A 16/17-15
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 15 February at 11:00 am,
Thursday 16 February and Friday 17 February 2017 at 9:00 am on each day
I. Tabling of Papers
| Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments | L.N. No. | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicles) (Amendment) Regulation 2017 | 20/2017 |
| 2. | Employees Retraining Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 2) Notice 2017 | 21/2017 |
Other Papers
| 1. | No. 65 | - | Education Scholarships Fund
Trustee's Report on the Administration of the Fund and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 August 2016 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Education) | |||
| 2. | No. 66 | - | Report of the Public Accounts Committee on the Reports of the Director of Audit on the Accounts of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for the year ended 31 March 2016 and the Results of Value for Money Audits (Report No. 67)
(February 2017 - P.A.C. Report No. 67) |
| (to be presented by Hon Abraham SHEK, Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, who will address the Council) | |||
| 3. | Report No. 11/16-17 of the House Committee on Consideration of Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments | ||
| (to be presented by Hon Starry LEE, Chairman of the House Committee) | |||
II. Questions for Written Replies
1. Dr Hon Priscilla LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that recently a taxi driver uploaded onto the Internet a secretly taken photograph of a female passenger breastfeeding a baby inside the taxi compartment. The driver was subsequently arrested by the Police under the charge of access to computer with criminal or dishonest intent. The aforesaid incident has aroused public concern that some people have poor understanding and level of acceptance of breastfeeding and that the privacy of passengers on public transport lacks protection. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the Government will provide more babycare rooms and relevant ancillary facilities in recreational and cultural venues under its management, to facilitate women to breastfeed their babies; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) of the Government's publicity and promotion plans in the coming five years to enhance the public understanding of and support for breastfeeding, so as to create a breastfeeding-friendly society; and (3) given that the Guidance on CCTV Surveillance and Use of Drones ("the Guidance") published by the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data provides that people should be explicitly informed that they are subject to surveillance by closed-circuit television ("CCTV") (including devices that are capable of capturing images of individuals), and that the ways of informing people include putting up conspicuous notices, whether the authorities have grasped the present situation about (i) the installation of CCTVs in vehicle compartments and (ii) the display of notices in accordance with the Guidance, by operators of various modes of public transport?
2. Hon KWOK Wai-keung to ask: (Translation)
Recently, some members of the ethnic minorities ("EMs") have relayed to me that some employers, taking advantage of their weakness of being unfamiliar with labour rights and interests, have hired them on employment terms which are inferior to the statutory requirements. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) in the past five years, (i) of the respective numbers of enquiries and complaints received by the authorities from EMs about their employers' alleged failure to offer them the labour rights and interests as prescribed by the law, (ii) how the authorities had dealt with such cases, and (iii) the number of cases in which employers who had allegedly breached the law were prosecuted; (2) of the measures taken by the authorities in the past five years to safeguard EMs of their labour rights and interests; and (3) whether the authorities will consider stepping up the following measures so as to protect the labour rights and interests of EMs: (i) inspecting those work places with relatively more EMs employees in order to check if the terms of employment of such employees comply with the statutory requirements, (ii) promoting the knowledge of labour rights and interests as well as of occupational safety among EMs, and (iii) providing more convenient channels for EMs to report law-breaking employers, as well as widely publicizing such channels among EMs?
3. Hon LEUNG Che-cheung to ask: (Translation)
Since 2006, the Government has offered various kinds of humanitarian assistance for people who lodge torture claims/non-refoulement claims under the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment immediately upon entry into Hong Kong unlawfully ("claimants") so that they will not become destitute while awaiting screening. Such assistance includes accommodation allowance (including rents, rental deposits and property agent fees). It is learnt that quite a number of claimants moved out of their rented units after living there only for several months, resulting in the rental deposits being forfeited by the landlords on the ground that the claimants had breached the tenancy agreements. Some members of the public suspect that in some cases, the claimants might have colluded with the landlords to deceive public money. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the authorities have formulated guidelines for granting accommodation allowance to claimants; if so, of the details; (2) in each of the past three years, of (i) the number of cases in which accommodation allowance was granted to claimants and the respective total amounts of rents and rental deposits involved, and (ii) the number of cases in which the claimants reported that the rental deposits had been forfeited by the landlords on the ground of the claimants having breached the tenancy agreements, and the total amount of money involved; (3) of the countermeasures taken by the authorities to prevent collusion between claimants and landlords in deceiving rental deposits; and (4) whether the authorities will consider setting up detention centres with designated time rules for entering and leaving the centres to accommodate claimants while they are awaiting screening, so as to solve their accommodation problem; if so, of the details?
4. Hon Dennis KWOK to ask: (Translation)
Since its release of the Clean Air Plan for Hong Kong in 2013, the Environment Bureau has implemented one after another a number of measures which aim to improve roadside air quality. However, there are comments that the growth in the number of vehicles and the shortage of parking spaces in recent years have caused motorists to drive their vehicles in circles on roads in search of parking spaces or queuing up for entry into a car park, which exacerbates traffic congestion. As a result, the emissions from vehicles have increased and the roadside air pollutants in built-up areas (e.g. Central) are often difficult to disperse. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective average daily vehicular flows of Aberdeen Tunnel, Lion Rock Tunnel, Shing Mun Tunnels, Tseung Kwan O Tunnel, Sha Tin Heights Tunnel, Eagle's Nest Tunnel, Tai Wai Tunnel, Kai Tak Tunnel, Cheung Tsing Tunnel and Nam Wan Tunnel last year, with a breakdown by vehicle category and the respective percentages of such figures in their total vehicular flows; the quantities of various types of air pollutants (including nitrogen oxides and respirable suspended particulates) emitted by various categories of vehicles in various tunnels during that period and the respective percentages of such quantities in the total emission of air pollutants; if such information is unavailable, of the reasons for that; (2) of the respective average daily vehicular flows on the sections of Des Voeux Road Central, Connaught Road Central and Queen's Road Central in Central in the past three years, with a breakdown by vehicle category and the respective percentages of such figures in their total vehicular flows; the quantities of various types of air pollutants emitted by various categories of vehicles at such road sections during that period and the respective percentages of such quantities in the total emission of air pollutants; if such information is unavailable, of the reasons for that; (3) of the respective numbers of public parking spaces currently available at the three road sections mentioned in (2) and in Central district; among them, the respective numbers of parking spaces in government car parks, in private car parks and on government lands rented out on short-term tenancies; and (4) of the respective numbers of fixed penalty tickets issued by the Police in the past three years in respect of illegal parking at those three road sections and in Central district; if such information is unavailable, of the reasons for that?
5. Dr Hon Helena WONG to ask: (Translation)
The Trade Descriptions (Unfair Trade Practices) (Amendment) Ordinance 2012 amended the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (Cap. 362) to crack down on common unfair trade practices such as false trade descriptions or representations in relation to goods or services. The relevant amendments came into full operation on 19 July 2013. In December last year, the findings of a test conducted by a Hong Kong university, which was commissioned by an environmental group, showed that among the seven seafood samples taken from supermarkets, four of them had labels bearing incorrect names or places of origin of food. For example, an areolated coral grouper was labelled as leopard coral grouper, the retail price of which is more than double that of the former. Regarding the enforcement of the aforesaid legislative amendments by the Customs and Excise Department ("C&E"), will the Government inform this Council:
(1) since the aforesaid legislative amendments came into operation, whether C&E has inspected supermarkets (i) proactively and (ii) upon receipt of complaints each year for the purpose of enforcing the provisions concerned; if C&E has, of the respective numbers of inspections; if not, the reasons for that; (2) since the aforesaid legislative amendments came into operation, whether C&E has invoked the provisions concerned to institute prosecutions against supermarket operators who allegedly committed the relevant offences; if C&E has, of the number of convictions and the penalties generally imposed on the convicted persons; (3) given that section 30L of Cap. 362 provides that an authorized officer may, with the consent in writing of the Secretary for Justice, accept a written undertaking given by a person who has committed the relevant offences not to continue or repeat the unlawful conduct covered by the ordinance or not to engage in conduct of that kind, or any conduct of a substantially similar kind, in the course of any trade or business, as an alternative to criminal prosecution, and that sections 30P and 30Q respectively provides that an authorized officer may apply to the District Court for an injunction or interim injunction to prohibit a trader from continuing or repeating the unlawful conduct, whether C&E has invoked such provisions since the legislative amendments came into operation; if C&E has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) whether C&E has other measures in place to prevent supermarket operators from contravening the requirements of the aforesaid legislative amendments, so as to safeguard the rights and interests of consumers; if C&E does, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
6. Hon WONG Ting-kwong to ask: (Translation)
To enhance road safety, the Government implemented legislation in 2000 to prohibit drivers from using mobile phone by holding it in their hands or between their heads and shoulders while the vehicle is in motion, and extended the legislation in 2001 to cover the use of other hand-held telecommunications equipment. I have received quite a number of complaints from members of the public that incidents of drivers contravening the aforesaid legislation while driving has become more common in recent years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has studied the reasons why the aforesaid illicit acts have become more common in recent years; if so, of the outcome, and whether such reasons include the failure of the authorities to take law enforcement actions vigorously; if it has not studied, the reasons for that; (2) of (i) the number of cases in which prosecutions were instituted against drivers for such illicit acts and (ii) the number of persons prosecuted in each of the past five years; the (iii) general and (iv) maximum penalties imposed on the convicted persons; (3) of the number of repeated offenders among the convicted persons mentioned in (2), and the highest number of times for which they repeated the offences; (4) whether it will consider increasing the relevant penalties to enhance the deterrent effect; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (5) whether it has plans to step up promotional and educational efforts with a view to improving drivers' safety awareness and driving attitude, thereby eradicating such illicit acts; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
7. Hon MA Fung-kwok to ask: (Translation)
According to the Hong Kong Arts Development Council Ordinance (Cap. 472), the Chief Executive may appoint up to a total of 10 persons nominated by 10 specified arts interests as members of the Hong Kong Arts Development Council ("HKADC") for a term not exceeding three years. The exercise to nominate representatives of arts interests ("nomination exercise") is to be conducted in four phases. In Phase 1, eligible arts organizations and individual arts workers may apply for registration to take part in the nomination exercise. In Phase 2, members and the relevant employees of registered arts organizations may apply for registration as voters, while registered individual arts workers become voters automatically. Registered voters may seek candidature in Phase 3 and elect representatives for the Chief Executive's appointment in Phase 4. The nomination exercise for the new term of HKADC, which commenced on 1 January this year, was held from May to November last year. In order to ensure that the organization applicants were closely associated with the specified arts interests, the authorities implemented two new criteria ("new criteria") in Phase 1 of that nomination exercise, requiring organization applicants to meet the following conditions in 2016: (i) their principal business/work must fall within one of the 10 specified arts interests, and (ii) they must have conducted works or activities related to the relevant arts interests during the three years preceding the commencement of the nomination exercise. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has assessed the reasons why there was a significant drop in the number of arts organizations registered in the nomination exercise last year as compared with that of 2013; of the number of arts organizations registered in the 2013 nomination exercise which did not reapply for registration in the nomination exercise last year and the reasons for that; the measures in place to boost the number in the next nomination exercise; (2) of the number of arts organizations newly registered in the nomination exercise last year; the respective numbers of arts organizations which were unsuccessful in registration due to (i) their failure to substantiate that they had conducted works or activities related to the relevant arts interests during the preceding three years, and (ii) other reasons (please specify); (3) of the measures taken by the Home Affairs Bureau ("HAB") in the past three years and the publicity work undertaken by the nomination agent after being appointed in December of the preceding year to enable the arts organizations to have a clear understanding of the new criteria; (4) of the publicity work undertaken by HAB and the nomination agent during Phase 2 of the nomination exercise to enable members and the relevant employees of registered arts organizations to have a clear understanding of the related procedure for voter registration, and encourage them to register as voters; (5) whether HAB will consider extending the applicability of the new criteria to individual arts workers in future nomination exercises, or consider abolishing the requirement that organization applicants must fulfil the new criteria, so as to ensure consistency between the application conditions to be met by arts organizations and those by individual arts workers; (6) whether HAB will consider allowing winners of overseas or Mainland honours or awards and graduates having equivalent qualifications conferred by recognized overseas or Mainland institutions to register as individual arts workers in future; if HAB will not, of the reasons for that; and (7) as there are views that the coverage of the current 10 specified arts interests is not comprehensive, for example, not including stage design and technology, whether HAB will consider reviewing the need to expand the scope of the arts interests; if HAB will not, of the reasons for that?
8. Dr Hon Pierre CHAN to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the arrangements for healthcare manpower, services and meetings made by the Hospital Authority ("HA") to tackle influenza surges, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the respective total numbers of (i) additional beds, (ii) additional doctors, (iii) additional nurses, and (iv) additional allied health professionals, for each specialty/department in public hospitals in each of the past five years (set out such information in the table below);
Specialty/Department 2012 ... 2016 (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) Accident and Emergency ("A&E") Internal Medicine Paediatrics Laboratories ... Total: (2) if it knows whether HA accorded, in the past five years, priorities in allocating additional beds and healthcare staff to those specialties/departments which were most affected by influenza surges (including the A&E, Internal Medicine and Paediatrics departments as well as Laboratories); (3) whether it knows, regarding the various types of meetings held in the HA headquarters and various public hospitals in each of the past two years, the (i) total number of meetings, (ii) total number of meeting hours involved and (iii) total attendance of healthcare staff at such meetings; among such meetings, the (iv) total number of meetings which were dedicated to discussions on matters relating to tackling influenza surges, (v) total number of meeting hours involved, and (vi) total attendance of healthcare staff at such meetings (set out such information in a table); and (4) as the Steering Committee on Review of Hospital Authority put forward in its report published in July 2015 that "HA should coordinate with relevant specialties to address the serious access block problem in A&E Departments in concerned hospitals", whether it knows the progress made by HA in implementing the recommendation?
9. Dr Hon LAU Siu-lai to ask: (Translation)
In his Policy Address delivered last month, the Chief Executive proposed a new policy for the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance ("CSSA") Scheme, under which the eligible age for elderly CSSA will be raised from 60 to 65, so as to align with the direction of the population policy to extend the retirement age. Upon the implementation of that policy, the monthly CSSA payment that new CSSA applicants who are single able-bodied persons aged between 60 and 64 may receive will be reduced by over $1,000, from the current $3,435 to $2,420 (i.e. the amount for single able-bodied adults aged under 60). In addition, the supplements and certain special grants for the elderly are not applicable to them. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective (i) employment rates, (ii) unemployment rates and (iii) numbers of CSSA recipients among the various age groups of the population in each of the past five financial years (set out separately in tables of the same format as the table below);
Financial year Age group 15-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60-64 65-70 Over 70 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016 (2) of a breakdown of the number of CSSA recipients aged between 60 and 64 in each of the past five financial years, by their reasons for receiving CSSA payments; (3) of the new measures that the authorities have put in place to raise the employment rate for people aged between 60 and 64, so as to dovetail with the implementation of the aforesaid policy; (4) whether the authorities have assessed the impacts on the living standard of new CSSA applicants who are able-bodied persons aged between 60 and 64 arising from their not being granted, upon the implementation of the aforesaid policy, the various supplements and special grants which CSSA recipients of the same age group are receiving under the existing CSSA system; if they have assessed, of the details, and whether the authorities will make special arrangements to ensure that those people can still receive the various supplements and special grants offered under the existing system; if they have not assessed, the reasons for that; and (5) given that non-elderly able-bodied CSSA recipients are required to participate in the Support for Self-reliance Scheme so that they may find paid employment as soon as possible, whether the authorities will, upon the implementation of the aforesaid policy, require new CSSA applicants who are able-bodied persons aged between 60 and 64 to participate in the Scheme; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
10. Hon CHAN Chun-ying to ask: (Translation)
In recent years, various nations have entered into new bilateral or multilateral free trade agreements with their trading partners one after another for promoting economic cooperation and development. However, the new President of the United States ("US") signed a presidential memorandum immediately upon assumption of office last month, confirming the withdrawal of the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, an agreement which the US had reached with 11 nations after years of negotiations. There are comments that this will be conducive to the establishment of a Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific ("FTAAP") and the negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, which China has been actively promoting in recent years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has assessed the impact on Hong Kong's overall economy brought about by the latest development in global trade liberalization; if it has assessed, of the outcome and the Government's counter measures; and (2) whether it has studied the possible impact of the successful establishment of FTAAP on Hong Kong's overall economy; if it has studied, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
11. Hon Michael TIEN to ask: (Translation)
In the middle of last month, the Government entered into a tenancy agreement, with a rental period from late January to mid-August this year, for renting an office in a commercial building at Garden Road, Central as the Office of the fifth-term Chief Executive-elect ("CE-elect's Office"). Subsequently on the 25th of last month, the Government briefed the Panel on Constitutional Affairs of this Council on the relevant arrangements. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the detailed process and the relevant records regarding the work carried out by the relevant government departments to prepare for the setting up of the CE-elect's Office, including the commencement dates, completion dates and results of the various items of the preparatory work, and the work for which the various officers were responsible (listed by the government departments to which they belonged and their post titles); (2) of the non-private properties that had been considered by the Government as the potential location of the CE-elect's Office, and the detailed reasons why such properties were not chosen in the end; (3) of the detailed estimated works expenditure (including the expenditures on fitting-out and reinstatement) and the detailed estimated operating expenditure (including the expenditures on security services and on the salaries and fringe benefits of directorate and non-directorate officers) for the CE-elect's Office; (4) whether it can provide a layout plan of the CE-elect's Office showing its partitioning as well as the areas and uses of various sections; of the details of the fitting-out materials that have been chosen and whether the authorities have taken into account the principles of environmental protection in choosing such materials; and (5) given that the estimated expenditure of the CE-elect's Office is as high as $39.96 million, which has far exceeded the estimated expenditure of some $8.29 million for the CE-elect's Office set up for the fourth-term Chief Executive five years ago, why the authorities did not take the following approach: separately submit the former to the Finance Committee of this Council to seek its approval, and enter into the tenancy agreement only after approval has been obtained?
12. Hon WU Chi-wai to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that in recent months, vessels were frequently found illegally dumping various kinds of refuse in Mainland waters near Lantau, and some of the refuse was carried into Hong Kong waters by ocean currents, causing heavy pollution. Despite the follow-up actions taken by the Government and the Mainland authorities, marine refuse with packaging printed with simplified Chinese characters has still been found on a number of beaches in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the quantity of marine refuse collected by the government departments concerned in Hong Kong waters in each of the past six months (with a tabulated breakdown by eastern waters and western waters); (2) of the number of complaints received by the authorities in the past 24 months about illegal dumping of refuse in Hong Kong waters, and the number of prosecutions instituted against the persons concerned; (3) as the Government has indicated that it would discuss issues relating to marine environment with the Mainland authorities through the Hong Kong-Guangdong Marine Environmental Management Special Panel set up in October last year, of the details of the relevant efforts; and (4) whether it received, in the past 12 months, any notification from the Mainland authorities regarding illegal dumping of refuse found in Mainland waters near Hong Kong; if it did, of the details, including the law enforcement efforts made by the Mainland authorities, as well as the respective numbers of such cases uncovered and those in which the law-breakers were prosecuted?
13. Hon Frankie YICK to ask: (Translation)
The Government has consulted the Central and Western District Council ("C&WDC") twice on the plan to rezone the site of Murray Road Multi-storey Carpark ("MRMCP") in Central for commercial development, and some C&WDC members raised objections on each occasion. Upon demolition of MRMCP, the number of public parking spaces for private cars and motorcycles in the Central and Western District will be reduced by 388 instantly (286 of which permanently) and 55 respectively. It has been reported that the Government also plans to rezone the sites of Rumsey Street Carpark and Star Ferry Carpark for commercial development. Some C&WDC members and local residents are worried that such carpark demolition plans will aggravate the problem of insufficient parking spaces in the district, thus worsening the problems of illegal parking, traffic congestion and roadside air pollution, etc., which increase social costs. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers and utilization rates of parking spaces for various categories of vehicles in the Central and Western District during daytime peak hours and evening non-peak hours in each of the past three years; and the respective numbers of parking spaces in the Central and Western District for various categories of vehicles to be added in the coming three years; (2) as the authorities have indicated that due to a lack of land and existing site constraints, there is no suitable site for the provision of temporary public parking spaces in the vicinity during the redevelopment of MRMCP site to make up for the shortfall in parking spaces caused by the demolition of the carpark, whether the Government has assessed if the parking spaces provided by nearby carparks can meet the demand for parking spaces in the district during the redevelopment; if it has assessed, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) given that only 102 public parking spaces for private cars (286 fewer than the existing number) and 69 public parking spaces for motorcycles will be provided at MRMCP site after redevelopment, of the criteria adopted by the Government for determining the number of parking spaces to be provided after the redevelopment, and whether it has assessed if such number can meet the demand for parking spaces in the district; if it has assessed and the outcome is in the affirmative, of the justifications for that; and (4) of the details of and the implementation timetable for the plans to rezone the sites of Star Ferry Carpark and Rumsey Street Carpark for commercial development, as well as the consultation work carried out so far; whether the Government will withhold the implementation of the plans until after the completion of a car parking review with priority accorded to addressing the parking demand and supply of commercial vehicles, which is scheduled for commencement within this year?
14. Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to ask: (Translation)
Some members of the public have relayed to me that since the Hong Kong Housing Authority ("HKHA") divested a large number of its shopping centres and markets to The Link Real Estate Investment Trust (now known as Link Real Estate Investment Trust ("Link REIT")) in 2005, the majority of the retail facilities in public rental housing ("PRH") estates have been monopolized by chain stores operated by large consortiums, resulting in inflated prices of commodities and a heavier burden on the livelihood of residents. Those members of the public have suggested that HKHA rent out the common areas within PRH estates to facilitate the organization of bazaars and activities by community groups, with a view to enabling residents to purchase daily necessities at relatively lower prices and promoting the development of community economy. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the locations and areas of the existing common areas such as open spaces, community gardens and gardens within various PRH estates (set out in a table); (2) of the locations and areas of the existing common areas, that are solely owned by HKHA, within various PRH estates (set out in a table); (3) whether the Housing Department ("HD") has studied which existing places in various PRH estates are suitable venues for activities organized by community groups; if so, of the names, addresses and areas of such places, as well as the number of activities approved by HD to be held at such places in the past three years and the details of such activities (set out in a table); if not, the reasons for that; (4) whether HD has studied which existing places in various PRH estates are suitable venues for bazaars organized by community groups; if so, of the names, addresses and areas of such places; if not, the reasons for that; the respective numbers of applications for organizing bazaars at such places that were approved and rejected by HD in the past three years, as well as the number of applications currently under process; (5) whether HD has established any cooperation platform to assist community groups in organizing bazaars and activities in PRH estates; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (6) as HD has repeatedly indicated that due to restrictions imposed by lease conditions, activities involving commercial elements and cash transactions are not allowed in some PRH estates, of the vetting and approval criteria adopted by HD for assessing whether the relevant applications are in compliance with such requirements; whether HD will formulate special measures for bazaars where cash transactions are involved, with a view to facilitating the organization of bazaars by community groups; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (7) given that applications for organizing bazaars in the common areas within PRH estates are subject to the approval or granting of licences by several government departments (including the Lands Department, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department as well as the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department) other than HD, whether HD will collaborate with those government departments in setting up an inter-departmental group to look into ways to streamline the relevant vetting and approval procedure; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (8) as HKHA advised last year that it kept an open mind towards the proposal of organizing a bazaar at the amphitheatre of Tin Yiu Estate, but consent from Link REIT was required for the proposal because the common areas of Tin Yiu Estate were jointly owned by HKHA and Link REIT, of the progress of the related follow-up work?
15. Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)
The Community Care Fund launched thrice the "One-off Living Subsidy for Low-income Households Not Living in Public Housing and Not Receiving Comprehensive Social Security Assistance" ("One-off Living Subsidy") programme in 2013, 2015 and 2016 respectively to relieve the financial pressure of such low-income households (commonly known as "N have-nots households"). However, the Fund has not launched the programme again this year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of households granted the One-off Living Subsidy in each of the years of 2013, 2015 and 2016, and set out in a tabulated breakdown by household size (one person, two persons, three persons and four persons or above) and District Council district; and (2) as there are views that the Government should launch the One-off Living Subsidy programme again and even regularize the programme, with a view to relieving the financial pressure of the N have-nots households, whether the authorities will consider the proposal; if they will not, of the reasons for that; whether there are alternative measures?
16. Hon Andrew WAN to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the protection of the labour rights and interests of foreign domestic helpers ("FDHs") and the regulation of intermediaries for FDHs ("intermediaries"), will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of FDHs granted employment visas in the past two years to work in Hong Kong, with a breakdown by their nationality; (2) of the number of complaints or requests for assistance received by the authorities in the past two years concerning FDHs being subjected to violence by their employers or family members of their employers; among such cases, of the respective numbers of those which were (i) initiated by the FDHs, (ii) referred by intermediaries, and (iii) referred by other persons; (3) of the number of cases in which the authorities instituted in the past two years prosecutions against employers of FDHs or family members of such employers for allegedly subjecting their FDHs to violence, with a breakdown by the relationship between the defendants and the FDHs in such cases; the penalties generally imposed by the court on the convicted persons; (4) of the number of complaints or requests for assistance received by the authorities in the past three years concerning FDHs who had their wages deducted or who were underpaid by their employers; the number of cases in which the employers were convicted as a result, and the penalties generally imposed by the court on the convicted persons; (5) of the current number of licensed intermediaries across the territory; last year, the respective numbers of regular and surprise inspections of intermediaries carried out by the authorities, as well as the respective numbers of cases in which investigations were conducted and prosecutions were instituted in response to complaints; the penalties generally imposed last year by the court on the convicted intermediaries or their persons in charge; the number of cases in which intermediaries were convicted last year for overcharging of intermediary fees from FDHs; (6) given that intermediaries are currently liable to a maximum fine of $50,000 for unlicensed operation or overcharging of commission from FDHs, whether the authorities will consider increasing the relevant penalties to enhance the deterrent effect; and (7) whether the authorities have examined ways to enhance publicity on the Code of Practice for Employment Agencies promulgated on the 13th of last month, so as to raise FDHs' awareness of their own labour rights and interests?
17. Hon Holden CHOW to ask: (Translation)
The Small Claims Tribunal ("the Tribunal") was established to provide members of the public with a simple and inexpensive means to deal with monetary claims arising from contracts or torts, involving amounts not exceeding $50,000 ("financial limit of claims"). Common types of claims include those relating to debts, service charges, damage to property, goods sold as well as consumer claims. Some members of the public have pointed out that as the amounts involved in civil disputes have increased substantially since the financial limit of claims was set at $50,000 in 1999, the financial limit of claims should be raised. They have also pointed out that, for the years from 2013 to 2015, while the Judiciary had set a target of 60 days for the average waiting time for "Small Claims Tribunal―from filing of a case to first hearing", the actual average waiting time was 36 days; these data show that the Tribunal, with its existing resources, is capable of handling additional claim cases due to an upward adjustment of the financial limit of claims. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it will consider setting a higher financial limit of claims, say $100,000; if it will, whether the Government will allocate more resources, when necessary, to ensure that the efficiency of the Tribunal in handling claims will not be reduced owing to an increase in the number of cases being handled?
Public Officer to reply : Chief Secretary for Administration
18. Hon Tanya CHAN to ask: (Translation)
It was projected in 2015 in a consultancy study commissioned by the Government that by 2028, there would be a shortfall of 130 000 square metres of convention and exhibition venues in Hong Kong at peak periods. The consultant recommended 15 measures for further developing the convention and exhibition industries, maximizing venue utilization and increasing venue capacity. The Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development stated on the 25th of last month that the Government had invited the Hong Kong Trade Development Council ("TDC") to work on the preliminary design of one of the recommended measures (i.e. building a convention centre above the Exhibition Station of the Sha Tin to Central Link). Moreover, the Chief Executive proposed in the Policy Address delivered last month that the Wan Chai Sports Ground ("WCSG") would be demolished for comprehensive development ("comprehensive development plan") in 2019 at the earliest, and TDC would conduct a feasibility study on this proposal. It is learnt that, across the territory, only WCSG and the Tseung Kwan O Sports Ground ("TKOSG") meet the venue requirements for holding track and field events of international standards at present, and it is anticipated that the new sports ground to be built in the Kai Tak Sports Park will not be commissioned until 2022. Therefore, some members of the sports community have reservations about the proposed demolition of WCSG. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the latest progress of the various measures recommended in the consultancy study report (set out in the table below); whether the Government has regularly reviewed the implementation and effectiveness of the various measures;
Recommended measures Latest progress Measures for further developing the convention and exhibition industries and maximizing venue utilization in the short to medium term
(to be considered/implemented/achieved in the coming 10 years)1 2 ... 11 Measures for increasing venue capacity in the medium to long term
(to be considered/implemented/achieved in the coming 15 years)12 ... 15 (2) whether the relevant feasibility study, overall proposal, environmental and traffic impact assessment studies had been completed before the Government invited TDC to work on the preliminary design for building the convention centre; if not, why the Government made the invitation before the completion of the studies; if so, of the organizations that conducted the studies and the expenditure involved, as well as whether the relevant reports can be made public; whether the Government's commissioning of TDC to take charge of the task has gone through an open tendering process; if so, of the details of the tendering work; if not, of the justifications for that; (3) whether the Government's commissioning of TDC to conduct a feasibility study on the comprehensive development plan has gone through an open tendering process; if so, of the details of the tendering work; if not, the justifications for that; (4) of the respective utilization rates at peak and non-peak seasons as well as the annual overall utilization rates of WCSG in each of the past 10 years and of TKOSG in each year since its opening in 2009; (5) whether the new sports ground to be built in the Kai Tak Sports Park will meet the venue requirements for holding track and field events of international standards; given that the new sports ground will only be commissioned a few years after the demolition of WCSG, whether the Government has assessed, during the transitional period, if TKOSG alone can satisfy the demand for venues for holding track and field events of international standards; if it has assessed and the outcome is in the negative, whether the Government has any remedial measures; (6) as the Government has indicated that it will consider redeveloping the Hong Kong Stadium into a sports ground, whether the Government has formulated an implementation timetable; if so, of the details; if not, why the Government has proposed the demolition of WCSG before it has secured alternative venues; and (7) whether the Government will consult the sports sector, the academia and the public on its proposals on the demolition of WCSG and the redevelopment of the Hong Kong Stadium; if so, of the details and timetable; whether the Government will postpone or shelve the comprehensive development plan under the circumstances that the sports sector and the academia do not support the demolition of WCSG; if it will not, of the reasons for that?
19. Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)
At the meeting of the Panel on Food Safety and Environmental Hygiene of this Council held on the 24th of last month, the Secretary for Food and Health ("SFH") indicated that the Government had initially identified suitable sites in the Tung Chung New Town Extension Area and Hung Shui Kiu New Development Area ("NDA") for building public markets. Some community groups have pointed out that quite a number of sites are available in Tung Chung and Tin Shui Wai for building public markets, and as the population in Hung Shui Kiu NDA will exceed 200 000, coupled with the fact that the existing population in Tin Shui Wai has already reached 300 000, building the aforesaid public market at Hung Shui Kiu NDA alone cannot satisfy the demand of Yuen Long residents for shopping at public markets. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it is feasible to build public markets at the following locations (if it is not feasible, of the reasons for that):
Tung Chung:(i) Tat Tung Road Garden adjacent to the Tung Chung Skyrail Terminal, (ii) bus servicing site of Citybus Limited at Chung Wai Street, (iii) Hau Wong Temple football pitch, (iv) open area at the roundabout adjacent to Tak Yat House, Yat Tung Estate (near the nullah), (v) Yat Tung Estate Carpark No. 3, Tin Shui Wai: (vi) the existing site of Tin Sau Bazaar and part of the Tin Sau Road Park, (vii) Tin Sau Road Community Garden, (viii) The Hong Kong Girl Guides Association Tin Shui Wai Pansy Ho Activity Centre adjacent to Tin Chak Estate, (ix) additional floors above the proposed swimming pool facilities in Area 107, Tin Shui Wai, (x) depot of the Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited adjacent to Tin Tsz Estate, (xi) Central Park Towers public carpark, (xii) multi-purpose pitch of the Hong Kong Rugby Union in Area 108, and (xiii) vehicle depot of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department ("FEHD"); (2) as SFH indicated at the aforesaid meeting that the authorities had tried to look for suitable sites in Tin Shui Wai to build public markets but to no avail, and had therefore chosen Hung Shui Kiu NDA for building a public market, of the exact locations of the sites that had been considered by the authorities and the reasons why such sites had been found unsuitable for building public markets; (3) given that the markets in several new towns (such as Ma On Shan and Tseung Kwan O) and large housing estates (such as On Tat Estate and On Tai Estate at Anderson Road, as well as Yan Tin Estate in Tuen Mun) are operated by Link Real Estate Investment Trust, the Hong Kong Housing Authority or private developers, whether the authorities will undertake to identify sites in those new towns and housing estates for building FEHD-managed public markets so as to increase the competition among markets, with a view to alleviating the problem of soaring commodity prices; if they will not, of the authorities' measures for assisting residents in buying food and daily commodities at affordable prices; and (4) whether the authorities will consider including afresh the population-based planning standard for public markets into the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines for future reference in planning new towns; if they will not, of the authorities' measures for meeting residents' demand for shopping at public markets?
20. Hon LUK Chung-hung to ask: (Translation)
Some bus captains engaged by the MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL") and franchised bus companies ("bus companies") have relayed to me that the ancillary facilities (including facilities such as toilets and regulator kiosks) provided at bus termini have all along been inadequate. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the current number of bus termini, and a breakdown respectively by whether or not they are provided with (i) rest rooms, (ii) toilets and (iii) pantries for bus captains; (2) as some bus captains have pointed out that since some bus termini do not have toilets provided by MTRCL/bus companies for their staff, they can only use the toilets in the shopping malls in the vicinity of the such bus termini, but after the closure of the shopping malls at night, they can only use the public toilets located farther away, which has caused inconvenience to them, whether the relevant government departments will urge MTRCL and various bus companies to provide toilets for bus captains at all bus termini and provide them assistance in this regard; (3) as some bus captains have pointed out that most bus termini are not provided with all three facilities of rest rooms, toilets and pantries for bus captains, whether the authorities will request MTRCL and various bus companies to provide all such facilities at various bus termini; and (4) as some bus captains have pointed out that the pantry services at various bus termini vary in quality, whether the authorities will request MTRCL and various bus companies to step up their monitoring of the standard of the pantry services?
21. Hon Alice MAK to ask: (Translation)
The Case Management Division ("CMD") of the Official Receiver's Office ("ORO") is responsible for insolvency administration. Some staff association representatives of ORO have relayed to me that staff members working in CMD have encountered numerous difficulties when handling cases, such as chaotic filing system and the lack of clear working guidelines, so much so that they have to spend a lot of time on collecting relevant information when handling cases, resulting in the efficiency in case handling being affected. These representatives have also pointed out that as the content of the handbook provided by CMD for staff's reference ("the handbook") is incomprehensive and outdated, it cannot help staff address the difficulties encountered at work. Although ORO assigned a senior insolvency officer in 2012 to update the handbook, so far a handbook with comprehensive and updated content has yet to be published. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) when the first edition of the handbook was drawn up; (2) whether ORO has updated the handbook from time to time to complement the amendments to and implementation of the relevant legislation; if ORO has, of the details and the number of updates, as well as why a handbook with comprehensive and updated content is unavailable so far; if not, whether the authorities will set the timetable for updating the handbook and increase the manpower for such task; and (3) whether ORO has regularly assessed the effectiveness of the handbook in enhancing the efficiency in case handling?
22. Hon Kenneth LEUNG to ask:
On 8 January this year, smog shrouded Hong Kong, with the Air Quality Health Index recorded at some general air quality monitoring stations ("AQMSs") reaching 8 or above, which indicated very high health risk and high concentration of key air pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide ("NO2") and ozone ("O3"). It has been reported that some experts pointed out that local pollutants were the main causes of such smog. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective annual average concentration of (i) NO2 and (ii) O3 in the air as recorded at AQMSs (both general and roadside ones) in each of the past five years; (2) how the respective (i) concentration limits and (ii) numbers of exceedances allowed in respect of NO2 and O3 under Hong Kong's Air Quality Objectives ("AQOs") compare with those under the World Health Organization's Air Quality Guidelines ("AQGs"); whether the annual average concentration of NO2 in 2016 met the targets under AQOs and AQGs; (3) of the respective percentages of the NO2 emitted in Hong Kong in 2016 which originated from various air pollution sources (including motor vehicles, marine vessels, non-roadside machinery and power plants); the respective measures taken by the authorities in the past three years to reduce NO2 emission from such sources, and whether they have assessed if those measures were sufficient to enable Hong Kong to meet the targets under AQOs and AQGs; (4) given that the annual average concentration of O3 in the air recorded in Hong Kong and the Pearl River Delta ("PRD") Region both showed an upward trend in the past few years, whether the authorities have examined the contributions from the air pollution sources in Hong Kong towards the upward trend of O3 concentration in the PRD Region; as high level of O3 concentration in the air promotes the formation of NO2, whether they have studied the quantitative impacts of O3 on the annual average concentration of NO2 in Hong Kong in 2016; and (5) of the concrete measures undertaken in the past three years and those to be taken in the next three years by the authorities of Hong Kong, Macao and the Guangdong Province to jointly curb the increase of O3 air pollutants in the PRD Region?
III. Members' Motions
| 1. | Proposed resolution under section 34(4) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
Hon Frankie YICK to move the following motion: Resolved that in relation to the - | |
| (a) | Schedule of Routes (Citybus Limited) Order 2017, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 1 of 2017;
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| (b) | Schedule of Routes (Citybus Limited) (North Lantau and Chek Lap Kok Airport) Order 2017, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 2 of 2017;
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| (c) | Schedule of Routes (Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited) Order 2017, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 3 of 2017;
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| (d) | Schedule of Routes (Long Win Bus Company Limited) Order 2017, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 4 of 2017;
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| (e) | Schedule of Routes (New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Limited) Order 2017, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 5 of 2017; and
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| (f) | Schedule of Routes (New World First Bus Services Limited) Order 2017, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 6 of 2017,
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| and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 18 January 2017, the period for amending subsidiary legislation referred to in section 34(2) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap. 1) be extended under section 34(4) of that Ordinance to the meeting of 22 March 2017.
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| 2. | Motion of Thanks
Hon Starry LEE to move the following motion:(Translation) That this Council thanks the Chief Executive for his address. Amendments to the motion | |
| (i) | Hon WU Chi-wai to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To add ", but expresses regret that the Chief Executive has failed to draw lessons from his blunders in policy implementation over the years to perfect the last address in his term of office; the Chief Executive has not truthfully relayed to the Central Government Hong Kong people's demand for genuine universal suffrage, so as to realize the vision of making progress in Hong Kong's democratic development as set out in the 2013 Policy Address; apart from triggering social conflicts and resulting in social dissension and turmoil, the various policies and measures proposed by the Chief Executive in his address have even caused the relationship between the Executive and the Legislature to drop to the freezing point; in this connection, this Council urges the Chief Executive to apologize publicly to Hong Kong people for his blunders in policy implementation" immediately before the full stop. | |
| (ii) | Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To add ", so as to follow the convention of the Legislative Council; but as the address proposes to adjust downwards the amount of severance payments or long service payments, raises the eligible age for elderly Comprehensive Social Security Assistance from 60 to 65, continually procrastinates the legislative work on standard working hours, and fails to implement a universal retirement protection scheme, this Council expresses deep regret and urges the Chief Executive to apologize to the public for the social dissension arising from his policy implementation" immediately before the full stop. | |
| (iii) | Hon SHIU Ka-chun to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To add ", but expresses deep regret that the address proposes to raise the eligible age for elderly Comprehensive Social Security Assistance from 60 to 65, fails to implement a universal retirement protection scheme and formulate a youth policy, procrastinates the legislative work on standard working hours, neglects the problem of students committing suicide, ignores the uneven distribution of social resources, and reneges on all promises in other aspects of people's livelihood and constitutional development, hence creating conflicts and social dissension" immediately before the full stop. | |
| Public Officers to attend are listed in the Appendix.
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