A 14/15-8
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 3 December 2014 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers
| Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments | L.N. No. | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Electronic Transactions Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 1) Order 2014 | 141/2014 |
| 2. | Employees Retraining Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 2) Notice 2014 | 142/2014 |
Other Papers
II. Questions
1. Hon LEUNG Kwok-hung to ask: (Translation)
Quite a number of members of the public have complained to me that as subsidized housing is in short supply, members of the public who are waiting to move in such housing are forced to rent private accommodation. However, despite the implementation of a series of measures by the Government in recent years to cool down the overheated property market, residential property prices still continue to rise which pushes up rentals continuously, causing members of the public enormous hardship. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective expected numbers of public housing estates and Home Ownership Scheme courts which will be ready for intake within the coming nine months, and set out in a table their names, the districts in which they are located, the numbers of flats to be provided and intake dates; (2) whether it will introduce new measures for cooling down the overheated property market within the coming six months to bring down residential property prices and rentals; if it will, of the details; if not, how the Government addresses the public demand for housing; and (3) given the short supply of subsidized housing, whether the authorities will implement rent control measures again to make rented private accommodation affordable to members of the public; if they will, when they will introduce such measures; if not, what more effective measures the Government has in place to help members of the public rent private accommodation at reasonable rents?
2. Hon CHAN Han-pan to ask: (Translation)
The Government released the Railway Development Strategy 2014 ("the Strategy") earlier, initially recommending the implementation of seven new railway projects between 2018 and 2026. However, the exclusion of the Coastal Railway between Tuen Mun and Tsuen Wan from the Strategy has disappointed quite a number of residents who have been striving for this railway for years. They are also worried that the future population growth in New Territories West will overload the railway network. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the details of the residential development projects that will be built along the West Rail and completed within the next decade, including the additional population and traffic demand to be brought about by these projects; (2) given that the new railway projects include the addition of Hung Shui Kiu Station to the West Rail Line, the construction of the Tuen Mun South Extension, and the construction of the Northern Link with Kwu Tung Station which connects the East Rail Line and the West Rail Line, whether the authorities have assessed the additional patronage that will be brought to the West Rail Line by these new railway projects upon completion; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether it has studied if the railway network after completion of the new railway projects will be able to cope with the traffic demand to be generated by future population growth in New Territories West; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; of the short, medium and long term measures, e.g. increasing the number of cars on each train, enhancing train frequencies or taking forward new railway projects, etc., to be implemented by the authorities to cope with the situation of a significant population growth in New Territories West and the West Rail Line reaching its carrying capacity?
3. Ir Dr Hon LO Wai-kwok to ask: (Translation)
At present, the registration requirements for quite a number of professions (e.g. registered electrical workers) include work experience in the relevant industries. Recently, an electrical worker has asked for my assistance, saying that his former employer refused to provide him with documentary proofs of his electrical work experience, rendering his application for registration unsuccessful. On the other hand, in accordance with the Recognition of Prior Learning ("RPL") mechanism under the Qualifications Framework ("QF"), an RPL applicant may obtain a statement of attainment at QF Levels 1 to 3 simply by producing documentary proofs of years of service and work experience in the relevant industries verified by an assessment agency without the need to undergo any assessment. It is learnt that at present, there is no statutory requirement for employers to provide documentary proofs of work experience upon the requests of employees or former employees. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) in each of the past five years, of the numbers of requests for assistance and complaints received by the authorities in relation to employers' alleged refusal to provide documentary proofs of work experience upon the requests of employees or former employees; (2) given that at present, there is no statutory requirement for employers to provide employees or former employees with documentary proofs of work experience, whether the authorities have assessed the difficulties faced by RPL applicants in obtaining such documents; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether the authorities will review the existing legislation to require employers to provide documentary proofs of work experience upon reasonable requests of their employees or former employees, so as to perfect the relevant registration system and the RPL mechanism; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
4. Hon CHUNG Kwok-pan to ask: (Translation)
The Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect ("S-HK SC"), implemented since the 17th of last month, has widened the investment channels between Shanghai and Hong Kong. The Government envisages that driven by S HK SC, the capital markets of the two places will gradually move towards integration, enabling the finance industry of Hong Kong to expand and enhancing Hong Kong's competitiveness, thereby transforming Hong Kong into a premier gateway for international capital to make investments on the Mainland. Investors may directly invest, through the S-HK SC platform, in specified types of stocks listed in Shanghai and Hong Kong. Besides, the abolition of the daily exchange limit of Renminbi imposed on Hong Kong people also facilitates financial transactions. Nonetheless, since the launch of S-HK SC, utilization of the investment quotas is well below market expectations, and S HK SC has failed to boost the prices of Hong Kong stocks substantially, with investors giving lukewarm response to southbound investments on Hong Kong stocks under the Southbound Trading Link in particular. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as some members of the securities industry have pointed out that utilization of the quotas in the Southbound Trading Link has lagged far behind that in the Northbound Trading Link in the first week since the launch of S-HK SC because major mainland institutional investors including public funds and insurance companies, etc. are still waiting for the publication of relevant investment guidelines by regulatory organizations, whether the authorities have examined why such investors are not yet ready given that S-HK SC was in the pipeline for a long time; whether the authorities have, in collaboration with the relevant mainland authorities, formulated any mechanism to jointly review the specific impacts of S-HK SC on the securities markets in the two places; (2) whether the authorities have assessed if S-HK SC will lead to the situation of "southern capital being channelled to the north", which means that a large amount of money originally invested in Hong Kong stocks is transferred to invest in Shanghai stocks; if they have assessed, of the outcome; whether the authorities will introduce more policies to attract capital inflow to invest in Hong Kong stocks, such as further cooperation with the relevant mainland departments to enable more mainland institutional investors to get familiar with the securities market in Hong Kong, as well as encourage and facilitate these investors to invest in Hong Kong stocks; and (3) as there are differences in the law and regulations governing the securities markets in Shanghai and Hong Kong, whether the authorities will provide assistance to Hong Kong investors who have encountered legal problems or disputes when making investments in mainland stocks; if they will, from which government department(s) the investors may seek assistance; how the authorities will tackle the issues concerned so as to protect small investors and further enhance the connectivity between the securities markets in Shanghai and Hong Kong; of the measures to be put in place in future to help investors in the two places to understand the respective law and regulations governing the securities markets in the two places?
5. Hon Cyd HO to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that since the 7th of last month, nine Hong Kong residents with no criminal records either in Hong Kong or on the Mainland have been refused entry one after another by mainland border officials when they headed for the Mainland. These residents include a non-core member of Scholarism, a volunteer of Scholarism who is also an intern assistant to a Legislative Council Member, three university student union members or university students having participated in the "Umbrella Movement" ("the Movement"), a stewardess-on-duty who is allegedly a supporter of the Movement, and three representatives of the Hong Kong Federation of Students ("HKFS") who intended to go to Beijing on the 15th of last month. The reasons given for refusing their entry include their participation in activities which violated national security or affected national diplomacy, as well as "contravention of the relevant rules". Some members of the public have expressed the concern that some law enforcement personnel from outside Hong Kong have come to the territory to monitor the activities of members of the public, with a view to restricting the freedom of Hong Kong residents to travel to and from the Mainland. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has monitored the activities of various social movement organizations such as Scholarism and HKFS as well as their members, and the activities of those members of the public who have participated in the Movement; whether it has kept a blacklist of social activists and forwarded such a blacklist to the mainland authorities; (2) of the existing legislation that protects members of the public from the monitoring of their activities by law enforcement personnel from outside Hong Kong, and the channels through which members of the public may lodge complaints or seek assistance when they suspect that their activities have been monitored by law enforcement personnel from outside Hong Kong, so as to protect their privacy; and (3) whether the existing legislation has any requirement for law enforcement personnel from outside Hong Kong to obtain the authorization by the relevant authorities for undertaking monitoring activities in Hong Kong; if there is such a requirement, whether the authorities instituted any prosecution in the past three years against law enforcement personnel from outside Hong Kong who had undertaken monitoring activities in Hong Kong without authorization; if there is no such requirement, whether the authorities will consider making amendments to the Interception of Communications and Surveillance Ordinance to regulate such acts of monitoring; if they will not consider, of the reasons for that?
6. Hon Ronny TONG to ask: (Translation)
In as early as 2009 when the Finance Committee of this Council vetted and approved the funding proposal for the project to construct the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link ("XRL"), I pointed out that it would be difficult to implement the arrangements of co location of boundary control facilities proposed by the authorities for XRL because under the Basic Law, mainland law enforcement agencies were not allowed to perform law enforcement work such as immigration control within the territory of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("SAR"). The relevant articles of the Basic Law include Article 18 which stipulates that national laws to be applied in SAR shall be listed in Annex III and only laws outside the limits of the autonomy of SAR may be listed in Annex III; and Article 22, which provides that all offices set up in SAR by departments of the Central Government, etc. and the personnel of these offices shall abide by the laws of SAR. On the other hand, while the Government said in May this year that there would be delay and cost overruns in the XRL Project, the overseas experts commissioned by the MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL") have pointed out recently that there are two-thirds probability of having further cost overruns and one-third probability of having further delay in the commissioning date. As the cost effectiveness of XRL will be affected by the implementation of the co-location arrangements or otherwise as well as by delay and cost overruns in the XRL Project, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the concrete means to solve the legal problem pertaining to the implementation of the co-location arrangements in SAR; the current progress of such work and when the problem is expected to be solved; whether it has assessed, in the event that the co-location arrangements cannot be implemented upon the commissioning of XRL, if the speed of XRL trains will be reduced or even reduced to a level comparable to that of the through trains, thus rendering XRL being unable to achieve the anticipated cost effectiveness because of the need for XRL train passengers to alight at the border for immigration clearance and then re-board the train; if the assessment outcome is in the negative, of the justifications for that; (2) given that the co-location arrangements may not be implemented upon the commissioning of XRL, resulting in XRL trains having to operate at a normal speed within the SAR territory, whether the Government has plans in place to implement options that can reduce the construction cost of XRL should such a situation occur; if it does, of the options; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) given that the aforesaid experts have recommended that MTRCL should re-evaluate the cost once every six months as well as set a probability based key performance indicator, and that MTRCL should be required to report to the Capital Works Committee immediately if the probability of the Project achieving the timely completion and projected cost has decreased by 5% or more, whether the authorities will require MTRCL to implement such recommendations; if they will not, of the reasons for that; which party will bear further cost overruns of XRL; if MTRCL will, how the authorities ensure that MTRCL will not pass the cost onto the public by increasing its fares or through other means?
*7. Hon Tony TSE to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that two professors were respectively given approval by the University of Hong Kong and The Chinese University of Hong Kong, where they teach, for about one month's suspension from teaching work for the purpose of organizing and participating in an illegal occupation movement. Some members of the public have pointed out that the University Grants Committee ("UGC") is duty-bound to monitor the institutions funded by it ("UGC-funded institutions") on matters relating to their processing of teaching staff members' applications for suspension from teaching work, as well as their personnel policies for dealing with teaching staff members who have committed criminal offences, so as to ensure that such institutions have good governance and use public money properly. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
(1) whether UGC has approached UGC-funded institutions to gain an understanding of their mechanisms for processing applications of teaching staff members for suspension from teaching work, including the circumstances under which such applications will be approved, the longest duration of suspension from teaching work, and the arrangements to be made by the institutions to avoid students' learning and the operation of the institutions being affected, etc.; if UGC has looked into the matter, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether UGC has requested UGC-funded institutions to assess the impacts of their teaching staff members suspended from teaching work on aspects such as the operation of the institutions and the use of public money etc.; if the institutions have conducted such an assessment, of the details and the measures to reduce such impacts; if not, the reasons for that, and whether they will conduct such an assessment in future; (3) whether UGC has requested UGC-funded institutions to review if it was appropriate for them to grant approval for teaching staff members to suspend from teaching work for the purpose of organizing and participating in an illegal occupation movement, and whether this was in line with the principle of using public money properly; if the institutions have conducted such a review, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and whether UGC will request these institutions to conduct such a review; and (4) whether UGC has looked into the existing personnel policies of UGC-funded institutions regarding how to deal with teaching staff members convicted of having committed criminal offences, including the arrangements pertaining to the teaching posts, remunerations and fringe benefits of the teaching staff member concerned; if UGC has looked into the matter, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*8. Hon Frankie YICK to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that while the number of school private light buses (commonly called "nanny vans") has been increasing in recent years, there is a serious shortage of light bus parking spaces which can be used for parking nanny vans. As a result, many nanny van drivers park their vehicles illegally on the roadside. On the other hand, there are quite a number of vacant parking spaces for goods vehicles in the car parks under The Link Management Limited ("The Link") but, owing to the restrictions under the land lease conditions, they may not be rented for use by nanny vans. The Link has to apply to the Lands Department ("LandsD") and pay fees should it wish to change the uses of some of the parking spaces for parking other types of vehicles. Moreover, the shortage of parking spaces for nanny vans is further aggravated by The Link's policy of according priority to the light buses of social welfare organizations in renting the light bus parking spaces in its car parks. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of additional nanny vans in each of the past three years and the current total number of nanny vans; whether it knows the current number of light bus parking spaces in the car parks under The Link and such number in these car parks before they were taken over by The Link; (2) of the details of the applications made by The Link to LandsD for waivers of the lease conditions to change the uses of some of its car parking spaces for parking other types of vehicles (including the number and results of the applications made) since its takeover of the relevant car parks, and a breakdown, by new use, of the number of parking spaces which have been approved for changing their uses; (3) whether the authorities will request The Link to review the demand and supply situation of the parking spaces for various types of vehicles in its car parks, and make a one-off application to LandsD for changing some of its parking spaces to light bus parking spaces, in order to provide more light bus parking spaces which can be used for parking nanny vans; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) apart from providing more light bus parking spaces in the car parks under The Link, of the authorities' measures to alleviate the shortage of parking spaces for nanny vans?
*9. Hon SIN Chung-kai to ask: (Translation)
It is learnt that the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau earlier issued a circular to various departments requesting them to cut their expenditure in each of the two financial years starting from 2016-2017 by 1%. In his blog of 3 August this year, the Financial Secretary ("FS") explained that in view of the rapid growth in government expenditure over the past few years which would result in structural deficits and coupled with the forecast of a weaker economy for this year, it was imperative for the Government to cut the growth of government expenditure by, among others, suspending the acceptance of Resource Allocation Exercise ("RAE") bids from departments for increase of recurrent expenditure, and demanding departments to achieve an annual 1% savings of their expenditure while the resources thus saved would be centrally re-allocated for launching new projects to be included in the Policy Address for the coming year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the Government's suspension of the acceptance of RAE bids from departments is an indication of a leading role played by the Policy Address in the control of the finance of the Government, while the role of the Budget will dwindle; (2) whether it has estimated the amount of annual savings in government expenditure to be achieved as a result of the measure of cutting 1% of the expenditure of government departments; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) whether it has assessed the impacts of the aforesaid measure of cutting expenditure on the departments' provision of existing services and implementation of policies; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (4) of the reasons why the Government requests the departments to cut 1% of their expenditure across the board, instead of proposing different percentages of expenditure cut in light of the practical needs of individual departments; (5) given that the demand by the public for government services has been increasing, whether it has assessed the impacts of the annual 1% expenditure cut on people's livelihood; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (6) given that FS has indicated limited new resources for a period in the future, whether it has assessed if such a situation will affect the development of new services by the departments; if it has, of the details?
*10. Hon James TIEN to ask: (Translation)
The Government indicated in a press release issued earlier that the cost of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge ("HZMB") - Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities (HKBCF) project ("the Project") might exceed the approved project estimate by $5 billion. The cost overrun is attributable mainly to a surge in wage levels of construction workers, prices of construction materials and machinery, etc. in recent years, resulting in the tender prices/estimated tender prices for the works contracts awarded/to be awarded being higher than the estimates in 2011. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that the authorities indicated in a paper submitted to the Public Works Subcommittee ("PWSC") of this Council on 14th October this year that there was a need to increase the estimated expenditure of the Project by an amount "above $500 million", of the reasons for the substantial increase in the amount of cost overrun to "about $5 billion" as indicated in the press release issued on 6th November, i.e. a lapse of less than a month; (2) of the approved estimated expenditure on the various expenditure items under the Project for which cost overrun may occur and the estimated amounts of cost overrun to be incurred; whether it has assessed if the final amount of cost overrun will exceed $5 billion; if the assessment outcome is in the affirmative, of the reasons for that; (3) of the expected time for submitting applications for supplementary provision for the Project to PWSC and the Finance Committee of this Council; (4) whether it has assessed if the cost overrun of the Project will have any impact on the toll of HZMB in future; (5) whether it will consider importing foreign construction workers for the Project with a view to resolving the problem of project delay and rising cost due to shortage of labour; (6) whether it has gained an understanding of the work progress of the HZMB-related projects in Zhuhai and Macao and whether those projects have experienced any cost overrun, and compared the situation of those projects with that of the Project; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (7) whether measures are in place to ensure that the completion date of the Project dovetails with that of the HZMB-related projects in Zhuhai and Macao, so that HZMB will be commissioned as scheduled; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*11. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)
The Residential Properties (First-hand Sales) Ordinance (Cap. 621) ("the Ordinance") came into effect on 29 April 2013, and the Sales of First-hand Residential Properties Authority ("SRPA") is responsible for the implementation of the Ordinance. Last month, the Consumer Council published a "Study on the Sales of First-hand Residential Properties ("the Study"). The Study points out that while the Ordinance has been enforced for one and a half years, the sales process of first-hand residential properties is still currently plagued with various problems, including that sales brochures have voluminous information but lack key information such as property management fees, not all units included in the price lists are for sale thus confusing prospective buyers, multiple "registrations of intent" by the same person is allowed hence inflating the demand, etc. The Study also makes a number of recommendations for improvements. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) since the Ordinance came into effect, (i) of the number of complaints received by SRPA relating to the sale of first-hand residential properties, and the number of property developments involved, (ii) of the number of first-hand property developments the sales materials of which have been scrutinized by SRPA, as well as the problems identified and the contraventions of the Ordinance detected as a result; of the relevant recommendations for improvements that SRPA has given to developers and estate agents, as well as the penalties it imposed, and whether such recommendations have been implemented; if such recommendations have not been implemented, of the reasons for that; (2) since the Ordinance came into effect, of the number of property developments the sales offices of which have been inspected by SRPA in respect of the sale of first-hand residential properties; of the number of inspections in which SRPA staff posed as prospective buyers, as well as the problems identified and the contraventions of the Ordinance detected as a result; of the relevant recommendations for improvements that SRPA has given to developers and estate agents, as well as the penalties it has imposed, and whether such recommendations have been implemented; if such recommendations have not been implemented, of the reasons for that; (3) since the Ordinance came into effect, among the cases of alleged contraventions of the Ordinance that SRPA has detected, (i) of the number of cases which have been referred to the Estate Agents Authority for follow-up and, among such cases, the total amount of registration fees paid by estate agents on behalf of prospective buyers, as well as the respective numbers of estate agency companies and estate agents involved; (ii) of the number of cases which have been referred to the Department of Justice ("DoJ") after SRPA's investigations, the number and names of the first-hand property developments involved and, among such cases, the number of cases that DoJ is considering whether prosecutions should be instituted (broken down by name of the property development and nature of the case); (iii) of the follow-up actions taken for these cases of alleged contraventions, and the reasons why the authorities have so far not instituted any prosecution as well as the difficulties involved; (4) given that the provisions in the Ordinance regarding the prohibition of false or misleading information were modelled on the relevant provisions in Ordinances such as the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571), whether SRPA has made reference to the experience of prosecutions successfully instituted under the relevant Ordinances, with a view to boosting the success rate of the prosecutions concerned; whether the authorities will consider, by making reference to the relevant provisions in Cap. 571, introducing legislation to require developers to publish any information that may affect the prices of residential units, including the statistics on registrations of intent in order to enhance the transparency of the market, as well as empowering SRPA to seek orders from the court to restore the original position, so that those buyers who have suffered losses from the purchase of residential units due to false or misleading information may either restore their original positions or receive compensations, in order to step up the deterrent effect against bad sales practices; and (5) whether it has assessed the feasibility of the recommendations made by the Study (including measures such as to ensure that all units included in the price lists must be available for sales concurrently, to step up inspections against the offences of inflating the number of registrations of intent, and to schedule the sessions on balloting and property selection on different days, etc.), and whether it will consider making amendments to the Ordinance in order to implement these recommendations, so as to protect consumers' interests more effectively?
*12. Dr Hon Kenneth CHAN to ask: (Translation)
Currently, the Education Bureau ("EDB") has stipulated the ceilings on the application fee and registration fee which kindergartens ("KGs") may collect from parents of each student; and KGs must obtain prior approval from EDB before they may collect an application fee or registration fee exceeding the relevant ceiling. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows, in respect of the KGs in each District Council ("DC") district in each of the past three school years, (i) the number of enrolment applications received and the total amount of application fees collected by each KG on average, (ii) the name of the KG among them which collected the highest application fee and the amount involved, and (iii) the name of the KG among them which collected the highest total amount of application fees and the amount involved; (2) whether it knows, in respect of the KGs in each DC district in each of the past three school years, (i) the total amount of registration fees collected by each KG on average, and the total amount of such registration fees forfeited by each KG on average because the parents of students finally gave up the school places, (ii) the name of the KG among them which collected the highest registration fee and the amount involved, (iii) the name of the KG among them which collected the highest total amount of registration fees and the amount involved, and (iv) the name of the KG among them which forfeited the highest total amount of registration fees and the amount involved; (3) of the respective numbers of applications received by EDB in the past three school years for collection of an application fee or registration fee exceeding the relevant ceilings, and set out the following information of each application by name of school: (i) the amount of application fee or registration fee proposed to be collected, (ii) the grounds for making the application, and (iii) the application outcome; and (4) whether it has comprehensively reviewed the requirement on collection of application fees and registration fees by KGs as well as the mechanism for vetting and approval of applications for collection of an application fee or registration fee exceeding the relevant ceiling; if it has, of the details and the latest progress of the review; if not, the reasons for that?
*13. Hon WU Chi-wai to ask: (Translation)
The law banning trawling activities has come into operation since 31 December 2012 to protect the precious marine resources and ecosystem. However, some fishermen have pointed out that as the authorities have not conducted patrols and taken law enforcement actions on a regular basis, some local and mainland fishing vessels still carry out illegal trawling activities in Hong Kong waters from time to time. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of warnings issued to and prosecutions instituted against fishermen by the authorities for illegal trawling activities since the aforesaid law came into operation; the locations involved in such illegal activities as well as the lowest and highest penalties imposed on the convicted persons; (2) of the details of the enforcement actions taken by the authorities against illegal trawling activities (including the frequency of patrols conducted in these waters, deployment of manpower, notification mechanism and the average time taken to arrive at the scene upon receipt of reports); whether they have conducted a review to see if the existing regulatory efforts, law enforcement mechanism and penalties have sufficient deterrent effect; if they have, of the outcome of the review; if not, the reasons for that and whether they have plans to conduct such review; (3) whether various law enforcement departments (including the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, the Hong Kong Police Force and the Marine Department) have coordinated their work on combating illegal trawling activities; if they have, of the details; and (4) of the respective numbers of warnings issued to and prosecutions instituted against fishermen on mainland fishing vessels by the authorities for carrying out illegal trawling activities in Hong Kong waters since the aforesaid law came into operation; whether local and mainland law enforcement agencies have set up liaison mechanism and conducted joint law enforcement operations to combat illegal trawling activities carried out by mainland fishing vessels in Hong Kong waters; if they have, of the details?
*14. Hon Charles Peter MOK to ask: (Translation)
I have learnt that, in recent years, quite a number of advanced countries focusing on innovation and technology have put great emphasis on education relating to the four fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics ("STEM"), including the provision of through-train support on further education and career development, scholarships and academic selection for students studying in programmes relating to these subjects, with the aim of enhancing students' interests in taking such subjects. Also, these students are encouraged to set clear goals on further education and career development. Moreover, these countries proactively encourage women to pursue such subjects for the purpose of enhancing their capabilities in facing a society in which innovation and technology take the lead in economic development. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of a breakdown of the statistics on STEM-related subjects (including Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Design and Applied Technology, Information and Communication Technology, Science: Combined Science, Science: Integrated Science, and Technology and Living) among the Category A subjects of the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education ("HKDSE") Examination, in each of the Examinations held since 2012, and set out such information by subject in tables of the same format as Table 1;
Table 1 Subject: _________________
Year Number of male candidates Number of male candidates achieving Level 5 or above Number of female candidates Number of female candidates achieving Level 5 or above 2012 2013 2014 (2) whether it knows the breakdown of the statistics on the students admitted to STEM-related degree programmes offered by the tertiary institutions funded by the University Grants Committee ("UGC-funded institutions") in each year since the 2012-2013 academic year, and set out such information by department in tables of the same format as Table 2;
Table 2 department: _________________
Academic year Number of male local students Number of female local students Total number of local students Number of male non-local students Number of female non-local students Total number of non-local students 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015 (3) whether it has assessed if the local education policy has placed emphasis on the development of certain subjects; if the assessment outcome is in the affirmative, of the details and justifications for that; if the assessment outcome is in the negative, whether it will enhance the support for certain subjects in the light of the needs of Hong Kong; whether measures are currently in place to encourage students to take STEM-related subjects (such as providing scholarships and programmes for further education, etc.) and to encourage graduates to join relevant industries; if so, of the details; (4) whether it has estimated the total number of posts and the number of vacancies that will be offered by STEM-related industries in the coming five years; if it has, of the details and a breakdown of the numbers by job nature; if not, whether it will make such an estimation and conduct a review of the relevant education policies based on the outcome; of the existing arrangements for recognition of qualifications for STEM-related industries, as well as the relevant statistics; and (5) whether the authorities currently have measures in place to increase the proportion of female local students taking STEM-related subjects in HKDSE Examination, as well as the proportion of female local students enrolling in STEM-related degree programmes offered by UGC-funded institutions; if they do, of the details; if not, whether the authorities will implement specific measures to attract female students to take those subjects; if they will, of the details and timetable?
*15. Dr Hon Elizabeth QUAT to ask: (Translation)
According to the "Hong Kong Blueprint for Sustainable Use of Resources 2013-2022" ("Blueprint") published by the Environment Bureau in May last year, the construction waste loads to landfills have dropped by some 60% after the imposition of charges for the disposal of construction waste in Hong Kong. However, the latest data show that in 2011 and 2012, the construction waste loads delivered to landfills for disposal were still as high as about 3 300 and 3 400 tonnes per day respectively, accounting for 25% of the total waste intake per day. In connection with the improvement in the handling of construction waste, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective loads of construction waste delivered to landfills and public fill reception facilities in 2013; if the relevant information is not available, when it will conduct a survey on this and announce the figures; (2) as it was stated in the Blueprint that the Government would carry out trade consultation from 2013 to 2015 regarding review of construction waste charging scheme, of the progress of such consultation; (3) apart from charging for the disposal of construction waste, whether the authorities have other plans or measures to reduce the generation of construction waste; if they do, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (4) whether it will allocate more resources and enhance cooperation with the construction trade to promote green construction, including introducing low carbon elements in construction processes, reducing the generation of construction waste, using green building materials, and recycling construction waste; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (5) whether it will study the adoption of other measures to facilitate the recycling of construction waste; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (6) given that sand and silt often drip from skips during transportation of construction waste and, even worse, wood panels and other large-size construction waste have fallen from skips, thereby posing hazards to other road users, whether the Government has any plan to impose regulation by requiring that skips must be of closed type; if it has such plans, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*16. Hon Kenneth LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
The Government commissioned a consultancy study in 2008 to assess the impacts of climate change on Hong Kong, and to recommend long-term strategies and measures. The study outcome recommended a reduction in carbon intensity by 50% to 60% by 2020 when compared with the 2005 level. To achieve the target, the study outcome also recommended the adoption of a strategy and action agenda. Subsequently, the Government launched a public consultation in September 2010, and released a report on the public consultation on Hong Kong's Climate Change Strategy and Action Agenda ("the Agenda") in April this year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the implementation timetable of the Agenda; the relevant estimates and actual expenditures of various government departments in each of the past five years; (2) of the work arrangements and workflow (including the work of assignment, distribution, coordination, reporting, monitoring and evaluation, etc.) adopted by various government departments for implementing the Agenda; the staffing establishment involved (including the number of additional posts and internal staff deployment); whether they have provided on-the-job training for their staff; if so, of the expenditures involved; whether they have employed people with climate change related qualifications or professional backgrounds; if so, of the entry requirements of the relevant posts; if not, the reasons for that; (3) of the achievements of various government departments since the implementation of the Agenda; whether the authorities regularly measure the levels of carbon emissions and carbon intensity so as to assess the effectiveness of their work; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; of the latest work progress of various government departments; (4) given that the Synthesis Report on Climate Change was just released by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in early November this year, whether the authorities will review the various targets for greenhouse gas ("GHG") mitigation and climate change adaptation as set out in the Agenda, and make corresponding adjustments in the light of the Report; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (5) given that China and the United States ("US") issued the China-US Joint Announcement on Climate Change in early November this year, whether the authorities will review the common policy objectives, measures and modes of cooperation drawn up with the Pearl River Delta Region in respect of GHG mitigation and climate change adaptation; if they will, of the details and the specific tasks; if not, the reasons for that?
*17. Dr Hon LAM Tai-fai to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that in recent months, several major infrastructure projects have experienced significant cost overruns and delay one after another. These projects include the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Hong Kong Related Projects, Hong Kong Section of Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, Shatin to Central Link and South Island Line of MTR, Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai Boundary Control Point related works, West Kowloon Cultural District, etc. The amounts of such cost overruns range from a few billions to over 10 billion dollars. Some members of the public query the authorities' ability to control the expenditures and the progress of public works projects. They also worry that the public works projects under planning, including the Multi-purpose Sports Complex ("MPSC") at Kai Tak and the Three-Runway System Project at the Hong Kong International Airport ("TRS Project"), may also experience cost overruns and delay. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the following information in respect of each of the aforesaid works projects: (i) the latest cost estimates, (ii) the latest projected completion date, (iii) the projected amount of cost overrun, (iv) the projected amount of supplementary provisions to be sought from the Legislative Council ("LegCo"), and (v) the date for submission of application for supplementary provisions to the Finance Committee of this Council (set out in table form); (2) whether it has assessed the reasons for the cost overruns and delay of the aforesaid works projects, as well as whether blunders on the part of government officials in respect of personnel, finance, administration and policy-making are involved; if so, which government officials should be held responsible, and whether the officials concerned will be required to take the blame for the cost overruns and delay of these projects and resign; if such officials will not be required to do so, of the reasons for that; (3) whether it has reviewed the existing mechanisms for estimating project expeditures, and for monitoring and controlling the expenditures and progress of works projects, so as to minimize cost overruns and delay; if it has reviewed, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (4) whether it has, in view of the cost overruns in the aforesaid projects, stepped up the risk management of works projects and introduced a pain share/gain share mechanism; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (5) whether it has assessed the impacts of the delay of the aforesaid works projects on Hong Kong's economy and people's livelihood, the exchanges and co-operation between Hong Kong and the Mainland, the international image of Hong Kong, public confidence in the Government's governance, as well as LegCo's confidence in the Government's control of public works expenditures; if it has assessed, of the outcome; if not, the reasons for that; (6) as some of the aforesaid works projects are cross-border facilities, whether it knows the economic loss to the Mainland and the impacts on mainland people's livelihood brought by the delay of such projects; whether it has assessed if such delay will affect the Central Government's confidence in the ability and the governance of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; if it has assessed, of the outcome; if not, the reasons for that; (7) whether it has explored methods to enable the aforesaid works projects to catch up with the progress; if it has, of the details of such methods and the additional expenditures involved; if not, the reasons for that; (8) apart from the aforesaid works projects, of the public works projects cost overruns or delay of which have been confirmed, and the relevant details (including the latest cost estimates, amounts of cost overruns and details of such delay, etc.); (9) of the latest cost estimates and projected completion date of MPSC currently under planning; whether it has reviewed the planning of the project and taken measures, so as to ensure that neither cost overrun nor delay will occur; if it has reviewed and taken measures, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (10) of the latest cost estimates and projected completion date of the TRS Project; what feasible measures are in place to ensure that neither cost overrun nor delay will occur; whether it will draw up financial contingency plans for implementation when there is cost overrun so that the works can be completed without the need to seek the approval of the Finance Committee of this Council for supplementary provisions; (11) of the specific measures that it will take to prevent the public works projects under planning from experiencing cost overruns and delay; (12) whether it has assessed if the manpower supply of various trades of the construction industry in the coming five years can meet the manpower demand of the public works projects under planning; if it has assessed, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (13) whether it will review the policy on importation of construction workers afresh, so as to import sufficient construction workers to meet the manpower demand of major infrastructure projects and to reduce construction costs; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*18. Dr Hon Elizabeth QUAT to ask: (Translation)
Currently, quite a number of whole-day primary schools and secondary schools arrange lunch suppliers ("suppliers") to provide lunch for students at school. As the obesity rate among students in the 2011-2012 school year was as high as 20.9%, some parents are of the view that the Government should stringently monitor the quality of the lunch provided by suppliers in order to safeguard the health of students. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether suppliers are required to set out, for students' reference, the nutritional content of the food items on the menus provided to the students; if so, of the content of such requirements; if not, the reasons for that; (2) given that some suppliers call certain food combinations on the menus "nutritional meals" or "healthy meals", whether the authorities have conducted sample checks to ascertain if the nutritional content of such combinations meet the relevant standards in the Nutritional Guidelines on Lunch for Students issued by the Department of Health; if they have, of the findings; if not, the reasons for that; (3) whether the Government will provide suppliers with suggested food combinations for "nutritional meals" and "healthy meals" for their reference; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) of the obesity rate among students in the 2012-2013 school year; what new plans the Government has in place to encourage students to choose lunch food that meets the principle of a balanced diet, complemented by regular exercise, with a view to bringing down the obesity rate among students?
*19. Hon Mrs Regina IP to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that an experienced teacher of the subject of Liberal Studies ("LS") for senior secondary education has pointed out that the performance samples of those candidates who achieved the excellent result of Level 5 in the LS subject of the 2014 Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination, recently published by the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority, have displayed a distinct anti-government political attitude and showed that such candidates have failed to achieve the assessment objective that the candidates should be able "to consider and comment on different viewpoints in their handling of different issues" set out in the assessment framework of the LS subject. That teacher has also queried that the personal political stance of the markers might have influenced their assessment of the candidates. In addition, there are views that while one of the aims of the LS subject is to develop students' critical thinking skills, the term "critical thinking" has been translated into Chinese as "批判性思考" which makes students tend to be critical of others' views. Notwithstanding the recent translation of the term as "明辨性思考" by the Education Bureau ("EDB"), this new translation has not been adopted in the publications and web site of EDB across the board. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether EDB will conduct a review to see if the assessment standards adopted for the examination of the LS subject are too vague, and whether it will take measures to prevent markers' assessment of the candidates from being affected by their personal political stance; if it will, of the timetable for conducting such a review and taking such measures; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether EDB will take measures to clarify further the correct Chinese translation for "critical thinking" being "明辨性思考", and request all departments under EDB and all related organizations to use this Chinese translation uniformly; if it will not, of the reasons for that; and (3) as an Associate Professor of the Philosophy Department of the University of Hong Kong has pointed out that critical thinking should not be confused with being argumentative or being critical of other people, and that critical thinking skills should enable a person to understand the logical connections between ideas and to put the information collected into good use for analysing a subject in a comprehensive manner, whether EDB will make reference to the explanation of this scholar and review its current description of the meaning of the term "critical thinking"; if it will not, of the reasons for that?
*20. Hon CHAN Hak-kan to ask: (Translation)
The major tasks of the Tree Management Office ("TMO") include enhancement of tree risk management, promotion of a quality-oriented approach to tree management, enhancement of the tree complaint handling mechanism and the emergency response arrangement, enhancement of training to raise the professional standard of tree management personnel, and enhancement of public education and community involvement. Regarding the work of TMO, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that while the Government encourages members of the public to help monitor the conditions of the trees in the community, the information on trees in the Tree Register on the relevant government web site includes no information on whether the trees have been assessed to be of high risk nor any explanation on the specific circumstances under which the trees are described as suffering from "cavity" and "decay", etc., rendering it difficult for members of the public to take part in the community monitoring of tree conditions, whether TMO will make public the information on all those trees that have been assessed to be of high risk; if TMO will not, of the reasons for that; (2) of the number of reports on suspected problematic trees received by TMO in the past three years, the average and longest time taken to process each of such cases and, among them, the number of cases in which qualified arborists performed tree care; (3) of the respective numbers of trees planted and removed by the authorities in the urban area in the past three years; (4) of the current number of qualified arborists in Hong Kong; the increase in the number of local arborists in the past three years; whether TMO has recruited qualified arborists from overseas to work in Hong Kong; if TMO has, of the reasons for that, and the titles and monthly salaries of the relevant posts; and (5) whether it will consider introducing legislation to regulate tree management work so as to establish a uniform standard on tree care; if it will not, of the reasons for that?
*21. Hon LEUNG Kwok-hung to ask: (Translation)
Quite a number of residents of Yan On Estate in Ma On Shan have relayed to me that at present, there are only a restaurant, a convenience store and a mini-supermarket in the estate, and the retail services are severely insufficient to meet the needs of the residents. They have also pointed out that educational and elderly services are lacking in the estate. It is learnt that the Hong Kong Housing Authority ("HA") is now inviting tenders for the tenancy of a shop in Yan Hei House of Yan On Estate, with the designated trades being "Education and Cultural Centre" or "Medicine, Cosmetics and Dried Sea Food". In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective population of those aged 18 or below and those aged 60 or above in the aforesaid estate; (2) whether HA has assessed the needs of the residents before conducting the tender exercise for the tenancy of the aforesaid shop; if it has, of the methodology, date and outcome of the assessment; if not, the reasons for that; (3) of the number of tender submissions for the tenancy of the aforesaid shop received by HA, with a breakdown by the trade intended to be operated by the tenderers (set out in the table below); the trade to be operated by the successful bidder and the monthly rent required to be paid; Trade to be operated Number of tender submissions Education and Cultural Centre Medicine, Cosmetics and Dried Sea Food (4) of the number of other shops in Yan On Estate that will be let by HA, their leasing schedules and the permitted trades; (5) whether HA will consider setting up youth or elderly centres in the vacant shops in Yan On Estate to provide service for the residents there; if it will, of the details; (6) whether HA knows if the existing shops in Yan On Estate carry medicine, cosmetics and dried sea food; if they do, whether HA has assessed if the grant of the tenancy of the aforesaid shop to a business operator of such trades will give rise to vicious competition; and (7) whether Yan On Estate Phase 2 of the public housing development will be completed in 2014 as scheduled, and of the number of units that will be provided under the project; whether HA has assessed the impact of residents moving in such units on the demand for retail services?
*22. Hon Paul TSE to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the results of a test on English proficiency conducted online earlier have shown that the English proficiency of Hong Kong people has declined continuously in recent years, which is even lower than that of the people of Taiwan, Japan and Korea. It has also been reported that there is also a trend of decline in the English proficiency among legal practitioners, who are required to use English concisely and precisely. For example, a barrister was criticized by a judge in court for inaccurate use of words. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has assessed the reasons contributing to the continuous decline in the English proficiency of Hong Kong people who have taken the English lessons under the current education system; (2) whether it has studied how the fact that the English proficiency of Hong Kong people has declined continuously, which is even lower than that of the people of Shanghai, Beijing and Tianjin, affects Hong Kong's competitiveness, its future development and its status as an international metropolis; what measures it has in place to improve this situation; and (3) of the policies to increase the importance attached to English by members of the public and encourage people who use mobile phones frequently to spare some of their time to listen to or watch English media programmes in place of using mobile phones, so as to increase their exposure to English?
* For written reply
III. Bill
Second Reading (Debate to resume), Committee Stage and Third Reading
Sex Discrimination (Amendment) Bill 2014 : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs