A 18/19-9
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 28 November 2018 at 11:00 am
I. Taking of Legislative Council Oath
Hon CHAN Hoi-yan
II. Tabling of Papers
| Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments | L.N. No. | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Pharmacy and Poisons (Amendment) (No. 7) Regulation 2018 | 228/2018 |
| 2. | Telecommunications (Carrier Licences) (Amendment) Regulation 2018 | 229/2018 |
Other Papers
III. Questions
1. Dr Hon Helena WONG to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that three groups of Mainland judges currently studying for a master's or doctorate degree in law at the City University of Hong Kong have, pursuant to the requirements under the Constitution of the Communist Party of China ("CPC"), formed a temporary branch of CPC in Hong Kong. Given that at present, quite a number of people from the Mainland have come to Hong Kong for settlement, further studies, doing business, or taking up employment in the Government, educational institutions or public and private organizations, some members of the public are concerned whether those CPC members among such people are required to establish CPC branches in Hong Kong pursuant to the requirements under CPC's Constitution. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the details of the activities conducted by political forces outside Hong Kong on campuses of tertiary institutions; whether the Government and tertiary institutions will adopt measures to stop CPC members conducting political activities on campuses; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) as a CPC leader reportedly demanded at a meeting of the aforesaid temporary branch that the party members "unequivocally uphold the banner of commitment to political integrity" and "be brave to combat wrongful words and actions", whether the Government has assessed if this situation will undermine the confidence of members of the public in "one country, two systems" and "Hong Kong people administering Hong Kong"; whether it will relay to the Central Authorities the worries of some members of the public about CPC members conducting political activities in Hong Kong; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether a CPC branch established in Hong Kong by any person is required to apply for registration or exemption from registration under the Societies Ordinance; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
2. Hon CHAN Chi-chuen to ask: (Translation)
The Law of the People's Republic of China on the Garrisoning of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("Garrison Law") stipulates that the People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison ("HK Garrison") shall not interfere in the local affairs of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("SAR"), and that the SAR Government may, when necessary, ask the Central Government for assistance from the HK Garrison in the maintenance of public order or in disaster relief. It has been reported that at the invitation of an organization, a group of members of the HK Garrison in uniform went to a country park last month in a volunteer effort to clear fallen trees and broken branches which were left behind after the onslaught of a storm in Hong Kong. As the SAR Government had not sought assistance from the HK Garrison, some members of the public queried whether the aforesaid activity had violated the Garrison Law. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the number of occasions in each of the past five years on which members of the HK Garrison in uniform performed volunteer service outside military facilities and sites, as well as the name and nature of the activities concerned; (2) whether it will urge members of the HK Garrison not to wear uniform when performing volunteer service, so as to avoid being mistaken to be on duty; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether it will take measures to prevent political groups from inviting members of the HK Garrison to perform volunteer service in name but actually participate in district activities, so as to avoid the HK Garrison being said to support individual political groups; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
3. Hon Holden CHOW to ask: (Translation)
Upon the completion of the Tung Chung New Town Extension project in 2030, Tung Chung will be capable of accommodating an additional population of about 144 000. The population of Tung Chung will ultimately be increased from 80 000 at present to 270 000. Regarding the planning for Tung Chung East under the project, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as it is anticipated that the first population intake of Tung Chung East will take place in 2023, but the Tung Chung East Station will not be commissioned until 2026, of the measures to be put in place to address the transport needs of the residents concerned in the interim, as well as the latest progress of the Tung Chung West Extension and Tung Chung East Station railway project (including the date(s) for public consultation); (2) whether it will, by drawing reference from the practice adopted in Copenhagen, promote the use of bicycle as a major mode of transport in Tung Chung East new town, and make road planning (including cycle track networks) accordingly; and (3) whether it will, by drawing reference from the design of the Gardens by the Bay in Singapore, study the construction of a similar garden in Tung Chung East new town to provide a high quality open space for the residents' enjoyment?
| Public Officers to reply | : | Secretary for Transport and Housing
Secretary for Development |
4. Dr Hon CHIANG Lai-wan to ask: (Translation)
At present, the Hospital Authority ("HA") does not provide specialist outpatient service on dermatology, and the waiting time of new cases for dermatology outpatient service under the Department of Health ("DH") is over a year. Moreover, an eczema patient confirmed of having been infected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus has indicated that his doctor has suggested that he receive biologic therapy, but he cannot afford the expensive fees for the medical treatment. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it will compile statistics on the number of eczema patients in Hong Kong, their attendances at clinics, etc.; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether it will allocate additional resources for DH to provide more consultation quotas under its dermatology outpatient service, and for HA to set up specialist outpatient clinics on dermatology; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether it will provide drug subsidies for patients with severe eczema (particularly those patients infected with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) who are in financial distress; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
5. Hon AU Nok-hin to ask: (Translation)
Under section 8 of the Societies Ordinance, the Secretary for Security may, on the recommendation by the Societies Officer, prohibit the operation or continued operation of any society in Hong Kong ("prohibited society") by order published in the Gazette. A prohibited society and its office-bearer(s) or member(s) may appeal to the Chief Executive in Council against the making of the order and may also lodge a judicial review with the court against the outcome of the appeal. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as section 20(1) of the Societies Ordinance stipulates that any person who gives any aid to an unlawful society shall be guilty of an offence, whether the Government has assessed if a legal practitioner who renders legal service to a prohibited society or its office-bearer(s) or member(s) in respect of an appeal or judicial review lodged by the latter contravenes the said provision; if it has assessed and the outcome is in the affirmative, whether it has assessed if the said provision is in conflict with Article 35 of the Basic Law, which stipulates that Hong Kong residents have the right to access to legal advice and choice of lawyers for representation in the courts, etc.; and (2) whether the Legal Aid Department will, upon receipt of a legal aid application in respect of a judicial review case involving a prohibited society, consider factors other than the "means test" and "merits test"; whether it has assessed if the Director of Legal Aid will contravene section 20(1) of the Societies Ordinance by granting of legal aid to such type of cases?
6. Hon SHIU Ka-fai to ask: (Translation)
According to the Catalogue of Animals and Plants, and Animal and Plant Products Prohibited from being Carried or Posted into the People's Republic of China ("the Catalogue"), aquatic animal products are prohibited from being carried or posted into the Mainland. It is learnt that business turnover of the local dried seafood industry has dropped in recent years, with the spending of Mainland travellers at local dried seafood shops during this year's National Day long holidays dropping by more than 30% as compared with that in the same period of last year. This is reckoned to be related to the enforcement of the Catalogue at Mainland ports. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that dried seafood, being dried food that has gone through work processes such as sun-drying, oven-drying, cooking and dehydration, is completely different from fresh and live seafood in nature, whether the Government has gained an understanding from the Mainland authorities as to whether the Catalogue only restricts the entry of fresh and live seafood but not dried seafood; (2) whether the Government discussed with the Mainland authorities in the past three years the setting up of a quarantine system to be implemented in Hong Kong which is recognized by the Mainland authorities, so that quarantine dried seafood sold in Hong Kong are exempted from the restrictions of the Catalogue; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) as some members of the industry have pointed out that quite a lot of local dried seafood comes from the Mainland and is thus believed to be able to meet the Mainland quarantine and hygiene requirements without difficulties, whether the Government will discuss with the Mainland authorities allowing travellers to carry into the Mainland a reasonable quantity of dried seafood for personal use?
*7. Dr Hon Priscilla LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
Due to a continuous decline in patronage, the Central-Hung Hom ferry route ceased operation in March 2011. The Government indicated last month that it intended to re-commission the ferry route in the second quarter of next year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it will adopt measures (e.g. lowering pier rentals or providing other concessions) to enhance the financial viability of the ferry route so as to attract more operators to submit bids for tender; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether it will provide financial incentives (e.g. installing "MTR Fare Saver" readers at the piers or providing interchange discounts) to attract more members of the public to take the ferries of the route; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether it will adopt measures to enhance the land transport connectivity with and pedestrian accessibility to the relevant ferry piers so as to facilitate members of the public to take the ferries of the route; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*8. Hon Andrew WAN to ask: (Translation)
At present, when the authorities calculate the family incomes of applicants for public rental housing ("PRH"), the Old Age Allowance, Old Age Living Allowance, Disability Allowance and School Textbook Assistance received by them are excluded from but the Working Family Allowance ("WFA") received by them is included in the calculation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that some PRH applicants' family incomes, as calculated with WFA included, have exceeded the relevant income limits, rendering such applicants ineligible to apply for PRH, whether the authorities will review the method for calculating the family incomes of PRH applicants, and consider excluding WFA from the calculation of family incomes of PRH applicants; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (2) given that the current income limits set by the authorities for applying for WFA and PRH are different, rendering some applicants who are eligible to apply for half-rate WFA ineligible to apply for PRH, whether the authorities will consider adjusting upward the income limits for PRH applicants to make them on a par with the relevant limits for WFA applicants, so that families with financial needs may benefit from both measures concurrently?
*9. Hon Jeffrey LAM to ask: (Translation)
Since July this year, the authorities of the United States ("US") have imposed, one after another, additional tariffs of 10% or 25% on imports from China of a total worth of US$250 billion. They have also indicated that the rates of the additional tariffs will be raised to a flat rate of 25% with effect from 1 January next year. In response, the authorities of China have concurrently imposed additional tariffs of 5% to 25% on imports from US of a total worth of US$110 billion. Among the goods affected by the additional tariffs, those from China and re-exported to US via Hong Kong were worth over HK$130 billion in total, accounting for about 3.5% of the value of Hong Kong's total exports of goods last year. The Government anticipates that the Sino-US trade conflicts will have significant impacts on Hong Kong's economy next year. Some members of the business sector hope that the Government will step up its efforts to support Hong Kong enterprises to weather the difficult time. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as the special enhanced measures, introduced this year by the Hong Kong Export Credit Insurance Corporation in response to the Sino-US trade conflicts to support exporters, will expire on 30 June next year, whether the authorities will (i) regularize these measures, (ii) raise the limit for the insured amount and increase the pre-shipment cover, and (iii) expand the scope of coverage to include exporters with annual sales turnover of $50 million or more and goods exported to overseas markets other than US; (2) as quite a number of enterprises have relayed that financial institutions have recently kept lowering the credit facilities granted to them, thereby seriously affecting their cash flow, whether the authorities will consider re-launching the Special Loan Guarantee Scheme under which the Government will provide a loan guarantee of $100 billion so as to assist Hong Kong's manufacturers and exporters in their financing; and (3) regarding the impacts on the economy of Hong Kong brought about by the US authorities' measure of raising across the board the rates of the additional tariffs on imports from China with effect from 1 January next year, of the outcome of the authorities' latest assessment, and whether they have formulated further measures to assist Hong Kong enterprises in weathering the challenges concerned?
*10. Hon Frankie YICK to ask: (Translation)
It is learnt that in recent years, the Government has gradually resumed temporary car park sites in the Kai Tak Development Area ("KTDA") for development purpose, thus aggravating the shortage of parking spaces and the problem of illegal parking in Kowloon East. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of (i) the respective numbers of the various types of parking spaces currently provided at the two temporary car park sites in KTDA which will be resumed by the end of this year and (ii) the timetable for resuming the other temporary car park sites therein; (2) of the number of temporary car parks and the number of parking spaces currently provided on short-term tenancy sites in Kowloon East and, among such parking spaces, the respective numbers of those which are for use by medium goods vehicles, heavy goods vehicles and tourist coaches; the respective (i) current shortfall in parking spaces and (ii) numbers of parking spaces which will be added in the coming three years, in Kowloon East for these three types of vehicles; and (3) whether it has identified sites in Kowloon East for providing new temporary car parks to alleviate the impact of resumption of the temporary car park sites; if so, of the details; if not, the measures in place to resolve the shortage of parking spaces in Kowloon East?
*11. Hon LUK Chung-hung to ask: (Translation)
It is learnt that some countries have enacted "Good Samaritan" laws which provide that a rescuer may be exempt from legal liabilities for certain damage caused to the rescued person by gratuitously undertaking such rescue in emergency situations. In addition, the United States enacted the Good Samaritan Food Donation Act in 1996 to discharge food donors from the legal liabilities that might arise from recipients falling sick after consuming the donated food. There have been comments that although the Fire Services Department has recently introduced a character named "Anyone" to promote to the public the message that "anyone can save lives", the current absence of the aforesaid legislation in Hong Kong has discouraged members of the public from helping others altruistically. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it conducted, in the past three years, studies on enacting the aforesaid legislation and consultation with the relevant policy bureaux, government departments and stakeholders; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether it has reviewed the adequacy of the measures currently in place to protect rescuers and food donors from bearing legal liabilities; and (3) of the measures in place to promote the culture of rendering first aid and donating surplus food to other people?
*12. Hon LAM Cheuk-ting to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the diagnoses and treatments provided by clinical psychologists, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the following details of the diagnoses and treatments provided in the past three years by clinical psychologists employed respectively by (i) government departments and (ii) the Hospital Authority: (a) the respective numbers of full-time and part-time clinical psychologists; (b) the average waiting time of service targets for the first consultation and follow-up consultations; (c) the average duration of the first consultation and follow-up consultations attended by service targets; (d) the average number of consultations and consultation time span for completed cases; (e) the number of complaints lodged by service targets; and (f) the number of service targets of uncompleted cases committing suicide; and (2) as I have learnt that while clinical psychologists need to use the "Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children - Fourth Edition (Hong Kong)" to conduct intellectual assessment for children, the supplier of the Scale will sell the Scale only to members of the Division of Clinical Psychology of The Hong Kong Psychological Society, rendering clinical psychologists who are non-members but possess practising qualifications in foreign countries being unable to obtain the Scale, whether the Government has assessed if the relevant arrangement constitutes an anti-competitive conduct and how it ensures that all clinical psychologists have access to the Scale for providing service?
*13. Prof Hon Joseph LEE to ask: (Translation)
Under the law, only specified classes of registered healthcare professionals are allowed to prescribe, fit or supply on prescription optical appliances (including contact lenses). However, the law does not impose any restrictions on the sale of contact lenses by persons who are not registered healthcare professionals. Earlier on, some optometrist organizations found, after sending people to make test purchases, that some shops had sold contact lenses to customers without (i) performing optometric check-ups for the customers and (ii) asking the customers to produce prescriptions of contact lenses. Also, there were some shopkeepers who were not registered optometrists conducting optometric check-ups for customers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the authorities instituted any prosecutions in the past five years against persons, who were not registered healthcare professionals, for prescribing and selling corrective contact lenses in physical shops or online; if so, of the number and details of the cases; if not, the reasons for that; (2) of the respective numbers of cases in the past five years in which the Customs and Excise Department conducted investigations (i) on its own initiative and (ii) upon receipt of complaints, in respect of contact lenses suspected of not complying with the requirements of the Consumer Goods Safety Ordinance (Cap. 456), as well as the number of prosecutions instituted against the persons concerned by invoking the Ordinance; (3) as the Government indicated in its reply to my question in January this year that the legislation on regulating medical devices, which was being drafted, would cover product safety and quality of non-corrective contact lenses, of the progress of the law drafting work; and (4) whether it will, by making reference to the practice of the Government of the United Kingdom, enact legislation to prohibit persons who are not registered healthcare professionals from selling corrective and non-corrective contact lenses; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*14. Hon CHAN Hak-kan to ask: (Translation)
Among the dental clinics under the Department of Health ("DH"), 11 of them provide free emergency dental treatment ("general public dental session") to the public. It is learnt that as there are limited consultation quotas for the service and its scope does not include denture-fixing and tooth-filling, the dental services needed by members of the public are mainly provided by dental clinics operated by the private sector and non-governmental organizations. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the (i) consultation quota and (ii) attendance (with a breakdown by age group) of the general public dental session provided by each of the 11 aforesaid clinics in each of the past three years; (2) whether it has plans to improve the general public dental session service, including : (i) increasing the service quotas, (ii) adding service quotas for the elderly, (iii) providing additional dental clinics so that there will be at least one clinic in each District Council district, and (iv) providing dental services apart from emergency treatment; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) as the Government indicated in October last year that it would review the oral health goals for 2025 which had been set some years ago, of the progress of the work; whether it will set oral health goals for the elderly; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (4) whether it will, by making reference to the School Dental Care Service currently offered by DH, provide basic and preventive dental treatment for the elderly; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (5) as some elderly persons have relayed that the annual voucher amount of $2,000 per person offered under the Elderly Health Care Voucher Scheme is insufficient to cover their expenses on using various types of private healthcare services (including services provided by medical practitioners, Chinese medicine practitioners, dentists and allied health professionals), whether the Government will launch a separate voucher scheme on dental care for the elderly; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*15. Hon CHEUNG Kwok-kwan to ask: (Translation)
Some public housing tenants have relayed to me that at present, quite a number of housing estates are over 50 years of age, and the facilities in the estates have fallen into severely aged conditions, with the plot ratios of the sites concerned not yet fully utilized. They consider that the redevelopment of those estates by the Hong Kong Housing Authority ("HA") can not only improve tenants' living conditions, but also increase the supply of public housing units. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the current age threshold that a housing estate needs to reach before it will be considered for redevelopment by HA; (2) of the housing estates in respect of which the redevelopment works were completed within the last decade or are being undertaken at present, and the details of the redevelopment projects concerned (set out in a table by name of housing estate); (3) of the housing estates with redevelopment value and feasibility confirmed by HA, and set out the (i) ages, (ii) existing plot ratios, and (iii) permitted maximum plot ratios of such housing estates, in the order of their redevelopment priorities; (4) of the factors based on which HA determines the redevelopment priorities of housing estates, and the weightings of the various factors; and (5) given that Sai Wan Estate has reached 60 years of age, with the problem of concrete spalling found in quite a number of units in the Estate and the lifts and other facilities there being often out of service pending repairs, whether HA has considered redeveloping Sai Wan Estate; if not, of the reasons for that; if so, the timetable, and whether the nearby public housing estate at Ka Wai Man Road, which is under construction, will be used as the reception housing estate for rehousing the tenants of Sai Wan Estate; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*16. Hon Charles Peter MOK to ask: (Translation)
In February this year, the Financial Secretary indicated that the Government would allocate additional resources to support the development of the e-sports industry. It is learnt that the e-sports sector has a keen demand for training spaces and event venues (collectively known as "e-sports venues"). Some members of the e-sports sector have pointed out that the existing laws that are related to e-sports venues include the Amusement Game Centres Ordinance (Cap. 435) and the Places of Public Entertainment Ordinance (Cap. 172). They consider that some of the provisions under Cap. 435 (which was enacted in as early as 1993) are outdated, and such provisions, when applied to regulate e-sports venues, are too stringent and not conducive to the development of the e-sports industry. They have further pointed out that the Government has neither set up a licensing system specifically for e-sports venues, nor clarified whether e-sports venues are required to be issued with licenses issued under the aforesaid ordinances, thus hindering the development of the e-sports industry. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of applications for a licence for amusement game centre received, approved and rejected by the authorities in the past three years; (2) whether it will draw reference from the experience of regulating Internet centres (commonly known as "cyber cafes") and formulate a Code of Practice for E-Sports Venues Operators for voluntary compliance by the operators, and then gradually bring e-sports venues within the ambit of Cap. 435 by express provisions; if so, of the timetable; if not, the reasons for that; (3) whether the government departments concerned will enhance their communication with the e-sports sector regarding the licensing issues under Cap. 435 and conduct public consultation, with a view to examining the formulation of a set of guidelines on applying for a licence for e-sports venues, thereby enhancing the fire and structural safety standards of e-sports venues and alleviating their impacts on residents in the neighbourhood; if so, of the timetable; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) given the advancement in technology and changes in social conditions, whether the authorities will conduct a comprehensive review of Cap. 435 and Cap. 172, and enact provisions (including the licensing conditions) for regulating entertainment facilities involving the use of new technologies (e.g. virtual reality gears)?
*17. Hon Kenneth LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
In March this year, the Government set up a high-level inter-bureau and inter-departmental steering committee led by the Chief Secretary for Administration, and promulgated an Action Plan to Tackle Trafficking in Persons and to Enhance Protection of Foreign Domestic Helpers in Hong Kong ("Action Plan") so as to tackle trafficking in persons ("TIP") and enhance protection of foreign domestic helpers ("FDHs"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) in respect of the efforts made by various policy bureaux and government departments to implement the various measures under the Action Plan, of (i) the progress and effectiveness of such efforts and (ii) the additional manpower and other resources deployed, so far; (2) of the number of persons, among those foreigners arrested in each of the past five years for suspected engagement in sex work, that were identified as TIP victims after going through the existing TIP victim screening mechanism ("screening mechanism"), and the follow-up actions taken by the authorities in respect of such victims; (3) in respect of those persons mentioned in (2) who were not identified as TIP victims, of the measures put in place to ensure that such persons are not TIP victims as defined in the Palermo Protocol; whether it has reviewed if the screening mechanism can accurately identify this type of victims; if so, of the outcome; if not, the reasons for that; (4) of the current number of foreign workers who have come to work in Hong Kong under the Supplementary Labour Scheme ("the Scheme"), together with a breakdown by trade; whether the Labour Department ("LD") took the initiative, in the past five years, to investigate if the remuneration, working environment and assigned accommodation for such workers met the requirements of the Scheme and the labour legislation, so as to examine if they were subject to exploitation related to TIP or forced labour; if LD did, of the respective numbers of cases in which investigations were conducted and non-compliance/ contravention of the law was uncovered, as well as the respective numbers of the persons concerned who were given warning, prosecuted and convicted; if LD did not investigate, the reasons for that; and (5) of the current number of FDHs working in Hong Kong; whether LD took the initiative, in the past five years, to investigate if the work arrangements and accommodation conditions of FDHs met the requirements of the employment contracts and the relevant legislation, so as to examine if they were subject to exploitation related to TIP or forced labour; if LD did, of the respective numbers of cases in which investigations were conducted and non-compliance/contravention of the law was uncovered, as well as the respective numbers of the persons concerned who were given warning, prosecuted and convicted; if LD did not investigate, the reasons for that?
*18. Hon WU Chi-wai to ask: (Translation)
Regarding public healthcare services and manpower, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the overall per capita cost of the dental services provided by the Department of Health ("DH") in each of the years from 2015 to 2017 and the per capita costs of the following two items among such services: (i) dental services at General Public Sessions (i.e. pain relief and teeth extraction), and (ii) oral check-ups and scaling and polishing services provided to civil servants, their dependants and civil servant pensioners; (2) of the respective attendances, as at 31 October 2018, for the optometric/ocular examination service and dental care service launched under the Signature Project Scheme by the Kwai Tsing District Council; (3) as DH has advised that ordinary people should receive oral check-up by a dentist at least once a year and that preventing dental diseases is more cost-effective than curing them, but preventive dental services (e.g. oral check-ups and scaling and polishing) are not provided for the public at government dental clinics, whether the Government will consider offering "dental care vouchers" to members of the public or, with reference to the Colorectal Cancer Screening Programme, subsidizing members of the public to receive preventive dental services from the private sector, with a view to improving the oral health of the public; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (4) of the respective numbers of registered dentists employed by DH, the Hospital Authority ("HA") and Prince Philip Dental Hospital as at 31 October this year; among them, the respective numbers of those who are dentist graduates of last year and this year; (5) of the number of registered dentists in private practice as at 31 October this year; (6) of the respective numbers of dentists expected to be employed by DH and HA to fill the manpower gap in each of the next three years; (7) given that since the cataract centres providing day surgery service at Grantham Hospital and Tseung Kwan O Hospital came into operation, the waiting time for cataract surgeries in the Hong Kong West and Kowloon East Clusters has been shortened drastically, whether the Government will request HA to consider setting up similar surgery centres in other hospital clusters; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (8) given that with an ageing population, the number of hip fracture cases has increased in recent years, whether the Government will request HA to not only perform operations on elderly persons suffering a hip fracture at acute general hospitals but also provide such service at HA's community hospitals, so as to reduce the mortality rate of those elderly persons; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*19. Hon Paul TSE to ask: (Translation)
There are comments that Hong Kong people's confidence in government projects has been greatly undermined by incidents ranging from cost overruns and delays of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao-Bridge Project to structural problems of the Shatin to Central Link Project caused by corner-cutting and improper connection of steel bars. It is difficult to restore public confidence if the Government cannot solve the problems in project supervision. In 2016, the Government established the Project Cost Management Office ("PCMO"), which is dedicated to the cost management of public works projects. It has been reported that PCMO has so far scrutinized 130 funding proposals in the pipeline for submission to the Finance Committee of this Council, and PCMO has trimmed $27 billion from the original project cost estimates totalling $260 billion. Given that PCMO had effectively reduced project costs amid a spate of infrastructure projects experiencing substantial cost overruns in recent years, and that PCMO was scheduled to cease operation in April 2019, I raised four questions at this Council during my current term of office, enquiring whether the Government would broaden the functions of PCMO and upgrade it to a permanent department. The Chief Executive ("CE") has announced in this year's Policy Address the upgrading of PCMO and the establishment of the Project Strategy and Governance Office ("PSGO") on 1 April next year to continue scrutinizing the costs of works projects. Moreover, CE has announced the establishment of a Centre of Excellence for Major Project Leaders ("CoE") which aims to equip public officers with innovative minds and world-class leadership skills in the delivery of public works projects. It has been reported that the Development Bureau has earmarked a funding of nearly $70 million for operating CoE for the first three years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the differences between PSGO and PCMO in areas such as staff establishment, organizational structure and operating expenditure, and the additional annual public expenditure to be brought about by such differences; (2) given that cost overrun is not uncommon in infrastructure projects in recent years, resulting in some members of the public "turning pale at the mention of infrastructure" and their casting doubt, one after another, on the Government's ability to control the cost and quality of infrastructure projects, of the measures to be put in place by PSGO to prevent contractors from using all sorts of pretexts to exaggerate the construction costs, thus causing a substantial increase in costs, so as to rebuild public confidence in the Government's ability to take forward infrastructure projects; (3) as it is learnt that when established in 2016, PCMO focused on scrutinizing works projects with a cost estimate between $1 billion and $2 billion, but the cost estimates of district minor works projects in recent years have often been said to be excessively high, and according to the estimations of some media, the "Lantau Tomorrow Vision" may involve the deployment of $1,000 billion of fiscal reserve for the construction of large artificial islands, whether the Government will put all works projects, regardless of the amount of estimated costs, under the scrutiny of PSGO; if so, whether it has assessed if the manpower of and funding received by PSGO are sufficient to cope with the huge workload; if it has not, of the reasons for that; (4) given the press reports that at present, among the contractors eligible for bidding works contracts of a value of more than $300 billion, one third of them have Mainland background and quite a number of members of the management of such contractors are members of think tanks which strongly advocate and support large-scale reclamation works projects, of the measures and policies that PSGO, other government departments and policy bureaux have put in place to avoid potential conflicts of interests that may be involved in future projects; and (5) of the progress of the preparation work for CoE; how it will make use of CoE to (i) equip public officers with world-class leadership skills and (ii) uplift their work performance, so that members of the public are confident that the Government is capable of managing infrastructure projects properly?
*20. Hon Tony TSE to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that since the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge ("HZMB") opening to traffic on the 24th of last month, a large number of Mainland residents have joined tour groups to Hong Kong that enter and exit Hong Kong on the same day through HZMB. Most of them are arranged to go to Tung Chung, which is close to the HZMB Hong Kong Port, for free activities because visiting time is limited and they are not received by any local travel agency. As a result, the catering, shopping, tourist and transport facilities in the district are overwhelmed, and the daily lives of the residents in the district are seriously affected. Some members of the public have pointed out that the aforesaid situation reflects an oversight of the Government in planning for the ancillary facilities needed for major infrastructure projects. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether, before the opening of HZMB to traffic, it had assessed the number of tourists travelling to Tung Chung after their entry into Hong Kong through HZMB and such tourists' impact on the residents in the district, and formulated mitigation measures; if so, of the assessment outcome and the mitigation measures, and the discrepancies between the assessment outcome and the actual situation; if not, the reasons for that; (2) given that the Civil Engineering and Development Department is currently conducting the Study on Traffic, Transport and Capacity to Receive Visitors for Lantau and carrying out jointly with the Planning Department the Planning, Engineering and Architectural Study for Topside Development at Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities Island of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, of the commencement dates and the latest expected completion dates of these studies; (3) given the recent intake of residents of a new public housing estate in Tung Chung, whether the authorities have provided the ancillary facilities needed for the additional population and tourists in Tung Chung; (4) whether it has assessed the daily number of tourists entering Hong Kong through HZMB who will travel to Tuen Mun and other districts in New Territories West upon the full opening of the Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok Link to traffic; if so, of the number; whether it will provide the ancillary facilities needed for those tourists; if so, of the details; and (5) whether it will, by learning a lesson from the situation that various problems were encountered when HZMB opened to traffic, improve the planning work for other major infrastructure projects in future, with a view to making it more people-oriented, so that priority is accorded not only to transport infrastructure development but also to the provision of ancillary facilities?
*21. Hon Jimmy NG to ask: (Translation)
There are views that with the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge opening to traffic recently, Lantau Island should not be regarded as merely the western edge of Hong Kong but the gateway to the world, and it can also play a pivotal role in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area. With an area of 147.16 km2, Lantau Island is the largest outlying island in Hong Kong, but its current population is only 170 000. In 2017, the Government announced the Sustainable Lantau Blueprint, adopting "Development in the North and Conservation for the South" as the future positioning for Lantau Island, as well as exploring the development opportunities in the areas of economy, people's livelihood, tourism, conservation, etc. There are comments that the development of Lantau Island has to be driven by industries, and its planning should not be carried out simply for the purpose of addressing the housing problem. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as the authorities indicated in reply to my question on 17 May 2017 that "[i]n the next stage of detailed planning for strengthening the economic land uses along the northern shore of Lantau, we will further study the proposed Hong Kong Branding Industries Park having regard to considerations such as compatibility with the surrounding land uses, environmental and traffic impacts, as well as market responses, economic benefits and financial arrangements", of the progress of the related work; (2) given that this year's Policy Address has put forward the Lantau Tomorrow Vision, proposing to create 1 700 hectares of land off the eastern side of Lantau Island by reclamation for the construction of artificial islands in order to develop an "Aerotropolis" and the third Core Business District, but there are comments that it will be difficult to practically promote the development of Lantau Island without a clear positioning for industries, whether the authorities have plans to study the objectives and tactics for the development of industries on Lantau Island; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) as it is pointed out by some members of the innovation and technology ("I&T") sector that Hong Kong enjoys the strengths and potentials for development into an international I&T hub, and Lantau Island is situated at the forefront of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area, whether the authorities have any established stance and concrete plans for attracting international I&T new industries to establish their bases on Lantau Island and the artificial islands on its eastern side; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*22. Dr Hon Elizabeth QUAT to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the promotion of education on subjects related to Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics ("STEM"), will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether, since issuance of the "Computational Thinking - Coding Education: Supplement to the Primary Curriculum" to primary schools in November last year, the Education Bureau ("EDB") has conducted any survey on the situation and progress of the implementation of coding education in primary schools; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) as schools may decide, on their own, the number of hours for learning STEM subjects or even not to offer this type of subjects, resulting in schools having different paces in the development of STEM education, whether EDB will formulate standardized STEM education targets for primary and secondary schools; if so, of the details and timetable; if not, the reasons for that; (3) whether it will encourage schools to make use of the Life Planning Grant and the Life-wide Learning Grant disbursed by EDB to take students outside the classrooms for learning about the types and qualifications required of the jobs in the innovation and technology ("I&T") industry, so that they can set their own learning goals; (4) of the respective manpower and other resources deployed, by the Government in each year since the implementation of STEM education in the 2015-2016 school year, for (i) teacher training, (ii) school-based on-site support and (iii) provision of complementary software and hardware, so as to assist schools in developing courses on coding, artificial intelligence and other new technology applications; (5) whether it will collaborate with the various universities to provide primary and secondary school teachers with (i) training on courses relating to coding, artificial intelligence and other new technology applications, as well as (ii) assistance in the compilation and production of relevant teaching materials; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (6) of the number of students admitted in each of the past five years to the STEM-related bachelor's degree programmes offered by universities funded by the University Grants Committee; (7) as it is learnt that currently most of the prospective university students with better academic results usually apply for programmes on disciplines such as medicine, law and accounting, while a small number of them opt for programmes on STEM-related disciplines, whether the Government has put in place measures to enhance the understanding of parents and students about the bright prospects of graduates in STEM-related disciplines; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (8) whether it will increase the number of places for bachelor's degree programmes in STEM-related disciplines so as to nurture more I&T talents; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (9) given that it is stipulated in the "Development Plan on the New Generation of Artificial Intelligence" promulgated by the State Council last year that Mainland primary and secondary schools will provide artificial intelligence related courses, whether the Government will, by making reference to this practice of the Mainland authorities, add artificial intelligence-related learning contents to the primary and secondary school curricula; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
* For written reply
IV. Government Bills
| Second Reading (Debate to resume), Consideration by Committee of the Whole Council and Third Reading
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| 1. | Companies (Amendment) Bill 2018 | : | Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
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| Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury to move amendments
(The amendments were issued on 21 November 2018 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 170/18-19) | |||||||||||
| (Debate and voting arrangements for Companies (Amendment) Bill 2018 in committee of the whole Council (issued on 27 November 2018 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 204/18-19(01)) (same as the Appendix to the Script of Council meeting of 28 November 2018))
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| 2. | Supplementary Appropriation (2017-2018) Bill | : | Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
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| 3. | Travel Industry Bill | : | Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
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| (Debate and voting arrangements for Travel Industry Bill in committee of the whole Council (issued on 27 November 2018 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 205/18-19(01)) (same as the Appendix to the Script of Council meeting of 28 November 2018)) | |||||||||||
V. Members' Motions
| 1. | Proposed resolution under section 34(2) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
Hon James TO to move the motion in Appendix 1. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 22 November 2018
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 185/18-19) | |||||
| Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
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| 2. | Proposed resolution under section 34(2) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
Hon James TO to move the motion in Appendix 2. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 22 November 2018
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 185/18-19) | |||||
| Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
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| 3. | Studying the enactment of an ordinance on regulating subdivided units
Hon Mrs Regina IP to move the following motion: (Translation) That at present, there are in Hong Kong over 150 000 families and elderly singletons waiting for public rental housing, with an average waiting time of 5.3 years, and quite a number of applicants live in units of flats subdivided into separate units (commonly known as 'subdivided units'); according to the estimate of the Government in 2017, there were about 91 800 households living in subdivided units across the territory; the Chief Executive has undertaken in the newly released Policy Address that the Government will actively facilitate various short-term community initiatives to increase the supply of transitional housing and allow wholesale conversion of industrial buildings for transitional housing; in the light of these new initiatives, it is believed that quite a number of transitional housing units leased out in the form of subdivided units will emerge in Hong Kong, but the existing Buildings Ordinance cannot comprehensively regulate the safety of flat subdivision works; in this connection, this Council urges the Government to study the enactment of an ordinance on regulating subdivided units, the contents of which include: | ||||
| (1) | by drawing reference from the Housing Act 2004 of the United Kingdom, establishing a licensing system for regulating the operation of subdivided units, and setting standards for the facilities, number of occupants and area of units, so as to ensure a comfortable and safe living environment for households;
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| (2) | requiring the installation of separate water and electricity meters for each subdivided unit to prevent overcharging of water and electricity tariffs by landlords; and
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| (3) | regulating the rate of rental increase for subdivided units to prevent the households from being heavily burdened by rental.
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| Hon Alice MAK, Hon Vincent CHENG, Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung and Hon Andrew WAN to move amendments to the motion
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| (The amendments were issued on 29 October 2018
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 79/18-19) | |||||
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| 4. | Legislating for the protection of whistle-blowers
Hon Jeremy TAM to move the following motion: (Translation) That, unless insiders of business organizations or government agencies ('whistle-blowers') divulge that acts endangering public interests have occurred in their organizations or agencies, it is invariably difficult for the public or the media to verify the occurrence of such incidents; many past incidents involving significant public interests in Hong Kong, such as the unlawful sewage discharge by the sewage treatment contractor of Tuen Mun Pillar Point Valley Landfill in contravention of the standard requirements of the Environmental Protection Department, the frequent glitches in the new Air Traffic Control System of the Civil Aviation Department after its launch, and the shortened steel bars of the diaphragm walls at Hung Hom Station of the Shatin to Central Link of the MTR Corporation Limited, would have gone unnoticed if no one had blown the whistle, and the public would not have known the truth; since there is no dedicated legislation in Hong Kong for protecting whistle-blowers and those who stand up for justice are often subjected to reprisals, including various retributive acts such as harassment, discriminatory actions, dismissal and litigation, many insiders are afraid to blow the whistle; since many countries in the world, including the United Kingdom, the United States and Japan, have already enacted dedicated legislation to protect whistle-blowers, this Council urges the SAR Government to expeditiously enact a whistle-blowing protection law to protect whistle-blowers and safeguard public interests; the areas of legislation should cover: | ||||
| (1) | providing statutory protection to whistle-blowers if the incidents disclosed involve criminal offences, breach of legal obligation, miscarriage of justice, threat to public safety or health, environmental damage, abuse of powers, waste of public money, etc., so as to guard them against any unfair treatment, such as punitive actions like dismissal, pay reduction, demotion, transfer, suspension, financial penalty and denial of learning opportunities;
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| (2) | requiring all business organizations and government agencies to formulate their own internal measures on protecting whistle-blowers, including the setting up of a well-defined mechanism respectively for reporting incidents and protecting whistle-blowers, so as to stamp out any possible retributive acts;
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| (3) | allowing whistle-blowers to disclose to the public incidents endangering public interests in ways they deem fit, including using the media or the Legislative Council as the channels, in addition to the internal reporting mechanism mentioned above;
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| (4) | requiring any persons or organizations responsible for handling the secrets divulged by a whistle-blower to maintain the strictest confidentiality of the whistle-blower's personal information; and
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| (5) | allowing whistle-blowers to apply for personal protection measures from the judicial authorities when they or their families feel their personal safety or freedom under threat.
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| Hon Claudia MO, Hon Kenneth LEUNG and Hon CHAN Hak-kan to move amendments to the motion
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| (The amendments were issued on 29 October 2018
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 80/18-19) | |||||
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| 5. | Motion for the adjournment of the Council under Rule 16(4) of the Rules of Procedure
Hon CHUNG Kwok-pan to move the following motion: (Translation) That this Council do now adjourn for the purpose of debating the following issue: the impact of the recent China-United States relations on Hong Kong's economy. | ||||
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