A 09/10-15

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 20 January 2010 at 11:00 am

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
1.Energy Efficiency (Labelling of Products) Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 1) Order 2009 (Commencement) Notice2/2010
2.Energy Efficiency (Labelling of Products) Ordinance (Amendment of Schedules) Order 2009 (Commencement) Notice3/2010
3.Foreign Lawyers Registration (Amendment) Rules 2009 (Commencement) Notice4/2010

Other Papers

1.No. 57-Legal Aid Services Council Annual Report 2008-2009
(to be presented by the Secretary for Home Affairs)

2.No. 58-Employees' Compensation Insurance Levies Management Board Annual Report 2008/09
(to be presented by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare)

3.No. 59-Employees Compensation Assistance Fund Board Annual Report 2008-2009
(to be presented by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare)

4.No. 60-Occupational Deafness Compensation Board Annual Report 2008-2009
(to be presented by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare)

5.No. 61-Pneumoconiosis Compensation Fund Board Annual Report 2008
(to be presented by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare)

6.No. 62-Hospital Authority Annual Report 2008-2009
(to be presented by the Secretary for Food and Health)

7.No. 63-Samaritan Fund
Statement of Accounts, Report of the Director of Audit on the Statement and Report on the Samaritan Fund for the year ended 31 March 2009
(to be presented by the Secretary for Food and Health)

8.Report of the Bills Committee on Legal Practitioners (Amendment) Bill 2009
(to be presented by Dr Hon Margaret NG, Chairman of the Bills Committee)

9.Report of the Bills Committee on Telecommunications (Amendment) Bill 2009
(to be presented by Hon Andrew LEUNG, Chairman of the Bills Committee)

II. Questions

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

At present, the appointment requirements for most civil service posts stipulate that the applicants must meet the Chinese and English language proficiency requirements. Quite a number of Hong Kong permanent residents who are South Asians have relayed to me that they were not offered appointment to the civil service because they failed to meet the Chinese language proficiency requirements. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)among those persons applying for civil service vacancies at junior, middle and senior ranks in the recent three years, of the respective numbers of Hong Kong permanent residents of South Asian descent who had been appointed and rejected;

    (b)whether any of the permanent residents of South Asian descent in (a) were not appointed solely because their Chinese language proficiency did not meet the appointment requirements; if not, of the reasons why they were not appointed; and

    (c)of the details of the amendments made by the Government since the reunification in respect of the Chinese language proficiency requirements for appointment as civil servants (including expatriate civil servants) at different levels?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Civil Service

2. Hon Andrew CHENG to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported earlier that quite a number of nurses who work in the operating theatres of Queen Mary Hospital had taken sick leave together, because they were dissatisfied that they were required to perform excessively long hours of overtime work persistently, resulting in postponement of a number of non-urgent surgical operations. Regarding the problem of nursing manpower in the Hospital Authority ("HA"), will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
    (a)whether HA had recruited all the additional nursing staff provided in the Estimates of that year in each of the past two financial years; if so, among such newly-recruited manpower, of the number of nurses responsible for providing support for the various newly-added medical services; if not, for what purposes the resources concerned have been redeployed;

    (b)given that I have learnt that apart from providing existing services, nursing staff of public hospitals are also required to support a number of new services launched by HA in recent years (including community support and multi-disciplinary healthcare services), whether HA has assessed if there are enough nursing staff to provide support for operating theatres and other in-patient services when the new services are launched; of the average number of nurses responsible for providing the services concerned for each bed per shift in the public hospitals under HA in each of the past three years; whether the authorities will consider discussing with HA revising the establishment of nursing staff, including the number of beds for which each nurse working in hospital wards is held responsible; and

    (c)the average number of operating theatre nurse specialists who departed from public hospitals in each of the past three years, and whether the various public hospitals can maintain sufficient number of nurse specialists; given that the Government announced in the Policy Address delivered on 15 October 2008 that it would promote the development of private healthcare, whether the Government has assessed how many additional operating theatre nurse specialists are required to be trained in the coming five years to meet the demand of public and private hospitals?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

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

It has been reported that the Government will launch new measures to accelerate the revitalization of industrial buildings, and the Lands Department ("LandsD") will set up a dedicated team with about 10 members to provide one-stop service to process all applications for redevelopment, conversion and change of use of industrial buildings starting from the first of April this year. Government departments such as the Fire Services Department, Transport Department and Food and Environmental Hygiene Department will be required to reply with their views on the applications within two weeks. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the composition and structure of the aforesaid dedicated team, and what steps are included in the procedure for processing applications through the one-stop service;

    (b)of the estimated time saved under the new procedure as compared with the existing procedure, and how the new procedure processes applications which are more complicated; and

    (c)given that there have been reports that LandsD will publish a new Practice Note before April this year to set out the details of conversion which may be accorded flexibility subject to compliance with existing legislation, of the contents of the Practice Note and in what ways the Practice Note will be published to ensure that relevant parties will be duly informed of its contents?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

4.For Hon Alan LEONG,

Hon Tanya CHAN to ask: (Translation)

In the reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on 27 May 2009, the Secretary for Food and Health advised that half of the District Councils ("DCs") had already given support to the "trap-neuter-return" trial programme ("the trial programme") as early as 2007, and the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department ("AFCD") would, in collaboration with the animal welfare organizations concerned, finalize the details for the implementation of the trial programme in those nine DCs. Moreover, an animal welfare organization has relayed to me that as AFCD has not yet implemented the trial programme, it has designed a plan for implementing the trial programme, hoping to assist AFCD in bringing under control the number of stray dogs in the vicinity of Chuk Yuen Village near the Lion Rock using more civilized means. Yet, the animal welfare organization received a verbal warning from AFCD recently that the organization might be prosecuted if it implemented that plan. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether AFCD has commenced the aforesaid trial programme; if it has, of the progress; if not, the reasons for that; and whether AFCD will work with voluntary organizations for the implementation of the trial programme; if it will not, of the reasons for that;

    (b)whether AFCD will give an undertaking that voluntary organizations and individuals implementing the trial programme on their own will not be prosecuted under the Rabies Ordinance for offences such as abandonment of animals, failure to implant a microchip or obtain a licence for animals and so on; if it will not, of the reasons for that; and

    (c)of the numbers of stray cats and dogs caught in the past three years and the numbers of those which had been euthanized; and whether the authorities will replace the arrangement of euthanasia with the "trap-neuter-return" programme, with a view to protecting the rights of animals and addressing the issues of stray cats and dogs more appropriately?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

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

Early this month, quite a number of taxi and public light bus drivers complained that the engines of their vehicles stalled frequently after refilling at dedicated liquefied petroleum gas ("LPG") filling stations of Sinopec Hong Kong Limited ("Sinopec"). They suspected that the cause of such a situation was related to the quality of LPG, and they worried that this would pose serious threat to traffic safety. It was reported that some mechanics of garages providing repair services to taxis had pointed out that the auto LPG supplied by Sinopec had the problem of insufficient concentration. Moreover, I have received complaints from residents of public rental housing estates that the problem of unstable burning when using domestic LPG has occurred from time to time. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it has any standardized mechanism for monitoring the safety and quality of auto LPG, bottled LPG and central LPG, and whether such a mechanism includes conducting sample tests regularly; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (b)of the respective numbers of complaint cases about auto LPG and central LPG received by the authorities in each of the past three years, as well as what contents of complaints and their follow-up actions were; whether it knows the time generally taken by the LPG suppliers concerned to deal with and resolve the relevant problems?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment

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

According to the Arrangement between the Mainland of China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income ("Arrangement") signed by the authorities of the Mainland and Hong Kong on 21 August 2006, starting from January and April 2007 respectively, one of the conditions for Mainland and Hong Kong residents to be exempted from local taxes with respect to remuneration derived from cross-boundary employment is that they are present in the place concerned for a period or periods not exceeding in the aggregate 183 days in any 12-month period commencing or ending in the taxable period concerned. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows the respective numbers, since the implementation of the Arrangement, of mainland and Hong Kong residents required to pay local taxes because of their cross-boundary employment and presence exceeding 183 days in any 12-month period, and the respective total amounts of taxes involved;

    (b)whether the Inland Revenue Department has recovered taxes from mainland residents who were employed and present in Hong Kong for more than 183 days in any 12-month period; if it has, of the number of cases and the total amount of taxes involved; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)on what principle the authorities concerned have based in setting the upper limit of presence at 183 days with respect to the aforesaid condition for tax exemption; whether it will negotiate with the mainland authorities concerned to raise the upper limit, so as to dovetail with the "one-hour quality living sphere" programme, as well as to strengthen and enhance economic integration between Hong Kong and Guangdong; if it will, of the details; if not, the justifications for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

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

Will the Government inform this Council of the current number of temporary structures which the Government permits to exist, broken down by the type of the structure and district (i.e. Hong Kong Island, Kowloon, New Territories East and New Territories West, etc.), and, among such structures, the respective numbers of those which can be used for dwelling and for other purposes?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

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

The Government advised in its reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on 18 November last year that the Securities and Futures Commission ("SFC") had completed its investigation into the affairs of the CITIC Pacific Limited and had submitted the investigation report to the Department of Justice ("DoJ") for consideration, while the Police's investigation was still underway. Moreover, when a claim for compensation from the immediate past chairman of the CITIC Pacific Limited was heard in the Small Claims Tribunal on 5 January this year, the adjudicator pointed out that the allegations made by the claimant were matters for the Market Misconduct Tribunal ("MMT"), and the claimant might make a civil claim after MMT had examined the case. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows if SFC has submitted the aforesaid investigation report to the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury ("SFST") as well as the Financial Secretary ("FS") for consideration; if so, when such report was submitted to SFST and FS, as well as the results of their consideration; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)whether the Police has completed its investigation into the aforesaid incident; if so, whether the investigation report has been submitted to DoJ for consideration;

    (c)whether the Secretary for Justice, SFST and FS will consider referring the aforesaid incident to MMT for instituting proceedings; and

    (d)of the total number of cases MMT has dealt with since its establishment on 1 April 2003, and the market misconduct activities involved and, among such cases, the respective numbers of which were referred to FS by SFC and then to MMT for instituting proceedings, as well as those referred to MMT by the Insider Dealing Tribunal; of the number of cases in which the proceedings have been completed, the time required for completing the proceedings of each case and the results, as well as the number of cases still underway?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

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

I have received complaints from more than 10 members of the public alleging that a training provider had admitted students indiscriminately to an English course registered under the Continuing Education Fund ("CEF"), and the English proficiency of the students enrolled in the course varied so tremendously that even though many of them had attained an attendance of over 80% and had even repeated study for one year, they could not pass the relevant public examination in spoken English and successfully complete the course, rendering them ineligible to apply for reimbursement of 80% of the course fee from CEF. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the total number of complaints against CEF courses received by the authorities in the past three years, and the number of training providers involved; among the complaints, the number of substantiated cases, the items of breaches involved and what follow-up actions the authorities had taken;

    (b)whether there is regulation by the authorities on the qualifications of CEF course instructors, their turnover rate and the practices adopted by the training providers in promoting their courses; if they have, of the details; if not, whether the authorities will formulate respective specifications for such matters; and

    (c)how the authorities avoid the recurrence of the aforesaid situation of training providers admitting students indiscriminately?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

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

It has been reported that development of the technologies of using light emitting diodes ("LED") in illumination is becoming more mature in recent years, with its gross output in the global market amounting to 5.6 billion US dollars in 2008, and many countries have extensively used this technology in traffic light signals and public lighting systems. Regarding the application of LED in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)given that the Transport Department's scheme to replace all conventional traffic signals in Hong Kong with LED ones in stages has commenced since February 2009, of the latest progress of the scheme, as well as when it will be completed according to the latest estimation;

    (b)how such LED traffic signals compare with conventional ones in terms of illumination level, efficacy and durability;

    (c)whether the authorities will, when replacing the remaining conventional traffic signals, consider installing LED green traffic light signal countdown timers at the same time so as to enhance road safety; and

    (d)given that the authorities had indicated, in its reply to the question raised by a Member at the meeting of this Council on 21 November 2007 regarding the use of more energy-efficient public lighting systems, that suitable LED lighting fittings were not available in the market at that time, whether the authorities had, in the past two years, followed closely the latest development in the relevant technologies so as to take suitable follow-up actions and conduct tests?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

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

Some members of the aviation industry have relayed to me that air routes and airspace open for civil aviation in the Pearl River Delta ("PRD") region are insufficient, and with four other airports (including Macao, Shenzhen, Guangzhou and Zhuhai) within 65 kilometres of Hong Kong, the flights on many air routes have to make an additional detour or fly to a certain flight level to ensure safety, which has not only increased the flight time, but has also resulted in flight delays from time to time. They have indicated that with the rapid growth in the aviation industry and an increasing number of flights, the problem of air traffic congestion in the airspace over the PRD region will become more serious and will affect Hong Kong's air transport volume. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective numbers of departure and arrival flights in Hong Kong in each of the past three years which, because of air traffic flow control by the mainland authorities and air traffic congestion in the airspace over the PRD region, had to either circle in the air after not being allowed to land or wait on the apron for a long time before being allowed to take off, and were thus delayed, as well as their respective percentages in the total number of departure and arrival flights in Hong Kong during the corresponding period;

    (b)given that the Civil Aviation Department ("CAD") has introduced new air routes since 22 October last year, and has shortened the arrival routes for flights from west and north of Hong Kong to help save fuel consumption, of the number of arrival flights which had used the new air routes since their introduction, and the major countries from which such flights departed; whether it has assessed the additional air transport volume to be brought to Hong Kong by the new air routes; and

    (c)of the latest result and progress in the optimization of regional airspace design, improvement to the allocation of flight levels, standardization of interface protocols and standards of air traffic control facilities and increase in air routes for civil aviation between the PRD region and the northern and eastern parts of the Mainland since the establishment of the PRD Air Traffic Management Implementation Working Group by CAD, the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China and the Macao Civil Aviation Authority in February 2004, as well as what medium and long-term work plans it has to increase the runway capacity and air transport volume of Hong Kong's airport?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

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

In its consultation paper on the Kowloon City section of the Shatin to Central Link ("SCL") project issued to the Kowloon City District Council on 21 May last year, the MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL") has proposed setting up a temporary works area ("works area") in the Kai Tak Development Area. It is expected that the works area will cover about 20 hectares and will be used for material storage and installation of concrete batching, stirring and rock crushing facilities. Quite a number of residents in the vicinity of the proposed works area (such as Grand Waterfront, Sky Tower and Wyler Gardens, etc.) have relayed to me their worries that the excessive size of the works area and the close proximity of its facilities to the residential area would lead to serious noise, air and traffic nuisances, thus affecting their daily life. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the details of the arrangements for various facilities in the aforesaid works area;

    (b)given that the Government and MTRCL have engaged an environmental consultant to conduct a thorough environmental impact assessment on the installation and operation of the aforesaid SCL project and its related temporary facilities, when the assessment report will be completed and the contents of the report publicized to the public, so as to facilitate members of the public to express their views on the contents;

    (c)whether the authorities will undertake to arrange for the facilities, which may give rise to the aforesaid nuisances in the works area, to be located as far away from the residential area as practicable; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; what new specific measures they have in place to reduce the nuisances to residents in the district during the implementation of the SCL project; and

    (d)whether it will, in response to the request by the residents in the district, review afresh the size of the works area; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

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

I have often received complaints from the public that many shops reject 10-cent, 20-cent and 50-cent coins and $1,000 bank notes in transactions, and some even "blatantly" displayed notices at prominent places in their premises that such currency is not accepted. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether shops in Hong Kong have the authority to reject the aforesaid coins and bank notes in transactions under the existing laws of Hong Kong; if so, which chapter of the laws gives them such authority; if not, of which legislation that these shops have breached, which government department is responsible for enforcing the relevant legislation, the penalty for such offence, as well as the respective numbers of relevant prosecutions and convictions in the past five years; and

    (b)with which government department the public may lodge complaints of shops' rejection of the aforesaid coins and bank notes; of the complaints hotline and address of that department; and the time needed for staff of the department to arrive at the scene to conduct investigation and follow up after receiving a telephone complaint?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

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

Some travel agents have relayed to me that certain airline companies solicit business by claiming in their advertisements that they offer air tickets at prices much lower than the normal market prices, so as to attract corporate clients of registered travel agents to buy air tickets directly from them, but in fact air tickets available at such prices are very few, and such practice might be misleading to customers, and the mutual trust between airline companies and travel agents has been undermined as a result. Travel agents have pointed out that such business practice is both improper and against the principle of fair competition. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the existing measures or legislation to regulate the aforesaid business practice;

    (b)of the government departments with which the affected customers or travel agents may lodge their complaints about the aforesaid situation, and the procedure for them to do so; whether the authorities had received such complaints in the past three years; if they had, of the number of the complaints; and

    (c)whether it will formulate new policies and measures to curb the aforesaid business practice?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

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

It was reported that a member of the public, after learning that the three stray dogs staying in her neighbourhood had been caught by the staff of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department ("AFCD"), claimed to be the dogs' owner to prevent them from being euthanized, but she was eventually charged for failing to obtain the licences required for the dogs she kept. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the numbers of stray cats and dogs received by AFCD last year; and among the cats and dogs caught and received by AFCD, the respective numbers of those reclaimed by their owners and adopted by the public;

    (b)whether the authorities have any mechanism in place at present for reviewing the cases in which stray animals are assessed by the veterinary officers of AFCD that they should be euthanized; if not, of the reasons for that;

    (c)whether the authorities will consider amending the relevant legislation and reviewing the existing measures, so as to encourage more people to apply for the adoption of stray animals and prevent people from being prosecuted for offences similar to the aforesaid one;

    (d)how the authorities determine the time that a stray animal can stay in AFCD's animal management centre after being caught or received and before they are finally adopted or euthanized; whether the authorities will consider extending the time limit for the application for adopting such animals, so that the animal welfare organizations concerned will have sufficient time to apply for adoption to prevent such animals from being euthanized unnecessarily;

    (e)of the reasons for the authorities allowing members of the public to adopt animals which have been caught or received by them only through animal welfare organizations at present; whether they will consider allowing members of the public to apply directly to AFCD's animal management centre for adoption of the animals caught; if not, of the reasons for that;

    (f)of the details of the authorities' existing vetting and approval for applications from animal welfare organizations for participating in the AFCD Re-home Scheme; whether they will consider amending the relevant conditions, so as to encourage more organizations to participate in this Scheme; and

    (g)of the details of the authorities' latest publicity work on the Re-home Scheme; whether they will step up publicity so that more members of the public will participate in this Scheme?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

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

Regarding the progress of the implementation of Digital Terrestrial Television ("DTT") broadcasting, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the major areas not covered by DTT broadcasting on Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories respectively as at the end of 2009, and the reasons for those areas not being covered; when the target of full DTT coverage in Hong Kong will be achieved;

    (b)of the number of households using DTT service and the penetration rate of DTT in each of the past three years;

    (c)given that the authorities have specified in the implementation framework for DTT broadcasting published in July 2004 that the Government's target was to cease analogue broadcasting within five years after commencement of simulcast, whether it is still the Government's plan to cease analogue broadcasting by the end of 2012 (i.e. the fifth year after commencement of simulcast), resulting in people not being able to watch free analogue television channels currently available;

    (d)whether it will consider retaining analogue broadcasting after 2012 and continuing with the current simulcast arrangement for analogue and DTT broadcasting; if it will, what impact such an arrangement will have on the Government, as well as of the resultant economic losses; and

    (e)given that there have been reports that many salespersons claimed that the Government would cease analogue broadcasting, and deceived the residents in public and private housing estates that they must purchase the DTT receivers sold by them at high prices in order to continue to receive local free television broadcasting, resulting in such residents suffering from financial losses, whether the Government will step up publicity work in the future, so as to prevent people from being deceived and misled by such sales activities?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

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

Some parents have relayed to me that in recent years, incidents of parents or guardians leaving children unattended at home occurred from time to time, with some incidents even involving injuries of children, and the situation has aroused concern. They have also pointed out that the existing occasional child care services available in the community are inadequate, and if parents have important matters to handle and need occasional care for their children, they would encounter great difficulties and sometimes unavoidably need to abandon a trip or take the risk of temporarily leaving their young children unattended at home. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)given that the last large-scale survey conducted by the Administration on the situation of children being left unattended at home was conducted in 1997, which was more than 12 years ago, whether the Government will consider conducting a survey study on this matter again; if it will, of the specific plan; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)given that at present the Government normally invokes the Offences Against The Person Ordinance (Cap. 212) in dealing with cases of children being left unattended at home, whether the Government will review the current practice; if it will, of the specific details and follow-up actions; if not, the reasons for that;

    (c)given that some parents have pointed out that the problem of children being left unattended at home has not improved all these years and there are signs of its getting worse each day, whether the Government will formulate new policies and measures to further improve the situation; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (d)of the expenditure incurred by the Government on dealing with the problem of children being left unattended at home in the past three financial years; whether it will adjust the relevant estimates of expenditure in the 2010-2011 Budget; if it will, of the specific details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (e)whether the Government has any plan at present to study the introduction of legislation to prohibit children being left unattended at home; if it will, of the progress and the plan of the work concerned; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (f)whether it knows the respective numbers of places and service hours of subvented child care services in various districts; whether the Government has conducted any review on the supply and demand of such services; if it has, of the outcome and follow-up actions; if not, whether the Government will consider commencing such a review within a short period; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

*18. Hon Mrs Regina IP to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that the CLP Power Hong Kong Limited ("CLP") plans to construct an offshore wind farm, and that after CLP has adopted wind power for generating electricity, its annual reduction in carbon dioxide emission is expected to reach 300 000 tons, thereby raising the percentage of renewable energy used in power generation in Hong Kong to 1%. The generation capacity of the wind farm, which will account for about 1% to 2% of CLP's overall capacity, is sufficient to supply power to 80 000 households. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)given that there are research data which show that the actual capacity factor of wind farms in Europe in the past five years was below 21%, but the cost was 66% higher and the reduction in carbon emission was 40% less than expected, and that there was obvious limitation of wind power for generating electricity, whether the Government has, on the basis of Hong Kong's actual geographical environment and wind power resources, thoroughly verified the data on the reduction of carbon dioxide emission and economic benefits of the proposed wind farm mentioned in the Environmental Impact Assessment ("EIA") report submitted by CLP for the said wind farm project; if it has, of its justifications for approving the EIA report;

    (b)of the actual serviceable life span of the aforesaid wind farm, as well as details of the Government's consideration of the environmental protection and economic benefits of the project when it approved the project's EIA report; and

    (c)whether the Government has examined relevant options to help members of the public cope with the burden of increase in electricity tariff on them resulting from the use of wind power for electricity generation?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment

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

Recently, some members of the public have relayed to me that as the schools/colleges of continuing and professional studies ("schools/colleges") of quite a number of universities have set up their education centres in Kowloon and on Hong Kong Island, residents in the New Territories have to incur high travelling expenses and spend a lot of time to reach such centres to attend classes, thus causing them much inconvenience. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows the locations of the respective education centres of the schools/colleges of the various tertiary institutions at present, as well as the courses offered there and their enrolment capacities (list out in table form);

    (b)whether it knows the distribution, by District Council district, of the residences of the students of the various schools/colleges at present (list out in table form);

    (c)whether it knows the reasons why the various tertiary institutions rarely set up education centres in New Territories West; and

    (d)whether the authorities will consider adopting measures to encourage the various schools/colleges to set up their education centres in remote areas such as New Territories West; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education

*20. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)

According to the information for 2006 published by the Census and Statistics Department, the sex ratio of persons from the Mainland having resided in Hong Kong for less than seven years ("new arrivals") was 443 males per 1 000 females and when comparing to 609 males in 1996, the proportion of females among new arrivals had increased significantly. Other researches reveal that the services provided by the Government cannot meet the needs of new arrival women. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
    (a)how the "labour force participation rates" and "monthly incomes from main employment" for new arrival women and men compare with the corresponding data for the whole population of women and men in Hong Kong in the past three years; whether they have compiled statistics on the respective numbers and proportion of new arrivals taking up part-time and full-time jobs; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)whether they have reviewed the effectiveness of various types of services currently provided to new arrival women by the authorities and non-governmental organizations respectively; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether they will consider drawing up new support measures targeting at the needs of new arrival women; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

* For written reply

III. Bills

Second Reading (Debates to resume), Committee Stage and Third Reading

1.Legal Practitioners (Amendment) Bill 2009:The Secretary for Justice

The Secretary for Justice to move Committee stage amendments

(The amendments were issued on 13 January 2010
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 349/09-10)

2.Telecommunications (Amendment) Bill 2009:Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

Hon Emily LAU to move a Committee stage amendment

(The amendment was issued on 19 January 2010
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 377/09-10)

IV. Motions

Proposed resolution under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance

Secretary for Food and Health to move the following motion:

RESOLVED that the following Regulations, made by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board on 28 December 2009, be approved -

(a)the Pharmacy and Poisons (Amendment) (No. 5) Regulation 2009; and

(b)the Poisons List (Amendment) (No. 5) Regulation 2009.

(The two Regulations were issued on 4 January 2010
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 296/09-10)

V. Members' Motions
  1. Suspending the construction of the Government Headquarters at Tamar

    Hon Paul TSE to move the following motion: (Translation)

    That, in view of the series of 'Conserving Central' projects to transform the Central District put forward by the Chief Executive in his Policy Address made in October last year, this Council urges the SAR Government to suspend the project of the Government Headquarters at Tamar, and set up offices of government departments in various remote districts (such as Tin Shui Wai and districts near border crossings) and in new development areas (such as the West Kowloon District and the old airport area), according to their respective local characteristics and nature of development; in addition, through providing incentives such as tax and land premium concessions, to encourage international and large local commercial organizations to move their offices away from the city centre and/or to establish divisions/branches in remote areas, in order to:

    (a)increase the traffic to and fro the Central District, other busy residential/commercial areas and remote districts and optimize the use of limited road space and the mass transit system; reduce the traffic and traffic congestion in Central and the neighbouring areas (especially at the harbour crossings) during rush hours, as well as environmental pollution caused by traffic congestion and 'empty vehicles in reverse direction' due to an imbalance of passenger flow;

    (b)increase job opportunities in various remote districts;

    (c)lower the high travelling expenses and reduce the time involved in commuting between workplace and home for residents living in remote districts to facilitate the narrowing of the gap between the rich and the poor;

    (d)promote the economic development of remote districts to assist the fresh school leavers of those districts in finding jobs and opportunities for development; and to provide them with feasible ways to actively engage themselves in society and materialize their vision of upward mobility, thereby easing their negative sentiments in indulgence in excessive enjoyment and drug abuse to escape from reality;

    (e)alleviate the expensive land premium in Central, so as to enhance the appeal and competitiveness of Hong Kong as an international financial centre; to boost the investment value of properties in various other districts; and to spread out developments centrally located in busy areas to remoter districts;

    (f)consider leasing, selling or better optimizing the use of the priceless land lot in Tamar, so as to bring promising wealth for Hong Kong people, and the revenue so generated can be used for offering tax concessions to people, leaving wealth with the people or facilitating the reduction of fiscal deficit;

    (g)further tie in with and make the most of the overall development direction and trend of China, such as the 'Qianhai' development project; and

    (h)foster better conditions in Hong Kong for tourism development through measures such as conserving the urban area, providing more open space, improving transportation and protecting the environment.

    Amendment to the motion
    Ir Dr Hon Raymond HO to move the following amendment:     (Translation)

    To delete "suspend the project of the Government Headquarters at Tamar, and set" after "this Council urges the SAR Government to" and substitute with "consider setting"; to delete "in addition" after "nature of development;" and substitute with "and consider"; to delete "to encourage" after "land premium concessions," and substitute with "encouraging"; to delete "(f) consider leasing, selling or better optimizing the use of the priceless land lot in Tamar, so as to bring promising wealth for Hong Kong people, and the revenue so generated can be used for offering tax concessions to people, leaving wealth with the people or facilitating the reduction of fiscal deficit;" after "remoter districts;"; to delete the original "(g)" and substitute with "(f)"; and to delete the original "(h)" and substitute with "(g)".

    Public Officer to attend : The Chief Secretary for Administration

  2. Actively participating in the 'National Twelfth Five-Year Plan'

    Hon WONG Ting-kwong to move the following motion: (Translation)

    That, as the research and preparation of the Outline of the Twelfth Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the People's Republic of China has commenced, which will map out the economic and social development for the years from 2011 to 2015, this Council urges the SAR Government to expeditiously make plans and examine the positioning and role of Hong Kong in the country's economic development in a new setting of economic development, and actively participate in the early preparation of the 'National Twelfth Five-Year Plan', with a view to laying a good foundation for the future economic development of Hong Kong, so as to facilitate Hong Kong's economic restructuring and resolve the problem of structural unemployment, which has been plaguing Hong Kong for a long time, as well as the deep-rooted problems existing in economic development.

    Amendment to the motion
    Hon Miriam LAU to move the following amendment:     (Translation)

    To add "our country's economy has made fruitful achievements in recent years, proving that appropriate planning is conducive to long-term economic development;" after "That,"; to delete "laying" after "a view to" and substitute with "facilitating further development of the four pillar industries and the six industries in Hong Kong, together with expeditious upgrading of the level of our own software and hardware infrastructure to tie in with such developments to lay"; and to add ", thereby consolidating and enhancing Hong Kong's status as an international centre for financial services, trading and shipping, etc., and developing the six industries into new pillar industries, so that Hong Kong's economy will prosper further" immediately before the full stop.

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs
Clerk to the Legislative Council