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A 09/10-33
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 30 June 2010 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers
| Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments | L.N. No.
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| Hawker (Permitted Places) Declaration 2010 | 88/2010
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Other Papers
| 1. | No. 102 | - | Airport Authority Hong Kong Annual Report 2009/10
| (to be presented by the Financial Secretary)
| | 2. | Report No. 15/09-10 of the House Committee on Consideration of Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments
| (to be presented by Hon Miriam LAU, Chairman of the House Committee)
| | 3. | Report of the Bills Committee on Deposit Protection Scheme (Amendment) Bill 2010
| | (to be presented by Hon CHAN Kam-lam, Chairman of the Bills Committee)
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II. Questions
Question permitted by the President under Rule 24(4) of the Rules of Procedure
Hon Mrs Regina IP to ask: (Translation)
Following the tragic tree-falling incident which occurred in Yuen Chau Kok Park resulting in the death of a passer-by, a big Chinese banyan tree situated outside the entrance of the Central Government Offices, West Wing, collapsed earlier as it could not withstand days of winds and rain, causing injury to a passer-by and damages to properties. There are comments that the occurrence of tree-falling incidents everywhere in Hong Kong reflects that serious problems exist in the management of trees by the Government, posing threats to the lives and safety of the public. Given that the rainy season has started:
| (a) | whether the Government will immediately make public the list of trees which have been identified to be in need of further inspection, so that members of the public can take precautions; and
| | (b) | as the tree outside the entrance of the Central Government offices, West Wing, which collapsed was not on the aforesaid list, whether the Government will hire local and overseas expects to carry out inspection and monitoring of trees, in order to prepare an accurate list of dangerous trees, thereby removing the threats posed to the public in a more expeditious and effective manner?
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| Public Officers to reply | : | Secretary for the Environment
(in the absence of Secretary for Development)
Secretary for Home Affairs
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1. Hon TAM Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)
A small increase in radioactivity was observed in the reactor cooling water at Unit 2 of the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station on 23 May this year. On the day following the disclosure of the incident by the media on 14 June, CLP Power Hong Kong Limited ("CLP"), one of the shareholders of the nuclear power station, issued a statement stating that the incident was "a minor operational incident" with no impact on public safety, public health or the environment, and as the incident was not significant enough to be classified as belonging to any of the levels under the International Nuclear Event Scale ("INES") adopted by the International Atomic Energy Agency, it was therefore not necessary to activate the reporting system. Yet, it has been reported that a member of the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station Safety Advisory Committee ("Advisory Committee") has queried that CLP had underestimated the impact of the incident. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | when and through what channel the Government learnt about the aforesaid incident; how the Government has assessed the impact of the incident and of the assessment outcome;
| | (b) | given that there have been occasional "Below Scale" and "Level 1" incidents since the commissioning of the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station, whether it knows the persons who are responsible for grading such incidents; and whether the previous incidents have all been reported in accordance with the existing mechanism; and
| | (c) | given that it has been reported that the deputy chairman of the Advisory Committee has openly criticized the current communication and notification mechanism between the Government and the Advisory Committee to be inadequate, whether the Government has planned to review the existing reporting system on nuclear incidents; if it has, of the details?
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| Public Officers to reply | : | Secretary for Security
Secretary for the Environment
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2. Hon CHAN Kam-lam to ask: (Translation)
Under existing arrangements, if Hong Kong residents who are taken ill or injured on the Mainland wish to be transferred by ambulances back to Hong Kong for treatment, prior coordination has to be made between the medical personnel in Hong Kong and on the Mainland before they travel in mainland ambulances to the boundary control points where they change to travel in Hong Kong ambulances to the hospitals. Some members of the public have pointed out that while it takes only some 10-odd minutes to change from one ambulance to another, the movement may aggravate the conditions of the patients and even delay treatment. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
| (a) | it knows the number of cases of Hong Kong residents being transferred by ambulances from the Mainland back to Hong Kong for treatment in each of the past five years;
| | (b) | it has assessed the impact caused by the transfer from one ambulance to another on the conditions of the persons concerned; and
| | (c) | the authorities will consider introducing a pilot scheme in the Pearl River Delta cities to allow mainland hospitals to transfer in ambulances Hong Kong residents who are taken ill or injured direct to the hospitals in Hong Kong for treatment?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health
3. Hon IP Kwok-him to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported earlier that the underframe fuel pipes of two buses fractured after the buses were driven one after the other over the same section of a road which was covered temporarily with steel plates, and it is suspected that the fractures were caused by the pipes being hit by the steel plates which bounced up. Also, at the end of last month, the windshield of a private car was punctured by a piece of metal strip which was swept up from the road surface by the preceding car. Moreover, I have also received complaints from quite a number of motorists pointing out that quite a number of traffic signs have been erected or placed at inappropriate locations (e.g. signs advising motorists to make a turn are placed too close to the lanes), unclear or obstructed by trees, thus increasing the risk of traffic accidents. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the number of cases of damaged road surface found by the authorities and the number of relevant complaints received from members of the public in the past two years, as well as the average time taken by the authorities to handle such complaints;
| | (b) | what specific safety standards are currently adopted by the authorities for the installation of temporary facilities (including the steel plates covering potholes and stabilizing structures, sign plates for road maintenance works, fences and traffic cones, etc.) during street excavations carried out by government departments as well as public and private organizations, and what measures they have in place to ensure that all temporary facilities within the works areas comply with the safety standards; of the number of cases involving the breach of safety standards found by the authorities in the past two years and the follow-up actions taken; and
| | (c) | of the number of complaints received from members of the public in the past two years about traffic signs being erected or placed at inappropriate locations or having unclear instructions and, among them, the number of those in which follow-up actions were required, and the average time taken to handle such complaints?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing
4. Hon Andrew LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that since 22 February this year, the Man Kam To ("MKT") crossing has been temporary closed for reconstruction, resulting in a rapid increase in the number cross-boundary vehicles using the Shenzhen Bay Port ("SBP") in recent months, thus lengthening the time required for crossing the boundary. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the estimated and actual utilization of SBP in the past three years;
| | (b) | how the monthly cross-boundary vehicular flow of SBP since the closure of MKT crossing compares with that of the same period last year; and
| | (c) | whether the Immigration Department has adjusted the manpower in SBP in response to the increase in the number of cross-boundary passengers and vehicular flow; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security
5. Hon WONG Kwok-kin to ask: (Translation)
The existing Berth Licence Agreement for the Kwun Tong Public Cargo Working Area ("PCWA") will expire in July 2011. To complement the development of the Kai Tak promenade, the Government has planned to decommission PCWA, but it has not yet reached consensus with the 12 affected paper recyclers on a new operation site. I have learnt that if those 12 paper recyclers are forced to wind up their business, the livelihood of tens of thousands of workers will be adversely affected. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the average daily quantity of waste paper disposed of at Kwun Tong PCWA at present, and its percentage in the total quantity of waste paper disposed of in Hong Kong; whether the Government has assessed the average increase in the daily amount of waste paper to be delivered to the landfill areas for disposal upon the cessation of business of the aforesaid 12 paper recyclers; whether the authorities will consider reserving a piece of land at a nearby place or at the Gin Drinkers Bay PCWA for the paper recyclers to continue their operation, as well as improving the quality of management and the facilities with a view to developing the place into a waste paper recycling centre; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
| | (b) | whether the authorities have any comprehensive long-term policy and target for the recycling trade at present, and whether they have any plan to offer assistance to the local recycling trade; if so, of the details, including the targets and measures for recycling waste paper; if not, whether they will consider formulating such policies, targets and plans; and
| | (c) | whether the authorities will consider making reference to the proposal for building an incinerator in Tuen Mun and, in relocating the aforesaid 12 paper recyclers, provide comprehensive enhancement to their new operation site, so that the residents will accept the operation of recyclers in the district; if they will, of the details, if not, the reasons for that?
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| Public Officers to reply | : | Secretary for the Environment
Secretary for Transport and Housing
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6. Hon Jeffrey LAM to ask: (Translation)
Shops in Hong Kong which specifically serve tour groups from the Mainland, such as jewellery and audio/visual shops, often receive a large number of visitors at the same time. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the types of licenses required for establishing such shops, and whether first aid facilities are required to be provided in those shops for use by customers when they do not feel well; and
| | (b) | whether the licensing conditions of such shops have stipulated the maximum number of customers allowed in the shop at any one time, and whether such shops are required to install adequate fire safety and fire escape facilities for evacuating a large number of customers from the shops in case of fire?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security
*7. Hon LEUNG Kwok-hung to ask: (Translation)
Quite a number of members of the public who were granted legal aid have complained to me that the Legal Aid Department ("LAD") has often ignored the aided persons' right to select legal representatives by refusing to assign their choice of solicitors or counsel from the relevant legal aid panel ("the Panels") to act for them. Some aided persons have even pointed out that LAD has often adopted the practice of "differentiating between close and distant relationships" in assigning solicitors or counsel, and assigned cases to those who have a good relationship or are well acquainted with staff of LAD, and that staff of LAD have also taken the initiative to persuade them to engage solicitors or counsel whom they do not trust or are unfamiliar with to handle their cases (in particular personal injuries and criminal cases). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
| (a) | the respective number of solicitors and counsel on the respective Panels;
| | (b) | the respective numbers of civil or criminal cases assigned to the solicitors or counsel on the Panels in each of the past five years (set out in the table below);
| Year
| Number of cases assigned to solicitors
| Number of cases assigned to counsel
| | 2005 |
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| | 2006 |
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| | 2007 |
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| | 2008 |
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| | 2009 |
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| | (c) | the respective numbers of solicitors or counsel on the Panels who were not assigned any civil or criminal cases in each of the past five years;
| | (d) | the respective numbers of civil or criminal cases in each of the past five years in which the aided persons requested LAD to assign the solicitors or counsel on the Panels they had selected to act for them, and among such cases, the numbers of those in which the aided persons' requests were refused (set out in the table below); and
| Year
| Number of cases in which the aided persons requested LAD to assign the solicitors or counsel on the Panels they had selected to act for them
| Number of cases in which the aided persons' requests were refused
| | 2005 |
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| | 2008 |
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| | 2009 |
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| | (e) | which five law firms and which five counsel on the Panels were assigned the greatest numbers of criminal cases by LAD in each of the past five years, and the annual total amounts of public funds involved (set out in the table below)?
| Year
| Names of law firms Names of counsel
| Annual total amount of public funds involved
| | 2005 |
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| | 2009 |
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs
*8. Hon Tanya CHAN to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the incident of a Norfolk Island Pine tree in Maryknoll Convent School being removed some time ago and the question raised by a Member of this Council on 3 March this year on this incident, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether the authorities have recorded the details (including the species, quantity, location and health status) of all the trees within the monument boundary in the period starting from three years before the school building cluster of Maryknoll Convent School was declared to be a monument and thereafter up till now; whether the authorities have paid regular inspection visits to the monument site and examined the tree conditions of the trees since the school was declared to be a monument; if they have not, whether they will review the existing regime;
| | (b) | given that the Secretary for Development had said in her reply to the aforesaid question that "Eurasian Garden Limited and Man Chung Fong Heung Garden, which were engaged by the School, removed a total of 18 trees……within the monument boundary in December 2008. The School had not submitted the details of the tree removal works, the commencement date and the estimated completion date of the works in advance to the Executive Secretary of the Antiquities and Monuments Office ("AMO") in accordance with the requirements of the permit applicable to tree removal", whether it has assessed if the practice of Maryknoll Convent School had violated any regulation; if the assessment result is in the affirmative, of an update of the follow-up actions taken by AMO; if the assessment result is in the negative, the reasons for that;
| | (c) | whether it knows if Maryknoll Convent School has replanted trees within the monument boundary after removing the aforesaid tree; if it has, whether the school has submitted an application in this regard to the authorities; if such application has been submitted, of the details of vetting and approving the application and provide to this Council a copy of the document; if not, whether the authorities will follow up in accordance with the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance (Cap. 53); whether the authorities have allowed the school to plant new trees within the monument boundary and issued guidelines to the school; if they have, a copy of the guidelines;
| | (d) | given that the authorities issued a Block Permit to Maryknoll Convent School, allowing the school to carry out "emergency works" to remove trees for the purpose of protecting the monument structure or for public safety and after submitting notification to AMO, and that regarding the trees on government land at present, it must be ascertained that a tree constitutes an immediate danger to the public before the authorities consider removing it, whether there is any discrepancy between the terms of the Block Permit and the current tree management policy; if there is discrepancy, whether the authorities have changed their tree management policy; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for the discrepancy between the terms of the Block Permit and the current policy;
| | (e) | given that the Secretary for Development had said in her reply to the aforesaid question that Maryknoll Convent School had neither submitted the details and descriptions of the proposed works to AMO and obtained the written notification from AMO for the commencement of the works, nor informed AMO subsequently of the commencement date and the estimated completion date of the works, as required by the Block Permit, before the commencement of the drainage works, of the justification for the Government to consider that the drainage works carried out in the school fell under the scope of "Minor Repair and Improvement Works" as specified in the Block Permit; whether AMO has coordinated with other government departments (especially the Education Bureau), in relation to such works; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
| | (f) | whether the authorities had, apart from issuing the Block Permit to Maryknoll Convent School, issued Block Permits to other owners of private monuments in the past five years; if they had, of the number of such cases and their nature, as well as the valid periods of Block Permits, and provide copies of the relevant documents?
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| Public Officer to reply | : | Secretary for the Environment
(in the absence of Secretary for Development)
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*9. Hon Albert CHAN to ask: (Translation)
Recently, I have received a large number of complaints from members of the public pointing out that in the Legislative Council ("LegCo") By-election held on 16 May this year, the locations of quite a number of polling stations were far away from those set up in the 2008 LegCo Election for the same districts. Some polling stations were even set up at the end of slopes, causing great inconvenience to the elderly and persons with disabilities. Moreover, on the day of the By-election, quite a number of electors called the Registration and Electoral Office ("REO") to enquire about the locations of the polling stations, but they were not able to contact any staff. Even when some members of the public made their enquiries by leaving telephone messages, REO staff failed to return call before 10:30 pm that night. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
| (a) | the polling stations for the 2010 LegCo By-election which replaced those for the 2008 LegCo Election, and list in table form by geographical constituency, the serial numbers of such polling stations and the names of the District Council districts in which they were located; the reasons for their being chosen as the polling stations for the 2010 By-election, as well as the locations of the polling stations for the 2008 LegCo Election which had been replaced, and the reasons for their not being chosen as the polling stations for the 2010 By-election; and
| | (b) | the number of enquiries received by REO between 14 and 16 May this year regarding the locations of the polling stations and, among such enquiries, the respective numbers of those made through telephone messages and those replied by REO on or before 16 May, as well as the reasons for REO failing to reply some of such enquiries before the closing time of the aforesaid By-election?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs
*10. Hon Tommy CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that in early June this year, the Secretary for Food and Health indicated to the media that live chickens in Hong Kong could now be regarded as luxury goods and such an phenomenon could be related to the prevailing policies, yet the authorities would neither increase the supply of mainland live chickens to Hong Kong nor relax control over the number of live chickens kept at local farms, so as to bring down the prices of live chickens. Moreover, the University of Hong Kong ("HKU") announced that it had discovered a compound that could attack influenza viruses, and would further develop the compound into a new target therapy drug for treating influenza. By then, viruses such as avian influenza ("AI"), Human Swine Influenza and influenza A may be inhibited more effectively. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether it has assessed if the phenomenon that live chickens can be regarded as luxury goods is related to the authorities' prevailing policies; if the assessment result is in the negative, how the authorities strike a balance between safeguarding the consumers' interests of members of the public and safeguarding their health, so as to avoid the retail prices of live chickens from soaring persistently, and ensure that members of the public will not find live chickens unaffordable due to financial reasons;
| | (b) | given that the authorities have pointed out that following the ban on overnight keeping of live poultry in retail markets, the loading of influenza A virus, which is an AI virus, has been decreasing significantly, whether the authorities will consider increasing the number of imported live chickens and those kept at local farms appropriately; if they will, of the details;
| | (c) | whether the authorities have estimated the percentage increase in the risk of human infection by AI viruses when the supply of live chickens imported from the Mainland increases from a daily average of 7 000 chickens at present to 140 000 chickens; if they have, of the methodology and the outcome of the estimate; if not, why they have refused to increase the supply of mainland live chickens to Hong Kong without conducting such an estimate; and
| | (d) | given that some members of the catering industry have indicated that the competitiveness of Hong Kong as a culinary capital has been declining gradually due to the lack of supply of live waterfowl, whether the authorities will consider allowing the supply of an appropriate number of waterfowl such as live ducks, geese and pigeons to be resumed in the market, or supplying them to restaurants under specific control measures, so that traditional cuisines prepared with live waterfowl can continue to be offered; if they will not, whether they will reconsider relaxing control over the sale of live waterfowl after the anti-influenza drug is successfully developed by HKU?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health
*11. Hon WONG Kwok-hing to ask: (Translation)
In response to my question regarding dental care services for secondary students at the special meetings of the Finance Committee held earlier to discuss the Estimates of Expenditure 2010-2011, the Director of Health advised that the authorities were planning to study in collaboration with the private sector (e.g. the Hong Kong Dental Association) how to extend the School Dental Care Service so that appropriate dental care services and education could be provided for secondary school students. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the details of the cooperation between the Government and the private sector in providing dental care services for secondary students, and when the relevant programme is expected to be implemented;
| | (b) | whether the Government will charge students a fee for using such services; if so, how it will set the levels of the fee; and whether the authorities have assessed the financial commitment involved in providing dental care services for secondary students; if so, of the assessment result;
| | (c) | whether the authorities had conducted surveys on the oral health of all secondary students in Hong Kong in the past three years, so as to understand their oral health conditions and their needs for dental care services; if so, of the outcome of such surveys; if not, the reasons for that; and
| | (d) | whether the authorities will establish a long-term mechanism for extending dental care services to all secondary students, so as to fully resolve the problem of non-availability of such services at the stage of secondary education?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health
*12. Hon Cyd HO to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the CLP Power Hong Kong Limited ("CLP") is now negotiating with the China Guangdong Nuclear Power Holding Corporation on the construction of a new nuclear power facility, so as to increase the proportion of electricity generated by nuclear energy, which currently accounts for 20% of local electricity supply. Yet, the incident on 23 May this year of a small increase in radioactivity in the reactor cooling water at Unit 2 of the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant, which was not uncovered until two weeks after its occurrence, has once again cast doubt on the safety of nuclear electricity and the effectiveness of the incident reporting system. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether the authorities have got hold of the incident records, such as radioactive leaks, operational accidents and irregularities, etc., since the commissioning of the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Plant; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
| | (b) | whether the Scheme of Control Agreements signed between the authorities and the power companies include provisions to ensure safe disposal of nuclear wastes when the power companies participate in investment and operation of any nuclear power company inside or outside Hong Kong; if so, of the details; if not, whether the authorities will consider incorporating the disposal of nuclear wastes into the Scheme of Control Agreements;
| | (c) | whether the authorities had stipulated how the radioactivity in the surrounding area where nuclear wastes were stored and the cancer incidence rate of residents in the vicinity should be monitored when they granted approval to CLP in 2009 to extend the contract for the supply of nuclear electricity from the Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station for another term of 20 years with effect from 7 May 2014; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
| | (d) | whether the SAR Government has, after the Memorandum of Understanding signed with the National Energy Administration in August 2008 to ensure a continuous supply of nuclear electricity and natural gas to Hong Kong, conducted any studies on the projects of West-East Natural Gas Pipeline and the joint venture of constructing natural gas receiving terminals on the Mainland for supplying gas to Hong Kong (including studying the extent to which nuclear electricity can be replaced by electricity from natural gas); if it has, of the details; if not; the reasons for that; and
| | (e) | whether the authorities had, in the past five years, assessed the merits and demerits of developing, in collaboration with the Guangdong Province, the two means of electricity generation, namely renewable energy and nuclear energy; if they had not, of the reasons for that; if they had, of the detailed assessment results?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment
*13. Hon Albert HO to ask: (Translation)
While the Hong Kong Monetary Authority ("HKMA") is part of the government structure, its funding comes from the Exchange Fund and its annual budgets are not subject to the scrutiny by this Council. Moreover, the Securities and Futures Commission ("SFC") is the statutory regulator of the securities and futures market established under the existing legislation and its funding comes from levies on market transactions. Yet, SFC still submits its budget to the Panel on Financial Affairs of this Council and answers Members' questions before the commencement of each financial year. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
| (a) | why HKMA has not followed the practice of other government departments by submitting its budgets to this Council for scrutiny;
| | (b) | whether they have assessed if allowing this Council to vet and approve the budgets of HKMA will have any adverse impact on the monetary policies; and
| | (c) | whether HKMA will follow the practice of SFC to submit its budget to this Council and answer Members' questions each year?
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Public Officer to reply : The Financial Secretary
*14. Hon Paul CHAN to ask: (Translation)
There have been grave public concerns over the governance and transparency of publicly-funded organizations (including funded institutions) in recent years. Apart from safeguarding academic freedom in and institutional autonomy of funded institutions, the University Grants Committee ("UGC") also ensures that the governance and transparency of the decision-making process of such institutions can meet public aspirations, as well as the effective use of public funds. Yet, quite a number of stakeholders of funded institutions have, in recent years, raised queries of different extents on the governance and transparency of the decision-making process of such institutions. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
| (a) | what requirements UGC has imposed on the operation of the councils of funded institutions at present; whether the meetings of such councils have to be held in public, and whether the dates, agendas, papers, briefing materials, reports and minutes of their meetings have to be made public; if so, since when each of these funded institutions has started to adopt such arrangements; if not, the reasons for that, and of the criteria based on which funded institutions determine if the meetings of their councils should be held in public and the relevant information should be made public; if there are no such criteria, of the reasons for that;
| | (b) | whether funded institutions had, in the past three years, made public the attendance rates of members of their councils at meetings of the councils and their committees; if they had, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
| | (c) | whether UGC will issue guidelines or implement any regulatory measure to enhance the governance and transparency of the decision-making process of the councils of funded institutions; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education
*15. Dr Hon Samson TAM to ask: (Translation)
With cloud computing services and technologies developing rapidly in recent years, various advanced countries across the world are actively involved in the development of cloud computing industries. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
| (a) | it has made reference to the relevant experience of neighbouring regions and conducted studies on the development and application of cloud computing services in Hong Kong; if it has, of the details, if not, the reasons for that;
| | (b) | it has assessed the effectiveness of cloud computing services in promoting E-government services in Hong Kong and enhancing the efficiency of the Government; if it has, whether it will consider taking the lead to promote the application of multi-cloud computing in government departments;
| | (c) | the authorities had formulated concrete measures in the past three years to assist enterprises, educational institutions and relevant organizations in conducting researches on and developing cloud computing technologies; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
| | (d) | the authorities have considered conducting exchanges and cooperation in cloud computing with the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences as well as various provinces and cities on the Mainland; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
*16. Hon CHAN Kin-por to ask: (Translation)
The Quarterly Report on General Household Survey published by the Government reveals that the number of households with monthly household income below $4,000 in the first quarter of this year reached 186 000, representing an increase of 6% when compared with that of the same period last year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether it has studied why the number of poor households had increased despite the economic recovery when compared with that of last year amidst the financial tsunami, and if this reflects that the Government's policy to alleviate poverty by means of "handing out candies" is ineffective;
| | (b) | whether the Government will reconsider the re-establishment of the Commission on Poverty in order to formulate a long-term policy on poverty alleviation to address the problem of poverty in Hong Kong; and
| | (c) | given that people living in poverty cannot support themselves after retirement, whether the Government will reconsider the implementation of a universal retirement protection scheme?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare
*17. Hon WONG Sing-chi to ask: (Translation)
Since the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department ("FEHD") took over the management of public markets in 2000 upon its establishment, it had continued to adopt the versions of tenancy agreements used by the two former Provisional Municipal Councils until May 2009, despite their considerable discrepancies. During the period, new tenancy clauses and conditions had been introduced by FEHD and conveyed to tenants through letters for compliance. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the year in which FEHD added new tenancy clauses and conditions to public market tenancy agreements since it took over the management of public markets, as well as the specific clauses and conditions added on each occasion; and
| | (b) | whether the tenants, District Councils and the Legislative Council had been widely consulted before such new tenancy clauses and conditions were conveyed to tenants through letters; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health
*18. Hon IP Wai-ming to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that in April this year, a fatal accident occurred while a relief lift worker was working in a lift shaft, and the incident reflects the existence of loopholes and lack of supervision in the system of competent lift workers under the existing Lifts and Escalators (Safety) Ordinance (Cap. 327), which caused the accident. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the number of lift inspections conducted by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department ("EMSD") in the past three years, and what measures the authorities had put in place to ensure that registered lift contractors assigned competent workers to undertake inspection and repair works for lifts;
| | (b) | whether EMSD had, in the past three years, uncovered that unregistered lift contractors had undertaken lift repair works; if it had, whether the authorities had instituted any prosecution; if so, of the number of convictions; and
| | (c) | given that the Government has been working on the amendment to the aforesaid legislation, what the latest progress is; whether the authorities have consulted the trade's views; if they have, what the trade's views are; if not, the reasons for that?
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| Public Officer to reply | : | Secretary for the Environment
(in the absence of Secretary for Development)
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*19. Dr Hon Joseph LEE to ask: (Translation)
The non-emergency ambulance transfer service of the Hospital Authority ("HA") mainly provides point-to-point transport service to geriatric day hospital patients, discharged patients and specialist out-patient clinic patients in need of such service. There have been reports that such ambulances often arrived late. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
| (a) | the current number of non-emergency ambulances in each of the hospital clusters under HA, the average age of such vehicles and, among such vehicles, the number of those which have been in use for over 10 years;
| | (b) | the utilisation rates of the aforesaid ambulances in the various hospital clusters of HA in the past three years;
| | (c) | focusing on the aforesaid reports, whether HA has recorded statistics on late arrivals of the aforesaid ambulances and the relevant complaints; if it has, of the relevant statistics for the past three years; if not, whether HA will consider recording such statistics; and whether HA has assessed if the reasons for such late arrivals are related to the ageing of the fleet and insufficiency of vehicles; and
| | (d) | whether HA has assessed if the existing non-emergency ambulance transfer service is sufficient to meet the demand; if the assessment result is in the negative, whether HA has planned to increase the number of non-emergency ambulances, replace those which have been in use for over 10 years and recruit additional manpower so as to enhance the efficiency of such service; if it has, of the details of such plans; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health
*20. Hon Audrey EU to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that while oral examination has been included as a component of the Chinese Language subject in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination ("HKCEE") since 2007, there have been disputes over the standard answers to some questions on proper Cantonese pronunciations, e.g. the pronunciation of the character "霾" in the expression "陰霾", "幢" in "一幢幢", and "迢" in "迢遙千里", etc. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
| (a) | the standard based on which the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority ("HKEAA") set the standard answers for the oral examination papers of the Chinese Language subject in HKCEE; whether it had consulted the stakeholders, e.g. the Cantonese Culture Promotion Society and the Association for the Promotion of Proper Cantonese Pronunciation, before setting the model answers; and
| | (b) | the list and details of general reference books recognized by HKEAA, and whether it has any plan to publish the list of reference books for the oral examinations of the Chinese Language subject in next year's HKCEE and the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination in the future; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education
* For written reply
III. Bills
First Reading
| | 1. | Legal Practitioners (Amendment) Bill 2010
| | 2. | Matrimonial Proceedings and Property (Amendment) Bill 2010
| | 3. | Residential Care Homes (Persons with Disabilities) Bill
| | 4. | Communications Authority Bill
| Second Reading (Debates to be adjourned)
| | 1. | Legal Practitioners (Amendment) Bill 2010 | : | The Secretary for Justice
| | 2. | Matrimonial Proceedings and Property (Amendment) Bill 2010 | : | The Secretary for Justice
| | 3. | Residential Care Homes (Persons with Disabilities) Bill | : | Secretary for Labour and Welfare
| | 4. | Communications Authority Bill | : | Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
| Second Reading (Debate to resume), Committee Stage and Third Reading
| | Deposit Protection Scheme (Amendment) Bill 2010 | : | Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
| Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury to move Committee stage amendments
(The amendments were issued on 24 June 2010
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 844/09-10)
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IV. Motions
Proposed resolution under the Employees' Compensation Ordinance
Secretary for Labour and Welfare to move the motion in the Appendix.
V. Members' Motions
- Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
Hon Tanya CHAN to move the following motion:
RESOLVED that in relation to the Country Parks (Designation) (Consolidation) (Amendment) Order 2010, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 72 of 2010 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 9 June 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 first sitting (within the meaning of section 34(6) of that Ordinance) of the next session of the Legislative Council.
- Proposed resolution under Article 75 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
Hon TAM Yiu-chung to move the following motion:
RESOLVED that Rule 49 of the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region be amended -
| (a) | in subrule (4) -
| | (i) | by repealing "on an amendment to a bill" and substituting "on any provision of or any amendment to a bill";
| | (ii) | by repealing "in respect of any amendments to the bill" and substituting "in respect of any provisions of or any amendments to the bill";
| | (b) | in subrule (6), in the English text, by repealing "the first division" and substituting "a division".
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- Safeguarding Hong Kong people's freedom of expression
Hon CHEUNG Man-kwong to move the following motion: (Translation)
That, the activities held by Hong Kong people this year in remembrance of the 4 June incident were repeatedly suppressed; following the seizure of the Tiananmen Square Massacre relief sculpture and the two Goddess of Democracy statues by the Police on grounds that the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China had breached the Places of Public Entertainment Ordinance, the Immigration Department denied the entry of CHEN Weiming, the creator of the new Goddess of Democracy statue, to Hong Kong, while The Chinese University of Hong Kong also rejected the request of its Student Union to permanently display the Goddess of Democracy statue on the campus on grounds of political neutrality; the series of incidents have caused worries that the freedom of speech and expression in Hong Kong is being gradually restricted, and the principle of 'One Country, Two Systems' exists in name only; as safeguarding democracy and the rule of law while respecting the freedom of pluralistic expression is one of the core values of Hong Kong people, this Council urges the Government to cease suppression of pro-democracy activities and ensure that people with different political opinions can exercise their lawful right to freedom of speech and expression; this Council also calls upon all universities, being the highest academic institutions in pursuit of academic excellence and truth, to uphold the spirit of pluralism and openness, accommodate different voices and discharge their social and moral responsibilities of defending academic freedom and freedom of expression.
Amendment to the motion
Hon Ronny TONG to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To add ": (a)" after "this Council"; and to delete "this Council also" after "lawful right to freedom of speech and expression;" and substitute with "(b) urges the Government to comprehensively review the existing laws of Hong Kong to ensure that the various legislation relating to freedom of speech and expression meets the needs of modern society and conforms with the spirit of the Basic Law and 'international human rights treaties' in protecting the freedom of speech and expression; and (c)".
Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs
- Policy on elderly housing
Hon LAU Kong-wah to move the following motion: (Translation)
That, as safe and stable accommodation and environment are fundamental and important elements of the lives of the elderly, and promoting 'ageing in the community' is all the more an important principle and belief of the SAR Government's elderly policy, this Council urges the Government to formulate a targeted, comprehensive and long-term planning policy on elderly housing to meet the challenges arising from an ageing population, which includes:
| (a) | to examine afresh the current land planning and formulate a comprehensive land policy with sites earmarked for elderly housing purposes;
| | (b) | to actively explore the introduction of the 'mixed use development' concept in private and public housing, and design a residence model which integrates elderly housing and complementary facilities, so as to lay the foundation for building a society of mutual care between the elderly and the young;
| | (c) | making reference to the experience of the Senior Citizen Residences Scheme currently undertaken by the Hong Kong Housing Society, to provide more incentives to encourage developers and non-governmental organizations in possession of land resources, etc. to develop elderly housing projects with complete complementary facilities for living;
| | (d) | to actively encourage the banking and insurance sectors to explore more financial packages, such as 'elderly housing insurance schemes', 'reverse mortgage schemes', etc., with a view to helping the elderly improve their living environment and lives in their twilight years; and
| | (e) | to review the existing policies on welfare and health care services for the elderly to enable those elderly people who choose to live in the Mainland to have peace of mind and enjoy their twilight years there.
| | Amendments to the motion
| | (i) | Hon WONG Sing-chi to move the following amendment:
(Translation)
To delete "as" after "That," and substitute with "there are currently more than 1.2 million elderly people in Hong Kong which account for about 18% of our population, and"; to add "; in this connection" after "elderly policy"; to add "(c) to draw up a timetable for the expeditious provision of spacious small-sized flats with self-contained kitchens and toilets to all elderly people residing in 'elderly housing', so that they can live comfortably and securely; (d) to install facilities in old public rental housing ('PRH') estates and shopping malls that suit the daily life of elderly people, such as retrofitting handrails and ramps at passageways, paving the floor with non-slippery tiles, installing automatic doors, etc., so as to provide a safe and convenient living environment; (e) in PRH estates with relatively more elderly residents, to provide community facilities that can cater for the needs of elderly people, such as pebble paths, gateball courts, fitness equipment, chess tables, etc., and social welfare services such as meal service, personal care, estate clinics as well as recreation centres for the elderly; and to enhance efforts in caring for elderly residents in PRH estates by paying regular visits to singleton and hidden elders and organizing activities for them, so as to enable them to have more contacts with the community;" after "the young;"; to delete the original "(c)" and substitute with "(f)"; to delete the original "(d)" and substitute with "(g)"; to delete the original "(e)" and substitute with "(h)"; and to add ", and immediately implement the verdict of the High Court to abolish the absence limit for receiving Old Age Allowance, so as" after "health care services for the elderly".
| | (ii) | Dr Hon PAN Pey-chyou to move the following amendment:
(Translation)
To delete "as" after "That," and substitute with "in view of the rapid growth of old age population in Hong Kong, and"; to add "to provide suitable accommodation to elderly people of different financial means, health conditions and community support, so as" after "policy on elderly housing"; to delete "and" after "lives in their twilight years;"; and to add "; (f) to review the public housing policies relating to the elderly, and increase the supply of elderly housing, with a view to further shortening the waiting time of elderly people for public rental housing ('PRH'); (g) to enhance or provide relevant schemes under PRH policy to encourage core families to live with or near their elderly relatives to facilitate the caring of the elderly; (h) to improve the design and facilities of elderly housing to facilitate the activities of elderly people with disabilities as well as enhance home safety; and (i) to review the existing community and medical services for the elderly so as to enhance support for elderly people living at home" immediately before the full stop.
| | (iii) | Hon Albert CHAN to move the following amendment:
(Translation)
To add "the elderly population has been rising in recent years and the Government has failed to provide reasonable elderly housing arrangements over the years, resulting in deterioration in the living environment of many elderly people; and" after "That, as"; to add "(a) the policy on elderly housing should be led by public rental housing, and the Government must expeditiously increase the production of public rental housing ('PRH') units with a view to shortening the waiting time of the elderly for PRH, so as to improve their living environment; (b) through the provision of more self-contained PRH flats for singleton elders and allocation of such flats to the elderly people who currently have to live with other unrelated persons in the same PRH flats, to thoroughly resolve the problems arising from singleton elders living with other unrelated persons in the same flats;" after "which includes:"; to delete the original "(a)" and substitute with "(c)"; to delete the original "(b)" and substitute with "(d)"; to delete the original "(c)" and substitute with "(e)"; to delete the original "(d)" and substitute with "(f)"; and to delete the original "(e)" and substitute with "(g)".
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Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Transport and Housing
Clerk to the Legislative Council
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