A 11/12-25

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 25 April 2012 at 11:00 am

I. Tabling of Papers

1.Report No. 17/11-12 of the House Committee on Consideration of Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments
(to be presented by Hon Miriam LAU, Chairman of the House Committee)

2.Report of the Bills Committee on Securities and Futures (Amendment) Bill 2011
(to be presented by Hon CHAN Kam-lam, Chairman of the Bills Committee)

3.Report of the Bills Committee on The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (Amendment) Bill 2011
(to be presented by Ir Dr Hon Raymond HO, Chairman of the Bills Committee)

II. Questions

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

Quite a number of members of the social welfare sector and elderly people have relayed to me that the appointment of most of the members of the Elderly Commission ("EC") is very controversial and contrary to the general rule that a non-official member of an advisory body should not serve on the same body for more than six years. Despite criticisms from a number of Legislative Council Members of the current term, the Government continues to re-appoint such members or even appointed some of them as EC Chairman or Vice-chairman. Some frontline social workers have pointed out that the Government's practice of cronyism has led to years of failure in its elderly policy, causing quite a number of elderly people to suffer innocently. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of elderly people who died in the past five years while waiting for elderly services (including places in subsidized residential care homes for the elderly ("RCHEs"), private RCHEs participating in the bought place scheme (including contract RCHEs), subsidized Nursing Home, Integrated Home Care Services and Enhanced Home and Community Care Services), and set out the breakdown and the total numbers by year;

    (b)as the EC Chairman has been appointed as non-official EC member for 13 years and the Vice-chairman for nine years, whether the Government assesses the performance of EC members on the basis of the number of elderly people who died while waiting for elderly services to decide if such members should stay on or be appointed as EC Chairman or Vice-chairman; and

    (c)of the Government's measures to enhance the credibility of EC and address the public concern that EC may have become a bargaining chip for political deals and transfers of benefits for political parties, the business sector and people from the pro-Government camp; whether the Government will consider appointing members of the Panel on Welfare Services of this Council and representatives from the Hong Kong Council of Social Service and various elderly groups as ex-officio EC members, so that they may assist in formulating policies from a professional point of view and reflect public opinion; if it will, of the time of appointment; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

2. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)

It has earlier been reported in the press that some District Council ("DC") members intended to put up certain posters (e.g. posters about "Safeguarding of a corruption-free Hong Kong requires a clean government", "A march to protest against ‘Ying and violence'" and "Protest against MTR fare increase") in public housing estates ("PHEs") managed by the Housing Department ("HD") to draw residents' attention to social issues, but HD refused to give permission. I have also received complaints alleging that HD refused to give permission for the complainant to put up in PHEs posters on a motion moved in the Legislative Council to exercise the powers conferred by the Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance for the purpose of inquiring into the acceptance of entertainment by the Chief Executive, as well as those posters which criticize the Transport Department's policies as confusing and object the cancellation of bus routes, and pointing out that such practice deviates from the past practice of HD which had all along permitted the posting of various kinds of posters. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the reasons why HD did not permit the aforesaid posters to be posted in PHEs, and why the current practice deviates from that in the past; whether HD has revised its internal guidelines on vetting and approving applications for putting up posters, or tightened the specific interpretation of such guidelines; if not, of the reason for the differences between the current and past practices which are both following the same internal guidelines, whether any policy change is involved, whether the authorities have exercised political self-censorship, whether the change in practice involves political consideration, and of the criteria for vetting the contents of posters;

    (b)whether the authorities have assessed the impact of the current practice, including the impact on the work of Members of this Council and DC members in criticizing and monitoring the Government and accounting for the work of the councils to members of the public, as well as the impact on the right of public rental housing tenants to receive social information; and

    (c)whether the internal guidelines of the Government will be reviewed to safeguard the right of the general public to receive social information from Members of this Council and DC members?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

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

The MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL") recorded a surplus of $14.7 billion last year, but it announced in March this year that it will increase MTR fares by as high as 5.4% in June this year in accordance with the Fare Adjustment Mechanism ("FAM") which provides for both upward and downward adjustments, and it will at the same time provide some fare concessions. This is the third consecutive year that MTR fares are being increased and the rate of increase this year is the highest since the implementation of FAM in 2009, resulting in an increase in passengers' travel expenses. Yet, MTR incidents occur frequently; according to the figures provided to this Council by the Transport and Housing Bureau, 839 railway related incidents which have to be reported to the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department in accordance with the Mass Transit Railway Regulations occurred last year, representing an increase of 9% over the figure of 2010. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows the fare concessions that MTRCL offered to passengers in the past three years, and the respective numbers of passengers who benefitted from such concessions as well as the expenditures incurred, and set out the figures in table form;

    (b)of the current review procedures of FAM; whether it will review FAM earlier and consider including in FAM the authority of the Government to vet and approve fare adjustments to prevent MTRCL from effectuating fare increases automatically according to FAM; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether it will in the future consider linking the rate of increase in MTR fares to the number of the aforesaid railway related incidents as a penalty system, and to monitor the performance of MTR; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and how the Government will ensure that such incidents of MTR will not occur persistently, and timely and quality services will be provided?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

4. Hon CHEUNG Kwok-che to ask: (Translation)

While Hong Kong is Asia's world city, quite a number of people are still living in sub-divisions of flat units (commonly known as "sub-divided units"), cubicle apartments and bedspace apartments (commonly known as "caged homes"). In addition to appalling living conditions, the layout of these residential units also hinders escape and rescue efforts in case of fire. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective and total numbers of households currently living in sub-divided units, cubicle apartments and caged homes according to the estimates made by the authorities; the respective and total numbers of inspections of sub-divided units, cubicle apartments and caged homes conducted by the Buildings Department and the Fire Services Department in the past six months, together with the respective and total numbers of households and flat units involved, and among them, the respective and total numbers of households and flat units involved in cases of contravention of the Buildings Ordinance and the Fire Services Ordinance;

    (b)of the number of fires which involved the aforesaid three categories of residential units in each of the past four quarters; the measures currently put in place by the authorities to prevent and cope with fires in the aforesaid three categories of residential units; and

    (c)of the respective and total numbers of residents of the aforesaid three categories of residential units who were allocated public rental housing ("PRH") units in each of the past three years; how the authorities help those residents currently living in the aforesaid three categories of residential units move into PRH units as soon as possible; whether the authorities will increase public housing production to shorten the waiting time for such persons?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

Will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the authorities have studied the research and development ("R&D") situation in science and technology in Hong Kong and Singapore; if they have, how the two places compare with each other in respect of their strengths and weaknesses in this regard;

    (b)apart from the Research and Development Cash Rebate Scheme, whether the authorities have formulated other specific measures to encourage local universities to participate in R&D projects in science and technology undertaken by the innovation and technology sector and the industrial sector, so as to enhance Hong Kong's overall capability in R&D in science and technology; and

    (c)whether it knows if local universities at present collaborate with the innovation and technology sector and the industrial sector in the development of R&D projects in science and technology; if they do, of the number and scopes of research of such projects, as well as the amounts of investment involved?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

6. Hon Paul CHAN to ask: (Translation)

In order to support the adoption of railways as the backbone of Hong Kong's transport system, the Government gives the MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL") various items of support, including granting to MTRCL the property development rights on top of the stations along the railway. However, MTRCL's Fare Adjustment Mechanism does not take into account the series of MTRCL's benefits arising from property development rights. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the real estate projects the property development rights of which were obtained by the Mass Transit Railway Corporation ("MTRC") before the rail merger; in respect of each of the projects, the land premium paid by MTRC; the amount of grant provided to MTRC by the Government based on estimates to bridge the funding gap when it granted the property development rights to MTRC; the actual revenue received by MTRC after completing the development; the difference between such revenue and the funding gap bridged by the government grant which was calculated based on estimates; the respective annual rentals and other revenues for the year ended 31 December 2011 and the 15 years before that year derived by MTRC from the properties in those real estate projects which were not sold but were partly or wholly kept by MTRC for rent or business operation purposes; the respective amounts of the fair value or valuation of these properties from the dates of completion to the end of each of the years; and set out the aforesaid information of each project in table form;

    (b)when MTRC merged with the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation ("KCRC") to form MTRCL in 2007, whether the Government had sold to MTRCL all property development rights on top of the stations along the Kowloon-Canton Railway; if not, how the property development rights not sold to MTRCL were dealt with in that year; if so, list the locations and the details and scales of development of such projects in table form; of the price (including the land premium per square foot of floor space and the total amount of land premium) paid by MTRCL for each project; the respective actual revenues (after deducting the aforesaid price paid to KCRC or the Government) derived by MTRCL from the completed projects; in each of the undeveloped projects, the difference between the current estimated land premium per square foot of floor space and that paid by MTRCL to KCRC or the Government at that time; set out in table form the aforesaid related information in respect of the developed and undeveloped parts of those projects which are under development but are not fully completed; and

    (c)of the details (including whether the funding gaps for the projects were subsidized with the returns from property development (e.g. the South Island Line) or the projects were constructed with government funding (e.g. the West Island Line)) of the funding arrangement for each railway project confirmed for construction after the rail merger; of the respective amounts of land premium received or to be received from MTRCL and the funding gap subsidized or to be subsidized in respect of the projects the property development rights of which were granted by the Government, with a breakdown in table form by project?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

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

The Development Bureau pointed out in its paper submitted to the Panel on Development of this Council on 22 November 2011 that as the implementation of the project on Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai Boundary Control Point required resumption and clearance of the whole Chuk Yuen Village ("CYV"), the Government would provide a village resite area at Ta Kwu Ling with supporting infrastructure to resite those villagers of CYV who were eligible for village removal terms. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the policy currently in place for removal of villages in the New Territories, and provide the relevant papers;

    (b)given that it has been learnt that some villagers of CYV do not hold the land title of their houses, how the authorities make the removal arrangement for those indigenous villagers ("IVs") who do not own any building land;

    (c)of the detailed arrangements for the construction of resite houses by the Government for IVs of CYV and the compensation involved (including the relationship between compensation options and the type and area of the original building lands, as well as other factors of consideration; building specifications of resite houses; compensation options for building lands on which abandoned, vacant or collapsed houses are located; the formula for calculating the resite house entitlements which are offered in cash; the compensation arrangement for IVs who own more than one piece of building land; the number of building lots within the village environs of CYV for which compensation was offered; the respective total numbers of resite houses and sites as well as the total amount of building allowance covered by resite house entitlements offered as compensation); and

    (d)of the latest details of and the detailed expenditures incurred in the removal of the whole CYV(including a breakdown of the number of resite houses built by the Government, the building costs of each resite house and the amount of compensation, etc.)?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

*8. Hon Mrs Regina IP to ask: (Translation)

At a special meeting of the Finance Committee of this Council, the Secretary for Security pointed out that last year, around 50% of the non-local pregnant women rushing directly to the accident and emergency ("A&E") department of public hospitals for delivery without appointment entered Hong Kong in cross-boundary private vehicles that have obtained approval for regular quotas (commonly known as "cross-boundary vehicle licences"); hence, out of the 1 656 non-local pregnant women giving birth in public hospitals last year via A&E departments, around 800 entered Hong Kong in cross-boundary private vehicles. Earlier on, at a public hearing held by the Panel on Transport of this Council, many members of the public expressed concern that, in view of implementation of the first phase of the trial scheme on one-off ad hoc quotas for Guangdong/Hong Kong cross-boundary private cars ("self-drive tour scheme") in March this year, vehicles going to Guangdong under the scheme might similarly be abused and used to carry non-local pregnant women to Hong Kong on their return trip. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)given that at the aforesaid public hearing, some members of the Panel queried the effectiveness of the measure of the Department of Health deploying healthcare staff to assist the authorized officers of the Immigration Department at boundary control points in identifying pregnant women, pointing out that the healthcare staff may not be able to determine whether a person entering the territory is pregnant just by visual inspection, as well as doubting that they are not conferred adequate authority and are not able to stop and check those suspected pregnant women, and some members even pointed out the acute manpower shortage of the healthcare staff concerned, what measures the authorities have in place to tackle the problems pointed out by the members; of the current number of healthcare staff deployed to station at boundary control points, and whether such manpower will be further increased; and

    (b)given that the measures for drivers and passengers of cross-boundary private vehicles to cross the boundary without alighting from vehicles are implemented at Shenzhen Bay Port ("SBP") at present, whether the inspection facilities at SBP are sufficient to effectively prevent the abusive use of the "self-drive tour scheme" as a means for non-local pregnant women to enter Hong Kong; if so, of the specific details; if not, whether it has any plan to update the facilities; if it has, of the implementation timetable?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

*9. Hon Fred LI to ask: (Translation)

In recent years, I have received complaints from quite a number of families of four persons or more which are applying for public rental housing ("PRH") that they have been waiting for a very long time but have yet to be allocated PRH units, and that even those with elderly family members are not allocated PRH units within three years, let alone priority allocation for elderly persons. In reply to a question from a Member of this Council in February this year, the Government indicated that at present, the demand for large units remained strong and PRH units accommodating larger households were in short supply. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of large PRH units allocated to family applicants with four or more members in each of the past three years; the average waiting time of those family applicants with four or more members which were allocated PRH units, and the number of those which had waited for more than three years; if the relevant figures are not available, of the reasons for that;

    (b)of the current number of family applicants with four or more members on the Waiting List for PRH (together with a breakdown by their waiting time, i.e. less than three years, three to less than four years, four to less than five years, and five years or more); if the relevant figures are not available, of the reasons for that;

    (c)whether the authorities collect information on the waiting time of family applicants with four or more members on the Waiting List through the annual Survey on Waiting List Applicants for Public Rental Housing; if not, of the reasons for that;

    (d)of the numbers of newly completed or refurbished large PRH units available for allocation to family applicants with four or more members in each of the next five years according to the authorities' projection, together with a breakdown by district; and

    (e)of the means (including whether existing construction arrangements will be reviewed with a view to building more large PRH units) by which the authorities can accelerate the provision of large PRH units for allocation to family applicants with four or more members?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

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

In reply to my question raised at the Council meeting of 6 July last year concerning the arrangement of the Social Welfare Department ("SWD") in requiring Social Work Officers ("SWOs") to use their personal identity card ("ID card") numbers to act as appointees of relevant Comprehensive Social Security Assistance ("CSSA") applicants concerned, the Secretary for Labour and Welfare ("SLW") pointed out that SWD had considered the feasibility of using other proofs of identity, such as Government Identity Card/Departmental Identity Card ("GIC/DIC") numbers, as substitute for ID card numbers, but as the numbers of such proofs may be changed and replaced, and other information shown thereon may be outdated, they are not safe and unique means for identification purpose, and the use of them to replace ID card numbers may result in a higher risk of mistakes in the release of CSSA payments when the appointees approach SWD for immediate advance of cash for recipients. SLW also indicated that for the aforesaid reasons, SWD is still adopting the existing arrangement but will continue to explore the feasibility of using other identity documents to replace ID cards. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)given that SLW indicated that SWD will continue to explore the feasibility of using other identity documents to replace ID cards, whether any concrete progress has been made so far; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)with regard to the concern that GIC/DIC numbers are not safe and unique means for identification purpose, whether SWD can make use of such card numbers and verify against the departmental records and staff management and accounting records to confirm the identity of SWOs; if it can, whether the authorities will use GIC/DIC numbers as substitute for ID card numbers; if not, of the justifications for that; and

    (c)in the meantime when SWD continues to explore the feasibility of using other identity documents to replace ID cards, how SWD protects the privacy of the personal data of SWOs contained in the case files concerned (including whether the documents therein which contain their ID card numbers are put in sealed envelopes, and with such numbers obliterated); further, of the details of the next step of work of the authorities in exploring the feasibility of using other identity documents?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

*11. Dr Hon David LI to ask:

Regarding the three-month public consultation commencing on 1 September 2011 on the initial proposals for the Regional Cooperation Plan on Building a Quality Living Area ("the Plan"), will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)as the dedicated web site (www.gprd-qla.com) for the consultation is unreachable, how members of the public may follow future progress under the Plan;

    (b)whether a dedicated coordinating framework or agency exists among the Governments of Guangdong, Macao and Hong Kong to take forward the cross-boundary initiatives outlined in the consultation document; if not, whether the three Governments have held any discussion with a view to establishing a dedicated coordinating framework or agency and the details thereof; and

    (c)whether the Government has conducted any review to identify measures which can be taken forward before final decisions are made so as to score "early wins" (e.g. noting the significant progress that Guangdong Province has made in creating cycling "greenways" since the beginning of 2010, whether the Hong Kong Government has given consideration to facilitating cycle access across the boundary)?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment

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

The Government published in 2003 the Report of the Task Force on Population Policy ("the Report") which recommended the dedication of resources to take forward the population policy and review annually the implementation of relevant decisions and programmes, with a view to publishing a report every two to three years. In addition, the Government established in 2007 the Steering Committee on Population Policy ("SCPP") which is led by the Chief Secretary for Administration ("CS"), with a view to facilitating the planning and coordination of efforts on population policy. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the authorities follow the recommendations made in the Report to publish a review report on population policy every two to three years; if so, of the respective years when the review reports were published; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)of the total number of formal meetings held by SCPP since its establishment, and the policy recommendations put forth by it; and

    (c)given that in the 2010-2011 Policy Address, the Chief Executive indicated that he had asked SCPP to focus its study on two topics, namely "ways to facilitate and support our elderly people to settle in the Mainland after retirement if they so wish" and "the ramifications of children born in Hong Kong to Mainland women returning to Hong Kong to study and live", and CS's Office pointed out in its paper submitted to this Council in December 2010 that "[t]he SCPP will study the above two topics in detail in the coming months and aims at working out initial proposals in about a year's time", when the relevant study will be completed and when the proposals will be published?
Public Officer to reply : The Chief Secretary for Administration

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

A number of small and medium-sized enterprises in Hong Kong have relayed to me that, with the rapid development of the Chinese economy, the mainland market has profound potential for development, and quite a number of Hong Kong enterprises hope to seize the business opportunities brought by the "Outline of the Twelfth Five-Year Plan for the National Economic and Social Development of the People's Republic of China" ("the 12th Five-Year Plan") and expand domestic sales on the Mainland. However, due to inadequate support from the offices of the Hong Kong SAR Government on the Mainland ("Offices on the Mainland"), they lack understanding of the actual situation of the mainland market and the channels to access the market. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the total number of requests for assistance from Hong Kong enterprises in developing businesses on the Mainland received by various Offices on the Mainland in each of the past five years, and the number of such cases in which assistance had been provided;

    (b)of the total number of Hong Kong enterprises which had received support services for business development from various Offices on the Mainland in each of the past five years, with a breakdown by type of service;

    (c)of the general procedure and practices of the Offices on the Mainland for handling requests for assistance made by Hong Kong enterprises when developing businesses on the Mainland;

    (d)whether it plans to increase the number of Offices on the Mainland and expand their functions in response to the huge market on the Mainland and rising demand for support from Hong Kong enterprises; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (e)whether the Offices on the Mainland will conduct regular surveys on the market conditions in various mainland provinces and cities, and provide Hong Kong enterprises with the relevant and detailed information; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (f)whether the Offices on the Mainland will assist Hong Kong enterprises which intend to develop their businesses on the Mainland in liaising and acquainting with the appropriate government departments and relevant regulatory authorities on the Mainland, and inform them of the channels to access the market; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (g)whether the Offices on the Mainland will consider providing legal and taxation services to the Hong Kong enterprises developing businesses on the Mainland; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (h)of the specific plans put in place by the Offices on the Mainland to further assist Hong Kong enterprises in expanding domestic sales in the mainland market and seizing the business opportunities brought by the 12th Five-Year Plan;

    (i)given the reply of the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development to my question on 29 February this year that should individual Hong Kong enterprises encounter problems in accessing the mainland market, they can provide the specific details to the Offices on the Mainland, which will relay the cases with reference to their contents to the relevant mainland authorities and then pursue follow-up action, of the total number of cases received by various Offices on the Mainland and referred to the mainland government departments in each of the past five years, and among such cases, the number of those which had been settled; and

    (j)whether comparison has been made on the difference between the work of various Offices on the Mainland and that of the overseas offices of the SAR Government in helping Hong Kong enterprises develop their businesses; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs

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

It has been learnt that earlier on a man allegedly attempted to induce and abduct several students of the La Salle Primary School ("LSPS") in Kowloon Tong near the school when they were on their way walking to take a nanny van after school. LSPS reported the case to the Police for record. In addition, crime squad police officers collected video records of the closed-circuit television cameras nearby for investigation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of children who went missing in the territory of Hong Kong in the past three years; among them, the number of those who were suspected to be abducted, induced or kidnapped; the number of those who were successfully found, and whether any of them who went missing in Hong Kong was found outside the territory;

    (b)of the number of persons arrested for allegedly to have abducted, induced, forcibly taken away or kidnapped children in the past three years; among them, the number of those who were convicted, and the penalties generally imposed on them; whether the persons arrested (including those who were eventually acquitted) included any non-Hong Kong resident;

    (c)given that it has been reported that recently incidents involving suspected failed attempts of abducting and inducing children occurred one after another in many public places in Hong Kong, and some parents reported the incidents to the Police for assistance afterwards, whether the Police has formulated any contingency measure in respect of the series of cases of alleged attempts of abducting and inducing children; if so, of the measures; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (d)whether the Police has, in respect of the recent incidents involving suspected failed attempts of children abduction, liaised with the law enforcement departments on the Mainland and exchanged intelligence with them; if so, whether there are signs showing that "children abduction syndicates" from the Mainland attempt to abduct children in the territory of Hong Kong; if not, of the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

Regarding child care assistance and child care services, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows the respective numbers of children aged between 0 and 3 as well as 4 and 6 in various districts in the past three years, broken down by the 18 District Council districts ("18 districts") in Hong Kong;

    (b)of the respective service quotas of child care centres, kindergarten-cum-child care centres, residential child care centres, special child care centres, mutual help child care centres and Neighbourhood Support Child Care Project ("NSCCP") in various districts in the past three years, broken down by the 18 districts in Hong Kong;

    (c)of the respective current demands for the services of child care centres, kindergarten-cum-child care centres, residential child care centres, special child care centres, mutual help child care centres and NSCCP, broken down by the 18 districts in Hong Kong; the respective average waiting time for the services of the various types of centres;

    (d)of the respective service quotas of child care centres, kindergarten-cum-child care centres, residential child care centres, special child care centres, mutual help child care centres and NSCCP provided by the authorities in 2012-2013, broken down by the 18 districts in Hong Kong; the increase/decrease in these service quotas;

    (e)whether the authorities have conducted a review of the various types of child care assistance and child care services; if they have, when the review was conducted and what the outcome is; if not, of the reasons for that;

    (f)of the respective general service hours of child care centres, kindergarten-cum-child care centres, residential child care centres, special child care centres, mutual help child care centres and NSCCP at present; given that quite a number of parents have to work for increasingly long hours, whether the authorities will consider extending the service hours of such centres; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (g)in respect of NSCCP, of the number of persons who had served as home-based child carers and the number of home-based child carers the authorities had planned to recruit in the past three years, broken down by the 18 districts in Hong Kong?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

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

In recent years, the Government and various sectors of the community advocate abandoning the use of incandescent light bulbs ("ILBs") and replacing them with the use of compact fluorescent lamps ("CFLs") and light emitting diode ("LED") lights. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows, in each of the past five years:
    (a)the respective quantities of ILBs imported to and re-exported through Hong Kong and the local market share of ILBs;

    (b)the respective quantities of CFLs imported to and re-exported through Hong Kong and the local market share of CFLs; and

    (c)the respective quantities of LED lights imported to and re-exported through Hong Kong and the local market share of LED lights?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment

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

It has been reported that the Consumer Council ("CC") has started discussions with the beauty industry in 2006 and drawn up a Beauty Industry Code of Practice ("CoP") with a view to enhancing service quality of the industry and consumer confidence through self-regulation by the practitioners in the beauty industry. Recently, CC has also published the Report on Unfair Terms in Standard Form Consumer Contract, in which CC recommends that fair terms be adopted and a cooling-off period be provided in standard form consumer contracts ("standard contracts") to protect the rights and interests of consumers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows the number of complaints received by CC in the past three years regarding the pre-payment mode of consumption, the total amounts of money involved and follow-up results, together with a breakdown by industry (including beauty, fitness and other industries);

    (b)whether the authorities will take specific measures to encourage the beauty and other industries to adopt the standard contract proposed by CC so as to tie in with the publicity and promotion campaign of CC; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; whether the authorities will consider stepping up relevant public education to enable members of the public to know about the latest sample of standard contract released by CC, and encourage them to advocate the use of relevant standard contracts among the traders; if they will, of the details; and

    (c)whether at present the authorities will consider incorporating the principles and/or specific terms of CC's CoP into the legal framework for regulating trade practices, and implementing specifically the "Guidelines on drafting standard form consumer contracts for beauty industry" and the cooling-off period arrangement recommended by CC for the pre-payment mode of consumption through enacting legislation; if they will, of the specific arrangements for the legislative study and public consultation concerned; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

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

Regarding the waste management strategies for Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective costs per tonne for waste treatment through the three strategic landfills and incineration in the past five years, broken down by the procedures of waste collection, transportation, transfer and final disposal; further, the Government's estimation of the respective relevant costs after the extension of the three strategic landfills as planned; as well as the respective relevant costs it estimated for waste treatment at the planned Shek Kwu Chau incinerator;

    (b)according to relevant information or the Government's estimation, of the cost incurred in the past five years for reducing each tonne of waste through the strategy of waste reduction at source, together with a breakdown by the various measures related to this strategy (e.g. publicity, education and recovery programmes, etc.);

    (c)of the Government's estimation of the cost per tonne for waste treatment through the strategy of anaerobic digestion and composting at the planned Organic Waste Treatment Facilities ("OWTFs") in Siu Ho Wan and Sha Ling, together with a breakdown by various procedures of waste collection, transportation, transfer and final disposal; the operation mode of OWTFs; besides these two OWTFs, whether the authorities have planned to identify other sites for the construction of additional OWTFs, with a view to increasing the quantity of organic and food waste treated; if they have, of the details and work schedule; if not, the reasons for that; apart from developing public OWTFs, whether the authorities have any policy in place to support the development of private waste treatment centres or facilities; if they have, of the details and timetable of implementation; if not, the reasons for that;

    (d)of the latest progress, details and timetable of the respective legislative exercises relating to the full implementation of the Product Responsibility Schemes ("PRS") in respect of six types of products, namely, vehicle tyres, plastic shopping bags, electrical and electronic equipment, packaging materials, beverage containers and rechargeable batteries; whether it has conducted impact assessment on the full implementation of PRS in respect of these six types of products; if so, of the assessment details for each type of products; if not, the reasons for that; the expected changes in the respective quantity of waste generated in Hong Kong after the full implementation of PRS in respect of the various types of products;

    (e)apart from raising the target of waste recovery rate to 55% by 2015, whether the Government has set any clear and feasible target for waste management strategies including waste reduction at source, recycling, waste separation and recovery as well as addressing the waste problem at the output end, etc., and whether it has assessed the optimal and minimal outcome which can be attained through various waste management strategies; if it has, set out the outcome by strategy and type of waste (e.g. domestic waste, commercial waste, municipal solid waste and overall construction waste, etc.); further, in setting such targets and implementing the waste management strategies, whether the Government compares the respective advantages and weaknesses between implementing the relevant measures as a package and introducing them one by one; if so, of the details and the respective outcome that can be attained through different combinations of measures; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (f)whether it had compiled statistics in the past five years on the annual quantity of waste produced by travellers visiting Hong Kong; if it had, of the quantity of waste produced by those visiting Hong Kong under the Individual Visit Scheme, the percentage of such waste in the annual quantity of waste produced by travellers visiting Hong Kong, and the impact of which on waste management in Hong Kong?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment

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

It has been reported that, due to the power outage in the building in which the New Territories switching centre of the SmarTone Telecommunications Limited ("SmarTone") is situated, its mobile communication and Internet services for various districts of Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories were disrupted on 9 April 2012 for about eight hours, affecting as many as 1.5 million users. Yet, SmarTone had still not given any explanation or made any announcement on the incident by that evening and the company released a statement on the disruption only by 10 April. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the authorities have assessed the impact of the aforesaid incident on the daily operation of Hong Kong as an international financial centre; if they have, of the assessment results; if not, whether an assessment can be conducted as soon as possible;

    (b)whether telecommunications service providers ("service providers") are required by the Government to take contingency measures to minimize the inconvenience and losses caused to users during service disruptions; if so, of such contingency measures; if not, the reasons for that;

    (c)in response to the aforesaid incident, whether the Government has considered enhancing its supervision of large service providers and imposing heavier penalties on service providers for contraventions of regulations so as to ensure the stability of telecommunications services and reduce the chances of occurring similar incidents;

    (d)given that some academics have pointed out that at present, service providers should normally provide "three levels of support" in their service delivery systems to ensure that services will remain unaffected during system breakdown but some newspaper reports have pointed out that SmarTone provides only "two levels of support" in its service delivery system, rendering it unable to repair the system immediately during system breakdown, whether the Government will consider setting standards on the stability of service delivery systems to safeguard the public's interests;

    (e)given that during the aforesaid incident, quite a number of members of the public called the customer service centre of SmarTone or visited its stores to enquire about the cause of the incident, but different replies were given by its customer service centre and stores, of the Government's existing mechanism or policy to safeguard the right of telecommunications service users to be given timely information in case of similar incidents;

    (f)whether the authorities have assessed the number of standby officials and healthcare personnel of various policy bureaux, government departments and hospitals who needed to use the services of SmarTone during the disruption of its services, as well as the impact of the incident on their work; if so, of the assessment results; if not, whether an assessment can be made as soon as possible; and

    (g)in response to the aforesaid incident, whether the Government has considered requiring the five service providers with the largest market shares to come up with an emergency response mechanism so that in case one service provider suffers from network failure, the others will provide communication network to the affected users to ensure that the service is not disrupted?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

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

Quite a number of companies published their results in recent months, and among them many mainland private enterprises listed in Hong Kong have encountered financial and auditing problems (including resignation of auditors owing to queries about the veracity of the accounts, sharp increase in short-term debts, non-business related losses incurred from participating in financial derivative activities, or deferrals in publishing results because of unclear accounts), leading to substantial volatility of their share prices, and investors suffer losses. Further, such cases have also aroused concern of the market, alleging that the standards of corporate governance of mainland private enterprises vary, and at the same time querying whether the relevant listing threshold and regulatory mechanism, etc. are too lenient. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the existing measures for regulating the mainland private enterprises listed in Hong Kong; whether it had in the past compiled statistics and conducted research in respect of the quality of corporate governance and about the situation of mainland private enterprises listed in Hong Kong encountering financial and auditing problems, etc.; if it had, of the findings; whether it has conducted investigation to understand the situation relating to the recent cases of mainland private enterprises involving in the aforesaid financial and auditing problems, etc.; if it has, of the reasons why they encountered such problems, and whether issues of violation of the Listing Rules, mismanagement, delays in the dissemination of information and having misled investors, etc. were involved; whether it knows if the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong has followed up the relevant cases; and

    (b)whether the authorities have assessed the impact of the successive cases of mainland private enterprises encountering problems on the stability and reputation of the financial market of Hong Kong; whether it will review if the current listing threshold, the sponsor regulatory regime, as well as the existing regulatory mechanism are too lenient, and appropriately tighten and enhance the mechanism, with a view to restoring the market's confidence in the local financial regulatory regime and the mainland private enterprises listed in Hong Kong?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

* For written reply

III. Bills

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

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

Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury to move Committee stage amendments
(The amendments were issued on 13 April 2012
under LC Paper No. CB(3)643/11-12)

IV. Members' Bills

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

The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (Amendment) Bill 2011:Dr Hon LAM Tai-fai

Dr Hon LAM Tai-fai to move Committee stage amendments
(The amendments were issued on 19 April 2012
under LC Paper No. CB(3)655/11-12)

V. Members' Motions

  1. Making recommendations to the fourth term Chief Executive Hon CHIM Pui-chung to move the following motion: (Translation)

    That, as the fourth term Chief Executive has been smoothly elected under the Chief Executive Election Ordinance, this Council urges all sides to make recommendations to the fourth term Chief Executive; the relevant recommendations should include:

    (a)to care about the disparity between the rich and the poor, especially paying regard to the aspirations of the middle and lower strata ;

    (b)to address the issue of travelling expenses of the elderly;

    (c)to review the Work Incentive Transport Subsidy Scheme;

    (d)to address the issue of Old Age Allowance;

    (e)to plan for the construction of an additional cross-harbour tunnel in the vicinity of Tsim Sha Tsui connecting directly to the Central District on Hong Kong Island;

    (f)to construct large-scale underground cities in various districts;

    (g)to study the construction of towns for the elderly in Mainland China;

    (h)to plan for massive reclamation projects;

    (i)to review the country park policy; and

    (j)to nurture talents.

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

    To delete ", as" after "That"; to add "in a small-circle election" after "smoothly elected"; to add ", and the fourth term Chief Executive must implement such recommendations" after "to the fourth term Chief Executive"; to add "(a) to uphold ‘one country, two systems', implement ‘Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong with a high degree of autonomy', urge the Central Government to adhere to Article 22 of the Basic Law and request all departments under the Central Government (such as the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region), provinces and municipalities as well as autonomous regions to stop interfering in the affairs which HKSAR administers on its own; (b) to respect and uphold the core values of Hong Kong, and stop suppressing freedom of the press, freedom of speech and freedom of assembly; (c) to refrain from enacting legislation to implement Article 23 of the Basic Law during his term of office; (d) to implement universal suffrage with a low threshold for the Chief Executive Election in 2017, allow people with different political views to run in the election and let the people elect the Chief Executive by ‘one person, one vote'; and abolish all functional constituencies and implement universal suffrage for the Legislative Council Election no later than 2020; (e) to abolish the split voting system of the Legislative Council in 2016; (f) to implement the various recommendations made by the various committees on United Nations human rights treaties after scrutiny of HKSAR's report on its implementation of various international treaties on human rights, establish an independent human rights commission with statutory status and pluralistic representation to deal with cases of human rights infringement in Hong Kong, improve the human rights situation in HKSAR, set up a committee dedicated to promote the work on human rights education, and increase resources to promote human rights education; (g) to conduct a review of the population policy, including establishing an old age population fund to meet the soaring public expenditure arising from population ageing, and strive for the vetting and approval of one-way permit applications by HKSAR Government;" after "include:"; to delete the original "(a)" and substitute with "(h)"; to delete ";" after "strata" and substitute with ", re-establish the Commission on Poverty, set a poverty line, formulate a comprehensive poverty elimination policy, and implement a universal retirement protection scheme to provide protection for the retirement life of the elderly; (i) to build more public rental housing flats, so as to achieve the target of allocating flats in two years, and review the public rental housing allocation policy to meet the housing needs of grass-root people; (j) to increase the provision of residential land, continuously roll out the Home Ownership Scheme and re-launch the Tenants Purchase Scheme, so as to help people acquire their homes;"; to delete the original "(b)" and substitute with "(k)"; to add ", and expeditiously implement the $2 transport fare concession for the elderly" after "of the elderly"; to delete the original "(c)" and substitute with "(l)"; to add ", expeditiously implement a dual-track system and relax the income and family asset limits, so as to benefit more members of the public" after "Transport Subsidy Scheme"; and to delete "(d) to address the issue of Old Age; (e) to plan for the construction of an additional cross-harbour tunnel in the vicinity of Tsim Sha Tsui connecting directly to the Central District on Hong Kong Island; (f) to construct large-scale underground cities in various districts; (g) to study the construction of towns for the elderly in Mainland China; (h) to plan for massive reclamation projects; (i) to review the country park policy; and (j) to nurture talents" immediately before the full stop and substitute with "(m) to address the issues relating to Old Age Allowance (‘OAA') and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (‘CSSA'), and formally remove the absence limit so that those elderly residents living in Mainland China can receive OAA and CSSA even if they only return to Hong Kong once a year; (n) to proactively consider playing a more active and important role on issues such as the ownership of the major transport corridors and fare adjustments, for example, the Government allocates funding to buy back the Western Harbour Crossing and establish a ‘tunnels and bridges authority' to take charge of their management and operation; (o) to enhance public engagement in urban planning, explore a diversified range of means to increase land supply, including developing lands in the New Territories, redeveloping old districts, developing rock caverns and constructing large-scale underground cities in suitable locations of various districts, build a green city and easily accessible harbourfront promenades, and designate more public realms at ground level as well as green buffer zones and public open spaces for enjoyment by the public; (p) to study plans for reclamation projects outside the Victoria Harbour, on the premise of ensuring that such projects will not cause serious impact on the marine ecological environment and the development of nearby areas, and that the land use under the relevant development plans suits Hong Kong's long-term development and have the support of appropriate ancillary measures as well as social consensus; (q) to review the composition of the Town Planning Board, increase the number of elected members with public representation, set up an independent secretariat, strengthen its independence and creditability, and expeditiously draw up a statutory plan to regulate the development of periphery areas of country parks, so as to protect the natural environment; (r) build an open government, nurture political talents, establish a sound education system, implement 15-year free education and small-class teaching in secondary schools to enhance the quality of secondary school education, increase the number of subsidized university places, increase opportunities of upward social mobility for youngsters, ensure that national education is not brainwashing education for instilling love for the party, and enhance students' ability of independent and critical thinking; (s) to implement a series of comprehensive, feasible and effective measures to motivate the public to more actively practise waste reduction at source, waste separation and recycling in their daily life; (t) to legislate for setting the number of standard working hours at 44 per week and the payment of compensation for overtime work, and assist Hong Kong people in returning to a wholesome living, with their time evenly distributed among work, rest and leisure activities so as to achieve balanced development in different areas; (u) to adopt measures to address the problem of manpower shortage in the public healthcare system, including improving remunerations and working environment, providing more training for healthcare manpower as well as recruiting additional healthcare personnel with overseas practising qualifications, undertake proper long-term manpower planning, and review the policy direction and the pace of developing the healthcare industry and private medical services, so as to prevent public medical services from suffering medical inflation and manpower wastage as a result of the expansion of the private healthcare market; (v) to prepare for opening up the electricity market, materialize the ‘segregation of the generation sector from the network sector', and enhance competition in the electricity market; (w) to promote a diversified economy, and realize during his term of office a marked increase in the contribution to the Gross Domestic Product and the workforce by the creative, technological and environmental industries; and (x) to review the public finance strategy, optimize the use of fiscal reserve, and reduce the erroneous discrepancies in respect of estimated government revenue and expenditure each year".

    (ii)Hon Frederick FUNG to move the following amendment: (Translation)

    To delete "as the fourth term Chief Executive has been smoothly" after "That," and substitute with "with the prevalence of numerous twists and turns, helplessness and feelings of powerlessness in society, after a small-circle election marked by confusion, injustice and unscrupulousness, and given the blatant interference of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region as well as the serious intensification of class and political conflicts in society, the fourth term Chief Executive was eventually"; to add "; in this connection" after "Executive Election Ordinance"; to delete "all sides to make recommendations to the fourth term Chief Executive; the relevant recommendations should include:" after "urges" and substitute with "the fourth term Chief Executive"; and to delete "(a) to care about the disparity between the rich and the poor, especially paying regard to the aspirations of the middle and lower strata ; (b) to address the issue of travelling expenses of the elderly; (c) to review the Work Incentive Transport Subsidy Scheme; (d) to address the issue of Old Age Allowance; (e) to plan for the construction of an additional cross-harbour tunnel in the vicinity of Tsim Sha Tsui connecting directly to the Central District on Hong Kong Island; (f) to construct large-scale underground cities in various districts; (g) to study the construction of towns for the elderly in Mainland China; (h) to plan for massive reclamation projects; (i) to review the country park policy; and (j) to nurture talents" immediately before the full stop and substitute with "to rectify the mistakes and return to the right path, defend Hong Kong's core values, resolutely uphold ‘one country, two systems' as well as ‘Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong' and ‘a high degree of autonomy', rectify the past policy blunders of the Government and the distortion of the political system, reposition the roles and functions of the new government in the future, establish a set of principles of development for all people that give consideration to all social strata, formulate fair social and economic policies, promote genuine universal suffrage, set up a democratic and open political system, proactively address deep-rooted social conflicts such as the disparity between the rich and the poor, housing difficulties, the lack of social mobility opportunities and unitary development of the economy, so as to build a truly harmonious and just society".

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

    To delete "as the fourth term Chief Executive has been" after "That," and substitute with "the fourth term Chief Executive was"; to add "on 25 March 2012; in this connection" after "Executive Election Ordinance"; to add ", expeditiously include trams and public light buses in the fare concession schemes for the elderly and persons with disabilities, and study the provision of taxi fare concession for elderly persons with mobility difficulties who must go out (for instance, attending follow-up consultation in hospitals and receiving services at elderly day care centres)" after "of the elderly"; to add ", and expeditiously implement a dual-track system" after "Transport Subsidy Scheme"; to delete "plan for the construction of" after "(e) to" and substitute with "study the feasibility of constructing"; to delete "construct" after "(f) to" and substitute with "study the construction of"; to delete "to study the construction of towns for the elderly in Mainland China" after "(g)" and substitute with "to proactively study ways of responding to population ageing, including increasing the number of places in local residential care homes for the elderly and strengthening elderly community services; provide a carer allowance for relatives caring for elderly persons with disabilities; construct towns for the elderly on the Mainland to provide appropriate residential services for elderly persons with varying degrees of self-care capability; and study providing Hong Kong's public-sector healthcare services to elderly persons of Hong Kong living on the Mainland"; to delete "massive" after "(h) to plan for"; to delete "and" after "country park policy;"; and to add "; and (k) to review the problems of manpower shortage, uneven distribution of resources and inadequate effectiveness of the public-sector healthcare services, and enhance effectiveness of the services through management and services reorganization to satisfy people's needs" immediately before the full stop.

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

    To add "although it has been many years since Hong Kong's reunification with the Motherland, many deep-rooted conflicts have yet to be properly resolved;" after "That,"; to add "requests the fourth term Chief Executive to continue to resolutely implement the principles of ‘one country, two systems', ‘Hong Kong people ruling Hong Kong' and ‘a high degree of autonomy', and continue to uphold the free economy belief, create a more business-friendly environment, explore more opportunities and room for upward mobility for people of all strata, especially the middle class and the disadvantaged, and provide more care and assistance to them when necessary; this Council also" after "this Council"; to add "(including low-income families and the elderly poor)" after "strata"; to delete "massives" after "(h) to plan for"; to add "on an appropriate scale" after "reclamation projects"; and to delete "and (j) to nurture talents" immediately before the full stop and substitute with "(j) to strenuously focus on the various problems faced by the middle class, and put forward concrete and comprehensive response strategies in a focused manner; (k) to further improve the system of education and manpower training, so as to nurture talents in all areas; and (l) to optimize the use of land resources so as to provide more adequate commercial and residential space".

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

    To delete ", as the fourth term Chief Executive has been smoothly elected" after "That" and substitute with "the fourth term Chief Executive was smoothly elected in March 2012"; to add "that are in the overall interest of society and conducive to the sustainable development of Hong Kong" after "make recommendations"; to delete "care about" after "(a) to" and substitute with "narrow"; to add ", and reduce working poverty" after "the poor"; to delete "the elderly" after "travelling expenses of" and substitute with "senior citizens"; to add "(e) to establish a comprehensive retirement protection scheme; (f) to enhance the Mandatory Provident Fund (‘MPF') system by abolishing the mechanism whereby employers' contributions under the MPF Scheme are offset by severance payments and long service payments; (g) to expeditiously enact legislation on standard working hours; (h) to standardize the number of statutory holidays and public holidays to 17 days; (i) to increase the annual public rental housing (‘PRH') production to 30 000 units or more, so as to reduce PRH applicants' waiting time for housing allocation to two years;" after "Old Age Allowance;"; to delete the original "(e)" and substitute with "(j)"; to delete "plan for" before "the construction of an" and substitute with "study"; to delete the original "(f)" and substitute with "(k)"; to delete "construct" before "large-scale" and substitute with "study the construction of"; to delete "(g) to study the construction of towns for the elderly in Mainland China;"; to delete the original "(h)" and substitute with "(l)"; to delete "plan for massive" before "reclamation projects;" and substitute with "study"; to delete the original "(i)" and substitute with "(m)"; and to delete the original "(j)" and substitute with "(n)".

    (vi)Hon Ronny TONG to move the following amendment: (Translation)

    To delete "all sides to make recommendations to the fourth term Chief Executive; the relevant recommendations should include:" after "urges" and substitute with "the fourth term Chief Executive to, under the principle of not interfering in the work of the incumbent Government, implement the following when planning his work during his term of office: (a) to expeditiously discuss how to implement the election of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage, the abolition of the functional constituency seats and the election of all Members of the Legislative Council by universal suffrage; (b) to adopt measures to ensure that the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region will not once again contravene Article 22 of the Basic Law by interfering in the internal affairs of HKSAR; (c) to refrain from enacting legislation to implement Article 23 of the Basic Law before the implementation of genuine universal suffrage; (d) to study the implementation of a universal retirement protection scheme; (e) to perfect the existing medical policy;"; to delete the original "(a)" and substitute with "(f)"; to delete the original "(b)" and substitute with "(g)"; to add "and people with disabilities" after "of the elderly"; to delete the original "(c)" and substitute with "(h)"; to delete the original "(d)" and substitute with "(i)"; to delete "(e) to plan for the construction of an additional cross-harbour tunnel in the vicinity of Tsim Sha Tsui connecting directly to the Central District on Hong Kong Island;"; to delete the original "(f)" and substitute with "(j)"; to delete the original "(g)" and substitute with "(k)"; to delete "(h) to plan for massive reclamation projects;"; to delete the original "(i)" and substitute with "(l)"; to delete "and" after "country park policy;"; to delete the original "(j)" and substitute with "(m)"; and to add "; and (n) to study the option of operating the ‘three tunnels and one bridge' by the public sector" immediately before the full stop.

    (vii)Hon CHEUNG Hok-ming to move the following amendment: (Translation)

    To delete "plan for" after "(e) to" and substitute with "study"; to delete "plan for massive" after "(h) to" and substitute with "study"; and to add "; in addition, this Council also urges the fourth term Chief Executive to accord priority to tackling the problem of ‘doubly non-permanent resident pregnant women' giving birth in Hong Kong, improve the quality of public hospitals and shorten service waiting time, and resolve problems such as high property prices, exorbitant rents, poor living environment of people, as well as incessant fare increases by public transport operators, so as to respond to the aspirations of the general public" immediately before the full stop.

  2. Defending academic freedom and institutional autonomy Hon CHEUNG Man-kwong to move the following motion: (Translation)

    That this Council condemns HAO Tiechuan, Director-General of the Publicity, Culture and Sports Department of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, for publicly criticizing a number of times the public opinion poll on Hong Kong people's ethnic identity under the charge of Robert CHUNG, scholar of The University of Hong Kong, as ‘unscientific' and ‘illogical', and creating a chilling effect through political interference in academic pursuit, which is in contravention of the spirit of Article 137 of the Basic Law which provides that ‘[e]ducational institutions of all kinds may retain their autonomy and enjoy academic freedom', as well as the provision of Article 22 of the Basic Law, i.e. ‘[n]o department of the Central People's Government and no province, autonomous region, or municipality directly under the Central Government may interfere in the affairs which the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region administers on its own in accordance with this Law'; in this connection, this Council urges the Government and educational institutions to legislate for safeguarding academic freedom and to ensure that scholars can enjoy academic freedom in accordance with law, free from any interference and fear; academic freedom is the cornerstone for promoting social civilization and progress as well as an integral part of the autonomy of educational institutions, and therefore universities must not respond in silence to the interference and intimidation faced by their teaching staff and students, and not curry favour with and bow to the rich and powerful in the face of their enticement and pressure, in order to defend the legitimate autonomy and dignity of universities.

    Amendments to the motion
    (i)Hon Audrey EU to move the following amendment: (Translation)

    To add "this Council expresses deep concern over the opinions expressed by ‘leftist newspapers' about two academics in Hong Kong, Ming SING and CHOY Chi-keung, such as strongly insinuating that Ming SING is a follower of Falun Gong who opposes China, stirs up trouble in Hong Kong and even advocates political violence, and alleging that the two of them are ‘politicians posing as academics who are against China and stir up trouble in Hong Kong under the guise of academic research';" after "with this Law';"; to delete "enjoy academic freedom" after "scholars can" and substitute with ","; to add "be" after "in accordance with law,"; and to delete ";" after "fear" and substitute with ", and to strive to reduce the ratio of members directly appointed by the Government to the governing bodies of higher educational institutions, so as to promote the democratic management of institutions by teaching staff and students;".

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

    To add "expresses deep regret that the heads of various universities did not openly condemn the aforesaid acts of infringing academic freedom, strongly condemns those academics who clung onto the rich and powerful and failed to stand forward to defend academic freedom, and" after "connection, this Council".

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Education

Clerk to the Legislative Council