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A 11/12-8
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 23 November 2011 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers
| Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments | L.N. No. |
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| 1. | Inland Revenue (Double Taxation Relief and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income) (Portuguese Republic) Order | 155/2011 |
| 2. | Inland Revenue (Double Taxation Relief and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income) (Kingdom of Spain) Order | 156/2011 |
| 3. | Inland Revenue (Double Taxation Relief and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income) (Czech Republic) Order | 157/2011 |
| 4. | Air Transport (Licensing of Air Services) (Amendment) Regulation 2011 | 158/2011 |
| 5. | Hong Kong Air Navigation (Fees) (Amendment) Regulation 2011 | 159/2011 |
| 6. | Civil Aviation (Aircraft Noise) (Certification) (Amendment) Regulation 2011 | 160/2011 |
| 7. | Import and Export (Strategic Commodities) Regulations (Amendment of Schedule 1) Order 2011 | 161/2011 |
| 8. | Fugitive Offenders (South Africa) Order (Commencement) Notice | 162/2011 |
| 9. | Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (South Africa) Order (Commencement) Notice | 163/2011 |
| 10. | Legislation Publication Ordinance (Commencement) Notice 2011 | 164/2011 |
Other Papers
| 1. | No. 34 | - | Estate Agents Authority Annual Report 2010/11 |
(to be presented by the Secretary for Transport and Housing)
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| 2. | Report No. 3/11-12 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 Paul CHAN to ask: (Translation)
It has been learnt that in the face of the drastic fluctuations in stock prices in recent months, in order to reap maximum return within a short period of time, some investors are keen on buying structured derivative products which are of low costs, high volatility and high leverage, in particular the "non-collateralized" callable bull/bear contracts ("CBBCs"). In addition, quite a number of investors participate in short-term speculative activities (including day trading or even half-day trading). Given that the Hang Seng Index and the prices of the underlying stock of derivatives have been fluctuating substantially in recent months, many CBBCs were mandatorily called by their issuers when the prices of their underlying assets reached the Call Price, causing quite a number of investors to suffer huge losses, and those issuers who did not have sufficient additional hedging had to make up and pay for the price difference using their own money, as the fluctuations in prices had exceeded their expected ranges. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether the authorities are aware of the measures employed by the issuers and liquidity providers of the aforesaid derivative products to deal with the risks arising from the short-term speculative activities of mega investors involving huge sums of money; whether they have stepped up the efforts in monitoring if those derivative products already issued are sufficiently hedged, collateralized or guaranteed, so as to ensure that investors will not be affected by the reduction of the financial or credit capacity of the issuers or securities dealers;
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| (b) | whether the authorities have conducted random checks to affirm if the relevant securities dealers and clients are financially sound enough to deal with day trading or half-day trading transactions; furthermore, as some securities dealers have reduced their commission rates to compete for clients, how the authorities monitor the financial position of registered dealers, with a view to safeguarding the interests of investors; and
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| (c) | whether the authorities have in place any measure to step up its efforts in monitoring if the intermediaries have conscientiously conducted due diligence checks with regard to their clients who are trading high-risk products; if so, of the details, and whether they have assessed the effectiveness of such measures; if not, the reasons for that; before the establishment of the Investor Education Council, how the authorities will enhance investor education, so as to make investors understand the various risks they are exposed to; whether they will consider setting eligibility criteria for investors investing in derivative products (e.g. completing a specified course, attending and passing a specified examination, as well as setting position limits)?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
2. Hon CHEUNG Hok-ming to ask: (Translation)
The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge ("HZMB") infrastructure projects in Hong Kong will commence soon, and the bridge is expected to be commissioned in 2016, but the commissioning of the northern connection of the Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok Link ("TM-CLKL") (i.e. the section connecting the Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities to Tuen Mun), which was originally scheduled for 2016, will be deferred by one year to 2017 because of the impact of the judicial review regarding the Environmental Impact Assessment reports of the HZMB. On the other hand, the Tuen Mun Western Bypass ("TMWB") is still at the preliminary design stage, and its commissioning will also be delayed. Regarding the problems caused to the traffic of the Northwest New Territories because the completion of the three related projects cannot dovetail with one another, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether the authorities have conducted any traffic flow survey to assess the impact on the traffic load in Northwest New Territories due to the one-year delay in the commissioning of the northern connection of the TM-CLKL and the delayed commissioning of the TMWB; if they have, of the relevant figures; if not, the reasons for that;
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| (b) | of the detailed progress of the Tuen Mun Road Improvement Project, and whether it will be completed in time to help ease the traffic congestion in Northwest New Territories brought about by the delay of the two aforesaid infrastructure projects; and
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| (c) | of the increase in the design traffic capacity of Tuen Mun Road after completion of its various improvement works, and whether it is sufficient to cope with the traffic flow generated by the commissioning of the HZMB which is earlier than that of the two aforesaid infrastructure projects?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing
3. Hon Audrey EU to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that some developers reached agreements with indigenous villagers in Sai Kung, allegedly violating the restriction clauses on alienation contained in the land grants under the New Territories small house policy, and they also attempted to circumvent the legal procedures under the Town Planning Ordinance ("TPO") to develop large scale private residential estates on rural land without applying for changes in land use and paying land premium; it is estimated that the developers can make huge profits from the development project. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether it has launched investigation into the aforesaid cases of suspected contravention of TPO and the relevant clauses; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
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| (b) | whether it had launched investigation into similar cases in the past three years, if it had, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
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| (c) | whether it had reviewed the current vetting and approving procedures for building New Territories small houses in the past three years, so as to prevent any person from developing housing estates on rural land in the New Territories using the aforesaid tactics; if it had, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development
4. Hon CHEUNG Man-kwong to ask: (Translation)
The Government announced in the 2007 Policy Address that it would increase the ratios of graduate teacher posts within the teaching establishment in public sector (government and aided) secondary and primary schools by two school years, i.e. 2008-2009 and 2009-2010, to 85% and 50% respectively, yet, there has not been any further increase in such ratios since then. Given that over the years, teachers trained by teacher training institutions are all teachers with degree qualifications, quite a number of teachers have complained to me that although they have degrees in teaching and have been employed for many years, and their work in school is no different from that of graduate teachers, they are still holding non-graduate teacher posts only at present, and the existing arrangement creates divisions and conflicts among teachers, and deals a severe blow to their morale. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the numbers of teachers with degree qualifications but holding non-graduate teacher posts in public sector secondary and primary schools respectively in this school year;
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| (b) | whether the ratios of graduate teachers in all public sector secondary and primary schools have reached 85% and 50% respectively; if not, of the numbers of secondary and primary schools which have yet to meet such ratios and the reasons for that; whether the authorities will urge the schools concerned to achieve such ratios as far as practicable; and
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| (c) | whether the authorities will further increase as soon as possible the ratios of graduate teacher posts within the teaching establishment in public sector secondary and primary schools, thus enabling all teachers with degree qualifications to hold graduate teacher posts, so that teachers with degree qualifications will have equal pay for equal work; if they will, of their plans and timetable; if not, how the authorities address the problem of unfair treatment of many teachers with degree qualifications in secondary and primary schools who have been holding non-graduate teacher posts for a long time but have to take up the work of graduate teachers?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education
5. Hon WONG Yuk-man to ask: (Translation)
I have received cases seeking assistance that eligible electors undergoing treatment in hospitals were not allowed, on health grounds, to be released on the days of Legislative Council Election and District Council Elections respectively to vote, and the Registration and Electoral Office ("REO") did not have any corresponding administrative measures to assist this group of electors. In respect of measures assisting electors who are unable to complete the voting procedure on their own, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether REO will send staff to all hospitals to assist in-patient electors in voting in future elections; and
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| (b) | whether REO will make corresponding arrangements to assist elderly electors with limited mobility who live in residential care homes for the elderly in voting on election days?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs
6. Hon Tommy CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)
Incidents of "fake flavouring" on the Mainland have repeatedly been heard in recent years. The relevant reports have pointed out that a number of food additives which are extensively used on the market are chemically synthesized products with unknown composition, and some of them even contain chemicals banned by the State. Recently, some media in Hong Kong have also reported that a food additive commonly known as "One Drop of Incense" ("ODI") of unknown composition, which has aroused concern in Hong Kong and on the Mainland, has already made its way into the restaurants of Hong Kong, and is used as the flavouring agent of soup products. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether it has conducted any test on the chemical composition of ODI since the media reported on the incident of ODI last year; if it has, of the results and whether ODI contains any harmful substance; if it has not conducted any test, the reasons for that;
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| (b) | how the authorities prevent the inflow of problematic food additives into the market of Hong Kong; whether they have followed up the matter with the authorities concerned in other places and are fully aware of the list of food additives which contain harmful substances, as well as their distribution channels and whether some of them are available in Hong Kong, etc.; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that and whether the authorities will follow up this matter with the authorities of the places concerned as soon as possible; and
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| (c) | when restaurants are doubtful about the safety of the food additives purchased by them, how the authorities assist in following up as well as carrying out the tests required; whether the authorities have provided timely information to members of the industry, so as to prevent them from purchasing problematic food additives; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; how they will enhance their efforts in releasing such information in future?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health
*7. Hon Ronny TONG to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the Gini Coefficient of Hong Kong has all along been above the alarm level of 0.4, reflecting the seriousness of income disparity between the rich and the poor, whereas the figure of 0.434 recorded in 2009 was regarded as the highest among the world's advanced and developed regions, indicating that the majority of Hong Kong's wealth is in the hands of a small group of people. Yet, the situation does not lead to reduction in Government revenue or a deficit budget and, on the contrary, the Treasury has even recorded surpluses. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the distribution of the wage-earning working population in each of the past five years, and list the breakdown in the table below;
| Wage-earning working population | Year of assessment |
| 2006-2007 | 2007-2008 | 2008-2009 | 2009-2010 | 2010-2011 |
| Size of wage-earning working population |
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Wage-earning working population not required to pay salaries tax
| (i) | size |
| (ii) | percentage in the wage-earning working population |
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Wage-earning working population required to pay salaries tax
| (i) | size |
| (ii) | percentage in the wage-earning working population |
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| (b) | of the distribution of the income of salaries tax payers in each of the past five years, and list the breakdown in the table below;
| Annual income (HK$) | Year of assessment |
| 2006-2007 | 2007-2008 | 2008-2009 | 2009-2010 | 2010-2011 |
| No. of persons | Percentage of the tax paid by them in the total amount of salaries tax collected | No. of persons | Percentage of the tax paid by them in the total amount of salaries tax collected | No. of persons | Percentage of the tax paid by them in the total amount of salaries tax collected | No. of persons | Percentage of the tax paid by them in the total amount of salaries tax collected | No. of persons | Percentage of the tax paid by them in the total amount of salaries tax collected |
| 100,000 to 149,999 |
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| 150,000 to 199,999 |
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| 200,000 to 249,999 |
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| 250,000 to 299,999 |
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| 300,000 to 349,999 |
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| 350,000 to 399,999 |
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| 400,000 to 449,999 |
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| 450,000 to 499,999 |
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| 500,000 to 599,999 |
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| 600,000 to 699,999 |
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| 700,000 to 799,999 |
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| 800,000 to 899,999 |
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| 900,000 to 999,999 |
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| above 1,000,000 |
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| (c) | given that the Government's source of salaries tax is concentrated in a small group of people, whether it has assessed the impact of such a phenomenon on social stability, and considered implementing improvement measures to prevent the occurrence of incidents similar to the "Occupy Wall Street" campaign in Hong Kong; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
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| (d) | of the distribution of companies which were required to pay profits tax in each of the past five years, and list the breakdown in the table below;
Taxable
profit
(HK$) | Year of assessment |
| 2006-2007 | 2007-2008 | 2008-2009 | 2009-2010 | 2010-2011 |
| No. of companies | Percentage of the tax paid by the companies in the total amount of profits tax collected | No. of companies | Percentage of the tax paid by the companies in the total amount of profits tax collected | No. of companies | Percentage of the tax paid by the companies in the total amount of profits tax collected | No. of companies | Percentage of the tax paid by the companies in the total amount of profits tax collected | No. of companies | Percentage of the tax paid by the companies in the total amount of profits tax collected |
| above 50 million |
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| above 30 million to 50 million |
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| above 20 million to 30 million |
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| above 10 million to 20 million |
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| above 7.5 million to 10 million |
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| above 5 million to 7.5 million |
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| above 3 million to 5 million |
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| above 2 million to 3 million |
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| above 1 million to 2 million |
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| 1 to 1 million |
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| (e) | whether the Government has assessed if the current profits tax regime is sound; if it has, of the outcome; if not, the reasons for that;
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| (f) | whether the Government has assessed the impact of economic downturn on the amount of tax payable by enterprises as well as the Government's revenue and reserve levels; and
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| (g) | given that the Government relies on tax revenue to meet its welfare expenditure, and Hong Kong will be at the peak of population ageing starting from 2030, under the principle of maintaining a low tax regime and in the face of a continuous income disparity between the rich and the poor, whether the Government has made any preparation for meeting various welfare expenses such as those on Comprehensive Social Security Assistance and medical services, etc.; if it has, of the specific details; and if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
*8. Hon CHAN Kin-por to ask: (Translation)
Will the Government inform this Council of:
| (a) | the average percentage of the amount of salaries tax paid by the taxpayers (excluding those who paid at the standard rate) in their income in the past three years of assessment, as well as the highest and lowest amounts of salaries tax paid by them;
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| (b) | the data on salaries tax for the year of assessment 2010-2011 (tabulated as below); and
Amount of salaries tax
(HK$) | Number of persons required to pay the salaries tax listed on the left column for the year of assessment 2010-2011 | Percentage of such number of persons in the total workforce |
| Not required to pay salaries tax |
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| 1 to 1,000 |
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| 1,001 to 2,000 |
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| 2,001 to 5,000 |
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| 5,001 to 10,000 |
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| 10,001 to 15,000 |
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| 15,001 to 20,000 |
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| 20,001 to 30,000 |
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| 30,001 to 40,000 |
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| 40,001 to 50,000 |
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| 50,001 to 60,000 |
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| 60,001 to 70,000 |
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| 70,001 to 80,000 |
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| 80,001 to 90,000 |
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| 90,001 to 100,000 |
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| 100,001 to 200,000 |
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| 200,001 to 500,000 |
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| 500,001 to 1,000,000 |
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| over 1,000,000 |
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| (c) | the data on profits tax for the year of assessment 2010-2011 (tabulated as below)?
Amount of profits tax
(HK$) | Number of companies required to pay the profits tax listed on the left column for the year of assessment
2010-2011 | Percentage of such number in the total number of companies |
| Not required to pay profits tax |
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| 1 to 50,000 |
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| 50,001 to 100,000 |
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| 100,001 to 500,000 |
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| 500,001 to 1,000,000 |
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| 1,000,001 to 2,500,000 |
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| 2,500,001 to 5,000,000 |
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| 5,000,001 to 7,500,000 |
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| 7,500,001 to 10,000,000 |
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| 10,000,001 to 25,000,000 |
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| 25,000,001 to 50,000,000 |
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| 50,000,001 to 75,000,000 |
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| 75,000,001 to 100,000,000 |
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| 100,000,001 to 250,000,000 |
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| 250,000,001 to 500,000,000 |
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| 500,000,001 to 750,000,000 |
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| 750,000,001 to 1,000,000,000 |
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| over 1,000,000,000 |
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
*9. Hon Abraham SHEK to ask:
It has been reported that following the Government's formal declaration of Ho Tung Gardens as a monument on 24 October this year, and due to the fact that an agreement of a proposed land exchange between the Government and its owner has not been reached so far, it is estimated that an amount of $3 billion of taxpayers' money (in terms of Ho Tung Gardens' redevelopment value) might prospectively be incurred to compensate its owner in respect of the financial loss suffered or likely to be suffered by her. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the number of private properties that were declared monuments under the Antiquities and Monuments Ordinance (Cap. 53) ("the Ordinance") in the past three years, together with the details of the compensation or land exchange arrangements made in each case; whether it has made reference to any overseas example in which similar compensation was made for monument preservation when it considered Ho Tung Gardens' case; if it had, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
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| (b) | given that Article 105 of the Basic Law stipulates that "the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall, in accordance with law, protect the right of individuals and legal persons to the acquisition, use, disposal and inheritance of property and their right to compensation for lawful deprivation of their property", whether it has assessed if the declaration of any private property as a monument without having obtained the owner's consent would be in contravention with the Basic Law; if it has assessed that this would not, of the reasons for that, and whether it has considered establishing an appeal mechanism under the Ordinance to form an independent jury to review the decision made by the Government; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
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| (c) | whether it has assessed if there might be the possibility of judicial review applications to challenge decisions of the Government with regard to the declaration of private properties as monuments on the ground of the stipulation under Article 105 of the Basic Law; if so, whether it has put in place any measure to minimize such possibility, including but not limited to legislative amendment; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development
*10. Dr Hon Joseph LEE to ask: (Translation)
At present, the New Territories West ("NTW") has a population of about two million, and the development of Tin Shui Wai ("TSW") in that region is particularly rapid, resulting in an increasing demand for healthcare services from the residents in that area. Yet, it will be quite a long time before the planned TSW Hospital will be completed. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the respective population figures in the various districts in NTW; whether it knows the numbers of attendances of the various public out-patient clinics in NTW in each of the past three years, and among them, the respective numbers of attendances of the TSW North General Out-Patient Clinic and the TSW Health Centre respectively; whether the authorities have assessed if these two clinics can cope with the service demand from the residents in that area;
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| (b) | given that the TSW Hospital has not yet been completed and the public out-patient services in TSW are normally available until 10:00 pm only, whether it knows if the Hospital Authority ("HA") will consider introducing 24-hour public out-patient services in TSW, so as to meet the needs of the residents there; if HA will do so, of the details, if not, the reasons for that; and
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| (c) | whether, according to the latest assessment by the authorities, the needs of the residents in the area can be fully met after the completion of TSW Hospital; and whether there is any plan to provide other healthcare services in the area so as to cope with the demand?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health
*11. Hon Starry LEE to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that since the Mainland's liberalization of the Individual Visit Scheme, the demand for middle and lower priced guesthouses in the territory has increased drastically. Moreover, I have received complaints from members of the public who indicated that some people had stolen a head start in the operation of guesthouses in residential buildings before obtaining guesthouse licences, and the complainants also expressed their dissatisfaction with the authorities' permission of the operation of guesthouses in residential buildings, which seriously affected the building management, security and even the residents' entry to and exit from the buildings. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the total number of licensed guesthouses in the territory at present; the respective numbers of licensed guesthouses located in commercial and residential buildings in each of the District Council districts;
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| (b) | of the numbers of applications for guesthouse licences received in each of the past three years; the respective numbers of applications for licences of guesthouses located in commercial and residential buildings in each of the District Council districts;
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| (c) | of the numbers and respective nature of complaint cases involving licensed guesthouses in each of the past three years, as well as the actions taken by the authorities; among such cases, the number of those in which prosecution had been instituted and the penalties imposed; whether the licence of any guesthouse was cancelled, suspended or refused to be renewed by the authorities on the ground of violation of any licensing condition; if so, of the details; in addition, whether the authorities will take the initiative to conduct "snaking" operations to investigate if the licensed guesthouses have violated the licensing conditions; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
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| (d) | upon receipt of applications for guesthouse licences, whether the authorities will take the initiative to investigate if the applicants had stolen a head start in guesthouse operation; if so, of the penalties imposed;
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| (e) | when vetting and approving the applications for licences of guesthouses located in residential buildings, whether the authorities will take the initiative in consulting the residents of the buildings concerned; if they will, of the specific procedures, and whether they had refused to issue guesthouse licences on account of fierce opposition from the residents in the past; if not, whether they will consider including consultation with the residents of the buildings concerned as a necessary vetting and approving procedure for the applications for operating guesthouses in residential buildings, and setting a threshold to stipulate that if a certain percentage of the buildings' owners indicate their objection, the authorities will refuse to issue guesthouse licences; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
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| (f) | whether it will consider changing the use of industrial buildings to allow the operation of guesthouses in industrial buildings, with a view to meeting the demand; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs
*12. Hon CHAN Hak-kan to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the Environment Bureau expects that the number of charging stations for electric vehicles ("EVs") throughout the territory will increase to 1 000 in the coming year. However, some EV owners have approached me recently for assistance and relayed to me that they had planned to install charging facilities at their private car parking spaces in the residential estates where they live, and the installation was assessed to be technically feasible by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, but owing to objections from the owners' corporation and management companies of the estates, so far the installation works could not commence. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the anticipated distribution of the aforesaid 1 000 charging stations among government premises and other public or private places, with a breakdown of the number by the item in the table below;
| Car parking spaces or car parks in government premises | Car parking spaces or car parks in the facilities managed by the Link Management Limited or the Hong Kong Housing Authority | Car parking spaces or car parks in large shopping centres | Outdoor car parking spaces or car parks | Others (e.g. car parking spaces or car parks in private buildings, etc.) |
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| (b) | of the ratio of the number of quick charging facilities to slow charging facilities in the aforesaid charging stations; whether such facilities are compatible with different brands and models of EVs; whether it knows the charging details of such facilities (including the levels of fees charged);
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| (c) | apart from EVs purchased by government departments, of the number of EVs in Hong Kong in the past three years; of the anticipated increase in the number of EVs in the coming year, and whether the number of charging stations will be adequate to cope with such growth;
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| (d) | of the measures it has in place to encourage the installation of charging facilities for EVs at private residential premises or buildings; which government departments EV owners can approach to seek assistance when they encounter difficulties in the course of installing charging facilities, as well as what assistance such departments will offer to them; and
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| (e) | whether it will examine expanding the funding scope of the existing Pilot Green Transport Fund or the Environment and Conservation Fund, so as to subsidize EV owners in the installation and maintenance of charging facilities; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment
*13. Hon Albert CHAN to ask: (Translation)
I have recently received complaints from members of the public that they need to take two bus journeys when commuting from Kwai Fong to Yau Tong on weekdays and, including the waiting time for buses, it takes them a total of one-and-a-half to two hours to arrive at their destinations. They have further pointed out that those buses plying the relevant routes break down quite often, rendering the bus schedules highly unreliable. I have learnt that at present a bus trip from Tin Shui Wai to Central only takes 45 minutes, but it takes the residents in some areas in Kwai Fong twice as long to travel to Yau Tong by bus. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether there are guidelines or criteria in place at present which require the authorities, in planning public transport services (e.g. bus routes), to enable members of the public in various districts to travel to other districts in Hong Kong within a reasonable time; if so, of the details; if not, whether the authorities will formulate such guidelines or criteria; and
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| (b) | whether the authorities will assess if it is reasonable for the aforesaid residents in Kwai Fong to spend one-and-a-half to two hours on bus trips to travel to Yau Tong, and whether they need to make improvement; if improvement is needed, what action will be taken by the authorities to improve the aforesaid situation; if no such improvement is needed, of the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing
*14. Dr Hon Priscilla LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
After the Financial Secretary had proposed on 19 November last year to introduce a special stamp duty ("SSD") on residential properties at the point of resale, some members of the Hong Kong Real Estate Agencies General Association stated publicly that the transaction volume of second-hand residential properties had dropped significantly after the introduction of the SSD, registering a cumulative drop of more than 60%, and they anticipated that a considerable number of small-sized and medium-sized estate agents would close down. On 28 September this year, a medium-sized estate agent which had operated in Hong Kong for eight years, running 18 branches in its heyday, closed down, and some members of the trade even anticipate a fresh wave of closures by the end of this year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether it knows the total number of estate agents which have closed down since this Council enacted the Stamp Duty (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2010 ("the Bill") on 22 June this year to implement the SSD; and how many people who were originally engaged in the business of estate agency have lost their jobs or switched to other trades;
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| (b) | of the respective number of transactions of local second-hand residential properties before and after the introduction of the SSD;
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| (c) | of the number of cases of second-hand residential properties being traded by means of transfer of company shares after the introduction of the SSD; how this figure compares with that before the introduction of the duty; if the number of such cases shows an upward trend after the introduction of the SSD, whether the authorities have assessed if this trend is directly related to the introduction of the SSD;
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| (d) | whether the prices of second-hand residential properties in Hong Kong have fallen in tandem with the Government's proposal of introducing the SSD, and of the rate of reduction; whether the intended targets of the introduction of the SSD have been achieved;
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| (e) | given that the authorities have indicated that a review of the SSD will be conducted in 24 months after the enactment of the Bill, whether they will conduct the review earlier in response to the current wave of closures of estate agents;
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| (f) | whether the authorities have assessed the impact of the SSD on the estate agency trade before studying the introduction of the SSD; if so, of the assessment results;
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| (g) | given that there are comments that the estate agency trade is virtually a "thermometer" for the economy of Hong Kong, whether the authorities have assessed if the blow dealt to the estate agency trade by the introduction of the SSD will affect the economy of Hong Kong as a whole; and
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| (h) | whether the authorities will look into the provision of assistance, e.g. reducing the licence fees and the land search fees of the Land Registry next year, to prevent closures of estate agents in a larger scale?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing
*15. Dr Hon LAM Tai-fai to ask: (Translation)
According to the Arrangement between the Mainland of China and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income ("Arrangement"), remunerations derived by Mainland and Hong Kong residents from their employment in the Other Side shall be taxed in that Other Side if they are present in the Other Side for a period or periods exceeding in the aggregate 183 days in any 12-month period commencing or ending in the taxable period concerned ("183-day threshold"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether only the actual working periods in the Other Side of cross-boundary residents are counted under the 183-day threshold of the Arrangement, and how the Hong Kong and mainland authorities calculate the actual cross-boundary working periods of such residents;
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| (b) | as the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury indicated in the reply to my question on 20 January 2010 that the practice among tax jurisdictions is to adopt the "183 days in a 12-month period" threshold, whether it knows how the Macao authorities calculate cross-boundary working periods;
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| (c) | as the number of days during which Hong Kong residents stay on the Mainland for sightseeing is also counted under the 183-day threshold at present even though they have not engaged in any work-related activity during such periods, whether it knows the reasons for that, and whether it will plan to conduct a review with the mainland authorities and introduce improvement; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
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| (d) | why weekends and holidays, even though they are not working days, are counted under the 183-day threshold, and whether the authorities will consider revising such arrangement; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; \
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| (e) | why cross-boundary trips taken by residents with same-day return are also counted as one day under the 183-day threshold, and whether the SAR Government will seek exemption arrangement from the mainland authorities for same-day return trips or cross-boundary trips of less than 24 hours; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
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| (f) | as some Hong Kong residents who live in Shenzhen are employed by Hong Kong companies and receive salaries from such companies, and have to work on the Mainland for half day on each working day, how the Hong Kong and mainland tax authorities assess the tax payable based on their income;
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| (g) | regarding holders of valid Chinese visas leaving the Mainland and returning there later, whether it knows if the days they spend outside the Mainland are counted under the 183-day threshold of the Arrangement; if so, of the reasons;
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| (h) | as Hong Kong and the Mainland are enhancing their economic integration and development, and the number of cross-boundary workers continues to increase, whether the SAR Government will take the initiative to request the mainland authorities to relax the 183-day threshold, and not just relay to them the views of the trade in Hong Kong; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
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| (i) | as the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury indicated in the reply to my question on 3 February 2010 that all comprehensive avoidance of double taxation agreements signed by European Union ("EU") countries between each other adopt the 183-day threshold, whether the authorities know if EU member countries have signed any agreement among themselves regarding cross-boundary workers to provide specific tax arrangement for cross-boundary workers of both sides; if they know, of the details; if not, whether they will seek an in-depth understanding of the matter;
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| (j) | whether the Hong Kong and mainland authorities will consider introducing tax rules for cross-boundary workers; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
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| (k) | as the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury indicated in the reply to my question on 24 February 2010 that the Inland Revenue Department ("IRD") of Hong Kong and the State Administration of Taxation ("SAT") meet annually to discuss the implementation of the Arrangement, and the IRD will relay to the SAT specific suggestions from the trade concerning the relaxation of the 183-day threshold and other issues relating to the implementation of the Arrangement, whether the Government had requested the mainland authorities to relax the 183-day threshold in the past five years; if it had, when each of such requests was made and of the details of the requests; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
*16. Hon KAM Nai-wai to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the treatment of waste electrical and electronic equipment ("WEEE") in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether it knows the total WEEE generation in each of the past five years, broken down by way of treatment (recycling, disposal, storage pending shipment overseas or others) and type of WEEE (e.g. television set, washing machine, refrigerator, air conditioner, computer product and others, etc.), as well as the respective numbers of organizations or units which use the above ways to treat WEEE and their respective numbers of staff;
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| (b) | as I have learnt that there are about 100 temporary open storage areas ("OSAs") in the rural New Territories for the storage of WEEE pending shipment overseas and that many of these sites do not have proper shelter to cover WEEE and are not paved, exposing the WEEE to the open air for a long time, causing land contamination from the leaching of heavy metals, fire hazards, eyesores and other problems:
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| (i) | whether it knows the number of OSAs in operation in Hong Kong in each of the past five years; among them, the percentage of those OSAs which have exposed WEEE to the open air for a long time, broken down by the 18 District Council districts;
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| (ii) | whether it had conducted studies or compiled statistics in the past five years on the pollution (e.g. land contamination from the leaching of heavy metals) and accidents (e.g. fire hazards) caused by OSAs in Hong Kong each year as well as the impact of such pollution and accidents on members of the public (including health hazards and casualties); if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
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| (iii) | of the legislation, system or measures in place to regulate the operation of OSAs (e.g. the maximum number and capacity as well as types of WEEE to be stored); and
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| (iv) | whether it knows in general the final shipping destinations and usages of WEEE stored in OSAs; the existing policies and regulations on the treatment of WEEE in these destinations and whether there will be changes in such policies and regulations in the near future; and
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| (c) | given that premises dissembling e-waste classified as noxious chemical waste must be licensed under the Waste Disposal Ordinance (Cap. 354):
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| (i) | of the details and number of prosecutions instituted for violating the aforesaid provisions in each of the past five years; whether there are cases in which no improvement has been made even after prosecution; if so, of the details and number of such cases as well as the measures put in place by the authorities to step up enforcement;
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| (ii) | of the details of the vetting and approval of the applications for the aforesaid licence; of the number of units which obtained the licence in each of the past five years; and
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| (iii) | whether the authorities have any plan to establish a licensing system for the regulation of premises treating WEEE which are classified as non-chemical waste (regardless of whether they contain noxious substances or not); if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment
*17. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the statistics of the Ministry of Commerce of the Mainland revealed that the nationwide pork prices have been decreasing continuously since October this year, and the decreasing rate accelerated in late October, and as at 30 October, the weekly average purchase price of live pigs has dropped for the sixth consecutive week, down by 9% in aggregate. In addition, Ng Fung Hong Limited ("NFH") announced earlier a 23% downward adjustment in the wholesale price of live pigs supplied to Hong Kong, but some local pork retailers indicated that there is limited room for downward adjustment of the current retail pork price, and rebutted that live pigs offered at a discount of 20% to 30% in price by NFH are of poorer pork quality. On the other hand, some members of the trade also indicated that as the prices of live pigs have gradually dropped, there is definitely room for downward adjustment of the retail pork price, and the pork retailers were only using various excuses to not agree to reduce the price. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the average monthly wholesale, import and retail prices of fresh and chilled pork imported from the Mainland since January this year, as well as the changes in such prices; of the difference in the retail prices of fresh and chilled pork;
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| (b) | whether there has been a corresponding downward adjustment of the retail price of fresh pork imported from the Mainland as a result of the considerable drop in the wholesale price for live pigs supplied to Hong Kong recently; if not, whether the authorities have looked into the reasons for that, and have proactively investigated why the drop in the wholesale price has not been reflected in the local retail pork price, as well as whether there are members of the trade profiteering through price-gouging; what measures the authorities have in place to urge pork retailers to lower the pork price as soon as possible, and to curb members of the trade profiteering through price-gouging, so as to enable the public to buy pork at a reasonable price that reflects the cost; and
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| (c) | whether the authorities have looked into the aforesaid situation of poorer quality of pork sold at a discounted price as mentioned by local pork retailers, and have taken follow-up actions?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health
*18. Hon Paul TSE to ask: (Translation)
Mr TANG Lung-wai ("Mr TANG"), a Hong Kong resident, who was first detained for 11 years for suspected drug possession in the Philippines, and recently convicted of drug trafficking and sentenced to 40 years' imprisonment, has relayed to me through his family that the judgment made by the Philippine judge is unfair, and that in the past 10-odd years, Mr TANG and Mr CHEUNG Tai-on ("Mr CHEUNG"), another defendant in the same case, were not given adequate interpretation services to help them understand the proceedings during the trial (the Philippine authorities claimed that they lacked the financial means to provide each defendant with qualified interpretation services). Besides, regarding the date from which the Philippine authorities claimed to have started surveillance on Mr TANG's activities in the country, the Hong Kong Immigration Department ("ImmD") confirmed that Mr TANG had not yet departed from Hong Kong on that date. Mr TANG and Mr CHEUNG criticized that the trial had all along been conducted unfairly with a lack of transparency. They urgently wish to raise questions to the Government through me. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | given that the aforesaid Hong Kong people had complained about the lack of a fair trial, why the SAR Government merely advised that they could only follow the judgment of the local court in the Philippines and failed to provide them with any concrete assistance during trial and for lodging appeal;
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| (b) | given that the aforesaid Hong Kong people urgently need pecuniary assistance to meet the expenses for appeal as well as the basic subsistence in prison and correspondence with their families, whether the SAR Government will, apart from considering the request raised in my previous letter to the authorities for exercising discretion to allow their families to apply for the "Scheme $6,000" on their behalf, consider providing them assistance through other means (e.g. the Community Care Fund) which they urgently need for appeal; and
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| (c) | as I have learnt that Mr TANG had sought assistance from the Assistance to Hong Kong Residents Unit ("the Unit") of ImmD through the hotline 1868 ("1868") but was unable to get any concrete assistance, and he criticized the Government for staying aloof from residents who were in distress outside Hong Kong, and there were also cases in the past where some Hong Kong people were forbidden to leave Taiwan by the Taiwan authorities concerned owing to traffic accident compensation issues and they had called 1868 for help, but the authorities did not provide any assistance on the grounds that they could not directly interfere with the cross-strait affairs, and the problem was finally solved after I wrote to the Taiwan Ministry of Justice to assist the Hong Kong people in distress, what measures the Government will put in place to improve the ways in which assistance is provided to Hong Kong people who are in distress while travelling outside Hong Kong (including improving the Unit's work)?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security
*19. Hon Audrey EU to ask: (Translation)
The Government has designated some of the previous on-street metered parking spaces as "no parking areas" with yellow markings in recent years, and drivers who continue to park their vehicles in these areas will be prosecuted. Yet, many vehicles are still illegally parked in such areas with yellow markings where parking has already been prohibited, and some of these areas are even occupied for operating valet parking business, but the offenders are not prosecuted. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the general reasons why the Transport Department ("TD") cancelled some of the previous on-street parking spaces and meters;
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| (b) | of the number of meters cancelled by TD and the Government's revenue from on-street metered parking spaces respectively in each of the past 10 years; of the number of Fixed Penalty Notices against parking offences issued by the Hong Kong Police Force each year between 2001 and 2007, with a breakdown of the figures by item; and
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| (c) | whether the Government will consider stepping up law enforcement, including increasing the number of law-enforcing officers and frequency of patrols, and stepping up prosecution against drivers who commit parking offences, in order to achieve a deterrent effect; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing
*20. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the European Union ("EU") summit had earlier on come up with a preliminary package of solutions (including the expansion of the European Financial Stability Facility to one trillion euros, writing off the total amount of Greek debts by 50%, as well as increasing banks' capital ratio to 9%, etc.) for the sovereign debt crisis in Europe ("European debt crisis"), but the relevant details have yet to be implemented. The market in general is doubtful whether the package can really solve the European debt crisis, thus generating shocks in the market. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | how the authorities assess the effectiveness of the solutions for the European debt crisis proposed by the EU summit, and the impact of the implementation of such solutions on Hong Kong's financial industry (including the insurance and banking sectors); in particular, whether serious losses will be inflicted on the banking and insurance sectors in Hong Kong by the arrangement to write off the Greek debts; and whether local banks holding eurozone sovereign bonds (especially those issued by countries such as Greece, Italy, Spain and Portugal, etc. which are facing a relatively more serious sovereign debt crisis) will have capital financing needs as a result;
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| (b) | whether the authorities have a full picture of the risks that local banks need to face as a result of the European debt crisis; whether they have any measure to monitor and control the relevant situation, and formulated a contingency plan to reduce the risks to be faced by local banks under the impact of the European debt crisis; and
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| (c) | of the specific policies, proposals and corresponding measures put in place by the authorities, together with the relevant details, to tackle the worst impact that the European debt crisis may have on the economy of Hong Kong, such as the shocks and systemic risks that may be caused to the economy of Hong Kong once Greece defaults on its debts and decides to withdraw from the eurozone, as well as the potential impact of the further deterioration of the European debt crisis on the overall economy of Hong Kong, etc.?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
* For written reply
III. Bills
First Reading
General Holidays and Employment Legislation (Substitution of Holidays) (Amendment) Bill 2011
Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)
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| General Holidays and Employment Legislation (Substitution of Holidays) (Amendment) Bill 2011 | : | Secretary for Labour and Welfare
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IV. Motions
Proposed resolution under the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury to move the following motion:
Resolved that the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 3) Notice 2011, made by the Chief Executive in Council on 14 June 2011, be approved.
(The Notice is in the Appendix, and was also issued on
9 November 2011 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 120/11-12)
V. Members' Motions
- Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
Hon Audrey EU to move the following motion:
Resolved that in relation to the -
| (a) | Building (Inspection and Repair) Regulation, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 146 of 2011;
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| (b) | Building (Administration) (Amendment) Regulation 2011, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 147 of 2011;
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| (c) | Building (Minor Works) (Amendment) Regulation 2011, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 148 of 2011; and
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| (d) | Buildings (Amendment) Ordinance 2011 (Commencement) Notice 2011, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 149 of 2011, |
and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 2 November 2011, the period for amending subsidiary legislation referred to in section 34(2) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap. 1) be extended under section 34(4) of that Ordinance to the meeting of 21 December 2011.
- Defending freedom of the press
Hon Emily LAU to move the following motion: (Translation)
That, freedom of the press has recently sustained severe impact, and the findings of an opinion poll released by the University of Hong Kong on 20 September showed that the rate of people's satisfaction with freedom of the press dropped from 68% to 58%; the occurrence of such a worrying situation is due to the authorities' restrictions on media news coverage, including obstructing filming by photographers, expelling reporters, setting press positions a long way from scenes requiring coverage, rejecting media news coverage and instead distributing only official footage and press releases (commonly known as 'propaganda footage' and 'propaganda articles'), and replacing press conferences with informal briefings by informed sources; the recent misreporting of former State President JIANG Zemin's death by the News and Public Affairs Division ('News Division') of Asia Television Limited ('ATV') has revealed that the head of the News Division was not able to stop the broadcasting of incorrect information in news programmes, and someone had interfered with the editorial independence of the News Division; ATV staff have also complained that the broadcasting of 'paid news' by the station has severely damaged the credibility of news reporting; in this connection, this Council urges the authorities to:
| (a) | arrange for the media to freely cover all official activities;
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| (b) | lift the news coverage restrictions imposed on the press;
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| (c) | stop distributing 'propaganda footage' and 'propaganda articles'; and
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| (d) | inquire into whether anyone has interfered with the editorial independence of the News Division of ATV and forced the News Division to broadcast false information and 'paid news' in news programmes, and study whether the continued holding of a domestic free television programme service licence by ATV is in the interest of the public. |
| Public Officers to attend | : | Secretary for Home Affairs
Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs
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- Improving further education and employment of sub-degree students
Hon Cyd HO to move the following motion:(Translation)
That, since the SAR Government announced in the Policy Address 2000 the policy objective of providing 60% of local young people with the opportunity of receiving tertiary education and rolled out a series of measures, the number of self-financing programmes at associate degree level or above offered by local institutions has been increasing; however, as the social recognition of sub-degree qualifications over the past 10 years is still lacking, sub-degree students have to face various problems in further education and employment and even have to bear high tuition fees and loan repayments, thus making them the new blood of the poverty population; in this connection, this Council urges the authorities to:
| (a) | increase the number of subvented university places;
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| (b) | offer subsidies in the form of education vouchers to sub-degree graduates for studying in private universities;
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| (c) | expand the channels to study in universities for sub-degree graduates;
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| (d) | increase the number of civil service entry ranks for sub-degree graduates; and
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| (e) | review student financial assistance as well as loan and repayment arrangements, including abolishing the risk rate. |
| Amendments to the motion |
| (i) | Hon CHEUNG Man-kwong to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To add "given that" after "That,"; to delete "; in this connection" after "the poverty population"; to delete "subvented university places;" after "(a) increase the number of" and substitute with "first-year and senior year articulation places for publicly-funded universities; (b) establish a mechanism for monitoring and assuring programme quality, so as to ensure adequate credibility and recognition of sub-degree qualifications;"; to delete the original "(b)" and substitute with "(c)"; to add "or direct subsidies" after "education vouchers"; to delete "studying in private universities" after "sub-degree graduates for" and substitute with "enrolling on self-financing degree programmes"; to delete the original "(c)" and substitute with "(d)"; to add "(e) increase the transparency of institutions' admission systems and establish a credit accumulation and transfer system to ensure that institutions admit students under the principles of fairness and 'selectivity', so as to rationalize and link up articulation pathways for sub-degree graduates from different backgrounds;" after "universities for sub-degree graduates;"; to delete the original "(d)" and substitute with "(f)"; to delete the original "(e)" and substitute with "(g)"; to add "the fixed interest rate (2.5%) for means-tested low interest loans and" after "abolishing"; and to add "for non-means-tested loans" immediately before the full stop.
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| (ii) | Hon WONG Kwok-hing to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To delete "since" after "That," and substitute with "in order to raise the rate of local senior secondary school graduates pursuing tertiary education,"; to add "and" after "measures,"; to add "thus" after "local institutions has"; to add "(a) review the contents covered by sub-degree programmes, so as to enhance the applicability and recognition of such programmes; (b) strengthen the monitoring of sub-degree programme quality and fees;" after "the authorities to:"; to delete the original "(a)" and substitute with "(c)"; to delete the original "(b)" and substitute with "(d)"; to delete the original "(c)" and substitute with "(e)"; to add "local and overseas" after "to study in"; to delete the original "(d)" and substitute with "(f)"; to delete "increase" before "the number of civil" and substitute with "enhance the employment support for sub-degree graduates, including increasing"; to delete the original "(e)" and substitute with "(g)"; and to add "; significantly lower the interest rates of all loan schemes for tertiary students, waive the interest accrued during students' study periods under the Non-means-tested Loan Scheme, and change the situation where interest rates of student loans are higher than those of bank mortgages; allow tax deduction on repayment amounts of university education loans; study the feasibility of allowing local students to apply for student loans for pursuing further education overseas; and increase the grant amounts for tertiary students" immediately before the full stop.
Amendment to Hon WONG Kwok-hing's amendment
Hon CHAN Hak-kan to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To delete "overseas" after "local and" and substitute with "non-local"; and to delete "overseas" after "pursuing further education" and substitute with "outside Hong Kong".
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| (iii) | Hon Starry LEE to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To add "increasing young people's opportunity of receiving post-secondary education is a social consensus; and" after "That"; to add "or study establishing a post-secondary education fund to offer subsidies" after "education vouchers"; to add "(c) ensure the diversity of self-financing programmes, so as to provide programme options in different academic disciplines for students;" after "in private universities;"; to delete the original "(c)" and substitute with "(d)"; to delete the original "(d)" and substitute with "(e)"; to delete "and" after "ranks for sub-degree graduates;"; to delete the original "(e)" and substitute with "(f)"; and to add ", and replace the means-tested loans with interest-free loans; (g) provide matching grants for self-financing post-secondary institutions to build campuses, so as to alleviate the pressure of tuition fee increases exerted by campus construction costs; (h) collect data on sub-degree graduates' further education and employment, so as to accurately grasp the destinations of graduates and make good preparation for the planning of sub-degree programmes and their number of places; (i) conduct surveys on employers' opinions about the work performance of sub-degree graduates for assessing the value-adding effectiveness of sub-degree programmes, so as to enable post-secondary institutions to better understand employers' needs and make corresponding curriculum arrangements; and (j) assist Hong Kong sub-degree graduates in pursuing studies in mainland universities, including studying the establishment of a mutual recognition mechanism between Hong Kong sub-degree qualifications and Mainland tertiary diploma qualifications, and striving for sub-degree graduates' exemption from the Joint Entrance Examination for Universities in the People's Republic of China for Overseas Chinese, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Students, so as to promote exchanges between Hong Kong and Mainland students" immediately before the full stop.
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| (iv) | Dr Hon Priscilla LEUNG to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To delete "since" after "That," and substitute with "in order to develop a knowledge-based economy,"; to add "and" after "measures,"; to add "thus" after "local institutions has"; to delete "sub-degree" after "social recognition of" and substitute with "associate degree"; to add "many" after "is still lacking,"; to delete "the new blood of the poverty population" after "thus making them" and substitute with "an anxious group in society"; to delete "offer" after "(b)" and substitute with "study offering"; to delete "in the form of education vouchers" after "subsidies"; to delete "increase the number of civil service entry ranks for sub-degree graduates; and" after "(d)" and substitute with "study relaxing the academic requirements for appointment to more civil service posts, so that sub-degree graduates can have more opportunities to apply;"; and to add ", and allow the date of calculating interest accrual under the Non-means-tested Loan Scheme to commence after students' graduation; and (f) add more elements of vocational training or practical skills to existing sub-degree programmes, so that students can secure employment more easily after graduation" immediately before the full stop.
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| (v) | Hon Tanya CHAN to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To add ", including first-year university places and senior year places for articulation of sub-degree programmes, and increase the rate of local students admitted to publicly-funded bachelor's degree programmes" after "subvented university places"; to delete "offer" after "(b)" and substitute with "study the feasibility of offering"; to add ", and proactively support the development of private universities, so as to provide more students, particularly sub-degree graduates, with more opportunities of admission to bachelor's degree programmes in universities" after "in private universities"; to delete "; and" after "ranks for sub-degree graduates" and substitute with ", and review the academic requirements for appointment to the various civil service posts and other government posts, so as to absorb more post-secondary graduates;"; to delete "review" after "(e)" and substitute with "expeditiously finalize the review of"; and to add "; and (f) vigorously monitor the quality of self-financing post-secondary education programmes, so as to ensure the recognition of the relevant programmes by more higher education institutions and employers" immediately before the full stop.
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Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Education
Clerk to the Legislative Council
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