A 18/19-5
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 7 November at 11:00 am,
Thursday 8 November and Friday 9 November 2018 at 9:00 am on both days
I. Tabling of Papers
| Subsidiary Legislation / Instrument | L.N. No. |
|---|---|
| Tax Reserve Certificates (Rate of Interest) (Consolidation) (Amendment) (No. 2) Notice 2018 | 211/2018 |
Other Papers
| 1. | No. 21 | - | Competition Commission
Annual Report 2017/18 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development) | |||
| 2. | Report No. 3/18-19 of the House Committee on Consideration of Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments | ||
| (to be presented by Hon Starry LEE, Chairman of the House Committee) | |||
II. Questions for Written Replies
1. Hon Paul TSE to ask: (Translation)
Recently, several think tanks and economists have coincidentally pointed out that with dark clouds of a trade war between China and the United States ("US") hovering, there are concerns about the way forward for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("SAR") in the context of national development strategies and international politics. In the event that the US authorities take any targeted measures, Hong Kong may lose the tariff exemption arrangement for its exports to US. They are also worried that the reclamation works for the construction of artificial islands under the "Lantau Tomorrow Vision" announced in this year's Policy Address may cost hundreds of billions, or even trillions, of dollars (i.e. the bulk of the fiscal reserves), which may undermine the confidence of foreign investors in, and cause depreciation in the value of, the Hong Kong dollar and induce attacks on the Linked Exchange Rate ("LER") System by foreign exchange speculators. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has studied how Hong Kong should position itself while it is caught in the long-standing political arm-wrestling and trade war between China and US, so as to align itself with the national strategic initiatives on the one hand and strive for the continuation of the various types of preferential treatments on tariffs, visas, etc. that Hong Kong has been enjoying for many years on the other; (2) of the mechanisms put in place, and the officials and policy bureaux tasked, by the SAR Government to study matters relating to the positioning of Hong Kong's development; the corresponding policy bureaux, officials or mechanisms in the SAR Government to conduct appropriate discussion and consultation with the various think tanks and academics regarding the findings of their studies and their recommendations on the positioning of Hong Kong's development in the context of national policies and international politics; (3) given that the detention of a former Hong Kong senior official by the US authorities for an alleged offence of brokering arms transactions, the inclusion of five locally registered companies in the sanctions list by the US authorities for their alleged role in aiding North Korea in evading international embargoes, and the SAR Government's refusal to renew the work visa of a journalist of the Financial Times, have aroused international concerns, whether the Government has assessed how the ongoing development of those incidents will affect Hong Kong's economy, including whether such incidents will trigger the US authorities to take targeted measures by imposing punitive tariffs on SAR's exports, and made a truthful report of the assessment results to the Central Authorities as soon as possible; and (4) whether it has studied if spending a substantial amount of the fiscal reserves on implementing the Lantau Tomorrow Vision will undermine the confidence of foreign investors in, and cause depreciation in the value of, the Hong Kong dollar and induce attacks on the LER System by foreign exchange speculators, as well as the corresponding countermeasures?
2. Hon Steven HO to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that many vessels were stranded or capsized when super typhoon Mangkhut hit Hong Kong in September this year. Various types of vessel operators have said that the incident highlighted the problem of insufficient berthing spaces at typhoon shelters and their poor management. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the occupancy rates of the various typhoon shelters and sheltered anchorages during the onslaught of Mangkhut (with a breakdown by vessel lengths permitted by typhoon shelters); (2) given that whenever typhoons hit Hong Kong, some typhoon shelters are always full as many work boats and visiting vessels berth at such shelters, rendering it impossible for local vessels to berth at their homeport, how the Government tackles the problem; (3) given that during the onslaught of Mangkhut, a number of vessels were damaged, were stranded or sank along the coasts of Sai Kung, whether the Government will improve the facilities of the Sai Kung Sheltered Anchorage (such as strengthening the breakwaters) to avoid the recurrence of similar incidents; (4) given that according to my observations and those of various types of vessel operators, some vessels were not berthed at typhoon shelters in an orderly manner, and some work boats, being pushed by wind and waves, even bumped into other vessels because such boats were loosely moored, (i) how the Government ensures that vessels at typhoon shelters are berthed in an orderly and tidy manner and will not affect other vessels, and (ii) how it will strengthen the relevant publicity work; (5) given that the number of various classes of vessels has been increasing incessantly in recent years, and that fishing vessels and pleasure vessels berthed in close proximity will easily collide with one another and give rise to compensation claims, whether the Government will study (i) demarcating the berthing spaces in typhoon shelters according to vessel type, (ii) expanding the various typhoon shelters, and (iii) solving the problem of insufficient berthing spaces and inadequate embarking and disembarking facilities for small fishing vessels; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (6) given that the Marine Department has, on a trial basis since August last year, designated a specific area within the Kwun Tong Typhoon Shelter for the exclusive mooring of non-pleasure vessels, of the progress and effectiveness of the measure, as well as the next course of action to be taken by the Government; and (7) although the Government has estimated that the supply of sheltered space across the territory could adequately meet the demand throughout the period from 2014 to 2030, the actual occupancy rates of the typhoon shelters located in relatively remote areas (e.g. Hei Ling Chau Typhoon Shelter) are rather low given the long plying time required, and the problem of insufficient berthing spaces in typhoon shelters remains, whether the Government will consider (i) conducting planning for typhoon shelters having regard to the demand for sheltered space on a district basis, and (ii) providing additional typhoon shelters in those districts where the highest occupancy rates of the existing ones have reached 90% or above; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
3. Hon MA Fung-kwok to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that since the abolition of the pedestrian precinct in Mong Kok in August this year, people who frequently staged street performances in the pedestrian precinct in the past have run into problems on all sides when trying to move to other areas. Some performers moving to Tsim Sha Tsui Pier have clashed with those performers who have all along been based there. Last month, the court granted an interim injunction to the management company of Times Square banning street performers from staging performance in the public space of Times Square. On the other hand, the "Open Stage" scheme administered by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department ("LCSD") has remained unpopular due to excessive restrictions on performers. Regarding the regulation and promotion of street performances, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of complaints about street performances in various pedestrian precincts and public spaces received by the Government since the abolition of the Mong Kok pedestrian precinct, and how such numbers compare with the relevant numbers for the same period last year; (2) whether it has assessed the impacts of the street performers of the Mong Kok pedestrian precinct moving to other districts; what measures the Government has taken to step up the management of relevant public spaces, with a view to providing space for street performances while not affecting the daily lives of the residents concerned and ensuring smooth pedestrian flows; (3) whether measures are in place to encourage private organizations to formulate guidelines or mechanisms to facilitate performers to apply for staging performance in the public spaces under their management; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (4) of the respective numbers of applications for staging performance received, approved and rejected by LCSD under the Open Stage scheme in the past five years, and the number of cases in which the performers whose applications were approved did not show up; (5) whether it will review the Open Stage scheme and make improvements (e.g. incorporating more venues into the scheme and reducing user restrictions), with a view to attracting more performers to join the scheme; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (6) whether it is aware of the policies and measures adopted by cities such as Taipei, Tokyo and Singapore pertaining to street arts performances; whether it will, by making reference to the experience of such cities and the arrangement made by the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority for street performances within the District, introduce a licensing system for street performances; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
4. Hon CHAN Chun-ying to ask: (Translation)
It is learnt that there were 16 cases of local green bond issuance in the first half of this year, raising funds of US$6.8 billion in total, which was three times the amount for the whole of last year. Some analyses have pointed out that the green industries on the Mainland will have a capital demand of about RMB3 trillion to RMB4 trillion per year during the period covered by the country's 13th Five-Year Plan for the National Economic and Social Development, and the infrastructure projects in the countries along the Belt and Road will have a capital demand of US$1.5 trillion per year between 2016 and 2030, as estimated by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. Such situations have presented opportunities for Hong Kong to develop green finance. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as there are views that there is a need for the Government to set up a green financial system framework comprising clear green standards, specific development guidelines and comprehensive regulations, and at present some 20 countries and regions across the globe have rolled out a green finance development roadmap, whether the Government has considered developing (i) a green financial system framework, and (ii) a green finance development roadmap; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) as some analyses have pointed out that private capital participation is crucial to the development of green finance, whether the Government has considered, by making reference to the approach of the United Kingdom ("UK"), financing the establishment of an independent green investment bank to mobilize private capital to invest in green projects; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether it has considered, by making reference to the experience of countries such as the UK and Germany, boosting the development of green finance through fiscal policies, such as introducing tax concessions, offering profit tax exemption to funds investing in green finance products, as well as granting interest subsidies to green lending products; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
5. Dr Hon Helena WONG to ask: (Translation)
Last month, the Canadian authorities relaxed control on recreational cannabis. Packaging labels bearing "THC" (i.e. the abbreviation of tetrahydro-cannabinol, the main constituent of cannabis) or "Cannabis" indicates that the food products or drinks to which they are affixed contain cannabis, and nationals of that country may purchase such food products or drinks from licensed suppliers. In addition, the World Health Organization has indicated that in recent years, some countries have relaxed the regulation of cannabidiol ("CBD"), a cannabis compound, and regarded products containing CBD as medical products. Regarding the regulation of cannabis under the laws of Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the import of food products or drinks containing THC falls within the ambit of the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Cap. 134); if so, of the details; if not, whether it will amend the relevant legislation to impose regulation in this regard; (2) whether the possession or purchase via the Internet of food products or drinks containing THC is against the law; if so, of the details; and (3) whether the manufacture or import of medical products, food products or drinks containing CBD is against the law; if so, of the details?
6. Hon SHIU Ka-chun to ask: (Translation)
At present, the Hong Kong Housing Authority ("HA") has set aside a number of public rental housing ("PRH") units for the Urban Renewal Authority ("URA") to re-house eligible domestic tenants who are affected by URA's redevelopment projects. It is learnt that URA generally allocates to such tenants the smallest PRH units which meet the minimum standard on per-person internal floor area, while HA adopts the lower limit of the household size for a unit as the benchmark for allocation of PRH units to PRH applicants. For example, a 3-person household will be allocated a 2-to-3-person unit by URA but a 3-to-4-person unit by HA. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of PRH units allocated by HA in each year from 2013 to 2017 (set out the figures for each year in tables of the same format as the table below);
Year: ____
Household size Types of PRH units 1-to-2-person unit 2-to-3-person unit One-bedroom unit
for three to four
personsTwo-bedroom unit for four persons or more Newly completed Refurbished Newly completed Refurbished Newly completed Refurbished Newly completed Refurbished One person Two persons Three persons Four persons Five persons Six persons or more Total number of units
(2) of the number of PRH units allocated by URA in each year from 2013 to 2017 (set out the figures for each year in tables of the same format as the table above); and (3) whether it has compiled statistics to ascertain if there is a difference in the per-person internal floor area in respect of the PRH units allocated by URA and those allocated by HA; if it has compiled such statistics and the result is in the affirmative, of the reasons for that and the measures put in place to ensure fair treatment for the members of the public concerned?
7. Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)
In the Policy Address she delivered last month, the Chief Executive put forward the Lantau Tomorrow Vision, proposing the construction of a number of artificial islands with a total area of 1 700 hectares by reclamation in the Central Waters and the development of the third Core Business District of Hong Kong on the artificial islands. It is estimated that 340 000 jobs will be created by such developments. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the projected total area of commercial sites out of the 1 700 hectares of newly formed land, and how it will assess the demand of various industries for such sites; (2) of the industries envisaged to be developed on the artificial islands; and (3) given that the Topical Paper No. 15 on the "Conceptual Spatial Framework" under the "Hong Kong 2030+: Towards a Planning Vision and Strategy Transcending 2030" published by the Planning Department in 2016 proposed the provision of about 1 000 hectares of potentially developable area in the East Lantau Metropolis through reclamation and making better use of the land in Mui Wo, and projected that 200 000 jobs could be provided, of the relevant data on industry researches; how the authorities came up with the estimate of 340 000 jobs as mentioned in the Lantau Tomorrow Vision, and the reasons for this figure being substantially higher than the projection made in 2016?
8. Hon WU Chi-wai to ask: (Translation)
The Chief Executive has mentioned in this year's Policy Address that the Government has firmed up the policy and measures on opening up government data, including the establishment of a mechanism that requires all government departments to publish annually their open data plans for the coming year, and the first of such plans are to be published by the end of this year. There are comments that public organizations and public utilities should also open up their data to promote the development of Hong Kong into a smart city. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the government department or committee responsible for executing the aforesaid mechanism as well as the vetting and approval of the open data plans submitted by the various departments; the number of government datasets expected to be opened up next year; (2) whether the first open data plans to be published by the various government departments will contain implementation timetables; if so, of the details; (3) whether the various government departments will open up more real-time data which are related to people's livelihood (e.g. data on the utilization rates of public swimming pool complexes and study rooms); (4) whether it will request public organizations such as the Hospital Authority and the Town Planning Board to formulate open data plans; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (5) whether it has formulated strategies and work plans for encouraging public utilities to open up their data, including (i) reviewing the relevant legal framework and (ii) considering the addition of provisions on opening up of data to the franchise agreements to be signed in future; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
9. Hon Claudia MO to ask: (Translation)
The Chief Executive ("CE") announced the "Lantau Tomorrow Vision" in this year's Policy Address, proposing, among others, the formation of land with a total area of 1 700 hectares by reclamation in the Central Waters. It has been reported that the reclamation works and related infrastructure works may cost as high as $1,000 billion and may possibly exhaust the Government's fiscal reserves, thus arousing public concerns. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as the area involved in the aforesaid reclamation projects has exceeded, by almost 700 hectares, the area proposed in an option of 1 000-hectare reclamation in the Central Waters put forward by the Task Force on Land Supply, and CE has indicated that the extra area was proposed by the planning departments, of the Government's justifications (including those justifications provided by the technical departments concerned) for significantly increasing the reclamation area; (2) whether it has considered changing its approach by adhering to the option of 1 000-hectare reclamation in the Central Waters, and providing the extra 700 hectares of land by undertaking reclamation projects at nearshore locations where infrastructure networks are already in place, with a view to reducing the expenditure on reclamation works; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) whether the scope of the on-going planning study on the "Hong Kong 2030+: Towards a Planning Vision and Strategy Transcending 2030" covers the reclamation projects under the Lantau Tomorrow Vision and assessment of the related transport infrastructure needs; if so, whether this is tantamount to the Government commencing the planning and works studies of the Lantau Tomorrow Vision before submitting the funding proposal for such studies to this Council; (4) of the revenue from the sale of the reclaimed land, as anticipated by the Government; how the Government will address the following concern raised by some members of the public: that the purpose of land formation by reclamation is not for meeting the housing needs of the grassroots, but for selling land to private developers for building luxurious properties, so as to perpetuate the high land-price policy and collusion between the Government and the business sector; (5) as the Financial Secretary has indicated that funds can be raised for the reclamation projects through issuance of bonds, whether the Government has commenced work in this regard; if so, of the details; (6) of the details of the infrastructure projects financed by issuance of bonds in the past 10 years (including the details of the fundraisings through bond issuance); (7) given that (a) huge waves as high as 10 metres were pushed up by super typhoon Mangkhut when it hit Hong Kong in September this year, (b) the Kansai Airport on an artificial island was closed for several days due to seawater inundation during the onslaught of super typhoon Jebi in Japan, and (c) a former Director of the Hong Kong Observatory has refuted a project consultant's remark that the waves that the proposed artificial islands would need to withstand would only be two metres high, whether the Government will assess (i) the safety and feasibility of the proposed artificial islands, and (ii) whether there are proposals to ensure the safety of the artificial islands; if such proposals are unavailable or they involve huge expenditure, whether the Government will shelve the reclamation projects; and (8) as there are comments that the trade war between China and the United States will continue to escalate and the Hong Kong real estate market bubble may burst at any time, and as pointed out by the report of the Working Group on Long-Term Fiscal Planning in 2014, if public services were to be maintained at the existing levels, Hong Kong's economic growth until 2041 would continue to slow down or remain at a low level and a structural fiscal deficit would even emerge, how the Government assesses the financial risks associated with the reclamation projects, and of the circumstances under which it will withdraw the reclamation proposal?
10. Hon Holden CHOW to ask: (Translation)
The Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge ("HZMB") opened to traffic on the 24th of last month. However, the Government estimated last month that due to construction delays, the section of the Southern Connection of the Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok Link (a road connecting North Lantau and the HZMB Hong Kong Port) which will connect North Lantau Highway (Tung Chung-bound direction) would not be completed until the first half of next year at the earliest. As such, during the initial stage of commissioning of HZMB, the traffic between Tung Chung and HZMB Hong Kong Port are required to route through North Lantau Highway and the roads on the Airport Island. Some residents on Lantau Island are worried that the commissioning of HZMB may aggravate the traffic congestion on those roads, seriously affecting their daily lives. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the Government will implement traffic mitigation measures (such as requesting the MTR Corporation Limited to increase the train frequencies of the Tung Chung Line and the Airport Express) and encourage travellers who come to Hong Kong through HZMB to take the Airport Express to ply the urban areas, so as to ease the traffic load on the section of North Lantau Highway near Tung Chung and the roads on the Airport Island; (2) as the Government has indicated that if both roads and railway lines are obstructed, it will, where necessary and practicable, consider using the SkyPier for providing emergency ferry services plying between Central Pier and Tuen Mun Ferry Pier, how the Government determines if it is "necessary and practicable" to do so; whether it will study the feasibility of opening up the SkyPier on a regular basis; and (3) in order to enhance the public transport system connecting the artificial islands of HZMB and Tung Chung Town Centre, whether the Government will study afresh my suggestions below: constructing a regional elevated monorail system with stops to be built at places such as Tung Chung, the Airport Island and the artificial islands, exploring the extension of the terminus of the Tung Chung Line to the Airport Island, and building an additional HZMB Hong Kong Port Station for the Tung Chung Line?
11. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)
On 1 October 2012, two vessels, namely Sea Smooth and Lamma IV, collided near the waters of Lamma Island, killing 39 and injuring 92 people. After conducting an inquiry into the incident, the Commission of Inquiry ("COI") appointed by the Government in the same month under the Commissions of Inquiry Ordinance (Cap. 86) issued its report ("COI Report"), revealing that there had been negligence and faults on the part of Marine Department officers who had failed to act in accordance with the law in the vetting and approval of vessel drawings as well as surveying vessels, etc. The Transport and Housing Bureau set up an internal investigation team and the Steering Committee on Systemic Reform of the Marine Department in 2013 to undertake an internal investigation and a systemic reform of the Marine Department respectively. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the extent of the damage to Sea Smooth (together with photos showing the damage to the hull); (2) given that the photo in Appendix 9 to the COI Report shows that there were two keelson holes on the lowest deck of Lamma IV after the collision, whether the Government knows the causes of the holes; if they were caused by the crash with Sea Smooth, (i) which part of Sea Smooth was involved in the crash that caused the holes, (ii) how the crash caused the keelson holes on Lamma IV, and (iii) of the respective hull materials used in the parts of the two vessels that crashed; (3) whether it knows if there were any construction irregularities in respect of Lamma IV; if there were, of the construction irregularities, and whether it has conducted an investigation after the collision incident to see if there are construction irregularities in respect of other passenger vessels; if it has and the result is in the affirmative, of the Government's follow-up actions; (4) whether Lamma IV was required under regulations to be installed with a watertight door; if so, when the Government learnt that Lamma IV had not been installed with a watertight door and what follow-up actions it took, and whether any punishment has been imposed on the officials responsible for the vetting and approval of the relevant drawings and surveying the vessel; (5) whether it knows the survey records of Sea Smooth from its launch to the collision incident, and whether there were construction irregularities (including the part that hit Lamma IV); if there were, of the construction irregularities, and whether similar construction irregularities have been found in other twin-hulled catamarans owned by the Hong Kong and Kowloon Ferry Holdings Limited; if so, of the follow-up actions by the Government; (6) as the then Secretary for Transport and Housing pointed out that the problems revealed by the COI Report (including the operation of the Marine Department) were more serious than he had imagined, regarding the recommendations of the internal investigation team to institute disciplinary actions against some Marine Department officers and to refer those questions suspected to involve criminal conducts to the Police, of the details (including the number and ranks of the officers involved, the disciplinary/criminal offences involved, and the dates of referrals of the criminal conducts to the Police) as well as the follow-up actions taken by the Government and the progress made (including the dates when the disciplinary actions formally took effect, the date on which the Police concluded its investigation and the anticipated date of commencing the death inquest); and (7) given that the Steering Committee on Systemic Reform of the Marine Department put forward a number of recommendations for reform in its Final Report published in April 2016, including reviewing the coxswain licensing system, rewriting the codes of practice for local vessels, setting up a more elaborate internal audit and compliance mechanism, and conducting a grade structure review for the two professional grades of Marine Officer and Surveyor of Ships, of the progress in such work?
12. Prof Hon Joseph LEE to ask: (Translation)
The Chief Executive announced on 30 January this year an additional allocation of $500 million to the Hospital Authority ("HA") for meeting the service demand during the winter surge and relieving the work pressure faced by frontline healthcare staff. The authorities indicated in March this year that the allocation would be deployed for implementing various measures targeted at specific situations ("targeted measures"), including the increase of healthcare manpower to meet the service demand during that period of time. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
(1) how the allocation has been used so far; in respect of each targeted measure, (i) the amount of expenditure incurred so far and (ii) the additional manpower provided in terms of numbers of man-days and man-hours (broken down by grade), with a breakdown by (a) hospital cluster, (b) public hospital, and (c) department; (2) the average values of the following service figures of each public hospital from January to April this year: (i) the waiting time for patients of the various triage categories in the accident and emergency departments, (ii) the waiting time for such patients to be admitted to the wards, (iii) the inpatient bed occupancy rates of various departments, (iv) the respective numbers of temporary beds used by various departments and their percentages in the total numbers of beds, and (v) the nurse-to-patient ratios; (3) whether HA has assessed the effectiveness of the various targeted measures; if HA has assessed, of the outcome; whether HA has consulted the healthcare professionals on the effectiveness of the various targeted measures; if HA has, of the outcome; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) whether HA will, whenever there is an upsurge in the demand for hospital services (e.g. during influenza surges), (i) increase the amount of special honorarium, (ii) extend the scope of the Special Honorarium Scheme, (iii) lower the threshold for providing allowances under the Continuous Night Shift Scheme, and (iv) recruit part-time nurses in advance, so as to ensure that there is sufficient manpower to cope with such situations; if HA will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
13. Hon CHAN Hak-kan to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the training received and the duties carried out by the two types of lifeguards (i.e. civil service lifeguards and seasonal lifeguards) employed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department ("LCSD"), will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of occasions last year on which duties involving skin-diving and scuba-diving were carried out by the two aforesaid types of lifeguards, and a breakdown of the details of such duties by (i) name of the public swimming pool complex ("complex")/beach where they were on duty and District Council ("DC") district to which the complex/beach belonged, and (ii) the diving depth involved; (2) among the two types of lifeguards, of the respective numbers and percentages of those who currently possess related diving qualifications, with a breakdown of such numbers by (i) name of the complex/beach where they are on duty and (ii) DC district to which the complex/beach belongs; (3) given that LCSD indicated in 2016 that it would study ways to ensure that all newly recruited lifeguards should complete the three-stage induction training programme ("induction training") (including skin-diving rescue), of the progress of such work, and the current number of civil service lifeguards who have not yet completed such training and, among those lifeguards, the number of those who need to perform life-saving duties; (4) whether LCSD has provided diving training (other than induction training) for in-service lifeguards; if so, of the number of relevant courses organized each month in the past three years, as well as the respective numbers of applicants, those admitted and those passing the relevant tests; whether the lifeguards are required to receive such training and complete the training by a certain deadline, as well as the consequences for their non-compliance; (5) whether LCSD will (i) require newly recruited lifeguards to possess related diving qualifications upon appointment or within a specific period after appointment, and (ii) encourage in-service lifeguards to obtain the relevant qualifications; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (6) whether there were lifeguards who had not yet completed the induction training being promoted to senior lifeguards in the past three years; if so, of a breakdown of the number of such lifeguards by the type of training which they had not completed; (7) whether LCSD has deployed lifeguards on duty at beaches who have not yet received relevant training to perform scuba-diving duties; if so, how LCSD ensures that such lifeguards know how to operate the diving equipment; (8) whether, in respect of the diving duties to be performed by lifeguards, LCSD has (i) formulated standard workflows, safety codes and contingency procedures, (ii) kept relevant work records, and (iii) deployed manpower to manage and maintain the diving equipment; (9) of the number of times for which oxygen tanks for scuba diving were refilled in the past three years, with a breakdown by (i) name of complex/beach and (ii) DC district to which the complex/beach belonged; (10) of the number of cases of lifeguards performing diving rescues in the past three years and, among such cases, (i) the respective numbers of those in which the victims were drowned and those in which the victims were rescued, as well as (ii) the number of those in which there was a delay in rescue due to the lifeguards not possessing diving skills; (11) whether the duties of LCSD's lifeguards include cleaning up oil spill, rubbish, faeces, blood and vomit within the area of the complex/beach concerned; if so, (i) of the respective numbers of cases in which lifeguards performed such types of cleaning duties in the past three years, with a breakdown by name of the complex/beach and by DC district to which the complex/beach belonged, and (ii) whether LCSD has provided training, guidelines and equipment for lifeguards in respect of such duties, and formulated infection prevention measures; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (12) as some lifeguards have indicated that they do not have a clear understanding about their scope of duties, whether LCSD will consider setting out the duties of lifeguards in detail; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (13) given that the duties of lifeguards cover the areas of life-saving, first aid, crowd control, customer services, assisting in law enforcement, etc., but the entry requirement on academic qualification for lifeguards is mere completion of Primary Six, whether LCSD will consider raising the entry requirement on academic qualification for lifeguards; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
14. Hon Kenneth LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that as some of its pipes and secondary treatment facilities were damaged during the time when super typhoon Mangkhut hit Hong Kong in September this year, the Sai Kung Sewage Treatment Works has since then been discharging into the sea effluent which was primary treated only. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the details (including timetable, progress and expenditure incurred) of the inspections and repair works carried out by the authorities in respect of the damaged facilities of the aforesaid plant; (2) whether it has assessed the impact on the quality of the water bodies in the areas in Sai Kung brought about by the plant's discharge of effluent which has not been fully treated; if so, of the outcome; given that the effluent treated by the plant will be discharged into the Port Shelter via a submarine outfall, of the current compliance rates of the water bodies there on the key marine Water Quality Objectives parameters (total inorganic nitrogen, unionized ammonia, E. coli, etc.); (3) whether it has assessed if the interim measures taken by the authorities during the period when the facilities concerned remained damaged can effectively alleviate the impact on the water quality brought about by the plant's discharge of effluent which has not been fully treated; and (4) whether it will comprehensively review the resilience of various sewage treatment facilities against strong wind and storm surges, and implement the necessary strengthening measures; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
15. Hon IP Kin-yuen to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the employment of academic staff by universities funded by the University Grants Committee, by departments of self-financing programmes of those universities and by self-financing post-secondary institutions, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows if the various institutions have formulated retirement policies applicable to academic staff; if they have, of (i) the retirement ages, and (ii) the policy concerning applications for further appointment by staff members who have reached the retirement age (including the maximum number of years for which they may be further appointed); (2) whether it knows the respective highest, lowest and median ages of those academic staff members in the various institutions who retired in each of the past five academic years (with a breakdown by gender, as well as the institution and faculty to which they belonged); (3) whether it knows, among the academic staff members on tenure employment in the various institutions, the numbers and percentages of those who departed in each of the past five academic years (with a breakdown by gender, as well as the institution and faculty to which they belonged); (4) whether it knows the numbers of academic staff members at the rank of Associate Professor or above newly employed by the various institutions in each of the past five academic years, and their percentages in the total numbers of academic staff (with a breakdown by gender, as well as the institution and faculty to which they belonged); and (5) how the Government ensures that the various institutions, when dealing with matters on the promotion of academic staff members and further appointment of those who have reached the retirement age, treat persons of different age, gender, race and family status fairly and in a manner which is free from the influence of political factors?
16. Dr Hon Elizabeth QUAT to ask: (Translation)
A civil servants' trade union has relayed to me that under the existing requirement, when staff members take leave for one week, those who work under the six-day work week mode will have six days deducted from their annual leave balance, whereas their counterparts who work under the five-day work week mode will have five days deducted. In March last year, the union proposed that the Leisure and Cultural Services Department ("LCSD") implement, for staff of the various grades in the Department working under the six-day work week mode, the following trial scheme: staff members who are absent from work for seven days in a duty cycle will be subject to annual leave deduction of five days instead of six days ("the trial scheme"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the reasons why LCSD has not yet implemented the trial scheme after considering it for more than one year; (2) whether it has studied the feasibility of the trial scheme; if so, of the study outcome (including the implementation difficulties, and the workload implications on staff); (3) whether LCSD will implement the trial scheme first for the Amenities Assistant grade staff for a period of one year, and extend the scheme, after it has been proved to work, to cover other grades; if so, of the details and timetable; if not, the reasons for that; (4) as some trade unions have relayed that the Civil Service Bureau has set out a number of pre-conditions for LCSD to implement the trial scheme, of the relevant details; and (5) as the Hong Kong Police Force ("HKPF") (i) introduced in December 2015 a similar trial scheme, (ii) has since January this year been testing the implications of the relevant leave deduction arrangement on the department, and (iii) is updating its e-leave system for implementing the said arrangement, whether LCSD has assessed if its e-leave system can dovetail with the implementation of the trial scheme; if it has assessed and the outcome is in the negative, of the details and whether it has any solution; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
17. Hon Charles Peter MOK to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that Hong Kong was ranked the 24th, a ranking lagging substantially behind those of Taiwan, Japan and Singapore, in the Global Open Data Index published last year by the Open Knowledge Foundation in the United Kingdom ("UK"). Hong Kong even scored zero in areas of open data for the company register and for land ownership. There are views that Hong Kong needs to catch up expeditiously in respect of opening up data. On the other hand, it is mentioned in this year's Policy Address that the Government has firmed up the policy and measures on opening up government data, and required all government departments to formulate and publish their annual open data plans ("annual plans") by the end of this year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it will provide additional manpower and resources to the various bureaux/government departments for execution of the annual plans; (2) whether it took into consideration perspectives such as information security, personal privacy and government revenue when it formulated the policy on opening up data, and how it will determine the extent of opening up various types of data; (3) whether it will, by making reference to the relevant practices in the UK and Canada, draw up an "open government licence" to stipulate (i) that the Government is the copyright owner of the datasets concerned, and (ii) the rights and obligations of the users of the datasets, so as to facilitate the extensive use of the datasets; (4) whether it will, by making reference to the practices in other jurisdictions, (i) formulate open data lists for the Chief Executive's Office, the offices of the various Secretaries of Departments and Directors of Bureaux, as well as the various bureaux and government departments, and (ii) determine the extent of opening and reusing the data concerned; (5) whether it will add the following government datasets to the lists of government data to be opened up so that members of the public can use such data free of charge: (i) the Company Register, (ii) the Land Register, (iii) the Business Register, (iv) the register of vehicles, (v) bankruptcy and compulsory winding-up records, (vi) birth/death records and (vii) marriage records; if so, of the details and the timetable; if not, the reasons for that; (6) whether it will put in place the relevant performance indicators and feedback mechanisms to ensure continuous improvement in the quality of government data being opened up; (7) whether it will review the requests for access to government information previously made by members of the public, in order to gauge the public's demand for the various types of data, and establish a mechanism for receiving and handling the public's requests for access to datasets; (8) whether it has plans to promote the opening up of data among the various District Councils, public bodies, universities and non-profit-making organizations, and issue codes of best practices to them; (9) whether it will, in collaboration with public and private organizations, examine the obstacles hindering the opening up of data, and establish a platform to facilitate data sharing, with a view to promoting data sharing among various sectors in an equal, mutually-beneficial and safe manner; and (10) whether it will adopt measures (e.g. providing relevant teaching materials and organizing competitions on application development) to step up efforts to promote the use of those data opened up, so as to encourage the industry to use such data to develop various applications and tools?
18. Hon Alice MAK to ask: (Translation)
I have received complaints from a number of tenants of public rental housing ("PRH") alleging that quite a number of PRH units have been broken into and burgled by thieves because the metal gates of such unites had security vulnerabilities. However, the Housing Department has not actively arranged improvement works for the metal gates. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of burglaries of PRH units in various PRH estates in the past three years; (2) of (i) the number of complaints received by the authorities about metal gates of PRH units having security vulnerabilities, and (ii) the number of metal gates of PRH units for which improvement works were carried out by the authorities, in the past three years (with a breakdown by estates); (3) of the types of metal gates installed for new PRH units by the authorities in the past three years and, among them, the respective types of metal gates (i) with complaints received about their having security vulnerabilities and (ii) the units to which they were fitted experienced a higher incidence of burglary; (4) as the authorities announced in 2014 that old-type see-through collapsible gates of more than 170 000 PRH units would be replaced in the five years starting 2015-2016, of the progress of the work; whether the authorities have regularly reviewed the security level of the metal gates (including the new-type metal gates) of all PRH units in Hong Kong and carried out improvement works for the metal gates with security vulnerabilities; if so, of the time of the last review, as well as its outcome and the follow-up work; and (5) whether the authorities will carry out improvement works for the metal gates with security vulnerabilities which have been provided for PRH units and for units which were sold under the Tenants Purchase Scheme, and bear the relevant repair and maintenance costs in future; if not, of the reasons for that?
19. Hon Tony TSE to ask: (Translation)
It is learnt that it is not uncommon for lease modification/land exchange applications dragging on for years as a consensus over the amount of land premium cannot be reached between land owners and the Lands Department ("LandsD"). In view of the above, the Government introduced the Pilot Scheme for Arbitration on Land Premium ("the Pilot Scheme") in October 2014. The Government may invite lease modification/land exchange applicants ("the applicants") to participate in the Pilot Scheme whereby the land premium issue in respect of their applications may be settled through arbitration. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the criteria adopted by LandsD for determining whether or not to invite an applicant to participate in the Pilot Scheme; (2) of the respective numbers of lease modification/land exchange applications that have been received and handled by LandsD since October 2014 and, among them: (i) the number of cases in which the applicants were invited to participate in the Pilot Scheme; among such cases, the respective numbers of cases in which the invitation was accepted by the applicants, arbitrations are being/have been conducted, and arbitrations were concluded; the arbitration time taken for those cases in which arbitrations were concluded, and the amount of public expenditure concerned; the number of cases in which applicants who had declined such invitations subsequently reached a consensus with LandsD over the amount of land premium, as well as the respective shortest, longest and average time taken for negotiations in respect of such cases; and (ii) the number of cases in which the applicants had not been invited to participate in the Pilot Scheme but they reached a consensus with LandsD over the amount of land premium, as well as the respective shortest, longest and average time taken for negotiations in respect of such cases; (3) whether it has reviewed the effectiveness of the Pilot Scheme; if so, of the anticipated completion time; (4) as there have been views that the subject to be arbitrated under the Pilot Scheme being confined to the amount of land premium has rendered the Pilot Scheme unattractive, whether the Government will explore expanding the scope of the subjects to be arbitrated under the Scheme; and (5) whether it will review the method for calculating the amount of land premium, and take into consideration the values of the existing structures erected on the relevant land lots and the economic activities thereon, as well as the expenses need to be incurred for demolishing the structures thereon; if not, of the reasons for that?
20. Hon YUNG Hoi-yan to ask: (Translation)
During the onslaught of super typhoon Mangkhut in Hong Kong in September this year, the coastal areas (including Hong Kong Island East near Heng Fa Chuen, Shek O, South Horizons, Sha Tin, Tseung Kwan O, Sai Kung and Sha Tau Kok) suffered severe flooding and quite a number of facilities (including roads, piers and bridges) there were damaged. Such situations have given rise to doubts over the capability of existing seawalls and breakwaters to withstand winds and waves. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has assessed the correlation between the serious damage to the facilities along the seafront of Tseung Kwan O South during the onslaught of Mangkhut and the capability of the seawall there to withstand winds and waves; if so, of the outcome and follow-up measures; if not, the reasons for that; (2) of the design standards adopted for the existing seawalls and breakwaters; when such standards were formulated, and the date on which such standards were last updated; and (3) whether it will conduct a comprehensive review of the design standards for the construction of seawalls and breakwaters so as to strengthen the capability of such facilities to withstand winds and waves; if so, of the details and timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
21. Hon Jimmy NG to ask: (Translation)
The results of a study reveal that small and medium enterprises ("SMEs") have been faced with the problem of labour costs rising incessantly since the implementation of the Statutory Minimum Wage ("SMW") regime in May 2011. The profit ratio of SMEs was 2.7 percentage points lower than that of all enterprises in 2011, and such gap gradually widened to 6.7 percentage points in 2016. Regarding the support for SMEs, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the respective profit ratios, in each year from 2011 to 2017, of SMEs belonging to the following five industries: (i) import/export trade and wholesale, (ii) social and personal services, (iii) professional and business services, (iv) retail, and (v) accommodation and food services; whether it has studied the impacts of the rise in labour costs on the profitability of SMEs belonging to these industries; if so, of the outcome; (2) as a survey's findings have revealed that the business support most wanted by SMEs from the Government is the introduction of one-off relief measures (such as exemption from payments of business registration fees and other levies), whether the Government will roll out measures in response to such a request; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) given that both the number of applications received for, and the number of SME beneficiaries of, the SME Loan Guarantee Scheme and the SME Export Marketing Fund have been on the decline over the past few years, of the measures to be put in place by the Government in the coming year to enhance these initiatives, so as to encourage SMEs to make applications; and (4) whether it will consider afresh extending the geographical scope for the subsidy of the Enterprise Support Programme under the Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales from the current coverage of the Mainland and the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to encompass all the countries and regions along the Belt and Road; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
22. Hon WU Chi-wai to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that an overwhelming response has been received for each sale exercise for Home Ownership Scheme ("HOS") flats since the sale was resumed in 2014 by the authorities. At present, the ratio of the quota of HOS flats allocated to White Form ("WF") applicants to the quota for Green Form ("GF") applicants is 50:50. However, the number of WF applicants is many times higher than that of GF applicants. Some WF applicants who have applied for purchasing HOS flats for several times but in vain feel discouraged. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as the authorities decided in January this year to regularize the Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Scheme, those eligible for GF status will have a greater chance of acquiring homes than before, whether the authorities will, in future, consider raising the ratio of HOS flats allocated to WF applicants; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether the authorities have kept information on the numbers of previous attempts made by applicants for purchasing HOS flats; if so, of the highest number of unsuccessful attempts made by an individual applicant so far; if not, whether the authorities will consider keeping such information; and (3) whether the authorities will consider, when putting up HOS flats for sale in future, increasing the chance of success in a ballot for those WF applicants who have been unsuccessful consecutively for a number of times; if not, of the reasons for that?
III. Member's Motion
| Motion of Thanks
Hon Starry LEE to move the following motion: (Translation) That this Council thanks the Chief Executive for her address. Hon WU Chi-wai, Hon Claudia MO, Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG, Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki, Hon Andrew WAN, Hon Kenneth LEUNG and Hon Gary FAN to move amendments to the motion |
| (The amendments were issued on 1 November 2018
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 93/18-19) |
| Public Officers to attend are listed in the Appendix.
|