A 12/13-21

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 27 February 2013 at 11:00 am



I. Tabling of Papers



Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
1.Electronic Transactions (Fees) (Amendment) Regulation 201316/2013
2.Smoking (Public Health) (Designation of No Smoking Areas) (Amendment) Notice 201317/2013
3.Import and Export (General) (Amendment) Regulation 201325/2013

Other Papers

1.No. 69

-Education Scholarships Fund
Trustee's Report on the Administration of the Fund and financial statements for the year ended 31 August 2012
(to be presented by Secretary for Education)

2.No. 70

-Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority
Financial statements for the year ended 31 August 2012 and Report on Activities September 2011－August 2012
(to be presented by Secretary for Education)

3.No. 71

-Correctional Services Department Welfare Fund
Report by the Commissioner of Correctional Services of Hong Kong Incorporated on the Administration of the Fund for the year ended 31 March 2012
(to be presented by Secretary for Security)

4.No. 72

-Li Po Chun Charitable Trust Fund
Report of the Trustee on the Administration of the Fund for the year ended 31 August 2012
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

5.No. 73

-Estimates
for the year ending 31 March 2014
Volume I - General Revenue Account (Page 1 to 522)
Volume I - General Revenue Account (Page 523 to 962)
(to be presented by the Financial Secretary)

6.No. 74

-Estimates
for the year ending 31 March 2014
Volume II – Fund Accounts
(to be presented by the Financial Secretary)

7.Report No. 11/12-13 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 for Written Replies



1. Hon Michael TIEN to ask: (Translation)


Blocks K and L of Tin Chung Court ("the two blocks"), a Home Ownership Scheme estate built and completed in 1999 by the Hong Kong Housing Authority ("HA"), had subsequently been found to have piling problems and restoration works for which have now been completed. HA will put up the remaining flats (including those of the two blocks) of Tin Chung Court for sale in the near future. Yet, some members of the public are sceptical about the quality of the two blocks, and the owners' corporation of the estate is still in dispute with HA over who should be responsible for paying the management fees of the two blocks between the years 1999 and 2008. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)as some owners from the estate claim that the developer as stipulated in the Deed of Mutual Covenant shall bear the management fees of the unoccupied flats in the estate, but the Secretary for Transport and Housing ("STH") stated on 30 August last year that HA had sufficient justifications for not accepting the claims of the owners' corporation, of STH's justifications;

    (b)as it is learnt that HA provides a 20-year structural safety guarantee for the two blocks and has indicated in a reply to the enquiries of owners of the estate that HA will not extend the guarantee period, of the justifications for that; whether HA can make public the survey data of the two blocks to prove that the blocks after restoration works have met the safety requirements concerned; if it cannot, of the reasons; and

    (c)given that STH has said that, "[we] shall add a clause in the Agreement for Sale and Purchase stating that if any claim, demand or legal action has been made by anyone against the buyer in connection with the current dispute over management fees, HA is entitled to handle in the name of the buyer  HA will bear the legal responsibilities and consequences concerned," of the way in which HA will shoulder the legal responsibilities; whether it will consider providing financial assistance and free legal advice to new owners, as well as reimbursing the costs incurred by those new owners who need to hire their own lawyers?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

2. Hon Jeffrey LAM to ask: (Translation)


The legislation banning trawling in Hong Kong waters ("trawl ban") came into operation on 31 December 2012. Affected trawler vessel owners and local deckhands employed by them are entitled to ex-gratia allowances ("EGA") and one-off grants. Some fishermen affected by the trawl ban have complained to me that the working group for vetting and approval of EGA applications, comprising representatives from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department ("AFCD") and other relevant government departments, has adopted unclear criteria in assessing whether the fishermen belong to the tier of "not mainly dependent on Hong Kong waters for trawling operations", and the Government-appointed Fishermen Claims Appeal Board ("FCAB"), which is responsible for handling appeal cases, also has an unreasonable composition. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)given the composition of FCAB with three lawyers, one accountant and one professor in ecological conservation but no fishermen representative, of the reasons for the authorities not appointing any fishermen representative to FCAB;

    (b)as the authorities have indicated that they would collect information through "appropriate channels" for FCAB to assess whether the affected fishermen belong to the tier of "not mainly dependent on Hong Kong waters for trawling operations", of the details of the "appropriate channels"; and

    (c)whether AFCD has considered making public its patrol records (including information in respect of the time, number, frequency and areas of patrol) used for assessing the EGA amounts; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

3. Hon Martin LIAO to ask: (Translation)


It has been reported that some members of the healthcare sector have pointed out that due to the excessively high threshold of the Licensing Examination for non-local medical graduates ("Licensing Examination") administered by the Medical Council of Hong Kong ("the Medical Council"), only a small number of candidates have passed the Licensing Examination and registered as medical practitioners over the years. As a result, the problem of shortage in medical practitioners in Hong Kong cannot be alleviated through non-local medical practitioners practising in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)of the respective numbers and passing rates of candidates sitting for different parts of the Licensing Examination administered by the Medical Council in each of the past five years;

    (b)as it has been reported that currently non-local medical graduates are facing a licensing examination system which is less favourable to them as compared with that for local medical students (e.g. non-local medical practitioners who have already obtained medical specialist qualifications are required to sit for examination papers unrelated to their specialties), whether the authorities will urge the Medical Council to study making improvements to the system of the Licensing Examination, and to allow non-local medical practitioners who have passed Part I (i.e. Examination in Professional Knowledge) of the Licensing Examination to practise in Hong Kong with limited registration; and

    (c)whether the Government will urge the Medical Council to consider following the practice of Singapore and permit graduates from overseas medical schools recognized by the Government to register as medical practitioners in Hong Kong without sitting for examinations, so as to raise Hong Kong's medical standard and relieve the problem of shortage in medical practitioners?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

4. Hon NG Leung-sing to ask: (Translation)


It has been reported that the "Overall Plan of Nansha New District of Guangzhou (2011-2030)", published by the Guangzhou Urban Planning Bureau last month, has revealed that the mainland authorities intend to build the second airport of Guangzhou in the southwestern part of Wanqinsha Town in Nansha District. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)whether it has assessed the challenges to Hong Kong and the co-operation opportunities between Guangdong and Hong Kong to be brought by the aforesaid airport construction project; and

    (b)of the impact of the aforesaid airport construction project on the plan of the Hong Kong International Airport to build the third runway?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

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


When seeking assistance from a government department, some members of the public who can only speak dialects of provinces other than Guangdong encountered difficulties in communicating with the staff of that department because the department was unable to provide interpretation support in such dialects. As a result, they felt distressed and sought my assistance. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
  • (a)the Chinese dialects interpretation support which can be provided by government departments at present when communicating with members of the public; and

    (b)the arrangements government departments will make to ensure effective communication with those members of the public who can only speak dialects other than those referred to in (a)?
Public Officer to reply : The Chief Secretary for Administration

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


According to the latest figures from the Student Health Service of the Department of Health ("DH"), the obesity rate among primary school students in the 2011-2012 school year was 20.9%. That rate dipped gently from the 21.4% in the 2010-2011 school year, but it was 4.5 percentage points higher than the 16.4% in the 1997-1998 school year, reflecting the worsening trend of the problem of childhood obesity in Hong Kong in recent years. Since obese children are more likely to have obesity-related health problems after growing up, DH and the Education Bureau have co-organized an EatSmart School Accreditation Scheme ("ESAS") since the 2009-2010 school year to help promote healthy food culture in schools. Primary schools participating in ESAS have to meet objective criteria in four areas, namely implementing administrative measures, providing healthy lunches and snacks, and carrying out education and publicity, in order to attain the accreditation status. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)of the number of primary schools participating in ESAS and the percentage of such number in the total number of primary schools in Hong Kong and among them, the respective numbers of primary schools undergoing assessment, having obtained the "Basic Level Accreditation" and having been commended as "EatSmart Schools", in each of the past three years; whether any of the primary schools participating in ESAS has failed to obtain the Basic Level Accreditation; if so, of the reasons for that;

    (b)apart from assessing the problem of childhood obesity, whether it has conducted any forward-looking study on childhood obesity, such as assessing the deferred effects of such problem on the health conditions of the adult population, as well as on the medical expenses, labour force and productivity of society, etc.; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (c)whether it has reviewed the effectiveness of various measures currently taken to address childhood obesity, including ESAS and measures such as promoting the development of habits of a healthy diet of "3 Low, 1 High" (i.e. low sugar, low salt, low oil and high fibre) and of doing more physical exercises among children; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; whether it has plans to enhance such measures (e.g. stepping up the promotion of healthy diet and education on the negative impacts of obesity in schools, as well as stepping up the measurement of "Body Mass Index" of school children, etc.); and

    (d)whether it will review the current policy that schools should allocate no less than 5% of the total lesson time for physical education ("PE") lessons, so as to increase PE lesson time, thereby increasing the amount of physical activities of school children and developing their habit of doing physical exercises, in order to alleviate the problem of childhood obesity; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

7. Hon Dennis KWOK to ask:


The provision of legal aid services is currently administered by the Legal Aid Department ("LAD") under the Home Affairs Bureau. There have been long-standing calls from both Members of this Council and the two legal professional bodies (i.e. the Hong Kong Bar Association and the Law Society of Hong Kong) for the setting up of an independent legal aid authority ("ILAA") to administer the provision of legal aid services in place of LAD. Moreover, in a report on the feasibility and desirability of establishing an ILAA published in 1998, the Legal Aid Services Council ("LASC") recommended that an ILAA should be established. Since then, LASC has continued its task to advise the Chief Executive on this topic. For this purpose, LASC commissioned a consulting firm in October 2011 to conduct a study on the same topic, and an interim report was submitted to LASC in March 2012. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
  • (a)when LASC expects the draft report of the aforesaid study will be submitted to it;

    (b)whether LASC has plans to make public the draft report as soon as it has been received; if so, the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether LASC has plans as well as a timetable for implementing the recommendations made in the report; if so, the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

8. Hon Albert HO to ask: (Translation)


The Transport and Housing Bureau indicated in its paper submitted to the Panel on Housing of this Council in January 2013 that "[t]he HA [Hong Kong Housing Authority] will critically review the redevelopment potential of its aged PRH [public rental housing] estates, in order to increase the efficiency of the use of older sites". At present, quite a number of PRH estates are up to 30 and 40 years old. Upon completing the structural investigations for 14 PRH estates approaching or exceeding 40 years of age at the end of 2010, the Housing Department indicated that it would conduct structural investigations for other PRH estates with ages approaching 40 years one after another. According to the results at that time, apart from So Uk Estate and Tung Tau (I) Estate which had to be cleared, the remaining 12 PRH estates for which structural investigations had been completed were found to be "structurally safe" and could be retained for another 15 years after carrying out "appropriate repair works". In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)whether it will review afresh to identify which of the aforesaid PRH estates that the authorities decided in 2010 to retain by way of carrying out repair works have redevelopment potential, so as to redevelop them expeditiously to increase the efficiency on the use of land; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (b)whether it will include PRH estates over 40 years old in the priority redevelopment projects; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

9. Hon TANG Ka-piu to ask: (Translation)


Section 49 of the new Companies Ordinance ("new CO") enacted last year (not yet in operation at present) allows for the withholding of the usual residential address and the full identification number of an individual (e.g. a director or a company secretary) in a document already registered with the Companies Registry ("CR") from public inspection upon application by the individual concerned. Furthermore, section 54 provides that such information in a document registered with CR after commencement of the new CO will not be made available for public inspection. Recently, the two provisions have aroused wide public concerns in the community, which include comments that they will undermine the public's right to know and some members from the labour sector expressing the concern that the two provisions will hinder employees in recovering wages in arrears from their employers. On the other hand, the Government has planned to introduce proposed legislative amendments into this Council within this year to impose certain new restrictions on public inspection of vehicle owners' personal data in the Register of Vehicles. On restricting public inspection of personal data in government records, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)whether it will shelve the drafting of subsidiary legislation for implementing the two provisions, and conduct consultation afresh with the various sectors of the community; if it will conduct consultation afresh, when the consultation will be conducted; if not, of the reasons for that;

    (b)in view of the wide public concerns in the community aroused by the two provisions, whether the authorities will conduct consultation afresh with the various sectors of the community on the issue of whether legislative amendments should be made to impose new restrictions on public inspection of vehicle owners' personal data; and

    (c)whether it has plans to amend the Land Registration Ordinance (Cap. 128) so as to impose new restrictions on public inspection of property owners' personal data in the Land Register; if so, of the details?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

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


On the 6th of this month, I raised an oral question on the Hong Kong Baptist University ("HKBU") seeking the Government's grant of the entire site of the former campus of the Hong Kong Institute of Vocational Education (Lee Wai Lee) at Renfrew Road in Kowloon Tong ("the Site") for the construction of student hostels and a Chinese medicine teaching hospital. In response to the explanations and comments made by the Government when replying to the question, HKBU has openly expressed disagreement. Regarding issues relating to the Government's grant of land to tertiary institutions funded by the University Grants Committee ("UGC-funded institutions") for supporting the UGC-funded institutions to develop Chinese medicine teaching hospitals, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)given that on a radio programme on the 17th of last month, the Chief Executive ("CE") indicated that the Government and HKBU had reached an agreement that half of the Site would be used for constructing HKBU's student hostels and the other half would be retained by the Government for residential development, yet HKBU subsequently issued a statement pointing out that it had not reached the said agreement with the Government, whether the "agreement" mentioned by CE exists; if it does, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)given that HKBU has pointed out that it has all along been seeking the Government's grant of the "entire" Site in the past five years, whether the authorities can give a full account of the specific contents of the past discussions between the Government and HKBU on the use of the Site, including the dates, attendees and minutes of meetings as well as all written correspondence;

    (c)given that the Secretary for Development ("SDEV") has indicated that the contents of the full-page advertisement placed by the teachers and students of HKBU in objection to rezoning the southern portion of the Site for residential development cannot be regarded as accurate or facts, which parts of the advertisement cannot be regarded as "accurate" or "facts";

    (d)given that SDEV has pointed out that the authorities at present do not have a policy for supporting UGC-funded institutions to establish Chinese medicine teaching hospitals, of the reasons for that;

    (e)given that UGC has been funding three universities (including HKBU) to operate Chinese medicine programmes, whether it knows why UGC does not provide funding for the universities to develop Chinese medicine teaching hospitals for teaching and clinical practice of students;

    (f)given that the Food and Health Bureau ("FHB") will consider proposals from any organizations interested in developing Chinese medicine hospitals in Hong Kong, whether the "organizations" the proposals from which FHB will consider include UGC-funded institutions; if not, of the reasons for that;

    (g)as it was reported in the press on the 10th of this month that a spokesman of the Education Bureau ("EDB") had pointed out that HKBU might apply to UGC for the construction of a Chinese medicine teaching hospital, whether EDB will consider afresh granting the southern portion of the Site to HKBU for the construction of a Chinese medicine teaching hospital; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (h)given that SDEV has pointed out that FHB has all along been supporting the development of Chinese medicine and Chinese medicine hospitals in Hong Kong, of the concrete policy and measures of FHB in support of the development in this respect;

    (i)given that SDEV has pointed out that HKBU had conveyed to EDB on the 14th of last month its intention to study the feasibility of developing a Chinese medicine hospital on the Site and that HKBU has also indicated subsequently that it will raise funds on its own to meet the hospital's construction costs of over $1 billion, whether the authorities will take the initiative to discuss and study this matter with HKBU, if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (j)under the circumstances that the authorities eventually do not give approval for HKBU to construct a Chinese medicine hospital in the southern portion of the Site, whether the authorities will consider granting that portion of the Site to other UGC-funded institutions for the construction of hostels or for teaching purpose; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (k)given that SDEV has pointed out that the Metro Planning Committee of the Town Planning Board ("TPB") has agreed to rezone the southern portion of the Site to "Residential (Group B)" and the amendments to the relevant outline zoning plan will be exhibited for two months for the public to make representations, whether the authorities will request TPB to extend the exhibition period; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (l)of the circumstances under which the authorities will designate the Site for education purposes after the expiry of the exhibition period mentioned in (k); and

    (m)of the details of the sites, apart from the Site, which have been earmarked for higher education-related purposes and, among such sites, the number of those which the authorities plan to rezone for non-education purposes?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

11. Hon Albert CHAN to ask: (Translation)


Some members of the public have recently relayed to me that as there is no heated public swimming pool in Kwai Tsing District, residents of the district can only use the heated public swimming pool at Shing Mun Valley Swimming Pool in Tsuen Wan if they wish to go swimming in winter, but that swimming pool is often very packed. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)of the districts among the 18 District Council districts in Hong Kong with no provision of heated public swimming pool, and the reasons for that;

    (b)whether it has formulated any regulations or standards specifying the ratio of population size to the number of heated public swimming pools; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether it will consider building more heated public swimming pools to ensure that such facilities are available in each District Council district; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

12. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)


According to the latest figures announced by the Government, the financial situation for the first nine months (ending 31 December 2012) of this financial year was that there was a surplus of HK$40 billion. It has been reported that based on a conservative estimate, the fiscal surplus of the current financial year will exceed $25 billion, which is a far cry from the deficit of $3.4 billion estimated by the Financial Secretary when delivering the Budget last year. According to Article 107 of the Basic Law, "[t]he Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall follow the principle of keeping the expenditure within the limits of revenues in drawing up its budget, and strive to achieve a fiscal balance, avoid deficits and keep the budget commensurate with the growth rate of its gross domestic product ("GDP")". Furthermore, the principle of managing public finances prudently has all along been adopted in the fiscal system of Hong Kong, under which the Government maintains public expenditure at a level below 20% of GDP. Besides, the former Chief Executive ("CE") even stated clearly in the final Policy Address during his term of office that Hong Kong should maintain the "fiscal discipline" of keeping public expenditure at a level not exceeding 20% of GDP. However, the incumbent CE has stated during the election that it is not practical to maintain public expenditure firmly within a specific limit (i.e. to limit public expenditure to 20% of GDP). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)of the public revenue and expenditure for 2012-2013 according to the authorities' latest estimation; how the difference between revenue and expenditure estimations compares to the budget deficit of $3.4 billion; if there is an enormous discrepancy between the two, of the reasons for that and whether there is a deliberate under-estimation of revenues or whether factors of revenue-expenditure structure are involved; whether the authorities will review the reasons for the wide gaps between the estimates and the actual amounts of public revenue and expenditure over the years;

    (b)in the face of the discrepancies between budgetary estimates and actual amounts of revenue and expenditure over the years, whether the authorities have assessed if there had been ineffective use of the surplus resources due to under-estimation of revenue in the past, and whether expenditure had been wrongly cut or addition of required items of expenditure rejected due to the expenditure being budgeted on the basis of the under-estimated revenue, which resulted in a failure to provide sufficient resources to meet the needs of the public; whether they have examined if the aforesaid arrangement of setting expenditure on the basis of under-estimated revenue violates the principle of "keeping the expenditure within the limits of revenues" enshrined in the Basic Law; if they have, of the outcome; and

    (c)whether the Government of the current term observes the financial management principle of its predecessor that public expenditure should be maintained at a level of around 20% of GDP and no upper limit is set for fiscal reserve; if it does, whether it has assessed if such practice violates the aforesaid advocacy put forward by CE during the election; if it does not observe that principle, of the Government's principle of and policy on financial management at present; how the authorities realize, in their formulation of fiscal policy and utilization of fiscal reserve, the principle of governance advocated by CE that the Government should be appropriately proactive to promote economic development?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

13. Hon Kenneth LEUNG to ask:


One of the functions of the Financial Reporting Council ("FRC"), established in 2006, is to conduct independent investigations into possible auditing and reporting irregularities in relation to listed entities. Any irregularities identified by FRC will be referred to the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants ("HKICPA") for follow-up action. The corresponding supervision over the audit work performed on unlisted entities is undertaken by HKICPA. Some practising accountants have relayed to me that they are facing a cut-throat business environment, and many accounting firms which perform audit work on both listed and unlisted audit clients are facing a dual regulatory regime (i.e. regulation by FRC and HKICPA), which has sharply escalated the time and administrative costs of these firms in this respect. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council what measures it has taken or will take to rationalize the dual regulatory regime in order to alleviate the burden on accounting firms?

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

14. Hon WU Chi-wai to ask: (Translation)


Some concern groups have relayed to me that the acute shortfall of subsidized residential care places provided by the Government respectively for the elderly and persons with disabilities ("PWDs") at present has resulted in a very long waiting time for such places. The concern groups have also pointed out that such a situation not only seriously affects the health and quality of life of the elderly persons and PWDs who have yet to be admitted to residential care homes, but also renders the family members who take care of them physically and mentally exhausted. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)whether it knows the current number of elderly persons and PWDs in each District Council district who are waiting for subsidized residential care places, and their respective average waiting time; the average waiting time of those people who have been admitted to residential care homes recently;

    (b)whether it has compiled statistics on the respective numbers of elderly persons and PWDs who stopped waiting for subsidized residential care places in each of the past five years, and whether it has conducted any survey on the reasons concerned; if it has conducted surveys, of a breakdown of the numbers of the people by reason in table form;

    (c)among those sites currently zoned "Government, Institution or Community", of the number of sites planned for the construction of subsidized residential care homes for the elderly and PWDs, and the respective anticipated total numbers of residential care places that can be provided; and

    (d)in the face of the problem of acute shortage of subsidized residential care places and the number of people waiting for the places increasing continuously, whether the authorities have any specific measures, apart from increasing the supply of such places, to shorten the waiting time; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

15. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)


The Government raised the Chinese language proficiency requirement for appointment to the civil service on a par with that for the English language in 1995 and further raised the proficiency requirements for both languages in 2003. However, some people from the ethnic minorities have relayed to me that they have difficulties in securing appointments when applying for jobs in the civil service because they were unable to learn Chinese in a systematic manner under the education system in Hong Kong but have to compete with applicants whose mother tongue is Chinese. On the other hand, in an article published on the Internet on 8 July 2012, the Secretary for Home Affairs pointed out that "the Government understands that people from the ethnic minorities may find it difficult to secure appointments to the civil service due to their level of proficiency in the Chinese language, and we are trying to address this issue. Currently, apart from recognizing the results of the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination and the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination obtained by the applicants, the Government also recognizes other diplomas more often obtained by students whose second language is Chinese. Individual departments such as the Hong Kong Police Force ("HKPF") have also revised their entry requirements under which additional merits will be given to applicants who are proficient in foreign languages including Hindi and Urdu (commonly used among Pakistanis)". In this connection, will the executive authorities inform this Council:
  • (a)of the respective average annual numbers of people from the ethnic minorities appointed to the civil service in the two periods from 1997-1998 to 2002-2003 and from 2003-2004 to 2010-2011;

    (b)of the current number of civil servants who belong to the ethnic minorities, as well as their percentage in the total number of civil servants; and

    (c)whether they have requested other government departments to follow the practice of HKPF in giving additional merits to applicants who are proficient in the languages of the ethnic minorities when recruiting civil servants; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Civil Service

16. Hon Charles Peter MOK to ask: (Translation)


The Public Sector Trial Scheme ("Trial Scheme") under the Innovation and Technology Fund ("ITF") of the Innovation and Technology Commission ("ITC") provides funding support to eligible completed ITF projects for producing prototypes/samples, and conducting trials in public sector (including government departments, public bodies and trade associations, etc.), so as to facilitate and promote the realization and commercialization of the research and development ("R&D") results of ITF projects. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)of the number of applications received and approved by ITC since the Trial Scheme was launched in 2011, and the following information of each approved application;

    Company/
    organization which submitted the application    		 Nature of the company/organization Through which programme under ITF the company/ organization becomes eligible for the Trial Scheme R&D areas of the project Amount of funding support
    (HK$)    		 Percentage of the amount of funding support in the original R&D project cost
    (%)    		 Public sector in which trials of the R&D results were/is being/ will be conducted



    (b)whether there were applications rejected; if so, of the number of rejected applications, and the following information of each application;

    Company/ organization which submitted the application Nature of the company/ organization Through which programme under ITF the company/ organization becomes eligible for the Trial Scheme R&D areas of the project Reasons for rejecting the application






    (c)whether it has plans to relax the eligibility criteria for the Trial Scheme (e.g. allowing local R&D projects not subsidized by ITF to apply for the Scheme); if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (d)whether it has plans to allow trials of R&D results to be conducted in more organizations (e.g. private organizations); if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

17. Hon Christopher CHUNG to ask: (Translation)


I have often received complaints from Hong Kong drivers who said that they had encountered some mainland drivers with bad driving attitude and in defiance of traffic regulations when driving in Hong Kong, thus posing a hazard to the safety of road users in Hong Kong. Moreover, it has recently been reported in the press that a large number of candidates sitting for the driving licence test in a mainland city were found to have passed the mainland driving test and obtained driving licences by illegal means. Separately, holders of mainland driving licences who wish to drive in Hong Kong may apply for a Hong Kong driving licence by direct issue without test ("direct issue of driving licences"); and mainlanders who are visitors to Hong Kong (i.e. persons who take up residence in Hong Kong for a period of not exceeding 12 months) may drive in Hong Kong on strength of their mainland driving licences. Some Hong Kong drivers have doubts about the driving attitude and ability of holders of mainland driving licences, and therefore are concerned that the aforesaid arrangements may pose a hazard to road safety. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)of the number of applications received by the Transport Department from mainland drivers for direct issue of driving licences, the respective numbers and percentages of those approved and those rejected among such applications, in each of the past five years, and the main reasons for rejecting some of the applications;

    (b)of the number of traffic accidents which involved mainland drivers in each of the past five years; whether the authorities have assessed the impacts on road safety in Hong Kong of direct issue of driving licences to mainlanders and mainland visitors permitted to drive in Hong Kong on strength of their mainland driving licences; if they have assessed, of the outcome; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether the authorities will examine making legislative amendments to abolish the arrangement for direct issue of driving licences to all mainlanders, and require them to pass the Hong Kong driving test before they are issued with Hong Kong driving licences, and to forbid mainland visitors who have obtained their driving licences for the first year from driving in Hong Kong?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

18. Hon Ronny TONG to ask: (Translation)


Report No. 55 of the Director of Audit released in 2010 uncovered the malpractices and irregularities in the governance and administration of individual Direct Subsidy Scheme schools ("DSS schools"). For instance, a school had invested its surplus funds of more than $70 million in financial instruments, which was not in line with the relevant guidelines and another school had purchased three properties by using non-government funds of $10 million. Moreover, 14 schools had obtained approval for school fee increases in 2008-2009 as they projected that their accumulated operating reserves in that year were insufficient to meet two months' operating expenses. Yet, among them, the actual accumulated operating reserves of 11 schools turned out to have far exceeded their projected figures (with the actual reserves of eight schools doubling their projected figures). Two years have elapsed since then, and it has been recently reported that there is no improvement in the messy situation about the accounts of DSS schools. In addition, although the Education Bureau ("EDB") requires DSS schools to upload, by end of November this year, information on their major expenditure items and operating reserves ("financial information") to their web sites, it has been reported that to date, only half of the DSS schools have done so. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)of the respective numbers of DSS schools to which funding had been provided by EDB in each of the past 10 years, and the total amounts of funding;

    (b)whether EDB will impose penalty on those DSS schools which do not comply with the requirement of uploading their financial information to the schools' web sites after the deadline; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and how EDB will ensure that such measure will not exist in name only;

    (c)whether EDB will consider requiring DSS schools, when uploading their financial information to their web sites, to list in detail the actual amounts of various items of revenue and expenditure instead of their percentages in the total amounts, so as to increase transparency and enable monitoring by the public; if it will not, of the reasons for that;

    (d)given that the Audit Commission found that a DSS school had placed its operating reserves in speculative investments, which is not in line with the relevant guidelines, whether EDB had uncovered similar cases in the past 10 years; if it had, of the number of such cases as well as the names of the schools involved, amounts of money involved and the investment items; if not, the reasons for that;

    (e)given that the Audit Commission found that a DSS school had purchased properties in a way which was not in line with the relevant guidelines, whether EDB had uncovered similar cases in the past 10 years; if it had, of the number of such cases, the names of the schools involved, the amounts of money involved as well as the types and uses of the properties concerned; if not, the reasons for that;

    (f)given that the Audit Commission found that some DSS schools had underestimated the amounts of their operating reserves when applying for school fee increases, whether EDB had uncovered similar cases in the past 10 years; if it had, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (g)given that EDB has announced a new requirement on the 14th of this month that if the accumulated operating reserve of a DSS school in the 2013-2014 school year exceeds 12 months' operating expenditure, the school should include a proposal setting out how the excessive reserve will be handled (e.g. to reduce school fees) in its audited accounts for the 2013-2014 school year to be submitted to EDB by end of March 2015, whether EDB had, in the past two years, found any DSS school with accumulated operating reserve exceeding 12 months' operating expenditure; if it had, of the number of such schools, and among them, the number of schools which had reduced their school fees afterwards?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education

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


The Government has implemented waste recycling from as early as 1998 and placed three-colour waste separation bins ("3-colour bins") in various districts to separate and collect waste paper, plastics and metals. Earlier, some environmental groups have pointed out that the 3-colour bins are too few in number, have been placed in improper locations and are of bad design, which have undermined the effectiveness of waste recycling. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)of the total number of sets of 3-colour bins placed throughout Hong Kong in each of the past five years;

    (b)of the respective quantities of waste paper, plastics and metals collected through the 3-colour bins and the respective percentages of such quantities in the total quantities of these three types of waste, as well as the respective quantities of these three types of waste disposed of in landfills, in each of the past five years (set out according to Table 1);

    (Table 1)

    Year Waste paper (tonne) Plastics (tonne) Metals (tonne)
    Quantity (%) collected through 3-colour bins Quantity disposed of in landfills Quantity (%) collected through 3-colour bins Quantity disposed of in landfills Quantity (%) collected through 3-colour bins Quantity disposed of in landfills
    2012





    2011





    2010





    2009





    2008






    (c)of the channels through which the Government promotes the use of 3-colour bins to the public at present, and the details, as well as the related publicity expenditure in each of the past five years (set out according to Table 2);

    (Table 2)

    Year Various public channels for publicity
    Non-fee-charging TV announcements
    (No. of times broadcast)    		 Radio announcements
    (No. of times broadcast)    		 Bus stop posters
    (No. of days of display)    		 MTR station posters
    (No. of days of display)    		 Community talks
    (No. of talks organized)
    2012
      No. of times/days




      Total expenditure($)




    2011
      No. of times/days




      Total expenditure($)




    2010
      No. of times/days




      Total expenditure($)




    2009
      No. of times/days




      Total expenditure($)




    2008
      No. of times/days




      Total expenditure($)





    (d)whether the authorities have regularly reviewed the effectiveness of the 3-colour bins in waste recycling, including aspects such as their design, locations, quantities of waste collected, and whether the publicity channels and funding are adequate; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (e)whether the Government has plans to enhance the effectiveness of the 3-colour bins in waste recycling, so as to reduce and recycle waste; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment

20. Hon Paul TSE to ask: (Translation)


It has been reported that, at the first session of the 11th Guangdong Provincial Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference ("CPPCC"), a member said that "if not for the Communist Party, Hong Kong [people] would not even have potable water to drink". This remark has drawn quite a number of reactions. Regarding the supply of Dongjiang water to Hong Kong and water supply in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)in light of the remark of the aforesaid CPPCC member, whether the Government has studied any policies on and measures for raising the degree of autonomy in the supply of potable water in Hong Kong; if it has, of the outcome; if not, whether it can conduct such a study immediately;

    (b)of the percentage of Dongjiang water in the total quantity of water supply in Hong Kong in the next five years; as it has been reported that the quality of Dongjiang water has deteriorated in recent years and there has been an annual increase of about 5.8% in its price, whether it has studied if the long-term reliance on Dongjiang water as the main source of potable water is cost-effective; as well as the latest progress in the search for other sources of potable water;

    (c)whether it has studied the cost-effectiveness of the desalination facilities in Singapore (including the production cost of potable water); if it has, of the details;

    (d)of the expected annual production capacity of the desalination plant planned to be built in Tseung Kwan O, the cost per cubic metre ("m3") of potable water produced by that plant, and how such cost compares with the price of Dongjiang water;

    (e)whether it has assessed, with the continuous improvement in desalination technology, if the gap between the cost of potable water produced by desalination and the price of Dongjiang water is narrowing, and if the former may become even lower than the latter; if it has assessed, of the respective price/cost per m3 of both types of water; if not, whether it will conduct such an assessment immediately;

    (f)whether the quantity of Dongjiang water supplied to Hong Kong was higher than the water consumption of Hong Kong in the past three years; of the situation projected for the next three years, and whether there is room for reducing the quantity of Dongjiang water to be purchased and for reducing the expenses on purchase of water; how the authorities will strive for reducing the quantity of water supply and the price of water; and

    (g)of the quantity of potable water lost/wasted due to leakage of water from worn-out water mains in each of the past five years; of the equivalent amount of public expenditure incurred by such loss/wastage of potable water as calculated at the current cost of water supply?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

III. Bill



First Reading

Appropriation Bill 2013

Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)

Appropriation Bill 2013 : The Financial Secretary

IV. Member's Motion



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

Hon Andrew LEUNG to move the following motion:

That this Council takes note of Report No. 11/12-13 of the House Committee laid on the Table of the Council on 27 February 2013 in relation to the subsidiary legislation and instrument(s) as listed below:

Item NumberTitle of Subsidiary Legislation or Instrument

(1)Telecommunications (Telecommunications Apparatus) (Exemption from Licensing) (Amendment) Order 2012 (L.N. 190/2012).

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

Clerk to the Legislative Council