A 16/17-30
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 28 June 2017 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers
Other Papers
II. Questions
1. Hon CHAN Han-pan to ask: (Translation)
Quite a number of patients with mental illness and concern groups have relayed to me that the healthcare manpower and beds in the psychiatric service of public hospitals are now in short supply. This situation, coupled with the inadequate community support, has made it difficult for the mentally ill and the ex-mentally ill persons to integrate into the community. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the number of psychiatric healthcare staff members, the attendance of each type of psychiatric service, and the number of acute psychiatric beds, in respect of each hospital cluster under the Hospital Authority ("HA") in each of the past five financial years; whether HA has plans to increase the psychiatric healthcare manpower and the number of acute psychiatric beds in the coming five years; if so, of the details and implementation timetable; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether it knows if HA has issued clear guidelines to its psychiatrists setting out the circumstances under which the cases of patients with mental illness are to be referred to the relevant department for provision of community support services to them; if HA has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; of the details of the referral mechanism; and (3) as some working persons with mental illness have pointed out that since the psychiatric specialist outpatient clinics of public hospitals currently provide only daytime services, it is necessary for them to take leave for follow-up consultations, making their supervisors and colleagues aware that they are receiving psychiatric treatment, who then discriminate against and ostracize them by depriving them of promotional opportunities or even dismissing them, whether the Government will request HA to provide additional psychiatric specialist outpatient service in the evening or during weekend; if so, of the details and implementation timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
2. Hon Christopher CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that in recent months, a number of institutions engaged in short selling activities ("short selling institutions") published a number of research reports or commentaries targeted at certain local listed companies, querying that such companies had problems in areas such as governance, finances and business prospects, and setting extremely low target share prices for such companies. The share prices of the named companies plunged immediately and trading of their shares even had to be suspended. As a knock-on effect, the share prices of listed companies in related industries also fluctuated significantly, causing serious disturbance to market order and sending jitters through the market, thus resulting in quite a number of investors having sustained huge losses. However, the publication of such reports or commentaries by short selling institutions is not a regulated activity under the Securities and Futures Ordinance. As such, these institutions are not required to apply to the Securities and Futures Commission ("SFC") for any licence. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the number of complaints received by SFC in each of the past five years that the reports published by short selling institutions on listed companies contained false or misleading representations, and the details of such complaints; (2) whether it knows if SFC investigated in the past five years the situation of short selling institutions joining hands with speculators to short sell the shares of a particular listed company before publishing a negative report on that company; if SFC did, whether any market misconduct has been uncovered, and whether punishment has been imposed in respect of substantiated market misconduct; and (3) whether the authorities will make reference to the practices of major overseas financial markets and stringently monitor the activities of short selling institutions, so as to strengthen the protection for local investors?
3. Hon Alvin YEUNG to ask: (Translation)
Under the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals ("ASMTP"), Mainland residents who possess special skills, knowledge or experience of value to and not readily available in Hong Kong may apply to come to work in Hong Kong. One of the eligibility criteria is that the applicants have to prove that they have already got an offer of employment from a Hong Kong employer. It has been reported that some Mainland immigration consultants have, for the purpose of helping Mainland residents to obtain approval for residing in Hong Kong, allegedly suggested them submit applications under ASMTP and indicated that they could arrange Hong Kong companies to pass off as their potential employers, but the applicants need not work for these companies upon arrival in Hong Kong. Regarding the applications from Mainland residents for coming to work in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the authorities have grasped the situation of Hong Kong and Mainland immigration consultants arranging nominal employers for ASMTP applicants; if so, of the details of the law enforcement actions taken in this regard by the authorities; if not, the reasons for that; and (2) whether the authorities have grasped the latest situation of Mainland residents obtaining approval to come to work in Hong Kong by falsely claiming that they have already got an offer of employment from a Hong Kong employer or by other illegal means; if so, of the details of the law enforcement actions taken in this regard by the authorities, including how such cases will be thoroughly investigated and handled, as well as the measures to eradicate such kind of crimes; if not, the reasons for that?
4. Hon Holden CHOW to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the promotion of tourism, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the top 10 key visitor source markets for tourism in Hong Kong in the 2016-2017 financial year, and the respective average per capita spending of the visitors from these markets; (2) given that the numbers of visitors to Hong Kong from South Korea, Thailand and the Philippines have all increased over the past five years, whether the Government knows the reasons why the Hong Kong Tourism Board ("HKTB") has budgeted a reduction in the marketing resources to be invested in the Asian visitor source markets for the current financial year as compared with HKTB's revised estimates in the previous year; whether the Government has plans to set up Economic and Trade Offices in those Asian countries which have shown a substantial increase in visitors to Hong Kong, with a view to strengthening the liaison between Hong Kong and such countries in respect of tourism, trade and economic activities; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether the Government has plans to host more events of distinct characteristics and mega sports events (such as motor racing, yacht racing and ball games) in the coming three years, so as to attract more tourists, in particular tourists from Asia, to visit Hong Kong; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
5. Hon CHUNG Kwok-pan to ask: (Translation)
Under section 60 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance ("IRO"), the Inland Revenue Department ("IRD") may, within a year of assessment or within six years after the expiration thereof ("the retrospective period"), assess any person who has not been assessed for that year of assessment, and make additional assessment of any person who has been assessed at less than the proper amount. Where the discrepancies are due to fraud or wilful evasion, the retrospective period is 10 years. Under section 51C of IRO, a business operator shall keep sufficient records of his income and expenditure for a period of not less than seven years, so as to enable the assessable profits of such business to be readily ascertained. IRD has also advised that it is a good idea for a business operator to keep the business records for a year of assessment in which losses were recorded to facilitate the losses to be set off against the assessable profits for the various years of assessment thereafter. As such, a business operator often needs to keep his business records for more than seven years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of cases in which assessments or additional assessments were made by the authorities in the past three years under section 60 of IRO, and set out the total assessed amounts by the year of assessment involved; among such cases, the number of those involving small and medium enterprises ("SMEs") as defined by the Government and the relevant total assessed amounts, as well as the number of responsible persons convicted of tax evasion and the penalties imposed on them; (2) as some SMEs have relayed to me that IRD's practice of making additional assessments is too harsh and the retrospective period is too long, and that IRD has unfairly calculated the assessed amounts in the additional assessments on grounds that SMEs were unable to provide their business records for more than 10 years, whether the authorities will exercise discretion in handling such cases according to the specific circumstances of individual cases; and (3) given that the main contents of section 60 of IRO have not been amended for many years, whether the authorities will consider, in light of the current business and economic environment, amending the provision, including shortening the retrospective period, so as not to overburden SMEs in their business operation; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
6. Hon SHIU Ka-fai to ask: (Translation)
Quite a number of young entrepreneurs have relayed to me that with a view to promoting their products and services, they have introduced some lucky draw games and activities, so as to attract patronage to their physical or online shops. However, the law enforcement authorities have alleged them of operating gaming activities without obtaining the relevant licences, such as "Trade Promotion Competition Licence" or "Amusements with Prizes Licence", and have indicated that they may invoke the Gambling Ordinance to institute prosecutions against them. Such entrepreneurs have also pointed out that while such games and activities are quite popular in the neighbouring regions and are not against any law in those places, the laws of Hong Kong are overly stringent, thereby hindering their business development and making them unduly worried. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the details of the law enforcement actions taken in each of the past three years under the Gambling Ordinance against lucky draw games or activities organized in the course of trade promotion (including the respective numbers of cases in which verbal warnings were issued and prosecutions were instituted, and the punishments on the convicted persons); whether it knows the number of types of the games or activities involved which may be legally conducted in the neighbouring regions without obtaining a licence; (2) when the current requirements of the relevant licences and the penalties were made; whether it will, from the perspective of business facilitation and in the light of the development pace of information technology and the actual situation of online commercial and trading activities, review the regulation of lucky draw games or activities organized in the course of trade promotion, including examining if the relevant licensing requirements and penalties still suit the present circumstances; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) as some small business operators have pointed out that the application fees for a Trade Promotion Competition Licence and an Amusements with Prizes Licence are HK$1,590 and HK$3,200 respectively which, together with other licensing conditions (e.g. the former requiring licensees to publish details of the draw results in one English and one Chinese newspaper circulating in Hong Kong, while the latter requiring licensees to obtain a Places of Public Entertainment Licence) are a cost of a considerable amount of money for them, whether the authorities will consider relaxing the conditions and lowering the fees for such licence applications?
*7. Hon Andrew WAN to ask: (Translation)
The Public Transport Strategy Study ("PTSS") published on the 7th of this month has reviewed personalized and point-to-point public transport services, namely taxi service and hire car service. In response to the demand in the community for the personalized and point-to-point public transport services which feature better service quality and higher fare, PTSS has proposed that the next-term Government should enact the relevant bill as early as possible for the implementation of franchised taxis on the basis of the proposal put forward by the current-term Government. As to whether the introduction of other new services (such as regulated online car hailing service) should be explored, the decision would depend on the outcome of the scrutiny of the bill on franchised taxis by this Council. Some members of the public consider the fact that PTSS has made no mention of the regularization of the emerging online car hailing service (such as Uber) indicates that the authorities have turned a blind eye to the increasing prevalence of such service in a number of places in the world. For example, as at the middle of last year, the number of registered Mainland users of an online car hailing company exceeded 250 million with 14 million drivers signed up, reflecting the considerable popularity of online car hailing service on the Mainland. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as the authorities have indicated that the franchised taxis being contemplated can be hailed via mobile phone applications with the "online hailing" feature incorporated, of the other common features between franchised taxis and online hailed cars; how franchised taxis compare with online hailed cars in terms of numbers of vehicles and drivers; (2) of the authorities' justifications for making the statement that the decision on whether to explore the introduction of other new services (such as regulated online car hailing service) would depend on the outcome of the scrutiny of the bill on franchised taxis by this Council; whether the authorities will immediately commence a study and public consultation on the regularization of online car hailing service; (3) as the authorities regularized "white licence" private cars in the seventies of the last century to make them become the current public light buses, whether the authorities have assessed if the considerations for doing so in the past may now be used as reference in the study on regularization of online car hailing service; and (4) whether the authorities have made reference to the experience of other countries/regions in integrating online hailed cars into the public transport system; if so, of the countries/regions the experience of which they have made reference to and the conclusion so drawn; if not, the reasons for that?
*8. Hon Michael TIEN to ask: (Translation)
The Government has pointed out in the Public Transport Strategy Study ("PTSS") released recently that "[e]ncouraging people to use public transport services and to walk more will help reduce the use of private cars. This will in turn further ease road congestion ...". However, quite a number of members of the public have relayed to me that the interchange facilities of public transport are inadequate at present and the fare concessions provided by the various public transport operators are not attractive enough for most of the members of the public to give up driving private cars and switch to public transport for travelling to districts with heavy traffic. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as the Transport Advisory Committee recommended in its Report on Study of Road Traffic Congestion in Hong Kong released in December 2014 that additional park-and-ride ("PnR") car parks be built at transport hubs, whether the Government has plans to build PnR car parks near the existing and the six new Bus-Bus Interchanges planned to be built as mentioned in PTSS, so as to reduce traffic flow in congested districts; (2) whether it will expeditiously study the installation of closed-circuit television systems at bus stops in districts with heavy traffic so as to enhance the efficiency of the Police in law enforcement against illegal parking; and (3) whether it will urge the various franchised bus companies to introduce concessionary monthly passes with prices set at $700 or below so as to encourage more members of the public to take the bus?
*9. Hon CHAN Chi-chuen to ask: (Translation)
In recent days, a member of the public fell victim to a medical incident while receiving treatment in a private hospital. His father subsequently pursued with the hospital regarding the responsibility for the incident, but was told that the hospital and its polyclinics would no longer provide any medical services for his family members in future. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
(1) the authorities received, in the past five years, complaints about private hospitals refusing to provide medical services for patients; if so, of the number of such cases; (2) the existing legislation regulates private hospitals' refusal to provide medical services for patients; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) the authorities will consider establishing a dedicated department or organization to handle complaints lodged by members of the public concerning the quality of the medical services of and the medical incidents in private hospitals; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*10. Hon CHAN Chun-ying to ask: (Translation)
On the 16th of last month, the People's Bank of China and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority published a joint announcement that they had approved the relevant institutions to collaborate in establishing mutual bond market access between Hong Kong and the Mainland ("Bond Connect"). Bond Connect is an arrangement that enables Mainland and overseas investors to trade bonds tradable in the Mainland and Hong Kong bond markets through the connection between the Mainland and Hong Kong financial infrastructure institutions. Bond Connect will start with Northbound Trading (i.e. Hong Kong and other overseas investors to invest in the China Interbank Bond Market through Hong Kong) and be extended to Southbound Trading (i.e. Mainland investors to invest in the Hong Kong bond market) in future. Bond Connect is an important measure of the Central Government to support Hong Kong's development and deepen the cooperation between the Mainland and Hong Kong. It is conducive to the consolidation and enhancement of Hong Kong's status as an international financial centre, the steady and progressive opening-up of the Mainland financial markets, and the diversification of investment channels for overseas investors. Regarding the launch of Bond Connect, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether there are other factors, apart from the need to make rules and legislation and undertake system development, etc., that have made the authorities to make the arrangement for Bond Connect to begin with Northbound first and Southbound later; whether the authorities have drawn up a timetable for launching Southbound Trading of Bond Connect; if so, of the details; if not, whether they will draw up the relevant timetable; and (2) given that ratings agency Moody's has downgraded China's credit rating from Aa3 to A1 and Hong Kong's long-term credit rating from Aa1 to Aa2 on the 24th of last month, whether the authorities have assessed if the downgrading of the credit ratings will (i) adversely affect the benefits of Northbound Trading and (ii) affect the date of launching Southbound Trading; if they have assessed, of the outcome; if not, whether they will conduct the relevant assessment?
*11. Hon YIU Si-wing to ask: (Translation)
Under the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance (Cap. 349), any person who on any occasion operates, keeps, manages or otherwise has control of a hotel or a guesthouse (except for accommodation provided on the basis of a minimum period of 28 continuous days for each letting) without a licence or a certificate of exemption ("unlicensed operation of hotels and guesthouses") is liable on conviction to a maximum fine of $200,000 and to imprisonment for two years and to a fine of $20,000 for each day during which the offence continues. Quite a number of unlicensed hotels and guesthouses have solicited business via online platforms in recent years. There are comments that the profits of unlicensed operation of hotels and guesthouses are substantial but the punishments imposed on the convicted persons lack deterrent effect, resulting in the continuation of such crimes despite repeated prohibition efforts. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the following details of (a) all the law enforcement actions taken and (b) those law enforcement actions taken on the basis of information gathered from online platforms, by the authorities in the past three years against unlicensed operation of hotels and guesthouses (set out in the table below): (i) number of inspections, (ii) number of prosecutions, (iii) number of convictions together with a breakdown of the number by the punishments imposed on the convicted persons: (iv) a fine below $10,000, (v) a fine of $10,000 or above, (vi) imprisonment for less than three months, and (vii) imprisonment for three months or more;
Year (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) (vii) 2014 (a) (b) 2015 (a) (b) 2016 (a) (b) (2) of the amount of public money and manpower deployed by the authorities in the past three years for combating unlicensed operation of hotels and guesthouses; (3) whether the authorities will further step up law enforcement efforts to combat unlicensed operation of hotels and guesthouses in the coming year; if so, of the details, including the amount of relevant estimated expenditures to be increased; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) whether the authorities will adopt new measures (e.g. taking legal actions) to combat unlicensed hotels and guesthouses that solicit business via online platforms, so as to prevent the problem from worsening; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*12. Hon KWOK Wai-keung to ask: (Translation)
Starting from 2006, the Government has implemented the initiative of five-day work week ("FDWW") in phases to improve the quality of civil servants' family life. Under this policy objective, the Government encourages various policy bureaux and government departments to implement FDWW subject to four basic principles (i.e. no additional staffing resources, no reduction in the conditioned hours of work of staff, no reduction in emergency services, and continued provision of essential counter services on Saturdays/Sundays). It is learnt that at present, 27% of civil servants still cannot benefit from FDWW. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of civil servants who currently do not work on the FDWW pattern, with a breakdown by policy bureau and government department; (2) of the effectiveness of the FDWW trial schemes implemented by the various government departments in recent years; whether the Government will encourage more government departments to implement such trial schemes; and (3) whether it will consider reviewing the aforesaid four basic principles so that more civil servants can benefit from FDWW?
*13. Dr Hon LAU Siu-lai to ask: (Translation)
On 6 June of this year, an old man allegedly strangled his wife to death. It has been reported that the tragedy, which was the second case of the same type since January this year, was suspected to be caused by the old man's inability to withstand the pressure arising from prolonged caring of his old wife. Some social workers have pointed out that the aforesaid case reflects the inadequacy of the services provided by the Government for the elderly and the support provided for their carers. They have also pointed out that although the Social Welfare Department ("SWD") has launched the "Pilot Scheme on Living Allowance for Carers of Elderly Persons from Low Income Families" ("the Pilot Scheme") through the Community Care Fund, under which eligible carers are disbursed a monthly allowance of $2,000, the amount of the allowance is inadequate. In addition, SWD has not yet provided across-the-board care services for the elderly and support for their carers through the case management approach. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the total number, in each of the past five years, of District Elderly Community Centres and Neighbourhood Elderly Centres operated by subvented organizations which provided outreach services for elderly singletons, persons in families of elderly doubletons and hidden elderly, as well as the manpower and expenditure involved in the provision of such services each year; whether it has reviewed if the current subvention provided by the Government for such services is sufficient; if it has reviewed, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether it has planned to provide across-the-board care services for the elderly and support for their carers through the case management approach, under which case managers continuously coordinate and make referrals on the care services needed by the elderly and the support needed by their carers; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) given that SWD has commissioned a research centre to evaluate the effectiveness of Phase II of the Pilot Scheme, of the latest progress of the evaluation; whether the authorities will improve the Pilot Scheme by, for example, (i) relaxing the eligibility criteria (including waiving the means tests of carers and reviewing the requirement on the number of hours of care-giving work carried out for the elderly per month), (ii) increasing the amount of the Living Allowance, and (iii) regularizing the Pilot Scheme, as well as formulating and implementing a carer allowance policy; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*14. Hon SHIU Ka-chun to ask: (Translation)
Regarding medical procedure for termination of pregnancy ("MPTP") performed lawfully and unlawfully, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the respective numbers of pregnant women who underwent MPTP at (i) Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital, (ii) Matilda International Hospital, (iii) Union Hospital and (iv) Queen Mary Hospital ("QMH") in each of the past 10 years, with a breakdown by the age group to which they belonged (i.e. 12 or below, 13 to 16, 17 to 20, 21 to 25, 26 to 30, 31 to 35, 36 to 40 and 41 or above) (set out in a table); (2) as QMH is currently the only public hospital which performs MPTP, whether the Government knows the current number of persons waiting for undergoing the medical procedure; the average and highest numbers of days for which pregnant women had waited before undergoing the medical procedure at QMH in each of the past five years; (3) whether it knows the number of cases in which QMH refused to perform MPTP in each of the past five years, and the reasons for the refusal; the respective numbers of doctors and nurses in QMH who are currently responsible for performing the medical procedure, and the average unit cost of such procedure; (4) of the number of cases, detected by the authorities in each of the past five years, of unlawful performance of MPTP; and (5) whether it knows the total number of patients, who felt unwell after undergoing unlawful MPTP, received treatment in the accident and emergency departments of various public hospitals in each of the past five years?
*15. Hon LUK Chung-hung to ask: (Translation)
The Hong Kong International Aviation Academy ("HKIAA"), established and managed by the Airport Authority Hong Kong ("AA"), rolled out its first batch of aviation-related programmes in April this year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
(1) the following information in respect of each programme that has been rolled out and that will be offered within the next six months by HKIAA: (i) title, (ii) subject area (e.g. management, security, ground handling service and aircraft maintenance), (iii) level of study, (iv) mode of study, and (v) fees; in respect of each class of the programmes which have been rolled out, the number of places, the number of students admitted so far and the commencement date; (2) the details of the publicity work conducted by AA and relevant organizations respectively since the establishment of HKIAA for promoting HKIAA and its programmes; (3) whether HKIAA will consider making reference to the Apprenticeship Ordinance (Cap. 47) and, in collaboration with relevant employers, launching apprenticeship training schemes so as to provide systematic on-the-job training with salary for young people aspiring to join the aviation industry; if so, of the details (including the subject areas of the programmes); if not, the reasons for that; and (4) whether AA has formulated dedicated schemes/measures to nurture talents for different trades (particularly those involving skilled jobs and manual work/low-skilled jobs) through HKIAA so as to meet the additional manpower demand of the aviation industry upon completion of the expansion of the Hong Kong International Airport into a Three-runway System; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*16. Prof Hon Joseph LEE to ask: (Translation)
Earlier, a woman who had a miscarriage before 24 weeks of pregnancy sought my assistance, saying that only after a lot of twists and turns was she allowed to collect the stillbirth from the public hospital concerned. Moreover, as the hospital had refused to issue the Certificate of Stillbirth ("the Certificate"), she was unable to arrange for cremation and burial of the stillbirth. She was infuriated by the hospital's suggestion that she arrange for cremation of the stillbirth as a pet. It is learnt that the Hospital Authority ("HA") currently treats stillbirths of less than 24 weeks as clinical waste and will not issue the Certificate for such stillbirths. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
(1) the number of cases of miscarriage before 24 weeks of pregnancy throughout the territory in the past five years; among such cases, the number of those in which the parents of the stillbirths were allowed to collect the stillbirths, and the burial arrangements for the stillbirths collected; (2) the justification for HA's decision to treat stillbirths of less than 24 weeks as clinical waste; whether the authorities will review the relevant arrangement to make it more respectful of the feelings of parents of stillbirths; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether there is legal basis for HA's doctors to refuse to issue the Certificate in respect of stillbirths of less than 24 weeks; if so, of the details; whether HA will change such practice to address the aspirations of some parents of stillbirths; if HA will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*17. Hon Jimmy NG to ask: (Translation)
According to the World Competitiveness Yearbook 2017 ("Yearbook") recently published by the International Institute for Management Development in Lausanne, Switzerland, Hong Kong is ranked the world's most competitive economy for the second consecutive year. However, Hong Kong's ranking in "Economic Performance", one of the four competitiveness factors, has fallen from the fifth place of last year to the 11th of this year, while in one of the sub-factors (i.e. "Prices"), Hong Kong is even ranked the second last among 63 economies. On the other hand, the World Digital Competitiveness Ranking 2017 published by the same organization shows that Hong Kong's digital competitiveness is ranked the seventh in the world, which is far lower than Singapore's first ranking, while Hong Kong is even ranked the 24th and the 18th in the two sub-factors of "Scientific Infrastructure" and "Technological Infrastructure" respectively. In addition, a recent survey shows that in respect of the cost of living for expatriate employees, Hong Kong is the highest in the Asia-Pacific region and the second highest among cities around the globe. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as the Yearbook has pointed out that the rents of apartments and offices in Hong Kong are respectively 1.86 times and 1.97 times higher than the average levels, and Hong Kong's cost-of-living index is also 64.1% higher than the average level, whether the authorities will introduce measures to lower the cost of living in Hong Kong (e.g. increasing the supply of apartments and offices); if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether Invest Hong Kong received any views relayed by foreign-funded enterprises in the past three years about the high cost of living in Hong Kong for expatriate employees; if so, whether it knows if such enterprises reduced the scale of their investments in Hong Kong as a result; if the enterprises did, of the number and details of such cases; (3) of the long-term measures put in place to enhance Hong Kong's digital competitiveness, especially in respect of scientific infrastructure and technological infrastructure; whether such measures include (i) further promoting the tripartite cooperation among industries, scientific research institutions and tertiary institutions, and (ii) progressively increasing the percentage of the overall expenditure on scientific research in the gross domestic product of Hong Kong from the current 0.76% to the level of 2% so as to be on a par with Singapore; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) whether the tax policy unit which the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau is preparing to set up will, in collaboration with the newly established Committee on Innovation and Technology and Re-industrialization, review sections 39E and 16EC of the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112) to enable manufacturers to be entitled to tax allowances in respect of machinery, equipment and intellectual property products used in their production procedures located outside Hong Kong, thereby encouraging manufacturers to use products of scientific researches and enhancing the competitiveness of Hong Kong's industries; if so, of the details, if not, the reasons for that?
*18. Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)
The Government is undertaking a number of development plans, which include: (a) the Kwu Tung North and Fanling North New Development Areas (formerly known as the North East New Territories development), (b) the Hung Shui Kiu New Development Area, (c) the Yuen Long South development, (d) the public housing development at Wang Chau, Yuen Long and (e) the New Territories North development. Regarding the statistics on agricultural lands and these development plans, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the total areas of agricultural lands which are respectively Government-owned and privately owned at present and, among such agricultural lands, the respective areas of those which are: (i) active farmlands, (ii) agricultural lands that have been converted to other uses (i.e. brownfield sites) and (iii) deserted agricultural lands (set out in Table 1);
Table 1Government agricultural lands (hectares) Private agricultural lands (hectares) (i) (ii) (iii) Total area: (2) of the respective numbers of (i) domestic structures and (ii) non-domestic structures on agricultural lands which are respectively Government-owned and privately-owned at present (set out in Table 2);
Table 2Government agricultural lands (hectares) Private agricultural lands (hectares) (i) (ii) (3) among the Government-owned and privately-owned lands within the scope of each of the aforesaid development plans, of the respective areas of lands which are (i) active farmlands, (ii) brownfield sites, (iii) deserted agricultural lands and (iv) Green Belt areas (set out in Table 3); and
Table 3Development plan Government lands (hectares) Private lands (hectares) (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (4) of the respective numbers of domestic structures and non-domestic structures on the lands within the scope of each of the aforesaid development plans, which are (i) active farmlands, (ii) brownfield sites, (iii) deserted agricultural lands and (iv) Green Belt areas (set out in Table 4)?
Table 4Development plan Number of structures (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) Domestic Non-domestic Domestic Non-domestic Domestic Non-domestic Domestic Non-domestic (a) (b) (c) (d) (e)
*19. Dr Hon YIU Chung-yim to ask: (Translation)
Will the Government inform this Council of:
(1) the current number of government lands which are let by way of short-term tenancies ("STTs") and their total area (with a breakdown by District Council district); and (2) the specific locations (shown on a map) and areas (set out in a table) of the lands which are not smaller than one hectare and are currently (i) granted to various government bureaux and departments by way of temporary government land allocations or (ii) let by way of STTs?
*20. Hon Charles Peter MOK to ask: (Translation)
With an increasingly ageing population, issues relating to caring and nursing the elderly have aroused public concerns. By applying technologies such as Internet technologies, robotics, big data analytics and cloud computing, gerontechnologists may research and develop innovative products based on the individual needs of the elderly, to help the elderly address the problems they encountered in the areas of independent living, medical check-ups, home safety, rehabilitation and healthcare, etc., thereby improving the living quality of the elderly and their ability to take care of themselves. Such products may also assist residential care homes for the elderly in carrying out their professional nursing work, and may, in the long run, reduce public healthcare expenditure. However, the results of a recent study have shown that the community's awareness of the importance of gerontechnology is inadequate, with gerontechnology products being perceived merely as assistive tools rather than core products for ageing in place. Moreover, gerontechnology products are subject to the limitations of outdated regulatory regime and government policies, resulting in such products not being put to wide use. Regarding the development and popularization of gerontechnology products, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the authorities have conducted an integrated study on: the trend of ageing population, the demand for care and nursing services for the elderly, the trend of the relevant public healthcare expenditure, and the areas to which innovative technologies can be applied for addressing the challenges posed by an ageing population; if so, of the details; (2) as the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer has implemented the Information and Communications Technology Outreach Programme for the Elderly to provide subsidies for non-profit making ("NPM") organizations to teach the elderly to use computers and mobile devices, so as to enhance their knowledge of and interests in the use of information and communications technology, and has launched the Funding Scheme for the Development of Digital Inclusion Mobile Applications to provide subsidies for NPM organizations to research and develop mobile applications that bring convenience to the daily living of the elderly, of the names of the organizations currently subsidized under the two initiatives and the titles of the projects launched; in respect of each of the subsidized projects, (i) the amount of subsidy, (ii) the frequency of holding activities, and (iii) the number of the elderly served; whether the authorities have assessed the effectiveness of the two initiatives; if so, of the details; (3) of the policies currently put in place by the authorities to encourage institutions such as public and private residential care homes for the elderly and day care centres to make use of gerontechnology products to assist in caring and nursing the elderly, and whether the authorities have reviewed the effectiveness of such policies; (4) whether the authorities have plans to promote the wide use of gerontechnology; if so, of the details, including whether they will (i) expand the scope of the Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme to subsidize the elderly to purchase gerontechnology products, and (ii) provide additional resources to social welfare organizations to encourage their purchase of gerontechnology products for taking care of the elderly; (5) of the measures currently put in place by the authorities to encourage the innovation and technology industry to research and develop more gerontechnology products, services and solutions; whether the authorities have studied ways to encourage the collaboration between universities, research and development institutions, non-governmental organizations and government departments for the provision of a platform for testing gerontechnology products, and for the promotion of the research and development as well as the commercialization of such products; and (6) whether the authorities have plans to assign a government department or set up a dedicated working group to take charge of the review and revamp of the regulatory regime and government policies in relation to gerontechnology products, so as to facilitate the wide use of gerontechnology?
*21. Hon Tanya CHAN to ask: (Translation)
On the 17th of last month, the Government announced that it had invited the Hong Kong Housing Society ("HKHS") to undertake technical and ecological studies (including the potential for developing public housing and elderly homes) in respect of two sites on the periphery of country parks ("peripheral site studies"). The two sites are located in Tai Lam and Shui Chuen O, each covering about 20 hectares of lands within Tai Lam Country Park and Ma On Shan Country Park respectively. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective specific locations and boundaries of the two aforesaid sites (to be illustrated on maps marked with the boundaries of the country parks concerned); (2) of the criteria adopted by the Government and its justifications for determining the locations and boundaries of the sites covered by the peripheral site studies; (3) whether there is currently any site in the Sha Tin District not within Ma On Shan Country Park that is suitable for developing public housing and elderly homes; if so, of the reasons why the Government still decided to undertake the peripheral site study in respect of the site in Shui Chuen O; (4) as the Government has already planned to develop public housing on three sites at Kam Tin South, of the reasons why the Government still decided to undertake the peripheral site study in respect of the site in Tai Lam; (5) of the process through which the locations and the boundaries of the two aforesaid sites were determined; whether consultations with relevant government departments and other stakeholders (e.g. professionals, public organizations, members of the local communities and the general public) were included in the process; if so, of the government departments, organizations and persons consulted, as well as the channels and dates of such consultations; if not, the reasons for that; (6) whether it knows if HKHS has finished preparing the study briefs on the two aforesaid peripheral site studies; if HKHS has, whether HKHS can provide such documents, and of the process through which such documents were prepared; whether the persons engaged in the preparation work include (i) government officers (if so, of their post titles and the departments to which they belong), and (ii) other stakeholders (if so, of their names as well as the channels, modes and dates of their engagement); if not, the reasons for that; and (7) of the criteria adopted by the Government for deciding the organization to be responsible for undertaking the peripheral site studies, and whether stakeholders other than the Government and HKHS were consulted prior to making such a decision; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*22. Hon WU Chi-wai to ask: (Translation)
On 7 January 2015, in reply to my question on relaxing the restrictions on renting out Home Ownership Scheme ("HOS") units as well as Tenants Purchase Scheme ("TPS") units with unpaid premium, the Government indicated that "subsidized housing with premium not yet paid should only be used for self-occupation". On the other hand, the Chief Executive-elect ("CE-elect") earlier proposed allowing such types of units to be rented out via social enterprises ("SEs"). However, the Chairman of the Hong Kong Housing Authority ("HA") Subsidized Housing Committee indicated that there would be enormous difficulties in the implementation of such proposal, and that according to a study conducted by HA, there were only around 2 500 such type of HOS units available for renting out. Regarding the relaxation of the restrictions on renting out subsidized housing with unpaid premium, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the details (including the commencement and completion dates, the methodology and outcome of the study) of the aforesaid study, and how the number of HOS units with unpaid premium available for renting out was calculated; whether HA, on top of the aforesaid study, conducted similar studies or discussions in the past five years; if so, of the details (including the relevant dates and outcome) of each study or discussion; (2) whether the Government and the Hong Kong Housing Society have separately conducted studies on subjects relating to the renting out of subsidized housing with unpaid premium (including the proposal put forward by CE-elect) since 2012; if so, of the details (including the outcome); if not, whether the Government will conduct studies in this respect; (3) whether it has studied which laws and regulations are required to be amended in order that the proposal of allowing subsidized housing with unpaid premium to be rented out (including the proposals for owners sharing rental incomes with the Government or renting out units via SEs) may be implemented; (4) of the following current information on each HOS project: (i) the total number of units, and among them, (ii) the respective numbers and percentages of units with premium paid/unpaid premium; (5) of the following current information on each TPS project: (i) the total number of units, and among them, (ii) the number and percentage of the units sold, and among the units sold, (iii) the respective numbers and percentages of the units with premium paid/unpaid premium; (6) whether the Government has assessed the tenancy position of HOS and TPS units with premium paid through studying information on the stamp duty revenue collected from leases of properties or other methods; if so, of the respective numbers of HOS and TPS units rented out in each of the past 10 years, together with the respective percentages of such numbers in the relevant totals; the following current information on each HOS and TPS project: (i) the number and percentage of units rented out, and (ii) the rateable value of each unit on average; (7) whether HA, the Census and Statistics Department or other government departments compiled statistics in the past 10 years on the average household size of various types of HOS and TPS units (e.g. one-person units, two-to-three-person units, etc.) each year; if so, of the results (including whether the average household size in various types of units has been shown a decreasing trend); if not, whether they will consider compiling such statistics; and (8) whether HA, the Census and Statistics Department or other government departments have assessed the current vacancy rates of HOS and TPS units; if so, of the details; if not, whether they will consider compiling such statistics?
* For written reply
III. Government Bills
| First Reading
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| 1. | Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (Financial Institutions) (Amendment) Bill 2017
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| 2. | Companies (Amendment) Bill 2017
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| 3. | Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 4) Bill 2017
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| 4. | United Nations (Anti-Terrorism Measures) (Amendment) Bill 2017
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| 5. | Employment (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2017
| ||
| Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)
| |||
| 1. | Anti-Money Laundering and Counter-Terrorist Financing (Financial Institutions) (Amendment) Bill 2017 | : | Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
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| 2. | Companies (Amendment) Bill 2017 | : | Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
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| 3. | Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 4) Bill 2017 | : | Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
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| 4. | United Nations (Anti-Terrorism Measures) (Amendment) Bill 2017 | : | Secretary for Security
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| 5. | Employment (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2017 | : | Secretary for Labour and Welfare
|
| Third Reading
Stand over item (since the meeting of 21 June 2017) | |||
| Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2017 | : | Secretary for Transport and Housing
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| Second Reading (Debate to resume), Committee Stage and Third Reading
| |||
| Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2017 | : | Secretary for Transport and Housing
| |
IV. Government Motion
| Proposed resolution under the Fixed Penalty (Criminal Proceedings) Ordinance
Secretary for Transport and Housing to move the motion in the Appendix. |
| (The motion was also issued on 15 June 2017
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 683/16-17) |
V. Members' Motions
Stand over items: Members' motions nos. 1 and 2 (since the meeting of 21 June 2017)