A 14/15-11

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 7 January 2015 at 11:00 am

I. Tabling of Papers



Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
1.Prisons (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 2014157/2014
2.Drug Addiction Treatment Centre (Nei Kwu Correctional Institution) (Amendment) Order 2014158/2014
3.Drug Addiction Treatment Centre (Lai King Correctional Institution) (Amendment) Order 2014159/2014
4.Banking (Disclosure) (Amendment) Rules 2014160/2014
5.Employment (Amendment) Ordinance 2014 (Commencement) Notice1/2015

Other Paper

Report No. 8/14-15 of the House Committee on Consideration of Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments
(to be presented by Hon Andrew LEUNG, Chairman of the House Committee)

II. Questions



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


I have recently received complaints that the management personnel of a public hospital reduced the number of medical beds in that hospital on their own volition without seeking their supervisors' prior approval, thereby affecting the services provided to patients. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (1)whether it knows the actual numbers of medical beds providing inpatient care in various public hospitals at present, as well as whether there is any difference between such numbers and the planned numbers of such beds; of the relevant numbers in each of the past five years;

    (2)whether it knows if the Hospital Authority ("HA") will conduct an investigation into the aforesaid incident of reduction in the number of medical beds and assess the impact of the incident on the services provided to patients, including whether patients in the Accident and Emergency Department waited for a longer time before admission to the medical wards as a result; if HA will conduct such an investigation, of the details; if HA will not, the reasons for that; and

    (3)how the Government monitors if the actual numbers of various types of inpatient beds in public hospitals differ from the respective planned numbers, for instance, whether a Hospital Chief Executive is required to report to the Chief Executive of HA and the Secretary for Food and Health prior to reducing the number of inpatient beds of a particular specialty; if there is such a requirement, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

2. Hon Albert CHAN to ask: (Translation)


Quite a number of members of the public have relayed to me that the air pollution problem in Tung Chung has worsened in recent years, especially during summer time. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (1)of the respective numbers of times in each of the past five years, as recorded by the Tung Chung Monitoring Station, in which the concentrations of fine suspended particulates (i.e. PM2.5), ozone, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide exceeded the Air Quality Objectives or the relevant objectives, and the details of the exceedance of each type of pollutants, including the respective average and maximum extent of exceedance and concentrations;

    (2)whether it has analysed the major sources of air pollutants in Tung Chung; if so, of the outcome; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (3)whether measures are in place to improve the air quality in Tung Chung; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment

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


When releasing the new Long Term Housing Strategy last month, the Transport and Housing Bureau pointed out that the Government had updated the projection of long term housing demand for the next decade and, on this basis, had set a total housing supply target for that period. However, housing will still be in short supply. Some members of the public propose that the Government sell the newly built public rental housing ("PRH") units to existing PRH households, so that the PRH units vacated by them may be allocated to PRH applicants and future maintenance expenses of the Hong Kong Housing Authority may be reduced. Some members of the public also propose that the Government relax the restrictions on renting out the Home Ownership Scheme ("HOS") units as well as the Tenants Purchase Scheme ("TPS") units, so as to increase the supply of private rental residential units and lower their rentals. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (1)of the respective numbers of HOS and TPS units the premium-payment procedures for which were completed, the respective numbers of cases uncovered by the authorities in which HOS and TPS units with unpaid premium were illegally rented out, as well as the total supply of private rental residential units, in each of the past three years;

    (2)whether it has plans to change some of the PRH units to be completed within the next five years to be HOS units for sale; if it has such plans, of the details; whether it has plans to offer a greater discount rate for calculation of premium so as to attract eligible Green Form HOS applicants to purchase newly built HOS units, thereby speeding up the turnover of PRH units; and

    (3)whether it has plans to relax the restrictions on renting out HOS and TPS units with unpaid premium, by allowing the owners concerned to rent out their units but they have to share the rental income with the Government; if it has such plans, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

4. Hon Claudia MO to ask: (Translation)


The "Hong Kong Fact Sheet" ("Fact Sheet") series published by the Information Services Department provides information on various aspects of Hong Kong on a topical basis. The Fact Sheet on the topic of the Basic Law, as published in August 2013, contained the following sentence: the Basic Law "enshrines within a legal document the important concepts of 'one country, two systems', 'a high degree of autonomy' and 'Hong Kong People ruling Hong Kong'", in which "Hong Kong People ruling Hong Kong" was the English rendition of "港人治港". However, in the updated version of December 2014 of this Fact Sheet, the English rendition of "港人治港" has been changed to "Hong Kong People administering Hong Kong", i.e. the word "ruling" has been replaced by the word "administering". Moreover, among the three concepts listed in that sentence, "a high degree of autonomy" has been relegated from the second place to the third place. There are comments that the word "administering" implies that the Government of the Special Administrative Region is merely responsible for implementing the instructions handed down by the Central People's Government and, therefore, the aforesaid changes were made to deliberately play down the importance of "a high degree of autonomy" in Hong Kong's constitutional system. Regarding the official elucidation on the provisions of the Basic Law and related concepts, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (1)of the justifications for the authorities making the aforesaid changes to the Fact Sheet; the procedures that the authorities are required to follow in amending the official elucidation relating to the contents of the Basic Law, as well as the rank of the officials who make the relevant decisions; whether the authorities have assessed the reaction of members of the public to the aforesaid changes;

    (2)whether the authorities last year amended, apart from the aforesaid Fact Sheet, the elucidation on the concepts of "one country, two systems", "a high degree of autonomy", "Hong Kong People ruling Hong Kong", etc. in any other official documents, publications or on government web sites; and

    (3)why it is that in the printed version of the aforesaid Fact Sheet, only Article 28(1) of the Basic Law (i.e. "The freedom of the person of Hong Kong residents shall be inviolable") is quoted whereas in the electronic version of the Fact Sheet on the web site of the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau, Article 28 is quoted in full, i.e. apart from Article 28(1), Article 28(2) (which is "No Hong Kong resident shall be subjected to arbitrary or unlawful arrest, detention or imprisonment. Arbitrary or unlawful search of the body of any resident or deprivation or restriction of the freedom of the person shall be prohibited. Torture of any resident or arbitrary or unlawful deprivation of the life of any resident shall be prohibited") is also quoted; apart from the printed version of the aforesaid Fact Sheet, whether the authorities last year amended the elucidation on any provision of the Basic Law in other official documents, publications or on government web sites?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs

5. Hon Martin LIAO to ask: (Translation)


This year marks the 10th anniversary of the development of offshore Renminbi ("RMB") business in Hong Kong. To tie in with the launch of the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect, the mainland authorities removed on 17 November last year the conversion limit for Hong Kong people of RMB 20,000 per day, thereby creating opportunities for further development of RMB business in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (1)given that in response to the removal of the RMB conversion limit for Hong Kong people, quite a number of banks have introduced, one after another, a variety of RMB time deposits and structured products with different interest rates and tenors, and it has been reported that a survey found that the majority of investors did not quite understand RMB investment products and hence members of the public were exposed to considerable risks when choosing among a myriad of products, what measures the authorities will take to help investors assess the risks and returns of these new RMB investment products;

    (2)given that the current daily remittance limit of RMB 80,000 to the Mainland by Hong Kong residents is kept unchanged because regulation of cross-border capital flows on the Mainland is involved, whether the authorities have discussed with the mainland authorities the timetable for removing such limit; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (3)given that some members from the finance industry have pointed out that with the removal of the RMB conversion limit for Hong Kong people, the interactions between the RMB offshore and onshore markets will increase, which will in turn lead to higher volatility in both the RMB exchange rates and interest rates, and yet the foreign exchange control imposed by the mainland authorities may not effectively regulate cross-border capital flows, what measures the authorities have put in place to prevent "grey" and"black" funds from entering Hong Kong, so as to uphold Hong Kong's reputation as an international financial centre?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

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


Some members of the public have pointed out that the decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress made on 31 August last year regarding the constitutional development of the Hong Kong SAR has laid down the framework for the specific proposals for selecting the Chief Executive ("CE") by universal suffrage in 2017, and the subsequent unfurling of the Occupy Central movement plunged the society into an unprecedented dissension. They have also pointed out that although the Government has repeatedly emphasized that there is still room for discussion on the constitutional development (such as the composition of the nominating committee, the nomination threshold for CE candidature, the voting method for selecting CE by universal suffrage, etc.), views in society remain greatly diverse. Moreover, as the endorsement of the relevant proposal ("constitutional reform package") by a two-thirds majority of all the Members of this Council is required for amending the method for selecting CE as set out in Annex I to the Basic Law, it will be very difficult to implement the selection of CE by universal suffrage in 2017. Therefore, various sectors of the community are concerned about whether the Government can properly carry out the second round of public consultation and expectation management so as to prevent the recurrence of large scale protests. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (1)as some members of the public have criticized that one of the causes for the occurrence of the Occupy Central movement is the dissatisfaction among some members of the public about the incomplete reflection of public views in the report prepared by the Task Force on Constitutional Development on the first round of public consultation on constitutional development, whether the authorities have comprehensively reviewed the deficiencies in that round of public consultation; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (2)given that the second round of public consultation will be shorter in duration than the first round, whether it has assessed if there will be sufficient time for gauging the views of various parties; whether it will, during the consultation period, make arrangements for all the Members of this Council to go to Beijing to directly express to the Central Authorities their aspirations regarding constitutional development, and whether it will meet or attend open forums together with members of the Hong Kong Federation of Students and the Scholarism as well as the three initiators of the Occupy Central movement; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (3)whether it has assessed the consequences of the constitutional reform package not being endorsed by this Council, including whether a governance crisis will emerge and the relationship between the Executive Authorities and the Legislature will deteriorate; whether it has assessed if the road occupation movement will recur during or after the second round of public consultation, and of the Government's means to prevent the occurrence of such movement; if it has assessed, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs

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


During the period from 2010 to 2011, the Social Welfare Department ("SWD") extended the services of Integrated Community Centres for Mental Wellness ("ICCMWs") to cover all 18 districts in Hong Kong and set up a total of 24 ICCMWs. Also, SWD undertook to strengthen the manpower of various ICCMWs to cater for future service needs, and identify permanent sites suitable for various ICCMWs for the provision of full-fledged service as soon as possible. On the other hand, appropriate services are provided for people with mental illness through the referral of cases between the Personalized Care Programme ("PCP") provided by the Hospital Authority ("HA") and various ICCMWs. The authorities have established a referral mechanism and formulated the guidelines on the referral procedures, and are drawing up a Service Manual on Mental Health Case Management ("the Service Manual"). However, some social workers have relayed to me that the positioning of ICCMWs at present is unclear and the staffing establishment is inflexible, thus affecting service implementation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (1)whether it will conduct a comprehensive review of the operation and service effectiveness of ICCMWs in the past four years with a view to improving their services; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (2)given that the number of people with mental illness has increased continuously in recent years, how the authorities will strengthen the manpower of various ICCMWs to cope with the increasing service demand and alleviate the work pressure on staff members so as to maintain service quality;

    (3)how the authorities help find sites meeting SWD standards for those ICCMWs which have yet to identify permanent sites, and when the authorities expect such work to be completed;

    (4)of the referral mechanism between PCP and ICCMWs, as well as the guidelines on the referral procedures; and

    (5)of the details of the contents and the publication date of the Service Manual; whether the authorities will undertake to consult the stakeholders (including service providers and users) before the Service Manual is finalized?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

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


It has been reported that recently a shop sold fur coming from cats and dogs suspected to have been flayed alive on the Mainland, arousing wide concern among concern groups on animal interests. However, such sales activities are not regulated under existing legislation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (1)of the number of reports on illegal import of animal products (including cat and dog fur) received by the authorities, the number of inspections conducted by the authorities for the purpose of enforcing the relevant legislation, as well as the respective numbers of cases in which the persons concerned were prosecuted and convicted, in each of the past five years;

    (2)whether it knows which countries and regions have enacted legislation to ban the sale of cat and dog fur and related products; if it knows, of the details; and

    (3)whether it will consider enacting legislation to ban the sale of cat and dog fur and related products to strengthen the protection of animal interests; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

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


It has been reported that Asia Television Limited ("ATV") defaulted twice, in September and November last year, on payments of employees’ wages for many days. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (1)of the respective total numbers of requests for assistance and complaints received by the authorities in the past five years in relation to employers defaulting on payments of employees' wages, and the number of cases in which the employers concerned were prosecuted and the details of such cases;

    (2)as it has been reported that the authorities have received requests for assistance from ATV employees in respect of ATV defaulting on payments of their wages, of the details of such cases and the authorities’ follow-up actions; and

    (3)given that the Chief Executive in Council is considering ATV’s application for renewal of the domestic free television programme service licence, whether the relevant considerations will include the incidents of ATV defaulting on payments of employees’ wages; if they will not, of the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

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


Some owners of catering enterprises have often relayed to me that although the occupational safety performance of the catering industry has improved significantly over the past decade, the costs for taking out employees' compensation insurance policies (commonly known as "labour insurance policies") for their employees have gone up instead of going down, and there were also a number of cases of catering enterprises being refused coverage by insurance companies. On the other hand, some insurance companies have told owners of catering enterprises that the continuous rise in the premiums of labour insurance policies is mainly attributable to the increase in the number of fraudulent compensation claims for work injuries in recent years, and insurance companies have passed on the costs concerned to catering enterprises so as to make up for the loss. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (1)given that government officials had said at a panel meeting of this Council held last month that a task force under the Occupational Safety and Health Council ("OSHC") would liaise with the insurance sector on the premiums of labour insurance policies for the catering industry at an opportune time, whether the authorities know the details and progress of the work in this regard; whether OSHC will publicize the results of the work; if OSHC will, of the publication date;

    (2)whether the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance ("OCI") has collected data on labour insurance policies; if OCI has, of the annual number of complaints received by OCI from 2012 to 2014 and its breakdown by type, the average premium rates of labour insurance policies of various industries (including the catering industry), the number and amounts of claims concerned, etc.; if OCI has not, whether OCI will collect them for reference of the public or enterprises, so as to increase the transparency of the premiums of labour insurance policies;

    (3)whether it knows, apart from the applications made by the 22 high-risk industries specified under the Employees' Compensation Insurance Residual Scheme ("ECIRS") for participating in ECIRS due to difficulties encountered in taking out labour insurance policies, the respective annual numbers of the relevant applications from various other industries (including the catering industry) received by the Employees' Compensation Insurance Residual Scheme Bureau from 2012 to 2014; and among them, of the respective numbers of cases in which insurance companies had eventually underwritten insurance policies for the applicants and cases in which applications were withdrawn by the applicants;

    (4)whether it has plans to collaborate with the insurance sector, the Police and the Hospital Authority in stepping up efforts in combating acts of making fraudulent compensation claims for work injuries; if it does, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (5)of the respective annual numbers of cases of fraudulent compensation claims for work injuries received by the Police from 2012 to 2014; and among them, of the number of cases involving the catering industry, the number of convictions as well as the respective minimum and maximum penalties imposed on the convicted persons?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

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


Regarding the statistics on registered electors in the past few years, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (1)of the respective numbers of (i) electors who registered for the first time and (ii) those who re-registered in the Final Register ("FR") of electors in each year from 2012 to 2014, with a breakdown by gender, age group to which they belonged and the District Council ("DC") district to which the furnished residential address belonged (set out in tables of the same format as Table 1); and

    Table 1: (year)

    DC district Registered electors of the aforesaid type Age group Total
    18-20 21-25 26-30 31-35 36-40 41-45 46-50 51-55 56-60 61-65 66-70 71
    or
    above
      MFMFMFMFMFMFMFMFMFMFMFMF 
    Central and Western (i)                         
    (ii)                         
    Wan Chai (i)                         
    (ii)                         
    …                          
    Total                          

    (2)given that in compiling a provisional register of electors, the Electoral Registration Officer ("ERO") will base on the FR of electors of the previous year and he must, as required by the law, strike out the names and other relevant particulars of all those persons who are no longer eligible to have their names included in the register (i.e. those persons who (i) are dead, (ii) are no longer qualified as permanent residents of Hong Kong, (iii) no longer ordinarily reside in Hong Kong, or (iv) have changed their only or principal residences and their new addresses are not known to ERO), of the respective numbers of registered electors whose names etc. were struck out on the aforesaid grounds in each year from 2012 to 2014, with a breakdown by the age group to which such persons belonged and by the DC district to which the furnished residential addresses belonged (set out in tables of the same format as Table 2)?

    Table 2: (year)

    DC district Ground for striking out Age group Total
    18 - 20 21 - 25 26 - 30 31 - 35 36 - 40 41 - 45 46 - 50 51 - 55 56 - 60 61 - 65 66 - 70 71 or above
    Central and Western (i)             
    (ii)             
    (iii)             
    (iv)             
    Wan Chai (i)             
    (ii)             
    (iii)             
    (iv)             
    …              
    Total              
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs

*12. Dr Hon CHIANG Lai-wan to ask: (Translation)


Regarding gas leakage incidents, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (1)of the number of service calls relating to reports on suspected gas leakage attended by fire personnel and the respective numbers of fire and explosion incidents caused by gas leakage in each of the past five years (set out in the table below);

    Year Number of service calls attended Number of fire incidents caused Number of explosion incidents caused
    Residential premises Non-residential premises
    2010    
    2011    
    2012    
    2013    
    2014    

    (2)of the casualties of fire personnel and members of the public caused by gas leakage and the related fires or explosions in each of the past five years (set out in the table below);

    Year Number of persons injured Number of fatalities
    Fire personnel Members of the public Fire personnel Members of the public
    2010    
    2011    
    2012    
    2013    
    2014    

    (3)whether it has any plan to conduct a comprehensive review of the regulatory system of the safety, repair and maintenance of private gas pipeline facilities; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (4)of the measures in place to prevent the occurrence in Hong Kong of serious gas explosion accidents of a scale similar to that occurred in Kaohsiung, Taiwan in August last year, in order to safeguard the lives and properties of members of the public?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment

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


Recently, a number of tragedies have occurred in which some of the elderly (i.e. people aged 65 or above) committed suicide presumably due to their weariness of life arising from ill health. Some academic research reports have pointed out that in Hong Kong, the suicide rate of the elderly is the highest among all age groups, and that quite a number of the elderly committed suicide because they were afflicted by health problems. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (1)whether it has compiled statistics on the number of the chronically-ill elderly in each of the past five years, with a breakdown by type of illness (such as cancers, cardiovascular diseases and other pain-causing illnesses) and the percentages of such numbers in the total;

    (2)whether it has compiled statistics on (i) the respective numbers of cases of the elderly killing themselves and attempting suicide in each of the past five years, (ii) the respective percentages of such numbers in the relevant totals, and (iii) a breakdown of such numbers by reason for committing suicide; if it has compiled such statistics, of the details; if not, the reasons for that and whether it will compile such statistics in future;

    (3)whether it introduced any new measure last year to reduce the cases of the elderly committing suicide due to their weariness of life arising from ill health; and

    (4)apart from the existing health care services for the elderly and Elderly Suicide Prevention Programme, whether the authorities will (i) review afresh the need of the chronically-ill elderly for psychological and emotional support services, (ii) enhance the relevant services and (iii) formulate more effective strategies to give proper care for the mental health of the elderly, so as to prevent them from committing suicide due to weariness of life arising from ill health; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

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


Under the Buildings Ordinance (Cap. 123) ("BO"), the Building Authority ("BA") may designate that certain categories of building works are required to be carried out by registered specialist contractors ("RSCs"). Currently, there are five categories of works designated as specialized works, which include ventilation works. BA has also appointed the Contractors Registration Committee (Specialist Contractors)("CRC") in accordance with BO to assist him in considering applications for registration as specialist contractors. However, some persons engaged in ventilation works have complained to me about the unprofessional conduct of individual CRC members in processing their applications for registration as well as the unfair procedures and criteria for assessing such applications. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (1)of the number of applications for registration as specialist contractors received by the authorities and, among them, the percentage of the number of applications approved, in each of the past five years;

    (2)of the average number of working days taken by the authorities for assessing and approving an application for registration as a specialist contractor in the past three years;

    (3)of the qualifications of the various CRC members; the specific arrangements for conducting professional interviews by CRC with the applicants and their key personnel, including how the relevant qualifications, experience and knowledge of the personnel concerned are verified, and the arrangements for selecting CRC members to conduct such interviews; whether it has established a mechanism for declaration of interests by CRC members; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (4)whether CRC has adopted a uniform set of scoring methods and criteria in conducting interviews with the applicants and their key personnel; if CRC has not, how the authorities ensure that CRC members assess the applications concerned in an objective and impartial manner; whether the authorities conducted any review of the mechanism for assessing registration applications in the past five years; if they did, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (5)whether a mechanism is currently in place for applicants to appeal against CRC's decision for not recommending them for registration as RSCs and to lodge complaints about the failure of CRC members to consider their applications according to the assessment criteria, so as to protect the rights of the applicants?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

*15. Hon Tony TSE to ask: (Translation)


During the period from 28 September last year to the 15th of last month when the illegal road occupation movement was underway, some parts of the tramway in Admiralty and Causeway Bay were obstructed, resulting in partial suspension of tram service which caused inconvenience to members of the public. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (1)whether Hong Kong Tramways Limited ("HKT") requested, during the road occupation movement, the authorities to provide assistance in removing the obstacles on the tramway; if HKT did, of the follow-up actions taken by the authorities;

    (2)given the stipulation in section 58 of the Tramway Ordinance (Cap. 107) that any person who wilfully and without lawful excuse interferes with or obstructs any part of the tramway commits an offence, whether the authorities will institute prosecutions against those persons who obstructed the tramway; if they will, of the details;

    (3)whether it knows the average daily number of trips and patronage of the tram service during the road occupation movement, and how such figures compare with those in the same period of the year before; and

    (4)whether it has made reference to the experience gained from handling the road occupation movement and drawn up contingency measures in the event of an obstruction of the tramway; if it has, of the details of such measures; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

*16. Dr Hon Helena WONG to ask: (Translation)


Quite a number of members of the public have relayed to me that while the population of the districts where they reside has been increasing, the recreational facilities there are grossly inadequate, and the delays in finalizing the completion dates of the parks under construction/to be constructed in individual districts have resulted in a shortage of leisure open space for the public. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (1)of the respective names of the park projects to be commenced or completed in the coming three years; in respect of such projects, (i) their respective current categories under the Capital Works Programme, (ii) the dates on which they were included in such categories, (iii) the respective expected dates on which those works projects which are in Category B or C will be upgraded to Category A, and (iv) the expected commencement and/or completion dates of the construction works, and set out such information separately by the five Legislative Council geographical constituencies;

    (2)of the respective average time taken for the various types of infrastructure projects (including construction works for bridges, tunnels, roads and schools as well as drainage works, etc.) to be upgraded to Category A after they were included in Category B; how such figures compare to the corresponding time taken for park projects; if the latter is longer, of the reasons for that;

    (3)given that Category C projects may be upgraded to Category B only after resources have been set aside for them by the Government under the annual Resource Allocation Exercise, whether the degree of public support is one of the authorities' considerations in deciding on the allocation of resources to various works projects; whether the authorities will expeditiously allocate resources to those park projects which the public hope can be completed as early as possible, so that the works concerned can commence expeditiously; and

    (4)given that parks are places where quite a number of members of the public spend their leisure time and do exercise, whether the authorities will expedite the implementation of the park projects mentioned in (1), so as to facilitate early enjoyment of the facilities concerned by members of the public; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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


It has been reported that some foreign domestic helpers ("FDHs"), persuaded by intermediaries for FDHs ("intermediaries"), deliberately performed badly or displayed poor attitudes with the intent to make their employers terminate the contracts with them prematurely, so that they can change employers and obtain compensations of free passages to return to their places of domicile and one month's wages in lieu of notice, etc. (commonly known as "job-hopping"). These FDHs also exploited a loophole in the Immigration Ordinance (Cap. 115) by departing for Macao or the Mainland for only a short while and then re-entering Hong Kong to work for new employers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (1)given that since June 2013, the Immigration Department ("ImmD") has tightened the scrutiny of employment visa applications from those FDHs who change employers repeatedly, of the number of applications suspected of job-hopping uncovered by ImmD each month since then, and among such cases, the respective numbers of those rejected and those not followed up by ImmD, as well as the number of applications withdrawn by applicants (set out in a table);

    (2)whether it has assessed if it is maladministration on the part of ImmD for failure to strictly enforce, on the premise of facilitating the parties concerned, the requirement that FDHs have to return to their places of domicile before changing employers; if it has conducted such an assessment, of the details; if not, whether it will conduct such an assessment;

    (3)of the number of cases uncovered by the authorities in the past five years in which intermediaries persuaded or assisted FDHs to engage in job-hopping, and how the authorities handled such cases;

    (4)whether it has assessed if the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (Cap. 362) may be invoked to step up efforts to combat breaches by intermediaries, such as providing prospective employers with inaccurate information on FDHs;

    (5)whether it has considered introducing a demerit point system for breaches by intermediaries and requiring the practitioners concerned to obtain a licence, so as to step up regulation of the industry; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (6)whether it will consider introducing a probation system for FDHs, under which employers who dismiss their FDHs during the probation period are not required to make payment in lieu of notice, and employers are required to settle intermediary charges in full only upon expiry of the probation period; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (7)given that early last year, over 97% of the FDHs in Hong Kong came from the Philippines and Indonesia, whether the authorities have put in place measures to further facilitate intermediaries to import FDHs from other countries so as to provide employers with more choices and reduce cases of job-hopping?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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


Cultural and arts events are frequently organized on the Mainland and in foreign places ("places outside Hong Kong"). An example is the Twelfth National Exhibition of Fine Arts & Exhibition of Nominated Works for Chinese Fine Art Awards, Creative Awards held on the Mainland at the end of last year. Nonetheless, some cultural and arts workers have relayed to me that they do not have adequate channels to learn about information on the cultural and arts activities held in places outside Hong Kong, resulting in their missing the opportunity for participation. They are also of the view that the Government has not provided sufficient support to local cultural and arts workers for participating in cultural and arts activities held in places outside Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (1)which bureaux provide support for local cultural and arts workers participating in cultural and arts activities held in places outside Hong Kong; of the division of responsibilities and coordination among these bureaux on such work; whether the Government will consider designating one bureau to be responsible for such work;

    (2)of the authorities' measures to support local cultural and arts workers participating in cultural and arts activities held in places outside Hong Kong; whether the authorities provide resources for such support work each year; if they do, of the details in the past three years (with a breakdown by usage of the resources);

    (3)whether it will take the initiative to collect information on the major cultural and arts activities held in places outside Hong Kong, and encourage local cultural and arts workers to participate in such activities; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and how the authorities ensure that there are Hong Kong cultural and arts workers participating in such major cultural and arts activities; and

    (4)whether it has established communication mechanisms with the relevant organizations in places outside Hong Kong to facilitate timely dissemination of information on the cultural and arts activities held in such places to local cultural and arts workers, so as to enable them to make early preparation for participation; if it has, of the details; if not, whether it will consider establishing such mechanisms?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

*19. Prof Hon Joseph LEE to ask: (Translation)


Regarding violence against healthcare personnel of public hospitals while on duty, will the Government inform this Council if it knows, in the past five years:
  • (1)the annual numbers of cases of violence against healthcare personnel received by the Hospital Authority ("HA"), with a breakdown by type of violence and by the venue where the case occurred;

    (2)the annual numbers of healthcare personnel who reported that they had fallen victim to violence, with a breakdown by the hospital to which such personnel belonged and by grade of such personnel ;

    (3)the annual numbers of persons prosecuted for allegedly treating healthcare personnel with violence as well as the annual numbers of persons convicted and the penalties imposed on them; and

    (4)whether HA reviewed if the existing security measures as well as the relevant training and support provided by public hospitals for healthcare personnel were adequate for preventing violence against them; if HA did, of the outcome; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

*20. Hon KWOK Wai-keung to ask: (Translation)


Regarding the implementation of the Qualifications Framework ("QF"), will the Government inform this Council:
  • (1)of the number of employees and its percentage in the labour force of Hong Kong in respect of each of the industries which have established Industry Training Advisory Committees ("ITACs"); which industries the ITACs of which are currently drawing up the Specifications of Competency Standards;

    (2)of the total number of QF-related training courses offered by accredited training providers in the past three years, with a breakdown by industry and by the QF level that could be obtained after completion of the courses, as well as the respective percentages of such courses in the total number of training courses provided; the total number of persons who completed such courses, and the percentage of such number in the total number of persons who enrolled in such courses, with a breakdown by industry and by the QF level obtained; if the authorities do not have the aforesaid statistics, of the reasons for that and whether they will consider compiling such statistics;

    (3)of the years in which various industries launched their Recognition of Prior Learning ("RPL") mechanisms, and the respective numbers of practitioners of such industries who have obtained qualifications recognition through such mechanisms so far, as well as (i) a breakdown of such numbers by QF level and (ii) the percentages of such numbers in the total numbers of practitioners in the industries concerned; and

    (4)of the new measures taken by the authorities in the past three years to encourage more working persons to apply for RPL?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education

*21. Dr Hon LAU Wong-fat to ask: (Translation)


I raised a question at the Legislative Council meeting of 17 December last year, enquiring which railway stations were not equipped with automatic water sprinkler systems and the reasons concerned, but the authorities did not give a direct reply. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
  • (1)the current number of railway stations which are not equipped with automatic water sprinkler systems, together with a detailed list of the names of such stations, including stations with both concourses and platforms situated below the ground level as well as those with concourses and/or platforms situated at or above the ground level; and

    (2)whether the areas inside the railway stations mentioned in (1) where shops are located are equipped with automatic water sprinkler systems; if they are not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*22. Hon LEUNG Che-cheung to ask: (Translation)


According to a paper submitted by the authorities to the Panel on Food Safety and Environmental Hygiene of this Council last month, there were approximately 1 100 heads of stray cattle in Hong Kong in 2013 and, among them, around 57% were “rural/wild” herds and 43% were "town" herds. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
  • (1)of a breakdown of the current number of stray cattle in the districts listed in the table below by whether they belong to (i) the "rural/wild" herds, or (ii) the "town" herds, and whether they are buffalo or brown cattle (set out the breakdown in the table below);

      Buffalo Brown cattle
    Lantau Island (i)  
    (ii)  
    Ma On Shan/Sai Kung (i)  
    (ii)  
    Northwest New Territories (i)  
    (ii)  
    Central New Territories (i)  
    (ii)  

    (2)of the specific places of distribution of stray cattle belonging to the "rural/wild" herds and those belonging to the "town" herds respectively at present, with indication of the locations of such places on a map;

    (3)of the number of traffic accidents involving stray cattle in each of the past three years, and the number of resultant deaths of stray cattle;

    (4)of the number of stray cattle caught by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department ("AFCD") in each of the past three years, with a breakdown by handling method (e.g. sale by auction, adoption by farms and euthanasia); and

    (5)whether AFCD has plans to have all the stray cattle sterilised under the "Capture-Sterilise-Relocate" programme; whether it has set an annual target and implementation timetable for the sterilisation programme; of the number of cattle to be sterilised by AFCD each year based on the current resources and implementation progress of the programme?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

* For written reply

IIA. Statement



Consultation Document on the Method for Selecting the Chief Executive by Universal Suffrage:The Chief Secretary for Administration

III. Motion



Proposed resolution under the Disability Discrimination Ordinance

Secretary for Labour and Welfare to move the following motion:

Resolved that the Disability Discrimination Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 5) Notice 2014, made by the Chief Executive in Council on 9 December 2014, be approved.

(The Notice is in the Appendix and was also issued on 15 December 2014
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 282/14-15)

IV. Members' Motions



1.Increasing upward mobility opportunities for young people

Hon Jeffrey LAM moved the following motion: (Translation)

That this Council urges the Government to care about the aspirations of young people, formulate feasible policies and measures, and enhance the relevant training and support, so as to increase upward mobility opportunities for young people.

Amendments to the motion
(i)Hon KWOK Wai-keung to move the following amendment: (Translation)

To add "the increasingly homogeneous industrial structure of Hong Kong has limited young people's employment options and prospects, and the substantially lopsided housing policy has favoured the business sector and led to the soaring property prices, rendering young people with dual difficulties in employment and housing and making it difficult for them to strive for upward mobility along the social ladder; in this connection," after "That"; to add "and needs" after "aspirations"; and to delete "so as to" after "support," and substitute with "including perfecting the public housing policy of Hong Kong to provide young people with residential space and a ladder for home acquisition, and adjusting prices in the private housing market to reasonable and healthy levels lest young people be shouldered with heavy financial burden due to home acquisition; moreover, the Government should promote diversified development of industries, create more positions suitable for young people, formulate an integrated manpower training policy, conduct a comprehensive review of the Apprenticeship Ordinance as well as the various training programmes for young people, and formulate a dual-track academic system with equal emphasis on academic and vocational skills training, so as to provide young people with a stable and rewarding professional skills training, development and career ladder, and to".

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

To add ", as the Government has persistently neglected young people's voices and their pursuit of democracy and justice," after "That"; and to delete "care about the aspirations of young people" after "urges the Government to" and substitute with "implement genuine universal suffrage, establish a government which is fair, impartial, open and truly accountable to the people for improving governance".

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

To add "in Hong Kong, the lopsidedness of the political system towards those with vested interests, the serious disparity between the rich and the poor, as well as the common phenomenon of the collusion between the Government and the business sector and transfer of benefits have hindered young people's upward mobility; although the Basic Law safeguards the implementation of 'one country, two systems', the 'two systems' has come under incessant challenges from the 'one country' in recent years, and the separation of powers is rocked by the 'co-operation of powers theory', resulting in the erosion of Hong Kong's core values by 'Mainlandization'; besides, following the complete rejection of Hong Kong people's demand for genuine universal suffrage by the decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on 31 August 2014, young people now feel that the unjust political system is the greatest obstacle to social reform and their upward mobility, and they have thus appealed to 'Save Our Own Hong Kong' and engaged in civil disobedience as a means of promoting social reform, leading to the outbreak of the Umbrella Movement; in this connection," after "That"; to delete "care about the aspirations of young people, formulate feasible policies and measures, and enhance the relevant training and support, so as to increase" after "urges the Government to" and substitute with "affirm young people's strong aspirations to 'pursuing justice and returning political power to the people', conduct the Chief Executive Election and the Legislative Council Election under the principles of universality and equality, adopt civil nomination, and abolish the functional constituencies, so as to enable young people to exploit their strengths in a fair, just and open environment, and increase their"; and to delete "for young people" immediately before the full stop and substitute with ", and in turn realizing their personal and social aspirations".

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

To add ", given the strong voices in the society in recent years pointing out that young people face difficulties in mobilizing upward," after "That"; and to add "; specific proposals in respect of education and employment are as follows: (1) to increase the opportunities for admission to higher education, and step up regulation on the quality and recognition of programmes offered by self-financing post-secondary institutions; (2) to alleviate the financial burden of students after graduation lest they be heavily indebted; (3) to strengthen vocational education by adding elements of vocational skills training to senior secondary curriculums or developing vocational senior secondary schools to provide students with a more diversified range of career-oriented programmes for articulation; (4) to review the establishment for permanent teachers and improve class-teacher ratios, so as to increase opportunities for young teachers to join the profession and avoid a succession gap in education, and to ensure that contract teachers and teaching assistants receive reasonable remunerations; and (5) to review afresh the manpower needs of various government departments, so as to ensure that eligible non-civil service contract employees filling posts with long-term needs can be changed to civil service terms" immediately before the full stop.

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

To add "young people in Hong Kong have actively participated in the recent Umbrella Movement, and that their commitment to Hong Kong and steadfast pursuit of ideals demonstrated in the Movement have touched many Hong Kong people and also won the acclaim of world opinions; in this connection," after "That"; to delete "care about" after "urges the Government to" and substitute with "give a concrete response to"; to delete "formulate feasible policies and measures, and enhance the relevant training and support, so as to" after "aspirations of young people," and substitute with "expeditiously implement genuine universal suffrage, strive to uphold social justice, actively promote sustainable development, and"; and to add "as well as various sectors of the society, so that all Hong Kong people can achieve self-actualization in a free and equitable environment" immediately before the full stop.

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

To add ", and in particular, to assist students who are unable to adapt to the conventional examination system in exploiting their strengths; specific proposals are as follows: (1) to conduct studies led by the Education Bureau and the University Grants Committee on establishing a diversified range of student admission channels for universities, whereby various institutions are required to reserve a specified number of subsidized degree places each year for specific disciplines such as music, art and sports, etc.; students seeking admission through these channels will only be required to obtain Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination results that meet the existing minimum admission requirements of publicly-funded degree programmes; the gate-keeping role of the mechanism concerned is to be performed by the relevant dedicated committee, which will refer students satisfying the aforesaid requirements on examination results to various institutions without disclosing their public examination results, so that institutions can focus on reviewing students' talents in determining their admission lists, with a view to assisting young people in mobilizing upward by their individual talents and strengths; (2) to promote diversification of industries, in particular providing support for the development of creative industry, cultural industry as well as aesthetic and physical industry, etc., so as to create room and opportunities for upward mobility for young people with talents and enthusiasm in the aforesaid fields who could not exploit their strengths under the conventional examination system; and (3) focusing on the 40 000-odd young people who cannot meet the minimum admission requirements of publicly-funded degree programmes each year but have the interest and potentials for development in the various professional domains, the Government to formulate respective development ladders for them, so as to provide these young people with upward mobility opportunities; the specific approach is to explore a substantial expansion of the various in-service training funds currently offered by the Government, so as to assist enterprises in offering in-service training opportunities geared to the needs of their employees, and in providing adequate professional skills training and development for their employees; and to extend the scope of the funds to a greater variety of industries such as elderly services, post-natal care, vehicle repairs, renovation, pattern making and seamanship, etc., so as to enable young people to pursue their ideals and engage in the industries they like, with a view to substantially increasing their upward mobility opportunities" immediately before the full stop.

Public Officers to attend:Secretary for Home Affairs
Secretary for Education
Under Secretary for Home Affairs
Under Secretary for Education

2.Expeditiously launching the Fourth Comprehensive Transport Study

Hon Frankie YICK to move the following motion: (Translation)

That, it has now been over 16 years since the Government conducted the Third Comprehensive Transport Study and during this period, the rapid socio-economic development, the continuous growth in Hong Kong's population and inbound visitors, the development and expansion of new towns, and the increasingly frequent cross-boundary activities, etc. have all led to changes in and continuous increase in the public demand for transport services, but on the premise of using railways as the backbone of the passenger transport system, other public transport services are considered to have retrogressed and are marginalized, resulting not only in an imbalance between the supply of and demand for such services but also the pressure to increase fares, and hence causing continuous increase in the transport expenses of the public; the Government used Hong Kong as the only base for the past three comprehensive transport studies, with no consideration given to the cross-boundary transportation needs in terms of passenger flow or vehicular flow brought about by the further integration between Hong Kong and China, and the development of transport infrastructure facilities (such as parking facilities) is also unable to cope with the large growth in vehicle numbers; as for the promotion of the environmentally-friendly transport policy (including the pedestrian linkage systems and the policy on the use of bicycles, etc.) and the Intelligent Transport Systems, progress has been slow; in this connection, this Council urges the Government to expeditiously launch the Fourth Comprehensive Transport Study to comprehensively review the overall transport policy and the situation at present, and apart from formulating measures to enable various modes of public transport to develop in a sustainable and healthy manner in tandem with the continuous expansion of railways, to also formulate a forward-looking and long-term transport development blueprint, having regard to future town planning, development of industries and land use, etc., with a view to continuously perfecting the transport system as a whole, promoting Hong Kong's economic development and providing the public with better and more efficient transport services.

Amendments to the motion
(i)Hon TANG Ka-piu to move the following amendment: (Translation)

To delete "it has now been over 16 years" after "That,"; to delete "and during this period" after "the Third Comprehensive Transport Study"; to add "at the same time, with the Government encouraging the public to fully utilize railway services, the income of employees engaging in other public transport services is seriously affected;" after "the public;"; to delete "cope with the" after "unable to" and substitute with "resolve the problem of"; to add "which includes conducting a review of the tolls of all tunnels and bridges," after "blueprint,"; and to add ", ensuring a more stable income for employees engaging in other public transport services" after "economic development".

(ii)Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to move the following amendment: (Translation)

To delete "it has now been over 16 years" after "That,"; to delete "conducted" after "since the Government" and substitute with "completed"; to delete "and during this period" after "the Third Comprehensive Transport Study" and substitute with "in 1999"; to delete "continuous increase in the transport expenses of the public" after "causing" and substitute with "the transport expenses of grass-roots people and those living in remote districts constituting an increasingly higher proportion in their daily living expenses"; to add ", while public transport services cannot cope with the additional patronage" after "numbers"; to add "conduct a comprehensive review of the effectiveness of implementing the recommendations of the Third Comprehensive Transport Study, and on this basis, to" after "to expeditiously"; to add "immediately conducting a review of the existing operational mode of public transport services (including whether priority should be given to the development of the railway transport system) and" after "apart from"; and to delete "continuously perfecting the transport system as a whole, promoting Hong Kong's economic development" after "with a view to" and substitute with "promoting an environmentally-friendly transport system and inexpensive public transport services,".

(iii)Hon Tony TSE to move the following amendment: (Translation)

To delete "over 16" after "it has now been" and substitute with "15"; to delete "conducted" after "since the Government" and substitute with "completed"; to add "in 1999" after "the Third Comprehensive Transport Study"; to add "besides, the transport strategies formulated by the Government in the past are considered lagging behind in terms of macro development or district planning and support, such as both the design and planning of the transport system failing to take into account the needs of pedestrians and drivers, rendering the public to question the Government for being unable to effectively monitor the effectiveness of transport strategies;" after "slow;"; to add "repositioning the roles of various modes of public transport and" after "apart from"; to delete "and" after "forward-looking" and substitute with ", competitive and people-oriented"; to add "targetting the next three decades" after "blueprint"; and to delete "," after "as a whole" and substitute with "; enhancing the competitiveness of the Hong Kong International Airport and local ports, so as to upgrade Hong Kong's status as a regional transport and logistics hub; proactively developing the transportation network linking the Pearl River Delta in keeping with the comprehensive transport planning of the Pearl River Delta region to synergize the complementary advantages of the various regions;".

(iv)Ir Dr Hon LO Wai-kwok to move the following amendment: (Translation)

To delete "it has now been over 16 years" after "That,"; to delete "and during this period" after "the Third Comprehensive Transport Study"; to delete "enable" after "measures to" and substitute with "perfect the mass transit network, conducting a review of the distribution of and arrangement for road usage, and enabling"; to add "have a clear positioning, complement each other, maintain reasonable competition and" after "transport to"; to delete "in tandem with the continuous expansion of railways" after "manner"; to add "the long-term population and economic development trends," after "regard to"; to delete "and land use, etc." after "industries" and substitute with ", land and housing supplies, green and quality living, and linking support for the cross-boundary transport infrastructure, etc. and in consultation with various stakeholders"; to add "ensuring proper and orderly implementation of the related transport infrastructure planning and projects according to their priorities," after "as a whole,"; and to add "at reasonable fares" immediately before the full stop.

(v)Hon WU Chi-wai to move the following amendment: (Translation)

To delete "it has now been over 16 years" after "That,"; to delete "conducted" after "since the Government" and substitute with "completed"; to delete "and during this period" after "the Third Comprehensive Transport Study"; to delete "the Government used Hong Kong as the only base for the past three comprehensive transport studies, with no consideration given to the cross-boundary transportation needs in terms of passenger flow or vehicular flow brought about by the further integration between Hong Kong and China," after "expenses of the public;"; to delete "(such as parking facilities) is also" after "infrastructure facilities" and substitute with "stated in the Third Comprehensive Transport Study is"; to delete "and" after "at present," and substitute with "including how to cope with the problems brought about by the massive growth in private car numbers, examining and redefining the roles of various public transport services in the transport system, conducting a review of the operational mode of various public transport services, and examining whether the existing policies and measures are in line with the policy objectives of 'bicycle friendly' and using bicycles as a mode of transport;"; to delete "and" after "economic development" and substitute with ","; and to add ", and affirming the promotion of using bicycles and pedestrian walkway systems as policy objectives" immediately before the full stop.

(vi)Hon CHAN Kam-lam to move the following amendment: (Translation)

To add "a safe, reliable and highly efficient transport system is conducive to the sustainable development of Hong Kong;" after "That,"; and to add "; the Study should include improving the transport network between old districts and new development areas; formulating regional environmentally-friendly transport measures, such as developing a monorail and encouraging residents in the New Territories to commute by bicycles, etc.; further enhancing the transport connectivity between both sides of the Victoria Harbour; formulating a comprehensive plan for transportation support in the Northeast New Territories and North Lantau; constructing a Tuen Mun to Tsuen Wan Link with the alignment extending to Sha Tin and a Siu Sai Wan Extension; enhancing the Light Rail system; perfecting the external transport of the outlying islands and the ferry policy; turning certain toll roads, such as the Lantau Link, into toll-free roads; and formulating measures to alleviate the burden of transport fares on the public" immediately before the full stop.

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

To delete ", but on the premise of using railways as the backbone of the passenger transport system," after "for transport services" and substitute with "; although the Transport and Housing Bureau is about to launch the Public Transport Strategy Study, the Study only further affirms the lopsided policy of 'priority to railway' which continues to reinforce the MTR Corporation Limited hegemony while"; to delete "are considered to have retrogressed and" after "public transport services"; to delete "the Government used Hong Kong as the only base for the" after "the public;" and substitute with "in the"; to delete "with no consideration given" after "past three comprehensive transport studies," and substitute with "the Government gave no consideration"; to delete "further" after "brought about by the" and substitute with "blind"; to add "including the policy of 'priority to railway'," after "at present,"; and to delete "future town planning, development of industries and land use, etc." after "regard to" and substitute with "the genuine needs of Hong Kong people".

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

To add "; specific proposals are as follows: (1) to set and review specific objectives every five years for raising the average speed of the public vehicles for the urban lines (such as franchised buses and public light buses, etc.), thereby reducing passengers' travelling and waiting time and enhancing the overall public road transport efficiency; (2) to conduct a study on constructing the fifth cross-harbour railway linking Island West, the artificial islands in Kau Yi Chau, Sunny Bay, Siu Lam and Tuen Mun Pier, thereby resolving the problem of the West Rail Line reaching capacity by 2024; (3) to conduct a study on constructing a viaduct railway equipped with a fully automatic operation system to replace the Light Rail which already has no room for expansion, so as to meet the challenges to the traffic brought by a drastic increase in the population of the Northwest New Territories; (4) to conduct a study on increasing the number of passenger seats on public light buses to 20 to 24, and adjust the total number of public light buses, so as to give full play to the functions of public light buses on roads; and (5) given that Hong Kong is small but densely populated, to conduct a study on strengthening the positioning and functions of the mass public transport system on roads, including reviewing the operation time and number of bus-only lanes; step up traffic enforcement by deploying additional police officers to carry out patrols and making use of advanced technology, such as installing cameras, for combating illegal parking and illegal vehicle loading and unloading of goods; and improve traffic signage on roads, such as assigning the double yellow line road marking within the area of bus stops across the board, so as to enhance the accessibility of road traffic" immediately before the full stop.

Public Officers to attend:Secretary for Transport and Housing
Under Secretary for Transport and Housing

Clerk to the Legislative Council