A 15/16-21
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 13 April at 11:00 am and
Thursday 14 April 2016 at 9:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers
| 1. | No. 79 | - | Hong Kong Rotary Club Students' Loan Fund
Financial Statements for the year ended 31 August 2015 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Education)
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| 2. | No. 80 | - | Sing Tao Charitable Foundation Students' Loan Fund
Financial Statements for the year ended 31 August 2015 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Education)
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| 3. | No. 81 | - | Self-financing Post-secondary Education Fund
Financial statements for the year ended 31 August 2015 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Education)
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| 4. | No. 82 | - | HKSAR Government Scholarship Fund
Financial statements for the year ended 31 August 2015 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Education)
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| 5. | Report No. 16/15-16 of the House Committee on Consideration of Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments | ||
| (to be presented by Hon Andrew LEUNG, Chairman of the House Committee)
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II. Questions for Written Replies
1. Hon Alan LEONG to ask: (Translation)
In 2005, the Hong Kong Housing Authority divested certain retail and car parking facilities of its public housing estates to The Link Real Estate Investment Trust, which was renamed as Link Real Estate Investment Trust ("Link REIT") in August 2015. It has been learnt that the land leases for the car parks of Link REIT generally provide that the parking spaces may be let only to the residents, occupiers and their bona fide visitors specified therein. However, Link REIT may apply to the Lands Department ("LandsD") for waivers of the relevant lease conditions so as to let some of the parking spaces to non-residents, and in doing so, it has to pay waiver fees as well as comply with the terms and conditions set out by LandsD in the waivers. Some members of the public have relayed to me that in recent years, Link REIT has increased the proportion of 12-hour and 24-hour parking spaces for letting to non-residents. As the monthly parking spaces of some of its car parks are often fully taken up and there are often a number of prestigious sedans parked there, those members of the public suspect that some tenants of the shopping malls have assisted, for profits, non-residents in renting the monthly parking spaces. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the respective current numbers of monthly and hourly parking spaces in the car parks under Link REIT, and the respective percentages of such numbers in the total number of its parking spaces, with a breakdown by name of car park; whether the Government has monitored if such numbers and percentages from 2005 onwards have complied with the relevant land lease conditions; (2) whether it knows the current total number of parking spaces in the car parks under Link REIT which are for letting to non-residents; among such parking spaces, of the respective numbers of those which are let hourly, monthly or by other means (if any), with a breakdown by name of car park; whether the Government has monitored if such numbers and the percentages of such numbers in the total numbers of the relevant parking spaces from 2005 onwards have complied with the relevant land lease conditions; (3) of the existing mechanism put in place by the Government to monitor and investigate whether Link REIT has complied with the requirement that the parking spaces of its car parks may be let only to the residents, occupiers and their bona fide visitors as specified in the land leases; and (4) of the number of applications made by Link REIT to LandsD each year since 2005 for waivers of the relevant lease conditions so as to let its parking spaces to non-residents, and the annual total amount of wavier fees paid by Link REIT?
2. Hon Andrew LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
Since the 15th of last month, the Government of Canada has imposed a new stipulation requiring holders of passports exempted from the visa requirement (including Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("HKSAR") passport) to obtain an Electronic Travel Authorization ("eTA") prior to check-in for flights to Canada. Regarding the entry requirements imposed by foreign governments on HKSAR passport holders, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of countries/territories, other than Canada, which have granted visa-free access to HKSAR passport holders but require the holders to obtain an eTA before entry; (2) whether it has considered imposing the same entry requirement on holders of passports issued by those countries/territories in (1); if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) as it is stated on the web page of the Government of Canada that eTA is electronically linked to the passport of the person to whom eTA has been issued, and the Immigration Department has accepted applications for HKSAR e Passport from members of the public only since 5 February 2007, of the current number of HKSAR passports whose validity period has not expired and which are not e Passports, as estimated by the authorities, and how the authorities will assist holders of those passports in applying for the eTA concerned?
3. Hon Michael TIEN to ask: (Translation)
As revealed by the outcome of a survey conducted last year, only 5.7% of the children in Hong Kong read 10 books or more each month, and this figure was far below those of Japan and Taiwan, which stood at 38.3% and 30.3% respectively. Furthermore, a Research Brief published by the Legislative Council Secretariat early this year pointed out that usage of public library services had been falling over the last decade, e.g. the number of books on loan had fallen by 11%. There have been comments that given the growing prevalence of smart phones and rapid development of Internet platforms, and certain edges that such media have over the printed media in information dissemination (e.g. instantaneity, portability and interactivity), public library services are facing immense challenges and the reading culture is on the wane. In view of this situation, quite a number of countries and territories have been taking pro-active measures in recent years to reform their public library services and promote reading culture. For example, in Singapore, the stock of e-books has increased tremendously, and the libraries of San Francisco and Japan have set up designated reading areas exclusively for teenagers. Besides, Taiwan has set up book-floating points in public places extensively so that members of the public can give away their books for "book-floating" purposes and take away free of charge books for reading as they wish, and established unmanned libraries at metro stations to enable the working population and students to borrow and return books on a self-service basis. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it conducted any study in the past three years on the reading habit of the people of Hong Kong, and assessed how the lethargic reading culture had affected (i) Hong Kong's competitiveness, (ii) the cultural literacy of members of the public and (iii) their language competency; if it did, of the details; if not, whether it will consider conducting the relevant studies; (2) of the measures introduced by the authorities in the past three years to promote reading culture and the effectiveness of such measures; and (3) whether it will set up book-floating points and make available at these points, for members of the public to freely take away for reading, those books which have been written-off by the public libraries each year but which are still in readable conditions, and whether it will, by making reference to the aforesaid overseas practices, reform the public library services with a view to promoting reading culture through a multi-pronged approach; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
4. Ir Dr Hon LO Wai-kwok to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that earlier on, a large-size glass door of a department store suddenly came off, crushing and injuring a passer-by. That accident has aroused public concern about monitoring of the safety of glass doors. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the casualty figures for accidents involving glass doors each year since 2011 and, in respect of such figures, the respective numbers of persons injured as a result of crushing by falling glass doors and pinching by electrically operated sliding glass doors; (2) as the Code of Practice for Installation of Electrically Operated Sliding Gates, Sliding Glass Doors and Rolling Shutters ("the Code") issued by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department ("EMSD") was last revised in September 2003, and EMSD has no statutory power to monitor the safety of electrically operated sliding glass doors, whether the authorities will review the relevant legislation and the Code, with a view to stepping up the monitoring of the safety of electrically operated sliding glass doors; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether the authorities will enact legislation to regulate, in a unified manner, the installation, maintenance and repair as well as safety concerning various types of manually and electrically operated glass doors, so as to enhance the protection of public safety; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
5. Hon CHAN Chi-chuen to ask: (Translation)
The public rental housing development at Shui Chuen O, Sha Tin ("SCO Estate") involves the construction of 18 blocks of buildings to provide 11 123 units. The development, being implemented in four phases, is scheduled for completion within this year and the units of the four blocks of buildings under Phase 1 were available for intake in 2015. Recently, some households of Shui Chuen O Estate have relayed to me that the public facilities and services in their district of residence are seriously insufficient, causing inconvenience to their daily living. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the existing numbers of private cars and motor cycles owned by households of SCO Estate and the respective ratios of such numbers to the population of the Estate; whether it has assessed if the demand of households for parking spaces was underestimated in the initial planning of the numbers of parking spaces of private cars and motor cycles to be provided in SCO Estate; whether it has any plan to increase the numbers of such parking spaces; (2) whether it has assessed if illegal parking was serious in SCO Estate last year; of the number of fixed penalty tickets issued by the Police each month at Pok Chuen Street against illegal parking since the intake of the Estate; (3) given that some households of SCO Estate have relayed that the trip frequencies of the several franchised bus and green minibus routes that currently pass by the Estate are on the low side, whether the authorities have conducted any survey on whether the service levels of the relevant routes can meet the demand of the households during peak periods when they commute to and from work; whether the authorities have compiled statistics on the demand of the households for public transport services and collected their relevant views, as well as enhanced the external transport services for the Estate; (4) as some households of SCO Estate have relayed to me that while police officers seldom patrol the Estate, police cars often drive through SCO Estate to Pok Chuen Street to take enforcement actions against illegally parking, of the existing arrangement for police work in the Estate, and whether the authorities will consider deploying more police officers to patrol the Estate; and (5) whether it has plans to enhance the fire and ambulance services for the district upon the completion of SCO Estate, and whether it has earmarked any "Government, Institution or Community" site near the Estate for the construction of a municipal services building?
6. Hon MA Fung-kwok to ask: (Translation)
Some professionals have pointed out to me that the systems of mutual recognition of various professional qualifications established between Hong Kong and other jurisdictions can attract overseas professionals to work in Hong Kong, thereby promoting the development of Hong Kong's professional services. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows which of the following describes the present situation of the respective mutual recognition of professional qualifications between Hong Kong and the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, France, Germany, Mainland China and Taiwan (list the names of the countries/territories concerned in the table below by profession): (i) holders of overseas professional qualifications may directly obtain professional qualifications in Hong Kong through the mutual recognition system, (ii) holders of overseas professional qualifications may obtain professional qualifications in Hong Kong by taking examinations run by the relevant professional bodies of Hong Kong, (iii) the persons concerned are required to get local accreditation for their overseas professional qualifications before they may take the examinations run by the relevant professional bodies, and may obtain professional qualifications in Hong Kong upon passing the examinations, and (iv) the overseas professional qualifications concerned are not recognized by the relevant professional bodies of Hong Kong; and
Professions (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) 1. General practitioner 2. Medical specialist 3. Forensic pathologist 4. Nurse 5. Chinese medicine practitioner 6. Dentist 7. Veterinary surgeon 8. Chiropractor 9. Medical laboratory technologist 10. Optometrist 11. Dietician 12. Pharmacist 13. Physiotherapist 14. Occupational therapist 15. Radiotherapist 16. Speech therapist 17. Clinical psychologist 18. Accountant 19. Social worker 20. Estate surveyor 21. Architect 22. Planner 23. Quantity surveyor 24. Building surveyor 25. Electrical engineer 26. Landscape architect 27. Land surveyor 28. Aeronautical engineer 29. Biomedical engineer 30. Construction engineer 31. Building services engineer 32. Chemical engineer 33. Civil engineer 34. Control engineer 35. Automation and instrumentation engineer 36. Electrical engineer 37. Electronic engineer 38. Environmental engineer 39. Energy engineer 40. Fire engineer 41. Gas engineer 42. Geotechnical engineer 43. Logistics and transportation engineer 44. Manufacturing and industrial engineer 45. Marine and naval architecture engineer 46. Materials engineer 47. Mechanical engineer 48. Information engineer 49. Structural engineer (2) what plans or concrete measures are in place to assist holders of overseas professional qualifications in obtaining the relevant professional qualifications in Hong Kong?
7. Hon NG Leung-sing to ask: (Translation)
In January this year, the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau submitted a paper to the Panel on Financial Affairs of this Council, outlining the various policy initiatives to be implemented by the Bureau this year. The authorities have stated in the paper that the Government will capitalize on the opportunities arising from the implementation of the National 13th Five-year Plan and the "Belt and Road" Initiative to consolidate and enhance Hong Kong's position as a major platform of capital raising and financing for Mainland and overseas enterprises as well as a hub for offshore Renminbi ("RMB") business, and that Hong Kong could also serve as a vital bridge between our country and countries along the Belt and Road. Moreover, the Financial Secretary ("FS") has indicated in his Budget Speech this year that he has asked the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to establish an office to facilitate the financing of infrastructure projects and provide a platform for pooling the efforts of investors, banks and the financial sector to offer comprehensive financial services for various infrastructure projects. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the working relationship between the infrastructure project financing facilitation office and the various existing segments of the finance industry upon the commissioning of the office; (2) whether it has studied the synergy effect between the conduct of financing activities in Hong Kong for the Belt and Road Initiative and the development of offshore RMB business in Hong Kong; if it has studied, of the details; and (3) given that FS has said in his blog in June 2013 that the development of the bond market in Hong Kong lags behind that of other financing channels (e.g. banks and stock markets), how the Government will leverage on the financing activities for the Belt and Road Initiative to further boost the development of the bond market in Hong Kong?
8. Hon Steven HO to ask: (Translation)
Quite a number of fishermen have relayed to me that the various marine works carried out in recent years have resulted in temporary loss of fishing grounds during the works periods. Also, the fish catch of fishermen in the surrounding waters has dropped as the sea waters have been seriously polluted. In addition, upon completion of the works, parts of the waters concerned have been permanently designated as fishing restricted areas, which has further reduced the area of fishing grounds, affecting the livelihood of fishermen. However, the ex-gratia allowance ("EGA") for fishermen currently granted by the Government in respect of marine works cannot fully compensate fishermen's losses due to such works. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the relevant information in respect of the reclamation works under the following development projects which have commenced or have been proposed, namely: (i) the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge and its related projects (including the artificial island), (ii) the Three-Runway System Project at the Hong Kong International Airport, (iii) development projects in Lantau (Tung Chung New Town Extension, Sunny Bay Reclamation and Siu Ho Wan Reclamation), and (iv) reclamation projects outside Victoria Harbour (including reclamation at Lung Kwu Tan, Tsing Yi Southwest and Ma Liu Shui, together with the artificial islands in the central waters) (set out in the table below);
Relevant reclamation works Development project (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) 1. actual/projected time required for the works (including commencement and completion dates) 2. actual/projected total area of reclamation 3. actual/projected total area of permanent loss of fishing grounds 4. actual/projected total area of temporary loss of fishing grounds 5. actual/projected total area of fishing restricted areas that have been/will be established 6. actual/projected total amount of EGA that has been/will be granted to fishermen (2) in respect of each of the marine works that commenced in the past five years or will commence in the next five years, of the actual or projected total area of temporary loss of fishing grounds due to such works and the time period involved; (3) in respect of each of the marine works that commenced in the past five years or will commence in the next five years, of the actual or projected total area of marine parks that were or will be established upon completion of such works, with the relevant waters covered by such area marked on a map; (4) of the number of EGA applications handled and the total amount of EGA granted by the authorities in each of the past five years; (5) of the details of the existing procedures for handling as well as for vetting and approving EGA applications, including the average time taken from preparing to set up a relevant inter-departmental working group, registering the affected fishermen to granting EGA to them; the criteria adopted by the authorities for determining whether an individual fisherman has been affected by certain marine works; (6) of the respective numbers of EGA applications that are being handled and those which are still outstanding, and the expected time for completion of handling all such applications and releasing the EGA involved; (7) as some fishermen have pointed out that, under the existing mechanism, no EGA will be granted to the affected fishermen in respect of the establishment of a fishing restricted area (e.g. a marine park) which is larger than the reclamation area in the waters concerned upon completion of the marine works, and that at present the durations of temporary loss of fishing grounds caused by some marine works have exceeded five years, showing that the existing mechanism has underestimated the durations of temporary loss of fishing grounds caused by some marine works which has resulted in the EGA granted to fishermen being less than their actual losses, whether the authorities will review the current methods for calculating EGA so as to take into account the aforesaid factors; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (8) as some fishermen have pointed out that the Government, when planning various development projects, has often sacrificed the survival and development of the fishing industry, how the Government will prevent the occurrence of such a situation in future with a view to achieving a win-win situation between the development of the fishing industry and the development projects?
9. Hon Dennis KWOK to ask:
The Police Operational Nominal Index Computer System ("PONICS"), managed by the Criminal Records Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force ("HKPF"), maintains a central repository of criminal records in Hong Kong. However, the policy of HKPF on keeping criminal records in PONICS and a prevailing list of offences in respect of which criminal records are to be kept in PONICS ("Recordable Offence List") have not been made public. As a result, an individual convicted of an offence (particularly a minor offence) has no way to tell if his or her criminal record has been/will be kept in PONICS, either at the time of the conviction or anytime in the future. Regarding the management of PONICS, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the details of HKPF's policy on keeping criminal records in PONICS; how often HKPF conduct a review on the policy and whether HKPF will make public the outcome of such reviews; (2) whether all criminal records which involve a sentence of imprisonment will be kept in PONICS, regardless of whether the relevant offences are on the Recordable Offence List at the time of conviction; (3) whether, upon an offence being added to or removed from the Recordable Offence List, HKPF will retrospectively add to or remove from PONICS previous criminal records in respect of such an offence; and (4) of the current Recordable Offence List and a list of offences which are no longer recordable, together with the dates on which the offences were added to or removed from the Recordable Offence List; whether HKPF will make public future updates to the Recordable Offence List; if HKPF will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
10. Hon WU Chi-wai to ask:
At present, the Government may resume private lands for public purposes pursuant to the relevant legislation, e.g. the Lands Resumption Ordinance (Cap. 124). In determining statutory compensation in respect of lots/buildings under multiple ownerships, the Lands Department ("LandsD") has adopted the practice of assessing the open market value of an individual unit on the date of resumption of the lot(s)/building(s) concerned, with reference to the use as shown on the approved building plan(s)/alterations and additions plan(s) and the use as permitted under the lease. For lots/buildings under a single ownership, LandsD considers that the owner concerned will normally choose to redevelop his or her lot(s)/building(s) if redevelopment is proved to be more profitable. In such cases, where redevelopment as a private initiative is more likely to take place, LandsD assesses the existing use value and the redevelopment value of the lot(s)/building(s) concerned, and proposes the higher of the two values reflecting a more profitable option as the statutory compensation. Furthermore, the Urban Renewal Authority ("URA"), established under the Urban Renewal Authority Ordinance (Cap. 563) in May 2001, carries out redevelopment projects in the urban areas of Hong Kong, and the Urban Renewal Strategy is a government strategy the implementation of which should be undertaken by URA. Regarding the assessment of statutory compensation for resumed properties, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it was the Government's policy to distinguish between single ownership and multiple ownerships in respect of assessment of statutory compensation payable to dispossessed owners of resumed properties ("SOMO Distinction") before Cap. 563 came into force in 2001; (2) whether the authorities have conducted any research into or study on SOMO Distinction before its implementation; if they have, of the research or study outcome; (3) given that there are views that neither Cap. 563 provides for nor did the Consultation Paper on Urban Renewal Strategy (published by the authorities in 2001) contain any provisions for the assessment of statutory compensation payable to the affected owners, whether the authorities have assessed if the prevailing assessment principles are inadequate or irrelevant; if they have, of the assessment outcome; given that there are views that the Government or URA should issue guidelines in respect of assessment of statutory compensation for resumed properties in order to avoid confusion and disputes, whether the authorities have plans to issue such guidelines; (4) given that paragraph 6.2(a) in the Land Resumption and Compensation in the Urban Area - Guidelines for Owners, Occupiers and Surveyors states that, in respect of compensation to owner-occupiers of commercial properties, "[i]n appropriate cases where the redevelopment value for the land resumed is higher than the existing use value as at the date of reversion, the former will be offered as a statutory compensation", whether the authorities used the term "appropriate cases" in recognition of the fact that there were exceptions to the established approach of assessing the value of resumed properties; if so, whether there is a policy in place for specifying the circumstances or conditions which constitute such exceptions; and (5) whether it is the case that the use of the term "appropriate cases" is intended to reserve discretionary powers to be exercised by the authorities; if so, of the legal basis for such a power?
11. Prof Hon Joseph LEE to ask: (Translation)
The Government has mentioned in the 2016 Policy Address that it will soon complete the strategic review of healthcare manpower planning and professional development ("the strategic review"), and will gradually implement the recommendations of the strategic review, including the proposals on the regulatory regimes for healthcare professions. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that members of the pharmaceutical industry have proposed the establishment of two boards to replace the existing Hong Kong Pharmacy and Poisons Board, and to separately regulate registration of pharmacists and matters concerning pharmaceutical products, whether this proposal has been studied in the strategic review; if so, of the details and the outcome; if the outcome of the study supports such a proposal, of the implementation timetable; if the proposal has not been studied, the reasons for that; (2) given that members of the supplementary medical professions have proposed that the chairmanships of the five boards under the Supplementary Medical Professions Council be taken up by members of the professions so as to enhance professional autonomy and promote development of the trades, whether this proposal has been studied in the strategic review; if so, of the details and the outcome; if the outcome of the study supports such a proposal, of the implementation timetable; if the proposal has not been studied, the reasons for that; (3) given that, since 1997, members of the nursing sector have put forward a number of proposed amendments to the Nurses Registration Ordinance (Cap. 164), of the reasons why the authorities have not yet implemented such proposals, the details of their follow-up work and the timetable for implementing such proposals; and (4) of the details of the strategic review conducted by the authorities in respect of the regulation of the 13 healthcare professions which are regulated by law, the specific proposals put forward and the timetable for implementing such proposals (set out in a table)?
12. Hon Albert CHAN to ask: (Translation)
Under the Government's Small House Policy, a male indigenous villager at least 18 years old who is descended through the male line from a resident in 1898 of a recognized village in the New Territories ("indigenous villager") may apply once during his lifetime to the authorities for permission to erect for himself a small house on a suitable site within his own village. Upon being given approval by the authorities to construct a small house, an indigenous villager must, before commencement of the works, apply for the issue of a Certificate of Exemption pursuant to the Buildings Ordinance (Application to the New Territories) Ordinance (Cap. 121) in respect of building, site formation and drainage works. After the relevant works have been completed, a District Lands Officer will issue a Certificate of Compliance upon receipt of the construction completion report and at the same time upon his satisfaction that all other obligations imposed on the applicant have been fully complied with. Some members of the public have recently relayed to me that in recent years, quite a number of indigenous villagers have constructed many small houses in a number of villages, which has seriously affected their living environment. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council, in each of the past 10 years:
(1) of (i) the number of applications received by the Lands Department ("LandsD") for the construction of small houses, (ii) the number of Certificates of Exemption issued by LandsD for the construction of small houses, and (iii) the number of Certificates of Compliance issued by LandsD for small house construction works; regarding each of the items (i) to (iii), the District Council district and village in which the largest number of cases were found; and (2) of (i) the number of cases in which removal of restriction on alienation for small houses was approved by the authorities following the owners' payment of land premium for the small houses concerned, (ii) the total amount of such land premium collected by the authorities in respect of small houses, and (iii) the respective largest and smallest amounts of land premium collected by the authorities in a single case?
13. Hon Tony TSE to ask: (Translation)
There are comments that following the emergence of the problem of ageing population in Hong Kong, the housing needs of the elderly have become one of the major issues of public concern, and have expanded the domain of housing development in the future. Nevertheless, only the Hong Kong Housing Authority and the Hong Kong Housing Society have provided housing flats tailor-made for the elderly at present, whilst private developers have not responded actively to the housing needs of the elderly. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it adopted any measure in the past five years to encourage private developers to provide flats that cater for the needs of the elderly when carrying out their residential development projects; if it did, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; whether it assessed in the past five years the disposition of private developers to provide such flats; if it did, of the outcome; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether it studied in the past five years ways to draw on overseas experience and practices so as to fully implement the policy visions of "ageing in place" and "inter-generational harmony"; if it did, of the details; if not, whether it will allocate resources to conduct such a study; (3) whether it conducted in the past five years any comprehensive review of issues such as the land policy, town planning, land lease conditions, and the provisions regarding the universal design of residential buildings under the Buildings Ordinance (Cap. 123), with a view to implementing the policy visions mentioned in (2); if it did, of the outcome and the major recommendations for improvement; if not, the reasons for that and whether it will conduct the relevant review; and (4) whether it will conduct a review in the near future of the contents, execution and effectiveness of the housing policy for the elderly; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
14. Hon James TIEN to ask: (Translation)
Since 2009, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority ("HKMA") has introduced seven rounds of counter-cyclical measures to tighten the requirements on property mortgage loans. The last round of measures, which was introduced on 27 February 2015, comprise three measures, one of which is the lowering of the maximum loan-to-value ("LTV") ratio on mortgage loans to be offered by banks for self-use residential properties with value below $7 million from 70% (a cap which had been in place for over 23 years by then) to 60%. On the same day, the maximum cover under the Mortgage Insurance Programme ("MIP") offered by the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation Limited ("HKMCL") was reduced from 90% LTV ratio to 80% LTV ratio accordingly. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the changes in the average prices and transaction volumes of residential properties following the introduction of each round of counter-cyclical measures; (2) whether it has assessed the impacts of the measures taken by HKMA to reduce LTV ratio and by HKMCL to reduce MIP cover on members of the public, particularly the prospective home buyers; if it has assessed, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) given that the Chief Executive of HKMA said in February this year that although residential property prices had fallen gradually from the peak in September last year coupled with a decline in transaction volumes, the counter-cyclical measures would be suitably relaxed only when it was certain that the property market had entered a downward cycle, of the criteria adopted by HKMA for affirming that the property market has entered a downward cycle, and the level, to be reached by the falling property prices, at which HKMA has contemplated relaxing the counter-cyclical measures; and (4) whether it will consider first restoring the maximum LTV ratio to 70% for self-use residential properties and the maximum MIP cover to 90% LTV for mortgage loans, so that members of the public with home purchase needs can secure the necessary loans; if it will, of the expected time for such restoration; if not, the reasons for that?
15. Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)
According to the Medical Registration Ordinance (Cap. 161), except medical graduates of the University of Hong Kong and The Chinese University of Hong Kong, all persons who wish to register as medical practitioners (i.e. doctors) in Hong Kong are required to pass the Licensing Examination administered by the Medical Council of Hong Kong ("MCHK") and complete the internship assessment in Hong Kong. All along, there have been views that due to the excessively high threshold of the Licensing Examination, over the years only a small number of non-local doctors have passed the Licensing Examination and registered as medical practitioners. As a result, the problem of shortage in doctors in Hong Kong cannot be alleviated. On 2 March this year, the Government introduced the Medical Registration (Amendment) Bill 2016 into this Council, and some of the proposals in the Bill aim at facilitating the admission of non-locally trained doctors, in particular specialists, to practise in Hong Kong. However, there are comments that MCHK needs to further relax the restrictions on the registration and practice of non-locally trained doctors in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of candidates sitting and passing the Licensing Examination in the past five years, broken down by the countries/territories where the candidates received their medical training and by the three parts of the Licensing Examination (i.e. Examination in Professional Knowledge, Proficiency Test in Medical English and Clinical Examination); (2) of the number of local medical graduates and the number of doctors whom the Hospital Authority ("HA") intends to recruit, in the next five years; whether it knows HA's manpower plans and objectives for doctors; and (3) whether the strategic review on healthcare manpower planning and professional development currently conducted by the Government covers the review of the restrictions on the registration and practice of non-locally trained doctors in Hong Kong; if it does, of the direction, contents and timetable of the relevant review; if not, whether it will conduct such a review?
16. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)
According to the information on the web site of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department ("LCSD"), members of the public or organizations may bid for permits to conduct light refreshment business ("permits") at light refreshment kiosks ("kiosks") under LCSD. LCSD will enter into agreements with the successful bidders of the permits ("agreements"). However, it has been reported that LCSD has left some of these kiosks vacant for a long time without putting them up for bidding, which is a waste of public resources. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the current number of LCSD sites on which kiosks have been built, with a tabulated breakdown by District Council ("DC") district; the current vacancy rate of such kiosks, together with a tabulated breakdown of the number of vacant kiosks by DC district and the number of years for which they have been left vacant (i.e. less than three years, three years to less than five years, five years to less than 10 years, and 10 years or more); (2) of the tendering procedures for and the validity periods of the permits in general; whether, when the validity period of a permit will soon expire, the original holder has a priority right to be granted a new permit, and the penalties to be imposed on permit holders who fail to operate the kiosks in accordance with the business hours stipulated in the agreements; (3) of the respective numbers of cases in each of the past three years in which the permit holders and LCSD requested to terminate the agreements within the validity period of the agreements, with a tabulated breakdown by reason for the termination of the agreement; (4) whether, before conducting an open tender, LCSD will invite certain individuals or organizations to submit quotations for those kiosks in respect of which the permits will soon expire; if so, whether LCSD will proceed with the open tender process under the circumstances in which quotations have been received; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (5) whether LCSD will convert the sites the kiosks on which have been left vacant for a long time for other uses; if so, for how long after the kiosks have been left vacant will LCSD do so; if not, of the reasons for that?
17. Hon Alice MAK to ask: (Translation)
In Hong Kong, quite a number of public hospitals were built on hillsides and are not accessible by franchised buses. Members of the public visiting those hospitals mostly use green minibus feeder service after taking a franchised bus or railway trip. However, some members of the public have relayed to me that both the frequencies and coverage of the relevant green minibus routes are insufficient to meet demands, thus causing inconvenience to members of the public (especially frail patients and the elderly). Regarding the green minibus routes running to and from various public hospitals, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the details of the various minibus routes, including the route numbers, their coverage, frequencies, fares and the names of the operators concerned (broken down by the name of public hospital); (2) of the current average daily boardings and occupancy rates of each minibus route; whether the authorities have regularly reviewed the service level of the minibus routes, including their frequencies, occupancy rates and coverage; if they have, of the details of the reviews and the date on which the last review was conducted; (3) given that quite a number of patients who need to use wheelchairs ride on such minibuses, whether the authorities will require the operators concerned to arrange minibuses providing access for wheelchairs and spaces for parking wheelchairs to ply such routes, and set up more direct minibus routes to public hospitals; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) given that there will be public hospitals completed or redeveloped successively in the next few years and the ageing population will cause the number of persons seeking consultation to rise, whether the authorities will conduct a comprehensive review of the public transport services for various public hospitals?
18. Hon LEUNG Che-cheung to ask: (Translation)
It has been learnt that the number of people who lodged torture claims/non-refoulement claims under the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment ("the Convention") immediately after entering Hong Kong unlawfully has been on the rise recently. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of illegal immigrants ("IIs") intercepted by the Police in Hong Kong waters and onshore in each of the past 12 months (with a breakdown of their places of origin); whether it knows, among such IIs, the number and percentage of those who entered Hong Kong unlawfully by boat departing from the Mainland, as well as their embarkation locations; (2) of the major sea routes currently taken by non-ethnic Chinese people when they entered Hong Kong unlawfully, the parts of Hong Kong waters that they pass through en route, and their disembarkation locations; (3) of a breakdown, by place of origin, of the number of the people who lodged torture claims/non-refoulement claims ("claimants") in the past 12 months; whether the authorities have analysed the means through which the claimants entered Hong Kong, and taken measures and actions to intercept them; if they have, of the details; (4) whether the authorities have made reference to the experience of handling Vietnamese boat people and refugees years ago, and considered setting up open or closed reception centres for such claimants; if not, of the reasons for that; and (5) whether the authorities have studied if there is any precedent of withdrawal from the Convention; if they have, of the details and outcome of such study?
19. Hon IP Kwok-him to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the Hong Kong Indigenous has neither been registered nor exempted from registration under the Societies Ordinance (Cap. 151). It has also not been registered as a body corporate under the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 622). However, it has earlier raised more than $1 million through online open appeals for donations. In addition, the Scholarism announced last month that it would cease operation and would transfer some of the donations solicited from the public to a newly established organization. Regarding issues relating to the regulation of activities for soliciting donations from the public and the use of such donations, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the existing legislation that regulates the activities for soliciting donations from the public held in public places or on the Internet or through other means by natural persons in their own names and by organizations which have not been registered pursuant to the legislation as a society or a body corporate in Hong Kong; according to the existing legislation, whether prior approvals from the Social Welfare Department ("SWD") or other relevant government departments are required to be obtained for activities for soliciting donations from the public held in Hong Kong (including online activities for soliciting donations); (2) regarding the donations solicited from the public by non-charitable bodies which have not been classified by the Inland Revenue Department as a charitable institution or trust that is exempt from tax under section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112), whether any legislation is currently in place to regulate the uses and the movement of such donations; whether it has conducted any assessment to ascertain if the use of such donations for purposes other than the purpose originally intended or the transfer of such donations to another organization by these bodies has contravened any existing legislation; if it has conducted such an assessment, of the outcome; the channels through which donors may monitor the ultimate uses and the movement of their donations; (3) of the number of complaints received by SWD and other relevant government departments in the past three years about solicitation of donations from the public (including soliciting donations on the Internet) without approval; and among such complaints, the number of cases in respect of which legal or other follow-up actions have been taken by SWD and other relevant government departments; and (4) as the Law Reform Commission proposed in its report entitled "Charities" published in 2013 that legislation should be enacted to subject all charitable organizations to the requirement of registration, and the list of registered charitable organizations should be available for public inspection, whether the Government will accept such proposals; if it will, of the work progress in implementing such proposals; if not, the reasons for that?
20. Hon Christopher CHUNG to ask: (Translation)
The Youth Square, built by the Government at a cost of $771 million and located in Chai Wan, was completed in 2008. In March 2009, the Home Affairs Bureau ("HAB") awarded, through an open tender exercise, a contract for the provision of management and operation services ("the operation contract") for the newly built Youth Square to the New World Facilities Management Company Limited ("New World") for a period of seven years. On 20 March last year, which was about one year before the expiry of the operation contract, HAB published a notice in the Gazette to conduct an open tender exercise for the provision of management and operation services for the Youth Square for another seven years. Upon the closure of the tender exercise on 8 May of the same year, HAB received only two bidding documents, one of which was submitted by New World. On 27 November of the same year, HAB awarded a new operation contract to New World. It has been reported that the Youth Square has incurred losses continuously for seven years since commencement of its operation, but the total management fee payable to New World has increased from $371 million under the last contract to about $510 million (with a provision for fee adjustment according to the percentage of increase/decrease of the Composite Consumer Price Index) under the new operation contract. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether HAB had publicized, apart from publication of a notice in the Gazette, the tender arrangement through any other channel when it invited tenders last year for the provision of management and operation services for the Youth Square; (2) whether HAB has explored the reasons why only two bidding documents were received; if HAB has, of the outcome and whether the reasons include inadequate publicity and the tendering period being too short; (3) of the reasons why the authorities decided to select New World among the two bidders; (4) as there were only two bidders, whether the authorities had considered conducting the tender exercise afresh; (5) as the Youth Square has incurred losses continuously for the past seven years under New World's management and operation, whether the authorities had considered this factor before it decided to award the new operation contract to New World; (6) whether it has explored (i) the reasons why the Youth Square has incurred losses continuously, and (ii) measures which may reverse such a situation; (7) whether New World proposed, in its bidding document, measures for reversing the situation of the Youth Square incurring losses continuously and for boosting the income of the Square; if New World did, of the details; and (8) as the Youth Square has incurred losses continuously for the past seven years under the management and operation of New World, of the justifications for the authorities' decision to significantly increase the management fees payable to New World under the new operation contract, and whether they have assessed if this practice is in line with the principle of using public money properly?
21. Hon Paul TSE to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the world's largest cruise company has for the first time included Hong Kong in its annual world voyage route, and the company's three mammoth cruise liners have recently visited Hong Kong and berthed at the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal ("KTCT"). The regional director of the company pointed out that, as the three cruise liners had brought about 17 000 visitors to Hong Kong, the external ancillary transport facilities for KTCT were of paramount importance. She further pointed out that the view of the Victoria Harbour was highly attractive to overseas visitors. She hoped that more restaurants would enter KTCT in future to "warm up" the terminal. On the other hand, the managing director of a famous cruise company in the United States relayed the views of some visitors that the lack of entertainment facilities in the vicinity of KTCT had caused much inconvenience to them. He considered that the vicinity of KTCT should be livened up in order to attract visitors. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it will, after taking into account the aforesaid views:
(1) and given that the vibrant ambience anticipated by visitors is totally absent at KTCT during night-time, coupled with the fact that the grass park adjacent to KTCT is always void of visitors with an extremely low utilization rate, explore ways to enhance the night-time entertainment facilities at KTCT, maximize the use of the grass park and the areas surrounding KTCT, and organize activities which are attractive to visitors and members of the public, e.g. music and multi-media art festivals and carnivals such as Clockenflap, etc., so as to liven up KTCT; (2) seriously reconsider the proposal of establishing "a bar street" in KTCT's open-air roof garden, in particular the proposal of converting the space in the garden currently occupied by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, which enjoys a 360-degree panoramic sea view, into an area for accommodating bars or eateries, as well as extending the opening hours of the garden at night, so as to provide overseas visitors with the unforgettable travel experiences of enjoying the magnificent day and night views spanning over the Victoria Harbour while savouring a multitude of culinary delights, and to improve KTCT's financial position by increasing its rental income; (3) assess if the provision of kaito ferry service linking Kwun Tong and KTCT (available on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays only), which is awaiting vetting and approval by the authorities, can satisfy the demand of visitors for enjoying the view of the Victoria Harbour at sea, and improve the existing situation of inadequate external road transport facilities for KTCT (i.e. relying on one single link road to and from Kowloon Bay); and (4) and in the light of a significant rise in the number of ship calls at KTCT from 90 this year to more than 160 next year, consider extending the kaito ferry service to link up KTCT with Lei Yue Mun, Hong Kong Island East (Hong Kong Museum of Coastal Defence), the town centres such as Tsim Sha Tsui and Central, etc.?
22. Hon IP Kin-yuen to ask: (Translation)
According to the Compendium to Code Of Aid for Aided Schools made by the Education Bureau, the social worker to student ratio in special schools is set at 0.5:35. The headmasters of some special schools have relayed to me that they have all along faced the problem of insufficient social workers, and therefore suggest that the ratio should be lowered, so as to enable the schools to have sufficient social worker manpower to cater for the needs of their students. On the other hand, while the Government reduced, in the 2014 Policy Address, the class size in schools for children with visual impairment and schools for social development from 15 to 12 students, it did not correspondingly lower the social worker to student ratio, resulting in those schools having to reduce their social worker manpower. Regarding issues relating to social worker manpower in special schools, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the numbers and names of special schools that have (i) less than one, (ii) one to two and (iii) two or more social workers within their existing staff establishment (set out in a table); (2) whether it has assessed if the existing social worker manpower of special schools is adequate to cater for the needs of students; if it has, of the criteria adopted for conducting the assessment and the assessment outcome, including the specific impact of insufficient social worker manpower on student counselling work; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether it has assessed the additional expenditures which will be caused by lowering the social worker to student ratio from 0.5:35 to 0.5:28; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
III. Government Bills
| Second Reading (Debate to resume)
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| Appropriation Bill 2016 | : | The Financial Secretary
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| Committee Stage and Third Reading
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| Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014 | : | Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
Under Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development | |||||||||||||
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| (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)))
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| Second Reading (Debate to resume), Committee Stage and Third Reading
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| 1. | Property Management Services Bill | : | Secretary for Home Affairs
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| Secretary for Home Affairs to move Committee stage amendments
(The amendments were issued on 29 January 2016 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 345/15-16) | |||||||||||||||
| (Debate and voting arrangements for Committee stage of the Property Management Services Bill (issued on 1 March 2016 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 435/15-16(01)))
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| 2. | Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Amendment) Bill 2015 | : | Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury | ||||||||||||
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| (Debate and voting arrangements for Committee stage of the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Amendment) Bill 2015 (issued on 17 March 2016 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 483/15-16(01)))
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| 3. | Interception of Communications and Surveillance (Amendment) Bill 2015 | : | Secretary for Security
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IV. Government Motions
V. Members' Motions on Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments
VI. Members' Bills
| First Reading
Bank of Communications (Hong Kong) Limited (Merger) Bill Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned) | ||
| Bank of Communications (Hong Kong) Limited (Merger) Bill | : | Hon NG Leung-sing
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| Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
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| Second Reading (Debate to resume), Committee Stage and Third Reading
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| Kowloon Tong Church of the Chinese Christian and Missionary Alliance Incorporation (Amendment) Bill 2014 | : | Dr Hon Priscilla LEUNG
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VII. Member's Motion
Motion under the Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance
Hon WONG Yuk-man to move the following motion:
That this Council appoints a select committee to inquire into the clashes between the Police and members of the public in Mong Kok from the night of 8 February to the early morning of 9 February 2016 which caused injuries to many people, and other related matters; and that in the performance of its duties the committee be authorized under section 9(2) of the Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance (Cap. 382) to exercise the powers conferred by section 9(1) of that Ordinance.
Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Security
Clerk to the Legislative Council