A 09/10-32

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 23 June 2010 at 11:00 am

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
1.Employees Retraining Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 2) (No. 2) Notice 201076/2010
2.Import and Export (Strategic Commodities) Regulations (Amendment of Schedules 1 and 2) Order 2010 (Commencement) Notice77/2010
3.Waste Disposal (Clinical Waste) (General) Regulation83/2010
4.Waste Disposal (Charge for Disposal of Clinical Waste) Regulation84/2010
5.Child Abduction and Custody (Parties to Convention) (Amendment) Order 201085/2010
6.Designation of Libraries (No. 3) Order 201086/2010
7.Waste Disposal (Amendment) Ordinance 2006 (Commencement) Notice 201087/2010

Other Papers

1.No. 99-Clothing Industry Training Authority Annual Report 2009
(to be presented by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare)

2.No. 100-The Standing Committee on Legal Education and Training Annual Report 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2009
(to be presented by the Secretary for Justice)

3.No. 101-Securities and Futures Commission Annual Report 2009-10
(to be presented by the Financial Secretary)

4.Report No. 14/09-10 of the House Committee on Consideration of Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments
(to be presented by Hon Miriam LAU, Chairman of the House Committee)

5.Report of the Subcommittee on Package of Proposals for the Methods for Selecting the Chief Executive and for Forming the Legislative Council in 2012
(to be presented by Hon TAM Yiu-chung, Chairman of the Subcommittee, who will address the Council)

II. Questions

1. Hon Alan LEONG to ask: (Translation)

According to Article 25(b) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, "every citizen shall have the right and the opportunity......without unreasonable restrictions......to vote and to be elected at genuine periodic elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage......". But the Deputy Secretary-General of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, Mr QIAO Xiao-yang, said on 7 June that "the core details of universal suffrage is the protection of universal and equal election rights", but he did not mention the right to stand for election and the right to make nomination. Mr QIAO also said in his statement that "the future nominating committee for the selection of the Chief Executive ("CE") will nominate candidates in accordance with 'democratic procedures', and the method of nomination will be entirely different from that of the existing Election Committee for the selection of CE, under which candidates are nominated jointly by 100 members, and the two are not comparable"; and that "functional constituencies have existed since electoral system was introduced to Hong Kong, and objective assessments should be made". Regarding the CE and Legislative Council ("LegCo") elections ("the two elections"), will the Government inform this Council whether:
    (a)the aforesaid remarks made by Mr QIAO represent the definition for universal suffrage adopted by the Central People's Government and the SAR Government for implementing universal suffrage for the selection of CE and the formation of LegCo and their stance on universal suffrage; if not, of the relevant definition and stance, and how they differ from the remarks made by Mr QIAO; and

    (b)it has assessed if there will be division in society and rampant discontent among the people of Hong Kong in the event that the motions on the arrangements of the two elections to be conducted in 2012 to be moved by the SAR Government for voting by this Council today were voted down; if the result of the assessment is in the affirmative, how the SAR Government will deal with such a situation?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs

2. Hon Albert CHAN to ask: (Translation)

In reply to my question at the Council meeting on February 11, 2009, the Government said that the Police had attached great importance to combating illegal debt collection activities conducted by debt collection agencies ("DCAs"). Yet, I have learnt that recently the situation of debtors being harassed by DCAs in recovering debts is deteriorating, and it is still common for banks, finance companies, telecommunication service companies, beauty service companies and tutorial teachers to hire DCAs to collect money owed by their customers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of cases about harassment by DCAs reported by the public to the Police since February 11 of last year;

    (b)whether it will, in view of the above situation, reconsider accepting the recommendations of the Law Reform Commission in 2002 on creating a criminal offence of harassment of debtors and others as well as establishing a statutory licensing system for monitoring DCAs; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether it will consider introducing new enforcement measures to curb the harassing practices of DCAs in recovering debts; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

Recently, I have received complaints from patients with stoma alleging that the Social Welfare Department ("SWD") lacks objective criteria and transparency in vetting and approving applications for Disability Allowance ("DA") and ignore patients' needs, causing them serious inconvenience. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)given the authorities' reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on 28 October 2009 that they could not provide the number of patients with stoma who were granted DA in the past five years and the reasons why some patients with stoma were not granted DA, whether the authorities still do not have such data at present; if so, of the reasons for that and whether they will undertake to provide such data in future; if they have the relevant data, of the details;

    (b)of the reasons why some patients with stoma being issued Registration Cards for People with Disabilities and classified as having permanent disabilities are not granted DA; of the criteria adopted by the authorities for determining patients with stoma who are suffering from visceral diseases to the extent of being severely disabled; and

    (c)given that some patients with stoma consider that the vetting and approving system lacks transparency as SWD does not provide specific reasons for not approving DA applications, whether the authorities will consider providing, according to the patients' requests, specific reasons, including the relevant medical assessment results; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; given that patients with stoma who are not satisfied with the assessment results may appeal to the Social Security Appeal Board, how the Appeal Board specifically considers the appeal cases of patients with stoma; of the respective numbers of such appeal cases which were allowed and rejected in the past five years, as well as the reasons for rejection?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

4. Hon Tanya CHAN to ask: (Translation)

The Government has granted government land at a nominal land premium, or even with a waiver of land premium, to private organizations or institutions for use as clubs or clubhouses, and the land leases concerned provide that the grantees shall permit other organizations such as schools, welfare organizations and the Government to organize recreational and sports activities in such clubs, and to use the land and designated facilities. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the current number of private clubs to which the Government has granted land in the aforesaid manner, the names of such institutions, the respective premiums they had to pay and whether it knows if such private clubs had, as provided in the land leases, opened up the venues and facilities to other organizations in the past five years; if they had, of the details such as the borrowing time, the nature of activities and the borrowing organizations, etc.;

    (b)given that I have learned that such land leases have also set out a number of special terms (e.g. other organizations may use the toilets of the clubs but not the toiletries, and they have to pay for the electricity, water and gas expenses when using the venue), whether the Government has assessed if such terms are reasonable; if the assessment result is in the negative, how the Government will follow up; as most of such land leases will expire in 2011 or 2012, whether the Government will consider reviewing the aforesaid land grant policy; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)which government departments are responsible for monitoring the compliance of lease conditions by private clubs and promoting to other organizations the lending arrangements of the aforesaid private clubs; why the Government did not announce information on the lending arrangements of the aforesaid clubs as well when it made public earlier the information on some public facilities on private land; whether the Government will consider stepping up the monitoring and publicity efforts in this regard to ensure proper use of resources; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

In his reply to my question raised on the 9th of this month, the Secretary for Labour and Welfare advised that "the Government's elderly care policy is to encourage elders to 'age in place', which is in line with the wish of most elders and also the international trend", and its principle was supporting "ageing in place as the core, institutional care as back-up". However, many singleton elders have complained to me in tears about the acute shortfall in the supply of Integrated Home Care Services in the community, such as meal delivery, household cleaning and escort for medical consultation services. Moreover, although the utilization rate of the day care centres for the elderly ("day care centres") reached 110% in the 2009-2010 financial year, the Government has neither allocated more funding for such services, nor increased the activity space in those centres, resulting in over-crowdedness of the premises. Some elderly people have described such situations as being no different from asking them to "rest in peace in the community" and leaving those centres to "fend for themselves". In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)taking Kwun Tong, Wong Tai Sin and Sham Shui Po as examples, whether it has studied why singleton elders need to wait as long as 12 to 15 months before they can receive meal delivery service and services at the day care centres, and they receive household cleaning and personal cleaning services only once every two to three months and seven to nine days respectively; whether it has assessed if the policy of ageing in place is being implemented under such circumstances; and

    (b)of the respective numbers of elderly people who died while waiting for the Enhanced Home and Community Care Services, Integrated Home Care Services or services of the day care centres in each of the past five years; whether the Government will immediately increase funding to enhance the services provided for the helpless elderly people in the community; if so, when this will be implemented; if not, of the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

6. Hon WONG Kwok-hing to ask: (Translation)

With growing concern of society about the integration of people recovering from mental illness into the community, the Government set up in March 2009 in Tin Shui Wai the first Integrated Community Centre for Mental Wellness ("ICCMW") in Hong Kong. Besides, the Government has announced the provision of an additional recurrent funding of about $70 million in the current financial year to extend the service mode of integrated mental wellness to the 18 districts in Hong Kong, and to increase manpower to enhance community support services. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the total number of cases received by ICCMW to date, the types of such cases, and the respective average time taken to follow up the various types of cases; and whether it has assessed if ICCMW can achieve the intended objectives and service effectiveness so far;

    (b)of the situation of staff departure of ICCMW since its establishment; the current number of employees employed by ICCMW and its manpower ratio; whether the authorities will employ more manpower to alleviate the work pressure of employees; and

    (c)how the aforesaid recurrent funding of about $70 million has been allocated to the various districts, and whether it has assessed if the recurrent funding is sufficient to meet the increasing needs of patients; whether more support will be provided to Kwai Tsing, Kwun Tong and Yuen Long districts in which a larger number of people with serious mental illness reside; if so, when the additional resources will be allocated to the aforesaid districts, and of the amount of resources to be spent directly on enhancing frontline manpower?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

*7. Hon Tommy CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that a foreign visitor was bitten by a rodent last month in Central - Hong Kong's business and trade centre as well as tourist landmark - which has made Hong Kong an international laughing stock and also reflected that the authorities' adoption of the rodent infestation rate ("RIR") as an indicator for enhancing rodent disinfestation efforts fails to contain rodent infestation effectively. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it has reviewed if the existing practice of enhancing rodent disinfestation efforts in accordance with RIRs can achieve the result of continuously alleviating rodent infestation; if so, of the details and outcome of the review; if not, the reasons for that; and whether it will conduct such a review in the near future;

    (b)given that I have learnt that even though the RIRs of some districts with serious rodent problems have been successfully brought down following enhanced efforts of the authorities on rodent disinfestation, the RIRs of those districts have surged again after routine rodent disinfestation operations are resumed, what measures the authorities have put in place to deal with such situations; and

    (c)apart from using traditional rodent disinfestation methods such as placing baits and rodent cage traps, whether the authorities had studied and planned in the past three years for the introduction of more effective rodent disinfestation methods; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

*8. Hon Mrs Sophie LEUNG to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that the problem of illegal shop extensions in public places has becoming more and more serious in recent years, which has affected the cityscape and environmental hygiene and also posed danger to other road users. Besides, it has also been reported that the enforcement efforts of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department are lax, and despite repeated complaints from members of the public, no improvement has yet been made. The persons who were prosecuted and convicted were often fined a few hundred dollars only, and thus deterrent effect was not created. Some persons-in-charge of the shops have already included the fines in the recurrent operating costs of their shops and some have even instructed others to "stand in" for them. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the total number of black spots of illegal shop extensions in public places of Hong Kong at present, with a breakdown by District Council district;

    (b)of the number of prosecutions last year which involved illegal shop extensions in public places, and among such cases, whether there was any person-in-charge of the shop prosecuted for more than once; of the number of cases in which the persons-in-charge of the shops were sentenced to imprisonment; of the number of cases in which the persons-in-charge were fined, the ratio of such persons-in-charge who were fined and the amount of fines;

    (c)whether the authorities will amend the legislation to impose heavier penalty on repeated offenders; and

    (d)whether the authorities had, in the past three years, considered conducting a comprehensive review on how to handle the aforesaid problem, as well as examining the relevant enforcement practices, prosecution procedure and legislation, with a view to eradicating illegal shop extensions in public places and preventing the aforesaid "stand in" cases from happening again?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

*9. Hon WONG Kwok-kin to ask: (Translation)

In November 2007, the Chief Executive in Council approved the Kai Tak Outline Zoning Plan, in which 7.6 hectares of land have been reserved for the construction of a hospital. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the latest progress of the new hospital construction project, including the expected completion time; whether the relevant feasibility study has been completed; if so, of the outcome of the study; if not, the expected completion time;

    (b)the scale and scope of services of the proposed new hospital, as well as the estimated percentage of the resources to be received by the new hospital in those of the Kowloon East Hospital Cluster; whether the authorities will allocate more resources to the Kowloon East Hospital Cluster for the new hospital; and

    (c)the population in the district whose service demands can be met by the public healthcare services provided in Kowloon East at present; the expected average attendances of the new hospital per annum upon its completion, and how this will tie in with the service demands in the district?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

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

Regarding the investigations conducted respectively by the Securities and Futures Commission ("SFC") and the Police into the leveraged foreign exchange transactions of CITIC Pacific Limited ("CITIC") and related affairs, as well as an earlier press report that the Department of Justice ("DoJ") has instructed the Police to look into the matters relating to CITIC's bidding for the Shenzhou Peninsula development project in Hainan Province on the Mainland, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)given that SFC had submitted the aforesaid investigation report to DoJ for consideration more than six months ago, of the progress concerned;

    (b)whether the Police's investigation has been completed; if not, whether the authorities will consider freezing part of the assets of CITIC and the director(s) concerned, so as to ensure that minority shareholders may recover their losses in the future;

    (c)given that the aforesaid investigation has been in progress for more than 20 months and the authorities still have not instituted any criminal prosecution, and that it has been learnt that the Police's investigation still remains at the stage of determining which of the seized documents are related to the case, whether the authorities have assessed if it is appropriate at present to refer the case to the Market Misconduct Tribunal for instituting proceedings, so as to try the case expeditiously; if an assessment has been made, of the results and the factors considered by the authorities;

    (d)given that it has been reported that three minority shareholders have applied to claim compensation from the past chairman of CITIC through the Small Claims Tribunal but their cases were not taken on and had to be referred to the High Court for proceedings, yet due to the huge litigation costs and their ineligibility for legal aid, these minority shareholders were forced to give up their claims, what expeditious and cost-effective measures the authorities have at present to assist minority shareholders, who have suffered losses of about several tens of thousand dollars as a result of wrong investment decisions made under the influence of false or misleading communications or market misconduct of listed companies, in claiming compensation from the listed companies concerned or the person(s)-in-charge of the companies, so as to safeguard the rights and interests of minority shareholders;

    (e)whether it has ascertained how, in other mature international financial markets (e.g. the United Kingdom and the United States, etc.), losses in the amount of several tens of thousand dollars are recovered for minority shareholders in circumstances similar to the aforesaid situation; if so, of the details;

    (f)given that CITIC has made a responsibility statement in its circular issued on 16 September 2008, stating that "[t]his Circular includes particulars given in compliance with the Listing Rules …… [t]he Directors collectively and individually accept full responsibility for the accuracy of the information contained in this Circular and confirm, having made all reasonable enquiries, that to the best of their knowledge and belief, there are no other facts not contained in this Circular, the omission of which would make any statement herein misleading", whether the contents of the responsibility statement are in compliance with the requirements of the rules and guidelines on listing matters; if so, of the purpose of such requirements; whether it has assessed if the requirements can protect minority shareholders when listed companies' circulars contain inaccurate information, so that they can claim losses from the listed companies concerned or the person(s)-in-charge of the companies, or rather protect listed companies; and

    (g)focusing on the investigation into the matters relating to CITIC's bidding for the Shenzhou Peninsula development project in Hainan Province on the Mainland, whether the Police will investigate if the case involves any connected transactions, damages to the benefits of minority shareholders, failure to disclose the relevant information in a timely and detailed manner, and conduct in breach of the Listing Rules in Hong Kong and the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571)?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

*11. Hon TAM Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)

Some members of the industry have predicted that the demand for physiotherapists will increase upon the Government's implementation of the licensing system for residential care homes for persons with disabilities. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
    (a)it knows the current number of registered physiotherapists in Hong Kong and, among them, the respective numbers of those who are employed in public medical institutions, non-governmental organizations subvented by the Social Welfare Department and schools;

    (b)it knows the number of newly registered physiotherapists in each of the past three years and, among them, the respective numbers of those who graduated from Hong Kong and overseas tertiary institutions;

    (c)it had, in the past three years, made any manpower forecast and assessment in respect of the physiotherapist profession; if it had, of the outcome; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (d)it had, in the past three years, planned to increase the number of places in the physiotherapist training programmes offered by the tertiary institutions in Hong Kong; if it had, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

*12. Hon Paul CHAN to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that a school teacher who was convicted of sexual offences is employed by another school to undertake non-teaching work, and another such teacher is able to continue to teach in another school by using a new name. It has also been reported that the Education Bureau ("EDB") will not check the personal particulars of the tutors employed by tutorial schools, and tutors who have committed sexual offences may therefore continue to engage in child care work. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of cases in the past five years in which teachers were alleged to have committed sexual offences and, among such cases, the respective numbers of those in which the offending teachers were convicted, and those in which the teachers involved were prosecuted but not convicted, as well as the respective numbers of cases under trial and under appeal; of the number of complaints received by schools and EDB during that period in which teachers were alleged to have committed such offences; among those teachers who were prosecuted but not convicted, whether it knows the respective numbers of those who are currently undertaking teaching work and non-teaching work, as well as the respective numbers of those teaching in kindergartens, primary schools and secondary schools;

    (b)whether teachers are required to declare if they have any criminal record to the schools employing them at the time of appointment; if so, whether it knows the number of declarations received in the past five years; if not, the reasons for that;

    (c)whether the Government has considered establishing an immediate notification system whereby schools can check with EDB whether the teachers being considered for appointment have records of sexual offences, including cases under trial, under appeal and for which a sentence has been handed down; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (d)whether it has considered establishing a professional teachers' council with statutory powers and requiring all teachers to join as members, while forbidding those who have committed sexual offences to join the profession; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (e)whether there is at present a sexual offences database set up by the Police, which is available for enquiry and checking by all educational institutions and organizations engaging in child care work; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education

*13. Dr Hon Samson TAM to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the development of data centres in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)given that the "Consultancy Study on the Development of Data Centres in Hong Kong - Final Report" published by the Digital 21 Strategy Advisory Committee of the Government in May last year points out that Hong Kong should target at developing itself into a hub for high-end data centres, of the progress in developing data services in Hong Kong since the publication of the report;

    (b)of the number of land applications received by the authorities in the past three years for developing data centres, the average time taken to handle each application, and what concrete measures the authorities have put in place to assist the industry in expediting the setting up of data centres; and

    (c)given that the authorities intend to develop innovative technologies in the Hong Kong-Shenzhen river-loop area, whether they will also consider developing data centres and related value-added services in that area; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

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

The peak season of infectious diseases, such as seasonal influenza ("influenza") and enterovirus, etc., recurs in Hong Kong every year. It has been reported that the Leisure and Cultural Services Department ("LCSD") has not formulated new health protection measures for its facilities (e.g. children playrooms, etc.) in various districts and also does not have a standardized disinfection procedure nor conduct registration for the persons who access such facilities, rendering such facilities possible venues for virus transmission. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the disinfection procedures for various types of facilities of LCSD (including children playrooms, public swimming pools, fitness rooms and public toilets, etc.) and their implementation at present; how LCSD ensures that such procedures are standardized and actually implemented;

    (b)whether LCSD adopts special disinfection measures for its facilities during the peak season for the outbreak of infectious diseases (e.g. influenza and enterovirus, etc.); if it will, of the specific contents of the measures; if not, the reasons for that;

    (c)whether the Government will further enhance the preventive and contingency measures in such places as community facilities, schools and kindergartens, etc., which are susceptible to outbreaks of infectious diseases (e.g. influenza and enterovirus, etc.) so as to avoid massive infections; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (d)of the number of complaints received in the past five years by LCSD about the cleanliness and hygienic conditions of its facilities, as well as the contents of the complaints; whether LCSD had made any improvements; if it had, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

The 2009 Report on Annual Earnings and Hours Survey provides essential inputs for setting the initial rate of the statutory minimum wage of Hong Kong. The information contained in the Report has revealed that the median hourly wage of female employees was significantly lower than that of male employees. According to the tables on "Hourly Wage Level and Distribution Analysed by Sex and Age Group" and "Hourly Wage Level and Distribution Analysed by Sex and Educational Attainment" in the Report, the hourly wage levels of female employees in most of the groups analysed were also lower than those of their male counterparts in the corresponding groups. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the authorities know, and if they will look into, the reasons for such pay differences; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)whether the Government has any specific plan and measure in place to promote equal pay for equal work for both sexes and reduce the hourly wage gap between male and female employees; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether it will ensure that the membership of the Minimum Wage Commission to be set up reflects the gender ratio of the Hong Kong population so that there will be adequate representation of the labour force of both sexes on the Commission, and that they will be equally and reasonably protected further under the minimum wage legislation; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

*16. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)

Recently, I have received quite a number of complaints about the illegal sale of pets on the Internet. Under the existing legislation, persons selling pets on the Internet shall be subject to the regulation of the Public Health (Animals and Birds) (Animal Traders) Regulations (Cap. 139, sub. leg. B). Moreover, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department ("AFCD") has implemented additional conditions for Animal Trader Licence ("ATL") since February this year, stipulating that pet shops may only obtain dogs for sale from the approved sources. AFCD has also indicated that it will step up inspection of licensed pet shops to check the compliance of pet shops and breeders with such conditions. Animal traders who are found to be in breach of the licensing conditions are liable to a fine or suspension of their licences. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of complaints received by the authorities about illegal sale of pets on the Internet in the first half of this year and, among them, the number in which prosecutions were instituted;

    (b)during the six months prior to the implementation of the additional conditions for ATL and since their implementation:

    (i)of the respective numbers of inspections of licensed pet shops conducted by AFCD each month;

    (ii)whether any animal traders have breached the licensing conditions; and

    (iii)of the number of animal traders being prosecuted and, among them, the respective numbers of those who have been fined and whose licences have been suspended; and

    (c)whether it has reviewed the effectiveness of the implementation of the aforesaid additional conditions; if so, of the details; whether it will consider extending the application of such additional conditions to other kinds of pets as soon as possible; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

*17. Hon Fred LI to ask: (Translation)

The Government has indicated earlier that it would increase the supply of land and residential units. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)as at 31 May 2010:

    (i)of the number of unsold private residential units of completed buildings, and list, according to the lot number of such buildings, the names of the buildings, their respective years of completion and the total number of units; among the unsold units, the respective numbers of those which have and have not been offered for sale, when the latter is expected to be offered for sale and whether a deadline has been set for offering them for sale;

    (ii)of the number of private residential units under construction but not yet sold by way of pre-sale, and list, according to lot number, the total number of residential units in that lot; among the units not yet sold by way of pre-sale, the respective numbers of those which have and have not been offered for pre-sale, when the latter is expected to be offered for pre-sale, the number of units for which pre-sale consents have been granted and whether a deadline has been set for offering them for pre-sale (with a note to indicate those residential units of private residential redevelopment projects for which lease modifications are not required);

    (iii)of the number of residential projects at granted sites for which construction has yet to commence (commonly known as "disposed sites"), and list, according to lot number, the areas of the sites, their gross floor areas, expected numbers of completed residential units, and the expected earliest dates for commencement and completion of works;

    (iv)of the number of residential sites which can potentially be supplied (commonly known as "potential sites"), and list, according to lot number, the areas of the sites, their expected gross floor areas, expected numbers of residential units, and the expected earliest dates for granting the sites; and

    (v)of the number of private residential redevelopment projects for which lease modifications are not required but construction has yet to commence, and list, according to lot number, the areas of the sites, their expected gross floor areas, expected numbers of residential units, and the expected earliest dates for commencement and completion of works;

    (b)of the respective numbers of private residential projects under construction and the number of units involved in the current and the next four years; of the respective numbers of "potential sites" for developing private residential projects and private residential redevelopment projects not requiring lease modifications that can be granted during the same period, and their gross floor areas and numbers of residential units to be provided; and

    (c)of the number of sites resumed by the Government from the Housing Authority in the past five years, and list, according to lot number, the areas of the sites, their expected gross floor areas, expected land uses (in the case of residential use, of the expected numbers of completed units), and the expected earliest dates for granting the sites?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

*18. Hon Andrew CHENG to ask: (Translation)

Recently, some animal rights advocates have published a joint declaration, urging the Government to immediately implement the "Trap-Neuter-Return" ("TNR") programme, which is internationally recognized as humane and effective, to replace killing as the means currently adopted for controlling the number of abandoned animals. In reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on 20 January this year, the Government indicated that the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department ("AFCD"), "in collaboration with the animal welfare organizations which have been advocating this programme, consulted various District Councils ("DCs") on the TNR trial programme in 2007. Nine of the 18 DCs supported in principle the implementation of the programme in their districts". However, it has been learnt that none of the DCs has so far implemented the programme. Besides, the Government also pointed out that a study in the United States showed that euthanasia was more effective than the TNR programme in controlling the number of stray cats. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the reasons for failing to implement the aforesaid trial programme so far and the technical difficulties involved;

    (b)whether AFCD has any plan to collaborate with those advocating organizations again in persuading the opposing DCs to implement the trial programme; if so, of the timetable; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)apart from the aforesaid study in the United States, whether the Government has made reference to other studies which have confirmed the effectiveness of TNR; if so, of the findings of such studies; if not, whether the Government has assessed if drawing on the conclusion of one study only may give rise to bias in the formulation of policies?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

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

A senior citizen with limited mobility told me earlier that as he was not qualified to use the non-emergency ambulance transfer service provided by the Hospital Authority ("HA"), therefore, every time he needed to go to a clinic for consultation, he had no alternative but to use the Easy-Access Transport Services ("ETS") provided by the Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation. He pointed out that in the past few months, owing to unsuccessful attempts to book the transfer service, he had to defer follow-up medical appointments on two occasions. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)what transport services are provided by the authorities to patients with limited mobility;

    (b)whether it knows the conditions to be met by patients for using non-emergency ambulance transfer service, and of the details of such conditions;

    (c)which government departments, public organizations or bodies provide non-emergency ambulance transfer services to patients at present; whether it knows the number of vehicles deployed for such services, and among such vehicles, the number of those designated to transfer HA patients and their accompanying carers to public hospitals and clinics;

    (d)whether it knows the number of people who used non-emergency ambulance transfer service and ETS in the past three years;

    (e)whether it knows the statistics in the past three years on HA patients' alteration of follow-up appointment dates or cancellation of follow-up appointments because no transfer service was available owing to insufficient vehicles; if such statistics are not available, whether HA plans to collect the relevant data; if it will not, of the reasons for that; and

    (f)whether the authorities will increase non-emergency ambulance transfer service and ETS?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

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

Quite a number of Tseung Kwan O residents have indicated to me that the environmental problems created by the South East New Territories ("SENT") Landfill since its commissioning have caused nuisances to them for a long time. Recently, the Planning Department submitted a paper to the Sai Kung District Council proposing to further extend the SENT Landfill area, including designating about five hectares of land in Clear Water Bay Country Park and about 15.6 hectares of land in Tseung Kwan O Area 137 for landfill extension purpose. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of complaints received about the SENT Landfill since its commissioning, together with a breakdown of the complaints by category; how the authorities follow up such complaints;

    (b)given that it has been recently reported that it is expected that the proposed extension of the SENT Landfill will aggravate the adverse impact on residents in the district, including the environment (in terms of odour and visual impact), traffic and the health of the residents nearby, and will also affect Chai Wan district, which is situated on the other side of the bank opposite to Tseung Kwan O, and the authorities had indicated in its paper to the Panel on Environmental Affairs of this Council in October 2008 that they would adopt a number of mitigation measures for the proposed extension of the SENT Landfill in accordance with the principle of avoidance, minimization and compensation as set out in the Technical Memorandum of the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (Cap. 499), whether they have assessed if such mitigation measures can resolve the aforesaid adverse impact on residents in the district; whether the authorities have other mitigation measures; if they have, of the details;

    (c)of the daily average numbers of trips run by refuse collection vehicles and vehicles carrying construction waste which travel to and from the SENT Landfill through Tseung Kwan O at present, and the expected changes in the respective vehicular flows of the aforesaid two types of vehicles after the extension of the landfill; what measures the authorities have to mitigate the traffic impact and odour nuisance caused by such vehicles in the Tseung Kwan O district;

    (d)whether the authorities will plan to require the use of compressed and enclosed type of refuse collection vehicles to travel to and from the SENT Landfill, so as to prevent wastes from spattering and emitting odour during transportation; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (e)given that the proposed extension of the SENT Landfill will cover 15.6 hectares of industrial land in Tseung Kwan O Area 137, of the original planned use for the site; whether the proposed extension of the landfill will affect the development potential of other industrial land lots in Area 137, and as a result, reduce the employment opportunities within the area for residents in the district;

    (f)given that it has been reported that the authorities plan to supply the methane generated by the wastes in the SENT Landfill after its extension to the Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited ("Towngas") for conversion into gas, whether the authorities will request Towngas to reduce the tariff for Tseung Kwan O residents, so as to compensate for their being plagued by the environmental problems caused by the landfill for a long time; and

    (g)given that the life of the SENT Landfill will be extended to 2019 after the proposed extension, whether the authorities have planned to further expand the area of the landfill, with a view to extending the life of the landfill again?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment

* For written reply

III. Bills

First Reading

Supplementary Appropriation (2009-2010) Bill

Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)

Supplementary Appropriation (2009-2010) Bill : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

IV. Motions

  1. Motion concerning the Amendment to the Method for the Selection of the Chief Executive

    Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs to move the following motion:

    Pursuant to Article 7 of Annex I to the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, the Interpretation by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of Article 7 of Annex I and Article III of Annex II to the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China of 6 April 2004, and the Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Issues relating to the Methods for Selecting the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and for Forming the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the year 2012 and on Issues relating to Universal Suffrage of 29 December 2007, the "(Draft) Amendment to Annex I to the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China Concerning the Method for the Selection of the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region" appended to this Motion is hereby endorsed by this Council by a two-thirds majority of all Members.

    Annex

    (Draft) Amendment to Annex I to the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China Concerning the Method for the Selection of the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

    1.The Election Committee to elect the fourth term Chief Executive in 2012 shall be composed of 1200 members from the following sectors:

    Industrial, commercial and financial sectors300

    The professions300

    Labour, social services, religious and other sectors300

    Members of the Legislative Council, representatives of members of the District Councils, representatives of the Heung Yee Kuk, Hong Kong deputies to the National People's Congress, and representatives of Hong Kong members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference

    		300

    The term of office of the Election Committee shall be five years.

    2.Candidates for the office of Chief Executive may be nominated jointly by not less than 150 members of the Election Committee. Each member may nominate only one candidate.

    Other Public Officers to attend:The Chief Secretary for Administration
    The Secretary for Justice

  2. Motion concerning the Amendment to the Method for the Formation of the Legislative Council and its Voting Procedures

    Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs to move the following motion:

    Pursuant to Article III of Annex II to the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, the Interpretation by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress of Article 7 of Annex I and Article III of Annex II to the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China of 6 April 2004, and the Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Issues relating to the Methods for Selecting the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and for Forming the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the year 2012 and on Issues relating to Universal Suffrage of 29 December 2007, the "(Draft) Amendment to Annex II to the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China Concerning the Method for the Formation of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and its Voting Procedures" appended to this Motion is hereby endorsed by this Council by a two-thirds majority of all Members.

    Annex

    (Draft) Amendment to Annex II to the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China Concerning the Method for the Formation of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and its Voting Procedures

    The fifth term Legislative Council in the year 2012 shall be composed of 70 members, and the composition shall be as follows:

    Members returned by functional constituencies35

    Members returned by geographical constituencies through direct elections35

    Other Public Officers to attend:The Chief Secretary for Administration
    The Secretary for Justice

V. Members' Motions
  1. Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

    Hon Miriam LAU to move the following motion:

    RESOLVED that in relation to the Tate's Cairn Tunnel Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule) Notice 2010, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 67 of 2010 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 26 May 2010, 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 14 July 2010.

  2. Motion under Rule 49E(2) of the Rules of Procedure

    Hon Miriam LAU to move the following motion:

    That this Council takes note of Report No. 14/09-10 of the House Committee laid on the Table of the Council on 23 June 2010 in relation to the subsidiary legislation and instrument(s) as listed below:

    Item NumberTitle of Subsidiary Legislation or Instrument
    (1)Fugitive Offenders (South Africa) Order (L.N. 43/2010).

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Security

  3. Legislating for 'standard working hours'

    Dr Hon LEUNG Ka-lau to move the following motion: (Translation)

    That, as Hong Kong is in general an affluent and civilized society, yet some employees still need to work long hours, adversely affecting their personal health and family life and giving rise to many social problems, this Council urges the Government to legislate for 'standard working hours' according to the principles of fairness, flexibility, and having regard to the business environment and competitiveness of Hong Kong.

    Amendments to the motion
    (i)Hon WONG Sing-chi to move the following amendment: (Translation)

    To delete "as Hong Kong" after "That," and substitute with "an ideal life pattern should allow an even distribution of time for work, rest and activities to facilitate a balanced development of the various aspects of a person; however, while Hong Kong nowadays"; to delete "yet" after "society,"; to add "; in this connection" after "social problems"; and to add ", stipulating that the 'standard working hours' be 44 hours per week with overtime pay at a rate of not less than 1.25 times of the normal pay, and that exemption may be granted to employees of certain industries in the light of the specificity of their work, so as to protect the employees' rights; at the same time, the Government should also proactively implement family-friendly policies, which are closely related to the objectives of stipulating 'standard working hours', to promote work-life balance" immediately before the full stop.

    (ii)Hon IP Wai-ming to move the following amendment: (Translation)

    To delete "as" after "That," and substitute with "although"; to delete "yet some" after "society," and substitute with "many"; to delete "adversely affecting" after "long hours," and substitute with "or even work overtime without compensation, which is not only unfair to them but also adversely affects"; to delete "and" after "family life" and substitute with ","; to add "; in this connection" after "social problems"; and to delete "and having regard to the business environment and competitiveness of Hong Kong" immediately before the full stop and substitute with "protection of the employees' rights and facilitation of Hong Kong's economic development, which should include: (a) to set the standard working hours at eight hours per day or 44 hours per week; (b) to provide employees with a 30-minute break for every six hours of continuous work; (c) to give financial compensation to employees for overtime work; (d) to strictly enforce the regulations on rest days, statutory holidays and paid annual leave to prevent employers from requiring employees to take such holidays as compensation for overtime work; and (e) to amend the Employment Ordinance to include all general holidays other than Sundays as statutory holidays, so as to standardize the basis for calculating working hours".

    (iii)Hon LI Fung-ying to move the following amendment: (Translation)

    To delete "in general an affluent and civilized society, yet some" after "Hong Kong is" and substitute with "an economically developed city, yet most"; and to delete "principles of fairness, flexibility, and having regard to the business environment and competitiveness of Hong Kong" immediately before the full stop and substitute with "people-oriented principle to ensure a work-rest balance for employees".

    (iv)Hon LEUNG Kwok-hung to move the following amendment: (Translation)

    To add ", stipulating that the 'standard working hours' be no more than 44 hours per week, the employee's consent for overtime work must be sought, and the hourly rate for overtime work to be increased on a pro-rata basis, apart from the provision of a rest break of at least one hour for every eight hours of work" immediately before the full stop.

    (v)Hon LEE Cheuk-yan to move the following amendment: (Translation)

    To add ", including 'overtime premium' and 'a minimum daily rest period'," after " 'standard working hours' ".

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

  4. Assisting the sustainable development of small and medium enterprises

    Dr Hon LAM Tai-fai to move the following motion: (Translation)

    That, given the weak economies and high unemployment rates of Europe and the United States, as well as the various concerns and uncertainties in the external economic environment and the failure of Hong Kong's economy to make a full recovery, coupled with factors such as fierce market competition and soaring costs, etc., the small and medium enterprises ('SMEs') in Hong Kong are facing an operating environment which is becoming increasingly difficult when they operate their businesses in the local, Mainland or overseas markets; in this connection, this Council urges the Government to formulate strategies and measures to comprehensively improve the business environment, and assist SMEs in various aspects such as reducing expenses on operating costs, financing, continuously developing the local, export and China's domestic sales markets, upgrading and transformation, product exploration, brand development and manpower training, etc., with a view to fostering the sustainable development of Hong Kong's economy and increasing employment opportunities for the community.

    Amendments to the motion
    (i)Hon Jeffrey LAM to move the following amendment: (Translation)

    To delete "given" after "That,"; to add "financial tsunami has resulted in" before "weak economies"; to add "promoting green production, deploying resources to develop emerging markets," after "financing,"; to add "and research and development" after "product exploration"; and to add "as well as make use of the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement and the Framework Agreement on Hong Kong/Guangdong Co-operation," after "manpower training, etc.,".

    (ii)Hon Vincent FANG to move the following amendment: (Translation)

    To delete "given" after "That," and substitute with "although Hong Kong's economy, driven by the strong economy of the Mainland, has been recovering gradually from the impact of the financial tsunami, the recent European sovereign debt crisis has resulted in"; to delete "and" after "business environment," and substitute with "which include: (a) to implement a simple and accommodative taxation policy to"; to delete "various aspects such as" after "assist SMEs in"; to delete "," after "operating costs" and substitute with "and"; to delete "," after "financing" and substitute with "; (b) to adopt effective measures to boost the domestic consumption market,"; to delete "developing the local," after "continuously" and substitute with "develop the"; to delete "," after "sales markets" and substitute with "and actively assist SMEs in"; to delete "," after "product exploration" and substitute with "and"; to delete "and" after "brand development" and substitute with "; (c) in respect of the investments and inputs made by SMEs which are conducive to their sustainable development, such as scientific research, innovation and design, new market development, creation of additional employment opportunities due to business expansion, etc., to provide SMEs with initiative-enhancing incentives such as tax concessions or rebates, etc.; (d) when formulating new policies, to comprehensively consult SMEs and minimize the impact on them as far as possible, or provide resources to assist the affected enterprises; and (e) to further perfect"; and to add "programmes to enhance the quality of manpower resources" after "manpower training".

    (iii)Hon Albert CHAN to move the following amendment: (Translation)

    To delete "and" after "market competition" and substitute with ","; to delete "etc.," after "soaring costs," and substitute with "the Government's high land-price policy and the tilting of government policies in favour of large consortia, etc., as well as the Government's sale of public housing shopping arcades to The Link which has resulted in drastic rental increases under the management of The Link,"; and to add "abandon the high land-price policy, implement as early as possible a fair competition law and buy back the shares of The Link," after "business environment,".

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

Clerk to the Legislative Council