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A 20/21-29

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 26 May 2021 at 11:00 am

I.
Laying of Papers on the Table of the Council

3 items of subsidiary legislation and 4 other papers to be laid on the Table of the Council set out in Appendix 1
Public officer to address the Council
Paper

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 Education
2.
Secretary for Labour and Welfare
3.
Secretary for the Environment
4.
Secretary for Home Affairs
Under Secretary for Labour and Welfare
5.
Secretary for the Environment
6.
Secretary for the Environment
Contents of 22 questions, Members to ask such questions and public officers to reply set out in Appendix 2

III.
Government Bill

Second Reading (debate to resume), consideration by committee of the whole Council and Third Reading
:
Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs
Amendment mover
:
Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs
(Amendments set out in LC Paper No. CB(3) 565/20-21 issued on 17 May 2021)
(Debate and voting arrangements set out in LC Paper No. CB(3) 591/20-21 issued on 24 May 2021)

IV.
Members' Motions

1.
Motion on "Fully implementing the interim policies for squatter structures and agricultural structures"
Mover
:
Hon Steven HO
Wording of the motion
:
Public officers to attend
:
Secretary for Development
Under Secretary for Development
Under Secretary for Food and Health
2.
Motion on "Enhancing support for carers"
Mover
:
Hon LEUNG Che-cheung
Wording of the motion
:
Public officers to attend
:
Secretary for Labour and Welfare
Under Secretary for Labour and Welfare



Clerk to the Legislative Council




Appendix 1

Council meeting of 26 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 26 May 2021

Subject matters
Public officers to reply
Questions for oral replies
1
Hon Tommy CHEUNG
Secretary for Education
2
Hon LEUNG Che-cheung
Secretary for Labour and Welfare
3
Ir Dr Hon LO Wai-kwok
Secretary for the Environment
4
Hon Elizabeth QUAT
Secretary for Home Affairs
Under Secretary for Labour and Welfare
5
Hon Wilson OR
Secretary for the Environment
6
Hon CHAN Han-pan
Secretary for the Environment
Questions for written replies
7
Hon Abraham SHEK
Secretary for Transport and Housing
8
Hon YUNG Hoi-yan
Secretary for Innovation and Technology
9
Hon SHIU Ka-fai
Secretary for Food and Health
10
Hon WONG Ting-kwong
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
11
Hon LAU Kwok-fan
Secretary for Development
12
Hon Martin LIAO
Secretary for Innovation and Technology
13
Hon Mrs Regina IP
Secretary for Education
14
Hon Jeffrey LAM
Secretary for Transport and Housing
15
Hon Frankie YICK
Secretary for Transport and Housing
16
Hon CHUNG Kwok-pan
Secretary for Food and Health
17
Hon Starry LEE
Secretary for Food and Health
18
Dr Hon Pierre CHAN
Secretary for the Environment
19
Dr Hon Priscilla LEUNG
Secretary for Education
20
Dr Hon CHIANG Lai-wan
Secretary for Food and Health
21
Hon Holden CHOW
Secretary for Development
22
Hon LUK Chung-hung
Secretary for Transport and Housing




Question 1
(For oral reply)

(Translation)

Professional conduct of teachers

Hon Tommy CHEUNG to ask:
It has been reported that quite a number of students, under the influence of their teachers or peers, participated in the Occupy Central movement in 2014 and the movement of opposition to the proposed legislative amendments in 2019. From June of the year before last to the end of last year, the Education Bureau received 269 complaints about professional misconduct of teachers, and has so far taken disciplinary actions against 154 teachers, including cancelling the teachers' registration of three of them. Regarding the professional conduct of teachers, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
given that the Code for the Education Profession of Hong Kong and the Professional Standards for Teachers of Hong Kong currently in place were formulated by teacher advisory bodies a number of years ago, whether the Government will expeditiously review and update the two documents to expressly prohibit teachers from performing the following acts: participating in unlawful activities, inciting or organizing students to participate in unlawful activities, promoting their personal political opinions to students, as well as publishing radical, hatred-inciting or misrepresented remarks on the Internet; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2)
whether it will learn from the bitter experiences and expeditiously formulate a clear and authoritative official code for the teaching profession, so as to deter teachers from inciting students to participate in unlawful activities; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3)
of the new measures, on the premise of not violating professional autonomy, put in place to step up disciplinary actions against teachers who have misconducted themselves, so as to maintain the standard of teachers' conduct?




Question 2
(For oral reply)

(Translation)

Registration and disciplinary matters of social workers

Hon LEUNG Che-cheung to ask:
In recent years, a number of registered social workers were convicted of the offences of unlawful assembly or assault on police officers, and were sentenced to imprisonment. Some organizations have lodged complaints to the Social Workers Registration Board ("the Board"), which is responsible for the registration and disciplinary matters of social workers, demanding the Board to cancel the registration of such persons as a social worker. However, the Board has rejected their demand on the grounds that the offences concerned do not constitute professional misconduct. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether it knows the number of registered social workers who were convicted of any criminal offence and sentenced to imprisonment in the past three years, with a breakdown by type of offences involved and term of imprisonment; among them, the number of those whose registration as a social worker was subsequently cancelled;
(2)
whether it knows if any of those sentenced to imprisonment mentioned in (1) were at that time members of the Board; if some of them were, whether the Board has cancelled their registration as a social worker; if the Board has not, whether the Government will request the Board to review the relevant decisions and the effectiveness of the work of the Committee on Professional Conduct under it, so as to avoid giving members of the public the perception that the Board harbours its members; and
(3)
whether the Government will review the functions and composition of the Board, and improve the Board's mechanisms for handling complaints against social workers and for disciplining convicted social workers, so as to allay public concern; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?




Question 3
(For oral reply)

(Translation)

Achieving the carbon neutrality target

Ir Dr Hon LO Wai-kwok to ask:
The Chief Executive indicated in the 2020 Policy Address that the Government would strive to achieve carbon neutrality before 2050. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether, in order to ensure achievement of the aforesaid target, the Government has drawn up comprehensive policy directions and measures in areas such as waste treatment, energy supply, green building, green transportation, cleaner production and green finance, and formulated implementation timetables as well as short, medium and long term key performance indicators for such measures; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2)
whether it will consider establishing a regular communication mechanism with the relevant Central ministries and the governments of Guangdong Province and Macao, so as to coordinate the implementation of carbon reduction initiatives in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, thereby matching the national target of achieving carbon neutrality before 2060; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3)
whether it will accept more views of the relevant professional sectors in order to step up efforts in achieving carbon neutrality, as well as strengthen the training and support for the relevant talents; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?




Question 4
(For oral reply)

(Translation)

Recovering the arrears of maintenance payments

Hon Elizabeth QUAT to ask:
A survey conducted by the Census and Statistics Department in 2015 revealed that, among the divorced or separated persons (collectively referred to as "divorcees") entitled to receiving maintenance payments from their ex-spouses who were interviewed, about 40% had been unable to receive maintenance payments in full. Moreover, among those who had been owed maintenance payments, about 90% did not take legal actions to recover the arrears of maintenance payments, and their reasons for this included "application procedures for legal proceedings being too complicated", which was also very time-consuming (for instance, it took two years for some cases just to be set down for hearings). It is learnt that some people who are owed maintenance payments (especially single parents) have indicated that they often face financial difficulties. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether, in order to help divorcees recover the arrears of maintenance payments more effectively, the Government will consider imposing punishments on those who have defaulted on maintenance payments (e.g. revoking their licences or prohibiting them from leaving the territory) so as to create a deterrent effect, as well as streamlining the mechanism for applying for an Attachment of Income Order to facilitate divorcees in recovering the arrears of maintenance payments through taking legal actions; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2)
given that quite a number of divorcees are not eligible for applying for legal aid nor can they afford the legal costs, of the new measures in place to help them take legal actions to recover the arrears of maintenance payments; and
(3)
whether it will, by drawing reference from the practices in countries such as the United States, Canada and Australia, consider afresh setting up a maintenance payment management board to coordinate matters relating to maintenance payments (including assisting in collecting, recovering and disbursing maintenance payments), or formulating a child support scheme for single parents; if so, of the details; if not, whether it will explore granting advanced payments for the arrears of maintenance payments to those who are owed their maintenance payments and thus facing financial difficulties, so as to enable them to meet pressing living expenses?  




Question 5
(For oral reply)

(Translation)

Promoting the use of electric public light buses

Hon Wilson OR to ask:
Over the years, the Government has been encouraging the transport sector to try out and use green innovative transport technologies, including electric and hybrid public light buses ("PLBs"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the latest progress of the Government's efforts in promoting the switch to electric PLBs ("e-PLBs") by PLB service operators; whether it has drawn up a timetable for that;
(2)
as the Government is taking forward a pilot scheme on setting up fast charging facilities for e-PLBs and providing a relevant paid charging service at the public transport interchange in Kwun Tong Town Centre, of the latest progress of the scheme; and
(3)
as some PLB service operators have indicated that the Government's failure to resolve the problem of insufficient charging facilities for e-PLBs all along is the main reason for the trade's hesitation in putting in more resources for switching to e-PLBs, of the Government's new solutions to this problem?




Question 6
(For oral reply)

(Translation)

Air pollution problem in Tsuen Wan and Kwai Tsing Districts

Hon CHAN Han-pan to ask:
The Government installed four dry weather flow interceptors ("DWFIs") in Tsuen Wan one and a half years ago to intercept effluent flow in stormwater drains and drainage channels in dry weather and divert it to the sewerage system. However, the seawater near the waterfront of Tsuen Wan still gives off stenches from time to time. Besides, container vessels continue to emit pollutants after berthing at the Kwai Chung Container Terminals ("KCCTs"), causing air pollution problem. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether it will consider requesting the operators of KCCTs to install onshore power supply facilities, so that container vessels may switch to using electricity after berthing; if so, of the details and timetable; if not, the reasons for that;
(2)
whether it has gained an understanding as to why the aforesaid DWFIs have failed to solve the problem of the seawater giving off stenches, and what other solutions are in place; and
(3)
given that there are often strong smells of petrol near the waterfronts of Tsuen Wan and Kwai Chung, whether the Government has deployed staff to regularly inspect the berthing spaces for vessels carrying dangerous goods, so as to prevent lawbreakers from illegally selling fuel there, and whether it has considered relocating such berthing spaces; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?




Question 7
(For written reply)

Statistics on the supply of private residential units

Hon Abraham SHEK to ask:
According to the statistics on private housing supply in the primary market as at 31 March 2021 published by the Government last month, there were about 12 200 unsold first-hand private residential units in the projects completed in or after 2014 and, among such units, about 3 400 units were for developers' self-use or letting out (e.g. as serviced apartments). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the methodology adopted for calculating the estimated number of unsold units for developers' self-use or letting out; and
(2)
of a breakdown (set out in the table below) of the aforesaid 3 400 unsold units for developers' self-use or letting out by (i) year in which the project to which the unit belonged was completed, and (ii) the size class (i.e. Classes A, B, C, D and E with saleable area of less than 40 m2, 40 to 69.9 m2, 70 to 99.9 m2, 100 to 159.9 m2, and 160 m2 or above respectively) to which the unit belonged?
Year in which the project was completedNumber of units
Class AClass BClass CClass DClass E
Pre 2019     
2019     
2020     
2021     




Question 8
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Development of digital economy

Hon YUNG Hoi-yan to ask:
The Outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development of the People's Republic of China and the Long-Range Objectives Through the Year 2035 ("the 14th Five-Year Plan") puts forward accelerating digitalization development, including the creation of new advantages of a digital economy. The Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area also puts forward strengthening cooperation in innovation and technology in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area ("Greater Bay Area"), and the authorities of both Hong Kong and the Guangdong Province have planned to jointly strengthen the innovation and development of the digital economy in the Greater Bay Area. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether it will, by drawing reference from documents such as the Implementation Plan for the Innovation and Development of Digital Economy Industries of the Shenzhen City (2021-2023), expeditiously formulate a blueprint for Hong Kong's development of digital economy with clear targets; if so, of the details and work schedule;
(2)
in respect of strengthening the innovation and development of the digital economy in the Greater Bay Area, of the latest progress of the Government's work on facilitating the cross-boundary flow of the scientific research resources of Hong Kong's higher education institutions and scientific research institutes within the Greater Bay Area; whether it has formulated new plans for the coming three years to participate in developing the Greater Bay Area into a global hub for digital economy development; if so, of the details (including the timetable); and
(3)
whether, in the coming year, it will formulate corresponding development strategies and plans in respect of the seven digital economy key industries (i.e. cloud computing, big data, Internet of Things, industrial Internet, blockchain, artificial intelligence, as well as virtual reality and augmented reality) as set out in the 14th Five-Year Plan; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?




Question 9
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Vaccination against COVID-19

Hon SHIU Ka-fai to ask:
Regarding the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme which commenced on 26 February this year, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the latest vaccination rate of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 ("COVID-19") vaccines ("the vaccines"), and how such rate compares with the relevant vaccination rates in other economically advanced regions, including the United States, Singapore and European countries;
(2)
whether it has drawn reference from the measures taken by other economically advanced regions for promoting the vaccination against COVID-19 among their people; if so, of the details;
(3)
of the new measures in place to promote the vaccination against COVID-19 among members of the public and the performance indicators for such measures;
(4)
whether it knows the latest situation of the staff of various types of scheduled premises receiving the vaccines; and
(5)
whether, as an incentive to encourage members of the public to receive the vaccines, it will consider disbursing to those members of the public who have received two doses of the vaccines additional electronic consumption vouchers with a value of $3,000 on top of the electronic consumption vouchers with a value of $5,000 to be disbursed in this summer to each eligible Hong Kong permanent resident and new arrival aged 18 or above; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?




Question 10
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Profits tax

Hon WONG Ting-kwong to ask:
Regarding profits tax, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the number of locally registered corporations and, among them, the respective numbers and percentages of those corporations assessed to be (i) profits tax payers and (ii) not liable to pay profits tax, in the year of assessment ("YA") 2019-2020; how such percentages compare with the corresponding percentages in each of the past 10 years;
(2)
of the percentage, in the total amount of profits tax revenue in YA 2019-2020, of the amount of profits tax paid by the top 5% of registered corporations paying the most in profits tax;
(3)
(a)
of a breakdown of the number of registered corporations that were profits tax payers in YA 2019-2020 by the group (as set out below) to which their amounts of assessable profits belonged -
(i)
$0.5 million or below,
(ii)
over $0.5 million to $1 million,
(iii)
over $1 million to $2 million,
(iv)
over $2 million to $3 million,
(v)
over $3 million to $5 million,
(vi)
over $5 million to $7.5 million,
(vii)
over $7.5 million to $10 million,
(viii)
over $10 million to $20 million,
(ix)
over $20 million to $30 million,
(x)
over $30 million to $50 million,
(xi)
over $50 million to $100 million, and
(xii)
over $100 million; and
(b)
in respect of each of the groups in (a),
(i)
the percentage, in the total number of corporations, of the number of corporations in the group,
(ii)
the average amount of profits tax payable by each corporation in the group, and
(iii)
the percentage, in the total amount of profits tax revenue, of the total amount of profits tax payable by the corporations in the group
(set out the aforesaid information in a chart);
(4)
given that following the implementation of the two-tiered profits tax rates regime from YA 2018-2019 onwards, the amount of profits tax payable on earnings below $2 million when regarded as assessable profits may be lower than the amount of salaries tax payable on such earnings when regarded as assessable income, whether there has been an upward trend in the past two years of cases in which individuals took the following course of action: changing their status from employees to providers of professional or personal services by setting up corporations, so as to reduce the amounts of tax payable; if so, of the details; and
(5)
whether it will study and consider introducing in future a progressive profits tax regime with more tiers of tax rates; if not, of the reasons for that?




Question 11
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Processing lease modification/land exchange applications

Hon LAU Kwok-fan to ask:
In 2008, the Lands Department ("LandsD") set up the first dedicated team in its District Lands Office ("DLO") (Hong Kong West and South) to expedite the processing of lease modification/land exchange applications by streamlining and enhancing procedures and work flow, fostering stronger links with other departments, enhancing and rationalizing communication with the applicants, etc. Moreover, LandsD established in 2019 an in-house Land Supply Section ("LSS"), which is dedicated to handling land sale cases and major lease modification/land exchange cases, to expedite the relevant processing procedures. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
as the Government told this Council in December 2007 that about one year after the establishment of the aforesaid dedicated team, it would sum up the work experience from the implementation of the pilot scheme of the dedicated team, and consider how the experience could be applied to other DLOs and the relevant timetables, of the results of its summing up the work experience, and whether the target of shortening the case processing time by 10% has been met;
(2)
whether the Government has retained the aforesaid dedicated team after summing up its work experience; if not, of the reasons for that; whether it has established relevant dedicated teams in other DLOs; if not, of the reasons for that;
(3)
of the (i) numbers of lease modification/land exchange applications processed, and (ii) average numbers of days taken to process each case, respectively by the 12 DLOs under LandsD in each year since 2018;
(4)
of the division of work between LSS and the dedicated team in respect of the work to expedite the processing of lease modification/land exchange applications;
(5)
of the respective numbers of major lease modification/land exchange cases (a) completed by LSS since its establishment, and (b) being processed by LSS; the following information on such cases: (i) the area of the land involved in each case, (ii) the gross floor area of the residential/commercial buildings proposed to be built under each case, and (iii) the average time taken to process each completed case; whether it has summed up the work experience of LSS in the past two years and assessed if LSS's work met the targets; if so, of the results; and
(6)
whether it sought the views on enhancing the work of LSS from representatives of the relevant trades, academics or experts in the past two years; if not, of the reasons for that?




Question 12
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Cyber security risks amid the epidemic

Hon Martin LIAO to ask:
It has been reported that amid the Coronavirus Disease 2019 epidemic which rages across the globe, the computer systems of hospitals in quite a number of places and even the World Health Organization have been subjected to intensified attacks by hackers. The number of cyberattacks such as phishing emails that the Hospital Authority ("HA") of Hong Kong was subjected to surged from about 20 million in 2015 to over 50 million last year. Besides, HA was also subjected to five ransomware email attacks last year. An international cyber security analysis report pointed out that last year amid the epidemic, the industries most targeted by cyberattacks, apart from health care industry, were business and professional services industries, retail and hospitality industries, financial industry and high technology industry. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether it knows the number of cyberattacks that Hong Kong's health care industry was subjected to in each of the past three years, and the annual rates of change of such numbers, with a breakdown of such cases by type of institutions/organizations and type of attacks, as well as the losses involved (if any);
(2)
whether it knows the number of cyberattacks that other industries in Hong Kong were subjected to in each of the past three years, and the annual rates of change of such numbers, with a breakdown of such cases by industry and type of attacks, as well as the losses involved (if any);
(3)
whether it has assessed the cyber security risks faced by the various industries in Hong Kong amid the epidemic; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(4)
whether it knows the new trends and major concerns in respect of cyber security risks across the globe amid the epidemic; if so, of the details and their impacts on Hong Kong?




Question 13
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Moral education

Hon Mrs Regina IP to ask:
It has been reported that recently there have been incidents of some secondary school students being alleged of jointly robbing a goldsmith shop and sneaking into school premises to commit burglary, arousing concerns among members of the community about the moral standards of students and the effectiveness of moral education in schools nowadays. Some members of the community consider that teachers shoulder heavy responsibilities for nurturing an able and virtuous next generation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the details of the moral education curriculum in schools, including policy objectives, curriculum content and activities, staff establishment and expenditure, since Hong Kong's return to China;
(2)
whether it has formulated key performance indicators for the moral education curriculum mentioned in (1); if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3)
as there are views that in recent years, the prevalence of hatred-inciting remarks and misleading messages on the Internet have had a negative impact on students, whether the Government has strengthened teacher training on moral education, including the technique on handling such remarks and messages, so that teachers can effectively instil positive values in students and help them nurture good character and conduct; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?




Question 14
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Maintenance and redevelopment of public rental housing estates

Hon Jeffrey LAM to ask:
Regarding the maintenance and redevelopment of the public rental housing estates under the Hong Kong Housing Authority ("HA"), will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
given that the Government launched the Comprehensive Structural Investigation Programme ("CSIP") in 2005 to assess the structural conditions of selected aged estates and the cost-effectiveness of their repair works in cycles of 15 years each, of the latest progress of the second cycle of CSIP which commenced in 2018;
(2)
whether it has projected the number of units to be provided and the population to be accommodated in the estates under the second cycle of CSIP upon their redevelopment, and how such figures compare with the corresponding figures of the estates concerned at present;
(3)
given that HA will, based on the four basic principles under the Refined Policy on Redevelopment of Aged Public Rental Housing Estates (i.e. structural conditions of buildings, cost-effectiveness of repair works, availability of suitable rehousing resources in the vicinity of the estates to be redeveloped, and build-back potential upon redevelopment), consider whether or not to redevelop individual aged estates in accordance with the actual circumstances, and that HA completed in 2013 a review of the redevelopment potential of 22 non-divested aged estates, of the details and latest progress of the various redevelopment projects, including the additional (i) number of units to be provided and (ii) population to be accommodated;
(4)
whether HA will incorporate "housing demand" and "social development needs" into the factors for consideration for the redevelopment of aged estates; and
(5)
whether it will set up a dedicated department for implementing the various redevelopment projects, which will be responsible for examining the priorities of various redevelopment projects, working out financial arrangements, supervising construction works, and coordinating rehousing arrangements, with a view to expediting the progress of redevelopment projects?




Question 15
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Illegal carriage of passengers for hire or reward by motor vehicles

Hon Frankie YICK to ask:
Some transport trade organizations have indicated that the activities of using motor vehicles for illegal carriage of passengers for hire or reward ("illegal carriage of passengers") have become rampant in recent months. The third party risks insurance for the vehicles concerned may be invalidated due to the vehicles having been used for illegal carriage of passengers, and this may result in a loss of protection for their passengers and other road users. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
given that in last year, among the cases in which fines were imposed for the offence of illegal carriage of passengers, as many as 70% were cases in which the convicted persons were only fined $2,000 or below, whether it has assessed if this level of penalty is on the low side and lacks deterrent effect; if it has assessed and the outcome is in the affirmative, whether it has lodged appeals against the cases in which the penalties were on the low side; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2)
given that while there were 221, 226 and 172 convictions for the offence of illegal carriage of passengers in 2018, 2019 and 2020 respectively, only 39, 78 and 44 vehicles were detained with vehicle licences suspended by the Transport Department in the corresponding years, whether it has assessed if the figures for the latter are on the low side;
(3)
given that the Government has planned to amend the legislation to increase the penalties for illegal carriage of passengers, of the latest progress of such work and the legislative timetable; and
(4)
of the Government's measures, before the raised penalties are implemented, to step up efforts in combating the activities of illegal carriage of passengers, with a view to enhancing the protection for road users?




Question 16
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Persons recovered from the Coronavirus Disease 2019
receiving vaccination

Hon CHUNG Kwok-pan to ask:
The Coronavirus Disease 2019 ("COVID-19") epidemic has been lingering on for over one year. So far, more than 11 000 people in Hong Kong have been confirmed to have contracted the disease, and most of them have recovered and been discharged from hospitals. The Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health has indicated earlier on that according to experts' opinion, immunity to the virus may usually last for at least six to nine months for persons who have recovered from COVID-19 ("recovered patients"), and they will be adequately protected by receiving only one dose of BioNTech vaccine at least 90 days after discharge or one dose of Sinovac vaccine six months after recovery, and they need not receive two doses of the vaccine as other members of the public do. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether it has compiled statistics on the respective up-to-date numbers of recovered patients who have received one dose and two doses of COVID-19 vaccine;
(2)
whether any mechanism is in place under the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme to distinguish (including (i) at the time of members of the public booking an appointment and (ii) prior to their receiving a vaccine at a Community Vaccination Centre/designated clinic) recovered patients from other persons, and to inform recovered patients that they need to receive only one dose of vaccine after a specified date and they need not receive two doses of vaccine;
(3)
whether it has studied the impacts of recovered patients receiving two doses of vaccine on their health (including the side effects and negative effects); whether it has assessed if it would be a waste of vaccines for recovered patients with antibodies to COVID-19 in their bodies to receive a second dose of vaccine; if it has, of the assessment outcome; and
(4)
as some recovered patients who have received one dose of vaccine have pointed out that as their vaccination records do not show that they are recovered patients, they are regarded as not having completed the two-dose vaccination, whether it has studied if this situation will hinder recovered patients from enjoying the travel convenience to be offered under measures such as "Air Travel Bubble" or "vaccine passports" in future to those who have completed vaccination; if it has, of the study outcome?




Question 17
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Strategy of "preventing the importation of cases" to cope with the epidemic

Hon Starry LEE to ask:
It has been reported that some experts have pointed out, as the coronavirus causing Coronavirus Disease 2019 ("COVID-19") has been mutating incessantly, certain variants of COVID-19 virus (e.g. those variants first appearing in France and India) have higher transmissibility, can evade the testing methods commonly used, or reduce the efficacy of the vaccines. On the other hand, certain countries, in the light of the easing of their local epidemic situations, have one after another relaxed their immigration restrictions to a limited extent. With the people of various places making increasingly frequent cross-boundary travels in the latter half of this year, the strategy of "preventing the importation of cases" adopted in Hong Kong to cope with the epidemic may face greater challenges. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the respective up-to-date numbers of (i) imported and (ii) local confirmed cases recorded in Hong Kong which involved variants of COVID-19 virus, with a breakdown by variant; the places/countries from which the imported cases mainly originated;
(2)
whether it has assessed the risk of various variants of COVID-19 virus being imported into Hong Kong; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(3)
whether it will adjust the existing testing methods or adopt new testing methods to prevent variants of COVID-19 virus from evading testing successfully; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(4)
given that some variants of COVID-19 virus may reduce the efficacy of the vaccines, what other effective strategies the Government has in place, before acquiring vaccines of the next generation against such variants, to prevent the epidemic from deteriorating due to the importation of such variants; and
(5)
whether it has assessed the pressure on the local manpower and facilities for virus testing to be brought about by the imminent plans to relax immigration restrictions to be implemented in various places; if so, of the details, and whether there are corresponding measures; if there are not corresponding measures, the reasons for that?




Question 18
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Littering problem in the countryside

Dr Hon Pierre CHAN to ask:
It has been reported that quite a number of members of the public turned to the country parks and hiking trails for recreation and amenity since they could not travel abroad and some of the cultural, recreational and sports facilities had been closed amid the epidemic, thus aggravating the problem of littering in such places. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether litter collection in the various country parks and hiking trails is undertaken by the staff of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department ("AFCD") or the staff of outsourced service contractors ("contractors") engaged by AFCD; of the number of persons carrying out such work in each month of the past three years;
(2)
of the respective average (i) monthly and (ii) daily frequencies of litter collection carried out by AFCD and/or its contractors in the various country parks and hiking trails in the past three years; if such figures are unavailable, whether it will compile such statistics;
(3)
of the respective numbers of visitor arrivals to the various country parks and hiking trails as well as the quantities of litter collected therein, in each month of the past three years; if such figures are unavailable, whether it will compile such statistics;
(4)
whether AFCD will increase the frequency of and the manpower for litter collection in the various country parks and hiking trails, and step up law enforcement actions against littering in such places; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(5)
given that the Government has reduced the numbers of litter bins and recycling bins in the various country parks in recent years to encourage visitors to "take their litter home with them", whether the Government has reviewed if such an arrangement has aggravated littering by visitors in the country parks; if it has reviewed and the outcome is in the affirmative, of the details; if the review outcome is in the negative, the reasons for that?




Question 19
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Combating advocacy of
Hong Kong independence in universities

Dr Hon Priscilla LEUNG to ask:
It has been reported that in recent years, the executive committees of the students' unions ("SUs") of a number of universities have publicly made remarks in support of Hong Kong independence, democratic self-determination etc. which violate the Constitution, the Basic Law, "one country, two systems" and the National Security Law for Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
in respect of the 10 publicly funded institutions (i.e. the eight universities funded through the University Grants Committee, The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts funded directly, and The Open University of Hong Kong some courses and research projects of which are funded, by the Government), whether it knows the following information of each of the institutions: (i) whether the SU is an independently registered society or body corporate, (ii) whether the SU has used the facilities of the institution for purposes such as offices and democracy walls, and has been entrusted with the management rights of such facilities, (iii) whether the SU membership fees are collected by the institution on behalf of the SU, and (iv) whether it is set out in the institution's statutes that the SU's representatives are ex-officio members of its Council; and
(2)
whether the Education Bureau gained last year an understanding from the aforesaid institutions about (i) how they had handled their conflicts with the SUs in respect of making remarks in support of Hong Kong independence, and (ii) the new measures put in place by them in recent years to combat the infiltration of the idea of Hong Kong independence into school campuses and to ensure that the facilities in school campuses would not be used by the SUs for the purpose of advocating Hong Kong independence?




Question 20
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Coronavirus Disease 2019 vaccines

Dr Hon CHIANG Lai-wan to ask:
Two Coronavirus Disease 2019 ("COVID-19") vaccines (i.e. the Sinovac and BioNTech vaccines) are provided under the COVID-19 Vaccination Programme, which commenced on 26 February this year, for members of the public to choose for vaccination for free. According to the Government's plan, the Community Vaccination Centres ("CVCs") will operate until the end of September this year. As the BioNTech vaccine is administered only in CVCs, members of the public may only receive the Sinovac vaccine from October onwards. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the respective latest information below on the aforesaid two types of vaccines: (i) the shipment quantity, (ii) the quantity used, (iii) the quantity of vaccine yet to be delivered, broken down by the expected dates of delivery to Hong Kong, and (iv) the quantity discarded and the reasons for that; the projected stock of the two types of vaccines as of 1 October this year, broken down by expiry date, and the ways in which the unused doses of the BioNTech vaccine will be disposed of;
(2)
as the manufacturer of the BioNTech vaccine has told the media that recipients of that vaccine may need to receive a third dose of the BioNTech vaccine before they may be fully protected, whether the Government will procure additional doses of the BioNTech vaccine for members of the public who have received two doses of the vaccine to receive their third dose for free; if so, of the details and whether it will administer the first and second doses of the BioNTech vaccine to members of the public at that time; if not, the reasons for that;
(3)
whether it will make enquiries with the manufacturer of the Sinovac vaccine on whether the recipients of the vaccine need to receive a third dose of the vaccine for better protection; and
(4)
of the latest status of the Government's plan to procure the AstraZeneca vaccine; as the Government has indicated earlier on that it has started to explore the procurement of vaccines of the next generation with stronger protection against COVID-19 virus variants, of the manufacturers whom the Government has contacted and the technology platforms adopted by them?  




Question 21
(For written reply)

(Translation)

San Tin/Lok Ma Chau Development Node

Hon Holden CHOW to ask:
The Government commenced a study on the proposed San Tin/Lok Ma Chau Development Node ("STLMC DN") in 2019. According to the preliminary projections, STLMC DN, covering a total area of about 320 hectares, can provide about 31 000 residential flats for accommodating around 84 000 residents, and create around 64 000 job opportunities. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
as the Government has indicated that the 57-hectare enterprise and technology park in STLMC DN can tie in with the development of the Hong Kong-Shenzhen Innovation and Technology Park in the Lok Ma Chau Loop, of the positioning of the enterprise and technology park, and how the two parks will create synergy effects;
(2)
as the first resident intake of STLMC DN is expected to take place in 2032 but the Northern Link Phase 2 is not expected to be completed until 2034, whether the Government will consider expediting the progress of the railway project, so as to meet the public transport service demand of the first batch of residents who will move into STLMC DN; and
(3)
whether it has plans to reserve land in the enterprise and technology park for industrial use, as well as attract, through tenancy incentives, local manufacturers of traditional industries to upgrade their production lines and relocate them to the park, so as to promote re-industrialization in Hong Kong?




Question 22
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Impacts of abolition of manual toll payment on tunnel staff

Hon LUK Chung-hung to ask:
The Government plans to adopt, starting from the end of next year, a free-flow tolling system at the various government tolled tunnels and the Tsing Sha Control Area ("tunnels"), under which the manual toll payment will be replaced by remote toll payment. Some trade unions' representatives have pointed out that by then, the various tunnels' toll collectors and supporting staff ("affected staff") may lose their jobs; as such, the Government and the operators responsible for the management, operation and maintenance of the tunnels ("the operators") should make appropriate arrangements for the affected staff as soon as possible, so as to protect their rights and interests. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether it knows the total number of staff affected, as well as their highest, lowest and average service years, with a tabulated breakdown of the number of such staff by name of tunnel and grade of staff;
(2)
as the Government has indicated that it will require the operators to provide re-training and job transfer arrangements for the affected staff, of the details and progress of such work; whether the Government will (i) provide subsidies on re-training expenses and (ii) offer ex-gratia compensation payments to the affected staff on accounts of their livelihood having been affected by the Government's policy; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3)
whether the Government will specify in the tunnel management contracts to be signed in the future that the operators are required to set aside funds for providing ex-gratia compensation payments to those affected staff who are unable to have successful job transfer; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?