A 11/12-5

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 2 November 2011 at 11:00 am

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
1.Building (Inspection and Repair) Regulation146/2011
2.Building (Administration) (Amendment) Regulation 2011147/2011
3.Building (Minor Works) (Amendment) Regulation 2011148/2011
4.Buildings (Amendment) Ordinance 2011 (Commencement) Notice 2011149/2011
5.Import and Export (Fees) (Amendment) Regulation 2011150/2011

Other Papers

1.No. 22-Customs and Excise Service Welfare Fund
Signed and audited financial statements and the report of the Director of Audit for the year ended 31 March 2011
(to be presented by the Secretary for Security)

2.No. 23-Report by the Trustee of the Prisoners' Education Trust Fund for the period from 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011
(to be presented by the Secretary for Security)

II. Questions

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

I have recently received one after another 70 cases requesting for assistance which involve Loco London gold investment fraud, and the persons seeking help indicated that the investment companies or brokers had deceived them using improper practices to obtain their authorization to conduct transactions on their behalf, causing them to ultimately lose nearly all their investments, which amounted to more than $17 million. However, when I accompanied these persons to seek assistance from a number of regulatory and enforcement departments, such departments refused to take up the cases on the ground that the trading of Loco London gold was not within their ambits, or used the excuse that as there was no existing legislation to regulate such kind of investment product, it was difficult to take any enforcement action. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the numbers of complaints and reported cases involving Loco London gold investment fraud received by the various government departments concerned over the past five years; the number of companies providing Loco London gold trading services involved in these cases, and among them, the number of those which were involved in similar reported cases or complaints for more than once; of the respective numbers of cases in respect of which thorough investigation was conducted and prosecutions were instituted by the relevant government departments; and the number of convicted persons involved;

    (b)given that at present, companies providing Loco London gold trading services in Hong Kong are not required to register with or apply for a license from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority ("HKMA") or the Securities and Futures Commission ("SFC"), whether the authorities will consider putting these companies under the regulation of the regulatory authorities, as well as regulating the investment activities of precious metals (such as Loco London gold, etc.) by means of legislation and licensing; if they will, of the specific timetable; if not, how the authorities effectively regulate such investment activities to safeguard the interests of investors; and

    (c)which government department or regulatory authority members of the public can approach to lodge complaints or seek help at present when they suspect that they have been deceived or encountered problems relating to Loco London gold investment or other investments not regulated by HKMA and SFC; how such government department will help them and follow up the cases; whether the Government will set up a dedicated organization to deal with such investment activities which are currently not regulated by HKMA and SFC?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

2. Hon Starry LEE to ask: (Translation)

A research centre published its report on the Study on Travel Cost Reduction Schemes in September this year. The report pointed out that 73% of the respondents considered long distance transport fares expensive, while 71% of those who used public transport considered it necessary to introduce monthly passes. The average amount of monthly travelling expenses of the respondents' was around $740, and the amount of expenses acceptable to them was $620. The research centre was of the view that public money should be used to alleviate the burden of travelling expenses on the public. As the MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL") and franchised bus companies reap profits every year, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows if MTRCL will consider implementing a monthly pass scheme for all MTR lines; if MTRCL will do so, the details and timetable; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)whether it will reconsider allocating the dividends received from MTRCL, or part of the dividends collected, to fund its measures to stabilize MTR fares; if it will, of the details and timetable; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether it will, as one of the licensing conditions, require franchised bus companies to implement sectional fares for all their bus routes; if it will, of the details and timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

3. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)

The authorities launched a public consultation on Hong Kong's climate change strategy and action agenda on 10 September 2010, putting forth a series of proposals including maximizing energy efficiency, greening road transport, promoting the use of clean fuels for motor vehicles, turning waste to energy and revamping the fuel mix for electricity generation, etc., and the consultation period ended on 31 December of the same year. Since the incident of radiation leak at the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan in March this year, there have been concerns in the community about the authorities' proposal of increasing the share of nuclear power in the fuel mix for electricity generation. An environmental protection organization earlier commissioned the Public Opinion Programme of the University of Hong Kong to conduct an opinion survey, and the outcome revealed that only 15% of the respondents considered that imported nuclear power should be increased by 2020, while over half of the respondents considered that reduction of carbon emissions should be achieved by means of energy conservation and development of renewable energy. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)given that the public consultation exercise on Hong Kong's climate change strategy and action agenda had already ended for 10 months, why the authorities have not yet formally announced the outcome of the consultation; of the current progress of work such as consolidating and summarizing the views received, etc. which is related to the consultation; of the preliminary outcome of the consultation exercise; in accordance with the latest timetable, when the authorities will make a decision on the ultimate climate change strategy and action agenda to be adopted; and

    (b)given the concerns arising from the nuclear incident in Japan and the outcome of the aforesaid opinion survey, whether the authorities have re-examined the proposal of increasing the share of nuclear power in the fuel mix for electricity generation; if they have, of the contents and whether they will adjust or even shelve the proposal; if they have not re-examined the proposal, the reasons for that; whether the authorities will vigorously promote energy conservation and develop renewable energy as the backbone of their strategy for reducing carbon emissions (including drastically increasing the share of renewable energy in the fuel mix for electricity generation and changing the tariff structure, etc.), as well as cap the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions so as to replace the proposal of using carbon intensity as an emission reduction indicator?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment

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

According to the information released by the Rating and Valuation Department in October this year, the rents of private domestic units with usable flat size below 40 square metres had continued to rise: the rents in August this year had increased by 15% over the same period last year, and by nearly 40% compared to two years ago; on Hong Kong Island, the average rent for this type of units was around $33 per square foot in August this year, and the monthly rent of a flat of a size of 170 square feet reached $6,200. Furthermore, a survey conducted by a community group reveals that the highest rent among separate units of sub-division of flat units (commonly known as "sub-divided units") exceeds $50 per square foot. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)how the authorities will assist households currently renting private domestic units in alleviating their financial pressure; whether they will consider providing "tax deduction for rents of residence"in respect of the rental expenses for private domestic units, and setting the annual deduction ceiling at $100,000;

    (b)whether it will consider providing rent assistance to eligible applicants who are on the Waiting List for public rental housing ("PRH") for a period of time and do not receive Comprehensive Social Security Assistance, until they are allocated PRH flats; and

    (c)of the estimated numbers of tenants of caged homes, sub-divided units and cubicle apartments at present; whether it has assessed if the enforcement actions taken by the Buildings Department against sub-divided units will result in an increased demand for private domestic units for lease and further push up the rents in the market for private domestic units; what measures the authorities have in place to alleviate the rent burden on such people (including expediting the arrangement for them to move into PRH flats)?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

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

Travelling expenses are an important item of daily expenses borne by the vast number of employees and job-seekers in Hong Kong. Although the authorities have recently announced the specific contents and application details for the Work Incentive Transport Subsidy ("WITS") Scheme which has been receiving applications since October this year, there are still voices in society calling for further review and improvement of the Scheme, so that more low-income workers and grassroots may benefit from the Scheme. In this connection, will the executive authorities inform this Council:
    (a)of the total number of applications received by the authorities since the WITS Scheme started receiving applications in October this year; among such applications, of the number and percentage of those which meet the criteria for receiving the subsidy; the relevant figures under the old Transport Support Scheme ("TSS") in the past 12 months;

    (b)whether they will undertake to consider conducting an immediate review of all the details of the WITS Scheme (including simplifying and improving its application procedure, as well as re-assessing and announcing the latest number of people who will benefit from the Scheme), instead of waiting for a year to conduct a mid-term review; if they will, of the details of the specific ideas; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether they will undertake to include in the review of the WITS Scheme a study on allowing applicants to choose to be means-tested on an individual or household basis, relaxing the income and asset limits for households, increasing the amount of monthly subsidy for each successful applicant, as well as subsuming the Job Search Allowance provided under the old TSS under the WITS Scheme; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

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

It has been reported that when the Chief Executive attended a radio programme on 19 October this year, he said that the 2011-2012 Policy Address had endeavoured to solve the housing problem to provide housing for the grassroots. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of non-elderly one-person applicants aged 30 or above among the approximately 150 000 applications for public rental housing ("PRH") at present; under the existing Quota and Points System, the average points of those applicants in the age groups of 30 to 39 and 40 to 49 who are allocated PRH; the respective numbers of years for which non-elderly one-person applicants aged 35 and those aged 45 who apply for PRH today will have to wait to obtain the points required for PRH allocation; and how the authorities will help them move into PRH flats as soon as possible;

    (b)given that the authorities have indicated that they will appropriately increase the densities and plot ratios of PRH projects, and as the construction of additional new PRH flats will increase the supply of PRH and the resumption of the construction of Home Ownership Scheme ("HOS") flats will help vacate more old PRH flats for allocation, whether the authorities will reconsider re-launching the Tenants Purchase Scheme at an appropriate time to enable sitting PRH tenants to purchase their PRH flats; and

    (c)whether the authorities have considered relaxing the resale restrictions in the HOS Secondary Market to allow eligible white form HOS applicants to apply to purchase those HOS flats, thereby enhancing the vibrancy of the HOS resale market and providing low and middle-income families with more opportunities to buy their own homes?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

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

In recent years, a number of underground water main burst incidents occurred in Hong Kong, which not only caused inconvenience to members of the public, but also wasted valuable water resources. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the details of the underground water mains replacement works which are currently in progress or have been planned to commence in the next three years in various districts on Hong Kong Island, broken down by District Council district; and the expected completion dates of the works currently in progress;

    (b)of the respective numbers and exact locations of the underground water main burst incidents which occurred in various districts on Hong Kong Island in the past three years, broken down by District Council district; and

    (c)in the past three years, of the average time required to handle water main bursts between receipt of reports of such incidents by the authorities and completion of the repair works and resumption of normal water supply, and among such incidents which occurred on Hong Kong Island, of the longest and shortest handling time?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

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

I have received complaints from Hong Kong people residing abroad that there are problems with the Government's implementation arrangements for giving a sum of $6,000 to eligible persons. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)given that some Hong Kong permanent residents, who are holders of Hong Kong SAR passports and reside in the United Kingdom, hold only the old identity cards issued before 23 June 2003 and have not obtained the smart Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card, whether such persons are eligible for receiving the sum of $6,000; if not, of the justifications; and

    (b)given that some eligible Hong Kong people residing abroad do not have any local bank account and the authorities also do not accept their using local joint accounts to receive the sum of $6,000, thus compelling them to return to Hong Kong in person to collect the sum of money, why the authorities cannot give them the sum of money by cheque; whether the authorities have assessed if the relevant measures will hinder Hong Kong people residing abroad from applying for the sum of $6,000; if they have, of the results?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

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

Some Tuen Mun residents have reflected that quite a number of residents in the district work at the Hong Kong International Airport ("the Airport") due to insufficient employment opportunities in Tuen Mun; yet, at present only a few trips are made in the morning and afternoon daily by the buses of route E33P running between Siu Hong Railway Station in Tuen Mun and the Airport, and the service can hardly meet the demand during peak commuting hours. They have also indicated that as the first bus of this route from the Airport departs after 5:00 pm, people who get off work earlier than that in the afternoon have to take buses of other routes which charge higher fares. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows the percentage of the working population in Tuen Mun in the past three years who have to work across districts;

    (b)in response to the situation that the workers engaged in many types of jobs at the Airport need to work shifts, whether the authorities will request the operator of the aforesaid bus route to arrange for the first bus to depart from the Airport earlier in the afternoon as warranted by the actual situation; and

    (c)of the measures to improve the present public transport services between Tuen Mun (i.e. Butterfly Estate, Wu King Estate and Tuen Mun Ferry Pier) and the Airport?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

*10. Hon CHAN Hak-kan to ask: (Translation)

In the 2011-2012 Policy Address, the Chief Executive announced the introduction of a new "Guangdong Scheme"under the Social Security Allowance Scheme to allow eligible elderly people who take up long-term residence in Guangdong Province to receive an old age allowance without the need to come back to Hong Kong. Yet, some members of the public have relayed to me that apart from residing in Guangdong Province, more and more elderly people have chosen to reside in the neighbouring Fujian Province in recent years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows the respective numbers of Hong Kong elderly people who resided in various cities in Guangdong Province and Fujian Province in the past three years;

    (b)whether it will consider extending the arrangements of the "Guangdong Scheme"to Fujian Province, so as to facilitate eligible elderly people residing in that province to also receive the aforesaid allowance without the need to come back to Hong Kong;

    (c)what difficulties it will encounter in extending the aforesaid arrangements to Fujian Province; and

    (d)whether it has assessed the additional financial commitment involved in extending the Scheme to Fujian Province?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

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

Given that the Government has allocated a government site on Borrett Road in Mid-levels West to the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ("OCMFA") in Hong Kong for its extension works to provide an official residence for the Commissioner and for other purposes. Regarding the details of the project and its impact on the surrounding community, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)given that the information of the Buildings Department shows that the residential and non-residential gross floor areas of the extension part of OCMFA are 895.5 square metres and 3 084.1 square metres respectively (i.e. the non-residential floor area is about 3.5 times of the residential floor area), of the respective uses and floor areas of the various non-residential facilities; the justifications for OCMFA to substantially extend the floor area for non-residential use;

    (b)given that at the extension part of OCMFA, there will be some facilities which are open to the public for carrying out community relations and public education work, of the maximum number of members of the public such facilities can accommodate at any one time; what means of transport and routes members of the public are expected to take to travel to and from OCMFA, of the anticipated increase in traffic flow as well as impact on the nearby road traffic;

    (c)of the impact of the extension project on the trees in the neighbourhood (including the number of trees affected, and among them, the number of those required to be removed or transplanted, etc.); whether the Government will take measures to reduce the impact; if it will, of the details; and

    (d)given that the extension works will be carried out on the slopes, and that an underground basement with several levels will be constructed, whether the Government has conducted a geotechnical assessment study on the project; if it has, of the results; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

*12. Dr Hon Priscilla LEUNG to ask: (Translation)

I have recently received complaints from quite a number of education bodies and members of the public (including school principals and parents), indicating that the recently launched free newspaper, Sharp Daily, contains indecent contents, and allegedly promotes pornography. Up to mid-October this year, the Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority had already received 193 complaints in this regard. In addition, the Obscene Articles Tribunal classified nine articles and their audio recordings on the Internet version of the newspaper as Class II (indecent) articles. The education bodies and members of the public also pointed out that as the newspaper is distributed to the public free of charge, children as well as youngsters can easily obtain and read the newspaper, and are exposed to the erotic and obscene contents therein, thereby causing undesirable impact on their development. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)given that at present, even if a free newspaper contains indecent contents, the authorities often cannot promptly stop it from being put on the market, and only classify the contents of the newspaper after it has been published, which cannot prevent people under the age of 18 from exposure to the relevant contents, whether the Government has any measure to plug the existing loophole;

    (b)regarding those paid or free newspapers that often contain indecent or erotic contents, whether the Government will study adopting measures or penalties with greater deterrence, so as to prevent them from including erotic contents again;

    (c)given that the number of free newspapers which are openly distributed to the public in Hong Kong has been on the increase, whether the authorities will study introducing some new measures to ensure that the contents of this kind of newspaper are suitable for people of all ages; and

    (d)given that at present, copies of free newspapers (including Sharp Daily) are displayed at the lobbies of some housing estates or residential buildings for their residents to obtain and read, some residents have indicated their wish to temporarily disallow placing Sharp Daily in their housing estates or residential buildings, so as to prevent youngsters from exposure to the erotic contents therein, whether the Hong Kong Housing Authority and the Hong Kong Housing Society will take the lead in disallowing free newspapers that often contain indecent or erotic contents to be placed and distributed in the public housing estates or Home Ownership Scheme estates under their management?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

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

It has been reported that the current number of families on the Waiting List ("WL") for public rental housing ("PRH") in Hong Kong has exceeded 150 000, representing an increase of almost 20% and about 40% when compared respectively with last year and 2007. Under the Housing Subsidy Policy (commonly known as "well-off tenants policy") of the Hong Kong Housing Authority, households who have been living in PRH flats for 10 years or more are required to declare household income biennially. Those with a household income amounting to two to three times the corresponding Waiting List Income Limits ("WLILs") are required to pay 1.5 times rent, those with a household income exceeding three times the corresponding WLILs are required to pay double rent, and those with assets exceeding 84 times of the WLILs are required to pay the market rent and vacate their flats within one year. The Hong Kong Housing Society ("HS"), which also provides PRH to Hong Kong people, has not yet implemented any well-off tenants policy. In connection with the issue of rational allocation of public housing resources, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number and percentage of PRH tenants who were required to pay additional rent (commonly known as "well-off tenants") in each of the past three years, together with a breakdown by the rent payable by such well-off tenants, namely the 1.5 times rent, double rent and market rent;

    (b)of the criteria based on which the authorities determine that a PRH unit is misused or left vacant; the number of PRH units repossessed by the authorities for being found to be misused or left vacant in each of the past three years, and how many of them are units allocated to well-off tenants; the measures put in place by the authorities to investigate if PRH units are misused or left vacant; the number of times such measures were taken in each of the past three years; and whether they have assessed the effectiveness of such measures;

    (c)of the reasons or criteria based on which the authorities require households who have been living in PRH flats for 10 years or more to declare their household income and/or assets biennially; the number and percentage of such households at present;

    (d)of the reasons or criteria based on which the authorities set the 1.5 times or double rent levels payable by well-off tenants and require only those well-off tenants with assets exceeding 84 times of the WLILs to vacate their flats within one year;

    (e)given the growing demand for PRH from the public, whether the authorities will conduct a comprehensive review of the existing well-off tenants policy (including shortening the 10-year period for first declaration, shortening the one-year period for surrendering the flat, and reviewing the household income and asset limits, etc.); if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (f)whether the authorities will study and introduce some new measures to induce those well-off tenants who are no longer in need of subsidy to surrender their flats early, with a view to expediting the turnover of PRH flats and allocating such units to other people in need in a fair manner; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (g)whether it knows if there is any queuing system in place for the rental housing of HS; if there is, of the total number of families on the waiting list and the average waiting time at present; and

    (h)given that HS does not enforce well-off tenants policy, whether it knows how HS deals with misuse of its rental housing and ensures rational allocation of public housing resources?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

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

According to the statistics in 2006, 22.4% of the young persons aged 19 to 24 studied full-time post-secondary programmes in Hong Kong, while the corresponding percentage among South Asian young persons (including Filipinos, Indonesians, Indians, Thais, Nepaleses and Pakistanis) was only 5.4%, and they stand a much slimmer chance of pursuing post-secondary education than their local counterparts. Regarding the issue of education for ethnic minority ("EM") children, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)given that although the Equal Opportunities Commission ("EOC") had, in its report released in July this year, pointed out that our education system did not provide EM children with a level-playing field for education advancement, and had put forward a number of recommendations, the authorities have not yet provided a response or discussed the report with EOC, of the reasons for that;

    (b)whether the authorities will accept the following recommendations put forward by EOC to the Education Bureau; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that:

    (i)development of a Chinese proficiency testing system with curriculum taught in stages, graded assessment and accreditation, and provision of an alternative language qualification for educational advancement as well as a benchmark for language proficiency required by different trades and job groups; and

    (ii)provision of language and cultural programmes for EM children at pre-primary level;

    (c)given that EOC had pointed out in its report that "while it would be rare that an EM child is refused admission to an educational establishment on the ground of his race, it is more often that he is rejected due to his lesser proficiency in Chinese as compared with other Chinese speaking competitors. The Chinese proficiency requirement, if unjustly administered by individual schools, may amount to indirect discrimination under the Race Discrimination Ordinance", whether it knows if EOC will, when necessary, consider conducting formal investigations in this regard; if EOC will do so, of the circumstances under which EOC will conduct formal investigations; if EOC will not do so, the reasons for that; and

    (d)given that EOC had pointed out in its report that due to the absence of adequate support in the mainstream schools, some of the parents could only choose designated schools, and there was a view that the policy of giving the choice of designated schools might in itself be discriminatory because it reinforced segregation, whether it knows if EOC will, when necessary, consider conducting formal investigations in this regard; if EOC will do so, of the circumstances under which EOC will conduct formal investigations; if EOC will not do so, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education

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

In reply to my question on 8 December 2010 on the issue of excessive service fee-charging by telecommunications service providers, the Government said that when there was evidence to indicate that a service provider might breach the Telecommunications Ordinance (Cap. 106) or the licensing conditions, the Office of the Telecommunications Authority ("OFTA") would carry out investigation and penalize the service providers in substantiated cases. Yet, I have still received complaints recently from a number of members of the public that they were charged by telecommunications service providers for services they did not apply for. In addition, some members of the public pointed out that the service charges of the telecommunications service providers were much higher than what they should actually pay, thus causing them to suffer huge losses. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows the number of complaints, received in the past 12 months by OFTA and the Consumer Council respectively, which involved excessive fee-charging by telecommunications service providers and the names of the service providers concerned, broken down by the type of telecommunications services (e.g. fixed-line telephones, mobile phones, external telecommunications and broadband Internet access, etc.) and the nature of complaints;

    (b)whether it knows, among the cases in (a), the number of those in which the complainants sought compensation successfully, as well as the names of the telecommunications service providers which were prosecuted and the number of prosecutions instituted against them; and

    (c)apart from continuing to implement the existing measures to regulate telecommunications service providers, whether the authorities will adopt new regulatory measures to better protect consumers' interests; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

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

I have learnt that online group purchases are popular in recent years, with many consumers buying various kinds of travel related products and services, including land travel tickets, ferry tickets, admission tickets for tourist attractions and even group tours, etc., through group purchase web sites. Yet, such group purchase companies are, in general, neither licensed travel agents nor subject to regulation by the relevant regulatory authorities. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the policy and measures put in place by the authorities to protect those consumers who purchase travel related products and services through the aforesaid group purchase companies;

    (b)whether it knows the number of complaints received by the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Tourism Board and the Tourism Commission in the past two years, which involved group purchase travel products and services; and

    (c)whether the authorities will alert consumers, by means of media publicity, to stay vigilant, or take other precautionary measures to avoid, as far as possible, consumers incurring losses as a result of buying travel related products and services through group purchase companies?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

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

Regarding the salaries of teachers in government and aided schools, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)given that according to the recommendation of the Hong Kong Standing Commission on Civil Service Salaries and Conditions of Service in 1989, non-graduate teachers should be granted two increments after obtaining Post-Graduate Certificate in Education ("PGCE") or teachers' certificate or equivalent qualifications, whether all non-graduate Certificated Masters/Mistresses ("CMs") who had obtained such qualifications while in service and appointed on transfer as Assistant Education Officer ("AEOs") in government schools or Graduate Masters/Mistresses ("GMs") in aided schools had been granted the two increments so far; if not, of the reasons; the number of them not granted the two increments;

    (b)in each year since 1999, of the number of teachers not granted any increment for relevant experience ("ICE") as their accumulated recognized experience fell short of one year when they first joined government schools; whether the authorities have any plan to amend the existing requirements and make reference to the practice of aided schools of counting recognized experience for granting ICEs by the number of months;

    (c)in which financial years since 1999 the authorities adjusted the starting salaries of AEOs in government schools and GMs in aided schools, and of the details of the changes in pay points; whether it knows if there were CMs who were appointed on transfer as AEOs in government schools or GMs in aided schools after the downward adjustment of the starting salaries, and their present salaries are lower than that of other teachers with the same years of service as well as of the same rank but were appointed in different years; if so, of the details; if at present the authorities do not have the relevant information, whether they will plan to conduct studies and surveys accordingly in this regard;

    (d)given that some teachers' associations reflected that due to appointments on transfer and salary adjustments, the salaries of some government school teachers are lower than that of aided school teachers with the same years of experience, whether the authorities have assessed if this contradicts the objective of encouraging the movement of teachers between schools under the "healthy turnover"policy and has split the teachers; in addition, how the authorities will deal with and assist those government school teachers who were affected by appointments on transfer as well as salary adjustments; and

    (e)whether the authorities have considered conducting a comprehensive review of the existing method for calculating the salaries of government school teachers and aided school teachers (including studying whether the salaries of the two groups of teachers should be aligned)?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education

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

The Financial Secretary proposed in the 2010-2011 Budget that a $300 million Pilot Green Transport Fund ("the Fund") be set up to encourage the transport sector to introduce green and innovative transport technologies, with a view to improving air quality. The Environmental Protection Department ("EPD") announced last month that the first batch of 13 applications under the Fund had been approved, which covered the trial of 16 electric buses and nine electric goods vehicles with a total subsidy of about $50 million. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the authorities have, when putting forward the proposal for the Fund, set different indicators such as the number of applications submitted, the number of applications approved, or air quality data, etc. for monitoring and assessing the operation and effectiveness of the Fund; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and of the improvement measures to be adopted by the authorities when the Fund receives lukewarm response and fails to yield satisfactory results;

    (b)given that it has been reported that as at March this year, two applications which involved the trial of electric motorcycles had been rejected on the ground that motorcycles did not satisfy the definition of "public transport", how the decision on the scope of the Fund had been made by the authorities in the first place; whether they intend to examine extending the scope of the Fund (such as covering trial projects which do not meet the definition of "public transport"and those on "electric commercial vehicle"); if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (c)given that it has been reported that six applications submitted by the member companies of one particular bus group were approved for subsidy under the Fund, involving a total of 12 electric buses and a grant of about $30 million, and that some members of the Steering Committee of the Fund who participated in the vetting and approval of the applications pointed out that the Steering Committee might not have carefully scrutinized the background of the applicants and as a result, the subsidies might be granted predominantly to one particular operator, whether the authorities have looked into the vetting and approval process to see if approval was granted in a rash and careless manner, and whether there are mechanisms or guidelines in place to prevent subsidies under the Fund from being granted predominantly to one particular operator; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (d)given that the Chief Executive has put forth in his policy addresses for 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 respectively the proposal to fund the full cost of procuring six hybrid buses for use by the franchised bus companies along busy corridors in Hong Kong on a trial basis, as well as the proposal to earmark $180 million for franchised bus companies to purchase 36 electric buses for trial runs on a number of routes to assess their performance in different conditions, whether the authorities have considered extending the scope of the Fund to cover these proposals; if not, of the reasons for that; and the latest progress of the trial of the six hybrid buses; and

    (e)whether the authorities know how the current price of an environment-friendly bus (including hybrid, electric and supercapacitor double/single-decker buses) compares to that of an ordinary diesel bus (including double/single-decker buses which meet the European Union's emission standards); and the existing number of buses (including hybrid, electric and supercapacitor buses) in each franchised bus company's vehicle fleet, broken down by the emission standards which the buses meet?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment

*19. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)

The Chief Executive announced in his 2010-2011 Policy Address the setting up of a Community Care Fund ("CCF"), to which the Government and the business sector would each contribute $5 billion as the seed capital to support in various aspects the grassroots facing economic difficulties. The Finance Committee of this Council subsequently approved the injection of $5 billion into CCF. A deposit of $5 billion from the CCF seed capital is placed with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to earn an investment return that is linked to the performance of the Hong Kong Exchange Fund, while the remaining amount of CCF funding will be deposited with banks. The operation of CCF is funded by investment returns on the capital, but the Steering Committee on CCF may authorize the use of the seed capital in response to special needs that may arise. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of an update of the accumulated balance and the use of CCF, as well as the latest progress of soliciting donations from various sectors (including a list of donors, the amounts of donations committed and the actual amounts of donations received, etc.);

    (b)whether the authorities have assessed if, based on the current positions of injections and donations, CCF can achieve the target of using investment returns to fund its operation; whether CCF has used its seed capital so far; if it has, of the reasons and whether this has deviated from its mode of operation as originally formulated; and

    (c)how the existing fund-raising situation has fallen short of the target of raising $5 billion from the business sector; and of the ways to be adopted by the authorities to achieve the target and when they anticipate that the target can be achieved?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

Regarding the services provided by the Protocol Division of the Government Secretariat for the 59 Consulates-General, 62 Consulates and five Officially Recognized Bodies in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether specific guidelines have been formulated to let the aforesaid three categories of bodies know the facilities and support services which may be provided by the Protocol Division to them;

    (b)whether the facilities and support services provided by the Protocol Division to the aforesaid three categories of bodies are classified into different grades or are different according to protocol requirements; if so, of the actual differences and the justifications for such differences; whether such differences will have any impact on the treatment received by the representatives in Hong Kong's overseas offices under the principle of reciprocity; and

    (c)how and through what channels members of the public and the media can monitor the operation of the Division?
Public Officer to reply : The Chief Secretary for Administration

* For written reply

III. Members' Motions

  1. Alleviating the financial burden of middle-class people

    Hon LAU Kong-wah to move the following motion: (Translation)

    That, given that uncertainties persist in external markets, Hong Kong faces the risk of economic downturn at any time and, coupled with worsening inflation, middle-class families are under heavy financial pressure; in this connection, this Council urges the Administration to put forward effective measures in the Budget for the new financial year, so as to relieve their financial burden, including:

    Salaries tax -

    (a)increasing the personal allowance, child allowance, dependant brother or dependant sister allowance, dependant parent or dependant grandparent allowance and disabled dependant allowance under salaries tax according to inflation rates;

    (b)permitting children to share the dependant parent or dependant grandparent allowance;

    (c)reducing salaries tax and personal assessment by 50%;

    (d)introducing tax deduction for voluntary Mandatory Provident Fund contributions with a ceiling of $12,000;

    (e)raising the tax allowance for new-born infants to $100,000;

    Housing -

    (f)introducing a residential rates deduction of $8,000 for each household modelled on the operation mode of the electricity charge subsidy;

    (g)extending the entitlement period for deduction for home loan interest from 10 years to 15 years;

    (h)providing each residential electricity account with an electricity charge subsidy of $3,600;

    Education -

    (i)introducing tax deduction for children education with a ceiling of $10,000;

    (j)lowering the annual interest rate for loans under the Non-means Tested Loan Scheme for tertiary students to 2.5% and replacing the means-tested loans with interest-free loans;

    (k)fully subsidizing pre-primary education, raising the subsidy amount under the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme and directly subsidizing the remuneration of kindergarten teachers;

    (l)increasing the salaries tax deduction for expenses of self-education from $60,000 to $100,000 and raising the subsidy under the Continuing Education Fund by 100% to $20,000 per person;

    Healthcare -

    (m)introducing tax deduction for private medical insurance contributions with a ceiling of $12,000;

    (n)increasing the categories of drugs supported by the Samaritan Fund, relaxing the eligibility requirements and lowering the proportion of drugs costs to be shared by patients;

    Transportation -

    (o)using the dividends received by the Government from the MTR Corporation Limited ('MTRCL') to lower MTR fares as a form of passenger reward;

    (p)urging MTRCL to introduce monthly ticket schemes for all the lines of its system; and

    (q)reducing the unleaded petrol duty by 50%, ensuring that oil companies fully reflect the tax concession in pump prices, and closely monitor pump price changes to avoid the occurrence of oil companies being 'swift in increasing but slow in decreasing prices' and 'making big price increases but small price cuts'.

    Amendments to the motion
    (i)Hon WONG Kwok-hing to move the following amendment: (Translation)

    To delete ", given that"after "That"and substitute with "middle-class people are the pillar of Hong Kong society, but their being in an unreasonable situation where they are not given any strong support despite their heavy livelihood burden over the years is often disregarded by the Government; as"; to add "and overall economic conditions"after "; inflation rates"; to delete "50%"after "personal assessment by"and substitute with "up to 100% of the final tax, subject to a ceiling of $10,000 per case"; to delete "$12,000"after "Fund contributions with a ceiling of"and substitute with "$24,000"; to add ", and increasing the child allowance by 50% for the second child of a family or any child born to it thereafter in the first six years after birth"after "infants to $100,000"; to add "(i) offering a tax allowance of $100,000 per household per year to households with no property for renting private residential units;"after "subsidy of $3,600;"; to delete the original "(i)"and substitute with "(j)"; to delete the original "(j)"and substitute with "(k)"; to delete the original "(k)"and substitute with "(l)"; to add "to $20,000 subject to the requirement that a specific portion of the subsidy must be used for subsidizing relevant schooling costs such as school uniforms, school bags and learning materials, etc.,"after "Education Voucher Scheme"; to delete the original "(l)"and substitute with "(m)"; to add "(n) expeditiously implementing 15-year free education and setting an implementation timetable;"after "$20,000 per person;"; to delete the original "(m)"and substitute with "(o)"; to delete the original "(n)"and substitute with "(p)"; to add "(q) introducing tax deduction for payment of medical charges relating to parents and grandparents aged 65 or above; (r) offering tax deduction to patients who need to purchase expensive drugs for treatment, so as to alleviate the financial burden imposed on them and their families by medical treatment;"after "shared by patients;"; to delete the original "(o)"and substitute with "(s)"; to delete the original "(p)"and substitute with "(t)"; to delete "and"after "of its system;"and substitute with "(u) expeditiously resolving the problem of uneven traffic flows of the three harbour crossings, including reducing the tolls of the Eastern Harbour Crossing and Western Harbour Crossing by way of buying back, so as to alleviate the burden of cross-harbour expenses on drivers and members of the public;"; to delete the original "(q)"and substitute with "(v)"; and to add "; and Social welfare - (w) introducing tax deduction for community care for the elderly, so that children with dependent parents or grandparents can enjoy tax deduction after paying for home care, domestic helpers, day care, respite service and residential care services, etc., for their elderly family members, so as to encourage children to take greater care of the elderly"immediately before the full stop.

    (ii)Hon Paul CHAN to move the following amendment: (Translation)

    To delete ", given that"after "That"and substitute with "the Policy Address contains no measure to help middle-class families and, as"; to add "(f) widening each tax band for salaries tax by $10,000 and reducing the marginal rate for each tax band by one percentage point to two percentage points; (g) allowing a married couple to make separate election for personal assessment, instead of requiring them to make a joint election; (h) abolishing the residence requirement of at least 180 days imposed on parents, permitting Hong Kong people supporting retired dependant parents living on the Mainland to enjoy dependant parent allowance;"after "infants to $100,000;"; to delete the original "(f)"and substitute with "(i)"; to delete the original "(g)"and substitute with "(j)"; to delete the original "(h)"and substitute with "(k)"; to delete the original "(i)"and substitute with "(l)"; to delete the original "(j)"and substitute with "(m)"; to delete the original "(k)"and substitute with "(n)"; to delete the original "(l)"and substitute with "(o)"; to delete the original "(m)"and substitute with "(p)"; to delete the original "(n)"and substitute with "(q)"; to delete the original "(o)"and substitute with "(r)"; to delete the original "(p)"and substitute with "(s)"; and to delete the original "(q)"and substitute with "(t)".

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

    To add "according to the figures released by the Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong's unemployment rate between June and August is at a record low in 13 years, but"after "That,"; to delete ","after "the personal allowance"and substitute with "from $108,000 to $118,000, and increasing the"; to add "while having to set a reasonable ceiling"after "assessment by 50%"; to delete "$12,000"after "Fund contributions with a ceiling of"and substitute with "$20,000"; to add "(j) relaxing the means tests under the various student finance schemes, deducting necessary expenses relating to housing and healthcare, etc. in the computation of Adjusted Family Income to reflect the realities in family expenditure, and lowering the application threshold, so as to benefit more families from the middle and lower strata;"after "ceiling of $10,000;"; to delete the original "(j)"and substitute with "(k)"; to add "abolishing the charging of interests during students' studies and the 1.5% risk rate for"before "lowering the annual"; to delete "to 2.5%"after "for tertiary students"; to add ", so as to relieve graduates' financial burden"after "with interest-free loans"; to delete the original "(k)"and substitute with "(l)"; to delete "pre-primary"after "fully subsidizing"and substitute with "early childhood"; to add "implementing 15-year free education,"before "raising the subsidy,"; to delete "and"after "Education Voucher Scheme"and substitute with "during the transitional period,"; to add ", and providing weighted subsidies for whole-day nursery classes, so as to enable dual-income families to receive reasonable support"after "kindergarten teachers"; to delete the original "(l)"and substitute with "(m)"; to add ", strictly monitoring the reimbursable courses under the Continuing Education Fund"after "$60,000 to $100,000"; to add "only after teaching quality is ensured"after "$20,000 per person"; to add "(n) making actual efforts to debundle textbooks from teaching and learning materials for pricing so as to stabilize textbook prices, and including the principle of 'promoting textbook recycling' in the Guidelines for Printing of Textbooks, so as to encourage the reuse of second-hand textbooks and relieve parents' financial burden of buying textbooks in each new academic year;"before "Healthcare -"; to delete the original "(m)"and substitute with "(o)"; to delete the original "(n)"and substitute with "(p)"; to delete the original "(o)"and substitute with "(q)"; to delete the original "(p)"and substitute with "(r)"; and to delete the original "(q)"and substitute with "(s)".

    (iv)Hon LEE Wing-tat to move the following amendment: (Translation)

    To delete "given that"after "That,"and substitute with "as land prices, property prices and rentals in Hong Kong are high, and"; to add "(i) introducing 'tax deduction for residential rentals' to make expenditure on private residential rentals tax deductible, subject to an annual ceiling of $100,000 and offered on a reimbursement basis; (j) adjusting the stamp duty regime, so that property transactions each worth $2.5 or less only needs to pay a fixed stamp duty of $100;"after "subsidy of $3,600;"; to delete the original "(i)"and substitute with "(k)"; to delete the original "(j)"and substitute with "(l)"; to delete the original "(k)"and substitute with "(m)"; to delete the original "(l)"and substitute with "(n)"; to delete the original "(m)"and substitute with "(o)"; to delete the original "(n)"and substitute with "(p)"; to delete the original "(o)"and substitute with "(q)"; to delete the original "(p)"and substitute with "(r)"; and to delete the original "(q)"and substitute with "(s)".

    (v)Hon WONG Sing-chi to move the following amendment: (Translation)

    To add "as Hong Kong is an externally oriented and open economy, external economic fluctuations cause far-reaching impact on Hong Kong;"after "That,"; to delete "using the dividends"after "(o)"and substitute with "regarding the dividends"; to add ", or the profits received by public transport operators from their non-transport business (such as the annual property proceeds of MTRCL), studying the allocation of a certain percentage of such dividends or profits to establish a fare stabilization fund"after "Limited ('MTRCL')"; to add ", weekly and daily"after "to introduce monthly"; to delete "; and"after "of its system"and substitute with "and provide long-haul passengers with 'same day return half-fare concessions'; (q) reviewing the fare adjustment mechanism for MTRCL (i.e. the fare adjustment mechanism that allows fares to go upwards and downwards), and studying the inclusion of significant factors such as public acceptance and affordability, MTRCL's incident occurrence figures and its profit levels, etc. in the formula for determining fare adjustment rates, so as to fully reflect the realities of people's livelihood and MTRCL's service quality in MTR fares;"; to delete the original "(q)"and substitute with "(r)"; and to add "; and (s) requesting bus companies to provide full-scale interchange fare concessions and services, implement sectional fares and introduce more fare concessions for persons with disabilities"immediately before the full stop.

    (vi)Hon KAM Nai-wai to move the following amendment: (Translation)

    To delete "given that uncertainties persist in external markets"after "That,"and substitute with "affected by external economic factors"; to add "; and in the Policy Address this year, the Government has not put forward any effective energy conservation measures which are both beneficial to people and environmentally friendly"after "heavy financial pressure"; to add "(f) offering tax allowance to people who purchase energy efficient products with Grade 1 energy label, subject to a ceiling of $5,000;"after "infants to $100,000;"; to delete the original "(f)"and substitute with "(g)"; to delete the original "(g)"and substitute with "(h)"; to delete the original "(h)"and substitute with "(i)"; to add ", and offering an additional electricity charge subsidy of $1,200 to an account whose electricity consumption in a half-year period is 5% or more lower than its consumption in the corresponding period of the previous year, so as to encourage people to reduce electricity consumption"after "subsidy of $3,600"; to delete the original "(i)"and substitute with "(j)"; to delete the original "(j)"and substitute with "(k)"; to delete the original "(k)"and substitute with "(l)"; to delete the original "(l)"and substitute with "(m)"; to delete the original "(m)"and substitute with "(n)"; to delete the original "(n)"and substitute with "(o)"; to delete the original "(o)"and substitute with "(p)"; to delete the original "(p)"and substitute with "(q)"; and to delete the original "(q)"and substitute with "(r)".

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

    To delete ", given that uncertainties persist in external markets, Hong Kong faces"after "That"and substitute with "a number of principal officials of the SAR Government have projected that uncertainties in external markets will cause Hong Kong to face"; to delete "according to inflation rates"after "under salaries tax"; to add "(c) relaxing the restrictions on the dependent parent or dependent grandparent allowance by relaxing the eligible requirement from living in the same unit to living in the same housing estate;"after "dependant grandparent allowance;"; to delete the original "(c)"and substitute with "(d)"; to delete "reducing"before "salaries tax and"and substitute with "on the basis of past reductions or rebates of salaries tax and personal assessment, continuing to reduce or make partial rebates of"; to delete "by 50%"after "and personal assessment"; to delete the original "(d)"and substitute with "(e)"; to delete "with a ceiling of $12,000"after "Fund contributions"; to delete the original "(e)"and substitute with "(f)"; to delete "to $100,000;"after "for new-born infants"and substitute with "; (g) adjusting salaries tax downwards, in particular widening tax bands for salaries tax and lowering the marginal rate, so as to vigorously alleviate the burden of marginal middle-class people;"; to delete "(f) introducing a residential rates deduction of $8,000 for each household modelled on the operation mode of the electricity charge subsidy;"after "Housing -"and substitute with "(h) raising the amount of residential rates reduction for 2012-2013 and introducing Government rent reduction;"; to delete the original "(g)"and substitute with "(i)"; to delete "extending"before "the entitlement"and substitute with "seeking to extend"; to delete "from 10 years to 15 years;"after "home loan interest"and substitute with ", preferably up to the end of the entire loan tenure; (j) introducing a tax allowance for rentals; (k) relaxing the eligibility for purchasing flats in the Home Ownership Scheme secondary market, thereby enabling eligible white form applicants to make purchases; (l) rolling out 'flats with limited floor areas' solely for purchase by Hong Kong people who are first-time home-buyers;"; to delete the original "(h)"and substitute with "(m)"; to delete "an"after "electricity account with"and substitute with "more"; to delete "of $3,600"after "electricity charge subsidy"; to delete the original "(i)"and substitute with "(n)"; to delete "with a ceiling of $10,000;"after "for children education"and substitute with (o) introducing a special schooling allowance which must be granted on a fair and equal basis to parents of all secondary, primary and kindergarten students in Hong Kong, so as to assist them in combating the inflation of educational expenses;"; to delete the original "(j)"and substitute with "(p)"; to delete "lowering"before "the annual interest"and substitute with "seeking to lower"; to delete "to 2.5% and replacing"after "for tertiary students"and substitute with "and replace"; to delete the original "(k)"and substitute with "(q)"; to add "arrangements"after "subsidizing pre-primary education"; to delete the original "(l)"and substitute with "(r) substantially"; to delete "from $60,000 to $100,000 and raising"after "expenses of self-education"and substitute with "and"; to delete "by 100% to $20,000 per person"after "Continuing Education Fund"; to delete the original "(m)"and substitute with "(s)"; to delete "with a ceiling of $12,000"after "medical insurance contributions"; to delete the original "(n)"and substitute with "(t)"; to add "(u) providing tax deduction for medical examination, so as to encourage people to undergo regular examinations;"after "shared by patients;"; to delete the original "(o)"and substitute with "(v)"; to delete the original "(p)"and substitute with "(w)"; to add "public transport operators, including"after "urging"; to add "bus companies as well as ferry companies which are not yet offering monthly tickets,"after "MTRCL,"; to delete "for all the lines of its system"after "monthly ticket schemes"and substitute with "throughout their systems and launch other suitable support measures, so as to relieve people's burden of transportation expenses"; to delete the original "(q)"and substitute with "(x)"; and to delete "by 50%"after "unleaded petrol duty".

    (viii)Hon Audrey EU to move the following amendment: (Translation)

    To add "the polarization between the rich and the poor and the shrinking of the middle class have become serious recently, and"after "That"; to add ", facing increasing risks of downward mobility along the social ladder of the M-shaped social structure"after "heavy financial pressure"; to add "while making long-term commitment in various policy areas"after "their financial burden"; to add "considering the following measures"after ", including"; to add "low-consumption"after "providing each"; to add "; expeditiously launching policy studies on 'free pre-primary education', so as to achieve the objective of implementing 15-year free education"after "of kindergarten teachers"; to add "considering"after "(m)"; to add "; injecting the fund of $50 billion earmarked for the voluntary health protection scheme into the public healthcare system; increasing obstetric services and healthcare manpower"after "insurance contributions with a ceiling of $12,000"; to add "; and expeditiously reviewing the inclusion of many expensive and specific self-financed drugs as well as treatment and diagnostic methods inside the safety net of the Fund into the scope of subsidized services of the Hospital Authority at no extra fees, so as to alleviate patients' burden"after "shared by patients"; to delete "and"after "of its system;"; to add "enhancing the tax deduction for electric vehicles and the Tax Incentives Scheme for Environment-friendly Petrol Private Cars, offering more financial concessions in respect of such vehicles on top of the motor vehicle first registration tax, and strengthening the support measures for the use of motor vehicle biodiesel or"after "(q)"; and to add "; and (r) expediting investments in electric vehicle charging facilities in Hong Kong, and introducing public electric vehicles and public cycling systems in feasible areas such as West Kowloon and Kai Tak, in addition to the aforesaid measures, the Administration should expeditiously formulate comprehensive and long-term policies for resolving the structural problem of an M-shaped society, and respond to the concerns and aspirations of middle-class people in the areas of housing, healthcare and education, so that while middle-class people's burden can be lessened, they can also upgrade their quality of life in various respects"immediately before the full stop.

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

    To delete "private medical insurance contributions with a ceiling of $12,000"before "; (n)"and substitute with "households whose total medical expenditure exceeds a minimum of $2,000 per year".

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

  2. Comprehensively reforming the Mandatory Provident Fund Scheme

    Hon TAM Yiu-chung to move the following motion: (Translation)

    That, given that the Mandatory Provident Fund ('MPF') Scheme has already been implemented for over 10 years and the various social sectors have put forward many proposals for improving the Scheme, this Council considers that the authorities must conduct a comprehensive review of the MPF Scheme; the relevant review should include:

    (a)to expeditiously implement a full portability arrangement for the MPF Scheme;

    (b)to adopt effective measures to press MPF Scheme trustees to lower their fees, such as enacting legislation to specify fee ceilings for different types of investment funds and fee types, and to require MPF Scheme trustees to collect fixed administration fees to replace the practice of collecting such fees at fixed percentages of the total asset values of MPF accounts;

    (c)to require MPF Scheme trustees to provide contributors with products resembling bank deposits that charge no management fees;

    (d)to introduce two additional fund products operated by the Government at low management fees, and linked respectively to Exchange Fund returns and inflation rates;

    (e)to enact legislation to require MPF Scheme trustees to set out the actual amounts of fees in the annual reports of the years concerned;

    (f)to obtain the operating costs data of MPF Scheme trustees and formulate measures to regulate trustees by making reference to the form of regulation of employees' compensation insurance;

    (g)to allow MPF Scheme contributors with exceptional reasons (such as critical illness) to apply for suspension of contributions or partial withdrawal of their MPF accrued benefits, so as to meet urgent needs;

    (h)to allow retirees to withdraw their MPF accrued benefits by instalments after the age of 65;

    (i)to introduce a maximum tax deduction of $12,000 for voluntary MPF contributions;

    (j)to prompt the Labour Advisory Board to conduct discussions on the mechanism whereby employers' contributions under the MPF Scheme are used to offset severance payments and long service payments;

    (k)to enhance the regulation of MPF Scheme intermediaries; and

    (l)to step up law enforcement and increase penalties to combat the situation of default in contributions,

    with a view to achieving the aims of lowering fees, increasing employees' choices for investment and perfecting the regulately mechanism.

    Amendments to the motion
    (i)Hon IP Wai-ming to move the following amendment: (Translation)

    To add "with the increasing gravity of the population ageing problem and the rising social demand for comprehensive retirement protection, and"after "That, "; to add ", and through publicity and education, to enable employees to understand that they may transfer their MPF contributions according to the levels of risks they can bear"after "for the MPF Scheme"; to add ", so as to protect the actual amounts of MPFs received by employees upon retirement from being drastically eroded"after "the years concerned"; to add ", including requiring trustees to inform employees to whom MPF contributions are owed, and formulate regulations on penalizing trustees; (g) to implement a system of 'one lifelong account', establish portability of MPF accounts, and require trustees to introduce a simple and easy to understand method to inspect accounts similar to that of 'bank books', so as to enable employees to peruse information on contributions, returns, etc. at any time;"after "insurance"; to delete the original "(g)"and substitute with "(h)"; to delete the original "(h)"and substitute with "(i)"; to delete the original "(i)"and substitute with "(j)"; to delete "$12,000"after "deduction of"and substitute with "$24,000"; to delete the original "(j)"and substitute with "(k)"; to add "immediately"before "prompt"; to add ", and adopt proactive measures to abolish the aforesaid mechanism, and at the same time to retain Hong Kong employees' rights to severance payments or long service payments under the relevant provisions of the Employment Ordinance"after "long service payments"; to delete the original "(k)"and substitute with "(l)"; to delete "and"after "intermediaries"; to delete the original "(l)"and substitute with "(m)"; to add ", including raising the proactive inspection rate to 60%, establishing a fixed penalty system, and barring law-breaking employers from the tendering exercises for government and public works projects for five years, so as"after "penalties"; to add "; and (n) to expand the protection coverage of the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund, including covering arrears of employers' MPF contributions owed to employees"after "default in contributions"; and to delete "with a view to achieving the aims lowering fees, increasing employees' choices for investment and perfecting the regulatory mechanism"immediately before the full stop and substitute with " so as to lower fees, increase employees' choices for investment and perfect the regulatory mechanism, and ultimately achieve the goal of establishing a universal retirement protection system.".

    (ii)Hon CHAN Kin-por to move the following amendment: (Translation)

    To delete "given that"after "That,"; to delete "been implemented for over 10 years"after "already"and substitute with "covered almost 85% of the labour force since its implementation, but as the MPF System is still at its initial stage and in need of continuous improvement,"; to delete "; the relevant review should include"after "review of the MPF Scheme"and substitute with "and examine the feasibility of the following measures and their impact in various respects:"; to delete "expeditiously implement"after "(a) to"and substitute with "prompt the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority to enhance employees' right to choose through the means of promoting market competition, for example, expeditiously implementing"; to add "(b) to streamline the management and administrative procedures of MPF schemes and reduce the operating costs of MPF;"after "arrangement for the MPF Scheme;"; to delete the original "(b)" and substitute with "(c)"; to delete the original "(c)"and substitute with "(d)"; to delete the original "(d)"and substitute with "(e)"; to delete the original "(e)"and substitute with "(f)"; to delete the original "(f)"and substitute with "(g)"; to delete the original "(g)"and substitute with "(h)"; to delete the original "(h)" and substitute with "(i)"; to delete the original "(i)"and substitute with "(j)"; to delete the original "(j)"and substitute with "(k)"; to delete the original "(k)"and substitute with "(l)"; and to delete the original "(l)"and substitute with "(m)".

    (iii)Hon James TO to move the following amendment: (Translation)

    To delete ", given that"after "That"and substitute with "some members of the public are dissatisfied with"; to add ", and as the MPF Scheme"after "the Mandatory Provident Fund ('MPF') Scheme"; to add "ensure that the MPF service market has sufficient competition and the automatic adjustment mechanism of the market can achieve its function, so that market competition can"after "measures to"; to add "and continue to enhance their services; and in case market competition fails to press MPF Scheme trustees to lower their fees, the Government should immediately examine other means"after "their fees"; to delete "to require"after "types, and"and substitute with "requiring"; to add "more types of fund options, and to examine other new forms of funds, such as"after "contributors with"; and to delete "$12,000"after "deduction of"and substitute with "$20,000".

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

    To delete "given that"after "That,"and substitute with "in response to the strong social aspirations for the setting up of universal retirement protection, and as the needs arising from population ageing in society still cannot be resolved even though"; to delete "already"after "the Mandatory Provident Fund ('MPF') Scheme has"; to delete "and the various social sectors have put forward many proposals for improving the Scheme"after "10 years"; to add "(a) to link the MPF Scheme with age rather than employment, with the Government making the minimum MPF contribution for persons in the labour force who are neither in employment nor engaged in full-time studies;"after "include:"; to delete the original "(a)"and substitute with "(b)"; to delete the original "(b)"and substitute with "(c)"; to delete the original "(c)"and substitute with "(d)"; to delete the original "(d)"and substitute with "(e)"; to delete the original "(e)"and substitute with "(f)"; to delete the original "(f)"and substitute with "(g)"; to delete the original "(g)"and substitute with "(h)"; to delete the original "(h)"and substitute with "(i)"; to delete the original "(i)"and substitute with "(j)"; to delete "maximum tax deduction of $12,000"after "to introduce a"and substitute with "tax allowance"; to add ", in an amount equal to that of mandatory MPF contributions"after "voluntary MPF contributions"; to delete the original "(j)"and substitute with "(k)"; to delete "prompt the Labour Advisory Board to conduct discussions on"before "the mechanism"and substitute with "abolish"; to delete the original "(k)"and substitute with "(l)"; to delete the original "(l)"and substitute with "(m)"; to delete "and"after "choices for investment"and substitute with ","; and to add "and coping with population ageing in society"immediately before the full stop.

    (v)Hon Alan LEONG to move the following amendment: (Translation)

    To add "as one of the pillars of retirement protection for the public"after "improving the Scheme"; to add "and the social functions and effects it can achieve"after "review of the MPF Scheme"; to delete "and"after "intermediaries;"and to add "; and (m) to comprehensively consult the community to ascertain the inadequacies of the MPF Scheme and how retirement protection can be effectively offered to all elderly persons, so as to prepare for the population ageing of Hong Kong"after "default in contributions".

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
Clerk to the Legislative Council