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A 20/21-32

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 9 June 2021 at 11:00 am

I.
Laying of Papers on the Table of the Council

13 items 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 Financial Services and the Treasury
Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs
2.
Secretary for Food and Health
3.
Secretary for Labour and Welfare
4.
Secretary for Justice
5.
Secretary for Labour and Welfare
6.
Hon Mrs Regina IP
Secretary for Home Affairs
Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs
Contents of 22 questions, Members to ask such questions and public officers to reply set out in Appendix 2

III.
Members' Motions

1.
Motion on "Increasing land supply on all fronts"
Mover
:
Hon WONG Kwok-kin
Wording of the motion
:
4 amendment movers
:
Hon Tony TSE, Ir Dr Hon LO Wai-kwok, Hon Steven HO and Dr Hon Junius HO
(Amendments set out in LC Paper No. CB(3) 610/20-21 issued on 28 May 2021)
Public officers to attend
:
Secretary for the Environment
Secretary for Development
Under Secretary for the Environment
Under Secretary for Development
Under Secretary for Transport and Housing
2.
Motion on "Rebuilding public confidence"
Mover
:
Hon Jeffrey LAM
Wording of the motion
:
Amendment mover
:
Dr Hon Junius HO
(Amendment set out in LC Paper No. CB(3) 611/20-21 issued on 28 May 2021)
Public officers to attend
:
Chief Secretary for Administration
Secretary for Home Affairs
Under Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development



Clerk to the Legislative Council




Appendix 1

Council meeting of 9 June 2021

Laying of Papers on the Table of the Council

Subsidiary legislation
Legal Notice No.
1.
73 of 2021
2.
74 of 2021
3.
75 of 2021
4.
76 of 2021
5.
77 of 2021
6.
78 of 2021
7.
79 of 2021
8.
80 of 2021
9.
81 of 2021
10.
82 of 2021
11.
83 of 2021
12.
84 of 2021
13.
85 of 2021
Other papers




Appendix 2

22 questions to be asked at the Council meeting of 9 June 2021

Subject matters
Public officers to reply
Questions for oral replies
1
Hon CHAN Chun-ying
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs
2
Hon YUNG Hoi-yan
Secretary for Food and Health
3
Dr Hon CHIANG Lai-wan
Secretary for Labour and Welfare
4
Dr Hon CHENG Chung-tai
Secretary for Justice
5
Hon Starry LEE
Secretary for Labour and Welfare
6
Hon Mrs Regina IP
Secretary for Home Affairs
Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs
Questions for written replies
7
Hon Christopher CHEUNG
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
8
Hon SHIU Ka-fai
Secretary for the Civil Service
9
Hon Martin LIAO
Secretary for Innovation and Technology
10
Ir Dr Hon LO Wai-kwok
Secretary for Transport and Housing
11
Hon Frankie YICK
Secretary for Food and Health
12
Dr Hon Pierre CHAN
Secretary for Security
13
Hon Vincent CHENG
Secretary for Labour and Welfare
14
Dr Hon Priscilla LEUNG
Secretary for Education
15
Hon Wilson OR
Secretary for Transport and Housing
16
Hon Paul TSE
Chief Secretary for Administration
17
Hon Tony TSE
Secretary for Transport and Housing
18
Hon Alice MAK
Secretary for Food and Health
19
Hon Holden CHOW
Secretary for Home Affairs
20
Hon CHAN Han-pan
Secretary for Transport and Housing
21
Hon Elizabeth QUAT
Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
22
Hon LUK Chung-hung
Secretary for Home Affairs




Question 1
(For oral reply)

(Translation)

Regulation of credit reference agencies

Hon CHAN Chun-ying to ask:
Regarding the regulation of credit reference agencies ("CRAs"), will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
as the authorities in Singapore will require credit providers (e.g. banks) to submit credit data to CRAs once a week, while the relevant time limit in Hong Kong is 31 days, whether the Government will consider shortening such time limit so that credit reports will reflect the up-to-date credit risks; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2)
whether it will, by drawing reference from the relevant practices in Singapore and the United Kingdom ("UK"), enact legislation to require that CRAs' operation must be recognized or authorized by the financial regulator; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3)
given that at present, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data ("PCPD") may only issue enforcement notices to the data users who have contravened the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance, whether the Government will, by drawing reference from the relevant practices in Singapore and UK, empower PCPD to impose fines on the data users (including CRAs) who have contravened the Ordinance; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?




Question 2
(For oral reply)

(Translation)

Encouraging members of the public to receive vaccination

Hon YUNG Hoi-yan to ask:
As at the end of last month, there were about 1 million members of the public in the territory who had received two doses of vaccines against the Coronavirus Disease 2019, accounting for 15% of the local population aged 16 or above. An expert on epidemiology has pointed out that such a take-up rate is inadequate to build a herd immunity barrier to guard Hong Kong against the outbreak of a new wave of epidemic. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the targeted publicity and education programmes to allay public concerns over the safety of the vaccines;
(2)
whether it will adopt a multi-pronged approach to spur various public and private organizations to provide incentives to encourage their staff to receive vaccination; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3)
as an expert on epidemiology has pointed out that persons who have been fully vaccinated have a very low chance of contracting or spreading the disease, whether the Government will relax the restrictions on immigration, social distancing, resumption of classes, etc. to which such persons are subject; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?




Question 3
(For oral reply)

(Translation)

Medication management relating to the elderly

Dr Hon CHIANG Lai-wan to ask:
It is learnt that due to a lack of knowledge of medications, quite a number of the elderly living at home organize and store medications improperly, and even unknowingly take at the same time multiple medications that cause an overdose or cancel out each other's effects, thus harming their health. Furthermore, medication incidents such as wrong dispensation of medication, and failure to keep accurate medication records have occurred from time to time at residential care homes for the elderly ("RCHEs"). For example, an incident occurred last year in which an elderly resident of an RCHE suffered from cerebrovascular disease and fell into a coma allegedly because she had taken the wrong medication given to her. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether it will subsidize non-profit-making organizations for providing pharmacist home visit services, and strengthen the pharmacist services provided by District Health Centres, such as providing the elderly with counselling on the use of medicines and services for organizing and packaging of medications; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2)
given that the Government implemented the Pilot Scheme on Visiting Pharmacist Services for RCHEs during the period between 2010 and 2018 to enhance the medication management capabilities of RCHE staff, whether the Government will implement again and regularize the Scheme; whether the Government will provide subsidy to RCHEs for installing an electronic medication dispensing system and training their staff, so as to minimize cases of erroneous dispensation of medications; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3)
given that the Office of The Ombudsman recommended, in its direct investigation report published in 2018, making wrong administration of medications by RCHE staff an offence, and the Working Group on the Review of Ordinances and Codes of Practice for Residential Care Homes also recommended enacting legislation to require RCHEs to properly handle medications, whether the Government will amend the relevant legislation; if so, of the timetable; if not, the reasons for that?




Question 4
(For oral reply)

(Translation)

Manpower and expenditure of the Department of Justice

Dr Hon CHENG Chung-tai to ask:
It has been reported that there has been an upsurge of staff departure in the Department of Justice ("DoJ") recently. Regarding the manpower and expenditure of DoJ, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the number of DoJ's officers of the Government Counsel grade who departed in each quarter since January 2014, with a breakdown by reason of departure as well as their rank and title upon departure; whether DoJ has assessed the causes for the upsurge of staff departure; and
(2)
whether the expenditure of the National Security Prosecutions Division under DoJ is appropriated from the $8 billion special fund dedicated to meeting the expenditure for safeguarding national security; if so, of the amount involved and the uses of the various items of the estimated expenditure; if not, the head from which the Division's expenditure is appropriated as well as the uses and amounts of the various subheads?




Question 5
(For oral reply)

(Translation)

Support for families which need to hire domestic helpers

Hon Starry LEE to ask:
It is learnt that due to the impacts of measures such as immigration quarantine and the place-specific flight suspension mechanism, there has been a significant drop in the number of foreign domestic helpers ("FDHs") coming to work in Hong Kong in recent months, with the daily number declining from more than 500 before the epidemic to about 100 in recent days. As a result, quite a number of families have been unable to hire FDHs, and FDHs' wages have surged. There are views that the importation of Mainland domestic helpers ("MDHs") may alleviate the aforesaid problems. In addition, as quite a number of families hire FDHs for the purpose of taking care of their elderly members and less language barrier is encountered when MDHs communicate with the elderly, the elderly may receive better care. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
as the epidemic in FDH source countries has yet to be brought under control, what measures the Government will put in place to cope with the situation of a persistently low number of FDHs coming to work in Hong Kong; whether such measures will include introducing new source countries for FDHs and relaxing the current policy, with reference made to Macao's practice of importing MDHs, so that a certain number of MDHs may be imported under a pilot scheme; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2)
whether specific measures are in place to encourage more local women to work as domestic helpers; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3)
of the measures in place to further assist families which hire FDHs to take care of their elderly members, and whether it will regularize the "Pilot Scheme on Training for Foreign Domestic Helpers in Elderly Care", which is being implemented by the Social Welfare Department?




Question 6
(For oral reply)

(Translation)

Gay Games

Hon Mrs Regina IP to ask:
The 11th Gay Games ("Gay Games 2022") is scheduled to be held in Hong Kong from 11 to 19 November next year, and it will be the first time the Games are hosted in Asia. According to the estimation of the organizers, this sports event will attract more than 12 000 participants from around the world, bringing economic benefits of HK$1 billion to Hong Kong; and apart from facilitating the development of the tourism industry in Hong Kong, this event will showcase to the world Hong Kong's diversity and its support for equal opportunities. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
(1)
the progress of booking of event venues by the organizers of Gay Games 2022; whether it has any targeted policies or measures in place to assist the organizers in booking government sports venues; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(2)
whether the various local national sports associations ("NSAs") will support and participate in Gay Games 2022; if they will, of the details, including a list of those NSAs which will send athletes to compete in the Games and the number of participating athletes; whether the Government will encourage the various NSAs to participate in the Games?




Question 7
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Profit requirements for companies to be listed on the Main Board

Hon Christopher CHEUNG to ask:
At present, companies seeking to be listed on the Main Board have to satisfy the following profit requirements: the profit attributable to shareholders in the most recent financial year of the trading record period must not be less than $20 million ("Threshold A"), and the profit attributable to shareholders in the two preceding financial years must not be less than $30 million ("Threshold B"). The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited ("the Exchange") launched a two-month public consultation exercise at the end of November last year on a proposal to raise the profit requirements either by 150% (i.e. raising Thresholds A and B to $50 million and $75 million respectively) or by 200% (i.e. raising Thresholds A and B to $60 million and $90 million respectively). As revealed in the consultation findings published last month, among the 115 non-duplicated responses, respectively 17% and 83% supported and did not support the proposal to raise the profit requirements. The Exchange indicated that, after careful consideration of all responses, it had decided to raise Thresholds A and B to $35 million and $45 million respectively (i.e. raising Thresholds A and B from an aggregate $50 million by 60% to $80 million). The new profit requirements will take effect on 1 January next year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether it has gained an understanding from the Exchange why it had not gone along with the mainstream responses collected from the public consultation exercise by shelving the proposal to raise the profit requirements;
(2)
whether it will request the Exchange to review and shelve its decision, so as to go along with the mainstream responses collected from the public consultation exercise; and
(3)
as some practitioners of the securities industry have pointed out that upon upward adjustment of the profit requirements, the threshold for listing on the Main Board of the Exchange would be the highest among the securities markets in the world, how the Government ensures that small and medium enterprises can still make use of the securities market of Hong Kong to raise fund through launching initial public offerings?




Question 8
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Work attitude of civil servants

Hon SHIU Ka-fai to ask:
Quite a number of members of the public have relayed that despite their having lodged complaints repeatedly with government departments about public affairs, the problems concerned have not been followed up or resolved after a prolonged period of time, which gives them the impression that the work attitude of some civil servants is perfunctory, and that they often "accept complaints but continue to work as usual". In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the number of complaints about the perfunctory work attitude of civil servants received in each of the past five years (with a breakdown by the government department to which the civil servants under complaint belonged), and the relevant investigation procedure;
(2)
among the complaints mentioned in (1), of the number of those found substantiated after investigation, and the number of civil servants disciplined as a result (with a breakdown by type of disciplinary actions);
(3)
whether it knows the total number of complaints of a similar type received by the Office of The Ombudsman and other relevant organizations in each of the past five years (with a breakdown by organization); among such complaints, of the number of those found substantiated after investigation, and the number of civil servants disciplined as a result (with a breakdown by type of disciplinary actions); and
(4)
whether it has assessed if the perfunctory work attitude of some civil servants is related to their enjoying immense job stability (i.e. the so-called "iron rice bowls"); if it has assessed and the outcome is in the affirmative, how the Government will make improvements; if the assessment outcome is in the negative, of the reasons for that?




Question 9
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Biotechnology and healthcare technology

Hon Martin LIAO to ask:
There are views that following the constant breakthroughs in life science research and with the increasing pressure on the healthcare system created by an ageing population, coupled with the challenges brought by the Coronavirus Disease 2019 epidemic, various places around the world are paying increasing attention to the development of biotechnology. The biotechnology industry is among the nine emerging strategic industries put forward in 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, which also pledges support for developing the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area ("Greater Bay Area") into an international innovation and technology hub. Besides, Hong Kong has a strong foundation for developing biotechnology. At present, Hong Kong hosts more than 250 companies which engage in the biotechnology industry, and various tertiary institutions participate in cutting-edge biomedical research. In addition, Hong Kong has a sound regime for the protection of intellectual property rights and sound financing channels. With the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited allowing pre-revenue biotechnology enterprises to raise fund through listing on the Main Board since 2018, Hong Kong has now become Asia's largest and the world's second largest funding hub for biotechnology. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
given that the biotechnology industry, being a strategic industry, can hardly develop by itself relying solely on the market, whether the Government will, by drawing reference from the rich experience of Switzerland and Singapore, formulate a development blueprint for the biotechnology industry; if so, of the details and timetable;
(2)
given that the Government has established at the Hong Kong Science Park Health@InnoHK, a research cluster focusing on healthcare technology, to attract world‑renowned institutions, science and research institutes and enterprises to set up research and development laboratories to conduct collaborative scientific researches, of the respective up-to-date numbers of admission applications received and approved by the Government, and the situation of applicants being successfully admitted to the cluster; whether there are cases of withdrawn applications or declined admission to the cluster after applications have been approved; if so, of the number and reasons;
(3)
as it is learnt that the Mainland authorities have banned the import and export of bio bank and medical data, whether the Government will explore with the Governments of the Guangdong Province and Macao on relaxing the restrictions in relation to the relevant policies (including those on intellectual property rights), so as to promote the development of the biotechnology industry in the Greater Bay Area; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(4)
given that the Work Plan for Regulatory Innovation and Development of Pharmaceutical and Medical Device in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, issued by the Mainland Government in November last year, put forward the aspiration of establishing a comprehensive coordination mechanism for regulating pharmaceutical and medical devices in the Greater Bay Area by 2035, of the policies and measures put in place by the Government in support of the relevant work?




Question 10
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Transport facilities in New Territories North

Ir Dr Hon LO Wai-kwok to ask:
The development projects being taken forward in New Territories North ("NTN") and North East New Territories can accommodate a population of more than 800 000 upon completion. Some residents of NTN have pointed out that currently they mainly rely on the Tolo Highway and the MTR East Rail Line to travel to and from the urban areas. As such transport facilities have reached their maximum capacity during peak hours, they can hardly cope with the additional transport demand arising from these development projects. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the respective (i) average vehicular flow (vehicle/hour) and (ii) average vehicular speed (kilometre/hour) of the Tolo Highway and the Fanling Highway (southbound and northbound) during peak hours in each of the past three years;
(2)
as the Government indicated in January this year that it had commenced the strategic studies beyond 2030 in respect of railways and trunk roads, which included exploring proposals to construct a new north-south railway and improve the north-south road network, of the progress of the studies concerned (including the preliminary proposed railway alignment); and
(3)
as the Government has indicated that if the proposed Northern Link spur line is re-routed to the Lok Ma Chau Loop and connects with the redeveloped Huanggang Port, it will help strengthen the cross-boundary transport links and those between the Loop and the urban areas, and the Government has thus requested the MTR Corporation Limited to study the feasibility and benefits of this option, of the timetable for the relevant work?




Question 11
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Import and export trading of pharmaceutical products and medicines

Hon Frankie YICK to ask:
It is learnt that in recent years, there has been a surge in the quantities of pharmaceutical products and medicines (collectively referred to as "medicines") purchased by Mainland residents from Hong Kong's online traders. However, the development of such business has been hindered by the complicated procedure involved in the import and export of medicines. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the respective quantities and total values of medicines (i) imported to and (ii) exported from Hong Kong in each of the past three years, and the year-on-year rates of change of such figures, and a breakdown of such figures by (a) type of medicines (i.e. health supplements, over-the-counter drugs, prescribed drugs and dangerous drugs) and (b) whether the Mainland was the import/export destination as well as the relevant percentages;
(2)
given that the application procedure for an import licence/export licence for medicines is complicated and time-consuming (e.g. (i) that application is required for every instance of importation/exportation of medicines, (ii) that the application forms are available for sale only at specified locations, (iii) that application for re-export of unregistered medicines may only be made through the electronic system, and (iv) that the relevant arrangements have been designed on the basis of bulk trading of medicines), whether the Government will streamline such procedure (e.g. granting exemption to small-volume trading of medicines between enterprises and consumers), and shorten the time taken for vetting and approval of applications;
(3)
whether it will discuss with the authorities of the Mainland cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area ("Greater Bay Area") the introduction of measures to promote the trading of medicines in the Greater Bay Area, with a view to developing Hong Kong into a trading hub for medicines in the Greater Bay Area; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(4)
of the measures in place to assist Hong Kong businessmen in tapping the business opportunities in the import/export trade of medicines on the Mainland?




Question 12
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Treatment for persons in custody
suffering from hepatitis C

Dr Hon Pierre CHAN to ask:
On the treatment for persons in custody ("PICs") suffering from hepatitis C provided by the Medical Officers seconded from the Department of Health to correctional institutions, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the current number of PICs diagnosed with hepatitis C;
(2)
of the number of PICs who received treatment for hepatitis C in each of the past five years, and whether they were prescribed with medications for treating hepatitis C; and
(3)
whether any PICs suffering from hepatitis C were referred to the hepatology specialist outpatient clinics under the Hospital Authority for treatment in the past five years; if so, of the number of persons in each year?




Question 13
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Initiative to reform the Old Age Living Allowances

Hon Vincent CHENG to ask:
The Normal Old Age Living Allowance and the Higher Old Age Living Allowance are currently pitched at $2,845 and $3,815 per month respectively. In January last year, the Government proposed a reform initiative: combining the two allowances with the higher payment rate to be adopted, and raising the asset limits for elderly singletons and elderly couples to $500,000 and $750,000 respectively. Nevertheless, the Government stated in November last year in the Supplement to the 2020 Policy Address that in light of the financial implications of the initiative, the Government would reassess the timing of implementing the initiative. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the details, progress and outcome of the reassessment work; whether revising the proposed asset limits is within the scope of the reassessment work; if so, of the details and justifications, as well as whether it will consider further raising the asset limits; and
(2)
whether it has set an implementation date for the initiative; if so, of the details; if not, whether the Government intends to give up implementing the initiative; if so, the reasons for that?




Question 14
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Reprovisioning or redevelopment of school premises

Dr Hon Priscilla LEUNG to ask:
Regarding the reprovisioning or redevelopment of the premises of primary, secondary and special schools, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the respective current numbers of (i) primary schools, (ii) secondary schools and (iii) special schools whose premises have a site area of less than 3 000 square metres and are over 30 years old, and the facilities in which are below the current standards;
(2)
of the following information on those schools the premises reprovisioning or redevelopment works for which (i) were completed within the past five years and (ii) are currently in progress:
(a)
name of school,
(b)
type of school (i.e. government, subsidized, Direct Subsidy Scheme and private),
(c)
name of school sponsoring body ("SSB") (if applicable),
(d)
year of completion of the original school premises,
(e)
date on which the School Allocation Committee ("SAC") under the Education Bureau ("EDB") received the application concerned,
(f)
date on which the Finance Committee of this Council approved the funding application of the project concerned,
(g)
approved project estimates, and
(h)
actual project expenditure (if applicable); and
(3)
as it has been reported that there has been a wave of students dropping out in this school year, whether SAC will, when considering applications from SSBs in future, take into account the overall change in the school-age population in Hong Kong; whether EDB has reviewed from time to time the school premises reprovisioning or redevelopment projects which are scheduled to commence, so as to avoid an oversupply of school places?




Question 15
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Traffic management and law enforcement

Hon Wilson OR to ask:
It has been reported that the situation of illegal parking has become increasingly serious in recent years, and one of the causes for this is the shortage of car parking spaces. Moreover, this Council passed in November last year a Member's motion not intended to have legislative effect, urging the Government to take measures to alleviate road traffic congestion, including increasing the supply of commercial vehicle parking spaces and public car parking spaces. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
as the Transport Department has indicated that the newly revised standards for parking facilities in the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines will be promulgated immediately after consultation with the relevant stakeholders, of the promulgation date of such standards;
(2)
given that the Government plans to develop a new Traffic e-Enforcement System to reduce traffic accidents and illegal parking through efficient traffic law enforcement actions, thereby alleviating the traffic congestion caused by such situations, of the expected effectiveness of the said system in quantifiable terms;
(3)
given that the Police have, since September last year, implemented traffic management measures in the Kwun Tong Business Area to tackle the problems of traffic congestion black spots and illegal parking in the area, whether it has evaluated if such measures have achieved notable results; if it has evaluated and the outcome is in the affirmative, whether it will extend such measures to other districts where the problem of illegal parking is serious; and
(4)
apart from the measures mentioned in (2) and (3), of other practicable measures in place to solve the traffic congestion problem caused by illegal parking and shortage of car parking spaces?




Question 16
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Implementation of summer time

Hon Paul TSE to ask:
Summer time was implemented in Hong Kong on certain days in the summers of 1941, 1946 to 1976 and 1979, during which the clock was set forward by one hour. Some members of the public have suggested that summer time be implemented again in Hong Kong to encourage members of the public to go to bed early and rise early, thereby making optimal use of daylight and reducing the use of lighting facilities. They have pointed out that the implementation of summer time may induce members of the public to take advantage of the cooler time in the early morning for getting to work or going to school; besides, the longer duration between the time when members of the public get off work and sunset will facilitate them to conduct outdoor activities after work, which is conducive to increasing the customer flow for the retail outlets and eateries at night, thereby fuelling the early recovery of the economy from the epidemic. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
given that the economy of Hong Kong has been hit consecutively by acts of serious violence and the Coronavirus Disease 2019 epidemic in recent years, and that under the impact of global warming, Hong Kong recorded last month the highest temperature in May since 1963, whether the Government will explore from the perspectives of energy-saving, optimal use of daylight, facilitating economic recovery, etc. to see if it is now more imperative for Hong Kong to implement summer time as compared to the situation in 1979 or before;
(2)
whether it will estimate the amount of energy to be saved and the benefits to be brought to the overall economy of Hong Kong by the implementation of summer time; and
(3)
if it will conduct a public consultation on whether the implementation of summer time can cater better to the daily living, travelling as well as work and rest of members of the public and to the operation of commercial organizations?




Question 17
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Transfer of under-occupation public rental housing households

Hon Tony TSE to ask:
At present, the Hong Kong Housing Authority ("HA") allocates public rental housing ("PRH") units based on the standard of an internal floor area ("living floor area") of not less than 7 square metres ("m2") per person on average. It is learnt that in recent years, the numbers of occupants in quite a number of PRH units have decreased continuously due to the family members of the households concerned moving out or passing away, resulting in a continued increase in the average per-person living floor area of PRH units (which has risen to 13.4 m2 as at the end of March this year). Furthermore, HA classifies those PRH households with a living floor area exceeding a specified level (depending on the household size) as "Under-occupation households" ("UO households") and those PRH households with a living floor area exceeding an even higher level (excluding those households with family members who are disabled or have reached the age of 60) as "Prioritized under-occupation households" ("PUO households"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the following statistics on (a) UO households and (b) PUO households respectively in each of the past five years:
(i)
the number of households (with a breakdown by household size),
(ii)
the total living floor area beyond the standard and the number of persons that can be accommodated in such an area, calculated on the basis of 7 m2 per person,
(iii)
the living floor area beyond the standard per household on average, and
(iv)
the average number of years for which such households have been classified as UO/PUO households;
(2)
of the details of the existing policies on the transfer of UO and PUO households, including:
(i)
the specific transfer arrangements,
(ii)
the incentives for transfer provided,
(iii)
the consequences for the households' refusal to transfer (if any),
(iv)
the implementation situation of the policies in the past five years, and
(v)
the main reasons for some households' refusal to transfer;
(3)
given that HA launched a trial scheme in 2019 to allow UO households whose members are all aged 70 or above ("UO70+ households") to enjoy lifetime full rent exemption upon their transfer, as well as regularized the scheme and relaxed the application restrictions at the end of last year, of the latest implementation situation and effectiveness of the scheme; and
(4)
whether, in order to optimize the use of the existing PRH resources and hence expedite the allocation of PRH units to PRH applicants, the Government will consider enhancing the existing policies on and measures for the transfer of UO, PUO and UO70+ households; if so, whether the measures under consideration will include:
(i)
adjusting the definitions of the three types of households, so that more households may enjoy priority or preferential arrangements when they transfer,
(ii)
boosting the incentives for transfer, such as providing a removal allowance of a higher amount and rental concessions to eligible households,
(iii)
raising the penalties that can be imposed on PUO households for refusal to transfer without reasonable grounds, and
(iv)
removing the locality restrictions on transfer, etc. so that more households will accept transfer offers and will accept transfer offers earlier?




Question 18
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Mutual recognition of vaccination records

Hon Alice MAK to ask:
Some members of the public have indicated that they have received vaccination against the Coronavirus Disease 2019, with a view to their travelling between Hong Kong and the Mainland, when traveller clearance between the two places fully resumes, without being required to undergo compulsory quarantine. Nevertheless, as the types of vaccines administered to the people of the two places and the vaccination records held by them as proof are different, such members of the public are worried that in the absence of a mechanism for mutual recognition of the vaccination records of the two places, it will be difficult for the people of both places to resume normal travel between the two places. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether it has discussed with the relevant Mainland departments the establishment of a mechanism for mutual recognition of the vaccination records of the two places, so as to prepare for the full resumption of traveller clearance between the two places; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2)
whether it has discussed with the relevant Mainland departments the conditions for the full resumption of traveller clearance (e.g. the types of vaccines recognized, and whether inbound travellers will be required to undergo antibody tests) to let members of the public have a clear target, so as to increase the incentives for them to receive vaccination; and
(3)
whether it will add a new function to the electronic vaccination records to allow inclusion of records of non-locally received vaccinations to facilitate holders of the vaccination records to prove that they have completed vaccination?




Question 19
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Applications to the Hong Kong Arts Development Council for grants

Hon Holden CHOW to ask:
It has been reported that an arts group received in the past three years grants from the Hong Kong Arts Development Council ("HKADC") totalling $2.78 million, some of which was used in the production of a film "Inside the Red Brick Wall". There are comments querying that as the said film advocates hatred, violence and anti-government sentiments, HKADC should not have sponsored the film's production with public money. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether it knows the number of films sponsored by HKADC in each of the past five years, and set out in a table the amount of grant received by each film;
(2)
whether it knows the criteria adopted by HKADC for vetting and approving grant applications and deciding the amount of the grant; and
(3)
of the new measures in place to spur HKADC to vet and approve grant applications more stringently, so as to prevent the situation of public money being used to sponsor arts groups in producing artistic work that advocates hatred and violence, or violates the National Security Law for Hong Kong?




Question 20
(For written reply)

(Translation)

MTR fare adjustments

Hon CHAN Han-pan to ask:
Currently, the MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL") makes its annual fare adjustments in accordance with the Fare Adjustment Mechanism ("FAM"). After a joint review of FAM with the Government in 2017, MTRCL agreed to increase the fare concessions to be provided under the Profit Sharing Mechanism ("PSM"), with the amounts of the fund to be set aside for concessions being prescribed in a pre-determined tiered table of underlying business profits. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether it will consider requesting MTRCL to, apart from providing fare concessions in accordance with PSM, directly set aside a certain percentage of its property and rental revenue for the provision of additional fare concessions; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2)
whether it has plans to propose, in the next review of FAM to be conducted jointly with MTRCL, the incorporation of "the public's affordability of transport fares" and "MTRCL's profitability" as factors for consideration under FAM; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3)
given that the handling of the fare increases accumulated over the last two years in accordance with FAM (i.e. 1.58%) that should be recouped will be deferred to next year, whether the Government has plans to propose, in the next review of FAM to be conducted jointly with MTRCL, the inclusion in FAM of a time limit for recouping fare increases; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?




Question 21
(For written reply)

(Translation)

The Square Kilometre Array Project

Hon Elizabeth QUAT to ask:
The Square Kilometre Array ("SKA") Project is an international astronomy science project, with the objective to build the world's largest aperture synthesis radio telescope array and operate it for 50 years, which will provide a major opportunity for mankind to understand the universe. "The Square Kilometre Array Observatory" ("SKAO"), an international intergovernmental organization established by a number of countries, is responsible for the implementation of the SKA Project. Following the ratification of the Convention establishing the Square Kilometre Array Observatory ("the Convention") by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in April this year, China has become an official member of SKAO. On the other hand, the Chinese Government has announced that the Convention is not applicable to Hong Kong for the time being. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether it has assessed and consulted local academics how Hong Kong's participation in the SKA Project may benefit the local academia's research in areas such as astronomy, physics, frontier science as well as innovation and technology; if so, of the outcome; if not, whether it will expeditiously conduct such an assessment;
(2)
whether it has estimated the resources that Hong Kong needs to deploy for participating in the SKA Project; if so, of the details; if not, whether it will make such an estimation; and
(3)
whether it has plans to discuss with the Central Authorities the application of the Convention to Hong Kong, so that Hong Kong may participate in the SKA Project; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?




Question 22
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Manpower of lifeguards

Hon LUK Chung-hung to ask:
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department ("LCSD") employs not only civil service lifeguards but also non-civil service contract ("NCSC") lifeguards according to seasonal and operational needs for providing lifeguard services at its public swimming pools, gazetted beaches and water sports centres. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the respective strengths of the (i) civil service lifeguards and (ii) NCSC seasonal lifeguards under LCSD at present, and their respective percentages in the relevant staffing establishments;
(2)
of the total number of drowning cases which occurred at the public swimming pools, beaches and water sports centres under LCSD in each of the past three years and, among such cases, the number of those in which the number of lifeguards on duty at the scenes at the relevant time was less than the relevant staffing establishment; and
(3)
whether it has plans to expeditiously conduct a grade structure review for lifeguards and enhance the remuneration package of the grade, so as to retain lifeguards and attract new blood to the grade; if so, of the details and work schedule; if not, the reasons for that?