A 09/10-16

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 27 January 2010 at 11:00 am

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments		L.N. No.
1.	Land (Compulsory Sale for Redevelopment) (Specification of Lower Percentage) Notice	6/2010
2.	Census and Statistics (Annual Earnings and Hours Survey) Order	7/2010
3.	Foreign Lawyers Registration (Fees) (Amendment) Rules 2010	8/2010
4.	Disciplined Services Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Ordinance 2009 (Commencement) Notice	9/2010

Other Papers

1.	No. 64	-	Report on the Administration of the Fire Services Department Welfare Fund together with the Director of Audit's report and audited statement of accounts for the year ended 31 March 2009
(to be presented by the Secretary for Security)
2.	Report of the Bills Committee on Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2009
(to be presented by Hon CHAN Kam-lam, Chairman of the Bills Committee) II. Questions 1. Hon Mrs Regina IP to ask: (Translation) According to the Annual Report 2008 of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority ("HKMA"), in terms of currency mix, the investment benchmark of the Exchange Fund ("EF") was that 86% of the assets were in United States ("US") dollar and other currencies (which included the Hong Kong dollar) while the remaining 14% were in other currencies (which included mainly Euro, Yen and Sterling). EF's compounded annual return from 1994 to 2008 was 6.1%, which was lower than that of other funds. For example, the compounded annual return of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation Pte Limited from 1981 to 2006 was 9.5%, and that of the Stanford University Merged Pool from 1998 to 2008 was 8.9%. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council: (a) whether HKMA will consider updating EF's existing investment benchmark so as to raise EF's return rate; (b) given the sluggish US economy as well as persistently weak US dollar exchange rate and low US interest rate, plus the fact that a number of scholars have pointed out that the US national debt has reached an astronomical figure and will most likely be monetized by the US Government, thus leading to depreciation of the US dollar, whether HKMA will consider shifting those assets which are currently allocated to the US dollar to other currencies; if not, of the reasons for that; and (c) given that Renminbi continues to be strong, whether HKMA will consider increasing the percentage of Renminbi assets in the investment benchmark? Public Officer to reply : The Financial Secretary 2. Hon Albert HO to ask: (Translation) It has been reported that during his visit to Hong Kong in 2008, State Vice-President XI Jinping pointed out that there should be mutual understanding and support among the executive authorities, the legislature and the judiciary. On the eve of the 10th anniversary of the reunification of Macao in November last year, Vice-Minister of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council ZHANG Xiaoming praised the relationship among the executive authorities, the legislature and the judiciary of Macao for putting emphasis on complementing one another. In response to such remarks, Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region LI Gang stated that Macao and Hong Kong could draw reference from each other. Besides, Chief Justice Andrew LI of the Court of Final Appeal pointed out at the Ceremonial Opening of this Legal Year that the system in Hong Kong involved checks and balances among the executive authorities, the legislature and the judiciary. He also pointed out at a subsequent press conference that the legal system of Macao was entirely not suitable for Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council: (a) whether it has plans to cause the executive authorities, the legislature and the judiciary of Hong Kong to move towards the direction of understanding, supporting and complementing one another; if so, of the content of those plans; if not, the reasons for not implementing such plans; (b) whether it is prepared to maintain the system of checks and balances among the executive authorities, the legislature and the judiciary; if not, of the reasons for that; and (c) whether it will draw reference from the governance experience of Macao; if so, whether it has assessed which aspects of the composition and arrangements of the executive authorities, the legislature and the judiciary of Macao are worthy of Hong Kong drawing reference; if such an assessment has been made, of the results? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs 3. Hon CHEUNG Man-kwong to ask: (Translation) It has been reported that according to the Education Bureau, the intake of Secondary 1 students in the coming school year will substantially decrease by 6 300, and will decrease further from this year's 63 000 to 42 000 within the next five years. It has also been reported that according to the estimation of some members of the school sector, around 50 to 60 secondary schools may cease operation in the new school year. The Secretary for Education recently visited associations of school heads in various districts to consult the principals on measures to mitigate the impact of declining population on secondary schools. Given that it has been pointed out by some members of the school sector that with the commencement of implementation of the new senior secondary ("NSS") academic structure in this school year, schools are keenly waiting for the authorities to formulate measures to stabilize the development of schools, so that both the principals and teachers can concentrate their efforts on implementing the NSS academic structure and dealing with other onerous reform-related matters, including the addition of the Liberal Studies subject, Other Learning Experiences and Student Learning Profile, integration of certain subjects, gradual increase in the number of subjects with school-based assessment ("SBA") and increasing weightings of SBA components in the concerned subjects, next cycle of external school reviews, and arrangements related to fine-tuning of the medium of instruction for schools, will the Government set out the views collected in the consultation exercise and inform this Council of the new measures which the authorities will implement to stabilize the development of schools, in order to help schools implement various reform measures under the NSS academic structure smoothly, and whether the new measures will include suspending the policy under which under-enrolled schools have to be closed? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education 4. Hon WONG Yuk-man to ask: (Translation) There have been comments that the arrangements during and after the march for universal suffrage held on new year's day of 2010 were made by the Police with the intention to suppress the participants of the march, which seriously undermined the freedom of expression. Those arrangements included deploying a large and disproportionate number of police officers at the destination of the march, i.e. outside the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("the Liaison Office"), video-filming the faces of the participants at a close distance, and sending police officers to the home of a participant of the march in a high profile manner afterwards to harass her family members. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council: (a) of the number of police officers deployed outside the Liaison Office on the day of the march and the justifications for the deployment of police of such a scale; (b) given that it was reported that although the Police had already obtained the telephone number of the aforesaid participant, they still sent police officers to her home early this month to ask her family members about her contact details as a way to harass them, and then arrested the participant in a high profile manner afterwards, of the justifications for the Police making such arrangements; and (c) given that there have been comments that the Police might have intruded into personal privacy by video-filming the faces of participants of the march at a close distance, whether it has assessed if the participants have the right to refuse being video-filmed by the Police; and whether the Police are required to obtain the prior consent of those to be video-filmed? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security 5. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation) It has been reported that in order to attract business, a catering group earlier successfully made a bid at high price in Japan for a bluefin tuna, a fish from a species listed as endangered by conservation bodies, which gave rise to strong criticism from members of the public that the group is encouraging consumption of endangered species. Some organizations and members of the public initiated protests at the restaurants of the group, and they also called upon people on the Internet not to patronize such restaurants. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council: (a) given that at present, only regulated species listed by the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora ("CITES") will correspondingly be brought under the regulatory control of the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance by the Government, whether the Government has assessed if such an arrangement is too passive; (b) given that there have been reports that several countries will propose in the CITES Conference of the Parties to be held in March this year to list the aforesaid bluefin tuna as regulated species, and to stop the relevant trading activities, whether the authorities will consider taking a more proactive lead to bring this endangered species under the regulatory control of the legislation in Hong Kong; if they will not, of the reasons for that; and (c) of the details of the Government's work on publicizing to the catering trades and educating them on protection of endangered species; how the authorities, under the situation of business interests being first, advocate to the corporations that they have important environmental protection and conservation responsibility? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment 6. Hon LAU Wong-fat to ask: (Translation) It has been learnt that incidents of bullying in schools have occurred from time to time in recent years. There were incidents which involved students using violence to harm others in schools, and some students even gathered outside their schools to assault and bully fellow students. Recently, the parents of a secondary school student have relayed to me that they are deeply upset because their son has been persistently bullied by fellow students at school, yet the school has failed to tackle the problem effectively. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council: (a) whether it knows if the guidelines set out in the resource package "Co-creating a Harmonious School" developed by the Education Bureau have been followed at present by Direct Subsidy Scheme, government, subsidized and private primary and secondary schools in handling incidents of bullying in schools; if the guidelines have not been followed, whether individual schools have dealt with the problem according to their own rationales and ways; and (b) of the government departments from which the parents concerned can seek assistance when individual schools and their stationing school social workers fail to tackle the problem of bullying occurring in schools, and whether the authorities will render new support for such parents; if so, of the details? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education *7. Hon WONG Kwok-kin to ask: (Translation) Some residents of public rental housing ("PRH") have relayed to me that The Link Management Limited ("The Link") has let out some of the commercial premises in the shopping arcades in PRH estates under its management to private residential care homes for the elderly ("RCHEs"), disregarding opposition from PRH residents and owners' corporations. Those residents have pointed out that the arrangement not only added to the burden on the public facilities of the estates, but also deprived the residents of their right in choosing retail and catering services in such shopping arcades. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council: (a) among the RCHEs involved in the applications for RCHE licences which have been approved and are being vetted by the Social Welfare Department ("SWD") at present, of the number of those located in the shopping arcades of PRH estates under the management of The Link; in vetting such applications, whether SWD has taken into consideration the functions, facilities and environment of the shopping arcades in PRH estates in determining if the commercial premises in the shopping arcades are suitable for letting out for the purpose of operating RCHEs, and whether it has listened to the views of the residents in the vicinity; if it has, of the details and the mechanism for consideration; if not, the reasons for that; (b) whether the authorities have assessed the pressure imposed and impact on the recreational, medical, rehabilitative and other community facilities in the PRH estates brought by such RCHEs after they have learnt that The Link has let out the commercial premises in the shopping arcades under its management for operating RCHEs; if they have, of the assessment results, and whether they will provide additional community facilities in response to the establishment of such RCHEs; if they will not, of the reasons for that; and (c) of the existing monitoring mechanism the Hong Kong Housing Authority ("HA") has put in place to monitor The Link in securing the provision of amenities ancillary as HA thinks "fit" for PRH residents, so that section 4(1) of the Housing Ordinance (Cap. 283) will not be contravened; given that some PRH residents have pointed out that The Link has altered the original letting purposes of some of the retail facilities in PRH estates, resulting in the failure of the services to meet the needs of the residents, whether HA will assist the PRH residents in and discuss with The Link resuming the original letting purposes of such commercial premises in the shopping arcades in PRH estates? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing *8. Hon Cyd HO to ask: (Translation) The authorities are negotiating with the Municipal Government of Shenzhen over mutual use of the electronic money of Hong Kong and Shenzhen, and have claimed that both sides are conducting in-depth study and holding detailed discussions concerning the technical, business and operational aspects of the issue. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council: (a) whether the aforesaid technical issues include measures to protect the privacy of members of the public; what personal information is involved in the use of electronic money for transactions at present; whether the governments of both sides will standardize the information security measures concerning electronic money of both places so as to prevent any leakage and improper use of the relevant information through cross-boundary card readers; (b) whether the authorities have sought advice from the Secretary for Justice and the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data on mutual use of the electronic money of Hong Kong and Shenzhen; if so, when the advice was sought and what their advice was; and (c) regarding the need of the law enforcement agencies to trace cross-boundary use of electronic money for transactions by the implicated parties for investigation of cases, of the details of the cooperation and coordination between the authorities concerned, the public security departments and private enterprises of both sides; what agreements have been made and principles of conduct have been adopted by both sides regarding the protection of the privacy of members of the public, as well as the details of such agreements and principles ? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury *9. Hon Audrey EU to ask: (Translation) In recent years, the number of patients waiting to receive cataract surgery at public hospitals has persistently increased and the waiting time has also continued to increase. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council: (a) whether it knows the amount of resources allocated by the Hospital Authority to cope with the medical needs of patients with cataract in the last financial year; (b) of the average waiting time for cataract surgery in public hospitals at present; (c) of the current number of patients of public hospitals with cataract, broken down by age groups (below 50 years old, followed by groups covering 10 years each and up to 80 years old or above); and (d) whether the Government has any plan to provide more medical allowances (such as in the form of health care vouchers) for elderly patients waiting to receive cataract surgery, so as to facilitate their use of private medical services? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health *10. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation) Some social welfare organizations ("SWOs") have relayed to me that they are unable to provide better services for the public because the floor areas of their facilities are insufficient. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council: (a) of the current number of facilities of SWOs under the Social Welfare Department ("SWD") for children, youth and the elderly, which fail to comply with the floor area requirements laid down in the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines (broken down by the categories mentioned in the Guidelines), as well as the reasons for non-compliance; (b) of the current number of government properties which are vacant or with a vacancy rate over 80%; among the properties with a vacancy rate over 80%, the number of those which belong to SWD, and whether SWD has applied for converting such properties to other uses; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (c) whether they have assessed if the "big envelop for operating expenditure" arrangement (i.e. the arrangement under which government departments have to bear the operating expenditure of their public works) has impeded SWD and other government departments in applying for "government, institution and community facilities" sites and converting vacant government properties to other uses; if the assessment result is in the affirmative, what improvement measures the Government has put in place; if the assessment result is in the negative, of the reasons for that? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare *11. Hon IP Wai-ming to ask: (Translation) According to the information of the Census and Statistics Department, while the overall youth unemployment rate gradually dropped last year from 28% for May to July to 21.6% for September to November, it has remained a double-digit figure. Some organizations have pointed out that even young people with high academic qualifications faced unemployment problem in recent years and such a situation has roused public concern. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council: (a) regarding the statistics on the overall youth unemployment rate for each of the past three years, of the respective numbers of unemployed young people with qualifications at sub-degree, higher diploma and bachelor's degree or above levels; (b) given that some countries (e.g. Germany and Austria) have implemented apprenticeship programmes to address the problem of youth unemployment in their countries, whether the Government has any plan to amend the Apprenticeship Ordinance (Cap. 47) to meet the actual employment needs of young people, as well as increase the current number of designated trades under the Ordinance (including service industries such as beauty care and hairdressing), so as to facilitate employers to hire more young people who are under training or have completed training, so that they can undergo workplace attachment and undertake studies at the same time, with a view to facilitating their long-term career development and alleviating the problem of youth unemployment; and (c) whether the authorities have any plan to enhance employment support and counselling for young people who are socially isolated because they are unemployed for a long time, as well as living the hermit life, or implement other measures to encourage them to integrate into the community again; if they have such a plan, of the details; if not, the reasons for that? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare *12. Hon Andrew CHENG to ask: (Translation) Regarding the operation of Octopus payment system, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows: (a) the total number of complaint cases received by Octopus Holdings Limited ("OCL") relating to erroneous deductions of amounts from Octopus cards in each of the past two years, and the total amount of money involved; (b) the time normally taken by OCL to handle and settle cases relating to erroneous deductions of amounts from Octopus cards at present, and the time taken to complete refund arrangements; (c) if OCL has a mechanism to report on its own accord to the public on the details of cases of erroneous deduction of amounts at present; if so, of the details of the operation of mechanism; if not, the reasons for that; and (d) the total amount of deposits for Octopus cards as at the end of 2009? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury *13. Hon CHAN Hak-kan to ask: (Translation) There have been comments that with heightened education levels and civic awareness among young people, some of them have recently expressed various views on specific social policies, and this phenomenon has aroused the community's concern. Moreover, there have also been comments that the Government should take on board more and listen more to the views of young people in implementing its policies. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council: (a) of the current number of advisory committees to which persons aged 30 or below have been appointed ("young members"), and the percentage of such number in the total number of advisory committees; (b) among the advisory committees in (a): (i) of the respective five committees with the largest number and highest percentage of young members, as well as the average age of members of these committees; and (ii) whether there is any committee the chairman of which is a young member; if so, of the names of such committees; if not, the reasons for that, and whether the authorities will encourage advisory committees relating to youth affairs to implement the arrangement for their young members to serve as chairmen; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (c) given that young people nowadays favour the Internet as the platform for expressing their views, how the authorities will act correspondingly in order to grasp their views and suggestions on specific policies? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs *14. Hon Miriam LAU to ask: (Translation) Some members of the transport industry have relayed to me that the activities of recovery agents have become more rampant in recent years, and these agents abet the injured in traffic accidents to exaggerate the degree of injuries sustained so as to claim for a higher amount of compensation, resulting in insurance fraud becoming an undesirable trend. As a result of an increase in the amount of compensation payout, insurance companies have also significantly increased the insurance premiums (e.g. the insurance premiums for taxi have been increased by 50% within a short period of time). Some insurance companies even plan to cease to underwrite insurance for commercial vehicles. Moreover, those injured in traffic accidents may have to pay high service charges to recovery agents. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council: (a) whether it has looked into the causes for the activities of recovery agents becoming more rampant in recent years, and whether they include the failure of many of those injured in traffic accidents in meeting the eligibility criteria for the Supplementary Legal Aid Scheme ("SLAS"), which has resulted in their seeking help from recovery agents; if so, whether the authorities will consider reviewing and relaxing the eligibility criteria for SLAS; (b) of the latest progress in combating activities of recovery agents by the authorities, and the specific plan for the next two years; of the latest progress of the review of the need to introduce legislation to regulate recovery agents; and (c) whether it has assessed if the number of prosecutions instituted in respect of combating activities of recovery agents in the past three years is on the low side; if the number is on the low side, of the reasons for that, whether it is because it is more difficult to prove such activities, and how the authorities overcome such difficulties? Public Officer to reply : The Secretary for Justice *15. Dr Hon LAM Tai-fai to ask: (Translation) The Government has provided additional resources to strengthen the financial assistance for elite athletes since 2007-2008, and young athletes with potential are selected by the Hong Kong Sports Institute for focused training. Yet, some members of the community have pointed out that athletes in general lack protection for their livelihood, and it is obvious that when they develop their athletic career full-time, they do not have time to develop other skills, resulting in the lack of protection for their livelihood upon retirement. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council: (a) whether it knows the numbers of elite athletes and elite sports as well as the average retirement age of such athletes in each of the past five years; (b) apart from providing grants to cover the medical and insurance expenses for elite athletes through the Elite Training Grant scheme, whether the Government will consider setting up an independent medical and life insurance scheme for them; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (c) whether it will consider providing interest-free mortgage loans for elite athletes, so as to reduce the burden on their livelihood; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (d) whether it will consider waiving the personal income tax for elite athletes and providing them with pension grant upon their retirement; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (e) whether it will consider paying all the tuition and textbook fees for elite athletes who are studying in schools; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (f) whether it will consider collaborating with various public transport operators to launch a scheme on free rides on public transport for elite athletes; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (g) whether it will consider giving priority to retired elite athletes in recruitment of civil servants (e.g. in various disciplined forces); and (h) whether it will consider adopting the operation mode of Hong Kong Trade Development Council and establishing a sports development council and recruit sports professionals to be responsible for coordinating sports development and formulating policies to ensure that serving and retired athletes receive more comprehensive protection? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs *16. Hon LEE Wing-tat to ask: (Translation) Regarding the Government's measures to assist low-income persons in meeting their housing needs, will the Government inform this Council: (a) about singletons applying for public rental housing ("PRH"), of the average waiting time and the number of those awaiting at present, as well as the number of those who were allocated PRH flats in each of the past three years, with a breakdown by age groups (i.e. 18 to 30, 31 to 45, 46 to 59, and 60 years old or above) of the applicants; (b) of the number of elderly singletons in each of the past three years who rejected the Housing for Senior Citizens ("HSC") Types II and III units allocated to them; whether the authorities allow elderly singletons to state their preference when applying for PRH, including whether they will consider such types of units, so as to expedite the allocation of suitable units to applicants; and whether they will consider converting the 460 HSC Types II and III units which are vacant at present into self-contained flats; (c) of the number of cases in each of the past three years in which the persons concerned were allocated PRH flats through "compassionate rehousing"; (d) of the current occupancy rate of the singleton hostels of the Home Affairs Department; whether occupants are required to move out after three years of occupancy; if so, whether it knows the types of housing to which they will generally move; of the highest, lowest and average rent currently paid by the occupants; the percentage of occupants who have already applied for PRH, and the average time for which they have been waiting; (e) given that the Housing Department has earlier visited and through non-government organizations contacted occupants of all licensed private bedspace apartments, of the number of occupants of such bedspaces and partitioned cubicles; whether it has looked into the current occupancy rate of bedspace apartments, the highest, lowest and average rent paid by the occupants; their average income; among them, of the number of those who have already applied for PRH; and the average time for which they have been waiting; and (f) whether the authorities have assessed the need to set a minimum standard regarding the area of bedspaces and partitioned cubicles in licensed bedspace apartments, so as to safeguard the environmental hygiene and safety of the occupants inside the apartments? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing *17. Hon Starry LEE to ask: (Translation) It has been reported that some property owners have, in exploitation of the grey areas of existing legislation, renovated their units in tenement buildings on land zoned as Residential (Group A) and, without obtaining the license for operating a temple or applying for changes in land use, operate them in the form of Taoist monasteries to provide hundreds of private columbarium niches. It has also been reported that in the absence of any licensing regime for the regulation of private columbarium facilities at present, the Government has indicated that it will examine setting up a voluntary registration system. However, the effectiveness of such a registration system is open to question. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council: (a) of the number of complaints received by the authorities in respect of operation of temples in different forms in tenement buildings in each of the past three years and, among them, the number of complaints involving columbarium niches, the nature of such complaints, and how the authorities followed up the complaints; (b) given that the problem of operating columbarium facilities in tenement buildings falls within the scope of work of various government departments such as Planning Department, Lands Department and Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, whether the Government will consider designating a government department to deal with the problem in a uniform manner; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (c) whether it will consider afresh the setting up of a licensing system for the regulation of private columbarium facilities, so as to put the operation of private columbarium facilities onto the right track; if it will not, of the reasons for that? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health *18. Hon CHEUNG Kwok-che to ask: (Translation) Since 2005, the Social Welfare Department has been provided with an annual recurrent provision of $15 million for implementing the District Support Scheme for Children and Youth Development ("the Scheme") through District Social Welfare Offices to address the developmental needs of disadvantaged children and youth aged 0 to 24. Some of the money is used for implementing individual projects in various districts, while some is granted to the children and youth in need in the form of direct cash assistance. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council: (a) of the number of projects which have been approved in various districts since the Scheme was launched, the content of such projects, total amount of funds involved, number of children and youth to whom cash assistance has been granted, the per capita amount of assistance granted and standard for granting the cash assistance; and (b) whether it will review the effectiveness of the Scheme and increase the provision? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare *19. Hon LEUNG Kwok-hung to ask: (Translation) It has been reported that last year, some members of the public reported to the Water Supplies Department ("WSD") that the management company of a private housing estate in the New Territories had been diverting fresh water to flush toilets without authorization since early last year. The company was eventually convicted of violating the Waterworks Ordinance (Cap. 102). A member of the public working in that housing estate has complained to me that for as long as 10 years, the management company has in fact taken water which had not passed through the meter, and this practice is very common in the trade as it can save water charges, which causes financial losses to the Government, and may even affect the water quality in the fresh water tank and cause detriment to the health of the residents as the pump used for pumping water for toilet flushing is placed in the tank for extended periods of time; and the owners' committee concerned has all along been kept in the dark. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council: (a) of the number of complaints received by WSD concerning unlawful taking of water in private housing estates/buildings in the past five years; among them, the respective number of cases in which the people involved were prosecuted and convicted; (b) whether regular inspections of the water supply systems in private housing estates/buildings were conducted by WSD in the past five years for the prevention of the aforesaid unlawful acts; if so, of the number of inspections conducted; (c) whether it has assessed if WSD has sufficient statutory powers to inspect, regulate and prosecute the aforesaid unlawful acts in private housing estates/buildings; if such an assessment has been made, of the results; and (d) whether, upon receipt of complaints about the aforesaid unlawful acts, WSD will, regardless of whether evidence can be successfully obtained, notify the owners' committees or owners' corporations of the housing estates concerned for follow-up actions, so as to avoid causing detriment to the health of the residents; if it will, of the total number of notifications issued in the past five years? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development *20. Dr Hon Joseph LEE to ask: (Translation) The Government has granted land by way of private treaty to private hospitals for medical and health purposes, and also stipulated in its conditions of grant that such hospitals shall provide low-charge beds. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether: (a) there are land leases of private hospitals at present, apart from St. Teresa's Hospital, which stipulate that such hospitals shall provide a certain number of low-charge beds; if so, of the details; (b) any such private hospitals has violated the aforesaid conditions of grant; if so, what solutions the Government has put in place to ensure that the hospitals comply with such conditions; whether it will consider imposing fines as punishment; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (c) it has considered, when granting land to private hospitals (especially at low land premiums) in the aforesaid manner in the future, requiring such hospitals to provide a certain number of low-charge beds so as to promote public-private partnership in healthcare and provide the middle class with more choices of medical services; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health * For written reply IIA. Personal Explanations The following Members to make personal explanations under Rule 28A of the Rules of Procedure: - Hon WONG Yuk-man - Hon LEUNG Kwok-hung - Hon Albert CHAN - Hon Tanya CHAN - Hon Alan LEONG III. Bills Second Reading (Debate to resume), Committee Stage and Third Reading Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2009 : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury to move a Committee stage amendment (The amendment was issued on 20 January 2010 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 381/09-10) IV. Members' Motions Select Committee to inquire into the interference with the professionalism of social workers on the part of the Secretary for Home Affairs and District Officer (Islands) Hon CHEUNG Kwok-che to move the following motion: That this Council appoints a select committee to inquire into whether TSANG Tak-shing, Secretary for Home Affairs, and LAM Saint-kit, District Officer (Islands), failed to promote harmony among community organizations during 2008 and 2009, and Secretary TSANG Tak-shing, before understanding the real facts, exerted pressure on the President of the Hong Kong Young Women's Christian Association and interfered with the operation of the profession of social workers, and based on the results of the above inquiry, to make recommendations on preventing government officials from interfering with the professional work of social workers; and that in the performance of its duties the committee be authorized under section 9(2) of the Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance (Cap. 382) to exercise the powers conferred by section 9(1) of that Ordinance. Public Officer to attend : The Chief Secretary for Administration Actively resolving deep-rooted conflicts Hon Albert CHAN to move the following motion: (Translation) That, since the transfer of sovereignty 12 years ago, the problem of deep-rooted political, economic and social conflicts in Hong Kong has been worsening; regarding constitutional reform, the pace of democracy remains stagnant while the functional constituency elections of the Legislative Council have even resulted in public aspirations being distorted in the legislature; on the economic front, as monopoly by consortia is becoming more rampant, the difficulties of the ordinary public and small businesses are increasing, and the problem of disparity between the rich and the poor is aggravating, with the population of the poor even having doubled as compared to that before 1997 and the problems of class conflicts and social confrontation in the Hong Kong society continuously intensifying; in view of the above, this Council urges the Government to formulate effective policies to resolve deep-rooted conflicts, implement dual universal suffrage at an early date, provide a platform for fair competition and alleviate the disparity between the rich and the poor; in addition, Hong Kong people should not remain silent about unfair and unjust phenomena, and more importantly, should not tolerate the Government's practice of tilting in favour of large consortia, the public should therefore actively participate in social and political movements and spare no effort in striving for early implementation of dual universal suffrage so as to facilitate the realization of social justice. Public Officer to attend : The Chief Secretary for Administration Promoting the development of fishing activities Hon WONG Yung-kan to move the following motion: (Translation) That, as fishing is both a sport and a leisure activity, which has the characteristics of having diversified ways of participation and being suitable for people of various age groups, it has attracted many enthusiasts; and the rapid development of fishing-related industries has caused governments worldwide to formulate policies to develop local fishing activities; Hong Kong, being surrounded by the sea and with convenient transport, has the advantages for developing fishing activities, and the number of fishing enthusiasts has also continued to increase in recent years, yet due to the lack of appropriate policies, the development of fishing activities in Hong Kong is subject to many restrictions; as such, this Council urges the Government to formulate effective measures to promote the development of fishing activities in Hong Kong, which include: (a) to relax the existing restrictions on angling at fish rafts and fish ponds, so that the operators can provide more diversified services to cater for the needs of the public; (b) to relax the existing restrictions on passenger capacity of fishing vessels and, provided that safety standards are met, allow fishermen to operate an additional business of carrying passengers to go angling at sea; (c) to organize systematic training courses and set up a knowledge bank, so that fishing enthusiasts have the opportunities to acquire the knowledge of fishing skills, safety management and marine conservation, etc.; (d) to step up publicity on reservoir angling and provide more comprehensive facilities to attract more members of the public as well as tourists to engage in such leisure activity; (e) to provide additional resources to improve the conservation of marine resources, enhance the environment of the harbourfront, and increase facilities and safety equipment which are conducive to fishing activities, so as to facilitate fishing enthusiasts to enjoy angling on shore; (f) to encourage and assist in the organization of local and international fishing competitions to promote fishing activities, and to promote the beautiful coastal environment of Hong Kong to other places; (g) to study the establishment of a fishing licensing system with a view to striking a balance between the conservation of marine resources and promotion of the sustainable development of fishing activities; and (h) to study co-operating with the Pearl River Delta region to achieve better development and conservation of the entire waters, so as to facilitate the development of fishing activities. Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Food and Health Clerk to the Legislative Council