A 17/18-23
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 28 March 2018 at 11:30 am
(or immediately after the meeting for the Chief Executive's Question Time
to be held at 11:00 am that day)
I. Tabling of Papers
Other Papers
II. Questions
1. Hon CHUNG Kwok-pan to ask: (Translation)
In November 2016, the Innovation and Technology Commission launched, on a pilot basis, a Technology Voucher Programme ("TVP") to subsidize local small and medium enterprises ("SMEs") in using technological services or solutions to enhance their productivity, or upgrade or transform their business processes. Some persons-in-charge of SMEs have relayed to me that the long time taken for vetting and approval of TVP applications have resulted in delays in the implementation of their innovation and technology projects. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of applications received since the launch of TVP, with a breakdown by the major type of businesses in which the applicants engaged and the technological services or solutions involved in the applications; among such applications, the respective numbers and percentages of cases approved and rejected; (2) of the respective average and longest time taken for vetting and approval of the applications before they were approved; whether it has reviewed if the vetting and approval time is too long and whether it will streamline the vetting and approval procedure; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether the number of TVP applications has shown an upward trend recently; whether it will extend the scope of TVP and increase the amount of subsidy to complement the implementation of the "re-industrialization" policy; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
2. Hon Alvin YEUNG to ask: (Translation)
The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited proposed in its consultation paper released last month that the Listing Rules be amended to permit the listing of emerging and innovative companies with weighted voting right structures ("companies with WVR structures") in Hong Kong. Some members of the securities industry have indicated that in the absence of a class action mechanism in Hong Kong at present, the interests of the minority shareholders of such type of companies may not be adequately protected. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the specific measures to be put in place to ensure that companies with WVR structures and issuers of their securities are subject to effective monitoring and regulation, so as to safeguard the interests of minority shareholders; (2) whether it will introduce a mechanism for class actions; if so, of the specific timetable; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether it will enact legislation to give the court greater discretionary power to consolidate its hearings of cases on litigation relating to the decisions made by the management of companies with WVR structures; if so, of the specific timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
3. Hon LEUNG Che-cheung to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that Nam Sang Wai of Yuen Long is the major feeding and roosting ground for migratory birds, and the cormorants staying there overnight account for 30% to 60% of the cormorant population in Deep Bay. In the past few years, a number of fires broke out in Nam Sang Wai, with the most recent one occurring in the middle of this month. As the cause of that fire was suspicious, it has been classified by the Police as a suspected arson case. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as the fire that broke out in Nam Sang Wai in the middle of this month lasted for 17 hours before it was put out, and that some members of the public consider that the pace of that firefighting operation was too slow, of the difficulties encountered by firemen in the aforesaid firefighting operation, and whether the Fire Services Department had, in the light of the high ecological value of the place, deployed more firemen to the scene for putting out the fire, with a view to reducing the damage caused by the fire to the ecology of Nam Sang Wai; if not, of the reasons for that; (2) as some members of the public have pointed out that a number of fires broke out and a number of tree-felling incidents occurred in Nam Sang Wai in the past few years, which have revealed the inadequacy of the Government's policies and measures in conserving lands of high ecological value, whether the Government will consider resuming private lands of extremely high ecological value and offering reasonable compensation to affected landowners and fishermen, as well as enacting a dedicated legislation to enhance the conservation of such lands; if not, of the reasons for that; and (3) apart from the Police's current investigation into the fire that broke out in Nam Sang Wai in the middle of this month, whether the other government departments concerned have followed up the repeated occurrences of fires in Nam Sang Wai, including studying the impacts of such fires on the ecological environment and migratory birds in that area, formulating post-disaster rehabilitation plans and preventing arson attacks to Nam Sang Wai; if so, of the details?
4. Hon LAU Kwok-fan to ask: (Translation)
As early as 2008, the Government consulted the North District Council on the North East New Territories New Development Areas Planning. In 2013, the Government announced the revised proposals to first take forward the projects in the two New Development Areas ("NDAs") in Kwu Tung North and Fanling North under that Planning, and to adopt an enhanced Conventional New Town Approach under which the Government would take the lead in implementing the development project and allow landowners of private lands to apply for "conditional lease modification" (including in-situ land exchange) subject to specified conditions. It is learnt that an application for in-situ land exchange made by the landowner of a private land located within the boundary of the two NDAs has been approved. However, the Government has for a protracted period of time not implemented its rehousing and compensation proposals for the land resumption in the two NDAs, causing various kinds of inconvenience to the daily life of the residents in the areas. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as the North District Council unanimously passed motions in April last year urging the Government to improve its rehousing and compensation proposals for the two NDAs in Kwu Tung North and Fanling North and to conduct afresh discussions with the affected residents, of the Government's progress in following up the motions; whether it will put forward improved proposals; if so, of the details and implementation timetable; if not, the reasons for that; (2) given that under the current mechanism, for residents affected by development projects to be eligible for rehousing and ex-gratia allowances, they must have been registered in the freezing survey concerned and are still living in the locations concerned upon clearance, but as the Government has for a protracted period of time not confirmed the dates for land resumption and clearance in the two NDAs, quite a number of residents have moved out due to coercion by landowners resulting in such residents being ineligible for compensations, whether the Government will follow up such cases and offer assistance or compensations to the persons concerned; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) as the Government has approved the aforesaid application for in-situ land exchange, and the works soon to be carried out on the relevant land will affect the daily life of the residents in the vicinity who have not yet been rehoused and offered compensation by the Government, of the support and subsidies that the Government will provide to such residents; whether the Government will consider pursuing land resumption in one go in lieu of the current phased land resumption plan so as to minimize the impacts on residents; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
5. Ir Dr Hon LO Wai-kwok to ask: (Translation)
On the 3rd of last month, the Government held, in collaboration with the Belt and Road General Chamber of Commerce ("BRGCC"), a seminar in Beijing, which aimed to promote to the Mainland ministries and state-owned enterprises ways to make use of Hong Kong's highly internationalized platform and Hong Kong's distinctive edge in areas such as finance, professional services, commerce and trade, for forming strategic partnerships to jointly pursue the opportunities being brought about by the Belt and Road Initiative. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as BRGCC intends to establish a database on Chinese-funded investments in the countries and regions along the Belt and Road so as to help enterprises explore opportunities for investment or development, whether the Government will provide support to BRGCC in this regard; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) given that the existing 70-odd countries and regions along the Belt and Road have different legal and tax regimes as well as investment environment, whether the Government will consider strengthening its collaboration with the academic institutions in Hong Kong and on the Mainland to provide the government officials and the persons-in-charge of enterprises who are involved in Belt and Road-related work with information on aspects such as law, finance, maritime, management and professional services in such countries and regions; and (3) as quite a number of Hong Kong businessmen who had once invested in the countries and regions along the Belt and Road had nowhere to turn to for assistance after commercial disputes with local people had arisen, whether the Government will set up a dedicated channel to provide assistance for those Hong Kong businessmen who are caught in such situations; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
6. Dr Hon CHENG Chung-tai to ask: (Translation)
At the end of last month, the Government of the United States ("US") announced that it would impose the largest ever sanctions against North Korea in order to cut off the financial sources for the nuclear programme of North Korea. It was reported that five Hong Kong shipping companies alleged to have aided North Korea in evading international embargoes were put on the sanction list. On the other hand, the US Department of Commence released its investigation reports last month, claiming that the steel and aluminium materials exported by Hong Kong had brought serious damages to the US industries and threatened the US's national security. The reports therefore recommended the imposition of tariffs of 23.6% on those products. Regarding the trade relations between Hong Kong and the US, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has assessed the industries which will be affected by the sanctions, and their economic losses in the coming year; if so, of the details; (2) of the measures, apart from expressing its dissatisfaction and position to officials of the US Consulate General and raising objections directly to the US Department of Commerce through the Economic and Trade Office in Washington, the Government will take to alleviate the impact on local enterprises to be brought about by the US's initiatives to raise the tariffs on steel and aluminium materials; and (3) given that free trade is of utmost importance to the maintenance of Hong Kong's economic prosperity, whether the Government has liaised with the relevant officials of Hong Kong's other major trading partners lest they might follow the practice of the US?
*7. Hon Dennis KWOK to ask:
The Government has adopted a new form of smart Hong Kong identity cards ("HKICs"), and will commence a territory-wide HKICs replacement exercise ("replacement exercise") in the fourth quarter of 2018. Section 7B(3) of the Registration of Persons Ordinance (Cap. 177) provides that any person who is a holder of identity card and fails, without reasonable excuse, to apply for a new identity card within the period specified by the Secretary for Security commits an offence and is liable to a fine at level 2 (i.e. $5,000). Also, paragraph 7 of Schedule 1 to the Immigration Ordinance (Cap. 115) provides that a Hong Kong permanent resident ("HKPR") who is not of Chinese nationality or a child of such HKPR under 21 years of age may lose the HKPR status under certain circumstances (e.g. having been absent from Hong Kong for a continuous period of not less than 36 months since he/she ceased to have ordinarily resided in Hong Kong). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it will examine, during the replacement exercise, if applicants for new HKICs have lost their HKPR status; if so, of the details of the examination and whether it will inform the public of such details; if it will not inform the public, the reasons for that; (2) of the respective numbers of prosecutions instituted and persons convicted for failure to apply for replacement of their HKICs within the periods specified in the last replacement exercise conducted from 2003 to 2007; and (3) whether the Government has plans to step up public education on the legal consequence of failure to apply for replacement of their HKICs within the periods specified by the Secretary for Security; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*8. Dr Hon Priscilla LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
It is learnt that in recent years, a large number of people of South Asian descent lodged, immediately upon illegal entry into Hong Kong, torture claims or non-refoulement claims (collectively referred to as "claims") under the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. While handling such claims, the Immigration Department issues recognizance forms (commonly known as "going-out passes") to such claimants for them to temporarily stay in Hong Kong. As at the end of last year, nearly 6 000 claims were pending screening. It has been reported that from time to time in recent years, there are claimants committing crimes in Hong Kong, thus undermining the law and order. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of claimants arrested in each of the past three years on suspicion of having committed crimes and its percentage in the total number of claimants; how such percentages compare with the relevant percentages for Hong Kong permanent residents; (2) whether the Police have, in the light of the patterns of the crimes committed by the claimants, deployed more police officers to patrol the districts concerned; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether the Government will consider afresh deploying existing resources, including existing or vacant correctional institutions, to set up closed camps for the claimants; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*9. Hon YIU Si-wing to ask: (Translation)
In reply to a question raised by me on 22 March last year, the Government pointed out that the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department ("FEHD") and the Architectural Services Department had set up a working group, which frequently discussed ways to optimize FEHD 's public toilets to ensure that the appearance of such toilets could blend well with the surrounding environment, and that their designs can keep up with the times. For public toilets at tourist attractions, FEHD would consider adopting thematic designs, featured facades, multi-colour artistic designs, decorative lighting with characteristics, etc., so as to give them an aesthetical and distinctive appearance. According to a Visitor Profile Report published by the Hong Kong Tourism Board, the Peak is the most popular tourist attraction in Hong Kong. Nevertheless, I have received complaints recently from members of the public that there were inadequate public toilets in the tourist district of the Peak, that the facilities of some of the public toilets there were substandard and that their hygiene conditions were poor, in particular the public toilet at Podium 2 of the Peak Tower. They consider that such a situation not only affects tourists' impression of Hong Kong, but also tarnishes the image of Hong Kong as an international metropolis. Given that the public toilet in the Peak Tower will be closed for refurbishment at the end of this year, some members of the public are worried that the problem of inadequate public toilets in the tourist district of the Peak will deteriorate by then, and that the facilities and design of the public toilet after refurbishment will still be incompatible with the level of the Peak as a world-class tourist attraction. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of toilets available for public use in the tourist district of the Peak; whether it received relevant complaints and whether it conducted any public satisfaction survey in respect of such facilities, in the past three years; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether it has planned, in response to the needs of tourists, to (i) provide additional public toilets in the tourist district of the Peak, (ii) improve the facilities of the existing public toilets and (iii) step up the management of such facilities; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) whether, in the course of carrying out the aforesaid refurbishment works, the aforesaid working group has planned to incorporate, in the light of the actual situation, elements that reflect the characteristics of the Peak as a tourist attraction into the design of that public toilet, and to provide additional facilities therein, so as to meet the needs of tourists and other users and enhance tourists' impression of Hong Kong; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) of the short-term measures to solve the problem of inadequate public toilets in the tourist district of the Peak when the aforesaid refurbishment works are underway?
*10. Hon SHIU Ka-fai to ask: (Translation)
Recently, some organizations of the retail industry have relayed to me that the criteria for processing food business licence applications are too stringent, and the time taken for processing them is too long. The relevant processing criteria include the one that food premises must comply with building safety requirements (including the absence of unauthorized building works). The Buildings Department ("BD") will provide a reply to the Certificate on Completion of Building Works Not Resulting in a New Building or of Street Works ("completion certificate") submitted by a works contractor for the building works, advising either that the completed works have been accepted or there are outstanding issues to be rectified. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as some restaurant licence applicants have alleged that the criteria adopted by BD for deciding whether to accept the completed building works are too stringent and that BD has taken too long to give a reply to the completion certificate, whether BD will conduct a review and make improvements (including setting a performance pledge on the response time); (2) whether the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department will consider setting up a task force to expedite the processing of (i) new applications for Composite Food Shop Licence, (ii) applications for alteration to the approved plan of licensed food premises, and (iii) applications for transfer of food business licence; (3) given that licensed restaurants/light refreshment restaurants currently operating in Government-managed venues and holding a liquor licence are required to apply for a temporary liquor licence separately on each occasion when they serve or sell liquor at places within the venues but outside their restaurants/light refreshment restaurants, whether the authorities will conduct a review and streamline the relevant procedure; and (4) as some restaurant operators have pointed out that restaurant premises are required under the current restaurant licence to provide ventilation facilities to ensure an adequate supply of fresh air for the people inside the premises, but it is difficult for some small restaurants with seats placed in a non-enclosed area (such as the atrium) of a shopping mall to comply with such requirement, whether the authorities will conduct a review and make improvements?
*11. Hon LAM Cheuk-ting to ask: (Translation)
To tie in with the implementation of the producer responsibility scheme on glass beverage containers, the Environmental Protection Department invited tenders for three glass management contracts in February last year to provide regional glass container collection and treatment services covering the catchment regions of (i) Hong Kong Island and Islands District, (ii) Kowloon and (iii) the New Territories respectively. The tender results were announced in November last year. The two glass management contracts relating to Hong Kong Island and Islands District and the New Territories were awarded to the same company, whereas the contract relating to Kowloon was re tendered in the same month. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the considerations and justifications for the aforesaid decision on re tendering; (2) of the organizations currently responsible for the recycling of glass in Kowloon, and the timeframe for the provision of the service by the organizations concerned; (3) whether it has assessed the award of the aforesaid two glass management contracts to the same company has given rise to a monopoly; if it has, of the assessment outcome and the improvement measures; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) given that it is difficult for small recycling enterprises to be eligible to bid for the aforesaid glass management contracts, of the means the authorities have to assist those enterprises in bidding for such contracts in future?
*12. Hon HO Kai-ming to ask: (Translation)
In response to an ageing population and the trend of a shrinking labour force in Hong Kong, the Government has indicated that it will take measures to release women to join the labour market. However, some women's groups have pointed out that in Hong Kong, there is currently a shortage of subsidized child care services (e.g. child care services and after-school care services). As a result, quite a number of women are unable to join the labour market as they need to take care of their children. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the details of the subsidized child care services currently available in various districts, and set out in tabulated form, broken down by District Council district and name of service provider, (i) the number of places and a breakdown of the figure by mode of service delivery (e.g. service hours), and (ii) the average staff-child ratio, in respect of each type of child care services; (2) whether it knows the details of the public child care services currently available in places such as the Mainland, Taiwan, Japan, Singapore, etc., as well as the relevant experience and practices which are of reference value to Hong Kong for enhancing its child care services; and (3) whether it will consider (i) increasing the number of subsidized child care service places, and (ii) encouraging the relevant organizations to offer more child care service training courses to assist women in working as home-based child carers or engaging in other child care jobs, so as to release more women to join the labour market?
*13. Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)
Although the Hong Kong Housing Society ("HKHS") is an independently operated, financially autonomous and self-financing statutory body, it has over the years been granted lands by the Government on concessionary terms for the purpose of building subsidized housing and a number of senior government officials have been appointed as members in its governance structure. On the other hand, the Office of The Ombudsman ("the Office") pointed out in a direct investigation report released in January 2015 that the Government had neither the statutory powers nor a mechanism to monitor the work of HKHS, and it did not have any policy documents relating to the monitoring of the provision of rental units by HKHS either. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the details of the lands granted in the past 10 years by the Government to HKHS for housing development (including the concessionary terms offered and the policies based on which it made the relevant decisions); (2) whether a mechanism is currently in place to monitor the work of HKHS in respect of the provision and management of rental units; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; whether the Government will, pursuant to the recommendation of the Office, draw up written agreements with HKHS to ensure proper use of the lands to be granted to HKHS on concessionary terms and the achievement of the intended objectives; (3) given that HKHS recently refused to send representatives to meet with me, other Members of this Council and District Council members to listen to the views of members of the public on its Well-off Tenants Policy, and that some tenants of HKHS's rental estates have indicated that it is difficult for them to contact HKHS staff to relay their housing problems, whether the Government will request HKHS to establish a mechanism to respond to the views and requests of members of the public and tenants of its rental estates; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) as the Office recommended that the Housing Department enhance the reporting mechanism with HKHS regarding double housing benefits, including drawing up a written agreement and establishing a channel for regular communication, whether the Government has implemented such recommendations; if so, of the progress; if not, the reasons for that?
*14. Dr Hon CHIANG Lai-wan to ask: (Translation)
The foster care service implemented by the Social Welfare Department ("SWD") provides children in need with the service of residential family care. It is learnt that between 2013 and 2016, there was on average a wastage of 60 (about 6%) foster families each year. However, due to recruitment difficulties, the number of newly-recruited foster families could not offset the wastage, resulting in a drop in the number of foster families from 938 in 2013 to 901 in 2016. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether, in respect of those children who needed to change foster families in the past three years, SWD has compiled statistics on the (i) average number of times for which each child changed foster families, and (ii) average length of stay in various foster families of each child; (2) of the current number of children waiting to be placed with foster families; (3) whether SWD will step up its public education and publicity efforts to enhance the public's approval of foster care service, so that more qualified families will be willing to become foster families; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (4) whether SWD will (i) increase the manpower and resources for offering child care courses for foster families, (ii) provide foster parents with leave which does not entail deduction of allowances, and (iii) improve the mechanism for seeking relief families for foster families, with a view to reducing the wastage rate of foster families; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (5) whether SWD will strengthen its support for fostered children's families of origin, so that fostered children may be returned to their families of origin for care under appropriate circumstances; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (6) whether SWD has measures in place to follow up the situation of children living with foster families, so as to ensure that they receive proper care; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*15. Hon CHAN Chun-ying to ask: (Translation)
The Chief Executive pointed out in the Policy Address delivered in October last year that smart city development could improve people's daily lives and make Hong Kong a more liveable city. In order to develop Hong Kong into a smart city, the Government would invest $700 million to push ahead with three infrastructure projects: providing an "eID" for all Hong Kong residents, launching a pilot Multi-functional Smart Lampposts scheme at selected urban locations, and reforming the development technology of e-Government systems and building a big data analytics platform. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has drawn up (i) a definition for "liveable city" and (ii) the criteria for assessing the liveability of a city; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether it has drawn up timetables for implementing the aforesaid three infrastructure projects; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether it has plans to invite commercial organizations to collaborate on the research, development and application of the eID system, so that the system will support the services provided by public and private organizations; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*16. Hon WU Chi-wai to ask: (Translation)
The earnings of the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort ("HKDL") before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization ("EBITDA") were $914 million in fiscal year 2017. After deducting costs such as depreciation and amortization totalling $1,242 million, HKDL recorded a net loss of $345 million. The increase in depreciation and amortization costs was attributable mainly to (i) the completion of new attractions and a hotel, and (ii) the depreciation costs arising from the retirement of certain assets for taking forward HKDL's expansion and development plan ("the expansion plan"). In addition, the depreciation costs for the various types of assets of HKDL are calculated on the basis of (i) a straight-line method and (ii) the different ranges of depreciation periods applicable to different types of assets. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the number of major attractions and sightseeing facilities retired by HKDL since its opening in 2005, and set out one by one the following information of such facilities: (i) name of facility, (ii) the annual depreciation cost before the retirement, (iii) the service period and the remaining depreciation period upon the retirement, and (iv) the depreciation cost arising from the retirement; (2) whether it knows the projected (i) depreciation costs arising from the retirement of facilities, (ii) depreciation costs for new facilities, and (iii) total amount of depreciation costs, in each of the coming five years; (3) whether it knows the attendance of HKDL in each of the coming five years which will enable HKDL's EBITDA to just offset its depreciation and amortization costs, calculated on the basis that factors such as admission fees and hotel occupancy rates remain at the current levels; (4) as the Government indicated last year that the incremental revenues to be brought about by the expansion plan in each year would be higher than the depreciation costs for the new assets in the same year, but the revenue of HKDL last year failed to achieve that level, whether the Government or HKDL has assessed the revenues and earnings of HKDL in the coming five years; if so, of the details; whether the Government or HKDL has formulated remedial measures (e.g. lowering the royalties and management fees that HKDL is required to pay to the Walt Disney Company, or amending the terms concerning the option to buy the site for the Phase 2 expansion plan) to deal with the situation that the revenues of HKDL in each year are persistently lower than the depreciation costs for its new assets; and (5) whether it knows the average anticipated service periods of the rides and attractions of HKDL or its counterparts; the factors based on which HKDL has set the range of depreciation periods for such facilities at eight to 25 years; how the criteria adopted for setting such range of depreciation periods compare with those used by HKDL's counterparts; whether other theme parks have similarly incurred a large amount of depreciation costs arising from the retirement of assets?
*17. Hon Kenneth LAU to ask: (Translation)
According to the information provided by the mobile application "WASTE LESS" launched by the Environmental Protection Department, glass container recovery facilities are currently not provided in some old districts (e.g. San Po Kong, Ngau Tau Kok, etc.) where there are a large number of tenement buildings or single-block buildings. Regarding the provision of glass container recovery facilities, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the authorities will set up additional glass container collection points in the housing estates and public places in various districts across the territory; if not, of the reasons for that; (2) whether the authorities will place glass container recycling bins alongside the three-colour waste separation bins which are currently placed in the housing estates/residential buildings and public places in various districts, so as to facilitate residents in the districts to participate in glass container recycling; if not, of the reasons for that; (3) of the number of village-type Refuse Collection Points provided with glass container recycling bins at present, and the total number of such recycling bins; (4) as the authorities have indicated that, in order to reduce space needed for providing recycling bins in public places, they will explore the feasibility of adopting mixed recycling bins to collect different types of recyclables, whether the types of recyclables to be collected by such recycling bins will include glass containers; if not, of the reasons for that; and (5) given that it is provided in the glass management contracts awarded by the authorities that contractors are required to set up glass container collection networks in their responsible catchment regions, whether the authorities have issued to contractors guidelines for or standards of the distribution of collection points; if so, of the details; whether they have required contractors to include in the collection networks all of the locations within their responsible catchment regions at which three-colour waste separation bins have been placed; if not, of the reasons for that?
*18. Hon Jimmy NG to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that in recent years, video game playing has developed from a general leisure activity into electronic sports ("e sports"). The size of the global e-sports market reached US$460 million in 2016, indicating that e sports have become a new driving force for economic growth. Quite a number of countries and regions regularly offer e-sports training programmes and organize professional leagues, and have classified e sports as sports. On the other hand, when he announced the 2018-2019 Budget, the Financial Secretary indicated that the Government would allocate $100 million to the Cyberport to develop the Cyberport Arcade into an e sports and digital entertainment hotspot for providing a venue for e sports competitions, in order to promote the development of the e-sports industry. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it will consider (i) setting up indoor or outdoor e-sports venues in various districts and (ii) adjusting the sports policy to classify e sports as sports; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) given that the Cyberport made, in its Report on Promotion of E-sports Development in Hong Kong submitted to the Government in February this year, a host of recommendations on promoting the development of e-sports, which included nurturing professional and amateur e-sports talents by providing training to them, whether the Government will encourage various tertiary institutions to offer diploma and undergraduate programmes on e-sports, so as to enhance the recognition of e-sports talents and their professional status, thereby attracting more young people to join the e-sports sector; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) whether it will support, by setting up an award pool, etc., the e-sports sector in organizing more local leagues, so as to nurture local players to participate in major international e-sports tournaments as representatives of Hong Kong; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (4) given that industries such as digital entertainment, online streaming, competitive sports, electronic product research and development, as well as advertising industry are integral to the e-sports industry chain, whether the Government will consider building a cooperation platform for e-sports and the related industries to promote the long-term development of such industries, thereby creating a large number of relevant jobs; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (5) whether the Government will provide more support for local e-sports game developers, such as setting up a fund to help them with product development as well as promotion and advertising, so as to enhance the international competitiveness of local e-sports game products; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (6) given that there have been cases in the past in which young people became so obsessed with playing video games that they put off sleeping and eating, and were lured away from their work or studies, of the measures the Government has in place to (i) remind young people to exercise self-control when playing video games and (ii) provide counselling for those who are addicted, so as to eliminate the public's negative impression on e-sports and video games and promote the healthy development of the e-sports industry?
*19. Hon Holden CHOW to ask: (Translation)
Information from the Hong Kong Police Force reveals that since 2014, there have been on average about 2 000 online business fraud cases each year, involving a total amount of around $30 million to $40 million. Although there has been a downward trend of corporate-level email scams in recent years, 683 cases involving a total amount as high as $1 billion were still recorded last year. Regarding the Police's work in detecting online deception cases, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of cases in which the suspects in the aforesaid two types of deception cases were prosecuted and convicted in each of the past five years, together with a breakdown by whether the cases involved websites or servers outside Hong Kong; and (2) given that the Police, in detecting deception cases involving websites or servers outside Hong Kong, may encounter difficulties (including obtaining assistance from banks outside Hong Kong to intercept stolen funds and handling certain crimes committed in other jurisdictions), whether the authorities have explored measures to deal with such difficulties?
*20. Hon Paul TSE to ask: (Translation)
In recent years, the authorities have from time to time issued Fire Safety Directions ("Directions") or Fire Safety Compliance Orders ("Orders") under the Fire Safety (Buildings) Ordinance (Cap. 572) to owners of composite and domestic buildings, demanding them to install fire service installations such as water tanks and hose reel systems to meet the current requirements on fire safety. Quite a number of members of the owners' corporations ("OCs") of old buildings and owners of buildings which do not have an OC or residents' organization and have not engaged any property management company (commonly known as "three-nil buildings") have coincidentally relayed to me that they have encountered a lot of difficulties in taking forward fire safety works in old buildings pursuant to the Directions or Orders. The difficulties include: most of the owners, being elderly persons and retirees, have little knowledge about applying for the relevant building maintenance subsidies or loans and inviting tenders for the works concerned; some of the owners do not know how to form an OC; and the costs of the works are substantial. In view of this, I, together with a number of members of the Kwun Tong and Wong Tai Sin District Councils, held a meeting earlier with representatives of the Fire Services Department, the Buildings Department and the Urban Renewal Authority to (i) relay the difficulties and constraints encountered by owners of old buildings in complying with the Directions or Orders, (ii) discuss ways to assist such owners in applying for building maintenance subsidies or loans, and (iii) urge the authorities to relax those policies that are considered to be too stringent and cause nuisance to the public (e.g. giving sympathetic consideration to relaxing the requirement that fire resisting windows of the stairway in single-staircase buildings must be sealed, having regard to the fact that elderly persons need more fresh air as they need more time and effort to climb up and down the stairs). On assisting building owners in complying with the fire safety requirements, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the subsidy or loan schemes currently in place to assist owners of old buildings in undertaking fire safety works; whether the authorities will consider increasing the amounts of subsidies or loans under such schemes so that they may benefit more owners with financial difficulties; (2) as the Chief Executive ("CE") proposed in the Policy Address delivered in October last year that $2 billion be deployed for launching the Fire Safety Improvement Works Subsidy Scheme ("FSW Scheme"), of (i) the number of buildings which are 50 years old or above across the territory the fire safety facilities of which may be improved under the FSW Scheme, (ii) among such buildings, the respective numbers of those situated in Kwun Tong and Wong Tai Sin Districts, and (iii) the respective percentages of such numbers in the total numbers of old buildings in the two districts, as estimated by the authorities; (3) as it is learnt that since the FSW Scheme will benefit only those owners who have not complied with the Directions or Orders, but not those who have spent several million dollars on complying with the Directions or Orders, some owners hold the view that such practice of the authorities is nothing but making "the black dog gets the food, the white dog takes the blame", whether the authorities will set a retrospective period for the FSW Scheme, thereby enabling those owners who have complied with the Directions or Orders within a certain period of time to apply for the subsidies; (4) given that CE announced in the Policy Address delivered in October last year the launch of Operation Building Bright 2.0, of the (i) details, (ii) eligibility criteria for application, and (iii) implementation timetable of the programme; whether the authorities will distribute the relevant information to owners of the target buildings; the expected number of buildings across the territory the fire safety facilities of which may be improved under the programme, and among them, the respective numbers of those situated in Kwun Tong and Wong Tai Sin Districts; (5) given that owners of three-nil buildings have not complied with the Directions or Orders because they have not formed an OC and some of the owners are uncooperative, resulting in those innocent owners among them who are willing to cooperate being punished, of the authorities' measures to prevent those owners who are willing to cooperate from being caught by the law, and whether they will consider exempting them from punishment; (6) whether it will consider setting up a dedicated fund and empowering the enforcement authorities to carry out fire safety works for owners of three-nil buildings who have not complied with the Directions or Orders and recover the costs from the owners concerned upon completion of the works; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (7) given that most owners of old buildings are elderly persons and retirees and are unwilling to spend their limited old-age savings which are commonly known as "funeral savings" to meet the substantial costs of fire safety works, of the authorities' policies to encourage them to comply with the Directions or Orders; (8) given that the authorities announced last year the launch of a pilot scheme on the use of existing fresh water supply systems and rooftop fresh water tanks for firefighting purpose, of (i) the current number of buildings across the territory which have joined the scheme, (ii) the eligibility criteria for applying for the scheme, and (iii) whether the scheme is subject to a time limit; (9) as some residents of old buildings have relayed that as the distance between the buildings in which they reside and the adjoining buildings is less than six metres, the fire resisting windows of the stairway are required to be closed under the current requirement, lest fires broken out in the adjoining buildings might spread to the buildings in which they reside, whether the authorities will conduct studies on, through allowing such buildings to apply fireproof/fire-resistant coating on the exterior surface, granting such buildings exemption from the requirement to keep the fire resisting windows closed, in order to keep the stairway well-ventilated so that elderly residents (especially those residing in single-staircase buildings) will not feel the stuffiness when climbing up and down the stairs; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (10) as it has been reported that some owners of old buildings are unable to comply with the Directions or Orders due to technical difficulties of the fire safety works and the high costs which may be as high as several million dollars, whether the authorities will consider imposing more lenient fire safety requirements on those old buildings which are not far away from fire stations and can be reached by fire service vehicles within a specified time, such as requiring the provision on each floor of a fire alarm system and fire extinguisher only, instead of the installation of fire hydrants/hose reel systems connected to the fire alarm system, so as to alleviate the financial burden on the owners concerned; and (11) as some community organizations have relayed that quite a number of members of the public do not know how to operate fire safety equipment such as fire extinguishers and fire hose reels, rendering them being useless in the event of a fire, whether the authorities will enhance public education to teach members of the public how to use fire safety equipment?
*21. Hon Charles Peter MOK to ask: (Translation)
Some information technology ("IT") practitioners have relayed that they need to incessantly undertake continuing education in order to grasp the ever-evolving IT professional skills. Such skills involve quite a number of areas such as data science, information security, financial technology, big data application, cloud computing, systems audit and project management. People working in various trades and industries also need continuing education to acquire the skills of applying the latest IT so as to maintain their competitiveness. However, tuition fees for continuing education courses as well as fees for examinations and certifications on professional qualifications are expensive, and yet many courses on IT professional skills (including web-based distance learning courses) and fees for professional qualification examinations are not within the funding scope of the Continuing Education Fund ("CEF"). Members of the industry have relayed that the scope of the Reimbursable Course List of CEF is so narrow that IT practitioners can hardly benefit from CEF. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of persons, in each of the past five years, who applied to CEF for reimbursement of tuition fees upon completion of courses on IT and communications, with a tabulated breakdown by institution which offered the course and by course title; (2) of the (i) number of persons who opened a CEF account, (ii) number of persons whose cumulative amount for reimbursement applications had reached the subsidy ceiling of $10,000, and (iii) number of cases in which the CEF account had been frozen due to the expiry of the four-year time limit and the total amount of money not reimbursed on account of that, in each year since CEF's establishment in 2002; (3) of the number of reimbursement applications made to CEF in each year since its establishment, and among such applications, (i) the number of those approved and the total amount involved, as well as (ii) the number of those rejected (with a breakdown by the reason for rejection); (4) as the Government indicated at the end of last year that all courses registered in the Qualifications Register ("QR") of the Qualifications Framework ("QF") would be included in the Reimbursable Course List of CEF, of the courses in QR which are courses on IT professional skills and set out in a table the titles of such courses by the institution offering the courses; in respect of the courses belonging to the area of "computer science and information technology" which have been registered in QR and are reimbursable, whether it has assessed if the courses under this area have covered training courses that teach the latest IT professional skills; if it has assessed and the outcome is in the negative, whether it will include in this area the latest preparatory courses for professional examinations (e.g. courses on Certified Ethical Hacker and Information Security Certifications); (5) whether it will consider afresh including quality web-based distance learning IT courses in the Reimbursable Course List of CEF; as currently there are quite a number of quality web-based distance learning IT courses (including massive open online courses) which do not charge tuition fees but charge fees for skill certifications upon completion of the courses, whether the authorities will consider including such courses in the Reimbursable Course List of CEF so that people taking such courses can have the certification fees reimbursed; (6) whether it will further encourage the cooperation among the business sector, technology companies, IT professional associations and tertiary institutions in organizing QF-recognized IT courses, offering internship opportunities, scholarships and professional certifications for students of such courses, as well as providing subsidies to the graduates and serving practitioners for taking short-term courses; (7) given the keen demand in the market for talents who have mastered IT skills, whether the Government will provide additional incentives to encourage (i) working people to take the relevant courses, and (ii) the middle-aged to change their professions and join the relevant trades; and (8) whether it will conduct studies and consult members of the IT industry on the demand for IT talents, and formulate comprehensive strategies for nurturing the workforce's digital skills and talents, including the setting of the targets and timetables for the relevant manpower training?
*22. Hon Kenneth LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
The 2018-2019 Budget has mentioned that the application and omnipresence of innovative technology such as artificial intelligence ("AI") have not only spurred the birth of new industries, but also revolutionized the traditional business model, generating keen competition along with transformation opportunities for various sectors and industries. It is learnt that in recent years, the governments of various countries, apart from deploying resources for the research and development ("R&D") on AI, have also commenced studies on the impacts of AI on their societies, economies, human resources, etc. Moreover, the World Economic Forum pointed out in a report it published last year that by 2020, most of the work processes for quite a number of jobs (including clerical work, administration, construction and production as well as writing and legal work) will be undertaken by AI. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the authorities conducted, in the past three years, in-depth studies on the impacts of the application and omnipresence of AI on Hong Kong's employment situation, economic and industrial structures, production processes, etc.; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) of the policies and measures, apart from earmarking $10 billion in the coming year for supporting initiatives such as the establishment of a research cluster on AI/robotics technologies, that it has put in place to promote Hong Kong's R&D on AI; whether it will step up (i) the support for local start-ups which engage in R&D on AI and (ii) the nurturing of related scientific research talents; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether the authorities have plans to adjust the human resources planning, including adjusting the curriculums of programmes for formal education (including kindergartens, primary and secondary schools and tertiary institutions) and continuing education, in order to prepare for the advent of an AI era; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
* For written reply
III. Government Bills
| Second Reading (Debate to resume), Consideration by Committee of the Whole Council and Third Reading
| |||
| 1. | Medical Registration (Amendment) Bill 2017 | : | Secretary for Food and Health
|
| Secretary for Food and Health to move amendments
(The amendments were issued on 21 March 2018 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 443/17-18) | |||
| (Debate and voting arrangements for Medical Registration (Amendment) Bill 2017 in committee of the whole Council (issued on 27 March 2018 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 466/17-18(01)) (same as the Appendix to the Script of Council meeting of 28 March 2018))
| |||
| 2. | Chinese Medicine (Amendment) Bill 2017 | : | Secretary for Food and Health
|
| Secretary for Food and Health to move amendments
(The amendments were issued on 21 March 2018 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 445/17-18) | |||
| (Debate and voting arrangements for Chinese Medicine (Amendment) Bill 2017 in committee of the whole Council (issued on 27 March 2018 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 467/17-18(01)) (same as the Appendix to the Script of Council meeting of 28 March 2018)) | |||
IV. Members' Motion
Stimulating internal demand and opening up new visitor sources
| Hon SHIU Ka-fai to move the following motion:
(Translation)
That, given the Government's ample fiscal reserves and fiscal stability, this Council urges the Government to make good use of this favourable state of public finance for launching more measures to improve people's livelihood, so as to return wealth to people and stimulate internal demand; the Government should at the same time expedite the provision of additional tourism supporting facilities to upgrade Hong Kong's visitor receiving capability and capacity, and alleviate the inconvenience caused by visitors to members of the public through better diversion, so as to open up new visitor sources for the benefit of the tourism, retail, catering and transport sectors, etc. and the overall economy of Hong Kong. Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki, Hon YIU Si-wing, Hon Michael TIEN, Hon WU Chi-wai and Hon LAM Cheuk-ting to move amendments to the motion (Hon Jeffrey LAM and Dr Hon CHIANG Lai-wan have withdrawn the notices of their amendments) | |
| (The amendments were issued on 30 October 2017
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 89/17-18) | |
|
Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
| |