A 15/16-9
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 9 December 2015 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers
| Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments | L.N. No. | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Public Pleasure Grounds) (Amendment of Fourth Schedule) (No. 2) Order 2015 | 231/2015 |
| 2. | Evidence (Miscellaneous Amendments) Ordinance 2003 (Commencement) Notice 2015 | 232/2015
|
| 1. | No. 43 | - | Emergency Relief Fund
Annual Report by the Trustee for the year ending 31 March 2015 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Labour and Welfare)
| |||
| 2. | No. 44 | - | The Prince Philip Dental Hospital
2014/15 Annual Report The Board of Governors |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Food and Health)
| |||
| 3. | No. 45 | - | Health Care and Promotion Fund
2014-15 Annual Report |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Food and Health)
| |||
| 4. | Report No. 7/15-16 of the House Committee on Consideration of Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments | ||
| (to be presented by Hon Andrew LEUNG, Chairman of the House Committee)
| |||
| 5. | Report of the Bills Committee on Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014 | ||
| (to be presented by Hon CHAN Kam-lam, Chairman of the Bills Committee)
| |||
II. Questions
1. Hon Frankie YICK to ask: (Translation)
According to Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicles) Regulations, a taxi driver commits an offence if he overcharges taxi fares, refuses hire and solicits business, and he is liable on conviction to a third-level fine (i.e. $10,000) and an imprisonment of six months. Although the Police take law enforcement actions against such illegal practices from time to time, such kind of cases are still often heard of. Some taxi drivers have pointed out that the image of the entire industry has been tarnished by the illegal practices of a small group of bad elements of the taxi trade, and the business of law-abiding drivers has also been affected. They call on the Government to step up its efforts to combat illegal practices of taxi drivers, so as to stop the undesirable trend from spreading. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of taxi drivers prosecuted for committing offences involving taxi services, a breakdown of the number of convictions of drivers by offence and by the penalty handed down by the court, as well as a breakdown of the number of convicted drivers and the penalties imposed on them by the number of times for which individual drivers were convicted, in the past five years; (2) whether the authorities lodged appeals in the past five years against the sentences imposed on law-offending taxi drivers by the court which were too lenient; if they did, of the details, if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether the authorities will increase the penalties on the illegal practices of taxi drivers, such as stipulating that repeated offenders will definitely be disqualified for life from driving taxis, so as to enhance the deterrent effect; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and the authorities' measures that can effectively combat the illegal practices of taxi drivers?
2. Hon Gary FAN to ask: (Translation)
Under section 11(3) of the Road Traffic (Driving Licences) Regulations, the Commissioner for Transport may directly issue a Hong Kong full driving licence without test to an applicant holding a driver's certificate or licence issued by a competent authority in any country or place listed in the Fourth Schedule to the Regulations ("direct issue of driving licences"), so that the applicant may drive certain classes of vehicles in Hong Kong. Such an arrangement for direct issue of driving licences is applicable to the Mainland of China. It has been reported that the number of mainland residents applying for direct issue of driving licences has soared in recent years. The reasons behind that include the availability of agents in Hong Kong to lodge relevant applications on behalf of mainland residents, and the rumour on the Mainland that mainland residents holding Hong Kong driving licences may drive in many countries around the world. In connection with issues relating to mainland residents driving in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the measures in place to curb the large number of mainland residents scrambling to lodge applications for direct issue of driving licences; (2) as it has been reported that the number of traffic accidents involving mainland drivers issued with driving licences directly has been increasing continuously in the past three years, and such situation may be attributed to the disparity between the road traffic regulations of the two places and the differences between drivers' driving cultures prevailing in the two places, whether the authorities will exclude the Mainland of China from the places to which the arrangement for direct issue of driving licences is applicable, so as to safeguard road safety; and (3) given that upon the implementation of the second phase of the Ad Hoc Quota Trial Scheme for Cross-boundary Private Cars (commonly known as "cross-boundary self-drive tours"), eligible drivers in Guangdong Province will be allowed to drive in Hong Kong without having to undergo any assessment or take any driving course, which has aroused concerns among quite a number of members of the public that the influx of private cars from the Mainland into Hong Kong will jeopardize road safety and overload the transport network, whether the authorities will shelve the second phase of the Scheme?
3. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)
On the 21st of last month, the Secretary for Justice ("SJ") and the Secretary for Transport and Housing went to Beijing to discuss with officials of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council ("HKMAO") the implementation of the arrangements for co-location of boundary control ("co-location arrangements") upon commissioning of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link ("XRL"). SJ subsequently told the media that in order to deal with the issue of co-location, it was inevitable that mainland personnel must be allowed to enforce laws in the XRL West Kowloon Terminus, and the relevant approach was unavoidable. Regarding the implementation of the co-location arrangements, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the latest progress of the authorities' discussion with the officials of HKMAO on the implementation of the co-location arrangements, and the aspects of the co-location arrangements on which a consensus has been reached between both sides; the contents of the various options on the co-location arrangements prepared by the authorities, including the legal and operational issues involved in various options; whether such options include the one that mainland personnel are to conduct immigration clearance for travellers on XRL trains; how the authorities have come to the conclusion that mainland personnel must be allowed to enforce laws in Hong Kong; (2) whether the authorities, for the sake of implementing the co-location arrangements, have plans to propose to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress that the relevant national laws be listed in Annex III to the Basic Law so as to empower mainland personnel to enforce laws in Kong Kong; if they have such plans, of the details, and whether they have assessed if such an action will violate the following provision in Article 18 of the Basic Law: "Laws listed in Annex III to this Law shall be confined to those relating to defence and foreign affairs as well as other matters outside the limits of the autonomy of the [Hong Kong Special Administrative] Region as specified by this Law"; and (3) as some members of the public are worried that the Government, in an attempt to provide immigration convenience to XRL travellers, has deliberately misinterpreted the relevant provisions of the Basic Law and attempted to exploit the loopholes in the wording of the relevant provisions of the Basic Law, which may undermine the rule of law, how the Government dispels the doubts of the public; whether it has assessed if Hong Kong people have grave concern about allowing mainland personnel to enforce laws in Hong Kong; given that Article 18 of the Basic Law provides that "[T]he laws in force in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall be this Law, the laws previously in force in Hong Kong as provided for in Article 8 of this Law, and the laws enacted by the legislature of the Region. National laws shall not be applied in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region except for those listed in Annex III to this Law", whether the authorities will withdraw the aforesaid remarks on the premise of strict adherence to that Article, and explore other feasible options for the co-location arrangements; if they will not, of the reasons for that?
4. Dr Hon Kenneth CHAN to ask: (Translation)
Established on the 20th of last month, the Innovation and Technology Bureau ("ITB") is responsible for formulating and implementing policies on innovation and technology. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that when the Finance Committee of this Council deliberated on the funding applications for the establishment of ITB in the past, members put forward quite a number of views and recommendations in relation to policies on innovation and technology, whether ITB will collate and analyze those views and recommendations, and take follow-up actions on them; if ITB will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether ITB will expeditiously formulate blueprints and objectives for implementing policies on innovation and technology, and establish a series of indicators for assessing the effectiveness of such policies; if ITB will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; how ITB will, in the course of formulating those blueprints and objectives, strive to gain support from the public, e.g. whether ITB will conduct public consultations; if ITB will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) given that the resources for various research funding schemes launched by the University Grants Committee are allocated on a competitive basis, whether ITB will introduce new policies and strategies to promote co-operation among institutions, with a view to developing the innovation and technology industries in Hong Kong more effectively; if ITB will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
5. Hon Kenneth LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that some companies with the description of "會計事務所" (accounting affairs firms) in their Chinese names promote loan services on behalf of financial intermediaries or financial companies under the guise of offering financial assessment services to clients, and they charge exorbitant handling fees. Some members of the accounting profession have relayed to me that the names of those companies can easily lead people into mistaking them for firms of certified public accountants (practising) registered under the Professional Accountants Ordinance and the business practices of such companies have also tarnished the professional image of the accounting profession. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the authorities have measures in place to regulate the aforesaid financial assessment services so as to ensure their independence and professionalism; if they do, of the specific measures; if not, whether they will consider amending the relevant ordinances to safeguard the rights and interests of borrowers; (2) of the respective numbers of cases in which investigations were conducted into and prosecutions instituted in respect of the illegal acts of financial intermediaries by law enforcement agencies in the past three years; the number of companies involved in such cases which used the description of "accounting affairs firms" or similar wording in their names; and (3) whether it will enhance public education to teach the public how to differentiate between financial intermediaries and practice units registered under the Professional Accountants Ordinance; if it will, of the specific plans; if not, the reasons for that?
6. Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)
Since September last year, more than one thousand people who participated in the "Umbrella Movement" and related public order events have had their personal information jotted down, or have been arrested or prosecuted by the Police. It has been reported that some of the people charged with the offence of assaulting police officers were able to prove their innocence in court by themselves with video footages found on the Internet, and such footages have revealed that the testimonies given by the police officers concerned were not true. Some members of the public have queried that these police officers have testified dishonestly in court, causing the people who participated in public order events being prosecuted unnecessarily. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) regarding those cases relating to the "Umbrella Movement", of the number of cases since January this year in which the judge alleged the police officers concerned of having testified dishonestly during the trials; (2) whether it has taken disciplinary actions against such police officers who were alleged by the judge of having testified dishonestly; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) of the number of people prosecuted in such cases in which the police officers were alleged by the judge of having testified dishonestly, together with a breakdown by the occupation and age of such people; whether it has assessed the losses in terms of time and money suffered by such people because of the cases; if it has assessed, of the outcome; whether the authorities will pay compensation to such people; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*7. Hon CHAN Chi-chuen to ask: (Translation)
At present, transgender people who wish to receive partial or full sex reassignment surgery must first be assessed by the specialists and experts of the various specialties concerned (including plastic surgery, psychiatry, endocrinology, clinical psychology, etc.) to ascertain if they are suitable for undergoing the surgery. The New Territories East Cluster under the Hospital Authority ("HA") announced earlier that from the current fiscal year onwards, the Prince of Wales Hospital ("PWH") under the cluster would provide one-stop medical services for people with Gender Identity Disorder and those with Gender Dysphoria (collectively known as "transgender medical services"). Starting from October this year, PWH would reserve three operating theatre sessions for sex reassignment surgery each month and would provide the relevant psychiatric and endocrinology services later on. It is learnt that in the past, sex reassignment surgery used to be performed mainly by a surgeon at the Ruttonjee Hospital, but the surgeon retired in October this year. PWH has therefore arranged overseas training for the doctors who will be responsible for performing this type of surgery. Some transgender people have relayed to me that as there is a lack of doctors with experience and qualifications in the relevant diagnoses in public hospitals at present, and such medical services provided by PWH are still at their early stage, they are worried that the waiting time for transgender medical services will be rather long. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the number of attendances for transgender medical services in public hospitals as well as the respective numbers of people who underwent partial and full sex reassignment surgeries, in each of the past five years, together with a tabular breakdown of the figures by hospital cluster and type of sex reassignment (i.e. male to female conversion or vice versa); (2) whether it knows the longest, shortest and average waiting times of new cases for the various transgender medical services provided in public hospitals at present (set out in a table); (3) whether it knows the estimated number of patients to whom PWH can provide transgender medical services in each of the coming five years; whether PWH will provide medical services to the transgender people referred by public hospitals in clusters other than the New Territories East; (4) whether it knows the current number of healthcare personnel (with a breakdown by specialty such as plastic surgery, psychiatry, endocrinology and clinical psychology) in public hospitals with experience or qualifications in transgender diagnoses; among such healthcare personnel, the number of doctors working at PWH, and the number of those who will reach retirement age in the coming five years; (5) whether it knows the current number of healthcare personnel (with a breakdown by specialty such as plastic surgery, psychiatry, endocrinology and clinical psychology) in public hospitals who have received overseas training in transgender medical services, and among them, the number of doctors working at PWH; the number of healthcare personnel whom HA plans to send overseas to receive training in this respect in the coming five years; (6) given that pre-sex reassignment surgery psychiatric assessment services are separately provided in various hospital clusters at present, whether it knows if HA has any plans to centralize resources by designating PWH as the sole provider of psychiatric assessment services for such type of cases across the territory; if HA does, of the projected implementation time; if not, whether HA will undertake to rationalize the assessment services in the coming year and put forward feasible proposals; and (7) as some transgender people have relayed to me that since they have given up receiving sex reassignment surgery due to heath, family and personal reasons, they are not permitted to change the sex entries on their identity cards, and such situation has caused inconvenience to their lives, of the measures to be formulated to help these people by the Interdepartmental Working Group on Gender Recognition set up by the Government; the work progress of the Working Group so far and its next course of action?
*8. Hon CHAN Kin-por to ask: (Translation)
It is learnt that the Labour Department ("LD") is dedicated to encouraging employers to implement family-friendly employment practices ("FFEPs"), with a view to helping employees achieve a balance between work and family life. The relevant practices promoted by LD in recent years include flexitime, five-day work week, work from home, providing the alternative of working on a part-time basis, offering employees family leave benefits that are more favourable than the statutory requirements, and furnishing employees with medical protection, child care services, counselling services on stress or emotional management and other living support. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) in the past five years, whether the authorities (i) formulated specific indicators to evaluate the implementation of FFEPs in various industries, (ii) conducted a territory-wide study on the effectiveness of the various practices, and (iii) assessed the effectiveness of and deficiencies in the relevant publicity and public education efforts; if they did, of the details; if not, whether the authorities will consider conducting such work; (2) of the details of the various FFEPs implemented by various policy bureaux/government departments ("B/Ds") in the past 10 years, including whether such practices were applicable to all B/Ds and whether they covered non-civil service contract staff; the procedures for government employees to apply for such arrangements as work from home or flexitime; whether it has studied how to enhance the various FFEPs, so as to take the lead in promoting them; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) as it has been reported that the Singaporean government has achieved remarkable results in encouraging private sector employers to implement FFEPs for work-life balance by providing them with financial incentives, whether the authorities will consider setting up a task force to study in details and make reference to the experience of Singapore on the provision of financial incentives for local private sector employers, so as to encourage them to implement FFEPs; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*9. Hon TAM Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that international crude oil prices have been falling continuously since June last year from about US$110 per barrel to the recent price of below US$50 per barrel. However, some airliners still levy passenger or cargo fuel surcharges at present. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the bases and principles adopted by airlines for determining the levels of their fuel surcharges; of the criteria and considerations based on which the Civil Aviation Department ("CAD") vets and approves fuel surcharge applications; the annual average rates of fuel surcharge adjustments in the past three years, and how such adjustment rates compared with the rates of fluctuations in international crude oil prices during the same period; (2) given that international crude oil prices have been falling continuously for the past year or so, of the reasons why CAD has still approved individual airlines to levy fuel surcharges; and (3) whether it has studied the levels of fuel surcharges currently levied by major airliners overseas; if it has studied, of the details, and whether such levels are roughly the same as those levied in Hong Kong; if they are not roughly the same, of the reasons for that?
*10. Hon Michael TIEN to ask: (Translation)
On the 2nd of last month, a section of the railway tracks on the viaduct near MTR Lai King Station broke and moved sideways, and trains passing through the said section had to slow down while repair works were being carried out. As a result, the overall travelling time for trains running from Central to Tsuen Wan increased by about 10 to 15 minutes. The incident has aroused public concern about the frequent occurrence of MTR incidents (in particular those involving cracks found in tracks). There are views that increased train frequency generates additional loading for the railway system, thus causing frequent railway incidents. It has also been reported that the MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL") generally does not take the initiative to disclose incidents concerning cracks found in tracks as long as railway services have not been affected. Even if railway services have been affected by such an incident, MTRCL often announces only that railway services have been affected by a signalling failure. As such, the public can hardly grasp the exact number of incidents concerning cracks found in tracks. Regarding railway services and safety, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows, in respect of each railway line (except for the Disneyland Resort Line, and the same exception applies below), the average patronage and, calculated on the basis of four persons (standing) per square metre, the loading per hour per direction during morning peak hours for critical links last year (set out in a table); (2) whether it knows the details and progress of MTRCL's work in relation to increasing train frequency of each railway line this year, and the impact of increased train frequency on the loading of the railway system; (3) whether it knows the respective numbers of incidents of service disruption in each year since 2011 that lasted for more than eight minutes, 30 minutes and one hour on each railway line, and the respective numbers of passengers affected, and set out a breakdown by cause of the incidents in a table; (4) whether it knows the following details of the incidents referred to in (3) (set out in a table): (i) the dates of occurrence, (ii) the time of occurrence, (iii) the railway lines involved, (iv) the causes of the incidents/investigation outcome, (v) the follow-up actions taken and (vi) the durations of service disruption (minutes); (5) whether it knows the following details of the incidents concerning cracks found in tracks in each year since 2012 (set out in a table): (i) the dates of occurrence, (ii) the railway lines involved, (iii) the widths of the cracks, (iv) the causes of the incidents/investigation outcome, (v) the follow-up actions taken, (vi) the names of the rail manufacturers, (vii) the number of years for which the tracks had been in use, and (viii) if the incidents were disclosed to the media (and if they were not disclosed, the reasons for not disclosing); and (6) of the existing mechanism for monitoring the safety of railway services; in each year since 2010, the number of inspections conducted by the staff members of the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department and other government departments on various parts (including tracks, trains, overhead lines and signalling systems, etc.) of the railway system, the departments responsible for conducting the inspections, the details of the inspections and the standards adopted?
*11. Hon Abraham SHEK to ask:
Some people of the ethnic minorities have relayed to me that the difficulties encountered by non-Chinese speaking ("NCS") students in learning Chinese as a second language are vastly different from those encountered by Chinese speaking students in learning Chinese as their native language. Also, the cultural backgrounds of NCS students may pose additional hurdles to their learning in local schools. These people therefore consider that teachers of NCS students have to understand NCS students' specific needs in order to help them build up their learning capacity. However, currently many teachers have not received the relevant training. Regarding the training provided by the Hong Kong Institute of Education ("HKIEd") for prospective teachers on teaching NCS students, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
(1) whether HKIEd currently offers any course on teaching Chinese as a second language for prospective Chinese language teachers; if HKIEd does, of the details of such courses (including titles of courses, and whether they are compulsory); if not, the reasons for that; and (2) given that prospective teachers may in future teach NCS students coming from diverse cultural backgrounds, whether HKIEd currently provides any course on cultural sensitivity for prospective teachers; if HKIEd does, whether such courses are compulsory and whether HKIEd has reviewed the effectiveness of the courses; if HKIEd does not, the reasons for that?
*12. Hon CHEUNG Kwok-che to ask: (Translation)
With effect from 1 April 2013, various policy bureaux and government departments ("B/Ds") are required to assess the policy impacts on families when formulating all their policies, and to set out the assessment results in the policy papers and Legislative Council ("LegCo") briefs concerned. The Government also encourages various B/Ds to consult the Family Council in the public consultation process on new policies which may impact on families. Furthermore, the authorities indicated at the end of March this year that they would conduct a study on the family impact assessment framework ("the assessment framework study") within this year to review the effectiveness of the assessment framework and develop a more elaborated assessment checklist. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the details (including the titles of the papers, the B/Ds that drafted the papers, and the dates on which the papers were submitted to this Council) of all policy papers and LegCo briefs concerning policies in respect of which family impact assessments were conducted by the authorities in the past three years; (2) of the details (including the titles of the papers, the B/Ds responsible for implementing the polices, and the dates on which the papers were submitted to the Family Council) of all policy papers concerning policies in respect of which the Family Council was consulted by the authorities in the past three years; (3) of the progress of the assessment framework study and the specific details of the new assessment checklist; and (4) whether it has any specific plans to further improve the existing family impact assessment mechanism; if it does, of the details and progress?
*13. Hon Jeffrey LAM to ask: (Translation)
The Government has indicated earlier that to attract multinational and mainland enterprises to establish corporate treasury centres ("CTCs") in Hong Kong, it will submit, to this Council in the current legislative session, legislative proposals to amend the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112) to specify that, subject to compliance with the specified conditions, interest expenditure under profits tax for CTCs will be deducted and profits tax for the specified treasury activities will be reduced by half ("two tax concessions"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the specific contents of the aforesaid legislative proposals; (2) whether it has received any proposals on the two tax concessions; if it has, of the number and main contents of such proposals; whether the Government has taken on board the proposals received when devising the legislative proposals concerned; if it has, of the details; if not; the reasons for that; and (3) of the current number of multinational and mainland enterprises which have established CTCs in Hong Kong; whether it has assessed the benefits to be brought about by the two tax concessions to the Hong Kong economy (e.g. the anticipated number of enterprises which will decide to establish CTCs in Hong Kong in the light of the two tax concessions); if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*14. Hon LEUNG Che-cheung to ask: (Translation)
Recently, the Transport Department has put forward proposals for relaxation of the traffic restrictions in South Lantau to promote the development of tourism and local economy on Lantau Island. The proposals include increasing the current daily quota for coaches entering South Lantau from 30 to 50 (representing a 67% increase), and providing a daily quota of 50 from Mondays to Fridays (except public holidays) for non-resident private cars entering South Lantau. However, some residents of Lantau Island oppose the proposals. They hold the views that as the existing South Lantau Road, Keung Shan Road and Tai O Road are bendy and narrow, relaxing the traffic restrictions may compromise road safety. Moreover, the parking spaces and other ancillary transport facilities in the district cannot cope with the implementation of such proposals. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has assessed the impacts of the aforesaid proposals on the traffic of South Lantau; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) as the Islands District Council has requested the authorities to first properly tackle the problems relating to road safety and parking spaces shortage before discussing the aforesaid proposals further, of the progress of the relevant bend improvement works and the study on the provision of additional parking spaces; the implementation timetable for the aforesaid proposals projected on the basis of the current progress of the relevant works; (3) as the Government has indicated that it will consult other stakeholders on the aforesaid proposals, of the outcome of such consultation; and (4) given that some residents have suggested converting the open-air car park at Mui Wo into a multi-storey car park to alleviate the shortage of parking spaces, whether the authorities have conducted any feasibility study on this suggestion; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*15. Hon Tony TSE to ask: (Translation)
Under the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132), the Director of Lands is authorized to assign names to streets in Hong Kong and the entire process must proceed in line with the requirements under the relevant legislation. On the other hand, the naming of geographical places is not subject to any statutory regulation. Under the current arrangements, the cross-departmental Geographical Place Names Board ("the Board") established under the Survey and Mapping Office ("SMO") of the Lands Department is responsible for the establishment, implementation and review of the procedures for naming, verification and adoption of geographical place names. It is learnt that the procedures adopted by the Board for handling cases of geographical place naming include: (i) seeking the consent of the District Councils concerned, (ii) placing advertisements in local newspapers, and (iii) posting notices at the District Offices, the District Lands Offices and the Survey Offices of the relevant districts, the SMO Headquarters as well as the places to be named for public consultation. The geographical place names adopted will be used on the official maps published by the Lands Department but they are not meant to be legally binding. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the average number of cases of geographical place naming (including adoption of new geographical place names and change of existing geographical place names) handled by the Board in each of the past three years, together with a breakdown by District Council district; (2) of the longest time and the average time taken by the Board to handle cases of geographical place naming last year; (3) of the respective numbers of cases of geographical place naming received by the Board since its inception which were initiated by members of the public and by the Government; the number of cases in dispute, with a breakdown by District Council district; the major issues involved in the disputes in question; (4) of the government departments from which officers who are members of the Board at present are drawn and their ranks; the criteria based on which the Board handles the cases of geographical place naming, and whether the Board is required, pursuant to such criteria, to take into account relevant factors such as how well the adopted names are received by the public and historical factors; (5) whether there are existing channels and mechanisms for the public to express their views and make relevant recommendations on the geographical place names adopted by the Board which they consider to be inappropriate; (6) whether the authorities conducted reviews in the past three years of the mechanism for naming geographical places and its effectiveness; if they did, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and whether they will conduct such reviews; and (7) whether there are plans to legislate on the procedures and system for naming geographical places with reference to the street naming mechanism; if there are, of the details and the implementation timetable; if not, the justifications for that?
*16. Dr Hon Elizabeth QUAT to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the Transport Department ("TD") has implemented since 2004 a trial scheme ("trial scheme") to replace roundabouts with circular road markings ("conventional roundabouts") by roundabouts with spiral road markings ("spiral roundabouts"), and the traffic signs at roundabouts have also been adjusted accordingly. The rules of using the two types of roundabouts are different. According to the preliminary trial results, spiral roundabouts have a relatively lower accident rate and higher traffic capacity. However, only seven spiral roundabouts have been provided in Hong Kong at present, representing a mere 3% of the total number of roundabouts across the territory. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the following details of the seven existing spiral roundabouts: (i) the date on which the roundabout concerned was converted into the current type, (ii) the respective average annual numbers of traffic accidents occurred in the two years before the conversion and thereafter, and (iii) the cost of the relevant conversion (set out in the table below); District Location (i) (ii) (iii) Yau Tong Lei Yue Mun Road / Ko Chiu Road Tuen Mun Lam Tei Interchange Chai Wan Chai Wan Road / Wan Tsui Road Tai Kok Tsui Hoi Fai Road under West Kowloon Highway Tseung Kwan O Po Ning Road / Chiu Shun Road / Hang Hau Road Tseung Kwan O Po Shun Road / Tong Ming Street Tseung Kwan O Wan Po Road / Chiu Shun Road (2) of the respective numbers of traffic accidents which occurred at the various roundabouts in Hong Kong in the past 10 years, together with a breakdown by District Council district; how many roundabouts have been listed as traffic accident black spots; (3) given that the rules of using conventional roundabouts and spiral roundabouts are different, whether TD will step up its efforts in publicizing to drivers the rules, with a view to reducing traffic accidents; if TD will, of the details, if not, the reasons for that; (4) whether TD has set the rules of using spiral roundabouts as the compulsory content of the driving tests (including written and road tests); if TD has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (5) given that TD is still collecting the relevant data even though the trial scheme has been implemented for nearly 12 years, whether TD will review its work efficiency and expeditiously publish the data concerning the traffic accidents which occurred at the two types of roundabouts; if TD will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (6) given that while the authorities indicated to the Transport Advisory Committee ("TAC") in 2012 that they would provide six spiral roundabouts in Tseung Kwan O, only three of them have been provided so far, whether TD has decided to suspend the provision of the remaining three spiral roundabouts; if so, of the reasons for that, and whether it is related to the accident rate of the spiral roundabouts already provided; if the provision of the roundabouts is not suspended, the timetable for providing the remaining three spiral roundabouts; (7) as it has been reported that TD will adopt a gradual and orderly approach to first implement the trial scheme at roundabouts with low traffic volume and subsequently extend the scheme to roundabouts with high traffic volume, whether TD will publish the criteria adopted for determining if the traffic volume of a roundabout is "low" or "high"; if TD will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (8) whether TD will consider converting all of the roundabouts into spiral roundabouts; if TD will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*17. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)
On 2 May this year, the Police arrested an autistic man with moderate intellectual disabilities and charged him with manslaughter, but subsequently quashed the indictment against the man because evidence in support of an alibi had been found. The family members of the man reproached the Police for handling the case improperly, including taking the first statement from the said mentally incapacitated person ("MIP") in the absence of his family members or guardian, and asking leading questions that caused him to make a statement against himself. Regarding the handling of cases involving MIPs by the Police, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
(1) whether the Police have, since the occurrence of the aforesaid case, provided training for police officers of all ranks to enable them to deepen their knowledge of autism and grasp the skills in communicating with autistic persons, especially the skills in taking statements from those people as well as in detaining and imprisoning them; if training has been provided, of the details, and whether such training is provided on a regular basis or as a one-off arrangement; if no training has been provided, whether the Police will conduct it expeditiously and incorporate the relevant training contents into the regular training programmes; and (2) how the authorities ensure that police officers will not handle cases involving MIPs in the aforesaid manner again?
*18. Hon WU Chi-wai to ask: (Translation)
According to Report No. 65 of the Director of Audit published last month, the Education Bureau maintains a database on vacant school premises, which includes data on the proposed uses of the school premises and the number of years for which they have become vacant, etc. There are views in the community that the Government should maintain and make public similar types of data on government lands (in particular the lands rented out on short-term tenancy ("STT")), so as to facilitate the public's monitoring and making recommendations on the uses and planning of such lands. Regarding the data on government lands which are rented out on STT, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the Lands Department ("LandsD") has set up a database on the lands rented out on STT; if LandsD has, of the details (set out in a table) of the lands resumed by LandsD upon expiry of the term of tenancy in each of the past three financial years, including (i) the locations of the lands, (ii) the land areas (square metres), (iii) STT numbers, (iv) the uses of the lands set out in the original STTs and (v) the proposed new uses of the lands; if LandsD has not, whether it will expeditiously set up such a database and undertake to submit such information to this Council within six months from now; if LandsD will not set up such a database, of the reasons for that; (2) of the number of the lands currently rented out on STT to the same tenants for a consecutive period of over 30 months, and set out in a table (i) the locations of the lands, (ii) the land areas (square metres), (iii) STT numbers, (iv) the uses specified in STTs and (v) the dates on which the first STT was granted; if such information cannot be provided, whether LandsD will expeditiously set up such a database and undertake to submit such information to this Council within six months from now; if LandsD will not set up such a database, of the reasons for that; and (3) as the Secretary for Development indicated at the Legislative Council meeting of 21 January this year that the Government had been carrying out a series of land use reviews, including reviews of the "Government, Institution or Community" sites, lands for other government uses as well as government lands across the territory which were currently vacant, rented out on STT or deployed for various other uses on a temporary basis, of the details and latest progress of such reviews; whether the authorities have put forward proposals in the light of the outcome of the reviews; if they have, of the respective numbers of those proposals which (i) have been implemented and (ii) involve changes in the planned land use?
*19. Hon Charles Peter MOK to ask: (Translation)
Some members of the technology industry have relayed to me that some newly-emerged and greener modes of transport (e.g. mini-motor cycles, motor-driven bicycles, motor-driven skateboards and electric unicycles) ("newly-emerged modes of transport") have become increasingly popular in recent years, and quite a number of cities allow such modes of transport to be legally ridden on their roads. However, under Road Traffic Ordinance (Cap. 374), all vehicles must be registered with and licensed by the Transport Department before they may be ridden on roads. Certain types of such newly-emerged modes of transport do not fall within any one of the classes of vehicles specified in Schedule 1 to Cap. 374 and therefore cannot be registered and licensed, and other types of newly-emerged modes of transport which can be classified as motor cycle or motor tricycle cannot be registered and licensed either, as they fail to meet the requirements in relation to horsepower, lighting, braking and warning devices, etc. specified in the Road Traffic (Construction and Maintenance of Vehicles) Regulations (Cap. 374 sub. leg. A). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has assessed the public demand for the use of newly-emerged modes of transport; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether it will study the roles that the newly-emerged modes of transport can take and their positioning within the transport system of Hong Kong, in particular their transport efficiency in serving as short-haul feeder transport; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) whether it will study the implementation of a trial scheme to allow newly-emerged modes of transport to be ridden on designated roads (including roads where vehicular traffic is prohibited and pavements), so as to assess the feasibility of formally allowing such modes of transport to be ridden on roads and introducing a relevant regulatory regime; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) given that the newly-emerged modes of transport had not come into existence when Cap. 374 was enacted, whether the authorities will consider (i) categorizing certain types of newly-emerged modes of transport as new classes of vehicles under Schedule 1 to Cap. 374, and (ii) incorporating into Cap. 374 sub. leg. A the relevant requirements that are applicable to new classes of vehicles, so that such newly-emerged modes of transport may be ridden legally on roads after being registered and licensed; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*20. Hon Alice MAK to ask: (Translation)
At present, some government departments and public organizations hire part-time interpreters to assist their staff in communicating with people from ethnic minorities. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the Government has maintained lists of part-time interpreters; if it has, of the government departments responsible for maintaining such lists and the respective numbers of part-time interpreters on such lists (broken down by language/dialect of interpretation service), as well as the government departments and public organizations that make reference to such lists; (2) of the total number of occasions on which government departments hired part-time interpreters and the total number of service hours involved, as well as the average number of service hours per interpreter, broken down by language/dialect of interpretation service, in each of the past three years; whether it knows the relevant statistics in respect of public organizations; (3) whether the government departments mentioned in (1) currently have left full-time or half-time interpreter posts unfilled and hire part-time interpreters to provide the interpretation services concerned; if so, of the titles of such posts and the reasons why recruitment exercises for filling such posts have not been conducted; and (4) of the current remunerations offered by government departments to part-time interpreters; of the number of adjustments of the remunerations for them in the past 10 years, as well as the rate(s) of adjustment and their revised remunerations after each adjustment; whether their remunerations were reduced in 2003 in tandem with the salary reduction of the civil service; if so, whether their remunerations have been subsequently adjusted upward following the increases of salaries for the civil service?
*21. Hon Christopher CHUNG to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that recently, a local company providing electronic stored value payment services (commonly known as "e-wallet services") collaborated with a supermarket chain in conducting promotional activities, which attracted tens of thousands of members of the public to download the related mobile application and register as users of its services. While the company claimed that it could transfer payments collected from members of the public to public utilities for settling electricity, gas, telecommunications services bills, etc., the utilities concerned issued statements stating that they had not made any agreement on fee collection with that company. Regarding electronic stored value payment services, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that the Payment Systems and Stored Value Facilities Ordinance, which commenced operation on the 13th of last month, provides that it will be illegal for any issuers, unless being exempt, to issue or operate any stored value facilities without a licence, but there is a one-year transitional period for such a requirement, whether the authorities have assessed the risk of law-breakers committing fraud under the guise of providing electronic stored value payment services during the transitional period; if they have assessed, of the details and their corresponding measures; (2) whether the authorities have compiled statistics on (i) the number of companies operating electronic stored value payment services in Hong Kong and (ii) the number complaints relating to such services received by the authorities (broken down by nature of such complaints), in each of the past five years; and (3) given that more and more members of the public use electronic stored value payment services, whether the authorities have plans to step up publicity to educate the public on how to choose and safely use such type of services; if they do, of the details?
*22. Dr Hon CHIANG Lai-wan to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that a number of suicide cases allegedly due to work pressure have occurred in Hong Kong in recent months. On the other hand, the Occupational Safety and Health Council interviewed 377 working persons by way of questionnaires last month to gauge their work pressure, depressive and anxious emotions, as well as mental health conditions. According to the survey findings, over 60% of the respondents experienced a considerable degree of work pressure, 25% suffered from symptoms of depressive and anxiety disorders of varying degrees, over 50% were in a state of mental and psychological sub-health (e.g. with insomnia and disorganized thinking), and nearly one-fifth were even in a state of mental and psychological illness. It is learnt that the poor mental health of working persons not only reduces their productivity and attendance rates, but also affects their physical and mental well-being as well as their relationships with family members. In serious cases, it may even lead to tragic incidents resulting in casualties. Regarding the mental health of working persons, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has regularly conducted surveys on the work pressure faced by working persons in order to gauge their mental health conditions; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) given that quite a number of employees are unaware that their feeling dispirited may have been caused by work pressure and they therefore have not proactively sought assistance, whether the authorities have provided employers with guidelines on and support for identifying employees with mental health problems and providing training on management of work pressure for employees; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) whether measures are in place to support those working persons who suffer from mental illness or mood disorders due to work pressure in order to help them develop positive psychology; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) as it is learnt that quite a number of working persons do not have sufficient awareness of mental health, whether the authorities have put in place policies to promote occupational mental health so as to enhance such knowledge and awareness of working persons; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
* For written reply
III. Bill
| Second Reading (Debate to resume), Committee Stage and Third Reading
| ||
| Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014 | : | Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
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| (i) | Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development to move Committee stage amendments
| |
| (The amendments were issued on 18 November 2015
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 153/15-16) | ||
| (ii) | Hon CHAN Kam-lam to move Committee stage amendments
| |
| (The amendments were issued on 7 December 2015
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 219/15-16) | ||
| (iii) | Hon WONG Yuk-man to move Committee stage amendments
| |
| (The amendments were issued on 7 December 2015
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 220/15-16) | ||
| (Debate and voting arrangements for Committee stage of the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014 (issued on 8 December 2015 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 227/15-16(01)))
| ||
IV. Members' Motions
Clerk to the Legislative Council