A 11/12-31

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 6 June 2012 at 11:00 am

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentL.N. No.
Securities and Futures (Short Position Reporting) Rules (Commencement) Notice103/2012

Other Papers

1.No. 96-The 23rd Report on the Work of the Advisory Committee on Post-service Employment of Civil Servants
(1 January - 31 December 2011)
(to be presented by the Secretary for the Civil Service)

2.Report No. 21/11-12 of the House Committee on Consideration of Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments
(to be presented by Hon Miriam LAU, Chairman of the House Committee)

3.Report of the Bills Committee on Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2011
(to be presented by Hon WONG Ting-kwong, Chairman of the Bills Committee)

4.Report of the Bills Committee on Construction Industry Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2012
(to be presented by Ir Dr Hon Raymond HO, Chairman of the Bills Committee)

5.Report of the Bills Committee on Personal Data (Privacy) (Amendment) Bill 2011
(to be presented by Dr Hon Philip WONG, Chairman of the Bills Committee)

6.Report of the Legislative Council Subcommittee to Study Issues Arising from Lehman Brothers-related Minibonds and Structured Financial Products
(to be presented by Ir Dr Hon Raymond HO, Chairman of the Subcommittee, who will address the Council)

7.Report on certain issues related to the distribution of Lehman Brothers-related Minibonds and structured financial products
(to be presented by Dr Hon Philip WONG, who will address the Council)

II. Questions

1. Dr Hon LEUNG Ka-lau to ask: (Translation)

"My Health My Choice", the second stage consultation document on healthcare reform, pointed out that "the Hospital Authority ("HA") has already been adopting the diagnosis-related groups ("DRG") methodology covering a comprehensive range of public medical services provided in public hospitals for its internal costing and resource allocation purposes. Given that the hospital services provided by HA encompass most if not all hospital admissions and ambulatory procedures that may be provided in the private healthcare sector, the DRG structure and methodology developed by HA can be adapted for application in the private health sector, utilizing the expertise already built up in HA without reinventing the wheel and duplicating the investment. However, much additional work would still be needed to establish the costing and pricing in the private sector based on DRG methodology, given that these are necessarily different from those in the public sector". In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
    (a)the DRG classification already adopted by HA and the related treatments and operations;

    (b)the total numbers of person-times receiving the DRG-related treatments and operations mentioned in (a) and the total service costs in the past five years, as well as the relevant figures in different hospital clusters; and

    (c)the method for calculating costs (including the actual value of various parameters and the formulas used) adopted in the public sector for the DRG-related treatments and operations mentioned in (a); and the method for calculating costs adopted in the private sector?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

2. Hon Ronny TONG to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported in the media that after the uncovering of "vote rigging" incidents in last year's District Council Election, the Registration and Electoral Office ("REO") had, through various verification means, selected 290 000 electors and issued inquiry letters to them, requesting them to confirm whether they were still residing in the residential addresses as registered in the register of electors by providing proof of their residential addresses. The reports have pointed out that after the deadline for giving replies, REO only received about 38 000 replies and about 250 000 electors have not yet replied. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of a breakdown of the aforesaid 290 000 letters by the six verification means (including random checks, verification of electors' registered addresses through government departments, undelivered poll cards in last year's District Council Election and Election Committee Subsector Elections, complaints concerning suspected false addresses in the previous District Council Election, undelivered letters in the elector registration exercise for the District Council (second) functional constituency, and other means); a breakdown, by the six verification means, of the aforesaid 250 000 electors who have not yet replied; if such information cannot be made available, the reasons for that;

    (b)whether the aforesaid 250 000 electors who have not replied to REO's letters to submit proof of their addresses will thus be disqualified from voting; if so, of the legislation or the power under which the authorities disqualify these electors from voting; as it has been reported that according to REO's information, 76 000 and 27 000 electors were omitted from the register of electors respectively in 2011 and 2010, while 60 000, 91 000 and 33 000 electors were disqualified in 2009, 2008 and 2007 respectively, of the reasons why the authorities had omitted them from the register; if such information cannot be made available, the reasons for that; and

    (c)of the number of suspected cases discovered by the Government so far after the uncovering of the "vote rigging" incidents by the press in November 2011; the number of cases into which investigation has been launched; whether prosecutions have been instituted; if not, of the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs

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

I have recently received requests for assistance from several parents and school principals in the North District, pointing out that due to insufficient Primary One ("P1") places in the district, quite a number of school children need to attend school in other districts, thereby causing inconvenience and danger to them. They have also pointed out that in addition to the continuous increase in population in the district, another factor attributing to the insufficiency of P1 places is that quite a number of school children originally receiving pre-school education on the Mainland choose to attend primary school in Hong Kong, and thus intensify the competition for school places. Although the Education Bureau has recently permitted additional intake of students by the primary schools in the district as an alleviating measure, it has not allocated additional resources to the schools concerned. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the numbers of P1 school children living in the North District who had been allocated primary school places in other districts in each of the past five years, and the respective percentages of such numbers in the total numbers of school-age children in the district; the anticipated changes in the relevant figures in the coming five years (set out the information in table form);

    (b)whether it will consider constructing new primary school premises in the district or permitting school sponsoring bodies to use existing vacant school premises to operate schools expeditiously, as a mid-term or long-term measure to alleviate the problem of insufficient school places; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)of the expected increase in intake of students by the primary schools in the district in the 2012-2013 school year; whether it has assessed the impact of increased intake on the quality of teaching and learning; whether it will, for this reason, allocate additional resources and manpower to the schools concerned to help alleviate the pressure on their teaching staff; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education

4. Hon Audrey EU to ask: (Translation)

The Government further developed its Political Appointment System in 2008. Under the Political Appointment System, one of the functions of Political Assistants is political liaison. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective number of times that the Political Assistants of various policy bureaux had in the past four years liaised with the 13 political groups to which Legislative Council Members belonged (including the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, the Democratic Party, the Civic Party, the Economic Synergy, the Professionals Forum, the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions, the Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions or the Labour Party, the Liberal Party, the League of Social Democrats or People Power, the Neighbourhood and Worker's Service Centre, the Hong Kong Association for Democracy and People's Livelihood, the New People's Party and the Federation of Hong Kong and Kowloon Labour Unions) and with other independent Members, with a breakdown of the figures in table form;

    (b)of the respective titles and details of the activities attended by the Political Assistants of various policy bureaux in the past four years for the purpose of liaising with the 13 political groups to which Legislative Council Members belonged as mentioned in (a) and with other independent Members, with a breakdown of the information in table form; and

    (c)given that to date, the Government has not reviewed the functions and the work efficiency of Political Assistants since it further developed the Political Appointment System in 2008, whether the Government will conduct a comprehensive consultation on the issue; if it will, of the timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs

5. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)

The Coroner's Court has recently inquired into a case which involves an incident of a university staff member suspected of being sexually harassed by a high-ranking officer of the university. In May this year, the media again revealed that a staff member of that university had complained against her being sexually harassed by a high-ranking officer and expressed dissatisfaction about the university's approach in handling the incident. In connection with the system and approach adopted by University Grants Committee-funded institutions ("institutions") in handling the problem of sexual harassment, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council whether they know:
    (a)the respective numbers of enquiries and complaints relating to sexual harassment received by each institution in the past three years, together with the number of substantiated cases and the penalties imposed on the persons under complaint in substantiated cases; whether the various institutions had documented those cases known to them although the victims had not made any formal written complaint; if they had, the numbers of cases recorded by the various institutions;

    (b)whether the various institutions have set up mechanisms to facilitate their assessment of the seriousness of incidents of alleged sexual harassment and to enable them to proactively launch investigation, if necessary, into such cases even in the absence of formal complaints from the victims or eye-witnesses; and

    (c)the measures adopted by the various institutions to ensure effective implementation of their policies on prevention and handling of sexual harassment; the number and percentage of the heads and deputy heads of the institutions who have received training in handling sexual harassment, as well as the number of training hours; whether the management staff of the institutions who improperly handle or ignore incidents of alleged sexual harassment for the sake of reputation of the institutions or other considerations, thus making the victims refrain from lodging formal complaints, are subject to disciplinary actions of their institutions; which institutions allow the complainants to arrange the company of lawyers in attending internal hearings; and whether the committee or secretariat which handles sexual harassment complaints improperly or ignore such incidents is subject to disciplinary actions of its institution?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education

6. Hon Paul CHAN to ask: (Translation)

In April this year, the Government invited both local and overseas tenders for the development of private hospitals at two sites in Wong Chuk Hang and Tai Po, so as to increase the overall capacity of the healthcare system in Hong Kong and to cope with the increasing service demand. To ensure that the services of the new hospitals are of good quality and will help develop the medical industry, the Government has stipulated a set of special requirements in the tender documents. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)apart from considering if the new hospitals are able to meet the set of special requirements in the tender documents, the quality of the service provision and the tender premiums, whether it has other factors (e.g. whether the new hospitals are universities' affiliated teaching hospitals) to consider; if it has, of the details;

    (b)whether the Government has assessed the impact of the private hospitals to be developed at the two sites on the healthcare manpower in public hospitals in the next decade; if it has, of the details; if not, how the service quality of public hospitals can be maintained; and

    (c)apart from considering the responses to and experience of this tender exercise following its closure in July this year, whether the Government has other factors to consider in deciding the detailed land disposal arrangement for the remaining two sites reserved for private hospital development; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

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

The figures quoted in the reply to my written question on June 22 last year by the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau indicated that in the past years, the percentage of the number of electors registered online via GovHK in the overall number of registered electors was extremely small. For example, in 2010, only one out of every 4 500-odd registered electors registered via GovHK while other electors all applied by filling in elector registration forms ("registration forms"). In connection with the measures to improve the elector registration channels, the rate of elector registration and the accuracy of electors' addresses, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective numbers of electors registered via GovHK and those registered by filling in registration forms during the period between 1 January 2011 and 16 May 2012;

    (b)given that the number of electors registered via GovHK has persistently been on the low side since 2007 despite the high prevalence of the Internet, whether the Government has reviewed the causes for such small number of online registrations; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (c)whether the Government will consider improving the existing online registration method; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (d)given the low registration rate among young electors aged below 30 when compared with the overall number of registered electors, whether the Government has reviewed the causes and adopted any improvement measure; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (e)given that a number of suspected vote-rigging cases were uncovered in the District Council elections held last year, and that the Registration and Electoral Office ("REO") issued letters to all registered electors in February this year informing them of the elector registration arrangements regarding the new District Council (second) functional constituency and appealed to members of the public to return wrongly delivered election-related mails they receive to REO and to put a "tick" in the appropriate box on the specially designed envelopes to indicate the reason for returning the mails, of the number of mails returned to REO, with a breakdown by the following reasons in table form:

    (i)the addressee of the mail does not reside at the address;

    (ii)the addressee of the mail has already moved out;

    (iii)there is no such address; and

    (iv)the mail is returned undelivered by the Post Office?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs

*8. Hon Miriam LAU to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that temporary car parks available for the parking of container vehicles in the New Territories North have been recovered by the Government one after another, thereby causing a substantial reduction in container vehicle parking spaces in the district which are already in short supply, and a large number of container vehicles are forced to park by the roadside. To prevent their vehicles from being damaged or even stolen, container vehicle drivers have to stay in the vehicle compartments after work; not only are they unable to go home, but their health is also affected as they are stranded in the compartments over a long period of time. Some members of the industry have pointed out that such working conditions will only exacerbate the problem of shortage of manpower with no new entrants, which the freight industry is now facing, and will eventually stifle the development of the logistics industry. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number, locations and areas of the short-term tenancy sites, which had been used as temporary car parks, recovered by the authorities in the past three years, as well as the number of container vehicles which could be parked at these sites, the length of the tenancies which had been entered into, and the reasons for recovering the sites;

    (b)of the timetable for allocating land as logistics back-up sites by the authorities in the next five years, and the quantity, areas, locations and possible uses of those sites; among such sites, the number of those which will be allocated for container vehicle parking; the expected number of parking spaces which may be provided at each site;

    (c)whether the authorities have conducted any long-term assessment on the demand for container vehicle parking spaces; if they have, of the details, and the follow-up measures they will take when the results indicate that the container vehicle parking spaces provided by the Government will not be able to satisfy the demand in the next five years; if not, the reasons for that, and whether they will consider conducting such an assessment; and

    (d)given that some members of the industry have pointed out that many public car parks prohibit the parking of container tractors, thereby forcing drivers to park those tractors illegally by the roadside, whether the authorities have studied how to solve the problem of the parking of container tractors for the industry; if they have, of the details of the relevant measures; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

*9. Hon Albert HO to ask: (Translation)

Mobile phones have become more and more popular in Hong Kong, and its penetration rate ranks first in the world. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of reported cases of loss of mobile phones ("loss cases") received by the Police in each of the past three years and, among them, the number of those related to theft and robbery;

    (b)among such loss cases, of the number of those in which the mobile phones could eventually be recovered;

    (c)of the major means by which the authorities recovered the mobile phones; and

    (d)whether the authorities will consider following overseas examples by setting up a centralized reporting system through which lost mobile phones can be traced using their International Mobile Equipment Identity numbers, so as to avoid such phones being used by other persons for illegal purposes?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*10. Dr Hon Joseph LEE to ask: (Translation)

At present, elderly people with long-term care service needs wishing to stay in subsidized places in residential care homes for the elderly ("RCHEs") have to wait for quite a long time. They may stay in private RCHEs at their own costs before they are allocated subsidized places. If their children cannot afford private RCHE places, such elderly people may apply for the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance ("CSSA") to pay for the relevant fees, but their children are required to make a declaration of not covering living expenses for them (commonly known as "declaration of not providing support to parents" or "bad son statement") before the elderly people can receive CSSA payments. It has been learnt that due to traditional values, inadequacy of CSSA payments and lack of monitoring on private RCHEs, quite a number of elderly people have not received proper RCHE services. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the authorities have considered revising the requirement concerning the "bad son statement" to allow elderly people who receive limited support from their children to apply for CSSA, thereby enabling them to have sufficient resources to choose RCHEs that suit them; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)whether the authorities have considered introducing other measures (including joint subsidies approach), with the aim of reducing the Government's financial burden on the one hand and dispensing with the requirement for the children to sign "bad son statements" on the other, so as to enable more elderly people in need to be expeditiously admitted to RCHEs to receive proper residential care; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (c)given that the Government proposed a Fee Assistance Scheme ("FAS") for residential care services in 2003 to directly subsidize eligible elderly people who have care and financial needs, in the form of a "voucher", to enable them to receive residential care services at RCHEs of their own choice, of the progress of FAS; and

    (d)given that some elderly people have indicated that as private RCHEs are of varying quality and the fees are expensive, most of the elderly people do not want to live in private RCHEs, whether the Government has any plan to step up regulation of private RCHEs, with a view to boosting the confidence of elderly people in private RCHEs and alleviating the waitlisting situation for subsidized places; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

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

In recent years, the Government has stepped up its efforts in promoting the development of information technology, and adopted digital inclusion initiatives to encourage more people to learn how to use computers and surf on the Internet. However, as revealed by a survey, quite a number of people in Hong Kong have become addicted to Internet surfing, indulging themselves in the virtual world and being unable to extricate themselves from it, and conflicts between the young people and their family members arising from their indulgence in Internet surfing are very common. According to the survey findings released by the Against Child Abuse early this year, 36% of the students surveyed had conflicts with family members because of their indulgence in Internet surfing. Moreover, as revealed in the survey findings released by the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups recently, 47% of the young people surveyed had conflicts with their parents at least once a week, and the main reasons for that included their behaviour of surfing on the Internet or playing electronic games. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the authorities have conducted any study or analysis on the situation of Internet addiction among young people and its impact (including addicts' physical and mental development and their relationship with family members); if they have, of the findings; if not, whether they will consider conducting such studies;

    (b)whether the digital inclusion initiatives (e.g. the Internet Learning Support Programme) implemented by the authorities have included any measure to prevent Internet addiction among students; if not, whether they will consider including such measures; and

    (c)whether the authorities will consider providing young Internet addicts with comprehensive professional treatment services, and introducing measures to prevent Internet addiction among young people; if not, of the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

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

Since the onset of the rainy season in April this year, the Hong Kong Observatory ("HKO") has issued the amber rainstorm signal ("amber signal") many times, indicating that heavy rain exceeding 30 millimetres ("mm") in an hour has fallen or is expected to fall generally over Hong Kong; and when the amber signal was in force, severe flooding occurred in many places in Hong Kong. Some members of the public have also reflected that the actual rainfall in their districts was heavier than the aforesaid level, and they are worried that the alert given by the amber signal is not accurate enough. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the total number of amber signals issued by HKO in the past three years; and when the amber signals were in force, the number of districts among the 18 District Council districts where the actual rainfall exceeded 50 mm in an hour and the respective numbers of flooding reports in various districts;

    (b)whether the authorities have considered making reference to the practice of issuing Special Announcement on Flooding in northern New Territories and issuing district-based rainstorm and/or flooding warning to members of the public in selected districts, so as to more accurately alert members of the public that heavy rainstorm is expected soon; and

    (c)given that the three-tier rainstorm warning system has been implemented for many years, whether the authorities have considered reviewing the system, including the code of practice at work as well as the arrangements for schools to follow in times of rainstorms?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

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

Recently, quite a number of parents of primary students, in particular those in Ma On Shan of Sha Tin, and members of Parent-Teacher Associations have relayed to me that the teachers in the primary schools of their children who will move up to Secondary One ("S1") in September this year have called on them, with coercion and inducement, to choose the secondary schools recommended by the class teachers during the discretionary places allocation stage and central allocation stage, with a view to increasing the percentage of their students moving up to those secondary schools ("top band schools") which admit mainly S1 students belonging to Band One. These parents have also pointed out that those teachers have deliberately smeared or played down certain secondary schools in order to make the parents accept the teachers' recommendations. Quite a number of these parents have relayed to me that schools and parents have different interpretations about school banding while the Education Bureau ("EDB") has not provided the list of secondary school of various banding, leaving the schools and parents not knowing what to follow, as well as giving rise to various disputes. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the Government will make changes to the existing system to inform students and parents of the outcome immediately upon the completion of the discretionary places allocation stage by secondary schools, so that parents and students need not worry about their choices of schools at the central allocation stage any more or have unnecessary disputes with the primary school teachers; if it will, of the time to do so; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)whether the Government has any measure in place to monitor serving primary school teachers to prevent them from adopting different approaches to request parents to choose the secondary schools recommended by the teachers during the discretionary places allocation stage and central allocation stage, oblivions to parents' wishes and students' abilities, and also to prevent such teachers from misleading the parents into accepting their recommendations by smearing or playing down certain secondary schools, with a view to increasing the percentage of their primary students moving up to top band schools; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (c)of the respective percentages of primary students being allocated by EDB to secondary schools belonging to Bands One, Two and Three in Sha Tin, Tai Po, the North District and Sai Kung in the past three years, with a breakdown in the table below; and

    YearDistrictName of secondary school Percentage of the number of admitted S1 students belonging to Band One in the total number of students in this band Percentage of the number of admitted S1 students belonging to Band Two in the total number of students in this band Percentage of the number of admitted S1 students belonging to Band Three in the total number of students in this band















    　 　 　 　 　 　 　 　
    (d)whether the Government will immediately upload to the web site of EDB the respective percentages of S1 students belonging to Bands One, Two and Three admitted to various secondary schools each year to facilitate access by parents; if it will, of the time to do so; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education

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

Same-sex cohabitation relationship was put under the scope of protection of the Domestic and Cohabitation Relationships Violence Ordinance (Cap. 189) ("the Ordinance") in 2009. Quite a number of people in the society who have doubts about their sexual orientation and are inclined to develop same-sex intimate relationship or same-sex cohabitation relationship have indicated that they may encounter some difficulties when they tell their family members and friends about their sexual orientation, and face adverse labelling in the society, and thus they may have more social service needs in respect of their emotions as well as social interactions. Data from local and international studies have also shown that, since homosexuals belong to a minority group in the society and are being discriminated against, they have more social needs than people in general in the society. Quite a number of homosexuals have reflected that at present, the Social Welfare Department has not subsidized any service, which is provided to meet the specific needs of homosexual groups, and the existing mainstream social services cannot meet their needs. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the authorities have conducted surveys on the number of same-sex cohabitants in Hong Kong and their social needs; if they have, of the number in the past three years; whether statistics on the number of same-sex and opposite-sex cohabitants and their households are collected in the population census at present; if so, of the details; if not, whether the authorities will collect such data in the next population census;

    (b)of the respective numbers of same-sex cohabitants who had sought assistance from government agencies and social service organizations in respect of domestic violence since the Ordinance came into operation in 2009; whether the authorities have conducted any publicity or provided educational resources to encourage same-sex cohabitants suffering from domestic violence to seek assistance; and

    (c)of the number of cohabiting same-sex couples who had received social services from government agencies and subsidized agencies last year; whether the Government will consider following the practice of providing services to meet the specific needs of ethnic minorities, and provide services that meet the specific needs of homosexual groups; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

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

The Government has indicated that in response to future population growth, it is necessary to formulate a policy to build up land reserve so as to meet housing demand and demand from daily lives, and therefore the plan of reclamation outside Victoria Harbour is proposed. However, the proposal under this plan to alter the shoreline has aroused strong dissatisfaction among residents in Tseung Kwan O and Ma On Shan, who demand exclusion of the two areas from the reclamation project. Furthermore, some villagers who are affected by the land development projects in the rural areas reject the acquisition of their residences and land by the project implementers because such acquisition will affect their ways of life over the years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)how the Government will respond to the public's dissatisfaction over the reclamation project after the completion of the Stage 1 consultation on the land supply strategy of reclamation outside Victoria Harbour; whether the Government will shelve the reclamation project; if it will not, of the reasons for that;

    (b)given that the Government has introduced the Enhancing Land Supply Strategy and confirmed the acquisition of agricultural land in the New Territories as one of the means for building up land reserve, yet some people damage the ecology of the agricultural land and the farmers' livelihood by means such as setting up container yards and dumping wastes into rivers illegally, in the hope that their land will be acquired or the land use will be changed, and such complaint cases are abundant in the North East New Territories New Development Areas and the Ngau Tam Mei village in Yuen Long, whether the authorities have received complaints about people damaging the land first and leaving it abandoned later during resumption of rural land; if they have, of the number and contents of such complaints in the past five years; if not, whether they have considered setting up a complaint task force to handle cases of land resumption by unscrupulous means; and

    (c)given the authorities' indication that in 2039, Hong Kong will at least need an extra of 4 500 hectares of land to meet the demand from its population, and will thus increase land supply through the Enhancing Land Supply Strategy (including measures such as land resumption, reclamation, redevelopment, rezoning, re-use of ex-quarry sites and rock cavern development, etc.), whether the Government has other means to increase land supply when the "multi-pronged" approach fails; if it has, of the contents of its plans; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

*16. Hon Abraham SHEK to ask:

The Government proposed in January 2012 a set of new Air Quality Objectives ("AQOs") which lays down the atmospheric concentration limits for seven pollutants together with a host of air quality improvement measures to help Hong Kong achieve the AQOs. However, in the new AQOs, the concentration limits of four pollutants (i.e. sulphur dioxide ("SO2") (24-hour mean), ozone, respirable suspended particulates and fine suspended particulates ("PM2.5") (annual-mean and 24-hour mean)) fail to match the highest levels prescribed in the World Health Organization ("WHO")'s Air Quality Guidelines published in 2006, and the green groups have criticized the Government for taking a "half-hearted" approach to implement the air quality improvement measures. In addition, it has been reported that according to the China Statistical Yearbook 2011, Hong Kong's nitrogen dioxide level ranks 31st out of 32 major cities in China. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the Government has considered the public health impact with limits of SO2 (24-hour mean) and PM2.5 benchmarked against WHO's Interim Targets and Air Quality Guidelines; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; whether it knows any details of affirmative overseas examples in which limits comparable to those in the new AQOs are adopted; of the principles considered and views from the public consultation in 2009 which affirm the proposed limits;

    (b)given that it has been reported that the Ministry of Environmental Protection on the Mainland has proposed a tougher limit for nitrogen dioxide than that of Hong Kong, whether it will consider imposing a standard at least on par with that proposed by the Ministry; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (c)whether it has considered the difficulties construction projects will encounter and additional compliance cost they will incur in securing approval against the new AQOs under the Environmental Impact Assessment Ordinance (Cap. 499), including but not limited to, as reported, the proposed construction of the third runway at Hong Kong International Airport the emission level of nitrogen dioxide of which may exceed the proposed limit; if it has, of the details with any follow-up mitigation measures taken in alleviating the situation; and

    (d)given the absence of any government figures in evaluating the public health impact of air pollution, whether the Government has considered establishing a mechanism similar to the Hedley Environmental Index in assessing the public health impact of air pollution and publicizing the real-time information on the impact; if it has, of the details with the expected cost and manpower resources involved; if not, whether it has considered any ways besides the established measures in enhancing public awareness of the health impact of air pollution?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment

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

The United Nations' Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment has been applied to Hong Kong since 1992, and non-Hong Kong residents in Hong Kong may make torture claims to the Immigration Department ("ImmD"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of torture claim cases received by ImmD in each of the past three years; the main nationalities of such torture claimants ("claimants"); the number of cases pending assessment to date; the number of persons who had withdrawn their claims on their own or requested to return voluntarily to their places of origin during the period; the number of claims assessed in the past three years, and among them, the number of claims substantiated; the average time required for assessing a claim, as well as the administrative and legal aid expenses required for a claim; the follow-up arrangement generally made by the authorities in respect of claimants of unsubstantiated claims;

    (b)of the expenses on providing support to claimants by the authorities in the past three years to meet the basic needs of their daily lives; the number of persons who had received such support;

    (c)of the number of cases of the overseas domestic helpers working in Hong Kong making torture claims in the past three years; whether there was a rising trend; among these cases, of the number of claimants permitted to stay in Hong Kong because their torture claims had been substantiated;

    (d)of the number of claimants in Hong Kong who had been arrested for committing various types of criminal offences in the past three years, and the major offences committed by them; of the number of such claimants who were convicted; and

    (e)whether the authorities have any mechanism in place at present for following up or recording the conditions of the daily lives and accommodation of each claimant during the period of waiting for assessment in Hong Kong; if so, of the percentage of cases in which contact with the claimants was lost in the total number of cases; whether the authorities will review the existing policy (including examining the establishment of facilities for sheltering such claimants) to facilitate follow-up actions; if they will not, of the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*18. Dr Hon LEUNG Ka-lau to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council whether it knows the details of the claims of medical negligence against the Hospital Authority in the past five years, and set out the information in the tables below:
    (a)the numbers of various kinds of cases;

    Year 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
    Total number of cases




    Number of cases settled out of court




    Number of cases referred to mediation




    Number of cases settled out of court during mediation




    Number of cases settled out of court after mediation




    Number of cases referred to arbitration




    Number of cases settled through arbitration




    Number of cases ruled by the Court





    (b)the amounts of compensation and relevant costs in various kinds of cases; and

    Year 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
    Total amount of compensation paid




    Amount of compensation paid in cases settled out of court




    Amount of compensation paid according to the agreements reached by mediation




    Amount of compensation paid according to arbitration awards




    Amount of compensation paid according to court rulings




    Mediation fees paid by the Hospital Authority ("HA") Mediators




    Lawyers




    Others




    Arbitration fees paid by HA Arbitrators




    Lawyers




    Others




    Legal fees paid by HA Lawyers




    Courts




    Others*





    * excluding fees related to mediation and arbitration

    (c)the highest amounts of compensation in various kinds of cases?

    The highest amount of compensation paid in a single case settled out of court
    The highest amount of compensation paid in a single mediation case
    The highest amount of compensation paid in a single arbitration case
    The highest amount of compensation paid in a single case ruled by the Court
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

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

Quite a number of members of Hong Kong's catering industry have relayed to me that the inflation problem in Hong Kong has become increasingly serious, with continuous rising shop rents and prices of food materials, and coupled with the implementation of the statutory minimum wage, the operating costs of food establishments continue to increase; the catering industry has to face the pressure of raising prices, laying off staff and closing down businesses. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective numbers of food establishments newly opened and closed down in each of the past five years, together with a breakdown by type of food establishments;

    (b)of the respective number of people engaged in the catering industry in each of the past five years, together with a breakdown by type of food establishments;

    (c)of the respective total numbers of labour disputes in the catering industry in each of the past five years, the amounts involved and the numbers of employees affected, together with a breakdown by type of food establishments;

    (d)whether it knows the revenues brought to different types of food establishments in Hong Kong by visitors under the Individual Visit Scheme ("IVS") each year since the implementation of IVS in July 2003;

    (e)whether it knows the total amount spent by members of the public in Hong Kong in different types of food establishments in each of the past five years, and the average percentage of the amount spent by members of the public in different types of food establishments in their income;

    (f)whether it has assessed the impact of the implementation of the statutory minimum wage on the operating costs and manpower of different types of food establishments; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (g)whether it has assessed the impact of changes in shop rents in Hong Kong on the operating costs and profits of different types of food establishments in the past five years; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (h)whether it has assessed the impact of changes in the prices of food materials on the operating costs and profits of different types of food establishments in the past five years; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (i) of the time normally taken at present for processing the required licences for various types of food establishments; whether it will conduct a study on further simplifying the relevant procedures to shorten the processing time; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (j)of the targeted measures put in place in the past five years to support the continuous operation and development of the catering industry in Hong Kong; and

    (k)whether it has assessed the difficulties and opportunities in operations and sustainable development faced by the catering industry at present, so as to introduce targeted policies and measures to help the industry resolve the difficulties and seize the opportunities?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

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

It has been reported that employees and self-employed persons in Hong Kong paid $6.35 billion a year to Mandatory Provident Fund ("MPF") trustees at a charging rate as high as 1.74%, which is the highest among comparable developed countries (including Singapore, Australia, the United Kingdom and Chile). The fund manager quoted in the report even pointed out that a charging rate of 1.8% was absolutely high, and the performance of MPF in the past few years had been far from satisfactory, always resulting in losses rather than gains, and that the Government had to take actions to prevent the trustees from maximizing their profits, especially because the profits generated from this business would become increasingly substantial towards the later stage. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the Government has looked into the reasons why MPF charges at present are the highest among the aforesaid regions; whether it has assessed if MPF charges are reasonable; whether it has assessed the implementation of MPF and considered the abolition or otherwise of the entire MPF Scheme based on the level of satisfaction towards MPF charges and the effectiveness of the entire Scheme of members of the public; if it has, of the outcome of such assessment; if not, the reasons for that and whether it will conduct an assessment as soon as possible;

    (b)whether it has estimated the level to which MPF charges may be lowered under the "MPF Semi-portability" (i.e. the "Employee Choice Arrangement") policy; and

    (c)of the new policy and measures in place, besides the "MPF Semi-portability" policy, to expeditiously lower MPF charges so as to protect the contributions of members of the public?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

* For written reply

III. Bills

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

(Bills originally scheduled to be dealt with at the last Council meeting)

1.Competition Bill:Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

(i)Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development to move Committee stage amendments

(The amendments were issued on 24 May 2012
under LC Paper No. CB(3)802/11-12)

(ii)Hon Albert HO, Hon Ronny TONG, Hon Mrs Regina IP and Hon LEUNG Kwok-hung to move Committee stage amendments

(The amendments were issued on 23 and 25 May 2012 under
LC Paper Nos. CB(3)799/11-12 and CB(3)811/11-12 respectively)

2.Mediation Bill:The Secretary for Justice

The Secretary for Justice to move Committee stage amendments

(The amendments were issued on 16 May 2012
under LC Paper No. CB(3)766/11-12)

(Bills scheduled to be dealt with at this Council meeting)

3.Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2011:Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Hon WONG Sing-chi
and Hon KAM Nai-wai to move Committee stage amendments

(The amendments were issued on 31 May 2012
under LC Paper No. CB(3)845/11-12)

4.Construction Industry Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2012

:Secretary for Development

Secretary for Development to move Committee stage amendments
(The amendments were issued on 28 May 2012
under LC Paper No. CB(3)829/11-12)

5.Personal Data (Privacy) (Amendment) Bill 2011:Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs

(i)Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs to move Committee stage amendments

(The amendments were issued on 30 May 2012
under LC Paper No. CB(3)838/11-12)

(ii)Hon James TO to move Committee stage amendments

(The amendments were issued on 1 June 2012
under LC Paper No. CB(3)850/11-12)

IV. Motions

(Motion scheduled to be dealt with at this Council meeting)

1.Proposed resolution under Article 73(7) of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China and section 7A of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance (Cap. 484)

The Chief Secretary for Administration to move the following motion:

Resolved that the following appointments be endorsed -

(a)the appointment of the Honourable Mr. Justice Robert Tang Ching as a permanent judge of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal pursuant to section 7 of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance (Cap. 484) (the Ordinance);

(b)the appointment of the Honourable Mr. Justice Syed Kemal Shah Bokhary as a non-permanent Hong Kong judge of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal pursuant to section 8 of the Ordinance; and

(c)the appointment of the Right Honourable The Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers as a judge of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal from another common law jurisdiction pursuant to section 9 of the Ordinance.

(Motions originally scheduled to be dealt with at the last Council meeting)

2.Proposed resolution under the Legal Aid Ordinance

Secretary for Home Affairs to move the motion in Appendix I.

(The motion was also issued on 20 April 2012
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 662/11-12)

3.Proposed resolution under the Eastern Harbour Crossing Ordinance and the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

Secretary for Transport and Housing to move the motion in Appendix II.

(The motion was also issued on 21 May 2012
under LC Paper No. CB(3)782/11-12)

4.Proposed resolution under the Tate's Cairn Tunnel Ordinance and the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

Secretary for Transport and Housing to move the motion in Appendix III.

(The motion was also issued on 21 May 2012
under LC Paper No. CB(3)782/11-12)

5.Proposed resolution under the Western Harbour Crossing Ordinance and the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

Secretary for Transport and Housing to move the motion in Appendix IV.

(The motion was also issued on 21 May 2012
under LC Paper No. CB(3)782/11-12)

6.Proposed resolution under the Tai Lam Tunnel and Yuen Long Approach Road Ordinance and the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

Secretary for Transport and Housing to move the motion in Appendix V.

(The motion was also issued on 21 May 2012
under LC Paper No. CB(3)782/11-12)

7.Proposed resolution under the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance

Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury to move the following motion:

Resolved that the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (General) (Amendment) Regulation 2012, made by the Chief Executive in Council on 8 May 2012, be approved.

(The Amendment Regulation is in Appendix VI
and was also issued on 10 May 2012
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 742/11-12)

(Motion scheduled to be dealt with at this Council meeting)

8.Proposed resolution under the Import and Export Ordinance and the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development to move the motion in Appendix VII.

(The motion was also issued on 29 May 2012
under LC Paper No. CB(3)830/11-12)

V. Members' Motions on Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments

(Members' motions originally scheduled to be dealt with at the last Council meeting)

1.Proposed resolution under section 34(4) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

Hon Fred LI to move the following motion:

Resolved that in relation to the Pesticide Residues in Food Regulation, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 73 of 2012, and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 9 May 2012, the period for amending subsidiary legislation referred to in section 34(2) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap. 1) be extended under section 34(4) of that Ordinance to the meeting of 27 June 2012.

2.Proposed resolution under section 34(4) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

Hon James TO to move the following motion:

Resolved that in relation to the Securities and Futures (Futures Contracts) Notice 2012, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 81 of 2012, and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 9 May 2012, the period for amending subsidiary legislation referred to in section 34(2) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap. 1) be extended under section 34(4) of that Ordinance to the meeting of 27 June 2012.

(Member's motion scheduled to be dealt with at this Council meeting)

3.Proposed resolution under section 34(4) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

Hon Audrey EU to move the following motion:

Resolved that in relation to the -

(a)Buildings (Amendment) Ordinance 2011 (Commencement) Notice 2012, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 82 of 2012;

(b)Building (Inspection and Repair) Regulation (Commencement) Notice, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 83 of 2012; and

(c)Building (Minor Works) (Amendment) Regulation 2011 (Commencement) Notice, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 84 of 2012,

and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 9 May 2012, the period for amending subsidiary legislation referred to in section 34(2) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap. 1) be extended under section 34(4) of that Ordinance to the meeting of 27 June 2012.

(Member's motion originally scheduled to be dealt with at the last Council meeting)

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

Hon Miriam LAU to move the following motion:

That this Council takes note of Report No. 18/11-12 of the House Committee laid on the Table of the Council on 9 May 2012 in relation to the subsidiary legislation and instrument(s) as listed below:

Item NumberTitle of Subsidiary Legislation or Instrument

(1)Prevention of Bribery Ordinance (Amendment of Schedules 1 and 2) Order 2012 (L.N. 38/2012).


Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development


VI. Members' Bills

(Member's Bill originally scheduled to be dealt with at the last Council meeting)

First Reading

Professional Accountants (Amendment) Bill 2012

Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)

Professional Accountants (Amendment) Bill 2012:Hon Paul CHAN

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

VII. Members' Motions

(Members' motions originally scheduled to be dealt with at the last Council meeting)

1.Motion under Article 73(9) of the Basic Law

Initiated jointly by Hon Albert HO , Hon LEE Cheuk-yan, Hon Fred LI, Hon James TO, Hon CHEUNG Man-kwong, Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung, Hon Emily LAU, Hon Andrew CHENG, Hon Frederick FUNG, Hon Audrey EU, Hon LEE Wing-tat, Dr Hon Joseph LEE, Hon Ronny TONG, Hon KAM Nai-wai, Hon Cyd HO, Hon CHEUNG Kwok-che, Hon WONG Sing-chi, Hon Paul TSE, Hon Alan LEONG, Hon LEUNG Kwok-hung, Hon Tanya CHAN, Hon Albert CHAN and Hon WONG Yuk-man (23 Members) and to be moved by Hon Cyd HO

That, since a motion initiated jointly by not less than one-fourth of all the Members of the Legislative Council charges the Chief Executive Mr Donald TSANG with serious dereliction of duty (details as particularized in the Schedule to this motion) and he refused to resign, this Council, in accordance with Article 73(9) of the Basic Law, gives a mandate to the Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal to form and chair an independent investigation committee to investigate the alleged dereliction of duty and report to this Council.

Schedule

Details of dereliction of duty of the Chief Executive Mr Donald TSANG are set out below:

Mr Donald TSANG, as the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, accepted advantages or extravagant entertainment offered by other persons without making any declaration, failing to fulfill the duties under Article 47 of the Basic Law that the Chief Executive must be a person of integrity and dedicated to his or her duties

(1)Mr Donald TSANG accepted advantages or extravagant entertainment offered by other persons

(a)Mr Donald TSANG rented a 630m2 odd apartment in East Pacific Garden, Shenzhen at a rate of RMB 800,000 yuan per annum. The owner of the apartment provided the renovation, and the renovation costs are reportedly about RMB 3,000,000 yuan; and

(b)Mr Donald TSANG and his wife accepted extravagant entertainment offered by other persons on several occasions, including:

(i)on their trips to Macao in April 2011 and February 2012, stayed on board the private yacht of other person and returned from Macao to Hong Kong on it, paying only about HK$500 on each occasion (amount corresponding to two tickets of one‐way Macao‐to‐Hong Kong commercial ferry ride); and

(ii)in February 2012, travelled to Phuket, Thailand and back to Hong Kong in a private jet of other person and stayed on board the private yacht of other person in Phuket, paying only about HK$5,900 (amount corresponding to two round-trip economy class flight tickets between Hong Kong and Phuket).

(2)Mr Donald TSANG did not make any declaration during meetings of the Executive Council at which items relating to businesses operated by the persons who offered the aforesaid advantages or entertainment were discussed

According to the reply by the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs to Members' questions at the Legislative Council meeting of 29 February 2012, Mr Donald TSANG did not make any declaration of his acceptance of advantages referred to in item (1)(a) or his acceptance of entertainment referred to in item (1)(b) during meetings of the Executive Council. Mr TSANG did not make any declaration when the Executive Council deliberated on the issues of the licence of the Digital Broadcasting Corporation Hong Kong Limited ("DBC"), and the owner of the apartment referred to in item (1)(a) is a shareholder of DBC.

(3)Mr Donald TSANG failed to formulate credible rules governing the Chief Executive's acceptance of advantages or entertainment

It has been reported that Mr Donald TSANG himself formulated internal rules governing the Chief Executive's acceptance of advantages or entertainment; however, the Chief Executive's Office does not have any formal record of the above rules, and the standard claimed is much lower than that for civil servants.

Public Officers to attend:The Chief Secretary for Administration
Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs

2.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.

3.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".

Public Officers to attend:Secretary for Education
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
Secretary for Development

4.Caring about the education, employment and housing problems faced by young people

Hon CHAN Hak-kan to move the following motion: (Translation)

That young people are the future pillars of society, but in the face of globalization and the rapid development of neighbouring places, Hong Kong young people not only face many challenges during their growth, but also lack upward mobility opportunities, and this is especially highlighted in their education, employment and housing aspirations; however, the Government has all along failed to formulate any support measures with young people as the main targets; in this connection, this Council urges the Government to care about young people's needs, and assist them in concentrating on their education, establishing their career and resolving their housing needs; specific measures should include:

Education -

(a)to enhance the qualification recognition of the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination, sub-degrees and the new Yi Jin Diploma in Hong Kong, the Mainland and the international community, so as to widen young people's pathways of further studies;

(b)to dovetail with the concept of promoting students' whole-person development under the new academic structure by introducing an extra-curricular activities allowance for students to subsidize their participation in extra-curricular activities;

(c)to promote the commencement of 'career planning' at the stage of secondary education, so as to enable secondary students to make better planning for their future career development;

Employment -

(d)to review the planning of employment training support services for young people, enhance the existing Youth Pre-employment Training Programme and Youth Work Experience and Training Scheme, and raise the level of the relevant subsidies, so as to attract the participation of more employers to provide more employment and training opportunities in the market which are suitable for young people;

(e)to set up more 'Youth Employment Start' ('Y.E.S') resource centres throughout Hong Kong, strengthen the training programmes targeted at young people, enhance their employment skills, and provide one-stop employment counselling;

(f)focusing on the development of the six industries and creative industries, to enhance training and provide better support to help young people join the relevant industries;

Housing -

(g)to relax the existing eligibility criteria for applying for public rental housing, and address low-income young people's housing needs;

(h)to allow eligible white form applicants to purchase Home Ownership Scheme flats without having to pay the premium, so as to assist young people in accessing the home acquisition ladder; and

(i)focusing on young people with relatively stable financial income, to study re-launching the Home Starter Loan Scheme.

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

To add "the SAR Government has all along lacked a comprehensive youth policy, and" after "That"; to delete "and" after "young people's needs,"; to add ", and promote young people's social participation" after "their housing needs"; to add "(e) to further increase the places for publicly-funded bachelor's degree programmes; (f) to review the financial assistance and loan system for students, alleviate the financial burden of young people after their graduation, and implement the abolition of the risk rate of the non-means-tested loan scheme;" after "career development;"; to delete the original "(d)" and substitute with "(g)"; to delete the original "(e)" and substitute with "(h)"; to delete the original "(f)" and substitute with "(i)"; to delete the original "(g)" and substitute with "(j)"; to delete ", and" after "rental housing" and substitute with "('PRH'),"; to add ", and review the existing allocation system for single-person PRH units" after "people's housing needs"; to delete the original "(h)" and substitute with "(k)"; to delete "and" after "ladder;"; to delete the original "(i)" and substitute with "(l)"; and to add "; Social participation - (m) to review the existing composition and functions of the Commission on Youth; (n) to convene youth summits and related local forums on youth issues annually, and promote young people's participation in such summits and forums; and (o) to increase the ratio of youth participation in various statutory and advisory bodies, and set specific targets accordingly" immediately before the full stop.

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

To add ", as we all know," after "That"; to add "(d) to strengthen vocational education for students of post-secondary and tertiary institutions, so that young people can get an early grasp of the objectives concerning career prospects, and lay a good foundation for upward mobility; (e) to increase the number of internship places in Hong Kong and overseas for students of the various tertiary institutions; (f) to comprehensively review the assistance as well as loans and repayment arrangements under the various existing student finance schemes, including abolishing the risk rate; significantly lower the interest rates of all loan schemes for tertiary students and waive the interest accrued during students' study periods under the Non-means-tested Loan Scheme; change the situation where interest rates of student loans are higher than those of bank mortgages; allow tax deduction on repayment amounts of university education loans; study the feasibility of allowing local students to apply for student loans for pursuing further education overseas; and increase the grant amounts for tertiary students; (g) to comprehensively review the Continuing Education Fund Scheme, including raising the cap on the amount of subsidy receivable by each applicant and extending the period of four years within which applicants must submit all claims as required by the Continuing Education Fund, etc., so as to encourage young people to pursue continuous education; (h) to strengthen the manning ratio of student guidance personnel in secondary schools and tertiary institutions, so as to assist young people in facing problems related to education, family, friends and career prospects, etc.;" after "career development;"; to delete the original "(d)" and substitute with "(i)"; to delete the original "(e)" and substitute with "(j)"; to delete the original "(f)" and substitute with "(k)"; to delete "focusing on the development of the six industries" before "and creative industries," and substitute with "to expedite the upgrading of the four pillar industries, and promote the development of the six industries with competitive edge"; to add "(l) to enhance the applicability and effectiveness of the training and employment support structure for young people, and assist young people in joining industries which need new blood, such as construction industry, transport industry and shipping industry; (m) to motivate employers to provide employees with 'training leave', including offering tax concessions to such employers, so as to facilitate working young people to pursue studies, revise their lessons and acquire professional qualifications by examination; (n) to co-operate with organizations and enterprises in the public and private sectors to encourage the employment of young people with less working experience and share with them the associated salary payments, so as to enhance young people's chances of securing employment; (o) to proactively approach young people who have remained jobless for a long time and hidden youths, so as to provide career counselling and support to them; (p) to proactively develop apprenticeship programmes, including expanding the scope of industries covered by the apprenticeship system, so as to give young people a chance to practise while learning and provide them with a career ladder; (q) to establish a start-up fund for young people and provide business start-up advice and loans, so as to assist young people in devising their business start-up plans and further practice; (r) to subsidize young people from low-income families to attend self-enrichment courses, so as to enhance their competitiveness in choosing their own careers;" after "relevant industries;"; to delete the original "(g)" and substitute with "(s)"; to delete "relax" before "the existing eligibility" and substitute with "review"; to delete ", and address low-income young people's housing needs;" after "public rental housing" and substitute with "('PRH'), including studying the reasons for young people to apply for PRH as well as the required waiting time and allocation situation, so as to formulate a more reasonable and fairer method for waiting for and allocation of PRH for young people, and also putting forward measures, such as raising the household income ceiling, to encourage young people to live with their parents; (t) to increase the annual PRH production to 30 000 units or more, including resuming the construction of Group B PRH for renting by eligible young people subject to time limits, so as to address low-income young people's housing needs;"; to delete the original "(h)" and substitute with "(u)"; to add "and eligible persons currently waiting for PRH allocation" after "white form applicants"; and to delete the original "(i)" and substitute with "(v)".

(iii)Hon WONG Sing-chi to move the following amendment: (Translation)

To add "can make great contributions to society, and they" after "That young people"; to add "increase the places for publicly-funded bachelor's degree and various types of diploma programmes, allocate more resources for providing relevant financial subsidies, and formulate a comprehensive education and training policy for young people," after "international community,"; to add "(d) to advocate family-friendly policies, assist students' parents in understanding more deeply and caring about the needs of young people during their growth, provide adequate social workers for schools, families and the community, assist young people in facing the pressure from learning and life, and strengthen the healthy life development of young people;" after "career development;"; 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 add "(h) to formulate a comprehensive employment and training policy for young people, co-ordinate the various existing youth employment training programmes, review the recognition of the various programmes, actual employment rates and the problem of job matching, assist young people in entering the labour market, including providing internship places to secondary school leavers to enhance their competitiveness; (i) to create the posts of junior attendant at tourism spots to provide employment opportunities for unemployed young people;" after "relevant industries;"; to delete the original "(g)" and substitute with "(j)"; to add "build more public rental housing flats," before "relax"; to delete the original "(h)" and substitute with "(k)"; to add "in the secondary market" after "Ownership Scheme flats"; to delete "and" after "ladder;"; to delete the original "(i)" and substitute with "(l)"; and to add "on the premise of having an adequate supply of private housing; (m) to re-launch the Sale of Flats to Sitting Tenants Scheme, so that young people can live together with their parents without being subject to means test; and (n) to assist non-government organizations in providing hostels for youths, so as to offer hostel places to young people at relatively inexpensive rents" immediately before the full stop.

Public Officers to attend:Secretary for Education
Secretary for Labour and Welfare
Secretary for Transport and Housing

5.Opposing Hong Kong communists ruling Hong Kong

Hon Albert CHAN to move the following motion: (Translation)

That this Council expresses deep resentment at the direct interference of the Communist Party of China in the 2012 Chief Executive Election, which ruins 'one country, two systems'; as the Chief Executive Election was conducted under the interference and manipulation of the Communist Party of China, this Council does not accept, recognize and agree to the result of the 2012 Chief Executive Election; in this connection, this Council requests the immediate implementation of universal suffrage for returning the Chief Executive and all Legislative Council seats, and calls upon Hong Kong people to resort to confrontational means to resist Hong Kong communists ruling Hong Kong.

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs

6.Enhancing the accountability of charities and complying with the best practices in corporate governance

Hon Paul CHAN to move the following motion: (Translation)

That the Charities Sub-committee under the Law Reform Commission of Hong Kong is still collating public submissions after completing its public consultation on the consultation paper on charities in end October last year, and at present, except for those charities that are incorporated as companies limited by guarantee with the Company Registry whose financial statements are accessible by the public in the Company Registry, the public has no way to know about the governance and financial information of all other charities, such as those established by way of trust; moreover, currently, except for section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance, in which 'charitable purpose' is defined for the purpose of taxation, there is no other legislation regulating charities and how they use the donations, nor does the Administration have the figures regarding charities established; over the past few years, some suspected cases of charities with strange fund-raising practices, unclear accounts, indiscriminate investments and even transfer of surpluses have been uncovered in society, making the public worry that donations to charities may not be serving charitable purposes; in this connection, this Council urges the Government to expeditiously release to the public the findings of the public consultation on the consultation paper on charities, and before statutory regulation is introduced, consider enhancing the transparency and accountability of charities by adopting measures such as encouraging them to comply with the best practices in corporate governance, strengthen their financial management, and disclose their financial information on a regular basis; at the same time, the Government should expeditiously implement the statutory regulatory proposals in the consultation paper on charities which are generally agreed by the community.

Amendments to the motion
(i)Hon James TO to move the following amendment: (Translation)

To add ", as" after "That"; to add "many community organizations and members of the public have expressed worry that the activities of charities with different views may be restricted;" after "last year,"; to add ", as well as maintain the autonomy of their organizations" after "basis"; to delete "expeditiously implement" after "the Government should" and substitute with "carefully consider all"; and to delete "which are generally agreed by the community" immediately before the full stop.

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

To add ", given that" after "That"; to delete "before statutory regulation is introduced, consider enhancing the transparency and accountability of charities by adopting measures such as encouraging them" after "on charities, and" and substitute with "encourage charities"; to delete "," after "management"; to add ", so as to enhance their transparency and accountability" after "basis"; and to delete "should expeditiously implement the statutory regulatory proposals in the consultation paper on charities which are generally agreed by the community" immediately before the full stop and substitute with "must ensure that human rights and advocacy of policies are included as charitable purposes, and should also ensure that charities can maintain autonomy and are free from any political interference".

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

To add "besides, some people worry that the power of the charity commission mentioned in the consultation paper on charities is too great, which may lead to self-censorship on the part of charities dedicated to empowering the socially disadvantaged and charities which are concerned about such sensitive issues as human rights; at the same time, some social workers are concerned about a proposal in the consultation paper on charities that 'an activity to preserve an existing piece of legislation, where a charity opposes its being repealed or amended, would fall under "political activity"', not to be regarded as dedicated to a charitable purpose, and the proposal runs counter to clause 50 of the Code of Practice for Registered Social Workers, which provides that 'Social workers recognise the need to advocate changes in the formulation of policies and legislation to improve social conditions, to promote social justice and general welfare of the society. Social workers also recognise the need to contribute to the implementation of policies for human welfare'; they consider that the proposal will make social workers of charities act against professional ethics, and render organizations within the definition of 'charity' unable to employ professional social workers any more;" after "charitable purposes;"; to add ": (a)" after "the Government to"; to delete ", and" after "the public consultation on the consultation paper on charities" and substitute with "; (b)"; to add "first" after "introduced,"; to delete "at the same time, the Government should" after "basis;" and substitute with "(c) motivate the public to continue to hold discussions on monitoring charities and their fund-raising practices, and listen to the views of the public and stakeholders; and (d)"; and to add ", and prudently handle the controversial items in the paper, so as to ensure that while undesirable fund-raising practices are effectively monitored, charities dedicated to empowering the socially disadvantaged and charities which are concerned about such sensitive issues as human rights will not be subject to political vetting" immediately before the full stop.

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

7.Promoting family harmony

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

That, as social problems such as the rising divorce rate, family tragedies, child abuse and neglect of children, as well as compensated dating and drug abuse among young people still occur from time to time in Hong Kong, reflecting that at present some families lack cohesion and mutual love, this Council urges the Government to make stronger efforts in promoting family-friendly policies and enhancing the resilience of families and individuals against adversities, so as to achieve family harmony and promote social inclusion; the proposed measures include:

(a)introducing an assessment system regarding the impact of public policies on families to assess the impact of existing social policies, legislation and measures on families, with a view to making relevant improvements;

(b)providing more support services to dual-income parents, including expanding community childminding services, increasing the childminding places in various districts and providing flexible childminding service hours, etc.; developing after-school remedial centres so that children of dual-income parents can receive appropriate care after school;

(c)promoting public and private organizations to implement family-friendly employment policies more proactively for creating a family-friendly working environment, including encouraging organizations to provide staff with child care services and implementing flexible working hours, as well as implementing a flexible leave policy which provides special paid leave for employees such as wedding leave, paternity leave, study leave, compassionate leave, etc., when they encounter major family events;

(d)including all general holidays other than Sundays as paid statutory holidays through a progressive approach of employer-employee negotiation; and promoting 'International Day of Families' to call on the community to cherish the value of family;

(e)promoting a housing policy which fosters mutual care between the elderly and the young and encouraging the inclusion of residential complementary facilities suitable for both the elderly and the young in the designs of private and public housing; as well as improving community facilities to provide families with more room for parent-child activities;

(f)actively stepping up publicity on positive family education on parenting, child duties and ethics, as well as promoting family education through community service organizations, schools and the media, etc.;

(g)allocating more resources for strengthening various promotional activities and research work of the Family Council;

(h)alleviating the financial burden on families in Hong Kong by offering tax concessions and subsidizing pre-primary education across the board; and

(i)enhancing social welfare services to provide appropriate support to families in crisis.

Amendments to the motion
(i)Hon WONG Sing-chi to move the following amendment: (Translation)

To delete "as" after "That," and substitute with "given that"; to delete "paternity leave" after "as wedding leave,"; to add "and introducing statutory paternity leave for male employees, so that husbands can enjoy paid leave to help take care of their wives and newborn babies;" after "family events;"; to add "(e) legislating for setting the number of standard working hours at 44 per week and the payment of compensation for overtime work, and assisting Hong Kong people in having an ideal mode of living, with their time evenly distributed among work, rest and leisure activities so as to achieve balanced development in different areas;" after "value of family;"; to delete the original "(e)" and substitute with "(f)"; to add "(g) constructing additional small and large sized public rental housing ('PRH') flats, resuming the Sale of Flats to Sitting Tenants Scheme, allowing eligible white form Home Ownership Scheme ('HOS') household applicants to purchase HOS flats in the secondary market without having to pay the premium, reviewing the allocation and eligibility criteria of PRH to provide affordable and appropriate residential premises to families in need, and encouraging young families to live close to their elderly family members to facilitate their mutual care, strengthen the family support network and promote family harmony and integration;" after "parent-child activities;"; to delete the original "(f)" and substitute with "(h)"; to delete the original "(g)" and substitute with "(i)"; to delete the original "(h)" and substitute with "(j)"; to delete "subsidizing" after "tax concessions and" and substitute with "providing 15-year free education covering"; to delete "across the board; and" after "pre-primary education" and substitute with ";"; to delete the original "(i)" and substitute with "(k)"; and to add "; (l) amending legislation and strengthening support to handle domestic violence, stepping up publicity and training to deepen the understanding and alertness of frontline staff (such as social workers, police officers, as well as education and healthcare personnel, etc.) in relation to the problem of domestic violence, and intervening in a timely manner to help curb domestic violence; (m) setting up a multi-disciplinary mechanism for reviewing family tragedy cases to draw lessons from them, so as to improve the service system and its effectiveness, and assist affected families in restoring a harmonious family life; and (n) strengthening work in family education with a view to reducing marital problems, including incorporating family life education into the secondary education curriculum; providing pre-marital family education services, and strengthening family life education through the media, etc" immediately before the full stop.

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

To delete "as" after "That," and substitute with "given that in recent years,"; to add "(c) relaxing the eligibility criteria of the Work Incentive Transport Subsidy Scheme, expeditiously implementing a dual-track approach to allow applicants to calculate their incomes and assets on either a household or individual basis, so as to prevent family harmony from being affected by disputes and ill feeling arising from family members' unwillingness to disclose their asset and income information;" after "care after school;"; to delete the original "(c)" and substitute with "(d)"; to add "at the same time, increasing paid maternity leave and providing a period of postnatal employment protection to strengthen the protection for women against unreasonable dismissal after delivery;" after "family events;"; to delete the original "(d)" and substitute with "(e)"; to delete "including all general holidays other than Sundays as paid statutory holidays through a progressive approach of employer-employee negotiation" before "; and promoting 'International Day of Families'" and substitute with "amending the Employment Ordinance to increase the number of statutory holidays to put them on a par with the 17 days of general holidays and at the same time requiring employers to raise the compensation to employees for working on holidays"; to add "(f) caring about the situation of employees' overtime work and expeditiously legislating for standard working hours to ensure that employees can strike a reasonable balance on their work and family life, so as to foster mutual love among family members;" after "value of family;"; to delete the original "(e)" and substitute with "(g)"; to delete the original "(f)" and substitute with "(h)"; to delete the original "(g)" and substitute with "(i)"; to delete the original "(h)" and substitute with "(j)"; and to delete the original "(i)" and substitute with "(k)".

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

To add "economic instability makes people's life more stressful, with the result that" after "That, as"; to delete "and" after "across the board;"; and to add "; (j) flexibly handling applications under the Harmonious Families Priority Scheme to allow more families which are willing to take care of their elderly family members to receive housing allocation expeditiously, so as to achieve the policy objective of enhancing home and community care; and (k) abolishing the requirement for the submission of a 'declaration of not providing support to parents' (commonly known as a 'bad son statement') as a prerequisite for applying for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance for the elderly, so that elderly persons and the family members living with them can be spared the embarrassment of a means test, thus realizing the fundamental principle of harmony in families" immediately before the full stop.

(iv)Hon LEE Cheuk-yan to move the following amendment: (Translation)

To delete "implementing a" after "working hours, as well as" and substitute with "legislating for the introduction of"; to delete "policy which provides" after "flexible leave" and substitute with "so as to provide"; to add "legislating for the implementation of standard working hours and" after "(d)"; and to delete "through a progressive approach of employer-employee negotiation" after "statutory holidays".

Public Officers to attend:Secretary for Home Affairs
Secretary for Labour and Welfare

8.Building an inclusive society for all

Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung to move the following motion: (Translation)

That, although the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities ('the Convention') came into force in Hong Kong on 31 August 2008, and the Administration submitted the Initial Report of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region under the Convention ('the Report') to the United Nations in early 2010, the contents of the Report lack guiding policies on building an inclusive society, and only focus on addressing the needs of persons with disabilities arising from their physical disabilities, instead of assisting persons with disabilities in integrating into society from social and environmental perspectives, this Council expresses its strong dissatisfaction and deep regret in this regard; in this connection, in order to fulfill the obligations under the Convention, this Council urges the Government to implement the following policies and measures:

(a)to expeditiously implement the public transport concessions scheme for the elderly and persons with disabilities ('the scheme') to assist them in integrating into society;

(b)to expand the coverage of the scheme to all holders of the Registration Card for People with Disabilities, and consider providing transport fare concessions to the escorts of persons with disabilities;

(c)to add clauses to the franchise agreements of franchised public transport operators, requiring the offer of fare concessions to the elderly and persons with disabilities as well as the provision of barrier-free ancillary facilities;

(d)to allocate additional resources for increasing the number of barrier-free transportation modes, such as Rehabus and Easy-Access Bus, so as to provide more 'point-to-point' services for persons with disabilities;

(e)to implement the concept of barrier-free access, expeditiously complete the top 10 ranked proposals on the Provision of Hillside Escalator Links and Elevator Systems, and immediately commence feasibility studies on the remaining proposals;

(f)to set up a quota system for employing people with disabilities and provide tax concessions, so as to encourage employers to employ more persons with disabilities;

(g)to provide persons with disabilities with a wage subsidy of no more than 50% of their wages, so that employees with disabilities whose productivity is assessed to be less than 100% may receive wages close to the statutory minimum wage level; and provide an allowance to carers of chronic patients;

(h)to encourage people from the various social sectors to learn sign language, and promote and teach sign language in primary and secondary schools; and expeditiously motivate healthcare personnel to learn sign language to enhance their communications with patients with hearing impairment, so as to enable them to grasp the conditions of patients with hearing impairment and help treating their diseases;

(i)to promote the popularization of sign language, require the provision of sign language interpretation in television news broadcasts and foster a culture of respecting the use of sign language, so as to facilitate persons with hearing impairment in grasping social information; and

(j)to step up consultation with groups for persons with disabilities, so as to make the voices of persons with disabilities heard as well as materialize the integration between the able-bodied and disabled persons.

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

To delete "although" after "That," and substitute with "even though"; to delete "and" after "2008," and substitute with "the rights and interests of persons with disabilities are not yet under comprehensive protection;"; to add "also" after "Administration"; to add "but" after "2010,"; and to add ", and extend the scheme to cover trams and public light buses, so as" after "('the scheme')".

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

To delete "although" after "That," and substitute with "as"; to add "but" after "2010,"; to add "(a) with government departments and public organizations taking the lead to employ more persons with disabilities, so as to assist persons with disabilities in securing employment; (b) to encourage enterprises to provide non-full time posts for persons with disabilities, so as to enable them to progressively adapt to long hours of work; (c) to provide evening consultation services for persons with disabilities in need, including people recovering from mental illness, so that they can spare more time during the day for participating in community activities and integrating into society; (d) to enhance public education to increase people's understanding about persons with disabilities, with a view to eliminating misunderstanding and discrimination;" after "measures:"; to delete the original "(a)" and substitute with "(e)"; to delete the original "(b)" and substitute with "(f)"; to delete the original "(c)" and substitute with "(g)"; to delete the original "(d)" and substitute with "(h)"; to delete the original "(e)" and substitute with "(i)"; to delete the original "(f)" and substitute with "(j)"; to delete the original "(g)" and substitute with "(k)"; to delete the original "(h)" and substitute with "(l)"; to delete the original "(i)" and substitute with "(m)"; and to delete the original "(j)" and substitute with "(n)".

(iii)Hon WONG Sing-chi to move the following amendment: (Translation)

To delete "although" after "That," and substitute with "as"; to add "but" after "2010,"; to add "(h) with government departments, public bodies and subvented organizations taking the lead to set an indicator for hiring persons with disabilities and motivate various organizations to formulate recruitment policy and procedures on hiring of persons with disabilities, so as to enable persons with disabilities to have employment opportunities for giving play to their potentials;" after "chronic patients;"; to delete the original "(h)" and substitute with "(i)"; to delete the original "(i)" and substitute with "(j)"; and to delete the original "(j)" and substitute with "(k)".

(iv)Hon TAM Yiu-chung to move the following amendment: (Translation)

To delete "although" after "That," and substitute with "as"; to add "but" after "2010,"; to delete "and deep regret" after "dissatisfaction"; to add "to enable persons with disabilities to have full participation and enjoy equal opportunities in both social life and personal growth, so as to realize the spirit and core values of the Convention" after "obligations under the Convention"; to add "expeditiously perfect and" after "the Government to"; to add ", and study extending the scheme to green minibuses and trams, etc." after "them in integrating into society"; to delete "commence feasibility studies on the remaining proposals;" after "immediately" and substitute with "respond to and commence feasibility studies on proposals to construct barrier-free access put forward by residents of various districts; (f) to proactively promote barrier-free community facilities, improve community facilities, and provide owners' corporations of buildings with technical and funding support for improving the main entry and exit access of their buildings;"; to delete the original "(f)" and substitute with "(g)"; to add "(h) to proactively support rehabilitation organizations to establish social enterprises, so as to provide employment opportunities for persons with disabilities;" after "more persons with disabilities;"; to delete the original "(g)" and substitute with "(i)"; to delete the original "(h)" and substitute with "(j)"; to delete the original "(i)" and substitute with "(k)"; to delete "and" after "information;"; to delete the original "(j)" and substitute with "(l)"; and to add "; and (m) to promote the creation of new assistance programmes under the Community Care Fund, including subsidizing intermediary institutions to train more guide dogs specially for guiding the way for visually impaired persons so as to improve the daily life of such persons, providing an allowance for adjusting and repairing prostheses of persons with amputated limbs, and subsidizing hearing impaired children of low-income families to purchase hearing aids, etc" immediately before the full stop.

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

9.Perfecting urban management in all districts of Hong Kong

Prof Hon Patrick LAU to move the following motion: (Translation)

That, given that after the dissolution of the former Urban Council and former Regional Council, the urban management strategies for all districts in Hong Kong have failed to yield satisfactory results, this Council urges the Government to strengthen the powers and functions as well as responsibilities of the District Councils, and formulate a set of comprehensive urban management policies, including:

(a)based on the latest population projections, to plan afresh the community facilities required in the various districts, and resolve, at the district level, the site selection and timetable problems relating to the construction of schools, hospitals, public rental housing, community centres, columbaria, landfills, incinerators and recycling centres, etc.;

(b)to implement the management concept of urban beautification, and perfect the street greening and beautification work; and

(c)dovetailing with harbourfront planning and development, to establish a harbourfront authority for co-ordinating the connective work and management of harbourfronts in all districts of Hong Kong.

Amendments to the motion
(i)Hon CHEUNG Hok-ming to move the following amendment: (Translation)

To delete "given that" after "That," and substitute with "the Census and Statistics Department projects that the population of Hong Kong will continue to grow, but"; to add "to launch thematic district transformation projects with local characteristics in the various districts, such as the Yuen Long Nullah restoration project, the Tuen Mun River Beautification Project, the enhancement of the planning for Tseung Kwan O Town Centre South and the Aberdeen Tourism Project;" after "beautification work;"; and to add "; at the same time, to strive to build a new waterfront promenade in Kowloon linking up Kowloon City, Yau Tsim Mong District as well as Sham Shui Po, and stretching from the West Kowloon Cultural District to Lei Yue Mun, and a new waterfront promenade on Hong Kong Island linking up Central and Western District, Wan Chai District as well as Eastern District, and stretching from Western District to Chai Wan, so that the new waterfront promenades on both sides of the Victoria Harbour will form a world-class 'Victoria Harbour waterfront corridor'" immediately before the full stop.

(ii)Hon LEE Wing-tat to move the following amendment: (Translation)

To delete "resolve, at the district level," after "various districts, and" and substitute with "strengthen the co-ordination and negotiations among the various policy bureaux and District Councils to resolve".

Public Officers to attend:Secretary for Home Affairs Secretary for Development

10.Promoting animal rights and interests

Hon Fred LI to move the following motion: (Translation)

That, as Hong Kong society attaches increasing importance to animal rights and interests, and in order to motivate people to treat animals well and live in harmony with animals in the community, reduce at source the number of stray animals in the community, and effectively combat crimes of animal cruelty, this Council urges the Government to:

(a)strengthen co-operation with District Councils to promote the 'Trap-Neuter-Return' programme on a trial basis, and following the success of the trial programme, implement the programme in all districts of Hong Kong;

(b)expedite the implementation of the various proposed measures for regulating the pet trade, including introducing Home Animal Breeder Permit and Commercial Animal Breeder Permit, substantially raising the maximum fine for illegal trading of animals to $100,000 and increasing the fine for breaching of licensing conditions to $50,000; and

(c)establish specialist 'animal police' teams in the Hong Kong Police Force to replace the existing 'Animal Watch Scheme', whose responsibilities include conducting specially tasked investigations into all animal cruelty cases, as well as undertaking publicity and education to make the public aware that cruelty to animals are illegal acts.

Amendments to the motion
(i)Hon CHAN Hak-kan to move the following amendment: (Translation)

To delete ", as Hong Kong society" after "That" and substitute with "the keeping of pets among Hong Kong people has become increasingly common, and our society also"; to delete ", and" after "interests" and substitute with ";"; to add "(a) establish 'animal police' teams specially tasked to investigate cases of animal cruelty and abandonment, enhance the training of frontline enforcement officers on handling cases of animal cruelty and their awareness of such cases, and set up a 'dedicated hotline for reporting animal cruelty', with a view to curbing the situation of animal cruelty and abandonment from becoming prevalent; (b) by making reference to the present animal protection legislation in developed places, review and amend the existing Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance for the purpose of catching up with international standards, and classify the intentional abandonment of animals as animal cruelty, as well as explore the provision of compulsory psychological counselling and courses on animal protection to convicted persons; (c) request the Department of Justice to pay close attention to the sentencing for cases of animal cruelty, and where sentencing for the cases concerned cannot fully reflect their seriousness, seek sentencing guidelines by applying for reviews of sentences to the relevant courts, so as to truly reflect the social concern about offences of animal cruelty;" after "the Government to:"; to delete the original "(a)" and substitute with "(d)"; to add "and animal rights organizations" after "District Councils"; to delete ";" after "of Hong Kong" and substitute with ", and use humane means to deal with the problem of stray cats and dogs; (e) provide subsidy to the public for neutering their pets, and train more veterinary health care personnel to meet the social demand for the services concerned; (f) improve the hygiene conditions in the animal management centres under the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department and enhance the transparency of stray animal management by allowing Members and animal rights organizations to conduct regular inspections, increase the number of qualified animal adoption organizations and expand the scope of animals for adoption to reptiles and amphibians, so as to facilitate the adoption of animals by a greater number of people and organizations;"; to delete the original "(b)" and substitute with "(g)"; to delete "and" after "$50,000;" and substitute with "(h) enhance people's understanding of endangered animals and relevant regulatory systems, and require that animal traders must provide appropriate labels for identifying endangered species, as well as provide buyers with points to note on keeping endangered species, with a view to strengthening the management of endangered animals;"; to delete the original "(c)" and substitute with "(i)"; to delete "establish specialist 'animal police' teams in the Hong Kong Police Force to replace the existing 'Animal Watch Scheme', whose responsibilities include conducting specially tasked investigations into all animal cruelty cases, as well as undertaking" before "publicity" and substitute with "set up an 'animal protection fund', so that organizations can make applications for organizing more animal welfare activities, and undertake"; and to add "and learn to be a responsible pet owner; (j) introduce appropriate measures, including identifying sites for constructing more parks for pets, and exploring the opening of various recreational venues such as parks and beaches partially or at specific time slots, so that members of the public can bring in their pets; (k) actively identify suitable locations for the provision of public toilets for dogs, increase the number of dog excreta collection bins on street side, and step up the frequency of cleaning and washing, with a view to improving environmental hygiene; and (l) explore the regulation of hospice service for animals through licensing" immediately before the full stop.

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

To delete ", as Hong Kong" after "That" and substitute with "Hong Kong is a civilized cosmopolitan city, and the local"; and to delete "implement" after "trial programme," and substitute with "openly invite various organizations through the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department to apply for implementing".

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

11.Expeditiously implementing the formulation of standard working hours

Hon IP Wai-ming to move the following motion: (Translation) That, given that minimum wage and standard working hours must complement each other in order to be able to maximize the effect of protecting grassroots workers and facilitating Hong Kong's economic development, this Council urges the current-term and next-term SAR Governments to, having regard to the well-being of employees at large, spare no efforts in making preparations for enacting legislation on standard working hours and expeditiously implement the relevant tasks, including:

(a)to set a deadline and timetable for conducting studies on regulating working hours;

(b)to establish a 'study group on legislating for standard working hours' comprising representatives of the Government, employees and employers, and academics to follow up the relevant issues;

(c)to regularly hold discussions in the Panel on Manpower of the Legislative Council and report the progress to the Labour Advisory Board, so as to strengthen the Legislative Council's function of monitoring the Government on the one hand, and increase the transparency of the relevant work on the other, so as to enable the public and the labour sector to know the progress of the studies;

(d)to proactively ascertain the views of the trade unions of various industries and the relevant stakeholders on standard working hours; and

(e)to increase the public's knowledge and understanding of standard working hours through various forms of publicity and education.

Amendments to the motion
(i)Hon WONG Sing-chi to move the following amendment: (Translation)

To delete "given that" after "That" and substitute with "minimum wage has been implemented for one year or so, the grass-root workers' living has improved but the working hours of some workers are too long, so"; to delete "and" after "stakeholders on standard working hours;"; and to add "; and (f) to expeditiously implement more family-friendly policies to dovetail with the formulation of standard working hours, so as to help employees give equal attention to their families, relieve their pressure, and also boost their work efficiency and morale" immediately before the full stop.

(ii)Hon LEE Cheuk-yan to move the following amendment: (Translation)

To delete "to," after "SAR Governments" and substitute with "not to waste any more time, and"; to delete "spare no efforts in making preparations for enacting" after "employees at large," and substitute with "to expeditiously enact"; to delete "expeditiously implement the relevant tasks" after "legislation on standard working hours and" and substitute with "immediately commence preparation for the legislative work"; to delete "deadline and" after "to set a" and substitute with "legislative"; to delete "conducting studies on" after "timetable for"; to delete "follow up the relevant issues" after "and academics to" and substitute with "finalize the details of the bill on regulating working hours"; to delete "studies" after "know the progress of the" and substitute with "legislative work"; to delete "standard" after "stakeholders on" and substitute with "the details of the bill on regulating"; and to delete "standard" after "understanding of" and substitute with "the details of the bill on regulating".

Public Officers to attend:Secretary for Labour and Welfare

(Members' motions scheduled to be dealt with at this Council meeting)

12.Report of the Subcommittee on Retirement Protection

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

That this Council notes the Report of the Subcommittee on Retirement Protection.

Public Officers to attend:Secretary for Labour and Welfare
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

13.Reviewing the definition of and the support measures for small and medium-sized enterprises and micro-enterprises

Dr Hon LAM Tai-fai to move the following motion: (Translation)

That, as the European debt crisis is getting worse recently, which may affect the European and even the global economies, coupled with the fact that the United States economy has yet to bottom out and the Mainland economic growth is slowing down, Hong Kong as a small and open economy can hardly remain unaffected, with its export and re-export trades bearing the brunt; internally, the continuous soaring of property prices also poses potential threats to Hong Kong's economy and society; amid the many uncertainties and crises, it is expected that small and medium-sized enterprises ('SMEs') in Hong Kong will face an unstable and difficult business environment; in this connection, this Council urges the Government to plan ahead and roll out appropriate contingency measures to assist SMEs in coping with the challenges and riding out the plight; besides, the Government should review the current definition of SMEs, draw up afresh the definitions of SMEs and micro-enterprises having regard to the actual market conditions with a view to formulating dedicated support policies and measures which are geared to their actual needs, study introducing different levels of profit tax rates for micro-enterprises, SMEs and large enterprises, and set a tax rate lower than the existing level and offer more tax concessions for the former two, so as to support their sustainable operation and healthy development.

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

(Member's motion originally scheduled to be dealt with at the last Council meeting)

14.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 reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

Clerk to the Legislative Council