A 16/17-16
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 22 February 2017 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers
| Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments | L.N. No. |
|---|---|
| Air Pollution Control (Vehicle Design Standards) (Emission) (Amendment) Regulation 2017 | 24/2017 |
Other Papers
| 1. | No. 67 | - | Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority
Financial statements for the year ended 31 August 2016 and Report on Activities September 2015-August 2016 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Education)
| |||
| 2. | No. 68 | - | Li Po Chun Charitable Trust Fund
Report of the Trustee on the Administration of the Fund, Financial Statements and Report of the Director of Audit for the year ended 31 August 2016 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)
| |||
| 3. | No. 69 | - | Estimates for the year ending 31 March 2018 Volume I - General Revenue Account (Page 1 to 534) Volume I - General Revenue Account (Page 535 to 984) |
| (to be presented by Financial Secretary)
| |||
| 4. | No. 70 | - | Estimates for the year ending 31 March 2018 Volume II - Fund Accounts |
| (to be presented by Financial Secretary) | |||
II. Questions for Written Replies
1. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)
The current term of District Councils ("DCs") has commenced since 1 January last year. However, it has been reported that a number of DC members have not yet set up ward offices in their constituencies. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the number of incumbent DC members who have not yet set up ward offices to date (with a breakdown by DC district), and the reasons for that; (2) of the number of incumbent DC members to date who have sought assistance from the authorities for renting government lands to place containers converted for use as ward offices, and set out a breakdown of such number and their outcome by DC district; the number and details of those cases of the same nature in each of the past three DC terms; (3) of the DC election constituencies in which currently there are no units of public rental housing estates available for use as ward offices of DC members (set out by DC district); the measures taken by the authorities to assist DC members of such constituencies in setting up ward offices; and (4) whether the authorities will be more proactive in assisting DC members (especially those of the constituencies mentioned in (3)) to set up ward offices in their respective constituencies, to enable DC members to better and more conveniently serve the residents in their constituencies, such as by (i) taking new measures to assist DC members in renting idle government lands or offices of government departments/subvented organizations, (ii) providing additional rental subsidies for DC members who rent units in industrial and commercial buildings for use as ward offices, and (iii) allowing DC members to rent units in industrial buildings which are appropriate for use as ward offices?
2. Hon Jimmy NG to ask: (Translation)
Under the law, a person must obtain in advance a special permit from the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department ("AFCD") for the import of cats and dogs. AFCD classifies various countries and places into three groups, and imposes different quarantine requirements on importing cats and dogs from countries and places in different groups. Cats and dogs imported from Group I and Group II countries/places are normally exempt from quarantine while those from Group III countries/ places (including Mainland China and the Macao Special Administrative Region) are subject to a minimum 120-day quarantine at the two Animal Management Centres under AFCD. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) regarding the aforesaid three groups of countries/places, in each of the past five years: (i) of the respective numbers of applications received and approved by AFCD for the import of cats and dogs (with a breakdown, by country/place, of such numbers and the numbers of cats and dogs involved); (ii) of the numbers of appeal cases received by AFCD from applicants against AFCD's decisions to reject their applications for importing cats and dogs; and (iii) of the numbers of applications approved by AFCD for importing cats and dogs from Mainland China and from the Macao Special Administrative Region respectively, and the numbers of cats and dogs involved; (2) of the reasons why cats and dogs imported from Group III countries/places are subject to quarantine at designated Animal Management Centres while those from Group I and Group II countries/places are exempt from quarantine; the average numbers of days for which imported cats and dogs were kept in quarantine at Animal Management Centres in each of the past five years; (3) given that AFCD updates from time to time the grouping of countries/places based on their rabies situation and other factors, of the details of such situation and factors, and how frequent the grouping of countries/places is reviewed; (4) of the countries/places the group to which they belonged was changed by AFCD in each of the past five years, and (i) the reasons for and the dates of the changes, and (ii) the groups to which those countries/places belonged before and after such changes, broken down by country/place; (5) whether it knows if rabies cases were found in Mainland China and the Macao Special Administrative Region in the past five years; if there were such cases, of the number and details; if not, whether AFCD will consider reclassifying those two places into Group II; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (6) of the reasons why the sizes of the basic kennel and cattery rooms (not less than 4 m2 and 1.35 m2 respectively) at the Hong Kong Animal Management Centre are currently smaller than the corresponding sizes at the Kowloon Animal Management Centre (not less than 6.83 m2 and 2.4 m2 respectively); whether the authorities will unify their sizes?
3. Hon HUI Chi-fung to ask: (Translation)
In 2013, the authorities began the statutory procedure for amending the Central District (Extension) Outline Zoning Plan to rezone a site in the Central promenade, which is 150 metres long and has an area of about 0.3 hectare, from "Open Space" to "Other Specified Uses" annotated "Military Use (1)", with a view to setting it aside for use as a military dock by the People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison ("the Garrison"). However, as the above statutory procedure was subsequently challenged by way of a judicial review, it has not been concluded so far. The Government has indicated that the Garrison has undertaken to open the military dock area as part of the promenade for public use when the military dock is not in military use. The site, which has not yet been handed over to the Garrison, is currently overgrown with weeds and enclosed by wire fences, thereby barring access or use by members of the public. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as the authorities have indicated that since the military dock is a military facility, it is not suitable to open the site for holding any public event before the site is handed over to the Garrison, of the justifications behind such remark; (2) whether the authorities have discussed with the Garrison the temporary opening of the site for public use; if so, of the date(s) and outcome of the discussion(s); if not, the reasons for that; (3) whether the authorities have considered making the site available for temporary uses (e.g. entrusting the use of the site to government departments); if so, of the details; (4) of the time, as anticipated by the authorities, when the statutory procedure for rezoning the site will be concluded; and (5) of the respective annual amounts of various items of expenditure related to the site since the completion of the military dock; and the respective amounts of the various items of the relevant estimated expenditure for 2017-2018?
4. Dr Hon CHIANG Lai-wan to ask: (Translation)
Some environmental groups have pointed out that in recent years, animal release activities have become increasingly common and commercialized. However, as some animals became weakened or sick during transportation or sale, they died soon after being released. These groups have also pointed out that some people released animals at unsuitable locations or released animals which were not suitable for release, thereby not only endangering the lives of the animals concerned, but also damaging the local ecological environment. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of complaints received by the authorities in the past three years about animal release activities, with a breakdown by species of the number of animals released; (2) as some environmental groups have pointed out that quite a number of people who release animals do not know much about the habitats necessary for survival of the animals being released and the potential impact of the released animals on the ecological environment, whether the authorities have measures in place to encourage the public to show mercy to animals in other ways; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) of the legislation currently in place to regulate animal release activities; whether it has reviewed the adequacy of the existing legislation for regulating industries engaged in animal release activities so as to safeguard animal welfare; if so, of the details, and whether it will follow the practice of Taiwan to introduce legislation to prohibit unauthorized release of any animals into the wild; if it will not, of the reasons for that?
5. Hon SHIU Ka-chun to ask: (Translation)
The responsible person of a welfare organization providing services for the ethnic minorities ("EMs") has relayed to me that the Labour Department ("LD") has failed to provide tailor-made assistance for job seekers of South Asian descent and the employment support services currently provided by LD for EMs (e.g. "Employment Services Ambassador Programme for Ethnic Minorities" and the special counters and resource corners provided at job centres) are not effective at all. Regarding the employment support services provided by LD for EMs, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the details of the special counters, including (i) their set-up dates, (ii) their present locations, (iii) the special services provided at such counters, (iv) the staffing establishment for providing such services (with a breakdown by rank) and the relevant training received by them, and (v) the number of cases handled in the past three years with a breakdown by type of cases; whether it will consider increasing the number of such counters; if so, of the increase; if not, the reasons for that; (2) as some concern groups have relayed that only information such as leaflets on support service centres for EMs and information on other social resources, which is not related to employment, is provided at the resource corners, whether LD will make improvement in this respect; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) of the existing means or channels through which LD encourages employers to employ EM job seekers; whether it has assessed the effectiveness of the efforts made in this respect; if so, of the outcome; (4) of the existing means or channels (other than during the period when LD recruits employers to join inclusive job fairs) through which LD encourages potential employers to set lower language proficiency requirements for job seekers as far as possible, so as to enable more EMs to apply for the vacancies concerned; whether it has assessed the effectiveness of the efforts made in this respect; if so, of the outcome; and (5) given that the Panel on Manpower of this Council passed a motion at its meeting on 15 March 2016, requesting the Government to establish an Ethnic Minorities Employment Division in one of the job centres of LD, at which fluent English-speaking EM staff are employed to provide employment support services for non-Chinese-speaking people, whether LD has adopted any follow-up measures in this respect; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
6. Hon KWOK Wai-keung to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the manpower situation of the retail, construction and catering industries, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) in respect of each of the aforesaid three industries, of the respective numbers, and their respective percentages in the number of posts in the industry, of (i) people employed, (ii) job seekers, (iii) people dismissed or made redundant, and (iv) people who resigned, in each of the past four years (with a breakdown by the age groups set out in the table below);
Industry: / Year:Age group Number of Number of (i)
(%)Number of (ii)
(%)Number of (iii)
(%)Number of (iv)
(%)15-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60 or above Total (2) of the annual average figures of the following statistics on the three industries in each of the past four years: (i) the percentage of the number of monthly vacancies in the total number of jobs in that month, (ii) the monthly unemployment rates, (iii) the median monthly wages, and (iv) the median weekly working hours (set out such information in a table); (3) of the current methods, apart from making reference to the information in (1) and (2), adopted by the Government for assessing the manpower situation of the three industries; and (4) of the new measures to attract members of the public to join the three industries and to reduce their manpower wastage rate?
7. Prof Hon Joseph LEE to ask: (Translation)
Under the Ancillary Dental Workers (Dental Hygienists) Regulations (Cap. 156 sub. leg. B) ("the Regulations"), the Dental Council of Hong Kong ("the Dental Council") is empowered, among other things, to handle matters on the enrolment and regulation of dental hygienists and to maintain a roll of dental hygienists ("the roll"). Regulation 3 of the Regulations provides that "[a]ny person who holds the United Kingdom Minister of Health's Certificate of Proficiency in Oral Hygiene, or who holds any other certificate or diploma which, in the opinion of the Dental Council, is of an equivalent standard and has been gained following a course of dental training extending over a period of not less than nine months, may apply to the Dental Council for enrolment as a dental hygienist". Regarding the regulation and development of dental hygienists, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the current number of persons across the territory who have fulfilled the qualifications required for enrolment as a dental hygienist as specified in regulation 3 of the Regulations; (2) as the Dental Council relayed to the authorities in 2013 that it had encountered difficulties in vetting and approving applications for enrolment as dental hygienists because the Certificate of Proficiency in Oral Hygiene programme stated in regulation 3 of the Regulations had ceased to exist for a long time, and that the United Kingdom Minister of Health was unable to provide information relating to the contents and training of that programme, whether the Government will review and amend that provision; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) as some members of the sector have revealed that the Dental Council was unable to get in touch with a dental hygienist who was under complaint as the latter's personal particulars on the roll were outdated, and the complaint was eventually unsettled, whether the Government knows the number of complaints against dental hygienists received by the Dental Council in the past five years, with a breakdown by the contents of the complaints and the outcome of the handling of such complaints, as well as the measures currently put in place by the Dental Council to ensure the accuracy of the information in the roll; and (4) given that while regulation 6 of the Regulations provides for the scope of dental work that may be undertaken by dental hygienists, some members of the sector have relayed that certain requirements in the provision are unclear and have become obsolete, whether the Government will review and amend that provision; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
8. Hon HO Kai-ming to ask: (Translation)
Some residents of the housing estates and courts (including Yau Lai Estate, Hong Nga Court and Hong Pak Court) near the Kowloon portal of the Eastern Harbour Crossing ("EHC") have relayed to me that EHC is often congested with traffic during rush hours, the vehicular flows generated have given rise to serious traffic noise problem, ancillary facilities are lacking at the bus interchange at the tunnel portal, and the Tseung Kwan O - Lam Tin Tunnel ("TKO-LTT") project underway is causing nuisance to them. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the authorities will, in addition to the environmental mitigation measures adopted for the TKO-LTT project, consider installing noise barriers along the relevant road sections in order to reduce the impacts of the project and the traffic noise of EHC on the residents of the aforesaid housing estates and courts; (2) whether it has plans to improve the existing ancillary facilities at the bus interchange at the Kowloon portal of EHC, including providing seats, barrier-free facilities, automatic vending machines, Octopus add-value machines, real-time bus arrival information display panels, free Wi-Fi wireless networks, etc., for the convenience of interchanging passengers; (3) whether it will plan or enhance, as early as possible, the bus service and ancillary facilities at the bus interchanges at the tunnel portals of TKO-LTT and EHC in order to meet public demand for the relevant services and facilities after the commissioning of TKO-LTT; (4) whether it knows if clear directional signs have been provided along the walking route from Yau Tong MTR Station to the bus interchange at the tunnel portal of EHC; if these signs have been provided, of the details; if not, whether it will make improvements; and (5) as the Government has commenced a study on the rationalization of traffic distribution among EHC, Cross Harbour Tunnel and Western Harbour Crossing, whether the Government will expeditiously submit the relevant report and implement the recommendations therein, so as to alleviate the traffic congestion of the roads near EHC; if so, of the details and the timetable?
9. Dr Hon Pierre CHAN to ask: (Translation)
The Hong Kong Museum of Medical Sciences ("HKMMS") is a museum open to the public, operated independently on a self-financing basis. It has a collection of more than 2 000 relics relating to the development of medical and health sciences in Hong Kong. Recently, some experts in relics conservation have relayed that the majority of the relics in the collection of HKMMS are unfit for display and exhibition due to damages, but HKMMS lacks the funds needed for restoring such relics. Regarding the Government's support for efforts in the community in relics conservation, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it will make reference to overseas practices and establish a heritage conservation subvention system to subsidize, by different means (including funding allocation, loans and revolving funds), private museums to carry out researches on relics, acquire facilities for preserving the relics in their collections, protect and restore such relics, and pay for the maintenance fees of the buildings in which the museums are located and the operating expenses of the museums; if so, of the specific arrangements; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether it will consider providing financial incentives (e.g. tax concessions) to encourage organizations and members of the public to make donations to private museums; (3) whether the Government will consider adopting other approaches, in addition to the support mentioned in (1) and (2), to render assistance to HKMMS in preserving a large number of precious medical relics; (4) whether it will, by making reference to overseas practices, identify an appropriate approach in providing comprehensive support for efforts in the community in relics conservation; and (5) whether it will conduct a comprehensive review on the existing efforts on public education and promotion, with a view to enhancing public understanding of and their interest in relics, historic monuments and museum collections, with a view to increasing (i) the attendances of museums and (ii) public support for efforts in the community in relics conservation?
10. Hon CHAN Han-pan to ask: (Translation)
Earlier on, an environmental group found, after conducting sampling tests on frozen seafood products sold at supermarkets, that the packaging of over 80% of the samples had not concurrently carried the species name, country of origin and production method of the products. The species of a few marine fish samples had even been mislabelled, with marine fish of cheaper species being labelled as species of twice the price, which might mislead consumers, and the retailers had allegedly contravened the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (Cap. 362). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
(1) the total number of complaints about seafood products received in the past five years by the Customs and Excise Department ("C&E"), the Centre for Food Safety ("CFS"), the Consumer Council and other relevant organizations; among them, of the respective numbers of (i) cases involving product labels or trade descriptions carrying false or misleading information and (ii) substantiated cases; how the authorities handled and followed up such cases; (2) the number of raw seafood product samples tested by C&E and CFS in each of the past five years to ascertain whether the information carried by the product labels or trade descriptions was accurate; how the authorities followed up those cases in which laboratory test results had revealed that the relevant information was inaccurate, including whether they made public the details of such incidents; whether the authorities will step up efforts in conducting sampling tests; and (3) the measures and law enforcement actions taken in the past five years by the authorities against those retailers who had been found for several times selling seafood products with product labels or trade descriptions carrying inaccurate information; whether the authorities will consider raising the penalty to enhance the deterrent effect?
11. Hon LEUNG Che-cheung to ask: (Translation)
In recent months, several members of the public have sought my assistance, saying that due to their inability to afford the high residential rents in Hong Kong, they live in Shenzhen temporarily and cross the boundary to Hong Kong every day for work. Those people had applied for public rental housing ("PRH") in Hong Kong but were rejected because they failed to meet the relevant eligibility criteria, which include that (i) the applicant must submit a copy of proof of Hong Kong residential address (e.g. electricity bill, water bill), and (ii) all family members must still be residing in Hong Kong at the time of allocation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
(1) it has assessed if the aforesaid PRH eligibility criteria constitute discrimination against Hong Kong permanent residents ("HKPRs") living on the Mainland; if it has, of the outcome; (2) it has compiled statistics on the current number of HKPRs who are living on the Mainland but wish to return to reside in Hong Kong after being allocated PRH; if so, of the outcome; if not, the reasons for that, and whether the Government will consider compiling such statistics; (3) it will relax the relevant PRH eligibility criteria to allow that type of HKPRs to apply for PRH; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) it will formulate measures to assist that type of people in applying for PRH; if so, of the details; if not, how the Government responds to the housing needs of such people?
12. Hon Steven HO to ask: (Translation)
Since 1999, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department ("AFCD") has prohibited under the Wild Animals Protection Ordinance (Cap. 170) the feeding of wild animals such as wild monkeys by visitors. Furthermore, AFCD has implemented a number of measures to contain the number of wild monkeys, including public education to remind visitors not to feed the monkeys, switching to use step-open rubbish bins in country parks to reduce the source of food of monkeys, and the implementation of a contraceptive/ neutering programme for monkeys. Nonetheless, it is learnt that the number of incidents of monkeys attacking visitors and even trespassing on residential areas have been increasing in recent years, showing that the current policy and measures are ineffective. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether AFCD compiled statistics on the number of wild monkeys across the territory in each of the past three years; if so, of the figures and whether they have shown an upward trend; if they have, whether AFCD has explored the reasons for that; (2) of the respective numbers of complaints received in each of the past three years by AFCD about wild monkeys attacking human beings and trespassing on residential areas; (3) of the numbers of (i) patrols carried out and (ii) prosecutions instituted by AFCD staff members in enforcing the ban on the feeding of wild monkeys as well as the number of persons convicted, in each of the past three years, and the penalties imposed on the convicted persons in general; (4) of the number of AFCD staff members deployed in the past three years to carry out the contraceptive/neutering programme for wild monkeys; whether AFCD has assessed the effectiveness of the programme; if so, of the details; (5) whether AFCD will conduct a review on its efforts in (i) monitoring the number of wild monkeys, (ii) enforcing the ban on the feeding of wild monkeys and (iii) public education on the ban; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (6) whether AFCD will consider inviting Mainland experts specialized in containing the propagation of wild monkeys to Hong Kong for giving assistance and recommending feasible solutions?
13. Hon Nathan LAW to ask: (Translation)
Some community groups have relayed to me that they have all along hoped that they can rent idle government premises (including vacant school premises ("VSPs")) or lands for implementing community economy projects, so as to create job opportunities and improve the livelihood of the grass roots. However, the Government has not made public the relevant applications procedure and information, making it difficult for them to materialize such projects. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective government departments which are responsible for managing various types of idle government premises at present; whether those departments have compiled lists of idle government premises which are under their management; if so, of the details; if not, whether they will consider compiling such lists; (2) of the respective numbers of VSPs currently with plans of reuse for educational purposes, and those without such plans; of a breakdown of such numbers by (i) District Council district, (ii) the government department responsible for managing the VSP, and (iii) the number of years (i.e. less than one year, one to three years, and three years or more) for which the VSP has been left vacant; (3) of the expenditure involved in the management and maintenance of VSPs, as well as the number of times for which such premises were leased to community groups on short-term tenancies (i.e. for terms of three years or below), in each of the past three years; (4) whether it has plans to entrust a single government department to be responsible for collating information on all idle government premises and lands, as well as for handling the relevant renting applications; whether the Government will set out clearer criteria for handling idle government premises, including specifying a maximum number of years for which such premises may be left vacant; (5) of the existing channels through which community groups may make enquiries about the application procedure for renting various idle government premises and lands; and (6) of the respective numbers of applications from community groups/social welfare organizations for renting idle government premises which have been received, approved and rejected by the authorities in each of the past five years, as well as the reasons for rejecting some of the applications?
14. Hon CHAN Chi-chuen to ask: (Translation)
In reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on 20 January last year, the authorities indicated that the air quality in Tung Chung had improved gradually between 2011 and 2015. Except for nitrogen dioxide and ozone, the air quality in Tung Chung in 2015 in terms of other air pollutants attained the relevant Air Quality Objectives ("AQOs"). However, recently quite a number of Tung Chung residents have relayed to me that they feel that in recent months, the air pollution problem in Tung Chung has not been alleviated but has shown signs of deterioration instead. Regarding measures to improve the air quality of Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of times, as recorded by the air quality monitoring station in Tung Chung last year, by which the concentrations of various pollutants (including respirable suspended particulates (i.e. PM10), fine suspended particulates (i.e. PM2.5), ozone, sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide) exceeded AQOs or other relevant objectives, and the details of the exceedances of each type of pollutants, including the respective average and maximum extent of exceedance and concentrations; (2) as the Government has, in collaboration with the Guangdong provincial authorities, set emission reduction targets to be attained in 2015 and 2020 with respect to four key types of air pollutants in the Pearl River Delta Region, and the Government is conducting a mid-term review of those targets, of the details and outcome of the work concerned; and (3) whether it has regularly reviewed the effectiveness of the various measures for improving air quality; if so, of the outcome; if not, the reasons for that?
15. Hon CHAN Hak-kan to ask: (Translation)
Under the Wild Animals Protection Ordinance (Cap. 170), any person who, without permission, hunts wild animals by means of any hunting appliance, or possesses any hunting appliance, shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine at level 5 (i.e. $50,000). It has been reported that in recent years, there have been cases from time to time in which animals and members of the public were injured by animal traps illegally deployed in rural areas. On the other hand, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department ("AFCD") also catches animals by means of animal traps. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the following figures in each of the past five years: (i) the number of patrols conducted by the Government to combat illegal hunting of animals by means of animal traps, the manpower deployed for this purpose, the number of illegally-deployed/illegally-possessed animal traps seized, the number of cases in which prosecutions were instituted and the average amount of fines imposed on the convicted persons, (ii) the number of animals injured by illegally-deployed animal traps and subsequently euthanized by AFCD, broken down by species, (iii) the number of animals caught by AFCD by means of animal traps, with a breakdown by way of disposal and the respective percentages of such numbers in the total number, and (iv) the numbers of reports received by AFCD on members of the public having been injured by animal traps; and (2) of the measures, in addition to deploying staff to conduct patrols in rural areas from time to time, put in place by the Government to combat hunting of animals by deploying or using animal traps illegally?
16. Dr Hon Elizabeth QUAT to ask: (Translation)
Quite a number of members of the public have complained to me about the inadequate regulation of the sale of various types of cosmetics, skin care products and slimming health food by the Government at present, which has, from time to time, led to cases of the health of members of the public being affected as a result of using or taking these products. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of complaints received by the Department of Health and the relevant institutions in the past three years about members of the public suffering from skin allergies or feeling unwell allegedly caused by using or taking the aforesaid products, together with a breakdown by the contents of the complaints and type of the products involved; (2) whether it will review the existing mechanism and entrust a single government department to be responsible for the prosecutions, inspections, sampling tests and handling of complaints concerning the aforesaid products, so as to avoid confusion that may be caused by the lack of coordination among several departments; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) of the measures in place to ensure that the aforesaid products, imported or made in Hong Kong, comply with the safety standards concerned; (4) whether it proactively conducts, at present, sample laboratory tests on the safeness of cosmetics and skin care products; if so, of the mechanism concerned; if not, whether it plans to conduct such tests on a regular basis; (5) given that online shopping is becoming more prevalent, how the Government combats the illegal sale on the Internet of slimming health food containing unregistered pharmaceutical substances, or cosmetics and skin care products not in compliance with the safety standards in Hong Kong; how the Government regulates the sale of such products by overseas websites to Hong Kong residents; and (6) whether it will consider requiring composition labelling on the packaging of cosmetics and skin care products, so as to further protect consumers; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
17. Hon Kenneth LAU to ask: (Translation)
In recent years, the Government has endeavoured to promote green transport, including the use of electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles (collectively referred to as "environment-friendly vehicles"), with a view to developing Hong Kong into a low-carbon city. Yet, the findings of some overseas studies have shown that as environment-friendly vehicles generate much less noise than conventional vehicles when travelling at low speeds (32 kilometres per hour or below), it happens quite often that road users can be alerted to such vehicles approaching by the noise generated by them only within a very close distance (3.3 metres), and this may make traffic accidents more prone to occur. In view of this, the relevant authorities of the European Union and the United States have passed laws to require that, from 2019 onward, newly-registered environment-friendly vehicles must be installed with engine sound simulation systems ("ESSSs"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of environment-friendly vehicles registered in each of the past five years, with a breakdown by (i) category of vehicle, (ii) place of origin, and (iii) whether an ESSS had been installed; (2) whether the authorities will consider amending the Road Traffic (Construction and Maintenance of Vehicles) Regulations (Cap. 374, sub. leg. A) to stipulate, for newly-registered vehicles, (i) the minimum noise level when travelling or (ii) the installation of ESSSs, so as to protect the safety of road users (particularly the visually-impaired, the elderly, joggers wearing earphones and cyclists); if so, of the details; if not, the authorities' considerations; and (3) given the growing popularity of environment-friendly vehicles, whether the authorities will, prior to enacting legislation to require that such vehicles must be installed with ESSSs, step up publicity and public education efforts to remind motorists and road users to pay attention to road safety involving environment-friendly vehicles; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
18. Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)
Regarding child care services, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers and year-on-year rates of increase, in 2015 and 2016, of places for various types of publicly-subsidized child care services for children aged two or below; (2) as the Government has indicated in the Policy Agenda of this year's Policy Address that it will provide, in the 2018-2019 financial year, about 100 additional aided long full-day child care service places for children aged below three, what plans the Government has in place in the coming five years in respect of provision of full-day child care services for children aged below three; and (3) as the Government indicated in the Policy Agenda of the 2015 Policy Address that it would commission a consultancy study in 2015-2016 to advise on the long-term development of child care services, of the details (including the name(s) of the consultant(s), scope of the study and work schedule) and the latest progress of the study, as well as the date of publication of the study report?
19. Hon CHU Hoi-dick to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the regulation of electronic waste ("e-waste") recycling sites and the combat of associated illegal activities, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the current number of licensed e-waste recycling sites across the territory, their respective locations, and among such sites, the number of those which are located within "Green Belt" or "Agriculture" zones; (2) whether it knows the current number of unlicensed e-waste recycling sites across the territory, their respective locations, and among such sites, the number of those which are located within "Green Belt" or "Agriculture" zones; (3) of the follow-up actions taken in each of the past five years by the Planning Department against persons who had allegedly contravened the Town Planning Ordinance (Cap. 131) for operating e-waste recycling sites; (4) of the number of cases, in each of the past five years, in which the Environmental Protection Department and the relevant government departments instituted prosecutions against persons operating e waste recycling sites illegally, the number of such persons convicted and the penalties generally imposed on them; (5) of the number of cases last year in which the authorities instituted prosecutions against persons importing hazardous e-waste illegally, the number of such persons convicted and the penalties generally imposed on them; and (6) as it has been reported that since the Mainland authorities have been stringently combating illegal import of e-waste in recent years, some law-breaking business operators had imported to Hong Kong a large quantity of e waste, and then (i) dumped it in the rural areas in the New Territories or (ii) dismantled and transported it back to the Mainland as recyclable waste materials, whether the authorities have stepped up inspections on and law enforcement actions against licensed and unlicensed e-waste recycling sites, as well as studied and discussed with the relevant Mainland departments on how to jointly combat such type of activities; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
20. Hon Tanya CHAN to ask: (Translation)
In June 2011, the Chief Executive in Council approved the land lease modification for the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui ("HKSKH") Compound at Lower Albert Road ("Central site") and the in-situ land exchange for another site of HKSKH at Clementi Road, Mount Butler ("Mount Butler site"), at nominal premiums to facilitate HKSKH's implementation of a preservation-cum-development project ("HKSKH development project"), which includes the preservation of all four historic buildings at the Central site. According to the papers submitted earlier by the authorities to the Central and Western District Council and the Wan Chai District Council respectively, HKSKH decided, after reviewing its proposals for the two aforesaid sites, to modify its plans to construct a building at the Central site for use as a non-profit-making private hospital instead of constructing two buildings there, and only to redevelop the existing kindergarten at the Mount Butler site in place of constructing three buildings there. Regarding the HKSKH development project, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the Government has revised the relevant land lease conditions and the land premiums payable by HKSKH in the light of the aforesaid modifications to the HKSKH development project; if so, of the updated land lease conditions for the two aforesaid sites as well as the respective land premiums payable; (2) whether the Government has, in determining the latest land premium for the Central site, made reference to the amount of premium (i.e. $1.688 billion) payable by the operator of Gleneagles Hong Kong Hospital (a private hospital to be commissioned shortly) when the operator secured the hospital site through tender in 2013; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) whether the Government will require HKSKH to conduct a public consultation on HKSKH's plan of developing a private hospital; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; whether the Government has required HKSKH to conduct environmental impact assessment, archaeological impact assessment and traffic impact assessment for the modified proposal; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (4) given that the proposed gross floor area ("GFA") to be built in the original proposals of the HKSKH development project is 48 000 m2 altogether, whereas that in the modified proposals is 50 959 m2, whether the Government knows the justifications for HKSKH to increase the GFA of the project by nearly 3 000 m2 and the details of such an increase; and (5) given that the heights of the two buildings proposed to be built in the original proposal for the Central site are 108 metres and 103 metres above the Hong Kong Principal Datum ("mPD") respectively, whereas the height of the building proposed to be built in the modified proposal is 134.8 mPD, which far exceeds the heights of the buildings nearby, whether the Government has assessed how the adoption of the modified proposal may affect the view of nearby buildings; if so, of the outcome and the follow-up actions taken by the Government; if not, the reasons for that?
21. Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)
According to the Employees' Compensation Ordinance (Cap. 282) ("the Ordinance"), employees injured at work are entitled to compensation for work injuries. Employers are required to notify the Commissioner for Labour ("the Commissioner") upon the occurrence of the work injury incidents pursuant to the Ordinance. If an employer considers that he has no liability in respect of a work injury incident or has doubt about its authenticity, he should conduct preliminary investigation as soon as possible and attach the relevant information or justifications to the form submitted for notifying the Commissioner, so as to seek assistance from the Labour Department ("LD"). Some labour groups have relayed to me that some employers often regard work injury incidents as doubtful and deliberately prolong their preliminary investigations, in order to evade their liability to pay compensation for work injuries. Regarding the handling of doubtful work injury cases, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of notifications, received by the Commissioner in each of the past three years, from employers in respect of doubtful work injury cases; (2) of the number of doubtful work injury cases mentioned in (1) which have been investigated by LD; among those cases the investigations of which have been completed, of the respective numbers of cases in which the injuries have been assessed by LD as (i) work-related and (ii) non work-related; the criteria and procedures adopted by LD for conducting investigations, as well as the average time taken for handling each case; (3) among the doubtful cases in which the injuries were assessed, in each of the past three years, by LD as work-related, of the respective numbers of cases in which (i) the employers indicated in their responses that they admitted and did not admit liability to pay compensation for the work injuries, as well as (ii) the employers have not yet made any response; (4) of the measures LD has put in place to prevent employers from resorting to questioning the authenticity of work injuries and prolonging preliminary investigations to evade their liability to pay compensation for work injuries to employees; and (5) of the number of cases, in each of the past three years, in which the employers, after receiving the certificates, issued by LD on work injury cases, stating the amount of the compensation and details of its assessment, paid the relevant amount of compensation and medical expenses to the injured employees within the payment period; how LD follows up cases in which the employers refuse to pay the relevant moneys?
22. Hon Holden CHOW to ask: (Translation)
The Competition Ordinance (Cap. 619) ("the Ordinance") has come into full operation since 14 December 2015 and the Competition Commission ("the Commission") is tasked with the enforcement duties of the Ordinance. More than a year ago, a number of transport trade organizations complained to the Commission that as auto-fuel prices at various petrol filling stations had been the same for a long time, they suspected that there was collusive price-fixing among the oil companies concerned. They also pointed out that all along the fuel price adjustment mechanisms of major oil companies lacked transparency and whenever the price of international crude oil dropped, oil companies did not lower their fuel prices by similar magnitude. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has studied why the prices of auto-fuels sold at petrol filling stations operated by different oil companies at different locations have all along been the same; if so, of the details, and whether such reasons include the existence of loopholes in the monitoring mechanism; of the measures to ensure that oil companies in Hong Kong will not engage in anti-competitive conduct in contravention of the relevant requirements of the Ordinance; (2) given that the Commission commenced last year an investigation into auto-fuel prices, whether the authorities know the progress and outcome of the investigation; if the investigation report has been completed, of its publication date; and (3) whether the authorities have proactively provided support for the Commission in the aforesaid investigation; if so, of the details; if not, whether the authorities will consider providing such support, with a view to ensuring that participants of the auto-fuel market will comply with the relevant requirements of the Ordinance?
III. Government Bill
| First Reading
Appropriation Bill 2017 Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned) | ||
| Appropriation Bill 2017 | : | Financial Secretary |
Clerk to the Legislative Council