A 17/18-34
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 6 June 2018 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers
| Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments | L.N. No. | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Tramway Ordinance (Alteration of Fares) (Amendment) Notice 2018 | 108/2018 |
| 2. | Immigration (Places of Detention) (Amendment) Order 2018 | 109/2018 |
| 3. | Immigration Service (Designated Places) (Amendment) Order 2018 | 110/2018 |
| 4. | Cross-boundary Movement of Physical Currency and Bearer Negotiable Instruments Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 1) (No. 2) Notice 2018 | 111/2018 |
Other Papers
| 1. | No. 109 | - | The 29th Report on the Work of the Advisory Committee on Post-service Employment of Civil Servants
(1 January - 31 December 2017) |
| (to be presented by Secretary for the Civil Service)
| |||
| 2. | Report No. 14/17-18 of the House Committee on Consideration of Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments | ||
| (to be presented by Hon Starry LEE, Chairman of the House Committee)
| |||
| 3. | Report of the Bills Committee on Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (Co-location) Bill | ||
| (to be presented by Hon Mrs Regina IP, Chairman of the Bills Committee)
| |||
II. Questions
1. Hon LUK Chung-hung to ask: (Translation)
In recent years, quite a number of cinemas have closed down one after another. At present, there is no cinema in certain districts (e.g. Tai Po), resulting in fewer entertainment choices for the residents in those districts. In March last year, the Government announced a series of new measures to facilitate the development of cinemas in Hong Kong, with a view to assisting in movie audience-building and promoting the long-term development of the film industry. However, some members of the public have pointed out the slow progress made by the Government on the implementation of such measures. Regarding the measures to promote the development of cinemas and the film industry, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows, in respect of each District Council district in each of the past three years, the number of cinemas, the respective numbers of seats and screens of cinemas, and the year-on-year percentage changes of such numbers and the average ticket price; (2) of the latest progress made by the Government on the implementation of the measures to facilitate the development of cinemas; the measures in place to assist the film industry in setting up more cinemas, so that there will be cinemas in each district, as well as to encourage and assist the film industry in showing more locally produced films and lowering ticket price, so as to attract members of the public to go to the movies; and (3) whether the Government will consider amending the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines to reclassify cinemas as "cultural facilities" instead of "retail facilities"; if not, of the reasons for that; whether the Government will conduct regular surveys and studies on local film consumption and the development of the local film industry, in order to assist in the formulation of a more comprehensive development policy for the film industry?
2. Hon Starry LEE to ask: (Translation)
In November last year, the Government published a Consultation Paper on Review of Electoral Arrangements, launching a public consultation on three issues related to elections, including the polling hours. The consultation report was released last month. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as some members of the public are of the view that the existing polling hours and the time taken in counting votes are unduly long, causing impacts on society, the electors and the candidates, but the consultation report proposes that the polling hours of the Legislative Council ("LegCo") and District Council ("DC") elections be maintained, of the authorities' measures to alleviate the relevant impacts; (2) as the Government has indicated in the consultation report that it will study the making of arrangements to enable those civil servants who serve as polling staff or are on shift on the polling day to cast their votes in advance, and to enable eligible electors who are Hong Kong permanent residents working or residing on the Mainland to cast their votes in advance at the offices of the SAR Government on the Mainland, whether such studies can be completed expeditiously so that the relevant arrangements can be implemented in the 2020 LegCo general election; and (3) whether it will review the vote counting arrangement for the election of District Council (second) functional constituency seats in LegCo, such as by drawing reference to the vote counting arrangement for geographical constituencies in which a polling station will be converted into a counting station immediately after the close of poll for counting votes on the spot; whether it will conduct a feasibility study on introducing electronic counting to LegCo and DC elections; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
3. Dr Hon CHIANG Lai-wan to ask: (Translation)
Some patient groups have relayed that quite a number of new targeted therapy drugs with significant benefits in curing cancers have come onto the market in recent years, but most of them have not been incorporated into the list of Self-Financed Items ("SFIs") under the Drug Formulary of the Hospital Authority ("HA"). This, coupled with the stringent eligibility criteria for applications under the Samaritan Fund and the Community Care Fund, has resulted in cancer patients who cannot afford the medication costs not being able to grasp the opportunities for treatments, thereby undermining patients' rights and interests. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it will request HA to expedite its appraisal procedure so as to incorporate those new targeted therapy drugs with significant benefits in curing cancers into the list of SFIs; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether it will relax the eligibility criteria for applications under the two aforesaid relief funds and raise their subsidy ceilings, so that more cancer patients in need can obtain assistance; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether it will consider setting up a new dedicated fund to subsidize cancer patients with financial difficulties in receiving expensive treatments (including treatments with targeted therapy drugs); if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
4. Hon Holden CHOW to ask: (Translation)
At present, the Department of Health ("DH") provides vaccines and boosters for children from birth to Primary Six under the Hong Kong Childhood Immunization Programme ("the Immunization Programme") in order to protect them from 11 infectious diseases, such as measles, poliomyelitis and chickenpox. Parents may bring their children from birth to five years of age to the various Maternal and Child Health Centre for immunization. Inoculators of DH will visit primary schools to provide immunization service to primary students. Moreover, children aged six months to under 12 years are eligible for free and subsidized seasonal influenza vaccination ("SIV") via the Government Vaccination Programme ("GVP") and Vaccination Subsidy Scheme ("VSS") respectively. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number and percentage of children in the relevant age groups receiving the various types of vaccines and boosters under the Immunization Programme, as well as the number of inoculators visiting schools to provide immunization service, in each of the past three years; (2) of the number of primary schools participating in the outreach SIV activities at schools organized under VSS in each of the past two years, and the number of primary school students thereby receiving vaccination; the total number of children receiving free SIV via GVP in each of the past three years; and (3) whether it will consider including SIV in the Immunization Programme in the near future, and deploying inoculators to schools to provide SIV for primary students; if so, of the details, including the additional number of inoculators needed to be recruited; if not, the reasons for that?
5. Hon Wilson OR to ask: (Translation)
Chuk Yuen North Estate is one of the housing estates under the Tenants Purchase Scheme ("TPS"). Some owners of the estate have relayed to me that earlier on, many cracks appeared on the external walls of the buildings in the estate. A structural engineer found after inspection that the design of eight buildings in terms of the thickness of the concrete slabs of canopies, the number and spacing of steel bars, etc. were different from the working drawings for construction approved by the Housing Department ("HD"), and there were extensive spalling of mosaic tiles from the external walls of the buildings due to the use of improper materials. The Owners' Corporation of the estate wrote repeatedly to HD, requesting it to take follow-up actions on the problem, but was refused. Regarding the building maintenance of TPS estates, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number and contents of complaints and requests for assistance received by the authorities in the past five years concerning the structural safety of the buildings in TPS estates, with a breakdown by name of estate; (2) whether the Hong Kong Housing Authority ("HA") carried out major or estate-wide maintenance works for TPS estates in the past five years; if so, of the items of the works carried out, the number of households benefited and the criteria based on which HA decided to carry out such works; and (3) of the current percentage of HA's ownership shares in the aggregate ownership shares of each TPS estate; the role currently played by HA, being one of the owners of TPS estates, in the maintenance of those estates; whether HA will take on more responsibility for maintenance and step up its monitoring on the structural safety of the buildings in those estates; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
6. Dr Hon Elizabeth QUAT to ask: (Translation)
The Hong Kong Observatory recorded a highest temperature of 34.7 degrees Celsius in the urban areas on 21st of last month. On that day, that temperature reading broke the highest temperature record of this year, was the highest temperature on record for the month of May in 42 years, and marked the third hottest day in May since records began in 1884. Some members of the public have pointed out that hot weather has brought considerable impacts on the daily lives and health of the grass roots and outdoor workers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of reports received by the authorities in the past five years about employees suffering from heat strokes while working outdoors; whether the authorities will review the guidelines and legislation relating to employees at work under hot weather, with a view to better safeguarding the health of employees working in a hot environment; (2) of the average number of persons each night who sought shelter at the various temporary night heat shelters ("TNHSs") operated by the Home Affairs Department during the days of last month when they were open; whether the authorities have considered setting up more TNHSs and ensured that there is at least one TNHS in each District Council district; if so, of the specific plan; if not, the reasons for that; whether the authorities will install additional water dispensers in various districts throughout the territory so that members of the public can replace fluid lost in time to avoid heat strokes caused by dehydration; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) as quite a number of members of the grass roots (including families residing in sub-divisions of flat units (commonly known as "sub-divided units") have relayed that they need to turn on air-conditioners or fans under hot weather to beat the heat, but the relevant expenditure on electricity charges places a heavy burden on them, whether the authorities will consider introducing afresh an electricity charges subsidy to alleviate the financial pressure on the grass roots; whether the authorities will, by making reference to the experience and practices of overseas countries, take measures to cool down the city, such as increasing urban greening features and green roofs, adopting more green building designs, promoting a greater use of building materials that enable green cooling, providing water mist systems at passenger waiting areas, increasing urban water bodies, encouraging members of the public to save energy in their daily lives and lead a green lifestyle, so as to mitigate the urban heat island effect; if so, of the specific plan; if not, the reasons for that?
| Public Officers to reply | : | Secretary for the Environment Secretary for Home Affairs Under Secretary for Labour and Welfare |
*7. Hon CHU Hoi-dick to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the redevelopment projects on private residential buildings carried out by land owners and developers ("redevelopment projects"), will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the following details of each of the redevelopment projects for which the relevant building plans were approved for the first time within the past five years (set out in a table): (i) name, (ii) address and lot number, (iii) site area and details of site amalgamation, (iv) the completion date for the demolition works of the old building(s), (v) the date on which the building plan was approved for the first time, (vi) whether an application was made for an order for compulsory sale of land under the Land (Compulsory Sale for Redevelopment) Ordinance (Cap. 545) (if so, of the application number), (vii) original land use and total gross floor area of site, (viii) land use and total gross floor area of site upon redevelopment, (ix) total gross floor area and number of residential units upon redevelopment, (x) total gross floor area and number of commercial premises upon redevelopment (if any), (xi) amount of land premium payable, and (xii) whether an occupation permit has been obtained from the Buildings Department; and (2) whether it will enact a dedicated legislation to govern those redevelopment projects and stipulate that the relevant information of those redevelopment projects must be made public to facilitate the public to assess, from the perspective of overall planning, the impacts of those redevelopment projects on the various aspects of the communities concerned?
*8. Hon CHAN Han-pan to ask: (Translation)
In recent years, organizers of international sports events, such as the Olympic Games and the World Cup, have sold the broadcasting rights of those matches to media organizations around the world through a competitive bidding process. The broadcasting rights of those matches have often been awarded to pay television broadcasters, rendering members of the public who are not pay television subscribers being unable to watch those matches. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that matches of the 2018 World Cup finals will be held starting next week, and it has been reported that the media organization which has secured the exclusive broadcasting right for those matches will air only 19 out of 64 matches on its own free-to-air television station, whether the Government will discuss with the media organization the broadcasting of all those matches on free-to-air television stations or free websites; (2) whether it will consider paying a fee to media organizations which have been awarded the broadcasting rights of various large-scale international and regional sports competitions in order that arrangements can be made to broadcast those relevant matches in community halls or other venues to enable members of the public (especially the grass roots) to watch them for free; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether it will discuss with organizers of large-scale international and regional sports competitions to urge them to ensure, when awarding the broadcasting rights for Hong Kong, that all Hong Kong people can watch those relevant matches for free; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*9. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)
Road Traffic (Traffic Control) Regulations (Cap. 374 sub. leg. G) provides that unless for special reasons such as avoiding a traffic accident or conforming with a direction given by a police officer, the driver of a motor vehicle who is not a permitted user shall ensure that his vehicle does not enter a bus lane. It has been reported that early last month, the saloon car of the Financial Secretary was found travelling along a section of bus lane in Wan Chai in order to jump the queue and cut into a lane heading to the Cross Harbour Tunnel. In responding to media enquiries subsequently, his Press Secretary indicated that the car concerned might use bus lanes when "necessary" because the Commissioner for Transport had issued a bus lane permit ("BLP") in respect of that car. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of government officials who have been issued with a BLP, and set out by government department (i) a breakdown of such number and (ii) the registration marks of the vehicles concerned; (2) apart from the government officials mentioned in (1), whether the authorities have issued BLPs to the personnel of (i) consulates and (ii) other types of organizations; if so, of the reasons for issuing the BLPs, and the number of BLPs issued to the personnel of each type of organizations; (3) of the traffic regulations with which BLP holders are exempted to comply; (4) whether, when issuing BLPs in the past five years, the Transport Department ("TD") imposed any conditions specifying the circumstances under which the use of BLP was regarded "necessary"; if so, of the details, and whether TD has issued (i) guidelines to BLP holders and (ii) law enforcement guidelines to the relevant law enforcement agencies, in relation to such conditions; if so, of the details; if not, whether the authorities will formulate such guidelines; and (5) whether TD has required BLP holders to attend courses before using BLPs to ensure that they are familiar with the conditions therein; if so, of the unit offering such courses; if not, the reasons for that?
*10. Hon WU Chi-wai to ask: (Translation)
The Innovation and Technology Bureau ("ITB") established the TechConnect (block vote) in mid-2017 to assist various government departments in implementing technology projects, with a view to enhancing operational efficiency and improving public services. It is learnt that the committee concerned has supported the allocation of funding to 24 technology projects. Regarding the efforts to promote the wider use of technology within the Government, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the (i) commencement dates, (ii) commissioning dates, (iii) estimated non-recurrent and recurrent expenditure, and (iv) anticipated achievements (including the numbers of beneficiaries and the anticipated amounts of saving in expenditure) of the aforesaid 24 technology projects; (2) of the details of ITB's current work to assist various government departments in implementing technology projects under the aforesaid block vote mechanism; whether ITB will send its staff to the various departments to understand their operations and recommend the implementation of technology projects which may enhance work efficiency and improve services; besides ITB, whether there are other policy bureaux or government departments which are currently exploring the application of technology to enhance work efficiency; if so, of the details; (3) apart from the aforesaid 24 technology projects, whether the various government departments implemented in the past three years other projects on the application of new technology for the provision of public services; if so, of the details; of the various government departments' plans in the coming year to implement projects on the application of new technology for the provision of public services; (4) of the current number of civil servants who are holders of degrees related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics ("STEM"), with a breakdown of such number by (i) whether such civil servants are directorate grade officers as well as by (ii) the grades and (iii) the government departments to which they belong; (5) as the Chief Executive's Council of Advisers on Innovation and Strategic Development and the Steering Committee on Innovation and Technology focus respectively on the macro economic development of Hong Kong, and steering innovation and technology development as well as smart city projects, of the authorities' measures to increase the opportunities for civil servants with a STEM academic background to take part in formulating the relevant policies; whether the authorities will make reference to the practices of overseas governments and create in the Chief Executive's Office or the various government departments positions such as Science Advisors to be filled by professionals outside the civil service, so as to allow them to offer independent technology advice to the Government; and (6) whether it will study the implementation of digital government transformation to enable the Government to use more technology to enhance operational efficiency, and promote a wider application of innovation and technology at the community level?
*11. Hon Jimmy NG to ask: (Translation)
According to the information from a think tank, it is projected that 24 280 residential units can be built on the private housing sites launched in the first three quarters of the past financial year. As many as 64% of such units will be provided by privately-led development projects, which is 49 percentage points higher than the average percentage (around 15%) for the past five financial years. The think tank has also pointed out that the current problem of acute housing shortage in Hong Kong can be attributed to a certain extent to the lack of reserves for "spade-ready" sites (i.e. the sites concerned have been properly zoned, and do not require resumption, clearance or reprovisioning of existing facilities, site formation, or provision of additional infrastructure) by both the Government and private developers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has explored why as many as 64% of the aforesaid 24 280 residential units will be provided by privately-led development projects; if so, of the details; as the Secretary for Development remarked in December last year that there was no guarantee that the momentum for private development projects would be maintained in the coming years, of the authorities' ways to increase Government-led land supply so as to achieve the annual supply target for private residential units; (2) given that a number of the sites included in the Land Sale Programme for the 2017-2018 financial year (e.g. the sites located in Pak Shek Kok of Tai Po and Castle Peak Road-Area 48 of Tuen Mun, as well as the eight sites located in Kai Tak) are not spade-ready sites, whether the authorities have drawn up a timetable for converting such sites into spade-ready sites; if not, of the reasons for that; if so, the details and the estimated total number of residential units to be built on such sites; (3) whether it will set up a reserve for spade-ready sites and improve the existing land premium mechanism in order to increase land supply; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) whether it will resume major reclamation projects for setting up a land reserve; if so, of the timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
*12. Hon CHAN Hak-kan to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the supply of and demand for parking spaces, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of private cars, motorcycles and the various classes of commercial vehicles that were (i) registered and (ii) first registered, in each of the past five years; (2) of the respective numbers of (i) private cars, motorcycles and the various classes of commercial vehicles, and (ii) the various types of parking spaces, as projected by the authorities, in each of the coming three years (with a breakdown by Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories); (3) of the number of car parks provided on short-term tenancy sites and the number of parking spaces provided therein, in each of the past five years (with a breakdown by Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories); (4) of the number of multistorey car parks under the Transport Department ("TD") and the number of parking spaces provided therein, in each of the past five years (with a breakdown by Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and the New Territories); (5) of the respective average (i) daily, (ii) peak hour and (iii) non-peak hour utilization rates of the parking spaces in the multistorey car parks under TD, in each of the past five years; (6) of the respective numbers of parking spaces used to be provided in the Middle Road Multi-storey Carpark and Murray Road Multi-storey Carpark, which have ceased operation, as well as those currently provided in the Rumsey Street Carpark, which is proposed to be converted for commercial development, and whether the authorities have plans to increase the number of parking spaces in the same districts to make up for the shortfalls; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (7) whether it will consider providing additional parking spaces for commercial vehicles in redeveloped and newly built multistorey car parks; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*13. Hon Kenneth LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
On reducing the use of plastic bottles and raising their recycling rate, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that the Government has stipulated a ban on the sale of plastic bottled water measuring one litre or less in the tender exercises, conducted on or after 20 February this year, for the provision of automatic vending machines at government venues, of the current number of automatic vending machines at the various government venues that do not sell plastic bottled water; whether it has assessed the impact brought about by such a measure on the disposal quantity and recycling rate of plastic bottles; if so, of the outcome; if not, the reasons for that; (2) of the current number of water dispensers at the various government venues; the number of water dispensers to be added to the various government venues in the coming three years and the relevant details; (3) of the respective quantities of waste plastic bottles that were (i) exported, with a breakdown by export destination, and (ii) recovered and recycled locally, in each of the past five years; the processing procedures as well as end-uses of waste plastic bottles that are recycled locally; (4) whether it has set targets on the disposal quantity and recycling rate of waste plastic bottles; whether it will enact legislation to impose a total ban on the sale of the various kinds of drinks in plastic bottles; if so, of the details and timetable; if not, the reasons for that; and (5) of the latest progress and outcome of the feasibility study on the producer responsibility scheme on plastic product containers; the details of the next step of work and timetable?
*14. Hon Charles Peter MOK to ask: (Translation)
Some members of the public have complained that they had made applications for access to government information under the Code on Access to Information ("the Code") to the policy bureaux and government departments ("B/Ds") covered by the Code, but then the B/Ds concerned rejected such applications without giving any reasons. They have pointed out that the criteria adopted by various B/Ds for vetting and approval of such applications are vague, thereby lowering the transparency of public administration and hindering members of the public from effectively monitoring the use of public funds. Besides, it has been reported recently that the Government, when commissioning consultancy studies, often incorporates a confidentiality clause in the contracts, and then claims on this ground that the relevant study reports are within the scope of exemptions under the Code, and hence rejects the access applications concerned. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the details of the applications for access to information which were made by invoking the Code as received by various B/Ds in the 2017-2018 financial year, including the (i) names of B/Ds, (ii) number of applications received, (iii) number of pieces of information involved, (iv) number of applications under process, (v) number of applications the applicants of which were provided with all the requested information, (vi) number of applications the applicants of which were provided with part of the requested information, and (vii) average time for processing an application (set out in a table); (2) of the number of applications for access to information which were rejected by various B/Ds in the 2017-2018 financial year, together with a breakdown by (i) category of information requested and (ii) reason for rejection; the number of times for which the applicants of such cases requested a review of the refusal decisions; (3) as paragraph 2.2 of the Code stipulates that if the harm or prejudice which arises from disclosure of the information may outweigh the public interest, including both actual harm or prejudice and the risk or reasonable expectation of harm and prejudice ("harm or prejudice outweighing the public interest"), a department may refuse to disclose the information, and paragraph 2.2.3 of the Guidelines on Interpretation and Application of the Code states that a civil servant is required to act reasonably in reaching his/her decision, of the procedures for various B/Ds to conduct the "harm or prejudice" tests and the number of the tests conducted last year; whether a mechanism is currently in place to review if (i) the decisions concerned and (ii) the justifications therefor are reasonable; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (4) of the number of applications for access to information that were rejected by various B/Ds in the past five years on grounds of "harm or prejudice outweighing the public interest", together with a breakdown by name of B/D; the procedure (e.g. conducting the "harm or prejudice" tests, and assessing public interest) that various B/Ds went through in reaching the decisions to reject the applications; (5) of the number of cases in which various B/Ds set out the aforesaid confidentiality clause in the contracts when commissioning consultants or other organizations to conduct studies in the past three years and the details, including the (i) names of B/Ds, (ii) names of the study projects, (iii) dates on which the studies were conducted, (iv) consultancy fees, and (v) reasons for keeping the study reports and the relevant documents confidential (set out in a table); and (6) of the figures relating to the study reports which were classified by various B/Ds as information available for public access after they had commissioned consultants or other organizations to conduct the studies in each of the past three financial years (set out in the table below)?
Financial year 2015-2016 2016-2017 2017-2018 Number of consultancy studies Number of study reports available for public access
*15. Hon Paul TSE to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that four alleged incidents of clandestine video-recording and photo-taking in courtrooms occurred in the past three months. Three of such incidents occurred during the trial of cases of the offences of riot, etc. committed in Mong Kok, and the latest one occurred during the trial of contempt of court case relating to the Occupy Mong Kok movement in 2014. On 23 February, a man pointed his mobile phone to the direction of the jury and took photos and videos, and disseminated the photos and video clips through an instant messaging software. However, the judge who tried the case decided not to pursue the matter after the man deleted the photos and video clips. On 18 May, when the jurors of that case retired for deliberation, the Judiciary received an email with words which read "there are a lot more" and with a photo with features of the jurors. Some members of the legal profession have considered that the person who sent the email attempted to challenge the court's impartiality in the trial of the case. On the other hand, it has been reported that in an article entitled "Smart tips to observe trials in High Court" posted on a Mainland website with a number of photos featuring local courts, the author said that, "fortunately, the clandestine photo-taking was not discovered by the judge". Also, an article entitled "What kind of experience is it to observe trials in Hong Kong's High Court", along with photos of local courts, can be found through a Mainland Internet search engine. Those articles show that the courts in Hong Kong seem to have become a tourist attraction for Mainland tourists. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has assessed if the aforesaid acts of clandestine video-recording and photo-taking, as pointed out by the media, relate to politically sensitive cases, and whether such incidents (i) involved the intention of some people to influence the trials by sending out threatening messages, (ii) will cause members of the public who serve as jurors to worry about their identities being exposed and their personal safety, and (iii) has an impact on the confidence of members of the public on the court's impartiality in trying cases; (2) whether it will seriously pursue the criminal liability of the aforesaid persons involved in the clandestine video-recording and photo-taking; (3) whether it knows if the Judiciary has stepped up measures to prevent the recurrence of incidents of clandestine video-recording and photo-taking of the jury in court to ensure that they discharge their duties impartially without worries and free from threats; and (4) whether it will request the relevant Mainland authorities to (i) address squarely the aforesaid issues and (ii) step up education of Mainland residents of their obligation to abide by the laws of Hong Kong, including the requirement that no video-recording and photo-taking is allowed when observing trials in court, when they are in Hong Kong?
*16. Dr Hon Elizabeth QUAT to ask: (Translation)
Recently, incidents of lift failures causing casualties have occurred frequently, arousing grave public concern about issues such as the safety, maintenance, repair and replacement of lifts. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of written notifications, received by the Director of Electrical and Mechanical Services from the responsible persons for lifts in each of the past five years, in respect of the lift incidents specified in Schedule 7 to the Lifts and Escalators Ordinance (Cap. 618) (with a breakdown by (i) District Council district and (ii) whether the notification was made within the deadline of 24 hours after the incident came to the person's knowledge), as well as the number of such incidents made public by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department ("EMSD"); the penalties imposed on the persons convicted for failing to give notifications within the deadline; (2) whether EMSD will make public more information about registered lift contractors ("contractors"), including the company scale, the number of workers/engineers, the qualifications held by the workers/engineers and the records of non-compliance; if so, of the details and timetable; if not, the reasons for that; (3) whether EMSD will publish reference costs for repair and maintenance of lifts for reference by members of the public; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (4) of the current total number of lifts throughout the territory and, among them, the respective numbers and percentages of those which are over 20 and over 25 years old; (5) given that the Code of Practice for Lift Works and Escalator Works ("the Code") issued by EMSD has no legal effect and does not contain provisions on penalties, whether the Government will consider (i) increasing the penalties for contractors whose aggregate points under the current performance monitoring points system have reached a certain level (e.g. prohibiting them from bidding for the Government's lift works contracts for a certain period of time), and (ii) implementing a performance monitoring points system for registered workers/engineers; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (6) whether the Government will consider incorporating into Cap. 618 those clauses in the Code which are particularly important to the protection of users' safety; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (7) of the current number of lifts inspected by EMSD each year on average, as well as the mechanism, workflow and criteria for selection of targets for inspection; whether it will consider giving priority to the inspection of lifts which are 20 years old or above; whether it will step up the monitoring of contractors and registered lift engineers, including stepping up the review of their work and surprise inspection; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (8) whether the Government will draw up an action plan for enhancing the safety of lifts throughout the territory and give priority to enhancing the safety of those lifts which were installed before 1993, including requiring lifts to have/be retrofitted with (i) a double brake system, (ii) an unintended car movement protection device, (iii) an ascending car overspeed protection device, (iv) advanced car door mechanical lock and door safety edge, (v) an intercom and CCTV system, (vi) an obstruction switch to protect suspension ropes, and (vii) automatic rescue devices; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (9) whether the Government will expeditiously establish a dedicated subsidy scheme for enhancing lift safety, with a view to subsidizing safety enhancement works for lifts 20 years old or above; if so, of the details and timetable; if not, the reasons for that; (10) whether it has assessed if the existing manpower establishment of EMSD is adequate for dovetailing with the implementation of various measures to enhance lift safety; if it has assessed and the outcome is in the negative, of the number of staff members needed to be recruited; (11) whether it knows the annual average (i) number of graduates from lift repair and maintenance courses and (ii) number of persons joining the industry, in the past five years; whether the Government will take measures to improve the remuneration packages of lift and escalator repair works practitioners so as to attract new blood to join the industry; and (12) as some contractors who are not the original manufactures of the lifts concerned are unable to obtain the lift plans from the original manufacturers, which has undermined the quality of their repair work, whether the Government will enact legislation for mandatory provision of lift plans by the original manufactures to their counterparts, so as to ensure the quality of repair works; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*17. Hon Wilson OR to ask: (Translation)
The Hong Kong Housing Authority ("HA") launched the Tenants Purchase Scheme ("TPS") in 1998 for the tenants of selected public rental housing ("PRH") estates to buy the flats in which they lived at a discounted price. Those tenants who purchased their flats within the first and second years of the offer of the TPS flats for sale, or those new tenants who purchased the TPS flats within the first and second years from commencement of their tenancies, may enjoy a full credit and a halved credit respectively. HA has not added any PRH estate to TPS after launching Phase 6B of TPS in August 2005. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of TPS flats in each of the existing 39 TPS estates which have been sold; whether it knows, among such flats, the respective numbers of those which are currently rented out and left vacant; if it has not compiled such statistics, whether it will do so; (2) of the total number of TPS flats sold by HA in each of the past five years and, among such flats, the respective numbers of those which were sold at (i) full credit prices, (ii) halved credit prices and (iii) prices without credit; and (3) of the current calculation methods for and other details of (i) full credit and (ii) halved credit?
*18. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)
Last year, five typhoons of tropical cyclone warning signal No. 8 or above struck Hong Kong and, among them, two typhoons respectively called Hato and Pakhar inflicted particularly serious damages. Some scientists have pointed out that global climate change will lead to increasingly frequent occurrence of extreme weather conditions (including typhoons). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that during the passage of Hato through Hong Kong, seawater surged into coastal areas such as Heng Fa Chuen, Siu Sai Wan and Cheung Chau, causing flooding and serious damages, whether the Government will install more facilities for preventing flooding caused by storm surge at those coastal areas that are vulnerable to storm surge; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) of the areas where the stormwater collection systems currently have inadequate drainage capacity (set out by District Council district), and whether the Government has plans to carry out improvement works to the stormwater collection systems in those areas; (3) given that after the onslaught of Hato and Pakhar, large quantities of rubbish and other objects were found adrift in inshore waters at a number of locations across the territory and affected environmental hygiene, whether the Government will consider making it a standing arrangement to deploy workers to clean up the inshore waters and carry out disinfection after the onslaught of a typhoon; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (4) whether the Government currently stockpiles supplies and food in preparation for the needs during a natural disaster; if so, of the types of such stockpiled items and food, and for how many days the stockpiled quantities can meet the needs of Hong Kong residents; if not, the reasons for that; (5) given that the Macao Government held a large-scale drill on typhoon response in April this year, whether the Government currently has any plan to conduct a similar drill; if so, of the details; if not, whether the Government will consider conducting a similar drill in view of the possibility of increasingly frequent occurrence of extreme weather conditions; and (6) under what circumstances the Government will request the Central Government to direct the People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison to assist in disaster relief and recovery efforts?
*19. Hon Paul TSE to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that in the year before last, four persons of South Korean nationality who claimed that they were medical staff and two Hong Kong women suspected of acting as intermediaries allegedly used a hotel in Hong Kong as a medical clinic, solicited patronage through online advertisements and conducted, for customers in the hotel, medical examinations prior to plastic surgery. Those four persons of South Korean nationality were subsequently prosecuted for, among other offences, practising without registration as medical practitioners (commonly known as "unlicensed medical practice"). Regarding the issue of foreign nationals engaging in unlicensed medical practice in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of cases involving foreign nationals engaging in unlicensed medical practice in Hong Kong received by the authorities in the past three years, together with a breakdown by nationality; among them, of the respective numbers of those who were prosecuted and convicted; (2) whether intermediaries were involved in the cases mentioned in (1); if so, of the details; (3) whether it received in the past three years reports of medical incidents involving foreign nationals engaging in unlicensed medical practice in Hong Kong; if so, of the details; of the channels through which members of the public may pursue so as to hold the other party responsible; which policy bureau or government department is dedicated to the handling of the relevant complaints lodged by members of the public; (4) of the measures put in place to alert members of the public that they should, before receiving medical services relating to plastic surgery, verify whether the persons providing such services for them are medical practitioners registered under the Medical Registration Ordinance (Cap. 161); (5) given that talks held by intermediaries are available in the market from time to time to induce members of the public in Hong Kong to join cross-boundary/cross-nation plastic surgery packages, whether the authorities have compiled statistics on the current number of intermediaries engaging in such business in Hong Kong; whether the authorities will study the enactment of legislation to regulate plastic surgery intermediaries with a view to enhancing the protection for members of the public; and (6) as the Code of Professional Conduct for the Guidance of Registered Medical Practitioners stipulates that practice promotion by medical practitioners is not permitted, whether overseas medical practitioners coming to Hong Kong to provide consultation service for patients is subject to similar restriction and regulation; if so, of the details; if not, whether the authorities have studied amending the legislation to plug the loopholes?
*20. Hon Kenneth LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
The Post Office Trading Fund ("POTF") was established in August 1995 to manage and account for the operation of the Hongkong Post ("HKP"). On the other hand, the Director of Audit's Report No. 65 published in October 2015 pointed out that for the 20-year period from 1995-1996 to 2014-2015, HKP had recorded operating losses in eight years and had not achieved the target rates of return in 14 years. There are views that HKP should, apart from improving its operation by implementing measures to generate revenue and manage costs, also draw reference from overseas successful experience and revamp the modus operandi of postal services in order to increase revenue. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of POTF's target rate of return and actual rate of return, as well as HKP's operating cost and trading receipt, in each of the past five years; (2) of the specific measures taken by HKP in the past five years to reduce its operating costs, and boost the percentage of revenue from sources other than traditional postal services, in its total revenue; the effectiveness of such measures, including the resultant increase in HKP's overall revenue; (3) apart from rationalizing the post office network and closing down those post offices which have been operating at a loss, whether HKP has studied ways to further diversify, through collaboration with various types of organizations, including non-profit-making organizations and commercial establishments, the services provided by various post offices so as to enhance HKP's operational efficiency and increase its revenue; and (4) whether it has plans to comprehensively review the current arrangement under which HKP operates under the trading fund mode, and to re engineer HKP upon drawing reference from the experience of overseas governments in revamping their postal departments, so as to bring the operation of HKP closer to a business model; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*21. Hon Charles Peter MOK to ask: (Translation)
In recent years, home-stay lodgings and short-term rental sleeping accommodation provided through the use of idle resources (collectively known as "short-term accommodation") have been in the ascendant around the world. Such type of accommodation offers a travel experience different from that offered by hotels and helps drive the local economy. Some members of the tourism sector have pointed out that many cities around the globe (e.g. Paris, London, Tokyo and Singapore) have formulated policies and regimes to regulate short-term accommodation. However, Hong Kong plans to amend the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance ("HAGAO") (Cap. 349) to step up efforts to combat unlicensed guesthouses and throttle the room for survival of short-term accommodation. Such members have also pointed out that the demand for short-term accommodation from in-bound visitors has continued to increase in recent years, and they therefore have proposed that the Government should introduce a licensing regime to legalize the operation of short-term accommodation. They have proposed that the following should be prescribed under the licensing regime: (i) the upper limits on the number of letting days and the number of licences, (ii) the types of premises which may be used for short-term accommodation, and (iii) the respective conditions applicable to short-term accommodation for guests staying, and that for guests not staying, with hosts (such as the requirement that there must be a trained property manager to oversee the premises). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the authorities explored, when conducting studies for amending HAGAO, the introduction of a licensing regime for short-term accommodation and made reference to the relevant experience and policies in other places; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether it will consider formulating a licensing regime to regulate short-term accommodation in accordance with the aforesaid proposals, and implement the regime by expanding the proposed scope of the amendments to HAGAO, so as to facilitate the development of sharing economy; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether the Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Office will commission a consultancy study on the impacts and potentials of sharing economy and short-term accommodation on the economy, consult the relevant stakeholders and put forth a comprehensive proposal on a licensing regime for short-term accommodation; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*22. Hon Starry LEE to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that in March this year, the Taiwan Police found, after investigation, that a Hong Kong woman was killed in Taiwan and her corpse was dumped there. The Taiwan Police suspect that a Hong Kong man who went to Taiwan with the woman and subsequently returned to Hong Kong alone is the murderer. However, in the absence of an arrangement for mutual legal assistance in criminal matters or surrender of fugitive offenders ("SFO") between Hong Kong and Taiwan, there is no formal channel for exchange of intelligence and documents and for SFO between the two places, which has made it difficult for the law enforcement agencies of the two places to track down the suspect's criminal liability along the line of murder. To ensure that offenders cannot elude justice, and to demonstrate to the public the Government's determination and capability in upholding the rule of law, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it will facilitate a prompt discussion between the law enforcement agencies of Hong Kong and Taiwan about the exchange of intelligence and documents relating to the aforesaid case; (2) whether it has studied if special arrangements may be made to surrender the aforesaid suspect to the law enforcement agency of Taiwan, and assist it in gathering evidence for the case and instituting prosecution; and (3) whether it will explore entering into a reciprocal judicial assistance agreement with the Taiwan authorities; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
* For written reply
III. Government Bills
| First Reading and Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned) | ||
| United Nations Sanctions (Amendment) Bill 2018 | : | Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development |
| Second Reading (Debate to resume), Consideration by Committee of the Whole Council and Third Reading | ||
| Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (Co-location) Bill | : | Secretary for Transport and Housing |
| Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG, Hon CHU Hoi-dick, Hon CHAN Chi-chuen, Hon Claudia MO, Hon Gary FAN, Hon Tanya CHAN, Hon Dennis KWOK, Hon Jeremy TAM and Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to move amendments
(The amendments were issued on 4 June 2018 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 656/17-18) | ||
| (Debate arrangement for the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (Co-location) Bill in committee of the whole Council (issued on 5 June 2018 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 668/17-18(01)) (same as the Appendix to the Script of Council meeting of 6 June 2018))
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IV. Members' Motions
| 1. | Proposed resolution under section 34(4) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
Hon Dennis KWOK to move the following motion: Resolved that in relation to the Practising Certificate (Solicitors) (Amendment) Rules 2018, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 82 of 2018, and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 16 May 2018, the period for amending subsidiary legislation referred to in section 34(2) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap. 1) be extended under section 34(4) of that Ordinance to the meeting of 4 July 2018. | ||||
| 2. | Cross-boundary elderly care
Hon LEUNG Che-cheung to move the following motion: (Translation) That, all along, quite a number of elderly persons in Hong Kong have chosen to spend their twilight years on the Mainland, but the current cross-boundary portability arrangements for welfare benefits made by the SAR Government have a very narrow scope, benefiting only eligible elderly persons who are receiving the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance payments or the Old Age Allowance and have moved to reside in Guangdong or Fujian Province on the Mainland; to facilitate more elderly persons in spending their twilight years on the Mainland, this Council urges the SAR Government to: | ||||
| (1) | extend the arrangements of the Guangdong Scheme and the Fujian Scheme to other provinces on the Mainland;
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| (2) | introduce cross-boundary portability arrangements for the Old Age Living Allowance to support eligible elderly persons who are receiving the allowance and have moved to the Mainland;
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| (3) | abolish the existing absence limit for various welfare benefits under the Social Security Allowance Scheme, and conduct a study on developing an identity verification system with the relevant Mainland departments to obviate the need for elderly persons who have moved to the Mainland to return to Hong Kong for making applications for continuous collection of such benefits on a yearly basis;
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| (4) | introduce cross-boundary portability arrangements for the Disability Allowance such that eligible elderly persons with disabilities aged 65 or above can choose to reside on the Mainland;
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| (5) | optimize the existing Pilot Residential Care Services Scheme in Guangdong by, for example, purchasing residential care places for persons with disabilities from Mainland residential care homes, and purchasing more quality residential care places for the elderly in various major cities on the Mainland, as well as providing needy elderly persons who choose to reside on the Mainland with one-stop escort arrangements for travelling to and from Hong Kong;
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| (6) | conduct a study on the implementation of a scheme for the transfer of medical records of Hong Kong residents under which, with the consent of the elderly persons who have moved to the Mainland, their medical records will be transferred to designated Mainland hospitals so that they can seek medical consultation conveniently;
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| (7) | conduct a study on extending the scope of application of Hong Kong's Health Care Vouchers to cover major hospitals and clinics on the Mainland, with a view to alleviating the burden of medical expenses on elderly persons who have moved to the Mainland;
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| (8) | by drawing reference from the model of the University of Hong Kong-Shenzhen Hospital, co-establish hospitals in major Mainland cities by Hong Kong and the Mainland and adopt Hong Kong-style management to jointly provide quality healthcare services to elderly persons who have moved to the Mainland; and
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| (9) | by drawing reference from the Pilot Scheme on Community Care Service Voucher for the Elderly, conduct a study on providing elderly persons who have moved to the Mainland with support services for ageing in place.
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| Dr Hon Priscilla LEUNG, Hon WONG Kwok-kin and Hon Alvin YEUNG to move amendments to the motion
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| (The amendments were issued on 18 May 2018
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 606/17-18) | |||||
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| 3. | Developing venues and creating room to support the development of local culture, arts, recreation and sports
Hon MA Fung-kwok to move the following motion: (Translation) That the lack of venues and room has all along been plaguing local cultural, arts and sports groups, and it is also an important barrier to the development of local culture, recreation and sports; in this connection, this Council urges the Government to take every possible means to create more venues and room for the local cultural, arts and sports sector, so as to promote further development of local culture, arts and sports; the relevant measures include: | ||||
| (1) | building more cultural venues and sports facilities, and expeditiously implementing the outstanding leisure and cultural services projects of the former municipal councils;
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| (2) | reviewing the policy on industrial buildings and updating the definition of ‘use of industrial buildings', so that cultural, arts and sports groups can operate in industrial buildings in a sensible, reasonable and lawful manner, and ensuring that future policies proposed on revitalizing industrial buildings will be able to cater to the development needs of such groups and safeguard their room for survival;
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| (3) | making better use of vacant school premises and vacant sites for cultural, arts or sports purposes;
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| (4) | opening up more public spaces for cultural and arts purposes;
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| (5) | enhancing the Opening up School Facilities for Promotion of Sports Development Scheme, including providing more assistance to schools that open up their school facilities, and extending the scheme to make it accessible by cultural and arts groups;
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| (6) | enhancing the leasing policy for government venues to make such venues available for full utilization by cultural, arts and sports groups, and curbing the recurrence of touting activities; and
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| (7) | stipulating in the land lease covenants of suitable new development projects that developers should set aside space to develop certain cultural and arts facilities that have been compressed by market and business factors, such as performance venues and bookshops.
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| Hon Mrs Regina IP, Hon Tanya CHAN, Hon LAU Kwok-fan and Hon AU Nok-hin to move amendments to the motion
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| (The amendments were issued on 21 May 2018
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 607/17-18) | |||||
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