, causing the development of the financial industry in Hong Kong to be at a standstill; moreover, the recent decision of the Central Government to develop Shanghai into another international financial centre in addition to Hong Kong will definitely further threaten Hong Kong's position as a financial centre, this Council therefore urges the Government to expeditiously conduct a comprehensive review of HKMA and implement reforms to restore public confidence in the financial system of Hong Kong; such reforms include:

    (a)expeditiously implementing a comprehensive reform of the staffing and organization of HKMA, formulating a clear accountability mechanism, and replacing the management whose performance was poor for many years;

    (b)assigning the responsibilities of developing the financial market and regulating the banking system, and managing the foreign exchange reserve to maintain the stability of Hong Kong dollars to two institutions respectively;

    (c)formulating a clear mechanism for the appointment of senior staff of the above two institutions, under which the management should be recruited by open recruitment, and stipulating a definite contract period and devising reasonable remuneration packages to ensure that the remuneration of these staff will not be substantially higher than that of the Chief Executive; and

    (d)enhancing the transparency of personal investments made by senior staff of the above two institutions, requiring the key management staff to make public the details of all their investment items, and prohibiting the management of these institutions from making personal investments in the stock market.

    Amendments to the motion
    (i)Hon James TO: (Translation)

    To delete ", as the Hong Kong Monetary Authority ('HKMA') has been seriously lacking transparency and accountability for many years and has failed to effectively monitor financial institutions, and its performance is disappointing, causing the development of the financial industry in Hong Kong to be at a standstill; moreover, the recent decision of the Central Government to develop Shanghai into another international financial centre in addition to Hong Kong will definitely further threaten Hong Kong's position as a financial centre" after "That" and substitute with "the Lehman Minibonds incident has caused the public to question whether the Hong Kong Monetary Authority ('HKMA') is effective in monitoring the non-deposit-taking and non-lending businesses of banks"; to delete "expeditiously implementing a comprehensive reform of the staffing and organization of HKMA, formulating a clear accountability mechanism, and replacing the management whose performance was poor for many years" after "(a)" and substitute with "introducing independent legislation on the operation of HKMA to enhance its transparency and public accountability"; to add "studying" after "(b)"; to delete "the above two institutions" after "appointment of senior staff of" and substitute with "HKMA"; to add "and other means" after "open recruitment"; to delete "of these staff will not be substantially higher than that of the Chief Executive" after "ensure that the remuneration" and substitute with "is comparable to that of the governors of central banks in other advanced countries"; to delete "the above two institutions," after "personal investments made by senior staff of" and substitute with "HKMA, and"; to delete "make public the details of" after "requiring the key management staff to" and substitute with "report"; and to delete ", and prohibiting the management of these institutions from making personal investments in the stock market" immediately before the full stop and substitute with "to the Chief Executive for record and to update them regularly for monitoring".

    (ii)Hon WONG Yuk-man: (Translation)

    To add "recently Joseph YAM, Chief Executive of HKMA, still had a substantial increase of 15% in remuneration despite the loss recorded in the Exchange Fund, such behaviour should be subject to strong condemnation, and Joseph YAM should also step down for this as he owes it to Hong Kong people; moreover, HKMA" after "many years and".

    (iii)Hon Ronny TONG: (Translation)

    To delete "assigning the responsibilities of developing the financial market and regulating the banking system, and managing the foreign exchange reserve to maintain the stability of Hong Kong dollars to two institutions respectively" after "(b)" and substitute with "studying the establishment of an independent investment bank to be specifically responsible for the investment of the foreign exchange reserve, stabilization of the Hong Kong dollar and the general functions of a central bank"; to delete "the above two institutions" after "appointment of senior staff of" and substitute with "HKMA"; to delete "the above two institutions" after "personal investments made by senior staff of" and substitute with "HKMA"; and to delete "of these institutions" after "prohibiting the management".

    Pulic Officer to attend : The Financial Secretary

  2. Promoting green economy

    Hon Alan LEONG: (Translation)

    That this Council urges the Government to take the following specific actions to promote green economy, so that it will become an economic driver of Hong Kong's future development to create employment opportunities on the one hand, and at the same time reverse the trend of deterioration in the environment:

    (a)making reference to the recommendations in the global report released by the United Nations Environment Programme in February this year and the Central Government's scale of investment, allocating at least an additional HK$30 billion in this and next year to develop green economy, and focusing efforts on five areas, namely energy for health, green buildings, sustainable transport, circular economy and resource productivity, to create more employment opportunities;

    (b)expeditiously upgrading Hong Kong's environmental quality standards for air, potable water, effluent discharge, energy and land use, so as to expand the markets for local green products and professional services and promote green trade;

    (c)assuming the role of leader in green economy to enhance the requirements of government departments for green procurement and implement such requirements within the current year; and

    (d)making optimal use of the existing foundation laid by scientific research on environmental protection to foster public and private investment in scientific research on green products, with a view to turning the achievements of Hong Kong's scientific research into commodities that are beneficial to the Earth.

    Amendments to the motion
    (i)Hon Andrew LEUNG: (Translation)

    To add ", the Financial Secretary has proposed in the Budget this year that promoting investments and economic activities that protect the environment and save energy will put the overall economy on a more sustainable path," after "That"; to add "and reduce the costs of energy and materials of the community and enterprises" after "create employment opportunities"; to add "and enhance Hong Kong's competitiveness" after "in the environment"; to delete "and" after "current year;"; and to add "; (e) providing greater economic incentives and more encouragement to attract the transportation industry and the public to use electric vehicles; (f) expeditiously introducing a financial assistance scheme to assist local property owners and enterprises in formulating energy-saving targets and undertaking initiatives to reduce carbon dioxide emissions; and (g) organizing the environmental services sector and the recycling industry in Hong Kong and increasing the assistance for them, so as to provide employment opportunities for low-skilled workers; considering establishing social enterprises to provide environmental and recycling services, and providing subsidies and appropriate complementary arrangements for such enterprises, with a view to fully maximizing the benefits of the EcoPark " immediately before the full stop.

    (ii)Hon CHAN Hak-kan: (Translation)

    To add ", as the financial tsunami and climate change are prevailing global problems of high priority to be tackled by governments worldwide, and the United Nations Environment Programme has also advocated a Global Green New Deal to revive the world economy, reduce carbon dependency and mitigate ecosystem degradation, hence" after "That"; to delete "at least an additional HK$30 billion in this and next year" after "allocating" and substitute with "additional resources in this and next year and introducing tax incentives and encouragement policies"; to add "establishing an emissions trading platform and expeditiously enacting relevant legislation to develop Hong Kong into a centre for emissions trading; (d)" after "(c)"; to delete "to enhance" after "leader in green economy" and substitute with ", formulating a certification mechanism and labelling scheme for green products, and enhancing"; to delete "and implement such requirements" after "green procurement"; to delete "and" after "current year;"; to delete the original "(d)" and substitute with "(e)"; and to add "; (f) adopting more pro-active measures to strengthen the conservation of natural environment, as well as further developing Hong Kong's ecotourism through effective tourism management; and (g) making optimal use of the restored landfills to facilitate the production of renewable energy and promote the development of other environmental enterprises in Hong Kong" immediately before the full stop.

    (iii)Hon KAM Nai-wai: (Translation)

    To add ", the quality of Hong Kong's environment keeps deteriorating in recent years, coupled with the dire lack of government input into the environmental protection industry," after "That"; to delete "and" after "current year;"; and to add "complementing the promotion of green economy through policy changes, including, in the transport aspect, providing subsidies for franchised bus companies to replace old vehicles; (e) providing relevant facilities for the introduction of electric vehicles, including providing adequate charging apparatuses and constructing plants for manufacturing vehicle batteries; (f) operating the EcoPark in the mode of an industrial estate, flexibly adjusting the areas of lands for lease according to the needs of the applicants, and leasing the lands at low rents so as to attract investors in the environmental protection industry; (g) encouraging the development of a waste recovery economy, establishing a licensing regime for waste collectors and providing operation space, tax concession as well as technical support for waste collectors; and (h) " after "(d)".

    (iv)Dr Hon Priscilla LEUNG: (Translation)

    To delete "the following" after "to take"; to delete "an economic" after "become" and substitute with "the"; to add "economic" after "future"; to delete "on the one hand, and at the same time" after "create employment opportunities" and substitute with "and"; to add "; at the same time, the Government should popularize the concept of green economy through education and publicity, so that members from different strata of the community can participate in the promotion of green economy; the specific measures are as follows" after "in the environment"; to delete ", to create more employment opportunities" after "productivity"; to delete "to enhance the requirements of government departments for green procurement and implement such requirements within the current year; and" after "leader in green economy" and substitute with "and encouraging government departments to accord priority to the procurement of green products in a comprehensive manner;"; to add "implementing across the board 'a certification scheme for green products' and 'a green labelling system' to encourage the industrial sector to proactively develop green products; (e)" after "(d)"; and to add "; (f) establishing an 'advisory committee on green economy' and appointing representatives from different industries to sit on it, turning the notion of green economy into different types of front-line jobs so as to create more employment opportunities, and assisting the entire population in boarding the express train of green economy; and (g) enhancing education and publicity to instil the concept of green living in the public " immediately before the full stop.

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for the Environment

  3. Motion for the adjournment of the Council

    Hon LAU Kong-wah: (Translation)

    That this Council do now adjourn for the purpose of debating the following issue: Commencement of the Independent Police Complaints Council Ordinance.

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Security

Clerk to the Legislative Council