A 12/13-13

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 19 December 2012 at 11:00 am



I. Tabling of Papers



Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentL.N. No.
1.Minimum Wage Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 3) Notice 2012186/2012
2.Employment Ordinance (Amendment of Ninth Schedule) Notice 2012187/2012
3.Telecommunications (Carrier Licences) (Amendment) Regulation 2012188/2012
4.Clubs (Safety of Premises) (Exclusion) (Amendment) Order 2012189/2012

Other Papers

1.No. 39-Queen Elizabeth Foundation for the Mentally Handicapped
Report and Accounts 2011-2012
(to be presented by Secretary for Labour and Welfare)

2.No. 40-Equal Opportunities Commission
Annual Report 2011/12
(to be presented by Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs)

3.No. 41-The Accounts of the Lotteries Fund 2011-12
(to be presented by Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury)

4.No. 42-Social Work Training Fund
Fifty-first Annual Report by the Trustee for the year ending on 31 March 2012
(to be presented by Secretary for Labour and Welfare)

5.No. 43-Broadcasting Authority
Annual Report 2010-2012
(1 September 2010 — 31 March 2012)
(to be presented by Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development)

6.No. 44-The Legislative Council Commission
Annual Report 2011-2012
(to be presented by the President of the Legislative Council)

7.No. 45-Fish Marketing Organization
Financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2012
(to be presented by Secretary for Food and Health)

8.No. 46-Vegetable Marketing Organization
Financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2012
(to be presented by Secretary for Food and Health)

9.No. 47-Marine Fish Scholarship Fund
Report for the period from 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012
(to be presented by Secretary for Food and Health)

10.No. 48-Report of the Independent Police Complaints Council 2011/12
(to be presented by Dr Hon Joseph LEE, who will address the Council)

11.No. 49-Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Hong Kong
2011-12 Annual Report
(to be presented by Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs)

12.No. 50-Grantham Scholarships Fund
Report of the Grantham Scholarships Fund Committee on the Administration of the Fund for the year ended 31 August 2012
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

13.No. 51-Brewin Trust Fund
Report of the Brewin Trust Fund Committee on the Administration of the Fund for the year ended 30 June 2012
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

14.No. 52-The Sir Murray MacLehose Trust Fund
Trustee's Report for the period of 1 April 2011 to 31 March 2012
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

15.No. 53-Chinese Temples Fund
Report of the Chinese Temples Committee on the Administration of the Fund for the year ended 31 March 2012
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

16.No. 54-General Chinese Charities Fund
Report of the Chinese Temples Committee on the Administration of the Fund for the year ended 31 March 2012
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

17.No. 55-Police Welfare Fund
Annual Report 2011/2012
(to be presented by Secretary for Security)

18.No. 56-Annual Report on the Police Children's Education Trust and the Police Education and Welfare Trust 2011/2012
(to be presented by Secretary for Security)

19.Report No. 8/12-13 of the House Committee on Consideration of Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments
(to be presented by Hon Andrew LEUNG, Chairman of the House Committee)

II. Questions



1. Hon Starry LEE to ask: (Translation)


The rents of private domestic units have continued to rise, with the rental index for private domestic units of size below 40 square metres rising from 130.8 in October 2009 to 239.2 at the same time this year, or a rate of increase of 83%. Moreover, a survey has revealed that the average rent of a 90-square-feet unit which is a sub-division of a flat (commonly known as "sub-divided units") in Sham Shui Po has reached as high as $34 per square foot, which is over 10% higher than that one and a half years ago. Some members of the public have indicated that the high levels of rents have aggravated the burden on those who are at the lowest stratum of society. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
  • (a)it has conducted any analysis on the changes in the proportion of rental expenditure in the income of grass-roots families in private housing brought by the increase in rents in recent years; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)it will, in response to the increase in rents, relax the rental limits for applicants of the Community Care Fund's assistance programme "to provide a subsidy for low-income persons who are inadequately housed", and increase the amount of subsidies granted to eligible persons; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)it will consider allowing rental expenditure to be deducted from the assessable income under Salaries Tax; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

2. Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)


Quite a number of staff members and trade-union representatives of the Hong Kong Jockey Club ("HKJC") have pointed out that, with the expansion of telebetting facilities by HKJC and the pool investment amounts reaching new heights time and again in recent years, the workload of staff at telebet centres has increased substantially. However, the manpower of telebet centres has been reduced instead of being increased, and most of the work is taken up by part-time staff. HKJC has recently turned off the "call delay system" and, as a result, staff members have to handle incoming calls incessantly. Under prolonged hearing strains, some staff members have symptoms of tinnitus. Furthermore, HKJC has shortened staff's rest time and they are not permitted to leave their posts over an extended period of time, and therefore they cannot go to the washroom or take rest. It has recently been reported that between September and November this year, two part-time staff members of telebet centres died suddenly while at work and on the way home after work respectively. Regarding the occupational health of staff at HKJC telebet centres, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)whether it has assessed if the current staff establishment of HKJC telebet centres and the proportion of part-time to full-time staff at peak betting hours will overload some staff members with work and thus jeopardize their occupational health;

    (b)whether it has examined if HKJC has provided reasonable rest time to its staff at telebet centres; and

    (c)how the authorities regulate the working arrangements implemented by HKJC for reducing operational costs so that such arrangements do not jeopardize the occupational health of its staff, and recurrence of any tragedy of sudden death of staff can be avoided?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

3. Hon Kenneth LEUNG to ask: (Translation)


Recently, it has been reported by the media that the Police arrested 444 protesters last year and prosecuted 54 of them. Apart from the surge in the number of persons arrested as compared to those in previous years, the Police prosecuted 45 persons under the Public Order Ordinance, and the number was higher than the total number in the past 14 years (i.e. from 1997 to 2010). Some concern groups have pointed out that the Police have changed the approach in handling public processions and assemblies in recent years, from prosecuting protesters mainly for the offences of assaulting police officers or obstructing police officers' execution of duties, to prosecuting protesters by invoking provisions under the Public Order Ordinance. These concern groups have further pointed out that the Public Order Ordinance was enacted by the colonial government in response to the riots in 1967, and some provisions therein impose very stringent and extensive regulation on public processions, assemblies and personal behaviours and have been in force since then. For instance, any person who in any public place behaves in a manner whereby a breach of the peace is likely to be caused shall be liable to imprisonment for one year; and any person who takes part in an unlawful assembly shall be liable to imprisonment for five years. Moreover, if members of the public take part in an unauthorized public meeting, they shall be liable to a maximum penalty of five years' imprisonment. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)of the reasons for the Police prosecuting only 54 of the 444 protesters arrested last year, and whether it has reviewed if the Police have abused the power of arrest or have been selective in instituting prosecutions; and list the number of cases in which prosecutions were instituted against protesters in each of the past 10 years by the legislation invoked;

    (b)whether the Police have drawn up law enforcement guidelines in respect of the Public Order Ordinance; if they have, of the details; whether they have specifically instructed police officers to consider as a priority handling public processions and assemblies according to the provisions of the Public Order Ordinance, including arresting and prosecuting the persons concerned; if such an instruction has been given, of the reasons for and details of that; and

    (c)whether the Police had sought legal advice from the Department of Justice on the charges to be laid before instituting prosecutions against the 45 protesters under the Public Order Ordinance last year; if they had not, of the reasons for that; given that according to the present prosecution policy, the Police are required to seek legal advice from the Department of Justice first and obtain the approval of the Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions if they wish to institute prosecutions under section 36(b) of the Offences Against the Person Ordinance, whether the authorities will consider imposing the same requirements on cases relating to public processions, public assemblies and Public Order Ordinance; if they will not, of the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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


It has been reported that in the evening of 11 October this year, police officers from the Police Tactical Unit of the New Territories South Region intercepted a man with moderate intellectual disabilities on a street in Kwai Chung District. As they were unable to communicate with the man, the police officers took him to the police station. Subsequently, some police officers allegedly fabricated statements, locked the man up in a detention cell of the police station and made preparations for repatriating the man to the Mainland as an illegal entrant. Fortunately, on the following day, a more senior police officer discovered that the man had newly arrived to settle in Hong Kong and had been reported missing by his family members in the afternoon of 11 October. On the other hand, following the incident in which YU Man-hon, an autistic boy who went to the Mainland on his own through Lo Wu Control Point in August 2000, has gone missing since then, the authorities had stated that they would enhance the awareness of the disciplinary forces, the frontline officers in particular, in dealing with persons with intellectual disabilities ("PIDs"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)whether the Hong Kong Police Force and the Immigration Department have, at present, drawn up any codes of practice on the questioning of PIDs and the taking of statements from them; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; whether arrangements have been made for relevant professionals (such as social workers) to assist them in handling such tasks; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)of the number of PIDs who were taken to police stations for interrogation in each of the past three years, together with a breakdown by type of cases; how the Police handled such cases; and

    (c)of the training provided by various law enforcement departments to their frontline officers on handling PIDs subsequent to the YU Man-hon incident; whether the authorities will review and further strengthen staff training, as well as improve the relevant procedures and guidelines, so as to ensure that the frontline officers of disciplinary forces can handle the special needs of PIDs more effectively in discharging duties; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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


Recently, quite a number of employees from the catering and construction industries, etc. as well as drivers of green minibuses have relayed to me that their employers have not taken out employees' compensation insurance policies (commonly known as "labour insurance policies") for them on the pretext that the insurance premiums are high or insurance companies have declined to underwrite such policies, and their employers have even forced them to become self-employed persons. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)of the number of employers prosecuted for not having taken out labour insurance policies for their employees, and the number of those convicted as well as details of the penalties imposed on them, in the past two years;

    (b)whether the Government at present monitors the situation of high insurance premiums for labour insurance policies and insurance companies declining to underwrite such policies; if it does, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether the Government will consider afresh setting up a central employees' compensation fund to replace the current arrangement of employers having to take out labour insurance policies with insurance companies; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officers to reply:Secretary for Labour and Welfare
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

6. Hon Christopher CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)


Some small and medium securities dealers have relayed to me that they have recorded significant losses in their businesses. They have raised with the Government their numerous demands and concerns, including the request for the re-introduction of the minimum brokerage commission rule and the concern about unfair practices of banks in conducting securities businesses, etc. but such demands and concerns were not given due regard. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)given that in reply in the debate on the motion moved by me in this Council on the 6th of this month, the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury had pointed out that should the minimum brokerage commission rule be re-introduced, the burden of investors would be increased, of the reasons why the Government merely revoked the minimum brokerage commission rule as a means to relieve investors' burden, and refuses to consider, as measures to further reduce investors' burden, abolishing the stamp duty on stock transfers or requiring the Securities and Futures Commission (which had a surplus of $7.5 billion in 2011-2012) to reduce the transaction levies;

    (b)as some comments have pointed out that banks are at present employing cut-throat competition tactics to compete for securities businesses, whether it has assessed if such tactics are against the principle of fair competition; and there are also comments that it is a current global trend to require banking businesses be separated from securities businesses, whether the Government will examine the introduction of a requirement for separating these two types of businesses; and

    (c)as some securities dealers have pointed out that after the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited ("HKEx") has implemented the arrangement of shortening the lunch break and extending the trading hours, the volume of transactions of securities has not increased as a result, but the arrangement has affected the operation of the trade, whether the Government will ask HKEx to review such an arrangement in response to the motion passed by this Council on the 6th of this month; how the authorities will monitor HKEx to ensure that it will take into consideration the overall interests of the trade and will not neglect the business difficulties of small and medium securities dealers when formulating policies?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

*7. Hon Tommy CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)


Some small and medium enterprises ("SMEs") have relayed to me that in recent years, they have encountered difficulties in taking out employees' compensation insurance policies (commonly known as "labour insurance policies") for their employees. Many SMEs, although not belonging to high-risk industries, have been rejected repeatedly or charged high insurance premiums for taking out labour insurance policies by insurance companies. These SMEs can only file applications with the Employees' Compensation Insurance Residual Scheme Bureau ("ECIRSB"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)whether it knows the number of applications received in the past three years by ECIRSB from SMEs not belonging to the 22 high-risk industries specified under the Employees' Compensation Insurance Residual Scheme ("ECIRS"), with a breakdown by industry; among such applications, of the number of cases in which insurance companies had eventually underwritten the labour insurance policies for the applicants (with a breakdown by industry of the average annual premium rates paid by these SMEs for labour insurance policies), and the number of applications withdrawn by the applicants;

    (b)given that quite a number of SMEs have mistaken that ECIRS only helps those enterprises which belong to the high-risk industries specified under ECIRS to take out labour insurance policies and thus seldom file applications with ECIRSB, whether the authorities will enhance ECIRS and step up publicity, so as to enable more SMEs which encounter difficulties in taking out labour insurance policies to obtain assistance; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether the authorities have investigated if the problem of SMEs being rejected for taking out labour insurance policies by insurance companies is worsening, and examined the impact of such problem on the catering, courier service and wholesale industries etc.; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; whether they have drawn up specific measures to tackle the difficulties of SMEs in taking out labour insurance policies; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

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


I have received complaints that the authorities have not adopted uniform specifications for acquiring automated external defibrillators ("AEDs"), and the electrical energy output from some AED models is too high, which may endanger the health and safety of patients suffering from heart attack. Regarding the safety of AEDs, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)whether any mechanism is in place at present to regulate the specifications of AEDs provided in public places, in order to ensure that such devices are safe to use; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)of the specifications adopted by the authorities for acquiring AEDs; whether they have made reference to the specifications adopted by overseas countries and consulted professionals, so as to ensure that the electrical energy output of AEDs will not cause cardiac injuries or skin burns to the patients; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (c)whether the authorities require that any person using an AED must have received relevant training; if not, whether they will consider promoting such training to teach more members of the public how to use AEDs properly, and requiring that any person using such devices must have received relevant training; and

    (d)whether it has assessed if it is suitable to use AEDs on young patients; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

*9. Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to ask: (Translation)


In October 2010, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department ("FEHD") launched a pilot scheme to let market stalls on short-term tenancies ("STTs") for its public markets ("the pilot scheme"). Under the pilot scheme, market stalls which had been vacant for more than eight months were let through open auctions and their upset prices were fixed at 60% of the open market rents. The tenancies of the stalls leased out during the first round of open auctions covered three years, and stalls which had not been leased out were leased out in the form of STTs during the second round of open auctions. The STTs, which covered three months commencing on 1 November 2010, were renewable for another three months. The tenants might extend the tenancies later by paying the open market rents of the stalls as assessed by the Rating and Valuation Department or the STT rents, whichever were higher. The tenancy agreements for the third term covered 30 months. However, FEHD has not offered rent concessions to long-term market stall tenants who are required to pay rents higher than those payable by short-term tenants, resulting in two sets of rental standards applicable to the same market. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)of the vacancy rates of various FEHD markets in Tsuen Wan, Tuen Mun, Yuen Long and Kwai Tsing districts from 2008 to the first half of this year (set out in the table below);

    Markets under the Food and
    Environmental Hygiene Department    		 Vacancy rate
    First half of 2012 2011 2010 2009 2008
    Tsuen Wan Heung Che Street Market




    Sham Tseng Temporary Market




    Tsuen King Circuit Market




    Tsuen Wan Market




    Yeung Uk Road Market




    Chai Wan Kok Cooked Food Market




    Tuen Mun Hung Cheung Cooked Food Market




    Kin Wing Cooked Food Market




    Lam Tei Market




    San Hui Market




    Tsing Yeung Cooked Food Market




    Yan Oi Market




    Yuen Long Hung Shui Kiu Temporary Market




    Kam Tin Market




    Kik Yeung Road Cooked Food Market




    Kin Yip Street Cooked Food Market




    Lau Fau Shan Market




    Tai Kiu Market




    Tai Tong Road Cooked Food Market




    Tung Yick Market




    Kwai Tsing Cheung Tat Road Cooked Food Market




    Ka Ting Cooked Food Market




    Kwai Shun Street Cooked Food Market




    North Kwai Chung Market




    Tai Yuen Street Cooked Food Market




    Wing Fong Street Market




    Wo Yi Hop Road Cooked Food Market




    Tsing Yi Market





    (b)of the respective numbers of stalls leased out by three-year tenancies, STTs and tenancy extension through the pilot scheme in the past two years; and

    (c)of the existing number of tenants who have rented stalls for more than three years but not through the pilot scheme; whether the authorities will implement any concessionary measures for such tenants; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

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


Some residents of Kwai Tsing District have told me that there is an acute demand for recreational and sports facilities in the district, which has a population of nearly 500 000 at present. According to available information, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department took over the project to construct a sports centre in Area 4 of Tsing Yi ("Chung Mei Road Sports Centre") in 2000 and secured support from the Kwai Tsing District Council in 2006. In 2008, the District Facilities Management Committee under the Kwai Tsing District Council passed a motion to provide an additional indoor heated swimming pool in the Chung Mei Road Sports Centre under planning. The Architectural Services Department finished drawing up the plan of the Sports Centre in April 2012. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)of the respective monthly usage rates of various public swimming pools and sports centres in Tsing Yi, Kwai Chung and Tsuen Wan since 2008;

    (b)of the latest statistics on the public open space per capita in Kwai Tsing District; and

    (c)whether the authorities will submit, in the 2012-2013 legislative session, the funding proposal of the project to construct the Chung Mei Road Sports Centre to the Finance Committee ("FC") of this Council for scrutiny and approval; if so, of the estimated cost for and expected commencement and completion dates of the project; if not, the reasons for that, and when the funding proposal will be submitted to FC, as well as the estimated cost for and expected commencement and completion dates of the project by that time; if the construction of the Chung Mei Road Sports Centre cannot be completed within a short period of time, how the authorities will address the acute demand of the residents in the district for recreational and sports facilities?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

*11. Hon Dennis KWOK to ask: (Translation)


The media has recently reported that in the past two years, there were more than a hundred cases of inmates inflicting harm on themselves, which resulted in quite a number of deaths. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)of the respective numbers of inmates who inflicted harm on themselves and died as a result in the past three years;

    (b)whether the authorities have conducted any investigation into the causes for inmates inflicting harm on themselves; if they have, of a breakdown of such cases in the past three years by the cause; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)of the details of the authorities' measures to prevent inmates (especially persons in solitary confinement) from inflicting harm on themselves?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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


It has been reported that incidents of cyber-bullying happen in Hong Kong from time to time. For instance, the posting of comments recently by a bride-to-be on the amount of money gift for her wedding banquet on a social networking web site has immediately drawn netizens attacking her with insulting comments and exposing her personal data and privacy (including her photographs, date and venue of the wedding banquet, place of work and job title, home address, medical history and family members' photographs, etc.), and some netizens even harassed her with telephone calls. As a result, that lady felt distressed. Also, some netizens have set up a discussion forum on the Internet dedicated to hurling personal insults at a university student who was a top achiever in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination, and they posted more than a thousand insulting comments on that student's blog. In addition, a nurse uploaded the information of a patient to a social networking web site for ridicule by her net friends. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)of the number of complaints about cyber-bullying received by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data in the past five years, the number of such complaints which had been followed up (with a breakdown by result of the follow-up actions), and the number of those complaints which had not been followed up;

    (b)of the number of cases in the past five years in which the authorities had carried out criminal investigations into whether those people involved in cyber-bullying activities had breached any law, with a breakdown by the type of offence; the number of cases in which the authorities had instituted prosecutions and the penalties imposed by the court on those convicted; as well as the number of cases in which prosecution was not instituted;

    (c)for those cyber-bullying activities not involving criminal offences, whether the authorities have put in place any measures to help protect the victims from such nuisance; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (d)given that a number of state governments in the United States ("US") have already enacted anti-cyber-bullying legislation and made cyber-bullying an offence, whether the Government will make reference to such practice in US and enact anti-cyber-bullying legislation; and whether it will promote school teachers, social workers and parents playing a more important role in resolving cyber-bullying problems; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

*13. Hon SIN Chung-kai to ask: (Translation)


The first and second phases of the Public Transport Fare Concession Scheme for the Elderly and Eligible Persons with Disabilities ("the Concession Scheme") commenced on 28 June and 5 August 2012 respectively. Under the Concession Scheme, the elderly and eligible persons with disabilities may travel on the general Mass Transit Railway ("MTR") lines, franchised buses and ferries anytime at a concessionary fare of $2 a trip. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)whether it knows the monthly patronage of MTR's domestic services and various franchised bus services in the past three years by persons who were eligible to benefit from the Concession Scheme;

    (b)given that the authorities have indicated that the third phase of the Concession Scheme will commence in the first quarter of 2013 to include services of buses of the New Lantao Bus and designated ferries, of the exact implementation date of the third phase by the authorities; whether that phase can commence earlier within this year; if not, of the reasons for that;

    (c)of the number of person-trips benefitting from the fare concessions under the first and second phases of the Concession Scheme so far, as well as the total amount involved in the concessions offered; together with a breakdown by month and public transport operator; and

    (d)given that at present, the elderly are offered free rides on ferries of the Star Ferry and the Government reimburses part of the fare revenue forgone to the operator concerned, whether it has plans to extend such an arrangement to trams; if it has, when the relevant arrangement can be implemented; if not, of the reasons for that, and the difficulties faced by the authorities?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

*14. Hon Alice MAK to ask: (Translation)


It has been learnt that several incidents in which persons suspected of suffering from mental illnesses wounded other people have happened recently. Although the Hospital Authority ("HA") has, in recent years, allocated additional resources to strengthen mental health services and implemented the Case Management Programme for people with severe mental illness ("the Programme") since 2010-2011, incidents involving mentally-ill persons wounding other people still happen, arousing public concern about whether community support provided by the authorities to the mentally-ill and the ex-mentally-ill remains inadequate. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)whether the authorities have compiled statistics on the number of mentally-ill persons in the territory; whether they know, apart from some 187 000 mentally-ill persons currently receiving psychiatric specialist services provided under HA, the number of mentally-ill persons currently receiving treatment (including medical treatments and psychotherapy) in other medical institutions; of a breakdown of the current number of mentally-ill persons, by the type of mental illness and risk level, who have undergone risk assessment by HA's multi-disciplinary team of healthcare personnel and been considered suitable for discharge from hospital to continue to receive treatment and rehabilitation in the community;

    (b)whether it knows, the number of mentally-ill persons currently waiting for HA's psychiatric out-patient services and their average waiting time; the respective numbers of psychiatrists, psychiatric nurses and psychiatric medical social workers currently employed by HA;

    (c)whether it knows, the respective numbers of case managers and community nurses currently involved in implementing the aforesaid Programme, and the respective average numbers of mentally-ill persons followed up by each case manager and each community nurse; whether the authorities have assessed the effectiveness of the Programme; if they have, of the assessment results; if not, the reasons for that;

    (d)whether it knows, the number of requests for help received by the 24-hour mental health hotline provided by HA to West Kowloon since the service was launched in January this year, and the number of persons who had been referred to receive psychiatric treatment; whether HA has plans to expand such service to cover other districts;

    (e)given that the turnover of psychiatric nurses in public hospitals has been on the rise in the past five years, whether the authorities have plans to step up recruitment and training of psychiatric nurses so as to maintain service quality; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (f)given that the authorities had indicated earlier that, at district level, the Social Welfare Department and HA maintained close liaison with other related government departments (including the Hong Kong Police Force and the Housing Department), whether the authorities have assessed the effectiveness of the existing inter-departmental communication mechanism established to provide support for mentally-ill persons; if they have, of the assessment results; if not, the reasons for that; of the measures taken by the authorities to further strengthen HA's cooperation with relevant government departments, so as to follow up mentally-ill persons' rehabilitation in the community more effectively?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

*15. Hon Claudia MO to ask: (Translation)


Earlier on, some residents in Tai Kok Tsui found numerous cracks on the piles on the lower floors and the ground level of their buildings, and they suspected that these cracks were related to the boring works of the Hong Kong Section of Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link ("XRL"), which were being carried out in the vicinity of their buildings. Some registered building surveyors have confirmed upon site inspections that the cracks on some of the piles of the buildings were formed recently because of the impact of external forces. The MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL") is currently investigating whether the formation of the cracks is related to XRL works, and it will prepare survey reports in this regard. These residents have indicated that the cracks on the buildings have made them nervous and panic and they worry that there are problems with the structure of the buildings, which pose potential risks to life and property. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)whether, prior to the commencement of XRL works, the Buildings Department, the Highways Department and other relevant government departments had assessed in detail the impact of XRL works on underground facilities and buildings on the ground; if they had, of the assessment outcome; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)whether it will request MTRCL to complete expeditiously and make public the survey reports for reference of and follow-up by the public; if it will, of the arrangements; if not, the reasons for that;

    (c)of the total number of complaints received so far by the authorities and MTRCL about building structure being affected by XRL works as well as the contents of the complaints; and

    (d)whether the authorities have any new measures to reduce in future the chance of recurrence of incidents of infrastructure works affecting the structural safety of buildings?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

*16. Hon MA Fung-kwok to ask: (Translation)


According to the Housing in Figures published by the Hong Kong Housing Authority in early 2012, while there are some 2.6 million residential flats in Hong Kong, there are only 2.35 million households. During the first nine months of 2012, the overall flat prices rose by 20%, surpassing the 1997 peak by 26%. It has been reported that the rents for private residential flats have increased for seven consecutive months. On the other hand, some members of the public have relayed to me that it is not uncommon to find a large number of flats being left vacant for a long period of time in some housing estates. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)whether the Government has drawn up a clear definition of "vacant properties"; if it has, of such definition; if not, the reasons for that; of the measures it had adopted in the past to check the actual situation of private residential flats being left vacant;

    (b)whether it knows the vacancy rates for private residential flats of various sizes and prices in the past five years (broken down in accordance with the following tables); and

    (i)
    Size (square metres)20072008200920102011
    Below 40




    40 to 69.9




    70 to 99.9




    100 to 159.9




    160 or above






    (ii)
    Price (million dollars)20072008200920102011
    2 or below




    2.01 to 6




    6.01 to 10




    10.01 to 20




    20.01 or above





    (c)whether the Government will consider introducing a "vacant property tax" so as to increase the cost for property owners to keep their residential flats vacant, with a view to releasing more residential flats into the market so as to increase the supply of flats, thereby alleviating the pressure of rising prices and rents for residential flats; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and the circumstances under which it will consider introducing a "vacant property tax"?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

*17. Dr Hon Elizabeth QUAT to ask: (Translation)


It has been reported that the report "Doing Business 2013" published by the World Bank indicates that, among the 185 economies compared in the report, Hong Kong has been ranked second, for seven consecutive years lagging behind Singapore which has been ranked first, on the overall ease of doing business. In respect of the ranking on starting a business, Hong Kong has slipped from the fifth to the sixth. The report points out that the costs for choosing a company name and obtaining the required certificates account for 1.9% of the costs for starting a business in Hong Kong, which is more than two times higher than the 0.6% in Singapore. According to the results of a public opinion survey conducted by a local newspaper, about 25% and 23% of the respondents respectively considered that the reasons for Hong Kong's ranking on ease of doing business lagging behind Singapore included the high costs for starting and closing a business and the shortage of talents. There have been comments that, in the past, Hong Kong was famous for providing ample opportunities for starting business, and attracted quite a number of talents to start business in Hong Kong. However, the current high costs for starting business in Hong Kong have led to low motivation for starting business, few people starting business and thus a drop in jobs created. Such situation has far-reaching implications for Hong Kong's future development. On the other hand, the Chief Executive stated in his election platform that "[w]e need to formulate comprehensive policies to promote and support the pillar industries that are important to our economic development", and that "a diversified economy will give rise to a stronger middle class and better employment opportunities for our grass roots". In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)whether the authorities have plans to introduce short, medium and long term measures for improving the ease of doing business in Hong Kong, so as to encourage the starting of business, attract talents to work in Hong Kong as well as step up training for local talents, thereby enhancing Hong Kong's competitiveness; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (b)whether the authorities have formulated any short, medium and long term comprehensive policies on industries and measures, so as to boost and develop industries (particularly industries on technology), and promote the development of a diversified economy; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

*18. Hon Christopher CHUNG to ask: (Translation)


The Quarry Bay Park Phase II (Stages 2 and 3) Project is an outstanding leisure facility project of the former Urban Council. The works commencement date of this project has been postponed repeatedly for many years due to various reasons and, to date, it has remained uncertain. On the other hand, the site of this project is now temporarily allocated to the Hong Kong Police Force ("HKPF"), the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department ("FEHD") and the Water Supplies Department ("WSD"). In a paper submitted to this Council in April this year, the authorities have pointed out that these departments are planning the permanent relocation of their facilities to other sites, and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department's planning work for the park will tie in with the relocation schedule. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)of the expected commencement and completion dates for the works when the aforesaid project was first planned by the former Urban Council; the reasons why the works have not yet commenced to date;

    (b)when and why the Government temporarily allocated the project site to the three aforesaid government departments; whether it has reviewed if the land allocation arrangements made at that time was necessary and urgently needed; of the respective numbers of times for which these departments were permitted to continue using the site;

    (c)given that HKPF and FEHD have already planned to permanently relocate their facilities to Chai Wan, but WSD has not yet had a concrete relocation plan, of the progress of the relocation plans of these departments, the expected completion time for their relocation, and whether they have encountered any difficulties in their arrangements for facilities relocation and removal; if they have, of the details;

    (d)of the current estimated works cost for the aforesaid project; whether it has assessed how much the works cost has risen since the project was first planned; when the authorities expect that they will seek funding approval from the Finance Committee of this Council in respect of the project;

    (e)whether it has assessed if the facilities of the aforesaid project not being able to complete as soon as possible will lead to a problem of insufficient leisure facilities in Hong Kong Island East; and

    (f)given that, at present, the site temporarily allocated to the aforesaid departments has cut into two parts the park facilities completed in Phase I and Phase II (Stage 1) of the Quarry Bay Park Project, making it necessary for users to make a detour in order to go from one part of the park to the other, and causing inconvenience to users, whether the authorities will take measures to solve this problem; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

*19. Hon James TIEN to ask: (Translation)


Quite a number of Tseung Kwan O residents have relayed to me that the South East New Territories ("SENT") Landfill, which is situated in Tseung Kwan O, has all along caused environmental hygiene problems such as odour, noise and dust, etc. to the district. However, during her visit to the SENT Landfill at the end of October this year, the Under Secretary for the Environment indicated that it was necessary to extend all the three landfills in Hong Kong because a large amount of waste was generated daily in Hong Kong, and the plan to build the Integrated Waste Management Facilities, which used advanced incineration as the core technology, had been affected by a judicial review case and could not commence. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)given that this Council resolved to repeal the Country Parks (Designation) (Consolidation) (Amendment) Order 2010 on 13 October 2010, thus blocking the Government's extension plan of incorporating a site within the Clear Water Bay Country Park into the SENT Landfill, why the Government still plans to extend the landfills at present and does not consider handling waste with other methods; whether the Government will consider afresh other alternatives; if it will, of the details;

    (b)of the respective monthly average numbers of trips made by refuse collection vehicles and dump trucks through Wan Po Road and the Tseung Kwan O Tunnel since 2009;

    (c)of the number of complaints relating to the SENT Landfill (including the odour emitted from the landfill as well as the problems of odour, leachate and traffic safety etc. caused by the refuse collection vehicles and dump trucks travelling to and from the landfill) received by the authorities each month since 2009, together with a tabulated breakdown by the type of complaint;

    (d)whether it has reviewed if the various existing measures to mitigate or solve the odour problem caused by the SENT Landfill to the nearby areas are effective; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (e)of the details and timetable of the SENT Landfill extension plan;

    (f)whether, according to the latest assessment of the authorities, the problems of odour, noise, dust and leachate from refuse collection vehicles, etc. caused by the SENT Landfill to the nearby areas will deteriorate after the extension of the landfill; if so, of the details; and

    (g)of the new plans or measures for continued and effective amelioration of the environmental hygiene problems caused by landfills?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment

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


In recent years, there has been an increasing number of types of energy drinks on sale in the market, and as there is no legislation regulating the sale of energy drinks at present, members of the public can buy such drinks at any time in any place. Some students have relayed to me that they generally consume huge quantities of energy drinks during examinations for energy enhancing effect, and this trend has aroused concerns. According to the information from the Centre for Food Safety, there have been cases of cardiac dysrhythmia, seizures, kidney failure, and fatalities, as reported in foreign countries from time to time, which were suspected to be caused by the consumption of energy drinks, and quite a number of cases of adverse body reaction were associated with improper ways of consuming energy drinks (e.g. taking energy drinks with alcoholic drinks or in excess of the recommended quantities). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
  • (a)it had conducted studies in the past five years on regulating the composition and sale of energy drinks; if it had, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)it had considered introducing legislation to regulate the composition and sale of energy drinks in the past five years and conducting public consultation in this regard; if it had, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (c)it has compiled statistics on the sales turnover of energy drinks in each of the past five years and their market share in the beverage market; if it has, set out the statistics in table form; if not, whether it will consider compiling the relevant statistics;

    (d)it has considered providing the public with health guidelines on the consumption of energy drinks, e.g. the maximum daily intake of caffeine for children under 12 years of age, pregnant women, people suffering from heart disease and hypertension; and

    (e)it will step up publicity in the media on the possible impact of energy drinks on the health of the public; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

* For written reply

III. Motions



Proposed resolution under the Hong Kong Export Credit Insurance Corporation Ordinance

Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development to move the following motion:

Resolved that the contingent liability of the Hong Kong Export Credit Insurance Corporation under contracts of insurance must not at any time exceed the sum of 40,000 million dollars.

IV. Members' Motions



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

Hon Andrew LEUNG to move the following motion:

Resolved that in relation to the Competition Ordinance (Commencement) Notice 2012, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 177 of 2012, and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 28 November 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 16 January 2013.

2.Proposed resolution under the Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance

Hon LEE Cheuk-yan to move the following motion:

That this Council appoints a select committee to inquire into the unauthorized building works in House Nos. 4 and 5 of the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Mr LEUNG Chun-ying at No. 4 Peel Rise on the Peak and related issues; and that in the performance of its duties the committee be authorized under section 9(2) of the Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance (Cap. 382) to exercise the powers conferred by section 9(1) of that Ordinance.

Public Officers to attend:The Chief Secretary for Administration
Secretary for Development

3.Small and Medium Enterprises Financing Guarantee Scheme

Hon CHUNG Kwok-pan to move the following motion: (Translation)

That, with the uncertain external economy and the slowdown in the Mainland's economic growth, the Hong Kong economy may have downside risks in the future, making the prospects for the operation of small and medium enterprises ('SMEs') difficult; the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation Limited, with the support of the SAR Government, introduced the Special Concessionary Measures under the Small and Medium Enterprises Financing Guarantee Scheme ('the Scheme') in late May this year to provide 80% guarantee coverage to SMEs at a concessionary level of guarantee fee, with the application period of nine months; under the Scheme, banks only need to bear 20% of the risks, but the interest rates levied are on a par with the interest rates of ordinary commercial loans, being as high as 5% to 6%; under the quantitative easing policy of the United States, the Hong Kong Interbank Offered Rate for a period of one year is as low as 0.86%, and banks' property mortgage rates are also as low as some 2%, reflecting that the interest rates under the Scheme are unreasonable, and the Scheme is unable to really help SMEs tide over financing difficulties; in this connection, this Council urges the Government to:

(1)negotiate with banks to lower the interest rates under the Scheme, so as to alleviate the loan burden on SMEs;

(2)extend the application period of the Scheme, relax the application restrictions and lower the approval threshold; and

(3)make assessments having regard to the future economic development, and regularly review the needs of implementing the Scheme and its adequacy, so as to assist SMEs in resolving capital flow problems.

Amendments to the motion
(i)Hon Jeffrey LAM to move the following amendment: (Translation)

To delete ", with" after "That" and substitute with "it is widely known that"; to delete "and" after "uncertain external economy" and substitute with ","; to delete ", the Hong Kong economy may have downside risks in the future, making the prospects for the" after "Mainland's economic growth" and substitute with "and the tightening of credit have made the financing and"; to delete ", with the application period of nine months" after "guarantee fee" and substitute with "to satisfy their financing needs and enhance enterprises' productivity and competitiveness"; to delete ", but the interest rates levied are on a par with the interest rates of ordinary commercial loans, being as high as 5% to 6%; under the quantitative easing policy of the United States, the Hong Kong Interbank Offered Rate for a period of one year is as low as 0.86%, and banks' property mortgage rates are also as low as some 2%, reflecting that the interest rates under the Scheme are unreasonable, and the Scheme is unable to really help SMEs" after "20% of the risks" and substitute with "; the Scheme enables banks to grant loans at ease and is also conducive to stabilizing the banking system; as at late November this year, 4 672 applications had already been approved under the Scheme, with the guarantee coverage amount reaching $16.9 billion, thus helping many SMEs to"; to delete "in this connection" after "financing difficulties;" and substitute with "to further support SMEs"; to add "and extend the loan tenor" after "lower the interest rates"; to add "the 'Special Concessionary Measures' under" after "extend the application period of"; to delete "and" after "approval threshold;"; to add "strengthen the communication between banks and SMEs, and assist enterprises in understanding banks' criteria for loan vetting and approval; and at the same time," after "(3)"; to delete "and" after "future economic development,"; to add "and introduce more measures in a timely manner," after "and its adequacy,"; and to add "; and (4) to allow enterprises' subsidiaries or related entities, after providing proofs to the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation Limited, to make independent applications and be able to obtain the maximum loan amount" immediately before the full stop.

Amendment to Hon Jeffrey LAM's amendment
Hon Dennis KWOK to move the following amendment: (Translation)

To add "probably resulting from economic downturn" after "tightening of credit"; to delete "satisfy" before "their financing needs" and substitute with "respond to"; to delete "; the Scheme enables" before "banks to grant loans" and substitute with ", which enables"; to delete "as at late November this year, 4 672 applications had already been approved under the Scheme, with the guarantee coverage amount reaching $16.9 billion, thus helping many" after "banking system;" and substitute with "yet, the persistently high interest rates of loans are unable to really help"; and to delete "and introduce more measures" before "in a timely manner," and substitute with "or accept the proposal long advocated by the industrial and commercial sector to re-launch the Special Loan Guarantee Scheme".

(ii)Hon TANG Ka-piu to move the following amendment: (Translation)

To add "such as allowing the loan to be used for taking out various types of insurance and staff training, etc.," after "and its adequacy,".

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

4.Reviving the quality of local education and stopping the blind industrialization of education

Hon Mrs Regina IP to move the following motion: (Translation)

That, as the former Chief Executive proposed in 2009 to develop education services, profit-making has consequently become the objective of quite a number of tertiary institutions; for example, the successive uncovering of the over-enrollment and inadequate facilities of the community colleges affiliated to the Lingnan University and to the University of Hong Kong has reflected that in recent years, local post-secondary colleges have, for the sake of chasing profits, concentrated their resources on offering a lot of self-financing degree and associate degree programmes with high tuition fees but recognition of their qualifications in doubt, thus causing local students holding such qualifications upon graduation to face the quandary of having their academic qualifications questioned by employers, and to bear huge amounts of debt due to high tuition fees; besides, since some private universities and the community colleges affiliated to various major institutions have concentrated their limited resources on programmes which aim at attracting mainland students to study in Hong Kong, many local students face the difficult problem of being unable to receive appropriate tertiary education owing to insufficient places despite their fulfillment of the entry requirements; worse still, the Government's sale of precious land resources to international school groups at nominal prices and its permission for such schools to charge overseas students high tuition fees for profiteering not only cannot help attract foreign investment but also dilute local students' share of educational resources; the aforesaid practices actually cannot help students to devote themselves to society, are not conducive to upgrading the academic standards of local tertiary institutions, and undermine Hong Kong's long-term development; in this connection, this Council urges the Government to adopt the following measures:

(1)to reiterate to society that education is for upgrading students' quality in the five areas of personality, intellectuality, physicality, sociability and aesthetics, increasing upward mobility opportunities for the middle class and the grassroots, narrowing the rich-poor gap and fostering social progress, and is not a profit-making tool for the highest bidder;

(2)to draw up a policy for regulating tertiary institutions on programme offers and student admission to ensure that the academic standards of the degree programmes offered are recognized by the Government's Qualifications Framework; and, all things being equal, to accord admission priority to local students who meet the required entry requirements, so as to satisfy local people's keen demand for education as far as possible;

(3)to ensure that public money is used for upgrading the qualifications of teachers, scientific research capability and campus facilities of local publicly-funded universities, assisting local poor students who meet entry requirements, and financing local outstanding students' participation in exchange programmes at overseas universities, so as to uphold the principle of public resources for public use; and, to further equip Hong Kong people to meet the ever-growing challenges in the international community, promote Hong Kong's global competitiveness and maintain Hong Kong's status as a first-class world city;

(4)to adopt appropriate policies to encourage universities to concentrate their resources on upgrading their scientific research capability and academic standards, and to assist local universities in inviting first-class academics from outside Hong Kong to conduct exchanges and even engage in teaching in Hong Kong; and

(5)by drawing on the experience of advanced countries, to allocate more resources for facilitating research co-operation between the academia and the industries, and to assist universities in obtaining more technological research funding through high technology industrialization to form a value-added 'technological research  industry chain', so as to enable Hong Kong tertiary institutions to add value to themselves and facilitate the upgrading and transformation of Hong Kong industries.

Amendments to the motion
(i)Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG to move the following amendment: (Translation)

To delete ", as" after "That"; to delete "profit-making has consequently become" after "develop education services," and substitute with "private universities and self-financing tertiary programmes, shirking the education responsibility to families and individuals, and consequently rendering profit-making as"; to add "and even aggravating the burden on grass-root students" after "a number of tertiary institutions"; to delete "," after "sociability and aesthetics" and substitute with "; fully cultivating and developing personal potentials through the growth in vision, knowledge and skills; manifesting, inheriting and transmitting fundamental social values; nurturing citizens of the future who have free and independent personality, care for the community and embrace the world; and"; to add "(3) to set up an independent monitoring mechanism for regulating self-financing degree and sub-degree programmes; (4) to increase the numbers of subsidized degree places and subsidized top-up degree places; (5) to immediately halt the University Grants Committee('UGC')'s Competitive Allocation mechanism and allow tertiary institutions to decide on their own arrangements for allocation of places; (6) to reform the composition of UGC by introducing elected representatives of local teaching staff and students; (7) to assist students with disabilities and ethnic minority students in admitting to institutions of higher education, and encourage various tertiary institutions to set up a dedicated mechanism for providing them with appropriate support;" after "as far as possible;"; to delete the original "(3)" and substitute with "(8)"; to delete the original "(4)" and substitute with "(9)"; to delete "(5)" after "Hong Kong; and" and substitute with "(10)"; and to add "increase research funding and" after "advanced countries, to".

(ii)Hon Claudia MO to move the following amendment: (Translation)

To delete "as" after "That," and substitute with "since"; to delete "consequently" after "profit-making has"; to delete "and" after "teaching in Hong Kong;"; and to add "; and (6) to enhance the English proficiency of university students, allocate more resources for training local English language teachers, and raise the admission percentage of overseas students, so as to ensure that local universities achieve genuine 'internationalization', in contrast to the current situation where over 80% of the non-local students admitted to programmes funded by the University Grants Committee come from Mainland China" immediately before the full stop.

(iii)Hon Starry LEE to move the following amendment: (Translation)

To delete "as" after "That,"; to delete "profit-making has consequently become the objective of quite a number of tertiary institutions; for example," after "develop education services," and substitute with "but due to the Government's lax monitoring and inadequate ancillary measures, a number of problems have consequently emerged in the post-secondary education sector; in this connection, this Council urges the Government to adopt measures to enable education services to develop heathily, and avoid situations such as"; to delete "the community colleges affiliated to the Lingnan University and to the University of Hong Kong has reflected that in recent years, local post-secondary colleges have, for the sake of chasing profits, concentrated their resources on offering" after "inadequate facilities of" and substitute with "colleges, and their offer of"; to delete "besides, since" after "due to high tuition fees;"; to delete "have concentrated" after "various major institutions" and substitute with "concentrating"; to add "making" after "study in Hong Kong,"; to delete "worse still," after "fulfillment of the entry requirements;" and substitute with "and"; to add ", because the aforesaid situations" after "fees for profiteering"; to delete "; the aforesaid practices actually" after "of educational resources" and substitute with ","; to delete "in this connection, this Council urges the Government to adopt the following measures" after "Hong Kong's long-term development;" and substitute with "the specific recommendations include"; to delete "and" after "teaching in Hong Kong;"; and to add "; (6) to ensure the provision of adequate educational resources for providing local youngsters with adequate degree and sub-degree places, and to conduct a study on offering subsidies in the form of education vouchers or direct subsidies to sub-degree graduates for enrolling on self-financing degree programmes; (7) to enhance the recognition of self-financing degree and sub-degree programmes by the Hong Kong community and overseas universities, so as to increase graduates' opportunities for securing employment and pursuing further studies; (8) to assist Hong Kong sub-degree graduates in pursuing studies in Mainland universities, including studying the establishment of a mutual recognition mechanism between Hong Kong sub-degree qualifications and Mainland tertiary diploma qualifications, and strive for the exemption of sub-degree graduates from sitting the Joint Entrance Examination for Universities in the People's Republic of China for Overseas Chinese, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan Students, so as to promote exchanges between Hong Kong and Mainland students; and (9) to allocate more land to ensure that institutions provide adequate hostel places for meeting the accommodation demands of local and non-local students" immediately before the full stop.

(iv)Hon Gary FAN to move the following amendment: (Translation)

To delete "as the former Chief Executive proposed in 2009 to develop education services, profit-making has consequently" after "That," and substitute with "in order to resolve the economic plight in those years and delay young people's joining the employment market, former Chief Executive TUNG Chee-hwa introduced associate degree programmes in 2000; since then, profit-making has"; to add "approved" after "high tuition fees but"; to delete "since some private universities and the community colleges affiliated to various major institutions have concentrated their limited resources on programmes which aim at attracting mainland students to study in Hong Kong, many local students face the difficult problem of being unable to receive appropriate tertiary education owing to insufficient places despite their fulfillment of the entry requirements; worse still," after "tuition fees; besides,"; to add "the aim of higher" after "to society that"; to delete "draw up a policy for regulating tertiary institutions on programme offers and student admission to ensure that the academic standards of the degree programmes offered are recognized by the Government's Qualifications Framework" after "bidder; (2) to" and substitute with "restore the ceiling of non-local student enrollment in the associate degree, degree and taught postgraduate programmes offered by institutions funded by the University Grants Committee ('UGC') to the pre-2008 level of 10% of the approved UGC-funded student number for such programmes"; to delete "their scientific" after "resources on upgrading" and substitute with "local"; to delete "and to assist" after "and academic standards," and substitute with "so as to avoid various institutions blindly competing for entering the Mainland to set up branch campuses, to ensure that given equal academic qualifications, various institutions should treat local and non-local academics fairly and equally in respect of recruitment, to stop institutions from discriminating against local academics in areas such as teaching ranks, post titles, employment conditions, remuneration packages and the right to participate in the governance structure, etc., and to prompt"; to delete "in inviting" after "local universities" and substitute with "to invite"; to delete "and" after "teaching in Hong Kong;"; to delete "allocate more resources for facilitating" after "advanced countries, to" and substitute with "facilitate"; to add "through tax concessions" after "and the industries"; and to add "; (6) to allocate more resources for supporting various institutions in developing disciplines such as arts, pure science, fine arts and social science, etc., which lack the ability to attract research funding from the market, to avoid the lopsided development of university education towards the market as well as industrial and commercial services and to maintain the balance between humanistic quality and knowledge and pluralism in society; and (7) to enhance the monitoring of fee charging by post-secondary colleges and private universities to avoid any unreasonable and unfair fee charging, and to set up a mechanism for handling complaints about fee charging and arbitration, so as to protect students' rights and interests" immediately before the full stop.

(v)Dr Hon Helena WONG to move the following amendment: (Translation)

To delete ", as" after "That" and substitute with "education is an important government policy and the basis for leading the society to upward development, but"; to add "the Government should also encourage institutions to increase and develop humanities subjects and implement liberal arts education;" after "the highest bidder;"; to add "self-financing" after "tertiary institutions on"; to delete "degree" after "standards of the" and substitute with "self-financing"; to delete ";" after "as far as possible" and substitute with "and avoid the marketization and industrialization of education caused by the indiscriminate offer of programmes by various institutions; (3) to increase the number of Government-funded university places to enable students satisfying university entry requirements to receive government subsidy for further study in university, and make nurturing talents the prime objective of education; (4) to review the policy direction of sub-degree programmes and conduct a study on providing more subsidies to associate degree students for offering education opportunities to all persons who have an aspiration to learn and to obtain grants and scholarships through different channels, so as to encourage them to pursue studies from which no economic burden will arise; and to design associate degree programmes conducive to career development and ensure programme quality, so as to effectively enhance graduates' competitiveness and enable associate degree graduates failing to enroll in undergraduate programmes to have clear career prospects; (5) to review the number and percentage of non-local students enrolling in research postgraduate programmes offered by local funded-institutions, and to reserve a sufficient number of postgraduate programme places in graduate schools for local university undergraduates, so as to provide opportunities to students who have an aspiration to pursue further studies and nurture local academic research talents;"; to delete the original "(3)" and substitute with "(6)"; to delete the original "(4)" and substitute with "(7)"; and to delete the original "(5)" and substitute with "(8)".

(vi)Hon IP Kin-yuen to move the following amendment: (Translation)

To delete "as" after "That," and substitute with "the Task Force on Economic Challenges established in response to the global financial tsunami in 2008 identified education services as an industry with competitive edge in Hong Kong, and"; to delete "profit-making has consequently become the objective of quite a number of tertiary institutions" after "develop education services," and substitute with "with the objective of consolidating Hong Kong's status as a regional education hub through internationalization and diversification of education and in turn enhancing its competitiveness; yet, this policy objective has not been achieved, but has instead led quite a number of tertiary institutions to pursue short-term international ranking and even set profit-making or expansion as the objective"; to delete "besides, since some private universities and the community colleges affiliated to various major institutions have concentrated their limited resources on programmes which aim at attracting mainland students to study in Hong Kong, many local students face the difficult problem of being unable to receive appropriate tertiary education owing to insufficient places despite their fulfillment of the entry requirements;" after "due to high tuition fees;"; to add "cannot make local education internationalized," after "aforesaid practices actually"; to add "self-financing" after "tertiary institutions on"; to add "to implement the recommendation in the Report on the Higher Education Review 2010 on the setting up of a single oversight body for the non-publicly funded part of the post-secondary education system;" after "Qualifications Framework;"; to add "(3) to review the current situation of Mainland Chinese students accounting for as high as 65% of the student enrollment in research postgraduate programmes heavily-subsidized by public funding amid the shortage of places in the institutions funded by the University Grants Committee; to internationalize the admission of non-local students as much as possible and at the same time, to admit more local students to publicly-funded degree programmes, so as to nurture local young talents;" after "as far as possible;"; to delete the original "(3)" and substitute with "(4)"; to delete the original "(4)" and substitute with "(5)"; to delete "to assist local universities in inviting first-class academics from outside Hong Kong to conduct exchanges and even engage in teaching in Hong Kong; and" after "academic standards, and" and substitute with "increase research funding to strengthen research on local issues, so as to make tertiary education and research more diversified; to create an environment conducive to research and teaching, so as to attract first-class local and non-local academics to conduct research or teach in Hong Kong, and at the same time, to strive to nurture local young academics at tertiary institutions; (6) to enhance the democratization of university governance, and set up an independent inter-institutional appeal mechanism for handling complaints about academic research, contracts and dismissal, etc.; and"; and to delete the original "(5)" and substitute with "(7)".

(vii)Hon MA Fung-kwok to move the following amendment: (Translation)

To add "(1) to review the existing policy on industrialization of education, and further promote it only on the premise of perfecting the various ancillary measures and meeting the needs of local students;" after "the following measures:"; to delete the original "(1)" and substitute with "(2)"; to delete "increasing upward mobility opportunities for the middle class and the grassroots, narrowing the rich-poor gap" after "sociability and aesthetics," and substitute with "upgrading Hong Kong's cultural quality"; to delete "profit-making" after "and is not a" and substitute with "profiteering"; to add "(3) to emphasize the function of education in promoting social mobility reducing cross-generational poverty, avoid the over-commercialization of tertiary education, and perfect the existing measures to assist students with financial difficulties in admitting to tertiary institutions;" after "the highest bidder;"; to delete the original "(2)" and substitute with "(4)"; to delete "draw up a policy for regulating tertiary institutions on programme offers" before "and student admission" and substitute with "review the existing system and strengthen the regulation of various tertiary institutions in respect of their self-financing programmes, ancillary facilities"; to add "policy" after "and student admission"; to delete ", all things being equal, to accord admission priority to local students who meet the entry requirements, so as to satisfy local people's keen demand for education as far as possible;" after "Qualifications Framework; and" and substitute with "to avoid a lopsided admission policy towards overseas students, enhance the transparency of governance of the relevant institutions and make public their accounts for public monitoring; (5) to increase the number of subsidized tertiary education places, and formulate a clear and reasonable percentage for overseas students, so as to maintain the educational opportunities for local students meeting the admission requirements amid the internationalization of education;"; to delete the original "(3)" and substitute with "(6)"; to delete the original "(4)" and substitute with "(7)"; and to delete the original "(5)" and substitute with "(8)".

(viii)Hon Charles Peter MOK to move the following amendment: (Translation)

To delete "to draw up a policy for regulating tertiary institutions on programme offers and student admission to ensure that the academic standards of the degree programmes offered are recognized by the Government's" after "(2)" and substitute with "on the premise of protecting the autonomy and academic freedom of tertiary institutions, to encourage tertiary institutions to apply to the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications for accreditation of the degree programmes they offer, so as to obtain recognition under the"; to delete "and" after "teaching in Hong Kong;" and substitute with "(5) to expeditiously implement the recommendation put forward in the 2011-12 Policy Address on putting up the Queen's Hill site for qualified sponsoring bodies to apply for establishment of non-profit-making private tertiary institutions; and"; to delete the original "(5)" and substitute with "(6)"; and to delete "allocate more resources" after "advanced countries, to" and substitute with "increase the Government's technological research expenditure on applied research, and improve the Research Grants Council's existing university research funding allocation mechanism, which is not conducive to promoting innovation and applied technological research,".

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

To delete "and" after "teaching in Hong Kong;"; and to add "; and (6) to review and enhance the regulation of the mode and practices of international schools' issuance and sale of debentures as well as connivance of speculation in such debentures, so as to protect parents' rights and interests" immediately before the full stop.

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Education

Clerk to the Legislative Council