A 15/16-24
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 4 May 2016 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers
| Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments | L.N. No. | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Waste Disposal (Designated Waste Disposal Facility) Regulation (Amendment of Schedule 1) Notice 2016 | 49/2016 |
| 2. | Waste Disposal (Charges for Disposal of Construction Waste) Regulation (Amendment of Schedule 4) Notice 2016 | 50/2016 |
| 3. | Pharmacy and Poisons (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulation 2016 | 51/2016 |
Other Papers
| 1. | No. 91 | - | Quality Education Fund
Financial statements for the year ended 31 August 2015 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Education)
| |||
| 2. | No. 92 | - | Education Development Fund
Financial statements for the year ended 31 August 2015 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Education)
| |||
| 3. | No. 93 | - | Securities and Futures Commission
Approved budget of income and expenditure for the financial year 2016/2017 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury)
| |||
| 4. | No. 94 | - | Supplementary Legal Aid Fund
Annual Report 2014 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)
| |||
II. Questions for Written Replies
1. Hon TANG Ka-piu to ask: (Translation)
One of the issues covered in a public consultation on retirement protection launched by the Government at the end of last year is the "offsetting" arrangement under the Mandatory Provident Fund ("MPF") system (i.e. an employer may, under the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance (Cap. 485), use the accrued benefits derived from the contributions he made for an employee to an MPF scheme to offset the severance payment ("SP") and long service payment ("LSP") payable to the employee under the Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57)). Some wage earners have relayed to me that the offsetting arrangement undermines their retirement protection substantially and they therefore hope that the Government will abolish the offsetting arrangement as soon as possible. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has analysed the impacts on society and the economy to be brought about by the modifications to the offsetting arrangement under different simulated options; if it has, of the specific contents of various simulated options, the analysis method employed and the timetable for completing the analysis; (2) in each of the past five years, of the following information concerning those employees employed by various government departments under non-civil service contracts whose accrued benefits were withdrawn for offsetting: (i) the number of employees involved, (ii) the total amount of accrued benefits withdrawn for offsetting, (iii) the total amount of accrued benefits remaining in MPF accounts after offsetting, and (iv) the total residual amounts of SP and LSP payable by the Government to the relevant employees after offsetting (set out in the table below);
(i) (ii) (iii) (iv) 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 (3) whether it knows, in each of the past five years, the following information concerning those employees employed by outsourced service contractors for providing public services whose accrued benefits were withdrawn for offsetting (set out in a table of the same format as the table above): (i) the number of employees involved, (ii) the total amount of accrued benefits withdrawn for offsetting, (iii) the total amount of accrued benefits remaining in MPF accounts after the offsetting, and (iv) the total residual amounts of SP and LSP payable by the employers to the relevant employees after offsetting; and (4) whether it plans to give an account of the results of the public consultation on retirement protection before the date from which the current term of the Legislative Council shall stand prorogued (i.e. 16 July 2016); if it does, of the timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
2. Dr Hon Kenneth CHAN to ask: (Translation)
On the 19th of last month, a No. 3 alarm fire broke out in a building at Hennessy Road in Wan Chai. It has been reported that when the firemen tried to get water from the fire service installations of the building concerned for fighting the fire, they found that the water pressure was unstable. They therefore had to connect the fire hoses to the fire hydrants on the street (commonly known as "street hydrants") to get water, and then pump water via the pumping appliances to fight the fire. Moreover, as eight fire hoses ruptured during the fire-fighting operation and the water jetted out from aerial ladders to the unit on fire was weak at the beginning, it took the firemen more than one hour to put out the fire. On the other hand, it is learnt that a registered contractor has carried out maintenance works for the fire service installations of the building concerned, but the fire service installations concerned have all along failed to fully comply with the relevant requirements. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the details concerning the manpower, vehicles and equipment deployed by the Fire Services Department ("FSD") to handle the aforesaid fire; (2) whether, during the aforesaid fire-fighting process, FSD sought assistance from the Water Supplies Department ("WSD") for raising the water pressure of street hydrants in the vicinity to facilitate fire-fighting; if FSD did, of the details of the assistance rendered by WSD, and whether it is a usual practice of WSD to render such assistance; if it is a usual practice, of the established procedure involved; (3) given that there are quite a number of old buildings in Wan Chai and the fire service installations in those buildings do not meet the latest requirements, resulting in FSD having to resort to street hydrants to get water for fire-fighting, whether FSD and WSD have conducted joint inspections on a regular basis to see if the water pressure of street hydrants within the district is up to the standard; if they have, of the details of the inspections; if not, the reasons for that; (4) whether FSD has followed up on the failure of the fire service installations of the building concerned to comply with the relevant requirements; if FSD has, of the latest progress of the follow-up work; if not, the reasons for that; and (5) whether FSD will investigate thoroughly into and follow up on the problems (e.g. unstable water pressure in respect of the fire service installations of the building concerned and ruptured fire hoses) which occurred during the aforesaid fire-fighting operation; if FSD will, of the specific plans; if not, the reasons for that?
3. Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to ask: (Translation)
On 28 March this year, the Chief Executive's younger daughter, who was about to board a flight for the United States, found that she had left behind a cabin baggage outside the restricted area of the Hong Kong International Airport ("HKIA") only after she had entered the restricted area. She then sought assistance from airline staff. Subsequently, an airline staff member reclaimed the cabin baggage from airport security staff, carried the baggage into the restricted area after undergoing security checks, and handed it back to the owner. This incident has aroused public concern about whether there are loopholes in airport security checking measures. Some members of the public have queried whether the airport staff concerned (including staff of the security company and the airline concerned) made any "special arrangement for a special case" in this incident, failing to observe security check requirements. The Secretary for Transport and Housing ("STH") said in early April that the Airport Authority Hong Kong ("AAHK") had been requested to submit a report on the incident to the Government, but the safety of the airport had not been compromised by the incident. Under section 28 of the Aviation Security Ordinance (Cap. 494), the Aviation Security Authority ("ASA") may issue a security direction to any person to whom subsection (3) of this section applies requiring him to take such measures as specified in the direction, and any person who, without reasonable excuse, fails to comply with the direction, commits an offence. In addition, it has been reported that in a paper presented by the International Air Transport Association to the International Civil Aviation Organization of the United Nations, it is stipulated that during security checks, cabin baggage must be matched with the correct person/owner (i.e. the requirement for cabin baggage to undergo security checks together with the passenger) and be positioned on the search table so that the owner can open the baggage for checking by security staff. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows, in each of the past five years, the number and details of cases in which airport staff carried baggage into the restricted area for passengers; whether AAHK submitted a report on each case to the Transport and Housing Bureau; whether such reports are available for public inspection; if so, of the means for gaining access to such reports; (2) whether passengers who have entered the restricted area but left behind their cabin baggage outside the restricted area may request airport staff to reclaim and bring the baggage into the restricted area for them; (3) of the specific justifications for STH's claim that the safety of the airport had not been compromised by the incident; (4) whether ASA has issued, under the aforesaid provision, any security direction in respect of the aforesaid requirement for cabin baggage to undergo security checks together with the passenger; if ASA has, whether any person failed to comply with the direction in this incident; if so, whether the authorities have taken follow-up actions (including legal actions) against the person concerned; if they have, of the details; (5) whether the authorities will request AAHK to set up an independent committee to conduct an investigation into and submit a report on this incident; if they will, whether the authorities will make the report public after receiving it; and (6) whether it will, in the light of this incident, comprehensively review the current airport security measures; if it will, of the details?
4. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)
The United States Department of State publishes a Trafficking in Persons Report ("TIP Report") every year to evaluate the human trafficking situations in various countries/areas. The Report places the relevant countries/areas onto one of three tiers based on their governments' efforts in combating human trafficking, with "Tier 1" representing the highest ranking. The TIP Report 2015 published in July last year placed Hong Kong on "Tier 2" again, and pointed out that Hong Kong was a destination, transit, and source territory for persons subjected to sex trafficking and forced labour. In particular, the Report stressed that there were exploitations of foreign domestic helpers ("FDHs") in Hong Kong: some FDHs became victims of forced labour in the private homes in which they were employed (with FDHs having reported working 17-hour days); some employment agencies ("EAs") (including FDH recruitment agencies) charged fees in excess of the maximum commission allowed under the law; and some FDHs who had been abused by their employers were unwilling to report abusive employers for fear of losing their jobs and being unable to repay their debts. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
(1) of the new measures that have been put in place by the authorities so far, in response to the queries about Hong Kong raised in the aforesaid report; whether the authorities, in formulating measures to crack down on trafficking in persons, will set an objective of Hong Kong being placed on "Tier 1" by the aforesaid Report in future; (2) given that the authorities have indicated that since April 2014, the Labour Department ("LD") has increased manpower to step up inspection of EAs, with the annual number of inspections increasing from 1 300 in the past to 1 800 (representing a 38% increase), of the details about LD's manpower increase; (3) of the total number of EAs and the number of inspections of EAs conducted by LD, in the past three years; whether the authorities will consider further boosting the manpower for coping with the increasing workload of inspection and number of related complaints; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) of the number of EAs which were prosecuted for contravention of the law, the offences involved, and the penalties imposed by the court on the convicted EAs in general, in the past five years?
5. Dr Hon Elizabeth QUAT to ask: (Translation)
Currently, quite a number of leisure and cultural services projects across the territory which were endorsed respectively by the two former Municipal Councils or relevant District Councils many years ago have not yet commenced. Those projects include: a sports centre in Area 103, On Luk Street, Ma On Shan, adjacent to the Ma On Shan Police Station; District Open Space in Area 90, next to the junction of Hang Ming Street and Hang Fai Street, Ma On Shan; and the sports centre and Town Plaza in Area 4, Sai Kung. It has been reported that quite a number of members of the public consider that the cultural and recreational facilities as well as the activity space in the community are inadequate, and the planning work of the Government is not thorough either. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it will consider, when seeking funding approvals from the Finance Committee of this Council, placing the funding applications of the aforesaid projects in a separate queue from that of territory-wide projects, with a view to shortening the waiting time for vetting and approval of the former; (2) of the existing number of the aforesaid projects that are still pending funding approvals; when the authorities expect to submit to this Council the funding applications for such projects (set out in detail in a table); and (3) given that the Government will provide open space and recreational facilities in various districts in accordance with the planning standards of the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines, the projects for such facilities in quite a number of districts (e.g. Shatin and Tseung Kwan O) have not commenced after a long time due to the lack of land or funding pending approval, of the districts in which the relevant planning standards have been met and those have not at present; given that the public's demands for such facilities are keener than those in the past, whether the Government will review the relevant standards afresh; if it will, of the details and the timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
6. Hon Charles Peter MOK to ask: (Translation)
The Government has proposed a study of the development of a "smart city" in both of the Policy Addresses of last year and this year. In a smart city, smart technologies are employed to revamp and enhance its systems, operations and services, thereby improving the functions of the city. Besides, smart technologies are useful in managing traffic and mitigating traffic congestion. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) with regard to the installation of "stop-and-go" e-payment facilities at manual toll booths of government tolled tunnels and roads currently under study by the authorities, of the (i) details of the technologies, (ii) development and operation costs and (iii) names of the roads and tunnels involved, together with (iv) the expected commissioning date of such facilities; (2) with regard to the "stop-and-go" e-payment facilities mentioned in (1), of the (i) mobile payment technologies to be introduced by the authorities, and (ii) mobile payment methods in support of such facilities and the functions associated with the methods; whether the authorities have consulted members of the relevant sectors when conducting the relevant study; if they have, of the consultation details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) with regard to the trial scheme on new generation of parking meters ("new parking meters") currently implemented by the authorities, of the locations and number of parking meters involved (broken down by District Council district); (4) with regard to the trial scheme mentioned in (3), of the (i) mobile payment methods in support of the scheme and the functions associated with the methods, (ii) locations where on-site testing scheme has been conducted and (iii) development and operation costs; whether the authorities have plans to replace all roadside parking meters with new parking meters; if they do, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (5) whether the authorities have studied the offer of parking concessions to drivers of environment-friendly vehicles when introducing new parking meters, so as to encourage more people to use such vehicles; whether the authorities have studied the introduction of parking meters capable of making real-time adjustments to parking charges according to factors such as location and usage rate of parking spaces as well as average parking time, etc., so as to regulate the supply of and demand for roadside parking spaces; if they have conducted such a study, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; whether the authorities will release the real-time data on usage rate of parking spaces to facilitate drivers' choices of driving routes and parking locations; if they will release such data, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (6) given that the authorities have just completed the public engagement exercise for the Electronic Road Pricing Pilot Scheme in Central and its Adjacent Areas, and are planning to update the Transport Information System of the Transport Department, whether they will conduct a study on how to make the computer systems involved in those two tasks compatible with the computer systems involved in the various aforesaid e-payment facilities, and adopt a standardized and open data format to facilitate public use of such systems, and encourage public and private organizations to make use of the relevant data for transport studies; if the authorities will conduct such a study, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
7. Hon WONG Kwok-hing to ask: (Translation)
In response to a nuclear radiation leakage incident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan in 2011 ("Fukushima nuclear incident"), the Director of Food and Environmental Hygiene has issued an order under section 78B of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132) to prohibit the import of certain fresh produce, milk, milk beverages and milk powder from the five most affected prefectures of Japan, namely Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Chiba and Gunma. A scheme of targeted radiation testing on all food products imported from Japan has also been carried out since then. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the types and quantity of those Japanese food products from which excessive radiation levels were detected after such food products had been put on the market, each year since the Fukushima nuclear incident; (2) as it has been reported that the food testing standards prescribed by the authorities in respect of certain radionuclides (e.g. caesium) in imported food products are lower than those prescribed by other jurisdictions (including Mainland China, South Korea and Taiwan), of the reasons for that; (3) as it has been reported that radionuclides strontium and polonium will cause leukaemia and lung cancer respectively, why the authorities have not enacted legislation to regulate the permitted levels of such radionuclides in food products; whether the authorities will include strontium and polonium as items to be tested on food products imported from Japan; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (4) as it has been reported that at present, the authorities only prohibit the import of food products from the aforesaid five prefectures of Japan, while other jurisdictions (e.g. Mainland China, South Korea and the United States) ban the import of food products from more places in Japan, of the reasons and justifications for the authorities adopting an approach which is less stringent than other jurisdictions; whether the authorities will expand the ban on imported food products to cover more places in Japan; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (5) as it has been reported that in respect of certain food products imported from Japan and sold on the market, the description of their places of origin is very general (e.g. only the broad term "Japan" is shown) without showing the names of the prefectures and cities where the food products concerned were produced, and in some other food products, wrong places of origin are shown, whether the authorities have assessed if the importers and retailers concerned have contravened the relevant food labelling requirements; if they have assessed and the outcome is in the negative, whether they will enact legislation to require that the package labels of imported food products must bear detailed description of places of origin; if the assessment outcome is in the affirmative, of the legislation and penalties involved; of the number of persons who have been prosecuted and convicted since the Fukushima nuclear incident for committing relevant offences and the punishments imposed by the court on them in general?
8. Hon Frankie YICK to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the cumulative rates of decrease in international crude oil prices and import prices of refined oil products since 2011 are as high as 75% and 56% respectively, but the retail prices of petrol in Hong Kong have dropped by merely 28.5% over the same period. As such, members of the public are unable to benefit from the significant drop in international oil prices. Moreover, a survey has found that the retail prices of auto-fuels sold by three oil companies in Hong Kong have moved almost in tandem, thus arousing suspicion of collusive price-fixing. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that the oil products of various oil companies vary in inventory levels as well as import time and they do not come from exactly the same places of origin, and that oil companies have different operating costs (e.g. transportation costs), whether the authorities have investigated why the retail prices of auto-fuels sold by the aforesaid oil companies have moved almost in tandem; if they have, of the details; if not, whether they will conduct such an investigation; (2) as the rate of decrease in the local retail prices of petrol differs from the rate of decrease in the prices of international crude oil and those of refined oil products by 46.5 and 27.5 percentage points respectively, whether the authorities have studied if such differences are reasonable; if they have studied and the conclusion is in the affirmative, of the criteria and justifications for arriving at such a conclusion; if the conclusion is in the negative, of the authorities' measures to narrow such price differences; (3) as some members of the public have pointed out that the oil companies' practice of offering greater discounts to major customers (e.g. government departments) has resulted in members of the public subsidizing those major customers and showed that there is room for downward adjustment of the retail prices of petrol, whether the authorities will take the initiative to request oil companies to reduce oil prices so as to alleviate the burden on the public; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (4) given that petrol prices have direct impacts on people's livelihood as well as on the logistics and transportation industry (e.g. affecting the fares of public transport services), whether the authorities will consider requesting oil companies to make public the inventory levels and sales figures of their oil products so that the public can monitor whether it is the case that the prices set by the oil companies have been "quick to rise and slow to drop"; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (5) as oil companies have to recover such operating costs as land costs, government rents and tax (e.g. $6.06 per litre for unleaded petrol) from the retail prices of petrol, whether the Government will consider, by making reference to the pricing formula for the auto-liquefied petroleum gas ("LPG") ceiling prices adjustment mechanism for dedicated LPG filling stations, requiring the oil companies to set their retail prices of petrol based on international oil prices and operating prices; (6) whether it will consider adopting, apart from bidding prices, other criteria such as fuel quality and retail prices for vetting and approving tenders for the sale of petrol filling station sites, so that (i) the retail prices of auto-fuels can better reflect the trend movements of international oil prices, and (ii) the threshold for running a petrol filling station can be lowered, thereby attracting more new operators and increasing market competition; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (7) given that the Competition Commission will conduct an investigation into whether the oil companies have engaged in anti-competitive behaviour in setting auto-fuel prices, whether the Government knows the completion date of the investigation and the date for publication of the results; how the authorities will follow up on such investigation results?
9. Hon WONG Kwok-kin to ask: (Translation)
The Government launched the Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme ("EHCV Scheme") in 2009 and the Pilot Scheme at the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital under the EHCV Scheme ("Pilot Scheme") on 6 October 2015. Under the Pilot Scheme, eligible Hong Kong elderly people may use elderly health care vouchers ("HCVs") to pay for designated outpatient services at the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital ("HKU-SZ Hospital"). Moreover, the authorities have indicated that they will continue to enhance the EHCV Scheme. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of attendances of Hong Kong elderly people using HCVs at HKU-SZ Hospital since the implementation of the Pilot Scheme; whether it knows the Mainland cities in which these elderly people reside; (2) of the total value of HCVs used by Hong Kong elderly people at HKU SZ Hospital since the implementation of the Pilot Scheme, with a breakdown by the healthcare services involved; (3) whether it has reviewed the effectiveness of the Pilot Scheme since the implementation of the Pilot Scheme; if it has; of the outcome; if not; the reasons for that, and when it will conduct the review; (4) of the factors based on which it determined the Mainland cities in which the Pilot Scheme was to be implemented; whether it will (i) include more medical institutions in Shenzhen in the Pilot Scheme and (ii) implement the Pilot Scheme in other Mainland cities; if it will, of the details; if not; the reasons for that; and (5) whether it has studied other measures to enhance the EHCV Scheme since the implementation of the Pilot Scheme, so as to benefit more Hong Kong elderly people; if it has, of the details of such measures and the progress of the study?
10. Dr Hon LAM Tai-fai to ask: (Translation)
The Central Authorities announced on 13 April last year the tightening of the policy on Shenzhen permanent residents visiting Hong Kong, under which the issuance of one-year multiple-entry Individual Visit Endorsements ("multiple-entry endorsements") was stopped with immediate effect (endorsements which had been issued and yet to expire would not be affected), and was replaced by the issuance of one trip-per week ("OTPW") Individual Visit Endorsements only. The Chief Executive said at that time that such measures were meant to crack down on parallel trading activities, and Hong Kong still welcomed visitors from all over the world to come for sightseeing. However, according to the statistics of the Immigration Department, during the period from 13 April last year to 31 March this year, the number of Mainland visitor arrivals was about 42.49 million, representing a year-on-year drop of 8.6%. Among them, the number of visitor arrivals travelling to Hong Kong on multiple-entry endorsements not yet expired was about 6.315 million (a year-on-year drop of 57.3%), while the number of those travelling to Hong Kong on OTPW endorsements was about 4.38 million. The Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong announced last month that the number of registered Mainland inbound tour groups to Hong Kong in March this year stood at 4 789 only, representing a sharp drop of 48.8% when compared with the 9 350 tour groups during the same period last year; and the number for the first quarter of this year was 11 665 only, representing a drop of 59.3% over the same period last year. Some members of the tourism industry have pointed out that the drastic drop in the number of Mainland visitor arrivals has not only affected the livelihood of tour escorts and tourist guides, but also impacted on the catering and retail industries, causing a number of restaurants and shops dedicated to serving tour groups having closed down one after another in recent months. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has assessed if the tightening of the policy on Shenzhen permanent residents visiting Hong Kong is the cause for the drop in the number of Mainland visitors under the Individual Visit Scheme ("IVS"); if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether it has assessed the impacts of the drop in the number of IVS visitors on industries such as tourism, hotel, retail, catering, transport, real estate, and of the latest figures on business turnover, employment rate and unemployment rate, etc. of such industries; (3) from the perspective of the changes in the number of people engaged in parallel trading activities, of the decline in such activities since the implementation of the OTPW arrangement; (4) of the number of operations conducted by the Customs and Excise Department to combat parallel trading activities since the implementation of the OTPW arrangement, and the number of people arrested in such operations (with a breakdown by District Council district); (5) whether it has assessed, from an economic perspective, the impact of the OTPW arrangement on Hong Kong's overall economic development; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (6) whether it has assessed, from a perspective of integration between the Mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("SAR"), how the OTPW arrangement helps resolve the problem of conflicts between the two places; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (7) whether it has assessed if the OTPW arrangement has caused repulsion and ill feelings among the Mainlanders towards the practices of the SAR Government; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (8) whether the Government had, before the implementation of the OTPW arrangement, considered carefully as well as conducted detailed analysis and study to ensure that such an arrangement would not bring about adverse impacts on various aspects; if it had, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (9) whether it will request the Central Authorities to resume the multiple-entry endorsements arrangement; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and the circumstances under which the SAR Government will make that request to the Central Authorities; (10) whether it has examined the impacts of the drop in the number of visitors to Hong Kong on the attendances at and the revenue of Hong Kong Disneyland, Ocean Park Hong Kong, Ngong Ping 360, racecourses, etc., as well as on the numbers of jobs in the related organizations; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (11) whether it has assessed the correlation between the drop in the number of Mainland visitors and protests against parallel traders, the problem of conflicts between the two places, the riot in Mong Kok, social sentiments, "shopping tour" protests, etc.; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (12) of the average hotel occupancy rate last year and the anticipated average hotel occupancy rate this year; the number of hotels expected to be completed in the next five years and the number of rooms to be provided by such hotels; (13) whether it has examined the existing tourist carrying capacity of public transport services, as well as the overall tourist carrying and receiving capacities of Hong Kong; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; of the concessionary measures to be introduced by the Government this year and next year for attracting more Mainland and overseas visitors to Hong Kong; (14) whether it has regularly reviewed the operation and effectiveness of the OTPW arrangement with the relevant Mainland authorities; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (15) given that the number of IVS visitors has dropped significantly, whether the authorities will consider abolishing the restriction on powdered formula, i.e. each person aged 16 or above may carry, on his/her departure from Hong Kong within a 24-hour period, powdered formula for infants and young children under the age of 36 months of a total net weight no more than 1.8 kilograms; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (16) whether the Government will, in the light of the latest situation of the tourism industry, introduce short, medium and long term policies and relief measures to assist members of the industry in tiding over the difficult times?
11. Hon Tony TSE to ask: (Translation)
In recent years, during large-scale public events such as processions, demonstrations, assemblies, etc., there have often been a large number of media personnel covering news at the scene. Apart from handling chaos and confrontations arising from the radical behaviour of individual participants of the events, the Police have to take care of the safety of the people, including the media personnel, present at the scene. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the Police have formulated a procedure, guidelines or measures (collectively referred to as "the mechanism") to identify and verify the identities of the media personnel covering news during large-scale public events; if they have not, of the reasons for that, and whether the Police will formulate such a mechanism; if they have, the specific contents of the mechanism, and whether the Police will review the mechanism and consult the police staff associations concerned during the review; if the Police will not review the mechanism, of the reasons for that; (2) whether it has conducted any study on the difficulties encountered, in the past large-scale public events, by the Police in identifying and verifying whether the persons at the scene were media personnel; if it has, of the study outcome and the relevant solutions; (3) as a large number of online media have emerged in recent years, coupled with the fact that smartphones are equipped with advanced video-recording functions due to the rapid development of information technology, resulting in anyone holding a smartphone in hand being able to cover news, how the Police currently identify and verify whether the persons at the scene are media personnel during large-scale public events; whether the Police have formulated a procedure to complement media personnel's news coverage; if they have, of the details of the procedure; if not, the reasons for that, and whether they will formulate such a procedure; (4) whether the Information Services Department ("ISD") has a role in assisting media personnel in covering news during large-scale public events; if ISD does, of the details, and whether the authorities will strengthen the role of ISD; if ISD does not, the reasons for that, and whether the authorities will specify the role to be assumed by ISD; and (5) whether it will consider (i) establishing a registration system for media organizations, (ii) issuing press cards to those media personnel employed by registered media organizations, and (iii) stipulating that only those media personnel who can produce press cards are allowed to cover news during large-scale public events, so as to make it easier for law enforcement officers to identify whether the persons at the scene are media personnel and complement the news coverage by media personnel?
12. Prof Hon Joseph LEE to ask: (Translation)
In the middle of last month, a nurse who was 30 weeks into her pregnancy and worked in a public hospital collapsed during her night shift. After resuscitation, she needed to remain in the hospital for treatment. Some nurses in public hospitals have pointed out that the Hospital Authority has implemented the Continuous Night Shift Scheme ("the Scheme") since 1994. Under the Scheme, when the overall frequency of night shift duties undertaken by the nurses in a ward exceeds once in every seven days, the ward-in-charge will activate the Scheme to recruit nurses who are willing to undertake night shift duties continuously and provide them with an allowance, with a view to reducing as far as practicable the frequency of night shift duties of nurses to not more than once in every seven days. Regarding the work arrangements for pregnant nurses in public hospitals, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows the following information for the past five years, broken down by public hospital and ward:
(1) the number of pregnant nurses each year and, among them, the respective numbers of nurses who, being 1 to 12 weeks, 13 to 24 weeks, 25 to 36 weeks and more than 36 weeks into pregnancy ("the four stages of pregnancy"), felt unwell while on duty and therefore took sick leave; (2) whether the hospitals concerned had made arrangements for staff replacement when the nurses mentioned in (1) were on sick leave; if so, of a breakdown of the figures on replacement staff by each of the four stages of pregnancy; if not, the reasons for that; whether the hospitals concerned had activated the Scheme when those nurses were on sick leave; if so, of the number of nurses who joined the Scheme and the number of weeks for which the Scheme had been implemented; if not, the reasons for that; (3) the respective average frequencies of night shift duties undertaken by the nurses at each stage of pregnancy mentioned in (1), how such figures compare with the average frequency of night shift duties undertaken by other nurses in the same ward during the same period; whether the hospitals concerned had activated the Scheme during the pregnancy of those nurses; if not, of the reasons for that; if so, the number of nurses who joined the Scheme and the number of weeks for which the Scheme had been implemented; the average frequency of night shift duties undertaken by pregnant nurses during the period when the Scheme was implemented, with a breakdown by each of the four stages of pregnancy; and (4) whether the hospitals concerned had made arrangements for staff replacement when the nurses mentioned in (1) were on maternity leave; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; whether the hospitals concerned had activated the Scheme when those nurses were on maternity leave; if so, of the number of nurses who joined the Scheme and the number of weeks for which the Scheme had been implemented; if not, the reasons for that?
13. Hon Alice MAK to ask: (Translation)
Residents from a few dozens of villages in remote areas (including Fuk Hang Tsuen in Tuen Mun, Tam Shui Hang Village and Luk Keng Village in Sha Tau Kok, and Lam Tin Village in Tsing Yi) have complained to me that as there is only one operator providing fixed network broadband Internet access services ("broadband services") for their villages, the services provided are of poor quality while the fees are on the high side. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has compiled statistics on the respective current numbers of residential units in the territory which are (i) covered solely by one fixed broadband network ("fixed network") and (ii) not covered by any fixed network; (2) in respect of the residential units mentioned in (1)(i), of the authorities' measures to ensure that the residents concerned may enjoy services with quality commensurate with the prices, given that the broadband services are monopolized by single operators; (3) whether it will propose that the Competition Commission/ Communications Authority investigate whether the operators have abused their market power when they provide broadband services for residential units covered solely by their fixed networks; (4) of the number of complaints about broadband services received by the authorities from members of the public in each of the past five years, and among such complaints, the number of those involving single operators; (5) given that the Government indicated in April this year that at least three operators were actively building fibre networks in rural and remote areas, whether the authorities will consider afresh giving priority to the provision of "Government WiFi", free public wireless Internet access service, to villages in remote areas by making use of such newly built networks; if they will, of the details and the timetable; and (6) of the specific measures put in place by the authorities to encourage more operators to build fixed networks in villages in remote areas; the expected time when every residential unit in the territory will have more than one fixed network operator to choose from?
14. Hon IP Kwok-him to ask: (Translation)
The Government is conducting a study on the development of "smart city", including opening up more public data to facilitate market development of smartphone applications for the convenience of the public, and developing intelligent homes. The Government has planned to engage a consultant in the second half of this year to formulate the digital framework and technical standards of a smart city. It has been reported that the Singaporean Government has recently launched a number of measures to encourage reading among its people. These include allowing its people to download e-books and e-articles by scanning two-dimensional barcodes with their smartphones to connect to smartphone applications of public libraries, and transforming Mass Rapid Transit train compartments into electronic libraries. Regarding the promotion of reading culture with the aid of advanced technologies, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the authorities will, in conducting the research project on smart city, explore measures (e.g. making available devices in public facilities or MTR stations for free downloading of e-books or e-articles by members of the public) to promote reading culture with the aid of advanced technologies; if they will not, of the reasons for that; (2) given that at present, a number of franchised bus companies ("bus companies") have developed smartphone applications to provide passengers waiting for buses with real-time information on bus services, whether the Government will collaborate with various bus companies to provide e-books or e-articles for free downloading by passengers for reading during the journey; if it will, of the relevant timetable; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether it will conduct a territory-wide study on ways to encourage, in this age of information proliferation, members of the public to download e-books for reading, apart from watching films and television programmes, playing electronic games and visiting social networking websites, when they are connected to the Internet through their electronic products; if it will, of the relevant timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
15. Hon WU Chi-wai to ask: (Translation)
The Hong Kong Housing Authority ("HA") launched the Comprehensive Structural Investigation Programme ("CSIP") in 2005 to ascertain whether the blocks in public rental housing ("PRH") estates aged more than 40 years were structurally safe and whether it would be worthwhile to keep such blocks through repair and structural strengthening works, or else they would be demolished or redeveloped. Also, CSIP would identify the extent of repair and strengthening works required to sustain those blocks for at least 15 years and the estimated costs arising therefrom, as well as the costs of other improvement options. The first stage of CSIP covered 10 estates, with 32 more added in 2008. The entire programme is expected to complete in 2018. Regarding the progress of CSIP and the redevelopment of the PRH estates concerned, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the following information concerning each of the estates for which the structural investigation as well as the required repair and structural strengthening works have been completed (set out in a table): (i) the name of the estate, (ii) the number of blocks in the estate, (iii) the number of flats in the estate, (iv) the date of completion of the estate, (v) the respective years in which the investigation commenced and completed, (vi) the average age of the blocks when the investigation commenced, (vii) the details of the repair and strengthening works, (viii) the average estimated expenditure on the repair and strengthening works for each flat, (ix) the actual expenditure on the repair and strengthening works for each flat, and (x) the actual expenditure on the repair and strengthening works for the estate; (2) of the name of each of the estates the investigation for which has been completed but the repair and strengthening works have not been completed, and the following details of the works concerned: (i) the latest progress, (ii) the actual expenditure incurred so far and how that figure compares with the original estimated expenditure, and (iii) the expected completion date of all the works; (3) of the name of each of the estates the investigation for which is in progress and the expected completion date of the investigation; the name of each of the estates the investigation for which has not yet commenced and the expected commencement date for the investigation; (4) whether HA has compiled, in respect of those estates for which both the investigation as well as the repair and structural strengthening works have been completed, statistics on the annual average expenditure on repairs incurred for each flat since the completion of the works concerned; if HA has, whether HA has found a situation that the expenditure on non-structural repairs for the flats in aged estates was higher than that for the flats in younger estates; if so, of the difference; (5) whether HA will implement a new investigation programme upon the completion of CSIP; if so, of the details; given that it has been more than 10 years since the launch of CSIP in 2005, whether HA will carry out a new round of investigation for the estates the investigation for which was completed many years ago (e.g. Choi Hung Estate, Wo Lok Estate); if so, when the new round of investigation will be launched; and (6) given that some estates (e.g. So Uk Estate, Wah Fu Estate) covered in CSIP are being redeveloped/will be redeveloped soon, and the redevelopment of aged estates may increase the supply of PRH flats in urban areas given a stringent supply of land resources in urban areas, whether the Government has any plan to reserve decanting resources in urban areas for the redevelopment of aged estates in future; if not, of the measures in place to prevent the recurrence of situations similar to that of Wah Fu Estate in which the commencement of its redevelopment programme has been delayed for a long time due to problems of decanting resources, etc.?
16. Hon Paul TSE to ask: (Translation)
Recently, the Equal Opportunities Commission ("EOC") instituted legal proceedings on behalf of a man against the owner of an entertainment venue under the Sex Discrimination Ordinance (Cap. 480) ("SDO"), alleging that the "ladies' nights" (i.e. charging male customers a higher admission fee than that for female customers) offered by that entertainment venue was discriminatory on the ground of sex. The court ruled in favour of EOC. It has been reported that a former Director of Public Prosecutions pointed out that should the authorities concerned disregard common sense and sound judgment when enforcing SDO, and waste time on such kind of frivolous lawsuits, it might instead result in members of the public feeling SDO repulsive. The press reports also pointed out that the new Chairperson of EOC once suggested entertainment venues launching "gentlemen's nights" (i.e. charging female customers a higher admission fee than that for male customers) at the same time to "balance" the concessions for men and women. A spokesperson of the Hong Kong Bar & Club Association has pointed out that in the light of the aforesaid judgment and suggestion, entertainment venues may be coerced into offering gentlemen's nights albeit loss-making, in order to avoid breaching the law inadvertently. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that the man concerned in the aforesaid case reportedly lodged the complaint with EOC merely because he had been dissatisfied with the small number of female customers drawn to that entertainment venue by the ladies' night, and that offering ladies' nights is just a promotional gimmick of entertainment venues, whether the Government will, in the light of the comments by the aforesaid former Director of Public Prosecutions, consider taking the initiative to seek clarifications with EOC or following up on the aforesaid case by other appropriate means, so as to make it clear whether SDO's original intent covers, and whether SDO should be applied to, ladies' nights or other similar promotional gimmicks, i.e. the offering of concessions mainly for promoting goods and services; (2) whether the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau ("CEDB") will assess and consult the bar trade on the setback suffered by the bar trade, especially those bars situated in places frequented by tourists (including Lockhart Road, Lan Kwai Fong and Knutsford Terrace) as a result of the aforesaid judgment; whether CEDB has assessed the impacts on the bar trade if bars are coerced into offering gentlemen's nights or cancel ladies' nights although this may work against their economic interests; (3) given that the aforesaid case has led to concerns raised by quite a number of business operators of different trades that the promotional gimmicks commonly used by them (e.g. concessions for Mother's Day set meals offered by restaurants as well as different fees charged by hair and beauty salons for male and female customers) may be regarded as discriminatory on the ground of sex, thereby exposing them to the risk of lawsuits, of the policies and measures put in place by the Government and EOC to allay the concerns of the business sector; (4) whether the authorities will advise EOC to draw up guidelines for the trades concerned so as to clarify that unless a business operator has an intention which is unreasonable or involves sex discrimination disproportionate to marketing and promotional efforts, EOC in general will not institute legal proceedings under SDO against any business practices and promotional gimmicks which primarily aim at providing concessions; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (5) whether it knows if EOC, when in future considering whether to institute legal proceedings against a business operator on behalf of a complainant, will make reference to the comments by the aforesaid former Director of Public Prosecutions and give more regard to common sense and sound judgment so that EOC will be less susceptible to allegations of overcorrecting, acting frivolously or doing something for the sake of doing it?
III. Government Bills
| Committee Stage and Third Reading
| |||||||||||
| Appropriation Bill 2016
| : | The Financial Secretary
| |||||||||
| Amendments to Heads of Estimates in
committee of the whole Council on the Appropriation Bill 2016 | |||||||||||
| Hon Claudia MO, Hon Albert CHAN, Hon CHAN Chi-chuen, Hon Emily LAU, Hon James TO, Hon Albert HO, Dr Hon Helena WONG, Hon Gary FAN, Hon WONG Yuk-man, Hon CHEUNG Kwok-che, Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG, Hon LEUNG Kwok-hung, Hon LEE Cheuk-yan, Hon Cyd HO, Hon IP Kin-yuen and Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to move the Committee stage amendments in the Appendix.
(These amendments were also issued on 19 April 2016 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 532/15-16) (Debate and voting arrangements for Committee stage of the Appropriation Bill 2016 (issued on 19 April, 3 May and 4 May 2016 under LC Paper Nos. CB(3) 536/15-16, CB(3) 561/15-16 and CB(3) 565/15-16)) | |||||||||||
| Other Public Officers to attend the Committee stage
| : |
The Chief Secretary for Administration
The Secretary for Justice Secretary for Transport and Housing Secretary for Labour and Welfare Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Secretary for Security Secretary for Education Secretary for Food and Health Secretary for the Environment Secretary for Development Secretary for Innovation and Technology Secretary for Home Affairs Secretary for the Civil Service Under Secretary for Home Affairs Under Secretary for the Environment Under Secretary for Transport and Housing Under Secretary for Security Under Secretary for Food and Health Under Secretary for Education Under Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Under Secretary for Development Under Secretary for Labour and Welfare Under Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Under Secretary for Innovation and Technology | |||||||||
| Second Reading (Debate to resume), Committee Stage and Third Reading
| |||||||||||
| 1. | The Hong Kong Institute of Education (Amendment) Bill 2016
| : | Secretary for Education
| ||||||||
| 2. | Eastern Harbour Crossing Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2015
| : | Secretary for Transport and Housing
| ||||||||
|
Secretary for Transport and Housing to move Committee stage amendments
(The amendments were issued on 13 April 2016 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 515/15-16) | |||||||||||
| 3. | Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2016
| : | Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
| ||||||||
| 4. | Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Amendment) Bill 2015
| : | Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury | ||||||||
| |||||||||||
| (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)))
| |||||||||||
| 5. | Property Management Services Bill
| : | Secretary for Home Affairs
| ||||||||
| 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)))
| |||||||||||
| 6. | Chinese Permanent Cemeteries (Amendment) Bill 2015
| : | Secretary for Home Affairs
| ||||||||
| Secretary for Home Affairs to move Committee stage amendments
(The amendments were issued on 13 April 2016 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 512/15-16) | |||||||||||
| 7. | Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 4) Bill 2015
| : | Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
| ||||||||
| Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury to move Committee stage amendments
(The amendments were issued on 13 April 2016 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 516/15-16) | |||||||||||
| 8. | Promotion of Recycling and Proper Disposal (Product Container) (Amendment) Bill 2015
| : | Secretary for the Environment
| ||||||||
| Secretary for the Environment to move Committee stage amendments
(The amendments were issued on 13 April 2016 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 514/15-16) | |||||||||||
| 9. | Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Bill 2015
| : | Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
| ||||||||
| Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury to move Committee stage amendments
(The amendments were issued on 13 April 2016 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 513/15-16) | |||||||||||
| 10. | Electoral Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 2) Bill 2015
| : | Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs
| ||||||||
| 11. | Judiciary (Five-day Week) (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2016
| : | The Chief Secretary for Administration
| ||||||||
| 12. | Interception of Communications and Surveillance (Amendment) Bill 2015
| : | Secretary for Security
| ||||||||
| |||||||||||
| 13. | Kai Tak Cruise Terminal Bill
| : | Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
| ||||||||
| Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development to move Committee stage amendments
(The amendments were issued on 22 April 2016 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 543/15-16) | |||||||||||
IV. Government Motions
| 1. | Proposed resolution under the Road Traffic Ordinance
Secretary for Transport and Housing to move the following motion: Resolved that the period extended to 20 June 2016 by Legal Notice No. 54 of 2011, and for which there remains in force the limit on the number of vehicles which may be registered as public light buses specified in the Public Light Buses (Limitation on Number) Notice (Cap. 374 sub. leg. K), be further extended to 20 June 2021. |
| 2. | Proposed resolution under the Public Bus Services Ordinance
Secretary for Transport and Housing to move the following motion: Resolved that the franchise granted on 22 September 2015 under section 5 of the Public Bus Services Ordinance (Cap. 230) to Citybus Limited (城巴有限公司) and published in the Gazette as G.N. 7692 of 2015 is not subject to sections 27, 28, 29 and 31 of that Ordinance for the entire period of the franchise. |
| 3. | Proposed resolution under the Public Bus Services Ordinance
Secretary for Transport and Housing to move the following motion: Resolved that the franchise granted on 22 September 2015 under section 5 of the Public Bus Services Ordinance (Cap. 230) to New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Limited (新大嶼山巴士(1973)有限公司) and published in the Gazette as G.N. 7693 of 2015 is not subject to sections 27, 28, 29 and 31 of that Ordinance for the entire period of the franchise. |
| 4. | Proposed resolution under the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance
Secretary for Security to move the following motion: Resolved that the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (Sweden) Order, made by the Chief Executive in Council on 16 February 2016, be approved. |
|
(The Order is in Appendix I and was also issued on
14 April 2016 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 518/15-16) | |
| 5. | Proposed resolution under the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance
Secretary for Security to move the following motion: Resolved that the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (Argentina) Order, made by the Chief Executive in Council on 16 February 2016, be approved. |
| (The Order is in Appendix II and was also issued on
14 April 2016 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 518/15-16) | |
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
|
| Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
Second Reading (Debate to resume), Committee Stage and Third Reading | ||
| Kowloon Tong Church of the Chinese Christian and Missionary Alliance Incorporation (Amendment) Bill 2014 | : | Dr Hon Priscilla LEUNG
|
VII. Members' Motions
| 1. | 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 | ||||
| 2. | 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 incident of the alleged airport security breach by the family members of Chief Executive LEUNG Chun-ying during the period from the night of 27 March to the small hours of 28 March 2016, 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 : To be advised by the Administration | ||||
| 3. | Actively studying the establishment of a middle class commission
Hon Tommy CHEUNG to move the following motion: (Translation) That this Council requests the Government to actively study the establishment of a middle class commission. Amendments to the motion | ||||
| (i) | Hon Frankie YICK to move the following amendment:
(Translation) To add "the middle class has always been an important force for maintaining social stability and promoting economic development, but in recent years, the long-standing concerns in the external economic environment, the seriously lopsided development of Hong Kong's industries, the short supply of housing, the polarization between the rich and the poor, and the never-ending political wrangling have caused the middle class to face problems of housing, taxation, education and healthcare, etc., and created a trend of downward mobility of the middle class; the Government's support for the middle class has all along been limited to one-off relief measures such as providing tax rebates, increasing tax allowances, exempting rates or offering electricity charge subsidies, etc., but these measures are just utterly inadequate for the middle class and have not practically alleviated their plight; in addition, as currently there is no precise definition of the middle class, and the Government does not regularly provide statistics and information specific to the middle class, if the authorities or community organizations use such information to formulate policies or measures to support the middle class, such policies or measures will very often be out of focus, biased and superficial; in this connection," after "That"; and to add "to comprehensively review the policies or measures relating to the middle class from a focused and higher-level perspective, so as to alleviate the various problems faced by the middle class and consolidate the strength of the middle class, thereby promoting afresh economic development and strengthening the momentum of upward mobility of the community as a whole; the relevant measures should include: Definition (1) to lay down a clear and precise definition of the middle class, and regularly publish relevant statistics in respect of the definition; Development of industries (2) to adopt a multi-pronged approach to promote diversified development of industries in Hong Kong, so as to create more jobs at the middle and senior levels as well as business start-up opportunities in various industries and professions; (3) to further strengthen regional economic development for integration with the economic development circles of different regions on the Mainland, so as to provide more and better career development opportunities for middle-class professionals within or outside the territory; Housing (4) to expedite the identification of land for developing new development areas, optimize the use of rock caverns and carry out reclamation on an appropriate scale outside Victoria Harbour, so as to increase the supply of residential land on all fronts; and to increase the transparency of the housing plans as well as the supply of and demand for residential land for the next 10 years, and conduct an interim strategic review of and make corresponding adjustment to the relevant plans every five years; (5) to actively study the exploitation of green belt areas and 'brownfield sites' for the purpose of residential development; (6) to introduce a tax allowance for rentals for the marginal middle class; Taxation (7) to adjust salaries tax downwards, in particular widening tax bands for salaries tax and lowering the marginal rate, so as to vigorously alleviate the burden of the marginal middle class; (8) to relax the restrictions on the dependent parent or dependent grandparent allowance by relaxing the eligibility requirement from living in the same unit to living in the same housing estate; Education (9) to introduce a tax allowance for children's education to alleviate the burden of children education expenses on middle-class families; (10) to substantially increase the salaries tax deduction for self-education expenses and the subsidy under the Continuing Education Fund; Healthcare (11) to provide tax deduction for medical insurance contributions; and (12) to provide tax deduction for medical examinations to encourage the middle class to undergo such examinations on a regular basis" immediately before the full stop. | ||||
| (ii) | Hon SIN Chung-kai to move the following amendment:
(Translation) To add "as the Government has disregarded the needs of the middle class over the years," after "That"; to delete "establishment of a" after "study the" and substitute with "concerns of the"; and to delete "commission" immediately before the full stop and substitute with ", which include: (1) raising the various tax allowances, including the basic allowance for individuals, married person's allowance as well as dependent parent allowance, and widening the tax bands for salaries tax and abolishing the standard rate for salaries tax, so that members of the public pay their salaries tax according to the marginal tax rate, thereby alleviating the tax burden on the middle class; (2) reintroducing the Sandwich Class Housing Scheme to increase the opportunities for the middle class to acquire homes; (3) increasing the numbers of days of paid maternity leave and paternity leave and introducing flexible working hours to perfect family-friendly policies and promote a culture of work-life balance; (4) reviewing the teaching quality of government and subsidized schools, and allocating additional resources for such schools to adopt the teaching mode of Direct Subsidy Scheme schools and the merits of International Baccalaureate programmes, so that children of middle-class families can enjoy quality education; (5) upholding local core values and combating corruption to rebuild a society with integrity and fairness, thereby providing the middle class with an environment with fair competition; and (6) formulating proposals for electing the Chief Executive and the Legislative Council by universal suffrage with equal rights to make nomination, to vote and to stand for election in an open, fair and impartial manner, with a view to forging a consensus on promoting democracy, thereby strengthening the middle class's sense of belonging to Hong Kong". | ||||
| (iii) | Hon Christopher CHEUNG to move the following amendment:
(Translation) To add "the middle class, despite being the mainstay of Hong Kong society, has to bear increasingly heavy livelihood and financial burdens and face pressures of downward mobility; in this connection," after "That"; to delete "actively study the establishment of" after "Government to" and substitute with "expeditiously establish"; and to add "to formulate permanent and focused policies and measures, with a view to alleviating the livelihood and financial burdens of the middle class and providing them with more opportunities for upward mobility and room for development" immediately before the full stop. | ||||
| (iv) | Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to move the following amendment:
(Translation) To add "as the Government's measures to assist the middle class in recent years have no merit worth mentioning, the middle class has been unable to resolve their livelihood difficulties; in this connection," after "That"; to delete "actively study the establishment of" after "Government to" and substitute with "expeditiously establish"; and to add "whose functions include studying the following matters: (1) immediately constructing subsidized housing on idle Government land and increasing the number of subsidized sale flats to provide the middle class with a home acquisition ladder, and to enable the middle class to purchase flats for self-occupation at reasonable prices; (2) expeditiously implementing 15-year free education and stepping up the regulation of Direct Subsidy Scheme schools to ensure that the tuition fees of such schools are set at a reasonable level, thereby alleviating the burden of children education expenses on middle-class families; (3) refraining from using a salary-based approach to define the scope of application of standard working hours to ensure that the middle class has more leisure time to enjoy life; and (4) stepping up the regulation of private hospitals, enhancing the service quality of public hospitals, allocating additional land for constructing private hospitals, and immediately abolishing the Drug Formulary system, so as to alleviate the healthcare burden on the middle class" immediately before the full stop. | ||||
| (v) | Hon Starry LEE to move the following amendment:
(Translation) To add ", as the middle class is the mainstay of society," after "That"; and to add "to cater for the interests of the middle class and respond to their different demands, as well as to create more opportunities for upward mobility to expand the ratio of the middle-class population, thereby enabling the society to develop in a sustainable, stable and harmonious manner" immediately before the full stop. | ||||
| |||||
| 4. | Reconstructing the image of Hong Kong's tourism industry
Hon YIU Si-wing to move the following motion: (Translation) That according to the Third Quarter Economic Report 2015 published by the Government in November 2015, inbound tourism slackened further in the third quarter of 2015, and overall visitor arrivals to Hong Kong fell by 6.4% as compared to the same period last year, the first decline since the third quarter of 2009; the Report also points out that exports of travel services (covering visitors' spending on shopping, food and beverages, accommodation and entertainment, etc.) fell by 5.6% in real terms in the third quarter, and the average achieved hotel room rate also dropped by 13.1% as compared to the same period last year; as the share of tourists' shopping expenditure in retail sales value has been substantial (around 42% in 2014), the further slackening of inbound tourism has led to a decline in Hong Kong's total retail sales value for seven consecutive months this year, recording the longest downward trend over the past six years; this will also further affect Hong Kong's economy and employment; in this connection, this Council urges the Government to seriously review the reasons for the decline in visitor arrivals to Hong Kong, formulate corresponding measures and allocate additional resources to reconstruct the positive image of the tourism industry, with a view to preventing the continued decline in visitor arrivals to Hong Kong which will affect Hong Kong's economic development. Amendments to the motion | ||||
| (i) | Hon TANG Ka-piu to move the following amendment:
(Translation) To add ", the tourism industry has all along brought a large number of middle-level and elementary job opportunities to the hotel, catering and transport sectors, etc.; however," after "That"; to add "to reverse the present development trend of the Hong Kong tourism industry, which emphasizes quantity rather than quality, so as" after "resources"; to delete ", with a view to preventing the continued decline in visitor arrivals to Hong Kong which will affect" after "tourism industry" and substitute with "and enable healthy development of the tourism industry, with a view to creating more job opportunities and promoting"; and to add "; the relevant measures should include: (1) to expeditiously establish a travel industry authority to centrally monitor travel agents, tour escorts and tourist guides; (2) to adopt decisive measures to combat the use of unscrupulous operation practices in the tourism sector such as 'zero/negative/low-fare' tours and coerced shopping, etc., and step up publicity among visitors to Hong Kong on the need for vigilance against those unscrupulous operation practices and on the channels for lodging complaints; and to examine regulating the proportion and duration of 'arranged shopping' in the daily itinerary of inbound tours from the Mainland; (3) to formulate an overall development strategy for the tourism industry, which should not only facilitate visitors in retail consumption, but also strengthen the development of exploration tourism, including local in-depth tourism, cultural tourism and eco-tourism, so as to attract visitors of different types (including visitors who are with high spending power, young or stay overnight) to Hong Kong; (4) to promote the development of tourism supporting facilities and scenic spots, such as home-stay lodgings, creativity bazaars and night markets, etc., and to amend existing legislation to support and dovetail with such development; (5) to improve the infrastructural facilities (including water and power supply facilities) and transport links on some outlying islands, such as Po Toi Island and Tung Ping Chau, etc., so as to make good use of their rich tourism resources for developing these places as new tourist spots and benefit the economic development of local residents; (6) to improve the hardware ancillary facilities at existing scenic spots and step up the promotion of a 'hospitable culture' among the tourism sector and the public, with a view to upgrading the tourism quality of Hong Kong; and (7) to closely keep in view changes in visitor arrivals to Hong Kong and activities of visitors carrying duty-free commodities into the Mainland for sale (commonly known as 'parallel trading activities'), and to join hands with the Mainland authorities to continuously combat parallel trading activities and formulate timely and appropriate measures, so as to deal with the problem at root and reduce unnecessary conflicts between Mainland visitors and local people" immediately before the full stop. | ||||
| (ii) | Hon POON Siu-ping to move the following amendment:
(Translation) To add ", as the Hong Kong tourism industry and related industries employ over 200 000 employees, which is around 7.6% of the overall employment population in Hong Kong, the livelihood of the 200 000-odd employees will directly be affected if the tourism industry development continues to shrink; yet," after "That"; to add "effective" after "formulate"; and to add "enhance the binding effect of the industry directives issued by the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong to ensure protection of the rights and interests of front-line staff in the tourism industry, expeditiously establish a tourism industry authority to balance the rights and interests of the operators and practitioners in the tourism industry, and" after "resources to". | ||||
| (iii) | Hon Gary FAN to move the following amendment:
(Translation) To add "the Government has proposed in the 2015-16 Budget that an additional $80 million will be allocated to the Hong Kong Tourism Board to step up its promotion of the tourism industry; however," after "That"; and to add "to develop a greater variety of tourism, including cultural tourism and eco-tourism with local characteristics, etc., to welcome tourists from around the world, and to step up efforts to combat rip-offs such as 'zero/negative-fare' tours and 'shadow tour group members', etc., adopted by Mainland travel agencies, so as" after "resources". | ||||
| (iv) | Hon Paul TSE to move the following amendment:
(Translation) To add "tourism and related industries are of utmost importance to the economy of Hong Kong, but" after "That"; to add "establish a tourism bureau to consolidate the various tourism-related departments and institutions, and" after "the decline in visitor arrivals to Hong Kong,"; and to delete "and allocate additional resources" after "measures" and substitute with "to conduct studies on effective use of resources and overall planning, execution and regulation". | ||||
| (v) | Hon CHAN Hak-kan to move the following amendment:
(Translation) To add "Hong Kong's tourism industry is now facing challenges;" after "That"; and to add "; when formulating measures on promoting the development of the tourism industry, the Government should focus on enhancing the visitor receiving capacity of Hong Kong society, including increasing the number of tourist spots and improving transportation and other ancillary facilities, etc., and take full account of the actual situations in Hong Kong, so as to avoid any adverse impacts on people's daily lives; at the same time, the Government should expeditiously establish a travel industry authority to enhance the regulatory regime for the tourism industry, and step up law enforcement to combat unscrupulous shop operators who rip off visitors" immediately before the full stop. | ||||
| (vi) | Hon Charles Peter MOK to move the following amendment:
(Translation) To add "coupled with the fact that Hong Kong lags behind other Asian competitors due to its shortage of large-scale convention facilities," after "past six years;"; and to add "and expedite the expansion of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and the planning of new convention facilities to enhance Hong Kong's capacity to hold conventions and attract more high value-added business travellers," after "tourism industry,". | ||||
| (vii) | Hon SIN Chung-kai to move the following amendment:
(Translation) To add "expeditiously establish a travel industry authority to strengthen the monitoring of local travel agents, tour escorts and tourist guides," after "the decline in visitor arrivals to Hong Kong,"; and to add "step up promotion in the international market and" after "resources to". | ||||
| (viii) | Hon Jeffrey LAM to move the following amendment:
(Translation) To add "and" after "the decline in visitor arrivals to Hong Kong,"; to delete "and allocate additional resources to" after "measures" and substitute with ", including giving consideration to examining afresh the entry arrangements and policy for Mainland visitors and relieving Mainland visitors' sentiments, with a view to reversing the decline in visitor arrivals to Hong Kong in the short run; in the long run, the Government should also formulate a comprehensive development strategy and blueprint for the tourism industry, and make stronger efforts to develop different tourism facilities and scenic spots, so as to"; and to delete "continued decline in visitor arrivals to Hong Kong" after "preventing the" and substitute with "persistent shrinkage of visitor arrivals to Hong Kong". | ||||
| (ix) | Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG to move the following amendment:
(Translation) To delete ", with a view to preventing the continued decline in visitor arrivals to Hong Kong which will affect Hong Kong's economic development" immediately before the full stop and substitute with "; the relevant measures include: monitoring visitor arrivals to Hong Kong based on the actual visitor receiving capacity of Hong Kong, so as to attract visitors from different countries to Hong Kong with planning and promote the sustainable development of the tourism industry; and regulating activities of carrying duty-free commodities into the Mainland for sale (commonly known as 'parallel trading activities') to avoid the impacts of massive parallel trading activities on Hong Kong people's quality of life". | ||||
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| 5. | Motion for the adjournment of the Council under Rule 16(4) of the Rules of Procedure
Hon Claudia MO to move the following motion: (Translation) That this Council do now adjourn for the purpose of debating the following issue: the successive 'forced disappearance' of the shareholders and managers of Causeway Bay Books. Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Security | ||||