A 11/12-13

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 11 January 2012 at 11:00 am



I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
1.Pyramid Schemes Prohibition Ordinance (Commencement) Notice181/2011
2.Places of Public Entertainment (Exemption) (Amendment) Order 2011183/2011
3.Toys and Children's Products Safety Ordinance (Amendment of Schedules 1 and 2) Notice 2011184/2011
4.General Holidays and Employment Legislation (Substitution of Holidays) (Amendment) Ordinance 2011 (Commencement) Notice185/2011
5.Import and Export (Strategic Commodities) Regulations (Amendment of Schedule 1) Order 2011 (Commencement) Notice186/2011
6.Road Traffic (Impairment Test) Notice1/2012
7.Road Traffic (Amendment) Ordinance 2011 (Commencement) Notice 20122/2012

Other Papers

1.No. 58

- Fire Services Department Welfare Fund
Report on the Administration of the Fire Services Department Welfare Fund and financial statements together with the Report of the Director of Audit for the year ended 31 March 2011
(to be presented by the Secretary for Security)

2.Report No. 8/11-12 of the House Committee on Consideration of Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments
(to be presented by Hon Miriam LAU, Chairman of the House Committee)

3.Report of the Bills Committee on Guardianship of Minors (Amendment) Bill 2011
(to be presented by Hon Cyd HO, Chairman of the Bills Committee)

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

1. Dr Hon Joseph LEE: (Translation)

The new Central Government Complex ("new CGC") and the Legislative Council Complex ("LegCo Complex") were completed only half a year ago, yet after the Secretary for Education was confirmed to have contracted Legionnaires' disease, Legionella bacteria have recently been found on various floors of the new CGC and LegCo Complex, involving such important institutions as the Executive Authorities and the Legislature as well as various government departments, and the impact is extensive. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the reasons why Legionella bacteria have been found at the new CGC and LegCo Complex which were completed only half a year ago; whether problems exist during the construction as well as inspection and acceptance procedures; whether the authorities will take remedial measures immediately to prevent the spread of Legionella bacteria and outbreak of the disease; moreover, whether the authorities have any preventive measures in place to prevent other people from Legionella bacteria infection;

    (b)as the locations affected are where important executive and legislative institutions of Hong Kong are accommodated, involving senior government officials and staff of various government departments, affecting governance and having extensive impact, whether the authorities will immediately conduct health assessments for the personnel concerned to ensure their safety; furthermore, whether the authorities have formulated contingency measure in case of a major outbreak; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)to safeguard public safety and interest, whether the authorities will immediately conduct relevant assessments on the buildings of the Executive Authorities, the Legislature and the Judiciary of the whole territory, as well as on public places and buildings, and take preventive measures to prevent the recurrence of a similar incident; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officers to reply : The Chief Secretary for Administration
Secretary for Food and Health
Secretary for Development

2. Dr Hon Priscilla LEUNG: (Translation)

Since the Secretary for Education was found to have contracted Legionnaires' disease in December last year, the authorities have conducted sampling checks of water at various locations at the new Central Government Complex ("new CGC") and the Legislative Council Complex ("LegCo Complex") at Tamar, and Legionella bacteria have been found in a number of the water samples. In less than six months since the occupation of the new CGC and LegCo Complex, such a serious bacteria breeding problem has already occurred; and there have been media reports that since the occupation of the new CGC and LegCo Complex, internal remedial works have been continuously carried out, and the pollutions caused by the dust and chemical materials generated during this period have caused the staff at the aforesaid sites to have fallen ill one after another. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the total number of water samples taken from the water taps at the new CGC and LegCo Complex by the Department of Health for testing as at this Tuesday, and among them, the number of samples confirmed to contain Legionella bacteria; whether the immediate remedial measures currently taken by the authorities are sufficient to completely eliminate the threat of the bacteria and fully care for the health of the staff at the aforesaid sites;

    (b)at present remedial works are still being carried out continuously each day at the new CGC and LegCo Complex, whether this is due to the rush to move in before completion of the works, and when the remedial works are expected to be thoroughly completed; whether the authorities will immediately conduct a comprehensive risk assessment in respect of the pollutions caused by the dust and chemical materials generated during the remedial works, so as to ensure that Legionnaires' disease or other diseases will not be triggered, or serious health risks will not be posed to staff; and

    (c)whether the authorities will pursue with the related persons over the responsibility of this incident; and whether they will, by learning a lesson from the incident, immediately require prior checking of water supply systems in all newly completed buildings to ensure the cleanliness before approving the occupation of the buildings?
Public Officers to reply : Secretary for Food and Health
The Chief Secretary for Administration
Secretary for Development

III. Questions

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

The Secretary for Development has indicated earlier that the demand for the construction of New Territories small houses cannot be quantified so far and may be infinite, and if the village zones are to be substantially extended for the construction of small houses, it will have an impact on the formation of land to cater for the demand for housing and development of industries. At present, the construction of small houses is in general restricted to within the "environs of a recognized village" ("village environs"). Construction of small houses outside "village environs" may also be considered provided that the sites concerned are located within a "village type development" zone which surrounds or overlaps with "village environs"; and planning permission from the Town Planning Board ("TPB") must first be obtained if the sites concerned lie outside the "village type development" zone. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective area of land available for the construction of small houses inside and outside the environs of the current 642 recognized villages, and the approximate number of small houses that can be built, broken down by District Lands Office district; the area of land that is zoned as "village type development" land use, and the approximate number of small houses that can be built; the number of applications being processed; the demand for small houses (including the number of small houses and the area of land required) in the next 10 years based on the information provided by the various village representatives;

    (b)of the number of planning permission applications submitted to TPB for the building of small houses in each of the past five years, and the number of cases approved as well as the number of small houses and area of land involved; among the cases approved, the respective area of the sites concerned which are located inside and outside the "village environs", together with a breakdown by land use; the number of cases which had been approved based on the criterion that the supply of land within "village type development" zones is insufficient to meet the demand for small houses in the next 10 years; the vetting criteria adopted by TPB; whether the authorities have studied how to improve the approach of checking and verifying the statistics on the demand for small houses; if they have, of the progress; and

    (c)whether the authorities will review the small house policy and the relevant vetting criteria as soon as possible so as to tackle the aforesaid problem that land is scarce but small house concessionary rights may be infinite; whether they have assessed the impact of allowing small houses to increase in height (e.g. building six or nine floors) on the rural planning and development in the New Territories?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

2. Hon WONG Yuk-man to ask: (Translation)

The Government launched a three-year pilot project on outreach primary dental care services for the elderly ("Pilot Project") in April last year to provide various kinds of free dental care and oral health care services to elderly people in residential care homes or day care centres, and it was expected that 17 non-governmental organizations would participate in the Pilot Project. Regarding dental care services for the elderly, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)given that at present, the Pilot Project only covers dental check-up, scaling and polishing, pain relief and emergency dental treatments, whether the Government will expand the scope of services to include denture-fixing and tooth-filling services, etc.;

    (b)given that the Department of Health currently provides pain relief and teeth extraction services to the public through its 11 government dental clinics in the territory, but no such government dental clinic is provided in districts with an ageing population or in densely populated districts, such as Sham Shui Po and Yau Tsim Mong District, etc., hence, quite a number of members of the public need to seek treatment from dental clinics in other districts, and some of them even have to queue up at the clinics in the early hours for consultation chips, whether the Government has any plan at present to set up additional clinics in various districts, so as to alleviate the pressure brought by an ageing population on the provision of dental care services; and

    (c)given that it is set out in the Civil Service Regulations that civil servants and pensioners are provided with medical and dental benefits in respect of themselves and their eligible dependants, and there are a number of government dental clinics and orthodontic clinics dedicated to providing services to civil servants in various districts on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon, whether the Government will consider opening up the dental care services in these clinics for use by the elderly?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

3. Hon Jeffrey LAM to ask: (Translation)

Recently, I have received complaints from members of the public that some estate agents have posted advertisements offering residential flats for lease on a daily or short-term basis, and they suspect that some people lease out residential flats to mainland tourists or pregnant women. Under the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance, for any premises whose occupier, proprietor or tenant holds out that, to the extent of his available accommodation, he will provide sleeping accommodation at a fee for any person presenting himself with a tenancy term of less than 28 continuous days, a hotel/guesthouse licence must be obtained. Yet, according to the records of the Office of the Licensing Authority under the Home Affairs Department, the premises listed on the aforesaid advertisements have not been registered as licensed guesthouses. It has been reported that some web sites use home-stay lodgings as guise to lease out residential flats in Mong Kok, Yau Ma Tei, Tsim Sha Tsui, North Point and Sha Tin, etc. on a short-term basis. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of complaints involving the operation of unlicensed guesthouses received by the authorities last year, and the respective numbers of cases in which prosecutions were instituted and the persons involved were convicted;

    (b)whether the authorities have proactively inspected the residential flats offered for lease on a short-term basis on the aforesaid web sites, with a view to combating the operation of unlicensed guesthouses; if they have, of the outcome of such inspections; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)in respect of the aforesaid estate agents who posted advertisements to offer residential flats for lease on a daily or short-term basis, whether it knows if the Estate Agents Authority has proactively investigated if the relevant practices contravene the code of ethics in respect of their practice; if it has, of the outcome of such investigations; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

The spate of student suicides which occurred one after another recently, with the youngest student involved being only 10 years old, has aroused concerns in various sectors of the community. According to the statistics compiled by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention of the University of Hong Kong ("CSRP"), two to five children aged below 15 took their own lives in each of the years between 2005 and 2009 in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of suicide cases in the past five years which involved persons aged below 18, as well as the age profile of such persons and the possible causes of suicide involved;

    (b)whether it has focused on the trend of people committing suicide at a young age and conducted follow-up investigations into the suicide cases involving persons aged below 18, analyzed the reasons why they committed suicide and taken preventive measures; if it has, how the Government assesses the recent cases of student suicide; if not, of the reasons for that; and

    (c)given that CSRP's statistical analysis indicated that excessive examination pressure was a major risk factor for student suicide, whether the Government has reviewed the existing education and examination system and strived to reduce the study pressure on students; if it has, how the Government explains why recently, there were several cases of students suspected to have committed suicides due to study pressure; if not, of the reasons for that; given that CSRP also conducted a research on the "Suicidality among Secondary School Students in Hong Kong", whether the Government will commission CSRP to conduct similar survey on primary school students with regard to the several suicide cases involving primary school students which occurred recently, so as to explore ways to lower the suicide rate for children effectively?
Public Officers to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare
Secretary for Education

5. Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)

The Government indicated that vetting of the domestic free television service licence applications was expected to be finalized within the first half of 2011. While the year 2011 is already over and the Broadcasting Authority had already finished vetting the three licence applications and submitted its recommendations to the Chief Executive in Council for consideration, yet no further news has been released so far. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the reason for the authorities to postpone announcement of the vetting result is that they are still dealing with the appeal regarding the issuance of new licences lodged with the Chief Executive in Council by Asia Television Limited; if not, of the actual reasons for that; given that the authorities have indicated to this Council that it has opened up the domestic free television programme service market as it is the Government's established policy to promote the sustainable development of the local broadcasting industry, and encourage competition, investment and adoption of innovative technologies by the industry, thereby leading to the provision of more choices of quality programmes to the public, whether the reason why no decision has been made after a long time is that the Government has changed its original thinking and is inclined to maintain the status quo; and

    (b)given that the three companies which submitted applications for the new licences have undertaken that they will invest a considerable amount of funds and recruit employees after obtaining the service licences, so as to make contributions in boosting the local economy and promoting employment, whether the Government has assessed what impact its postponement of making the decision will bring to the community?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

6. Hon Mrs Regina IP to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that the City University of Hong Kong ("CityU") will substantially reduce the number of self-financing articulation places for sub-degree holders from 692 in this academic year to 90 in the next academic year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows the details of CityU's substantial reduction in self-financing articulation places; whether it has assessed the impact on the students of sub-degree programmes articulating to degree programmes; whether the existing policy allows tertiary institutions to decide completely on their own the reduction in self-financing articulation places without consulting the education authorities in advance;

    (b)given that CityU has not officially announced the aforesaid decision, and the prospectus on some of its sub-degree programmes still states that articulation to those degree programmes which will reduce the number of places is possible, whether the authorities regulate the dissemination of information relating to university programmes; how they deal with dissemination of misleading information by the universities; and how they protect the affected students; and

    (c)given that CityU will set up a school of veterinary medicine ("vet school") and run veterinary degree programmes on a self-financing basis, and while CityU claims that other programmes will not be affected, some students have pointed out that some floors of Academic 2 and To Yuen Building will be converted into facilities for the vet school, which in effect will reduce the space for other faculties, whether the authorities will request CityU to clarify if the establishment of the vet school and reduction in self-financing articulation places are related; given that the resources required for the provision of the existing self-financing articulation places are far less than those for the places of the vet school, thereby enabling more young people to have the opportunity to receive tertiary education, whether the authorities will request CityU to review afresh its policy on resource allocation?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education

*7. Hon Paul CHAN to ask: (Translation)

The Food and Health Bureau ("FHB") has proposed to merge the Health and Health Services Research Fund ("HHSRF") and the Research Fund for the Control of Infectious Diseases ("RFCID"), which are currently managed by FHB, into a new Health and Medical Research Fund ("HMRF"). Yet, the structure of HMRF's secretariat cannot be streamlined after the merger, as the authorities have explained that the funding scope of HMRF will be expanded, and at the meeting of the Finance Committee held in December last year, the authorities also indicated that 10 additional secretariat staff would be required, as many procedures would be involved in vetting and approving research projects, and quarterly interim reports were to be submitted and overall assessments had to be made upon the completion of projects. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the differences between the specific procedures for vetting and approving research projects under HHSRF and RFCID, and those under HMRF which will be set up shortly; whether it has assessed if there is any inadequacy or loophole in the vetting and approving procedures under HHSRF and RFCID; whether the vetting and approving procedures under HMRF are formulated after making reference to the experiences of other similar funds; if so, of the details; if not, how the vetting and approving procedures are drawn up;

    (b)whether submission of quarterly reports and overall assessments upon the completion of projects are required under HHSRF and RFCID; if so, how such requirements differ from those under HMRF, and how the authorities assessed the manpower requirements involved;

    (c)given that the administrative expenses on the operation of HMRF will mainly be borne by FHB, of the amount to be involved each year; whether there are similar funds the administrative expenses of which are mainly borne by FHB; if there are, of the names of such funds and the respective amounts involved each year;

    (d)given that the authorities have estimated that other administrative expenses directly incurred in operating HMRF, which represent about 1.4% of the fund's total value, will be borne by HMRF itself, of the specific distribution of the expenses involved; how such distribution of expenses compares with the relevant situation under HHSRF and RFCID;

    (e)of the annual additional expenses involved in the provision of additional secretariat staff for HMRF; the respective amounts of such expenses to be borne by FHB and HMRF; and

    (f)whether it has assessed the economic benefits to be brought by HMRF in promoting the medical industry in Hong Kong; if it has, of the specific details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

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

The pier at Pak Kok Tsuen on Lamma Island ("the pier") was built in the 1950s by the villagers with funds collected among themselves, and was redeveloped in the 1970s with the funds sought by the villagers. In the 1990s, the pier, which used to be a jetty used by the villagers for travelling to and from the island as well as transportation of goods, was already transformed into a ferry pier for the "Yung Shue Wan - Pak Kok Tsuen - Aberdeen" route, and the current number of passengers using the pier has reached a few hundreds per day or over a thousand during holidays. In the past 10-odd years, quite a number of the local people from Lamma Island had relayed to me and government departments their request to redevelop the pier into one which is up to standard, safe and is equipped with adequate facilities. I had written to the Development Bureau in 2008 requesting it to follow up on the redevelopment of the pier, and the then District Officer (Islands) replied that he would study and examine the feasibility of redeveloping the pier with the Transport Department and other relevant government departments, but the authorities have not given any reply so far. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether the authorities have any plan to redevelop the pier; if they have, of the details (including when the plan commences, the costs to be incurred for the works, as well as the time required for the whole works project counting from its commencement to commissioning of the pier, etc.); if not, the reasons for that; whether the authorities have any measure to improve the safety facilities at the pier, so that they will meet the safety standard for passengers boarding and alighting the ferries?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

Recently, I have received complaints from members of the public that the sale of endowment insurance by some banking staff to elderly clients has involved practices of unauthorized transfer of personal data and frauds, etc. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the authorities have assessed if the misuse of the clients' personal data by banking staff in the sale of endowment insurance constitutes a breach of the privacy legislation; if they have, of the findings of the assessment;

    (b)given that under the existing legislation, clients are required to fill out investment profile questionnaires prior to the purchase of investment products from banks, whether this requirement covers endowment insurance;

    (c)given that the family members of an elderly person complained that although the banking staff clearly knew that the elderly person concerned had already taken out a number of endowment insurance policies, the banking staff still persuaded the elderly person to take out a new endowment insurance policy, and both the Securities and Futures Commission and the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance refused to handle the complaint, how the Government prevents occurrence of similar incidents; and

    (d)given that some complainants have pointed out that while the commissions on the sale of endowment insurance products are very high, some of such products also carry high risks, of the Government's regulation of this kind of products at present?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

*10. Hon CHAN Kin-por to ask: (Translation)

A serious industrial accident occurred recently at a works site of the Government's Water Supplies Department ("WSD") where a worker was killed in an explosion on his first day of work. Industrial accidents occurred frequently in Hong Kong's construction industry in recent years and just last month, a worker was crushed to death by a crane at a hospital's construction site, and the body of a worker was pierced through by two steel reinforcement bars in another accident, etc. Fatal industrial accidents involving construction workers in Hong Kong last year surged by 144% as compared to those in 2010, and the fatal accident rate per 1 000 construction workers was as high as 0.4, which was nearly 17 times the rate of only 0.024 in the United Kingdom in 2010. In addition, the accident rate per 1 000 construction workers in Hong Kong in 2010 was 52.1, which was also higher than the rate of 40 in the United States in the same year by over 30%. Following the commencement of a number of major infrastructure projects (including the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, etc.) one after another in the coming year, as well as the implementation of the mandatory requirements for inspection of old buildings, the number of renovation and repair and maintenance works will increase, with regard to enhancing the safety of construction workers in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the reasons why the accident/injury rates per 1 000 workers in the construction industry in Hong Kong are still much higher than those in foreign countries;

    (b)given that in the first three quarters last year, the Labour Department had stepped up its special enforcement efforts whereby the number of inspections conducted and the number of warnings issued increased respectively by about 10% and 20% when compared to those in the same period of 2010, of the reasons why the number of fatal accidents in the construction industry still increased substantially, and whether such reasons include the current enforcement efforts not being fast enough, broad enough and sufficiently in-depth;

    (c)given that at present there is no regulation of workers' overtime work and employers and employees are left to work it out between themselves, and it has been reported that the aforesaid accident of a worker being seriously injured by steel reinforcement bars pierceing through his body was suspected to be related to the worker having to working overtime for a long period and he did not have enough rest, whether the authorities will consider amending the labour law to regulate the overtime working hours for workers engaged in high-risk industries, so as to ensure that workers can have enough rest; and of the respective numbers of industrial accidents resulting in injuries and deaths in the construction industry last year which occurred when the workers were working overtime;

    (d)given that the construction industry has engaged many foreign workers in recent years, and a worker who died after being hit on the head by a falling stone at an MTR construction site last year was a Nepalese, while a bar bender who slipped and fell to his death at a construction site in Ma On Shan was a Vietnamese, whether the authorities have reviewed if the occupational safety support provided to foreign workers in the construction industry at present is adequate;

    (e)given that among the types of industrial accidents in the construction industry, the numbers of those caused by "slip, trip or fall on same level" and "stepping on object" are increasing of substantially, whether the authorities will put forward effective improvement measures as soon as possible; and

    (f)given that under the existing Construction Sites (Safety) Regulations (Cap. 59I), workers are not required to conduct tests for underground gases before carrying out general excavation works, whether, after the aforesaid serious industrial accident at a works site of WSD resulting in a worker killed and three others injured, the authorities have reviewed if there is any inadequacy in the Regulations?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

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

The authorities implemented the Tenants Purchase Scheme ("TPS") to assist public rental housing ("PRH") tenants in purchasing their own homes from 1998 to 2002. Quite a number of PRH tenants have relayed to me that they wish the authorities would re-launch TPS, and they also pointed out that it was rumoured at that time that their residing PRH estates had been included in TPS by the authorities, but this was dropped due to a change in the Government's housing policies in November 2002. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the total number of residents in each of the 39 public housing estates with flats sold under TPS at present, and the respective numbers and percentages of persons residing in rental flats and ownership flats;

    (b)of the number of ownership flats in each TPS estate which had been resold in the past five years; the percentage of such number in the total number of ownership flats in that estate; whether any of these flats had been resold more than once; if so, of the number of such flats and the times they had been resold;

    (c)in November 2002, when the then Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands announced the "Statement on Housing Policies" of the Government, apart from Phase 6 TPS which was launched in 2003, of the number of PRH estates which had been included in TPS but yet to be officially announced or of which the studies on the sale of these estates had commenced, together with a list of the names and types of such estates and the years in which they were originally scheduled for sale; and

    (d)given that quite a number of residents claimed that they were willing to accept flat allocation at or transfer to new PRH estates of higher rental at that time mainly because it was rumoured and some staff of the Housing Department even hinted that the authorities would sell the flats of the estates concerned, but their hope of home ownership was dashed due to the subsequent change in government policies, whether the authorities will consider selling the PRH flats which had been included in TPS at that time but yet to be announced or the PRH flats on which preparatory studies on the sale of them had commenced, so that residents who have moved into such flats with the hope of home ownership through TPS can purchase the flats they live in; if not, of the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

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

It has been reported that the first mainland-assembled train of the MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL") came into service at the end of 2011, which is equipped with a closed circuit television ("CCTV") monitoring system with four cameras on each train car and a total of 32 cameras in the whole train. According to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data ("PCPD"), it has not received any written enquiry about the use of CCTVs from MTRCL. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
    (a)whether MTRCL has informed PCPD of and made enquiry about the CCTV monitoring system in its first mainland-assembled train or other trains in service in the past or at present; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; whether at present there is any procedure or guideline regulating the installation and use of CCTVs on public transport vehicles (e.g. whether the relevant government departments or PCPD must be notified);

    (b)from 2007 onwards, the number of trains in service on each MTR rail line in each year and among them, the number and percentage of trains with CCTV monitoring system installed (list by year and rail line); whether MTRCL has any plan to install CCTV monitoring system on train cars which are not yet equipped with such system; if it has, the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (c)the selection mechanism adopted and the conditions taken into account by MTRCL in acquiring trains; if CCTV is a necessary condition;

    (d)given that MTRCL has indicated that the CCTV monitoring system is mainly used for coping with emergency incidents, and the recorded images will be erased weekly according to the usual practice, while access to these images is restricted to certain categories of staff, yet according to PCPD, organizations which plan to use CCTVs should first consider other less privacy-intrusive alternatives, post clear notices near CCTV cameras to inform the public of the CCTV monitoring and the reasons for such monitoring, as well as erase the recorded images according to a schedule and ensure safe custody of the records, how MTRCL defines the use for coping with emergency incidents; what mechanism has been put in place by the Government and MTRCL to ensure that the CCTV monitoring systems will not be used beyond the original scope and extent, and to prevent any misuse or abuse of the CCTV monitoring systems; whether MTRCL has considered alternative means, and whether it has posted notices;

    (e)as it has been reported that according to the results of an online survey conducted earlier by a concern group for sex crimes occurred on public transport vehicles to collect public views on MTRCL's measures against sexual violence, most respondents consider that MTRCL should step up monitoring measures such as installing CCTVs in train compartments, whether MTRCL will use the CCTV monitoring system to curb sex crimes; and

    (f)whether CCTVs are installed in the train cars or compartments of various kinds of public transport vehicles in Hong Kong; if so, of the details, together with the respective numbers of compartments in various categories of public transport vehicles which are equipped with CCTVs and the percentages of such numbers in the total number of train cars or compartments of the respective categories; whether the operators of these public transport vehicles have enquired PCPD in respect of the installation of CCTVs; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; whether public transport operators which have not installed CCTVs on their vehicles have any plan to install such devices?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

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

The World Health Organization and many academic studies have pointed out that fine suspended particulates (i.e. particulates of a size smaller than an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 microns) ("PM2.5") have greater impact on the health of a person than respirable suspended particulates (i.e. particulates of a size smaller than an aerodynamic diameter of 10 microns). The existing Air Quality Objectives ("AQOs") in Hong Kong has not included PM2.5 as a pollutant that requires to be measured, and an indicator of the concentration of PM2.5 in the air has not been formulated. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the Government has measured the concentration of PM2.5; if it has, of the details; whether this has been released to the public; if this has not been released, of the reasons for that; if it has not measured the concentration, of the reasons for that;

    (b)whether the Government has any plan to formulate an indicator of the concentration of PM2.5; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)when the Government will update the AQOs which have been in use for nearly 25 years?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment

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

The Equal Opportunities Commission ("EOC") is responsible for implementing the Sex Discrimination Ordinance (Cap. 480) ("SDO") to eliminate discrimination on the grounds of sex, marital status and pregnancy. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
    (a)whether they know the respective numbers of complaints involving discrimination of various types under SDO received by EOC in the past three years and the annual changes in such numbers;

    (b)whether they know if EOC has initiated any education, publicity, and enforcement action with specific focuses on different types of complaints, with a view to reducing sex discrimination; and the effectiveness of such actions;

    (c)whether they know if EOC and the Education Bureau ("EDB") will conduct surveys on whether secondary schools, primary schools, kindergartens and special schools have drawn up and implemented policies for the elimination of sex discrimination (including sexual harassment), in order to find out the number and names of schools which have such policies in place, as well as the situation of their implementation of such policies; if there is any school which does not have such policies in place, how EDB will follow up; in case of incidents of sex discrimination or sexual harassment occurring at educational institutions, of the role and responsibilities of EDB;

    (d)whether they know if EOC and EDB will conduct surveys on the application and utilization rates of the Brief Outline on the Policy on Preventing Sexual Harassment issued by EDB at various educational institutions;

    (e)given that Hong Kong has not yet formulated a code of practice on education under SDO, whether they know if EOC and EDB will follow up on a timetable for formulating such a code;

    (f)whether EDB will consider listing gender equality and prevention of sexual harassment as compulsory subjects under teacher and principal training programmes; and

    (g)whether they have conducted any survey and review on public awareness of sex discrimination; if they have, of the details?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs

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

Online purchases have become increasingly popular and quite a number of shopping web sites are set up outside Hong Kong. Regarding the protection afforded to consumers who make online purchases, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of complaints involving online purchases received by the Government in the past two years; and among them, the number of those involving offshore shopping web sites;

    (b)of the measures currently in place to monitor the sale of products which do not meet the standards stipulated in the laws of Hong Kong to members of the public in Hong Kong through shopping web sites; and

    (c)in the long run, whether it will consider enacting legislation dedicated to monitoring online trades so as to protect consumers?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

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

After the completion of the consultation exercise on the Extension of the Environmental Levy Scheme on Plastic Shopping Bags ("the Scheme") by the Government last year, the Environmental Protection Department pointed out in its paper submitted to this Council that close to 70% of the respondents supported the extension of the Scheme. It has been reported that since the implementation of the Scheme on 7 July 2009, quite a number of members of the public in Hong Kong have switched to using non-woven shopping bags which are commonly known as "eco-friendly bags". Some industry groups have pointed out that the production volume of non-woven bags has surged by 96%, and that more plastic materials are needed to make a non-woven bag in comparison with a plastic T-shirt bag, and the excessive distribution of non-woven bags by shop operators has resulted in wastage. In addition, the chemicals and dyes used for producing non-woven bags will also affect the environment. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the Government has compiled statistics on the number of non-woven bags which were ordered and distributed by various government departments in the past four years while organizing activities, conducting public education programmes and publicizing government policies, as well as the amounts of money involved, and list the statistics in the following table;

    Year Government department Quantity of non-woven bags ordered Quantity of non-woven bags distributed Amount of money involved
    2008
    2009
    2010
    2011
    Total



    (b)whether, at present, the authorities have drawn up guidelines to prevent government departments from excessively distributing non-woven bags; if they have, of the details; if not, whether the authorities will consider drawing up the relevant guidelines;

    (c)given that in the past four years, some public organizations and councils had distributed non-woven bags in various activities, of the total number of applications submitted by District Council ("DC") members for funds to print non-woven bags which were approved by the Government and DCs in the past four years, as well as the amounts of money involved; whether the Government will request the relevant organizations and councils to reduce the distribution of non-woven bags; if it will not, of the reasons for that; and

    (d)in the course of extending the Scheme, whether the Government will, apart from extending the scope of the Scheme to all retailers, consider introducing additional measures (e.g. cooperating with environmental groups in publicizing the use of linen shopping bags to replace non-woven bags), or adopting other administrative measures, in order to prevent shop operators from excessively distributing non-woven bags; if it will, of the details; if it will not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment

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

In the past few years, quite a number of members of the public have relayed to me their wish that the Government would permit euthanasia (which, according to the Code of Professional Conduct for the Guidance of Registered Medical Practitioners of the Medical Council of Hong Kong, is defined as "direct intentional killing of a person as part of the medical care being offered") be performed on terminally ill patients. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows the numbers of requests for euthanasia from members of the public received by the Hospital Authority in each of the past three years;

    (b)whether the authorities had conducted any study in the past three years on the legalization of euthanasia and the specific criteria for performing euthanasia; if they had, of the outcome of the study; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)given that it is understood that certain states of the United States and some European countries now permit a terminally ill patient in clear consciousness to request his doctor to perform euthanasia on him and, upon confirmation by several doctors after assessments, the doctor will prescribe lethal drugs for consumption by the patient on his own initiative, whether the Government will draw reference from the policies adopted in these countries and conduct public consultation on whether euthanasia should be permitted in Hong Kong as well as carry out a further study; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

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

In accordance with section 8(1A) of the existing Building Management Ordinance (Cap. 344) ("the Ordinance"), "[t]he Land Registrar shall not issue a certificate of registration to more than one corporation for a building in respect of which a deed of mutual covenant is in force". At present, certain mega private housing estates in Hong Kong (e.g. Whampoa Garden, Mei Foo Sun Chuen and Laguna City, etc.) with a large number of building blocks and residents, are each covered under only one deed of mutual covenant ("DMC") for the entire estate, thus under the Ordinance, only one owners' corporation ("OC") can be formed in respect of the respective mega private housing estates each with nearly 10 000 residents. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number and names of those large private housing estates in Hong Kong which comprise more than 30 blocks and still do not have an OC at present;

    (b)whether it knows if the owners of the large private housing estates in (a) which do not have an OC have made any attempt to form an OC; if they have, of the difficulties encountered by them in the course of forming an OC that had rendered their efforts in vain; given that at present, section 4(10) of the Ordinance requires that a quorum of at least 10% of the owners be present at any meeting resolving to form an OC, whether this was one of the difficulties that they encountered when they were preparing for the formation of an OC; and even for those housing estates where an OC can be formed, whether the OCs concerned have encountered difficulties in maintaining their daily operation and convening meetings;

    (c)what assistance the authorities will offer to the owners of the large private housing estates in order to facilitate their formation of OCs, and whether such assistance includes the provision of legal advice or support; whether the authorities have ever given any assistance to those owners of large private housing estates who encountered difficulties in forming OCs; if they have, of the details; and

    (d)whether the authorities have considered amending the provision under the Ordinance which requires that only one OC may be formed in respect of each DMC, so as to allow those mega private housing estates with only one DMC to split and form many different OCs according to the number of building blocks or development phases?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

It has been reported that the Hospital Authority ("HA") does not have any specific plan to redevelop the Queen Mary Hospital ("QMH") and Kwong Wah Hospital ("KWH"), yet as both of them are major acute hospitals in their respective hospital clusters and have been completed and commissioned for years, their designs have long been unable to cater for the operation needs of the present day, thus affecting the work efficiency of healthcare staff as well as the quality of the services provided, and causing inconvenience to patients. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows the various capital works projects (with the relevant information including the project title, description, location and expenditure incurred, etc. set out in detail in table form) to be taken forward by HA in the coming three financial years;

    (b)whether it knows the respective expenditure on maintenance and repairs incurred by HA for each public hospital in the past three years, with a breakdown (in table form) by name of hospital;

    (c)whether it knows if HA has any plan to improve the respective environment of QMH and KWH in the near future; if it has, of the details and the way to reduce the impacts on the healthcare staff and patients when the works projects are in progress; if not, the reasons for that; whether preliminary studies will first be conducted on the redevelopment or expansion of QMH and KWH at the current stage so that the time required for the works projects can be reduced in future;

    (d)whether it knows the factors to be considered by HA in assessing the redevelopment or expansion of hospitals, and how priorities are set; and

    (e)given the Government's relatively strong financial position at present, whether the Government will take the lead to earmark funds for HA to redevelop or expand its hospitals, and request HA to make long-term planning to meet its future service needs?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

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

An environmental group has conducted a study on Hong Kong's air quality and Air Quality Objectives ("AQOs"), pointing out that according to the ranking of cities released by the World Health Organization ("WHO") in respect of the value of fine suspended particulates (i.e. particulates of a size smaller than an aerodynamic diameter of 2.5 microns) ("PM2.5") in the air, Hong Kong is ranked the 559th (i.e. the bottom eighth) among 566 cities. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the existing three roadside monitoring stations and 11 general monitoring stations in Hong Kong had collected data on PM2.5 in each of the past 10 years; if they had, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and whether such data will be collected continuously in the future;

    (b)whether it knows, according to the statistical data of WHO and other international institutions or organizations, how the values of various types of air pollutants (e.g. PM2.5, respirable suspended particulates, sulphur dioxide and nitrogen dioxide, etc.) in Hong Kong compare with the relevant values in various cities in the world (e.g. of its ranking among various cities); if it knows, of the details;

    (c)given that the current AQOs of Hong Kong do not cover PM2.5, whether the Government will include the value of PM2.5 in the AQOs, and proactively release the relevant data to the public; if it will, of the details and the specific timetable; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (d)given that on 19 May and 8 June last year, the Chief Executive and the Secretary for the Environment respectively said at the Chief Executive's Question and Answer Session and the meeting of this Council that announcements on the new AQOs would be made within 2011 for discussion by the whole community, but so far the Government has not yet put forward the new AQOs, of the reasons for that; of the justifications for the Chief Executive to indicate at the Question and Answer Session that announcements would be made, and the progress and details of updating the AQOs at that time; whether there was any subsequent change regarding the work progress and details so that it could not make the announcements; if so, of the present work progress, details and timetable; whether the Government will require the relevant politically appointed officials to assume political responsibility for failing to put forward the new AQOs within 2011 as the Chief Executive had mentioned?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment

* For written reply

IV. Bills

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

Guardianship of Minors (Amendment) Bill 2011 :Secretary for Labour and Welfare

Secretary for Labour and Welfare to move Committee stage amendments
(The amendments were issued on 4 January 2012
under LC Paper No. CB(3)294/11-12)

V. Members' Motions

  1. Motion under Rule 49E(2) of the Rules of Procedure

    Hon Miriam LAU to move the following motion: (Translation)

    That this Council takes note of Report No. 8/11-12 of the House Committee laid on the Table of the Council on 11 January 2012 in relation to the subsidiary legislation and instrument(s) as listed below:

    Item Number Title of Subsidiary Legislation or Instrument
    (1)Inland Revenue (Double Taxation Relief and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income) (Portuguese Republic) Order (L.N. 155/2011)

    (2)Inland Revenue (Double Taxation Relief and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income) (Kingdom of Spain) Order (L.N. 156/2011)

    (3)Inland Revenue (Double Taxation Relief and Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to Taxes on Income) (Czech Republic) Order (L.N. 157/2011).

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

  2. Formulating a comprehensive mental health policy

    Hon CHEUNG Kwok-che to move the following motion: (Translation)

    That Hong Kong people have persistently faced high rentals, high inflation, long working hours and the absence of retirement protection in their lives, and the Government has also failed to put in place a comprehensive safety net, create a fair competition environment, and provide Hong Kong people with sufficient and affordable homes, thus causing people's livelihood pressure to increase; besides, Hong Kong people's happiness index has long remained on the low side, and the symptoms of mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety are prevalent; government departments and organizations which are currently providing drug treatment and counselling services for people with mental illness and people recovering from mental illness follow different policies, and policy bureaux and administrative departments all adopt an indifferent attitude; hence, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive review of the existing policies and various services; in this connection, this Council urges the Government to formulate a comprehensive mental health policy, strengthen preventive and remedial services, improve the relevant policies on labour, land, healthcare, welfare and education, etc., and build a care-based community, so as to improve Hong Kong people's living environment and mental health quality, reduce their chance of contracting mental illnesses, assist people with mental illness to recover and reintegrate into society, and promote all social sectors to accept people recovering from mental illness to integrate into society.

    Amendments to the motion
    (i) Dr Hon Joseph LEE to move the following amendment: (Translation)

    To add "the Government has long neglected the importance of formulating a sound mental health policy," after "That"; and to delete "and build" after "education, etc.," and substitute with "including reviewing the existing psychiatric services provided by the Hospital Authority and non-profit-making organizations to ensure effective resource allocation between the two, while enhancing service quality and efficiency; comprehensively assessing the demand for healthcare manpower and appropriately increasing the number of healthcare personnel to ensure that the manpower is sufficient to cope with the demand of community mental rehabilitation programmes; and at the same time stepping up the work of mental health education and organizing talks in the community to enable the public to better understand the concept of mental health, with a view to preventing, addressing and identifying at an early stage various types of mental illness as well as building".

    (ii) Hon CHEUNG Man-kwong to move the following amendment: (Translation)

    To add ", given that" after "That"; to add ": (a)" after "the Government to"; and to add "; (b) set up a Mental Health Council to co-ordinate policy formulation, programme arrangements, research and public education, etc. in the area of mental health, so as to promote public understanding and acceptance of people with mental illness and prevent people with mental illness from failing to integrate into the community due to stigmatization and discrimination; (c) implement joint planning for mental rehabilitation services and other community facilities with a view to developing and expanding mental rehabilitation services in the community, and amend the legislation having regard to the changes in the mode of mental rehabilitation services; (d) substantially increase resources and manpower, expeditiously implement a territory-wide case manager system for people with mental illness and people recovering from mental illness, and improve psychiatric drugs, specialist outpatient services as well as community care, so as to address the worsening mental health problem; (e) focusing on the rehabilitation needs of people with mental illness, ameliorate the problem of disconnection between service referral and acceptance, and strengthen the services provided by half-way houses and sheltered workshops as well as the support for patient groups and social workers; and (f) allocate more resources for providing rehabilitation training and developing the Extending Care Patients Intensive Treatment, Early Diversion and Rehabilitation Stepping Stone programme" immediately before the full stop.

    (iii) Dr Hon PAN Pey-chyou to move the following amendment: (Translation)

    To add ", given that" after "That"; to delete "formulate a comprehensive mental health policy, strengthen preventive and remedial services, improve" after "the Government to" and substitute with ": (a) formulate a comprehensive and long-term mental health policy, so as to set a clear direction for the prevention, early detection, treatment, rehabilitation, long-term care and public education of mental illness; (b) strengthen preventive, curative and remedial services, allocate more resources to train and recruit professionals and ancillary personnel engaging in the prevention of mental illness and rehabilitation services, and provide adequate land for developing community treatment and rehabilitation service facilities; (c) clearly position psychiatric services in the public sector so that resources are effectively utilized to treat people whose mental illness is more severe, and resolve the problems in the distribution of resources and facilities among the clusters so as to enhance effectiveness of the services; (d) strengthen training on professional knowledge on psychiatry for healthcare personnel in family medicine and enhance the collaboration between family medicine and psychiatric services, so that family doctors can diagnose and treat various types of mental illness at an early stage and make timely referral of serious cases to psychiatric units for follow-up; (e) allocate more resources for mental illness treatment, particularly for psychological treatment and more advanced drugs, so that people with mental illness can receive the most suitable treatment for their illness; (f) further develop the community medical and rehabilitation services to cater for the needs of people with mental illness and people recovering from mental illness, expand long-term case management, re-introduce evening consultation services, increase community rehabilitation facilities, and reinforce the collaboration of various types of services, with a view to assisting people with mental illness, people recovering from mental illness and their families in coping with the various difficulties in daily life; (g) establish a platform for inter-departmental collaboration, so as to achieve co-ordination among"; and to add "; and (h) encourage the private and public sectors to employ people with disabilities including people recovering from mental illness, encourage the participation of the private sector by means of tax concession, etc., pro-actively promote public education and volunteer work on mental health, eliminate discrimination in the community" after "contracting mental illnesses".

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

    To add "; the relevant measures should include the following: (a) to increase resources for psychiatric services, including recruiting additional healthcare personnel and other allied health staff, strengthen the relevant training for all healthcare personnel, upgrade family doctors' capability of diagnosing and treating relevant diseases, and improve the existing psychiatric services in respect of diagnosis, treatment, drugs, hospitalization and rehabilitation, etc.; (b) to increase resources for various psychiatric specialist services, including child psychiatric service and psychogeriatric service, in order to meet the increasing demand for psychiatric specialist services, such as specific learning disabilities and dementia, etc.; (c) to expeditiously perfect and establish Integrated Community Centres for Mental Wellness in the 18 districts and strengthen the manpower of such centres, so as to enhance the community support and care for people recovering from mental illness, carers or people in the communities; (d) to step up services for discharged patients and people recovering from mental illness, including the provision of evening consultation services to dovetail with the work of people recovering from mental illness and increasing the manpower and training of relevant personnel such as psychiatric community nurses and social workers, etc., so as to reduce discharged patients' chances of relapse; (e) to strengthen public education on mental health, so as to deepen public understanding about mental health and reduce social discrimination against people with mental illness and people recovering from mental illness; and (f) to regularly conduct studies on the mental health situation and policies in Hong Kong, and adopt corresponding measures to upgrade Hong Kong's mental health services" immediately before the full stop.

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Food and Health

  3. Reviewing the population policy

    Hon Vincent FANG to move the following motion: (Translation)

    That, the continuous increase in the number of mainland pregnant women giving birth in Hong Kong constitutes growing pressure on hospitals and the relevant healthcare services in Hong Kong, and the aforesaid Hong Kong-born babies also impose potential pressure on Hong Kong in various respects, such as education, welfare, long-term healthcare, housing and employment, etc., while both the SAR Government's governance and financial resources allocation lack long-term planning, leading to piecemeal policies to deal with problems on an ad hoc basis; besides, the daily quota of 150, which mainly aims at facilitating mainland residents' settlement in Hong Kong for family reunion, has not been fully and properly utilized to resolve the serious mismatch in the employment market and fails to fulfil the original good intent of fostering family reunion and bringing young labour into Hong Kong, but has instead drastically increased Hong Kong's burden in respect of the Comprehensive Social Security Allowance ('CSSA') and coping with population ageing; in this connection, this Council urges the Government to:

    (a)comprehensively review the existing population policy and include in the scope of the review the current problems in the four major areas of welfare, education, housing and CSSA arising from mainland pregnant women giving birth in Hong Kong; make reference to the population policies of developed countries for reviewing whether Hong Kong should continue to allow babies born in Hong Kong to parents who are both non-permanent residents of Hong Kong to enjoy the right of abode in Hong Kong;

    (b)conduct a comprehensive review on the current utilization rate of the daily quota of 150 which mainly aims at facilitating mainland residents' settlement in Hong Kong for family reunion, successful applicants' ages, academic qualifications, skills and employment situation after coming to Hong Kong, as well as the ratio of their applications for CSSA, etc., and, where necessary, adjust the utilization of the quota of 150 having regard to the actual circumstances and needs of Hong Kong's employment market; and

    (c)based on the outcome of the review, formulate a new population policy that suits the long-term development needs of Hong Kong so as to provide reference for the formulation of Policy Addresses and Budgets, and conduct reviews from time to time having regard to Hong Kong's social development in order to ensure the appropriateness of Hong Kong's population policy.

    Amendments to the motion
    (i) Hon Albert HO to move the following amendment: (Translation)

    To add "in the face of the increasingly pressing challenge presented by the problem of population ageing, the Government has not formulated any social policies to cope with the resultant significant increase in expenditure on healthcare, elderly care and retirement protection, etc.; besides, in the face of mainland people's property investments, pursuit of studies, as well as seeking of employment and medical treatment in Hong Kong, the Government has not adopted any effective measures to ensure that the resources enjoyed by Hong Kong people in respect of education, healthcare and housing will not be undermined;" after "That,"; to delete "to resolve the serious mismatch in the employment market" after "utilized"; to delete ", but has instead drastically increased Hong Kong's burden in respect of the Comprehensive Social Security Allowance ('CSSA') and coping with population ageing" after "into Hong Kong"; to delete "CSSA" after "education, housing and" and substitute with "the Comprehensive Social Security Allowance"; to add "adopt measures to deal with the problem of excessive demand for obstetric services arising from large numbers of mainland pregnant women giving birth in Hong Kong, reduce the quota for mainland pregnant women to give birth in Hong Kong, and specify that public hospitals must care for local residents and spouses of Hong Kong people on a priority basis;" after "birth in Hong Kong;"; to delete "ages, academic qualifications, skills and employment situation after coming to Hong Kong, as well as the ratio of their applications for CSSA, etc." after "applicants'" and substitute with "various backgrounds and living conditions, etc., strive for the vetting and approval of such one-way permit applications by the Hong Kong authorities"; to delete "and" after "Kong's employment market;"; and to add "; and (d) formulate a medium-term public finances strategy for the next 10 years, project the impact of population ageing on taxation and the expenditure pattern of public finance, and allocate funding from the fiscal surplus to set up an 'old age population fund', followed by an annual capital injection from the accumulated surplus of the Exchange Fund, so as to cope with future drastic increases in public expenditure arising from population ageing" immediately before the full stop.

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

    To add "since the release of the Report of the Task Force on Population Policy in 2003, the Government has never announced any new report on the population policy, and in recent years," after "That,"; to add ", especially those whose spouses are non-permanent residents of Hong Kong (commonly known as 'doubly non-permanent resident pregnant women')," after "of mainland pregnant women giving birth in Hong Kong"; to delete "to resolve the serious mismatch in the employment market" after "utilized"; to delete "and bringing young labour into Hong Kong, but has instead drastically increased Hong Kong's burden in respect of the Comprehensive Social Security Allowance ('CSSA') and coping with population ageing" after "fostering family reunion"; to add "face up to the problem of 'doubly non-permanent resident pregnant women' giving birth in Hong Kong, and formulate effective and immediate corresponding measures, including adjusting the entry control policy, combating illegal acts involving mainland pregnant women giving birth in Hong Kong, controlling the number of 'doubly non-permanent resident pregnant women' giving birth in Hong Kong, and enhancing the management of obstetric and gynaecology services in the public and private sectors; (b)" after "(a)"; to delete the original "(b)" and substitute with "(c)"; to delete "rate" after "current utilization"; to delete "successful applicants' ages, academic qualifications, skills and employment situation after coming to Hong Kong, as well as the ratio of their applications for CSSA, etc., and, where necessary, adjust the utilization of the quota of 150 having regard to the actual circumstances and needs of Hong Kong's employment market; and" after "150 which mainly aims at facilitating mainland residents' settlement in Hong Kong for family reunion," and substitute with "and having regard to the outcome and actual local circumstances, discuss with the Mainland on adjusting the utilization of the quota of 150; (d) review the various existing schemes for attracting talents and investment migrants as well as importing labour, and on the premise of protecting Hong Kong residents' priority in employment, supplement the local workforce having regard to the actual circumstances and needs of the Hong Kong employment market as well as attract more talents and capitals to Hong Kong, so as to dovetail with local economic development; and"; and to delete the original "(c)" and substitute with "(e)".

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

    To add "given that" after "That,"; to add "whose spouses are non-Hong Kong residents" after "of mainland pregnant women giving birth in Hong Kong"; to delete "to resolve the serious mismatch in the employment market and fails to" after "utilized" and substitute with ", resulting in the failure to fully"; to delete "drastically increased Hong Kong's burden in respect of the Comprehensive Social Security Allowance ('CSSA') and coping with population ageing" after "instead" and substitute with "increased Hong Kong's social burden"; to delete "problems" after "review the current" and substitute with "implications"; to delete "CSSA" after "education, housing and" and substitute with "the Comprehensive Social Security Allowance ('CSSA')"; to add "mainland pregnant women whose spouses are non-Hong Kong residents to give birth in Hong Kong, or allow" after "to allow"; to add "and examine the problem of punitive charges, etc. for mainland pregnant women giving birth in Hong Kong whose spouses are Hong Kong residents; (b) proactively consider making reference to the arrangement and method adopted by the Macao SAR Government for resolving the problem relating to its residents' overage children on the Mainland, and, with family reunion as the primary objective, expeditiously allow overage children to use the one-way permit quota in an orderly manner, so as to completely resolve the historical problem of Hong Kong residents' children on the Mainland coming to Hong Kong for family reunion, and at the same time avoid a sudden and drastic increase in the Hong Kong population; (c) proactively consider discussing with the exit and entry control departments of the Mainland on further enhancing the transparency of the applications for one-way permits, including expeditiously announcing a timetable for the phased acceptance of overage children's applications for settling in Hong Kong and the queuing order of the applications, so as to enable applicants to know as early as possible the information, quantity, progress, and categories, etc., regarding mainland residents applying for one-way permits to come to Hong Kong, thereby allowing Hong Kong society to make a more comprehensive assessment and projection in its discussions on the population policy and relevant measures;" after "abode in Hong Kong;"; to delete the original "(b)" and substitute with "(d)"; to delete "and, where necessary, adjust the utilization of the quota of 150 having regard to the actual circumstances and needs of Hong Kong's employment market" after "for CSSA, etc.," and substitute with "so as to provide these new arrivals with more appropriate support and services in various aspects such as daily living, adaptation and vocational training, etc., and help them integrate into society expeditiously, and at the same time serve as reference for formulating long-term population and social policies"; and to delete the original "(c)" and substitute with "(e)".

    (iv) Hon Paul TSE to move the following amendment: (Translation)

    To add "given that" after "That,"; and to add "; and, based on the outcome of the above review, after weighing the pros and cons and in case of no better alternatives, seek in a decisive and timely manner interpretation of the Basic Law by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in accordance with the first paragraph of Article 158 of the Basic Law regarding the right of abode issue of the aforesaid babies born in Hong Kong" after "abode in Hong Kong".

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

    To delete "," after "That" and substitute with "all along the SAR Government lacks a strategy specifically for co-ordinating population development, making it at a loss what to do with the sudden population increase;"; to delete "constitutes" after "of mainland pregnant women giving birth in Hong Kong" and substitute with "whose husbands are also non-Hong Kong residents causes"; to delete ", leading to" after "planning" and substitute with "and only"; to delete "to deal with" after "piecemeal policies" and substitute with "are adopted to respond to"; to delete "Hong Kong's burden in respect of the Comprehensive Social Security Allowance ('CSSA') and" after "increased" and substitute with "the uncertainties of Hong Kong's capacity in formulating various relevant policies and the burden of"; to delete "four major" after "problems in the"; to add "healthcare," after "areas of"; to delete "CSSA" after "education, housing and" and substitute with "the Comprehensive Social Security Allowance ('CSSA')"; to delete "; make reference to the population policies of developed countries for reviewing whether Hong Kong should continue to allow babies born in Hong Kong to parents who are both non-permanent residents of Hong Kong to enjoy the right of abode in Hong Kong" after "from mainland pregnant women giving birth in Hong Kong" and substitute with ", and negotiate with the Central Government and study improving the arrangement for mainland visitors to enter Hong Kong, so as to avoid the possibility of pregnant women overstaying in Hong Kong after entry for giving birth"; to add "discuss with the Central Government and request it to expeditiously return the vetting and approval authority relating to one-way permit applications to the HKSAR Government;" after "employment market; and"; to delete "based on the outcome of the review, formulate a new population policy that suits the long-term development needs of Hong Kong" after "(c)" and substitute with "require a high-level standing organization to regularly study and review the population policy for the future, and based on the outcome of the review and under the principles of protecting the employment of the local workforce and introducing professionals that Hong Kong lacks, formulate long-term, medium-term and short-term population policy targets,"; and to add "; and (d) before satisfying the demand of local pregnant women for obstetric and gynaecology services, require public hospitals to completely stop accepting mainland pregnant women whose husbands are also non-Hong Kong residents, and require private hospitals to accord priority to serving local pregnant women, thereby maintaining the number of babies born in Hong Kong to mainland women within the capacity of public services" immediately before the full stop.

    Public Officers to attend : The Chief Secretary for Administration
    Secretary for Security
    Secretary for Food and Health

Clerk to the Legislative Council