 |
A 10/11-27
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 18 May 2011 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers
| Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments | L.N. No.
|
|---|
| 1. | Inland Revenue (Double Taxation Relief and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income) (Japan) Order | 64/2011
| | 2. | Inland Revenue (Double Taxation Relief and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and Capital) (French Republic) Order | 65/2011
| | 3. | Inland Revenue (Double Taxation Relief and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income and Capital) (Principality of Liechtenstein) Order | 66/2011
| | 4. | Inland Revenue (Double Taxation Relief and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income) (New Zealand) Order | 67/2011
| | 5. | Specification of Arrangements (Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg) (Avoidance of Double Taxation on Income and Capital and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion) (Amendment) Order 2011 | 68/2011
| | 6. | Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicles) (Amendment) Regulation 2011 | 69/2011
| | 7. | Professional Accountants (Amendment) Bylaw 2011 | 70/2011
| | 8. | Electoral Affairs Commission (Registration) (Electors for Legislative Council Functional Constituencies) (Voters for Election Committee Subsectors) (Members of Election Committee) (Amendment) Regulation 2011 | 71/2011
| | 9. | Electoral Affairs Commission (Nominations Advisory Committees (Legislative Council)) (Amendment) Regulation 2011 | 72/2011
| | 10. | Electoral Affairs Commission (Electoral Procedure) (Legislative Council) (Amendment) Regulation 2011 | 73/2011
| | 11. | Electoral Affairs Commission (Electoral Procedure) (District Councils) (Amendment) Regulation 2011 | 74/2011
| | 12. | Electoral Affairs Commission (Electoral Procedure) (Election Committee) (Amendment) Regulation 2011 | 75/2011
| | 13. | Electoral Procedure (Chief Executive Election) (Amendment) Regulation 2011 | 76/2011
| | 14. | Electoral Procedure (Village Representative Election) (Amendment) Regulation 2011 | 77/2011
| | 15. | Particulars Relating to Candidates on Ballot Papers (Legislative Council and District Councils) (Amendment) Regulation 2011 | 78/2011
| | 16. | Electoral Affairs Commission (Financial Assistance for Legislative Council Elections and District Council Elections) (Application and Payment Procedure) (Amendment) Regulation 2011 | 79/2011
| | 17. | Pension Benefits Ordinance (Established Offices) (Amendment) Order 2011 | 80/2011
| | 18. | Places for Autopsies (Amendment) Order 2011 | 81/2011
| | 19. | Buildings Energy Efficiency Ordinance (Commencement) Notice 2011 | 82/2011
| | 20. | Legal Aid Ordinance - Resoluton of the Legislative Council (Commencement) Notice | 83/2011
| | 21. | Legal Aid (Assessment of Resources and Contributions) (Amendment) Regulation 2011 (Commencement) Notice | 84/2011
|
Other Papers
| 1. | No. 91 | - | Early Retirement Ex-gratia Payment Fund for Aided Secondary School Teachers
Financial statements together with the Director of Audit's report for the year ended 31 August 2010
| (to be presented by the Secretary for Education)
| | 2. | No. 92 | - | The Government Minute in response to the Report of the Public Accounts Committee No. 55 of February 2011
| (to be presented by the Chief Secretary for Administration, who will address the Council)
| | 3. | Report No. 22/10-11 of the House Committee on Consideration of Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments
| (to be presented by Hon Miriam LAU, Chairman of the House Committee)
|
II. Questions
1. Hon Miriam LAU to ask: (Translation)
It has been learnt that as the three existing landfills, namely the South East New Territories ("SENT") Landfill, the North East New Territories Landfill and the West New Territories Landfill, will be exhausted in 2014, 2016 and 2018 respectively, the Government has planned to acquire land for landfilling at Tseung Kwan O Area 137 which is adjacent to the SENT Landfill, but it will study using the landfill only for handling construction waste. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the number of complaints received by the authorities in the past three years about odour from various landfills; and whether they had assessed the impact of odour from landfills on human health; if they had, of the details and results of the assessment; if not, the reasons for that;
| | (b) | given that the authorities have planned to build an incinerator at Tsang Tsui in Tuen Mun, of the estimated distribution of the types of waste to be transported to the various landfills and the incinerator upon its commissioning, with a breakdown by type of waste; and
| | (c) | whether the authorities have put in place a testing mechanism to verify the effectiveness of the deodorization measures taken in the past; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; whether they will plan to introduce new deodorization technology in the future; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
|
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment
2. Hon Starry LEE to ask: (Translation)
Although works of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge ("HKZMB") Main Bridge have already commenced, the High Court ruled last month that the environmental impact assessment ("EIA") reports on the works of that project to be undertaken within Hong Kong did not comply with statutory requirements, and requested that the environmental permit for such works be withdrawn by the Director of Environmental Protection. It has been reported that the judgment which has recommended new EIA criteria, including the requirements that a baseline study be carried out and corresponding mitigation measures be implemented, has far-reaching implications. It has also been reported that the incident has caused a knock-on effect as the MTR Corporation Limited has already taken the initiative to withdraw three EIA reports on the Shatin to Central Link ("SCL") project, and a number of infrastructure projects the EIA reports of which have been approved but the projects have not yet commenced (including the South Island Line (East) ("SIL(E)") and the Kwun Tong Line Extension ("KTE")) might also be affected. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether the Government will refer to the aforesaid court judgment and carry out baseline studies on those infrastructure projects and implement corresponding mitigation measures in order to prevent the relevant EIA reports on SCL, SIL(E) and KTE from being challenged; if it will, of the details and the estimated extent of the delay caused to various projects; whether the dates of commissioning have to be postponed and whether the costs of the projects will increase; if it will not carry out such studies and implement such measures, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing
3. Hon LEUNG Kwok-hung to ask: (Translation)
Quite a number of members of the public have reflected to me that before the Minimum Wage Ordinance came into operation on 1 May this year, quite a number of "unscrupulous" and "callous" employers had resorted to every conceivable means to deduct their employees' wages in respect of meal breaks and rest days by revising employment contracts, or even reduce and restrict the paid time for their employees' toilet breaks, and quite a number of members of the public were dismissed by their "unscrupulous employers". A member of the public has also complained to me that, in response to the appeals made by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare on radio programmes, he had sought assistance from the Labour Department ("LD") in negotiating with his employer on issues relating to minimum wage, but this had resulted in his immediate dismissal by the employer. The complainant has remarked that seeking assistance from LD was just like a "suicidal" act. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether the Government will promptly introduce legislative amendments to include employees' meal breaks, rest days and toilet breaks as paid time; if so, when it will introduce such amendments; if not, of the reasons for that;
| | (b) | what new measures the Government has to protect all Hong Kong employees from being exploited by their employers by means of deducting their wages in respect of meal breaks and rest days as well as reducing the paid time for their toilet breaks; and the number of prosecutions instituted against those "unscrupulous employers" who exploit their employees by the aforesaid means; and
| | (c) | whether the Government has any effective measure to guarantee that employees seeking assistance from LD in negotiations with their employers over issues relating to minimum wage will not be dismissed immediately; if it has, of the details; if not, how the Government will make members of the public feel that they have nothing to worry in seeking assistance from LD?
|
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare
4. Hon Tanya CHAN to ask: (Translation)
In January 2008, the Town Planning Board ("TPB") proposed amendments to the draft Wong Nai Chung Outline Zoning Plan ("OZP") to incorporate building height restrictions for the Hong Kong Sanatorium and Hospital ("HKSH") site, and HKSH applied for judicial review ("JR") from the court in this regard. On 1 September 2010, HKSH submitted a settlement proposal to TPB which accepted the proposal on 3 September, and the Metro Planning Committee under TPB agreed on 10 September to make amendments to the OZP. The relevant JR proceedings were terminated on 27 September. On 30 September, TPB consulted the public on the revised draft OZP. It has been learnt that, with the aforesaid amendments and upon completion of the relevant expansion project of HKSH, the number of bed spaces in private hospitals in the Happy Valley area will increase substantially. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | given that TPB proposed further amendments to the OZP and conducted consultation after accepting HKSH's settlement proposal, whether the authorities have assessed if TPB's practice of "agreement first, consultation to follow" renders the subsequent public consultation to lose its substantive meaning; whether TPB had gone through such amendment and consultation procedures which were similar to the above practice of "agreement first, consultation to follow" in the past; if it had, of the details; whether the authorities have assessed the legal risks and liabilities to be borne by TPB if the amendments ultimately approved after the consultation do not conform with the contents of the settlement proposal;
| | (b) | as I have learnt that the Planning Department ("PlanD"), as the executive arm of TPB, has handled the settlement issues related to the aforesaid JR case on behalf of TPB under TPB's delegated authority, while at the same time PlanD is also responsible for consolidating the views given by various policy bureaux and departments on HKSH's revised development proposal as well as providing TPB with objective and professional advice, whether the authorities have assessed if this has resulted in role conflicts for PlanD, making it impossible for PlanD to provide professional advice in an independent manner; and
| | (c) | during the planning process in dealing with the expansion project of HKSH, whether the authorities have assessed the impact of the project on the planning for the supply of bed spaces in private hospitals on the Hong Kong Island and even in Hong Kong as a whole; if they have, of the assessment results; if not, the reasons for that?
|
| Public Officers to reply | : | Secretary for Development
Secretary for Food and Health
|
5. Hon LEE Wing-tat to ask: (Translation)
It has been learnt that the Government has been reviewing the New Territories "small house policy" for a long time, but no announcement has been made yet; recently, the Office of The Ombudsman published a report criticizing that the authorities have been ineffective in clearing the unauthorized building works ("UBW") in village houses in the New Territories, including small houses. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether the authorities have compiled statistics on or estimated the present situation of the UBW problem of village houses in the New Territories, including small houses and ancestral homes; if they have, of the number of village houses in various districts which have unauthorized rooftop glass houses, enclosed balconies, additional storeys up to 4 or 5 storeys and unauthorized rooftop accommodation, broken down by type of UBW; and how the authorities will handle the problem, as well as whether they will impose regulation according to the types of UBW;
| | (b) | whether it knows, in each of the recognized villages under the existing "small house policy", the respective numbers of indigenous villagers aged 18 or above who are eligible but still have not applied for small house grant, or whose applications have not yet been approved at present; of the land area within the respective villages at present and, among which, the vacant land area that can be used for building small houses; whether the respective areas of the villages concerned can be extended to increase the land available for building small houses; if they can be extended, of the land area that can be extended; whether it has assessed the impact of such policy on the UBW problem of village houses in the New Territories; and
| | (c) | whether it has assessed if the long-standing protection under the exemption under the Buildings Ordinance (Application to the New Territories) Ordinance has affected the Government's handling of the UBW problem of village houses; whether the authorities have set up a "rationalization working group" to handle the UBW problem of village houses at present; if they have, when the working group commenced work and when the relevant work will be completed, as well as whether the authorities will consult the public on the recommendations of the working group; whether the working group will propose exemption measures to allow the existence of UBW in village houses; if it will, whether it has assessed if this will result in two sets of policies or legislation in Hong Kong for handling UBW, such that the urban area and rural area are regulated by different statutes; and of the time for the authorities to complete the review on the "small house policy", and whether the review will cover recommendations relating to the standard and the UBW problem of small houses?
|
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development
6. Hon Albert HO to ask: (Translation)
The former Legislative Council enacted the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance ("HKBORO") in June 1991, empowering the local courts to rule on cases of violation of the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ("ICCPR") as applicable to Hong Kong, and to provide redress through HKBORO for cases of violation. The British Hong Kong Government later established the Human Rights Education Working Group under the Committee on the Promotion of Civic Education to educate the public on the various rights guaranteed under HKBORO, raise public awareness on the rule of law and human rights protection, and enhance the effectiveness of HKBORO. Yet, the SAR Government disbanded the Human Rights Education Working Group in 2007. Regarding the implementation and promotion of HKBORO, will the executive authorities inform this Council:
| (a) | of the reasons for not making consequential amendments to all the statutory provisions which have been ruled by the court to be in contravention of HKBORO;
| | (b) | since this year marks the 20th anniversary of the enactment of HKBORO, whether the authorities will take this opportunity to organize events to promote human rights education among the public; and
| | (c) | whether it will establish the Human Rights Education Working Group afresh and set up a human rights commission to promote public education on HKBORO and monitor the implementation of HKBORO and ICCPR?
|
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs
*7. Hon CHEUNG Man-kwong to ask: (Translation)
It has been learnt that there will be an estimated number of about 77 100 students taking the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education ("HKDSE") examinations in 2012; and the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority ("HKEAA") has recently proposed the examination fee schedule for HKDSE as follows: language subjects will be charged at $540 per subject entry and non-language subjects at $360 per subject entry, and as such, if a student takes two language subjects and four non-language subjects, the total examination fee is $2,520. While the examination fee level is comparable to that of the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination ("HKALE") (e.g. the examination fee for taking two Advanced Supplementary level language subjects and three Advanced level non-language subjects is $2,508), it may be more than 1.6 times higher than that of the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination ("HKCEE") (e.g. the examination fee for taking two language subjects and five non-language subjects is $966, calculated at the fee level of 2011). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
| (a) | the respective estimated costs to HKEAA for organizing examinations of HKDSE language and non-language subjects in 2012, broken down by all subheads under staff cost, expenses of other personnel, as well as administrative and other operating fees;
| | (b) | the respective estimated costs for examinations of HKDSE language and non-language subjects calculated on a per candidate and per subject basis; among such costs, the respective amounts of staff cost, expenses of other personnel, as well as administrative and other operating fees, and the respective percentages of such amounts in the relevant examination fee (i.e. $540 or $360) of each subject;
| | (c) | all non-recurrent expenditure items with regard to examinations of HKDSE that HKEAA had requested government funding, the amount allocated and the year of funding application for each item, as well as the total amount of allocation;
| | (d) | the respective estimated costs to HKEAA for organizing examinations of HKCEE and HKALE language and non-language subjects in 2011, broken down by all subheads under staff cost, expenses of other personnel, as well as administrative and other operating fees; and
| | (e) | the respective estimated costs for HKCEE and HKALE language and non-language subjects in 2011 calculated on a per candidate and per subject basis; among such costs, the respective amounts of staff cost, expenses of other personnel, and administrative and other operating fees, and the respective percentages of such amounts in the relevant examination fee of each subject?
|
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education
*8. Hon Jeffrey LAM to ask:
It has been reported that the World Trade Organization's Doha Development Agenda ("Doha Round") of trade negotiations, which was launched in 2001 aiming at trade liberalization, has remained at an impasse despite the approaching deadline for its closure, and there is increasing evidence suggesting its faltering progress - in particular in respect of the area of services that is critically important to Hong Kong. Regarding the aforesaid situation, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether the Government has any plan in response to the possible collapse of the Doha Round; if it has, of the details; and
| | (b) | of the alternative means that the Government will need to pursue to protect Hong Kong's global trade interests in the event of such a collapse?
|
| Public Officer to reply | : | Secretary for Development
(in the absence of Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development)
|
*9. Dr Hon PAN Pey-chyou to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the total revenue of the Citybus Limited ("CTB") last year amounted to $1.5 billion, with a surplus of more than $96 million over the permitted return. Under the passenger reward arrangement modified by the Government in 2006, any return achieved by a franchised bus operator exceeding the rate of return on the average net fixed asset of 9.7% shall be shared equally on a 50/50 basis between the operator and passengers. According to the above arrangement, CTB should have apportioned to the passenger reward balance about $50 million of the surplus. Although CTB introduced the concessionary fare scheme entitled "$2 Discount for Each Second Trip within the Same Day" ("the Discount") in February this year, the company cancelled the scheme with effect from May this year without giving a clear account. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether it knows the total amount of passenger reward provided by CTB through offering the Discount, as well as whether CTB has any plan to fully utilize the sum of around $50 million in last year's surplus to reward passengers through offering same day return fare concessions; if it knows, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
| | (b) | whether the authorities have monitored the implementation of the relevant mechanism for "the passenger reward balance" mentioned above, such as holding discussions between the Government and franchised bus companies on utilizing "the passenger reward balance accumulated" for reducing the magnitude of fare increase required in the future, or providing fare concessions, as well as whether the government departments concerned have monitored and assessed the effectiveness of fare concessions offered by bus companies under this mechanism; if not, of the reasons for that; and
| | (c) | whether the authorities at present have any channel to encourage various franchised bus companies to offer fare concessions to members of the public and monitor such efforts, such as requesting bus companies to retain certain popular fare concessions, and further extend the coverage of the fare concessions for senior citizens and people with disabilities; if they have, of the details, as well as whether the authorities will request CTB to offer the Discount once again; if not, the reasons for that?
|
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing
*10. Hon WONG Kwok-hing to ask: (Translation)
It was been reported that the public was earlier concern about the incident in which a 72-year-old hawker, who had been selling charcoal-roasted egg waffles for 30 years, was prosecuted repeatedly by the Hawker Control Team of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department ("FEHD") within a short period of time. The incident has once again sparked discussions in the community about the hawker management policy. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | among the unlicensed hawkers prosecuted by FEHD in the past three years, the number of those who were prosecuted for selling cooked foods; the number of those who were prosecuted more than once by the Hawker Control Team of FEHD, and the respective numbers of unlicensed hawkers who were prosecuted repeatedly within one month, two weeks and one week;
| | (b) | as it has been reported that there are public views that, in addition to issuing new Fixed-Pitch Hawker Licences to allow applicants to operate the existing vacant fixed hawker pitches as agreed in 2009, the Government should issue more new hawker licences to enable the grassroots to engage in small businesses and stand on their own feet, whether the authorities will consider such suggestions and give small business operators opportunities to earn a living; and
| | (c) | as it has been reported that there are public views that allowing hawkers to operate within legally prescribed times and locations may enable the grassroots to make a living and may also boost economic activities in the community, especially in new towns such as Tung Chung and Tin Shui Wai, etc. where street economic activities are totally non-existent, and that setting up hawker bazaars or markets there may not only make up for the aforesaid shortcomings but may also develop these areas into tourist attractions of Hong Kong with special characteristics, whether the authorities will make reference to the experience of the Mainland and the neighouring regions (e.g. Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand, etc.) and consider designating new legal hawker areas in certain districts as hawker bazaars and night markets with special characteristics, etc., to allow members of the public (e.g. the elderly people and people who sell goods with traditional characteristics) to apply for operating small business there, so as to boost the local culture and community economy; if they will, whether the authorities have any preliminary idea; if not, of the reasons for that?
|
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health
*11. Hon LAU Kong-wah to ask: (Translation)
According to the estimation of the World Health Organization, depression will become the second leading disease in the world by the year 2020. Earlier on, in a survey which interviewed 1 120 young people aged below 25, it was found that 32.5% of them showed symptoms of depression, with the youngest aged only 12, which was almost four times as high, in comparison to the 8.3% of people who showed symptoms of depression in the adult population of Hong Kong. In addition, more than half of them were even prone to suicide or self-harm. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether the authorities had compiled statistics on the number of people suffering from depression in Hong Kong in the past five years, and the number of those who need treatment because they had symptoms of depression; of the distribution by age, gender and occupation of these two types of people; whether they have assessed if there is an upward trend in the number of Hong Kong people suffering from depression and if the problem of adolescent depression is particularly serious; if they have assessed, of the outcome;
| | (b) | whether it knows at present the average waiting time for first appointment for various types of public mental health services and psychiatric specialist out-patient services; what measures the authorities have to shorten the waiting time for such services; whether they will strengthen the healthcare and counselling services for depression, as well as enhance publicity and education so as to enable members of the public to better understand and identify depression;
| | (c) | whether the authorities have plans to step up its efforts in addressing the problem of depression and adjust their strategy to tackle the problem of high rates of depression among young people by providing more services which targeted at their needs; and
| | (d) | given that some members of the public have relayed that as the existing antidepressant drugs have quite a number of side-effects causing some patients to discontinue medication, which affects the progress and efficacy of their treatment, whether the authorities will request the Hospital Authority to include more new drugs with fewer side-effects in its Drug Formulary in order to enhance the treatment of depression and boost the confidence of patients with depression in the prescription of medication?
|
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health
*12. Hon CHEUNG Kwok-che to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the background information of tax payers in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the number of tax payers in different age groups in each of the financial years between 2005 and 2010, and the percentages of the salaries tax paid by them in the total revenue from salaries tax in the respective years (set out in the table below); and
Year: __________
Number of tax payers ("No.") and the percentage of the tax paid by them
in the total revenue from salaries tax ("%")
| | Gender
| Age (years)
| The amount of salaries tax paid (HK$)
| | Less than 5,000
| 5,001 to 10,000
| 10,001 to 15,000
| 15,001 to 20,000
| 20,001 to 25,000
| 25,001 to 30,000
| 30,001 to 35,000
| More than 35,000
| | No. | %
| No. | %
| No. | %
| No. | %
| No. | %
| No. | %
| No. | %
| No. | %
| | Male
| Below 18
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | 18 to 24
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | 25 to 34
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | 35 to 44
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | 45 to 54
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | 55 to 64
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | 65 or above
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | Total
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | Female
| Below 18
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | 18 to 24
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | 25 to 34
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | 35 to 44
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | 45 to 54
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | 55 to 64
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | 65 or above
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | Total
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | (b) | of the number of tax payers in different age groups from various occupations in each of the financial years between 2005 and 2010, and the percentages of the salaries tax paid by them in the total revenue from salaries tax in the respective years?
Year: __________
Number of tax payers from various occupations ("No.") and the percentage of the tax paid by them
in the total revenue from salaries tax ("%")
| | Gender
| Age (years)
| | Managers & administrators
| Professionals
| Associate professionals
| Clerks
| Service workers & shop sales workers
| Craft & related workers
| Plant & machine operators & assemblers
| Elementary occupations
| Others
| | No. | %
| No. | %
| No. | %
| No. | %
| No. | %
| No. | %
| No. | %
| No. | %
| No. | %
| No. | %
| | Male
| Below 18
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | 18 to 24
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | 25 to 34
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | 35 to 44
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | 45 to 54
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | 55 to 64
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | 65 or above
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | Total
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | Female
| Below 18
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | 18 to 24
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | 25 to 34
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | 35 to 44
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | 45 to 54
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| | 55 to 64
|
|
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
*13. Hon KAM Nai-wai to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that banquets, including cocktail receptions and dinner parties, are hosted on the occasion of Spring Festival, Reunification Day and National Day, etc. by the Government, including the Home Affairs Department, and the 18 District Councils to entertain people from various sectors. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the total number of banquets hosted and fully funded by the Home Affairs Bureau and the Home Affairs Department in the past three years, together with a breakdown by the nature of the banquets, e.g. Chinese New Year's Eve dinner, Spring Festival gathering, reunification celebration and National Day celebration, etc.; the respective number of banquets hosted through the District Councils each year by the District Office in each of the 18 districts, and the amount of money spent;
| | (b) | of the average attendance at the banquets in (a), together with a breakdown by the host unit, i.e. the Home Affairs Bureau, the Home Affairs Department and the 18 District Offices;
| | (c) | of the total amount of entertainment allowances claimed by Directorate civil servants and Directors of Bureaux in the past three years; whether a ceiling is set for the entertainment allowances, and the percentage of the current expenditure when compared to the ceiling;
| | (d) | whether the government departments had responded to the recommendations of "shark-free banquets", "sustainable seafood" and "six-course meals" advocated by environmental groups when they hosted the banquets in (a); if so, of the number and percentage of banquets which had adopted such recommendations; whether the officials receiving entertainment allowances in (c) have also followed such environmental recommendations;
| | (e) | whether, in response to the advocacy of environmental groups, the authorities will reconsider issuing internal guidelines in connection with the recommendations in (d) to set a good example of environmental protection and sustainable development for the general public; and
| | (f) | whether the authorities have laid down specific guidelines for invitation of guests in connection with the banquets hosted by the 18 District Offices and of the respective guests lists for banquets at different levels?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs
*14. Hon Paul TSE to ask: (Translation)
Disputes often arise between flight passengers and airlines over various issues of flight or passenger transport services, including passengers having booked their tickets but were denied boarding due to overbooking by airlines; passengers stranded on airplanes due to tarmac delay; problem of compensation for passengers in respect of loss of checked baggage by airlines; airlines not issuing timely notices of flight delays to passengers; passengers having to pay fines for cancellation of pre-booked tickets. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether the Consumer Council and relevant government departments had, in the past three years, received the types of complaints mentioned above; if they had, of the number of such complaints, together with a breakdown by the types of disputes mentioned above;
| | (b) | of the existing mechanisms in place to handle such complaints; the policy bureaux and government departments which are responsible for administering the mechanisms; and the policy bureaux and government departments which are responsible for regulating the operation of airlines; and
| | (c) | as it has been reported that the Department of Transportation of the United States will, in view of the common disputes mentioned above, implement in August this year a new set of rules, and one of the rules stipulates that fare advertisements by airlines must state the "full fares" which include taxes and fuel surcharges, so as to enhance the protection for the interests of flight passengers and avoid confusion over the ticket prices and other extra charges, whether the Government will consider making reference to such new requirements, so as to protect the interests of consumers on the one hand, and promote free competition among airlines to ensure that the operating environment for the aviation industry achieves an appropriate balance on the other; if it will, of the specific plans; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing
*15. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the Federal Reserve of the United States ("US") earlier decided to keep the interest rates unchanged, while the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority ("CE/HKMA") responded afterwards that Hong Kong's interest rates may increase without the need to wait for the US's interest rates to rise first, he thus urged the public to be vigilant and carefully manage the risk of interest rate increases; he also revealed that the loan-to-deposit ratio of local banks had risen from 71% at the beginning of last year to 81% in February this year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether the authorities have conducted any assessment of the risks which my be brought by the short to medium term interest rate trends, including the possible impact on the stability as well as credit and bad debt situations of the banking system, the flow of funds in the capital market, inflation and the overall economic environment, as well as the possible scenarios arising from the rise of US's interest rates in the future, etc.; if they have, of the results; and given that Hong Kong dollar is pegged to the US dollar, how CE/HKMA arrived at the conclusion that Hong Kong's interest rates may increase without the need to wait for the US's interest rates to rise first;
| | (b) | of the monthly loan-to-deposit ratios of local banks in the past five years, and the historical highest and lowest levels of the ratio; how the current loan-to-deposit ratio (81%) of local banks compares with those of the banks in other economies; how the authorities will regulate local banks to avoid the risks which may arise due to excessive lending; and
| | (c) | given that the financial tsunami in 2008 had prompted various countries to enhance regulation of their banking industry, including splitting the high-risk banking businesses and adjusting the remunerations of the senior staff of banks, of the proposals and items introduced by the authorities on the reform for and new regulations of the local banking industry after the financial tsunami, as well as the relevant contents and current implementation details; and how such proposals and items compare with the reforms of the banking industry in European and American countries?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
*16. Hon WONG Sing-chi to ask: (Translation)
Benefitting from the rapid development in information technology, quite a number of public and private bodies in Hong Kong have switched their daily operation in recent years to rely more on computers and other non-manual automation systems (e.g. autotoll lanes are provided in addition to the manual toll lanes at the existing toll tunnels and roads, etc.). Yet, there are voices in the community expressing the view that the aforesaid switching of operation modes has adversely affected the livelihood and job opportunities of quite a number of low-skilled workers with low education attainment. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
| (a) | whether the authorities had studied or assessed in the past three years which industries, job types and positions requiring low skills had been phased out due to the switching of operation modes of the aforesaid bodies; if they had, of the details and the specific data; if not, the reasons for that;
| | (b) | whether the authorities have any targeted plan to help the aforesaid affected workers switch occupation or seek new jobs; if they have, of the details and number of such plans; if not, the reasons for that; and
| | (c) | whether they know the number of the aforesaid workers who had been assisted by the Employees Retraining Board ("ERB") in the past three years in switching occupation and seeking new jobs, and whether the authorities have reviewed the effectiveness of ERB's courses in this respect; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare
*17. Hon WONG Kwok-hing to ask: (Translation)
According to the latest data (provisional figures) of the Census and Statistics Department, the unemployment rate for youths aged 15 to 19 was 18.3% from January to March this year. Given that youth unemployment has all along been an issue of public concern, the Government launched the Youth Pre-employment Training Programme ("YPTP") and the Youth Work Experience and Training Scheme ("YWETS") in 1999 and 2002 respectively, and integrated the two programmes into YPTP‧YWETS in September 2009. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the respective numbers of places provided under YPTP‧YWETS, YPTP and YWETS in each of the past three years; the respective numbers of persons joining these programmes in various districts in each of the past three years, broken down by the 18 District Council districts;
| | (b) | given that under the existing YPTP‧YWETS, trainees can also receive paid on-the-job training for a duration of six to 12 months in the capacity of employees, of the respective numbers of on-the-job training places provided under this programme and YWETS in each of the past three years; among them, the respective numbers of places offered by social welfare organizations and non-social welfare organizations; of the industries to which the training places offered by non-social welfare organizations belonged;
| | (c) | whether it knows in the past three years, the total number of trainees who were, after they had completed their internship and graduated, employed in jobs relevant to the courses taken by them; and
| | (d) | given that under the arrangement of YPTP‧YWETS, the authorities will disburse a training subsidy to employers at $2,000 per month for each trainee engaged to pay the wages during the trainees' on-the-job training, and employers will pay the remaining amount, whether the authorities know the average amount of subsidies currently paid by employers to each trainee per month; if not, whether the authorities will consider keeping the relevant records?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare
*18. Dr Hon LAM Tai-fai to ask: (Translation)
Some residents of the Frontier Closed Area ("FCA"), such as Sha Tau Kok, etc. have relayed to me that the Government has been slow in reducing the coverage of FCA and has not implemented any development plan, and as a result, the precious land resources in Hong Kong have not been fully utilized. They have also pointed out that as FCA residents have all along found it very inconvenient to travel in and out of FCA and there is little flow of people in the areas around FCA, the economy in the area is persistently sluggish and employment opportunities are lacking. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | given that the Government plans to reduce, by the end of 2012, the coverage of FCA from the current area of about 2 800 hectares to about 400 hectares, whether the authorities will formulate plans for the future development of the area so as to facilitate economic activities such as industrial and commercial developments, as well as tourism, etc. there; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
| | (b) | what factors the authorities will consider in deciding whether the coverage of FCA will be further reduced in the future, so that more land will be released for development;
| | (c) | given that under the existing requirements, non-FCA people have to be sponsored by FCA people when applying for Closed Area Permits ("CAPs") to visit FCA, whether the authorities will examine the relaxation of the qualifications for sponsors (e.g. by allowing non-governmental organizations such as schools and uniform organizations to act as sponsors in the application for CAPs for their students or members), so as to facilitate members of the public to enter the area for touring, visiting and teaching purposes; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
| | (d) | whether the authorities will examine the opening up of the entire FCA during weekends and public holidays, so as to promote tourism and industrial and commercial activities in the area; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
| | (e) | whether the authorities will consider extending the validity period of the Closed Road Permits for FCA and relaxing the conditions for their use (e.g. by allowing multiple entries to and exits from FCA within several years for the drivers and vehicles concerned), so as to bring convenience to the public; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
| | (f) | whether the authorities will examine relocating those government departments which do not require direct contact with members of the public to areas within the precincts of FCA, so as to vacate urban land for more cost effective uses, as well as to make better use of the land resources in FCA and increase the flow of people in the area; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
| | (g) | given that the Shenzhen Government and the SAR Government are cooperating in the planning for the Lok Ma Chau Loop, with the intention of developing higher education and high-tech research and development projects in the area, whether the authorities will also examine the development of education services (e.g. construction of universities) in FCA, such as in Sha Tau Kok, etc.; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
| | (h) | given that with an aging population, the demand for elderly housing has increased, whether the authorities will examine the construction of residential care homes for the elderly ("RCHE") in FCA so as to increase the supply of RCHE places and shorten the waiting time for such places; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security
*19. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the courses offered by the Employees Retraining Board ("ERB"), will the Executive Authorities inform this Council whether they know:
| (a) | among the trainees of these courses in the past five years, the respective numbers and percentages of women who were not working as they had to take care of their families, those who were unemployed and those who were new arrivals in Hong Kong;
| | (b) | if ERB had collected statistics on the courses participated by the various aforesaid types of women in the past five years, so as to design courses suitable for them; if it had, of the 10 courses attended by the largest number of these women as well as the 10 courses attended by the smallest number of them, and the percentages of these women in the total number of trainees in the respective courses; and
| | (c) | if ERB has included the concept of gender mainstreaming when designing the retraining courses, so as to meet the needs of different types of women; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare
*20. Hon Abraham SHEK to ask: (Translation)
The High Court earlier ruled that the two environmental impact assessment ("EIA") reports on the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge ("HKZMB") project did not comply with statutory requirements, requesting that the environmental permit for the project be withdrawn by the Director of Environmental Protection and that a baseline study be conducted on the relevant EIA reports. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the Government's latest projections on the progress, construction costs and completion date of the HKZMB project;
| | (b) | of the criteria adopted by the authorities at present for deciding whether or not a baseline survey on a project will be conducted;
| | (c) | given that according to the requirements stipulated in section 7 of the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (Cap. 499), the public and the Advisory Council on the Environment may comment on an EIA report before it is approved, whether the authorities had, prior to approving the two EIA reports on the HKZMB project, received any proposal from the public and the Advisory Council on the Environment that a baseline survey on the EIA process of the project should be conducted; if they had, of the details;
| | (d) | since the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance came into operation on 1 April 1998, of the number of projects on which baseline surveys had not been conducted when the EIA process was carried out; of the number of projects whose EIA reports had been withdrawn because they did not comply with statutory requirements, together with details of the relevant projects (list in table form); and
| | (e) | whether the Government will review the existing statutory EIA process in order to ensure that future projects will not be delayed due to faulty EIA work; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment
* For written reply
III. Members' Motions
- 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. 22/10-11 of the House Committee laid on the Table of the Council on 18 May 2011 in relation to the subsidiary legislation and instrument(s) as listed below:
| Item Number | Title of Subsidiary Legislation or Instrument
| | (1) | Declaration of Constituencies (District Councils) Order 2011 (L.N. 44/2011)
| | (2) | Fisheries Protection (Specification of Apparatus) (Amendment) Notice 2011 (L.N. 45/2011).
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| Public Officers to attend | : | Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs
Secretary for Food and Health
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- Alleviating the impact of food price inflation on the public
Hon WONG Yung-kan to move the following motion: (Translation)
That, given that the majority of foods in Hong Kong rely on import, and due to the impact of factors such as global fluctuations in food prices and Renminbi appreciation, etc., the local food prices have remained persistently high; besides, given Mainland residents' trust in foods which are sold in Hong Kong, particularly after the occurrence of melamine-tainted formula incidents involving Mainland milk products, their demand for infant and follow-up formulas which are sold in Hong Kong has soared, leading to an upsurge in the prices and shortage of stocks; in this connection, this Council urges the Government to adopt effective measures to alleviate the impact of food price inflation on the public; the relevant measures should include:
| (a) | to conduct studies on bringing infant and follow-up formulas within the regulatory ambit of the Reserved Commodities Ordinance to ensure their stable supply and enable the Government to effectively monitor their stocks, and to formulate jointly with suppliers a code of sales for the industry as soon as possible, so as to ensure the supply of milk formulas to local users;
| | (b) | to rebuild the local agriculture and fisheries industry, so as to supplement food supply in Hong Kong;
| | (c) | to assist local food importers and food establishments, etc., in identifying a wider variety of food materials and expanding the sources of supply, so as to diversify the risks of unstable food supply from individual places;
| | (d) | to enhance the tests on Mainland and Japanese foods, and to actively seek to establish closer co-operation with the Mainland Government and the Japanese Government on food safety matters, so as to restore public confidence and increase the quantity of safe foods available on the market;
| | (e) | to formulate a policy on rental and facility improvement which is conducive to the development of public markets to enhance their competitiveness, so as to meet the function of supplying fresh provisions to the general public;
| | (f) | to further increase the transparency of essential food supply and price information, with a view to facilitating the dissemination of market information and preventing stockpiling and hoarding by unscrupulous traders; and
| | (g) | to relax the eligibility requirements for short-term food assistance service projects and the period of receiving assistance, and to conduct studies on providing support to the grassroots through the Community Care Fund, etc., in coping with the food price inflation problem.
| | Amendments to the motion
| | (i) | Hon WONG Kwok-hing to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To delete "," after "That" and substitute with "inflation is fiercer than a tiger;"; and to delete "to formulate a policy on rental and facility improvement which is conducive to the development of public markets to enhance their competitiveness, so as to meet the function of supplying fresh provisions to the general public" after "(e)" and substitute with "to make timely use of the rare 18-month period when the rental of all public markets in Hong Kong continues to be frozen, and set up a government-led working group comprising representatives of market tenants and groups, council representatives and academic representatives for conducting a comprehensive review of the policy on public markets as well as formulating long-term policies and measures which are conducive to the development of public markets; to abolish the unrealistic practice of charging market-level rental and rates, and on the basis of fully consulting the industries, formulate afresh a reasonable and feasible charging policy for rental, air-conditioning fees and electricity tariffs; to allocate additional resources for installing air-conditioning facilities in all public markets to further improve the business environment of public markets, thereby fundamentally enhancing the competitiveness of existing public markets as well as further increasing occupancy rates and reducing vacancy rates, so as to fulfill their function of providing the general public with fresh, inexpensive and quality foods and non-staple foods; on the other hand, the Government must construct public markets in new towns (for example, Yat Tung Estate in Tung Chung and Tin Shui Wai New Town, etc.), so as to assist new town residents in combating market monopolization and alleviate the heavy burden of goods prices on the grassroots in new towns; and under the programme for planning new development areas (for example, Hung Shui Kiu and Kwu Tung, etc.), reserve land for constructing public markets in advance, so as to enable new town residents to improve their basic living".
| | (ii) | Hon IP Wai-ming to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To add "foods are necessities of the public, and" after "That,"; to add "and set up dedicated counters in all maternal and child health centres in Hong Kong for selling milk formulas," after "as soon as possible,"; and to add "and enable parents of infants to buy milk formulas at fixed sales outlets; at the same time, the Government should proactively promote breast feeding by stepping up publicity on the advantages of breast milk on the one hand, and on the other hand, providing greater protection in legislation for pregnant women and mothers of new-born infants, setting up baby-sitting rooms in all public sector organizations and facilities, and encouraging the business sector to follow suit" after "users".
| | (iii) | Dr Hon PAN Pey-chyou to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To delete "given that" after "That," and substitute with "since 2011, food price inflation in Hong Kong has continued to rise;"; to delete "and" after "traders;"; to add ", consider providing Comprehensive Social Security Assistance households, low-income persons and poor elderly persons, etc., with additional food subsidies or food vouchers" after "receiving assistance"; and to add "; (h) through various media such as the radio, television and the Internet, etc., as well as through professionals such as dieticians, etc., to promote inexpensive but nutritious foods to the public, and to encourage the public to buy foods within their means, so as to avoid any public misconception that expensive foods will be exceptionally beneficial to their health; (i) to provide poor students with inexpensive lunch in school, so as to ensure students' intake of sufficient nutrients during their development and growth; and (j) to encourage and facilitate mutual co-operation among community groups, non-government organizations, merchants' associations and food suppliers for organizing short-term anti-inflation bargain bazaars for the public in the 18 districts in turn, with the Government providing venues and necessary support, so as to put together some non-staple foods, such as rice, cooking oil and canned food, etc., for sale at cost, with a view to assisting the public in combating inflation" immediately before the full stop.
| | (iv) | Hon Vincent FANG to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To delete "global fluctuations in food prices and" after "such as"; to add "and the nuclear radiation leakage incident in Japan that causes pollution of the food chain, thereby aggravating global fluctuations in food and non-staple food prices" after "Renminbi appreciation"; to add "increase the channels of food supply and assist the industries in reducing additional costs, so as to" after "effective measures to"; to add "and encourage suppliers and parents of infants to establish corresponding channels of communication" after "as soon as possible"; to add "(b) to step up negotiations with the Mainland authorities on how to ensure stable supply of foods to Hong Kong, especially for the stable supply of live and fresh foods such as live pigs and cattle, and to make efforts to enhance competition so as to avoid drastic fluctuations in food prices; and, on the premise of declining avian influenza risks, to appropriately increase the Mainland's supply of live chickens to Hong Kong according to market demand during major traditional Chinese festivals, so as to reduce the negative impact of food price inflation on the public;" after "users;"; to delete the original "(b)" and substitute with "(c)"; to delete the original "(c)" and substitute with "(d)"; to add "(e) to lower the various registration fees and application fees imposed on food industries by the Government, including the registration fees for applying for small volume exemption under the food nutrition labelling scheme and the registration fees for food importers and food distributors under the Food Safety Ordinance, etc., so as to reduce the extra administrative fees borne by these industries;" after "places;"; to delete the original "(d)" and substitute with "(f)"; to add "(g) to establish a mechanism for providing food industries with immediate assistance, such as providing certification for unpolluted foods, whenever there are any major food pollution emergencies such as those involving malachite green, melamine as well as nuclear radiation pollution in Japan, etc., so as to ensure that it will not affect the market supply;" after "foods available on the market;"; to delete the original "(e)" and substitute with "(h)"; to add "and lower operating costs of market tenants" after "competitiveness"; to delete the original "(f)" and substitute with "(i)"; to add "and non-staple food" after "essential food"; and to delete the original "(g)" and substitute with "(j)".
| | (v) | Hon Ronny TONG to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To add ", affecting people from different strata of the community" after "persistently high"; to add "or consider the provision of subsidies for staple foods," after "price information,"; to delete "and" after "traders;" and substitute with "(g) in respect of the supply of staple foods, to introduce more suppliers to increase competition, so as to prevent individual major merchants' associations from monopolizing the food market; and"; and to delete the original "(g)" and substitute with "(h)".
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Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Food and Health
- The 4 June incident
Hon LEE Cheuk-yan to move the following motion: (Translation)
That this Council urges that: the 4 June incident be not forgotten and the 1989 pro-democracy movement be vindicated.
Amendment to the motion
Hon Albert HO to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To add ", and also urges the Central Government to refrain from taking actions of unlawful and arbitrary surveillance, detention and suppression of dissidents and human rights activists, including LIU Xiaobo and AI Weiwei, etc., expeditiously ratify, through the National People's Congress, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights signed in 1998, and effect its full implementation, so as to make good preparation for the vindication of the 1989 pro-democracy movement" immediately before the full stop.
Clerk to the Legislative Council
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