Council Meeting (Agenda) 25 November 2009

A 09/10-8

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 25 November 2009 at 11:00 am

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments		L.N. No.
1.	Inland Revenue (Double Taxation Relief on lncome from Aircraft Operations) (Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia) Order	231/2009
2.	Inland Revenue (Double Taxation Relief on Income from Aircraft Operations) (Republic of Maldives) Order	232/2009
3.	Air Pollution Control (Motor Vehicle Fuel) (Amendment) Regulation 2009	233/2009
4.	Fees for Official Signatures and Miscellaneous Services (Amendment) Notice 2009	234/2009

Other Papers

1.	No. 31	-	Estate Agents Authority Annual Report 2008/09
(to be presented by the Secretary for Transport and Housing)
2.	No. 32	-	Report of the Director of Audit on the Accounts of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for the year ended 31 March 2009
(to be presented by the President of the Legislative Council)
3.	No. 33	-	Report No. 53 of the Director of Audit on the results of value for money audits - October 2009
(to be presented by the President of the Legislative Council)
4.	No. 34	-	Accounts of the Government for the year ended 31 March 2009
(to be presented by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury)

II. Questions

1. Hon LEE Wing-tat to ask: (Translation)

The Government plans to seek in the near future funding approval from the Finance Committee of this Council for the construction of the Hong Kong Section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link ("XRL") and intends to locate the terminus in West Kowloon, while the West Kowloon Terminus ("WKT") will extend into part of the underground area of the West Kowloon Cultural District ("WKCD"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	whether the Government has conducted any assessment regarding the impact of WKT on the traffic of Yau Tsim Mong District; if it has, of the respective estimated volume/capacity ratios of the main roads in the vicinity (including Austin Road, Jordan Road, Lin Cheung Road, Nathan Road, Canton Road, Kowloon Park Drive, Ferry Street and West Kowloon Highway) after the Hong Kong Section of XRL has been completed for five, 10 and 15 years;
(b)	of the total land area to be occupied by the works of the Hong Kong Section of XRL for site purposes and the duration of such occupation, together with a table listing out the respective surface and underground areas in WKCD to be occupied permanently and temporarily for the aforesaid works, as well as the duration of occupation for each part of land; whether it has assessed if the works of the Hong Kong Section of XRL will affect the overall planning and design of WKCD, slow down the construction of the cultural facilities within the district, and thus increase the construction costs of such facilities; if it has, of the assessment results; and
(c)	given that WKT will be located in part of the underground area of WKCD, whether the Government needs to install additional noise barriers in the connecting underground area for the cultural facilities to be constructed on the relevant surface area in the future, so that users of the facilities would not be affected by the noise of running XRL trains; if so, of the details and expenditure involved; if not, how the WKCD Authority will resolve the noise problem?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

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

The authorities are now actively planning and enhancing the waterfronts of the Victoria Harbour. At the meeting of the Subcommittee on Harbourfront Planning held on the 9th of this month, the Secretary for Development advised that the Government intended to introduce public-private partnership ("PPP") to develop Sites 1 and 2 at the new Central harbourfront. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	what criteria the authorities use in deciding whether to adopt a PPP approach or a government-funding approach to develop and enhance a particular waterfront site;
(b)	apart from Sites 1 and 2 at the new Central harbourfront, what other waterfront sites the authorities also intend to develop using the PPP approach; which waterfront sites will be developed by the Government with its own funding, as well as which government department will be responsible for the development and management of those sites; and
(c)	what policies the authorities have in place, on the one hand, to encourage developers to participate in the development of waterfront sites so as to implement the harbourfront enhancement projects and, on the other hand, not to arouse public query that the Government is transferring benefits to developers?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

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

It has been reported that in order to enhance retirement protection for the public, the Government of Macao has recently launched an initiative of opening personal accounts under a centralized savings system for eligible permanent residents of Macao aged 22 or above and will annually inject part of its fiscal surplus into these accounts, but the residents cannot withdraw the deposits until they reach the age of 65, so as to further cater for their retirement needs. Regarding Hong Kong's retirement protection system, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	whether it plans to follow the initiative of Macao and open a retirement protection account for each adult permanent resident of Hong Kong, as well as inject funds into these accounts when there is a fiscal surplus, to the effect that retirement protection will be available to all Hong Kong people; if so, of the details, if not, the reasons for that;
(b)	given that members of the public have relayed to me that as the existing mandatory provident fund ("MPF") system needs to rely on long-term accumulation of retirement savings and prudent investment of these savings by MPF trustees, it fails to provide instant and long-term assistance for low-income persons, full-time housewives, the unemployed and the elderly, whether the Government will further review the MPF system to strengthen its function of retirement protection and consider injecting funds into MPF accounts during years with fiscal surpluses, thus perfecting the MPF system and enhancing retirement protection for the public; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c)	given that Hong Kong's population is ageing rapidly and the people's needs for a sound retirement protection system are growing, whether the Government plans to conduct further public consultation on the existing retirement protection system and make improvements to the system so as to more comprehensively cater for the retirement needs of the public; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officers to reply

Secretary for Labour and Welfare
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

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

It has been reported that recently a spate of incidents of members of the public purchasing questionable medicines on the Internet have occurred, and some members of the public even developed abnormal mental conditions such as emotional disturbance, hallucination and suicidal thoughts after taking slimming medication purchased through auction web sites. These medicines were found by laboratory tests to contain western medicine ingredients. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the number of complaint cases received by the Department of Health in each of the past five years about the adverse reactions members of the public had after taking slimming products, health food and medicines purchased on the Internet; whether it had instituted prosecutions in respect of such complaints; if it had, of the number of prosecutions and details of the penalties; if not, the reasons for that;
(b)	whether it has new measures in place to monitor the sale of slimming products, health food and medicines on the Internet; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c)	given that the sale of slimming products, health food and medicines on the Internet is increasingly prevalent, whether the Government will reconsider amending the relevant legislation and increasing the penalties, so as to plug the loopholes and safeguard public health; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

5. Hon Andrew CHENG to ask: (Translation)

On 9 November this year, a serious traffic accident involving a cross-harbour bus occurred in Tseung Kwan O, and as at the 18th of this month, the accident had already resulted in two deaths and over 30 injuries. It was reported that the bus driver concerned was suspected of speeding, which caused the accident. Regarding the safety of franchised buses, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	whether it knows the details of the current systems adopted by the various franchised bus companies to test the driving skills and behaviour of their bus drivers, and whether they include regular inspections; if so, of the number of inspections carried out by the various franchised bus companies in each of the past three years, and the number of cases in which bus drivers were found to have breached the relevant safe driving requirements (e.g. speeding and failing to comply with traffic signals, etc.) during the inspections; whether the Transport Department regularly carries out surprise inspections of the driving skills and behaviour of bus drivers; if so, of the number of inspections carried out in each of the past three years, and the outcome of the inspections; if not, the reasons for that;
(b)	given that press reports have pointed out that the bus driver concerned was driving the bus involved in the accident as a relief driver at that time, and franchised bus companies also adopt such a means from time to time to save expenditure on drivers' overtime pay, whether it has looked into the prevalence of the aforesaid situation and its impact on the rest time of bus drivers and road safety; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and whether it will consider amending the "Guidelines on Working Schedule for Franchised Bus Drivers", so as to further improve bus drivers' rest time; and
(c)	whether it will reconsider requiring seat belts be retrofitted to all seats of franchised buses by amending the law or when signing the franchise agreements with franchised bus companies in the future, so as to safeguard passenger safety; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

6. Ir Dr Hon Raymond HO to ask: (Translation)

At present, people in Hong Kong use various kinds of electronic equipment and electrical appliances (e.g. computers, televisions, mobile phones and audio/visual players, etc.). The amount of electronic waste being disposed of every year is not small, and some of the components of such products often contain toxic substances which, if not disposed of properly, will pollute the environment. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council, in addition to implementing the voluntary producer responsibility scheme to enhance the recycling of the relevant products, whether:

(a)	the authorities have issued to the public clear guidelines on the disposal of electronic waste; if so, whether such guidelines have been publicized to the public in an appropriate manner;
(b)	at present, the electronic waste and domestic waste among the refuse collected are treated separately by the Government; and
(c)	it has assessed the impact of electronic waste on the environment of Hong Kong; if it has, of the main points of the assessment report?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment

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

It has been reported that fly-tipping of construction waste in Hong Kong is increasingly serious, and even urban roads have for a long time been used as locations for fly-tipping. Yet, some members of the public have complained to the Government about such a situation for quite a while but their complaints have still not been followed up. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of the number of complaint cases (broken down by District Council districts) received by the authorities about fly-tipping of construction waste and the number of prosecutions instituted in each of the past three years?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment

*8. Hon Andrew LEUNG to ask: (Translation)

Along the major roads in busy areas, such as Queen's Road Central, Connaught Road Central and Pedder Street, there are always lorries and light goods vehicles parked in the loading/unloading areas and no-parking places, occupying those places or loading and unloading goods on the traffic lanes, and together with the "long queues" of taxis waiting for passengers, causing traffic blockages. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the number of penalty tickets issued, in each of the past three years, by the Police in respect of illegal parking of commercial vehicles in loading/unloading areas and no-parking places;
(b)	whether it had, in the past three years, stepped up enforcement actions (e.g. deploying more law enforcement officials to patrol illegal parking black spots) against illegal parking;
(c)	focusing on the excessively long queues of taxis waiting for passengers, whether the Government will deploy more law enforcement officials to divert traffic flows, so as to reduce the occurrence of traffic blockages; and
(d)	whether it will consider relocating the taxi stands on busy roads to improve traffic conditions?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

*9. Dr Hon David LI to ask:

With the continuing efforts of the Government to facilitate the formation of owners' corporations by owners of older residential buildings, plus the steady growth in the number of new private residential developments, there is a growing demand for professional building management services in Hong Kong. In this regard, will the Government inform this Council whether it offers any assistance, either through its retraining programmes or other means, for individuals to gain professional building management knowledge; if so, of the number of persons so supported in each of the past five years, and whether it knows their success rate in finding employment within the building management sector upon completion of the courses?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

Construction activities involve higher risks of accidents as compared with other industries. According to the figures provided by the Labour and Welfare Bureau, the construction industry recorded 1 248 industrial accidents with an accident rate of 49.5 (per 1 000 workers) in the first half of 2009, representing a drop of 9.3% and 10% respectively when compared with the figures in the same period of last year. Yet, the fatal industrial accident which happened at the International Commerce Centre on 13 September this year again aroused public concern about the issue of safety of the construction industry. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the respective numbers of cases in each of the past five years in which the authorities issued warnings and instituted prosecutions against the relevant members of the construction industry (including employers, contractors, sub-contractors and workers) who had breached the legislation on safety of the construction industry and, among such cases, the number of cases in which such persons were convicted; what the highest, lowest and average amounts of fine and the terms of imprisonment were;
(b)	whether it will consider raising the penalty imposed on the employers, contractors and sub-contractors of the construction industry who were repeatedly convicted, so as to enhance the deterrent effect; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c)	given that there have been comments that apart from employers who have the responsibility to comprehensively manage the risks involved in the various kinds of works at construction sites and safeguard employees' safety and health, individual workers should also comply with the legislation on safety of the construction industry and should not neglect the safety of themselves and the others for expediency, whether the Government will step up the prosecution against workers who do not comply with the legislation; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

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

Regarding the problems arising from the Personalized Vehicle Registration Marks Scheme ("the Scheme"), will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the total number of personalized vehicle registration marks ("PVRMs") comprising three or more letters that have been sold by the Transport Department since the implementation of the Scheme, as well as the auction proceeds involved;
(b)	whether the authorities have compiled statistics on the total number of complainants and injured persons who could not clearly state the registration marks (in particular those with single words or short phrases formed by letters) of the vehicles concerned because they did not know English, when dealing with cases involving traffic problems and accidents since the implementation of the Scheme; and how the time required for complainants and injured persons to clearly state the vehicles' registration marks comprising two letters compares to that in respect of the vehicles' registration marks comprising three or more letters; and
(c)	if the authorities have sought legal advice on whether the Scheme discriminates against persons who do not know English; if they have, 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)

I have learnt that upon the sale of public rental housing ("PRH") units and divestment of retail and car parking facilities by the Hong Kong Housing Authority, the owners' corporation ("OC") of a Tenants Purchase Scheme ("TPS") estate came to know that it had the right to control the external walls of the shopping mall in its estate only when a commercial organization wishing to erect an advertisement sign on the external wall concerned consulted it on the relevant matter. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the shopping malls or car parks in existing TPS estates the external walls of which are under the control of the OCs concerned, the names of such shopping malls and car parks, as well as the titles to their external walls;
(b)	of the rights and obligations of the OCs concerned regarding the above external walls, and whether they may collect fees from the organizations which erect advertisement signs on the external walls; and whether the OCs concerned are responsible for the maintenance of such external walls and the procurement of third party risks insurance;
(c)	whether, upon the sale of PRH units, the authorities have ensured that the OCs concerned have procured insurance for all the areas under their control and are aware of their rights and obligations; whether at present the OCs of all TPS estates have procured insurance for the areas under their control; and
(d)	whether the authorities will consider publishing on the government web sites information on the distribution of the right to the control of the common areas in TPS estates, including which parts are under the control of the Housing Department, The Link Management Limited and OCs respectively, as well as their respective rights and obligations?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

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

Regarding the charitable fund-raising activities organized in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the number of applications for organizing fund-raising activities received by the authorities in each of the past two years and, among them, the number of applications rejected and their details (including the reasons for their rejection, the types of fund-raising activities, and the names of the organizations submitting the applications);
(b)	whether the authorities had, in the past two years, received complaint cases in which fund-raising activities were suspected to have been used to defraud donors; if they had, of the number of such complaint cases and the details (including the types of fund-raising activities); and
(c)	whether the authorities will consider further enhancing its efforts in monitoring fund-raising activities, particularly those conducted on the Internet (including those which specify that the appeal for donations is only made to the registered members of the web sites concerned or those which appeal to the public) by non-recognized charitable organizations; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

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

In July last year, an aided school teacher, who was bankrupt during the contribution period of his provident fund, had been adjudicated by the Court that the total sum of his provident fund should be vested in the Official Receiver for repaying his debt. Regarding the attachment of employees' provident funds, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the total number of aided school teachers whose provident funds including the part of government donations were attached in the past five years because they were adjudicated bankrupt, as well as the sums involved; how such figures compare with the relevant figures of cases in which the part of government donations for teachers had been attached because they were involved in criminal offences or professional misconduct;
(b)	given that under section 85(3) of the Education Ordinance (Cap. 279), no contribution or donation to or dividend or interest on a dividend from a provident fund shall be assignable or transferable or liable to be attached, sequestered or levied upon, for or in respect of any debt or claim whatsoever, of the reasons and justifications for the Official Receiver still being able to attach the provident funds of the teachers concerned, as well as the legislative intent of the section;
(c)	whether it has assessed if the part of government donations of the provident fund, before it is withdrawn by the employee, does not form part of the employee's estate; if it does not, of the reasons and justifications for attaching the amount of provident fund which has not yet formed part of the bankrupted employee' estate for debt repayment; if it forms part of the employee's estate, the reasons for that;
(d)	given that under section 30A of the Bankruptcy Ordinance (Cap. 6), where a person has not previously been adjudicated bankrupt, he is discharged from bankruptcy by the expiration of four years beginning with the commencement of the bankruptcy, whether the authorities will consider not attaching the part of government donations in the course of the attachment of provident fund, in order that the bankrupted persons concerned, after the discharge of bankruptcy, may obtain the part of government donations, hence their livelihood will not be affected; and
(e)	given that both the Pensions Ordinance (Cap. 89) and the Pension Benefits (Judicial Officers) Ordinance (Cap. 401) stipulate that the pension of the retired civil servants and judicial officers will cease immediately if they are adjudicated bankrupt while they are receiving pension, whether the Administration will amend the Education Ordinance by adding a similar provision, so as to protect the provident fund of subsidized school teachers from being affected by bankruptcy orders?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education

*15. Hon Emily LAU to ask:

The Government Records Service ("GRS") has been addressing issues relating to the electronic records of government bureaux and departments since late 1990s through organizing presentations by international experts, hiring overseas consultants to study different aspects of electronic records management and conducting pilot studies in testing prototypes of electronic recordkeeping systems. With increasing reliance on computer technology in conducting government business and delivering public services, and given the susceptibility of electronic records to easy manipulation and technological obsolescence, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:

(a)	after more than a decade's effort, what specific policy, standards and measures GRS has put in place to ensure that government electronic records are properly captured and managed with those having been appraised of holding archival value being transferred to the Public Records Office ("PRO"), and the others properly disposed of;
(b)	of the current quantity of government electronic records, the percentage of that number in the total number of government records, how this percentage compares with that of the paper records, the most popular electronic record format and the types of electronic systems used by government bureaux and departments, as well as how electronic records of continuing value are managed to meet archival requirements;
(c)	of the quantity and types of government electronic records destroyed in the past three years;
(d)	of the quantity, content, format and access status of archival electronic records transferred to PRO by government bureaux and departments in the past three years, and the quantity of electronic records likely to be nominated as archival records and transferred to PRO in the next three years;
(e)	what PRO has done to ensure that the electronic records transferred to its custody as archives are authentic, preservable and accessible by the public over time;
(f)	of the total number of professional archivists working in PRO and the number of professional archivists responsible for appraising electronic records, their relevant experience and professional training in electronic records;
(g)	whether they know how the electronic records program of GRS, in terms of resources and capacity, progress and achievement, effectiveness and comprehensiveness, compares with similar programs in Australia, Canada, the Mainland, Singapore and the United Kingdom, which started their electronic records initiatives a little earlier than or at around the same time as Hong Kong; and
(h)	whether there are unresolved issues concerning the government electronic records program; if so, what they are and what plans GRS has adopted to address them?

Public Officer to reply : The Chief Secretary for Administration

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

I raised questions regarding the depreciation allowances on machinery and plants under section 39E of the Inland Revenue Ordinance ("section 39E") at the meetings of this Council on 21 October and 4 November of this year respectively. Regarding the replies given by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury ("the Secretary"), will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	given that according to the explanatory memorandum of the Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 5) Bill 1991 ("the Bill"), the purpose of amending section 39E was to "remove the allowances that may be claimed in certain 'leveraged leasing' transactions", why the Government stated that the amended section 39E no longer targeted merely the two arrangements of "sale and leaseback" and "leveraged leasing";
(b)	given that it was pointed out both in the Legislative Council Brief issued by the former Finance Branch in 1991 and by former Secretary for the Treasury during the Second Reading of the Bill in the former Legislative Council on 27 November of the same year that the 1992 amendment aimed at "denying depreciation allowances to all foreign operators of ships and aircraft", of the justifications for the Government to interpret this amendment as restricting the granting of depreciation allowances to owners of machinery or plants other than aircraft or ships;
(c)	given that the 1992 amendment only changed the word "and" to the word "or" between section 39E(1)(b)(i) and (ii), why the Government interpreted this amendment as extending the application of section 39E (i.e. not only targeting the two arrangements of "sale and leaseback" and "leveraged leasing"); given that the Secretary stated that "the legislation aims at limiting tax avoidance opportunities in various forms of machinery or plant leasing arrangements machinery or plants", what forms are being referred to by "various forms";
(d)	given that the Legislative Council Brief issued in 1991 by the former Finance Branch, the speech delivered by the former Secretary for the Treasury during the Second Reading of the Bill in 1991, as well as the speech delivered in 1992 during the resumption of Second Reading of the Bill by the convenor of the ad hoc group of the former Legislative Council formed to study the Bill had all reflected that the leasing as referred to in section 39E at that time meant "acquiring ships and aircraft through leveraged leasing", whether the "leasing arrangements" referred to in the replies given by the Government at present are equivalent to the "leveraged leasing" referred to at that time; if they are, of the definition of "leveraged leasing"; if not, of the difference between the definitions of the two kinds of leasing;
(e)	why the Government defines the arrangements concerned referred to in section 39E as those "within the specific scope of the provision", and considers that relaxing the relevant restrictions will lead to the situation where "the specific anti-avoidance provision can easily be exploited, resulting in tax deferral or loss and a large number of cases in dispute";
(f)	given that the former Commissioner of Inland Revenue ("the Commissioner") gave an assurance upon the enactment of section 39E in 1986 that the provision would only be enforced in circumstances of actual necessity, why the Government stated that it "cannot exercise its power under the law selectively", hence activities with no tax avoidance intention are subject to regulation under the provision, and whether the Government has abandoned the assurance given in the past;
(g)	whether the Inland Revenue Department ("IRD") had considered that the original intent of the legislation is to target "leveraged leasing" when it updated the Departmental Interpretation and Practice Notes No. 15 ("P.N. 15") in 2006 to categorize the provision of moulds for machinery by Hong Kong enterprises to mainland processors as "leasing",;
(h)	given that the Government indicated that the time limit for raising additional assessments under section 39E is six years, yet, in the appeal case with decision number D51/08, the counsel representing the Commissioner pointed out that the P.N. 15 updated in 2006 was not applicable before January 2006, whether the authorities have assessed if the two arguments contradict each other, and whether the Government should refrain from applying this section retrospectively to cases assessed prior to the updating of the Notes; if not, of the reasons for that;
(i)	given that under the processing trade arrangements at present, Hong Kong companies strictly restrict mainland manufacturing units to use the moulds provided to them only for manufacturing goods which the companies require and to return the moulds to the companies once the manufacturing process is completed, whether the Government, in not granting the depreciation allowances concerned, is violating the taxation principle under which costs arising from Hong Kong companies' taxable profits in Hong Kong are eligible for tax allowances;
(j)	given that the legislative intent of section 39E is to strike down tax avoidance by businesses, whether the Government has assessed if it is lawful to invoke section 39E to recover tax from Hong Kong enterprises which have not avoided tax, and whether it has sought the advice of the Department of Justice on the enforcement actions concerned; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (k) whether the Government can provide information on the number of companies from which tax has been recovered by the authorities by invoking section 39E (including tracing back the cases which had already been assessed before IRD updated the P.N. 15 in 2006) in each of the past 10 years, the amount of tax involved as well as the number of companies which went bankrupt because of the recovery action?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

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

In 2000, the Government supported the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China in bidding for hosting the 2006 Asian Games, but the bid ended in failure. In response to a recent proposal by some members of the community for Hong Kong to consider making a bid to host the 2019 Asian Games, the Government has indicated its support and its willingness to provide assistance. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	given that the 2010 Asian Games will be held in Guangzhou, and the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, whether the Government has assessed the probability of the 2019 Asian Games continuing to be held in the East Asian region, and whether Hong Kong still stands a good chance to succeed in its bid to host the Asian Games;
(b)	whether the Government will consider adopting more measures to enhance the degree of participation of members of the public so as to ensure that the degree of participation in sports by members of the public in various forms are high enough to support Hong Kong's bid for hosting the Asian Games; if it will, of the details; and
(c)	whether it will allocate additional resources to assist in the development of a wider variety of sports in Hong Kong, and include more sports that are promising and well received by Hong Kong people in the category of elite sports, with a view to improving the standard of Hong Kong athletes and attracting more participation of members of the public so that Hong Kong will be in a more advantageous position in future to bid for hosting large-scale sports events such as the Asian Games; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

Recently, incidents of objects being thrown from a height have occurred one after another in Hong Kong, endangering the safety of pedestrians. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the respective numbers of reports, received in each of the past three years by the authorities, on objects being thrown from a height in the 18 District Council districts in Hong Kong; what the objects being thrown were; the respective numbers of persons who were injured, killed, arrested and convicted as a result; the penalties imposed on the convicted persons and the heaviest penalty imposed;
(b)	of the number of reports, received in each of the past three years by the authorities concerned, on objects being thrown from a height in public rental housing ("PRH") estates as well as the number of tenants who were thus allotted penalty points/convicted and the details, broken down by housing estate;
(c)	whether the authorities will conduct another review of the effectiveness of the Falling Object Monitoring System in PRH estates; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(d)	whether the authorities will review and amend the existing Marking Scheme for Estate Management Enforcement in Public Housing Estates so as to enhance the deterrent effect on misdeeds of throwing objects from a height; if they will, of the details; and
(e)	what measures were adopted in the past three years by the authorities to enhance deterrence against throwing objects from a height in areas outside public housing estates?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

*19. Hon Audrey EU to ask: (Translation)

Fluorescent tubes and compact fluorescent lamps ("CFLs") have been more commonly used by the public in recent years, but such products contain mercury and may cause pollution if they are not properly disposed of. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)

whether it knows the respective quantities of fluorescent tubes and CFLs disposed of in Hong Kong in each of the past three years as well as the amount of mercury involved (set out in the table below);

Year	Quantity of fluorescent tubes disposed of	Quantity of CFLs disposed of	Amount of mercury involved
2006
2007
2008

(b)

of the quantity of mercury-containing waste treated by the Chemical Waste Treatment Centre on Tsing Yi Island in each of the past three years, and its capacity for treating such waste each year;

(c)

whether it has forecast the quantities of fluorescent tubes and CFLs to be disposed of in Hong Kong in the next three years; and

(d)

whether it has assessed the quantities of fluorescent tubes and CFLs to be directly dumped at the landfills in the next three years, as well as the impact of the mercury content of such waste on the impermeable liners of the landfills?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment

* For written reply

III. Members' Motions

Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

Hon Albert HO to move the following motion:

RESOLVED that in relation to the Dumping at Sea (Exemption) (Amendment) Order 2009, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 203 of 2009 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 4 November 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 January 2010.
Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

Hon Audrey EU to move the following motion:

RESOLVED that in relation to the Energy Efficiency (Labelling of Products) Ordinance (Amendment of Schedules) Order 2009, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 204 of 2009 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 4 November 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 January 2010.

Enhancing employment support and creating employment opportunities

Hon WONG Kwok-kin to move the following motion: (Translation)

That, since the reunification, Hong Kong's growth in Gross Domestic Product has exceeded 40% but the population of the poor has increased persistently to over one million, and according to a report published by the United Nations Development Programme, Hong Kong even ranks first in the world in terms of disparity between the rich and the poor, the problem is attributed to the mismatch between manpower supply and job positions, the Government should allocate more resources to expand various employment services as well as continuing education and training, and create jobs to assist the grassroots in securing employment, thereby alleviating the disparity between the rich and the poor; in this connection, this Council urges the Government to adopt the following measures:

(a)	while developing the six industries, to provide various concessionary measures particularly targeting at labour-intensive industries, such as the recycling industry, in order to encourage and support the development of these industries;
(b)	to provide avenues to continuing education to enable young people, new arrivals, etc to equip themselves for taking up professional positions in the six industries at the middle ranking or supporting levels;
(c)	to introduce a territory-wide transport subsidy scheme to subsidize the costs of low-income employees in working across districts, so as to enable them to have more choices in jobs;
(d)	to provide re-employment support allowance and employment counseling, etc for the unemployed;
(e)	to establish a start-up fund to provide the unemployed with capital to set up their own businesses, and invite professionals to provide support on setting up and operating businesses;
(f)	to promote local community culture economy, issue licences to people engaged in arts and cultural performances and activities, and relax the restrictions on on-street arts and cultural activities; and
(g)	to consider allowing regulated hawking activities in specific areas or during specific periods, so as to provide opportunities for running small businesses.
Amendments to the motion
(i)	Hon WONG Sing-chi to move the following amendment: (Translation) To delete "," after "That" and substitute with "the problem of disparity between the rich and the poor has always been a concern in Hong Kong, and"; to delete ", the problem is attributed to the mismatch between manpower supply and job positions" after "in terms of disparity between the rich and the poor" and substitute with "; given the continuing socio-economic development as well as changes in the demand for knowledge and technology"; to delete "professional positions in the six industries at the middle ranking or supporting levels" after "taking up" and substitute with "suitable positions in various sectors and industries"; to add "and open it for application by all eligible Hong Kong people, so as" after "transport subsidy scheme"; to delete ", so as to" after "districts" and substitute with "and"; and to delete "issue licences to people engaged in arts and cultural performances and activities," after "economy,".
(ii)	Hon Tommy CHEUNG to move the following amendment: (Translation) To delete ", since the reunification" after "That" and substitute with "Hong Kong's economy has experienced ups and downs in the past 12 years, although as a whole"; to delete "but" after "40%" and substitute with ","; to add "; in order to match the direction of developing a knowledge-based economy, the grassroots have even greater needs to add value to themselves by receiving training in order to lift themselves out of poverty, therefore" after "job positions"; to add "(a) to provide free medium-term and short-term training places in various courses, including those on basic computer skills and language proficiency, etc, for middle-aged people with low educational attainment and low income, and provide an allowance for value-adding to attract those people to pursue further studies, thereby enhancing their competitiveness and enabling them to enjoy better remuneration packages; (b) in the light of the long-term manpower shortage in some industries, such as the testing and certification industry, and the large number of job vacancies in these industries which are suitable for people with average educational attainment, to expeditiously put forward a concrete blueprint on manpower training and planning, so as to strengthen the relevant education and training efforts and attract suitable talents to enter these industries for development; " after "the following measures:"; to delete the original "(a)" and substitute with "(c)"; to delete the original "(b)" and substitute with "(d)"; to delete the original "(c)" and substitute with "(e)"; to delete the original "(d)" and substitute with "(f)"; to delete the original "(e)" and substitute with "(g)"; to add "(h) to review the licensing policy for 'dai pai dongs', which includes assisting the operators of 'dai pai dongs' in identifying suitable sites to continue their operation, so as to ensure that the traditional culinary culture of 'dai pai dongs' will pass on continuously, thereby creating more employment opportunities;" after "operating businesses;"; to delete the original "(f)" and substitute with "(i)"; to delete the original "(g)" and substitute with "(j)"; and to add "retain as far as possible the existing open-air bazaars and suspend temporarily the Voluntary Surrender Scheme for hawkers, and" before "consider allowing regulated hawking activities".
(iii)	Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung to move the following amendment: (Translation) To delete "since the reunification," after "That," and substitute with "as the Government has for a long time ignored the impoverishment of the grassroots and the growth trend of the disparity between the rich and the poor in Hong Kong, resulting that although"; to delete "but" after "40%" and substitute with "since the reunification,"; to delete "one" after "to over" and substitute with "1.23"; to add "among developed regions" after "ranks first"; to add "the Government's lack of a comprehensive policy on poverty alleviation as well as" after "attributed to"; to delete "," after "job positions" and substitute with "; in this connection,"; to add "formulate a comprehensive policy on poverty alleviation which is conducive to the employment of the grassroots, and at the same time," after "the Government should"; to delete "adopt the following measures" after "urges the Government to" and substitute with "establish a standard poverty line to serve as the basis for formulating a comprehensive policy on poverty alleviation and employment of the grassroots, and establish a representative committee on poverty alleviation and employment to promote the implementation of the strategies for alleviating poverty and supporting employment, and at the same time, adopt the following measures to enhance employment support and create employment opportunities"; to add "to conduct a detailed evaluation on and inform the public how the six industries can assist the grassroots to secure employment, and" after "(a)"; and to add "on a long-term basis" after "transport subsidiary scheme".
(iv)	Hon Cyd HO to move the following amendment: (Translation) To delete "reunification" after "since the" and substitute with "handover of sovereignty"; to add "the tilting of government policies towards large consortia, resulting in the workers losing their bargaining power, coupled with" after "attributed to"; to add "which has led to serious unemployment and the worsening of the problem of working poverty;" after "job positions,"; to delete "and" after "cultural activities;"; and to add "; (h) to establish a poverty line and comprehensively assess the population of the working poverty; and (i) to include 'elimination of working poverty' as one of the objectives for the enactment of legislation on minimum wage" immediately before the full stop.
(v)	Hon LI Fung-ying to move the following amendment: (Translation) To add "in the ten-odd years" after "That,"; to add "in 1997" after "the reunification"; to delete "has increased persistently" after "the population of the poor" and substitute with "in Hong Kong has not reduced but increased"; to delete "in the world" after "ranks first" and substitute with "among developed countries and regions"; to delete "the mismatch between manpower supply and job positions, the Government should" after "attributed to" and substitute with "the Government's excessive blind faith in free markets and over-emphasis on economic development; in this connection, the Government should comprehensively review its policy objectives,"; to add "and improve their livelihood" after "securing employment"; to delete "in this connection," after "alleviating the disparity between the rich and the poor;"; to add "and employment assistance schemes" after "to continuing education"; to add "and ethnic minorities" after "new arrivals"; to delete "for taking up professional positions in the six industries at the middle ranking or supporting levels" after "equip themselves"; to delete "subsidize the costs" after "scheme to" and substitute with "alleviate the burden"; and to delete "to provide re-employment support allowance and employment counseling, etc for the unemployed" after "(d)" and substitute with "to establish an unemployment loan fund and provide employment counselling". Amendment to Hon LI Fung-ying's amendment Ir Dr Hon Raymond HO to move the following amendment: (Translation) To delete "excessive blind faith in free markets and over-emphasis on economic development; in this connection, the Government should comprehensively review its policy objectives," before "allocate more resources" and substitute with "failure to formulate a package of comprehensive and effective policies on poverty alleviation; the Government should".
(vi)	Dr Hon Priscilla LEUNG to move the following amendment: (Translation) To delete "," after "in terms of disparity between the rich and the poor" and substitute with "; on the other hand, many middle-class people who have lost their jobs as a result of the financial tsunami happened last year are still unable to find another job to date;"; to add "the middle class and" after "assist"; to add "as well as reducing the downward mobility of the middle class" after "alleviating the disparity between the rich and the poor"; to add "(a) to promote the six industries on the major premise that they must create job positions for the middle class and the grassroots, and help them enter these six fast-moving industries, so as to enable more people to benefit directly from the development of the new industries;" after "the following measures:"; to delete the original "(a)" and substitute with "(b)"; to delete the original "(b)" and substitute with "(c)"; to add "(d) to study the establishment of a switch-occupation loan fund for the unemployed to help those middle class and grassroots people who are unemployed to take professional courses and then switch to the newly-emerging industries;" after "supporting levels;"; to delete the original "(c)" and substitute with "(e)"; to delete the original "(d)" and substitute with "(f)"; to delete the original "(e)" and substitute with "(g)"; to add "young people and" after "fund to provide"; to delete "capital to" after "the unemployed with" and substitute with "interest-free loans to help them"; to delete the original "(f)" and substitute with "(h)"; and to delete the original "(g)" and substitute with "(i)".
(vii)	Hon LEUNG Kwok-hung to move the following amendment: (Translation) To delete "while developing the six industries," after "(a)" and substitute with "to construct public facilities such as public housing estates, hospitals, clinics, community centres, schools and roads, so as to increase employment opportunities and improve the quality of life of people, as well as"; to delete "for taking up professional positions in the six industries at the middle ranking or supporting levels" after "equip themselves"; and to add "unemployment financial assistance," after "(d) to provide".
(viii)	Hon LEE Cheuk-yan to move the following amendment: (Translation) To add "(c) to extend the on-the-job training period under the Youth Pre-employment Training Programme and the Youth Work Experience and Training Scheme ('YPTP·YWETS'), and request the employers participating in YPTP·YWETS to draw up detailed training plans for the trainees and regularly review their training progress, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of YPTP·YWETS and increasing their employment opportunities;" after "supporting levels;"; to delete the original "(c)" and substitute with "(d)"; to delete "(d) to provide re-employment support allowance and employment counseling, etc for the unemployed;" after "choices in jobs;" and substitute with "(e) to restructure the employment services of the Labour Department, establish district-based skills and employment counselling centres, and provide job seeking allowance and one-stop services for the unemployed and job seekers, which includes providing information on job vacancies and training courses, providing counselling on employment and training for people in need, and assisting job seekers with financial difficulties to apply for other assistance, such as Comprehensive Social Security Allowance, public housing rent reduction, tuition fee remission for their children, waiver of medical fees, etc, with a view to helping them to tide over the difficult times and enabling them to have peace of mind when looking for jobs during the unemployment period;"; to delete the original "(e)" and substitute with "(f)"; to delete the original "(f)" and substitute with "(g)"; and to delete the original "(g)" and substitute with "(h)".
(ix)	Hon Audrey EU to move the following amendment: (Translation) To delete "and" after "arts and cultural activities;"; and to add "; and (h) to improve the business environment of the recycling industry, which includes providing more market outlets for the materials recovered, creating job positions in the recycling industry and considering the introduction of a licensing system to upgrade the recycling industry" immediately before the full stop.

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

Support for people with mental illness and people recovering from mental illness

Dr Hon PAN Pey-chyou to move the following motion: (Translation)

That, in view of the increasing number of people receiving psychiatric diagnosis and treatment in Hong Kong, as well as the rising trend of incidents and tragedies involving people with severe mental illness in recent years, which reflect that the services currently provided to people with mental illness and people recovering from mental illness are insufficient and must be improved, this Council urges the Government to:

(a)	formulate a comprehensive and long-term policy on mental health, so as to set a clear direction for the prevention, early detection, treatment, rehabilitation, long-term care and public education of mental illness;
(b)	allocate more resources to train and recruit psychiatric healthcare and rehabilitation professionals and ancillary personnel, including doctors, social workers, nurses, occupational therapists, clinical psychologists and physiotherapists, etc, to provide comprehensive services to people with mental illness and people recovering from mental illness;
(c)	clearly position psychiatric services in the public sector so that resources are effectively utilized to treat people whose mental illness is more severe, provide the grassroots with appropriate treatment and train medical and nursing staff at all levels to serve the community, and resolve the problems in the distribution of resources and facilities among the clusters so as to enhance effectiveness of the services;
(d)	suspend the reduction of psychiatric beds and re-introduce evening consultation services in order to provide appropriate services to people recovering from mental illness who have to work in the daytime;
(e)	strengthen training on professional knowledge on psychiatry for healthcare personnel in family medicine and enhance the collaboration between family medicine and psychiatric services, so that family doctors can diagnose and treat various types of mental illness at an early stage and make timely referral of people with severe mental illness to psychiatric units for follow-up;
(f)	allocate more resources for pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments so that people with mental illness can receive the most suitable treatment for their illness;
(g)	further develop the community medical and rehabilitation services to cater for the needs of people with mental illness and people recovering from mental illness, reinforce the collaboration of these two types of services, and consolidate the existing services, with a view to strengthening the support for people recovering from mental illness and their families;
(h)	assign case managers on a long term basis to closely follow up cases, so that patients can receive appropriate services and support during various stages of rehabilitation;
(i)	establish additional mental health centres in the community to provide integrated services to people with mental illness and people recovering from mental illness;
(j)	increase subvented places to accommodate the needy people with mental illness who are discharged from hospitals, and strengthen the regulation of the quality of self-financing hostels;
(k)	encourage the private and public sectors to employ people with disabilities, including people recovering from mental illness, and encourage the participation of the private sector by means of tax concession etc; and
(l)	pro-actively promote public education and volunteer work on mental health, eliminate discrimination against people with mental illness and people recovering from mental illness in the community, so that people with mental illness will be more active in receiving medical treatment and people recovering from mental illness can reintegrate into the society more smoothly.
Amendments to the motion
(i)	Hon WONG Sing-chi to move the following amendment: (Translation) To delete "in view of" after "That," and substitute with "in the absence of a long-term policy on mental health,"; to delete ", which" after "in recent years"; to delete "," after "improved" and substitute with ";"; to delete "and" after "long-term care" and substitute with ","; to add "and research on" after "public education of"; to delete ";" before the original "(b)" and substitute with ", strengthen community nurse service in response to the deteriorating mental health of the public, and put in place a clear administration structure and regularly review the effectiveness of implementation of the policy; (b) establish a mental health council comprising government officials, medical professionals, social work professionals, representatives of people recovering from mental illness as well as their family members to harmonize and coordinate psychiatric services and advise on the policy on mental health; "; to delete the original "(b)" and substitute with "(c)"; to add "(d) set up multi-disciplinary community psychiatric treatment teams for various professionals such as psychiatric doctors, clinical psychologists, social workers, psychiatric nurses, occupational therapists and physiotherapists etc to follow up cases through outreaching services;" after "comprehensive services to people with mental illness and people recovering from mental illness;"; to delete the original "(c)" and substitute with "(e)"; to delete the original "(d)" and substitute with "(f)"; to delete the original "(e)" and substitute with "(g)"; to delete the original "(f)" and substitute with "(h)"; to delete the original "(g)" and substitute with "(i)"; to add "to improve the problem of disconnection between service referral and acceptance" after "the existing services"; to delete the original "(h)" and substitute with "(j)"; to delete the original "(i)" and substitute with "(k)"; to delete the original "(j)" and substitute with "(l)"; to add "(m) create a database of people with mental illness to record their illness, treatment progress, service acceptance and criminal records for better understanding of their condition, so relevant professionals will more easily follow-up and render assistance; (n) provide long-term and stable support for family members of people with mental illness and the organizations concerned; " after "self-financing hostels;"; to delete the original "(k)" and substitute with "(o)"; to delete "encourage the private and public sectors" before "to employ people" and substitute with "establish an indicator for hiring people with disabilities and motivate various organizations to formulate recruitment policy on and procedures for hiring people with disabilities, for government departments, public bodies and subvented organizations to take the lead"; to delete "and" after "tax concession etc;" and substitute with "(p) review the existing vocational rehabilitation service provided to people recovering from mental illness and enhance on-the-job training to upgrade their capabilities, so as to facilitate them to re-enter the job market; and"; and to delete the original "(l)" and substitute with "(q)".
(ii)	Dr Hon Joseph LEE to move the following amendment: (Translation) To add "(b) review the psychiatric services under the Hospital Authority and those provided by non-profit-making organizations at present so as to ensure an effective allocation of resources between them, with a view to enhancing the quality and efficiency of psychiatric services;" after "public education of mental illness;"; to delete the original "(b)" and substitute with "(c)"; to add "(including psychiatric nurses and community psychiatric nurses)" after "nurses"; to delete the original "(c)" and substitute with "(d)"; to delete the original "(d)" and substitute with "(e)"; to delete the original "(e)" and substitute with "(f)"; to delete the original "(f)" and substitute with "(g)"; to delete the original "(g)" and substitute with "(h)"; to delete the original "(h)" and substitute with "(i)"; to delete the original "(i)" and substitute with "(j)"; to delete the original "(j)" and substitute with "(k)"; to delete the original "(k)" and substitute with "(l)"; to delete "and (l)" after "tax concession etc;" and substitute with "(m)"; and to add "; (n) allocate more resources to fully develop the Extending Care Patients Intensive Treatment, Early Diversion and Rehabilitation Stepping Stone ('EXITERS') programme in various clusters to provide intensive rehabilitation training to long-stay patients with mental illness, so as to facilitate their early discharge and return to the community; and (o) provide relevant talks or training to family members of people recovering from mental illness who will soon be discharged, so as to assist the family members in adapting to and understanding the essential elements and techniques of dealing with people recovering from mental illness to avoid provoking them, and to enhance the family members' knowledge about early detection of their relapse" immediately before the full stop.
(iii)	Dr Hon LEUNG Ka-lau to move the following amendment: (Translation) To add "and establish an independent funding mechanism" after "(b) allocate more resources"; to delete "and" after "tax concession etc;"; to add "strengthen the cooperation of the Hospital Authority, Department of Health, Social Welfare Department and Education Bureau in education on mental health and rehabilitation," after "(l)"; and to add "; (m) devise a full-coverage medical insurance scheme to provide adequate coverage for mental illness treatment and rehabilitation services to people with mental illness and people recovering from mental illness, and provide tax concessions to encourage people with mental illness and people recovering from mental illness to take out medical insurance; and (n) set up an independent 'Mental Health Research Fund' to encourage, promote and finance research on the prevention, treatment and control of mental illness, as well as the development of healthcare policy" immediately before the full stop.

Public Officers to reply

Secretary for Food and Health
Secretary for Labour and Welfare

Clerk to the Legislative Council

Legislative Council

Agenda Wednesday 25 November 2009 at 11:00 am

Agenda

Wednesday 25 November 2009 at 11:00 am