A 17/18-3
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 18 October 2017 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers
| Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments | No. | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Waterworks (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulation 2017 | L.N. 165/2017 |
| 2. | Air Pollution Control (Volatile Organic Compounds) (Amendment) Regulation 2017 | L.N. 166/2017 |
| 3. | Pharmacy and Poisons (Amendment) (No. 5) Regulation 2017 | L.N. 167/2017 |
| 4. | Telecommunications (Level of Spectrum Utilization Fee) (Fixed and Other Links) Regulation | L.N. 168/2017 |
| 5. | Telecommunications (Designation of Frequency Bands subject to Payment of Spectrum Utilization Fee) (Amendment) Order 2017 | L.N. 169/2017 |
| 6. | Antiquities and Monuments (Declaration of Monuments and Historical Buildings) (Consolidation) (Amendment) Notice 2017 | L.N. 170/2017 |
| 7. | Seventh Technical Memorandum for Allocation of Emission Allowances in Respect of Specified Licences | S.S. No. 5 to Gazette No. 41/2017 |
Other Papers
II. Questions
1. Hon Andrew WAN to ask: (Translation)
The Chief Executive ("CE") pledged in her election manifesto a new style of governance which embraced such elements as "public discussion" and "attracting talent widely". However, some members of the public have pointed out that, as shown in a number of cases, the current-term Government has been implementing policies in a manner contrary to the said style. For example, CE appointed a person who had attracted substantial controversies within the relevant sector to be an Under Secretary; the membership of the Task Force on Land Supply comprises mainly pro-development persons and lacks conservationists; and the authorities have refused to consider afresh the implementation of any immigration and customs clearance arrangements other than the "co-location arrangement at the West Kowloon Station" for the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the specific examples of manifestation of "public discussion" in the policy implementation by the current-term Government since its inauguration; (2) as there are comments that the current practice of direct appointment of members by CE to a number of advisory committees lacks transparency, and the memberships of some committees do not comprise a wide spectrum of different stakeholders, whether the authorities will study improvement measures; and (3) of the specific measures to enhance the communication between policy bureaux and various sectors of the community so as to manifest the new style of governance, particularly in respect of issues relating to the co-location arrangement and housing developments on sites on the periphery of country parks?
2. Hon Wilson OR to ask: (Translation)
The authorities have stipulated that tenants of public rental housing ("PRH") are required to vacate and surrender their PRH flats within 60 days from the date of having acquired another form of subsidized housing; and tenants may apply for an extended stay of up to 30 days, but have to pay an occupation fee equivalent to three times of the normal rent for that period. On the other hand, the authorities launched last year the first Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Pilot Scheme project, King Tai Court, for purchase by Green Form applicants. It has been reported that King Tai Court has been completed for intake recently, and water seepage has been found on the walls and ceilings of a number of flats. Renovation works for those flats have to be postponed pending completion of the rectification of the defects by the building contractor. As a result, the owners concerned have difficulties in surrendering their PRH flats within the deadlines pursuant to the aforesaid stipulation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of complaints about water seepage and other building quality problems in the flats of King Tai Court received by the Housing Department so far, as well as the number of such flats with rectification works completed; (2) given that defects have been found in a number of flats in King Tai Court, whether the authorities will require the building contractor to extend the one-year warranty period for the housing estate; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether the authorities will extend the deadlines for surrendering the PRH flats by the owners concerned and waive their payment of the occupation fees?
3. Hon LUK Chung-hung to ask: (Translation)
Quite a number of workers have relayed to me that after they had lodged complaints with the authorities about their employers defaulting on Mandatory Provident Fund ("MPF") contributions, they met with difficulties created repeatedly for them in their work and were even dismissed by their employers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of complaints received by the authorities about employers allegedly breaching the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance, and the respective numbers of cases in which the employers concerned were prosecuted and convicted, in each of the past three years, together with a breakdown by the breach, the industry and the amount of contributions involved; whether there was an upward trend in the number of cases of employers defaulting on MPF contributions in the past three years; (2) in respect of some employees' concerns that they may meet with difficulties created for them in work by their employers and even dismissal after lodging non-anonymous complaints about their employers defaulting on MPF contributions, of the mechanisms currently in place for protecting the rights and interests of complainants; and (3) whether the authorities will conduct a review on matters such as the investigation approach, prosecution procedure and evidential requirements in respect of suspected cases of employers defaulting on MPF contributions and make necessary legislative amendments, so that the employers concerned have no means to get to know whether or not the investigations against them have been initiated on receipt of complaints nor the identities of the complainants, thereby enhancing the protection for the complainants; if so, of the details and the timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
4. Hon WONG Ting-kwong to ask: (Translation)
Hairy crabs are now in season. It was reported earlier that while various hairy crab importers in Hong Kong had not yet obtained approval documents for exporting hairy crabs from the Mainland, some traders were selling hairy crabs claimed to have been imported from the Mainland. The health certificates produced by such traders, which had been issued by the Mainland authorities, did not include any item on dioxin test, and the traders concerned did not follow the advice of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department ("FEHD") of suspending the sale of hairy crabs. On the other hand, the Centre for Food Safety ("CFS") of FEHD indicated in the middle of last month that it would continue to communicate with the Mainland inspection and quarantine authorities on the arrangement for exporting hairy crabs to Hong Kong, but there was no concrete timetable for exporting hairy crabs to Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the details and the latest progress of the discussion on the arrangement for exporting hairy crabs to Hong Kong between CFS and the Mainland inspection and quarantine authorities; whether any importer has obtained approval documents for exporting hairy crabs from the Mainland so far; if not, of the reasons for that and the anticipated time for the issuance of approval documents at the earliest; (2) of the details of the international standards to which CFS made reference when CFS determined the permitted levels of dioxins in hairy crabs last year; how the authorities handle cases in which some traders sell hairy crabs that are suspected to be problematic; and (3) as the authorities have earlier proposed that traders should, at the beginning of the hairy crab season, import an appropriate quantity of hairy crabs which will first be sample tested by CFS, and put the relevant batches of hairy crabs on the market for sale only after those samples have passed the tests, of the traders' response to such proposal and the progress of the discussion concerned?
5. Hon Paul TSE to ask: (Translation)
Mr TANG Lung-wai, a Hong Kong permanent resident who was convicted of drug possession and given a heavy sentence of 40 years' imprisonment in the Philippines, has so far served 17 years of his sentence and is currently applying for an appeal. Mr TANG's legal representative came to Hong Kong last month to give members of the public an account of the progress of the appeal. The legal representative stressed that there were a lot of questionable points in the case. It has been reported that over 5 000 copies of a book written by Mr TANG in the prison have been sold in just a few months and as many as 8 000 people have expressed concerns on Mr TANG's social media account. Some members of the public have even set up a concern group on the incident. The concern group held a number of street signature campaigns, with more than 20 000 people signing to show their support. It is learnt that Mr TANG has reproached the SAR Government for "showing a total disregard of his existence". I have written to the President of the Philippines requesting an expeditious review of the judgment. Besides, some members of the public have criticized that although the Transfer of Sentenced Persons Ordinance ("TSPO") came into operation in as early as 1997 and the SAR Government and the Philippine Government have signed a transfer of sentenced persons agreement ("TSPA"), so far no Hong Kong permanent residents imprisoned in the Philippines have been transferred back to Hong Kong to serve their remaining sentences. The TSPO and TSPA indeed exist in name only. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that Mr TANG's case of imprisonment has aroused widespread concern, whether the Chief Executive will review the relevant policy which has been adopted for over a decade but has been criticized as ineffective, and urge the State Ministry of Foreign Affairs to render more assistance to Mr TANG, including urging the Philippine authorities to give a fair and expeditious trial of Mr TANG's appeal case; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) as Mr TANG has revealed that a number of prisoners in the Philippines who are waiting for transfer back to Hong Kong to serve their remaining sentences have been suffering from serious mental and health problems, of the number of Hong Kong permanent residents currently imprisoned in the Philippines who have applied for transfer back to Hong Kong to serve their sentences under TSPO; whether the authorities know their age and health conditions; whether the SAR Government has, by appealing to the State Ministry of Foreign Affairs for intervention or by other means, pressed the Philippine Government to provide specific information on those sentenced persons; and (3) given that quite a number of members of the public have criticized the SAR Government for persistently washing its hands of the matter on the excuses that the incident involved foreign affairs and that the judicial system in the place concerned should be respected, whether the Government has assessed if the incident has undermined public confidence in the Government, causing members of the public to worry that the Government will just watch with folded arms in case false allegations are made against them in places outside Hong Kong; if it has assessed, of the outcome; if not, whether it will make such an assessment expeditiously?
6. Hon Charles Peter MOK to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that at present, more than 100 countries and regions across the globe have enacted legislation on freedom of information to regulate on how their governments handle public requests for access to government information. However, the Hong Kong Government has all along been relying solely on the Code on Access to Information ("the Code"), which has not been updated since its promulgation in 1995 and has no legal effect, in handling public requests for access to government information. Some members of the public have complained that the criteria adopted by the authorities for vetting and approving their requests for access to information are vague, and no reasons had been given when their requests were declined. Furthermore, related complaints received by the Office of The Ombudsman have been on the rise in recent years, with a record high of 85 complaint cases received last year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) among the requests for access to information made in writing received by various policy bureaux and government departments in each year from 2014 to 2016, of the respective numbers of those which did not cite the contents of the Code and those which were not made through the application form set out in the Code, as well as the respective numbers of requests which were acceded to fully or partially and those which were declined; (2) given that the Law Reform Commission established two subcommittees in May 2013 to conduct studies on the topics of archives law and access to information respectively, of the progress and the expected completion dates of the studies, and whether the findings of the studies will be published; whether the authorities currently have drawn up a timetable for enacting the legislation on freedom of information; and (3) in order to enhance the credibility of the mechanism for access to government information, increase the transparency of governance and avoid the situation of policy bureaux and government departments declining requests for access to information through wrongful application of the Code, whether the authorities have plans to update the Code by, inter alia, formulating more detailed criteria for vetting and approving such requests, requiring government departments to provide detailed grounds when declining the requests, setting out the penalties for contravening the Code by government officers, and improving the mechanism for applicants to lodge appeals against declination of their requests?
*7. Hon Michael TIEN to ask: (Translation)
The revised Housing Subsidy Policy and Policy on Safeguarding Rational Allocation of Public Housing Resources ("Well-off Tenants Policies") have been implemented starting from the declaration cycle this month. Public rental housing ("PRH") households whose family income exceeds five times the prevailing PRH income limits ("PRHILs") or whose total net assets exceed 100 times the prevailing PRHILs shall vacate their PRH flats. Lump-sum retirement benefits received by any household member under mandatory provident fund schemes, occupational retirement schemes or civil service pension scheme are deductible in the calculation of total net asset value. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as some PRH households have pointed out that at present, the authorities have not set out in details the deductible and non-deductible items in the calculation of total net asset value (e.g. it has not been set out whether the lump-sum retirement benefits, received under occupational retirement schemes by household members who have quitted their jobs early before reaching retirement age, are deductible), whether the authorities will review and revamp the current information on the Well-off Tenants Policies web page in order to give households clearer guidelines; (2) as a District Council member has relayed to me that, in reply to his enquiries about the calculation of total net asset value, the authorities have indicated that since there are different terms and contribution arrangements under various occupational retirement schemes, households may bring along all relevant documents to their respective estate offices to seek clarifications, of the criteria adopted by the authorities for determining whether the benefits received under such schemes are deductible in the calculation of total net asset value; and (3) whether the authorities will step up the publicity work relating to Well-off Tenants Policies?
*8. Hon CHAN Chun-ying to ask: (Translation)
In order to cool down the residential property market, the Government raised in November last year the ad valorem stamp duty ("AVD") chargeable on residential property transactions across the board to a flat rate of 15%. However, Hong Kong permanent residents who do not own any other residential property at the time of acquiring the residential property concerned ("first-time home buyers") are not affected, and they are still subject to the lower AVD rates only. According to the Half-yearly Economic Report 2017 published by the Government in August this year, the overall residential property prices in June this year were 94% higher than those at the 1997 peak, and people's housing affordability ratio (i.e. home purchase affordability rate) worsened to 67% in the second quarter of this year, which was significantly higher than the long-term average of 45% over the past 20 years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has assessed the effectiveness of the aforesaid measure since its implementation; if so, of the outcome; if not, the reasons for that; (2) as the Financial Secretary pointed out in his blog in April this year that if persons who had already owned a residential property acquired residential properties under the names of those who did not own any residential property (commonly known as "using other peoples' identities to buy flats") in order to reduce the amount of stamp duty payable, those using others' identities and those allowing other people to use their identities might have committed the criminal offences of tax evasion or making false statements, and that he had instructed the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau as well as the Inland Revenue Department to scrutinize the relevant cases strictly, of the number of suspicious cases into which the authorities are conducting or will conduct investigations, and the number of cases in respect of which the authorities are contemplating the institution of prosecutions at present; (3) regarding cases involving first-time home purchases by persons under the age of 23 in the first nine months of this year, (i) of the percentage of such cases in the total number of first-time home purchases in the same period, (ii) whether it knows the average percentage of down payments in property prices for such cases, and (iii) whether it has assessed if the average percentage of the monthly incomes of mortgage loan borrowers spent on making mortgage repayments in such cases is at a healthy level; and (4) as the Hong Kong Monetary Authority has pointed out in its Half-Yearly Monetary and Financial Stability Report released last month that the phenomenon of young homebuyers receiving support from parents for home purchases (commonly known as "home purchase hinges on father's deed") has become more prevalent, whether the Government will examine the adverse impacts of this phenomenon on the mortgage-to-family income ratio?
*9. Hon Kenneth LAU to ask: (Translation)
Some residents in Yuen Long have relayed to me that traffic congestion is frequent in Yuen Long town centre during rush hours, and the most serious situations are found on Castle Peak Road – Yuen Long Section (commonly known as "Yuen Long Main Road"), the section of carriageway from Long Tin Road into Yuen Long Highway, as well as Pok Oi Interchange and its link roads. The traffic of the aforesaid road sections is paralyzed whenever traffic accidents happen. Such residents are worried that the road network of Yuen Long town centre will be overloaded when the population in Northwest New Territories surges by 260 000 to 1 240 000 upon the successive completion of the projects of Hung Shui Kiu New Development Area and Yuen Long South development from 2024 onwards. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective design capacities of the section of carriageway from Long Tin Road into Yuen Long Highway, Pok Oi Interchange, Yuen Long Main Road and Long Yat Road; (2) of (i) the traffic volumes of the road sections mentioned in (1) during rush hours and non-rush hours, (ii) the numbers of traffic accidents that happened on such road sections, and (iii) the numbers of complaints relating to traffic congestion on such road sections received by the authorities, in each of the past five years; (3) whether it reviewed in the past three years the design of Pok Oi Interchange and its link roads, with a view to improving the road safety of such road sections; if so, of the details and outcome of the review; if not, whether it will conduct such a review; (4) whether it has formulated short-term and long-term improvement measures to ease the congestion on the aforesaid road sections; and (5) as the authorities have indicated in the Public Transport Strategy Study published in June this year that they would, in collaboration with the MTR Corporation Limited, study the relocation of one of the two Light Rail tracks along Yuen Long Main Road so as to release more road space for vehicular traffic, of the commencement time of the study, the estimated time required for the implementation of the works, and the party that will bear the costs of the works?
*10. Dr Hon CHIANG Lai-wan to ask: (Translation)
Employees in certain industries, trades and workplaces (e.g. public transport, public utilities, healthcare services, security, hotels, eateries and places of entertainment) still need to work during the period when a Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 8 or above or the Black Rainstorm Warning Signal is in force, in order to maintain basic services or cope with contingencies. On the other hand, the Labour Department has compiled the Code of Practice in times of Typhoons and Rainstorms to provide guidelines on work arrangements and contingency measures during inclement weather, so as to avoid unnecessary disputes and confusions between employers and employees. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has compiled statistics on the current number of employees to whom work is still assigned by their employers during inclement weather; if so, of a breakdown by industry; among such employees, of the number of those who have been informed by their employers of the work arrangements and contingency measures during inclement weather, and the number of such employers; (2) of the number of occupational accidents which occurred during inclement weather in each of the past five years and their resultant casualties, together with a breakdown by cause of accident; (3) whether it has studied the enactment of legislation to prohibit employers from assigning their employees to perform high-risk duties (e.g. working on outdoor scaffoldings and at sea) during inclement weather, with a view to enhancing the protection for employees; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) of the number of cases in each of the past five years in which the employers, who had been involved in occupational accidents that had occurred during inclement weather, were prosecuted for failure to take out employees' compensation insurance for the employees concerned?
*11. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)
According to the information provided by the Government, as at June 2012, there were a total of 932.9 hectares of unleased or unallocated government land zoned "Village Type Development" and a mere 388.9 hectares of unleased or unallocated government land zoned "Residential" (Group A to Group E), after deducting the lands which were not suitable for development, not available for development at that time, or with low development potential, among the lands covered by the statutory town plans. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective total areas of "Village Type Development" sites that (i) have been and (ii) have yet to be leased or allocated at present, with a breakdown by District Council district; and (2) whether it will consider rezoning some of the unleased or unallocated "Village Type Development" sites to "Residential" sites (particularly those with an area which is sufficient for developing public housing and where there are ancillary transport facilities in the vicinity); if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*12. Hon IP Kin-yuen to ask: (Translation)
Starting from this academic year, the Government implements a Non-means-tested Subsidy Scheme for Self-financing Undergraduate Studies in Hong Kong ("the Subsidy Scheme"). Specified full-time locally-accredited local and non-local self-financing undergraduate and top-up degree programmes offered by 15 self-financing post-secondary institutions are eligible programmes under the Scheme. To be eligible for the non-means-tested annual subsidy of $30,000, students studying in self-financing undergraduate programmes must have attained level 3 or above for Chinese Language and English Language as well as level 2 or above for Mathematics Compulsory Part and Liberal Studies ("3322 results") in the Hong Kong Diploma for Secondary Education Examination ("HKDSE"), while those studying in self-financing top-up degree programmes must have sub-degree qualifications. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) among the students who are studying in the eligible programmes in this academic year, of the number and percentage of those who are ineligible for applying for the subsidy, together with a tabulated breakdown by the institution in which they are studying and their year of study; (2) among the ineligible students mentioned in (1), of the respective numbers and percentages of those who are studying in self-financing undergraduate programmes but are ineligible for applying for the subsidy due to (i) the fact that they have not attained 3322 results and (ii) other reasons, as well as the respective numbers and percentages of those who are studying in self-financing top-up degree programmes but are ineligible for applying for the subsidy due to (iii) the fact that they do not have sub-degree qualifications and (iv) other reasons; among the students who fall within case (i), of the respective numbers and percentages of those who were admitted to the programmes based on (v) their results in the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination and (vi) their sub-degree qualifications; and a tabulated breakdown by the institution in which such students are studying and their year of study; (3) in respect of those students who had not attained 3322 results when they were admitted to the eligible programmes but, after re-sitting HKDSE in the relevant subjects during their study in the programmes, have attained 3322 results when their HKDSE results of different years are considered together, whether such students are eligible for the subsidy in their remaining academic years; (4) given that the self-financing undergraduate programmes offered by the institutions funded by the University Grants Committee ("UGC") are not eligible programmes, and since students who had been admitted to such programmes in last academic year or earlier did not anticipate at the time of enrollment that the Government would implement a subsidy scheme that excludes such programmes, whether the Government has examined if the exclusion of such students from the Subsidy Scheme has contravened the principle of fairness; if it has examined and the outcome is in the negative, of the justifications for that; and (5) as the Secretary for Education had stated earlier that before the outcome of a forthcoming review on the role and positioning of self-financing post-secondary institutions was available, it was inappropriate to include the self-financing departments of the UGC-funded institutions in the Subsidy Scheme although the Government would not rule out the possibility of doing so in future, of the expected completion time of the review?
*13. Dr Hon Elizabeth QUAT to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that property owners renting out their residential units or rooms as home-stay lodgings through electronic platforms such as Airbnb has become increasingly popular. If the operators have not obtained a guesthouse licence in accordance with the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance (Cap. 349) ("HAGAO"), such home-stay lodgings are unlicensed guesthouses. Some residents of private housing estates have relayed that some operators provide guests of their home-stay lodgings with resident cards so that the guests may use the facilities of the estate clubhouses, which undermines the interests of the residents. These residents have also pointed out that such home-stay lodgings cause security problems to the buildings where the lodgings are located, and the guests lodging there are unprotected. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it will step up its efforts to eradicate unlicensed guesthouses which let out sleeping accommodation through electronic platforms; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) since there are comments that unlicensed guesthouses letting out sleeping accommodation only through electronic platforms has rendered it difficult for law enforcement officers to collect direct evidence relating to the operation of unlicensed guesthouses, and circumstantial evidence alone, such as advertisements and price lists, is insufficient for the conviction of the operators concerned, whether the review of HAGAO currently conducted by the Government has included exploring ways to resolve the difficulties of adducing evidence when instituting prosecutions against operators of unlicensed guesthouses; if so, of the details of the relevant proposals on legislative amendments and the implementation timetable; if not, the reasons for that; (3) whether it has plans, by making reference to overseas practices, to regulate electronic platforms which provide matching service for sleeping accommodation being let out and introduce a regulatory regime for home-stay lodgings; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (4) whether it will step up its publicity efforts to appeal to members of the public to report to the authorities when they suspect that some people are operating an unlicensed guesthouse in a residential unit; and (5) whether it will step up its publicity efforts to remind property owners of the licensing requirements for operating a guesthouse and the possible legal consequences of operating an unlicensed guesthouse; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*14. Dr Hon CHENG Chung-tai to ask: (Translation)
At present, prisoners may apply for early release through the Release under Supervision Scheme or the Pre-release Employment Scheme. However, some discharged prisoners have complained to me that the vetting and approval criteria of the two early release schemes lack transparency. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of prisoners whose applications were received, approved and rejected under the aforesaid two schemes in each of the past five years, with a breakdown by the offences for which they were sentenced; and (2) of a breakdown of the approved cases in (1), by whether the applicants (i) participated in religious activities, (ii) enrolled in undergraduate degree courses, (iii) had reference letters written for them by Justices of the Peace and (iv) were given promise by employers of employment after their discharge, while they were in prison?
*15. Hon Alice MAK to ask: (Translation)
Section 56 of the Road Traffic Ordinance (Cap. 374) stipulates that when an accident involving a vehicle has occurred on a road and caused damage to an animal, the driver of that vehicle must stop the vehicle and report the accident to the Police as soon as possible. However, that provision is not applicable to cats and dogs as the animals specified therein are horses, cattle, asses, mules, sheep, pigs and goats only. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has compiled statistics on the respective numbers of cats and dogs which were injured or killed, after being hit by vehicles, in each of the past five years; if so, of the details; (2) whether it has compiled a list of locations where accidents of animals being hit by vehicles have frequently occurred; if so, of the lists compiled in the past five years as well as the respective numbers of accidents which occurred at each location and the respective numbers of various types of animals involved; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) as the authorities indicated in June last year that, in the light of the views of the Subcommittee to Study Issues Relating to Animal Rights of this Council, they were preparing to review the relevant legislation with a view to incorporating cats and dogs into the scope of the aforesaid provision, of the progress of such work; when the authorities will introduce proposed legislative amendments to this Council and, before that, whether the authorities will conduct a public consultation on this issue; if public consultation will be conducted, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*16. Hon SHIU Ka-chun to ask: (Translation)
Regarding residential child care services ("RCCS"), will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of RCCS places, and among them, the respective numbers of emergency RCCS places and newly added places, as well as the average utilization rate of RCCS, in each of the past five financial years, with a breakdown by category of services; (2) of the number of children receiving foster care service in each of the past five financial years, with a breakdown by the age group to which they belonged (i.e. newborn to two, 3 to 5, 6 to 11 and 12 to 18 years' old); (3) given that in a discussion paper submitted to the Panel on Welfare Services of this Council in July this year, the Government indicated that it would provide 240 additional foster care service places by phases, of the latest progress of such work, as well as the implementation date and the number of service places involved in each phase; (4) whether it knows, in respect of the New Comers' Ward operated by Po Leung Kuk, (i) the number of RCCS places, (ii) the average number of residents and (iii) the average service utilization rate; as I have learnt that the service places of the New Comers' Ward are often fully utilized, of the Government's immediate solution for meeting the demand for such service; and (5) of the long-term planning for RCCS formulated by the Government; whether it will establish a mechanism under which the number of RCCS places will be increased immediately when the utilization rate of RCCS has reached a certain level, so as to ensure that the number of service places can meet unexpected demand?
*17. Ir Dr Hon LO Wai-kwok to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that a few months ago, a glass door at the entrance to a department store suddenly fell down, crushing and injuring two staff members. A member of the public recently wrote to me relaying that a family member of him was crushed and injured by a falling glass door at the entrance to a building of a housing estate. The successive occurrence of accidents involving the falling down of glass doors has aroused concerns over the safety of glass doors. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the casualties resulting from accidents involving glass doors in each year since 2015 and, among such figures, the respective numbers of persons injured as a result of crushing by falling glass doors or pinching by electrically operated glass doors; (2) whether the Government discussed, in the past three years, with the relevant professional bodies of the construction industry issues such as the design, materials, testing and maintenance of glass doors, with a view to implementing improvement measures (e.g. installation of an iron chain at the lintel) such that in the event of the hinges of a glass door coming off, the glass door will not fall down immediately; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether it will allocate additional resources to the relevant government departments for stepping up safety inspections and monitoring of various types of manually or electrically operated glass doors; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*18. Hon CHAN Hak-kan to ask: (Translation)
Whenever a storm hits Hong Kong, there are some members of the public who, disregarding their own safety, take photographs along the seashore, swim at sea or go hiking. In February this year, during an arson incident on a train in the MTR Tsim Sha Tsui Station, quite a number of passengers on the platform had neither assisted in extinguishing the fire and saving life nor expeditiously left the scene which was full of smoke. Instead, they are preoccupied with using their mobile phones to take photos. There have been comments that the aforesaid situations are reflective of a lack of safety awareness among some members of the public. With regard to enhancing the capability of various parties to deal with emergency incidents, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as there have been criticisms that there are inadequate fire extinguishers made available on the platforms in the MTR Tsim Sha Tsui Station for members of the public to access instantly, and that the directional signs indicating the escape routes are not clear, whether the authorities will request the MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL") to make improvement in this regard and step up broadcasting announcements or promotional videos inside MTR stations to convey safety messages to passengers, so as to enable them to know what to do in an emergency incident; (2) as terrorist attacks have occurred one after another in the railway systems of London, Brussels and Saint Petersburg this year, whether the relevant government departments conduct joint counter-terrorism exercises with MTRCL on a regular basis; whether inspections have been carried out to check if all MTR stations are currently equipped with the necessary disaster-prevention and counter-terrorism devices; if so, of the details; (3) whether various government departments responsible for carrying out emergency rescues conduct scheduled and unscheduled exercises and formulated contingency measures to deal with various types of natural disasters and attacks, with a view to ensuring the safety of various public places; if so, of the details; and (4) whether the authorities will step up their public education and publicity efforts (such as publishing various types of survival guides for emergency situations) to enhance public awareness of the need to avoid various sorts of dangers, such as paying constant attention to their own safety in crowded places, and being aware of the escape routes in preparation for any contingency?
*19. Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to ask: (Translation)
The Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Tin Sau Bazaar ("Tin Sau Bazaar") in Tin Shui Wai, which was set up with the facilitation of the Government and under the operation and management of the Tung Wah Group of Hospitals ("TWGHs"), aims to provide more shopping choices and affordable goods for the residents of Tin Shui Wai, develop the local economy and create employment opportunities for the residents. I have learnt that the Tin Sau Bazaar has fared unsatisfactorily in terms of both the visitor flow and the business turnover of the stalls since it commenced operation in February 2013. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows, in each year since the Tin Sau Bazaar commenced operation in 2013, (i) the number of stalls available for leasing, (ii) the number of applications received for stall tenancies, (iii) the stalls vacancy rate, (iv) the percentage of stall operators who renewed their tenancies, (v) the number of cases in which tenancies were not renewed due to the stall operators being no longer eligible and the detailed reasons, (vi) the number of visitors to the Bazaar, and (vii) the number of complaints received and their details; (2) whether, in respect of the financial conditions of the Tin Sau Bazaar in the past five years, TWGHs has conducted a comprehensive review and given an account to the Government, including the annual (i) monthly rental income, (ii) expenses on related supporting facilities, (iii) publicity expenses and (iv) administrative costs; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) whether it knows if TWGHs has comprehensively reviewed (i) the effectiveness of the publicity efforts for the Tin Sau Bazaar, (ii) the operating hours of the Bazaar and (iii) the arrangements for setting up cooked food stalls therein; if so, of the outcome of the review; if not, the reasons for that; (4) whether it knows the details of the consultation conducted by TWGHs since 2013 with stakeholders (e.g. the Yuen Long District Council, local residents and stall operators) in respect of matters such as facilities, operation and publicity of the Tin Sau Bazaar; (5) given that the site of the Tin Sau Bazaar was leased out to TWGHs by the Lands Department under a five-year short-term tenancy which will soon expire, whether the Government will select, through open tender, a new organization for operating the Tin Sau Bazaar; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons and justifications for that; and (6) whether it will require the organization to be granted the new lease for operating the Tin Sau Bazaar to adopt new criteria for selecting stall operators; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*20. Hon Holden CHOW to ask: (Translation)
In the first few years after its establishment in 1999, the Tourism Commission ("TC") commenced studies and consultations on a number of tourism development projects. Owing to various reasons, quite a number of such projects have now been shelved (e.g. the fisherman's wharf in Aberdeen) or have not made any progress so far (e.g. the development of spa and resort facilities). Since 2009, TC has not published any feasibility study report, consultation document or consultancy report relating to tourism development projects. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of tourism development projects on which TC has conducted public consultations and commissioned consultancy studies since its establishment, and set out in a table by year the outcome of the studies/consultations on the various projects; (2) whether TC has conducted any consultancy study on new tourism development projects since 2009; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether any study on the development of new tourist attractions and facilities is currently underway; if so, of the details?
*21. Hon LAU Kwok-fan to ask: (Translation)
Under the Public Swimming Pools Regulation (Cap 132 sub. leg. BR), no person over the age of 8 years or of a height exceeding 1.35 metres shall enter the dressing room for the opposite sex. However, some swimmers have relayed that strict enforcement of the aforesaid regulation is difficult as quite a number of young children are not accompanied to public swimming pools by parents of the same sex and most public swimming pool complexes do not provide family changing rooms at present, resulting in those parents having to bring their young children to the changing rooms for the opposite sex in order to take care of them. However, such a practice has caused embarrassment and inconvenience to other swimmers using the changing rooms. In addition, earlier there were media reports that the urea contents in the water of public swimming pools were on the high side, which might irritate the respiratory tracts, eyes and skin of swimmers and even trigger asthma attacks. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective total numbers of toilet compartments and shower cubicles in the family changing rooms at various public swimming pool complexes at present, and the respective percentages of such numbers in the total numbers of toilet compartments and shower cubicles, together with a breakdown by District Council district; (2) whether it has examined if it is a common phenomenon for the family changing rooms being occupied by non-family swimmers; if it has examined and the outcome is in the affirmative, whether it will widely publicize the target users of such a facility; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) whether it will provide additional family changing rooms at various public swimming pool complexes, including adding such a facility to existing public swimming pool complexes when they are refurbished; if so, of the specific plans; if not, the reasons for that; whether it has stipulated that newly built public swimming pool complexes must provide family changing rooms; if so, of the details; and (4) whether it has conducted sampling tests on the water of public swimming pools to see if there are problems of the urea contents in the water being on the high side; if it has and the outcome is in the affirmative, whether it will strengthen the monitoring of the quality and the filtering of the water of swimming pools; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*22. Hon Kenneth LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
In recent years, raising funds through crowdfunding activities is becoming increasingly popular among enterprises worldwide, and the governments of quite a number of countries have introduced legislation to regulate raising funds through crowdfunding activities. On the other hand, the Financial Services Development Council ("FSDC") released on 18 March last year a report entitled Introducing a Regulatory Framework for Equity Crowdfunding in Hong Kong, which explored options for establishing a framework and a regulatory regime to promote and, at the same time, regulate equity crowdfunding activities in Hong Kong. So far, however, the Government has not yet announced any specific measures to promote equity crowdfunding activities. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether, since the release of the aforesaid report, the authorities have taken specific follow-up actions on FSDC's recommendations; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) as the authorities indicated in their reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on 17 May this year that depending on the specific structure and features of the relevant crowdfunding arrangement, some types of crowdfunding activities, in particular equity crowdfunding, may currently be subject to regulation by the provisions of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571), and/or the Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Cap. 32) and even the Money Lenders Ordinance (Cap. 163), whether the authorities have drawn up guidelines to assist enterprises in assessing whether and how their intended equity crowdfunding activities will be subject to regulation by the aforesaid ordinances; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) whether it has assessed the effectiveness of the existing legislation and measures in promoting equity crowdfunding activities and safeguarding the interests of investors; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) whether it has plans to amend the legislation and establish a relevant regulatory framework in the coming year in order to promote equity crowdfunding activities; if so, of the details (including the legislative timetable); if not, the reasons for that?
* For written reply
III. Government Bills
| First Reading
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| 1. | Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 5) Bill 2017
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| 2. | Supplementary Appropriation (2016-2017) Bill
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| Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)
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| 1. | Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 5) Bill 2017 | : | Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
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| 2. | Supplementary Appropriation (2016-2017) Bill | : | Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
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| Stand-over item (since the meeting of 12 July 2017)
Committee Stage and Third Reading | ||||||||||||||
| Stamp Duty (Amendment) Bill 2017 | : | Secretary for Transport and Housing
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IV. Government Motions
Stand-over items (since the meeting of 12 July 2017)
| 1. | Proposed resolution under the Energy Efficiency (Labelling of Products) Ordinance
Secretary for the Environment to move the following motion: Resolved that the Energy Efficiency (Labelling of Products) Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 1) Order 2017, made by the Secretary for the Environment on 2 May 2017, be approved. |
| (The Order is in Appendix I and was issued
on 27 June 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 758/16-17) | |
| 2. | Proposed resolution under the Criminal Procedure Ordinance
Secretary for Home Affairs to move the following motion: Resolved that the Legal Aid in Criminal Cases (Amendment) Rules 2017, made by the Criminal Procedure Rules Committee on 2 May 2017, be approved. |
| (The Rules are in Appendix II and were issued
on 20 June 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 713/16-17) | |
V. Members' Motions
Stand-over item: Member's motion no. 1 (since the meeting of 11 October 2017)
| 1. | Proposed resolution under section 34(4) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
Hon MA Fung-kwok to move the following motion: Resolved that in relation to the - | |
| (a) | Electoral Affairs Commission (Electoral Procedure) (Legislative Council) (Amendment) Regulation 2017, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 129 of 2017;
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| (b) | Electoral Affairs Commission (Electoral Procedure) (District Councils) (Amendment) Regulation 2017, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 130 of 2017;
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| (c) | Electoral Affairs Commission (Electoral Procedure) (Election Committee) (Amendment) Regulation 2017, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 131 of 2017;
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| (d) | Electoral Procedure (Chief Executive Election) (Amendment) Regulation 2017, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 132 of 2017; and
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| (e) | Electoral Procedure (Rural Representative Election) (Amendment) Regulation 2017, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 133 of 2017,
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| and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 28 June 2017, the period for amending subsidiary legislation referred to in section 34(2) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap. 1) and deemed to be extended under section 34(3) of that Ordinance, be extended under section 34(4) of that Ordinance to the meeting of 8 November 2017.
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| 2. | Proposed resolution under section 34(4) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
Hon Starry LEE to move the following motion: Resolved that in relation to the Country Parks (Designation) (Consolidation) (Amendment) Order 2017, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 141 of 2017, and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 12 July 2017, the period for amending subsidiary legislation referred to in section 34(2) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap. 1) and deemed to be extended under section 34(3) of that Ordinance, be extended under section 34(4) of that Ordinance to the meeting of 8 November 2017. | |
| 3. | Motion under Rule 49B(1A) of the Rules of Procedure
Hon Claudia MO to move the motion in Appendix III. | |
| (The motion was issued on 10 October 2017
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 21/17-18) | ||
| Stand-over items: Members' motions nos. 4 and 5 (since the meeting of 12 July 2017)
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| 4. | Establishing a comprehensive 're-industrialization' policy regime
Hon Jimmy NG to move the following motion: (Translation) That given the new opportunities brought about by global reforms in industrial technologies, many countries or places are proactively developing high value-added advanced manufacturing industries, and Hong Kong is no exception; the Government has already made it clear that re-industrialization is a potential new area of economic growth for Hong Kong, and announced the establishment of a committee on innovation, technology and re-industrialization; in this connection, this Council urges the Government to conduct a timely review and elevate the positioning of the 're-industrialization' policy, with a view to upgrading the existing industrial policy regime led by innovation and technology to a comprehensive industrial policy regime which is more independent, forward-looking and systematic; the Government should also examine the role of industries in the local economic structure and societal development, and study the 'external development' feature of Hong Kong's industries, with the aim of providing tax support for those offshore Hong Kong manufacturers engaging in manufacturing and production industries, thereby consolidating the economic foundation of Hong Kong and promoting the diversification of industries. Hon HO Kai-ming, Hon Kenneth LEUNG, Dr Hon CHIANG Lai-wan, Hon WU Chi-wai, Ir Dr Hon LO Wai-kwok, Hon Charles Peter MOK and Hon Jeremy TAM to move amendments to the motion | |
| (The amendments were issued on 29 June 2017
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 760/16-17) | ||
| Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Innovation and Technology
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| 5. | Conducting a comprehensive review of labour legislation to improve labour rights and interests
Hon HO Kai-ming to move the following motion: (Translation) That this Council urges the Government to make safeguarding labour rights and interests its priority task and expeditiously conduct a comprehensive review of and make amendments to the various legislation relating to labour matters, so as to ensure that such legislation keeps pace with the times. Hon LUK Chung-hung, Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki, Dr Hon Helena WONG and Hon Andrew WAN to move amendments to the motion | |
| (The amendments were issued on 29 June 2017
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 759/16-17) | ||
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Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Labour and Welfare
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