A 11/12-12

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 21 December 2011 at 11:00 am

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentL.N. No.
Country Parks and Special Areas(Amendment)Regulation 2011176/2011

Other Papers

1.No. 47-Queen Elizabeth Foundation for the Mentally Handicapped Report and Accounts 2010-2011
(to be presented by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare)

2.No. 48-Director of Social Welfare Incorporated
Financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2011 together with the Report of the Director of Audit
(to be presented by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare)

3.No. 49-Social Work Training Fund
Fiftieth Annual Report by the Trustee for the year ending on 31 March 2011
(to be presented by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare)

4.No. 50-The Sir Murray MacLehose Trust Fund
Signed and audited financial statements together with the Report of the Director of Audit and Trustee's Report for the period of 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011
(to be presented by the Secretary for Home Affairs)

5.No. 51-Police Welfare Fund Annual Report 2010/2011
(to be presented by the Secretary for Security)

6.No. 52-Annual Report on the Police Children's Education Trust and the Police Education and Welfare Trust 2010/2011
(to be presented by the Secretary for Security)

7.No. 53-2010-11 Annual Report of the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Hong Kong
(to be presented by the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs)

8.No. 54-Grantham Scholarships Fund
Signed and audited financial statements of the Fund, together with the Auditor’s Report and the Report of the Grantham Scholarships Fund Committee on the Administration of the Fund for the year ended 31 August 2011
(to be presented by the Secretary for Home Affairs)

9.No. 55-Brewin Trust Fund
Audited financial statements of the Fund, together with the Auditor’s Report and the Report of the Brewin Trust Fund Committee on the Administration of the Fund for the year ended 30 June 2011
(to be presented by the Secretary for Home Affairs)

10.No. 56-Chinese Temples Fund
Signed and audited financial statements of the Fund, together with the Auditor’s Report and the Report of the Chinese Temples Committee on the administration of the Fund for the year ended 31 March 2011
(to be presented by the Secretary for Home Affairs)

11.No. 57-General Chinese Charities Fund
Signed and audited financial statements of the Fund, together with the Auditor’s Report and the Report of the Chinese Temples Committee on the administration of the Fund for the year ended 31 March 2011
(to be presented by the Secretary for Home Affairs)

12.Report No. 7/11-12 of the House Committee on Consideration of Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments
(to be presented by Hon Miriam LAU, Chairman of the House Committee)

13.Report of the Bills Committee on Enduring Powers of Attorney (Amendment) Bill 2011
(to be presented by Dr Hon Margaret NG, Chairman of the Bills Committee)

II. Questions under Rule 24(4)of the Rules of Procedure

1. Hon Starry LEE: (Translation)

CLP Power Hong Kong Limited ("CLP") and The Hongkong Electric Company Limited ("HEC") announced that their respective tariffs would increase drastically by 9.2% and 6.3% on 1 January 2012, and even though subsequently HEC has announced that it will improve the existing progressive block tariff rate mechanism to reduce the impact of the tariff adjustments on the grassroots as well as small and medium enterprises, the overall rates of the tariff increase of the two power companies are still much higher than the inflation rate. The Secretary for the Environment mentioned at the meeting of the Panel on Economic Development on 13th of this month that the two power companies had not yet provided sufficient information to justify their tariff increases. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the two power companies have provided all the relevant information to the Government in the past week; if they have, of the Government's assessment at present; if not, whether the Government has the power under the existing mechanism to request the two power companies to provide such information;

    (b)given that the tariff increases will automatically come into effect on 1 January next year according to the existing Scheme of Control Agreements ("SCAs") signed with the two power companies, whether the Government will request the two power companies to temporarily suspend the implementation of the new tariffs on 1 January next year until the two power companies reach consensus with the Government on the rates of the tariff increase for the coming year; and

    (c)whether there is any provision under the existing SCAs which restricts the Government from providing to this Council all the information and data furnished by the two power companies to the Government on their tariff increases; if so, whether the Government will put the aforesaid request to the two power companies; if not, whether the Government will undertake to provide the aforesaid information to this Council as soon as possible?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment

2. Hon Fred LI to ask: (Translation)

CLP Power Hong Kong Limited ("CLP") and The Hongkong Electric Company Limited ("HEC") announced on 13 December this year the rates of tariff increase for the coming year, and the magnitude of tariff increases of the two power companies is very drastic. The respective rates of tariff increase of CLP and HEC are 9.2% and 6.3%, and even though subsequently HEC has announced that it will improve the existing progressive block tariff rate mechanism to reduce the impact of the tariff adjustments on the grassroots as well as small and medium enterprises, it is still believed that such increases will further stimulate inflation as well as aggravate the public's financial burden and increase the operating costs of businesses, causing the serious problem of inflation to worsen. According to the Government, there were divergent views between the Government and CLP during their discussion on CLP's tariff increase proposal ("the proposal"), including a higher-than-inflation rate of increase of CLP's forecast operating expenditure, and the premature inclusion of capital expenditure in the proposal. Yet, both the Government and CLP have not explained in detail. The recent announcements made by the two power companies to substantially increase the tariffs for the coming year have aroused widespread grievances among members of the public, and the Chief Executive has also made a rare move of publicly criticizing such drastic increases. According to the Government, one of the two power companies has at the last stage agreed to lower the rate of increase, while the other one has not given any positive response so far, which is unprecedented. As this is an issue of urgent importance because the new tariffs will come into effect on 1 January 2012 and time is running short, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it will immediately make public the respective five-year development plans of the two power companies, and whether there is still room for downward adjustment for the proposed rates of tariff increase;

    (b)of the justifications for CLP to propose a 6.25% increase in its basic tariff, and whether the authorities agree to such justifications; and

    (c)given that the Government has pointed out that CLP had, in calculating its basic tariff, adopted a higher-than-inflation rate of increase of its forecast operating expenditure, and its inclusion of capital expenditure in the calculation was premature, whether the Government can further elaborate this?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment

3. Hon Ronny TONG to ask: (Translation)

According to a statement issued by the Energy Advisory Committee, the tariff stabilization fund of CLP Power Hong Kong Limited ("CLP") has a huge surplus, and following an earlier judgment made by the Court of Final Appeal, the two power companies may receive a refund amounting to hundreds of millions of dollars from the Government for the excess rates and government rent charged in the past few years. Nevertheless, at the meeting of the Panel on Economic Development held on 13 December this year, CLP and The Hongkong Electric Company Limited ("HEC") still claimed that as substantial increases in fuel prices had pushed up their operating costs, they needed to increase their respective tariffs drastically, and the rates of the tariff increase of CLP and HEC are 9.2% and 6.3%. Even though HEC has subsequently announced that it will improve the existing progressive block tariff rate mechanism to reduce the impact of the tariff adjustments on the grassroots as well as small and medium enterprises, the overall rates of the tariff increase of the two power companies are still much higher than the inflation rate. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)how the two power companies work out their rates of tariff increase; given that HEC has indicated that it expects single-digit and double-digit increases in the prices of coal and natural gas respectively in the coming year, whether the Government knows the actual figures; if so, of the respective figures; if not, why it has not asked the two power companies to give a clear account of the figures; and whether it has looked into the actual extent of impact of the rising fuel prices on the overall rates of the tariff increase; if so, of the extent of such impact; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)given that the two power companies have agreed to individually purchase fuels from the same market, whether the Government has looked into the reasons for the huge gap between the rates of the tariff increase calculated by the two power companies; if so, of the findings, and whether the gap is attributable to poor management and operation; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)given that the two power companies may receive a refund of rates and government rent from the Government and CLP's tariff stabilization fund has a huge surplus, whether the Government has assessed if these factors have any implication on the rates of the tariff increase for the coming year calculated by the two power companies; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment

4. Hon Miriam LAU to ask: (Translation)

The new rates of tariff increase announced earlier by CLP Power Hong Kong Limited ("CLP") and The Hongkong Electric Company Limited ("HEC"), which are as high as 9.2% and 6.3% respectively, are very drastic even though HEC has subsequently announced that it will improve the existing progressive block tariff rate mechanism to reduce the impact of the tariff adjustments on the grassroots as well as small and medium enterprises, and members of the public as well as the commercial sector alike have voiced strong opposition. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)given that CLP has introduced a new tariff scheme for business customers under which they will be charged at a flat rate, of the additional operating costs in tariff to be borne by large power tariff business customers; whether the authorities have estimated the extra tariff revenues so generated by CLP; as the scheme is tantamount to doubling the tariff increases to be imposed on these business customers, what measures the authorities will take to avoid imposing an additional burden on them; and

    (b)whether the Government has known well in advance that the two power companies will drastically increase the tariffs according to the provisions under the Scheme of Control Agreements ("SCAs"), and that the rates of tariff increase proposed at the end of next year will be even more drastic than this year's increase; if so, whether there is serious dereliction of duty on the part of the Government in respect of reaching such SCAs; if not, whether it will take remedial measures immediately?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment

II. Questions

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

The festive holidays for the employees in Hong Kong fall into two categories, namely 17 days of "general holidays" every year provided under the General Holidays Ordinance and 12 days of "statutory holidays" every year provided under the Employment Ordinance. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows the respective numbers of employees who are entitled to 17 days of general holidays and 12 days of statutory holidays every year in the territory at present; the respective percentages of these employees in the total working population; and the industries to which they belong;

    (b)whether it knows the provisions governing the statutory holidays or general holidays enjoyed by the employees in other countries and regions and the respective numbers of days of such holidays; whether there are countries or regions where festive holidays for employees are differentiated by two or more ordinances; if it knows, of the details; if not, whether it has any plan to conduct a survey; and

    (c)given that some employees have pointed out that the aforesaid two ordinances have given rise to unfairness in that they stipulate different numbers of holidays for different employees, and that the Government indicated at a meeting of the Panel on Manpower in March this year that it needed to study the matter carefully, of the progress of the study so far; whether the authorities have any plan to raise compensation to employees who work on holidays, e.g. by granting them one and a half times to two times the paid leave or wage in substitution, so as to provide employees with reasonable compensation; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

2. Hon CHIM Pui-chung to ask: (Translation)

According to the information of the Federation International de Football Association, the position of Hong Kong men's football team in the world ranking dropped to a record low of 168th in November this year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)given that Hong Kong was once praised as the "football kingdom of the Far East", and the team of the Republic of China comprising representatives of Hong Kong's football players won the championship at the 1958 Asian Games, whether it knows the reasons why the world ranking of Hong Kong men's football team hit a record low;

    (b)given that the Hong Kong Football Association ("HKFA") is the recognized sports association responsible for the development of football in Hong Kong, whether the authorities have assessed if, apart from overseeing how HKFA utilizes government subsidies, there is a need to monitor or supervise its operations; and

    (c)of the policies or specific plans currently put in place by the Government to step up promotion of football to become a popular and proper sport which has the support of the public in Hong Kong?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

3. Hon WONG Yung-kan to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that earlier on, a Japanese food company carried out sample tests on its infant formulas and found that some of them contained radioactive substances, namely cesium-134 and cesium-137, and the company decided to recall 400 000 tins of the affected infant formulas, while some supermarkets in Hong Kong removed all batches of this brand of infant formulas from the shelves and stopped selling them right away. Since the Centre for Food Safety has not immediately clarified whether the affected batches had been imported to Hong Kong, parents do not know whether they should stop feeding their babies with the formulas concerned at once. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)given that the problem of some food products in Japan being contaminated by radioactivity has arisen after the nuclear power plant incident in Fukushima, of the number of tests which have been carried out by the authorities on all infant formulas imported from Japan (including parallel imports and authorized products) since the outbreak of the incident; the test results; the safety standards adopted by the Government at present in the tests and in the safety assessments made on Japanese infant formulas;

    (b)given that some Japanese infant formulas were tested and found to contain radioactive substances, whether the authorities will consider stepping up testing and sample checking on all imported Japanese food products and regularly publishing the radioactivity levels of such food products; and

    (c)whether the Centre for Food Safety of Hong Kong will be notified immediately and obtain relevant test results when imported Japanese food products are found by the Japanese authorities to contain radioactive substances; whether the authorities have any plan to set up a reporting mechanism in respect of food safety incidents with the Japanese authorities, so as to enhance the exchange of information between both sides?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

4. Hon Cyd HO to ask: (Translation)

Under section 4 of and Schedule 1 to the Places of Public Entertainment Ordinance ("PPEO"), any person who keeps or uses any place of public entertainment for presenting or carrying on activities of entertainment including a lecture or story-telling, etc., is required to apply to the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department ("FEHD") for a licence and be granted such a licence by FEHD, and those who fail to do so shall be liable on conviction to imprisonment for six months and a fine at level 4 (i.e. HK$10,001 to HK$25,000). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)when a lecture or story-telling was brought within the ambit of PPEO by the authorities, and the background to and justifications for doing so;

    (b)whether the authorities have invoked the aforesaid provisions to institute prosecutions; if they have, of the date on which the aforesaid provisions were last invoked to institute prosecution and the details of the case concerned; whether the person being prosecuted was subsequently convicted; if so, of the penalty; and

    (c)whether the authorities have assessed if the aforesaid provisions will infringe on the freedom of speech and right to expression; if the assessment findings are affirmative, whether they will amend Schedule 1 to PPEO accordingly as early as possible with a view to abolishing the aforesaid provisions under PPEO in respect of the requirement of applying to FEHD for a licence for keeping or using places of public entertainment for presenting or carrying on lectures or story-telling?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

5. Hon LEE Cheuk-yan to ask: (Translation)

As the building plan of the property development project above the Tin Shui Wai Light Rail Terminus owned by the MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL") was already approved by the Building Authority in 2009, it does not need to comply with the requirements under the new measures to control "inflated buildings" which came into effect on 1 April this year. There have been comments that according to the approved building plan, the development project will create a "wall effect" in the area where the project is located and four schools in the vicinity are most affected. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the additional directors of MTRCL appointed by the Chief Executive have any plan to put forward a proposal at the company's board meeting or other meetings to amend the building plan of the aforesaid development project in accordance with the new measures which control "inflated buildings", so as to reduce the impact on the residents, teachers and students in the vicinity; if so, of the details; and if not, the reasons for that; and

    (b)whether the Government has any measure to make MTRCL fulfil its corporate social responsibilities (including protecting the environment and maintaining a cordial relationship with the community) in planning the aforesaid development project?
Public Officers to reply:Secretary for Transport and Housing
Secretary for Development

6. Hon Ronny TONG to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that there were a number of cases of suspected vote-rigging and irregularities in the 2011 Election Committee Subsector ("ECSS") Elections. For example, people who used to be members of a subsector continue to receive poll cards of that subsector even though they are no longer eligible to be registered as voters for that subsector after changing jobs. Moreover, among those who were elected uncontested, some members of the agriculture and fisheries subsector are engaged in occupations which are unrelated to the agriculture and fisheries industry. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the Electoral Affairs Commission had verified and updated the registers of ECSS voters in accordance with the requirements in the law before sending out the poll cards for this year's ECSS Elections; if it had not, of the reasons for that; if it had, the methods employed to verify the eligibility of the voters, together with a table listing the number of voters who were disqualified in each subsectors, the reasons for their disqualification, the number of voters in each subsectors in the ECSS Elections in 2006 and this year, as well as the difference in the number of voters between 2006 and this year;

    (b)whether it has assessed if people engaged in occupations which are unrelated to the agriculture and fisheries industry being elected as members of that subsector has contravened electoral law; if the assessment findings are negative, of the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether the authorities have made reference to overseas examples in studying and reviewing ways to improve the electoral and verification systems so as to ensure that the Legislative Council Election to be held next year will really achieve the objectives of fairness, openness and being free from corruption; if they have, of the overseas examples to which they have made reference, and the details of those electoral and verification systems?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs

*7. Hon Alan LEONG to ask: (Translation)

The Community Care Fund ("CCF") has launched 12 programmes one after another, including two Medical Assistance Programmes, namely the First Phase Programme and the Second Phase Programme. The First Phase Programme has been accepting applications since 1 August this year, while the Second Phase Programme is expected to commence in the first quarter of next year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)when the authorities will conduct a review of the First Phase Programme; whether the six cancer drugs subsidized under the Programme will be brought into the Samaritan Fund ("SF") in the future; if they will, of the details; if not, how the authorities ensure the continuity of the subsidies; whether CCF will regularly review and update the list of subsidized drugs so that some new drugs may have the chance of being included as subsidized drugs under the First Phase Programme;

    (b)as the Second Phase Programme will subsidize Hospital Authority patients facing economic difficulties but falling outside the SF safety net to use SF subsidized drugs, of the specific dates and timetable to implement the Second Phase Programme, the drugs and medical items expected to be subsidized, and the respective percentages of the amounts of subsidies of such drugs and medical items in the total amount of subsidies; and

    (c)how the Steering Committee on CCF will enhance the transparency and accountability of CCF, including whether more relevant information and data will be made public to enable patients, patient groups and the public to know the procedures and criteria for selecting subsidized drugs, the amounts involved in subsidizing various drugs and the number of beneficiaries, etc.?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

*8. Hon CHEUNG Man-kwong to ask: (Translation)

The Hong Kong Academy for Gifted Education ("the Academy"), which was established at a funding of $200 million, commenced its services in the 2008-2009 school year. The Academy aims to focus on the provision of challenging training programmes for gifted students aged between 10 and 18 to help them develop talents and potentials in a wide range of specialist areas, as well as rendering teachers and parents with professional training and support, so as to tie in with the development of gifted education in Hong Kong. I have recently received views from teachers pointing out that the Academy has focused on the provision of programmes and support mainly for secondary students without ever accepting any nomination made by primary schools, thus neglecting the needs of gifted senior primary students aged 10 or above. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows the number of gifted students in primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong in the past three years, with a breakdown by the grade and area of giftedness of students;

    (b)whether it knows the number of students enrolled by the Academy in each of the past three years, with a breakdown by channel of selection (e.g. school nomination and open competition, etc.) and area of giftedness of students;

    (c)whether it knows the respective numbers, types, contents, service targets and numbers of participants, etc. of the various types of programmes, seminars, talks, workshops and other support services rendered by the Academy to students, teachers and parents in the past three years, together with a breakdown;

    (d)whether the authorities have established any mechanism to monitor the quality of the programmes and support services of the Academy (including the formulation, contents and qualifications of teachers of the programmes, etc.), so as to ensure that the students' potentials are suitably nurtured and developed; if they have, of the details;

    (e)whether it knows the details of the expenditures, revenues, reserves and budgets of the Academy for the past three years and the current year; and

    (f)whether the authorities have planned to review the overall effectiveness of the Academy; whether it will enhance the training for gifted primary students on the basis of the current support which focuses on secondary students, including inviting primary schools to nominate students to the Academy, providing more gifted programmes targeting at primary students, and even extending support services to gifted students aged under 10; if they have, of the details?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education

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

Regarding the handling of the problem of unauthorized building works ("UBW") in village houses in the New Territories, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective numbers of advisory letters and removal orders issued against cases of UBW in village houses by the Buildings Department ("BD") under the Buildings Ordinance (Cap. 123) in each of the past five years; as well as the respective numbers of cases in which owners had complied with such removal orders and those who still failed to do so by the end of each year;

    (b)of the respective numbers of prosecutions instituted by BD in respect of the non-compliant cases in (a) each year; among these cases, of the number of cases in which the persons involved were convicted, and the maximum fine and longest imprisonment term imposed on such convicted persons; as well as the average fine and imprisonment term imposed in most cases;

    (c)among the non-compliant cases in (a), of the number of cases in which the specified dates in the removal orders had been overdue as at the end of each year, broken down by the overdue period in each case (i.e. less than one year, one to less than two years, two to less than four years, four to less than five years and five years or above);

    (d)given that the Lands Department ("LandsD") may serve a notice in writing on the lessee or licensee of the land on which structures are erected in breach of a Government lease or licence, and require him to demolish such structures under the Lands (Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Cap. 28), of the number of cases in which notices in writing were issued by the LandsD against UBW in village houses in the New Territories in the past five years, as well as the respective numbers of cases of compliance and non-compliance with the orders stated in such notices to date;

    (e)given that the LandsD may exercise its right to re-enter the land or terminate the lease against structures which are erected in breach of a Government lease or licence under the Government Rights (Re-entry and Vesting Remedies) Ordinance (Cap. 126), whether it had exercised its right of re-entry against UBW in village houses in the New Territories in the past five years accordingly; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (f)whether the authorities will step up prosecutions against cases in which removal orders are long overdue but have not been complied with, or re-enter the land or terminate the lease according to the law, so as to heighten public awareness of compliance with removal orders and refraining from erecting UBW?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

*10. Hon WONG Kwok-kin to ask: (Translation)

It has been recently reported that there is an upward trend in the number of pickpocketing crimes within the railway premises, and among these cases, pickpocketing cases involving mobile phones happen frequently in which the offenders mainly aim at new smart phones and they steal these smart phones in a swift manner in crowded railway stations or train compartments, or when the victims are inattentive. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the numbers of the various types of crimes committed within the Railway Police District in the past five years, and among them, the numbers of persons who were arrested and convicted respectively, together with a breakdown by type of offence (pickpocketing, indecent assault, shop theft, clandestine photo-taking, criminal damage and wounding, etc.);

    (b)among the pickpocketing cases in (a), of the number of cases which involved mobile phones;

    (c)of the five railway stations in which pickpocketing cases happened most frequently according to the figures in the past five years; whether the authorities have stepped up anti-crime actions in these five railway stations so as to reduce crimes; if they have, of the specific measures; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (d)given the recent increase in pickpocketing cases which involved smart phones, whether the authorities have special measures and actions to reduce such crimes; if they have, of the specific measures and the effectiveness of their actions; whether the authorities will consider strengthening the manpower of the Railway District Task Force Sub-unit and the Railway Police District so as to combat crimes within the railway premises?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

Regarding efforts to improve air quality and update air quality reports, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)given that most environmental protection authorities in major countries worldwide make public their air pollution control measures and the effectiveness of these measures annually (e.g. Mainland's Ministry of Environmental Protection published five brief periodic reports on emission reduction in respect of major pollutants in 2011), yet the Environmental Protection Department ("EPD") in Hong Kong does not publish similar periodic reports at present, and that apart from the annual updating of the report entitled "Air Quality in Hong Kong", the latest study report on the EPD web site was compiled two years ago, of the reasons why EPD has not updated study reports on air quality in Hong Kong or on air quality improvement for a long time;

    (b)given that the SAR Government and the Guangdong Provincial Government have jointly implemented the air quality improvement measures under the Pearl River Delta Regional Air Quality Management Plan with a view to meeting the targets of reducing the emission of four major air pollutants, namely sulphur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, respirable suspended particulates and volatile organic compounds by 2010, whether the two Governments have set new emission reduction targets; if they have, of the new targets; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)given that the Chief Executive ("CE") stated in the 2010-2011 Policy Address that the Government and franchised bus companies were conducting a trial to retrofit Euro II and Euro III buses with selective catalytic reduction devices to reduce emission of nitrogen oxides from these buses, and that CE also announced in the 2011-2012 Policy Address the provision of subsidies to owners of liquefied petroleum gas taxis and light buses to help them replace catalytic converters in their vehicles, yet a study report indicated that selective catalytic reduction devices might increase the level of nitrogen oxides, whether such a situation has arisen in the trial scheme of retrofitting buses with catalytic reduction devices ("trial scheme"); as the authorities advised at the meeting of the Panel on Environmental Affairs of this Council held in July 2010 that they would endeavour to have the initial results of the trial scheme ready by end 2011, of the progress at present; whether the authorities have any plan to submit the report on the trial scheme to this Council?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment

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

From time to time there are members of the public who relay to me that as recreation venues managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department ("LCSD") are always fully booked, it is difficult to hire a venue successfully, and that even though at present advance bookings can be made within 30 days from the current date, the venues are often fully booked on the first day when advance bookings are accepted. They have further pointed out that there are quite a number of online touting activities of reserved sessions of such venues. They also think that the authorities should build more recreation venues to promote a culture of sports for all. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)among the aforesaid online touting cases in the past five years, of the number of convicted cases and the relevant penalties; whether it had initiated investigation to ascertain if such touting activities involved syndicated operations;

    (b)whether it will strictly implement the procedures for verifying the identity of hirers by requesting hirers to produce the hiring permits and their identification documents at the same time when they use the venues, so as to eradicate such touting activities; whether it will consider reviewing and introducing other procedures to verify the identity of hirers; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (c)whether LCSD has examined the causes of and solutions for the problem that recreation venues available for booking by members of the public and organizations are always fully booked; if it has, of the causes; if not, whether it will consider conducting the relevant study, and of the details;

    (d)apart from making reference to the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines ("the Guidelines"), of the factors that the authorities will take into account in considering the construction of recreation venues, and the respective weighting of various factors of consideration;

    (e)whether the authorities will consider reviewing the standards of provision of various recreation venues (including sports centres, soccer pitches, sports grounds, swimming pools and parks) as set out in the Guidelines, and lowering the ratio of population set for the provision of relevant venues; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (f)whether advance planning will be made in certain new development areas so that recreation venues will be constructed before residents of major housing estates in the areas move in and the population there increases significantly, so as to enable the residents to use these facilities as early as possible?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

Regarding the proposed redevelopment scheme for the West Wing of Central Government Offices ("the redevelopment scheme"), the Government intends to adopt a "two-envelope" tendering approach to develop the project which will provide an office tower with a financial theme, public open space ("POS") and facilities for government institution and community ("GIC") and ancillary office uses. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the situation under which the authorities will consider adopting the "two-envelope" tendering approach for development projects involving land sales; the criteria, guidelines and conditions to be complied with; the respective weightings accorded to the price and the technical and design aspects in assessing the tender proposals; the assessment mechanism concerned; as well as the number of such cases in the past 10 years, together with the specific situations and the results concerned;

    (b)why the "two-envelope" tendering approach is to be adopted for the redevelopment scheme; of the weightings to be accorded to the price and the technical and design aspects in assessing the tender proposals; the assessment criteria concerned; the formation and composition of the assessment panel; the expected number of bidders; and whether developers which previously designed and developed commercial buildings and POS at locations near the site for the redevelopment project will have an advantage over other bidders in terms of geographical knowledge, information access and experience;

    (c)of the advice given by the Independent Commission Against Corruption on the authorities' plan to adopt the "two-envelope" tendering approach for the redevelopment scheme; how the authorities ensure that the tendering process will be conducted in a highly transparent manner and that all bidders will have equal access to information and opportunities;

    (d)among the 40 300 square metres ("m²") of gross floor area ("GFA") to be provided under the revised redevelopment scheme, of the floor area which has been reserved for use by public and statutory bodies, government and community facilities, as well as the percentage of such area in the GFA; whether the public and statutory bodies using the floor area of government and community facilities have to pay rental at the level of Grade A offices; and how the authorities ensure that the rents for the offices concerned and facilities for ancillary office uses are set at affordable levels for these public and statutory bodies;

    (e)of the sizes of the loading/unloading area and the carpark to be provided under the revised redevelopment scheme; whether the carpark to be provided within the site of the POS will be owned and managed by the Government as in the case of the POS; and whether the land title or ownership of the carpark will belong to the Government or the developer concerned; among the proposed 40 300 m² of GFA to be provided, of the floor areas (m²) and percentages to be owned and managed by the developer and the Government respectively; and

    (f)whether the authorities have considered further revising the entire redevelopment scheme and not selling the land concerned in order to preserve the entire piece of land as government land forming an integral part of the "Government Hill", so that apart from the provision of POS, the future office tower will only be used for the provision of GIC facilities, and the Government will allocate and lease out the offices to public or statutory bodies related to monetary and financial matters, human rights and the rule of law (e.g. the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, the Securities and Futures Commission, the Financial Reporting Council, the Investor Education Council, the Financial Dispute Resolution Centre, the Equal Opportunities Commission, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Office of The Ombudsman, the Hong Kong International Arbitration Centre, the Legal Aid Services Council and the Law Reform Commission of Hong Kong, etc.) to dovetail with the objectives set out in the proposals of the revised redevelopment scheme, and help raise Hong Kong's image and status as an international financial and legal services hub?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

*14. 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 7 December this year, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)given that SFST stated that according to the Commentary of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development Model Tax Convention ("the Convention"), the "days of physical presence" method was the only method which was consistent with the wording of the Article on Income from Employment, whether it is mandatory for Hong Kong to fully comply with the Convention; if so, of the reasons; if not, whether any problem will arise if the Convention is not fully complied with; if so, of the details;

    (b)whether it knows if there are tax jurisdictions which do not fully comply with the "days of physical presence" method in the Convention in calculating income from employment; if it does, of the names of such tax jurisdictions, their reasons for not fully complying with such method and the calculating methods they adopt; if it does not, whether it will take the initiative to understand the facts;

    (c)given that SFST stated that European countries which had special tax provisions for frontier workers included France, Germany, Italy, Belgium and Switzerland, and that these countries levied tax on a worldwide basis, whether SFST implied that levying tax on a worldwide basis was one of the premises or conditions for introducing special tax provisions for frontier workers; if so, of the justifications; if not, why SFST mentioned it;

    (d)given that SFST stated that both the Inland Revenue Department ("IRD") and the State Administration of Taxation ("SAT") considered that as double non-taxation might arise, it was not appropriate to introduce special tax provisions for frontier workers at this stage, at which stage or under what circumstances the introduction of special tax provisions for frontier workers will be considered appropriate;

    (e)given that SFST stated that the total number of claims for exemption of Hong Kong Salaries Tax for the years of assessment 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 was 6 243 and 10 731, whether it has assessed why the number of such claims has increased by 72% in a year; if it has assessed, of the details; if not, whether it will make the assessment;

    (f)of the reasons why IRD did not have the relevant statistics for the years prior to 2009-2010 or the amount of tax involved for the cases of the two years in (e);

    (g)given that SFST stated that generally speaking, the Mainland would only tax Hong Kong residents in respect of their remuneration derived from their work on the Mainland, whether it knows under what non-general circumstances the Mainland will tax Hong Kong residents not only in respect of their remuneration derived from their work on the Mainland;

    (h)given that SFST stated that both IRD and SAT considered that the 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) should not be changed as it was an international standard which had been effectively applied, whether it knows if there are other tax jurisdictions which do not adopt the 183-day threshold; if it does, of the names of such tax jurisdictions, their reasons for not adopting the 183-day threshold and the standard they adopt; if it does not, whether it will take the initiative to understand the facts;

    (i)regarding the annual meeting held between IRD and SAT last month, whether it can provide an extract of the relevant parts of the minutes of the meeting relating to the 183-day threshold or special tax provisions for frontier workers or other relevant information; if not, of the reasons for that and how such information can be obtained;

    (j)during the meeting between the authorities and SAT, whether both sides or any one side had confirmed that there were discrepancies in the time standard adopted by the two places in determining the places in which wages and salaries were derived; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (k)whether the authorities had, during their meeting with SAT, attempted to fight for or examine the adoption by both sides of a more reasonable time standard (actual working time) to determine the places in which wages and salaries were derived; if so, whether both sides or any one side had agreed to adopt such new standard?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

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

My office has recently received phone calls from a number of persons who are about to visit Japan shortly, saying that their friends and relatives received medical checks after they had visited Japan and returned to Hong Kong, and the results indicated that they had obviously been exposed to high-level radiation contamination. These persons requested me to assist them in negotiating with travel agents to transfer them to other tours. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the data obtained by the Government regarding the impact of nuclear radiation on various prefectures in Japan since the nuclear radiation leakage incident at Fukushima ("Fukushima incident"), together with the sources of such data; and whether it has assessed the reliability of the sources of such data;

    (b)whether it has conducted any study to find out the reasons why the health of the aforesaid travellers may have been affected by nuclear radiation contamination; if so, of the results; if not, whether it will conduct any in-depth study in this regard;

    (c)of the respective numbers of members of the public making enquiries to the Government in each month since the Fukushima incident about nuclear radiation in Japan or its impact;

    (d)given that the Security Bureau has pointed out that the Bureau will assess the safety level of Hong Kong people's favourite travelling destinations before each travelling peak season, whether the Bureau has any plan to assess, prior to the Christmas, New Year and Lunar New Year holidays, the suitability for conducting sightseeing tours or business trips to the various prefectures in Japan; if so, of the results; if not, whether it will conduct the assessments immediately; and

    (e)whether it knows the numbers of assistance-seeking cases that the Tourism Commission and the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong ("TIC") have received so far which involve requests for refund, tour transfer or tour cancellation arising from the recent nuclear radiation incident in Japan; of the assistance that these two organizations may offer to the aforesaid travellers requesting tour transfer; whether the Security Bureau has continued to monitor the numbers of assistance-seeking cases received by the Tourism Commission and TIC and used such numbers as the factors it refers to when considering adjustment to the Outbound Travel Alert issued for Japan?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

In reply to my earlier question, the authorities pointed out that the Labour Department had respectively conducted a survey in 2006 and 2010, and the survey findings revealed that the percentage of the surveyed organizations which adopted five-day work week had increased from 36.5% in 2006 to 61.5% in 2010, indicating that organizations which provide five-day work week for their employees are on the rise and five-day work week is becoming increasingly popular. Moreover, the authorities have already introduced to this Council the General Holidays and Employment Legislation (Substitution of Holidays) (Amendment) Bill 2011, which was passed by this Council on 14 December this year. The legislation seeks to alter the prevailing arrangement that in case the day following the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival and any day in the Lunar New Year Holiday fall on Sunday, the day immediately before the said holiday (i.e. Saturday) shall be designated as the holiday in substitution, so as to address the present situation that the prevailing arrangement has failed to provide holidays in substitution which are de facto holidays to employees who work five days a week from Monday to Friday. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a) whether it knows and understands the situation of employees currently working five days a week not being provided with a de facto holiday if a general holiday falls on Saturday; and how the situation compares with that before the adoption of five-day work week; and

    (b)given that the authorities indicated at the meeting of the Panel on Manpower in March this year that they had to conduct a careful assessment of the full implications before considering the proposal of designating the day immediately preceding a general holiday which fell on Saturday or designating the Monday immediately following that general holiday as the holiday in substitution, and that the number of employees enjoying five-day work week continues to increase, of the timetable for extending progressively the scope of application of the aforesaid arrangement for holidays in substitution and whether the authorities have conducted any analysis on the feasibility as well as the financial and economic implications of the aforesaid arrangement?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

*17. Hon Cyd HO to ask: (Translation)

The programme records and administrative records in the Chief Executive ("CE")'s Office of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (including those in CE(Designate)'s temporary office before the reunification) cover records of specific preparatory work leading to the handover of sovereignty of Hong Kong, as well as records of the operation of the highest decision-making body of the Government. In respect of the preservation of such important archival records, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective positions of the staff responsible for managing the records of the aforesaid CE's offices before 1 July 1997, during the first and second terms of CE (i.e. from 1 July 1997 to 11 March 2005), and since 12 March 2005; in addition, whether there has been any change in the designation of staff responsible for managing such records since the issuance of the General Circular on mandatory records management requirements by the Government in April 2009; if so, of the details;

    (b)of the respective numbers and linear metres of the programme records and administrative records of CE(Designate)'s temporary office as at 30 June 1997; and the respective numbers and linear metres of the programme records and administrative records created by CE's Office in each of the years since 1 July 1997;

    (c)whether CE(Designate)'s temporary office had, during its operation in 1997, and CE's Office has so far, transferred any record to the Government Records Service ("GRS"); if so, of the number and details of the records transferred each year (list by year the relevant details in the table below);


    		Programme recordsAdministrative records
    Title of record

    Date of creation of record

    Date of record closed

    Date of transfer to GRS

    Date of GRS's appraisal of records for retention or destruction

    Date of destruction (if applicable)


    (d)among the aforesaid records, of the current storage location of the records which had been closed but were not transferred to GRS; of the room temperature and humidity of such location; whether the requirements for storage of archival records are met; if not, of the reasons for not transferring these records to GRS; and

    (e)whether the authorities can undertake not to destroy any record in the aforesaid CE's Office (including those in CE(Designate)'s temporary office before the reunification) before enactment of an archival law?
Public Officer to reply : The Chief Secretary for Administration

*18. Hon Ronny TONG to ask: (Translation)

Being an open international city, Hong Kong can attract inflows of capital and talents from different places, thereby facilitating Hong Kong's development. There have been comments that in view of the limited land and resources in Hong Kong, it is necessary to ensure that there are appropriate supporting facilities for members of the public to maintain their good quality of living while attracting the inflow of foreign immigrants, and it is most important for the Government to review the population policy and make projections. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the growth in Hong Kong's overall population, resident population and individual community groups according to the last five population census and by-census (list in the table below);

    YearOverall populationMobile residentsUsual ResidentsGrowth in the overall population (compared with that of five years ago)
    Hong Kong permanent residentsChinese nationals who came to Hong Kong under the "One Way Permit" schemePersons of foreign nationalities who came to reside in Hong Kong as dependantsChinese nationals who came to reside in Hong Kong under investment immigration schemesPersons of foreign nationalities who came to reside in Hong Kong under investment immigration schemesExpatriates residing in Hong Kong with work visasForeign domestic helpers residing in Hong Kong with work visas
    1991








    		(not applicable)
    1996









    2001









    2006









    2011










    (b)of the rate of increase in government expenditures on healthcare, housing, education and welfare facilities in the years in which the last five population census and by-census were conducted (list in the table below);

    Government expenditure items19911996200120062011
    Expenditure on healthcare and its percentage in the total government expenditure




    Public hospitals





    Primary healthcare (e.g. services provided by the Department of Health)





    Public health and related community education





    Others





    Expenditure on education and its percentage in the total government expenditure




    Pre-primary education





    Primary and secondary education





    University and tertiary education





    Vocational training





    Others





    Expenditure on social welfare and its percentage in the total government expenditure




    Comprehensive Social Security Assistance





    Old Age Allowance





    Childcare and family services





    Services for the elderly





    Services for the youth





    Services for persons with disabilities





    Others





    Expenditure on housing and its percentage in the total government expenditure




    Construction of public rental housing units





    Construction of Home Ownership Scheme units





    Construction of Sandwich Class Housing Scheme units





    Others





    Expenditure on infrastructures and its percentage in the total government expenditure




    Transport infrastructures





    Major infrastructures





    Others






    (c)in considering the annual expenditures, whether it has concurrently conducted planning for the next five years; if it has, of the basis to which the Government has made reference; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (d)whether the Government has formulated a population policy for the whole society for the next 10 and 20 years; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : The Chief Secretary for Administration

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

It has been reported that the Financial Secretary indicated earlier during an overseas visit that the authorities might relax some of the anti-property speculation measures and take counter-cyclical measures to stabilize the property market if home prices extended their decline amid Europe's worsening credit crisis and a global economic slowdown. Subsequently, the Secretary for Transport and Housing added that the authorities would, if necessary, consider reviewing earlier than scheduled the special stamp duties and the limits on loan-to-value ratios for mortgages. The aforesaid remarks have aroused speculation in the market and among the public about whether the authorities will change the policy direction on regulating the property market. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the authorities have reviewed if the aforesaid arrangement for disseminating information, including making possibly less-than-prudent remarks, will cause confusion in the market and enable speculators to profit from the information and speculations by further exacerbating market volatility; and

    (b)given that apart from a shrinking turnover in the property market, home prices still remain at a high level at present, with the Private Domestic-Price Index (All Classes) compiled by the Rating and Valuation Department for October this year standing at 181.4, which is slightly lower than the peak of 188.1 in June this year, but still higher than the index of 172.9 in October 1997, whether the authorities can state clearly the circumstances under which the authorities will relax the anti-property speculation measures, and whether the price level and the home purchase affordability of members of the public are among the factors for consideration; of the anti-property speculation measures which the authorities consider relaxing; whether the earlier decision to resume the Home Ownership Scheme will be overturned for the purpose of stabilizing the property market; and whether long-term strategies such as the development of land and the increase of land supply, etc. will be affected?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

*20. Hon LAU Kong-wah to ask: (Translation)

Over the years, the Government has provided various subsidies and concessions for the elderly, but the age of eligibility to apply for and the targets of such elderly welfare benefits are inconsistent, and some elderly people indicated that they are perplexed as to when they are eligible to apply for such benefits. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of elderly welfare benefit schemes (including allowances and concessions for the elderly to use facilities, etc.) provided by the Government at present; of the respective age of eligibility to apply for such schemes; and

    (b)whether the authorities will standardize the age of eligibility to apply for various elderly welfare benefit schemes (e.g. at the age of 60 across the board); if not, of the reasons for that; if they will, whether they have assessed if standardizing the age of eligibility as 60 or above will lead to an increase in the Government's welfare expenditure and will benefit more elderly people; if so, of the estimated amount of increase in welfare expenditure each year, as well as the additional number of elderly people expected to be benefited each year?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

* For written reply

III. Bills

First Reading

Banking (Amendment) Bill 2011

Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)

Banking (Amendment) Bill 2011:Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

Second Reading (Debate to resume), Committee Stage and Third Reading

Enduring Powers of Attorney (Amendment) Bill 2011:The Secretary for Justice

The Secretary for Justice to move Committee stage amendments
(The amendments were issued on 15 December 2011
under LC Paper No. CB(3)263/11-12)

IV. Motions

Proposed resolution under section 34(2) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

Secretary for Development to move the following motion:

Resolved that the Building (Minor Works) (Amendment) Regulation 2011, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 148 of 2011 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 2 November 2011, be amended as set out in the Schedule.

Schedule

Amendments to Building (Minor Works) (Amendment) Regulation 2011

1.Section 5 amended (section 31 amended (documents to be submitted on completion of class I minor works other than demolition works))
Section 5(3) -
Repeal
"his or her opinion"
Substitute
"the opinion of the person or inspector".

2.Section 6 amended (section 32 amended (documents to be submitted on completion of class I minor works that are demolition works))
Section 6(3) -
Repeal
"his or her opinion"
Substitute
"the opinion of the person or inspector".

3.Section 11 amended (section 52 amended (duty of authorized person on being delivered notice under section 51(1)))
Section 11(2), Chinese text-
Repeal
"他或她"
Substitute
"該人士或人員".

V. Members' Motions

  1. Expeditiously regulating the investment and over-the-counter trading activities of Loco London gold

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

    That in recent years, fraudulent investment cases involving over-the-counter ('OTC') trading of Loco London gold are increasingly rampant, and many members of the public have been deceived and victimized, with cumulative losses amounting to more than $10 million, but there are at present no laws and statutory bodies in Hong Kong to regulate OTC trading of Loco London gold; this not only deprives victims of complaint avenues and means of recovering losses, but at the same time, results in fraud cases persisting and severe damage to Hong Kong's reputation and status as an international financial centre, because the financial firms and practitioners engaged in OTC trading of Loco London gold are of mixed standards and they make use of the vacuum created by the lack of legislative regulation to operate; in this connection, this Council urges the Government to expeditiously study the enactment of legislation to regulate OTC trading activities of Loco London gold, so as to expeditiously bring the operation of this industry back to the right and healthy track for the protection of investors' interests; the relevant measures should include:

    (a)to proactively study the formulation of specialized rules and regulations and the establishment of a statutory regulatory body, so that the trading of precious metals, including OTC trading of Loco London gold, can be brought under legislative regulation and protection;

    (b)to proactively study the introduction of a licensing system to regulate the trading bodies engaged in the aforesaid business, including imposing penalties on and instituting prosecutions against companies contravening the relevant licensing rules;

    (c)to proactively study the further expansion of the existing voluntary registration system for practitioners of the Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society to form a central registration system covering practitioners of the entire industry, stipulating that persons with no registration are not permitted to engage in OTC trading of the relevant precious metals, so as to regulate the professional expertise and conduct of practitioners; and while implementing a central registration system, to make reference to the experience of the Chinese Gold and Silver Exchange Society and organize training programmes on relevant professional expertise for practitioners, so as to upgrade practitioners' conduct and quality;

    (d)to assist the industry in formulating model sales documents and procedures on making investments in OTC trading of Loco London gold, including the requirement that at the time of signing an investment agreement, the salesperson must clearly explain to the investor the rights and liabilities as well as the investment risks associated with OTC trading of Loco London gold;

    (e)to request the Police to conduct in-depth investigations into fraudulent investment cases involving OTC trading of Loco London gold, set up a task force designated for follow-up work, enhance enforcement efficiency, and rigorously eradicate related fraud cases; and

    (f)to strengthen education and information on OTC trading of Loco London gold for investors, raise public understanding about the operational details and risks of OTC trading of Loco London gold, enhance public alertness, and disclose the various tactics employed in similar fraud cases.

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

  2. Improving the voter registration system to rebuild people's confidence in the electoral system

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

    That the media have recently disclosed the discovery of many suspected vote-rigging cases after the District Council Election held on 6 November this year; besides, after every Legislative Council Election and District Council Election in the past, the Administration also received tens of thousands of returned poll cards; as there is a lack of an effective verification mechanism under the voter registration system, law-breakers may easily register as voters with falsified addresses, thus ruining the electoral system and causing voters to lose confidence, this Council urges the Administration to spare no efforts in investigating suspected vote-rigging cases, institute prosecutions against law-breakers, and comprehensively review the voter registration system, so as to ensure that before the Legislative Council Election to be held in September next year, the loopholes are plugged and people's confidence in the electoral system is rebuilt.

    Amendments to the motion
    (i)Hon Ronny TONG to move the following amendment: (Translation)

    To add "the existing voter registration system has room for improvement, and" after "That"; and to add "including studying the adoption of the following measures: (a) to consolidate all existing laws relating to eligibility requirements for voters and voters' exercise of their voting right into a centralized, clear and easy-to-understand electoral law; (b) to require newly registered voters to provide residential address proof for verifying their declared residential addresses; (c) to add to statutory voter registers the listing of voters' particulars by residential addresses, so as to facilitate public inspection; (d) to extend the deadlines for lodging notices of objection regarding provisional registers, so as to facilitate members of the public and groups to check voters' particulars; and (e) to specify that voters must report any changes in their residential addresses to the Administration within a statutory time frame," after "review the voter registration system,".

    (ii)Dr Hon Philip WONG to move the following amendment: (Translation)

    To delete "as there is a lack of an effective" after "returned poll cards;" and substitute with "in this connection, this Council considers that the Administration should further enhance the"; to delete "law-breakers may easily register" after "under the voter registration system," and substitute with "so as to prevent law-breakers from registering"; to add "; on the other hand, the right to vote is a very important right, and under Article 26 of the Basic Law, permanent residents of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ('HKSAR') shall have the right to vote and the right to stand for election in accordance with law; in this connection" after "to lose confidence"; to delete "and" after "against law-breakers,"; and to delete "so as to" after "review the voter registration system," and substitute with "and, while upholding HKSAR permanent residents' right to vote,".

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

    To add "the problem of vote-rigging is long-standing and has existed for many years, but the Government has disregarded its gravity, causing the problem of vote-rigging to worsen acutely in recent years; and," after "poll cards; as"; and to add "expresses strong condemnation of Mr Stephen LAM, the former Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs and incumbent Chief Secretary for Administration, and the Registration and Electoral Office for bringing disgrace to Hong Kong through their dereliction of duty, and" after "this Council".

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs

  3. Motion for the adjournment of the Council under Rule 16(4) of the Rules of Procedure

    Hon Starry LEE to move the following motion: (Translation)

    That this Council do now adjourn for the purpose of debating the following issue: the impact of the announcement made by CLP Power Hong Kong Limited and The Hongkong Electric Company Limited to substantially increase tariffs from 1 January next year on the general public and enterprises, as well as the Government's corresponding measures.

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for the Environment
Clerk to the Legislative Council