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A 11/12-26
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 2 May 2012 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers
| Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments | L.N. No. |
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| 1. | Dangerous Goods (Application and Exemption) Regulation 2012 | 55/2012
| | 2. | Dangerous Goods (Shipping) Regulation 2012 | 56/2012
| | 3. | Ferry Services (The "Star" Ferry Company, Limited) (Determination of Fares) (Amendment) Order 2012 | 57/2012
| | 4. | Fire Services Ordinance (Amendment of Second Schedule) Regulation 2012 | 58/2012
| | 5. | Police (Discipline) (Amendment) Regulation 2012 | 59/2012
| | 6. | Prison (Amendment) Rules 2012 | 60/2012
| | 7. | Government Flying Service (Discipline) (Amendment) Regulation 2012 | 61/2012
| | 8. | Traffic Wardens (Discipline) (Amendment) Regulation 2012 | 62/2012
| | 9. | Customs and Excise Service (Discipline) (Amendment) Rules 2012 | 63/2012
| | 10. | Dutiable Commodities (Amendment) Regulation 2012 | 64/2012
| | 11. | Firearms and Ammunition (Amendment) Regulation 2012 | 65/2012
| | 12. | Firearms and Ammunition (Storage Fees) (Amendment) Order 2012 | 66/2012
| | 13. | Pawnbrokers (Amendment) Regulation 2012 | 67/2012
| | 14. | Massage Establishments (Amendment) Regulation 2012 | 68/2012
| | 15. | Genetically Modified Organisms (Control of Release) (Exemption) Notice | 69/2012
| | 16. | Legal Practitioners (Amendment) Ordinance 2010 (Commencement) Notice 2012 | 70/2012
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Other Papers
| 1. | No. 89 | - | Language Fund
Financial statements together with the Report of the Director of Audit for the year ended 31 August 2011
| (to be presented by the Secretary for Education)
| | 2. | No. 90 | - | Vocational Training Council
Annual Report and Financial Report 2010/2011
| (to be presented by the Secretary for Education)
| | 3. | Report of the Bills Committee on Legislative Council (Amendment) Bill 2012
| | (to be presented by Hon TAM Yiu-chung, Chairman of the Bills Committee)
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II. Questions
1. Hon WONG Ting-kwong to ask: (Translation)
Some members of the trade have relayed to me that at present, quite a number of small and medium-sized enterprises ("SMEs"), particularly those in the transport industry, etc., face the problems of surging and high insurance premiums, or difficulties in taking out insurance polices when they procure employees' compensation insurance ("labour insurance policies"). They have pointed out that the insurance companies which they used all along ceased to underwrite labour insurance policies due to cost of risks, and other insurance companies also refuse to do so or charge extremely high premium rates; moreover, the number of insurance companies providing labour insurance policies on the market is not enough. They have also pointed out that even though the existing Employees' Compensation Insurance Residual Scheme ("ECIRS") might provide the ultimate channel for employers to take out labour insurance policies, employers still cannot afford the insurance premiums, and these problems have significantly increased their operating costs, rendering SMEs difficult to survive. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether the authorities will consider relaxing the application criteria of ECIRS, and lowering its premium rates; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
| | (b) | whether the authorities will consider afresh the setting up of a central employees' compensation insurance scheme; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
| | (c) | whether the authorities will launch other specific measures to assist SME employers in dealing with difficulties in taking out labour insurance policies and the problem of high premium rates; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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| Public Officers to reply | : | Secretary for Labour and Welfare
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury |
2. Dr Hon LAM Tai-fai to ask: (Translation)
During his visit to Hong Kong in August last year, Mr Li Keqiang, the Vice-Premier of the State Council, announced the Central Government's 36 measures to support Hong Kong's further development. In respect of the support for the stable development and restructuring and upgrading of Hong Kong enterprises engaging in processing trade on the Mainland, the measures include continuing to maintain a consistent policy on processing trade, promoting the establishment of exemplary zones for restructuring and upgrading of processing trade in the Pearl River Delta ("PRD") Region, promoting innovative management model, establishing a sound mechanism to facilitate the domestic sales of processing trade, strengthening employment services and guidance, providing financial and insurance support, and encouraging Hong Kong enterprises engaging in contract processing trade to upgrade and restructure. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | apart from the proposal to set up a dedicated fund, whether the Government has taken any follow-up and support action in respect of the content of the aforesaid measures to support the stable development as well as the upgrading and restructuring of Hong Kong enterprises, and of the progress and results achieved so far;
| | (b) | whether it will consider allowing Hong Kong enterprises engaging in import processing trade in the PRD Region to submit their claims for depreciation allowances to the Inland Revenue Department of Hong Kong in respect of their machinery on the Mainland and to enjoy the 50:50 basis of tax apportionment with a view to complementing the aforesaid measures to support the upgrading and restructuring of Hong Kong enterprises when studying the promotion of the establishment of exemplary zones for restructuring and upgrading of processing trade in the PRD Region on the Mainland; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
| | (c) | whether it has studied and assessed the difficulties and obstacles faced by Hong Kong enterprises in upgrading and restructuring and in developing domestic sales market on the Mainland at present; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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| Public Officers to reply | : | Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury |
3. Hon Starry LEE to ask: (Translation)
The London 2012 Olympic Games ("the Games") is due to open on 27 July this year. It has been reported that the Hong Kong Cable Television Limited ("Cable TV"), which has been awarded the exclusive telecast right of the Games, believes that as its free broadcaster licence application has not yet been approved, all the statutory procedures may not be completed in time before the opening of the Games, and as the other two free television broadcasters have so far not discussed proactively with Cable TV issues relating to the telecast of the Games, it is therefore expected that quite a number of competitions of the Games cannot be watched on free television channels. There have been comments that half the number of the people of Hong Kong will be deprived of the chance to watch the Games and there have been criticisms that commercial interest has overridden public interest. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the latest progress in vetting and approving the three applications for free television programme service licence; whether the Government will, to avoid obstruction to free telecast of the Games, interfere and collaborate with the trade to put forward a contingency plan to allow members of the public to watch various major competitions free of charge; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
| | (b) | whether the Government will consider imposing terms and conditions to safeguard public interest when it discusses licence renewal with television broadcasters in the future, so as to ensure that members of the public can watch various major international competitions through live telecast free of charge; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
| | (c) | whether it will examine the feasibility of using public funds to acquire the telecast right for large scale competitions such as the Games; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
4. Hon Audrey EU to ask: (Translation)
Since his election as the fourth-term Chief Executive ("CE"), the CE-elect has openly expressed his views on the governance of the present Government on several occasions, while the incumbent CE has indicated that he will "work with full dedication until the last second of office". The situation has been criticized by the public as leading to the situations of "two CEs co-existing in one single Special Administrative Region", "the CE-elect doing the work of the present Government" and "the present Government being turned into a lame duck administration". In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | given that the Food and Health Bureau indicated on 6 April this year that it had reached a consensus with private hospitals on the quota for admission of pregnant mainland women whose spouses are not permanent residents of Hong Kong ("doubly non-permanent resident pregnant women") giving birth in Hong Kong in 2013, and before the relevant details are announced, the CE-elect stated in public on 16 April that a "zero quota" should be set for private hospitals in 2013, and that children born locally to doubly non-permanent resident pregnant women would not be guaranteed the Hong Kong permanent resident status, whether the authorities have assessed if it is ultra vires for the CE-elect to make open comments on the governance of the present Government, and if what he said has caused confusion to civil servants; if an assessment has been made, of the details, if not, the reasons for that; whether the Government has followed up the aforesaid situation in order to restore the morale of civil servants; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
| | (b) | given that it has been reported that the Environment Bureau intended to seek funding approval from this Council to construct an incinerator for treating solid waste, yet the CE-elect cited it as an example to illustrate the importance of the political stratagem of principal officials under the accountability system, whether the authorities have assessed if the related remarks will arouse a feeling among civil servants that the present Government was implicitly satirized and, as a consequence, they are unable to do as well as they would wish at work; if an assessment has been made, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; whether the Government has followed up the aforesaid situation in order to restore the morale of civil servants; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
| | (c) | given that it was proposed in the election platform of the CE-elect that the number of policy bureaux should be changed from 12 to 14 and two posts of deputy secretary be created to coordinate inter-departmental policies, but the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs has indicated that the present Government has not received any instruction to carry out related work, and I have learnt that some civil servants are worried that a substantial re-organization of policy bureaux will lead to a multi-layered governing structure and reduced efficiency of governance, whether the Government has followed up the aforesaid situation in order to restore the morale of civil servants; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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| Public Officers to reply | : | Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs
Secretary for Food and Health
Secretary for the Civil Service
Secretary for the Environment |
5. Hon WONG Yung-kan to ask: (Translation)
In recent years, some members of the public choose to handle the cremated ashes of their deceased relatives by scattering the ashes at sea ("sea burial"), and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has also designated a number of sea burial locations for members of the public to scatter ashes legally. However, as some of the designated locations are close to the Tung Lung Chau marine fish culture zone, the fishing community is concerned that the ashes and offerings may spread to their marine fish culture zones and fishing grounds, thereby polluting the marine produce and affecting the health of the public. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether the Government will conduct detailed research and assessment to find out if there are residual germs or other pollutants in the ashes scattered at sea, and assess the health risk members of the public are exposed to in consuming marine produce contaminated by ashes, so as to address public concern;
| | (b) | whether the Government will conduct a study to remove the waters east of Tung Lung Chau from the list of designated sea burial zones and identify other waters (e.g. the waters east of the Ninepin Group) far away from fisheries activity zones for conducting sea burials; and
| | (c) | given that the Government does not comprehensively monitor the sea burial services provided by private operators at present, and only relies on the self-discipline of the industry, whether the Government will consider introducing measures to prevent such operators from scattering ashes at waters outside the designated zones, and dumping the offerings or ash containers at sea which will pollute the waters?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health
6. Hon CHEUNG Man-kwong to ask: (Translation)
Quite a number of principals and teachers have relayed to me that they are not satisfied with the Education Bureau ceasing to disburse the Liberal Studies Curriculum Support Grant ("LS Grant") at the amount of $320,000 per school with effect from this September. They have pointed out that as LS Grant is mainly used for hiring teaching assistants ("TAs") to develop school-based teaching materials, etc., it is anticipated that around 1 000 TAs who are conversant with school practices on Liberal Studies ("LS") will be laid off, affecting the effectiveness in teaching achieved by schools through their utilization of LS Grant, and in turn further increase the workload of LS subject teachers. They have also pointed out that as LS has been introduced for just a short period of time and without a solid teaching foundation, LS subject teachers are still exploring and adapting to the scope or level of difficulty of the curriculum, and are very much in need of manpower support. They worry that reduction in or cessation of LS Grant right at the beginning of the 2012 academic year will further add to the already heavy workload of teachers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | how the authorities address the demand of principals and teachers for LS Grant; whether they have assessed the impact on schools and subject development to be brought by the cessation of LS Grant at the critical moment when the New Senior Secondary ("NSS") academic structure has just completed its first cycle of teaching and assessment; whether they will consider extending LS Grant or providing additional recurrent funding or permanent teaching posts, so as to enable the healthy development of LS and relieve the workload of LS subject teachers;
| | (b) | apart from LS Grant, whether the authorities have provided any recurrent or non-recurrent funding or grant for other core subjects newly created under the NSS academic structure; and
| | (c) | of the respective names, uses, years of first disbursement, annual amount received by each school, as well as each item of government expenditures incurred in respect of the various recurrent or non-recurrent funding or grants provided by the authorities for the implementation of the NSS academic structure; among them, the non-recurrent funding or grants of which the authorities plan to cease or reduce, or have at present already ceased to disburse or reduced the amount provided, when the cessation or reduction in amount provided will be or have been made, as well as the rationale for ceasing to disburse or reducing the amount provided in the particular year concerned; the anticipated impact on the manpower of teachers or supporting staff; whether any comprehensive assessment and consultation with schools will be conducted in the light of teachers' current workload, the actual teaching needs and impact on students' study before ceasing to disburse or reducing the amount of the funding or grants concerned?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education
*7. Hon Tommy CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)
The Chief Executive proposed in the 2009-2010 Policy Address to develop six industries, including education services, where Hong Kong enjoys clear advantages. The objective of the development of education services is to enhance Hong Kong's status as a regional education hub, thus boosting Hong Kong's competitiveness and complementing the future development of the Mainland. Regarding the complementary measures of the policy on attracting more non-local students to study in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the restrictions on visa/entry permit ("visa") applications from mainland secondary students for studying in Hong Kong under the existing immigration policy on entry of non-local students to study in Hong Kong; whether such students can apply for visas to attend summer courses (including preparatory summer courses organized by local universities) in Hong Kong; if they can, of the number of visas approved in the past three years; if not, the reasons for that as well as whether it will consider relaxing the restrictions;
| | (b) | given that at present, the Immigration Department ("ImmD") specifies that the entry arrangement regarding application for studying in Hong Kong does not apply to nationals of certain countries/regions (e.g. Korea (Democratic Peoples' Republic of), Cambodia and Vietnam, etc.), whether the Government had received visa applications from such persons in the past three years for studying in Hong Kong; if it had, of the number of applications rejected; whether it will consider relaxing the restriction; if it will, the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
| | (c) | of the number of visa applications received by ImmD in the past three years from non-local students for entering Hong Kong to attend full-time locally-accredited post-secondary short-term courses, as well as the number of applications which had been approved; whether the Government will consider extending the visa arrangement for short-term courses to other courses approved by the Education Bureau; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education
*8. Hon WONG Yuk-man to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that since March this year, the Housing Department ("HD") has been stopping District Council ("DC") members or political parties from putting up posters with the heading of "The Chief Executive has become corrupted", posters calling on members of the public to take part in the "June 4 march and candlelight vigil" this year or posters on "Safeguarding of a corruption-free Hong Kong and upholding core values", the practice of which differs from the past standard of HD under which the posting of posters was permitted. HD staff even ripped off posters objecting to MTR fare increase and criticizing the Chief Executive-elect ("CE-elect"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether HD had informed the relevant DC members and public rental housing tenants before changing its past standard under which posting of posters was permitted;
| | (b) | whether the aforesaid practice of HD was related to the directions given by policy bureaux, CE's Office or CE-elect's Office; and
| | (c) | of the legal basis for the scrutiny of the poster contents by HD; if there is no legal basis for that, whether it will allow afresh relevant DC members and political parties to put up the aforesaid posters?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing
*9. Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)
I have recently received quite a number of complaints about the general shortfall of public parking spaces for motorcycles in Hong Kong, which is very inconvenient for motorcyclists. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | how the authorities assess the demand for parking spaces for motorcycles in Hong Kong at present; of the assessment results, with a breakdown of the figures and relevant information by the 18 District Council districts ("18 districts");
| | (b) | of the discrepancy between the number of public parking spaces for motorcycles and the actual demand at present, with a breakdown of the figures and relevant information by the 18 districts; and
| | (c) | whether the authorities have plans to cope with the shortfall in public parking spaces for motorcycles at present; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing
*10. Hon Cyd HO to ask: (Translation)
Will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether the Office of the Chief Executive-elect ("CE-elect's Office") is required to comply with General Circular No. 2/2009 "Mandatory Records Management Requirements" issued by the Administration Wing in handling records; of the rank of the staff responsible for managing the record system of CE-elect's Office;
| | (b) | whether the items and details discussed during CE-elect's meetings with various sectors since he was elected on 25 March this year, including his meetings with the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("LOCPG"), have already been properly recorded and filed;
| | (c) | whether the meetings of the first-term CE and the incumbent CE with LOCPG officials, as well as the details of the issues discussed when they met, have been properly recorded and filed, of the respective linear metres of records they created in respect of the meetings and the issues discussed, and among such records, the number and linear metres of classified records (list by the level of confidentiality in the table below); and
| Level of confidentiality
| Quantity
| Linear metres
| | Top Secret
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| | Secret
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| | Confidential
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| | Temporary Confidential
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| | Restricted
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| | Personal
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| | (d) | whether the first-term CE transferred the records listed in (c) to the incumbent CE or the Government Records Service ("GRS"); if so, among such records, of the number and linear metres of classified records (list by the level of confidentiality in the table below); and the number of those which were destroyed after the appraisal conducted by GRS, and whether any record was destroyed without prior appraisal conducted by the GPS?
| Level of confidentiality
| Quantity
| Linear metres
| | Top Secret
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| | Secret
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| | Confidential
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| | Temporary Confidential
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| | Restricted
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| | Personal
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Public Officer to reply : The Chief Secretary for Administration
*11. Hon CHEUNG Kwok-che to ask: (Translation)
The Government encourages the elderly to maintain physical and mental well-being, and 18 elderly health centres ("EHCs") have been established by the Department of Health in various districts of Hong Kong since 1998, offering a total of some 38 500 membership quotas each year. Calculated on the basis that there are currently some 940 000 elderly people aged 65 or above in Hong Kong, EHC membership quotas represent only around 4% of the population in that age group. Moreover, some elderly people have indicated that they are often unable to obtain information about the services provided by EHCs due to ineffective flow of information on such services. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the respective annual membership quotas, the quotas for accepting new members and the numbers of members from other districts in each EHC in 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 (set out in the table below);
| Elderly health centre
| Membership quota
| Quota for accepting
new members
| Number of members
from other districts
| | 2010-2011
| 2011-2012
| 2010-2011
| 2011-2012
| 2010-2011
| 2011-2012
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| Shau Kei Wan
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| Wan Chai
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| Lam Tin
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| Nam Shan
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| San Po Kong
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| Yau Ma Tei
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| Lek Yuen
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| Shek Wu Hui
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| Tseung Kwan O
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| Wu Hong
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| Yuen Long
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| | (b) | of the number and rate of member turnover (i.e. the number of members who did not renew their membership and the percentage of which in the total number of members) of various EHCs, as well as the average waiting time required for joining EHC membership in each of the past five years, broken down by EHC;
| | (c) | given that the authorities also acknowledge the keen demand for services provided by EHCs, of the criteria based on which the authorities decide to establish only one EHC in each district; the existing staff establishment of various EHCs;
| | (d) | as some EHC members have complained that they had to wait for as long as 18 months in order to have a physical check-up at an EHC, of the waiting time for such service under the original estimation of the authorities, and the actual average waiting time at present; whether the authorities will provide additional resources to shorten the waiting time required for EHC members to have physical check-ups; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
| | (e) | of the existing number of EHCs installed with automatic main entrance doors and the number of those installed with "push open" main entrance doors, and whether the authorities will replace such "push open" doors with automatic doors; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health
*12. Hon Mrs Regina IP to ask: (Translation)
The Minor Works Control System ("MWCS"), which came into operation on 31 December 2010, facilitates members of the public in carrying out small-scale building works for private buildings in accordance with simplified statutory requirements, with a view to enhancing the safety of buildings in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | given that the authorities have pointed out in its paper submitted to the Panel on Development of this Council that, as at 31 December 2011, the Buildings Department has approved over 12 500 applications from industry practitioners for registration as Registered Minor Works Contractors ("RMWCs"), whether among them there is any application for provisional registration; if so, of the number of such applications and, according to the authorities' estimation, the time required for training institutions to provide all these industry practitioners under provisional registration with relevant top-up training, so as to enable them to obtain full registration as RMWCs;
| | (b) | given that under MWCS, building owners or agents who are responsible for the appointment of contractors have the legal obligation to ensure that the contractors so appointed are qualified to carry out the minor works, and they may be liable to prosecution if they knowingly appoint some unqualified contractors instead, whether the authorities have compiled statistics on the prosecutions instituted since the implementation of MWCS; if they have, of the statistics; and
| | (c) | given that under MWCS, prescribed registered contractors should only undertake the minor works for which they are registered, while both prescribed building professionals and prescribed registered contractors should comply with the relevant statutory and safety requirements and have the responsibility to provide accurate advice concerning the works to those parties making the appointment of contractors, otherwise, they may be subject to disciplinary action or prosecution, whether the authorities have compiled statistics on the disciplinary actions taken or prosecutions instituted since the implementation of MWCS; if they have, of the respective statistics?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development
*13. Hon LAU Kong-wah to ask: (Translation)
I received complaints from residents of Lin Ma Hang Village in Sha Tau Kok, alleging that despite the opening of the frontier closed area gradually, television ("TV") signals received in quite a number of frontier areas, including Lin Ma Hang Village, are still unclear, and mobile phone network signals are also weak, or mobile phones are frequently switched to mobile phone networks on the Mainland, causing much inconvenience to them in their everyday life. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether the authorities have conducted surveys to identify in which frontier areas TV signals, including digital terrestrial television or analogue television signals, cannot be received or are not clear; if they have, of the respective locations with no or poor reception of TV signals; the reasons for no or poor reception of TV signals at such locations; if not, the reasons for that;
| | (b) | whether the authorities had tested the strength of local mobile phone network signals received in the frontier areas in the past three years; if they had, of the findings, including the locations where there was no local network coverage, and where mobile phones automatically searched and switched to mobile phone networks on the Mainland owing to problems such as varying signal strengths, etc.; if not, the reasons for that and whether after the opening of the frontier closed area detailed tests will be conducted in order to make improvement; and
| | (c) | whether the authorities will take measures to rectify the problem of poor television and telecommunication signal reception in the frontier areas; if they will, of the details and the time of implementation; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
*14. Hon WONG Sing-chi to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that an illegal fuel filling station in the vicinity of residential areas at Shek Wu Tong Tsuen in Pat Heung of Yuen Long was reopened early this year after it had been cracked down by the Police in July last year, and the law-breakers arranged a large number of modified sedans to illegally carry low-priced fuel from the Mainland to unload at the said illegal filling station to make profit, disregarding the safety of the residents nearby. Besides, it has been reported that an outside goods vehicle visits a Food and Environmental Hygiene Department ("FEHD") refuse depot at Tin Wan in Aberdeen at regular times every week to refuel the vehicles of FEHD's various outsourced cleaning service contractors, thereby turning the refuse depot into an illegal fuel station. It has also been reported that the spokesperson of the Fire Services Department ("FSD") has confirmed that approval has not been granted by FSD for the said goods vehicle to convey diesel oil in bulk, which is a kind of dangerous goods in category 5 (substances giving off inflammable vapour). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the number of illegal fuel filling stations cracked down by the Police in the past three years, together with the number of illegal fuel filling stations cracked down and reopened; whether the authorities have reviewed the adequacy of their combat efforts and made sure that the illegal fuel filling stations will not be reopened; regarding the issue of law-breakers carrying illegal fuel from the Mainland into Hong Kong, whether the various law enforcement departments (including the Police Force, FSD and the Customs and Excise Department) will jointly establish a mechanism for preventing and combating the operation of illegal fuel filling stations; if they will, of the details and work schedule; if not, the reasons for that;
| | (b) | whether it knows if, apart from FEHD's contractors, any outsourced contractor of other government departments has used the aforesaid illegal method to refuel their vehicles; whether FEHD has conducted any territory-wide investigation in relation to the aforesaid case of illegal fuel filling station, with a view to ensuring that other refuse depots will not be turned into illegal fuel filling stations and preventing other vehicles from participating in illegal fuel filling; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; whether FEHD has set up any monitoring mechanism in relation to the refueling and related operation for its vehicles and its contractors' vehicles; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
| | (c) | whether it has assessed if the aforesaid goods vehicle involved in the case breaches the laws of Hong Kong in conveying dangerous goods in category 5 without FSD's approval; if assessment has been made, of the details and the respective law-enforcement actions taken by the Government; whether FSD has provided any code of practice at present to ensure that such dangerous goods are conveyed and handled appropriately by the personnel concerned; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and the methods adopted to ensure that such dangerous goods will not cause accidents of a massive scale?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security
*15. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)
In January 2009, the Government reported to the Panel on Housing of this Council that the Hong Kong Housing Authority ("HA") would take forth a plan to enhance the existing pedestrian access in identified public housing estates ("PHEs") ("enhancement plan"), under which new lifts, escalators and footbridges would be provided in external areas of housing blocks within PHE boundaries to connect elevated platforms with large-level differences, and lift towers would be added in existing housing blocks in PHEs which were built without lift service. The whole enhancement plan was expected to be completed in 2012. At the same time, the Government also indicated that it would continue to implement the lift modernization programme in PHEs to replace aged lifts of over 25 years which were currently in use ("modernization programme"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the respective numbers of PHEs needed to be provided with new lifts, escalators and footbridges under the enhancement plan; the number of PHEs in which the relevant works were completed each year; regarding PHEs in which such works have not yet completed, of the present work progress and the anticipated completion dates; if such works cannot be completed within this year as scheduled, of the reasons for that;
| | (b) | of the number of housing blocks in PHEs which were built without lift service and lift towers have already been added at present, broken down by year when lifts were added and by housing estate; the latest progress of the works for the addition of lifts which have not yet completed and the anticipated completion dates; if such works cannot be completed within this year as scheduled, of the reasons for that;
| | (c) | given that the Government indicated that it had awarded contracts in 2009 for the modernization of 124 lifts in eight PHEs and such works were expected to be completed in phases in three years, of the annual number of PHEs for which the modernization works were completed each year; the latest progress of such works which have not yet completed and the anticipated completion dates; if such works cannot be completed within this year as scheduled, of the reasons for that;
| | (d) | apart from PHEs covered under the enhancement plan and modernization programme, whether the Government will extend such plan and programme to other PHEs; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
| | (e) | given HA's recent announcement on the redevelopment of Pak Tin Estate in Sham Shui Po, in which the works for the addition of lifts were completed earlier, how the Government's improvement plans for PHEs will tie in with redevelopment plans in the future (e.g. whether new improvement works will commence only after redevelopment projects for PHEs are confirmed), so as to avoid wastage of resources?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing
*16. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)
In recent years, many members of the public have staged demonstrations outside the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("LOCPG"). Some media has pointed out that the Police impose numerous restrictions on their covering these demonstrations, and this has drawn public criticism on the authorities for suppressing freedom of the press. It has been reported that the Police's controls over the media covering a number of demonstrations and petitions outside LOCPG in April this year, including ordering reporters to stay far away from the front gate of LOCPG for covering news, surrounding reporters who are staying outside the press area with mills barriers, and allowing only the four television stations to stay in the press area outside the planter at the front gate for covering news, had aroused strong dissatisfaction among the media, which lodged complaints with the Independent Police Complaints Council. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
| (a) | given that the existence of a large planter outside LOCPG has reduced the width of the footpath from nine metres to three metres, which is below the minimum width standard of 4.5 metres for through zones of the land uses of "government, institution or community facilities" as recommended in the Transport Planning and Design Manual, and the Police occupy much space for setting up action area and putting up a large number of mills barriers, leaving the space outside LOCPG available for demonstrations and news coverage extremely limited, and it has been learnt that the Police do not give permission for demonstrations and news coverage to take place outside LOCPG on grounds of the cramped environment, whether the Executive Authorities constructed the planter in the public area outside LOCPG at the request of LOCPG; whether the authorities will reconsider removing the planter to expand the space for covering news and demonstrations; if not, of the reasons for that;
| | (b) | of the reason why members of the public are allowed to pass the front gate of LOCPG freely but reporters are confined to the press area when demonstrations take place; the criteria based on which the Police decide that it is necessary to designate press areas; if it is based on the number of participants of the demonstrations and safety concerns, of the reason for the Police to designate a press area even when, as pointed out by the media, only 10 odd members of the public were taking part in a peaceful demonstration; and
| | (c) | whether the Police have assessed if the criteria for dealing with demonstrations and the media covering news outside LOCPG are more stringent; whether the Police had received or taken the initiative to consult LOCPG on its views before dealing with the demonstrations in April; whether the authorities have assessed if the approach of the Police in dealing with the media covering news last year had a tendency to tighten the room for covering news?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security
*17. Hon Albert CHAN to ask: (Translation)
On 6 April 2011, I raised a question at the meeting of this Council on the issue that most of the trips on the bus routes to and from Tin Shui Wai were not serviced by wheelchair-accessible low-platform buses. It has been learnt that as most of these trips are still not serviced by low-platform buses at present, wheelchair users often have to wait for more than 30 minutes for such buses. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the respective numbers of low-platform buses added to the fleet of each franchised bus company during the period from April 2011 to April 2012 and the respective percentages of such additions;
| | (b) | of the daily number of trips on the bus routes to and from Tin Shui Wai which are run by low-platform buses at present, and the percentage of such number in the total number of relevant bus trips, and how such figures compare with the relevant figures in April 2011; and
| | (c) | whether it will reconsider adding a clause to the franchise agreements with bus companies in the future, requiring them to retrofit facilities on all in-service non-low-platform buses to make it convenient for wheelchair users to board and alight buses; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing
*18. Hon KAM Nai-wai to ask: (Translation)
According to the Red List of Threatened Species of the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, Atlantic bluefin tunas ("bluefin tunas") are among the endangered species in the world, and the legitimate trade of bluefin tunas is regulated and supervised under the International Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas ("Convention") drawn up by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas. Currently, China is a signatory to the Convention but Hong Kong has not yet come under the regulation of the Convention. On the other hand, to enforce the provisions of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora ("Trade Convention"), the Government strictly regulates the trade of the endangered species listed in the Appendices of the Trade Convention through enacting the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance (Cap 586) ("the Ordinance"). Appendix I of Schedule 1 to the Ordinance lists species which are threatened with extinction and their import and export are strictly prohibited except for certain special purposes such as scientific study and display in museum; Appendix II includes species which may become extinct unless their trade is under control; and species in Appendix III are those identified by any Party to the Trade Convention as requiring international trade regulation, so as to protect them from over-exploitation. According to the provisions of the Ordinance, licences are required for the import and export of the controlled species as mentioned above. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether at present the Government has any policy and regulation to monitor the legitimate and illegitimate trade of bluefin tunas in Hong Kong;
| | (b) | whether any plan is in place for Hong Kong to implement the provisions of the Convention so as to ensure that Hong Kong will not become an illegal trading centre for bluefin tunas;
| | (c) | in the past five years, of the number of persons prosecuted and convicted for contravening the Ordinance, and the highest and lowest penalties imposed on the convicted persons (with a breakdown by year and case involving the species listed in Appendices I, II and III); the number of persons who were granted licences for the import and export of controlled species, and the respective numbers of imported and exported species (with a breakdown by year and species);
| | (d) | in respect of the species listed in Appendix I, of the respective numbers of animals and plants which were allowed to be imported and exported for certain special purposes such as scientific study and display in museum, etc., as well as the species to which they belong (with a breakdown by year and species) in the past five years; how the Government ensured that such animals and plants were used for the specified special purposes only; and
| | (e) | whether it regularly reviews and updates the species included under the Appendices of Schedule 1 to the Ordinance; if it does, of the details, and whether it has any plan to include bluefin tunas in the Appendices; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment
*19. Hon Tanya CHAN to ask: (Translation)
It has been learnt that there were cases of sex crimes, including rape, unlawful sexual intercourse and indecent assault, which involved minors under 18 years of age in the past. In some of the cases involving boys under 14 having sexual intercourse with girls, the boys involved could not be convicted of the offences of unlawful sexual intercourse or rape, as the existing law refuses to accept that boys under 14 years of age are capable of sexual intercourse. In December 2010, the Law Reform Commission of Hong Kong published a report on "The Common Law Presumption that a Boy under 14 is Incapable of Sexual Intercourse", pointing out that this common law presumption has been abolished in a number of jurisdictions, and that the aforesaid presumption is at odds with reality and should therefore be abolished. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | in the past five years, of the number of cases of sexual offences involving persons under 18 years of age, the age distribution of the offenders and victims, and the number of offenders convicted (set out in the table below);
| Offence
| Number of cases of sexual offences involving victims under 18
| Number of cases of sexual offences involving offenders under 10
| Number of cases of sexual offences involving offenders aged at or above 10 but under 14
| Number of convicted cases of sexual offences involving offenders aged at or above 10 but under 14
| Number of cases of sexual offences involving offenders aged at or above 14 but under 18
| Number of convicted cases of sexual offences involving offenders aged at or above 14 but under 18
| | Indecent assault
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| Rape
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| Unlawful sexual intercourse
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| | (b) | in the past five years, of the number of cases of sexual offences involving minors under 18 years of age in which the Government had not instituted prosecution; among such cases, of the number of those in which the suspects, despite the fact they indeed had sexual intercourse with the victims, could only be charged with indecent assault instead of rape or unlawful sexual intercourse, based on the aforesaid common law presumption, because the suspects were boys under 14; and
| | (c) | regarding the situation of juveniles involving in sexual offences, of the measures adopted by the Government to prevent juveniles from committing sexual offences, and to provide counselling and support to underage victims of sexual offences as well as minors committing relevant offences; whether it will consider reviewing the existing sex education curriculum; if it will, of the work plan; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security
*20. Hon Paul TSE to ask: (Translation)
Recently, a financial television programme which analyzed the development of the tourism, exhibition and convention industries has reported that in Singapore and Shanghai, designated departments or tourism authorities are responsible for developing their tourism, exhibition and convention industries in a "through-train" manner (including hardware facilities and complementary policies) and have achieved excellent results. The programme has also pointed out that the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre ("HKCEC") in Wan Chai cannot fully facilitate the development of the convention and exhibition industries due to limitation in space, and that the AsiaWorld-Expo ("AWE") in Tung Chung is all along under-utilized (with an average utilization rate of about 8% only) because of a lack of ancillary tourism facilities such as transport, hotels, restaurants and attractions. Some members of the trade have relayed that despite the huge expenses incurred by the Hong Kong Tourism Board ("HKTB") on promotion all these years, there is still no concrete planning for the development of the tourism, exhibition and convention industries in Hong Kong, and that their development is slow and promotion is ineffective. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the policies to be adopted by the present Government in the remainder of its current term to promote the development of the convention industry and to raise the utilization rate of AWE; whether it has assessed if the lack of policy support and ancillary facilities, such as transport, hotels and shops, etc. to tie in with the operation of AWE has caused Hong Kong's convention industry to lag far behind Singapore;
| | (b) | given that it has been reported that the Chief Executive-elect will split the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau and an "industry, commerce and tourism bureau" will be formed, whether the "industry, commerce and tourism bureau" will handle issues relating to the tourism, exhibition and convention industries in a centralized manner as well as follow the practices adopted by Singapore of providing integrated development for the relevant industries in a "through-train" approach;
| | (c) | whether it knows HKTB's expenditure on promoting the convention and exhibition industries in each of the past three years; whether it knows and whether it has compared the current actual revenues generated from the convention and exhibition industries in Hong Kong and Singapore; whether the Government has assessed if the development of Hong Kong's convention and exhibition industries can compete with that of Singapore after years of substantial spending by HKTB on the promotion of the industries; if the assessment outcome is in the negative, of the reasons for that; the respective numbers of exhibitions, conventions and exhibition-cum-convention activities held at HKCEC and AWE in each of the past three years, as well as the respective numbers of participants; whether it has assessed if factors such as the limited space of the convention and exhibition venues, insufficient transport and ancillary facilities, inadequate policy promotion efforts, as well as poor planning and development, etc. are the reasons for the impeded development of the relevant industries;
| | (d) | whether the Government has assessed if HKCEC and AWE are at present in a competitive relationship; of the policy coordination provided by the Government or whether it will offer incentives to encourage and foster cooperation between them on diverting exhibition and convention activities, so as to optimize the use of the capacities of the two venues; and
| | (e) | whether the Government has assessed if the present situation of HKCEC and AWE being operated by two separate management companies reflects the absence of aligned management, and whether such situation has hindered the cooperation between the two exhibition venues and the production of synergy effect; of the policies to be implemented by the Government to promote the cooperation between the two companies to enhance the competitiveness of Hong Kong's convention and exhibition industries?
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Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
* For written reply
III. Bills
First Reading
Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2012
| Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)
| | Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2012 | : | The Secretary for Justice
| Second Reading (Debate to resume), Committee Stage and Third Reading
| | Legislative Council (Amendment) Bill 2012 | : | Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs
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| (i) | Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs to move a Committee stage amendment
| | (The amendment was issued on 23 April 2012
under LC Paper No. CB(3)676/11-12)
| | (ii) | Hon Albert CHAN and Hon WONG Yuk-man to move Committee stage amendments
| | (The amendments were issued on 26 April 2012
under LC Paper No. CB(3)693/11-12)
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IV. Motions
Proposed resolution under the Legal Aid Ordinance
Secretary for Home Affairs to move the motion in the Appendix.
| (The motion was also issued on 20 April 2012
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 662/11-12)
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V. Members' Motions
- The 4 June incident
Hon LEE Cheuk-yan to move the following motion:
(Translation)
That this Council urges that: the 4 June incident be not forgotten and the 1989 pro-democracy movement be vindicated.
Amendment to the motion
Hon WONG Yuk-man to move the following amendment:
(Translation)
To delete "incident" after "the 4 June" and substitute with "tragedy"; to delete "and" after "forgotten" and substitute with ", pro-democracy figures be released,"; and to add ", the responsibility for the massacre be ascertained, one-party dictatorship be ended and a democratic China be built" immediately before the full stop.
- Actively studying the establishment of a middle class commission
Hon Miriam LAU to move the following motion:
(Translation)
That, given that the global and Hong Kong economies are still facing extremely unclear risks, while the middle-class people are plagued by problems such as Hong Kong's single-direction development of industries, etc., and have experienced quite a number of bottlenecks in their career development and are burdened with heavy pressure in the areas of healthcare, education, taxation and housing, etc.; as shown by the latest statistics of an organization, the number of middle-class people seeking counselling has increased by about 30% when compared with the number some one year ago, and some people even describe themselves as the poor middle class, thus showing that the plight of the middle class has been neglected; in this connection, this Council urges the Government to actively study the establishment of a middle class commission, comprehensively review the policies and measures relating to the middle class, put forward concrete and comprehensive corresponding strategies in a focused manner to assist middle-class families in alleviating their burdens and facilitating their personal career development, so as to boost upward social mobility in the overall community; the relevant measures should include:
Career development -
| | (a) | to adopt a multi-pronged approach to promote diversified development of industries in Hong Kong, so as to create more jobs at the middle and senior levels as well as business start-up opportunities in various industries and professions;
| | (b) | to further strengthen regional economic development to form an economic development circle with different regions on the Mainland, etc. so as to provide more and better career development opportunities for middle-class professionals;
| Housing difficulties -
| | (c) | to increase land supply to ease property prices and launch more 'no-frills' small and medium sized flats, including 'flats with limited floor area' for Hong Kong people who are first-time home buyers, so as to alleviate the plight of marginal middle-class people in acquiring their own homes;
| | (d) | to relax the eligibility criteria for purchasing flats in the Home Ownership Scheme secondary market, thereby enabling eligible white form applicants to make purchases;
| | (e) | to introduce a tax allowance for rentals for marginal middle-class people;
| | (f) | to further extend the entitlement period for deduction for home loan interest;
| Taxation burden -
| | (g) | to adjust salaries tax downwards, in particular widening tax bands for salaries tax and lowering the marginal rate, so as to vigorously alleviate the burden of marginal middle-class people;
| | (h) | to relax the restrictions on the dependent parent or dependent grandparent allowance by relaxing the eligibility requirement from living in the same unit to living in the same housing estate;
| Education and self-education -
| | (i) | to completely abolish the restrictions on kindergarten vouchers, so as to reduce children education expenses of middle-class families;
| | (j) | to introduce a children's education allowance, so as to alleviate the burden of children education expenses of the middle class;
| | (k) | to substantially increase the salaries tax deduction for self-education expenses and the subsidy under the Continuing Education Fund;
| Healthcare -
| | (l) | to expeditiously and properly tackle the problem of 'doubly non-permanent resident pregnant women', and ensure that local pregnant women have priority in receiving confinement service in both public and private hospitals;
| | (m) | to provide tax deduction for medical insurance contributions;
| | (n) | to provide tax deduction for medical examinations, so as to encourage people to undergo such examinations on a regular basis; and
| Legal aid -
| | (o) | to further lower the threshold of the Supplementary Legal Aid Scheme, so as to assist more needy middle-class people in safeguarding their legitimate rights and interests by law.
| Amendment to the motion
Hon Alan LEONG to move the following amendment:
(Translation)
To delete "given that" after "That," and substitute with "as"; to add "(c) to optimize the use of government land resources and increase land supply, so as to alleviate the pressure of shop rents on business operations for middle-class people;" after "middle-class professionals;"; to delete the original "(c)" and substitute with "(d)"; to delete the original "(d)" and substitute with "(e)"; to delete the original "(e)" and substitute with "(f)"; to delete the original "(f)" and substitute with "(g)"; to delete the original "(g)" and substitute with "(h)"; to delete the original "(h)" and substitute with "(i)"; to delete the original "(i)" and substitute with "(j)"; to delete the original "(j)" and substitute with "(k)"; to delete the original "(k)" and substitute with "(l)"; to delete the original "(l)" and substitute with "(m)"; to delete "and ensure that" after "resident pregnant women'," and substitute with "including ensuring a 'zero' delivery quota for 'doubly non-permanent resident pregnant women' in public and private hospitals in 2013, enabling"; to delete "have priority in receiving" after "local pregnant women" and substitute with "and mainland pregnant women with Hong Kong husbands to be given priority in receiving"; to add "; strengthening the effort to combat agencies and hostels for pregnant women; in accordance with Article 22 of the Basic Law, advising the Central Government to suspend the vetting and approving entry into Hong Kong of 'doubly non-permanent resident pregnant women' from the Mainland; and amending the Basic Law when necessary, so that babies born to 'doubly non-permanent resident pregnant women' will not be entitled to the right of abode in Hong Kong;" after "private hospitals"; to delete the original "(m)" and substitute with "(n)"; to delete the original "(n)" and substitute with "(o)"; to delete "and" after "regular basis;"; to delete the original "(o)" and substitute with "(p)"; and to add "; and The elderly - (q) to allocate funding for establishing a seed fund for universal retirement protection, so as to provide all elderly people with pensions and alleviate the financial burden of middle-class families" immediately before the full stop.
| Amendment to Hon Alan LEONG's amendment
Hon Starry LEE to move the following amendment:
(Translation)
To delete "in accordance with Article 22 of the Basic Law, advising the Central Government to suspend the vetting and approving entry into Hong Kong of 'doubly non-permanent resident pregnant women' from the Mainland; and amending the Basic Law when necessary" after "hostels for pregnant women;" and substitute with "stepping up law enforcement and enhancing entry restrictions to comprehensively block the entry of 'doubly non-permanent resident pregnant women', and making use of legal channels"; to delete "allocate funding for" after "(q) to" and substitute with "study"; to delete "seed fund for" after "establishing a"; and to add "scheme" after "retirement protection".
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| Public Officers to attend | : | Secretary for Education
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
Secretary for Development |
- Motion for the adjournment of the Council under Rule 16(4) of the Rules of Procedure
Hon CHEUNG Hok-ming to move the following motion:
(Translation)
That this Council do now adjourn for the purpose of debating the following issues: the impact of the announcement made by the MTR Corporation Limited to increase its fares by 5.4% under the Fare Adjustment Mechanism ("FAM") on the general public, as well as FAM, fare concession measures and the Government's corresponding arrangements.
Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Transport and Housing
Clerk to the Legislative Council
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