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A 11/12-10
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 7 December 2011 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers
| Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments | L.N. No. |
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| 1. | Frontier Closed Area (Amendment) Order 2011 | 170/2011 |
| 2. | Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Contributions for Casual Employees) (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2011 | 171/2011 |
| 3. | Antiquities and Monuments (Declaration of Historical Buildings) (No. 2) Notice 2011 | 172/2011 |
Other Papers
| 1. | No. 37 | - | Emergency Relief Fund
Annual Report by the Trustee for the year ending 31 March 2011
| (to be presented by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare)
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| 2. | No. 38 | - | Hong Kong Housing Authority Annual Report 2010/11
| (to be presented by the Secretary for Transport and Housing)
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| 3. | No. 39 | - | Hong Kong Housing Authority Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2011
| (to be presented by the Secretary for Transport and Housing)
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| 4. | Report No. 5/11-12 of the House Committee on Consideration of Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments
| (to be presented by Hon Miriam LAU, Chairman of the House Committee)
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| 5. | Report of the Bills Committee on Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2011
| (to be presented by Hon Paul CHAN, Chairman of the Bills Committee)
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| 6. | Report of the Bills Committee on Pyramid Schemes Prohibition Bill
| | (to be presented by Hon Fred LI, Chairman of the Bills Committee)
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II. Questions under Rule 24(4) of the Rules of Procedure
1. Dr Hon Priscilla LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
In less than a year after the fire at the Fa Yuen Street bazaar in December last year which destroyed around 50 hawker stalls, another fire broke out at a nearby location in the early hours of 30 November this year which resulted in heavy casualties. According to the owners of the hawker stalls in the vicinity of the fire scene, fire precautions have been enhanced following the authorities' recommendations, including reserving sufficient space between hawker stalls to facilitate the evacuation of residents of nearby buildings in case of fire, and providing appropriate space to separate hawker stalls which are not joined together to prevent the spread of fire. Nevertheless, it has been reported that the fire last week still spread very rapidly. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | after the fire which broke out at the end of last year, whether the authorities have comprehensively assessed the fire risk in several large downtown open-air bazaars, including those at Fa Yuen Street, Tung Choi Street and Temple Street, and reviewed the corresponding fire safety measures in place; if they have, of the results of the assessment and the review; if not, the reasons for that; as the owners of the hawker stalls at the site of the recent fire said that they had already enhanced fire precautions following the authorities' recommendations, but the fire still spread rapidly and resulted in heavy casualties, whether this indicates that the authorities' analysis of and conclusion on the causes of the fire which broke out at a nearby location at the end of last year were not comprehensive and thus could not prevent the recurrence of another tragedy;
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| (b) | after the fire last week, whether the authorities have assessed the structural and overall safety of those residential buildings in the vicinity of the fire scene; if they have, of the results; as some victims are worried about their safety in the future, and they have indicated that they dare not move back to the aforesaid buildings even after the closure order on the fire scene is lifted, whether the authorities have any measure in place to help rehouse these residents; if they have, of the measures; and
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| (c) | of the emergency financial relief measures provided by the authorities to the affected residents and family members of the deceased and injured this time; whether the Government will consider using the Community Care Fund to provide emergency assistance if the victims cannot benefit from the relevant measures?
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Public Officer to reply# : The Chief Secretary for Administration
2. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)
On the 30th of last month, a Number 4 alarm fire broke out at Fa Yuen Street in Mong Kok, in which the hawker stalls along the street caught fire first and it then spread to nearby old buildings, resulting in heavy casualties and substantial property losses. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the causes of the fire and the rapid spread of the fire, and the reasons why it has resulted in so many deaths and injuries, so as to immediately remind residents living in a similar condition to raise their awareness, and of how to prevent fire and avoid loss of lives and injuries in case of fire;
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| (b) | of the number of similar situations in Hong Kong in which hawker stalls are set up in the vicinity of residential buildings; whether the authorities will immediately inspect similar hawker stalls and the buildings nearby, so as to assess whether these buildings can endure the risks in case of fire, including whether such type of living condition and such buildings are in compliance with the requirements of the Fire Services Ordinance, whether there is adequate fire service equipment, whether there are unauthorized building works or flat units divided into separate units (commonly known as "sub-divided units") inside those buildings, whether the fire escapes are free of obstruction, and whether the residents are sufficiently aware of fire prevention, etc., as well as what immediate measures the authorities will take to prevent the recurrence of similar tragedies; and
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| (c) | whether the authorities will immediately liaise with the Hong Kong Housing Society and the Urban Renewal Authority to target at those old buildings which have similar living conditions in various districts and immediately and proactively provide technical and financial support to them, so as to raise the awareness of fire safety of the flat owners and help them improve the fire protection and fire service equipment in their buildings?
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Public Officer to reply# : Secretary for Security
3. Hon WONG Yuk-man to ask: (Translation)
In the early hours of last Wednesday (30 November), a fire broke out at the Fa Yuen Street hawker stalls and spread to the nearby buildings with flat units divided into separate units (commonly known as "sub-divided units"), resulting in a tragedy with at least nine people killed and 34 injured. A fire broke out at the same location on 6 December last year, and an explosion involving sub-divided units also occurred at Tung Choi Street last Tuesday. In recent years, similar incidents occurred quite frequently, threatening the lives and properties of residents in sub-divided units and hawker stall owners. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | given that the Development Bureau pointed out in June this year that it had thus far been unable to ascertain the number of sub-divided units across the territory, whether the authorities will immediately deploy manpower to inspect all old-style residential buildings and record the locations of all sub-divided units and particulars of their tenants, so as to offer assistance to tenants of sub-divided units;
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| (b) | given that the Chief Executive has pointed out in this year's Policy Address that sub-divided units provide accommodation for low-income people not eligible for public housing, and he does not wish to ban sub-divided units across the board, whether the Housing Department will immediately revise the public housing allocation system to enable existing tenants of sub-divided units to be allocated public housing more expeditiously; and
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| (c) | given that quite a number of hawker stall owners there have divided their stalls into sub-divided stalls for lease, and this type of sub-divided stalls are so closely packed together that they not only block the fire escapes but also cause a fire to get out of control more easily, and yet so far no one has been prosecuted for this, whether such division of stalls breaches the law; and if so, whether the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department will step up its inspection and enforcement efforts, and institute prosecution in respect of the non-compliance cases?
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Public Officer to reply# : Secretary for Development
4. Hon Alan LEONG to ask: (Translation)
After a Number 3 alarm fire broke out at Fa Yuen Street in Mong Kok in 2010, the Government ordered the stall hawkers to switch to the use of fire resisting materials, and removed 10 stalls away from the exits of nearby buildings to reserve space for fire escapes. In less than a year, another more serious Number 4 alarm fire broke out at Fa Yuen Street in the early hours on 30 November 2011, resulting in nine people killed and 34 injured. This incident has aroused public concern about insufficient fire control over hawker stalls, which fails to deal with the potential hazards posed by them. Apart from Fa Yuen Street in Mong Kok, similar types of hawker stalls are still found in quite a number of old districts in Hong Kong (such as Fuk Wing Street and Ap Liu Street in Sham Shui Po, Temple Street and Po Ning Street in Jordan, etc.), and there are old buildings on both sides of the stalls, thus posing potential fire risks, all the more giving rise to concern whether the fire precautions for hawker stalls in Hong Kong are comprehensive. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether, in the regulatory control over streets with open-air hawker stalls of the Fire Services Department ("FSD") and the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, there are specific requirements on the safety separation distance between hawker stalls, distance between hawker stalls and residential buildings, as well as fire protection equipment; if there are, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; of the number of inspections conducted by FSD at Fa Yuen Street since the Number 3 alarm fire which occurred there last year and the details concerned;
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| (b) | given that the Government has indicated that it will adopt a zero-tolerance stance towards non-compliant hawker stalls and actively study the feasibility of requiring such stalls be closed and cleared each night and be set up only during the day for business, the introduction of a demerit point system and the revocation of licences, etc., of the measures to be taken by the authorities to strike a balance between reducing fire risks and facilitating the operation of hawker stalls; whether consideration will be given to providing subsidies to stall hawkers so as to reduce their operating costs; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
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| (c) | given that the authorities have provided loans for repairs of the buildings affected by the fire last year and helped the buildings concerned to form owners' corporations, of the progress of the relevant arrangements; whether the authorities will consider providing subsidies to those owner's corporations and flat owners affected by this fire for the purpose of repairing all the damaged public areas and private residential areas of their buildings, if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply# : Secretary for Food and Health
5. Hon Starry LEE to ask: (Translation)
A fire resulting in the heaviest casualties since the reunification of Hong Kong broke out at the hawker stalls at Fa Yuen Street in Mong Kok in the early hours of last Wednesday, in which the fire rapidly spread and smoke engulfed two adjacent tenement buildings, resulting in nine people killed and 34 injured. Apart from the concern about the safety management of hawker stalls, quite a number of residents also complained that when they escaped from the fire, the staircases were piled up with too many miscellaneous items, thus blocking the fire escapes, resulting in heavy casualties. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether it will consider conducting inspections of all old buildings with potential safety hazards throughout the territory immediately; and with fire safety as a priority consideration, requesting the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department to provide immediate assistance in clearing the fire escapes once they are found seriously blocked by miscellaneous items; and
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| (b) | whether it will request hawker stalls at Fa Yuen Street to immediately adopt the temporary arrangement of "no overnight storage of goods at stalls" until a proposal acceptable to various parties is arrived at through discussion?
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Public Officer to reply# : Secretary for Food and Health
# Seven public officers (namely the Chief Secretary for Administration, Secretary for Security, Secretary for Food and Health, Secretary for Home Affairs, Secretary for Labour and Welfare, Secretary for Development and Secretary for Transport and Housing) will attend for urgent questions 1 to 5.
III. Questions
1. Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)
According to the Direct Investigation Report on "Enforcement of the Building Management Ordinance" published by the Office of The Ombudsman in June 2004 ("the Report"), the Home Affairs Bureau and the Home Affairs Department ("HAD") had failed to enforce the Building Management Ordinance ("BMO") since its enactment. The Report pointed out that the Secretary for Home Affairs ("SHA") had never instituted prosecution against anyone, never invoked his powers, and never applied to the Lands Tribunal for a court order. The Report also made a total of 11 recommendations to the authorities. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the number and types of cases recommended by HAD for instituting prosecution for the offences under the provisions of the BMO since June 2004; whether SHA has instituted prosecution against anyone; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
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| (b) | of the number, types and details of cases of requests for invoking SHA's powers under the provisions of the BMO since June 2004; if the powers have not been invoked, of the reasons for that; and
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| (c) | whether the Government has implemented the recommendations of the Report to enforce the BMO; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs
2. Hon LAU Wong-fat to ask: (Translation)
Will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the current number of pensioners who are in receipt of a monthly pension from the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; of the average amount of government expenditure incurred for pension payments in each month since the beginning of this financial year;
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| (b) | of the annual changes in the number of pensioners who are in receipt of a monthly pension and the related government expenditure in the past 10 years; and
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| (c) | whether it knows, among all the pensioners who are in receipt of a monthly pension at present, the number of those residing in Hong Kong; the number of those residing outside Hong Kong and where they are currently residing, as well as by what means they receive their monthly pensions?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Civil Service
3. Hon TAM Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)
Recently, some media cited an internal paper of the Hospital Authority ("HA"), which pointed out that due to shortage of healthcare manpower, the North Lantau Hospital ("NLH") to be completed towards the end of next year would be manned by only 87 healthcare personnel in 2012-2013, and thus NLH could only provide limited services during its initial operation stage, e.g. the Accident and Emergency Department could only operate eight hours a day, and NLH would not have sufficient manpower to provide full-fledged services until 2016-2017. As Tung Chung is relatively remote and substantially farther away from other hospitals in the New Territories West Cluster, at the time when the first batch of residents started moving into Tung Chung New Town in 1997, they already requested the authorities to set up a hospital in Tung Chung district. However, the soon-to-be-completed NLH will not be able to provide adequate healthcare services to meet the needs of the residents in Tung Chung and its vicinity as well as the travellers in the airport area before 2016-2017. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
| (a) | HA's healthcare manpower arrangements for NLH when it commences operation towards the end of next year, including the respective numbers of general practitioners, specialists and nurses, as well as the services to be provided; the details regarding the healthcare services to be provided in NLH in phases, including the types of healthcare services to be provided in various phases, their service hours, and the respective target numbers of clients; and
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| (b) | if HA has conducted any study to strive for an increase in NLH's healthcare manpower on the premise that the healthcare manpower in other hospitals will not be affected, so that when NLH commences operation towards the end of next year, its healthcare services will not fail to meet the needs of Tung Chung, the airport and its vicinity due to shortage of healthcare manpower; and if HA has conducted such a study, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health
4. Hon KAM Nai-wai to ask: (Translation)
Under the Scheme of Control Agreements signed between the Government and CLP Power Hong Kong Limited ("CLP") and The Hongkong Electric Company Limited ("HEC"), the permitted return of the two power companies shall be 9.99% of the total value of the average net fixed assets for the year. According to CLP, it has to invest in fixed assets in order to develop its electricity supply business in Hong Kong, and the investment costs will be recovered from electricity sales. Moreover, CLP indicated earlier that due to the rise in worldwide fuel prices, the fuel clause surcharges on tariffs will unavoidably have to be increased. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the projected electricity consumption in Hong Kong when the Government approved the respective five-year development plans of the two power companies in September and December 2008 and the actual electricity consumption;
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| (b) | whether it knows the projects completed so far and their expenditures, as well as the projects which have not yet started and their estimated expenditures, under the respective five-year development plans of CLP and HEC involving capital project expenditures amounting to $39.9 billion and $12.3 billion, and whether the two power companies have revised those development plans; if so, of the details; in response to the increased use of natural gas as a fuel for power generation, whether the two power companies need to make extra capital investments on retrofitting generating units, thus causing tariff increases; and
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| (c) | given that the rise in worldwide fuel prices will push up the costs of electricity supply, whether it has assessed the impact of the abolition by the two power companies of the "regressive tariff system" for non-residential high-usage customers on the electricity bills of residential users?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment
5. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)
The Women's Commission ("WoC") commissioned a consultant to conduct a questionnaire survey between February and May 2010 among 3 002 members of the public selected by random sampling, in which issues of women's status, role, division of work and development opportunity in the contexts of family, economic and social environments were covered. The survey findings showed that 33.4% of the respondents considered that staff members generally preferred not to be supervised by female managers or supervisors; more than 70% of the respondents considered that there were still occasions where men stood a better chance of promotion than women of similar age or with similar abilities; and 38.7% of the respondents agreed that male performed better in political leadership than female. In this connection, will the executive authorities inform this Council:
| (a) | what follow-up actions WoC has undertaken in respect of the survey findings;
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| (b) | whether the authorities have assessed if the policy on elimination of the mindset of gender stereotyping is effective; if it is effective, why the aforesaid survey findings emerged; if it is not effective, how the authorities will adjust the policy direction and formulate corresponding and specific measures (including whether they will conduct surveys on a regular basis and enhance civic education); and
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| (c) | whether it will appoint more women to advisory and statutory bodies ("ASBs"); of the current number of such ASBs in which the percentage of the number of female non-official members in the total number of such members is below 30% (list in table form the respective numbers and percentages of female non-official members in various ASBs); whether it has assessed if women's participation rates not being able to reach 30% in these ASBs is related to the mindset of gender stereotyping?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare
6. Hon WONG Sing-chi to ask: (Translation)
Under the Supplementary Labour Scheme ("SLS"), local employers with genuine difficulties in recruiting suitable junior staff in Hong Kong may import workers at technician level or below after their applications have been approved by the Labour Advisory Board ("LAB"). In recent years, however, quite a number of companies have bypassed LAB and directly applied to the Immigration Department ("ImmD") for importing workers under the General Employment Policy or other admission schemes for talents and professionals by changing the post titles concerned and other means, thus affecting the employment opportunities of local workers. As the employee members of LAB consider that ImmD approves applications for importing workers indiscriminately, they have suspended vetting and approving applications under the SLS, resulting in a shortage of imported workers. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
| (a) | of the 10 industries most affected by the suspension of vetting and approval of applications submitted under the SLS at present, as well as the percentage of imported workers in the total labour force in these industries;
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| (b) | whether the authorities have obtained exact data on the number of cases in the past 12 months in which the applicants have bypassed LAB and submitted applications directly to ImmD for importing workers by changing the post titles concerned and other means, and thus affected the employment opportunities of local workers; and
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| (c) | as it has been reported that the care industry is one of the industries affected by LAB's suspension of vetting and approval of applications submitted under the SLS, and members of the industry have indicated that such suspension has given rise to manpower shortage in the industry, whether the authorities have assessed the impact of the suspension of vetting and approval on the care industry and explored measures to resolve the situation; and what short-term and long-term measures are in place to solve the problem of manpower shortage in the care industry at present?
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| Public Officers to reply | : | Secretary for Labour and Welfare
Secretary for Security
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*7. Ir Dr Hon Raymond HO to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that by the end of this year, the University of Hong Kong and The Chinese University of Hong Kong will for the first time make early admission offers to students with International Baccalaureate ("IB") and General Certificate of Education (Advanced Level) ("GCE A-level") qualifications through the non-Joint University Programmes Admissions System ("non-JUPAS early admission schemes"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether it knows the purposes of the two universities in introducing the aforesaid non-JUPAS early admission schemes; apart from applicants with IB and GCE A-level qualifications, if the aforesaid universities will also admit students on the strength of other academic qualifications under such schemes; if they will, of the details;
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| (b) | of the respective numbers and ratios of students who are taking the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination, IB programmes and GCE A-level examinations in the current academic year; and
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| (c) | whether it knows the respective percentages of places for non-JUPAS intake of each of the eight local universities in their total number of places in the current academic year; the respective criteria adopted by various universities for determining the ratios of students admitted through JUPAS and non-JUPAS?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education
*8. Hon CHEUNG Man-kwong to ask: (Translation)
The University Grants Committee ("UGC") has gradually withdrawn its subvention for sub-degree and taught postgraduate programmes of UGC-funded institutions since the 2004-2005 academic year, and the number of self-financing programmes (including sub-degree, undergraduate and taught master degree programmes) offered by these institutions in recent years has increased substantially. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the respective numbers of subsidized places and the amounts of funding involved in the programmes which have been subject to the funding cut of the various UGC-funded institutions in each year since the 2004-2005 academic year;
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| (b) | whether it knows the respective numbers, student intakes as well as tuition fee incomes of various types of full-time and part-time self-financing programmes offered by the internal departments of the various UGC-funded institutions or their affiliates (e.g. community colleges, etc.) in each year since the 2004-2005 academic year, broken down by the level of study;
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| (c) | whether it knows the respective numbers of full-time and part-time teaching and non-teaching staff employed by the internal departments of the institutions or their affiliates offering self-financing programmes in (b) for such self-financing programmes as well as the related payroll expenses incurred in each year since the 2004-2005 academic year;
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| (d) | whether it knows the respective surplus/deficit of the internal departments of the institutions or their affiliates offering self-financing programmes in (b) in each year since the 2004-2005 academic year; the financial arrangements with their parent institutions; whether they are required to pay any fee to their parent institutions in respect of operating the self-financing programmes; if so, of the details, together with a breakdown of the payments by the relevant item; whether they are required to submit the profits from the self-financing programmes to their parent institutions; if so, how the institutions use the relevant profits; whether the parent institutions need to subsidize the losses of the self-financing programmes;
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| (e) | what regulatory measures the authorities have in place to ensure that while the institutions enjoy autonomy they will not incessantly expand their self-financing departments in order to create new sources of income;
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| (f) | whether the authorities have the power to regulate the revenues received by the UGC-funded institutions and their uses, including the profits made by their self-financing departments;
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| (g) | how the authorities regulate the quality of various self-financing programmes (including the exit standards of students, the qualifications of lecturers and the teacher-and-students ratios, etc.) to ensure that the qualifications conferred by them meet the standards and are not for making up the numbers; and
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| (h) | whether it knows the complaints mechanism in place if any student is dissatisfied with various self-financing programmes offered by the UGC-funded institutions; the respective numbers of complaints received by the various institutions in the past five years relating to their self-financing programmes, together with a breakdown by the reasons for the complaints?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education
*9. Hon Paul TSE to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the recovery of discarded glass products, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the policies and measures in place to encourage and implement the recovery of discarded glass products at present;
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| (b) | whether it has collated statistics or made assessment on the daily amount of glass products discarded in Hong Kong at present and the space at landfills taken up by such wastes every year;
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| (c) | whether it has conducted studies on advocating and encouraging operators of tourist attractions and restaurants to recover on their own initiatives glass bottles for recycling (e.g. producing environment-friendly construction materials); if so, of the study results; if not, whether it can conduct such studies expeditiously; and
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| (d) | whether it has studied the reasons why glass-related environmental protection industries are not popular in Hong Kong; whether it has considered assisting the glass recovery and recycling industry by offering tax concession or other financial assistance?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment
*10. Hon Tanya CHAN to ask: (Translation)
Recently, I have received a complaint from a native-speaking English teacher ("NET") who teaches in Hong Kong that when she applied for her children for admission into the English Schools Foundation schools, they did not offer her children any chance of interview, thereby causing difficulties for her children to study in Hong Kong. Regarding the support currently provided for children of NETs to come to Hong Kong to pursue their study, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether it knows the current numbers of NETs teaching in various primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong; among them, the number of teachers who came to Hong Kong with school-age children; the number of such children; the respective numbers of children of NETs currently studying in international schools and mainstream schools;
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| (b) | given that the Education Bureau is responsible for implementing the NET Scheme in various primary and secondary schools, whether the Education Bureau, in granting approval for the teachers concerned to come to Hong Kong to teach, takes into account if there are sufficient international school places in Hong Kong for the children of those teachers; if it does, can the authorities explain why children of some NETs have difficulties to attend school in Hong Kong; if not, of the reasons for that;
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| (c) | whether the authorities had received any request for assistance from NETs concerning difficulties for their children to attend school in Hong Kong in the past three years; if they had, of the number of such cases and details of the follow-up work; whether the authorities currently provide education support services for children of NETs; if they do, of the details; if not, whether the authorities will consider launching such services; if not, of the reasons for that; and
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| (d) | given the present tight supply of international school places, whether the authorities have assessed the impact of such circumstances on attracting NETs to come to Hong Kong to teach; if they have, of the assessment results; if not, the reasons for that; whether the authorities will take concrete measures to ensure that children of all NETs who come to Hong Kong to teach will be given international school places; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education
*11. Hon Starry LEE to ask: (Translation)
In 2009, the Education Bureau ("EDB") requested textbook publishers to debundle textbooks and teaching/learning materials for pricing and sale, but this has still not been implemented after years of tug-of-war. The Secretary for Education ("SED") issued an "ultimatum" to the trade at the end of May this year requesting the publishers to complete the task of debundling within one year, otherwise EDB would tender out the publication of textbooks and teaching materials to introduce competition. EDB has also set up a task force to review teaching and learning materials ("the task force"), which is responsible for examining issues arising from the policy of debundling textbooks and teaching/learning materials for pricing. In a joint statement issued in May this year, two major textbook publishers counter-proposed a timeframe of three years for debundling textbooks and teaching materials for pricing. Moreover, it has been reported that the task force considers that the tendering approach is full of problems and it is inclined to recommend EDB to give up the tendering approach. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the counter-measures adopted by EDB in response to textbook publishers rejecting its request to complete the task of debundling the textbooks and teaching materials for pricing within one year;
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| (b) | of the views of the task force on EDB tendering out the publication of textbooks and teaching materials; of other methods, apart from tendering, to be considered by the task force for introducing competition to the textbook and teaching materials market with a view to reducing textbook prices;
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| (c) | when the task force will complete its final report and submit it to SED, and when the authorities will publish the report;
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| (d) | whether the authorities will simplify the procedure and shorten the time for vetting and approving textbooks in order to introduce more competitors; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
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| (e) | whether the authorities will take the initiative to coordinate the purchasing of teaching materials for the schools in need; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education
*12. Hon Abraham SHEK to ask:
The World Bank Report "Doing Business 2012" assesses regulations affecting domestic firms in 183 economies from June 2010 to May 2011 and ranks the economies in 10 areas of business regulation including "Registering Property" and "Resolving Insolvency". In this report, Hong Kong once again ranks second in the overall "Ease of Doing Business" ranking. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | given that Hong Kong ranks 57th in the area of "Registering Property" and the ranking is relatively low as compared with that in other areas, what special measures the Government will introduce to shorten the number of days required for the execution of Sale and Purchase Agreements as well as filing the Agreements at the Land Registry; and
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| (b) | given that Hong Kong ranks 16th in the area of "Resolving Insolvency", and the ranking has dropped as compared with that of 15th last year, what measures the Government will introduce to reduce the cost required to recover debts, increase the debt recovery rate and shorten the time involved in insolvency proceedings?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development
*13. Hon CHAN Hak-kan to ask: (Translation)
I have recently received requests for assistance from a large number of households in the old buildings in Shek Wu Hui, Luen Wo Hui and Tai Po Market, claiming that the Fire Services Department ("FSD") is gradually instituting prosecutions against them on the grounds of violations of the Fire Safety (Buildings) Ordinance (Cap. 572) ("the Ordinance"). They point out that the structural problems and building design constraints of these old buildings make it difficult to install fire service facilities such as water tanks and hose reels, etc. as required by law. On the other hand, the absence of an owners' corporation in these old buildings and fragmented ownerships make it difficult for the households to comply with the statutory directions under the Ordinance. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the number of prosecutions instituted by the authorities for violating the Ordinance since its implementation in 2007, as well as the penalties imposed on the convicted persons;
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| (b) | given that the authorities indicated that they will adopt "a flexible and pragmatic approach" in enforcing the Ordinance, whether FSD and the Buildings Department ("BD") have formulated any internal guideline or code of practice to instruct their frontline staff how to adopt "a flexible and pragmatic approach" in handling the relevant cases;
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| (c) | among those cases in respect of which fire safety directions have been issued since 2007, of the number of cases in which applications were submitted for extending the deadlines for compliance with directions and the main reasons for submitting applications; and the number of applications approved by the authorities; whether they have put in place any appeal mechanism;
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| (d) | given that government departments or organizations such as BD and the Hong Kong Housing Society ("HKHS") are currently operating various schemes to provide subsidies and loans to property owners for building maintenance (including fire safety improvement works in buildings, as well as the provision and maintenance of fire services installation and equipment in buildings, etc.), whether it knows, among the applications received by BD and HKHS in respect of such schemes since 2007, the number of applications submitted for the purpose of carrying out the statutory works stipulated under the Ordinance; the respective average amounts of subsidies and loans approved; whether it will consider introducing a dedicated scheme to provide subsidies to property owners to carry out the statutory works stipulated under the Ordinance;
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| (e) | whether it has any plan to review the Ordinance, and give more exemptions to older buildings in response to the views of the aforesaid households; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
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| (f) | whether it will in the near future install more public fire service facilities in the aforesaid areas or other areas with more old buildings, with a view to ensuring the safety of the residents?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security
*14. Hon CHEUNG Hok-ming to ask: (Translation)
It has recently been reported that some plants planted by some of the outsourced service contractors of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department in public places fall into the list of 52 cancer-causing plant species announced by the Chinese Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, and if members of the public are in frequent contact with these plants, the carcinogens in the plants may cause cells to become cancerous. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether the government departments concerned keep a register or a list of plants which have negative health impacts on humans and animals; if they do, of the relevant details;
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| (b) | whether the government departments concerned have provided guidelines to their outsourced service contractors, so as to avoid planting in public places plants which pose health hazards to humans and animals; if they have, of the details, and how they monitor compliance with the guidelines by the outsourced service contractors; if they have not, whether they will conduct a review of the present policy, so as to formulate appropriate measures to safeguard the health of the public and animals;
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| (c) | whether plants which fall into the aforesaid list of 52 cancer-causing plant species have been planted in the public places managed by government departments and the Hospital Authority at present; if so, of the distribution of their locations, quantities and species; and
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| (d) | how it will step up publicity and education so that the public will avoid coming into contact with these carcinogenic plants?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development
*15. Dr Hon Margaret NG to ask: (Translation)
Regarding application for the right of abode in the Hong Kong SAR ("ROA"), will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the respective numbers of Chinese and non-Chinese persons applying for ROA, as well as the numbers of those who had been granted ROA in each of the years between 2009 and October 2011; and
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| (b) | for those non-Hong Kong residents who are eligible to apply to the Immigration Department for ROA after they have ordinarily resided for a continuous period of seven years under the existing system, of the channels through which they obtained approval to enter Hong Kong?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security
*16. Dr Hon LAM Tai-fai to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the reply given by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury ("SFST") to my written question on 23 November this year, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | given that SFST stated that the "days of physical presence" method was commonly adopted by various tax jurisdictions in determining the tax liabilities of a person, whether it knows if there are tax jurisdictions which do not use the "days of physical presence" method; if there are, of the methods they adopt and the reasons why Hong Kong has not adopted such methods;
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| (b) | given that SFST stated that some European countries ("the countries concerned") had special tax provisions for frontier workers, of the names of the countries concerned, as well as their timeframe and reasons for implementing such provisions (list in table form);
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| (c) | given that SFST stated that as Hong Kong's taxation system was based on the territorial principle, Hong Kong residents' income derived from the Mainland was not subject to tax in Hong Kong, and that the proposal of introducing special tax provisions for frontier workers would lead to double non-taxation of the income, whether it knows if the taxation systems of the countries concerned are based on the territorial principle; if they are, how these countries overcome the aforesaid problem; if not, of the principles on which the taxation systems of these countries are based;
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| (d) | given that SFST stated that it was difficult to determine the coverage of the exemption area and to define frontier workers on an objective basis, whether it knows how the countries concerned determine the coverage of their exemption areas and define frontier workers (list in table form), and whether Hong Kong can adopt the practices of the countries concerned; if they can be adopted, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
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| (e) | given that SFST stated that the proposal of introducing special tax provisions for frontier workers required careful deliberations, when the outcome of the authorities' deliberations will be available, and whether consultation will be conducted on the proposal; if consultation will be conducted, who or what organizations will be consulted; if not, the reasons for that;
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| (f) | given that SFST stated that if a part of a person's income had been assessed to Individual Income Tax on the Mainland, that part of the income could be exempted from Hong Kong salaries tax under section 8(1A)(c) of the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112), of the number of taxpayers applying for such exemptions in each of the past five years, and the amount of tax exemptions involved;
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| (g) | given that there were cases in which all the incomes of some Hong Kong residents were subject to mainland taxes on the ground that they were present on the Mainland for more than 183 days within a year, and their incomes were also subject to Hong Kong's salaries tax on a pro-rata basis as they had stayed in Hong Kong for more than 60 days within the same year of tax assessment, whether there is the situation of part of their incomes being subject to double taxation in these cases; if so, how the problem is to be solved; if not, of the reasons for that;
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| (h) | given that some Hong Kong residents have reflected that although all their incomes are subject to salaries tax in Hong Kong, all their bonus incomes, according to the tax provisions on the Mainland, are subject to Individual Income Tax on the Mainland even though they do not stay there for more than 183 days within a year, whether the bonus incomes involved are subject to double taxation; if so, how the problem is to be solved; if not, of the reasons for that;
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| (i) | after the Mainland and Hong Kong signed the Arrangement between the Mainland 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 in 2006, whether it has assessed if the situation of double taxation still exists; if it still exists, of the details; if not, how the authorities conducted the assessment;
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| (j) | given that SFST stated that the authorities had raised the suggestion of relaxing the current 183-day threshold (i.e. 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) with the State Administration of Taxation, whether the authorities, apart from the discussions held in October 2009, have further discussed or examined the issue with the mainland authorities; if so, when such discussions or examinations were conducted and of the contents concerned; if not, the reasons for that; and
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| (k) | whether the authorities have discussed or examined with the State Administration of Taxation the issues of improving the provisions for avoidance of double taxation and introducing special tax provisions for frontier workers; if so, of the details; if not, whether the Hong Kong authorities will take the initiative in liaising with the mainland authorities?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
*17. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)
Nowadays infant formula advertisements and promotion are of a great variety and according to a study conducted earlier by the Consumer Council ("CC"), there is insufficient evidence to prove the beneficial claims of certain ingredients in some infant formulas, and exaggerating and misleading claims in the advertisements are involved. It has also pointed out in my earlier question that the authorities should, by means of publicity and education, eliminate the public misconception that infant formulas are richer and more comprehensive in nutrient components than breastmilk and change the parents' behaviour of blind worship of famous brands of infant formulas. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | how the authorities regulate the publicity contents of infant formula advertisements at present; as CC's study has found that the claims in some infant formulas might be exaggerating and misleading, whether the authorities had taken any corresponding action in respect of similar claims in the past three years; if they had, whether such actions included issuing warnings and instituting prosecutions; if not, of the reasons for that, and whether this is an indication that the authorities can do nothing about the false claims in the advertisements of infant formulas;
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| (b) | given that the Government is now drawing up a Hong Kong Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes applicable to Hong Kong ("the Code") for the purpose of regulating manufacturers and distributors of breastmilk substitutes to prohibit them from advertising or marketing their breastmilk substitutes and related products by way of malpractice, of the details of the drafting of the Code; whether it will incorporate the Code in law and mete out a heavy penalty, and also consider taking a step further to impose a blanket ban on infant formula advertisements; if not, of the reasons for that; and
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| (c) | given that the World Health Organization has all along been advocating breastfeeding, pointing out that breastmilk is the best food for the healthy growth and development of babies and suggesting that babies under six months of age should preferably be exclusively breastfed, and then continue to be breastfed supplemented by other foods until the age of two or above, of the latest percentage and practice of breastfeeding in Hong Kong according to the surveys of the Government; the measures taken by the authorities to support the practice of continual breastfeeding; and whether the authorities will set a target percentage for breastfeeding?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health
*18. Hon WONG Sing-chi to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the large number of stalling incidents involving liquefied petroleum gas ("LPG") vehicles which occurred in Hong Kong in 2010, the Secretary for the Environment ("SEN"), in reply to questions raised by Members of this Council on 17 November 2010 and 1 June this year respectively, indicated that "since early January 2010, a total of 206 LPG samples had been taken from 62 LPG filling stations and five LPG terminals [by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department]. Tests on samples have been conducted by accredited laboratory against the auto-LPG specification. Except for a sample taken in April 2011, the overall testing results of all other samples met our requirement". SEN also pointed out that there was already an internationally recognized independent laboratory in Hong Kong which could provide such testing service in trial operation since the middle of this year. In addition, SEN also indicated that "the Vocational Training Council ("VTC") has agreed to incorporate the key maintenance issues into the syllabus of future training courses on the maintenance of LPG vehicles so as to enhance the know-how of vehicle mechanics in respect of LPG vehicle maintenance". In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the respective numbers of cases of sudden stalling of LPG taxis in each year since 2008, together with a breakdown of the numbers by month;
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| (b) | regarding the aforesaid LPG sample which did not meet the requirement as shown in the sample test results, of the details of the Government's follow-up actions with the LPG supply company concerned; and how it ensured that LPG supplied by that company already met the requirement before resumption of its supply;
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| (c) | whether it knows the particulars of operation (including the locations and hours of operation, the schedules of its trial operation and formal commencement of its service, the number of testing personnel, the preset monthly capacity of testing service it can provide, as well as the average number of tests conducted in each month at present, etc.) of the aforesaid independent laboratory since its trial operation; of the number and particulars of operation of laboratories which can provide the aforesaid testing service in Hong Kong at present;
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| (d) | whether it knows the progress of VTC in offering the training courses related to the repair and maintenance of LPG vehicles since late 2010; whether there are sufficient instructors or professionals responsible for teaching such courses in VTC or other institutions; if there are, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and the Government's counter measures in place;
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| (e) | given that SEN indicated that "in general, LPG supply companies have developed internal work procedures (including the water draining operation) that can best meet the characteristics of their LPG sources and the design of their terminals", how the Government ensures that LPG supply companies comply with all the relevant work procedures; whether there is any mechanism in place at present to monitor the work procedures of such companies, as well as any penalty put in place in respect of LPG supply companies which fail to complete all the relevant work procedures; if there is, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and whether it will consider introducing the relevant mechanism and penalty; and
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| (f) | of the Government's criteria for determining that the current work procedures of LPG supply companies are adequate to assure the quality of LPG and ensure normal operation of gas piping; whether it has any plan to formulate a set of official criteria for the work procedures for reference of or compliance by LPG supply companies?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment
*19. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)
Some time ago, the European Commission ("EC") proposed the introduction of legislation to tighten the supervision and restriction on credit rating agencies ("CRAs") (including increasing the transparency of their credit rating process and bolstering competition in the credit rating industry; making it mandatory for enterprises to change the CRAs they hire on a regular basis; as well as restricting the timing for CRAs to publish sovereign ratings). The proposed legislation also provides that any member state of the European Union ("EU") or investor may bring civil liability legal actions against losses arising from the ratings; and encourages local banks and financial institutions to make their own assessments, with a view to reducing reliance on CRAs. Furthermore, the European Parliament passed a bill to confer greater power on the European Securities and Markets Authority to vigorously curb sovereign debt speculation, including imposing a ban on naked short selling in shares and sovereign debts, as well as in relevant credit default swaps ("CDS"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether the authorities have assessed if, compared with the existing regulatory regimes of other economies and the aforesaid legislative proposal of EC, the current regulation of CRAs in Hong Kong is too lenient, and if there is sufficient competition in the rating industry and adequate transparency in the rating process; if an assessment has been made, of the results; if not, the reasons for that;
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| (b) | given that the European Parliament has endorsed a ban on naked short selling in shares and sovereign debts, as well as in relevant CDS, whether it knows how the relevant trading practices are regulated in Hong Kong at present; whether the authorities have a full picture of the participation of local financial institutions in the trading of financial derivative products (including taking part in the issuance of these products) relating to European sovereign debt ("European debt") crisis; whether the authorities have conducted any risk assessment in this aspect, and in the event of sovereign defaults in EU countries, of the potential loss suffered by local financial institutions and the systemic risks likely to emerge in the financial market; if such an assessment has been made, of the results; if not, the reasons for that; and
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| (c) | whether the authorities will make reference to the practices of EU to step up the regulation of CRAs and speculative practices, and require local financial institutions to enhance the transparency of trading and assets relating to European debts, etc.; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
*20. Hon Paul TSE to ask: (Translation)
Regarding complaints about travel club membership in recent years, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether it knows the respective numbers of complaints about travel club membership received by the Hong Kong Police Force, the Consumer Council, the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong and other tourism-related government departments in the past two years; among them, of the number of complaints substantiated as cases of deception after investigation;
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| (b) | whether it knows the percentage of complaints about travel club membership being formally investigated in all relevant complaints; and the main reasons for other complaints not being taken up for investigation; and
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| (c) | of the policy in place to prevent fraudulent cases involving travel club membership from happening?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
* For written reply
IV. Bills
First Reading
Buildings Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2011
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Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)
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| Buildings Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2011 | : | Secretary for Development
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Second Reading (Debates to resume), Committee Stage and Third Reading
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| 1. | Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2011 | : | Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
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Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
to move Committee stage amendments
(The amendments were issued on 29 November 2011
under LC Paper No. CB(3)187/11-12)
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| 2. | Pyramid Schemes Prohibition Bill | : | Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
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Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
to move Committee stage amendments
(The amendments were issued on 29 November 2011
under LC Paper No. CB(3)188/11-12)
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V. Members' Motions
- Reforming governance philosophy, resolving deep-rooted conflicts in society and alleviating the disparity between the rich and the poor
Hon Frederick FUNG to move the following motion: (Translation)
That, given that the worsening of deep-rooted conflicts in society, the persistently low popularity of the Government and the numerous blunders in policy implementation all highlight that the existing political system and even social and economic policies, etc. lag far behind the prevailing circumstances, and there is a huge gap between the authorities' governance philosophy and people's expectations; and as a change of government is approaching and the Chief Executive Election is near, this Council urges all social sectors to abandon partisan or political biases, explore in depth and rationally the success, failure, gains and losses of past government policy implementation, reposition the roles and functions of the new government in the future, reform governance philosophy, establish a set of principles of development for all people that give consideration to all social strata, formulate comprehensive and fair social and economic policies, and set up a democratic and open political system, with a view to completely resolving deep-rooted conflicts in society, alleviating the disparity between the rich and the poor, and building a truly stable, harmonious and just society.
| Amendments to the motion |
| (i) | Hon IP Kwok-him to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To delete "given that" after "That," and substitute with "as lessons drawn from experience show that"; to add "Hong Kong" after "of deep-rooted conflicts in"; to add "and" after "future,"; to add "including: (a) regarding people's livelihood, to enhance the Government's roles and functions, make planning as soon as possible and expeditiously deal with the problems during development, and strive to enable every member of the public to enjoy the opportunities and fruit of development; (b) regarding the economy, to adopt a long-term vision and proactive initiatives to organically link the development strategy of Hong Kong with that of our country, and continuously strengthen Hong Kong's connection with Asia and the international community; and (c) regarding governance, to examine in-depth the relationship between democracy and good governance, and promote democracy in an orderly manner while creating conditions for good governance, so as to" after "reform governance philosophy,"; to delete "principles of development for all people that give consideration to all social strata, formulate" after "a set of"; to delete ", and" after "fair social and economic policies" and substitute with "that give consideration to the development of all social strata,"; to delete "with a view to completely resolving" after "open political system," and substitute with "resolve"; to delete "alleviating" after "conflicts in society," and substitute with "alleviate"; and to delete "building" after "the poor, and" and substitute with "build".
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| (ii) | Hon Audrey EU to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To delete "and" after "fair social and economic policies,"; and to add "; specific measures to be implemented include: (a) to expeditiously withdraw the replacement mechanism for filling vacancies in the Legislative Council and abolish District Council appointment system, repeal section 31 of the Chief Executive Election Ordinance, abolish the functional constituency seats as well as the separate voting mechanism of the Legislative Council in the 2016 Legislative Council Election, establish a clean, fair and impartial electoral system, and enable people to have deeper and broader public participation in the decision-making process of policies; (b) to rectify the incumbent Government's deficiency of holding huge reserves but having the situation of ‘rich Government but poor people', rectify the inclination of over-relying on the financial and real estate sectors, reform the taxation regime, and promote social inclusion to foster the upward mobility of the middle and lower strata; (c) to formulate a comprehensive package (covering healthcare and retirement protection, etc.) for coping with the population ageing problem; and (d) to comprehensively improve education quality, including introducing small-class teaching in secondary schools, increasing subsidies for poor students, implementing 15-year free education, and raising the number of subvented university places, etc." immediately before the full stop.
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| (iii) | Hon Albert CHAN to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To add "for returning the Chief Executive and all seats of the Legislative Council by universal suffrage in 2012" after "open political system".
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| Public Officers to attend | : | Secretary for Labour and Welfare
Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs
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- Motion for the adjournment of the Council
Hon James TO to move the following motion: (Translation)
That this Council do now adjourn for the purpose of debating the following issue: the fire tragedy at Fa Yuen Street in Mong Kok and ways to improve street environment and fire safety of buildings for the purposes of avoiding the recurrence of similar incidents and safeguarding the lives and properties of the public.
| Public Officers to attend | : | Secretary for Food and Health
Secretary for Development
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Clerk to the Legislative Council
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