A 15/16-10
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 16 December 2015 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers
| Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments | L.N. No. | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Pharmacy and Poisons (Amendment) (No. 6) Regulation 2015 | 234/2015 |
| 2. | Pharmacy and Poisons (Amendment) (No. 7) Regulation 2015 | 235/2015 |
| 3. | Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Amendment of Second Schedule) Order 2015 | 236/2015 |
| 4. | Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 2) Order 2015 | 237/2015 |
| 5. | Legal Practitioners (Amendment) Ordinance 2012 (Commencement) Notice | 238/2015
|
II. Motion under Rule 91 of the Rules of Procedure
Proposed resolution under Rule 91 of the Rules of Procedure
Hon Andrew LEUNG to move the following motion:
Resolved that Rule 23(2) and (3) of the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region be suspended to enable more than 22 questions of which notice has been given, including more than 6 questions that require an oral reply, to be asked at the Council meeting of 16 December 2015.
III. Questions
(Questions 1 to 3 were originally scheduled for the Council meeting of 9 December 2015 but were not asked, while Questions 4 to 25 are scheduled for this Council meeting)
1. 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?
2. 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?
3. 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?
4. Dr Hon Priscilla LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
As early as 2009, the Planning Department completed the study on the Area Improvement Plan for the Shopping Areas of Mong Kok, and recommended 22 improvement projects, but some of these projects have not yet been implemented to date. Some Mong Kok residents have expressed their disappointment at this situation, and hope that the authorities expeditiously complete all the projects, particularly the redevelopment of the government sites at Sai Yee Street and Mong Kok East Station as well as the extension of the pedestrian footbridge at Mong Kok Road, so as to improve the environment and road accessibility in the areas in Mong Kok. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the latest progress of the aforesaid 22 improvement projects, including details of the completed projects, works progress and anticipated completion dates of the uncompleted projects, as well as the anticipated commencement dates and completion dates of those projects which have not yet commenced; (2) of the reasons why, after years of delay, the extension of the pedestrian footbridge at Mong Kok Road has not yet been completed, including the difficulties encountered in carrying out the works; and (3) given that the authorities have adopted the recommendations made by the Yau Tsim Mong District Council and members of the local community that a public transport interchange ("PTI") be built at the government sites at Sai Yee Street and Mong Kok East Station after relocating the relevant facilities of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and the Water Supplies Department in order to alleviate the serious traffic congestion in nearby areas, of the latest progress in relocating the facilities of the two government departments; of the authorities' plan for developing the superstructure above the proposed PTI, and when they will announce the relevant details?
| Public Officers to reply | : | Secretary for Development
Under Secretary for Development |
5. Hon Charles Peter MOK to ask: (Translation)
Some practitioners from the information technology ("IT") sector have relayed to me that although the Government has been committed to developing the innovation and technology industry in recent years, its procurement policy for IT products and services as well as its approach for implementing government IT projects are both unable to dovetail with the development of the local innovation and technology industry. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that while the Government currently awards its IT contracts to contractors in accordance with the Standing Offer Agreement for Quality Professional Services, there are views that the number of such contracts awarded to local small and medium enterprises ("SMEs") accounts for a low percentage of the total number of contracts, whether the authorities will, in addition to implementing the existing enhancement measures of splitting large-scale IT projects into multiple small projects and lowering the tender and contract deposits, study and consider the implementation of more enhancement measures in order to encourage SMEs to bid for such contracts and enhance their successful rates; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) given that the Innovation and Technology Fund ("ITF"), under the Innovation and Technology Commission, launched the Public Sector Trial Scheme ("Trial Scheme") in 2011 whereby additional funding is provided to completed research and development ("R&D") projects funded by ITF for the production of tools, prototypes or samples and the conducting of trials in public organizations, with a view to promoting the realization and commercialization of the R&D results, whether the authorities will consider expanding the scope of the Trial Scheme to include the R&D projects not funded by ITF and allow more organizations (such as private organizations) to participate in the trials of the tools, prototypes or samples; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether it will make reference to the experience of other countries and provide local SMEs in various industries with innovation and technology vouchers, so as to encourage them to procure the relevant products and services (including cloud services and data analyses), thereby promoting the development of the innovation and technology industry; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
6. Hon WONG Yuk-man to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that in recent months, someone made repeated calls to the government hotline 1823 complaining about offences, such as storage of dangerous goods, operation of a clubhouse without a licence and illegal gambling, in the offices of an educational institution, an online media organization and a cultural services organization. Although the relevant government departments confirmed after investigation that all of the complaints were totally groundless, such investigations nonetheless had seriously disturbed the daily operation of those organizations. It is learnt that the complaints originated from the same telephone number and were lodged anonymously. Also, some of the calls reported in one go several offences about the same organization, resulting in several government departments sending personnel to the organization concerned to conduct investigation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that the Office of The Ombudsman, Hong Kong does not accept anonymous complaints, why the relevant government departments accepted the aforesaid anonymous complaints lodged through the government hotline 1823; and (2) whether it has measures in place to prevent the aforesaid abuse of the government hotline 1823; if it does, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
7. Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to ask: (Translation)
Some members of the public have relayed to me that the provision of drinking fountains in public places not only brings convenience to members of the public but also helps reduce plastic waste generated from beverage bottles. While drinking fountains for public use are currently provided in some of the government buildings, sports venues and parks, they may not necessarily supply both hot and cold water to cater for the needs of some members of the public. On the other hand, shopping malls in which drinking fountains are provided are rare in number, and no drinking fountain is provided in any MTR station. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the respective numbers of drinking fountains currently provided for public use in various types of venues under the Government and public organizations (including hospitals and clinics under the Hospital Authority, MTR stations, universities, secondary schools, primary schools, and teaching and learning facilities of the Vocational Training Council) as well as the respective percentages of such numbers in the total number of drinking fountains and, among these drinking fountains, the respective numbers of those which supply both hot and cold water; whether the Government has compiled statistics on the total number of drinking fountains currently provided for public use in various shopping malls as well as the number of those which supply both hot and cold water; of the public expenditure incurred on the provision of drinking fountains and their recurrent costs in the past five years; (2) in the past five years, of the number of waste plastic beverage bottles across the territory, the carbon emission from the manufacturing process of plastic beverage bottles, and the economic loss incurred as a result of the environmental pollution caused by the manufacture and dumping of plastic beverage bottles; whether it has gauged the number of waste plastic beverage bottles and carbon emission that can be reduced per year respectively with the provision of drinking fountains in the premises mentioned in (1); and (3) whether, in the past five years, the authorities regularly took water samples from the drinking fountains in various government facilities and shopping malls for conducting laboratory tests to see if the quality of the drinking water supplied by such drinking fountains conformed to the Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality of the World Health Organization; if they did, of the outcome; if not, the reasons for that, and the measures the authorities have in place to ensure that the quality of such drinking water conforms to the aforesaid guidelines?
| Public Officers to reply | : | Secretary for Development
Under Secretary for the Environment Under Secretary for Development |
8. Hon CHAN Han-pan to ask: (Translation)
On 25 October this year, a high speed craft departing from Macao for Hong Kong was suspected to have collided with some floating objects in the waters off Siu A Chau and lost power. That incident, which caused 124 injuries, has once again aroused public concern about the authorities' capability for providing maritime ambulance services. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of maritime safety incidents which occurred within Hong Kong waters in the past five years, as well as the number of persons injured in such incidents and taken to the hospital for treatment; in those maritime incidents involving over 10 injuries (including the Lamma Island vessel collision accident and the aforesaid incident), the respective time lapsed from the receipt of the report of the incident to the delivery of the last injured person to the hospital for treatment, and the emergency ambulance services received by the injured persons in the course of delivery; whether there were cases in which deaths were caused by the delayed delivery of the injured persons to the hospital for treatment; (2) of the details of the ambulance service arrangements currently applicable to major maritime incidents, including the routes and the means of transport to be used for conveying the injured persons to the hospital; the respective numbers of injured persons who can be handled per trip respectively by various means of transport, and the time needed; whether healthcare personnel can perform emergency surgeries for seriously injured persons on board such means of transport; and (3) given the increasingly hectic marine traffic, whether the authorities will consider afresh the suggestion repeatedly made by me and a member of the Island District Council for establishing a dedicated ambulance launch fleet?
9. Dr Hon Elizabeth QUAT to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that between June last year and September this year, the Immigration Department ("ImmD") uncovered 6 000-odd cases of possible abuse of the arrangement for premature termination of contracts for change of employers (commonly known as "job-hopping") by foreign domestic helpers ("FDHs") and, among such cases, ImmD refused 500-odd applications for change of employer. Some concern groups have pointed out that one in every five employers of FDHs indicated that they had encountered the problem of job-hopping by FDHs. Quite a number of employers are of the view that as the existing legislation and arrangements have failed to protect their rights, it is imperative for the Government to amend the relevant legislation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has reviewed if the existing arrangements are effective in deterring FDHs from job-hopping and whether it will consider amending the relevant arrangements to enhance the protection for employers, such as stipulating that FDHs are required to pay their own costs of returning to home countries in case of premature termination of contracts without justifiable reasons, and that employment visas will not be issued to those FDHs who have repeatedly changed their employers within a year; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) as some employers have pointed out that under the existing Standard Employment Contract, they are required to provide their FDHs with free passages and air tickets from Hong Kong to their places of domicile even if their FDHs have committed criminal offences such as theft, prostitution, drug trafficking, etc. or have made serious mistakes which render them unable to fulfill their contracts, whether the Government has reviewed if that provision is fair to employers and whether it will consider amending such provision; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) as it has been reported that some unscrupulous FDH employment agencies ("EAs") have abetted FDHs to deliberately perform badly with the intent of inducing their employers to take the initiative to dismiss them so that such FDHs can obtain one month's wages in lieu of notice as well as free passages and air tickets to return to their places of domicile while EAs can receive intermediary fees from the new employers of FDHs, whether the Government will step up its regulation on EAs, including disclosing the names of those EAs which have placed a number of job-hopping FDHs, as well as stipulating a heavier penalty for abetting FDHs to violate the law so as to enhance the deterrent effect; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
| Public Officers to reply | : | Secretary for Labour and Welfare
Secretary for Security |
*10. Hon Frankie YICK to ask: (Translation)
The Central-Mid-Levels Escalator and Walkway System ("CML Escalator System") was commissioned in 1993. The Government built the CML Escalator System with the aim of encouraging members of the public to walk and relieving the pressure on the road traffic in the Mid-Levels. It is learnt that the Government originally planned to build six similar escalator systems at the time but eventually completed only the CML Escalator System due to the excessively high construction costs. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of average daily person-times using the CML Escalator System in each of the past 10 years; (2) whether it has assessed the effectiveness of the CML Escalator System in alleviating traffic congestion within the district; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) given that the Government has planned to conduct refurbishment works for the CML Escalator System in phases starting from 2017, and some members of the public are concerned about the inconvenience caused to them when the CML Escalator System breaks down or is under maintenance, coupled with the fact that the utilization of the CML Escalator System has almost reached saturation, whether the authorities will consider building another escalator system in the same district; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) of the details of the other five escalator systems which were originally planned to be built; whether the authorities have plans to restart the plan concerned; if they do, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*11. Hon CHUNG Kwok-pan to ask: (Translation)
Recently, a member of the public has complained to me that the operation he underwent at Yan Chai Hospital under the Hospital Authority ("HA") a few years ago had adverse effects and he subsequently lodged complaints repeatedly with HA, but to no avail. He also said that he received a written reply only or even no reply after each complaint, and no healthcare personnel had ever explained to him face-to-face. As a result, both he and his family members experienced emotional distress. Regarding the handling of complaints by HA, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the number of complaints received by HA from patients and the number of cases in which the complainants appealed to HA's Public Complaints Committee ("PCC") against the outcome of the handling of their complaints, in each of the past three years, with a breakdown by the public hospital concerned and content of the complaint; whether there was an upward trend for such numbers of complaints in the past three years; if so, whether HA has looked into the reasons for that, and whether HA will review the quality of healthcare services provided by public hospitals; (2) given that at present, the target response time for complaints by public hospitals is within six weeks (for complex cases, within three months), while that by PCC is within three to six months, whether it knows the respective average and longest times taken by public hospitals and PCC to respond to complaints in each of the past three years; of the reasons why some cases took longer time to respond; whether HA will take measures to shorten the response time for complaints; (3) whether it has reviewed its publicity for the existing channels available for lodging complaints about services provided by public hospitals; whether it will step up such publicity, and provide more complaint channels; and (4) whether it knows if HA will review the procedure for PCC to handle complaints and improve HA's approach for communicating with complainants, including handling complaints in a more humane manner, e.g. in addition to giving a simple written reply to the complainant, arranging a doctor to meet with the complainant to explain the situation relating to the complaint, so as to avoid the complainant experiencing emotional distress due to the feeling that his complaint has not been seriously handled; if HA will review, of the details; if HA will not, the reasons for that?
*12. Hon Albert CHAN to ask: (Translation)
Recently, some members of the public have relayed to me that quite a number of public housing estates currently lack barrier-free access and facilities (e.g. lifts, escalators, footbridges and ramps), causing inconvenience to residents with impaired mobility. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the names and locations of the public housing estates where addition or modernization works in relation to barrier-free access and facilities commenced in or after 2011 and have been completed, as well as the items covered by the works concerned (set out in a table); and (2) of the names and locations of the public housing estates where addition or modernization works in relation to barrier-free access and facilities are in progress or planned to be carried out, the items covered by the works concerned as well as the dates on which the works commenced/anticipated to commence and anticipated to be completed (set out in a table)?
*13. Hon CHAN Kin-por to ask: (Translation)
Long-distance running is gaining popularity in Hong Kong and the number of participants in the Hong Kong Marathon increases every year. However, a study report reveals that from 2002 to 2012, nine participants suffered from seizure of cardiovascular diseases during the Hong Kong Marathon races and two of them failed resuscitation. Also, a 24-year-old participant died of cardiac arrest during the 10-kilometre race this year. In view of this, the LI Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong will conduct pre-participation screenings for subclinical cardiovascular diseases for first-time marathon participants free of charge for a period of three years with a view to reducing the morbidity and mortality of cardiovascular diseases among marathon participants. Regarding the safety arrangements for marathon races, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows if the Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association ("HKAAA"), organizer of the Hong Kong Marathon, compiled statistics in the past 10 years on participants suffering from seizure of cardiovascular diseases during the races; if HKAAA did, set out in a table the following information: (i) the number of persons receiving on-site first aid, (ii) the number of persons sent to hospitals for treatment, (iii) the number of persons injured (broken down by cause and age distribution) and (iv) the number of deaths (broken down by cause and age distribution); if not, of the reasons for that; (2) given that there are views that marathon races have high demands on the physical fitness of runners and the organizer of marathon races should therefore set high thresholds for participation in the races, whether the authorities will (i) require HKAAA to raise the thresholds for participating in the races, including setting an age limit and the requirement to complete specified pre-participation training for participants, and (ii) encourage participants of full or half marathon races to undergo pre-participation screening for subclinical cardiovascular diseases to reduce the risk of seizures during the races; whether the authorities will provide free pre-participation screenings for subclinical cardiovascular diseases for participants from higher risk groups as well as step up publicity efforts to enhance participants' awareness of the need to undergo appropriate physical check-up before the races; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether it knows if HKAAA will enhance the first aid facilities and equipment currently provided during marathon races, including setting up additional first aid stations and deploying more healthcare personnel of various disciplines, as well as reviewing and making available on site more medical equipment with upgraded specifications; if HKAAA will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*14. Hon Abraham SHEK to ask:
The Committee on Free Kindergarten Education pointed out in a report published this year that as it is important to facilitate early integration of non-Chinese speaking ("NCS") children into the local education system and community, parents of NCS children are encouraged to send their children to local kindergartens ("KGs") for early exposure to the Chinese language in an immersed language environment. Yet, about 4% of KGs under the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme ("PEVS") have admitted NCS students accounting for 50% or above of their total enrolment. It is argued that the learning environment in such KGs is not conducive to NCS students' learning of the Chinese language, rendering them difficult to integrate into mainstream primary schools later on. In connection with NCS students' learning in KGs, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the respective numbers of students and NCS students in KGs in each of the past three years, with a breakdown by type and funding mode of KGs; (2) whether it knows the respective numbers of PEVS KGs with NCS students accounting for (i) 50% or less; (ii) 51 to 60%; (iii) 61 to 70%; (iv) 71 to 80%; (v) 81 to 90% and (vi) over 90% of their total enrolment; (3) whether the Government received any complaint in the past three years about KGs conducting admission interviews in Cantonese; if it did, of the number and the details; whether it has assessed if such an arrangement has placed NCS children in an unfair and unfavourable position for securing admission thereby contravening the Race Discrimination Ordinance (Cap. 602); if it has assessed and the outcome is in the affirmative, of the details and the respective numbers of KGs requested to take rectification actions; if the assessment outcome is in the negative, the reasons for that; whether the Government has measures in place to facilitate parents of NCS children in accessing the admission requirements of KGs and the relevant information in the notices published in Chinese by KGs; if it does, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) whether the professional development programmes organized by the Education Bureau for KG teachers cover topics on cultural sensitivity and the learning needs of NCS students; if they do, whether all KG teachers are required to attend programmes on such topics; if not, of the reasons for that?
*15. Hon James TIEN to ask: (Translation)
In recent years, several infrastructure projects in Hong Kong, such as the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao-Bridge Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities and Hong Kong Link Road projects ("the Hong Kong Section project"), have experienced cost overruns and delays, and labour shortage in the construction industry is one of the causes for such situation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has compiled statistics on the respective current shortfalls of construction workers for various infrastructure projects (including the Hong Kong Section project); if it has, of such figures broken down by name of project and type of trade; (2) whether it has assessed if the labour shortage in the construction industry aggravated the situation of cost overruns and delays in various infrastructure projects in the past five years; if it has assessed and the outcome is in the affirmative, of the details; if the assessment outcome is in the negative, the reasons for that; (3) when the authorities first became aware that the labour shortage in the construction industry had affected the progress of the Hong Kong Section project, and whether they have assessed the extent to which the works progress has been affected; (4) whether it has taken any remedial measures to expedite the progress of the Hong Kong Section project; if it has, of the details, including whether it has assessed the effectiveness of such measures; if not, the reasons for that; (5) whether it has plans to introduce targeted measures to effectively address the long-standing problem of labour shortage in the construction industry; if it does, of the details of the measures and the implementation timetable; if not, the reasons for that; (6) given that the Government implemented enhancement measures in April last year to expedite the preparatory work for applications, submitted by contractors for public sector works projects under the Supplementary Labour Scheme, for importing workers for the relevant trades with labour shortage, and it rolled out further enhancement measures in May this year, but the Chief Executive ("CE") admitted, when he attended the Question and Answer Session of this Council on 22 October this year, that the Government's efforts to address labour shortage in the construction industry was not remarkably effective, of the justifications for CE making such remarks; and (7) whether it has assessed if the introduction of a special labour importation scheme for public housing and infrastructure works projects, by making reference to the arrangements made by the authorities for the new airport and related works in the past, will help alleviate the situation of delays and cost overruns in various infrastructure projects; if it has assessed and the outcome is in the affirmative, when it will implement such a scheme?
*16. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)
The Chief Executive stated in his 2014 Policy Address that the development moratorium at the south of Pok Fu Lam, i.e. the area close to Wah Fu Estate, would be lifted. This area would be used for public housing development and the future redevelopment of Wah Fu Estate, providing about 11 900 additional public rental housing ("PRH") and Home Ownership Scheme units. The authorities have said that in considering whether aged PRH estates should be redeveloped, the Hong Kong Housing Authority ("HA") would address the issue of the sustainability and redevelopment potential of the blocks in the estates concerned, in order to better utilize valuable land resources and to increase flat production. Regarding the redevelopment of aged PRH estates, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the specific work undertaken by HA in putting forward Wah Fu Estate's redevelopment programme since HA announced the programme; the latest details (including the timetable and planning for the redevelopment as well as the rehousing arrangements) of the redevelopment programme; the reasons why HA, almost two years since its announcement of the redevelopment programme, still has not announced the relevant details, and whether such reasons include the fact that the authorities had strained themselves to make the announcement to show the Chief Executive's determination to increase housing supply, even though the preparatory work for the redevelopment programme was not completed when the redevelopment programme was announced in the Policy Address; apart from Wah Fu Estate's redevelopment programme and among the estates to be redeveloped as announced by HA in the past 10 years, of the estates the details of the redevelopment programmes of which had yet to be announced two years after the announcement of the redevelopment programmes concerned; (2) of the latest progress of the review of the redevelopment of aged PRH estates conducted by the authorities; the updated list of estates with potential redevelopment values, and set out in a table the ages as well as the actual and permitted maximum plot ratios of such estates; (3) of the estates that the authorities are currently planning or will consider to redevelop, and whether they will commence the consultation with the local residents expeditiously; whether they have made an overall assessment as to how the redevelopment of aged PRH estates will facilitate an increase in the supply of public housing; and (4) why HA has not announced any specific programme for redeveloping PRH estates, apart from announcing the redevelopment programme for Wah Fu Estate in early 2014 which lacks substantial contents, since the redevelopment programmes for So Uk Estate, Tung Tau Estate Block 22 and Pak Tin Estate were announced in 2006, 2008 and 2012 respectively?
*17. Hon Paul TSE to ask: (Translation)
Recently in a speech he made, a former permanent judge of the Court of Final Appeal cited several cases to illustrate that the judicial review mechanism had been abused. Besides, some newspaper commentaries have opined that politics and the laws should not be tangled with each other, and that only when the judicial review mechanism is put to sensible and proper use can it effectively check against government policies breaching the law and thereby achieve the objectives of maintaining the rule of law and good governance for the community. The mechanism should not be used as a means to deliberately impede the implementation of government policies and to hinder the commencement of infrastructure projects, thereby imposing an unwarranted cost on society. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has, in light of or with regard to the aforesaid views, reviewed the judicial review mechanism and the threshold for approving legal assistance applications involving judicial review cases; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) as it has been reported that the incumbent Secretary for Justice indicated upon assuming office in 2012 that on the premise that the threshold for judicial review should be determined by judges, reviews could be conducted to explore the feasibility of further enhancing the judicial review mechanism in terms of legal perspectives and execution, of the progress of the relevant reviews and their anticipated completion time; and (3) whether it has reviewed if the increase in the number of judicial review cases in recent years is attributable to the following situation: as there are deficiencies in Hong Kong's political system and the Government have made mistakes from time to time in the approach, strategies and attitudes adopted for implementing its policies, quite a number of disputes cannot be resolved by political means, resulting in politicians from the pan-democratic parties and environmental groups (as pointed out by a local newspaper) taking an alternative approach of lodging judicial reviews repeatedly, in the hope that they will win in the disputes through lodging judicial reviews; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*18. Dr Hon Kenneth CHAN to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that some self-financing post-secondary institutions ("institutions") will cease to operate some or even all of their sub-degree programmes in the 2016-2017 academic year, while some institutions will offer afresh those sub-degree programmes which have ceased to operate. On the other hand, some institutions intend to raise the tuition fees of their sub-degree programmes. Regarding the number of places and tuition fees of sub-degree programmes, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the names of those sub-degree programmes (i) which were offered/are planned to be offered, and (ii) which ceased operation /are planned to cease operation in respect of each institution in each of the academic years of 2014-2015, 2015-2016 and 2016-2017, as well as the number of places of each of such programmes, with a breakdown by name of institution; (2) whether it knows the tuition fees of the sub-degree programmes offered by various institutions in each of the past two academic years and this academic year and their year-on-year adjustment rates, with a breakdown by name of institution and name of sub-degree programme; (3) given that the number of secondary school leavers will show a downward trend in the coming few years, whether the authorities will, in vetting and approving the applications made by institutions for offering sub-degree programmes and adjusting tuition fees, consider the possible impacts of the decline in student population on the number of places and tuition fees of those programmes; if they will, whether the authorities will include such considerations in the vetting and approval criteria; if not, of the reasons for that; and (4) whether it has studied and assessed the specific impact of the reduction in sub-degree programmes by institutions on the supply of manpower resources in Hong Kong; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*19. Hon KWOK Wai-keung to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the artificial turfs, sports ground tracks and playground rubber mats in a number of sports and recreation venues under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department ("LCSD") have used surfacing materials with waste tyre rubber granules as fillers. As such rubber granules contain heavy metals and styrene-butadiene rubber, a kind of carcinogenic chemical, the United States Department of Health and Human Services has classified the materials as carcinogens since 2011. Regarding the safety of the surfacing materials used in sports and recreation venues, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the sports and recreation venues under LCSD which have used surfacing materials with waste tyre rubber granules as fillers; regarding the waste tyre rubber granules in such surfacing materials, whether it knows (i) their places of origin, and (ii) the percentage of those from local origin; whether LCSD, in procuring surfacing materials or carrying out the relevant works, has requested the suppliers or contractors to submit test reports confirming compliance of those materials with the relevant international safety standards; (2) given that some researchers have pointed out that when the protective layer of the surfacing materials is damaged, there is a higher chance for users of the sports and recreation venues to come into contact with the rubber granules in the surfacing materials, how LCSD arranges for the repair and maintenance of the surfacing materials in its sports and recreation venues; of the number of works carried out by LCSD in the past 10 years to replace damaged surfacing materials and the expenditures incurred; and (3) given that at present, some countries have banned the use of surfacing materials with waste tyre rubber granules as fillers in their sports and recreation venues, and it has also been reported earlier that the sand granules procured by LCSD for turf pitch levelling works not only did not match their specifications and were of poor quality, but were also tainted with shells and rubble, whether the authorities will devise standards for the composition, quality, safety and impurities of the surfacing materials used in various sports and recreation venues under LCSD; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*20. Hon CHEUNG Kwok-che to ask: (Translation)
At present, the Police Force Ordinance (Cap. 232) confers police officers powers to search and seize properties. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) among the persons apprehended by police officers in each of the past five financial years, (i) of the respective numbers of those the information in whose phones, computers and other electronic devices (broken down by type) was inspected by police officers (set out in Table 1);
Table 1Financial Year Numbers of apprehended persons the information
in whose devices, as set out below, was inspectedPhones Computers Other electronic devices 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015 (ii) of the respective numbers of those whose phones, computers and other electronic devices (broken down by type) were seized by police officers (set out in Table 2); and
Table 2Financial Year Numbers of apprehended persons
whose devices, as set out below, were seizedPhones Computers Other electronic devices 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015 (iii) of the respective numbers of those whose phones, computers and other electronic devices (broken down by type) were seized by police officers under the warrants issued by Magistrates (set out in Table 3); and
Table 3Financial Year Numbers of apprehended persons whose devices,
as set out below, were seized under warrantsPhones Computers Other electronic devices 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015 (2) of the Police's existing procedures and guidelines for handling the aforesaid seized electronic devices; the respective procedures and guidelines for handling the personal data stored in such devices that are related and unrelated to the cases in question; whether any time limit has been set with respect to the impoundment of such devices; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*21. Hon LEUNG Che-cheung to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that in recent years, some people who are not registered veterinary surgeons ("non-RVSs") have used the Chinese medicine approach (including the prescription of Chinese medicines and the use of acupuncture and moxibustion) to provide diagnosis and treatment of animals, and medicines and health food products containing Chinese medicines for the treatment of animals are also available for sale on the market. Besides, proprietary Chinese medicines used for the treatment of animals are not subject to the regulation of the Chinese Medicine Ordinance (Cap. 549). Regarding the regulation of the provision of veterinary services and the sale of proprietary Chinese medicines for the treatment of animals, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of convictions relating to illegal provision of veterinary services in each of the past three years and the penalties imposed on those convicted by the court; (2) of the existing channels through which the public may report cases in which non-RVSs use the Chinese medicine approach to provide diagnosis and treatment of animals; (3) at present, how the public can find out whether a registered veterinary surgeon ("RVS") who uses the Chinese medicine approach to provide diagnosis and treatment of animals has received the relevant professional training; whether the authorities will consider regulating the use of Chinese medicine approach to provide diagnosis and treatment of animals by RVSs; (4) whether it will consider regulating (i) proprietary Chinese medicines for the treatment of animals and (ii) health food products containing Chinese medicines for consumption by animals; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (5) as I have learnt that the Continuing Professional Development Programme implemented by the Veterinary Surgeons Board of Hong Kong ("VSB") for RVSs is only voluntary in nature, and that VSB does not require veterinary surgeons to make public the continuing professional courses in which they have enrolled, hence rendering it difficult for the public to know whether veterinary surgeons have kept their professional qualifications abreast of the times, whether the authorities will consider requesting VSB to make improvements in this respect, so as to facilitate the public's understanding of the professional qualifications of veterinary surgeons; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*22. Hon IP Kin-yuen to ask: (Translation)
I have learnt that if students and newly recruited teachers who are about to assume duty and not yet entitled to the protection under the Employees' Compensation Ordinance (Cap. 282) have an accident while they are participating in the activities organized by aided schools, they may make claims against public liability insurance ("PLI") under the Block Insurance Policy ("BIP") taken out by the Education Bureau ("EDB") for aided schools, with the amount of compensation capped at HK$100 million for any one occurrence. However, some victims injured in such accidents have relayed to me that the successful rate of PLI claims is very low because of the difficulties in proving that the accidents have been caused by negligence on the part of the schools and the narrow benefit coverage of BIP (e.g. compensation is only awarded for serious accidents such as those causing death or trauma as a result of negligence on the part of the schools concerned). They therefore query that BIP has failed to serve the intended purpose of providing protection for participants of school activities. It is learnt that some schools have taken out additional accident insurance policies with more comprehensive benefit coverage (covering accidents not caused by negligence on the part of the schools) for their students with a view to enhancing the protection for them. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the premium paid and the related expenses incurred by EDB for taking out BIP in each of the past five school years; (2) whether it knows, in each of the past five school years, the number of PLI claims and, among such claims, the number and percentage of those in respect of which compensation was awarded by the insurance companies, the total amount of compensation paid by insurance companies, as well as the respective highest and lowest amounts of compensation involved; (3) whether it knows the number of aided schools which have taken out additional accident insurance policies for their students at present, and the percentage of such number in the total number of aided schools across the territory; and (4) whether it will take out BIP which contains PLI with wider coverage and laxer terms of compensation in future in order to enhance the protection for students and teachers; if it will, of the details, and whether it will consult relevant members of the education sector on the matter; if not, whether EDB will take out new and additional insurance policies in order to enhance the protection for people, particularly students, who are injured while participating in school activities?
*23. Hon Kenneth LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
At the end of last month, the Queen's College removed, without prior announcement, a decades-old candlenut tree located on its campus, adjacent to the entrance of the car park at Causeway Road. The incident has aroused media and public concerns, and some members of the public have queried such an approach adopted by the school. Regarding the management and maintenance of trees, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the lease for the lot on which the Queen's College sits contains a tree preservation clause; if so, whether the school had applied to the Lands Department and obtained its approval or had notified the Department before it removed the aforesaid candlenut tree; (2) of the criteria and considerations based on which the Government decides whether or not to include a tree preservation clause in the lease concerned when granting a plot of government land; (3) of the current number of land leases which contain a tree preservation clause, as well as the number and locations of the land lots concerned; (4) among the leased lots mentioned in (3), of the lots with one or more trees listed in the Tree Register and the number of such trees on each of these lots, together with a breakdown by category of trees (i.e. (i) old and valuable tree ("OVT"), (ii) stonewall tree, (iii) OVT & stonewall tree, and (iv) tree which requires continuous monitoring); (5) whether there is currently any legislation governing the professional qualifications of the contractors responsible for inspecting tree conditions; if there is, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (6) given that Chapter 6 of the Report No. 63 of the Director of Audit has pointed out that there is room for improvement in the efforts of the Tree Management Office ("TMO") in co-ordinating the work of tree management departments (in particular, there are grey areas relating to the delineation of maintenance responsibilities of roadside trees among different tree management departments, and TMO should co-ordinate more effectively the relevant work carried out by the departments other than the nine major tree management government departments), whether the Government will consider upgrading TMO to a government department dedicated to the management and maintenance of trees across the territory; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*24. Hon CHAN Hak-kan to ask: (Translation)
Two of the targets set out in the Hong Kong Blueprint for Sustainable Use of Resources published by the Government in 2013 are to reduce the per capita municipal solid waste ("MSW") disposal rate from 1.27 kg per day in 2011 to 0.8 kg or less per day in 2022, and to raise the waste recycling rate from 48% in 2011 to 55% in 2022. On the other hand, with the economic downturn of the Mainland in recent years, the demand for recyclable materials has declined drastically, causing the prices of waste plastics, paper and metals to have dropped by 40%, 30% and 80% respectively. It is learnt that quite a number of plastic recyclers have stopped buying waste plastics, resulting in large quantities of waste plastics being sent to landfills for disposal. Regarding the recycling of waste, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the average recycling rate and disposal rate of waste plastics from last year to the first half of this year; the respective average recycling rates and disposal rates of waste paper and metals in each of the past five years; (2) of the respective quantities and export prices of waste plastics, paper and metals exported from Hong Kong to the Mainland in each of the past five years; (3) of the respective quantities of waste plastics, paper and metals recycled as useful materials in Hong Kong in each of the past five years; (4) whether it has examined if the quantity of waste sent to various landfills for disposal in recent months has been on the increase; if it has, of the details, and the quantity of waste which can be recycled among such waste; (5) given that it is learnt that the refuse rooms of some housing estates are often piled with large quantities of recyclable waste plastics, whether the authorities have looked into such situation; if they have, of the details, and whether they have received complaints from members of the public in this regard; if they have not looked into it, the reasons for that; (6) given that the authorities are progressively implementing the scheme of Community Green Stations to promote environmental education to different sectors of the society and assist communities in the recycling of different types of materials, whether the authorities have drawn up targeted recycling rates and quantities for various types of waste; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (7) given that according to the Hong Kong Blueprint for Sustainable Use of Resources, the Government would roll out stakeholder engagement exercises and commence law drafting for MSW charging during the period from 2013 to 2015, of the current progress of the relevant work (including the implementation timetable for the stakeholder engagement exercises for MSW charging); (8) given that all along there has not been any marked increase in the waste loads collected by three-colour waste separation bins placed in various districts over the years, whether the authorities will consider placing more of such bins in various districts; whether they will consider following the practices of some countries and placing only two types of rubbish bins in public places to collect recyclable waste and non-recyclable waste, so as to facilitate the disposal of recyclable waste by members of the public; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (9) given that even though the Environment Bureau introduced a Recycling Fund involving $1 billion in October this year to assist the recycling industry in upgrading its operational capabilities and efficiency, in order to promote the sustainable development of the recycling industry, the first batch of funds will not be granted until March next year, whether the authorities have short-term measures to help recyclers cope with their operational difficulties before the funds are granted; if they do, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (10) whether it will consider following the practices of neighbouring regions (such as Taiwan) and establishing a complete industry chain for the recycling industry (including the implementation of quantity-based charging for waste treatment and subsidizing the recycling industry with the income so collected); if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*25. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)
The Chief Executive ("CE") of the last term announced on 26 February 2012 the establishment of the Independent Review Committee for the Prevention and Handling of Potential Conflicts of Interests ("the Committee"), chaired by the retired Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal. The Committee was responsible for reviewing the regulatory systems for the prevention of conflicts of interests concerning CE, Non-Official Members of the Executive Council ("ExCo"), and Officials under the Political Appointment System (politically appointed officials or "PAOs"). The Committee submitted its report on 31 May 2012, putting forward 36 recommendations. In reply to my question on 26 November last year, the authorities indicated that they had implemented more than half of the recommendations of the Report. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
(1) as the aforesaid recommendations put forward by the Committee include the following: (i) the PAO Register of Gifts should be renamed the PAO Register of Advantages and should cover the relevant advantages received by a PAO with their estimated values indicated, and (ii) the CE Register of Advantages, the PAOs' Registers of Advantages, and ExCo Members' declarations of gifts and sponsorships should be made accessible on the relevant web sites, in so far as they are not at present, whether the Government has already implemented these two recommendations; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (2) of the other recommendations of the Committee which have yet to be implemented by the Government, and the reasons why such recommendations have yet to be implemented?
* For written reply
IV. Bills
| First Reading
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| 1. | Eastern Harbour Crossing Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2015
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| 2. | Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 4) Bill 2015
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| 3. | Electoral Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 2) Bill 2015
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| 4. | Fire Services (Amendment) Bill 2015
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| Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)
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| 1. | Eastern Harbour Crossing Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2015 | : | Secretary for Transport and Housing
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| 2. | Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 4) Bill 2015 | : | Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
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| 3. | Electoral Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 2) Bill 2015 | : | Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs
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| 4. | Fire Services (Amendment) Bill 2015 | : | Secretary for Security
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| Second Reading (Debate to resume), Committee Stage and Third Reading
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| 1. | Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014 | : | Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
Under Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| 2. | Bankruptcy (Amendment) Bill 2015 | : | Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
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| Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury to move Committee stage amendments
(The amendments were issued on 9 December 2015 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 230/15-16) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| (Debate and voting arrangements for Committee stage of the Bankruptcy (Amendment) Bill 2015 (issued on 15 December 2015 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 252/15-16(01))) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
V. Members' Motions
Clerk to the Legislative Council