A 16/17-10
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 14 December 2016 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers
Other Papers
II. Questions
1. Hon WU Chi-wai to ask: (Translation)
The Government announced last month that it had reached an in-principle agreement with The Walt Disney Company ("TWDC") in respect of an expansion and development plan ("the expansion project") for the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort ("the Resort"). The expansion project will cost $10.9 billion, to be shared between the two shareholders according to the current shareholding ratio, i.e. $5.8 billion and $5.1 billion to be injected by the Government and TWDC respectively. The Government has indicated that as both sides are of the view that they should limit the near and medium-term debt repayment burdens of the Resort, they have not opted for the option of raising debt to finance the project. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has conducted detailed financial analyses in respect of various options for financing the expansion project (including equity injection, the Resort taking out loans in the market under the condition of the Government providing a guarantee for subordinated loans or commercial loans, and a hybrid option with equity injection and debt financing in various ratios); if so, how such financing options compare with one another in terms of aspects such as total cost, rate of return, risks and risk sensitivity; if not, of the reasons for that; (2) whether it has conducted analyses on the estimated cash flows of the Resort under various financing options in the coming decade; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) as the Government indicated in reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council in November 2005 that "the Government may consider in the light of the ʻBig Market, Small Government' principle to divest its shareholdings in [the Resort] at an appropriate time when it is in the overall economic interests of Hong Kong to do so", whether such principle and considerations are still applicable at present; if so, whether the Government will conduct studies on the reduction of its shareholdings in the Resort, including setting out what constitutes an appropriate time for divesting its shareholdings (e.g. when the attendance and revenue of the Resort have reached certain specified targets); if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; of the arrangements and restrictions, under the current agreement between the Government and TWDC, for the Government's divestment of its shareholdings to a third party, and whether it will negotiate with TWDC on a set of criteria in this respect?
2. Hon Andrew WAN to ask: (Translation)
According to the New Territories small house ("small house") policy implemented since 1972, a New Territories male indigenous villager over 18 years old is entitled to one concessionary grant during his lifetime to build one small house ("small house concessionary right"). However, that policy has all along been a subject of criticism over the years. During his election campaign in 2012 and in a meeting with the senior members of the Heung Yee Kuk ("HYK") in November of the same year after winning the election, the Chief Executive indicated that the problems associated with small houses and small house concessionary rights could be resolved by the method of "drawing a line", i.e. stipulating that New Territories male indigenous villagers born after a specified year would no longer be entitled to small house concessionary rights. The Chief Secretary for Administration, during her tenure as the Secretary for Development, pointed out that the small house concessionary rights could not be granted to New Territories male indigenous villagers indefinitely, and suggested setting a deadline for such rights, in line with the Basic Law's principle of guaranteeing Hong Kong's way of life to remain unchanged for 50 years, to stipulate that New Territories male indigenous villagers born after 2029 (i.e. reaching the age of 18 after 2047) would no longer be entitled to small house concessionary rights. The incumbent Secretary for Development has also written that it is necessary to review the small house policy on the premise of optimal utilization of land resources. On the other hand, some members of the public have criticized that while the five-year term of office of the incumbent Government is approaching its end, the problems associated with small houses and small house concessionary rights have remained unresolved. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it conducted, in the past few years, any study on adoption of the method of "drawing a line" for resolving the problems associated with small houses and small house concessionary rights; if it did, of the details; whether it has carried out any formal or informal consultations with HYK on such a method; if it has, of the details and the outcome of such consultations; whether it is due to resistance from the gentry or HYK that the incumbent Government has all along failed to resolve the problems associated with small houses and small house concessionary rights; (2) whether it has projected the number of people eligible for applying to build small houses in the coming 10 years; if it has, of the number, and whether it will use that number as a basis for setting a limit on the total area of land that can be made available for building small houses across the territory (including government land and private land); and (3) as there are views that the development of low-density luxury residential properties by developers through the acquisition of small house concessionary rights has spoiled the cultural atmosphere of the rural areas and violated the planning intention of the "Village Type Development" ("VTD") sites, and such developments have also increased the burden on traffic and ancillary community facilities in the vicinity, whether the Government has examined if the small house policy has been abused; whether it has considered including some VTD sites in new town developments or public housing developments on the premise of not affecting country parks and greening zones, so as to optimize the utilization of land resources and provide mid-to-high density residential properties that can better meet the needs of the community?
3. Hon Frankie YICK to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that certain countries plan to prohibit the sale of fuel-engined vehicles progressively from 2025 onwards; Germany plans to implement in 2030 a requirement that newly-registered vehicles must meet the zero emission standard; and a Japanese vehicle manufacturer plans to cease from 2050 onwards the production of vehicles which run entirely on fuel. It is thus evident that fuel-engined vehicles are being progressively replaced by more environment-friendly vehicles such as hybrid electric vehicles and electric vehicles. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers and percentages of hybrid electric vehicles and electric vehicles among the currently registered vehicles; (2) whether the Government assessed in the past three years the effectiveness of the various measures adopted to encourage vehicle buyers to choose environment-friendly vehicles; whether it will introduce new measures to make more vehicle owners switching to use environment-friendly vehicles, and whether it will enact legislation or formulate codes to stipulate a requirement that charging facilities for vehicles must be provided at all parking spaces in newly-constructed buildings; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) given that, projected on the basis that each of the 800 000-odd vehicles currently registered across the territory has at least one battery and car batteries generally have a life expectancy of three years, more than 200 000 waste car batteries have to be recycled and processed each year, but only 50 000-odd waste car batteries are currently recycled and processed by competent recyclers each year, and there are comments that the batteries of electric vehicles are much heavier than those of fuel-engined vehicles, the number and weight of waste car batteries to be recycled and processed each year may increase substantially with the growing popularity of electric vehicles, of the Government's measures for proper recycling and disposal of waste car batteries, so as to prevent chemical waste inside the batteries from causing environmental pollution?
4. Hon CHUNG Kwok-pan to ask: (Translation)
It can be seen for many years patients suffering from terminal illnesses and their family members expressing the hope that euthanasia may be legally performed in Hong Kong. Although considerable controversies surround the issue of euthanasia, several countries have now enacted legislation to permit the performance of euthanasia under certain circumstances. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the number of patients requesting for euthanasia in each of the past three years, with a breakdown by the illness suffered by and the age of the patients; (2) of the support currently provided by the Government to patients suffering from terminal illnesses, and whether it will enhance the relevant support; and (3) of the Government's justifications for refusing to permit the performance of euthanasia on patients; whether it will study the enactment of legislation to permit euthanasia so as to relieve the constant pain and suffering of patients with special circumstances or terminal illnesses; if it will not, of the reasons for that?
5. Hon LAU Kwok-fan to ask: (Translation)
The places of undergraduate programmes funded by the University Grants Committee ("funded programmes") have been in short supply for a number of years. Quite a number of secondary school leavers, who have met minimum requirements for university admission but have not been admitted to funded programmes, can only pursue local self-financing post-secondary programmes ("self-financing programmes"), which charge exorbitant tuition fees, or study abroad. Some students pursuing self-financing programmes who come from poor families have relayed to me that institutions operating self-financing programmes have to pass on various related expenses to students as they operate such programmes on a self-financing basis. As a result, those institutions raise their tuition fees each and every year, which have posed a heavy financial burden on students. Such students have also pointed out that the quality of self-financing programmes lacks assurance. Although the Committee on Self-financing Post-secondary Education promulgated the Code of Good Practices on Governance and Quality Assurance for Self-financing Post-secondary Education Sector in June last year for the purpose of enhancing the quality, transparency and sustainable development of the self-financing post-secondary education sector, the adoption of the Code by institutions is on a voluntary basis only. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of secondary school leavers in the 2015-2016 school year who met the minimum requirements for university admission and, among them, the number of students who were admitted to funded programmes; the average yearly amount of subsidy received per person by those students currently receiving subsidies under the Tertiary Student Finance Scheme - Publicly-funded Programmes; (2) of the number of secondary school leavers in the 2015-2016 school year who met minimum requirements for university admission and were admitted to self-financing programmes; the average yearly amount of subsidy received per person by those students currently receiving subsidies under the Financial Assistance Scheme for Post-secondary Students; and (3) whether it will consider increasing subsidies for self-financing programmes, so as to alleviate the financial burden on students; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; of the mechanism currently put in place to monitor the quality and tuition fee levels of self-financing programmes to guard against overcharging of tuition fees by the institutions concerned?
6. Hon Nathan LAW to ask: (Translation)
Paragraph 3 of the Sino-British Joint Declaration signed between the Chinese and British Governments in December 1984 sets out the Chinese Government's declaration on China's basic policies regarding the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("SAR"). Such basic policies include the following: the SAR will be vested with independent judicial power and power of final adjudication, the Hong Kong dollar will continue to circulate, and the SAR Government may on its own issue travel documents for entry into and exit from Hong Kong, etc. Paragraph 3(12) provides that the above-stated basic policies and the elaboration of them will be stipulated in a Basic Law by the National People's Congress of the People's Republic of China, and they will remain unchanged for 50 years. On the other hand, Article 5 of the Basic Law provides that "[t]he socialist system and policies shall not be practised in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and the previous capitalist system and way of life shall remain unchanged for 50 years", i.e. they will remain unchanged until 2047. As there are divergent views in the community on the effect of the Basic Law after 2047, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the Government has conducted internal discussions and related studies on maintaining the previous capitalist system and way of life in the SAR after 2047; if it has, of the details and conclusions; if not, whether it will conduct such studies; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether the Government has sought to understand the situation regarding the implementation, in the SAR after 2047, of the basic policies as set out under the Sino-British Joint Declaration; if it has sought to understand, whether such policies will continue to be implemented or will be changed at that time; if not, whether the Government will commence the discussions and studies within a given timeframe; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; as there are comments that prolonged uncertainty about the implementation situation of such polices in the SAR after 2047 may give rise to various kinds of problems, whether the Government will form a task force to deal with the relevant issues; if it will, of the timetable for the formation and the composition of the task force; if not, how the Government will coordinate and distribute such tasks; and (3) given that a referendum was still held, despite the absence of a referendum law, in the United Kingdom ("UK") in June this year on whether UK should exit the European Union, whether the Government will, by making reference to such a practice, conduct public consultation on Hong Kong's future after 2047 using an approach similar to a referendum, in order to ensure that public views are fully reflected in the relevant discussions; if it will, of the arrangements and timetable for the consultation; if not, the reasons for that?
*7. Hon HUI Chi-fung to ask: (Translation)
Regarding issues involving changes in the planned uses of sites, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) in respect of the approved cases in the past five years in which sites planned for "Government, Institution or Community", "Open Space" and "Green Belt" uses (collectively referred to as "public use" below) were rezoned for residential, industrial or commercial use (collectively referred to as "non-public use" below), of the details of such cases including the locations, areas and the new uses of the sites concerned; whether the authorities, after changing the planned uses of the sites concerned, have implemented the following compensatory measures: (i) rezoning other sites within the relevant districts for public use, and (ii) requesting the owners of the sites rezoned for non-public use to incorporate recreational, leisure and greening facilities in the developments on the relevant sites; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) in respect of the cases in which the authorities are planning to change the planned uses of sites from public use to non-public use in the coming two years, of the details of such cases including the locations, areas and the new uses of the sites concerned; whether the authorities, after changing the planned uses of the sites concerned, will implement the two compensatory measures mentioned in (1) above; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether there is any existing policy requiring the authorities to implement the two compensatory measures mentioned in (1) above after public use sites are rezoned for non-public use; if so, of the details of the policy; if not, whether the authorities will formulate such a policy, so as to ensure that changes in the planned uses of sites will not result in a reduction of recreational, leisure and greening facilities available for use by residents?
*8. Hon Jeffrey LAM to ask: (Translation)
According to the findings of a consultancy study released in 2012 on the provision of international school places at primary and secondary levels in Hong Kong, there will be a projected shortfall of 4 203 primary places in the 2016-2017 school year. Some members of the business sector have relayed to me that when overseas talents and investors consider whether to develop their careers and conduct investment activities in Hong Kong, they are very concerned about whether they can arrange their minor children to be enrolled in the international schools in Hong Kong. As most of them will work or conduct investment activities in business districts after arriving in Hong Kong, international school places on Hong Kong Island are much in demand. Moreover, there has been a rising trend in recent years in the number of local students enrolling in international schools. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the current number of international school places, broken down by the three regions of Kowloon, the New Territories and Hong Kong Island; whether it knows the number of students currently enrolled in international schools, broken down by the districts in which they live; (2) whether it knows the respective numbers and percentages of local students and overseas students among the students of international schools in each of the past three school years; (3) of the measures adopted by the authorities in the past three school years to boost the number of international school places in the regions of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon; and (4) whether the authorities have any long-term policy in place to solve the problem of inadequate supply of international school places; if they do, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*9. Prof Hon Joseph LEE to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the consultancy firm commissioned by the Hospital Authority ("HA") recommended earlier to raise the charges for the services of the accident and emergency ("A&E") departments of public hospitals. However, some members of the public have pointed out to me that while raising A&E charges will increase the financial burden on low-income people, it may not be effective in reducing the number of persons seeking consultation in the A&E departments in the long run. Those members of the public have also pointed out that the pressure on the services of A&E departments should be alleviated through improving the triage system for patients and encouraging private medical institutions to strengthen their outpatient services. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows if HA has regularly reviewed (i) the triage system of A&E departments and (ii) the target waiting times for patients under the various triage categories; if HA has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether it knows, among the patients under the various triage categories in each of the past five years, the respective percentages of patients who were treated within the relevant target waiting times; whether HA has explored the reasons why some patients were not treated within the target waiting times; if HA has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) as it has been reported that some patients triaged as non-urgent were not treated until they had waited for nearly 10 hours, whether the Government knows if HA will allocate additional resources and manpower to increase the quota for general outpatient clinics and extend their service hours, so as to alleviate the pressure on the services of A&E departments; if HA will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) whether it knows if HA will discuss with private doctors and private hospitals to encourage them to expand the scale of their operations and extend their service hours, particularly those of evening outpatient services, in order to reduce the demand for the services of the A&E departments of public hospitals; if HA will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*10. Hon CHAN Chun-ying to ask: (Translation)
Some members of the finance industry have pointed out that following the International Monetary Fund's inclusion of renminbi ("RMB") in its Special Drawing Rights ("SDR") currency basket in October this year, the Government should introduce measures to promote Hong Kong's role as an RMB asset management centre, and assist the industry in capitalizing on the opportunities arising from our country's implementation of the strategy of the Silk Road Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road ("the Belt and Road Initiative"), so as to promote the development of Hong Kong's RMB settlement services. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has conducted studies on ways to enhance the role of Hong Kong's finance industry as a guide for foreign investors when they engage in RMB asset investments, and ways to encourage such investors to increase their acquisition of RMB-denominated bonds, equities and other assets by making reference to the weighting of currencies in the SDR currency basket, so as to strengthen the role of Hong Kong as an RMB asset management centre which connects Mainland and overseas investors; if it has conducted such studies, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) regarding the countries and places along the Belt and Road which do not use the US dollar as their major settlement currency for international transactions, whether the Government will conduct a study on the feasibility of Hong Kong providing RMB transaction settlement services to the central banks of or large enterprises in such countries; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) apart from the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect and the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect which have already been implemented, whether the Government will discuss with the Mainland authorities the establishment of mutual access mechanisms between Hong Kong and the Mainland for the trading of other types of financial investment products (including funds and bonds), so as to consolidate Hong Kong's role as a springboard for bilateral investments between Hong Kong and other places; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*11. Hon SHIU Ka-chun to ask: (Translation)
In recent years, the International Labour Organization has been promoting the Decent Work Agenda and has expressed concerns about the employment opportunities for and the low-income problem of young people. Decent work means productive work in which the rights of workers are protected, which generates an adequate income, with adequate social protection and sufficient work. On the other hand, the unemployment rate of young people aged 15 to 19 for the second quarter of 2016 was as high as 17.4%, which was five times the overall unemployment rate (3.5%). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
(1) given that young people who have not completed senior secondary education may study the basic craft courses offered by the Construction Industry Council or the various types of programmes offered by the Hotel and Tourism Institute, the Chinese Cuisine Training Institute, the International Culinary Institute, the Maritime Services Training Institute, the Youth College and Pro-Act Development and Training Centres under the Vocational Training Council to obtain qualifications such as being registered as a semi-skilled worker, a Certificate of Basic Craft Studies, a Certificate of Vocational Education, a Certificate of Technician Foundation Studies, a Diploma of Foundation Studies or a Diploma of Vocational Education ("vocational qualifications"), (i) the respective numbers of persons who studied the aforesaid courses and (ii) the respective numbers of persons who completed such courses and obtained the relevant vocational qualifications, and the respective percentages of such numbers in the total number of trainees who studied the relevant courses, in each of the past five years (set out in a table); (2) among the young people who obtained the relevant vocational qualifications in each of the past five years, the number of those who were engaged in work relevant to their vocational qualifications at the end of the subsequent sixth month (set out in a table); (3) among the young people who obtained the relevant vocational qualifications in each of the five years, the respective numbers and percentages of those (i) who were employed in full-time jobs, (ii) who were employed in part-time jobs, (iii) who pursued further studies, and (iv) who were unemployed, within the subsequent six months (set out in tables of the same format as the table below);
Year: ________
Vocational qualifications (i)
Number of persons (%)(ii)
Number of persons (%)(iii)
Number of persons (%)(iv)
Number of persons (%)Registered semi-skilled worker Certificate of Basic Craft Studies Certificate of Vocational Education Certificate of Technician Foundation Studies Diploma of Foundation Studies Diploma of Vocational Education (4) the number of young people who obtained the relevant vocational qualifications and were employed within the subsequent six months in each of the past five years, with a breakdown by the salary income group to which their monthly salaries belong (set out in tables of the same format as the table below):
Year: _________
Monthly salary
($)Number of registered semi-skilled workers Number of persons holding a Certificate of Basic Craft Studies Number of persons holding a Certificate of Vocational Education Number of persons holding a Certificate of Technician Foundation Studies Number of persons holding a Diploma of Foundation Studies Number of persons holding a Diploma of Vocational Education Below 2,000 Between 2,000 and 3,999 Between 4,000 and 5,999 Between 6,000 and 7,999 Between 8,000 and 9,999 Between 10,000 and 14,999 Between 15,000 and 19,999 Between 20,000 and 29,999 30,000 or above (5) given the persistently high unemployment rate of young people, whether the authorities have studied measures to boost the training places and employment opportunities for young people, so as to smoothen their transition from school to work; and (6) whether the authorities have studied the formulation of measures to facilitate young people to obtain decent work; if they have not, whether they will conduct a study expeditiously?
*12. Hon Alvin YEUNG to ask: (Translation)
At present, the naming of geographical places is not subject to any statutory regulation. Under the current arrangements, the Geographical Place Names Board ("the Board") established under the Survey and Mapping Office of the Lands Department ("LandsD") is responsible for the establishment, implementation and review of the procedures for the formulation, verification and adoption of geographical place names. It is learnt that the Board comprises representatives from relevant government departments, including the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, the Home Affairs Department, the Information Services Department, LandsD. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of representatives on the Board from various government departments; (2) of the current general procedures for naming geographical places and amending existing names; whether such procedures have stipulated that (i) public consultation meetings must be held and (ii) a minimum number of such meetings must be held; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) of the criteria adopted by the Board, when conducting consultations with representatives of residents and local organizations, for determining whether or not the views collected should be adopted; (4) whether the Board accepts views given orally by representatives of residents; if the Board does not, of the reasons for that; and (5) of the channels through which the public may raise objections to and make recommendations on the geographical place names adopted by the Board; whether the Board will restart the consultation procedures upon receipt of such views and recommendations; if the Board will not, of the reasons for that?
*13. Hon SHIU Ka-fai to ask: (Translation)
The Fixed Penalty (Public Cleanliness Offences) (Amendment) Ordinance 2016 (4 of 2016) has come into operation since 24 September this year. The law enforcement officers of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department ("FEHD") may issue fixed penalty notices to the relevant offenders in respect of shop front extension causing obstruction of public places. The fixed penalty is $1,500. However, quite a number of shop operators and members of the public have relayed to me that shop operators face tough operating environment due to the declining retail sales and the overly stringent law enforcement actions taken by FEHD officers. According to the authorities, in general, where the extension of business activities beyond the confines of shops contributes to the vibrancy of the district and constitutes a distinct characteristic without posing any imminent danger to pedestrians and other road users, and subject to a consensus having been reached by the various parties concerned, the specific locations concerned may be accorded lower priorities for law enforcement or even be designated as "tolerated areas". In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) how the authorities determine whether an extension of business activities beyond the confines of shops does "contribute to the vibrancy of the district and constitute a distinct characteristic"; (2) given that the existing tolerated areas cover only five locations, of the locations which the authorities had considered but eventually not included in the tolerated areas, and the reasons for that (set out in a table); and (3) of the total number of complaints, received by the authorities since the implementation of the aforesaid Ordinance, from shop operators or members of the public about the law enforcement actions taken by FEHD officers, with a breakdown by nature of such complaints?
*14. Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to ask: (Translation)
According to the information of the Environment Bureau, around 58 000 to 79 000 tonnes of plastic bottle waste was disposed of at landfills each year from 2010 to 2014. Some environmentalists have suggested that the Government should provide more drinking fountains in public venues and encourage members of the public to bring their own water bottles so that they will purchase less bottled water and beverages, thereby reducing the plastic bottle waste generated. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of each of the following types of venues, and set out by name of the venue the respective numbers of (i) fountain type water dispensers, (ii) non-fountain type water dispensers, and (iii) drinks vending machines, installed at the venue (set out in a table): (i) public libraries, museums, performance venues, land sports facilities, parks, beaches and swimming pool complexes under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department; (ii) public markets and cooked food centres under the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department; (iii) community halls/community centres under the Home Affairs Department; (iv) Government Offices; (v) ferry piers; (vi) public transport interchanges; (vii) clinics under the Department of Health; and (viii) public hospitals and outpatient clinics under the Hospital Authority; (2) whether it has plans to install or increase the number of drinking fountains in the venues listed in (1); if so, of the details and timetable; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) given that disposable plastic cups and bottled water are no longer provided in the Taipei City Hall building since April this year, whether the authorities have plans to take similar measures in government buildings; if so, of the details and timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
*15. Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)
According to the Information to Adult Sexual Violence Victims published by the Hong Kong Police Force in June this year, when victims of sexual violence, after making a Police report, have been sent to any public hospital for consultation and treatment and if the situation allows, they may choose to give their witness statements and undergo forensic examinations in the same hospital. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether victims of sexual violence may give their witness statements and undergo forensic examinations in any public hospital at present; of the places in a hospital where victims of sexual violence in general give their witness statements and undergo forensic examinations; (2) whether victims of sexual violence may first go to a public hospital on their own for consultation, then make Police report, give their witness statements and undergo forensic examinations there; (3) of the criteria adopted by the Police for determining whether a situation allows victims of sexual violence to give their witness statements and undergo forensic examinations in a hospital, and the respective situations that allow and do not allow such arrangements; and (4) whether it has assessed if the places and facilities in various public hospitals where victims of sexual violence give their witness statements and undergo forensic examinations conform to the relevant guidelines of the World Health Organization ("WHO"); if it has assessed and the outcome is in the affirmative, of the details of such places and facilities, and whether it can furnish the relevant photographs to this Council; if the assessment outcome is in the negative, whether the authorities have plans to upgrade such places and facilities so that they comply with WHO's relevant guidelines; if they have such plans, of the implementation timetable?
*16. Hon HO Kai-ming to ask: (Translation)
In connection with the maternity protection for female employees provided under the Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57), will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers, in each of the past five years, of (i) working and non-working pregnant women, (ii) pregnant women issued with attendance certificates or sick leave certificates upon attending antenatal check-ups by the public healthcare sector, and (iii) female employees suffering from miscarriage and preterm birth, and their respective percentages in the total number of pregnant employees; (2) of the respective numbers of complaints, received by the authorities in the past five years, from female employees about their being discriminated by employers within half year or one year since resumption of duty after maternity leave; (3) of the number of compensation claims made in the past five years by pregnant employees on grounds of unreasonable and unlawful dismissal; among such cases, the number and percentage of the successful claims; the number of employers who were prosecuted in the past five years for unlawful dismissal of pregnant employees; and (4) whether the authorities will consider formulating new measures to enhance the employment protection for employees during their pregnancy and upon expiry of their maternity leaves, including issuance of leave certificates for pregnancy-related medical examinations for pregnant women attending antenatal check-ups, extending the post-maternity leave employment protection period, and specifying in A Concise Guide to the Employment Ordinance (i) the definition of "preterm birth" and "miscarriage", and (ii) maternity leave and wage protection for female employees suffering from preterm birth and miscarriage; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*17. Hon CHAN Hak-kan to ask: (Translation)
The Government released in 2013 the Hong Kong Blueprint for Sustainable Use of Resources 2013-2022 ("the Blueprint") which set out the reduction target for municipal solid waste ("MSW") disposal rate on a per capita basis: by 2017, the disposal rate would be reduced by 20% from 1.27 kg per day to 1 kg or below. On the other hand, according to the information contained in Monitoring of Solid Waste in Hong Kong - Waste Statistics for 2014, MSW disposal rate on a per capita basis rose from 1.27 kg in 2011 to 1.35 kg in 2014. Moreover, the quantity of MSW disposed of at landfills rose by an average annual rate of 1.9% during the period from 2010 to 2015, with the weight of food waste accounting for as high as 37.2% of the weight of MSW disposed of at landfills in 2014. Some members of the public have pointed out that the target set by the Blueprint cannot be achieved. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective overall MSW disposal rates in the entire year of 2015 and the first half of 2016; (2) of the respective quantities of each type of MSW recovered and disposed of at landfills, and their percentages in the total quantity of that type of waste, in each of the past five years; (3) whether it has analysed the causes for the rise in the quantity of MSW disposed of at landfills in the past five years; if it has, of the outcome; (4) of the weight of food waste, and its percentage, in MSW disposed of at landfills in each of the past five years (with a breakdown by source of food waste, including households, food premises and supermarkets); whether it has formulated targeted measures to reduce food waste at source; if it has, of the details; (5) of the respective handling capacities of various waste recovery facilities and the actual quantities of waste handled by them at present; (6) of the ratio of the quantity of imported recyclable materials to that of re-exported recyclable materials in each of the past five years; and (7) given that quite a number of countries have implemented landfill taxes and bans in order to gradually reduce dependency on landfills, whether the Government will make reference to the relevant practice and formulate similar policies; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*18. Dr Hon Elizabeth QUAT to ask: (Translation)
Some environmentalists have pointed out that with the intensification of global warming and the growth in the world population, water resources have become increasingly scarce. They consider that although Hong Kong currently does not have the problem of scarcity of water resources, the Government should step up its management of the precious water resources, and it should attach importance to drinking water safety, which has a direct impact on public health. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that in recent years, countries such as the United States, Germany, Switzerland and Singapore and more than 30 Mainland cities have adopted the "sponge city" concept (i.e. to collect rainwater for use by a city and improve the city's flood relief capacity through enhancing the water storage capacity and water recycling system of the city) in their urban planning, and that the Secretary for Development indicated in August this year that the Government was actively taking forward this concept, whether the Government has conducted in-depth studies in this regard; if so, of the details; whether it has adopted such a concept in its planning for development of new towns and redevelopment of old districts; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) given that the government departments currently involved in water resources management include the Water Supplies Department ("WSD"), the Drainage Services Department ("DSD"), the Environmental Protection Department, the Buildings Department and the Housing Department, whether the Government will, by making reference to Singapore's practice, set up a dedicated department to take up the responsibility of water resources management; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) given that reservoirs overflow occurred in 10 of the past 11 years, resulting in the discharge of drinking water into the sea, and that WSD and DSD are implementing an Inter-reservoirs Transfer Scheme to transfer the overflow from the Kowloon Group of Reservoirs to Lower Shing Mun Reservoir, of the latest progress of the Scheme and the commencement and completion dates of the works; whether it has formulated new measures to reduce occasions of drinking water being discharged into the sea; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (4) given that an environmental group had found perfluorinated chemicals, which are hazardous to human health, in the samples of drinking water taken from five reservoirs, and that such substance is currently not one of the regular parameters for monitoring drinking water quality, whether the Government will make reference to the practice of advanced countries and include such chemicals as one of the regular monitoring parameters, and whether it will publish, on a regular basis, monitoring reports on hazardous chemicals in drinking water; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (5) of the date on which the Government last conducted a review on the system for conducting tests on drinking water from reservoirs and other details; (6) as the Director of Audit's Report ("the Report") published last month pointed out that for 63 of the 71 river monitoring stations situated in water control subzones, the average levels of Escherichia coli recorded in 2015 had exceeded the relevant water quality objectives, whether the Government has specific measures in place to improve the water quality of rivers; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (7) given that one of the causes of pollution to watercourses is the failure to properly manage septic-tank-and-soakaway ("STS") systems in rural areas, and that the Report pointed out that the 78 existing private desludging operators had not been issued with the relevant licences, whether the Government has measures in place to strengthen its regulation of STS systems and such type of operators; if so, of the details, including whether it will amend the legislation to impose heavier penalties on unlicensed engagement in such business; if there is no such measure, the reasons for that; (8) given that currently the Government has added fluoride to drinking water to reduce the risk of dental decay in the community, but some medical research reports have pointed out that the intake of an excess level of fluoride will do harm to children's brain development, whether the Government has studied if fluoridation of drinking water (i) does more good than harm and (ii) has impacts on children's brain development; if so, of the details; whether the Government will consider using instead other chemicals which have lower health risks; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (9) of the per capita water consumption and the total water consumption in each of the past 10 years, as well as the relevant details; whether it has studied how Hong Kong's per capita annual water consumption compares with the figures of other advanced cities in the world; of the new measures in place to encourage the public to conserve water; whether it has set a target for water conservation; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*19. Hon Charles Peter MOK to ask: (Translation)
In recent years, information security incidents and cybercrimes, which involved increasingly sophisticated modus operandi and technology, have occurred frequently in Hong Kong, thus putting the networks of government departments, financial system and enterprises under threats. In the first eight months of this year, the Police have received 49 reports of blackmails using encryption ransomware, and the total monetary loss involved in five of such cases was nearly $70,000. In addition, the Hong Kong Computer Emergency Response Team Coordination Centre ("HKCERT") under the Hong Kong Productivity Council received 247 reports of blackmails using encryption ransomware over the first nine months of this year, representing a more than threefold year-on-year increase. Regarding the enhancement of the information security of government departments, the financial system and the business operations of enterprises in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the respective numbers, in each of the past three years, of reports of incidents in which computers or websites of (i) government departments and (ii) other organizations were subject to cyberattacks and encountered information security incidents, with a breakdown by name of the department/organization and type of incident (including web defacement, intrusion of networking and information systems, distributed denial-of-service ("DDoS") attacks and blackmails using encryption ransomware); (2) given that the computers of the Harbour Patrol Section of the Marine Department and the Office of the Centre for Food Safety of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department had, one after another, fallen victims to implantations and intrusions by hackers in October this year, of the respective monetary losses suffered by the Government as a result of such incidents; whether the authorities have reviewed if the computer systems and anti-virus software in use by various government departments are adequate to guard against cyberattacks, such as phishing websites, botnets, malicious software and DDoS attacks; (3) given that the server of the Immunization Record System of the Clinical Information Management System ("CIMS") of the Department of Health was earlier suspected of having been intruded into by hackers, how the authorities will enhance the security of CIMS to protect the personal data and privacy of members of the public; (4) given that the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer ("OGCIO") has indicated its plan to strengthen its efforts to defend against cyber threats by forming a new team in the middle of this year, (i) whether that team has been formed, (ii) what specific tasks the team has undertaken and has planned to undertake respectively, and (iii) whether the team will conduct information security assessments and audits for various government departments; if the team will, of the timetable; if not, the reasons for that; (5) of the number of cyber security drills conducted by the Government Computer Emergency Response Team Hong Kong in collaboration with the Hong Kong Police Force ("HKPF") since its establishment, and the respective categories and scales of the simulated cyberattack incidents (set out separately in chronological order); (6) of the scope of work of the Cyber Security and Technology Crime Bureau ("CSTCB") of the HKPF in addressing cybercrimes; whether CSTCB has participated in the various types of information security work of the Security Bureau, the Innovation and Technology Bureau and OGCIO, including (i) the conduct of security risk assessments and audits, (ii) the implementation of technical security solutions, and (iii) the upgrade of security infrastructures; (7) how many organizations participated in the "SME Free Web Security Health Check Pilot Scheme" organized by the authorities through HKCERT this year; whether and how the authorities have assessed the effectiveness of the scheme, and whether they will expand the scheme to enable more small and medium enterprises ("SMEs") to participate; given that SMEs face higher information security risks, whether the Government will provide SMEs with extra funding and support to help them strengthen the security of network infrastructure and enhance information security; (8) given that a large-scale cyberattack launched by hackers in the United States in October this year has rendered a number of major local websites paralysed, whether the authorities have formulated an information security strategy in relation to the promotion of smart city development in Hong Kong, so as to address cyberattacks targeting household, personal and mobile network devices, merchant point-of-sale systems and Internet-of-Things systems; (9) given that incidents of hacker intrusions into automatic teller machine systems of banks have occurred successively in Thailand and Taiwan recently, whether the authorities have specific measures in place to safeguard the information security of the financial system of Hong Kong so as to ensure that the system has adequate protection against similar incidents of hacker intrusions; whether they will conduct comprehensive risk assessments on the current information security of government agencies, financial institutions, industry bodies (such as telecommunication companies) and their infrastructures; (10) whether the authorities have assessed Hong Kong's long-term needs for information security personnel to tie in with the direction of smart city and financial technology development in Hong Kong; whether they have plans to formulate policies to nurture information technology personnel and network security experts, so as to address various types of information security threats; and (11) since the review of the current legislation and the relevant administrative measures in 2000, whether the authorities have plans to establish afresh an inter-departmental working group for the enhancement of information security work to study ways to address the new challenges posed by the application of cloud technology?
*20. Hon CHU Hoi-dick to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the estimated number of patients with mental illness in Hong Kong ranges between 1 million and 1.7 million at present, with around 200 000 of them suffering from severe mental illness ("SMI"). Besides, there are about 48 000 people diagnosed as having schizophrenia and such number shows an upward trend. The Social Welfare Department ("SWD") re-organized its mental health support services in October 2010 by setting up 24 Integrated Community Centres for Mental Wellness ("ICCMWs") in various districts across the territory. Moreover, since April 2010, the Hospital Authority ("HA") has implemented in phases the comprehensive case management programmes in different districts across the territory for patients with SMI considered suitable for treatment in community settings. However, some mental illness concern groups have pointed out that the community support services cannot cater for the needs of patients, especially those who suffered from schizophrenia. Such patients, during convalescence, usually take oral medication to control their conditions over a long period of time. Since some of them do not take medication on time, nor do they attend regular follow-up consultations at clinics, the treatment procedures become less effective and the patients relapse. Those concern groups have also pointed out that in recent years, quite a number of overseas places have administered the second generation anti-psychotic injection drugs ("injection drugs") which have effectively reduced the chances of relapse and relieved the pressure on the healthcare facilities and services related to mental illness. Regarding the provision of support services for patients with mental illness, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the following information in respect of each of the ICCMWs in each of the past three years: (i) the staffing establishment and the number of staff, broken down by rank, (ii) the amount of funding received, (iii) the number of members broken down by type of mental illness (including schizophrenia), (iv) the number of cases handled and (v) the respective numbers of family members and carers of patients with mental illness for whom services were provided; (2) given that SWD in the past did not have information on cases handled by ICCMWs in respect of patients with SMI or general mental illness, whether SWD will expeditiously collect such information to facilitate follow-up actions; if SWD will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) whether it knows the following information in respect of each of the comprehensive case management programmes implemented by HA in each of the past three years: (i) the staffing establishment and the number of staff, broken down by rank, (ii) the amount of funding received and (iii) the number of cases handled broken down by type of mental illness; (4) whether it knows, among the existing patients with schizophrenia at convalescence stage, the number and percentage of those who have relapsed and the relevant reasons; the percentage of cases in which the relapse is attributable to discontinuation of follow-up treatment or medication on patients' own initiative in the total number of relapse cases; whether HA has put in place specific measures to ensure that patients receive follow-up treatment on a regular basis and take medication on time; if HA has, of the details; whether HA has assessed the effectiveness of such measures; if HA has assessed, of the criteria adopted; (5) as HA's guidelines provide that (i) patients with schizophrenia will first be prescribed new oral medication, (ii) and if they are found to have failed to take medication according to instructions, they will be prescribed the first generation injection drugs, (iii) but if they suffer from prominent side effects after taking the first generation injection drugs, they will be prescribed the second generation injection drugs which have less side effects, whether the Government knows, among the patients with schizophrenia at convalescence stage in the past three years, the number and percentage of those who were prescribed the second generation injection drugs on a regular basis; whether it has studied if that percentage is lower than those in advanced countries; if it has studied and the outcome is in the affirmative, of the reasons for that; (6) whether it knows the expenditures incurred by HA in the past three years on prescribing the second generation injection drugs; whether HA has assessed (i) the clinical outcome and (ii) the short, medium and long term cost-effectiveness, of prescribing that type of injection drugs; if HA has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (7) whether it knows if HA will allocate additional resources so that all patients with schizophrenia at convalescence stage may be prescribed the second generation injection drugs; if HA will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; whether HA will include the second generation injection drugs in its Drug Formulary so that more patients can receive appropriate treatment; and (8) whether it has plans to conduct studies on the mental health conditions of members of the public; if it does, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*21. Hon Paul TSE to ask: (Translation)
According to the information of the Department of Health ("DH"), one out of every 10 people in Hong Kong suffers from diabetes. One out of every five patients with diabetes is diagnosed at a young age (i.e. diagnosed before turning 40). Patients with diabetes have become increasingly younger. In 2007, 2.6 out of every 100 000 children under the age of 19 suffered from the disease, with 12-fold increase in the number of such type of children with diabetes in a period as short as 10 years between 1997 and 2007, which is a shocking rate of increase. Close to 36% of the members of the public have soft or sugary drinks at least once or more a day. Drinks available in the market have a very high sugar content, e.g. a glass of red bean icy drink and a glass of iced lemon tea contain eight and four teaspoons of sugar respectively. To avoid children's exposure to a higher risk of diabetes due to excessive consumption of drinks with a sugar content, some countries have imposed a sugar levy on drinks with a sugar content. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that patients with diabetes have become increasingly younger, whether the Government will review the effectiveness of the current practice of health education alone for raising the awareness of diabetes prevention among parents, adolescents and children, in the hope that they will consume less drinks with a high sugar content; if it will, of the details; (2) given that the number of people with diabetes seeking consultation from the Hospital Authority in recent years has risen from 296 000 in 2009-2010 to 390 000 in 2014-2015, whether the Government has projected, on the basis of this rate of increase, the additional manpower and resources required in the public healthcare system in the current financial year as well as each of the next five years to cope with the situation in which the number of diabetic patients keeps increasing; (3) whether it will, from the perspective of "prevention is better than cure", consider following the practice of countries such as France, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Norway, etc. to introduce a sugar levy to raise the prices of drinks with a sugar content, so as to dampen the public's desire (especially that of children) to buy such drinks, and subsidize public healthcare expenditure with the revenue from the sugar levy; (4) as a number of people with diabetes have relayed that it is often difficult for them to find suitable food with a low sugar content when dining out, whether DH has reviewed the effectiveness of the "EatSmart@restaurant.hk" Campaign, which has been implemented for years; whether it will formulate a policy to encourage restaurants to include in their menus dishes that are suitable for people with diabetes; and (5) of the effectiveness of the work at the present stage of the "Committee on Reduction of Salt and Sugar in Food" established by the Government last year, as well as its work progress?
*22. Hon Kenneth LAU to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that in recent months, large quantities of marine refuse have been washed up onto a number of local beaches, including Lung Kwu Tan in Tuen Mun. Quite a lot of such refuse was plastic bags and plastic bottles the packaging papers of which were printed with simplified Chinese characters, arousing the suspicion that such marine refuse came from the Pearl River Delta waters in the Mainland. Besides, some media have uncovered that some Mainland vessels have illegally dumped refuse in the waters of Wanshan Qundao, Zhuhai, which is just 40 kilometres away from Lantau Island. While the authorities have stepped up efforts to clear the refuse on a number of beaches, there are views that such a practice treats the symptoms only but not the root cause of the problem. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of refuse clearance operations conducted by the authorities on various beaches in the past five years, and the quantity of the refuse collected; (2) whether it has investigated from where the marine refuse found on Lung Kwu Tan, Tuen Mun came; if it has investigated, of the outcome and whether, in order to solve the problem of marine refuse drifting into Hong Kong waters, it has discussed with the relevant authorities of the place from where such refuse came; if it has not investigated, the reasons for that; (3) whether it has gained an understanding from the relevant Mainland authorities in respect of the aforesaid incident of illegal dumping by vessels, and requested them to take law enforcement actions vigorously; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) whether it has formulated measures to solve the marine refuse problem in the long run; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
* For written reply
III. Government Bill
| First Reading
Arbitration (Amendment) Bill 2016 Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned) | ||
| Arbitration (Amendment) Bill 2016 | : | Secretary for Justice |