A 11/12-9

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 30 November 2011 at 11:00 am

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
Prisons (Amendment) Order 2011166/2011

Other Papers

1.No. 35-Hong Kong Tourism Board Annual Report 2010/11
(to be presented by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development)

2.No. 36-Annual Report 2010 to the Chief Executive by The Commissioner on Interception of Communications and Surveillance (together with a statement under section 49(4) of the Interception of Communications and Surveillance Ordinance)
(to be presented by the Secretary for Security)

3.Report No. 4/11-12 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. Dr Hon David LI to ask:

According to some recent official statistics of Hong Kong and Singapore, the number of persons employed in the financing and insurance industry in Hong Kong increased by 29.2% during the period from 2002 to 2010, representing an increase of around forty-five thousand jobs; and during the same period, the number of persons employed in the financial services industry (covering employments in financial institutions and the insurance sector) in Singapore increased by 87.9%, representing an increase of around eighty thousand jobs. As financial services is one of the traditional pillar industries in Hong Kong and as it is a stated government policy to establish Hong Kong as the international financial centre for China, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)what parameters the Government considers in evaluating its success in nurturing the financial services industry, and whether the employment situation in the industry is a key consideration;

    (b)whether the Government has monitored Hong Kong's competitiveness against other regional financial centres; if it has, whether it has reached any conclusion on the positive/negative factors and policies which had contributed to the different employment growth in the financial services industry of Hong Kong and Singapore during the period from 2002 to 2010; and

    (c)whether it has assessed if there is any evidence of a shift in employment opportunities in the financial services industry in Hong Kong from lower value-added positions to higher value-added positions; if there is such evidence, whether the present education system is able to cope with the corresponding increase in the demand for talents to fill the higher value-added positions in that industry in the next decade?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

2. Hon IP Wai-ming to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the application for importation of foreign labour under the "General Employment Policy" of the Immigration Department ("ImmD"), will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of such applications received by ImmD in each of the past five years; among them, of the number of those approved and its percentage in the total number of applications; whether there were applicants who had been given approval to enter into Hong Kong for employment in the past but when they applied again for entry into Hong Kong for employment or extension of the duration of stay in Hong Kong, they were not given approval to enter into Hong Kong or continue to stay and work in Hong Kong because their employers were able to recruit suitable staff locally to take up the positions;

    (b)of the vetting and approving procedures adopted by ImmD upon receipt of the applications concerned, and whether consultation with the relevant government departments and trade unions is included in such procedures; if so, how their views would be considered; whether it has assessed the capacity of the local labour market in absorbing the additional labour; how it establishes that such positions cannot be readily taken up by local employees; whether the employers concerned are required to provide sufficient training for local employees with a view to transferring to them the skills required for these positions; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; whether it has any plan to review the existing vetting and approving procedures to ensure that local workers are given priority in employment; and

    (c)whether the authorities had conducted any inspection in the past five years to find out the situation of those persons from overseas who were granted entry into Hong Kong for employment after their arrival; if they had, of a breakdown of the number of inspections by year and job category; if not, the reasons for that; whether they have any plan to enhance the existing monitoring mechanism, including increasing the number of surprise inspections and the penalties for breaches, etc.?
Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Security
Secretary for Labour and Welfare

3. Hon Vincent FANG to ask: (Translation)

Fires broke out at waste recycling yards in the New Territories one after another, and the waste materials stocked in such yards were burnt, emitting toxic smoke which polluted the air of Hong Kong. Regarding the regulation of waste recycling yards and the implementation of waste recovery and waste treatment measures, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the number of waste recycling yards in Hong Kong at present and their areas; whether it knows the major types of wastes recovered and stocked at such waste recycling yards; the details of the big fires which broke out at waste recycling yards in the past three years and the follow-up actions taken;

    (b)the regulation of waste recycling yards by the authorities at present; the means and procedures for waste recycling yards to obtain approval for the relevant land use; whether there are restrictions on the types and quantity of wastes being recovered and stocked; whether it knows the methods of treatment, the outlets and the final destinations of such wastes, and whether regulation is in place; if regulation is not in place, please explain the reasons; and

    (c)the results and effectiveness of waste separation and recycling since implementation as well as the latest improvement measures in place; how the amount of wastes recovered through the relevant policy compares with that of similar types of wastes disposed of at landfills in the past three years; the ways to treat the wastes recovered and the percentage of wastes recycled locally; whether the Government has any plan for recycling usable wastes in Hong Kong through the introduction of policy, financial or tax concessions and technical support; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for the Environment

4. Hon Paul TSE to ask: (Translation)

On 4 November 2009, 13 April 2011 and 15 June 2011, I represented the affected general public and travel agents to raise questions to the Government, seeking explanation from it regarding what data and methods the Civil Aviation Department ("CAD") uses for calculating, vetting and approving passenger fuel surcharges which are often criticized by the public as "quick in going up but slow in coming down". In addition, I also requested the Government to explain based on what justifications and criteria CAD approved the applications by Air France and KLM Royal Dutch Airlines for not following the Air Services Agreements signed with the Hong Kong Government to unilaterally reduce to zero the commissions paid to travel agents in Hong Kong in respect of air tickets sold. Although the wording of the questions already directly and explicitly requested the authorities to provide the justifications, data and calculating methods for vetting and approving the amounts, the Government ultimately did not provide the information requested in the questions. Some of the passengers and travel agents who had previously relayed their views to me pointed out that the Government's responses were irrelevant and perfunctory. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the Government has assessed if the various policy bureaux and government departments were not able to address the concerns raised by the public and the business sector in their replies to the questions raised by Members of this Council in the past, hence making the public feel that the Government had deliberately averted the problems or acted in a perfunctory manner, thereby leading to the stagnant relationship between the executive authorities and the legislature as well as undermining public confidence in the Government's governance; if it has, of the outcome of assessment; if it has not conducted such an assessment, the reasons for that, and whether it can assess right away and study if there is any room for improvement;

    (b)of the polices, measures and codes of practice the Government has in place to ensure that the various policy bureaux and government departments will not reply or respond to Members' questions in a perfunctory manner; and

    (c)whether it will instruct CAD to follow up the aforesaid issues again, so as to respond to the reasonable questions raised by the public, the business sector and Members, as well as providing important data that are of public concern?
Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Transport and Housing
Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs

5. Ir Dr Hon Raymond HO to ask: (Translation)

Shortage of land is one of the reasons for high property prices in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)given that at present quite a number of pieces of agricultural land have been abandoned or converted to other uses, what strategies the Government has to ensure that precious land resources can be put to more effective use in the face of the fact that some agricultural land has been converted to non-agricultural uses;

    (b)of the total area of agricultural land in Hong Kong at present and the percentage of that land area in the total land area of Hong Kong; and

    (c)of the total number of applications received by the Town Planning Board in the past five years for converting agricultural land to other land uses; the total area of the agricultural land involved; and regarding those applications which were approved, of the area of agricultural land involved, the approved land uses as well as the total amount of additional land premium payable?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Development

6. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)since the implementation of the statutory minimum wage on 1 May this year, whether it has assessed the positive and negative impacts of the implementation of the minimum wage on the basis of the latest statistics and the employment data collected by the Labour Department; if it has, of the outcome; whether there are negative impacts such as waves of closures and layoffs, reduction in junior jobs, worsening of the unemployment situation of the middle-aged and the elderly, as well as "ripple effects", etc., as warned earlier by some business people and academics who opposed the implementation of the minimum wage; if such an assessment has not been made, of the reasons for that;

    (b)given that it has been reported that surveys and interviews conducted by community groups reveal that the negative impacts in (a) have not been found since the implementation of the minimum wage, and wage rises and increase in junior jobs have instead benefited grass-roots workers, whether the authorities will, when conducting the review of the minimum wage rate in the future and the current study on standard working hours, weigh carefully the dissenting views raised by some business people and academics and avoid discussions being led by subjective and biased views, so as to strive to take an objective approach on the basis of evidence in reviewing the minimum wage rate and promoting the implementation of standard working hours; and

    (c)given that the first statutory minimum wage rate was set according to the prevailing data at that time, and the economic environment, in particular inflation, has worsened since then, whether the authorities will, in response to the recent social situation and the heavy pressure on the livelihood of the grassroots, review and raise the minimum wage rate as soon as possible and implement it with effect from 1 May next year?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Labour and Welfare

*7. Hon Audrey EU to ask: (Translation)

At the meeting of the Panel on Housing of this Council on 7 November this year, the Government indicated that the projected planning target of an average annual supply of 40 000 public and private residential units in the future was derived based on the number of people on the Waiting List for public rental housing, the distribution of population growth in Hong Kong, the volume of private residential property transactions over the past 10 years, as well as the data in the final report of the "Hong Kong 2030: Planning Vision and Strategy". In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)given that the Government is implementing measures to gradually ban the sub-division of flat units (commonly known as "sub-divided units") on the ground of building safety issues, and on the other hand, the Chief Executive pointed out in this year's Policy Address that, such "sub-divided units" at the same time provide accommodation for low-income people not eligible for public housing, and there have also been comments that "sub-divided units" are one of the indicators which reflect the potential housing demand in Hong Kong, whether the current methods for projecting housing demand have taken into account such potential housing demand; if so, based on what data the Government made its projection; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)of number of "sub-divided units" in Hong Kong according to the existing statistics compiled by the Government, with a breakdown by the size of households living in "sub-divided units", average monthly income and occupation; and

    (c)whether the data based on which the Government made the aforesaid housing supply projection have covered the various types of potential housing demand in Hong Kong; if not, whether the Government will review afresh the current methods adopted for projecting the housing demand in the light of the potential housing demand in Hong Kong, and adjust the projected future supply of public and private residential units based on the outcome of the review?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Transport and Housing

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

Regarding the housing needs of female victims of abuse in the territory, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the numbers of female victims of abuse seeking assistance from the Social Welfare Department ("SWD") in each of the past five years; among them, of the respective numbers of those originally residing in public rental housing ("PRH") units and private flats, as well as the respective numbers of new arrival women or ethnic minority women;

    (b)whether it knows, among the female victims of abuse in (a), how many of them petitioned for divorce each year, and among them, of the number of those who sought housing assistance from SWD, and whether SWD has provided them with information leaflets on the Conditional Tenancy ("CT") Scheme or Compassionate Rehousing ("CR") Scheme offered by the Housing Department ("HD"); how many women moved into PRH units under CR Scheme or CT Scheme upon the recommendation of SWD each year; how many women were not recommended by SWD and of the reasons for that; among the women recommended for CT Scheme, of the respective numbers of domestic violence victims who belonged to the categories of bringing along minor children, having no offspring and bringing along no dependant children when leaving their matrimonial home; among the women in the aforesaid categories, how many of them were offered CT and what the average waiting time was; how many of them were not offered CT and of the reasons for that (and provide the respective figures of new arrival women and ethnic minority women);

    (c)among the cases in (b) in which CTs were offered, of the number of cases in which a CT was successfully converted into a normal tenancy each year to date; and the number of cases in which conversion into normal tenancy is successful because of recommendation by SWD on other compassionate rehousing grounds; how many applications for conversion into normal tenancy had been turned down and of the reasons for that (and provide the respective figures of new arrival women and ethnic minority women);

    (d)of the criteria considered by SWD in deciding whether or not an application for CR or CT Scheme should be recommended, and the difference between the two sets of criteria (e.g. whether there are different requirements on years of residence in Hong Kong); of the guidelines or criteria adopted by SWD in considering social and medical factors; whether mental stress and the risk of being abused will be taken into account in considering the medical factors of the applicant; whether such guidelines and criteria will be reviewed;

    (e)in considering an application for CR or CT Scheme, whether the living environment of the applicant at the time will be taken into account; if so, what objective criteria have to be met to satisfy the conditions of "having genuine housing needs" and "in grave need of assistance" for recommendation for CR or CT, whether the applicants have to sleep on the street to become eligible; whether SWD will review those criteria;

    (f)in providing assistance to female victims of abuse seeking help, of the time generally taken by SWD to decide if their applications for CR or CT should be recommended to HD; and how it will notify help-seekers of its decision on making recommendation or otherwise and the justifications, as well as the decision of HD and the justifications; and

    (g)of the respective quotas of PRH units for CR and CT Schemes in each of the past five years, and the allocation of such quotas; among them, of the respective numbers allocated to female victims of abuse, elderly persons, persons with disabilities and other persons; and whether such quotas will be reviewed?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Labour and Welfare

*9. Hon Abraham SHEK to ask:

According to The Global Competitiveness Report 2011-2012 of the World Economic Forum ("the Report"), Hong Kong's position in the overall rankings of the Global Competitiveness Index among 142 countries/economies remains the same (i.e. 11th) as that in 2010-2011. In the Report, it is recommended that Hong Kong should continue to seek improvements in higher education and innovation in order to maintain its competitiveness. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the Government will further step up its efforts in increasing the participation rate in education so as to improve educational outcomes which can help boost the innovative capacity of Hong Kong; and

    (b)given that according to the Report, Hong Kong's innovative capacity remains constrained by the limited availability of scientists and engineers, and Hong Kong ranks 43rd in this regard, what measures the Government has in place at present to foster talents, particularly in the areas of science and engineering; whether it will consider introducing new measures to increase the number of scientists and engineers available in Hong Kong?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Education

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

It has been reported that in respect of the 2011 District Council Election completed not long ago, a large number of poll cards mailed by the Registration and Electoral Office ("REO") were undeliverable, indicating that the registered residential addresses of the electors might be incorrect. Moreover, under section 16 of the Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Ordinance (Cap. 554), it is a corrupt conduct for any person to vote at an election after having given materially false or misleading information to an electoral officer. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)with regard to the 2007 District Council Election, the 2008 Legislative Council Election and the 2011 District Council Election, of the respective numbers and percentages of poll cards mailed to registered electors which were undeliverable;

    (b)whether it has looked into the reasons why the poll cards in (a) were undeliverable; if it has, of the details and follow-up actions taken; if not, the reasons for that;

    (c)after the elections in 2007 and 2008, whether it had further verified the particulars of the electors concerned with regard to the undeliverable poll cards; if it had, of the number of electors who were verified to have given information that was materially false or misleading; if not, the reasons for that;

    (d)of the numbers of members of the public who were prosecuted in each year since 2007 for having given voter registration particulars which were materially false or misleading and then voted at an election; among them the respective numbers of convicted persons and the penalties imposed;

    (e)what procedures it has currently put in place during the process starting from voter registration to the official voting for verifying that the electors' particulars are correct; of the procedures that the authorities will follow and the time required in average to omit from the final register the electors whose registered residential addresses are incorrect; whether Hong Kong permanent residents residing on the Mainland on a long-term basis and do not have any local residential address are eligible to be registered as electors; and

    (f)whether it has conducted a review on and considered improvements to the existing voter registration system, so as to ensure that the registered particulars of members of the public are correct; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs

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

The Government indicated in its reply to my question at the Legislative Council Meeting on 13 January 2010 that from 2007 to 2010 school years, only three school premises had been approved by the Lands Department for other uses by non-profit making organizations. The authorities also indicated that given their sizes and other technical constraints, it was difficult to convert certain vacant school premises into residential care homes for the elderly ("RCHEs"). The authorities later indicated that they would reconsider the suggestion of converting vacant school premises for welfare service purposes. Yet, as far as I understand, there are still quite a number of non-profit making organizations which have applied to the Government for using vacant school premises but their applications were rejected, resulting in quite a number of vacant school premises not being put to good use. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the numbers of additional vacant primary and secondary school premises since January 2010 and their respective gross floor areas (list in table form), with a breakdown by District Council districts; how the authorities plan to deal with such vacant school premises;

    (b)of the names of the non-profit making organizations which are now applying for using such vacant school premises, the uses involved and the names of the schools to which such school premises belonged before becoming vacant;

    (c)of the number of vacant school premises which had been approved since January 2010 for use by non-profit making organizations, the locations of such school premises and the names of the schools to which such school premises belonged before becoming vacant, as well as the names of the organizations which were given approval for using these premises, the uses and years of use of such school premises; and

    (d)whether the authorities will reconsider converting suitable vacant school premises into RCHEs, and letting vacant school premises to ethnic minority groups to set up community halls or religious facilities for themselves; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Education

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

Since the MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL") commenced the tunnelling works for the Hong Kong section of Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link ("XRL") last year, quite a number of residents in the villages have relayed to me that MTRCL conducts tunnel blasts regardless of night or day in order to meet deadlines, and the villagers are disturbed by the noise nuisance and are unable to sleep at night. Such villagers have also pointed out that because of the vigorous blasting works, vertical cracks appear on the walls of the village houses in the vicinity of the construction sites, gaps are found between the external walls of the houses and the ground, settlement in buildings and falling groundwater tables are detected, and other serious problems also prevail. Regarding the progress and safety issues of the XRL project, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the latest progress of the XRL project;

    (b)whether it has assessed and measured the intensity of shock generated by the tunnel blasting works concerned in respect of three aspects, namely the extent of damages made to the affected buildings on the ground, changes in topography and people's feelings; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and whether it will make public the findings as soon as possible after making the assessment and measurements; and

    (c)whether it knows the total number of complaints received since the commencement of the works by the authorities and MTRCL about the problems caused to the buildings and the topography in the vicinity of the construction sites as a result of the impact of the XRL project, the problems concerned and the measures taken to deal with them?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Transport and Housing

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

Regarding the handling of complaints about water seepage/leakage in residential units, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the average time needed to complete the procedures for handling public complaint cases of water seepage/leakage in residential units received by the Joint Office ("JO") of Food and Environmental Hygiene Department ("FEHD") and Buildings Department, an office responsible for handling water seepage in buildings, in each of the past three years, and list the breakdown in the following table;

    Time taken from receipt of complaints to completion of handling procedures Number of cases
    200820092010
    Within 30 days


    31 to 60 days


    61 to 90 days


    91 to 180 days


    181 days or more



    (b)of the reasons why the number of cases in which the source of water seepage/leakage could not be established and investigation was terminated increased from 986 in 2008 to 1 433 in 2009 (up by 447 from 2008), and surged to 2 322 in 2010 (up by 889 from 2009) as indicated by the statistics provided by the Secretary for Development in her reply to the question asked by a Member of this Council on 25 May this year;

    (c)of the reasons why there are cases in which the cause and source of water seepage/leakage could not be established even after completion of extensive professional tests; whether it has examined if such cases are related to the manpower of the JO or technology level of the equipment used; of the method and equipment used by the JO to test the seepage/leakage condition of buildings at present, and which types of experts are responsible for conducting the tests, and whether the method of testing and the equipment used are the most advanced in the world at present;

    (d)as the Secretary for Development also indicated in her reply on 25 May this year that the JO would issue a warning letter to the party concerned and requested it to arrange for repairs once the source of water seepage/leakage was established, and that if the situation did not improve, the FESD might issue a "Nuisance Notice" under the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132) to the party concerned requesting it to abate the nuisance within a specified period, of the total number of warning letters and "Nuisance Notice" issued by the authorities in the past three years; and

    (e)whether the authorities will consider introducing new measures to resolve the disputes over water seepage/leakage in residential units more effectively; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Development

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

The batching period of "Scheme $6,000" ("the Scheme"), which commenced on 28 August this year, ended on 5 November this year, and the authorities have received a total of over 4 million registration forms. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective numbers of registrants in various age groups, those who are eligible persons living in Hong Kong or outside Hong Kong, and those who are persons with special needs (with a breakdown set out in table form);

    (b)of the number of registrants who have submitted registrations but do not meet the eligibility criteria, and the reasons for their ineligibility; among them, how many are ineligible because they do not hold a valid smart Hong Kong permanent identity card; the number of people who have filed for review and appeal, and the outcome (with a breakdown set out in table form);

    (c)of the number of people who have collected their cheques; the number of people aged 65 or above who have opted to collect their cheques at the post offices in various districts; and whether the authorities have made any arrangement to assist them in collecting cheques at post offices; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (d)apart from the aforesaid people, when the other registrants will receive the payment (list the timetable);

    (e)of the estimated number of people who opt to receive $6,000 plus a bonus of $200; the resultant increase in government expenditure;

    (f)of the number of enquiries received through the Scheme hotline 186000 so far and their contents (with a breakdown set out in table form);

    (g)whether the various government departments have received any complaint relating to the Scheme; if they have, of the details of such complaints (with a breakdown set out in table form);

    (h)whether it has assessed if the present progress and arrangements of the Scheme are satisfactory, and the reasons for their being satisfactory; whether it will conduct a review on the Scheme; if it will, when the review will be conducted, and whether it will submit a review report to this Council; if not, of the reasons for that;

    (i)since the Macao SAR Government has announced that it will continue to hand out money to Macao residents for the fifth consecutive year in 2012, whether it has assessed if this has imposed pressure on the Hong Kong SAR Government; if it has imposed pressure, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (j)whether it will consider handing out cash to members of the public again in the 2012-2013 financial year; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (k)given the view expressed by the International Monetary Fund Staff Mission on 16 November this year that in the absence of a major external shock in Hong Kong, measures taking the form of universal transfers could be discontinued in the upcoming Budget, whether the Government has assessed such a view; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (l)given that some members of the public consider that the Scheme is not a measure which makes good use of social resources and suggest that the Government should focus the resources on helping people in society who are in greater need of assistance, whether the Government has assessed such views; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

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

In recent years, quite a number of members of the public have complained that they were disturbed by the noises and hygiene problems generated by bars and restaurants near their residences which have seriously affected their daily lives as well as work and rest. Some members of the community have requested the Government to review its policies on the issue of liquor licences and the enforcement of regulation of liquor-licensed premises. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the respective numbers of complaints received by the authorities about the noises and hygiene problems caused by bars and restaurants in Central and Western, Wan Chai and Yau Tsim Mong Districts in each of the past three years, together with a breakdown by the government department receiving such complaints (i.e. the Hong Kong Police Force, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and the Environmental Protection Department);

    (b)the respective numbers of enforcement actions taken by the Hong Kong Police Force in each of the past three years against bars and restaurants in Central and Western, Wan Chai and Yau Tsim Mong Districts for violating the licensing conditions of liquor licences, and the numbers of cases in which prosecutions were instituted; and

    (c)the respective numbers of liquor licences issued by the Liquor Licensing Board in respect of the premises in Central and Western, Wan Chai and Yau Tsim Mong Districts in each of the past three years; among them, the number of licences permitting the sale of liquors beyond midnight; and the number of cases in which the Liquor Licensing Board had, targeting at the liquor-licensed premises under complaint, penalized the licensees or revoked their licences?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Food and Health

*16. Hon Abraham SHEK to ask: (Translation)

A member of the public has relayed to me that during the 2011 Population Census, even though a household had immediately completed online the "long form questionnaire" to provide more detailed information on the household's socio-economic characteristics upon receipt of the notification letter about the Census, a census officer suddenly visited the household in late July this year without making any appointment in advance, claiming that no e-Questionnaire had been received from the household. The member of the public also pointed out that during the second visit, the census officer still could not confirm whether the household had submitted the e-Questionnaire, and it was after the visits that an acknowledgement of receipt of the household's e-Questionnaire was made over the phone. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the authorities have received any similar enquiry or complaint, and of the statistics on duplication of enquiry efforts made because of failure to confirm receipt of the e-Questionnaire completed by households;

    (b)whether the authorities will conduct investigation and report the relevant causes for the problem, as well as whether any human error was involved and wastage of resources was resulted; of the corresponding remedial measures adopted; and

    (c)of the number of e-Questionnaire actually used in the 2011 Population Census, and the time required by the computer personnel concerned to notify the frontline staff and acknowledge receipt of the e-Questionnaire filed by households?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

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

In recent years, the number of outbound travellers of Hong Kong who buy travel packages from licensed travel agents to visit other places on DIY tours ("DIY travellers") has been on the increase. In the event of natural or man-made disasters (e.g. Thailand's red-shirt protest in 2009, as well as the earthquake and radiation leak incidents in Japan, and the flood disaster in Thailand this year, etc.), my Member's office ("my office") would receive a large number of enquiries and urgent requests for assistance from DIY travellers, who indicated that despite their incessant attempts to contact the relevant government departments and organizations (including the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong ("TIC"), Tourism Commission ("TC") and Consumer Council ("CC"), etc.), they could not get the assistance they urgently needed. They pointed out that TIC's telephone lines were very busy, or its staff just asked them to leave their contact information but did not reply after a long time. The staff of my office had on their behalf relayed their cases to TC which supervises TIC, but TC could not provide any assistance either. In addition, quite a number of DIY travellers even pointed out that travel packages are products that are not monitored by all the three parties (i.e. the Government, TIC and CC cannot offer any protection or regulate). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective numbers of complaints involving travel packages received by TIC, TC and CC in each of the past three years;

    (b)regarding DIY travellers affected by Amber or Black Outbound Travel Alert ("OTA") issued by the authorities for their outbound travel destinations, whether they are provided with any protection under the existing legislation; if so, of the details (including the protection they can obtain in respect of changes or cancellation of itineraries, or during their visit to the relevant countries or regions when OTA is still in effect); if not, the reasons for that;

    (c)whether it has conducted study on the improvement to the existing policies and measures, with a view to providing DIY travellers with reasonable, timely and appropriate assistance for issues involving travel packages; if it has, of the details; if not, whether it will conduct such a study immediately;

    (d)what policies it has put in place to ensure that before making any advance booking for air tickets or hotel rooms through travel agents, DIY travellers understand that they will not enjoy the same protection as that offered to group tours which generally pay a Council levy to TIC, so as to avoid causing any dispute; if not, whether it can conduct study in this regard promptly; and

    (e)given that some DIY travellers pointed out that, they could not get assistance when sudden incidents took place at their outbound travel destinations and they urgently needed to seek information or assistance from TIC before setting off for the journey, how the Government ensures that in the event of such outbound travel incidents, TIC will have sufficient manpower to handle enquiries from travellers, and whether it will consider setting up enquiry hotlines by TC to offer appropriate assistance to travellers; in addition, given that many travellers aggrieved by the way TIC had handled their complaints had lodged complaints with CC, but were rejected on the ground that travel-related complaints should be handled by TIC, whether the Government will explain clearly to the public how CC and TC handle the complaints of DIY travellers, and whether such organizations have the authority and responsibility to handle complaints including those seeking redress for grievances about the way how TIC had handled their complaints?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

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

It has been reported that the rice production of Thailand, which is the top rice exporting country in the world, has been seriously affected by the recent floods, and it is estimated that the flooded agricultural land in the country accounts for about 14% to 16% of the total agricultural land. It has also been reported that much of this year's harvest has been rotten in the floods, with an estimated loss of seven million tonnes of rice which represented 28% of the total harvest of 25 million tonnes for the whole year. Moreover, the new government has raised the export prices of Thai rice across the board after taking office, and some local importers of Thai rice have indicated that the overall amount of imported Thai rice has reduced by 10% to 20%, and the prices have gone up subsequently. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows the changes in international rice prices in each of the past 12 months (including the changes in the monthly import and retail prices of rice from Thailand, Mainland, Vietnam and other places, as well as the changes in the differences between such import and retail prices); whether the authorities have assessed the impact of the flooding in Thailand on local rice prices; if they have, of the outcome;

    (b)given that some members of the public have relayed to me that while rice from other origins (e.g. Vietnam and Mainland) is already available in the market, its prices are not much lower than those of Thai rice, whether the authorities have looked into the reasons for that; whether the authorities have assessed if the introduction of rice from various origins can stabilize rice prices or has gradually widened the gap between import and retail prices; whether they have uncovered any local wholesalers and retailers jacking up prices indiscriminately for profiteering; if they have, whether such acts reflect that there is insufficient competition in the imported rice market, and what targeted measures the authorities have put in place to prevent retailers from reaping excessive profits, so as to enable the general public to buy rice at reasonable prices; and

    (c)whether the authorities will consider exploring regions other than Southeast Asia for the supply of rice, so as to ensure sufficient competition in local rice market and stabilize the supply of rice?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

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

Given that the former Legislative Council enacted the Block Crown Lease (Cheung Chau) Ordinance (Cap. 488) in 1995 to terminate the Block Crown Lease granted to Wong Wai Tsak Tong ("WWTT") of Cheung Chau, and to deem all sub-lessees ("Cheung Chau landlords") and sub-leases under the Block Crown Lease as Crown lessees and Crown leases respectively, I have recently received enquiries with regard to some large banners on the streets of Cheung Chau claiming that some lawyers will provide free service for the transfer of the titles to the original leases from WWTT to the affected Cheung Chau landlords. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether there will be any problem with Cheung Chau landlords' titles to the land, if they have not gone through the formalities for transfer of the aforesaid titles; if not, whether the authorities have found out if issues such as professional conduct or abuse of personal data, etc. are involved with regard to those lawyers claiming to provide free service for processing the formalities for transfer of titles for such landlords; if such issues are involved, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)whether the authorities have received any complaint involving the aforesaid claims of free service for processing the formalities for transfer of titles for Cheung Chau landlords; if they have, of the details, and whether they will refer any dispute arising from the relevant lawyers' services and fees to the Law Society of Hong Kong ("Law Society") for follow-up; and

    (c)whether it knows if the promotion of services of practising lawyers through a third party, their chargeable and free services, as well as the protection of their clients' personal data privacy, etc. are subject to the regulation and guidelines of the Law Society, the Consumer Council and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data; if they are, of the respective details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Development

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

Regarding the allocation of places in residential care homes ("RCHs") for the elderly and persons with disabilities ("PWDs") by the Social Welfare Department ("SWD"), will the executive authorities inform this Council:
    (a)given that owing to an error of SWD's computer system which assists in the allocation of places in RCHs for the elderly, an elderly man who had originally been on the waiting list for places in RCHs for the elderly with his wife under "group application" and had subsequently switched to "individual application" after the death of his wife was allocated a place after a delay of six months, how often the authorities conduct inspection and maintenance of the computer system used for allocating places in RCHs for the elderly and PWDs;

    (b)whether they had compiled statistics in the past five years on the errors of the computer system used for allocating RCH places which had affected the elderly or PWDs on the waiting list; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)given that some elderly groups have pointed out that SWD currently does not have a notification or inquiry mechanism in place to inform the elderly concerned when they will be able to move into RCHs and, as a result, they are unable to plan and make arrangements for their lives; whether the authorities will consider setting up such a notification or inquiry mechanism, so as to inform the elderly or PWDs on the waiting list when they will be able to move into RCHs; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Labour and Welfare

* For written reply

III. Bills

First Reading

Mediation Bill

Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)

Mediation Bill:The Secretary for Justice

V. Members' Motions

  1. Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

    Hon KAM Nai-wai to move the following motion:

    Resolved that the Securities and Futures (Professional Investor) (Amendment) Rules 2011, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 135 of 2011 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 12 October 2011, be amended as set out in the Schedule.

    Schedule
    Amendment to Securities and Futures (Professional Investor)
    (Amendment) Rules 2011

    1.Section 3 amended (section 3 amended (persons prescribed as professional investors))
    After section 3(3) -
    Add
    "(3A)Section 3(b) -
    Repeal
    "within 12 months before the relevant date;"
    Substitute
    "within 12 months before the relevant date,
    and meeting the following requirements -
    (iii)whose expertise and investment products trading experience and knowledge have been assessed as, in light of the nature of the transactions or services envisaged, providing assurance that the individual is capable of making an investment decision on his own with understanding of the risks involved;
    (iv)having traded not less than 40 transactions per annum; and
    (v)having traded actively in the relevant market for at least 2 years; ". ".

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

  2. Comprehensively reviewing and perfecting the Work Incentive Transport Subsidy Scheme

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

    That travelling expenses are an important item of daily expenses borne by the vast number of employees and job-seekers in Hong Kong; the Government announced last year the idea of the Work Incentive Transport Subsidy Scheme ('WITSS') and started to receive applications in October this year, but there are still voices in society calling for further review and improvement of WITSS, so that more low-income workers and grass-root people may benefit from WITSS; in this connection, this Council urges the Government to:

    (a)immediately review afresh all the details of WITSS, including simplifying and improving its application procedure, as well as re-assessing and announcing the latest number of people who will benefit from WITSS, instead of waiting for a year to conduct a mid-term review;

    (b)relax the eligibility criteria of WITSS, adopt a dual-track approach for each unit of application and relax the income and asset limits, so as to achieve the purposes of subsidizing low-income grass-root employees and promoting employment;

    (c)review the amount of monthly allowance per person under WITSS, and consider raising the amount having regard to actual living circumstances; and

    (d)study including the Job Search Allowance provided under the former Transport Support Scheme in WITSS, and refrain from tightening the eligibility requirements for applicants for the Job Search Allowance and from lowering the ceiling of reimbursement.

    Amendments to the motion
    (i)Hon LI Fung-ying to move the following amendment: (Translation)

    To delete "travelling expenses are an important item of daily expenses borne by the vast number of employees and job-seekers in Hong Kong" after "That" and substitute with "the fares of public transport in Hong Kong are high, constituting a heavy burden on the grassroots"; to delete "the idea of" after "last year"; to add "the application requirements are harsh, and" after "this year, but"; and to delete "adopt a dual-track approach for each unit of application and relax the income and asset limits" after "criteria of WITSS," and substitute with "abolish the requirement regarding applicants' household asset test, and replace it with applicants' remunerations as the vetting and approval criteria".

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

    To add ", given that" after "That"; to delete "; the Government" after "Hong Kong" and substitute with ", the Government thus"; to delete "and" after "unit of application" and substitute with ","; to add "including specifying the exclusion of the cash value of insurance policies, severance payments and long service payments, etc., from asset calculation, and consider calculating applicants' total assets and incomes on the basis of their household expenditure patterns," after "asset limits,"; to delete "and" after "circumstances;"; and to add "; (e) to introduce employment and livelihood protection and activate the assistance mechanism of the Community Care Fund, so as to assist grass-root workers who fall outside government labour and welfare protection in obtaining wage subsidies and basic livelihood protection, including offering subsidy support to people with monthly personal incomes below $6,500 who are ineligible for WITSS on a household basis; and (f) to formulate a comprehensive review mechanism for the regular and comprehensive review of WITSS-related matters and periodic adjustments" immediately before the full stop.

    (iii)Hon IP Kwok-him to move the following amendment: (Translation)

    To delete "travelling expenses are" after "That" and substitute with "the public transport network in Hong Kong is well-developed, but, as fares are high, travelling expenses constitute"; to delete "and" after "circumstances;"; and to add "; and (e) in the long run, study replacing WITSS by a 'maintenance grant scheme for low-income families', so as to enable more families whose incomes are on the low side but who are ineligible for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance to receive maintenance grant" immediately before the full stop.

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

    To add ", given that" after "That"; to add ", and such expenses even constitute a heavy financial burden on grass-root people with low incomes" after "Hong Kong"; to delete "and" after "unit of application" and substitute with ","; and to add "and rationalize the unreasonable arrangement of small discrepancies in household income limits among families with two or more members," after "asset limits,".

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

  3. Establishing an independent statutory Office of the Health Service Ombudsman

    Hon Andrew CHENG to move the following motion: (Translation)

    That, as medical incidents in public and private health services have occurred frequently in recent years, but there is a current lack of a uniform, credible and highly transparent mechanism for handling health service complaints from members of the public, causing the public to feel helpless, this Council urges the Administration to, without violating the principle of professional autonomy, establish an independent statutory Office of the Health Service Ombudsman to receive complaints concerning public and private health services from the public, investigate and conciliate complaints as well as handle compensation matters under a uniform mechanism, also inform complainants of the investigation outcome within a reasonable time frame and regularly announce to the community the situation regarding handling of medical complaints, so as to ensure that complaints targeting at health service are properly handled and transparency in the handling of complaints is enhanced, and thereby improving the quality of health service.

    Amendments to the motion
    (i)Dr Hon PAN Pey-chyou to move the following amendment: (Translation)

    To delete "as" after "That," and substitute with "with the increasing needs and pressure of public and private health services in Hong Kong,"; to add "; in this connection" after "to feel helpless"; to delete "receive complaints concerning public and private health services from the public, investigate and conciliate complaints as well as handle compensation matters under a uniform mechanism, also inform complainants of the investigation outcome within a reasonable time frame and regularly announce to the community the situation regarding handling of medical complaints, so as to" after "Service Ombudsman to"; to delete "and" after "complaints is enhanced,"; and to add "; the functions of the Office should include: (a) to centralize the receipt of public complaints against all public and private health service providers registered in Hong Kong; (b) to conduct investigations into the complaints received, with statutory powers to request the relevant parties to provide related information, such as medical files and internal investigation reports, for facilitating investigations, and inform the complainants and the parties under complaint of the investigation results within a reasonable time frame; (c) to assist complainants in obtaining independent professional advice on their cases; (d) to assist the two sides in communicating with each other on an equal footing, and to conduct conciliation and handle compensation matters with their mutual consent; (e) to provide complainants in need with information about further actions on ascertaining liability through judicial means as well as professional liability proceedings and investigation, and offer reasonable assistance to complainants for instituting such procedures; (f) to regularly announce to the public the statistics on complaint cases and the handling of medical complaints, so as to enable the public to know the trend of complaints about health services; and (g) to promote civic education to enable the public to understand the causes of medical incidents and complaints, so as to deepen public awareness of health service risks, and prompt health service providers to improve the quality of health services" immediately before the full stop.

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

    To delete ", as" after "That"; to add "; in this connection" after "to feel helpless"; and to add "; at the same time, the Administration should review the composition of the Medical Council of Hong Kong, consider introducing the participation of more independent lay members of credibility to enhance the strength of public monitoring and safeguarding public interest, and consider raising the proportion of lay member participation in handling complaint cases regarding misconduct in a professional respect, so as to further ensure that the investigation into and the handling methods and procedures for such cases are fair, just and impartial" immediately before the full stop.

    (iii)Hon CHAN Hak-kan to move the following amendment: (Translation)

    To add "and the complicated procedures for claiming compensation also render families with urgent financial difficulties unable to receive timely assistance," after "to feel helpless,"; and to add "; at the same time, the Administration should study establishing an emergency financial assistance mechanism for medical incidents modelled on the Traffic Accident Victims Assistance Scheme, so as to offer timely assistance to families with financial difficulties arising from medical incidents" immediately before the full stop.

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Food and Health

Clerk to the Legislative Council