A 16/17-22
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 10 May 2017 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers
| Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments | L.N. No. | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Waste Disposal (Designated Waste Disposal Facility) Regulation (Amendment of Schedule 1) Notice 2017 | 74/2017 |
| 2. | Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Amendment of First Schedule) Order 2017 | 75/2017 |
Other Papers
II. Questions for Written Replies
1. Hon CHEUNG Kwok-kwan to ask: (Translation)
In the early hours on 6 April of this year, a westbound tram suddenly derailed when passing through a bend outside the Court of Final Appeal Building on Des Voeux Road Central. It then crashed fiercely into a tram stop and toppled over, causing injuries to a number of passengers on board. Regarding the road safety of trams, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of traffic accidents in the past five years involving trams and the resultant casualties, broken down by cause of accident (including unsatisfactory driving attitude/incompetence of the tram motorman concerned, tram speeding and tram mechanical failure); (2) whether the Transport Department has, at present, set any requirements regarding the operating speed and daily number of trips of trams; if so, of the details; (3) of the regular mechanism currently in place to monitor the daily operation of trams; (4) as it has been reported that several tram derailment accidents had happened in recent years at the spot of the aforesaid accident, whether the authorities have assessed if the design of the curved track concerned is defective, and whether they will explore improvement measures; (5) as it has been reported that the Hong Kong Tramways Limited ("HKT") has implemented a speed monitoring programme since early this year, under which tram motormen operating trams at speeds lower than the average speed for the same tram journey by a certain extent will be given warnings, and their bonuses and year-end bonuses may even be deducted, which is tantamount to forcing tram motormen to speed, whether the Transport Department has prior knowledge of this programme, and whether HKT's practice has breached the relevant requirements; if the practice has breached the requirements, whether punishment will be imposed; (6) as HKT allows persons who hold only probationary driving licences ("P Licences") to apply for the post of tram motorman, whether the authorities have assessed if such arrangement is appropriate; whether they know the current number and percentage of tram motormen who hold P Licences; and (7) whether it knows the difference between the duration of induction training for tram motormen and that for bus captains of franchised buses and train captains of Light Rail at present; whether the authorities will review regularly to see if the relevant training duration and contents are adequate; when the last review was conducted?
2. Hon IP Kin-yuen to ask: (Translation)
The Environmental Protection Department ("EPD") introduced the On-site Meal Portioning Funding Scheme ("OMPF Scheme") in 2009, under which schools are subsidized through the Environment and Conservation Fund to conduct basic conversion works and install facilities necessary for implementing on-site meal portioning on campus, with a view to promoting "food wise" culture, as well as reducing food waste and the use of disposable lunch boxes. Schools subsidized under the OMPF Scheme ("OMPF-subsidized schools") are required to undertake to implement on-site meal portioning for at least 36 months after completion of all the conversion and installation works. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) in respect of secondary schools, primary schools and kindergartens respectively in which students have their lunch on campus: (i) of the respective current numbers of schools in which (a) on-site meal portioning is implemented, (b) students bring their own lunch boxes and (c) disposable lunch boxes are provided by meal suppliers, and the respective numbers of students involved, as well as the respective percentages of such numbers in the relevant totals, together with a breakdown by type of school (i.e. government, aided, Direct Subsidy Scheme and private schools); (ii) of the number of OMPF-subsidized schools among the schools which implement on-site meal portioning; (iii) in each of the past five school years, of the respective numbers of applications received, approved and rejected by the authorities under the OMPF Scheme as well as the total amount of subsidy granted, and the reasons for rejecting some of the applications (if any); (iv) in each of the past five school years, of the respective numbers of OMPF-subsidized schools which gave up on-site meal portioning (a) before they had honoured the aforesaid undertaking and (b) after they had honoured such undertaking; (v) whether it has found out, among the schools in which students have their lunch on campus but on-site meal portioning is not implemented, the number of those schools which meet the conditions for implementing on-site meal portioning, e.g. (a) school premises being completed in 2011 or after and installed with the facilities for on-site meal portioning or (b) school premises currently equipped with the necessary facilities, and the reasons why such schools do not implement on-site meal portioning (including the difficulties encountered); if so, of the details; whether the authorities have offered support to these schools to help them overcome the difficulties; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (vi) in each of the past five school years, of the quantity of food waste generated by students having lunch on campus and its percentage in the total quantity of food waste in Hong Kong; among such food waste, the respective quantities of food waste that has not been treated by food waste processors or other methods and food waste that has turned into useful materials upon composting, as well as the respective uses of such materials; (2) whether it has assessed the reasons why some OMPF-subsidized schools have given up on-site meal portioning; if so, of a breakdown by reason of the number of those schools and the total amount of subsidy granted to them; among them, of the respective numbers of (i) schools that belong to the 26 schools in "matchbox-style premises" with facilities in their premises below the current standards and (ii) other schools with facilities in their premises below the current standards (set out such information by secondary schools, primary schools and kindergartens respectively); whether it has given additional support to these schools to help them overcome the difficulties in implementing on-site meal portioning; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether EPD has, since it conducted a survey in 2010 on lunch supply practice adopted by schools, carried out a relevant follow-up investigation; if so, of the contents and outcome of the follow-up investigation; if not, the reasons for that, and how the authorities evaluate effectively the progress and effectiveness of (i) the OMPF Scheme and (ii) the efforts in reducing food waste in schools?
3. Hon CHAN Hak-kan to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the first four months of this year already saw the death of five persons, due to sickness or accidents during hiking, and this number has exceeded that of four persons for the whole of last year. Moreover, on 22 March this year, a Principal Fireman died on duty after losing his footing and falling off a cliff in a rescue operation for hikers who had got lost. A mountaineering expert has pointed out that hiking has become increasingly popular in recent years, but hikers often do not make adequate preparation before setting off, which has resulted in frequent accidents. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of rescue operations for hikers carried out in the past three years by staff members of the various government departments concerned; (2) whether it has plans to step up the relevant publicity work in the light of the inadequate preparation made by hikers before setting off; if so, of the details; (3) given that the risk of hikers encountering accidents at hiking spots not only depends on geographical factors but also varies from time to time with weather conditions (e.g. very hot, very cold, dry, rainstorm, and strong wind), whether the Government has plans to establish a comprehensive risk rating mechanism and disseminate, from time to time through such mechanism, information on the risk levels of hiking spots to enable hikers to select hiking spots according to their ability, experience and equipment; (4) whether it will consider establishing an open database on accident black spots in country parks and erecting warning signs on paths leading to such black spots, so as to remind hikers to stay away from danger; and (5) whether it will arrange more staff members of the Fire Services Department and other relevant government departments to receive training on mountain rescue; if so, of the details?
4. Hon Holden CHOW to ask: (Translation)
In recent years, the Government has committed to developing a high value-added maritime services sector, including the allocation of $100 million to set up the Maritime and Aviation Training Fund ("the Fund") in April 2014, the establishment of the Hong Kong Maritime and Port Board ("HKMPB") in April last year, and the introduction of a bill into this Council in March this year to amend the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112) to offer tax concessions to attract companies to develop aircraft leasing business in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of companies providing maritime services (e.g. ship management, ship broking and chartering, marine insurance, ship finance as well as maritime law and arbitration) in each of the past three years, with a breakdown by type of business; (2) whether it has examined taking further measures to attract more big maritime services companies to develop business in Hong Kong; if so, of the outcome and whether the relevant measures will include the offer of tax concessions; if it is not included, of the reasons for that; (3) of the directions and strategies put forward by the Maritime and Port Development Committee under HKMPB for developing high value-added maritime services in Hong Kong and facilitating the maritime sector's development and doing business; of the outcome of the Committee's deliberations and the implementation timetable for the relevant new arrangements in respect of the following business facilitation measures for maritime enterprises: (i) lifting the time limit imposed on barges holding multiple entry permits for their stay in Hong Kong waters, (ii) arrangements to further facilitate overseas contract seafarers entering Hong Kong for ship-boarding, and (iii) entering into agreements with more countries on avoidance of double taxation; (4) whether it has examined taking measures to attract international maritime bodies (e.g. the International Maritime Organization) to set up offices in Hong Kong to further enhance Hong Kong's status as an international maritime services centre; if so, of the outcome; if not, the reasons for that; (5) of the respective numbers of students, maritime practitioners and aviation practitioners who have benefited from the Fund to date, as well as the amount of funds involved, together with a tabulated breakdown by type of relevant programmes; whether it has compiled statistics on the respective numbers and proportions of those beneficiaries who have stayed in/joined the maritime/aviation industry after completing the relevant programmes; if so, of the relevant figures; (6) of the latest balance and financial position of the Fund, and whether the authorities will consider further injecting funds into the Fund; (7) whether it has evaluated the efficiency of (i) Hong Kong's ship registration services, and (ii) the emergency support services provided by the authorities for ships flying the flag of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("HKSAR Flag") during their stay at places outside Hong Kong; if so, of the outcome and how the efficiency of Hong Kong in respect of such services compares with that of other countries/regions; and (8) of the details of the round-the-clock services provided by the Marine Department for ships flying the HKSAR Flag; whether the authorities will make reference to the practice of setting up offices in 20 maritime and financial centres around the world by the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and provide more efficient and comprehensive round-the-clock services for merchant ships flying the HKSAR Flag; if so, of the details; given that the Marine Department will introduce an online vessel certificate verification service to enable instant verification of the validity of the relevant certificates by shipowners and overseas harbour authorities, of the progress and timetable of this project?
5. Hon Kenneth LAU to ask: (Translation)
The Department of Health launched the Centralised Organ Donation Register ("CODR") in November 2008 for members of the public to register their wishes to donate organs after death so that, upon their death, the relevant medical personnel can learn of such wishes from CODR. However, members of the public may continue to express such wishes by signing and carrying an organ donation card. On the other hand, the recent successive calls for organ donation from members of the public whose family members are in urgent need of organ transplants have aroused public concern about the current situation of organ donation in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has estimated the current number of members of the public who have signed and carry an organ donation card; given that there are inadequacies by means of using organ donation cards to express the wish to donate organs (e.g. it is easy for members of the public to lose or forget to carry their organ donation cards), why the authorities have retained this arrangement after establishing CODR; whether they have urged members of the public who have signed an organ donation card to register with CODR so that medical personnel can learn of the wish of such persons upon their death; (2) of the respective numbers of registrations and deregistrations with CODR last year; whether the authorities have regularly reviewed CODR so as to remove the registrations of those who have passed away or permanently left Hong Kong; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) whether it knows (i) the respective numbers of patients who passed away last year while waiting for a liver, heart and lung transplant, and (ii) the number of the following cases in each of the past five years: it had been confirmed that the organ(s) of the deceased who had registered with CODR/carried an organ donation card was/were suitable for transplant, but the relevant transplant operations could not proceed due to objection from the deceased's family members; (4) given that the Hospital Authority ("HA") increased the establishment of Organ Donation Coordinators from seven to nine in the 2015-2016 financial year, whether the Government knows (i) the main duties of such personnel, (ii) the effectiveness in promoting organ donation with the increased manpower, and (iii) whether HA will further increase the manpower to step up its efforts in promoting organ donation; (5) as the Government has indicated earlier that it is seeking public views on the establishment of an opt-out system for organ donation, of the progress of that work; whether it has explored other feasible measures to promote organ donation; and (6) whether, among the organs of the deceased, only organs of brain-dead persons are suitable for transplant; of (i) the number of brain-dead persons, (ii) the number of those, among them, whose family members were willing to donate their organs and (iii) the number of patients who received transplant of those organs, in each of the past five years?
6. Hon HUI Chi-fung to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the handling of yard waste generated by vegetation under the purview of various government departments, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective means by which various government departments currently handle withered or broken tree branches, trunks and leaves collected by them; (2) of the respective weights of yard waste (i) collected and (ii) disposed of at landfills by various government departments in each of the past three years (with a tabulated breakdown by type of waste); (3) of the public response to the latest round of the campaigns launched by the Environmental Protection Department to recycle Christmas trees and peach blossom trees; given that the Peach Blossom Tree Recycling Campaign has been launched since 2014, how the effectiveness of this year's recycling campaign compares with that in the past few years, and whether there is a trend of gradual improvement; (4) of the effectiveness of the trial yard waste recycling scheme launched by the Housing Department in 2014 at Lam Tin Estate; whether it will consider launching the trial scheme in other public housing estates; if so, of the details; and (5) whether the authorities will consider formulating a long-term policy on recycling of yard waste; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
7. Hon Wilson OR to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that a media organization collected from the On Tat Estate in Kwun Tong, which was completed last year, four samples of fire resistant electricity cables used in fire service installations, and sent these samples to an accredited laboratory in the Netherlands for testing. The test result showed that two of the samples had failed to meet the international standard, i.e. failing to maintain a three-hour continuous supply of electricity under the specified high temperature of 950°C, and one of the samples even stopped supplying electricity after 26 minutes into testing. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the current standards adopted in Hong Kong for fire resistant electricity cables to be used in fire service installations; (2) how the Housing Department, when it procured fire resistant electricity cables for the On Tat Estate, conducted tests on that batch of cables to ascertain if such cables met the relevant standards; and (3) given that apart from the aforesaid problem of substandard fire resistant electricity cables, there was another incident in 2015 in which non-compliant soldering materials had been used in the plumbing systems of 11 public housing estates resulting in the drinking water samples taken from such estates being found to have a lead content exceeding the provisional guideline value set by the World Health Organization, how the authorities will strengthen their monitoring of materials used in public housing estates, including whether they will step up efforts in conducting sampling tests?
8. Hon Jeremy TAM to ask: (Translation)
Since 2015, the authorities have amended the Outline Zoning Plans of a number of districts to include "Art Studio (excluding those involving direct provision of services or goods)" as an always permitted use in industrial-office buildings in "Industrial", "Other Specified Uses" annotated "Business" and "Residential (Group E)" zones ("relaxation measure"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the definition of "Art Studio" adopted by the authorities and the considerations involved; (2) whether it has assessed the effectiveness of the relaxation measure in respect of assisting art workers in successfully renting industrial building units; if so, of the details and the quantitative indicators concerned; (3) whether those studios which are mainly used for rehearsal or creative work (such as painting studios and studios for theatre companies and dance troupes) will be regarded, on the ground that such studios are occasionally used for conducting teaching activities, as "involving direct provision of services" and therefore cannot benefit from the relaxation measure; if so, whether the authorities will consider including such art studios in the use to which the relaxation measure is applicable; if they will not, of the reasons for that; and (4) given that the Lands Department ("LandsD") has, since August 2016, commenced risk-based enforcement actions against lease breaches involving the change of uses in industrial buildings, of the respective numbers of lease-breaching cases to date in respect of which LandsD has issued warning letters, conducted investigations and handled in a stringent manner (such as re-entering the relevant units), as well as the number of such cases in which the owners concerned have made rectifications; among such cases, the number of those involving art studios?
9. Hon KWONG Chun-yu to ask: (Translation)
Under the current mechanism, individual organizations wishing to raise funds by selling goods in public places are required to apply to the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department ("FEHD") for Temporary Hawker Licences ("THLs"). Upon receipt of such applications, FEHD will consult relevant departments. A THL will be issued provided the relevant departments do not object. Over the years, there have been quite a number of organizations which set up fundraising booths along the route of the procession held on 1 July of each year ("July 1 procession"). It is learnt that since 2015, FEHD has turned down a certain number of such applications each year on the ground that the relevant departments did not give support to those applications. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as FEHD indicated in 2015 that nine applications in that year for setting up street booths had been refused on the ground that a relevant department held the view that the proposed locations for setting up booths were situated at the relatively narrow road sections along the route of the procession and thus setting up booths there would cause obstruction to the participants of the procession, of the specific criteria adopted by FEHD for assessing whether a particular location is situated at a relatively narrow road section; (2) whether the authorities will provide a list of locations suitable for setting up street booths along the route of last year's July 1 procession for reference by organizations planning to apply for setting up street booths along the route of this year's July 1 procession; if not, of the reasons for that; (3) of the details of the division of labour among, and the respective responsibilities of, FEHD, Lands Department and the Police in respect of the vetting and approval of applications for setting up street booths; (4) as the Police have indicated that they will, after considering whether the setting up of street booths at the proposed locations will cause obstruction to the procession of the participants or obstruction to public spaces, decide on whether they will support the applications, (i) of the criteria adopted by the Police for making such decisions, (ii) the ranks of the police officers who are responsible for making such decisions and the relevant procedure, and (iii) whether FEHD has the power to approve an application despite the Police's objection; (5) whether FEHD turned down, during the period from 2003 to 2014, any of the applications for setting up street booths at locations along the routes of the July 1 processions, on the ground that the locations under application were narrow road sections; if so, of the number of such applications; if not, the reasons for FEHD turning down certain applications on such ground from 2015 onwards, and whether any change in policy was involved; (6) whether a mechanism is in place for organizations to lodge appeals against refusals of their applications for setting up street booths; and (7) as FEHD requires that organizations applying for setting up street booths must submit their latest annual returns, and yet quite a number of organizations are unable to provide such a document, of the authorities' justifications for setting that requirement, and whether they will consider abolishing it?
10. Hon LAU Kwok-fan to ask: (Translation)
There are views that there are factors destabilizing the supply of Dongjiang water, which is the main source of fresh water for Hong Kong, including global climate changes which lead to decreased rainfall and the increasing demand for fresh water resources from a number of places on the Mainland. As such, the Government should properly manage and actively tap for fresh water resources to ensure an adequate fresh water supply in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of (i) the number of households and (ii) population which currently use fresh water for toilet flushing, and (iii) the annual quantity of fresh water so used, with a breakdown by District Council district; the current production cost per cubic metre of fresh water; (2) given that the authorities will, by taking the opportunity of the planned expansion of the Shek Wu Hui Sewage Treatment Works ("SWH STW") and upgrading of its sewage treatment technology, further process the tertiary treated effluent of SWH STW to make it meet the water quality standards for reclaimed water for use by residents of the North East New Territories for non-potable purposes (such as toilet flushing), of the progress and expected completion date of the relevant work; upon the comprehensive upgrading of the sewage treatment technology, (i) the quantity of fresh water used originally for toilet flushing that can be saved each year, and (ii) the production cost per cubic metre of the further processed effluent, as estimated by the authorities; (3) of the production cost per cubic metre of fresh water in the first year upon the commissioning of the Tseung Kwan O Desalination Plant, as anticipated by the authorities based on the price indexes for 2017; (4) of the details of the facilities currently used in Hong Kong for reusing grey water (i.e. water collected from bathrooms, wash basins and kitchen sinks, etc.) and harvesting of rainwater (set out such information by District Council district); whether the authorities will conduct a study on treatment of harvested rainwater for potable uses; (5) given that reservoir overflow occurred in the past, resulting in the discharge of fresh water into the sea, and the authorities are reviewing the Inter-reservoirs Transfer Scheme, of the details and the latest progress of the relevant work; and (6) given that bursts of underground fresh water mains have occurred frequently (e.g. seven bursts of fresh water mains occurred in Kwai Tsing District in the seven months from March to October last year), whether the authorities have compiled statistics on the quantity of fresh water wasted in the past five years due to bursts of underground fresh water mains; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
11. Hon CHAN Kin-por to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the financial technology development in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of (i) the amount of funds allocated, by the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute ("ASTRI") to research and development projects in financial technologies ("Fintech"), and (ii) the number of Fintech projects successfully developed by ASTRI in collaboration with financial institutions, in each of the past five years; (2) of the number of successfully developed Fintech solutions launched in each of the past five years by ASTRI for use by financial institutions; the number of those widely used by the industry; (3) as the Hong Kong Monetary Authority has since September last year launched a Fintech Supervisory Sandbox ("FSS") as a ground for conducting pilot trials of new Fintech solutions, of the number of banks to date which have used FSS to conduct pilot trials of their new Fintech solutions and the number of new Fintech solutions involved; how the authorities will assess the effectiveness of FSS for conducting pilot trials of new Fintech solutions; and (4) whether it will follow the practice of countries or regions such as the United Kingdom, Singapore and Taiwan and allow financial institutions other than banks (e.g. insurance companies, securities dealers and fund houses) as well as start-ups using FSS to conduct pilot trials of their new Fintech solutions, so as to promote financial innovations?
12. Dr Hon LAU Siu-lai to ask: (Translation)
The Community Care Fund ("CCF") implemented the One-off Living Subsidy for Low-income Households Not Living in Public Housing and Not Receiving Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Programme thrice in 2013, 2015 and 2016 respectively to alleviate the financial pressure on such low-income households (commonly known as the "N have-nots households") by disbursing a Living Subsidy to them. CCF has not implemented the Programme again this year. Some households which were previously disbursed the Living Subsidy have relayed to me that the Living Subsidy helped reduce the financial pressure faced by them arising from the incessant rise in commodity prices and rents in recent years, thereby improving their standard of living. On the other hand, the Government launched in May last year the Low-income Working Family Allowance Scheme to alleviate the financial burden on working poor families by disbursing a Family Allowance to them. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of (i) the number of households previously disbursed the Living Subsidy, (ii) the total amount of subsidy disbursed, (iii) the median monthly rent paid by such households, and (iv) the median ratio of the monthly rent paid by such households to their income, broken down by year and household size; (2) of the median monthly rent paid by the households which were disbursed the Living Subsidy in the relevant years, broken down by year, type of accommodations (e.g. private building and temporary housing) and household size; (3) given that the authorities have pointed out that the Family Allowance, when compared to the Living Subsidy, can alleviate the financial pressure faced by the N have-nots households in a more sustainable and effective manner, but there are views that the application threshold for the Family Allowance is higher and unemployed households and one-person households cannot benefit from it, whether the authorities have plans to launch a new subsidy programme that may substitute the functions of the Living Subsidy or resume its disbursement, so as to improve the financial situation of the N have-nots households ; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) as the number of persons who were disbursed the Living Subsidy each year rose continuously during the three-year disbursement period, and the livelihood pressure on the N have-nots households (particularly the expenditure on rents) is getting greater, whether the authorities will consider implementing rent control afresh or building more interim housing for those N have-nots households which have been waiting for public housing to reside temporarily, so as to alleviate their financial burden; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
13. Hon CHAN Han-pan to ask: (Translation)
It is the Government's long-standing policy objective to provide barrier-free access and facilities for people in need (including persons with disabilities) so that they can freely access premises and make use of community facilities and services. However, over the years the Government has neither formulated policy nor provided financial resources to improve the barrier-free environment of quite a number of indigenous villages that have been relocated to rural areas by the authorities, thus causing persons with disabilities and the elderly in these villages huge inconvenience in terms of access and delaying emergency rescue services. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of (i) the number of requests for the provision or enhancement of barrier-free facilities in rural areas received and (ii) the number of related projects completed, in each of the past five years, together with the number of projects in progress currently and their expected completion dates (broken down by District Council district and type of facilities); (2) whether it has formulated guidelines on the provision of barrier-free facilities in rural areas; if so, of the details of the guidelines, as well as the dates on which such guidelines were last reviewed and revised; if not, whether it will consider formulating such guidelines; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether it has any plan to conduct a comprehensive survey on barrier-free environment in rural areas and to strengthen the role of District Access Officers of District Offices in improving the barrier-free environment in rural areas; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
14. Hon CHAN Chi-chuen to ask: (Translation)
I have recently learnt that there is a worsening trend of debtors being harassed by debt collection activities, and it is still very common for banks, finance companies, telecommunications service companies, beauty service companies and tutorial teachers to hire debt collection agencies ("DCAs") to recover the debts owed by their customers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of reports received, between 1 April 2016 and 31 March 2017, by the Police from members of the public about the harassment caused by DCAs' debt collection practices; (2) whether it will consider afresh accepting the recommendations in the report of the Law Reform Commission of Hong Kong on "The Regulation of Debt Collection Practices" published in 2002 that a criminal offence of harassment of debtors and others should be created, and that a statutory licensing system to regulate DCAs should be established; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether it will consider introducing new law enforcement measures to curb the DCAs' adopting harassing practices for recovering debts; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
15. Dr Hon YIU Chung-yim to ask: (Translation)
In their reply on the 12th of last month to a question raised by a Member of this Council, the authorities pointed out that, under the "Hong Kong Property for Hong Kong People" ("HKP-HKP") measure, the relevant land leases contained the Special Condition No. (16)(a) which restricted alienation of any residential units by buyers (i.e. the developer and each subsequent owner) before the expiry of a period of 30 years from the date of the land leases except with the prior written consent ("consent") of the Director of Lands ("the Director"). One of the restrictions in the consent is that the residential units concerned must be sold to holders of a valid Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card. On the other hand, according to the information on the website of the Lands Department, the Director has the right to agree with or refuse the granting of the consent, and impose any additional terms and conditions for the consent, if granted. Moreover, the Director has the right to revise from time to time the relevant forms for making the required statutory declarations by buyers about their Hong Kong Permanent Resident ("HKPR") status. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the legal provisions and mechanisms based on which the authorities draw up the contents of the aforesaid consent and forms; (2) of the mechanisms and justifications based on which the Director will impose additional terms and conditions for the consent and revise the forms from time to time; (3) given that under special circumstances, there may be genuine needs for residential units subject to the HKP-HKP measure to be held by non-HKPR(s), and the Director will consider, according to the individual circumstances of each application, the granting of a special consent to permit the relevant residential unit to be held by non-HKPR(s), whether the Director has so far granted any special consent to the buyers of the first HKP-HKP project in Kai Tak; if so, of the number of such consents granted; and (4) whether it has assessed where the owner of a residential unit subject to the HKP-HKP measure has alienated the unit to a non-HKPR buyer without obtaining prior consent from the Director, if the relevant Sale and Purchase Agreement may be enforced under section 41 of the Conveyancing and Property Ordinance (Cap. 219), and of the legal provisions and procedure based on which the Government may terminate the alienation and deal with the ownership of the property in question?
16. Prof Hon Joseph LEE to ask: (Translation)
As clinical waste may contain infectious materials and sharps, the authorities have implemented the Clinical Waste Control Scheme to safeguard public health. It has been reported that a large number of used syringes were found discarded on the street last month, and most of such syringes had not been put into plastic bags or containers, which may cause germs to spread and injure cleaning workers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council, in the past three years:
(1) of the amount of clinical waste being disposed of by each of the following categories of major clinical waste producers each year and the ways of disposal (set out in a table): (i) public hospitals, clinics and medical institutions managed by the Hospital Authority, (ii) private hospitals and maternity homes defined under the Hospitals, Nursing Homes and Maternity Homes Registration Ordinance (Cap. 165), (iii) The Prince Philip Dental Hospital, and (iv) government clinics and medical laboratories managed by the Department of Health or other government departments; (2) of the amount of clinical waste being disposed of by each of the following categories of small clinical waste producers each year and the ways of disposal (set out in a table): (i) private medical clinics/practices, (ii) private dental clinics/practices, (iii) private dental, medical, veterinary or pathological laboratories, (iv) private Chinese medicine clinics/practices, (v) residential care homes for the elderly, (vi) universities with medical teaching or research (including Chinese medicine), (vii) pharmaceutical companies engaged in medical research, (viii) private veterinary clinics/practices, (ix) nursing homes, (x) health and beauty centres where medical practices are conducted, and (xi) other relevant organizations; (3) of the number of convictions for contravening the Waste Disposal (Clinical Waste) (General) Regulation (Cap. 354 sub. leg. O), and the details of such convictions; and (4) of the details of the inspections conducted by the Environmental Protection Department to combat illegal disposal of clinical waste?
17. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the provision of assistance to Hong Kong permanent residents ("Hong Kong residents") in places outside Hong Kong on whom criminal compulsory measures (including detention or imprisonment) have been imposed ("other places"), will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows if the relevant authorities in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam ("the relevant countries") currently notify the local Chinese embassies of the respective numbers of Hong Kong residents in those countries (i) on whom criminal compulsory measures have been imposed, (ii) who died during the period when criminal compulsory measures were imposed on them, and (iii) who have been sentenced to death (if there is death penalty); if the relevant authorities give such notifications, of the respective numbers in the past five years, broken down by year and name of the country; (2) whether it knows (i) the number of Hong Kong residents in the relevant countries, on whom criminal compulsory measures have been imposed, visited by the local Chinese embassies in each of the past five years, and the number of such visits, and (ii) if such embassies have made arrangements for paying regular visits to those Hong Kong residents; (3) of the number of requests for assistance received from Hong Kong residents in other places by the Assistance to Hong Kong Residents Unit of the Immigration Department in each of the past five years; the respective numbers of Hong Kong residents in other places involved in such cases (i) on whom criminal compulsory measures had been imposed, (ii) who had been sentenced to death, (iii) who had sought assistance of the HKSAR Government in asking for a pardon by the foreign governments concerned, and (iv) who had obtained the HKSAR Government's support for their pardon pleas, with a breakdown by age group to which such Hong Kong residents belonged; (4) whether it will propose to the Central Government for the Chinese embassies abroad to provide the following to the Hong Kong residents in other places on whom criminal compulsory measures have been imposed: (i) Cantonese translation services to facilitate their receipt of appropriate services and assistance in those places, (ii) an arrangement for them to have telephone communications with their families in Hong Kong within a specific time on a regular basis, and (iii) fingerprinting service to facilitate such Hong Kong residents in applying for such documents as Certificates of No Criminal Conviction issued by the HKSAR Government; (5) whether it will make reference to the practices of certain overseas countries and provide overseas legal aid services to Hong Kong residents in other places against whom criminal prosecutions have been instituted, so as to help them receive a fair trial and protection of their personal safety; (6) of the respective numbers of applications from Hong Kong residents serving sentences in the relevant countries for transfer to Hong Kong to serve their remaining sentences that the Government is handling at present; whether the Government will publish such figures on a regular basis; (7) since the Transfer of Sentenced Persons Ordinance (Cap. 513) came into operation in 1997, of the number of applications from Hong Kong residents serving sentences in other places for transfer to Hong Kong to serve their remaining sentences; the average processing time (from submission of application to granting of approval) for the approved cases, the number of persons whose applications were approved (set out such numbers by the age group to which the applicant belonged and name of the country in a table); whether the Government has sought assistance from the Office of the Commissioner of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the HKSAR when it encountered difficulties in handling such applications; if so, of the outcome; if not, the reasons for that; (8) whether it has discussed the signing of agreements on the transfer of sentenced persons with the governments of Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam; if so, of the latest progress and the difficulties encountered; if not, whether it will start discussions expeditiously; (9) whether it will consider issuing Outbound Travel Alerts to remind Hong Kong residents of the countries where convicted drug traffickers are usually sentenced to death; and (10) whether it will implement public education initiatives to remind Hong Kong residents that they should refrain from casually carrying goods or luggage for others to other places, particularly to countries where heavy penalties are usually imposed on convicted drug traffickers?
18. Hon WU Chi-wai to ask: (Translation)
The Hong Kong Housing Authority is currently implementing a lift modernization programme, under which the condition of the lifts in public rental housing ("PRH") estates which have been in service for over 25 years is reviewed, and the lifts are replaced according to the priorities set. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective names of the PRH estates in which lift (i) inspection and (ii) replacement works were undertaken in each of the financial years from 2010-2011 to 2016-2017; the dates on which such works were undertaken and the costs involved, in respect of each PRH estate (set out such information in a table); (2) of the names of the PRH estates aged over 25 years in Kwun Tong and Wong Tai Sin districts, and set out in a table the following information in respect of each estate: (i) whether lift inspection works have been undertaken, and the dates on which such works were undertaken/are expected to be undertaken; and (ii) whether lift replacement works have been undertaken, and the dates on which such works were undertaken/are expected to be undertaken; (3) as I have learnt that the specifications of the lift wells in certain aged PRH estates are different from the prevailing ones, which result in longer time taken for lift replacement works, of the differences between the specifications of the lift wells in PRH estates aged over 25 years in Kwun Tong and Wong Tai Sin districts and the prevailing ones, as well as the respective timetables for replacing such lifts by the authorities; and (4) given that for some aged PRH estates, each floor is served by only one lift, of the measures the authorities have in place to ensure that the access of residents of those PRH estates (particularly elderly persons and wheelchair users) will not be affected during the period of lift replacement?
19. Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to ask: (Translation)
Currently, vegetables imported to Hong Kong from the Mainland must come from registered vegetables farms or collection stations on the Mainland. When the vegetables reach Man Kam To, the Food Control Office established there by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department will inspect documents and collect samples for testing of pesticide residues. Most of the vegetables will subsequently be transported to the Cheung Sha Wan Wholesale Vegetable Market of the Vegetable Marketing Organization ("VMO") for centralized wholesaling. However, it has been reported that recently some merchants have distributed vegetables directly to retail outlets for sale immediately after importing them from the Mainland (such vegetables are commonly known as "directly distributed vegetables"). Although the selling prices of directly distributed vegetables are substantially lower than those of ordinary vegetables, some members of the public are worried about their suitability for consumption. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers and percentages, in each of the past five years, of vegetable importers, wholesalers and retailers who were engaged in the trading of directly distributed vegetables; (2) of the respective quantities and percentages of directly distributed vegetables among the various kinds of vegetables imported to Hong Kong (including winter vegetables, summer vegetables, leafy, gourd, fruit, root and rhizome, bean, herbs, mushroom and others) in each of the past five years; (3) in each of the past five years, of (i) the number of vegetable samples taken by the authorities for inspection and testing, (ii) the number of samples found to be unsatisfactory (as well as the reasons for the unsatisfactory result), and (iii) the number of cases of poisoning due to consumption of vegetables with excessive pesticide residues; among such numbers, the respective numbers related to directly distributed vegetables and their percentages in the relevant totals; (4) whether it has assessed if directly distributed vegetables are suitable for consumption; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; of the measures in place to address the public concerns about the consumption safety of directly distributed vegetables; and (5) whether it has studied if the prevalence of directly distributed vegetables in the market reveals that there are loopholes in the Food Surveillance Programme ("the Programme"); if it has studied and the outcome is in the affirmative, whether the authorities will take measures to include directly distributed vegetables in the Programme, e.g. requiring that all vegetables supplied by the Mainland to Hong Kong must be distributed through VMO; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
20. Hon Kenneth LEUNG to ask:
The Government has implemented a number of initiatives to promote the development of financial technologies ("Fintech") in Hong Kong to boost its growth into a Fintech hub. Fintech have brought new applications, processes, products or business models to the financial services industry, e.g. peer-to-peer payments, virtual currencies based on blockchain technologies, digital wallets, crowd-funding and microloans. While the Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (Financial Institutions) Ordinance (Cap. 615) stipulates that the Customs and Excise Department ("C&ED") is the relevant authority for regulating money service operators ("MSOs"), it has not entrusted C&ED with the role to boost the growth of Hong Kong into a Fintech hub. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the details (including the offences involved) of the law enforcement actions taken in the past three years by C&ED in relation to the operation of a money service with Fintech by licensed and unlicensed MSOs; (2) whether C&ED has studied (i) how the development of Fintech will impact on the effective performance of its regulatory functions under Cap. 615, and (ii) if the Department has the relevant expertise and the right tools to perform its functions to regulate MSOs operating money services with Fintech; if so, of the outcome; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether C&ED has actively liaised with other local regulatory bodies regarding the promotion and development of Fintech in Hong Kong?
21. Dr Hon CHIANG Lai-wan to ask: (Translation)
On 25 March of this year, an upward moving escalator with a vertical rise of 21 metres ("m") in the shopping mall at Langham Place in Mong Kok suddenly reversed direction, causing injuries to 18 people. The Electrical and Mechanical Services Department ("EMSD") subsequently indicated that it would conduct an in-depth investigation into the reasons why the drive chain of the escalator involved had broken and its auxiliary brake had not been triggered. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the latest progress of the follow-up actions taken by EMSD on the aforesaid incident; (2) among the reports of escalator incidents received by EMSD in each of the past five years, of the respective numbers of cases involving escalators with (i) a vertical rise of 15m or above, (ii) more than 10 years of service, and (iii) design defects; (3) of the number of escalator inspections conducted by EMSD staff in each of the past five years; among such inspections, the respective numbers of those conducted for the following reasons: (i) complaints had been received, (ii) accidents had occurred to the escalators recently, (iii) escalators had been in service for more than 10 years, and (iv) performance of the maintenance contractors concerned had been unsatisfactory; the respective numbers of cases in the past five years in which escalator maintenance contractors or their staff were penalized by EMSD for contravening the Code of Practice, and those in which they were convicted by the court for breaking the law, together with the details of such cases; and (4) whether EMSD will step up the monitoring of the maintenance of escalators (in particular escalators with a vertical rise of 15m or above) undertaken by contractors to safeguard public safety; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
22. Hon Paul TSE to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that a number of judicial reviews ("JRs") on subjects of political arguments have been lodged over the past decade, and nearly all of the legal aid applications made by the plaintiffs of those cases have been approved by the Legal Aid Department ("LAD"). In recent years, a Cheung Chau resident has been granted legal aid for lodging over 30 JRs one after another, and is therefore referred to as "King of Judicial Reviews from Cheung Chau" by the media. There are views that the fee of $1,045 charged for application for leave for JR is on the low side and the approval rate of the relevant legal aid applications stands high, and such situation is tantamount to encouraging some members of the public to repeatedly abuse the JR system. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
(1) (i) the number of JR cases on subjects of political arguments in each of the past five financial years in which the plaintiffs were granted legal aid, (ii) LAD's total expenditure on these cases so far, and (iii) the total time taken by the court to hear such cases so far; (2) LAD's total expenditure on the JR cases lodged by the King of Judicial Reviews from Cheung Chau so far, and the total time taken by the court to hear such cases so far; the respective numbers of such cases ruled in favour of and against the said plaintiff, and the respective numbers of such cases being heard or listed for hearings; and (3) the criteria based on which LAD approved consecutively the 30-odd legal aid applications made by the King of Judicial Reviews from Cheung Chau; whether LAD has, in the light of the situation that an individual may be granted legal aid to lodge a number of JRs and the rate of such cases ruled in favour of the plaintiff, analyzed if the threshold for application for leave for JR is too low and the vetting and approval criteria for legal aid applications are too lax?
III. Government Bills
| Committee Stage and Third Reading
Stand over item (since the meeting of 26 April 2017) | |||
| 1. | Appropriation Bill 2017 | : | Financial Secretary
|
| Amendments to Heads of Estimates in committee of the whole Council on the Appropriation Bill 2017 | |||
| Hon Claudia MO, Dr Hon CHENG Chung-tai, Hon Jeremy TAM, Hon KWONG Chun-yu, Hon LAM Cheuk-ting, Hon James TO, Hon Andrew WAN, Dr Hon Helena WONG, Hon WU Chi-wai, Hon IP Kin-yuen, Hon HUI Chi-fung, Dr Hon YIU Chung-yim, Hon CHAN Chi-chuen, Dr Hon LAU Siu-lai, Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG, Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki, Hon LEUNG Kwok-hung, Hon SHIU Ka-chun, Hon Nathan LAW and Hon CHU Hoi-dick to move the Committee stage amendments in Appendix I.
(These amendments were also issued on 24 April 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 490/16-17) (Debate and voting arrangements for Committee stage of the Appropriation Bill 2017 (issued on 25 April 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 498/16-17)) | |||
| Other Public Officers to attend the Committee stage | : | Chief Secretary for Administration
Secretary for Justice Secretary for Transport and Housing Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Secretary for Security Secretary for Education Secretary for Food and Health Secretary for the Environment Secretary for Innovation and Technology Secretary for Home Affairs Secretary for the Civil Service Secretary for Labour and Welfare Secretary for Development Under Secretary for Home Affairs Under Secretary for the Environment Under Secretary for Transport and Housing Under Secretary for Security Under Secretary for Food and Health Under Secretary for Education Under Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Under Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Under Secretary for Innovation and Technology | |
| Stand over item (since the meeting on 12 and 13 April 2017)
| |||
| 2. | Private Columbaria Bill | : | Secretary for Food and Health
|
| (i) | Secretary for Food and Health to move Committee stage amendments
| ||
| (The amendments were issued on 6 April 2017
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 470/16-17) | |||
| (ii) | Hon CHAN Chi-chuen, Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG, Hon Nathan LAW and Hon LEUNG Kwok-hung to move Committee stage amendments
| ||
| (The amendments were issued on 10 April 2017
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 473/16-17) | |||
| (Debate and voting arrangements for Committee stage of the Private Columbaria Bill (issued on 11 April 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 478/16-17(01)))
| |||
IV. Government Motions
Stand over items (since the meeting of 26 April 2017)
| 1. | Proposed resolution under the Road Traffic Ordinance
Secretary for Transport and Housing to move the following motion: Resolved that the period for which the limit specified in the Road Traffic (Public Light Buses: Limit on Number) Notice 2016 (L.N. 101 of 2016) on the total number of vehicles that may be registered as public light buses remains in force, being 12 months beginning on 21 June 2016, be extended to 20 June 2022. | |
| 2. | Proposed resolution under the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury to move the following motion: Resolved that the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Fees) (Amendment) Regulation 2017, made by the Chief Executive in Council on 14 March 2017, be approved. | |
| (The Regulation is in Appendix II and was also issued on 28 March 2017
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 452/16-17) | ||
IV. Members' Motions
Stand over item: Member's motion no. 1 (since the meeting of 29 March 2017)