A 12/13-33

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 26 June 2013 at 11:00 am

I. Tabling of Papers



Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentL.N. No.
Solicitors (General) Costs (Amendment) Rules 2013110/2013

Other Papers

1.No. 98

-Securities and Futures Commission
Annual Report 2012-13
(to be presented by the Financial Secretary)

2.No. 99

-Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation
Annual Report 2012
(to be presented by the Financial Secretary)

3.No. 100

-Airport Authority Hong Kong
Annual Report 2012/13
(to be presented by the Financial Secretary)

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

5.Report of the Bills Committee on Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2013
(to be presented by Hon Alan LEONG, member of the Bills Committee)

II. Questions



1. Hon CHAN Kam-lam to ask: (Translation)


Recently, a number of parents have been separately arrested by the Police for leaving children aged 11 to 14 unattended at home. Under the existing legislation, leaving young persons or children aged under 16 unattended at home may constitute a criminal offence. Some parents have pointed out that as young persons in their early teens have certain self-care abilities, they should be allowed to act alone under specific circumstances. Those parents have also pointed out that as the number of places and scope of child care services in the community at present are very limited, the support for parents is extremely insufficient. If parents have contravened the law by leaving their children unattended at home, it may result in the Social Welfare Department taking over their children temporarily, leading to the separation of parents from their children. A survey has shown that nearly 50% of the children interviewed indicated that if their parents were penalized for leaving them unattended at home, they would feel helpless, anxious, disappointed and lonely. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)of the total number of cases in which parents were arrested in the past five years for leaving children aged under 16 unattended at home, together with a breakdown by age groups (i.e. aged below eight, eight to 11, and over 11 to 15) to which the children belonged;

    (b)whether the Government has plans to review the existing legal provisions concerning the offence of leaving children unattended at home; if it has such a plan, whether it will consider lowering the upper age limit of children to whom such provisions are applicable; if it has no plan to conduct such a review, of the reasons for that; and

    (c)of the respective numbers of places and service hours of government-subvented child care services in various districts at present; whether the Government has reviewed the supply and demand of such services, and whether it will increase the number of places of the relevant services?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

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


It has been reported that the National Security Agency of the United States ("US") has been hacking into a number of computer network backbones on the Mainland and in Hong Kong since 2009. Some people of Hong Kong have expressed worries that their communication information may have been acquired by the US Government as they have used the services of such computer networks. Regarding information security in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)whether it has assessed if there is sufficient professional expertise or capability within the Hong Kong Government to detect any activities of the governments and organizations of foreign countries (e.g. the US) attempting to hack into the Government's or personal computer systems in Hong Kong; if the assessment outcome is in the affirmative, of the details; if it is in the negative, whether the authorities concerned will conduct a review of the level of information security in Hong Kong; given that a large number of Hong Kong people have been using Internet services (e.g. social networking web sites) the servers of which are located in the US, whether the authorities concerned will follow up if the US Government has acquired the information of such users;

    (b)whether government departments have previously requested any local or foreign Internet service providers to allow them to get hold of information directly from the servers, systems or network of such service providers, and whether those departments have ever obtained Hong Kong people's information on the Internet (e.g. photos, audio and visual messages, e-mails, voice, files, login accounts, etc.) on their own or through cooperation with the governments or organizations outside Hong Kong (e.g. those of the US); if they have, of the reasons for that and the details; if not, whether the Government can guarantee that it will not collect such information in any form in future; and

    (c)as some members of the public have pointed out that the existing Interception of Communications and Surveillance Ordinance has never been amended and is fraught with loopholes (e.g. the definition of public security being too wide, the absence of penalty for illegal interception of communications by public officers, etc.), which have caused worries about personal privacy, of the timetable set by the Government for introducing legislative amendments to this Ordinance; if a timetable is not available, of the reasons for that; whether the Government has assessed if the existing legislation is adequate for regulating acts of interception of communications (e.g. industrial espionage, etc.) by non-governmental organizations or individuals; if the assessment outcome is in the negative, whether the Government has any plan to amend the existing legislation or enact new law to regulate such acts; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officers to reply:Secretary for Security
Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

3. Dr Hon Kenneth CHAN to ask: (Translation)


In her earlier letter to the President of the Legislative Council, the Chief Secretary for Administration has indicated that the Chief Executive will deliver his next Policy Address in January next year, which will be followed by the Financial Secretary's Budget in late February or early March. Such an arrangement will be adhered to for the rest of this term of the Government. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)given that due to the close proximity of the dates for delivering the Policy Address and the Budget this year, the Government had jointly conducted the public consultation exercises for these two important policy papers last year, whether the Government will continue to adopt the same arrangement next year; if it will, of the justifications for that; whether the Government will take measures to ensure that the relevant consultation exercises will not place emphasis only on one of the two documents, and whether it will consider conducting separate consultation exercises for the two documents; if it will consider doing so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)as the dates for delivering the next Policy Address and the next Budget will be quite close, whether the Government has assessed, when the Government decides to make relatively substantial amendments to certain policies or measures in the light of the public's responses to the Policy Address, if the Financial Secretary will have sufficient time to revise the draft Budget in order to allocate public resources in tandem with the relevant amendments; if the assessment outcome is in the negative, how the Government can respond to the aspirations of the public in the Budget, and whether it will, for such reason, refuse to respond to the views or suggestions from the public on the Policy Address; and

    (c)whether the Government will consider consulting the public and this Council on the dates for delivering the Policy Address and the Budget, so as to avoid jeopardizing the relationship between the Executive Authorities and the Legislature; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : The Chief Secretary for Administration

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


On 8 June 2007, this Council passed the following motion moved by me: "[t]hat this Council urges the Government to set up a Commission on Children to fulfill the obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, safeguard the well-being of children, and ensure that children's perspectives are fully taken into account in the process of formulating government policies.". However, the Government has not yet established a Commission on Children. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)of the reasons why the Government has not yet established a Commission on Children, and whether it has assessed the complementing policies, legislation and resources needed for the establishment of the Commission;

    (b)whether the Family Council and the Children's Rights Forum had taken measures in the past five years to promote the rights and well-being of children; if they had, of the details and the resources injected; if not, the reasons for that; of the respective measures taken by the two organizations to help children from groups with special needs (including poor families, single-parent families, families of new immigrants and ethnic minorities), children with disabilities, and children of different sexual orientations; whether the Government had introduced any special measures to improve the living environment of children from such groups with special needs (e.g. according priority to these children's families in the allocation of public housing or provision of rent allowance); if it had, of the details; if not; the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether the Government currently has any measures to promote the rights and well-being of children as a whole; if it has, of a specific account of the objectives of the relevant measures, the effectiveness indicators, as well as the approach for evaluating the effectiveness of such measures; whether the Government has currently formulated a comprehensive child policy; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; given that the Government has required, since 1 April this year, bureaux/departments to include the assessment of family implications in all policy submissions and Legislative Council briefs, how such an assessment can address the distinctive needs of children?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs

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


Some social workers working in integrated community centres for mental wellness ("ICCMWs") have relayed to me that a growing number of elderly persons suffering from dementia have been referred by elderly services units to their centres for counselling and welfare services. These social workers have indicated that as the manpower of social workers and ancillary facilities for such centres are now inadequate, they have found it increasingly difficult to cope with such work. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)whether the elderly services units or those providing rehabilitation services for people recovering from mental illness ("rehabilitation service providers") are entrusted by the Social Welfare Department ("SWD") to be the main provider of services for the elderly suffering from dementia, and the reasons for such an arrangement; if such services should mainly be provided by ICCMWs, whether the Government will allocate additional resources to these centres for employing more social workers to cope with the service demand; if the services should be provided both by elderly services units and rehabilitation service providers, how SWD coordinates the allocation of resources and division of work between them;

    (b)whether SWD has issued any guidelines to District Elderly Community Centres and Neighbourhood Elderly Centres regarding the provision of services for the elderly suffering from dementia; if it has, of the details; whether it has provided additional subsidies to such centres for employing additional manpower and meeting other relevant expenses; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)as the number of elderly persons suffering from dementia will increase with the ageing population and consequently their demand for services will be growing, of the corresponding policies and measures of the Government to enhance and improve the relevant services?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

6. Hon Paul TSE to ask: (Translation)


The first berth of the Cruise Terminal at Kai Tak Development Area ("the Terminal") was commissioned on the 12th of this month. According to media reports, the ancillary transport facilities of the Terminal were inadequate, causing much inconvenience to cruise visitors when they went sightseeing and shopping. For instance, the waiting time of visitors for taxis was too long. Also, vehicles travelling from the Terminal to the Kwun Tong District, and to Hong Kong Island East via the Eastern Harbour Crossing have to route through the traffic bottlenecks in areas from Kowloon Bay to Kowloon City. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)of the progress of the relevant study on the plan to construct an Environmentally Friendly Linkage System ("EFLS") for Kowloon East connecting the Kai Tak Development Area and the Kwun Tong District; whether the authorities will, in view of the traffic problems which surfaced on the commissioning day of the Terminal, expeditiously implement the construction of EFLS; if they will, of the anticipated implementation time; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)whether the authorities will consider afresh providing water taxi or minor ferry services in the vicinity of the Terminal before the commissioning of the aforesaid EFLS, to facilitate cruise visitors to travel directly between the Terminal and various shopping centres and tourist spots in Kwun Tong District, Lei Yue Mun and on the Hong Kong Island; and

    (c)whether it had measured the air quality in the vicinity of the Terminal when for the first time a cruise vessel was berthing there, which may serve as justifications for expediting the installation of onshore power supply facilities at the Terminal, as well as for enacting legislation to require cruise vessels at berth to switch to low-sulphur diesel, so as to ensure the air quality in Kowloon East (in particular the Kwun Tong District) will not deteriorate as a result of the berthing of cruise vessels; if it had measured, of the outcome; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officers to reply:Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
Secretary for Development

*7. Hon Vincent FANG to ask: (Translation)


The Government launched this year a scheme with a quota of 5 000 under which eligible White Form applicants for the Home Ownership Scheme ("HOS") may purchase, without paying premium, flats on the HOS Secondary Market ("Secondary Market") within a specified period. It has been reported that the first batch of 2 500 successful applicants are anxious to purchase HOS flats, but the per-square-foot prices of HOS flats have risen rapidly due to an insufficient supply of such flats. The per-square-foot prices of certain flats have risen more than 20% since the announcement of the scheme in last July. The per-square-foot prices of some flats, after reckoning the premium payment, have even surpassed those of private residential flats. For example, the per-square-foot price of an HOS flat in Tseung Kwan O in the Secondary Market based on its saleable area is some $6,400, meaning its per-square-foot price at the market value is over $10,000. There are comments that a bubble is forming in the Secondary Market and this has driven the prices of some private residential flats to go up, which is detrimental to the healthy development of Hong Kong's property market and may make successful applicants bear a higher risk in purchasing HOS flats. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)whether it had, before launching the aforesaid scheme, assessed if the supply of flats in the Secondary Market was adequate to meet the demand of both Green Form and White Form HOS applicants; if it had assessed, of a detailed breakdown of the estimated supply of HOS flats by district; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)whether it will review the implementation of the aforesaid scheme, including its relationship with the rapid rise in the prices of HOS flats in the Secondary Market, the rate of increase in the prices of such flats over the past six months, the affordability of the successful applicants, the impact on the market of private residential flats, etc.; if it will, of the timetable and plan of the review; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether the Government will temporarily shelve the aforesaid scheme after allocation of the second batch of 2 500 of this year's quota, so as to avoid the development of a bubble in the Secondary Market intensifying, and successful applicants bearing unnecessary risks of a property bubble; if it will, of the specific timetable and plan; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

*8. Hon YIU Si-wing to ask: (Translation)


It is learnt that there have been a number of negative press reports in recent days about the Cruise Terminal ("the Terminal") located in the Kai Tak Development Area, which was built at a cost of over $8 billion. Such reports include serious water seepage at the terminal building prior to its opening, chaotic transport arrangements on the day of its official opening, as well as rodent infestation at the terminal building occurred in recent days. On the other hand, some members of the community worry that the Terminal may turn into a "white elephant" project due to insufficient patronage and that Hong Kong's international image will be tarnished if the aforesaid problems are not rectified expeditiously. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)of the improvement measures taken by the authorities to tackle the aforesaid problems of the facilities, such as rodent infestation and water seepage, so as to bring the software and hardware of the Terminal in line with international standards;

    (b)as it has been reported that the Terminal, after receiving the first cruise liner on the 12th of this month, will not receive the second cruise liner until October, and there will only be a total of 20-odd cruise liners berthing at the Terminal in the coming year, i.e. the usage time for the whole year will be merely one month or so, of the measures taken by the authorities to boost the usage rate of the Terminal; and

    (c)as the Central Government announced in June last year the measure that mainland tour groups taking cruises from Hong Kong to Taiwan would be permitted to continue to take the same cruise to Japan or South Korea before returning to the Mainland, of the progress of the authorities' discussion with the mainland authorities in respect of the implementation of the relevant measures (including the visa arrangements and timetable)?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

*9. Hon WONG Kwok-kin to ask: (Translation)


This Council had approved a funding allocation of $230 million for launching a five-year assistance scheme ("the Assistance Scheme") for the licensed hawkers ("hawkers") operating in 43 fixed-pitch hawker areas ("hawker areas"). Those hawkers carrying out reconstruction of their stalls in-situ, moving their stalls to other pitch spaces or opting for voluntary surrender of their hawker licences will be granted a one-off ex-gratia payment, but the hawkers' assistants ("the assistants") will not benefit from the Assistance Scheme. In addition, some hawkers have relayed to me that due to the redevelopment of the Kwun Tong town centre, the Mut Wah Street Temporary Hawker Bazaar ("Mut Wah Street Bazaar") will be relocated to a new temporary hawker bazaar in October this year, affecting 80-odd stall operators. Although relocation has been arranged for the hawkers concerned, it has been learnt that some of them intend to close down the business, and their assistants will not benefit from the relocation project. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)given that in 2010, the authorities gave priority to the existing registered assistants with experience in the hawking trade to select 70% of the vacant fixed hawker pitches, of the number of registered assistants who selected the hawker pitches in the end; of the current number of assistants registered with the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department;

    (b)whether it has estimated the number of hawker licences to be surrendered under the Assistance Scheme; as the authorities had indicated at a committee meeting of this Council that they would consider re-issuing the surrendered hawker licences for application by interested parties, when the authorities will make the relevant decision; whether the authorities will make reference to the approach mentioned in (a) to give priority to the registered assistants in applying for vacant fixed hawker pitches; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (c)given that when starting off the buyout package for the live poultry trade in 2008, the authorities had, apart from providing grants to live poultry retailers who voluntarily surrendered their licences, provided one-off grants to the affected local live poultry workers as well, whether the authorities will make reference to that approach and provide grants to the registered assistants affected by the hawkers' surrendering of licences; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; whether the authorities will consider implementing other measures to help those registered assistants who are affected; and

    (d)given that the Mut Wah Street Bazaar is not one of the 43 hawker areas under the Assistance Scheme, and the affected hawkers cannot obtain the ex-gratia payment of $120,000 even if they surrender their licences, whether the authorities will consider extending the coverage of the Assistance Scheme to cover other hawkers who are affected by urban redevelopment projects and voluntarily surrender their licences; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

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


According to statistics of the Government, the total area of agricultural lands in Hong Kong has been decreasing in the past 16 years while abandoned and fallow agricultural lands have all along accounted for about 70% of agricultural lands in total in recent years. On the other hand, the 2013 Policy Address has not put forward any new policy to facilitate agricultural development. Some members of the public have relayed to me that there are now young people who wish to join the agriculture industry and farmers (whose land had been resumed by the Government for land development) who wish to rejoin it, but they are unable to find suitable agricultural land. They have also pointed out that the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department is currently responsible for administering three loan funds with a total accumulated deposit standing at $45 million, and the Agricultural Development Fund administered by the Vegetable Marketing Organization has about $200 million available. Yet, such funds have not been unable to help enhance the agricultural development in Hong Kong. Regarding the agricultural development in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)of the area of the agricultural lands resumed by the Government for various development projects, the respective areas of active and abandoned agricultural lands at the time of land resumption, as well as the number of farmers affected by land resumption (set out in the table below), in each of the past five years; the measures taken by the Government to help those affected farmers;

    Year Area of agricultural lands resumed by the Government
    (hectare)    		 Area of active agricultural lands therein
    (hectare)    		 Area of abandoned agricultural lands therein
    (hectare)    		 Number of farmers affected by resumption of agricultural lands
    2008    
    2009    
    2010    
    2011    
    2012    

    (b)whether the Government had zoned any land as agricultural land in the past three years to promote agricultural development; if it had, of the area of new agricultural land; if not, the reasons for that;

    (c)whether the Government has considered how to optimize the use of the existing abandoned and fallow agricultural lands, landfills, idle lands and lands along the shore of outlying islands (e.g. establishing an agricultural research centre to encourage innovative agricultural development), and further build up the reputation of the brand of local agricultural produce as being safe and reliable; if it has considered, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (d)whether the Government will draw reference from the modes of sustainable development which combines "ecology, living and production" in neighbouring regions of Hong Kong (such as Taiwan), and introduce measures to develop ecological farms which combine organic farming with green and leisure farming; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (e)whether the Government will consider enhancing the existing loans and development funds relating to the agriculture industry, or set up an agriculture industry sustainable development fund so as to promote the sustainable development of the agriculture industry; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (f)whether the Government has formulated any policy to facilitate the application of new agricultural technologies in the agriculture industry in Hong Kong, and encourage the development of new trades of the agriculture industry; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and whether relevant policies will be formulated?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

*11. Hon CHAN Yuen-han to ask: (Translation)


It has been learnt that Shek Wu Hui Market in Sheung Shui, which was commissioned in the early nineties of the last century, is the first public market installed with an air-conditioning ("A/C") system in Hong Kong. However, some stall operators of the market have relayed to me that the Market has been in use for almost two decades and its A/C system has been ageing. For instance, the A/C system had broken down last year and this year, and some A/C units even had to cease operation recently, resulting in excessively high temperature in the Market. The worsening business environment has seriously affected the stall operators and patrons. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)of the number of failures of the A/C systems in the public markets in Hong Kong in the past three years (set out by market);

    (b)of the respective years in which the A/C systems in the various existing public markets in Hong Kong were installed and the number of years that the A/C units had been used (set out by market); whether the authorities have replaced the A/C systems in various public markets on a regular basis; if they have, of the service years set for those systems, and whether the A/C system in Shek Wu Hui Market is due for replacement; if they have not replaced the A/C systems on a regular basis, of the reasons for that;

    (c)as some stall operators have relayed that certain areas of Shek Wu Hui Market have all along been suffering from insufficient air flow, whether the authorities will formulate measures to improve the situation; if they will, of the details; if not, the reason for that;

    (d)as it has been reported earlier that the "Indoor Air Quality Certification Scheme for Offices and Public Places" implemented by the Environment Protection Department had found that a number of parameters of air quality objectives had exceeded the limits during the inspection conducted in a number of public libraries, whether the existing public markets in Hong Kong have participated in the certification scheme; if they have, of the results; if not, the reason for that; and

    (e)whether the repair and maintenance of the A/C systems in the existing public markets in Hong Kong is undertaken by outsourced contractors or contractors; if it is, whether provisions are stipulated in the contracts to ensure that the indoor air quality of the markets meets the standards; if so, of the details; if not, the reason for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

*12. Hon Jeffrey LAM to ask: (Translation)


Up to the present, more than 200 000 children have been born in Hong Kong to mainland women whose spouses are not Hong Kong permanent residents (commonly known as "doubly non-permanent resident (ʻDNRʼ) children"). It has been reported that under the household registration system of the Mainland, DNR children do not have registered residence on the Mainland because of their Hong Kong permanent resident status ("Hong Kong resident status"). As a result, they will not be admitted by public schools on the Mainland, may not sit for admission examinations for higher education on the Mainland, and are not entitled to the medical and other benefits provided by the mainland Government. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)of the number of enquiries on or applications for renunciation of Hong Kong resident status received by the Government in the past five years; among such cases, the number of those in which such status had been renounced or lost, and the number of DNR children involved in such cases;

    (b)whether any mechanism is currently in place for Hong Kong residents to apply for renunciation of such status; if so, of its legal basis; if not, the reasons for that; whether the Government will, by means of legislative amendments, establish a mechanism for parents of DNR children to apply on behalf of these children for renunciation of the Hong Kong resident status; and

    (c)of the ways by which DNR children can renounce their Hong Kong resident status and obtain registered residence on the Mainland at present; whether the Government will discuss with the mainland authorities the establishment of a mechanism for DNR children to obtain registered residence on the Mainland, so as to ameliorate the problem of shortage of primary and secondary school places caused by DNR children coming to Hong Kong for education?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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


Recently, some members of the community have initiated the Occupy Central movement, and they hope that at least 10 000 people will participate in the movement. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)whether it has assessed, when 10 000 people occupy the main roads in Central, how the traffic, public space and daily commercial activities in Central might be affected, the number of police officers needed to maintain order at the scene, the impact on the routine policing duties, and the additional public expenditure to be incurred; if it has conducted such an assessment, of the outcome; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)whether the Police and the relevant government departments have formulated contingency plans to ensure that the traffic on the main roads and the economic activities in the core commercial areas in Central will not be paralyzed should the main roads in Central be occupied; if they have, of the contents of such plans; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether it has assessed, under the existing legislation, the criminal liabilities to be borne by the persons initiating and participating in the action of occupying the main roads in Central, as well as the penalties for the relevant offences?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*14. Hon WONG Kwok-hing to ask: (Translation)


There are currently 20 rental housing estates under the Hong Kong Housing Society ("HKHS") and 10 Flat-For-Sale Schemes ("sold housing courts") launched by it, providing over 100 000 grass-roots and low-income members of the public with the options of renting and purchasing flats. However, some members of the public have pointed out that as the buildings in a number of housing estates/courts are over 50 years old, their appearance and interior have become old and dilapidated. Improvement to the living environment of the residents will indeed rely on HKHS carrying out repair works for and redeveloping such housing estates/courts. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
  • (a)the respective dates of large-scale inspections on the building conditions and repair works carried out by HKHS in the past five years for its various rental housing estates and sold housing courts whose maintenance periods have not yet expired, as well as the types of works and the costs involved (set out in table form); of the numbers of various kinds of complaints received from the residents during the same period and how they had been followed up;

    (b)according to the results of the proactive inspections conducted by HKHS in the past five years, (i) whether the sold housing courts mentioned in (a) were found to have problems similar to those found in Healthy Village Redevelopment Phase II, e.g. debonded mosaic tiles falling off the exterior of the buildings and in their lift lobbies one after another; (ii) whether the rental housing estates under HKHS were found to have structural problems similar to those found in Wah Fu Estate under the Hong Kong Housing Authority, e.g. serious problems of concrete spalling and exposed bar tendons, etc. in the building interior, so that major structural overhauls of their exterior walls and interior are needed; if so, of a list of the housing estates/courts involved and the building conditions identified, as well as the number of proactive inspections conducted by HKHS staff in each of the past five years;

    (c)as some residents of the rental housing estates have relayed that the living environment of the housing estates which have been built for nearly 50 years, including Yue Kwong Chuen and Healthy Village Phase III, is so appalled that they have requested HKHS to redevelop such estates and assist them in moving to other estates, whether HKHS has any plan to redevelop these aged estates; if it has, of the timetable for redeveloping the housing estates and rehousing the residents; if not, whether it will commence within the coming five years a study on the redevelopment of such housing estates; if it will, of the detailed timetable;

    (d)as some minority flat owners have expressed strong dissatisfaction at the arrangement for the repair and maintenance of buildings in sold housing courts, e.g. the strong reproach from the flat owners in Healthy Village Redevelopment Phase II on HKHS for dragging on the repair works for the mosaic tiles on the external walls of buildings and shirking its responsibility after the maintenance periods have expired, of the respective lists of sold housing courts whose maintenance periods have expired and those whose maintenance periods have not yet expired at present; of the sold housing courts for which HKHS has conducted repair works in the past 10 years, as well as the works and the costs involved; and

    (e)given that the flat owners of sold housing estates are generally low-income people or retirees, of the types of assistance provided by HKHS to help minority flat owners who are old and in financial difficulty cope with the economic pressure arising from paying for the repair and maintenance expenses when repair works need to be conducted in housing courts whose maintenance periods have expired; whether HKHS has any plan at present to enhance and extend the maintenance period of sold housing courts so as to assist flat owners who are grass-roots or low-income people?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

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


The Chief Executive has indicated in the 2013 Policy Address that "Hong Kong is an ideal 'testing ground' for steady market reforms of our country's interest rate and exchange rate regimes, and its gradual realization of the RMB [Renminbi] capital account convertibility". The executive meeting of the State Council held in May this year had reportedly studied the preparation for the key tasks of deepening economic reform in this year, including steadily implementing reform measures for interest rate and exchange rate marketization, as well as putting forward operation proposals on the RMB capital account convertibility. In addition, a member of the Monetary Policy Committee of the People's Bank of China forecast, in a research report on finance published in May this year, that the liberalization of the Mainland's capital accounts would be completed between 2015 and 2020. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)of the progress of implementing the development direction of making Hong Kong a "testing ground" for the RMB capital account convertibility as mentioned in the Policy Address; and

    (b)whether it has studied in what aspects that the Government and the local finance industry can make complementary efforts to tie in with the liberalization of the Mainland's capital accounts?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

*16. Hon Abraham SHEK to ask: (Translation)


A study report published recently by a property consultancy company points out that the office space shortfall in Hong Kong between 2013 and 2020 is anticipated to be as high as four to eight million square feet, equivalent to the area of four to eight blocks of Two International Finance Centre. In addition, as indicated in the Hong Kong Property Review 2013 compiled by the Rating and Valuation Department, office rentals have been rising for four consecutive quarters, and the overall rental index for the fourth quarter of 2012 rose by 7% from that of the previous year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)whether the authorities have estimated the supply and demand of offices of various grades in Hong Kong in the coming decade; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)of the respective additional areas of offices of various grades, calculated on the basis of the areas of the commercial sites in the statutory plans already made or under preparation by the authorities under the Town Planning Ordinance (Cap. 131), and the timetables for introducing them into the market; and

    (c)of the authorities' strategies to expedite the supply of offices of various grades to mitigate the rising trend of office rentals, thereby easing the operational pressure of small and medium enterprises as well as maintaining Hong Kong's status as a regional business hub?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

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


It has been reported that illegal occupation or fly-tipping (such as old tyres) occurred in a number of sites zoned as "Green Belt". On the other hand, the Chief Executive has indicated in the 2013 Policy Address that the Government is conducting a study on rezoning 13 sites in Green Belt areas which are currently devegetated, deserted or formed for residential use so as to increase the supply of residential units. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)of (i) the number of inspections conducted proactively by the Lands Department (set out in Table 1), (ii) the number of inspections conducted upon receipt of complaints (set out in Table 2), and (iii) the number of law enforcement actions taken upon detection of illegal occupation/fly-tipping and the area of land involved (set out in Table 3), in respect of Green Belt areas in each of the past three years, broken down by District Council district;

    (Table 1)

    Year Number of inspections conducted proactively in each district Annual
    total
    number
    Central and Western District Eastern District Southern District Wan Chai Kowloon City Kwun Tong Sham Shui Po Yau Tsim Mong Wong Tai Sin Islands Kwai Tsing North District Sai Kung Sha Tin Tai Po Tsuen Wan Tuen Mun Yuen Long
    2010                   
    2011                   
    2012                   



    (Table 2)

    Year Number of inspections conducted upon receipt of complaints in each district Annual total number Annual
    total
    number
    Central and Western District Eastern District Southern District Wan Chai Kowloon City Kwun Tong Sham Shui Po Yau Tsim Mong Wong Tai Sin Islands Kwai Tsing North District Sai Kung Sha Tin Tai Po Tsuen Wan Tuen Mun Yuen Long
    2010                   
    2011                   
    2012                   



    (Table 3)

      District Annual total number
    Central and Western District Eastern District Southern District Wan Chai Kowloon City Kwun Tong Sham Shui Po Yau Tsim Mong Wong Tai Sin Islands Kwai Tsing North District Sai Kung Sha Tin Tai Po Tsuen Wan Tuen Mun Yuen Long
    2010 Number of law enforcement actions                    
    Area of land involved                    
    2011 Number of law enforcement actions                    
    Area of land involved                    
    2012 Number of law enforcement actions                    
    Area of land involved                    



    (b)of the five most common situations of illegal occupation of Green Belt areas, as well as the number of such cases in which the persons concerned were convicted and the penalties imposed on them in the past three years;

    (c)whether the aforesaid 13 sites were involved in any illegal occupation/fly-tipping in the past three years; if so, of the site area involved; and

    (d)whether the Government will announce within this year the details of the development plans for rezoning the aforesaid 13 sites for residential use, including the site area and location, etc. of each site; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

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


Regarding the projects recently proposed by the Government for extending the Southeast New Territories Landfill ("Tseung Kwan O Landfill") and the Northeast New Territories Landfill, many residents in Tseung Kwan O and the North District have conveyed to me their strong discontent and opposition. They are concerned that problems of odours, air pollution, environmental hygiene, dust and transport, etc. caused by the existing landfills to the surrounding areas will worsen with the extension, resulting in further harm to the health and living environment of the residents nearby. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)notwithstanding the authorities have indicated that the District Councils ("DCs") concerned have been consulted on the aforesaid two projects and such DCs have expressed support or no-objection to them, whether the authorities have gauged the views of the residents in the districts concerned in detail; if they have, of such views; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)of the formula adopted by the authorities for arriving at the exhaustion year of the Tseung Kwan O Landfill, and why the authorities have presented several variants of exhaustion year over the past years;

    (c)as the Tseung Kwan O Landfill is the landfill closest to residential areas and its extension project is expected to cause greater impacts on the residents nearby, whether the authorities have explored alternative measures in place of the extension project and worked for an early closure of the landfill; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (d)as some residents and experts have indicated that the odours produced by the Tseung Kwan O Landfill may drift to areas on the Hong Kong Island such as Taikoo Shing and Siu Sai Wan, whether the authorities have conducted an in-depth investigation on the issue; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment

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


Under the Drug Trafficking (Recovery of Proceeds) Ordinance (Cap. 405) and the Organized and Serious Crimes Ordinance (Cap. 455), a person commits an offence if, knowing or having reasonable grounds to believe that any property (including money) is proceeds of an offence, he deals with that property (commonly known as "money laundering"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)of the number and average duration of the Mareva Injunctions issued by the Court in the past five years in relation to money laundering offences, as well as the amount of money involved;

    (b)of the number of cases in which the persons concerned sought judicial review of the Mareva Injunctions, the number of successful cases among such cases, and the number of cases in which persons whose assets had been frozen were prosecuted for money laundering offences by the authorities, in the past five years; and

    (c)of the number of criminal cases involving cross-boundary money laundering activities detected by the authorities in the past five years, and how the Government dealt with such criminal cases?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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


Hong Kong has implemented the Working Holiday Scheme ("the Scheme") with New Zealand and Australia since 2001 so that bilateral cultural ties as well as tourism promotion and development can be enhanced. Under the Scheme, Hong Kong young people aged between 18 and 30 may visit these countries for holiday and take up short-term employment during their 12-month stay, so as to acquire a better understanding of the cultural and social developments of the host countries, and gain valuable experiences while holidaying and working abroad, thereby strengthening their self-confidence, resilience and inter-personal skills. The Scheme has subsequently been extended to Ireland, Germany, Japan, Canada and South Korea. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)of the respective numbers of Hong Kong young people who had applied for and been granted approval to participate in the Scheme from 2009 to 2012 (set out in the table below);

    Year Germany Ireland Japan South Korea Canada New Zealand Australia
    No. of applications received No. of applications approved No. of applications received No. of applications approved No. of applications received No. of applications approved No. of applications received No. of applications approved No. of applications received No. of applications approved No. of applications received No. of applications approved No. of applications received No. of applications approved
    2009              
    2010              
    2011              
    2012              



    (b)of the total number of requests for assistance received by the authorities since the launch of the Scheme from Hong Kong young people while participating in the Scheme, the contents of such requests and the details of the responses made by the authorities;

    (c)given that travel insurance in general is valid for six months only and does not cover work injuries and accidents, whether the authorities have reminded participants of the Scheme to take out suitable insurance policies; and

    (d)whether it has reviewed the details of the Scheme regularly, requested the Chinese embassies/consulates in the places covered by the Scheme to enhance their assistance to participants of the Scheme, and stepped up publicity to raise participants' safety awareness; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

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


It is learnt that there has been a long-standing shortage of paramedical and nursing staff in residential care homes for the elderly ("RCHEs"). The Government has provided additional funding of $356 million, for the three-year period from 2012-2013 to 2014-2015, to support the RCHEs under non-governmental organizations and the "EA1 homes" under the Enhanced Bought Place Scheme ("the RCHEs concerned") in recruiting and retaining paramedical staff. Some members of the sector have relayed that the provision of more training opportunities for nurses working in RCHEs would help RCHEs retain nursing staff. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)of the total number of the RCHEs concerned from which applications for the aforesaid additional funding the authorities have received, the respective numbers of applications approved and rejected, as well as the total amount of funding granted (with a breakdown by type of RCHEs), since last year;

    (b)of the number of paramedical staff employed last year by the RCHEs concerned using the aforesaid additional funding and the total amount of funding involved, as well as the number of RCHEs involved (with a breakdown by type of RCHEs and grade of the staff concerned);

    (c)of the respective average numbers of residents, nurses and paramedical staff in the RCHEs which have been granted the aforesaid additional funding; if it knows the average turnover rate of the paramedical staff in the RCHEs concerned in each of the past five years, and whether the additional funding had helped alleviate the turnover of such staff; if it had not, whether the authorities will further increase the funding to improve the situation; if they will do so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (d)whether it knows the average nurse-to-resident ratios, the average expenditure incurred on training in-service nurses, as well as the average person-times of staff receiving such training and the respective contents of the relevant programmes, in various types of RCHEs in each of the past five years; whether the authorities will consider increasing the provision of funding to provide training subsides to nurses working in RCHEs, so as to ensure good nursing care quality in RCHEs; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

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


The Chief Executive ("CE") pointed out in this year's Policy Address that the Government would take a number of strong measures to increase housing land supply in the short to medium term. He estimated that a total of 67 000 first-hand units should come on the market in the next three to four years. However, according to the land sales records of the Lands Department, only about 9 200 units were involved in the private residential developments for which Pre-sale Consents were issued between the third quarter of 2012 and the first quarter of 2013. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (a)of the target numbers of Pre-sale Consents and Certificates of Compliance to be issued in each quarter of the next four years, as well as the number of units involved; how the Government ensures that a total of 67 000 first-hand units will come on the market in the next three to four years as mentioned by CE; whether, according to the latest estimate, such target can be achieved; if it cannot, of the reasons for that, whether any remedial measures have been taken, and whether it has assessed the impact of such situation on property prices; if such an assessment has been made, of the details;

    (b)how the Government monitors the trend of residential property prices in Hong Kong; whether it has regularly reviewed the effectiveness of the monitoring measures; if it has, of the review outcome; of the respective changes in the sale price indexes of first-hand and second-hand residential units in each quarter between 1 July 2012 and 31 May 2013;

    (c)as CE announced in August last year that 36 sites originally designated for "government, institution or community facilities", measuring 27 hectares in total, as well as other government sites, would be rezoned for housing development, of the latest development in this respect;

    (d)as it has been stated in the Policy Address that 13 sites in Green Belt areas, measuring 57 hectares in total, which are devegetated, deserted or formed, are suitable for rezoning for residential use, of the latest development in this respect;

    (e)as it has been stated in the Policy Address that 16 industrial sites, measuring 30 hectares in total, are suitable for rezoning for residential use, of the latest development in this respect;

    (f)of the number of residential sites sold by the Government each year from 2009 to 31 May of this year, together with a breakdown in table form by the class of residential sites (i.e. Residential Site Class A, B, C and D);

    (g)of the number of residential sites, as estimated by the Government, which will be sold each year from this year to 2017, together with a breakdown in table form by the class of residential sites;

    (h)of the number of applications for Pre-sale Consents being vetted for approval as at 31 May 2013, and the number of residential units involved; and

    (i)of the numbers of Certificates of Compliance and Consents to Assign issued by the Government during the period between 2009 and 31 May this year, as well as the respective numbers of residential units involved (set out in the table below)?

       Certificate of Compliance Consent to Assign
    2009 Number issued  
    Number of residential units involved  
    2010 Number issued  
    Number of residential units involved  
    2011 Number issued  
    Number of residential units involved  
    2012 Number issued  
    Number of residential units involved  
    2013
    (As at 31 ‍May)    		 Number issued  
    Number of residential units involved  
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

* For written reply

III. Bills



First Reading

Waste Disposal (Amendment) Bill 2013

Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)

Waste Disposal (Amendment) Bill 2013:Secretary for the Environment

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

Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2013:Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
to move Committee stage amendments

(The amendments were issued on 19 June 2013
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 697/12-13)

IV. Motions



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

The Chief Secretary for Administration to move the following motion:

Resolved that the following appointments be endorsed-

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

(b)the appointment of the Honourable Mr. Justice Patrick Chan Siu-oi as a non-permanent Hong Kong judge of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal pursuant to section 8 of the Ordinance;

(c)the appointment of the Honourable James Spigelman as a judge of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal from another common law jurisdiction pursuant to section 9 of the Ordinance; and

(d)the appointment of the Honourable William Gummow as a judge of the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal from another common law jurisdiction pursuant to section 9 of the Ordinance.

2.Proposed resolution under the Legal Aid Ordinance

Secretary for Home Affairs to move the following motion:

Resolved that the Legal Aid Ordinance (Cap. 91) be amended as set out in the Schedule.

Schedule

Amendments to Legal Aid Ordinance

1.Section 5 amended (persons eligible for legal aid)
Section 5(1)-
  Repeal
"$260,000"
Substitute
"$269,620".

2.Section 5A amended (supplementary legal aid)
Section 5A(b)-
  (a)Repeal
"$260,000"
Substitute
"$269,620";
  (b)Repeal
"$1,300,000"
Substitute
"$1,348,100".

V. Members' Motions



1.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. 19/12-13 of the House Committee laid on the Table of the Council on 26 June 2013 in relation to the subsidiary legislation and instrument(s) as listed below:

Item NumberTitle of Subsidiary Legislation or Instrument

(11)Business Registration Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 2) Order 2013 (L.N. 91/2013).

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

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

Hon LEUNG Kwok-hung to move the following motion:

That this Council appoints a select committee to inquire into the surrender by the Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange Limited of its authorization to provide automated trading services 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 Officer to attend : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

3.Concern about the expenditure of the West Kowloon Cultural District project

Hon Christopher CHUNG to move the following motion: (Translation)

That, the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority ('WKCDA') was established in 2008 and given a one-off upfront endowment of $21.6 billion by the Government to take forward the West Kowloon Cultural District ('WKCD') project; however, it has been confirmed that the construction cost of the Xiqu Centre, one of the Phase 1 cultural and arts facilities to be completed in 2016, increases drastically from the estimated $1.3 billion to $2.7 billion, making people worry about the WKCD project turning into a 'fiscal black hole'; given the possible serious overspending of various works under the WKCD project, this Council urges the Government to examine afresh the construction expenditure of the project, expeditiously give the public an account of the relevant particulars, formulate with WKCDA a more effective cost control proposal, increase the transparency of the expenditure of the WKCD project, and enhance its reporting to this Council on the progress and financial position of the WKCD project, so as to avoid the WKCD project not being monitored and becoming a 'white elephant project'.

Amendments to the motion
(i)Hon Tony TSE to move the following amendment: (Translation)

To add ", which has been given a one-off upfront endowment of $21.6 billion by the Government to take forward the West Kowloon Cultural District ('WKCD') project," after "('WKCDA')"; to delete "and given a one-off upfront endowment of $21.6 billion by the Government to take forward the West Kowloon Cultural District ('WKCD') project; however, it has been confirmed that" after "established in 2008" and substitute with ";"; to add "(Phase 1)" after "the Xiqu Centre"; to delete "increases drastically from the estimated $1.3 billion to $2.7 billion, making people worry" after "completed in 2016," and substitute with "has soared by 100% from the $1.3 billion estimated in 2006, and although WKCDA has indicated that it will strive to prudently contain the cost of the Xiqu Centre (Phase 1) within $2.7 billion, people are still worried"; to add "at the same time, among the assessment criteria of the Xiqu Centre design competition, the 'cost aspect/value for money' factor only accounts for 10%, which is relatively low, making people question the degree of importance attached by WKCDA to the value-for-money aspect of the entire WKCD project;" after "'fiscal black hole';"; to add "which includes giving more consideration to value for money and pricing in respect of the design assessment, selection of works materials, tendering arrangements and scale of works, etc. of the WKCD project," after "cost control proposal,"; and to add "make proper use of public money," after "expenditure of the WKCD project,".

(ii)Hon CHAN Yuen-han to move the following amendment: (Translation)

To add "to dovetail with the long-term cultural and arts development, the Government established" after "That,"; to delete "was established in 2008 and given" after "('WKCDA')" and substitute with "in 2008 and has provided"; to delete "by the Government" after "$21.6 billion"; to add "more than" after "$1.3 billion to"; to add "and the expenditure of the entire WKCD project may also more than double to $47 billion, resulting in a need to reduce the number of the cultural and arts facilities undertaken to be constructed and the slow-down of the works progress, and reflecting the maladministration of the present WKCDA management; the reasons may be WKCDA's over-reliance on hiring high-priced foreign consultancy firms and overseas management personnel with no cultural literacy in the works planning process, etc.," after "$2.7 billion,"; to add "ultimately" after "worry about the WKCD project"; to add "and the resources for developing local culture and arts being compressed due to its excessive claim of resources" after "'fiscal black hole'"; to delete "enhance its reporting to this Council" after "expenditure of the WKCD project, and" and substitute with "create a more open and fairer mechanism, enabling designers of local small and medium construction firms and cultural and arts management personnel, etc. to participate in the planning and management of the various works under the WKCD project, so as to expedite the transfer of arts administration and management knowledge, save expenses on hiring experts from overseas, establish the WKCD project as the 'home' and base of Hong Kong arts workers and organizations, and promote the popularization and internationalization of Hong Kong arts; the Government should also ensure that the construction of all cultural and arts facilities under the WKCD project are fully implemented with the originally approved $21.6 billion, and urge WKCDA to report monthly to this Council and the public"; and to add ", and failing to achieve the original intents of encouraging territory-wide participation and promoting local culture and arts despite spending a lot of public money" immediately before the full stop.

(iii)Dr Hon Priscilla LEUNG to move the following amendment: (Translation)

To add "after many years of gestation and preparation," after "That,"; to add ", which is responsible for managing and operating the largest cultural and arts project in Hong Kong history," after "('WKCDA')"; and to add "; while examining the expenditure of the WKCD project, the Government should ensure that the relevant works expenditure can bring employment opportunities to local professionals and workers, enabling Hong Kong's economy to directly benefit from the WKCD project; in addition, the relevant works expenditure should also drive the construction of waterfront facilities and various road transport ancillary facilities surrounding WKCD, expedite the pace of improving the harbour water quality, promote the development of Hong Kong's cultural software to nurture more culture and arts appreciators, and capitalize on Hong Kong's advantage of cultural diversity to provide ethnic minorities and local cultural workers with performance platforms, so as to realize the vision of 'People's WKCD'" immediately before the full stop.

(iv)Hon Cyd HO to move the following amendment: (Translation)

To add "to promote the local cultural policy," after "That,"; and to add ", and increase the funding to WKCDA for software for cultural development, and ensure that WKCDA discharges its responsibility of protecting artists' freedom of creation and expression, while making good use of the funding" immediately before the full stop.

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

To delete ", the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority ('WKCDA') was established in 2008 and given a one-off upfront endowment of $21.6 billion by the Government to take forward the West Kowloon Cultural District ('WKCD') project; however," after "That" and substitute with "the planning of the West Kowloon Cultural District ('WKCD') project was initiated by the Hong Kong Government as far back as the early 2000s, and the works project has been delayed over the years;"; to delete ", making people worry about the WKCD project turning into a 'fiscal black hole'; given the possible serious overspending of various works under the WKCD project" after "$2.7 billion" and substitute with "; as the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority ('WKCDA') has projected that the estimated construction costs of other construction items under the WKCD project also face upward pressure"; to delete "examine afresh the construction expenditure of the project, expeditiously give the public an account of the relevant particulars" after "urges the Government to" and substitute with ", on the premise of encouraging the freedom of cultural and creative pursuits, examine afresh and give the public an account of the construction expenditure of the Xiqu Centre project, introduce reasonable funding principles in respect of the whole WKCD project"; to delete "of the expenditure" after "increase the transparency"; and to delete ", so as to avoid the WKCD project not being monitored and becoming a 'white elephant project'" immediately before the full stop.

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

To delete "however" after "('WKCD') project;" and substitute with "due to the big rise in construction cost and changes in planning and development, etc. in recent years"; to delete "making people worry about the WKCD project turning into" after "$2.7 billion," and substitute with "causing the WKCD project to give people an impression of"; to add "; it is reported that the original endowment for the WKCD project is insufficient to cope with the entire project, making people worry that the works progress will be affected and the number of facilities planned to be constructed will be reduced, thus frustrating the expectations of the cultural sector and the public for the project" after "'fiscal black hole'"; to add "planning, design strategies, tendering procedures and" after "examine afresh the"; to add "and more stringent" after "a more effective"; and to delete "so as to avoid the WKCD project" after "financial position of the WKCD project," and substitute with "and, on the premise of adopting the aforesaid various cost control measures, to maintain with a pragmatic attitude the overall quality and progress of the WKCD project, and based on actual needs, to appropriately increase financial resources to ensure that the WKCD project is implemented as originally planned and scheduled, so as to honour the undertakings to the industries and society, and avoid making people feel that the WKCD project is".

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

To delete "and" after "expenditure of the WKCD project,"; and to delete "so as to" after "financial position of the WKCD project," and substitute with "and study the introduction of an arts accountability system to render the operation of cultural and arts facilities cost-effective; to ensure the proper use of public money, the Government should also strengthen the WKCDA Consultation Panel by including representatives of the business sector, the academia, the arts and cultural sector and professional sectors, strictly implement the provisions of section 20 of the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority Ordinance to open up meetings of the WKCDA Consultation Panel to the public (including stakeholders of the WKCD project) and, through holding public forums, to enable various sectors to express views on the WKCD project (including the relevant expenditure), so as to build a true 'West Kowloon for the People' and".

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

To add ", and ensure that the endowment given to WKCDA is properly used for fostering local culture, promoting local arts, training local arts talents and taking forward projects with local characteristics, thereby enabling the WKCD project to showcase to the international community the achievements and values of local culture and arts" immediately before the full stop.

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

To add ", and ensure that the endowment is used for promoting and conserving local culture" immediately before the full stop.

(x)Hon Emily LAU to move the following amendment: (Translation)

To add ", and ensure that the various cultural and arts facilities can meet the principles of creative arts, user needs, environmental protection and energy conservation, while achieving cost-effectiveness" immediately before the full stop.

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Home Affairs

4.Enhancing the quality and quantity of local tertiary education

Dr Hon Kenneth CHAN to move the following motion: (Translation)

That this Council urges the Administration to take appropriate measures to increase local youngsters' opportunities to receive subsidized tertiary education, enhance the quality of local tertiary education, and safeguard academic freedom; the specific measures should include:

(1)to increase the number of places under subsidized undergraduate programmes for the enrolment of local students;

(2)to immediately conduct a comprehensive review of the various existing financial assistance and loan schemes for tertiary students, so as to provide interest-free loans for qualified tertiary students;

(3)to set up an independent body to handle complaints from the teaching staff of tertiary institutions and protect the rights of complainants;

(4)to review the existing research grant system and allocate additional resources to promote diversified academic research;

(5)to set up an independent statutory body to monitor the operation and quality of self-financing tertiary institutions;

(6)to allocate additional land to support the development of the various tertiary institutions; and

(7)to increase the exchange and internship opportunities for tertiary students in different countries and places.

Amendments to the motion
(i)Hon Gary FAN to move the following amendment: (Translation)

To add "in recent years, the number of non-local students enrolling in publicly-funded tertiary education programmes has continued to rise, and the proportion of non-local student enrolment in research postgraduate programmes in the 2011-2012 academic year was even as high as 72%; they are from homogeneous places of origin, mainly from Mainland China; in this connection," after "That"; to delete "number of places under" before "subsidized undergraduate programmes" and substitute with "proportion of local student enrolment in"; to delete "for the enrolment of local students" after "subsidized undergraduate programmes"; to delete "and" after "various tertiary institutions;"; and to add "; (8) to study the restoration of the ceiling of non-local student enrolment 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; (9) to increase the proportion of local student enrolment in research postgraduate programmes, and encourage local students to conduct research work; (10) to review the policies on offering self-financing taught master programmes and admitting students to such programmes; (11) to increase the number of articulation places for associate degree students for the degree programmes of local universities; (12) to require various institutions in Hong Kong to put local education first and not to blindly compete for entering the Mainland to set up branch campuses; (13) to encourage various institutions to give priority to employing local academics when their qualifications are on a par with those of foreign academics, and put forward measures for eradicating institutions' discrimination against local academics in areas such as teaching ranks, post titles, employment conditions, remunerations, fringe benefits, and the right to participate in the governance structure, etc.; (14) to maintain the diversity of Hong Kong's education and the balance between the average humanistic quality and knowledge in society, to allocate more resources for supporting various institutions in developing disciplines such as arts, social science, language science, pure science and fine arts, etc., which relatively lack the ability to attract research funding from the market, so as to avoid the lopsided development of university education towards the market and the industrial and commercial industries; and (15) to study the enhancement of monitoring of fee charging by post-secondary colleges and private universities, and set up an independent mechanism for handling complaints about fee charging and arbitration to avoid any unreasonable and unfair fee charging, so as to protect students' rights and interests" immediately before the full stop.

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

To add ", as upgrading young people's academic qualifications is conducive to enhancing Hong Kong's overall competitiveness," after "That"; to add "to increase the number of subsidized university places, and" after "(1)"; to add "(2) to study the setting up of a post-secondary education fund for subsidizing sub-degree graduates to study in self-financing tertiary institutions;" after "local students;"; to delete the original "(2)" and substitute with "(3)"; to delete the original "(3)" and substitute with "(4)"; to delete "set up an independent body to handle complaints from the teaching staff of tertiary institutions and" before "protect the rights of complainants;" and substitute with "examine the various tertiary institutions' implementation of the guidelines of best practices in teaching staff redress mechanisms recommended by the University Grants Committee and assess their effectiveness, so as to"; to delete the original "(4)" and substitute with "(5)"; to delete the original "(5)" and substitute with "(6)"; to delete the original "(6)" and substitute with "(7)"; and to delete the original "(7)" and substitute with "(8)".

(iii)Hon KWOK Wai-keung to move the following amendment: (Translation)

To add ", a survey has earlier pointed out that in Hong Kong, the disparity between children of poor families and those of rich families in receiving university education has been widening day by day, making people worry that Hong Kong's tertiary education cannot effectively provide the grassroots with quality education for achieving the effects of getting rid of poverty and social mobility," after "That"; to add "the opportunities for" after "measures to increase"; to delete "' opportunities" after "local youngsters" and substitute with ", particularly indigent students,"; to add "to enable youngsters to have an equal opportunity to receive tertiary education," after "academic freedom;"; to add ", and reduce the exorbitant costs and long-term debts borne by indigent students for receiving higher education, so that the student financial assistance schemes can achieve the desired effects to enable more indigent students to receive tertiary education" after "qualified tertiary students"; to add "fees," after "monitor the"; to delete "and" after "various tertiary institutions;"; and to add "; (8) to review the existing admission and assessment system of tertiary education to enable students from various categories of subsidized secondary schools as well as different social classes and strata to have an equal opportunity to further their studies in universities; and (9) to enhance the practicality of programmes offered by tertiary institutions, and strengthen vocational education for students" immediately before the full stop.

(iv)Hon Michael TIEN to move the following amendment: (Translation)

To add ", as a research report of an international organization pointed out last year that Hong Kong people's English standard was declining," after "That"; to add "and tertiary students' English proficiency" after "local tertiary education"; to add "(1) to carry on the English Enhancement Scheme and the Refined English Enhancement Scheme under the Language Fund to continuously enhance English teachers' language proficiency, so as to enhance the English standard of prospective university students; (2) to introduce a compulsory exit English examination, under which students enrolling in subsidized and self-financing degree and sub-degree programmes must undergo an English language assessment before graduation and have their English assessment results shown in their graduation certificates, so as to make students face up to the importance of English and encourage them to make efforts to raise their English standard;" after "should include:"; to delete the original "(1)" and substitute with "(3)"; to delete the original "(2)" and substitute with "(4)"; to add "the means-tested and" after "interest-free loans for"; to delete "(3) to set up an independent body to handle complaints from the teaching staff of tertiary institutions and protect the rights of complainants;" after "qualified tertiary students;"; to delete the original "(4)" and substitute with "(5)"; to delete the original "(5)" and substitute with "(6)"; to delete the original "(6)" and substitute with "(7)"; and to delete the original "(7)" and substitute with "(8)".

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

To add ", increase the channels for associate degree graduates for further studies in subsidized universities, and set a ceiling on the number of places for non-local students enrolling in research postgraduate programmes" after "local students".

(vi)Hon CHAN Chi-chuen to move the following amendment: (Translation)

To add ", set a quota of places under postgraduate programmes for priority enrolment of local students" after "grant system"; and to add "and local-related" after "promote diversified".

(vii)Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG to move the following amendment: (Translation)

To delete "and" after "various tertiary institutions;"; and to add "; (8) to carry out democratization of school administration in tertiary institutions, and allow teaching staff and students to participate in deciding the policies of institutions, including the selection of vice-chancellors, so as to improve the quality of governance in institutions; and (9) to ensure that tertiary institutions should adopt serving Hong Kong and communities as their mission, including increasing the proportion of local students in the postgraduate student population, encouraging academics to conduct local and community research, and encouraging institutions to strengthen ties with their respective communities, so as to promote relations with communities and enable communities to support the development of institutions for enhancing the quality of education" immediately before the full stop.

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Education

Clerk to the Legislative Council