A 14/15-19
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 18 March 2015 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers
| Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments | L.N. No. | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Rating (Exemption) Order 2015 | 42/2015 |
| 2. | District Councils Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 7) Order 2015 | 49/2015 |
| 3. | Maximum Amount of Election Expenses (District Council Election) (Amendment) Regulation 2015 | 50/2015 |
| 4. | Air Pollution Control (Ocean Going Vessels) (Fuel at Berth) Regulation | 51/2015 |
| 5. | Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Public Pleasure Grounds) (Amendment of Fourth Schedule) Order 2015 | 52/2015 |
Other Papers
II. Questions
1. Hon Starry LEE to ask: (Translation)
As pointed out by a study report, crowdfunding has become very popular in recent years. The number of crowdfunding projects worldwide exceeded 1 million in 2012, raising as much as 2.7 billion US dollars and recording an increase of 81% on the previous year. The study report also points out that under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act promulgated by the US Congress in April 2012, as long as crowdfunding portals have registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, small enterprises may make use of such portals to carry out equity crowdfunding, i.e. raising funds from the public by selling company equities. There are views that the laws of Hong Kong may be unable to appropriately cater for the increasingly common activities of crowdfunding. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has compared the existing legal framework and supporting policies of Hong Kong on crowdfunding activities with those of other cities (including Shanghai, Beijing, New York, London and Singapore); if it has, of the details; if not, whether it will consider conducting such a comparison; (2) whether it knows the number of crowdfunding projects in Hong Kong and the total amount of funds they raised in each of the past three years; whether the authorities will consider formulating a policy on promoting the development of crowdfunding in Hong Kong; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether it will consider reviewing the restrictions on crowdfunding activities under the Securities and Futures Ordinance and drawing up a code of practice and guidelines on crowdfunding activities, so as to regulate the sharing of risks and returns by investors; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
2. Hon CHAN Chi-chuen to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that parallel trading activities are rather rampant in districts such as Sheung Shui, Tuen Mun and Yuen Long, seriously affecting the daily lives of residents. Apart from causing a gradual deterioration of the environmental hygiene in such districts, parallel trading activities have also pushed up the prices of daily necessities. Furthermore, the use of public transport by parallel traders for conveying goods causes inconvenience to other passengers, and confrontations between them occur frequently. In recent months, the nuisance caused to residents by parallel trading activities has triggered a number of anti-parallel trader protests in the aforesaid districts. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the authorities have compiled statistics on the current number of people engaged in parallel trading activities and the proportions of Hong Kong people and mainland people among them; of the number of people prosecuted last year for engaging in parallel trading activities (including carrying powdered formula for infants and young children in excess of the quota upon departure), the detail of such cases, the age profile of and penalty imposed on the convicted persons, as well as the type and total value of the confiscated goods; of the districts where some industrial buildings or residential buildings have been used for conducting parallel trading-related activities; (2) whether it knows the manpower deployed by the MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL") to enforce the regulation on the size of passenger luggage ("the regulation"); of the number of cases in which passengers in violation of the regulation were disallowed to pass through the ticket gates or refused boarding by MTRCL staff members in the past three months; of the respective numbers of cases in which MTRCL staff members were injured by assaults and requested police assistance when enforcing the regulation in the past three years; of the authorities' specific measures in place at present to support MTRCL staff members in enforcing the regulation; and (3) whether it will implement new measures to combat parallel trading activities, including requesting the mainland authorities to review or even abolish the issuing of one-year multiple-entry Individual Visit Endorsements to Shenzhen permanent residents for visiting Hong Kong (commonly known as "multiple entry permits"), refusing the entry of the mainland people proven to have previously engaged in parallel trading activities and considering the introduction of a land arrival tax for visitors; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
3. Hon MA Fung-kwok to ask: (Translation)
An analysis of the fitness data of about 100 000 students conducted in the 2013-2014 school year under the School Physical Fitness Award Scheme, jointly organized by the Education Bureau, the Hong Kong Childhealth Foundation and the Physical Fitness Association of Hong Kong, China, has found that the students' overall performance in physical fitness in various aspects, such as the handgrip strength and cardiopulmonary functions of boys and flexibility of girls, was inferior to that of the students in the Mainland, Singapore and Europe, and that 27% of the students were overweight or even obese. In addition, it has been reported that there is a trend of people suffering from heart diseases and diabetes at a younger age in recent years, and obesity and lack of exercise may increase the risk of developing such illnesses. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it will review the contents of the physical education curricula for primary and secondary schools and increase the lesson time for physical education, with a view to enhancing students' physical fitness; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) of the measures to encourage and support schools and sports organizations to organize extracurricular sports activities, as well as strengthen the three-party cooperation between them and parents in promoting a sports culture and cultivating students' interest in participating in sports; and (3) of the other measures to address the problems of students being less physically fit, a considerable percentage of students being overweight, and people suffering from heart diseases and diabetes at a younger age?
4. Hon WONG Yuk-man to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that in September last year, the Government allocated $1.2 million to a community organization for the implementation of a 13-month "watcher programme". The programme provides training support to street sleepers, organizes activities for them, and cleans the places where street sleepers usually gather, with the aim of assisting them to eventually quit street sleeping. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the number of street sleepers so far who have found, with the assistance offered by the "watcher programme", a fixed abode; (2) of the current number of street sleepers on the register of the Social Welfare Department, and among them, the number of those who street sleep in the Sham Shui Po district; and (3) whether it has grasped the situation of street sleepers reverting to street sleeping after being allocated public housing; as it is learnt that quite a number of people consider that street sleepers affect environmental hygiene as well as law and order, and they therefore have a negative perception of street sleepers, how the Government protects the rights and interests of street sleepers in daily lives?
| Public Officers to reply | : | Secretary for Labour and Welfare Secretary for Home Affairs |
5. Hon Cyd HO to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council told the media in December 2013 that the arrangements for the Chief Executive ("CE") of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("SAR") to pay duty visits to the Central People's Government ("CPG") to report on his work ("reporting arrangements") would be standardized. Subsequently, CE paid another duty visit to Beijing to report on his work ("reporting visit") on 25 December last year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) by whom the documents relating to the report on his work ("reporting documents") submitted by CE to CPG are written, edited and vetted; of the differences and similarities between the scopes of their contents and those of the policy addresses, progress reports and government budgets published annually, together with the table of contents, as well as the word count of each item in the various documents, of the latest set of reporting documents; the number of reporting documents which the incumbent and past CEs had to submit to CPG when they paid reporting visits to CPG prior to 25 December last year; (2) whether the SAR Government has archived the reporting documents in accordance with the records management procedures and guidelines; of the respective numbers of reporting documents submitted by the SAR Government to CPG and the documents on reporting arrangements and SAR governance received by the SAR Government from CPG since 1997; whether such documents are available for public inspection; if they are not, of the reasons for that, and whether they are, according to the records management procedures and guidelines, documents which will be available for public inspection after a certain number of years; and (3) of the differences and similarities between the procedures involved in CE's reporting visits to CPG after the standardization of the reporting arrangements (including but not limited to the manpower and procedures for writing, editing and vetting reporting documents) and those in the past; whether, besides CE, any official of the SAR Government is required to account for his work to CPG and/or other mainland authorities; whether the SAR Government will consider providing reporting documents to this Council prior to CE's reporting visits for the Council to hold debates on their contents?
6. Hon Alice MAK to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that a fire broke out at a Korean-style sauna bathhouse in January this year, and that the sauna bathhouse had not obtained a Commercial Bathhouse Licence granted by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department under the Commercial Bathhouses Regulation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of prosecutions and convictions in the past three years involving operation of bathhouses without a licence; (2) whether it deploys staff to inspect the fire services facilities at sauna bathhouses on a regular basis; if so, of the respective numbers of inspections, contraventions of fire safety requirements uncovered and rectifications of irregularities after warnings were issued, in each of the past three years; whether the Government will step up regulation of the fire services facilities at sauna bathhouses; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether it has estimated the current number of sauna bathhouses not equipped with shower cubicles; if so, of the number; whether it is required to obtain a licence for operating such kind of bathhouses; if so, of the respective current numbers of bathhouses which have obtained, are applying for, and have not yet applied for such a licence; if it is not required to obtain a licence, the reasons for that as well as the legislation which regulates such kind of bathhouses, and whether the Government will introduce legislative amendments to stipulate that a licence must be obtained for operating such kind of bathhouses; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*7. Hon Gary FAN to ask: (Translation)
Hong Kong's capacity to receive visitors is at bursting point as the number of visitor arrivals to Hong Kong exceeded 60 million last year. Among them, mainland visitor arrivals were as many as some 47 million, accounting for about 78% of the total visitor arrivals. The huge influx of visitors to Hong Kong in recent years has seriously affected the daily lives of Hong Kong people. On 24 February this year, the Chief Executive ("CE") told the media that the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("SAR") was fully aware of the pressure put on the daily lives of Hong Kong people by the increased number of visitors, and would continue its discussions with the Central Authorities to see if there was room for tightening the Individual Visit Scheme ("IVS") and the policy on issuing one-year multiple-entry Individual Visit Endorsements ("multiple-entry endorsements") to Shenzhen permanent residents, so that the trend of natural growth of mainland visitors to Hong Kong could be put under control. However, after meeting the relevant officials in Beijing on the 6th of this month, CE indicated that the need of mainland residents to visit Hong Kong should also be taken into account. Regarding the number of visitor arrivals to Hong Kong and Hong Kong's capacity to receive them, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as the Mayor of the Shenzhen Municipal Government recently remarked that mutual respect was the premise for the policy on multiple-entry endorsements, whether the SAR Government has to take into account the views of the Shenzhen authorities when it discussed the tightening of the policy on multiple-entry endorsements with the Central Authorities, and whether the prior consent of the Shenzhen authorities is required for amending the policy; (2) as it has been reported that last month, the Central Authorities delegated the power of vetting and approving immigration documents of mainland residents from the public security authorities at the municipal level to those at the county level, and at present, residents of 49 mainland cities may visit Hong Kong under IVS, whether the SAR Government is able to obtain from the mainland authorities instant data about the endorsements issued by the public security authorities at the county level, so as to facilitate discussion with the mainland authorities the adjustment of the number of endorsements to be issued in the near future, and to study in the long run the setting up of a mechanism to allow the SAR Government to take part in determining the number of IVS endorsements to be approved; (3) given the remarks made by CE on the 6th of this month that the SAR Government should strike a balance between Hong Kong's receiving capacity and the number of visitors to Hong Kong, and yet the average length of stay of overnight visitors has reduced from 3.6 nights in 2011 to 3.3 nights in 2014, whether the authorities have assessed the causes for the shortening of the average length of stay of overnight visitors, as well as its impact on Hong Kong's capacity to receive visitors, such as on the demand for hotel rooms, and set specific targets for the number of hotel development projects in the future; (4) of the information on the hotel projects approved by the Building Authority in the past three years, and set out such information according to the table below;
Date of approval District Name of project Class of hotel Anticipated completion date Anticipated number of hotel rooms to be provided (5) given that the Assessment Report on Hong Kong's Capacity to Receive Tourists published by the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau in January 2014 did not assess the social costs of receiving visitors borne by SAR (such as the impact of parallel traders on Hong Kong people), whether the authorities will prepare another assessment report within this year, having regard to the latest visitor statistics and the increasingly serious problem of parallel trading activities; and (6) whether it will formulate measures within this year to reduce the number of IVS visitors, including requesting the mainland authorities to modify the arrangement for issuing "multiple-entry endorsements", in order to mitigate the impact of visitors on the daily lives of Hong Kong people?
*8. Hon Abraham SHEK to ask:
Will the Government inform this Council of (i) the total stamp duties collected on the sale, transfer or lease of residential properties, (ii) total stamp duties collected on the sale, transfer or lease of non-residential properties, (iii) total land premium received, (iv) the percentage of total stamp duties collected on the sale, transfer or lease of properties in its total revenue, and (v) the percentage of total land premium received in its total revenue, in each of the past five years, and set out such information according to the table below?
| Fiscal year | (i) | (ii) | (iii) | (iv) | (v) |
| 2014-2015 (up to 28 February 2015) | |||||
| 2013-2014 | |||||
| 2012-2013 | |||||
| 2011-2012 | |||||
| 2010-2011 |
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
*9. Hon Steven HO to ask: (Translation)
Since the enactment of the Marine Parks Ordinance ("Cap. 476") in 1995, the Government has designated Hoi Ha Wan, Yan Chau Tong, Sha Chau and Lung Kwu Chau, and Tung Ping Chau one after another as marine parks for the protection of marine environment and marine life. To control fishing activities in marine parks, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department ("AFCD") implements a marine park fishing permit ("permit") system in accordance with the Marine Parks and Marine Reserves Regulation (Cap. 476 sub. leg. A) enacted in 1996. Under the system, a permit for fishing in a relevant marine park may be issued only to a bona fide fisherman or a villager who ordinarily resides near the marine park concerned. Recently, some fishermen have relayed to me that AFCD is often too stringent in vetting and approving their applications for transfer of their permits to the next generation. They envisage that the number of fishermen allowed to operate in marine parks will decrease significantly in the next few decades. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the specific situation of AFCD's processing of applications from fishermen for transfer of their permits to the next generation since the implementation of the aforesaid Regulation; and (2) whether it will review the policy on the transfer of permits, including considering granting the permit of a deceased fisherman to his or her descendant automatically without prior application, so as to ensure that the fishing industry can carry on from generation to generation?
*10. Dr Hon Priscilla LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
At present, there are some 200 buildings developed under the Civil Servants' Cooperative Building Society Scheme ("CBS buildings") in Hong Kong, and quite a number of these buildings are aged and dilapidated. However, these buildings have redevelopment value since most of them are situated at premier residential lots in the urban areas (including the Mid-Levels on Hong Kong Island, Happy Valley and Kowloon Tong), and in most cases, the plot ratio of the lots concerned has not been fully utilized. The Panel on Development of this Council passed a motion at its meeting on 15 July 2013, urging the Government to launch redevelopment programmes for CBS buildings immediately, and to submit proposals acceptable to all sides in six months. However, the Government did not submit the proposals as scheduled. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the Government has formulated concrete proposals on the way forward for CBS buildings (e.g. the Government acquiring these buildings for redevelopment into private buildings); if it has, of the details, including the timetable, estimate of expenditure, and the amount of public funds to be deployed; and (2) given that some young people have indicated that the high property prices at present have made it difficult for them to buy properties, and applications for the flats in the latest Home Ownership Scheme ("HOS") developments put on sale have been oversubscribed by more than 80 times, which has reflected the keen demand for residential housing, but complex title problems have to be resolved before CBS buildings can be redeveloped, whether the Government has considered formulating measures to facilitate the flat owners concerned to rent their flats in these buildings to young people as their residence?
*11. Hon Dennis KWOK to ask: (Translation)
Recently, quite a number of non-Chinese citizens and their children and Chinese citizens born outside Hong Kong who have acquired Hong Kong permanent resident status have relayed to me that it is more difficult for them to apply for Hong Kong Permanent Identity Cards ("HKPICs") than it used to be. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of the number of persons in the aforesaid categories who applied for HKPICs during the period between 2010 and 2014, and among such persons, the respective numbers of those who were issued HKPICs and those whose applications for HKPICs were rejected, as well as the average number of days taken by the authorities to process the applications concerned (set out in the table below)?
| Non-Chinese citizens | Children of non-Chinese citizens | Chinese citizens born outside Hong Kong | |
| Number of applicants | |||
| Number of applicants who were issued HKPICs | |||
| Number of applicants whose applications for HKPICs were rejected | |||
| Average number of days taken by the authorities to process the applications concerned |
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security
*12. Hon Claudia MO to ask: (Translation)
In March 2014, the Government proposed to rezone a "Green Belt" ("GB") site in Tai Wo Ping, Sham Shui Po ("Tai Wo Ping site") for housing development and make corresponding amendments to the relevant approved Outline Zoning Plan ("OZP"). It also consulted the Sham Shui Po District Council ("SSPDC") on this proposal. Some residents in Tai Wo Ping have complained to me that the authorities develop the site arbitrarily by rezoning it for building luxurious properties. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that the two-stage review for the purpose of rezoning GB sites for housing development conducted by the Planning Department merely focused respectively on devegetated, deserted or formed GB sites, as well as the GB sites situated in the fringe of urban areas and new development areas having relatively low buffering effect and conservation value, yet the Tai Wo Ping site is vegetated, close to the Lion Rock Country Park and considered by some environmental groups as having a high conservation value, e.g. the rare limnonectes fujianensis being discovered there, why the authorities have still proposed to rezone the Tai Wo Ping site for housing development; (2) given that some residents are worried that the construction of residential properties in the Tai Wo Ping site will involve construction works being carried out on steep hillside slopes, streams, valleys and dense forests, and will therefore damage the environment and ecology in the vicinity, as well as endanger the survival of various types of animals and plants, of the authorities' measures to prevent the occurrence of such a situation; (3) given that some residents consider that the housing development carried out at the Tai Wo Ping site will reduce the green area in the Sham Shui Po district, thereby aggravating the air quality problem in the district, which is already more severe than that of other districts, whether the authorities have taken into account this factor when proposing the rezoning of the Tai Wo Ping site and conducted any environmental impact assessment study; if they have, of the results; (4) whether it has assessed if the education and medical facilities, etc. in the district will be sufficient to meet the demand for services arising from the new population brought by the housing development carried out at the Tai Wo Ping site and the successive completion of the public housing developments nearby; if it has, of the results; if not, the reasons for that; (5) given that some residents have pointed out that the reserve capacity at the junction of Nam Cheong Street and Cornwall Street can hardly meet the traffic demand arising from the housing development carried out at the the Tai Wo Ping site, of the results and detailed data of the traffic impact assessment(s) conducted by the authorities; (6) whether it has considered other alternatives to the rezoning of the Tai Wo Ping site, such as redeveloping Tai Hang Sai Estate and rezoning the sites of vacant school premises in the district to residential sites, etc.; and (7) given that SSPDC has passed, by a clear majority, a motion objecting the submission of the proposed amendments to the relevant OZP by the authorities to the Town Planning Board ("TPB") and requesting the authorities to provide relevant details first, yet the authorities still submitted those proposed amendments to TPB in mid-2014, causing some residents to think that public views have been ignored, whether the authorities will consider withdrawing the proposed amendments so as to seek public views on this issue?
*13. Hon SIN Chung-kai to ask: (Translation)
Investment-linked assurance schemes ("ILAS"), which not only provide life insurance protection but also include investment elements, have become increasingly popular in Hong Kong in recent years. It is learnt that the structure of these products is complicated with numerous fees and charges (such as administration, management and performance fees, as well as surrender, withdrawal and fund switching charges), together with variations in charging ways and time. Quite a number of insured persons who took out ILAS products have relayed to me that they were provided with inadequate information and were even misled or deceived by insurance brokers/intermediaries in the selling process, resulting in their making wrong purchase decisions. For instance, in the selling process, the insurance brokers/intermediaries only placed emphasis on the merits of the products (such as rewards, bonus, free switching of funds and high returns) but did not give a clear account of the restrictions of the products in respect of time horizon, fees and charges as well as early surrender, etc. Not until some insured persons intended to withdraw part of their funds after taking out the policy for a certain number of years did they realize that the time horizon of the products was as long as 25 to 30 years, rather than three to five years as mentioned during the selling process. As the insured persons did not have the means to make contributions on a long-term basis and requested for policy surrender halfway, they were levied high surrender charges by the insurance company. Even if the insured persons chose to suspend their contributions, they had to pay high fund management fees every year thereafter, thus suffering huge losses. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of (i) the number of new ILAS policies, (ii) the annualized premium, (iii) the single premium and (iv) the number of surrendered policies and its percentage in the total number of ILAS policies, in each of the past two years; (2) given that the relevant self-regulatory organizations approved by the Insurance Authority are responsible for handling complaints relating to the registration and selling behaviour of insurance brokers/intermediaries, whether the authorities have grasped the details of such complaints; whether the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance ("OCI"), the Securities and Futures Commission ("SFC") and the Consumer Council received complaints about ILAS in the past two years; if they did, (i) of the annual number of such complaints and its percentage in the total number of complaints involving the insurance industry, (ii) the nature of such complaints, and (iii) the amount of claims in general; (3) whether it has assessed the adequacy of the existing legislation on regulating the design of ILAS products, the disclosure of commissions charged by insurance brokers/intermediaries, the fees and charges as well as the selling process, etc. ; and (4) of the roles of OCI and SFC in regulating the sale of ILAS products by insurance brokers/intermediaries; whether the authorities have plans to step up regulation of the sale of such products by insurance brokers/intermediaries, such as requiring them to register with SFC before selling the products; if they do, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*14. Hon CHAN Kin-por to ask: (Translation)
According to the Road Traffic Ordinance (Cap. 374), private cars aged six years or more and light goods vehicles aged one year or more must pass the annual vehicle examinations conducted by the car testing centres authorized by the Government ("car testing centres") before the licences for such vehicles may be renewed. It has been reported that as some approved car testers ("ACTs"), who were responsible for conducting annual vehicle examinations, were arrested in recent years for allegedly accepting bribes and forging certificates of roadworthiness, the authorities have been more stringent in supervising the operation of car testing centres. As a result, the average time taken for examining vehicles has increased from 15 minutes per vehicle in the past to 45 minutes or even as long as a whole day, and consequently the waiting time for annual vehicle examinations has also become longer. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of private cars and light goods vehicles in respect of which annual vehicle examinations were applied for, as well as the number of ACTs, in each of the past three years; the anticipated rates of increase per annum in the next three years in the respective numbers of these two types of vehicles which will be required to undergo annual vehicle examinations before renewal of licences, as well as the supply of and demand for the services of various car testing centres and ACTs; (2) whether it has plans to increase the numbers of car testing centres and ACTs in the coming year, and to simplify the annual vehicle examination procedures so as to enhance their efficiency; if so, of the details; if not, the measures the authorities have in place to shorten the waiting time for annual vehicle examinations; and (3) of the measures the authorities will adopt to ensure that the annual vehicle examinations conducted by car testing centres are both compliant with the relevant requirements and efficient; whether the authorities currently issue temporary vehicle licences to those vehicle owners who are unable to schedule annual vehicle examinations for their vehicles prior to the expiry of their licences, so that their failure to have the licences for their vehicles renewed in time will not affect their work and daily lives; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*15. Dr Hon CHIANG Lai-wan to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that there have been successive demonstrations against parallel traders recently and on the same day of 8 March this year, several rounds of protests took place in Tuen Mun, Sheung Shui and Tsim Sha Tsui. Some protesters kicked the trolleys of passers-by resulting in physical confrontations; attempted to block the roads with mills barriers to make buses bound for an immigration control point unable to depart; dashed into the roads with an intent to disrupt public order; and charged into goldsmith shops, pharmacies and groceries hurling abuses at customers. Given the chaotic situation, some shops closed during the protests and their business was seriously affected. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the persons or bodies organizing the protests against parallel traders held in the past three months applied to the authorities for letters of no objection to public processions; if they did, of the respective numbers of cases in which letters of no objection were issued and denied by the authorities, together with a breakdown by applicant's name; whether the authorities will review the criteria for issuing letters of no objection; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) given the increasingly serious physical confrontations arising from the recent protests against parallel traders, whether the authorities have measures in place to better protect the personal safety and properties of shop operators, local residents as well as tourists; if they do, of the details; and (3) of the specific enforcement actions put in place by the authorities to prevent the recurrence of such disruption of public order so as to uphold the reputation of Hong Kong as a safe city to visit?
*16. Hon CHAN Han-pan to ask: (Translation)
Since the collapse of a building at Ma Tau Wai Road in To Kwa Wan in 2010, the Buildings Department ("BD") has stepped up its inspection of the conditions of buildings aged 50 years or more, and in 2012 BD fully implemented the Mandatory Building Inspection Scheme ("MBIS"). Under MBIS, owners of private buildings aged 30 years or more, except domestic buildings not exceeding three storeys in height, are required, upon receipt of the statutory notices served by BD, to appoint a registered inspector ("RI") to carry out prescribed inspection of the common parts, external walls and projections or signboards of the buildings. These owners are also required to complete the prescribed repairs found necessary by RIs after inspection. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of (i) the number of the aforesaid statutory notices issued by BD, (ii) the number of buildings the prescribed inspection of which was completed, (iii) the number of buildings the inspection of which was approved to extend, and (iv) the number of buildings the repair on which was found necessary by the inspection result, in each of the years since the implementation of MBIS, with a breakdown of such numbers by District Council district; (2) of the tools and techniques, apart from visual inspections, employed by RIs to inspect buildings; (3) whether BD has sent staff members to conduct random checks on the buildings the prescribed inspection of which has been completed, so as to verify if the inspection results are true; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) whether it will consider conducting tensile strength tests on the concrete of buildings aged 50 years or more, and setting up a "database on concrete tensile strength" for storing the results of such tests, so as to monitor the ageing of buildings; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*17. Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to ask: (Translation)
Quite a number of members of the public have relayed to me that the venues in the community halls and community centres ("CHs/CCs") under the Home Affairs Department ("HAD") have all along been in short supply, and the facilities there are dilapidated and outdated, resulting in inconvenience for users. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the following information about CHs/CCs in each of the past three years: (i) the respective average monthly utilization rates of the conference rooms and multi-purpose halls (including stages); (ii) the number of cases in which the organizations that had booked the venues were unable to use such venues because the venues had been taken up by certain government departments; the respective numbers of organizations which were given demerit points and/or disqualified from using the venues under HAD's Demerit Points System for the following reasons: (iii) failing to give HAD notice of cancellation of use of the allocated timeslot seven working days prior to the date of the activity, (iv) failing to produce the approval letter for use of the facilities, (v) being late for 15 minutes or more, (vi) the name of the organization using the facilities or the nature of activity being different from the information given in the application, (vii) failing to clean and restore the venue after using, and (viii) failing to provide post-activity statement of account within one month of completion of a fee-charging activity which had been exempted from charges (set out the information by District Council ("DC") district and name of CH/CC in Table 1);
(Table 1) Year :
DC
districtName of CH/CC (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) (vii) (viii) Central and Western Western District CC (2) of the details of (i) the new facilities or equipment added to CHs/CCs, (ii) the facilities or equipment therein replaced due to damage caused by hirers, and (iii) the facilities or equipment therein replaced due to wear and tear or aging, in each of the past three years (set out the relevant information by DC district and name of CH/CC in Table 2);
(Table 2) Year :
DC district Name of CH/CC (i) (ii) (iii) Central and Western Western District CC (3) of the current ratio of CHs/CCs the task of hanging/installing banners in which is performed manually to those such task in which is performed by machine; whether the Government will consider having all such tasks performed by machine; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (4) whether the authorities received, in the past three years, any proposal from DCs for building new CHs/CCs; if they did, of the details; whether the authorities have plans to build new CHs/CCs in the next five years; if they do, of the sites for the proposed CHs/CCs together with other details and the justifications for building such CHs/CCs; and (5) whether it has plans to amend the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines to stipulate that a CH/CC should be provided for a district when its population size has reached a certain level?
*18. Hon Mrs Regina IP to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that in two enforcement actions carried out at the bar area at Lan Kwai Fong in Central in January this year, the Police arrested six men of African descent for allegedly touting drugs to young people and visitors. Some of these people were granted temporary stay in Hong Kong by virtue of Recognizance Forms (commonly known as "going-out passes") issued by the Immigration Department ("ImmD"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the Police will step up law enforcement efforts to combat the drug trafficking activities conducted at the bar area at Lan Kwai Fong, including deploying plain-clothed police officers to pose as bar customers; if they will, of the details; (2) of the number and the trend of young people arrested for drug abuse and drug trafficking at places of entertainment in the past three years; (3) as it is learnt that large numbers of local students and students returning from overseas to Hong Kong go to the bar area at Lan Kwai Fong for entertainment during long holidays, of the targeted measures which the Police have put in place to combat drug abuse and drug trafficking by such students at these places; and (4) whether the Police will enhance cooperation with ImmD to combat trafficking activities by foreign nationals who have been granted temporary stay in Hong Kong by virtue of going-out passes; if they will, of the details?
*19. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that on 28 February this year, the Chief Executive ("CE") told reporters that the results of a public opinion survey recently commissioned by the Government showed that more than half of Hong Kong people were agreeable to the selection of CE by universal suffrage in 2017 to be implemented in accordance with the Decision made by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on 31 August last year on issues such as the selection of CE of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region by universal suffrage. Yet, he did not provide any details of the public opinion survey. Some members of the public have complained to me that the Government has recently disseminated results of public opinion surveys to the media in a selective or incomprehensive manner from time to time, making it difficult for them to judge the credibility of such survey results. They also query that the employment of such a practice by the Government was an attempt to manipulate public opinion. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the details of the aforesaid public opinion survey regarding (i) the organization commissioned to conduct the survey, (ii) the content of the questionnaire, (iii) the method and form of the survey, (iv) the number of respondents and the response rate, (v) the distribution of age, gender and political attitude of the respondents, (vi) the raw data, and (vii) the analytical results of the survey data; (2) whether it has assessed the consequences of CE selectively disseminating a particular result of the aforesaid public opinion survey, including whether it has resulted in the credibility of the survey results being questioned and the Government being accused of manipulating public opinion; if it has not assessed, of the reasons for that; and (3) whether it will consider disclosing concomitantly the relevant details when it disseminates the results of Government-commissioned public opinion surveys in future; if it will not, of the reasons for that?
*20. Hon NG Leung-sing to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the Governments of Guangdong and Hong Kong have proposed cooperation in the realm of finance for years, but no breakthrough has been made in implementing the various proposals. On the other hand, the Central People's Government announced in December last year the establishment of the China (Guangdong) Pilot Free Trade Zone ("Guangdong FTZ"), to build an important platform for Guangdong-Hong Kong cooperation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the work progress made by the Governments of Guangdong and Hong Kong in promoting cooperation in the realm of finance in recent years, and whether they have encountered difficulties in the process; if they have, of the specific details; and (2) in view of the establishment of the Guangdong FTZ, what ideas and measures the authorities have to enhance cooperation in the realm of finance between Guangdong and Hong Kong?
*21. Hon TANG Ka-piu to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the places offered by local non-profit-making kindergartens and kindergarten-cum-child care centres (collectively referred to as "KGs"), and the financial assistance provided for the relevant students, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of a breakdown by Education Bureau's school district and KG type (i.e. half-day and whole-day KGs, as well as KGs operating long hours and on school holidays ("long WD KGs")) of the number of KGs participating in the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme ("PEVS") and the total number of places such KGs offered, as well as the number of students studying in such KGs and the percentage of such number in the total number of KG students, in each school year from 2010-2011 to 2014-2015; (2) whether it knows the respective numbers of students whose enrolment applications were received by whole-day and long WD KGs in each school year from 2010-2011 to 2014-2015, the respective percentages of such numbers in the total number of KG students in Hong Kong, and the respective success rates of such applications; (3) of the number of additional KGs, as estimated by the authorities, which will be needed for providing sufficient places should all half-day KGs be converted to whole-day ones; whether the authorities have new initiatives to encourage KGs to provide more whole-day places; if they do, of the details; whether the authorities have studied the demand for the places of various types of KGs; if they have, of the details; (4) whether the authorities have conducted any assessment on the feasibility of providing additional kindergarten-cum-child care centres; if they have, of the assessment outcome; if not, the reasons for that; and (5) of the current number of KG students who come from families receiving Comprehensive Social Security Assistance payments and other forms of KG fee remission assistance ("other financial assistance") apart from that under PEVS, and the respective maximum amounts of such other forms of financial assistance; whether it has plans to formulate new measures to assist such families in paying various miscellaneous fees charged by KGs (e.g. fees for school uniforms, school buses, snacks, activities, etc.); if it does, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*22. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)
The outbreak of influenza in the current winter influenza season is more severe than that in previous years, with quite a number of people with weaker immunity, such as children and the elderly, having been infected. It is learnt that influenza viruses spread more easily in places with poor ventilation (such as public transport and shopping malls with faulty exhaust systems). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the statistics on people infected with influenza in each of the summer and winter influenza seasons in the past three years, with a breakdown by category of patients (i.e. adults, children and the elderly) and by whether the cases were fatal; (2) how the respective numbers of people receiving influenza vaccination under the Childhood Influenza Vaccination Subsidy Scheme and the Elderly Vaccination Subsidy Scheme since the increase in the subsidy per dose of vaccine for such schemes in October last year compare with the relevant numbers in the same periods of the past three years; (3) whether it has plans to further step up publicity to educate members of the public who suspect themselves of having infected with influenza to take measures to prevent the spread of the viruses (such as wearing masks and reducing visits to crowded places); (4) as some members of the public are worried about being infected with influenza when taking public transport, whether the Government will deploy manpower to conduct hands-on monitoring as to whether the air quality in railway train compartments and platform areas, franchised buses compartments and major transport interchanges meets the requirements of the Practice Note for Managing Air Quality in Air-conditioned Public Transport Facilities; as it has been reported that the carbon dioxide concentration inside the compartment of a half-full bus stays around 2 100 parts per million, which exceeds the "Good Class" level of the Indoor Air Quality Objectives formulated by the Environmental Protection Department by more than 100% and reflects the inadequacy of fresh air inside bus compartments, thus making it easy for influenza viruses to spread, whether the Government will consider afresh requiring franchised bus companies to employ buses with windows that can be opened to admit fresh air; (5) given that the Government distributed disinfectant packs on the streets to disseminate hygiene and epidemic prevention messages during the outbreak of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in Hong Kong in 2003, whether the Government will consider employing such method again to disseminate messages on the prevention of influenza infection; (6) whether it has stepped up disinfection of the public places managed by government departments (such as public libraries); if it has, when such work started and of the specific arrangements; whether it has carried out disinfection of public library collections, such as books; if it has, of the details; (7) if it knows whether any healthcare workers of public hospitals worked overtime or cancelled their leave last month in order to deal with the influenza outbreak; and (8) given that influenza vaccination is suspected to have triggered the onset of myasthenia gravis in a healthcare worker earlier, whether the Government knows if there were cases of other serious diseases triggered by influenza vaccination in the past three years?
* For written reply
III. Bills
| First Reading | |||
| 1. | Human Reproductive Technology (Amendment) Bill 2015 | ||
| 2. | Promotion of Recycling and Proper Disposal (Electrical Equipment and Electronic Equipment) (Amendment) Bill 2015 | ||
| Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned) | |||
| 1. | Human Reproductive Technology (Amendment) Bill 2015 | : | Secretary for Food and Health |
| 2. | Promotion of Recycling and Proper Disposal (Electrical Equipment and Electronic Equipment) (Amendment) Bill 2015 | : | Secretary for the Environment |
| Second Reading (Debate to resume), Committee Stage and Third Reading | |||
| 1. | Securities and Futures and Companies Legislation (Uncertificated Securities Market Amendment) Bill 2014 | : | Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury |
| Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury to move Committee stage amendments (The amendments were issued on 3 March 2015 under LC Paper No. CB(3)490/14-15) | |||
|
(Debate and voting arrangements for Committee stage amendments to the Securities and Futures and Companies Legislation (Uncertificated Securities Market Amendment) Bill 2014 (issued on 17 March 2015 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 527/14-15(01)))
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| 2. | Veterinary Surgeons Registration (Amendment) Bill 2014 | : | Secretary for Food and Health |
| Secretary for Food and Health to move Committee stage amendments (The amendments were issued on 10 March 2015 under LC Paper No. CB(3)502/14-15) | |||
| (Debate and voting arrangements for Committee stage amendments to the Veterinary Surgeons Registration (Amendment) Bill 2014 (issued on 17 March 2015 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 527/14-15(02))) | |||
IV. Motions
| 1. | Proposed resolution under the Criminal Procedure Ordinance
The Chief Secretary for Administration to move the following motion: Resolved that the Criminal Procedure (Witnesses' Allowances) (Amendment) Rules 2015, made by the Criminal Procedure Rules Committee on 13 January 2015, be approved. |
| (The Rules are in Appendix I and were also issued on 5 February 2015 under LC Paper No. CB(3)438/14-15) | |
| 2. | Proposed resolution under the Coroners Ordinance
The Chief Secretary for Administration to move the following motion: Resolved that the Coroners (Witnesses' Allowances) (Amendment) Rules 2015, made by the Chief Justice on 15 January 2015, be approved. |
| (The Rules are in Appendix II and were also issued on 5 February 2015 under LC Paper No. CB(3)439/14-15) | |
| 3. | Proposed resolution under the Criminal Procedure Ordinance
The Chief Secretary for Administration to move the following motion: Resolved that the Criminal Appeal (Amendment) Rules 2015, made by the Criminal Procedure Rules Committee on 13 February 2015, be approved. |
| (The Rules are in Appendix III and were also issued on 26 February 2015 under LC Paper No. CB(3)481/14-15) | |
| 4. | Proposed resolution under the Public Finance Ordinance
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury to move the motion in Appendix IV. |
| (The motion was also issued on 26 February 2015 under LC Paper No. CB(3)482/14-15) | |
| 5. | Proposed resolution under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance
Secretary for Food and Health to move the following motion: Resolved that the Pharmacy and Poisons (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulation 2015, made by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board on 9 February 2015, be approved. |
| (The Regulation is in Appendix V and was also issued on 23 February 2015 under LC Paper No. CB(3)472/14-15) |
V. Members' Motions
| 1. | Motion under Rule 49E(2) of the Rules of Procedure
Hon Andrew LEUNG to move the following motion: That this Council takes note of Report No. 14/14-15 of the House Committee laid on the Table of the Council on 18 March 2015 in relation to the subsidiary legislation and instrument(s) as listed below:
Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Labour and Welfare | |||||||
| 2. | Proposed resolution under Article 75 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
Hon IP Kwok-him to move the motion in Appendix VI. | |||||||
| (The motion was also issued on 9 February 2015 under LC Paper No. CB(3)444/14-15) | ||||||||
| 3. | Expanding the ratio of the middle-class population
Hon Andrew LEUNG to move the following motion: (Translation) That this Council urges the SAR Government to formulate feasible policies and measures to increase the opportunities for upward social mobility, thereby expanding the ratio of the middle-class population and enhancing Hong Kong's competitiveness. | |||||||
| Amendments to the motion | ||||||||
| (i) | Prof Hon Joseph LEE to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To add ", given the trend of the dwindling middle-class population in Hong Kong in recent years," after "That"; to add "formulate a widely recognized definition for the middle class and promote diversification of industries, so as to establish a clear career ladder for them and enhance their development potentials," after "upward social mobility,"; and to add "; at the same time, the SAR Government should formulate policies to assist middle-class people in coping with difficulties, in order to alleviate their burdens" immediately before the full stop. | |||||||
| (ii) | Hon SIN Chung-kai to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To add ", as the Government has disregarded the needs of middle-class people over the years," after "That"; and to add "; specific measures include: (1) to raise the various tax allowances, including the basic allowance for individuals, child allowance, married person's allowance as well as dependent parent allowance, and widen the tax bands for salaries tax and abolish the standard rate for salaries tax, so that members of the public pay their salaries tax according to the marginal tax rate, thereby alleviating the tax burden on the middle class; (2) to reintroduce the Sandwich Class Housing Scheme, thereby increasing the opportunities for the middle class to acquire homes; (3) to uphold local core values and combat corruption, so as to rebuild a society with integrity and fairness for providing the middle class with an environment with fair competition; and (4) to fully implement the election of the Chief Executive and that of all Members of the Legislative Council by genuine universal suffrage, respect people's equal rights to make nomination, to vote and to stand for election, and develop in the middle class a sense of belonging to Hong Kong" immediately before the full stop. | |||||||
| (iii) | Hon Kenneth LEUNG to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To add ", as the middle class is pivotal in promoting the development of democratic political system and economic development," after "That"; and to add ", with a view to promoting democratization of Hong Kong's political system" after "the middle-class population". | |||||||
| (iv) | Hon Cyd HO to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To delete "feasible policies and measures to increase" after "to formulate" and substitute with "policies conducive to increasing"; to add "for the young generations in Hong Kong, including improving education and promoting diversified economic development, etc." after "upward social mobility"; and to delete "and" after "the middle-class population" and substitute with ", protecting Hong Kong people's basic human rights and freedom as well as restoring their confidence in the future, thus". | |||||||
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| 4. | Formulating a long-term and comprehensive industrial policy
Ir Dr Hon LO Wai-kwok to move the following motion: (Translation) That this Council urges the SAR Government to expeditiously formulate a long-term, comprehensive, balanced and forward-looking industrial policy to introduce development strategies and ancillary measures for pillar industries, emerging industries and traditional industries respectively, and allocate resources correspondingly, so as to create a diversified environment for employment and business start-up, facilitate Hong Kong's economic restructuring, enhance overall competitiveness, ensure sustainable development of Hong Kong's economy and stable growth of government revenue, and create more upward mobility opportunities for new generations, thus improving people's livelihood. | |||||||
| Amendments to the motion | ||||||||
| (i) | Hon MA Fung-kwok to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To add ", as the diversified development of industries is conducive to building a healthy and mature economy," after "That"; to add "increase the metropolitan glamour of Hong Kong," after "start-up,"; and to add "and the soft power of the city" after "competitiveness". | |||||||
| (ii) | Hon YIU Si-wing to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To add ", as the global economic environment changes drastically," after "That"; and to add "; at the same time, in response to the development trends of the tourism industries worldwide and in China, the SAR Government should also formulate short, medium and long-term planning for the tourism industry, which serves as one of the pillar industries of Hong Kong, in the light of the capacities of tourism supporting facilities and future development of tourism resources, so as to foster the sustainable and healthy development of Hong Kong's tourism industry" immediately before the full stop. | |||||||
| (iii) | Hon Kenneth LEUNG to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To add ", for promoting the sustainable development of Hong Kong's economy," after "That"; to delete "formulate" after "expeditiously" and substitute with "conduct comprehensive studies on the mode of long-term economic development and competitiveness of Hong Kong, and based on the findings, to formulate land planning strategies, manpower resource programmes and tax measures which are conducive to the diversified development of Hong Kong's economy, with a view to formulating"; to delete "to introduce" after "industrial policy" and substitute with "which includes introducing"; to delete "," after "pillar industries" and substitute with "and"; to delete "and traditional industries respectively, and allocate" after "emerging industries" and substitute with ", and allocating"; and to delete "Hong Kong's economic restructuring" after "facilitate" and substitute with "the diversified development of Hong Kong's economy". | |||||||
| (iv) | Hon Charles Peter MOK to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To add ", as Hong Kong's overall competitiveness declines," after "That"; to delete "resources" after "allocate" and substitute with "government surplus"; to delete "and" after "employment" and substitute with ", business operations and"; to add "knowledge exchange and international cooperation which are conducive to" after "facilitate"; to delete "," after "restructuring" and substitute with "; this Council also urges the SAR Government to promote the development of local innovation and technology industries and consolidate Hong Kong's competitive edge in Asia Pacific and internationally, so as to"; and to add "thereby allocating more resources to sustainably nurture local talents which meet the needs of the development of industries, and enhance the quality of manpower resources; at the same time, the SAR Government should also formulate specific support measures for the development of industries, create employment opportunities to retain talents, improve the mismatch of local manpower resources," after "revenue,". | |||||||
| (v) | Hon SIN Chung-kai to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To add ", Hong Kong's global competitiveness has shown signs of decline in recent years, and according to the Index of Economic Freedom Report published by the Heritage Foundation this year, although Hong Kong remains top in the rankings in 2015, the gap between the overall score of Hong Kong and that of Singapore, which stands second, has further narrowed, and the Foundation is worried that the institutional uniqueness of Hong Kong has slightly faded; in the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2014 published by the Institute for Management Development, Lausanne, Switzerland, Hong Kong has even dropped from third in 2013 to fourth, showing a decline for two consecutive years, and has dropped out of the top three and has been overtaken by Singapore for the first time since 2004; in the Global Competitiveness Report 2014-2015 published by the World Economic Forum in 2014, although Hong Kong remains seventh in the rankings, it lags far behind Singapore which stands second, and Hong Kong's rankings in innovation and higher education have both declined; in this connection," after "That"; to delete "allocate resources correspondingly" after "respectively, and" and substitute with "optimize the fiscal surplus to increase substantially the investment in human capital and social infrastructure"; and to add "; the relevant policies and measures should include: (1) to revitalize the various industrial estates, so as to induce the return of the industrial sector for development; (2) to expand the uses of the existing Innovation and Technology Fund, so as to support the development of innovation and technology industries; (3) to reserve more lands for developing data centres and develop Hong Kong into a data hub of cloud computing in Asia; and (4) by making reference to the practices under the New Producer Responsibility Scheme on Glass Beverage Bottles, to provide market values for recyclable waste with low market values (e.g. plastics), and establish a government-funded body corporate for operating the waste recycling industry on its own, thereby promoting the development of green industries" immediately before the full stop. | |||||||
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