Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

A 17/18-14

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 17 January 2018 at 11:00 am

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / Instrument	L.N. No.
Exemption from Profits Tax (Non-Renminbi Sovereign Bonds) Order	2/2018

Other Papers

1.	No. 63	-	Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Hong Kong Annual Report 2016-17
(to be presented by Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs)
2.	No. 64	-	Equal Opportunities Commission Annual Report 2016/17
(to be presented by Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs)
3.	No. 65	-	Supplemental Report of the Public Accounts Committee on Report No. 68 of the Director of Audit on the Results of Value for Money Audits (January 2018 - P.A.C. Report No. 68A)
(to be presented by Hon Abraham SHEK, Chairman of the Committee, who will address the Council)

II. Questions

1. Hon Alice MAK to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that since 2014, Link Real Estate Investment Trust ("Link REIT ") has divested 45 of its commercial facilities (including shopping centres and car parks), an overwhelming majority of which are commercial facilities in public rental housing ("PRH") estates that were divested in 2005 by the Hong Kong Housing Authority ( "HA") to the former entity of Link REIT. Some PRH residents have expressed the concern that following the divestment of such commercial facilities by Link REIT, it has become even more difficult for HA to fulfill its duty under section 4(1) of the Housing Ordinance to "secure the provision of" amenities ancillary to housing as HA thinks fit. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1)	of the mechanism currently put in place to monitor the compliance with the relevant land lease conditions and covenants by the owners of the commercial facilities divested by HA; the number of suspected non-compliant cases handled by the Government in the past five years;
(2)	whether, since 2005, the Government has conducted studies on the impacts of the operation modes and resale of commercial facilities divested by HA on the community, people's livelihood and the retail industry; if so, of the details; if not, whether it will conduct a study expeditiously; and
(3)	given that the Chief Executive indicated earlier that she had reservation back then about HA's divestment of its commercial facilities, and now she felt "a bit having her hands tied" on "the Link REIT issue", of the specific circumstances that the expression "having her hands tied" referred to; whether the Government will proactively take effective measures, including the setting up of a dedicated inter-departmental taskforce to monitor and conduct inspections on whether or not the owners of the divested commercial facilities have breached the relevant land lease conditions and covenants, so as to alleviate the after-effects of HA's divestment of commercial facilities?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

2. Hon Holden CHOW to ask: (Translation)

Some residents of Tung Chung have relayed to me that due to the completion of quite a number of infrastructure projects and the continuous population growth in North Lantau in recent years, the vehicular flow of Tung Chung has risen continuously and there have been frequent traffic congestions. In addition, the external road traffic of North Lantau will be paralyzed whenever a traffic accident happens on the Tsing Ma Bridge. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1)	of the respective vehicular flows of and numbers of traffic accidents which happened on North Lantau Highway as well as Tat Tung Road and Shun Tung Road in Tung Chung in each of the past five years, and whether there has been an upward trend in such figures;
(2)	of the respective percentages, as projected by the authorities, of vehicular flows of North Lantau Highway and the major roads in Tung Chung in their design capacities in each of the coming five years, and whether the vehicular flows will reach saturation; if so, of the authorities' measures to deal with the situation; and
(3)	whether the authorities will implement within the coming five years traffic management measures and plans for expanding the traffic network to alleviate the traffic load of the road network in North Lantau?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

3. Hon Kenneth LAU to ask: (Translation)

Last month, the Secretary for Transport and Housing said that the main bridge of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge ("HZMB") had achieved readiness for commissioning, but the commissioning date of HZMB was pending, which was to be decided by the Central Authorities after full preparation had been made by the authorities of the three places of Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macao. Regarding the commissioning arrangements for HZMB, will the Government inform this Council:

(1)	of the authorities' latest projections on the daily vehicular and traveller flows during the initial stage of commissioning of HZMB, and how such figures compare with those projected in 2008; whether it has proposed to the Mainland authorities the implementation of concessionary measures during the initial stage of commissioning so as to boost the utilization rate of HZMB; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2)	whether 24-hour clearance will be implemented during the initial stage of commissioning of HZMB; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3)	as it has been reported that the Macao and Mainland authorities have agreed to adopt a "joint boundary control system" which is a new mode of clearance whereby travellers commuting between Zhuhai and Macao via HZMB may complete the clearance procedures in one go by simply presenting the travel documents required by the place that they are entering when undergoing the departure procedure, whether the authorities will adopt a similar mode of clearance for travellers commuting to and from Hong Kong via HZMB; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

4. Hon Tanya CHAN to ask: (Translation)

On 27 December last year, the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress made a decision ("the Decision") to approve the Co-operation Arrangement between the Mainland and the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region on the Establishment of the Port at the West Kowloon Station of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link for Implementing Co-location Arrangement ("the Co-operation Arrangement") signed between the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Mainland authorities on 18 November last year. The explanations made by the Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council on the Decision ("the Explanations") pointed out that Articles 2, 7, 118 and 119 of the Basic Law had provided the legal basis for the Co-operation Arrangement. The Government will commence the domestic legislative exercise for implementing the co-location arrangement. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1)	given that reference to a number of Basic Law articles was made in a paper submitted by the Government to this Council in July last year in relation to the co-location arrangement, but Articles 7, 118 and 119 were not mentioned, when the Government came to know that these three articles would be among those articles providing the legal basis for the Co-operation Arrangement, and why the Government has not submitted at an earlier time a supplementary paper on this issue to this Council; whether the Government and the Mainland authorities have studied the implementation of the co-location arrangement by interpreting or amending the Basic Law through invoking Article 158 or Article 159;
(2)	whether the Legal Policy Division under the Department of Justice has studied the legal effects of the Decision and the Explanations in the judicial system of Hong Kong, and whether such instruments and the co-location arrangement comply with the Basic Law and the legal doctrines (especially in relation to Hong Kong courts' power to inquire into the constitutionality of laws) enunciated by the courts of Hong Kong in their judgments; if so, whether the Government will give this Council a detailed account of the outcome of the study; and
(3)	whether the "facilities and equipment provided by the Mainland authorities stationed at the Mainland Port Area themselves or exclusively used by them in carrying out duties and functions pursuant to this Co-operation Arrangement" as mentioned in Article 7(2) of the Co-operation Arrangement include detention rooms and weapon storerooms; if so, of the details?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

5. Hon Kenneth LEUNG to ask: (Translation)

It was reported that a number of personnel from an accounting firm were issued summons for contempt of court in November last year as the firm failed to produce, pursuant to a High Court's order, the working papers concerning the auditing of the accounts of a Mainland enterprise. The reason for the firm's non-compliance was that the relevant papers involved state secrets and sensitive information, and the production of such papers without the Mainland authorities' permission might violate Mainland laws and regulations. Some members of the accounting sector have pointed out that similar cases have occurred from time to time in recent years, and the differences between Hong Kong and the Mainland in the relevant laws and regulations have put them in a difficult situation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1)	whether it has assessed the impacts, on business development, work procedure to be followed as well as the legal liabilities and risks to be borne by Hong Kong accounting firms when conducting audits, brought about by the situation that since the Interim Provisions on Accounting Firms' Provision of Auditing Services for the Overseas Listing of Enterprises in Mainland China promulgated by the Ministry of Finance of China took effect on 1 July 2015, Hong Kong accounting firms have to concurrently comply with the relevant provisions and regulatory requirements of Hong Kong, the Mainland and the international community when they conduct cross-border auditing businesses; if so, of the outcome;
(2)	whether it will discuss with the Mainland authorities the establishment of a mechanism to assist Hong Kong accounting firms in obtaining the Mainland authorities' approval for the production of papers concerning the auditing of accounts of Mainland enterprises pursuant to the orders of Hong Kong's court or regulatory bodies, and the setting out in such a mechanism the procedure for handling audit papers involving state secrets and sensitive information; if so, of the details (including the work schedule); if not, the reasons for that; and
(3)	whether it will request the Financial Reporting Council ("FRC"), upon its becoming an independent oversight body of auditors of listed entities, to discuss with the Mainland authorities the establishment of a mechanism to facilitate FRC to obtain papers concerning the auditing of accounts of Mainland enterprises which are needed in disciplinary hearings, and the setting out in such a mechanism the procedure for handling audit papers involving state secrets and sensitive information; if so, of the details (including the work schedule); if not, the reasons for that?

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

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

In the course of handling law-breaking incidents such as road occupations and riots in recent years, it has been necessary for police officers to use force to clear the scene in order to restore social order. Some police officers have subsequently been convicted by the court of assaulting occasioning actual bodily harm. Some members of the public have expressed the concern that such convictions may deal a blow to the morale of the police force and even cause the perfunctory law enforcement by police officers owing to concerns over undue blame, which will eventually have an adverse impact on law and order. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1)	as it has been reported that the Police have established a working group to conduct a review on the guidelines, procedures and training, etc. in relation to the use of force by police officers and to study improvement measures, of the details and the timetable of the review and study; whether the working group will make reference to the criteria for the use of force by law enforcement officers adopted by western countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2)	whether "appropriate force" is clearly defined in the guidelines issued by the authorities on matters related to the use of force by police officers; and
(3)	given that the behaviours of some of the participants of demonstrations and assemblies have become increasingly radical in recent years, how the authorities ensure that police officers will not commit criminal offences as a result of their use of force during law enforcement in chaotic situations?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*7. Hon HUI Chi-fung to ask: (Translation)

Since the seventies of the last century, the Government has planted Acacia confusa ("Acacia") extensively in the countryside and the urban areas to prevent soil erosion, stabilize slopes and increase vegetation. Some tree experts have pointed out that as the average life span of Acacia is 50 to 60 years, those trees are in senescence, they will gradually wither with the risk of collapsing, posing safety hazards to members of the public. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1)	of the number of Acacia on government lands that were removed by the authorities in the past five years, and their distribution;
(2)	of the current number of Acacia on government lands and their distribution, and whether it has compiled statistics on the age of those trees and examined their health conditions; and
(3)	whether it has formulated a plan to gradually remove senescent Acacia and replace them by planting trees of other species; if so, of the implementation timetable, the estimated expenditure and the number of Acacia involved, as well as the species of the new trees to be planted and their places of origin?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

*8. Dr Hon Pierre CHAN to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that incidents of tree mismanagement (e.g. some banyan trees being planted in small planters and the roots of some trees being covered with concrete) have happened from time to time in Hong Kong in recent years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1)	whether it has compiled statistics on the respective current numbers of trees in Hong Kong which (i) are planted in planters or flower pots which are too small in size and (ii) have their roots covered with concrete; if so, of the numbers, and whether it will take remedial measures; if it has not, whether it will compile such statistics before the onset of the rainy season this year;
(2)	of the total number of complaints received in each of the past five years by the various tree management departments about tree mismanagement and, among them, the number of cases considered to be posing immediate danger; the average and longest processing time taken for cases posing immediate danger and for non-emergency cases respectively;
(3)	in respect of each tree management department at present, (i) of the number of trees managed, (ii) whether contractors have been commissioned to undertake the relevant work and (iii) the number of tree management personnel (including those supervising the contractors) and, among them, of the number of persons possessing the professional qualifications of landscape architects and arborists; the expenditure on tree management incurred by each of such departments in the past five financial years;
(4)	of the existing guidelines and practice notes on tree management with which the various tree management departments and their contractors are required to comply, and whether those documents have specified that non-compliant personnel may be penalized; if so, the number and details of the cases in which penalties were imposed in the past five years; and
(5)	given that the Ombudsman made 11 recommendations on the Government's tree management regime and practices in 2016, of the latest progress of the follow-up work taken on those recommendations by the authorities?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

*9. Hon Jeremy TAM to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the statistical information on government sites, will the Government inform this Council of:

(1)	the total area of sites which are currently zoned (i) Government, Institution or Community ("G/IC"), (ii) Recreation, (iii) Open Space and (iv) Other Specified Uses, and changes in such figures in the past five years (with a breakdown by District Council district);
(2)	the number of G/IC sites rezoned for other uses in the past five years, with a breakdown of the total area of such sites by the new use;
(3)	the respective numbers of idle government sites zoned G/IC, Recreation and Open Space which are currently (i) planned and (ii) not planned to be opened for public use; and
(4)	the respective numbers of G/IC, Recreation and Open Space sites which are currently allocated for use by (i) various bureaux and government departments and (ii) other organizations by way of government land allocations and temporary government land allocations, with a breakdown of the total area of such sites by their planned uses?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

*10. Prof Hon Joseph LEE to ask: (Translation)

According to the Supplementary Medical Professions Ordinance (Cap. 359), only registered optometrists or persons who are exempted from regulation by the relevant section according to Schedule 4 to the Optometrists (Registration and Disciplinary Procedure) Regulation (Cap. 359 sub. leg. F) (such as registered medical practitioners while practising medicine), ("approved persons") are allowed to prescribe, fit or supply on prescription optical appliances (e.g. corrective contact lenses). However, it is doubtful whether the sale of non-corrective contact lenses is subject to regulation by the Ordinance. It has been reported that there have been cases from time to time in recent years in which members of the public suffered from eye diseases or visual impairment after wearing contact lenses bought from shops or through the Internet. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1)	whether the authorities investigated in the past five years the situation of non-approved persons selling corrective and non-corrective contact lenses at shops and through the Internet; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2)	how the authorities currently monitor the situation of non-approved persons selling non-corrective contact lenses; and
(3)	whether the authorities will consider, by making reference to the practice of the United Kingdom, enacting legislation to explicitly prohibit non-approved persons from selling non-corrective contact lenses; if so, of the details (including the legislative timetable); if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

*11. Hon LEUNG Che-cheung to ask: (Translation)

Regarding cases of children (i.e. persons under the age of 18) being abused, will the Government inform this Council:

(1)

of the number of newly reported child abuse cases in each of the past five years, with a breakdown by age group to which the abused children belonged, nature of abuse (i.e. (i) neglect, (ii) sexual abuse, (iii) psychological abuse and (iv) multiple abuse) and identity of the abuser (i.e. (a) parent, (b) sibling, (c) step-parent, (d) grandparent, (e) other relative, (f) family friend/friend, (g) caregiver, (h) teacher, (i) tutor/coach, (j) co-tenant/neighbour, (k) unrelated person and (l) unidentified person/others) to be set out in tables of the same format as the table below;

Year:_____

Age group

0-2

3-5

6-8

9-11

12-14

15-17

Total

Nature of abuse

(i)

(ii)

(iii)

(iv)

(i)

(ii)

(iii)

(iv)

(i)

(ii)

(iii)

(iv)

(i)

(ii)

(iii)

(iv)

(i)

(ii)

(iii)

(iv)

(i)

(ii)

(iii)

(iv)

Identity of abuser

(a)

(b)

(c)

(d)

(e)

(f)

(g)

(h)

(i)

(j)

(k)

(l)

Total

(2)

of the respective numbers of abusers in child abuse cases prosecuted and convicted in each of the past five years;

(3)

whether there was an upward trend in the number of newly reported child abuse cases in the past five years; if so, of the details, and whether it has studied the causes;

(4)

of the measures currently in place to prevent child abuse; whether it will review the effectiveness of such measures; if so, of the details and timetable; and

(5)

of the details of the services currently provided by the Social Welfare Department to the abused children, abusers and their family members; the attendances of such services in each of the past three years, and the number of cases in which the abusers were found abusing children again within one year after receiving the services?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

*12. Hon LUK Chung-hung to ask: (Translation)

The Occupational Safety and Health Council conducted in 2010 a questionnaire survey, the results of which revealing that quite a large number of professional drivers had developed unhealthy living and eating habits due to the constraints arising from job nature and environmental factors. Moreover, quite a number of professional drivers indicated that they had been diagnosed as having health problems such as musculoskeletal discomforts, hypertension, gastrointestinal or digestive diseases and nerve pain. In addition, the results of a survey published by a community group in December last year showed that professional drivers had long working hours and heavy work pressure and their risk of suffering stroke was more than two times higher than that of the general public. Regarding the occupational safety and health ("OSH") of professional drivers, will the Government inform this Council:

(1)	whether it knows the number of cases in the past three years in which professional drivers were diagnosed as suffering from work-related diseases, together with a breakdown by type of disease and category of the vehicles they drove;
(2)	whether the authorities conducted in-depth studies and surveys in the past three years on the OSH issues of professional drivers; if so, of the details; if not, whether the authorities will expeditiously conduct such studies and surveys;
(3)	whether the authorities have reviewed the effectiveness of the existing work to publicize messages on OSH of professional drivers; if so, of the details; and
(4)	whether the authorities will consider specifying the aforesaid diseases suffered by professional drivers as compensable occupational diseases under the Employees' Compensation Ordinance (Cap. 282), and setting up a "central occupational insurance compensation fund" to be managed by a statutory body, with a view to processing expeditiously claims filed by professional drivers; if so, of the details and timetable; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

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

Since 1 April 2012, eligible male government employees are entitled to five days' paternity leave on full pay for each confinement of their spouse/partner. Moreover, starting from 27 February 2015, eligible male employees are entitled to three days' statutory paternity leave for each confinement of their spouse/partner, and to receive paternity leave pay at a daily rate of 80% of their average daily wages. It is learnt that quite a number of male employees take annual leave in addition to the three-day statutory paternity leave at the delivery of their child in order to help take care of their spouse/partner and the child. As such, the labour sector has all along been striving for seven days' statutory paternity leave on full pay. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1)	among the (i) male civil servants, (ii) male non-civil service contract staff and (iii) male employees of subvented organizations which have implemented the initiative of five-day paternity leave, of the respective numbers and percentages of those who were granted paternity leave each year since 1 April 2012;
(2)	whether it consulted government employees and employees of subvented organizations in the past five years on the need to increase the number of paternity leave days; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that and whether it will consult those employees formally on this matter; and
(3)	whether it has plans to raise the paternity leave entitlement of government employees to seven days so as to take the lead; if so, of the details and the timetable; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Civil Service

*14. Hon Claudia MO to ask: (Translation)

In the 2014-2015 school year, the Government introduced the Chinese Language Curriculum Second Language Learning Framework ("Learning Framework") to help non-Chinese speaking ("NCS") students overcome the difficulties of learning Chinese as a second language, and introduced the subject of Applied Learning Chinese (for NCS students) ("ApL(C)") at the senior secondary level. Regarding learning of Chinese language by NCS students, will the Government inform this Council:

(1)

among the Secondary 5 NCS and Chinese speaking students from schools under various modes of subsidies, of the respective numbers and percentages of those taking the ApL(C) subject in each year from 2015 to 2017 and, among such NCS students, the respective numbers and percentages of those enrolling in the courses of (a) Chinese for the Service Industry and (b) Practical Chinese in Hospitality under that subject (set out in Table 1);

Table 1

	2015		2016		2017
	NCS students
Number of students
Percentage
	(a)	(b)	(a)	(b)	(a)	(b)
Number of students
Percentage
	Chinese speaking students
Number of students
Percentage

(2)

regarding the courses of (a) Chinese for the Service Industry and (b) Practical Chinese in Hospitality under the ApL(C) subject for the first cohort, of the respective (i) numbers of schools offering such courses, (ii) numbers of enrolled students at the beginning, (iii) numbers of enrolled students in the end, and (iv) numbers of candidates sitting for the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination ("HKDSE") on such courses (and (v) a breakdown by attainment of such candidates) (set out in Table 2);

Table 2

		(a)	(b)
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
(v)	Attained with distinction
	Attained or above
	Unattained

(3)

whether the Education Bureau ("EDB") has conducted a review on the implementation and effectiveness of the ApL(C) subject; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and whether it will conduct such a review expeditiously;

(4)

whether EDB has taken measures to enhance employers' recognition of the HKDSE results for the ApL(C) subject; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(5)

of (i) the number of candidates sitting for the Chinese Language subject of HKDSE, and (ii) among the NCS candidates of HKDSE, the percentage and number (with a breakdown by their attainment and the relevant percentages) of those sitting for this subject, in each of the past six years, to be set out in tables of the same format as that of table 3; and

Table 3
Year：

(i)
(ii)	Number of NCS candidates						Percentage
(ii)
Attainment	Level 5 or above	Level 4	Level 3	Level 2	Level 1	Unclassified
Number
Percentage

(6)

whether it has drawn up a timetable and a work plan for reviewing the Learning Framework; if so, of the details, including the commencement and completion dates of such a review as well as the stakeholders to be consulted; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education

*15. Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to ask: (Translation)

According to the Employees' Compensation Ordinance (Cap. 282) ("ECO"), employees who have sustained an injury or died as a result of an accident which occurred in the course of their employment or those who have suffered from an occupational disease specified in ECO owing to the nature of their work may receive compensation under a no-fault principle. On taking sick leave, receiving diagnoses and treatments as well as filing employees' compensation ("EC") claims, etc. by employees injured at work, will the Government inform this Council, in respect of each year since 2012:

(1)	of the number of cases in which the Labour Department ("LD") instituted prosecutions against employers who had failed to take out EC insurance policies (commonly known as "labour insurance policies");
(2)	of the respective numbers of cases in which LD issued warning letters and instituted prosecutions against employers who had failed to pay (i) periodical payments (i.e. "sick leave payments") and (ii) medical expenses on time to employees injured at work and, among the prosecution cases, the respective numbers of those in which the employers were convicted;
(3)	of the respective numbers of EC claims received by LD, with a breakdown by whether the employees were incapacitated for (i) not more than or (ii) more than three days; among those claims involving an incapacitation period exceeding three days, the respective numbers of claims which were (iii) settled and (iv) unsettled within 12 months after they had been lodged, as well as (v) the total amount of compensation and (vi) the total number of lost working days involved in the former and (vii) the relevant reasons for the latter; among the claims involving an incapacitation period exceeding three days, (viii) the number of cases in which the employees concerned received a work capability assessment conducted by the Employees' Compensation Assessment Board after resuming duty, and (ix) the average time lapse between their resumption of duty and the conduct of the assessment;
(4)	of the respective numbers of employees who were granted sick leave due to work injury for a period of (i) three to six months, (ii) more than six months to one year, (iii) more than one year to two years, and (iv) more than two years, with a tabulated breakdown by trade;
(5)	of the number of EC claims filed with the court by employees, with a breakdown by case nature (i.e. injury or fatality);
(6)	of the respective numbers of legal aid applications (i) received and (ii) approved by the Legal Aid Department ("LAD") in respect of EC claims; in respect of the approved cases, the amount of expenditure incurred so far, as well as the average and median time taken from submission of applications to granting of approval;
(7)	of (i) the respective numbers of EC claims with legal aid granted which were heard by the court (with a breakdown by result (i.e. claims awarded, dismissed or settled)), and (ii) the number of cases in which legal aid was discharged by LAD in the course of action; the respective highest, lowest, median and average amounts of compensation payable in the cases in which (iii) the court ruled in favour of the claimants concerned and (iv) settlement agreements were reached by both parties to proceedings;
(8)	of the respective numbers of cases in which employees incapacitated as a result of a work injury (i) applied for and (ii) were granted Comprehensive Social Security Assistance, Normal Disability Allowance and Higher Disability Allowance, and the amount of expenditure involved in the approved cases for each type of allowances;
(9)	of the attendances at the accident and emergency departments under the Hospital Authority ("HA") by employees injured at work for diagnoses and treatments;
(10)	of (i) the attendance at the specialist outpatient clinics (including orthopaedics, neurosurgery and surgery) under HA by employees injured at work for diagnoses and treatments, (ii) the attendance among them involving new cases, and (iii) the respective current average waiting time for the old and new cases concerned, broken down by specialty; and
(11)	of the amount of expenditure incurred by the authorities on promoting the prevention of industrial accidents?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

*16. Hon WU Chi-wai to ask: (Translation)

In 2014, the Government commissioned a consultancy study on the demand for convention and exhibition ("C&E") facilities in Hong Kong. The study report made a number of recommendations, including (i) the construction of a convention centre above the Exhibition Station of the Sha Tin to Central Link ("SCL") ("convention centre"), (ii) construction of C&E facilities in Kai Tak, and (iii) expansion of AsiaWorld-Expo ("AWE"). In addition, the Government proposed, early last year on the ground that a new sports ground in the Kai Tak Sports Park would be completed in 2022, the demolition of the Wan Chai Sports Ground ("WCSG") to make way for comprehensive development and provision of C&E facilities. However, the Government announced in October last year that it would give up the identified site at WCSG and instead demolish the three government buildings in Wan Chai to release the site for the development of C &E facilities. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1)	of the existing development parameters of the various phases of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre ("HKCEC"), including building height, plot ratio, actual and permissible floor areas, etc.; how HKCEC's current actual floor area compares with its permissible floor area; if HKCEC has room for expansion, whether the authorities have formulated expansion plans;
(2)	of the development parameters of the project to construct a convention centre; whether it will construct the proposed convention centre in a way that the plot ratio is fully utilized; the latest progress of the design work of the convention centre; the expected time for announcing the details of the project;
(3)	as the Government estimated in 2015 that the convention centre would provide 10 000 m2 of convention facilities, but the Government announced in the Policy Address delivered in October last year that the convention centre would provide 15 000 m2 of convention facilities, of the reasons for the increase in the estimated area of convention facilities;
(4)	given that the existing floor area of the three government buildings in Wan Chai totals about 175 000 m2, of the permissible floor area of the site concerned; according to the latest estimations, of the expected time for (i) vacation of the buildings, (ii) commencement of the demolition works of the buildings, (iii) completion of the construction works of C&E and related facilities, and (iv) completion of the entire development project; whether the Government will use the Build-Operate-Transfer approach, which was adopted for constructing HKCEC, or other options (please specify) in developing those facilities;
(5)	since the authorities pointed out in a paper submitted to this Council in 2003 that Phase 2 development of AWE would commence when certain performance triggers (e.g. utilization and cash flow parameters) had been met, of the details of those performance triggers; whether AWE has now met the performance triggers; if so, since when the performance triggers have been met; of the expected time for the Government to initiate the procedure for expanding AWE;
(6)	as the Government has indicated that even if the various C&E facility development projects are completed on schedule, Hong Kong will still face the problem of insufficient C&E facilities during peak periods by 2028, of the respective areas of C&E facilities expected to be provided upon completion of those development projects and the projected shortfall in the area of C&E facilities in Hong Kong in 2028;
(7)	whether the Government has, apart from taking forward the aforesaid C&E facility development projects, conducted any other planning studies or projects on the development of C&E facilities; if so, of the details; and
(8)	given that the new sports ground in the Kai Tak Sports Park is expected to be completed in 2022, whether the Government will review the planning for the sites of the Hong Kong Coliseum in Hung Hom and in the surrounding areas with a view to developing new C&E facilities near the Coliseum and the Hung Hom MTR Station on the premise of no change to the existing use of those sites for recreation and sports facilities?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

*17. Hon Starry LEE to ask: (Translation)

Report No. 68 of the Director of Audit published in April last year pointed out that the performance of the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal ("KTCT") in 2016 (in terms of the number of cruise calls, cruise passenger throughput, per capita spending of passengers, etc.) was below expectation. Some members of the tourism industry consider that notwithstanding KTCT's prime location at the Victoria Harbour and its great potential for tourism development, the visitor flow at KTCT is persistently low, and it is like a ghost town. They criticize that KTCT, which cost more than HK$6.6 billion to build, has failed to achieve economic benefits, and the Government's objective of developing Hong Kong into an Asia cruise hub through KTCT has even become too remote to reach. Regarding plans to revitalize KTCT, will the Government inform this Council:

(1)	whether it has drawn up new plans with the aim to increase the attractiveness of KTCT and develop it into a tourist attraction; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2)	whether it has drawn up new plans with the aim to enhance the external transport of KTCT to facilitate tourists and members of the public to visit KTCT; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(3)	whether it has drawn up new plans with the aim to make use of the idle commercial space at KTCT to attract tourists to go there and spend, thereby alleviating the pressure on shopping hotspots; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(4)	whether it will study how the facilities of KTCT and those in nearby areas may complement each other so as to increase the utilization rate of KTCT, e.g. locating the embarkation and disembarkation points for Victoria Harbour cruises within KTCT; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

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

It was reported that two incidents occurred one after the other in November last year in which the water works arranged by the Water Supplies Department ("WSD") caused contamination of fresh water and odour emitting from it. A number of public rental housing ("PRH") estates, Home Ownership Scheme ("HOS") courts and private housing estates in Kwai Tsing, Tsuen Wan and Sha Tin were affected. Some residents said that they had developed gastrointestinal symptoms after drinking the contaminated fresh water. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1)	whether WSD will take water samples for laboratory tests from the residential flats affected by the aforesaid incidents, and make public the substances that caused the emission of odour from the fresh water and the potential hazards posed to human health by such substances; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2)	whether WSD issued guidelines to the estate management personnel of the PRH estates, HOS courts and private housing estates affected by the aforesaid incidents on cleaning the fresh water storage tanks and water supply pipes in the buildings concerned to ensure that the fresh water supplied to the residents conforms with the safety standards; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(3)	whether WSD has, in the light of the aforesaid incidents, reviewed the relevant monitoring procedures to avoid the recurrence of incidents of contamination of fresh water by water works; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(4)	apart from the provision of temporary water supply to residents affected by incidents of fresh water contamination, whether WSD has formulated new contingency measures in the light of the experience gained from the aforesaid incidents, so as to ensure the safety of fresh water supplied to residents; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and whether WSD will formulate the relevant measures expeditiously?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

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

Some parents of students have pointed out that upon cessation of operation of the Internet Learning Support Programme ("the Support Programme") in August this year, children from grass-roots families will face a number of problems in online learning, including (i) the Internet service fees (about $200 to $300 per month) will be twice of those for the Internet access services subscribed through the Support Programme because such service is available from only one Internet service provider for most of the inadequate housing (e.g. sub divisions of flat units/cubicle apartments in old tenement buildings and remote areas) in which those children commonly reside, and (ii) parents of grass-roots families in general lack knowledge of computer technology and hence are unable to help their children tackle difficulties in online learning. Those parents are of the view that as the Government is actively implementing science, technology, engineering and mathematics ("STEM") education, it should provide more support for children from grass-roots families to help them learn information technology. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1)	how the Government will help children from grass-roots families tackle the two aforesaid problems;
(2)	as the Government indicated in the 2017 Policy Agenda that it would invite the Community Care Fund to consider providing subsidy to needy primary and secondary students for purchasing tablet computers, of the progress of such work; the details of the proposed subsidy scheme (e.g. the implementation date, as well as the specifications of the tablet computers to be purchased with the subsidy and the software to be installed in them);
(3)	apart from providing subsidy to children from grass-roots families for purchasing tablet computers, how the Government will help them tackle the various problems encountered in online learning, including the lack of financial means to purchase learning software, antivirus software and computer maintenance service; and
(4)	given that the Government recommends that in implementing STEM education, schools should arrange their students to take computer programming and coding courses, but those courses are often conducted after school and for a fee, and some parents of students therefore anticipate that such situation will widen the gap in learning between children from rich and poor families, of the support to be provided by the Government for children from grass-roots families to help them take such courses?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Innovation and Technology

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

There were respectively 56 and 916 reported cases of rape and indecent assault ("sex crimes") in the first 10 months of 2017, or a growth of 9.8% and 9.2% respectively as compared with the figures in the same period in 2016. On curbing sex crimes, will the Government inform this Council, in the past five years:

(1)	of the (i) number of reported cases, (ii) detection rate and (iii) number of convictions in respect of sex crimes, as well as the respective numbers of black spots of sex crimes in various District Council districts each year;
(2)	whether the Police rolled out new measures to curb sex crimes, such as stepping up patrols at black spots of sex crimes and raising the alertness of the public by enhancing publicity efforts; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(3)	whether all victims of sex crimes were assigned police officers of the same sex to conduct interviews with them and take statements from them; if not, of the reasons for that; whether there is currently a sufficient number of female police officers on duty at each police station to conduct interviews with and take statements from female victims of sex crimes; and
(4)	whether the Police stepped up training for police officers in light of the latest trend in sex crimes; if so, of the details (including the number of officers who received training each year); if not, the reasons for that, and whether it will consider step up training?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

It has been learnt that in recent years, there has been an upward trend in the number of cases in which staff members of the disciplined services suffered strokes while on duty and a downward trend in the age of such staff members. Some staff members of the disciplined services have pointed out that inadequate manpower in various disciplined services in recent years has resulted in very long duty shifts for them. Moreover, the rest time between two shifts is not enough for them to recover their strength both mentally and physically. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1)	of the number of staff members of the disciplined services who suffered strokes while on duty in the past five years, together with a breakdown by the disciplined service, work unit and age group to which they belonged; the staff establishment of the work units concerned in the past five years;
(2)	of the criteria adopted by various disciplined services for determining whether there were work-related elements in the causes of stroke cases; and
(3)	of the measures adopted by the various disciplined services and work units concerned to address problems such as inadequate manpower and lengthy duty shifts?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

It has been reported that in recent years, more and more household appliances, personal electronic products and electronic toys can access the Internet and are equipped with sound-recording or video-recording functions ("smart products"). However, some of the smart products have poor information security features. Once hackers successfully break into such products, they can steal the personal data of the users and their family members and even carry out overhearing and peeping activities, thereby intruding on their privacy. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1)	of the respective numbers of requests for assistance and complaints received in the past three years by the authorities about smart products being used to steal personal data or intrude on privacy;
(2)	whether it has assessed the risks of smart products being used to steal personal data or intrude on privacy, and of the measures to lower such risks;
(3)	whether the authorities will (i) issue guidelines to stipulate the information security features with which smart products should be equipped, and (ii) launch a labelling scheme so that consumers can be informed of the information security features with which such products are equipped; and
(4)	whether the authorities will study the enactment of legislation to require that certain categories of smart products for sale in Hong Kong must comply with specified information security standards?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs

* For written reply

III. Government Motions

1.	Proposed resolution under the Fixed Penalty (Criminal Proceedings) Ordinance Secretary for Transport and Housing to move the motion in Appendix 1.
	(The motion was issued on 8 January 2018 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 241/17-18)
2.	Proposed resolution under the District Councils Ordinance Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs to move the motion in Appendix 2.
	(The motion was issued on 8 January 2018 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 242/17-18)

IV. Members' Motions

Stand-over item: Member's motion no. 1 (since the meeting of 18 October 2017)

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

Hon Claudia MO to move the motion in Appendix 3.

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

Stand-over items: Members' motions nos. 2 to 4 (since the meeting of 6 December 2017)

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

Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG to move the motion in Appendix 4.

(The motion was issued on 24 November 2017
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 168/17-18)

Public Officers to attend

Secretary for Security
Under Secretary for Security

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 Kenneth LEUNG to move the motion in Appendix 5.

(The motion was issued on 24 November 2017
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 168/17-18)

Public Officers to attend

Secretary for Security
Under Secretary for Security

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 Tanya CHAN to move the motion in Appendix 6.

(The motion was issued on 24 November 2017
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 168/17-18)

Public Officers to attend

Secretary for Home Affairs
Under Secretary for Home Affairs

Stand-over items: Members' motions nos. 5 to 9 (since the meeting of 13 December 2017)

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 CHU Hoi-dick to move the motion in Appendix 7.