A 17/18-30
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 16 May 2018 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers
| Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments | L.N. No. | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Pharmacy and Poisons (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulation 2018 | 80/2018 |
| 2. | Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 2) Order 2018 | 81/2018 |
| 3. | Practising Certificate (Solicitors) (Amendment) Rules 2018 | 82/2018 |
Other Papers
| 1. | No. 107 | - | Securities and Futures Commission
Approved budget of income and expenditure for the financial year 2018/2019 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury) | |||
| 2. | No. 108 | - | The Government Minute in response to the Report of the Public Accounts Committee No. 69 of February 2018 |
| (to be presented by Chief Secretary for Administration, who will address the Council) | |||
| 3. | Report of the Bills Committee on Inland Revenue (Amendment) Bill 2018 | ||
| (to be presented by Hon WONG Ting-kwong, Chairman of the Bills Committee) | |||
| 4. | Report of the Bills Committee on Employment (Amendment) Bill 2017 | ||
| (to be presented by Hon WONG Ting-kwong, Chairman of the Bills Committee) | |||
II. Questions
1. Hon YUNG Hoi-yan to ask: (Translation)
The Buildings Department ("BD") and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department ("FEHD") set up a Joint Office ("JO") in 2006 to handle reports on water seepage in buildings. However, the Audit Commission and the Office of The Ombudsman released reports in 2016 and 2018 respectively, pointing out certain inadequacies in the work of JO. In addition, in recent years, I have received from time to time complaints from residents and District Council members in New Territories East that JO has been very slow in following up reports on water seepage, leaving residents troubled by water seepage nuisance in misery. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of a breakdown by District Council district of the following: the number of reports received by JO, the numbers of reports handled by JO as classified by handling results, the number of entry warrants granted by the Court, and the respective numbers of cases in which the persons concerned were prosecuted and convicted (to be set out one by one by the legislation involved), in each of the past three years; the average and longest handling time for those cases the handling of which was completed, and the respective numbers of personnel deployed by BD and FEHD to station in JO, in each of the past three years; (2) whether the Development Bureau and the Food and Health Bureau have conducted a value-for-money assessment on the performance of JO since its establishment; if so, of the criteria adopted for and the outcome of the assessment; if not, whether they will conduct such an assessment; how the authorities will improve the performance of JO by addressing areas such as manpower, resources, case handling procedure, internal division of work, and law enforcement powers of JO; and (3) of the locations selected, the commissioning dates, the number of personnel to be deployed and the estimated annual expenditure, in respect of the four regional joint offices planned to be set up by JO; given that FEHD has planned to form a special team to conduct a comprehensive review on JO's procedural guidelines and explore the feasibility of setting up a tribunal to deal with water seepage cases, of the details, including the composition and operation of the special team, and the expected time for the completion of the relevant feasibility study; how BD and FEHD will complement each other in order to enhance the performance of JO?
| Public Officers to reply | : | Secretary for Development
Secretary for Food and Health |
2. Hon Frankie YICK to ask: (Translation)
On the 19th of last month, a serious traffic accident occurred in Kowloon City killing one person and injuring four others, and all of the four vehicles involved in the accident were damaged. It has been reported that a private car, which was involved in the accident, was being used for illegal carriage of passengers for reward (commonly known as "white licence cars' service") at the time of the accident and had a passenger on board. Some members of the insurance industry have pointed out that the third party risks insurance for vehicles being used as white licence cars may be rendered invalid as a result of such use. While the e-hailing platform concerned claimed that a third party risks insurance policy had been taken out for the white licence car concerned, the details of the relevant policy have never been made public. Regarding white licence cars' service, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has assessed the insurance protection currently provided for the drivers and passengers of white licence cars, the drivers and passengers of other vehicles, the passers-by, etc., involved in traffic accidents involving white licence cars; and (2) whether it will step up, from the public education, legislation and law enforcement fronts, its efforts in clamping down on white licence cars' service, such as reminding members of the public that they may not be protected by a third party risks insurance if they travel on white licence cars, amending the legislation to raise the penalties on drivers of white licence cars, as well as setting up a reporting hotline; if so, of the details; if not, what other measures are in place to eradicate white licence cars' service?
3. Hon Mrs Regina IP to ask: (Translation)
In 2005, the Hong Kong Housing Authority ("HA") divested certain retail and car parking facilities of its public rental housing ("PRH") estates to The Link Real Estate Investment Trust ("The Link"). The Link was subsequently renamed as Link Real Estate Investment Trust ("Link REIT"). Following the relaxation in 2014 of the constraints under the Code on Real Estate Investment Trusts regarding the investment scope of this type of trusts, Link REIT repeatedly divested a number of properties in PRH estates. Some members of the public have pointed out that to achieve profit maximization, Link REIT has substantially raised the rents of shops after the refurbishment of the shopping centres and markets in PRH estates, refused to renew tenancy agreements with small shop operators so as to introduce large chain stores, as well as divested incessantly its assets. They opine that Link REIT and the new owners have only profits in mind and disregard the livelihood of small shop operators and the daily needs of the PRH residents. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that according to the provisions in the sale and purchase agreement signed back then between HA and The Link, if, within 10 years from the listing of The Link, HA wished to further divest its retail and car parking facilities, HA had to offer a sale proposal to The Link first, meaning that The Link was entitled to a right of first refusal, of the reasons why HA made such an arrangement back then and the specific contents of the relevant provisions; and (2) as section 4(1) of the Housing Ordinance provides that HA has the duty to secure, for the residents, the provision of amenities ancillary to housing as HA thinks fit, of the new measures to be put in place to ensure that HA will fully discharge its duty under this provision, and that the usage of the commercial facilities in its housing estates complies with the relevant land lease conditions and meet the needs in the daily lives of PRH residents?
4. Hon Alice MAK to ask: (Translation)
To ensure road safety, the Tsing Ma Control Area operator implements high wind management measures ("HM measures") at the Lantau Link and the Ting Kau Bridge during strong wind conditions. HM measures include closure of the centre lanes, lowering the speed limit for vehicles, etc. It has been reported that serious traffic congestion occurred from time to time at the Lantau Link and the Ting Kau Bridge, as well as in areas within and surrounding Kwai Ching and Tsuen Wan while HM measures were in force. Furthermore, some drivers opine that the two-way toll collection of the Lantau Link implemented in August last year has made it necessary for vehicles travelling to and from Lantau via the Lantau Link to slow down or stop at the toll plaza to pay the toll, resulting in a traffic bottleneck. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of times in each of the past five years for which HM measures were implemented in the Tsing Ma Control Area and traffic congestion occurred in the areas concerned while such measures were in force; the measures taken by the Tsing Ma Control Area operator and the Transport Department before and during the implementation of HM measures to divert traffic flow and inform drivers of the situations; (2) whether the authorities will, before the approach of this year's typhoon season, review the impacts of the implementation of HM measures on traffic, and formulate measures to prevent HM measures from causing serious traffic congestion in extensive areas; if so, of the details; and (3) whether the authorities will comprehensively review if the two-way toll collection arrangement at the Lantau Link has led to traffic congestion, and consider abolishing the toll collection as well as improving vehicle flow control and road design, in order to reduce the occurrences of traffic congestion at the Lantau Link; whether the authorities will expeditiously plan for the construction of new trunk roads to connect Lantau with urban areas, so as to alleviate the traffic load of the Lantau Link in the long run?
5. Dr Hon Junius HO to ask: (Translation)
Subsequent to his initiation of the occupation movement in 2014, Associate Professor Benny TAI Yiu-ting, who teaches at the Faculty of Law of the University of Hong Kong, attended an activity entitled "The 10th Anniversary of the Taiwan Youth Anti-Communist National Salvation Corps - A Forum on Freedom and Human Rights in Hong Kong, Macao, China, Taiwan and Multi-ethnic Groups" held in Taipei on 24 March this year. When speaking at the forum, he said that "the autocratic regime in China will eventually come to an end one day...With the success in toppling the autocratic regime, it is necessary to build a democratic state and a democratic society…By then, Hong Kong people can decide whether or not to found an independent state or form a federation or confederation with the ethnic groups in other regions of China". On the 30th of last month, in response to the aforesaid remarks, the Government pointed out that any advocacy of "Hong Kong independence" ran against "One Country, Two Systems" and the Basic Law as well as the overall and long-term interest of the society of Hong Kong, and strongly condemned the remarks of Professor TAI. Professor TAI said in response to the criticisms against him that "there is a solid academic thinking behind" his remarks, and "this was what a scholar did to put the outcome of his academic researches into personal practice". However, there are public criticisms that Professor TAI is actually promoting Hong Kong independence under the pretext of academic freedom. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the law enforcement agencies have studied if Professor TAI has committed any criminal offence (including the offence of "seditious intention" under section 9 of the Crimes Ordinance) by making the aforesaid remarks; if they have not studied, of the reasons for that; if they have, the outcome; whether and when law enforcement actions will be taken; if no law enforcement actions will be taken, of the reasons for that; (2) whether the authorities will seek from Professor TAI or the University of Hong Kong the following information about the academic researches referred to by him: the titles and scopes of the research projects concerned; the commencement and completion dates of such researches; the dates of publication of the research outcome; the amounts of expenditure incurred on the researches and the sources of funding; the numbers of working hours Professor TAI spent on such researches and the numbers of workers participating in the researches; among these research workers, the ratios of full-time workers to part-time workers, and whether students were included; if students had participated in the researches, of the numbers of hours they worked; and (3) whether the Education Bureau has issued guidelines to various education institutions (including various tertiary institutions) to prevent school campuses from becoming the breeding ground for spreading the idea of Hong Kong independence or inciting students to conduct activities related to Hong Kong independence?
6. Hon Claudia MO to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that late last month, a former Director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council was asked by the media on whether people who had chanted "end the one-party dictatorship" slogan in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("HKSAR") might run for the Legislative Council ("LegCo") election. He replied that "it should be the case that they may not, as such an act contravenes the Country's Constitution and is an unlawful act". In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) if it knows whether there is any legal basis for the statement that chanting the "end the one-party dictatorship" slogan in HKSAR is an unconstitutional and unlawful act; if there is, of the details; (2) whether a Returning Officer ("RO"), when determining the validity or otherwise of a nomination of a candidate for the LegCo election in future, will be required to consider if that person has previously done the following acts: having chanted the "end the one-party dictatorship" slogan, having joined an organization whose political platform consists of such a slogan, and having participated in activities organized by this type of organizations; whether an RO may decide that the nomination of a candidate is invalid on the ground that the candidate has previously done these acts; and (3) whether there are other provisions in the Constitution, apart from Article 31 of the Constitution under which HKSAR was established, that are applicable to HKSAR; if so, of such provisions and the legal basis for their being applicable to HKSAR, as well as the legal consequences to be borne by those Hong Kong people who have contravened such provisions?
*7. Hon Tony TSE to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the expenditure on consultancy fees involved in the delivery of public works projects, will the Government inform this Council of:
(1) the following information in respect of the public works projects with an approved estimated cost exceeding $15 million implemented by each works department in the past three years: (i) the title of the construction project, (ii) the approved estimated project expenditure, (iii) the comparison between the original estimated expenditure on consultancy fees at the design stage and the approved estimated project expenditure, (iv) the awarded price of the contract for the construction works, (v) the comparison between the original estimated expenditure on consultancy fees at the design stage and the awarded price of the consultancy contract (design stage), and (vi) the reasons for the discrepancy between the original estimated expenditure on consultancy fees at the design stage and the awarded price of the consultancy contract (design stage) (set out in a table); and (2) the criteria and methods adopted for calculating the expenditure on consultancy fees for public works projects at the design stage, and whether a limit has been imposed on the expenditure concerned?
*8. Hon CHUNG Kwok-pan to ask: (Translation)
The Government has been actively promoting re-industrialization in recent years. Moreover, the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation ("HKSTPC") revised the Industrial Estate ("IE") policy in 2015 so as to make better use of its three IEs respectively located in Tai Po, Yuen Long and Tseung Kwan O. It is learnt that in recent years, quite a number of Hong Kong manufacturers have intended to relocate their production lines on the Mainland back to Hong Kong. Also, quite a number of enterprises in traditional industries have planned to find sites in Hong Kong for building factories, and to make use of new production technologies to give full play of the effects of Hong Kong-researched-and-developed, Hong Kong-invested and Hong Kong-manufactured high quality brands, thereby bringing the development of Hong Kong's manufacturing industries back on a rising track. Regarding the support for Hong Kong enterprises to operate in IEs, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the current occupancy rates of the sites/units in the various aforesaid IEs; the (i) names and (ii) number (broken down by business type) of the enterprises currently operating in each IE; (2) whether it knows the respective numbers of applications, received by HKSTPC in each year since HKSTPC revised the IE policy, for renting (i) IE sites for building standalone factories and (ii) IE units for establishing companies; among such applications, the respective numbers of those approved and not approved (set out a breakdown by name of IE), and the reasons for some of the applications not being approved; (3) whether it knows, in each year since HKSTPC revised the IE policy, (i) the total amount of rents received by HKSTPC in respect of each IE, and (ii) the rates of rental adjustment made by HKSTPC in respect of IE sites/units; how the rental levels compare with those of private commercial and industrial buildings; the criteria currently adopted by HKSTPC for determining the rental levels and the duration of tenancy agreements of IEs; (4) whether it knows the fees payable by the tenants of the aforesaid IEs in addition to rental payments; if the tenants are required to pay management fees, the current management fee levels and how such fee levels compare with those of private commercial and industrial buildings; the criteria currently adopted by HKSTPC for determining IE's management fee levels and the management modes of IEs; (5) whether it knows if HKSTPC has, in its management of the aforesaid IEs, provided support (e.g. rental concessions and measures facilitating business operation) for tenants, in order to dovetail with the policy objective of re-industrialization and encourage more enterprises to operate in IEs; if HKSTPC has, the details; if not, the reasons for that and whether HKSTPC will consider providing such support for IE tenants; and (6) of the measures to (i) facilitate enterprises' relocation of their production lines back to Hong Kong and their admission to the aforesaid IEs, and (ii) support and encourage the use of "Hong Kong-made" high-quality brands for the development of the relevant industries in Hong Kong?
*9. Hon Tommy CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)
Following the incident of leakage of radioactive matters from the Fukushima nuclear power plant in Japan which happened on 11 March 2011 ("the Fukushima incident"), the Government issued an order under section 78B of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132) to prohibit the import of all vegetables, fruits, milk, milk beverages and milk powder ("Category A food items") from five prefectures of Japan (namely, Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Chiba and Gunma), as well as to require that the import of all chilled or frozen game, meat and poultry, all poultry eggs and all live, chilled or frozen aquatic products ("Category B food items") from these five prefectures must be accompanied by a certificate issued by the competent authority of Japan certifying that the radiation levels of such food items do not exceed the guideline levels. The order took effect on 24 March 2011 and is still in force. The Government has indicated that it has all along been maintaining communication with the authorities of Japan and reviewing such import control measures in the light of the latest situation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of samples of imported Japanese food tested on their radiation levels by the Centre for Food Safety ("CFS") since the occurrence of the Fukushima incident, and the respective numbers and percentages of samples the test results of which were satisfactory and unsatisfactory; (2) whether CFS has fully grasped the outcome of the tests conducted by the authorities of Japan and other economies on the radiation levels of Categories A and B food items exported from the five aforesaid prefectures; if so, of the respective latest test results, including whether the radiation levels of these two categories of food items have met the standards for safe consumption; and (3) of the factors that CFS takes into consideration in its review of the aforesaid import control measures, and the circumstances under which such measures will be relaxed or revoked?
*10. Hon Michael TIEN to ask: (Translation)
The Civil Aviation Department currently implements a number of aircraft noise mitigating measures, such as (i) refusing to allow aircraft which do not comply with the prescribed noise standards to land and take off at the Hong Kong International Airport ("HKIA"), (ii) encouraging airlines to deploy newer and quieter models of aircraft and (iii) adopting a set of "Radius-to-Fix" flight procedure. Such flight procedure allows aircraft which can use satellite-based navigation technology in their flights to adhere closely to the nominal centre line of the flight track when they take off towards the northeast and make south turn to the West Lamma Channel, and thus enables the aircraft to keep a distance away from the areas on the vicinity of the flight paths (e.g. Ma Wan), thereby reducing the impact of aircraft noise on those areas. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of times, as recorded by the various aircraft noise monitoring terminals in late hours (i.e. between 11 pm and 7 am of the next day) in each year from 2012 to 2017, for which aircraft noise levels reached (i) 70 to 74 decibels ("dB"), (ii) 75 to 79 dB and (iii) 80 dB or above; (2) among the take-off flights in each year from 2012 to 2017, of the respective numbers and percentages of those which adopted the Radius-to-Fix flight procedure; the measures taken by the authorities since 2012 to encourage airlines to adopt such flight procedure; (3) whether it is feasible for all take-off flights to adopt the Radius-to-Fix flight procedure; if not, of the ceiling percentage, and whether the authorities have estimated the respective numbers of times for which aircraft noise levels reaches (i) 70 to 74 dB, (ii) 75 to 79 dB and (iii) 80 dB or above will be recorded by the various aircraft noise monitoring terminals in late hours when the percentage of flights adopting such flight procedure has reached the ceiling; (4) of the progress and specific achievements (e.g. the number and percentage of flights for which quieter types of aircraft were deployed by airlines) made by the authorities in each year from 2012 to 2017, in respect of (i) refusing to allow aircraft which do not comply with the prescribed noise standards to land and take off at HKIA, and (ii) encouraging airlines to deploy newer and quieter models of aircraft; and (5) of the aircraft noise mitigating measures, apart from the aforesaid three measures, which are currently implemented by the authorities and their effectiveness?
*11. Hon Frankie YICK to ask: (Translation)
Some residents in Northwest New Territories ("NWNT") have relayed that with the rolling out of the Hung Shui Kiu New Development Area and Yuen Long South development projects by the Government, the population in NWNT will increase substantially in the coming decade, generating additional demand for railway services both within and outside the district. They have pointed out that NWNT residents currently have to take rather indirect routes for travelling to Hong Kong Island by railway. For example, they have to take the West Rail Line trains first, followed by a several-minute walk before interchanging for trains of the Tsuen Wan Line or Tung Chung Line, and the passenger throughputs of such railway lines have already reached the maximum capacities during peak hours. Moreover, as the East Rail Line and the Kwun Tong Line are very crowded during peak hours, the Northern Link, which is under planning, will bring little convenience to NWNT residents travelling to the Hong Kong Island by railway. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that it takes some 10 to 20 years to construct a new railway from feasibility study, inception to the commissioning of the railway, whether the Government will expeditiously embark on a study on the construction of a new railway which provides a direct link between NWNT and Hong Kong Island; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (2) whether it will consider afresh the proposal to construct a Coastal Railway between Tuen Mun and Tsuen Wan, with a view to relieving the loading of the West Rail Line; if so, of the timetable and other details; if not, the reasons for that, and other measures to be put in place to cope with the additional demand for railway services arising from the development in NWNT?
*12. Dr Hon Pierre CHAN to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the complaints and claims of medical negligence received by the Hospital Authority ("HA"), will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the number of claims of medical negligence received by each public hospital in each of the past five years (i.e. from 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2017), and set out a breakdown by type of claims in tables of the same format as Table 1; (2) whether it knows the number of complaints in each public hospital which were found, in each of the past five years, to be substantiated and needed further follow-up actions after being handled by the hospitals concerned, and the respective numbers of the various types of healthcare personnel (i.e. doctors, nurses and allied health professionals) who were punished because they had made mistakes in the relevant incidents, and set out a breakdown by type and rank of such personnel in tables of the same format as Table 2; the forms of punishment they received; (3) given that complainants may appeal to the Public Complaints Committee ("PCC") of HA if they are not satisfied with the decisions made by public hospitals in respective of their complaints, whether it knows the number of appeal cases received by PCC in each of the past three years and, among them, the number of those found by PCC to be substantiated or partly substantiated (set out in Table 3); (4) whether it knows the number of claims of medical negligence in each of the past two years, broken down by different handling methods/results (set out in Table 4); (5) whether it knows the number of claims for which compensation was paid to the patients concerned or their families by HA in each of the past two years, and the respective total amounts of compensation paid and the relevant expenditure incurred, for various types of claims (set out in Table 5); and (6) given that the target response time set by HA for handling complaints is within six weeks (within three months for complex cases), and that by PCC is within three to six months (possibly longer time needed for complex cases), whether it knows, among the complaints the handling of which was completed by each public hospital and by PCC in each of the past five years, the respective numbers of those in which the response time failed to meet such targets (set out in Table 6), and the reasons for failure to meet the targets?
Table 1: Number of claims of medical negligence
Hospital: _____________
Type of cases Year 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
Table 2: Number of healthcare personnel punished
Healthcare Personnel Year 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 Doctors:
(of different ranks)Nurses:
(of different ranks)Allied health professionals:
(of different ranks)
Table 3: Number of appeal cases received by the Public Complaints Committee
Appeal cases Year 2015 2016 2017 Total Number of cases found to be substantiated or partly substantiated
Table 4: Number of claims of medical negligence, broken down by handling method/result
Handling method/result Year 2016 2017 Settled out of court Referred to mediation Settled during mediation Settled after mediation Referred to arbitration Settled through arbitration Ruled by the court Total
Table 5: Total amount of compensation paid and relevant expenditure incurred for claims
Type of compensation/expenditure Year 2016 2017 Total amount of compensation paid Total amount of compensation paid in respect of cases settled out of court Total amount of compensation paid pursuant to the agreements reached by mediation Total amount of compensation paid pursuant to arbitration awards Total amount of compensation paid pursuant to court rulings Mediation fees paid by HA Mediators Lawyers Others Arbitration fees paid by HA Arbitrators Lawyers Others Legal fees paid by HA Lawyers Court Others*
* excluding fees related to mediation and arbitration
Table 6: Number of complaints in which the response time failed to meet the targets
Year Public Complaints Committee Public hospitals 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017
*13. Hon CHAN Chi-chuen to ask: (Translation)
In March 2017, ZTE Corporation ("ZTE"), a listed company in Hong Kong, entered into a plea agreement with the authorities in the United States ("US") in respect of ZTE's violation of the US export control laws. Under the agreement, not only was ZTE required to pay a substantial amount of penalty, but the US authorities would also impose a denial order for seven years that would restrict and prohibit, among other things, ZTE from applying for or using any licenses, or buying or selling any item exported from US that was subject to US export control regulations. However, the aforesaid denial order was suspended subject to ZTE's compliance with the requirements under the agreement, and would be waived after a seven-year suspension period. On 15 April (US time) this year, the US authorities announced the activation of the denial order with immediate effect until 13 March 2025 as ZTE had failed to fully comply with the agreement. The Chairman of ZTE later admitted that the sanction had a great impact on the company and would plunge the company into a state of shock immediately. On the other hand, ZTE stated in the Notes to Financial Statements in its Annual Report 2017 that, for a comprehensive execution of the agreement, the company would take a series of measures to ensure its compliance with the obligations under the agreement, and thus ZTE believed that it was unlikely that the company would violate the agreement. Some investors opined that ZTE's statement in that annual report had misled them, and hoped that the Securities and Futures Commission ("SFC") would immediately conduct a proactive investigation into the matter. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
(1) whether SFC has received, since April this year, any complaint about ZTE having allegedly misled its investors; if so, of the number of such complaints; (2) whether SFC will take the initiative to investigate whether ZTE has made false or misleading statements; if not, of the reasons for that; and (3) whether, in the light of this case, SFC will examine the introduction of a mechanism for class actions so that minor shareholders who have been misled and thus suffered losses may claim compensations from the companies and persons concerned through such mechanism; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*14. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority ("HKMA") established the Infrastructure Financing Facilitation Office ("IFFO") in 2016. One of the functions of IFFO is to facilitate infrastructure investments and their financing in countries and regions along the Belt and Road. It was reported in the press in August last year that the Chief Executive of HKMA had said that plans were being made to establish a mechanism through IFFO under which HKMA would take the lead in identifying infrastructure projects in countries and regions along the Belt and Road, and then it would collaborate with other IFFO partners to conduct investment. On the other hand, HKMA signed an agreement in September last year with International Finance Corporation ("IFC"), a member of the World Bank Group, committing US$1 billion to the innovative Managed Co-lending Portfolio Programme ("MCPP") debt mobilization platform for emerging markets to support IFC in financing projects across more than 100 countries. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of infrastructure investment and financing projects facilitated by IFFO since its establishment, and set out by project name the regions in which the proposed infrastructure facilities are to be located, the investment and financing amounts, and the names of proponents and investors; (2) whether HKMA has (i) deployed the Exchange Fund, or (ii) collaborated with IFFO partners upon identification of infrastructure projects through IFFO, to invest in projects in countries and regions along the Belt and Road; if so, set out by project name the regions in which the proposed infrastructure facilities are to be located, the forms of investment, the amount of investment and its percentage in the investment portfolio, the amount of profit or loss recorded to date, and the names of investment partners (if any); (3) of the amount of money paid to MCPP by HKMA, the usage of such funds and the amount of profit or loss recorded to date; and (4) whether HKMA has established any mechanism to monitor the implementation of those infrastructure projects in countries and regions along the Belt and Road in which HKMA has invested; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; of the measures HKMA has in place to ensure that for infrastructure projects in which it intends to invest, the proponents will fulfill their environmental and social obligations in the regions concerned?
*15. Hon IP Kin-yuen to ask: (Translation)
Since the 2009-2010 school year, special schools have offered 12-year education for students with intellectual disability. As individual students may need to have their years of study extended due to various reasons, the Education Bureau ("EDB") has, from the 2010-2011 school year onwards, progressively implemented improvement measures to cater for the extension of students' years of study. As additional classrooms and facilities are involved, EDB has stated that it will implement the improvement measures progressively and will examine the carrying out of conversion works in some schools. In addition, starting from the 2017-2018 school year, EDB has provided additional allied health and nursing manpower in special schools to improve special education services. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) in respect of each type of special schools in each of the past three years, of (i) the number of students waiting for enrolment (including those who changed schools) and the average waiting time, and (ii) the number of students waiting for boarding places and the average waiting time; (2) in respect of each type of special schools, of a list of the schools and the costs of the conversion works involved, broken down by the progress of the works needed to be carried out (including (i) the authorities' discussion with the schools on the works projects yet to commence, (ii) funding approval for the works being awaited, (iii) works in progress, and (iv) works completed); (3) given that starting from this school year, the Government has provided an occupational therapist and an occupational therapist assistant for each special school for children with mild intellectual disability, moderate intellectual disability and visual impairment, of the conditions of service of such posts, and the average post-to-student ratio; (4) among each type of special schools, of the number of schools that have recruited sufficient manpower to fill the posts mentioned in (3) at present, the total number of in-service allied health staff members, and the total number of vacancies of allied health posts; (5) as quite a number of schools have relayed that they have experienced difficulties in recruiting occupational therapists, whether the authorities have approached those schools to find out the reasons for that, and whether they will review the salaries and conditions of service of the relevant posts in order to attract such type of professionals to take up the posts; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (6) apart from providing additional allied health manpower in special schools, whether EDB has provided such schools with related facilities and equipment (e.g. dedicated special rooms or treatment rooms, occupational therapy equipment), so that such staff members may arrange on-campus treatment and movement training for students; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*16. Dr Hon CHIANG Lai-wan to ask: (Translation)
At present, there are tens of thousands of unauthorized signboards in the territory, and abandoned signboards that may endanger public safety are not uncommon. The Government launched the Validation Scheme for Unauthorized Signboards in 2013 to allow the continued use of certain unauthorized signboards after they have undergone safety inspection, strengthening (if necessary), and certification by prescribed building professionals or registered contractors. On the other hand, it has been reported recently that although the Buildings Department ("BD") has arranged to remove some abandoned signboards upon receipt of reports from members of the public, most of the abandoned signboards are still left unattended. Each year, BD issues a number of removal orders in respect of dangerous, abandoned and unauthorized signboards, and there are nearly 2 000 signboards in respect of which the removal orders have not been complied with. Some experts have warned that such type of signboards, if become dilapidated, will pose hazards to public safety at any time. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of dangerous, abandoned and unauthorized signboards which the authorities arranged to remove in each of the past five years, broken down by District Council district; (2) whether it will, for the purpose of safeguarding public safety, allocate additional resources and manpower to expedite the handling of abandoned signboards and cases of signboard owners' failure to comply with the removal orders upon expiry of the deadlines; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) given that under urgent circumstances, BD will engage government contractors to remove dangerous signboards and recover the cost of such works plus supervision charge and surcharge from the signboard owners afterwards, of the number of such cases, the total expenses involved and the sum of money recovered, in each of the past three years; (4) whether it will set up a hotline dedicated to reporting abandoned signboards by the public with a view to removing abandoned signboards expeditiously; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (5) whether it will publish regularly the locations of the abandoned signboards which have yet to be removed by signboard owners pursuant to the removal orders, so as to raise the alertness of the public; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (6) whether it will review and improve the Validation Scheme for Unauthorized Signboards, e.g. stepping up the promotional work and changing the nature of the scheme from voluntary to mandatory so as to enhance the effectiveness of the Scheme; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (7) whether it will increase the penalties to be imposed on signboard owners who have failed to comply with the removal orders, so as to enhance the deterrent effect; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*17. Hon Charles Peter MOK to ask: (Translation)
The authorities of the United States ("US") announced on 15 April (US time) this year an immediate ban on US companies selling telecommunications equipment components to ZTE Corporation ("ZTE") for a period of seven years up to 13 March 2025. It is learnt that ZTE's businesses include the supply of telecommunications equipment and network solutions. ZTE is also a supplier of mobile networks and broadband equipment for a number of telecommunications service operators ("TSOs") in Hong Kong. Some members of the information technology sector are worried that the sanction will affect the stability of telecommunications services as well as commercial operations and public communications in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows, among the TSOs currently providing local fixed carrier services, fixed network broadband services and mobile network services, the respective numbers and detailed situations of those which are using (i) the network infrastructure equipment and (ii) other telecommunications products and services provided by ZTE, with a breakdown of such numbers and information by the service scope of the TSOs (set out in a table); (2) whether it has taken the initiative to request the various TSOs concerned to draw up contingency plans and take appropriate measures to ensure that the telecommunications services that they provide will not be affected in the event that ZTE is unable to continue its supply of the necessary network infrastructure equipment and related services to them; and (3) whether it has studied the impacts on the development of 5G mobile communications services by TSOs in Hong Kong (including the testing and the application of the relevant network technologies) in the event that the US authorities impose similar sanctions on other Chinese-funded telecommunications equipment suppliers?
*18. Hon Jimmy NG to ask: (Translation)
According to the information of the Security Bureau, there has been an upward trend in smuggling activities by air in recent years. The number of such cases detected by the Customs and Excise Department increased from 4 141 in 2013 to 7 786 in 2017, representing a cumulative increase of nearly 90%; and among them, the trend of increase was more apparent for cases of smuggling by means of air postal packets and express cargoes (with a rate of increase being 264%), and the percentage of which in the total number of air smuggling cases also increased from 12% in 2013 to 23% in 2017. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of each type of air smuggling cases detected (including cases of bringing undeclared dutiable goods into Hong Kong as well as import or export of prohibited/controlled articles without the licences/certificates required by the law) in each of the past five years (i.e. from 2013 to 2017); and among the people engaged in such smuggling activities, of the respective percentages of individual travellers and members of organized crime syndicates; (2) given that the rapid development of e-commerce in recent years has made it increasingly convenient and inexpensive for smugglers to transport illicit articles by means of air postal packets and express cargoes, of the targeted measures, on the premise of striking a balance between facilitating e-commerce and curbing smuggling activities, to be adopted by the authorities for eradicating such smuggling activities; whether the authorities have plans to deploy additional cargo examination staff and detector dogs to various air cargo terminals and the Air Mail Centre; if so, of the numbers; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) given that the number of cases involving the use of air postal packets and express cargoes to smuggle drugs in 2017 increased by almost 40% compared with that in 2016, and that there is an array of tactics used by drug traffickers to commit crimes and conceal drugs, of the mechanism or procedure to be adopted by the authorities for detecting drugs in air postal packets and express cargoes, as well as the advanced examination equipment or chemical processes that will be employed for this purpose?
*19. Hon Kenneth LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
The Practice Note on Control of Air Pollution in Semi-confined Public Transport Interchanges, which was issued by the Environmental Protection Department ("EPD") in 1998, provides guidelines on aspects such as the air quality, the design required as well as the operation and maintenance of the ventilation systems of semi-confined public transport interchanges ("PTIs"). Recently, a newspaper reported that the concentrations of two types of air pollutants, namely nitrogen dioxide and fine suspended particulates (i.e. PM2.5) as recorded in several covered PTIs had substantially exceeded the relevant target limits under the Air Quality Guidelines of the World Health Organization. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the current total number of covered PTIs in Hong Kong and, in respect of each PTI, (i) the location, (ii) the area, (iii) the number of bus routes which can be accommodated, and (iv) the type of ventilation system installed; (2) of the number of complaints about the air quality of covered PTIs received by the authorities in the past five years; the contents of the complaints and the names of the PTIs involved; (3) whether it conducted any detailed study in the past five years on ways to improve the related facilities and environment (including air quality or ventilation systems) of covered PTIs; if so, of the details, if not, the reasons for that; and (4) given that in the light of the latest development in air quality standards, EPD is liaising with the relevant government departments so as to review the aforesaid guidelines, of the details of such review, and how EPD will improve the air quality of PTIs?
*20. Hon Paul TSE to ask: (Translation)
Recently, some members of the public have complained that allegedly deceptive online shopping advertisement pages, which offer high-priced authentic commodities (e.g. famous brand headsets, electronic game players, video recording equipment, intelligent robots, sneakers and pricey jewellery) for sale at low prices, are prevalent on the social media platform Facebook. It is learnt that such pages mostly use "closure of physical shops", "presence of defects in the commodities" or "detention of goods by the customs and excise authorities" as a pretext for commodities being sold at prices as low as about 10% or 20% of the original prices, and are uploaded with captured images of bills to prove the authenticity of the goods concerned, which lured members of the public to rush to place purchase orders. Some of the pages even use the addresses of shops selling authentic goods as collection points in order to dull the vigilance of members of the public. However, members of the public who had made payments for the purchases found out that (i) they had been defrauded only when they went to pick up the goods at the relevant addresses, or (ii) the goods did not match the descriptions only after they had unwrapped the package of the goods delivered by couriers. Subsequently, when those members of the public tried to take up the matter with the sellers, they found out that the pages in question had been deleted and the sellers could not be contacted. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of reports of online shopping fraud received by the Customs and Excise Department, the Police and other relevant government departments in the past three years, the amount of money involved and the respective numbers of relevant prosecutions and convictions; (2) of the policies or measures in place to assist members of the public who have been defrauded in recovering the payments made to fraudsters; (3) how the Consumer Council followed up the aforesaid type of complaints in the past three years; (4) how the authorities follow up those online shopping fraud cases which were found upon investigation to have involved overseas criminal syndicates; whether they will take the initiative to contact the relevant departments of the countries concerned to seek assistance from them; (5) as more and more members of the public make use of social media platforms for online shopping, whether the authorities have studied new measures and policies to combat online shopping frauds so as to protect the consumers' rights and interests; and (6) as it has recently been reported by the media that the credit card data of customers amassed by several online shopping platforms are available on websites associated with illegal activities (commonly known as "dark webs"), and the situation is serious, whether the authorities have received relevant reports; if so, of the details; the measures the authorities have put in place to protect the personal confidential data of members of the public from being stolen and used when they shop online?
*21. Hon CHAN Hak-kan to ask: (Translation)
According to the existing legislation, any person must apply to the Civil Aviation Department before operating any unmanned aircraft system ("UAS") weighing over 7 kilogrammes (without fuel) or operating a UAS for reward. In recent years, while UASs have become increasingly versatile, the privacy and safety issues arising from the operation of UASs have aroused growing concern. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of complaints about clandestine photo-taking by using UASs received by the authorities in the past three years; the follow-up actions taken by the authorities in respect of those complaints, and whether they have instituted prosecutions against the UAS operators concerned; (2) as UASs are currently not allowed to be flown in areas such as the vicinity of an airport or aircraft approach and take-off paths and country parks, of the number of reports received by the authorities in the past three years about UASs intruding into the said no-fly zones; the follow-up actions taken by the authorities in respect of these cases, and whether they have instituted prosecutions against the UAS operators concerned; whether they will consider using new technological equipment (e.g. an electronic interference system) to prevent UASs from intruding into the no-fly zones; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) given that more and more people operate UASs as a leisure activity, whether the authorities will consider relaxing the provision prohibiting the flying of UASs in country parks, or designating a park in which flying UASs is allowed; and (4) given that UASs are currently deployed overseas for delivering goods by some companies, whether the authorities have plans to assist the relevant industry in Hong Kong in the development of that kind of service?
*22. Dr Hon Elizabeth QUAT to ask: (Translation)
The Government is currently planning for the Stage Two development of the Electronic Health Record Sharing System ("eHRSS"), including initiating further data standardization exercises on existing and new data categories (such as Chinese medicine ("CM") information, personal life-style habits as well as care and treatment plan) to facilitate data sharing, as well as enhancing patient's choice over the scope of data sharing and facilitating patient access to eHRSS. On the other hand, the World Health Organization ("WHO") launched the "Healthy Cities" programme in 1986 to engage the international community in improving health services and living conditions through the collaborative efforts of the public, private, voluntary and community sectors. WHO also advocates the inclusion of health as a factor to consider by governments around the world in their policy-making process. The first Healthy Cities project in Hong Kong was launched in 1997. Such projects are now being rolled out at District Council district level. Regarding the role of eHRSS in Healthy Cities projects, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that inter-sectoral action and community participation are essential in taking forward Healthy Cities projects, whether the Government will designate social workers and teachers as two categories of persons authorized to view and share patients' electronic health records; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) given that the Report of the Working Party on Primary Health Care entitled Health for All, The Way Ahead published in 1990 recommended the establishment of a Primary Health Care Authority by the Government to monitor the delivery of primary health care services, whether the Government will, upon making reference to the experience of the governments of the United Kingdom and Australia in establishing the Clinical Commissioning Groups and Primary Health Networks respectively, study the establishment of such an Authority with a view to coordinating inter-sectoral collaborations and enhancing the efficiency in providing medical services; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) whether it will analyze eHRSS data to grasp the medical needs and characteristics of each district, thereby assisting in the planning for the provision of the medical services required in various districts and formulating performance indicators; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (4) whether it will, for the purpose of conducting health needs assessment, collect relevant data from the Hospital Authority, relevant policy bureaux and departments (including the Education Bureau, Department of Health, Census and Statistics Department and Social Welfare Department), non-governmental organizations and university departments offering programmes on public health; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (5) whether it will plan for the prevention, screening, diagnoses and treatments as well as palliative treatment of diseases that are common among city-dwellers (such as mental illness, diabetes mellitus and cardio-cerebral-vascular diseases) and pain-causing illnesses, and make use of the three analysis tools (cost-effectiveness analysis, cost-utility analysis and cost-benefit analysis) to assess the impact of such efforts on the medical services to be provided in various districts and the effectiveness that can be achieved; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (6) whether it will facilitate the role of CM in Healthy Cities projects, including (i) extensively applying the medical concept and treatment method of "preventive treatment of disease" as adopted by Chinese medicine practitioners, (ii) instilling the knowledge of philosophies on health as adopted by Chinese medicine practitioners in patients seeking consultations at District Health Centres so as to enhance their capabilities to manage their own health, (iii) popularizing Chinese medical services so that chronically ill and terminally ill patients can access such services more easily, (iv) applying the "emotional health theory" as adopted by Chinese medicine practitioners to soothe the emotion of mentally ill patients and the mental stress suffered by their family members, and (v) stepping up the training on community health and family medicine for Chinese medicine practitioners so as to promote integrated Chinese-Western medicine; if so, of the timetable and other details; if not, the reasons for that; (7) whether it will, at the institutional level, enhance the capabilities and participation of members of the public in managing their own health, so as to solve the existing problems caused by a lack of participation by patients as well as a relatively low level of health ownership and literacy among them; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (8) whether it will formulate a standing mechanism for conducting opinion surveys and consultations for the purpose of understanding the public's health concerns and encouraging them to participate in formulating the relevant policies and measures in order to perfect the implementation of the Healthy Cities projects; 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. | Inland Revenue (Amendment) Bill 2018 | : | Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
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| Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury to move amendments
(The amendments were issued on 9 May 2018 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 575/17-18) | |||
| (Debate and voting arrangements for Inland Revenue (Amendment) Bill 2018 in committee of the whole Council (issued on 15 May 2018 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 594/17-18(01)) (same as the Appendix to the Script of Council meeting of 16 May 2018))
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| 2. | Employment (Amendment) Bill 2017 | : | Secretary for Labour and Welfare
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| Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG to move amendments
(The amendments were issued on 10 May 2018 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 583/17-18) | |||
| (Debate and voting arrangements for Employment (Amendment) Bill 2017 in committee of the whole Council (issued on 15 May 2018 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 595/17-18(01)) (same as the Appendix to the Script of Council meeting of 16 May 2018))
| |||
IV. Member's Motion on Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments
Stand-over item (since the meeting of 9 May 2018)
Motion under Rule 49E(2) of the Rules of Procedure
Hon Starry LEE to move the following motion:
That this Council takes note of Report No. 12/17-18 of the House Committee laid on the Table of the Council on 9 May 2018 in relation to the subsidiary legislation and instrument(s) as listed below:
| Item Number | Title of Subsidiary Legislation or Instrument |
| (1) | Rating (Exemption) Order 2018 (L.N. 37/2018). |
| Public Officers to attend | : | Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury |
V. Member's Bill
Stand-over item (since the meeting of 9 May 2018)
| Second Reading (Debate to resume), Consideration by Committee of the Whole Council and Third Reading | ||
| Sailors Home and Missions to Seamen Incorporation (Amendment) Bill 2018 | : | Hon Frankie YICK |
VI. Members' Motions
Stand-over items: Members' motions nos. 1 to 4 (since the meeting of 9 May 2018)
| 1. | Motion under Rule 49B(1A) of the Rules of Procedure
Resumption of the debate on the motion in the Appendix moved by Hon Paul TSE at the Council meeting of 14 December 2016. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 7 December 2016 and 30 April 2018
under LC Paper Nos. CB(3) 209/16-17 and CB(3) 544/17-18 respectively) (The Report of the Investigation Committee established under Rule 49B(2A) of the Rules of Procedure in respect of the motion to censure Dr Hon CHENG Chung-tai was tabled in the Council on 11 April 2018) | |||||
| 2. | Report of the Joint Subcommittee on Long-term Care Policy
Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG to move the following motion: (Translation) That this Council notes the Report of the Joint Subcommittee on Long-term Care Policy. | ||||
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| 3. | Not forgetting the 4 June incident
Hon Tanya CHAN to move the following motion: (Translation) That this Council urges that: the 4 June incident be not forgotten and the 1989 pro-democracy movement be vindicated. | ||||
| 4. | Motion for the adjournment of the Council under Rule 16(4) of the Rules of Procedure
Hon CHAN Hak-kan to move the following motion: (Translation) That this Council do now adjourn for the purpose of debating the following issue: the impact on the interests of Hong Kong and the country arising from the remarks made by Mr Benny TAI Yiu-ting, one of the initiators of the 'Occupy Central' movement, at a forum held in Taiwan in March 2018 that Hong Kong could consider becoming an independent state. Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs | ||||