Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

A 17/18-10

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 6 December 2017 at 11:00 am

I. Tabling of Papers

1.	No. 36	-	Customs and Excise Service Children's Education Trust Fund Report by the Trustee, Financial Statements and Report of the Director of Audit for the year 1 April 2016 to 31 March 2017
(to be presented by Secretary for Security)
2.	No. 37	-	Customs and Excise Service Welfare Fund Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2017 and its summary, together with the Report of the Director of Audit
(to be presented by Secretary for Security)
3.	No. 38	-	The Legislative Council Commission Annual Report 2016-2017
(to be presented by the President of the Legislative Council)
4.	No. 39	-	Independent Police Complaints Council Report 2016/17
(to be presented by Hon CHAN Kin-por, Vice-Chairman of the above Council)

II. Questions

1. Hon Jeremy TAM to ask: (Translation)

In 2005, the Court of Final Appeal handed down its judgement in the case of Lo Siu Lan v. Hong Kong Housing Authority that pursuant to section 4(1) of the Housing Ordinance, the Hong Kong Housing Authority ("HA") has the duty to "secure the provision of" amenities ancillary to housing as HA thinks fit. Subsequently, HA divested the retail and carpark facilities in its public rental housing ("PRH") estates to The Link Real Estate Investment Trust (now known as Link Real Estate Investment Trust ("Link REIT")). Link REIT announced on the 28th of last month that it had signed an agreement to sell 17 shopping centres an overwhelming majority of which are shopping centres previously divested by HA. Quite a number of PRH residents have expressed concerns that the new owners of the shopping centres will substantially raise the shop rentals, causing replacement of shops selling daily necessities by those selling luxury goods, which will result in the residents having to travel to other districts to buy daily necessities. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1)	whether it has taken the initiative to gain an understanding from Link REIT about the details of the sale of the shopping centres, and assessed the impact of the matter on the daily living of PRH residents; if so, of the details; if not, whether it will do so expeditiously;
(2)	which government department is currently responsible for conducting regular reviews on whether HA has fulfilled its duty under the law to secure the provision of the facilities concerned; whether it has put in place, for the situation where it finds HA has not fully fulfilled such duty caused by the divested shopping centres not providing adequate facilities, a mechanism under which it can provide the facilities lacking in the estates concerned; and
(3)	as the Chief Executive told the media during her election campaign that Link REIT was one of the "three big mountains" that the Government was facing but improvements could be made by formulating the relevant policies, whether the Government has formulated policies to lessen the impacts of Link REIT selling the shopping centres on the daily living of the residents; if so, of the details and the implementation timetable of such policies; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

2. Hon CHEUNG Kwok-kwan to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that recently, there have been signs of resurgence of actions for "the promotion of Hong Kong independence on school campuses", which subsided for a while. Two groups which advocate Hong Kong independence ("pro-independence groups") have organized dozens of students to set up street booths outside the entrances of a number of tertiary institutions and secondary schools, and distribute leaflets printed with slogans such as "Only independence can protect Hong Kong and its people", "Independence can put Hong Kong back on the right course", etc. These groups have even publicly announced on social media that they will strive for "the proliferation of the promotion of independence on school campuses". Last month, the Education Bureau ("EDB") stated that actions to publicize Hong Kong independence contravened the Basic Law, and must be stopped. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1)	as it has been reported that the aforesaid pro-independence groups have openly stated that they will press for Hong Kong independence, and they have also incited or abetted minor students and other people to set up street booths and distribute leaflets which promoted Hong Kong independence, whether the authorities have assessed if such acts have constituted concrete actions of pressing for Hong Kong independence, and have possibly contravened relevant local legislation; if they have assessed and the outcome is in the affirmative, whether law enforcement agencies will take law enforcement actions;
(2)	whether EDB has put in place measures, such as issuing guidelines, to assist schools in tackling the problem of pro-independence groups attempting to infiltrate into school campuses; if so, of the details; if not, whether EDB will immediately formulate the relevant measures; and
(3)	as it has been reported that some minor students have been incited or abetted to participate in activities to promote Hong Kong independence organized by such groups, whether EDB will issue guidelines to schools across the territory and provide support to them to assist schools in rectifying, through counselling or education, these students' mistaken thought of identifying with Hong Kong independence?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education

3. Dr Hon CHIANG Lai-wan to ask: (Translation)

At present, there are 18 Chinese Medicine Centres for Training and Research ("CMCs") in the territory, which are operated under a tripartite model involving the Hospital Authority, non-governmental organizations and local universities, providing Chinese medicine services to members of the public. Some members of the public have pointed out that as such centres have to operate on a self-financing basis, their service charges are far higher than those for the publicly funded western medicine services in the public sector. Regarding the development of Chinese medicine services, will the Government inform this Council:

(1)	of the respective current average daily consultation quota, numbers of patient attendances and utilization rates of the aforesaid 18 CMCs; whether it has assessed if the relevant services are sufficient to meet the demand; if it has assessed, of the outcome, and whether it will establish additional CMCs in response to local demand; if it will not, of the reasons for that;
(2)	whether it will consider providing the 18 CMCs and the Chinese medicine hospital to be commissioned in the future with the same level of funding support as that for western medicine services, so as to relieve the financial burden of members of the public receiving Chinese medicine services and, by eliminating the fee gap, alleviate the pressure on western medicine services in the public sector; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3)	given that at present, Chinese and western medicine practitioners and pharmacists are required to undergo professional training and registration before they may practise, whether the authorities will establish professional training and registration systems for Chinese medicine dispensers; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

4. Dr Hon CHENG Chung-tai to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that in the first 10 months of this year, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority ("HKMA") received 117 complaints about banks cancelling their customers' accounts, and that number is higher than the 109 complaints received for the whole of last year. Some of the bank customers whose accounts have been cancelled are small business owners operating catering outlets or stationery shops. Some members of the industry have pointed out that banks may, on the basis of frequent cash deposit and withdrawal transactions in accounts, suspect that the accounts have been used for money laundering and cancel such accounts on that ground. Notwithstanding that HKMA issued in September last year a circular on customer due diligence processes requiring banks to refrain from adopting "one-size-fits-all" measures to combat money laundering, the number of complaints went up instead of going down in recent months. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether HKMA will take further measures (e.g. establishing a penalty and compensation mechanism) to prevent banks from cancelling their customers' accounts unreasonably?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

5. Hon Charles Peter MOK to ask: (Translation)

Some members of the information technology sector have relayed to me that the existing finance-related legislation, which was drawn up with traditional financial activities as the blueprint, fails to dovetail with the current development of financial technology ("Fintech"). As a result, when start-up companies engage in Fintech businesses such as providing applications of blockchain encryption technologies or transaction platforms for cryptocurrencies, carrying out initial coin offering ("ICO") and operating a virtual bank, they may easily and inadvertently fall into the grey areas and thereby breaching the law. In addition, some Fintech start-up companies have their bank accounts frozen or their applications for opening new accounts rejected by banks without explicit reasons, resulting in their daily operations being affected. They have also pointed out that Hong Kong is lagging behind places like Singapore and Japan in respect of regulating and facilitating Fintech development. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1)	whether the authorities will, by making reference to the practices in Singapore, issue clear guidelines on the regulation of ICO to define unequivocally the respective legal liabilities of and requirements for the issuance platform, financial adviser and transaction platform of ICO, and to stipulate the details on how ICO is subject to the regulation of the securities laws of Hong Kong, in order to protect the rights and interests of those people engaged in ICO activities;
(2)	whether the authorities will, by making reference to the practices in Japan, introduce a licensing system for cryptocurrency transaction platforms, and stipulate that the annual accounts of such transaction platforms must be audited by auditors, that such platforms must abide by anti-money laundering laws, and that the platforms must strengthen their "know-your-client" ("KYC") process which is for identifying and verifying clients' identities and is conducive to the prevention of money laundering, etc. so as to enhance the transparency of such transaction platforms and protect their clients; and
(3)	as the Hong Kong Monetary Authority ("HKMA") indicated in September this year that it would consult members of the banking sector on matters pertaining to the introduction of virtual banks, whether HKMA will consult local start-up companies and practitioners that engage in Fintech on the issue, and whether HKMA will, when introducing virtual banks, facilitate the participation of local and overseas innovation and technology enterprises, apart from allowing the subsidiaries of traditional banks and regulated financial institutions to engage in the provision of virtual banking services; if HKMA will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

6. Hon CHAN Han-pan to ask: (Translation)

Quite a number of residents of the housing estates under the Tenants Purchase Scheme ("TPS") have relayed to me that only stairs or very steep passageways are provided at the main external access of such estates, making it very inconvenient for the elderly and persons with disabilities ("PWDs") to access the estates. As the common areas in TPS estates are private areas, they are not covered by the Universal Accessibility Programme. The Hong Kong Housing Authority ("HA"), being one of the flat owners of TPS estates, has all along been shirking its responsibility by merely requesting the Owners' Corporations ("OCs") of those estates to provide barrier-free facilities or enhance such existing facilities on their own. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1)	whether it knows the current number of TPS estates where only stairs are provided at their main external access; how the Government renders assistance to the elderly and PWDs in accessing the estates concerned;
(2)	given that a motion urging the Government to expand the scope of the Universal Accessibility Programme to cover TPS estates was passed at the meeting of the Panel on Transport of this Council on the 17th of last month, whether the Government has taken follow-up measures; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3)	whether, at present, the main external access of all TPS estates complies with the requirements under the Design Manual - Barrier Free Access 2008 and the Disability Discrimination Ordinance; if there are TPS estates which do not comply with the requirements under the Disability Discrimination Ordinance, whether the Government has assessed if HA and the OCs of the estates concerned have to shoulder the relevant legal liabilities; of the Government's measures to prevent cases of non-compliance from happening?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

*7. Hon Mrs Regina IP to ask: (Translation)

In the Policy Address she delivered in October this year, the Chief Executive announced the introduction of the Starter Homes Pilot Scheme for Hong Kong Residents ("Pilot Scheme"). Under the Pilot Scheme, the Government will, through incorporating provisions into the land lease, require developers to pursue mixed developments, i.e. to offer, in addition to private housing units, a specified number of units for sale to persons who have never owned any property in Hong Kong and meet other prescribed eligibility criteria. The Government will, by the end of next year, select a residential site at Anderson Road on the Land Sale Programme, which is estimated to provide about 1 000 units, for use as the pilot site for the Pilot Scheme. In order to enhance the effectiveness of the Pilot Scheme, will the Government inform this Council whether it will require developers to provide the following facilities in the development projects under the Pilot Scheme:

(1)	Government-managed public markets, with a view to relieving the plight of those residents who "need to buy expensive food" as certain districts have been monopolized by markets under the Link Asset Management Limited at present; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2)	primary care facilities (such as community health centres), with a view to alleviating the pressure on public healthcare services in the districts concerned; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3)	social welfare facilities (such as residential care homes for the elderly and child care centres) and venues for religious groups with comparatively small numbers of believers to carry out religious activities, with a view to providing the districts concerned with more comprehensive community facilities; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

*8. Hon Alvin YEUNG to ask: (Translation)

According to section 2AB(1)(c) of the Immigration Ordinance (Cap. 115), any person who claims to be a permanent resident of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region under paragraph 2(c) of Schedule 1 (i.e. a person of Chinese nationality born outside Hong Kong to a parent who, at the time of birth of that person, was (a) a Chinese citizen born in Hong Kong or (b) a Chinese citizen who had ordinarily resided in Hong Kong for a continuous period of not less than seven years) may apply to the Director of Immigration for a certificate of entitlement ("CoE"). Regarding applications for CoE under the aforesaid provision, will the Government inform this Council:

(1)	of the respective numbers of CoE applications made by persons residing in Mainland China which were (i) approved and (ii) rejected by the Director each year since 1 July 1997; and
(2)	in respect of the rejected applications mentioned in (1), of (i) the five most common reasons for refusal and the number of applications involved for each reason, and (ii) the number of applications rejected because the applicants had made false claims?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*9. Hon LAM Cheuk-ting to ask: (Translation)

"Environ of a recognized village" ("VE") generally refers to the area within a 300-foot radius from the edge of the last village type house built in the recognized village before the introduction of the Small House Policy on 1 December 1972. According to the information provided by the Lands Department, among the existing 642 recognized villages across the territory, the VE boundaries for 73 of them have not been drawn up. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1)	of (i) the land area of each recognized village for which VE boundary has been drawn up and its remaining land area available for Village Type Development uses, and (ii) the names of the recognized villages the VE boundaries of which have been extended (set out by District Council district); and
(2)	among the 210 sites which had been identified, as indicated by the authorities in September this year, of the number of sites which include land (i) planned for Village Type Development uses or (ii) to be used for the extension of VE boundaries?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

*10. Hon KWOK Wai-keung to ask: (Translation)

With an ageing population, the demand for elderly services has increased substantially in Hong Kong. The Government has earlier pointed out that the vacancy rate of some care staff now stands as high as 18%. Besides, as shown in statistics, the current average age of care workers is about 55, reflecting the situation of "the elderly taking care of the elderly". The Chief Executive indicated in the Policy Address she delivered in October this year that on the premise that local workers' priority for employment would be safeguarded, the Government would explore with stakeholders the possibility of increasing imported workers for the elderly service sector on an appropriate and limited scale. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1)	of the number of workers imported in each of the past three years by the elderly service sector under the Supplementary Labour Scheme, together with breakdowns by the country from which the workers came, the positions they held, their average age, their average monthly wage, their average weekly working hours as well as their qualification and experience;
(2)	whether it knows the current number of local employees in the elderly service sector across the territory, with breakdowns, by the age group (i.e. 15 to 24, 25 to 34, 35 to 44, 45 to 54, and 55 years old or above) and occupational group to which they belong, their gender and educational attainment, and whether or not they are in full-time employment, of the (i) number, (ii) median weekly working hours and (iii) median monthly wage of such employees;
(3)	whether it knows the number of training courses relating to the elderly service sector which were organized in the past five years by various relevant vocational training organizations (including the Vocational Training Council, the Employees Retraining Board, etc.), and set out the following information on such courses: (i) course title, (ii) course type, (iii) professional fields (such as health care and residential care), (iv) mode of study or training period, (v) the estimated and actual numbers of students admitted, (vi) the number of students who completed the courses or training, and (vii) the percentage of students who were employed by the elderly service sector upon completion of the relevant courses or training; and
(4)	of the latest progress of the Navigation Scheme for Young Persons in Care Services, which was launched in July 2015 by the Social Welfare Department to encourage young persons to join the elderly service sector; the respective rates of participation and withdrawal since the launch of the Scheme; the number of students completed the two-year part-time course first offered; whether the authorities will review and improve the remuneration package of the students to increase the attractiveness of the Scheme?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

*11. Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council whether it knows, regarding the various uncommon diseases listed in the table below, (i) the current number of patients and (ii) the year in which the first case was confirmed?

Name of diseases

(i)

(ii)

1.	Congenital urea cycle disorders

2.	Citrullinemia

3.	Nitroacetylglutamate synthetase deficiency

4.	Ornithine transcarbamylase deficiency

5.	Hyperornithinemia-hyperammon 270.6 emia-homocitrullinuria syndrome

6.	Amino acid metabolic disorders (Aminoacidopathies)

7.	Homocystinuria

8.	Hypermethioninemia

9.	Nonketotic hyperglycinemia

10.	Phenylketouria

11.	Tetrahydrobiopterin deficiency

12.	Hereditary tyrosinemia

13.	Maple syrup urine disease

14.	Organic acidemias

15.	Isovaleric academia

16.	Glutaric aciduria type I, II

17.	Propionic academia

18.	Methylmalonic acidemia

19.	3-Hydroxy-3-methyl-glutaric acidemia

20.	PAH type PKU combine with sucrase-isomaltase deficiency

21.	Hyperlysinemia

22.	Histidinemia

23.	3-Methylcrotonyl-CoA carboxylase deficiency

24.	Multiple carboxylase deficiency

25.	Hyperprolinemia

26.	Aromatic L-amino acid decarboxylase deficiency

27.	Tyrosine hydroxylase deficiency

28.	Cobalamin C defect (Methylmalonic aciduria and Homocystinuria, cb1C type)

29.	Gaucher's disease

30.	GM1/GM2 gangliosidosis

31.	Fabry disease

32.	Niemann-Pick disease

33.	Metachromatic leukodystrophy

34.	Globoid cell leukodystrophy (Krabbe's disease)

35.	Infantile form lysosomal acid lipase deficiency (Wolman disease)

36.	Galactosemia

37.	Glycogen storage disease

38.	Glut 1 (Glucose transporter type 1) deficiency syndrome

39.	Fatty acid oxidation defect

40.	Carnitine deficiency syndrome, Primary

41.	Medium-chain acyl-coenzyme A dehydrogenase deficiency

42.	Short-chain acyl-CoA dehydrogenase deficiency

43.	Mitochondrial defect

44.	Kearns-Sayre syndrome

45.	Leigh disease

46.

MELAS

47.	Mitochondrial neurogastrointestinal encephalopathy syndrome

48.	Pyruvate dehydrogenase deficiency

49.	Barth syndrome

50.	Cystinosis

51.	Mucopolysaccharidoses

52.	Fucosidosis

53.	Sialidosis

54.	Mucolipidosis

55.	Neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis

56.	Multiple sulfatase deficiency

57.	Homozygous familial hypercholesterolemia

58.	Familial hyperchylomicronemia

59.	Sitosterolemia

60.	Wilson's disease

61.	Menkes syndrome

62.	Molybdenum cofactor deficiency

63.	Zellweger syndrome

64.	Adrenoleukodystrophy

65.	Rhizomelic chondrodysplasia punctata

66.

Porphyria

67.	Lesch-Nyhan syndrome

68.	Sulfite oxidase deficiency

69.	Carbohydrate-deficiency glycoprotein syndrome

70.	Trimethylaminuria

71.	Congenital generalized lipodystrophy

72.	Cerebrotendinous xanthomatosis

73.	Hypophosphatasia

74.	Beta-ketothiolase deficiency

75.	Biotinidase deficiency

76.	Multiple sclerosis

77.	Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis

78.	Ataxia telangiectasia

79.	Huntington disease (Huntington's chorea)

80.	Rett syndrome

81.	Spinal muscular atrophy

82.	Spinocerebellar ataxia

83.	Tuberous sclerosis

84.	Congenital insensitivity to pain with anhidrosis

85.	Neurofibromatosis type II

86.	Alexander disease

87.	Stiffperson syndrome

88.	Hereditary spastic paraplegia

89.	Joubert syndrome

90.	Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease

91.	Charcot Marie tooth disease

92.	Kennedy disease

93.	Familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy

94.	Moebius syndrome

95.	Mcleod syndrome

96.	Aicardi-Goutieres syndrome

97.	Proteus Syndrome

98.	Methyl CpG binding protein 2 duplication syndrome

99.	Cerebro-costo-mandibular syndrome

100.	Idiopathic infantile arterial calcification

101.	Cystic fibrosis

102.	Primary pulmonary hypertension

103.	Holt-Oram syndrome

104.	Andersen syndrome

105.	Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia

106.	Asphyxiating thoracic dystrophy

107.	Congenital central hypoventilation syndrome

108.	Progressive intrahepatic cholestasis

109.	Inborn errors of bile acid synthesis

110.	α1- Antitrypsin deficiency

111.	Congenital interstitial cell of cajal hyperplasia with neuronal intestinal dysplasia

112.	Alagille syndrome

113.	Lowe syndrome

114.	Bartter's syndrome

115.	Autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease

116.	Hereditary epidermolysis bullosa

117.	Lchthyosis, lamellar recessive

118.	Collodion baby

119.	Harlequin ichthyosis

120.	Bullous congenital ichthyosiform erythoderma (epidermolytic hyperkeratosis)

121.	Ectodermal dysplasias

122.	Meleda disease

123.	Darier's disease

124.	Dyskeratosis congenita

125.	Diffuse non-epidermolytic palmoplantar keratoderma type unna-thost

126.	Incontinentia pigmenti

127.	Netherton syndrome

128.	Duchenne muscular dystrophy

129.	Nemaline rod myopathy

130.	Schwartz Jampel syndrome

131.	Myotonic dystrophy

132.	Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy

133.	Myotubular myopathy

134.	Becker muscular dystrophy

135.	Freeman-Sheldon syndrome

136.	Limb-girdle muscular dystrophy

137.	Congenital muscular dystrophy

138.	Central core disease

139.	Multiminicore disease

140.	Achondroplasia

141.	Osteogenesis imperfecta

142.	Primary Paget disease

143.	Cleidocraninal dysplasia

144.	Fibrodysplasia ossificans progressiva

145.	Split-hand/split-foot malformation

146.	Osteopetrosis

147.	Pseudoachondroplastic dysplasia

148.	Multiple epiphyseal dysplasia

149.	Ehlers Danlos syndrome IV

150.	Thalassemia major

151.	Thrombasthenia

152.	Homozygous protein C deficiency

153.	Paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria

154.	Atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome

155.	Chronic primary granulomatous disease

156.	Congenital hyper IgE syndrome

157.	Bruton's agammaglobulinemia

158.	Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome

159.	Severe combined immunodeficiency

160.	Complement component 8 deficiency

161.	IPEX syndrome

162.	Hyper-IgM syndrome

163.	Interferon γ receptor 1 deficiency

164.	Kenny-Caffey syndrome

165.	Pseudohypoparathyroidism

166.	X-linked hypophosphatemic rickets

167.	Laron syndrome (Laron dwarfism)

168.	Bardet-Biedl syndrome

169.	Alsrtom syndrome

170.	Persistent hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia of infancy

171.	Wolfram syndrome, DIDMOAD

172.	McCune Albright syndrome

173.	Campomelic dysplasia with autosomal sex reversal

174.	ACTH resistance

175.	1α-hydroxylase deficiency

176.	Congenital adrenal hypoplasia

177.	Kallmann syndrome

178.	Permanent neonatal diabetes mellitus

179.	Aarskog-Scott syndrome

180.	Waardenburg syndrome

181.	Apert syndrome

182.	Smith-Lemli-Opitz syndrome

183.	Larsen syndrome

184.	Beckwith Wiedemann syndrome

185.	Crouzon syndrome

186.	Fraser syndrome

187.	Multiple pterygium syndrome

188.	Cornelia de Lange syndrome

189.	Hallerman-Streiff syndrome

190.	Kabuki syndrome

191.	Oto-palato-digital syndrome

192.	Conradi-Hunermann syndrome

193.	Treacher Collins syndrome

194.	Robinow syndrome

195.	Pfeiffer syndrome

196.	Pantothenate kinase associated neurodegeneration

197.	Nail-Patella syndrome

198.	Cardiofaciocutaneous syndrome

199.	Peters-Plus syndrome

200.	Nager syndrome

201.	CHARGE syndrome

202.	White-Sutton syndrome

203.	Angelman syndrome

204.	DiGeorge's syndrome

205.	Prader-Willi syndrome

206.	Wilms' tumor-aniridia-genitourinary anomalies-mental retardation

207.	Miller Dieker syndrome

208.	Rubinstein-Taybi syndrome

209.	Williams syndrome

210.	Von Hippel–Lindau disease

211.	Branchio-oto-renal syndrome

212.	Cockayne syndrome

213.	Hutchinson Gilford progeria syndrome

214.	Tricho-hepato-enteric syndrome

215.	Stargardt's disease

216.	Occult macular dystrophy

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

*12. Hon Kenneth LEUNG to ask: (Translation)

On the 12th of last month, Hong Kong and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ("ASEAN") signed a free trade agreement and a related investment agreement to enhance and strengthen the trade and investment flows between Hong Kong and the 10 ASEAN states. In order to enhance Hong Kong's profile and promote exchanges between Hong Kong and ASEAN member states, will the Government inform this Council whether it has plans to:

(1)	update Hong Kong's strategies for promoting and publicizing Hong Kong's goods and services to ASEAN member states; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2)	further promote the cooperation and exchanges between various organizations in Hong Kong (including think tanks, arts and cultural organizations and non-governmental organizations) and their counterparts in ASEAN member states; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(3)	re-launch the internship scheme for higher education students to take up internships in ASEAN member states, increase the number of internship places and arrange students to take up internships in organizations of different sectors, as well as enhance the exchanges between students, teachers and academics of Hong Kong and their counterparts in ASEAN member states; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(4)	launch a subsidy scheme to encourage the public to know more about the cultural and economic development of ASEAN member states and learn their languages, so as to deepen the understanding of the public and local enterprises about those countries; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

*13. Hon Paul TSE to ask: (Translation)

Under the law, owners of subsidized sale flats such as those under the Home Ownership Scheme/Private Sector Participation Scheme ("HOS/PSPS") and the Tenants Purchase Scheme ("TPS") must obtain the prior approval from the Director of Housing ("the Director") before they may mortgage or remortgage ("refinance") their flats. It has been reported that recently a TPS flat in Ma On Shan, which had been refinanced as many as 12 times, was put up for sale by auction pursuant to a court order because its owner was incapable of repaying the loans from finance companies. Moreover, the Police launched four rounds of operations against unscrupulous financial intermediaries ("intermediaries") between September 2015 and August last year, arresting 302 persons and smashing 43 unscrupulous intermediaries in total. However, it has been reported that intermediaries have used more secretive and roundabout practices (e.g. boasting that there will be no charge for unsuccessful applications, renaming intermediary fees as service fees and setting up bogus law firms) to trick members of the public into taking out loans from them. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1)	of the respective numbers of cases, which were recorded by the Housing Department and the Land Registry each year since 2015, of refinancing of HOS/PSPS and TPS flats which had not been approved by the Director beforehand; among such cases, the number of those in respect of which the authorities instituted prosecutions;
(2)	whether the authorities have investigated if the owner of the aforesaid flat, which was put up for sale by auction, had obtained the Director's prior approval before proceeding with each refinancing; if so, of the details; if there was no prior approval, whether the finance companies concerned have contravened the law; whether the authorities will explore ways to eradicate the practice of finance companies granting loans to owners of subsidized sale flats with unpaid premium who have not obtained the Director's prior approval for the refinancing;
(3)	whether the Police have investigated the situation that after the Police have stepped up law enforcement efforts, intermediaries have switched to adopting unscrupulous practices that are more secretive and roundabout than before in their operation; if so, of the details; if not, whether the Police will expeditiously conduct investigations and step up prosecutions, so as to prevent more property owners from becoming victims;
(4)	as a number of members of the public who suspected they had been defrauded by intermediaries have approached my Member's Office for assistance, saying that the Police have refused to handle their cases, whether the authorities have kept a close watch on the situation where the victims of intermediary frauds have nowhere to turn to for assistance; and
(5)	whether the authorities will draw up a policy that the Land Registry must, on receipt of applications for registering entries of encumbrances such as mortgages or charges in the land registration records of flats under TPS, HOS/PSPS and the Green Form Subsidized Home Ownership Scheme with unpaid premium, notify the Housing Department, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the relevant departments for ascertaining whether the cases concerned have been approved by the Director and taking appropriate follow-up actions?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

*14. Hon CHAN Hak-kan to ask: (Translation)

The Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme ("EHCVS") aims to supplement the existing public healthcare services by providing financial incentive to enable the elderly to choose private healthcare services that best suit their needs, including preventive care. It has been reported that there are cases of abusive use of the health care vouchers ("HCVs"). Examples include: a Chinese medicine practitioner tricked an elderly person into buying expensive Chinese medicine powders using her HCVs; an optometrist disregarded an elderly person's eye disease and merely checked his eyesight and prescribed glasses for him in return for his HCVs, without referring that elderly person to an ophthalmologist for follow-up which resulted in his becoming blind due to delay in diagnosis and treatment; and another optometrist misled an elderly person into being prescribed a pair of expensive brand-name glasses using his HCVs. Moreover, there are views that the Government should increase the annual voucher amount in order to relieve the financial pressure on the elderly with chronic diseases, and should also raise the accumulation limit of HCVs to help the elderly cope with unexpected and expensive medical expenses. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1)	of the number of complaints about HCVs received by the Government in each year since the launch of EHCVS in 2009, with a breakdown by nature of the complaint;
(2)	whether a mechanism is currently put in place to monitor, on a regular basis, if there is any abusive use of HCVs; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(3)	whether the authorities will, in the light of the aforesaid press reports, step up the monitoring on the use of HCVs; if so, of the details and whether they will employ the tactic of posing as customers for the collection of evidence; if they will not step up the monitoring, the reasons for that;
(4)	of the ordinances that may be invoked by the authorities at present to institute prosecutions against private service providers who have tricked elderly persons into using HCVs improperly, the details of the relevant law enforcement actions, as well as the penalties generally imposed on the convicted persons; and
(5)	whether it will adjust upward both the annual voucher amount and the accumulation limit of HCVs; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

*15. Dr Hon Elizabeth QUAT to ask: (Translation)

Some members of the public have relayed to me that Hong Kong counts on its several teams of dedicated disciplined services to become one of the safest cities in the world. However, some staff members of the disciplined services have indicated that the meagre fringe benefits to which they are entitled have impacted on their morale and led to serious talent wastage. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1)	as the Government's five-day work week arrangement is not applicable to a considerable portion of staff members of the disciplined services, and when they take vacation leave, more annual leave entitlements are deducted as compared to the civil servants working under the five-day work week mode, of the respective numbers and percentages of the staff members of the various disciplined services who are currently working under the five-day work week mode (set out in a table by department); whether the authorities will conduct a review on narrowing the differences in the number of working hours among staff members of the disciplined services, and study the extension of the five-day work week arrangement to cover all staff members of the disciplined services; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2)	as some staff members of the disciplined services have relayed that given the recruitment of additional manpower for the disciplined services in recent years, and junior officers in the disciplined services being unable to vacate their departmental quarters upon retirement due to delays in the allocation of public housing units to them under the Civil Service Public Housing Quota Scheme, the shortfall of departmental quarters for the various disciplined services has become increasingly acute, of the current numbers of departmental quarters and staff members waiting to be allocated quarters in respect of the various disciplined services (set out in a table by department); whether the authorities will allocate land for the construction of new quarters and adopt a higher plot ratio for the expansion of existing departmental quarters; if not, how the authorities tackle the shortage of departmental quarters;
(3)	as some staff members of the disciplined services have relayed that as they need to work shifts, they can hardly get the priority discs of general outpatient clinics reserved for serving civil servants and are thus unable to receive timely diagnosis and treatments, whether the authorities will consider implementing a medical card system for staff members of the disciplined services and other civil servants, so as to enable them to seek consultations at different clinics; if so, of the details; if not, how the authorities address the aforesaid problem;
(4)	as the medical benefits provided by the Government for civil servants (including staff members of the disciplined services) do not cover Chinese medicine consultation service, whether the authorities will include such service in the scope of the medical benefits provided for civil servants, or provide integrated Chinese-Western medicine services for civil servants in general outpatient clinics; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(5)	as the staff members of the disciplined service appointed on or after 1 June 2000 will become ineligible for the medical benefits provided by the Government upon retirement, whether the authorities will consider allowing such staff members, upon retirement, to continue to enjoy the same medical benefits (including dental services) as pensionable civil servants; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(6)	as the Chief Executive indicated in her Policy Address delivered in October this year that the Government had examined and agreed to extend the retirement age of serving civil servants (including staff members of the disciplined services) appointed between 1 June 2000 and 31 May 2015, whether the authorities will consider extending the retirement age of those serving civil servants (including disciplined services staff members) appointed before 1 June 2000; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Civil Service

*16. Hon CHAN Han-pan to ask: (Translation)

Some residents of villages in the New Territories have relayed to me that with the rapid increase in population in rural areas in recent years, the refuse collection points ("RCPs") in those areas are often full and hence garbage could be seen strewn all over the place outside such RCPs. Moreover, the service contractors of the Government have not stepped up the cleansing services for public places in response to the increasing quantity of waste, resulting in poor environmental hygiene conditions in rural areas. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1)	of the current number and distribution of RCPs in rural areas and, among them, the number of those which were set up in the past decade;
(2)	of the average number of times the service contractors cleanse such RCPs each day, and the scope of and the time spent on the cleansing work;
(3)	of the amount of resources allocated by the Government in each of the past five years for carrying out upgrading and refurbishment works for the existing RCPs; the current number of RCPs in rural areas for which such works have yet to be carried out; and
(4)	whether it has plans to use refuse collection equipment (e.g. the compaction refuse collection bins being used in Macao) which makes better use of space, in order to increase the throughput of RCPs, thereby dealing with the increasing quantity of waste arising from the increase in population in rural areas?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

*17. Hon Charles Peter MOK to ask: (Translation)

To facilitate Internet learning at home by students from low-income families, the Government has, since the 2010-2011 school year, implemented (i) the Subsidy Scheme for Internet Access Charges ("SSIAC") under which a non-accountable Subsidy for Internet Access Charges ("SIA") is provided to eligible families; and (ii) the Internet Learning Support Programme ("ILSP") which helps eligible families procure affordable computers and Internet access service, as well as provides them with free training (including computer training for parents to enable them to guide and support their children's Internet learning) and technical support. It has been reported that only a few old models of computers, which operate at low speeds, are available for purchase under ILSP, and the complementary hardware and software are also unsatisfactory. On the other hand, there are comments that ILSP is ineffective due to a lack of coordination among government departments. For instance, the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer ("OGCIO"), which is responsible for coordinating ILSP, has difficulty in acting in concert with the Strategy on Information Technology in Education implemented by the Education Bureau ("EDB"). Moreover, since SIA is disbursed to eligible families though the Working Family and Student Financial Assistance Agency or the Social Welfare Department, it is difficult for OGCIO to grasp full information of such families and students in order to provide them support. It has been reported that ILSP will be concluded at the end of August next year, but the two operators of ILSP intend to continue, after ILSP has ended, the support on Internet learning for students from low-income families. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1)	of the following information in each year from the 2013-2014 school year to October this year:
	(i)	the respective numbers of families which were eligible for SIA and those which actually received SIA, and
	(ii)	(a) the respective numbers of families which enrolled for and those actually participated in ILSP, (b) the number of occasions on which services were provided under ILSP, and (c) the actual and target utilization rates of such services (set out in a table);
(2)	whether it assessed, in the past three years, the effectiveness of ILSP; if so, of the criteria adopted for the assessment and its outcome;
(3)	whether the Government, after gaining the experience from implementing ILSP, has plans to introduce the following improvement measures in respect of the support on Internet learning for students from low-income families on: (i) providing a new subsidy on a reimbursement basis for procurement of computers to enable recipient families to acquire computers according to students' learning needs, (ii) enhancing parts and software maintenance and replacement services on a free or cost-recovery basis, and (iii) providing parent computer training courses on a more flexible time schedule and at locations closer to their homes;
(4)	upon the conclusion of ILSP in August next year, how the Government will follow up on and provide support on the Internet learning for students from the recipient families under ILSP (including the handling of outstanding contracts on the hire-purchase of computers for such families), and whether it will launch a new programme to continue providing assistance to those recipient families; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(5)	whether it will consider tasking EDB to coordinate the relevant tasks such as implementing SSIAC, assisting students with financial difficulties in procuring affordable computers and Internet access service, coordinating the technical support for students' Internet learning, and providing counseling services for students with Internet addiction and cyber-bullying issues, and make such arrangements a standing practice; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(6)	whether it has approached the two operators of ILSP to gain an understanding about the details of their continued provision of support on Internet learning for students from low-income families after the conclusion of ILSP, and whether it will allocate new resources to support the operators and other non-governmental organizations in providing low-income families with popular services such as support on choosing and procuring Internet access service, technical support and computer training for parents?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Innovation and Technology

*18. Dr Hon Elizabeth QUAT to ask: (Translation)

Clause 9(a) of the Standard Employment Contract ("SEC"), which was drawn up by the Government and is applicable to foreign domestic helpers ("FDHs"), provides that in the event that an FDH "is ill or suffers personal injury [regardless of whether this arises out of employment] … the Employer shall provide free medical treatment to the Helper. Free medical treatment includes medical consultation, maintenance in hospital and emergency dental treatment". Recently, the Hong Kong Employers of Domestic Helpers Association and a number of FDH employers have relayed to me that this clause compels FDH employers to bear the medical expenses incurred by their FDHs due to critical illnesses, chronic diseases, giving birth or injuries caused by accidents during their engagement in high-risk activities, and it has not prescribed a cap on the amount of medical expenses to be borne by the employers. They therefore consider that such a requirement unfairly places an excessive and unreasonable financial burden on the employers. On the other hand, if an employee suffers from a critical illness or chronic disease and a certificate has been issued by a registered medical practitioner certifying that he/she is permanently unfit for the present job he/she is being engaged, his/her employer may terminate the employment contract immediately. However, in accordance with the requirements under the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Cap. 486), a medical practitioner must not issue such a certificate to an FDH employer unless the FDH has given consent to disclosing his/her personal data to a third party. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1)	whether there is currently a requirement that a prospective FDH or his/her prospective employer must, before the former's entry into Hong Kong, submit directly to the relevant government departments a health certificate and a medical examination report issued by authorized medical institutions in respect of the prospective FDH; if not, how the authorities ensure that a prospective FDH, who will stay in Hong Kong for a period of time, does not suffer from infectious diseases or chronic illnesses;
(2)	as clause 8 of SEC provides that a prospective FDH employer shall be responsible for the medical examination fees incurred by the prospective FDH before his/her entry into Hong Kong, and clause 17 requires the employer to sign a declaration that "the Helper has been medically examined as to his/her fitness for employment as a domestic helper and his/her medical certificate has been produced for inspection by the Employer", whether, under these two clauses, the prospective employer has the authority to require, before signing the employment contract, the prospective FDH to submit his/her medical examination report, and whether the Government requires a prospective employer to perform a gatekeeping role to verify the healthiness of the prospective FDH and to act as a guarantor of the FDH's healthiness;
(3)	whether it has assessed if the following two practices of prospective FDH employers will contravene the Disability Discrimination Ordinance (Cap. 487): (i) deciding not to sign an employment contract with a prospective FDH upon knowing from the medical examination report of the FDH before his/her entry into Hong Kong that the FDH has health problems, and (ii) deciding to terminate an employment contract with an FDH upon learning from the report of a medical examination, which the FDH was arranged to undergo within one week upon the FDH's arrival at Hong Kong, that the FDH is suffering from a critical illness or chronic disease; if it has assessed, of the outcome;
(4)	whether it currently provides support to prospective FDH employers for judging the authenticity of the medical certificates provided by prospective FDHs before their entry into Hong Kong; if not, how prospective employers may verify the authenticity of such documents;
(5)	given that employers have no authority to stop FDHs from going out (even during inclement weather) or engaging in high-risk activities on non-working days, but employers are required to bear the medical expenses incurred by FDHs due to their injuries caused by accidents during such period of time, whether the Government will reconsider amending clause 9(a) of SEC to prescribe a cap on the amount of medical expenses to be borne by employers and expressly exclude the medical expenses incurred by FDHs due to critical illnesses, chronic diseases, giving birth and injuries caused by accidents during their voluntary engagement in high-risk activities on non-working days, so as to avoid employers having to bear unreasonable financial burden; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(6)	as some FDH employers have pointed out that a family with a monthly income of no less than HK$15,000 is already eligible to apply for hiring an FDH but in the event that the huge medical expenses, incurred by an FDH due to a critical illness or injury caused by an accident, are not indemnified by the insurance policy taken out by the FDH employer or the amount of indemnity is inadequate, the family concerned will suffer financial hardship, whether the Government will provide financial support to this type of families; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(7)	as some FDH employers have pointed out that it is increasingly common for foreigners to apply for taking up employment as FDHs in Hong Kong in order to obtain free or low-charge medical services of Hong Kong, of the Government's measures to address the problem?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

*19. Dr Hon CHENG Chung-tai to ask: (Translation)

On 31 October 2015, the Education Bureau issued to all primary and secondary schools across the territory an updated circular on Guidelines on Homework and Tests in Schools - No Drilling, Effective Learning, stating clearly that effective homework can help students consolidate and extend learning, and thus it is the quality rather than the quantity of homework that counts. However, some members of the public have recently relayed to me that the questions set out in the homework given to students by some primary and secondary schools are tricky and detached from reality, which may hinder the mental and intellectual development of students. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1)	whether the Bureau will conduct random checks to see if the quality and quantity of homework given to students by primary and secondary schools are appropriate, so as to avoid the mental and intellectual development of students being hindered by homework;
(2)	whether the Bureau studied in the past three years how the performance of schools in the Territory-wide System Assessment and the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination correlated with the quality and quantity of homework and the frequency of tests they had given to students; if so, of the outcome; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3)	of the concrete measures taken in the past three years by the Bureau to ensure that primary and secondary schools did not give students excessive homework and tests?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education

*20. Hon Jimmy NG to ask: (Translation)

A research report has pointed out that the value of global Internet retailing totalled HK$7,682 billion in 2015, accounting for 7.3% of the total value of global retail sales. Such amount and percentage represent a rise by more than one-fold from the HK$2,946 billion and 3.1% in 2010. Nonetheless, the findings of a survey indicate that Hong Kong consumers are not enthusiastic about online shopping as they have doubts over the quality of the products and services purchased online as well as concerns over the security and privacy protection of online payments. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1)	whether it knows the number of complaints about online shopping received by the Consumer Council in each of the past three years, together with a breakdown by nature of complaint;
(2)	whether the authorities will consider, by making reference to the relevant laws in Mainland China, South Korea and the European Union ("EU"), enacting a piece of legislation dedicated for online shopping which will include specific clauses (such as a cooling-off period) so as to enhance the protection for consumers; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(3)	given that the relevant laws in Mainland China, South Korea and EU provide that online retailers are obliged to provide consumers with clear information, including the contact details, description of the goods and services to be provided, payment methods, delivery arrangement, procedures for order cancellation and refund policy, whether the authorities will consider enacting similar legislation to safeguard consumers' right to know; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(4)	whether the authorities will consider, by making reference to the practices in EU and South Korea, establishing a mechanism or a platform for providing consulting and mediation services in respect of online shopping disputes, so as to resolve such disputes in a simple, fast and low-cost manner; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(5)	given the concerns of some consumers over the security and privacy protection of online payments, whether the authorities will consider, by making reference to the practices in EU, South Korea and Singapore, launching a trust mark scheme for shopping websites with the collaboration among government departments, public organizations and relevant trade associations, so as to boost e-commerce in Hong Kong as well as cross-border e-commerce?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

*21. Hon Wilson OR to ask: (Translation)

In April last year, a fire broke out in a 48-year-old industrial building on King Fuk Street, San Po Kong and about 80 people were evacuated. Last month, a No. 3 alarm fire broke out in a 51-year-old industrial building located on the same street, and about 700 people in a nearby school underwent emergency evacuation due to the thick smoke. On the other hand, under the existing legislation, only some of the industrial buildings built before 1987 ("old industrial buildings") are required to be provided with automatic sprinkler systems. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1)	of the current number of old industrial buildings not provided with automatic sprinkler systems across the territory (with a breakdown by District Council ("DC") district);
(2)	of the respective numbers of regular and surprise inspections conducted in the past five years by the relevant government departments on old industrial buildings in respect of matters such as fire safety measures, types of items stored, partitioning of units (including those units used for operating mini-storages) and whether there are unauthorized building works, as well as the number of non-compliant cases uncovered (with a breakdown by government department and DC district); the respective numbers of related prosecutions and convictions, and the maximum punishment imposed on the convicted persons; whether it will consider raising the relevant penalty to increase the deterrent effect;
(3)	as the Government plans to introduce to this Council in early next year a bill that aims to enhance the fire safety of old industrial buildings, whether the bill will include provisions to provide for the following: (i) types of items allowed to be stored, (ii) layout of mini-storages, (iii) alternative installations and equipment (e.g. dry sprinkler systems, fixed fire-fighting installations, fixed fire pumps and portable fire-fighting equipment) to be adopted when installation of automatic sprinkler systems has been found infeasible, and (iv) the requirement for owners or the occupiers of an industrial building to regularly conduct fire risk assessments for the building (such assessments must be conducted by registered fire engineers under specified circumstances), so as to facilitate the authorities to issue fire safety certificates after ensuring that the building has complied with the relevant requirements; and
(4)	whether it has reviewed if it is necessary to increase, upon the passage of the aforesaid bill by this Council, the manpower of the Fire Services Department and the Buildings Department so as to cope with the additional law enforcement work; if it has reviewed and the outcome is in the affirmative, of the additional manpower required?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*22. Hon Tanya CHAN to ask: (Translation)

On the 16th of last month, the Chairman of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Basic Law Committee under the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress attended and delivered a speech at a Basic Law seminar in Hong Kong. It was reported that prior to the event, the Education Bureau ("EDB") had written to various school sponsoring bodies, inviting them to arrange for the secondary schools under their sponsorship to broadcast live on campus the seminar for students to watch, and requesting the school sponsoring bodies to complete and return a reply slip. The Secretary for Education said in a radio programme in October this year that the reply slip had been prepared to facilitate the provision of technical support for the live broadcast, and it was not the case that the schools had to complete and return the reply slip and it was also not sure that the authorities would compile the relevant statistics. Moreover, some of the secondary schools which had arranged for the live broadcast had prepared worksheets for students who watched the seminar to fill out and return. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1)	of the persons who suggested to broadcast live the seminar on campus, to write to school sponsoring bodies and to ask them to complete and return a reply slip, and whether any of them were non-government individuals; the persons who decided to accept those suggestions, and the justifications and powers on which they based when they made those decisions; the decision making process concerned, and whether it can provide the relevant documents and records;
(2)	whether EDB had, before inviting school sponsoring bodies to arrange for a live broadcast of the seminar, consulted the principals and teachers of those secondary schools, parents and education experts to gauge their views on arranging for the live broadcast; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(3)	whether EDB had liaised with the various school sponsoring bodies before and after issuing the invitation letters; if so, of the details; whether EDB can provide the relevant records and copies of the invitation letters;
(4)	of the total numbers of invitation letters issued and reply slips received by EDB; the number of school sponsoring bodies which indicated in the reply slips they returned that the schools under their sponsorship would arrange for the live broadcast of the seminar, and the number of schools involved; whether it knows the number and level of students arranged to watch the live broadcast by each of those schools;
(5)	whether it knows the number of school sponsoring bodies which had not returned the reply slips but the schools under their sponsorship had arranged for the live broadcast of the seminar, and the number of schools involved; the number and level of students arranged to watch the live broadcast by each of those schools;
(6)	of the respective numbers of schools which (i) requested for and (ii) obtained technical support provided by EDB for broadcasting live the seminar;
(7)	whether EDB had requested the schools which broadcast live the seminar to distribute worksheets to their students, and whether EDB had (i) issued guidelines on or (ii) examined the contents of the worksheets in advance; if so, of the details;
(8)	whether EDB has reviewed the effectiveness of the live broadcast in question; if so, of the outcome of and the criteria adopted for the review;
(9)	whether EDB has plans to regularize the arrangement for secondary schools to broadcast live the speeches delivered by Mainland and Hong Kong officials live on campus and extend it to all schools in the territory; and
(10)	whether EDB will include the worksheet related to the content of a live broadcast as one of the means of assessment for the Liberal Studies subject; if so, of the reasons for and the details of that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education

* For written reply

III. Members' Motions

Stand-over item: Member's motion no. 1 (since the meeting of 29 November 2017)

Motion under Rule 49E(2) of the Rules of Procedure

Hon Starry LEE moved the following motion:

That this Council takes note of Report No. 5/17-18 of the House Committee laid on the Table of the Council on 29 November 2017 in relation to the subsidiary legislation and instrument(s) as listed below:

Item Number	Title of Subsidiary Legislation or Instrument
(1)	Trainee Solicitors (Amendment) Rules 2017 (Commencement) Notice (L.N. 164/2017).

Public Officers to attend

Secretary for Justice
Solicitor General

Proposed resolution under Article 75 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China

Hon Paul TSE to move the motion in Appendix 1.

(The motion was issued on 27 November 2017
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 176/17-18)

Proposed resolution under Article 75 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China

Hon Alvin YEUNG to move the motion in Appendix 2.

(The motion was issued on 27 November 2017
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 176/17-18)

Proposed resolution under Article 75 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China

Hon Tanya CHAN to move the motion in Appendix 3.

(The motion was issued on 27 November 2017
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 176/17-18)

Proposed resolution under Article 75 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China

Hon WU Chi-wai to move the motion in Appendix 4.

(The motion was issued on 27 November 2017
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 176/17-18)

Proposed resolution under Article 75 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China

Hon Charles Peter MOK to move the motion in Appendix 5.

(The motion was issued on 27 November 2017
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 176/17-18)

Proposed resolution under Article 75 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China

Hon Kenneth LEUNG to move the motion in Appendix 6.

(The motion was issued on 27 November 2017
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 176/17-18)

Proposed resolution under Article 75 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China

Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG to move the motion in Appendix 7.

(The motion was issued on 27 November 2017
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 176/17-18)

Proposed resolution under Article 75 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China

Hon Jeremy TAM to move the motion in Appendix 8.

(The motion was issued on 27 November 2017
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 176/17-18)

10.

Proposed resolution under Article 75 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China

Hon Dennis KWOK to move the motion in Appendix 9.

(The motion was issued on 27 November 2017
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 176/17-18)

11.

Proposed resolution under Article 75 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China

Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to move the motion in Appendix 10.

(The motion was issued on 27 November 2017
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 176/17-18)

12.

Proposed resolution under Article 75 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China

Hon CHAN Chi-chuen to move the motion in Appendix 11.

(The motion was issued on 27 November 2017
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 176/17-18)

13.

Proposed resolution under Article 75 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China

Hon Martin LIAO to move the motion in Appendix 12.

(The motion was issued on 27 November 2017
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 176/17-18)

Hon Andrew WAN, Hon LAM Cheuk-ting, Dr Hon Helena WONG, Hon WU Chi-wai, Hon IP Kin-yuen, Hon James TO, Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG, Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki, Hon Alvin YEUNG, Hon Jeremy TAM and Hon CHU Hoi-dick to move amending motions to the proposed resolution

(The amending motions were issued on 4 December 2017
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 186/17-18)

(Debate and voting arrangements for the proposed resolutions under Article 75 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China and the relevant amending motions (issued on 5 December 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 198/17-18(01)) (same as the Appendix to the Script of Council meeting of 6 December 2017))

Stand-over item: Member's motion no. 14 (since the meeting of 18 October 2017)

14.

Motion under Rule 49B(1A) of the Rules of Procedure

Hon Claudia MO to move the motion in Appendix 13A.

(The motion was issued on 10 October 2017
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 21/17-18)

15.

Motion under Rule 49B(1A) of the Rules of Procedure

Hon Andrew WAN to move the motion in Appendix 13.

(The motion was issued on 24 November 2017
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 169/17-18)

16.

Motion under Rule 49B(1A) of the Rules of Procedure

Hon CHU Hoi-dick to move the motion in Appendix 14.

(The motion was issued on 24 November 2017
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 169/17-18)

17.

Motion under Rule 49B(1A) of the Rules of Procedure

Hon WU Chi-wai to move the motion in Appendix 15.

(The motion was issued on 24 November 2017
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 169/17-18)

18.

Motion under Rule 49B(1A) of the Rules of Procedure

Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to move the motion in Appendix 16.

(The motion was issued on 24 November 2017
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 170/17-18)

19.

Motion under Rule 49B(1A) of the Rules of Procedure

Hon Charles Peter MOK to move the motion in Appendix 17.

(The motion was issued on 24 November 2017
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 169/17-18)

20.

Motion under Articles 73(5) and 73(10) of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China

Hon Jeremy TAM to move the motion in Appendix 18.