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A 20/21-27

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 5 May 2021 at 11:00 am

I.
Laying of Papers on the Table of the Council

1 item of subsidiary legislation and 2 other papers to be laid on the Table of the Council set out in Appendix 1

II.
Questions

Members to ask 22 questions (6 for oral replies and 16 for written replies)
Questions for oral replies to be asked by
Public officers to reply
1.
Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
Under Secretary for Development
2.
Secretary for Food and Health
3.
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
4.
Secretary for Development
5.
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
6.
Secretary for Food and Health
Contents of 22 questions, Members to ask such questions and public officers to reply set out in Appendix 2

III.
Government Bills

First Reading and Second Reading (debate to be adjourned)
1.
:
Secretary for the Environment
Second Reading (debate to resume), consideration by committee of the whole Council and Third Reading
Amendment mover
:
Secretary for Justice
(Amendments set out in LC Paper No. CB(3) 490/20-21 issued on 21 April 2021)
(Debate and voting arrangements set out in LC Paper No. CB(3) 524/20-21 issued on 3 May 2021)

IV.
Government Motions

Joint debate
(covering the following 2 motions on increasing the maximum allowances payable to witnesses in criminal proceedings and coroners' inquests)
1.
Proposed resolution under the Criminal Procedure Ordinance
Mover
:
Chief Secretary for Administration
Wording of the motion
:
2.
Proposed resolution under the Coroners Ordinance
Mover
:
Chief Secretary for Administration
Wording of the motion
:
(Debate and voting arrangements set out in LC Paper No. CB(3) 516/20-21 issued on 28 April 2021)

V.
Member's Bill

Second Reading (debate to resume), consideration by committee of the whole Council and Third Reading
Public officer to attend
:
Secretary for Development

VI.
Members' Motions

1.
Motion on "Developing Hong Kong into a regional professional services hub"
Mover
:
Ir Dr Hon LO Wai-kwok
Wording of the motion
:
Amendment mover
:
Hon Tony TSE
(Amendment set out in LC Paper No. CB(3) 237/20-21 issued on 10 December 2020)
Public officers to attend
:
Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
Secretary for Development
Under Secretary for Development
Under Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
2.
Motion on "Seizing the opportunities to improve governance"
Mover
:
Hon CHEUNG Kwok-kwan
Wording of the motion
:
Amendment mover
:
Hon LUK Chung-hung
(Amendment set out in LC Paper No. CB(3) 235/20-21 issued on 10 December 2020)
Public officer to attend
:
Chief Secretary for Administration



Clerk to the Legislative Council




Appendix 1

Council meeting of 5 May 2021

Laying of Papers on the Table of the Council

Subsidiary legislation
Legal Notice No.
Other papers




Appendix 2

22 questions to be asked at the Council meeting of 5 May 2021

Subject matters
Public officers to reply
Questions for oral replies
1
Hon YIU Si-wing
Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
Under Secretary for Development
2
Hon WONG Kwok-kin
Secretary for Food and Health
3
Hon CHUNG Kwok-pan
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
4
Hon Frankie YICK
Secretary for Development
5
Hon Starry LEE
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
6
Hon CHAN Hak-kan
Secretary for Food and Health
Questions for written replies
7
Hon POON Siu-ping
Secretary for Labour and Welfare
8
Hon Tommy CHEUNG
Secretary for Food and Health
9
Hon Jeffrey LAM
Secretary for Security
10
Hon Mrs Regina IP
Secretary for Transport and Housing
11
Ir Dr Hon LO Wai-kwok
Chief Secretary for Administration
12
Dr Hon Pierre CHAN
Secretary for Labour and Welfare
13
Hon Wilson OR
Secretary for Labour and Welfare
14
Hon Holden CHOW
Secretary for Innovation and Technology
15
Hon LUK Chung-hung
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
16
Hon CHAN Han-pan
Secretary for Food and Health
17
Hon CHAN Chun-ying
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
18
Hon Paul TSE
Secretary for Development
19
Hon Tony TSE
Secretary for Food and Health
20
Hon Elizabeth QUAT
Secretary for Food and Health
21
Hon CHAN Hak-kan
Secretary for Development
22
Hon Starry LEE
Secretary for Food and Health




Question 1
(For oral reply)

(Translation)

Development of heritage tourism

Hon YIU Si-wing to ask:
In December last year, the Government abruptly halted the demolition works for the service reservoir at Bishop Hill in Sham Shui Po ("the service reservoir"), enabling this century-old structure to survive. In March this year, the Antiquities Advisory Board endorsed the recommended grading (i.e. Grade 1 historic building) for the service reservoir. The Government is exploring a restricted opening of the service reservoir for visit by the public upon the completion of the temporary strengthening and tidying up works for the service reservoir. Some members of the public have suggested that the Government may, by making reference to overseas examples, invite experts to discuss the options for revitalizing the service reservoir, as well as consider developing the service reservoir into a tourist attraction in Asia. Regarding the development of heritage tourism, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether it has drawn up a series of conservation and revitalization programmes for the service reservoir to promote heritage tourism; if so, of the details (including an implementation timetable); if not, the reasons for that;
(2)
whether it will include the service reservoir as one of the tourist attractions under the "Hong Kong Neighbourhoods - Sham Shui Po" campaign implemented by the Hong Kong Tourism Board, consolidate the tourism resources in the Sham Shui Po District, and improve the public facilities in the District, with a view to elevating visitors' travel experience without affecting the daily lives of the residents, such as using the technology of augmented reality to introduce the surrounding environment to the visitors; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3)
whether it has learnt a lesson from the incident of almost mistakenly demolishing the service reservoir and stepped up its efforts on conserving and revitalizing monuments; whether it will formulate tourism promotional programmes for monuments worthy of viewing and enhance their ancillary facilities; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?




Question 2
(For oral reply)

(Translation)

Safety of food imported from Japan

Hon WONG Kwok-kin to ask:
The Japanese Government announced last month that it would start discharging diluted nuclear wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the sea in two years from now. The governments of its neighbouring countries have raised objection one after another, denouncing such a move to be detrimental to the agriculture and fisheries industry and hazardous to human health. Some environmental groups have pointed out that the radioactive substances in the nuclear wastewater such as tritium, strontium, cesium and carbon-14 will seriously affect the marine ecosystem and make their way into the human body through the food chain. Regarding safety of food imported from Japan, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether it will take follow-up actions in response to the decision of the Japanese Government, including gaining an understanding from it of the details of the arrangements for the discharge of nuclear wastewater, and requesting it to provide samples of the nuclear wastewater for testing of radiation levels, so as to grasp the information needed for formulating corresponding plans; if so, of the details;
(2)
whether it will, upon the commencement of the discharge of nuclear wastewater into the sea, immediately and comprehensively enhance the testing of radiation levels of the agricultural and fisheries products imported from Japan; and
(3)
given that the import of fruits, vegetables, milk, milk beverages and milk powder produced in Fukushima into Hong Kong is currently prohibited, whether the Government will consider, in light of the latest situation, imposing a blanket import ban on all food items produced in Fukushima and its neighbouring areas when necessary, in order to safeguard public health?




Question 3
(For oral reply)

(Translation)

Making good use of the assets of the Exchange Fund

Hon CHUNG Kwok-pan to ask:
As at 31 December last year, the total value of the assets of the Exchange Fund ("EF") stood at $4,500.7 billion and the accumulated surplus reached $852.4 billion. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether it has forecasted the level at which the total value of the EF assets needs to be kept in each of the coming five years for it to be sufficient for maintaining Hong Kong's monetary and financial stability;
(2)
as it is expected that fiscal deficits will be recorded in the coming few years, whether the Government will review the method for calculating the return that can be obtained from the fiscal reserves placed with EF and the mechanism for transferring funds from EF to the General Revenue Account, with a view to improving the Government's financial position; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3)
as the Coronavirus Disease 2019 epidemic has dealt a heavy blow to Hong Kong's economy and people's livelihood, whether the Government will consider deploying the accumulated surplus of EF for implementing measures to relieve people's hardship, facilitate employment and stimulate the economy?




Question 4
(For oral reply)

(Translation)

Land demand for brownfield logistics operations

Hon Frankie YICK to ask:
Some brownfield logistics operators affected by the land resumption for the Hung Shui Kiu/Ha Tsuen New Development Area ("the NDA") have relayed that they are unable to find sites for reprovisioning their operations. Moreover, the shortlisting of three nearby brownfield clusters earlier on by the Development Bureau as sites having potential for public housing development has further reduced the number of sites available for their choice. They opine that the Government, while meeting the demand for housing land, should at the same time attend to the logistics industry's demand for land. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the latest progress of the land resumption work for the First Phase development of the NDA, and when the affected brownfield operations are required to move out; a breakdown, by the type of operations involved, of the area of the land resumed and the number of operators;
(2)
given that the Government has planned to develop multi-storey industrial buildings ("MSIBs") in the NDA for reprovisioning the affected brownfield operations, of the earliest time as projected by the Government that such brownfield operations may move into the MSIBs and, before that, the new measures in place to assist the affected brownfield operators; and
(3)
as such operators have pointed out that due to the Government's failure to achieve a seamless transition in the timing for land resumption and intake of the MSIBs, some logistics operators may need to close down their business permanently, resulting in a shrinkage of the logistics industry, of the Government's short and medium term measures to meet their urgent demand for land?




Question 5
(For oral reply)

(Translation)

Electronic consumption vouchers

Hon Starry LEE to ask:
When delivering the Budget on 24 February this year, the Financial Secretary proposed issuing electronic consumption vouchers in instalments with a total value of $5,000 to each eligible Hong Kong permanent resident and new arrival aged 18 or above, so as to stimulate local consumption. The initial thinking then was to disburse the sum in five instalments of $1,000 each, and impose a validity period for use. The Government selected four stored value facility ("SVF") operators in early April to assist in implementing the scheme. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether it will relax the restrictions on the use of the consumption vouchers, including allowing the unused consumption vouchers of a certain period to be retained for use together with the consumption vouchers disbursed subsequently, and bringing more types of transactions under the scope of use of the consumption vouchers; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2)
whether it will urge the SVF operators concerned to waive the administrative fees charged on merchants for transactions associated with the consumption vouchers; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3)
of the measures in place to encourage the business sector to organize sales discounts and promotional activities associated with the consumption vouchers so as to further stimulate local consumption?
 



Question 6
(For oral reply)

(Translation)

Vaccination against the Coronavirus Disease 2019

Hon CHAN Hak-kan to ask:
With the continuous rise in the number of people vaccinated against the Coronavirus Disease 2019 globally, the governments of various places have introduced "vaccine passports" one after another, with a view to resuming cross-border travel and restarting the economy. Regarding vaccination, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether it has considered introducing vaccine passports when the local vaccination rate has reached a specified level, and discussing with the governments of various places mutual recognition of vaccine passports to exempt travellers who have been vaccinated from entry quarantine; if so, of the details;
(2)
given the emergence of local confirmed cases recently involving virus variants, whether it has studied the efficacy of the two vaccines currently provided by the Government in preventing infections with virus variants; of the progress of its study on the procurement of second-generation vaccines; and
(3)
given that many members of the public are still hesitant towards vaccination, what new measures the Government has put in place to encourage members of the public to receive vaccination?




Question 7
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Trade unions conducting annual general meetings

Hon POON Siu-ping to ask:
The Trade Unions Ordinance (Cap. 332) stipulates that trade unions shall make rules on the matters specified in Schedule 2. These matters include the method of convening and conducting annual general meetings ("AGMs"). However, quite a number of representatives of trade unions have relayed that due to the rampant Coronavirus Disease 2019 epidemic, their trade unions have not held AGMs for more than a year to handle the personnel and accounts matters of the trade unions concerned. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the respective numbers and percentages of trade unions which have made enquiries with and sought assistance from the Registry of Trade Unions since the outbreak of the epidemic on matters relating to the conduct of AGMs; and
(2)
whether it has formulated guidelines setting out the arrangements for AGMs of trade unions under special circumstances (e.g. an epidemic); if so, of the details; if not, whether it will immediately formulate guidelines and recommend trade unions to make rules specifying the arrangements for handling the personnel and accounts matters of the trade unions concerned in the event that AGMs cannot be conducted; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?




Question 8
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Vetting of the qualifications for specialist registration

Hon Tommy CHEUNG to ask:
According to the Medical Registration Ordinance (Cap. 161), the requirements for a registered medical practitioner's name to be included in the Specialist Register include (a) having been awarded a Fellowship of the Hong Kong Academy of Medicine ("HKAM"), or (b) having been certified by HKAM to have training and qualification comparable to that required of an HKAM Fellow in the relevant specialty. A non-locally trained doctor may have his name included in the Specialist Register if he has been certified by HKAM to have met requirement (b). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
(1)
the number of applications, received by HKAM in each of the past 10 years, for vetting the applicants' qualifications to see if requirement (b) had been met; and
(2)
in respect of the applications mentioned in (1), (i) a breakdown of the number by the specialty involved and the place where the applicants received their training, and (ii) the respective numbers of those which have been approved, have been rejected, are under vetting, and are under appeal?




Question 9
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Police officers and their family members being mistreated

Hon Jeffrey LAM to ask:
It has been reported that since the eruption in June 2019 of the movement of opposition to the proposed legislative amendments, incidents of police officers and their family members being mistreated have happened time and again. For instance, some healthcare workers in public hospitals deliberately inflicted greater pain on police officers when treating their wounds, and some children of police officers were bullied by their teachers and classmates in schools. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the number of related complaints received by the authorities since June 2019, with a breakdown by the type of organizations (e.g. schools and hospitals) involved in the complaints;
(2)
of the details of the follow-up actions taken by the authorities in respect of such complaints, including whether any teachers and healthcare workers under complaint have been punished;
(3)
of the new measures in place to provide assistance for the police officers and their family members who have been mistreated (e.g. assisting in school transfer, and providing additional allowances or medical insurance for them to switch to using private healthcare services); and
(4)
whether it will set up a dedicated task force to follow up on such complaints, and render assistance to the police officers and their family members concerned; if not, of the reasons for that?




Question 10
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Upward adjustment of the first registration tax
and licence fees for private cars

Hon Mrs Regina IP to ask:
In recent years, as the vehicle sales industry has been hard hit successively by the Sino-US trade conflicts, the disturbances arising from the opposition to the proposed legislative amendments and the Coronavirus Disease 2019 epidemic, its business environment has been very difficult. The sales volume of new private cars ("PCs") in 2020 dropped by 12.4% as compared with that in 2018, and the rate of the drop in the sales volume of non-electric PCs during the same period even reached 22.5%. On the other hand, in delivering the 2021-2022 Budget on 24 February this year, the Financial Secretary proposed adjusting upwards the rates of the various tax bands for the first registration tax for PCs (including electric PCs), and the annual licence fees for PCs and electrically powered passenger vehicles ("the tax and fees"), by 15% and 30% respectively. Members of the industry consider that such a move by the Government has undoubtedly rubbed salt into their wounds. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether, under the current economic downturn, the Government had, before deciding to adjust upwards the tax and fees, taken into account the blow that such a move would deal to the vehicle sales industry; and
(2)
given that some members of the vehicle sales industry have called on the Government to defer or phase (e.g. over three to six years) the implementation of the upward adjustment of the tax and fees, so as to give the industry some breathing space, whether the Government will consider such suggestions; if so, specifically how it will implement them; if not, of the reasons for that?




Question 11
(For written reply)

(Translation)

The Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Office

Ir Dr Hon LO Wai-kwok to ask:
The Chief Executive announced in the 2017 Policy Address that the Central Policy Unit ("CPU") would be revamped as a new office. The Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Office ("PICO") so established by the Government commenced operation on 1 April 2018. On the other hand, there are comments that the principal function of CPU was to conduct surveys and analyses on public sentiment and opinion for the reference of the senior government management in policy formulation; and the disconnect with public sentiment and opinion of certain decisions made by the Government in recent years in dealing with the disturbances arising from the opposition to the proposed legislative amendments and the epidemic may be related to the CPU being revamped. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether the work of PICO includes assisting the senior government management in gauging public sentiment and opinion; if so, of the major accomplishments of PICO's work in this regard since its establishment; if not, the Government's strategies in place to better address public sentiment and opinion in the decision making process, so as to enhance the standard of its governance; and
(2)
whether it has formulated key performance indicators for the work of PICO; if so, whether PICO's performance has met the targets; if the targets have not been met, of the details, and the improvement measures in place?




Question 12
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Confirmed cases of Coronavirus Disease 2019

Dr Hon Pierre CHAN to ask:
Regarding the confirmed cases of Coronavirus Disease 2019 ("COVID-19"), will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the number of cases since January 2020 in which healthcare personnel and allied health professionals (i.e. (i) doctors, (ii) nurses, (iii) physiotherapists, (iv) occupational therapists, (v) clinical psychologists, (vi) dietitians, (vii) audiologists, (viii) optometrists, (ix) orthoptists, (x) speech therapists, (xi) pharmacists, (xii) dispensers, (xiii) radiographers, (xiv) medical laboratory technologists, (xv) medical social workers, (xvi) prosthetist-orthotists and (xvii) podiatrists) as well as (xviii) support personnel working in (a) public hospitals, (b) the Department of Health, (c) private hospitals, (d) private clinics and (e) residential care homes for the elderly and for persons with disabilities were suspected of having contracted COVID-19 arising out of and in the course of their employment, and set out in the table below a breakdown of such number by their occupation and the type of organizations in which they worked;
Occupation(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)
(i)     
……     
(xviii)     
(2)
whether the Labour Department ("LD") has received employers' reports on the confirmed cases mentioned in (1); if so, among such reports, of the number of those in which compensation claims were lodged under the Employees' Compensation Ordinance (Cap. 282), together with the following information on such cases:
(i)
the number of cases of successful claims,
(ii)
the number of cases of unsuccessful claims and the main reason(s) for the claims being unsuccessful, and
(iii)
the assistance provided by the Government for those employees whose compensation claims were unsuccessful; and
(3)
of the number of cases since 1 October 2020 in which employees lodged compensation claims under Cap. 282 for contracting COVID-19 arising out of and in the course of their employment, together with the following information on such cases:
(i)
a breakdown of the number of cases by the industry in which the employees concerned were engaged,
(ii)
the number of cases reported by the employers,
(iii)
the number and percentage of cases of successful claims,
(iv)
the number of cases of unsuccessful claims and the main reason(s) for the claims being unsuccessful, and
(v)
the assistance provided by the Government for those employees whose compensation claims were unsuccessful?




Question 13
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Workers of the construction industry
working after consuming alcohol

Hon Wilson OR to ask:
It is learnt that some workers of the construction industry have the habit of consuming alcoholic drinks while at work or during lunch. As their judgment may be impaired under the influence of alcohol, industrial accidents are more prone to occur. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the number of industrial accidents in the construction industry and, among them, the number of those the cause of which was suspected or ascertained upon investigation to be related to the workers concerned being under the influence of alcohol, in each of the past five years; and
(2)
whether the existing legislation or relevant guidelines prohibit workers of the construction industry from working after they have consumed alcohol; if not, whether it will, by drawing reference from the practice of the governments of other places of imposing penalties on workers who work after consuming alcohol and their employers, enact the relevant legislation and set the relevant policies, so as to enhance industrial safety of the construction industry?




Question 14
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Research and development centres and parks
for innovation and technology

Hon Holden CHOW to ask:
At present, there are five research and development ("R&D") centres (namely Automotive Platforms and Application Systems R&D Centre, Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute, Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel, Logistics and Supply Chain MultiTech R&D Centre, as well as Nano and Advanced Materials Institute) under the purview of Innovation and Technology Commission. In the financial years from 2015-2016 to 2018-2019, the total operating cost and total R&D expenditure of such centres exceeded $1.15 billion and $2.3 billion respectively, but their total income from commercialization of R&D results ("commercialization") during the same period was only around $190 million. On the other hand, the Governments of Hong Kong and Shenzhen are jointly developing a Shenzhen/Hong Kong Innovation and Technology Co-operation Zone, and the Batch 1 development of its park in Hong Kong - the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park ("HSITP") located at the Lok Ma Chau Loop will soon commence. In the light of the results of a related consultancy study, HSITP will accord priority to the development of the following six major R&D areas: healthcare technologies, big data and artificial intelligence, robotics, new material, microelectronics, and financial technology ("the six major areas"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the total commercialization income of the five R&D centres in the past two financial years; whether the Government last year reviewed and improved the operation of those R&D centres as well as formulated new measures to enhance their effectiveness in commercialization;
(2)
of the Government's considerations in and justifications for determining the six major areas for HSITP; given that the first-batch buildings in HSITP will only be completed in phases from 2024 to 2027, whether the Government will, before then, continue to conduct reviews and studies on the six major areas so as to ensure that such positioning suits the latest situation;
(3)
whether it has reviewed the commercialization experience of the five R&D centres and made reference to the relevant practices in other countries/regions in order to formulate more effective commercialization strategies and quantitative key performance indicators for HSITP;
(4)
whether it has formulated plans and set quantitative objectives for the work on attracting large-scale Mainland and international enterprises/organizations to apply for admission to HSITP; whether it will regularly make public the names of the enterprises/ organizations which have newly been admitted to HSITP and the numbers of new jobs to be created by them; and
(5)
how the six major areas for HSITP are expected to promote the development of Hong Kong's financial services industry, and what synergy effects will be created?




Question 15
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Earnings of youths in Hong Kong

Hon LUK Chung-hung to ask:
Will the Government inform this Council of the average monthly employment earnings (at constant 2018 dollars) of full-time employees across different birth cohorts (as set out in the first column of the table below) when they reached the ages listed in the table below, broken down by selected educational attainment (i.e. (i) upper secondary educated, (ii) post-secondary non-degree educated, (iii) bachelor's degree educated, and (iv) postgraduate educated) (set out in tables of the same format as the table below)?
Educational attainment:           
Birth cohortYear in which the
cohort aged 20-24		Earnings ($) of cohort members
when their ages reached
20-2425-2930-3435-39
1970 - 19741994    
1975 - 19791999    
1980 - 19842004    
1985 - 19892009   -
1990 - 19942014  --
1995 - 19992019 ---




Question 16
(For written reply)

(Translation)

COVID-19 virus testing services

Hon CHAN Han-pan to ask:
To cope with the Coronavirus Disease 2019 ("COVID-19") epidemic, the Government has set up distribution points at 47 general outpatient clinics under the Hospital Authority ("outpatient clinics"), 121 post offices and 20 MTR stations for members of the public to obtain deep throat saliva specimen collection packs ("collection packs"). Members of the public may return the deep throat saliva specimens ("specimens") collected by themselves to designated collection points at specified hours for the COVID-19 virus testing ("testing"). In addition, the Government provides testing services for persons of target groups. Some members of the public have complained that the collection packs distributed at the distribution points have been in severe shortage, especially in the Islands District. Regarding the testing services, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the criteria adopted by the authorities for determining (i) the locations of the distribution points, and (ii) the specified hours for collecting the specimens;
(2)
of the current average daily total number of collection packs distributed at the distribution points in each District Council district, and the ratio of such number to the population of the district concerned; whether it will, in districts with a severe shortage of collection packs, expeditiously set up additional distribution points and increase the quantities of collection packs for distribution;
(3)
in respect of the past 30 days, of the average daily (i) time taken for each of the distribution points at outpatient clinics and post offices to finish distribution of all collection packs after commencement of distribution, and (ii) waiting time for members of the public at the distribution point concerned (set out in a table);
(4)
in respect of each of the distribution points at MTR stations in the past 30 days, of the average daily (i) number of collection packs supplied, and (ii) time taken to finish distribution of all collection packs after commencement of distribution (set out in a table); given that at such distribution points there are often long queues for obtaining collection packs and distribution of all collection packs finishes momentarily, whether the authorities will increase the quantities of collection packs for distribution and improve the distribution procedure;
(5)
since the commencement of the authorities' services of arranging on-site testing as well as distribution and collection of collection packs for construction site workers and other target groups, of the testing coverage rate and the number of confirmed cases in respect of each group, and whether it will consider designating new target groups; if so, of the details and timetable; if not, the reasons for that; and
(6)
of Hong Kong's current maximum testing capacity, and whether it can increase the testing capacity?




Question 17
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Promoting Regtech adoption in the banking sector

Hon CHAN Chun-ying to ask:
In November last year, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority ("HKMA") announced a two-year roadmap to promote Regtech adoption in the Hong Kong banking sector ("the roadmap"), with a view to accelerating the use of technology by the banking sector for enhancing risk management and compliance. HKMA has indicated that it will roll out a series of events and initiatives in the coming two years, including hosting a large-scale event, launching a Regtech Adoption Index, publishing relevant practice guides, creating a Regtech Knowledge Hub, and establishing a Regtech skills framework. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the implementation timetable for the aforesaid events and initiatives, as well as the amount of expenditure and manpower involved;
(2)
whether it has set quantitative performance indicators for the roadmap; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(3)
whether, apart from establishing the Regtech skills framework, it has formulated other long-term plans for nurturing Regtech talents; if so, of the details; and
(4)
whether HKMA has any plans to collaborate with the Innovation and Technology Bureau in the coming three years to support local fintech start-ups to conduct research and development on technologies that dovetail with the Regtech needs of the banking sector; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 



Question 18
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Handling defective drainage systems in buildings

Hon Paul TSE to ask:
The Government plans to launch in May this year a $1-billion Building Drainage System Repair Subsidy Scheme ("the Subsidy Scheme") to subsidize owners of buildings aged 40 or above (quite a number of which being "three-nil buildings") to repair the defective drainage systems in such buildings. The owners of such buildings may take the initiative to submit applications under the Subsidy Scheme. The Buildings Department will also select buildings with outstanding statutory orders relating to common drains and employ contractors to carry out the required works on behalf of the owners concerned. Regarding the handling of defective drainage systems in buildings, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
as the Government expects that investigation or repair works for the common drainage systems of 300 eligible buildings will commence within this year, how many of those buildings are located in Kwun Tong and Wong Tai Sin districts respectively;
(2)
in respect of those applications submitted under the Subsidy Scheme by owners on their own initiative, of the channels through which the public can learn about the progress and results of the various applications; the time normally taken to complete the vetting and approval of the applications as estimated by the Government; whether it has established a mechanism for owners whose applications have been rejected to lodge appeals;
(3)
given that the common drains of quite a number of buildings in old districts such as Kwun Tong and Wong Tai Sin had been improperly altered when the units in the buildings were converted into sub-divided units ("SDUs"), thereby increasing the risk of epidemic spreading, whether the Government will exercise discretion to accept applications submitted by owners of buildings aged under 40 but with a lot of SDUs;
(4)
whether the SDU households in three-nil buildings, upon discovery of seepage in the drainage systems of the buildings in which they reside, may take the initiative to request the Government to arrange, under the Subsidy Scheme, repair works for the drainage systems concerned;
(5)
in respect of those cases in which the relevant owners of building units have failed to restore, in accordance with statutory orders, their units which had been converted into SDUs in breach of regulations and the common drains which had been haphazardly connected, what policies the Government has put in place to eradicate the drain seepage problem concerned; and
(6)
how the Government will promote the Subsidy Scheme to the community at this stage and after the commencement of the Subsidy Scheme?




Question 19
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Public markets and their sites

Hon Tony TSE to ask:
As at April this year, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department ("FEHD") managed and operated 97 public markets ("markets"). There were 18 markets with a stall vacancy rate of over 20% and six of them had a vacancy rate as high as 40% or above. Besides, among the six markets which have been closed, one has been demolished and the long-term uses of the remaining five have not been determined. The Government has left the Mong Kok Market idle for over a decade and not until recently has it decided to put it to a temporary use. Some members of the public have criticized that the Government has failed to properly manage the markets and the relevant sites, which is a waste of precious land resources. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
given that FEHD has planned to close the Choi Hung Road Market ("CHR Market") in March next year, and the relevant government departments have commenced a study on the overall planning and long-term development of the site of the Choi Hung Road Playground and Sports Centre (including the CHR Market), of the preliminary planned uses of the site and the implementation timetable; whether it will put the market to temporary uses before the implementation of its long-term uses;
(2)
whether FEHD will consider closing more markets with utilization rates on the low side; for those markets which need to be retained, whether FEHD will, pursuant to the principle of "single site, multiple uses", group the existing stalls together so as to release some storeys or floor areas for other uses; if so, of the relevant plan and timetable; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3)
regarding those markets that have been or will be closed, whether it will set respective target time limits (e.g. three years and five years) for (i) leaving them vacant and (ii) studying their long-term uses, and in respect of those cases not meeting the targets, explain to this Council and the public why such targets have not been met?




Question 20
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Policies and measures on rare diseases

Hon Elizabeth QUAT to ask:
Regarding the policies and measures on rare diseases, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
as the Chief Executive ("CE") indicated in the 2019 Policy Address that, in order to strengthen the support for patients with uncommon disorders, the Government planned to implement progressively a series of targeted measures, which included developing databases for individual uncommon disorders, enhancing public awareness of such disorders, strengthening the support of drug treatment for patients with such disorders through the Samaritan Fund and Community Care Fund Medical Assistance Programmes ("the two Medical Assistance Programmes"), reviewing the manpower support and deploying resources to help take care of the needs of patients, and promoting relevant technological development and clinical research, of the specific details, implementation timetables and performance indicators of the various measures;
(2)
whether it will set up a steering committee on strategies for rare diseases to be tasked with formulating relevant strategies and plans as well as coordinating the work on implementing the various measures mentioned in (1); if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(3)
whether it will launch a scheme of short-term trial of drugs for rare diseases under which (i) a panel, to be formed by clinical experts and representatives of the Hospital Authority ("HA"), patient groups and pharmaceutical companies, is to be tasked with selecting drugs for free trials by patients and drawing up relevant details (such as clinical criteria, trial periods and indicators of curative effect), and (ii) patients whose conditions have substantially improved after the end of the trial period are to be subsidized, through the existing drug treatment support mechanism, to continue the medication; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(4)
whether it knows the respective average, longest and shortest time taken by the authorities in each of the past three years for vetting and approving the applications under the two Medical Assistance Programmes; if such figures are not available, whether it will compile such statistics; of the measures in place to enhance the efficiency of vetting and approving applications;
(5)
whether it knows, in respect of each type of drugs for rare diseases, (i) the total number of patients receiving subsidies under the two Medical Assistance Programmes and, among them, the respective numbers of those receiving full and partial subsidies, (ii) the average amount of subsidy received by each subsidized patient, (iii) the average amount of drug cost contributions made by each subsidized patient, and (iv) the total subsidy amount, in each of the past three years;
(6)
as CE indicated in the 2020 Policy Address that the Government would, in accordance with the established mechanism, continue to increase the drugs covered by the two Medical Assistance Programmes and relax the clinical criteria for inclusion of drugs, of the details and latest progress of the relevant work;
(7)
as HA indicated in September last year that it had, through the annual plan mechanism, sought additional resources from the Government for taking measures to cope with uncommon disorders, of the amount of the relevant funding and a breakdown by the uses; whether it has assessed if the additional resources concerned are sufficient for the provision of appropriate support for patients of rare diseases on a long-term basis; and
(8)
given that the Hong Kong Genome Institute, which is wholly owned by the Government, is implementing a large-scale genome sequencing project called "Hong Kong Genome Project" ("HKGP"), the pilot phase of which is focusing on those patients with undiagnosed disorders and hereditary cancers as well as their family members, of the following details of the pilot phase of HKGP: (i) whether any rare diseases have been included in HKGP (if so, the names of the diseases), (ii) the progress of recruitment of patients and the screening arrangements, and (iii) the procedure for sample taking and genome sequencing?




Question 21
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Amendment of plans and modification of land leases

Hon CHAN Hak-kan to ask:
On the applications made under section 12A of the Town Planning Ordinance (Cap. 131) for amendment of plans, and the applications made to the Lands Department ("LandsD") for modification of land leases, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the number of applications received in each of the past five financial years by the Town Planning Board ("TPB") which were made under section 12A of Cap. 131 for rezoning certain land(s) on the original approved plans from non-residential use to residential use, and set out in a table the following information on those cases which were accepted in whole or in part by TPB:
(i)
the lot number(s) involved,
(ii)
the area of the land(s) within the lot(s),
(iii)
the number of residential flats proposed to be built,
(iv)
the date on which the application was first submitted,
(v)
the date on which TPB published the amendments to the approved plan,
(vi)
the date on which TPB exhibited the draft plan for the public to make representations,
(vii)
the date on which the proposed amendments were incorporated by TPB as part of the draft plan, and
(viii)
the date on which the draft plan was approved by the Chief Executive-in-Council;
(2)
whether an application for land lease modification, submitted to LandsD by an owner of the land(s) within the lot(s) concerned during the period between the dates mentioned in (1)(vii) and (viii), will be accepted; if not, of the reasons for that; and
(3)
given that LandsD will seek the views of the relevant government departments on an application for land lease modification and submit it to a District Lands Conference for discussion before proposing the provisional terms (including the land premium) to the applicant, whether LandsD has reviewed the target time for completing the various procedures; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?




Question 22
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Coronavirus Disease 2019 vaccines

Hon Starry LEE to ask:
It has been reported that a member of the expert advisory group has indicated that the efficacy of the two Coronavirus Disease 2019 ("COVID-19") vaccines currently used in Hong Kong drops when fighting the South Africa COVID-19 variant, but one of the vaccines (i.e. Comirnaty) still has a certain effect. So far, just over 10% of the population in Hong Kong has been vaccinated against COVID-19. However, a vaccination rate of at least 60% is needed to achieve herd immunity. As the first local confirmed case of the South Africa variant has emerged in Hong Kong earlier on, members of the public should receive vaccination expeditiously to prevent the spread of such virus in Hong Kong, which may increase the probability of the virus mutating. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether, in order to encourage members of the public to receive vaccination, the Government will proactively discuss with the Mainland authorities allowing, when the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases in Hong Kong remains at a low level, those Hong Kong residents who have received two vaccine doses and have been tested positive for COVID-19 antibody to enter the Mainland (or only the Mainland cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area at the initial stage) without being subject to the 14-day compulsory quarantine requirement; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(2)
given that the experts of the University of Hong Kong and certain countries are conducting studies on the efficacy and safety of mixed vaccination involving different types of vaccines, whether it knows the latest progress of the studies?