A 18/19-3
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 24 October 2018 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers
Other Papers
IIA. Question under Rule 24(4) of the Rules of Procedure
Hon Gary FAN to ask: (Translation)
On the early morning of the 16th of this month, staff members of the MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL") completed the tests on a new signalling system for the MTR Tsuen Wan Line and reverted to the existing system. However, they found that the signalling systems of the Tsuen Wan Line, the Island Line and the Kwun Tong Line had all broken down simultaneously and could not be fixed before the first trains commenced service. The signalling system of the Tseung Kwan O Line also broke down later. As a result, all these four railway lines could only provide limited services during the morning rush hours. This also caused severe knock-on effect and chaos on the road traffic, affecting hundreds of thousands of members of the public. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council, given that MTRCL is gradually replacing the signalling systems of various railway lines, whether the Government and MTRCL will take immediate measures to prevent the relevant works from causing disruptions of railway services, and whether they will expeditiously formulate contingency plans (including alternative public transport services) to deal with large-scale disruptions of railway services?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing
II. Questions
1. Ir Dr Hon LO Wai-kwok to ask: (Translation)
The Railway Development Strategy 2014 ("the Strategy") published by the Government in September 2014 has recommended that seven new railway projects be completed within the planning period of up to 2031, but such projects do not include a coastal railway between Tuen Mun and Tsuen Wan. So far, the Government has not yet announced the detailed proposals and the implementation timetables for the seven railway projects, resulting in the public waiting eagerly and railway construction personnel worrying about their subsistence as they will be jobless. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that at present residents of a number of districts (particularly Kowloon East and Tuen Mun) often face serious traffic congestion, whether the Government will expedite the implementation of the railway projects recommended by the Strategy and at the same time consider afresh, adopting the thinking of "letting railway provide impetus for development", the construction of the coastal railway between Tuen Mun and Tsuen Wan; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) given that the Hong Kong Section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link has been commissioned and the Shatin to Central Link will be completed in the coming few years, and in order to avoid railway construction personnel suffering from the plight of "overworking to death at one time and starving to death at another time", whether the Government will consult the construction industry when it draws up the implementation timetable for each railway project so as to ensure that the various projects will commence in an orderly manner; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) as the Third Comprehensive Transport Study, which was completed as early as in 1999, has become outdated and irrelevant to the needs of Hong Kong's latest development, whether the Government will expeditiously embark on the fourth comprehensive transport study, so as to meet the needs for cross-boundary transport networks and support facilities arising from the Development Plan for a City Cluster in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
2. Hon CHAN Han-pan to ask: (Translation)
The Nobel Committee has earlier decided to award this year's Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine to two immunologists to commend their breakthroughs in treating cancers with immunotherapy. Although immunotherapy has been proven to be effective in treating cancers, and has brought a ray of hope to quite a number of cancer patients, the Hospital Authority ("HA") has not adopted immunotherapy as a regular treatment for cancers. As a result, patients cannot receive immunotherapy treatment even though they are willing to pay for such treatment. Besides, the medications needed for immunotherapy are costly. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows if HA:
(1) has drawn up a timetable for adopting immunotherapy as a regular treatment for cancers; if HA has, the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) arranged immunotherapy-related training for its healthcare staff in the past three years; if HA did, the details; if not, the reasons for that and when HA will make such arrangements; and (3) will add the medications needed for immunotherapy to the Hospital Authority's Drug Formulary either as a drug on the list of special drugs subsidized by public funds, or on the list of self-financed drugs with safety net; if HA will, the details; if not, the reasons for that?
3. Hon HO Kai-ming to ask: (Translation)
As super typhoon Mangkhut which hit Hong Kong last month had caused extensive damage to the community, the authorities needed to deploy considerable manpower for the recovery efforts. During the time when the typhoon was gradually moving away from Hong Kong, the majority of employees needed to go to work while the transport networks were partially paralyzed, which put them in an extremely awkward position. Regarding the protection of labour rights and interests of employees who perform duties during and immediately after inclement weather, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the number of workers engaged by outsourced service contractors who participated in the clearance work during and after the typhoon, and a breakdown of such number by job type; whether the Government will consider granting a special hardship allowance to those workers and regularizing such an allowance; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) of the number of reports received by the Government in respect of employees who sustained injuries while commuting to and from work during the time when Mangkhut hit Hong Kong; and (3) how the Government will step up the protection of the occupational safety and health as well as other labour rights and interests of those employees who perform duties during and immediately after inclement weather; whether it will enact legislation to protect those employees who are unable to go to work owing to natural disasters against wage deduction, being withheld good attendance bonuses or dismissal; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
| Public Officers to reply | : | Secretary for Labour and Welfare Chief Secretary for Administration |
4. Hon KWOK Wai-keung to ask: (Translation)
Super typhoons Hato and Mangkhut hit Hong Kong respectively in August last year and September this year, with the concomitant storm surges and rainstorms causing severe flooding in a number of coastal and low-lying locations and inflicting serious damages. The affected locations included Heng Fa Chuen, Tseung Kwan O South and Lei Yue Mun. Some scientists have pointed out that global warming has resulted in the sea level rising continuously and extreme weather conditions being increasingly common. As a result, occasions of coastal and low-lying locations being affected by storm surges and flooding will become increasingly frequent. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective locations which were affected by storm surges and flooding during the periods when Hato and Mangkhut hit Hong Kong, and set out by location the names of those affected public housing developments, private housing estates and villages; (2) whether the Drainage Services Department will examine placing the locations mentioned in (1) onto its List of Flooding Blackspots, and carry out improvement works thereat; and (3) whether it has plans to carry out flood prevention works such as constructing breakwaters, floodwater storage tanks and seawalls, placing dolosse, and undertaking dredging works, at the aforesaid locations which are susceptible to storm surges and flooding; if so, of the details of such plans; if not, the reasons for that?
| Public Officers to reply | : | Secretary for Development Chief Secretary for Administration |
5. Dr Hon Elizabeth QUAT to ask: (Translation)
Last month, super typhoon Mangkhut caused serious damage to Hong Kong. However, the majority of members of the public had to go to work at a time when the storm had not completely subsided and the transport services had not resumed normal, resulting in chaos. Regarding the follow-up work after the onslaught of the typhoon, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as some members of the public have relayed that the factors contributing to the damage of many vessels in Sai Kung during the onslaught of the typhoon include: insufficient berthing spaces at typhoon shelters, typhoon shelters being remotely located making vessel owners unwilling to berth their vessels there, inadequacies of the breakwaters and wind protection facilities, and the disorderly berthing of vessels, of the Government's measures to solve these problems; (2) whether it will improve the resilience of the areas near Tseung Kwan O seafront against typhoons, such as by reinforcing the seawalls, constructing breakwaters, replacing the pavement slabs and seats of the waterfront promenade with more sturdy ones, and installing additional flood prevention facilities for the housing estates concerned; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether it will set up a mechanism whereby the Government may declare a certain period after a natural disaster to be "a period of special circumstances", within which the work arrangements for employees should be in line with those during the time when the Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 8 or above is in force; if so, of the details and timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
| Public Officers to reply | : | Secretary for Security Chief Secretary for Administration Secretary for the Environment Secretary for Labour and Welfare Secretary for Development |
6. Hon LAM Cheuk-ting to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the Sports Federation & Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China ("SF&OC") earlier selected swimmers to represent Hong Kong to participate in the 18th Asian Games. Two swimmers nominated by the Hong Kong Amateur Swimming Association ("HKASA") to participate in three events were not selected and their appeals were also dismissed. On the contrary, three other swimmers with inferior results were selected to participate in the competitions, and it was reported that the father of one of the selected swimmers was a member of the Executive Committee of HKASA and a director of two big swimming clubs. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) if it knows, in respect of the swimmers selected to represent Hong Kong to participate in 50m butterfly, 50m backstroke and 100m breaststroke events at the Asian Games, whether the best results they had obtained in the relevant events were better than those of the unsuccessful nominees; if their results were not better, why they were selected; (2) whether it knows SF&OC's justifications for its dismissal of the aforesaid appeals and the details of the appeal system in question; and (3) given that those swimming clubs which have trainees selected for international competitions will be accorded priority by HKASA in the allocation of swimming lanes at public swimming pools, and such clubs can therefore secure the more sought-after swimming lanes and time slots, thereby admitting more trainees and earning more income, whether the Government knows what measures SF&OC has adopted to prevent role conflicts and transfer of benefits in the selection of swimmers to participate in international competitions?
*7. Hon Kenneth LAU to ask: (Translation)
Quite a number of villagers have relayed to me that a number of villages were ravaged by super typhoon Mangkhut when it hit Hong Kong last month. For example, a number of houses in Kut O Village were devastated by strong winds or destroyed by fallen trees; a number of houses along the coasts of Tung Ping Chau and Sai Lau Kong were smashed to rubble; the nature trail and scenic spot of the white-flowered derris array at Lai Chi Wo were damaged; the water and electricity supply to Tap Mun was cut off for three days; quite a number of fishing boats sank or were destroyed; and large quantities of rubbish and other objects piled up in a number of villages. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it had, in advance, (i) assessed the damage that Mangkhut might cause to remote villages and (ii) formulated recovery plans; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) of the respective numbers of villagers who (i) had been evacuated before Tropical Cyclone ("TC") Warning Signals of No. 8 or above in respect of Mangkhut were issued, and (ii) were provided emergency rescue during the time when such signals were in force, by the Government, with a tabular breakdown by village name; (3) whether, after all the TC Warning Signals in respect of Mangkhut had been cancelled, it took the initiative to immediately contact the villagers of remote villages so as to get an understanding of how they had been affected by the typhoon and to render appropriate assistance; if so, set out in a table by village name the details of the assistance requested by the villagers and the assistance (including the dates) provided by the Government; if not, of the reasons for that; (4) of the details of the interruptions of fresh water and electricity supply to villages caused by Mangkhut (set out in the table below); Village Name District in which the village is located No. of days for which fresh water supply was interrupted No. of water tanks/water wagons/water vessels that provided temporary water supply, and total volume of water supplied No. of days for which electricity supply was interrupted (5) as some remote villages are inaccessible by public transport, and the villagers there are mainly elderly persons who are unable to clear on their own the fallen trees and other objects in their villages after the onslaught of the typhoon, whether the Government has plans to take the initiative, in future after severe typhoons hitting Hong Kong, to organize volunteers and transport them to such villages for assisting the villagers in carrying out clearance work; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (6) whether it knows the number of vessels damaged by Mangkhut; whether it will consider (i) constructing additional typhoon shelters, and (ii) enhancing the facilities of the existing typhoon shelters, so as to bolster their capability to withstand typhoons; (7) as the houses of quite a number of villagers, together with the electrical appliances and furniture in such houses, as well as the fishing boats which were villagers' means of earning a living, were damaged during the onslaught of Mangkhut, whether the Government has provided emergency financial assistance to the villagers concerned; if so, of the details; and (8) whether, with a view to bolstering villages' capability to withstand typhoons and facilitating recovery efforts in future, the Government will consider (i) reinforcing villagers' houses for free, (ii) helping villagers rebuild houses with better capability to withstand strong winds, (iii) constructing additional access roads to remote villages and improving such villages' infrastructure facilities, (iv) constructing for villages in coastal and low-lying locations breakwaters or other facilities for countering storm surges, and (v) implementing other disaster mitigation measures?
*8. Hon Tony TSE to ask: (Translation)
On the 24th of last month, the Secretary for Security issued an order under section 8(2) of the Societies Ordinance (Cap. 151) to prohibit, with immediate effect, the operation or continued operation of the Hong Kong National Party ("HKNP") on the grounds that HKNP's agenda included the establishment of an independent Hong Kong Republic and the abolition of the Basic Law, which is in strict contravention of the Basic Law, and that HKNP had been taking concrete actions to realize its agenda since its establishment. It has been reported that HKNP's core members and supporters are mostly young people. Moreover, some secondary school and post-secondary students have set up organizations in support of Hong Kong independence and advocated Hong Kong independence by handing out flyers, putting up slogans and voicing out their advocacy during school activities and ceremonies. There are comments that youngsters are ignorant about the perils of Hong Kong independence as well as the unlawful and unconstitutional nature of the idea, which reflects the inadequacies of the efforts on national education as well as promotion of the Basic Law and the country's Constitution (particularly the dissemination of messages against Hong Kong independence and secession). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it will (i) investigate which other organizations in Hong Kong advocate Hong Kong independence currently, and (ii) regulate such organizations in accordance with the law, including considering prohibiting their continued operation; (2) of the estimated expenditure/actual expenditure on promoting the Constitution and the Basic Law in the current financial year and each of the past five financial years; the respective amounts allocated to secondary and primary schools; and (3) whether the Government conducted any promotion and education activities in the past two years specifically for disseminating messages against Hong Kong independence and secession; if so, of the names and expenditure of the activities; if not, whether it will consider launching such activities?
*9. Hon Jimmy NG to ask: (Translation)
Some members of the innovation and technology ("I&T") industry have relayed to me that although the Government has been actively promoting re-industrialization and I&T development in recent years, the collaborative measures in areas such as providing relevant talents and supporting the industry are inadequate. Apart from attracting overseas scientific research talents to work in Hong Kong, the Government also needs to actively nurture local scientific research talents, so as to support the long-term development of the I&T industry. At the same time, the Government should provide I&T start-ups with application scenarios, or even take the lead in giving priority to adopting the research and development ("R&D") results of local I&T enterprises, as "it sounds weird if our own Government does not support 'Made in Hong Kong' products". In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of scientific research talents engaged in the I&T industry in Hong Kong in each of the past three years, with a breakdown of the figures by overseas talents and local ones; (2) of the number of occasions in which government departments procured, in each of the past three years, I&T products and services researched and developed locally, and the types of products and services involved (set out in a table); (3) of the number of local I&T start-ups closed down in each of the past three years; given that some I&T start-ups have closed down due to the failure to identify application opportunities for their R&D results, whether the Government made investments and provided manpower support in the past three years to improve the business environment of I&T start-ups; and (4) whether the Government will enhance its policies on and procedure for procuring I&T products and services, and give priority to adopting the R&D results of local I&T enterprises; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*10. Prof Hon Joseph LEE to ask: (Translation)
It has been learnt that when a person has become unconscious because he is suffering from a heart attack, his survival rate may significantly increase if people at the scene immediately perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation ("CPR") and first aid on him with the use of an automated external defibrillator ("AED"). It has been reported that in recent months, a member of the public had fallen unconscious in a public sports ground but the staff at the scene did not know how to use an AED to perform first aid on that person. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the existing number of people in Hong Kong who have received the following two types of first aid training: CPR and use of AEDs; (2) of the number and details of distribution of AEDs provided in public venues managed by the Government (broken down by District Council district); the number of times for which such AEDs were used, and the number of persons who suffered sudden heart attack at such venues but people at the scene did not perform first aid on them with the use of AEDs, in the past three years; (3) as some members of the public are worried that improper use of AEDs may aggravate the conditions of the patients and, as a result, they have to bear legal liabilities, whether the authorities will make reference to the practices of overseas countries and enact a Good Samaritan law to exempt rescuers from legal liabilities that might be incurred in performing first aid, so as to encourage members of the public to perform timely first aid on those in need at the scene; and (4) whether policies are currently in place to promote the wider use of AEDs, including training more members of the public to use the device, and encouraging more private organizations to provide AEDs at venues under their management?
*11. Hon Frankie YICK to ask: (Translation)
Some members of the public have pointed out that it is a rather common phenomenon that drivers, taking no heed of the appeal of the staff of petrol filling stations, (i) use mobile phones within the area of petrol filling stations and (ii) fail to switch off the engines of vehicles being refuelled. Since a trace amount of petrol vapour is released from petrol dispensers into the environment during vehicle refuelling, these members of the public are worried that these two acts may cause a fire or an explosion, thus endangering public safety. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of complaints received by the Government in the past three years about the aforesaid two acts, and the follow-up actions taken; (2) whether it will step up publicity to appeal to drivers to avoid committing these two acts; and (3) whether it will enact legislation to regulate these two acts; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*12. Hon CHEUNG Kwok-kwan to ask: (Translation)
During its onslaught on Hong Kong last month, super typhoon Mangkhut caused extensive damage, which included damage to the structures on buildings' external walls, toppling of numerous trees, severe flooding in coastal areas and sports grounds sustaining serious damage. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as the storm surges accompanying Mangkhut caused severe flooding and damage to a number of facilities in Heng Fa Chuen, whether the Government has studied measures for helping Heng Fa Chuen withstand storm surges accompanying super typhoons in future; if so, of the outcome of such studies; if not, whether it will conduct such studies immediately; (2) as a huge amount of marine refuse (e.g. bits of foam plastics) was washed ashore by the storm surges accompanying Mangkhut, whether the Government knows the major sources of such refuse, and what measures it has put in place to reduce such kind of refuse at source; (3) as the number of service orders for clearance of fallen trees received by some arboriculture companies after the typhoon had moved away from Hong Kong was five to 10 times more than usual but such companies did not have sufficient manpower to cope with the service demand, resulting in the handling of some cases, despite their urgent nature, having to be scheduled for next month, whether the Government has approached the arboriculture companies concerned to gain an understanding of the details of such cases; whether it has set a target completion date for the clearance work of fallen trees across the territory; of the government departments currently responsible for handling emergency clearance of fallen trees, and the proportion of outsourcing of such work by each of these departments; (4) given that the Aberdeen Sports Ground was seriously damaged during the onslaught of super typhoon Hato in August last year, of the reasons why the relevant restoration works have not yet commenced so far, and when such works will commence and be completed; the expected completion time for the restoration works for Siu Sai Wan Sports Ground which has been damaged by Mangkhut; and (5) given that after the onslaught of typhoons, government departments often need to rent lorry-mounted cranes from private companies to remove tottering structures (e.g. signboards) high on external walls of buildings and broken branches of trees, whether the Government will purchase such type of vehicle so as to facilitate expeditious commencement of such clearance work after the onslaught of typhoons?
*13. Hon Kenneth LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
Last month, the Government rejected an application for renewal of employment visa lodged by a foreign national, who was the Asia news editor of the United Kingdom-based Financial Times ("FT"). According to FT, this is the first occasion on which the Government rejected an employment visa application lodged by a foreign correspondent. The press, various trade associations and the international community were concerned about the incident, and requested an explanation from the Government about its decision. Regarding the vetting and approval of employment visa applications by the Immigration Department ("ImmD"), will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the policy and considerations adopted by ImmD for vetting and approval of employment visa applications; (2) of the mechanism adopted by ImmD for the vetting and approval of employment visa applications and renewal applications lodged by foreign correspondents; apart from the considerations mentioned in (1), whether there are other considerations in the vetting and approval of such applications; (3) of the respective numbers of employment visa applications and renewal applications (i) received and (ii) rejected by ImmD in each of the past five years and, among them, the respective numbers of applications which were lodged by foreign correspondents; and (4) as both the Chief Executive and the Chief Secretary for Administration have indicated earlier that upon deciding to reject an employment visa application, ImmD will not disclose to any person (including the applicant) the reasons behind its decision, of the justifications for adopting such a practice; whether it has assessed if such a practice is in line with the legal principles concerning procedural justice under the common law and the laws of Hong Kong?
*14. Hon CHAN Hak-kan to ask: (Translation)
The Producer Responsibility Scheme on Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment ("the Scheme") has been in operation since 1 August this year. Under the Scheme, sellers are required to provide free removal service when they sell a new item of regulated electrical equipment (i.e. air-conditioners, refrigerators, washing machines, televisions, computers, printers, scanners and monitors) to members of the public. However, quite a number of members of the public have relayed to me that the recycling service operator commissioned by the Government to collect waste electrical equipment ("the operator") has failed to meet its performance pledge of collecting such equipment door-to-door within three working days upon receipt of a service request from sellers, with the waiting time even exceeding 10 days in some cases. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the number of vehicles and manpower under the operator for providing the recycling service; (2) whether it knows the average number of items of waste electrical equipment collected daily by the operator since the implementation of the Scheme; (3) of the number of licence applications for regulated e-waste disposal (including storage, treatment, reprocessing or recycling of e-waste) received, approved and rejected by the Government so far; if it has rejected some applications, of the reasons for that; (4) of the respective numbers of complaints against the operator and sellers received by the Government since the implementation of the Scheme, and the number of complaints about the disposal of waste electrical equipment on the street; (5) as it has been reported that since the operator's plant for storing waste electrical equipment is full, the operator has been provided a land on loan by the Government for temporary storage of waste electrical equipment, of the relevant details; whether the operator has breached the contractual requirements by failing to dispose of waste electrical equipment properly; (6) given that the operator has failed to meet its performance pledge, whether the Government will consider reviewing the current mode of commissioning an operator and switching to commissioning multiple recyclers and granting subsidies to them according to the quantity of waste electrical equipment they have collected; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (7) given that the operator turns waste electrical and electronic equipment into materials of value (such as plastics and metals) through processes such as detoxification, dismantling and recycling, of the outlets for such materials and the receiver of the income so generated (if any)?
*15. Hon Tanya CHAN to ask: (Translation)
On 28 February this year, the Government introduced a "One-for-One Replacement" Scheme ("Replacement Scheme") under which a vehicle owner who scraps his old private car ("PC") and buy a new electric PC ("e-PC") may enjoy a higher first registration tax concession. The application criteria include: (a) that the old PC having been first registered for six years or more ("the vehicle age requirement") and (b) that the applicant having been the registered owner of that vehicle for three years or more without interruption ("the ownership period requirement"), etc. Some environmentalists have criticized that the above criteria are stringent, which, coupled with the grossly inadequacy in public charging facilities for electric vehicles ("EVs"), has impeded the popularization of EVs in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of (i) the end-of-month number of registered PCs, and (ii) the number of newly registered e-PCs, in each month from March to September this year; (2) of the respective (i) monthly and (ii) up-to-date numbers of applications for tax concession received and approved by the authorities since the launch of the Replacement Scheme; (3) of the respective numbers of registered PCs, as at 31 March this year, which (i) satisfied the two aforesaid application criteria, and (ii) met the vehicle age requirement and were owned by the existing owners for one year or more; the relevant projected numbers for the coming three years; (4) whether the authorities will lower the ownership period requirement to one year so as to expand the scope of the Replacement Scheme; if so, when this will be implemented; if not, of the reasons for that; (5) how the authorities publicize the Replacement Scheme and the amount of public expenditure incurred to date; (6) whether it knows the total numbers of (i) standard, (ii) medium and (iii) quick public EV chargers as at 1 October this year throughout the territory, with a breakdown by District Council district; (7) whether it has studied the appropriate ratio of the number of EVs to that of public chargers; if so, of the study outcome; if not, whether it will expeditiously commence such a study; and (8) whether it will regularly publish reports on the work of the "Steering Committee on the Promotion of Electric Vehicles" to enable members of the public to monitor the Committee's work and the effectiveness thereof; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and the measures the authorities will take to enhance the transparency of the operation of the Committee?
*16. Hon Charles Peter MOK to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the nurturing and import of information technology ("IT") talents, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of funding applications under (i) the Postdoctoral Hub Programme and (ii) the Reindustrialisation and Technology Training Programme, which are implemented under the Technology Talent Scheme, received and approved by the authorities since the Scheme was launched in August this year; (2) of the number of companies involved in the approved applications under the Postdoctoral Hub Programme, and among such companies, the respective numbers of those which are (i) organizations funded by the Innovation and Technology Fund ("ITF"), and (ii) incubatees and innovation and technology tenants of the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation/Hong Kong Cyberport Management Company Limited ("incubatees and IT tenants"); (3) of the types of courses and technology involved in the approved applications under the Reindustrialisation and Technology Training Programme, as well as the total amount of grants approved; (4) of the respective numbers of applications for importing talents under the Technology Talent Admission Scheme ("TechTAS") received and approved by the authorities since TechTAS was launched in May this year; the utilization of quotas by organizations which have been granted quotas (including the number of quotas granted and the number of non-local talents employed); a breakdown of the number of such non-local talents by their nationalities, the regions in which the institutions awarding the relevant degrees to them were located, the number of years for which they have worked in the relevant technology areas, and their average monthly salaries upon arrival in Hong Kong; the number of companies whose applications were approved, and among them, the respective numbers of those which are (i) ITF-funded organizations, and (ii) incubatees and IT tenants; a breakdown of the number of such companies by business type (i.e. biotechnology, artificial intelligence, cyber security, robotics, data analytics, financial technologies and material science) and by the quota granted (i.e. 1 to 5, 6 to 10, 11 to 20, 21 to 50 and more than 50 persons); (5) given that the 11 professions covered by the first Talent List promulgated by the authorities in August this year include (i) experienced data scientists and experienced cyber security specialists and (ii) innovation and technology experts, and that under the General Points Test of the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme, bonus marks will be given to applicants who meet the specifications of the respective professions under the Talent List, of the respective up-to-date numbers of persons who have been assessed as meeting the specifications of the two professions; (6) of the channels through which the various aforesaid subsidy, training and talents admission schemes are publicized and promoted by the authorities, as well as the relevant details; (7) regarding the talents in specific IT areas who are in short supply in Hong Kong, whether the authorities will draw reference from the practices of governments of overseas countries, such as the implementation of a Capability Transfer Programme by the Singapore Government, and employ foreign specialists to transfer professional knowledge and technical skills to local staff; and (8) whether the authorities will discuss with universities and relevant organizations with a view to organizing more IT courses which are recognized by the Qualifications Framework, providing tuition fee subsidies and internship opportunities for students, as well as offering continuing education scholarships and professional certifications for graduates?
*17. Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to ask: (Translation)
Regarding public works projects for the construction, expansion and redevelopment of public hospitals, will the Government inform this Council of:
(1) the following information on each of the projects completed in the past five years (set out in a table according to the date on which funding approval was granted by the Finance Committee ("FC") of this Council): (i) the name of the project, (ii) the date on which funding approval was granted, (iii) the amount of approved funding for the advance works, (iv) the consultancy fees for conducting advance works study, (v) the name(s) of the consultant(s) responsible for carrying out the advance works study, (vi) the commencement date of the works, (vii) the completion date of the works, (viii) the name(s) of the works consultant(s), (ix) the name(s) of the works contractor(s), (x) the initial cost estimate, and (xi) the actual cost; (2) the following information on each of the projects intended to be submitted to FC in the coming year (set out in a table according to the date on which funding application is intended to be submitted): (i) the name of the project, (ii) the date on which funding application is intended to be submitted, (iii) the amount of funding to be sought for the advance works, (iv) the name(s) of the consultant(s) responsible for carrying out the advance works study, (v) the anticipated commencement date of the works, (vi) the anticipated completion date of the works, and (vii) the cost estimate; and (3) the tendering procedures for such type of works projects; the specific criteria adopted for selecting consultants and contractors, and whether such criteria include the past performance of the relevant companies (e.g. whether the projects in which they participated experienced cost overruns or delay); whether it will consider drawing up a blacklist of consultants and contractors or setting up a demerit point system in this respect; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*18. Hon Alice MAK to ask: (Translation)
Under section 4C of the Summary Offences Ordinance (Cap. 228), any person who organizes or participates in a lion dance, dragon dance or unicorn dance, or any attendant martial arts display ("dragon and lion dance sports") in a public place is guilty of an offence, unless the person has been issued with a permit by the Commissioner of Police. Some members of the public have relayed to me that the application procedure for the permit is very cumbersome (e.g. applications must be accompanied by a photocopy of the Hong Kong Identity Card ("HKIC") of the organizer as well as each participant and other relevant documents, and applications have to be made at least 14 days prior to the date of the event), which causes inconvenience to the applicants and creates a negative labelling effect that dragon and lion dance sports are undesirable activities, thereby obstructing the popularization and development of such sports. Regarding the regulation of the dragon and lion dance sports, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of applications for permits received and approved by the Police in the past three years, and the average processing time for each approved application; (2) whether it will consider setting up a counter dedicated for permit application in each divisional police station; (3) whether it will relax the requirement that applications must be accompanied by a photocopy of HKIC of each participant; (4) whether it will consider streamlining the application procedure for permits, accepting applications through electronic means and completing the vetting and approval of the applications within one day after receipt; and (5) whether it will relax the regulation of dragon and lion dance sports, with a view to eliminating the negative labelling effect created on the sports; if so, of the details and the timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
*19. Hon CHU Hoi-dick to ask: (Translation)
In May 2016, the Urban Renewal Authority launched the "Smart Tender" Building Rehabilitation Facilitating Services to strengthen the technical assistance and professional advice provided to property owners in respect of carrying out building repair and maintenance works. Smart Tender provides owners' organizations with a DIY tool-kit with guidance on arranging building rehabilitation, arranges independent professionals to provide technical advice and a market estimate on the cost of works, and has put in place an electronic tendering platform to engage contractors, so that owners may make appropriate decisions in arranging building rehabilitation works. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as the Secretary for Development indicated in October last year that the authorities would consider expanding the functions of the Smart Tender electronic tendering platform so that owners' organizations might engage consultants through the platform, of the progress of such work; and (2) as the media have uncovered in recent years that bid-rigging was suspected to have been involved in the tender exercises for cleaning services of certain housing estates, whether the authorities will consider providing owners' organizations with services similar to those of Smart Tender in respect of cleaning and security services; if so, of the details (including the government department/public organization responsible and the implementation timetable); if not, the reasons for that?
*20. Hon Mrs Regina IP to ask: (Translation)
In January 2009, the Education Bureau ("EDB") issued a circular to schools on the amendments to the Sex Discrimination Ordinance (Cap. 480), urging schools to adopt reasonably practicable measures, including developing a school policy (in written form) to eliminate sexual harassment as well as setting up a mechanism for handling sexual harassment complaints, and encouraging schools to make reference to the Framework for Sexual Harassment Policies in Schools prepared by the Equal Opportunities Commission. Moreover, EDB has issued and updates from time to time the circulars to schools on the handling and prevention by schools of cases of students being sexually abused. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that the current guidelines issued by EDB on handling and preventing sexual harassment in schools does not cover the handling of complaints about staff members being sexually harassed, whether EDB will consider reviewing and updating the relevant guidelines to ensure that all individuals in schools (including all students and staff members) are able to study or work in a safe environment which is free from sexual harassment; if EDB will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) given that EDB leaves it for the schools to develop their own mechanism for handling sexual harassment complaints, of the measures put in place by EDB to ensure that schools investigate and handle sexual harassment complaints in a fair manner in accordance with their school-based policy on preventing sexual harassment; and (3) of the number of reports received by EDB in the past five years on mishandling by schools or school sponsoring bodies of sexual harassment complaints in schools; the procedure adopted by EDB for dealing with such cases, as well as the relevant investigation outcome and follow-up actions?
*21. Hon AU Nok-hin to ask: (Translation)
Since 2009, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority has drawn on some of the Exchange Fund's assets to make investments under the Long-term Growth Portfolio ("LTGP"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of the current (i) total number of units and (ii) total market value of the buildings involved in the assets under LTGP that fall within the asset class of "real estate", with a breakdown by the location and type of real estates (set out in the table below):
| Location of real estates | Type of real estates | Total | ||||||||||||
| Residential unit/ service apartment | Office/ commercial building | Industrial building/ industrial land | Hotel | Shop | Others | |||||||||
| (i) | (ii) | (i) | (ii) | (i) | (ii) | (i) | (ii) | (i) | (ii) | (i) | (ii) | (i) | (ii) | |
| Hong Kong | ||||||||||||||
| Mainland China | ||||||||||||||
| Other regions in Asia | ||||||||||||||
| Europe | ||||||||||||||
| Americas | ||||||||||||||
| Africa | ||||||||||||||
Public Officer to reply : Financial Secretary
*22. Hon IP Kin-yuen to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the impacts of the decline in the population of school-aged Primary One ("P1") students as well as the supply of and demand for P1 places on schools, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the annual numbers of students applying for P1 discretionary places in the last, current and next school years, and the percentages of such numbers in the populations of school-aged P1 students in the territory, with a tabulated breakdown by school district and school net; (2) of the respective annual actual/provisional numbers of P1 places and classes provided/to be provided by (i) government, (ii) aided, (iii) Direct Subsidy Scheme and (iv) private schools in the last, current, and next school years, with a tabulated breakdown by school district and school net; the criteria adopted by the Education Bureau ("EDB") for determining the provisional number of P1 classes in the next school year; (3) as the population of school-aged P1 students will decline continuously from the next school year onwards, of the impacts of such a situation on schools in the next school year as projected by EDB, including the respective numbers of (i) classes and (ii) teaching posts which need to be cut; the measures to be taken by EDB to alleviate such impacts, and whether such measures will include lowering the threshold for operating P1 classes and comprehensively implementing small class teaching; and (4) given that quite a number of schools operated additional primary classes (i.e. the so-called "partly-enlarged class structure") over the past few years in response to the shortage of primary places at various grades, and as the students of such classes will graduate from the next school year onwards, these schools will have a decline in the total number of classes and thus surplus teachers, of (i) the number of schools which will cut their number of classes, (ii) the total number of classes to be cut, and (iii) the total number of teaching posts which need to be cut, in each of the next five years as projected by EDB (with a tabulated breakdown by school district and school net)?
* For written reply
III. Government Bills
| Second Reading (Debate to resume), Consideration by Committee of the Whole Council and Third Reading
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| 1. | Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2018 | : | Secretary for Innovation and Technology
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| Secretary for Innovation and Technology to move amendments
(The amendments were issued on 12 October 2018 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 25/18-19) | |||||||||||
| (Debate and voting arrangements for Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 2018 in committee of the whole Council (issued on 23 October 2018 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 63/18-19(01)) (same as the Appendix to the Script of Council meeting of 24 October 2018))
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| 2. | Employment (Amendment) Bill 2018 | : | Secretary for Labour and Welfare
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(Debate and voting arrangements for Employment (Amendment) Bill 2018 in committee of the whole Council (issued on 23 October 2018 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 64/18-19(01)) (same as the Appendix to the Script of Council meeting of 24 October 2018)) | |||||||||||
| 3. | Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 4) Bill 2018 | : | Secretary for Food and Health
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| Secretary for Food and Health to move amendments
(The amendments were issued on 12 October 2018 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 26/18-19) | |||||||||||
| (Debate and voting arrangements for Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 4) Bill 2018 in committee of the whole Council (issued on 23 October 2018 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 65/18-19(01)) (same as the Appendix to the Script of Council meeting of 24 October 2018)) | |||||||||||
IV. Members' Motions
| 1. | Motion under Article 73(5) and (10) of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
Hon Claudia MO to move the motion in Appendix 1. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 15 October 2018
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 31/18-19) | |||||
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| 2. | Motion under the Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance
Hon Claudia MO to move the motion in Appendix 2. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 8 October 2018
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 19/18-19) | |||||
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| 3. | Motion under the Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance
Hon LAM Cheuk-ting to move the motion in Appendix 3. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 15 October 2018
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 27/18-19) | |||||
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| Stand-over item: Member's motion no. 4 (since the meeting of 11 July 2018)
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| 4. | Restructuring the governance of MTR Corporation Limited
Hon Michael TIEN to move the following motion: (Translation) That the MTR Corporation Limited ('MTRCL') has built and operates 11 railways in Hong Kong, and in the future, seven new railway projects will most likely be assigned to MTRCL; the people of Hong Kong heavily rely on the railway system as a mode of transport, but in recent years, there have been strong views in society on the service quality, corporate governance and supervision of works of MTRCL; the Hong Kong SAR Government as the majority shareholder of MTRCL has a major responsibility of monitoring MTRCL in providing to the public the safest railway services and infrastructure of the best quality; in this connection, this Council urges the SAR Government to adopt the following measures to restructure the governance of MTRCL to restore public confidence in MTRCL: | ||||
| (1) | setting up an independent railway development department-given that at present, a railway from planning to construction involves various government departments, including the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department, the Civil Engineering and Development Department, the Buildings Department and the Highways Department, resulting in fragmentation of responsibilities and inefficiency; besides, responsible for all the works of roads, tunnels, bridges, etc. in Hong Kong, the Highways Department can hardly attend to everything at the same time, thus giving rise to problems in the regulation of railways; hence, the SAR Government should set up an independent railway development department dedicated to railway works and directly responsible to the Secretary for Transport and Housing;
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| (2) | planning new development areas in tandem with their ancillary railway facilities-in planning some of the new development areas in the past, since the SAR Government did not concurrently consider ancillary transport facilities, serious traffic problems arose in such areas, and the SAR Government then constructed railways in a rush, thus causing the works quality to fall; hence, new development areas and ancillary railway facilities should be planned in tandem in order to prevent the quality of railway projects from being affected by very tight work schedules;
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| (3) | urging MTRCL to regularly review its investment strategy of updating the signalling system-in the past, repeated serious disruptions of MTR train services were caused by the ageing signalling system; hence, MTRCL should regularly upgrade the signalling system to the latest version, rather than refusing to upgrade the signalling system on the ground of the cost being the prime factor of consideration, so as to ensure provision of stable and reliable public transport services to passengers;
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| (4) | rationalizing the appointment of the Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer of MTRCL-to cope with the foreseeable railway projects, either of the Chairman and the Chief Executive Officer of MTRCL, being the two highest persons-in-charge, should have an engineering background to facilitate monitoring of the works progress at the highest level;
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| (5) | supervising MTRCL in reviewing the criteria of its internal tendering system-when drawing up the criteria of its internal tendering system, MTRCL should study following the criteria of the tendering system of the SAR Government which draw greater reference from the past performance, cooperative attitude, accountability performance of tenderers, etc., rather than overstressing the principle of 'the lowest bid wins'and the number of times the tenderers were awarded railway projects in the past as priority considerations, so as to avoid monopolization;
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| (6) | requiring MTRCL to strengthen the project management notification system-MTRCL should draw up specific and transparent notification criteria and make improvements on two levels: on the first level, requiring frontline site staff to report to the management in higher ranks the site conditions, including but not limited to issuing to contractors non-conformance notices/reports for any work that does not comply with plans and works requirements, and on the second level, reporting to the Government all construction problems in respect of repeated mistakes without rectification, delays in resolving such problems and suspected violations of statutory requirements; and
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| (7) | raising MTRCL's requirements for supervision of the works of contractors-MTRCL should draw reference from the requirements of the SAR Government in supervising public works, including considering the introduction of the Contractor Management Handbook for public works to conduct regular assessments on the quality, progress and safety of works, environmental protection, management and attitude of the persons-in-charge of projects, subcontracting of works, performance of procurement, etc., and requiring resident site staff to conduct thorough on-site supervision, thereby effecting more stringent supervision of railway projects.
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| Hon LUK Chung-hung, Hon CHAN Han-pan, Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki and Hon LAM Cheuk-ting to move amendments to the motion
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| (The amendments were issued on 6 July 2018
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 810/17-18) | |||||
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| 5. | Studying the formulation of policies for homosexual couples to enter into a union
Hon CHAN Chi-chuen to move the following motion: (Translation) That this Council urges the Government to study the formulation of policies for homosexual couples to enter into a union so that they can enjoy equal rights as heterosexual couples. | ||||
| Dr Hon Priscilla LEUNG, Hon AU Nok-hin and Hon Gary FAN to move amendments to the motion
(The amendments were issued on 19 June 2018 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 704/17-18) | |||||
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