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A 20/21-49(CM-48)

Meeting not held

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 13 October 2021 at 11:00 am

I.
Laying of Papers on the Table of the Council

24 papers to be laid on the Table of the Council set out in Appendix 1
Members to address the Council
Papers
1.
Hon Steven HO
2.
Hon CHAN Hak-kan
3.
Hon Christopher CHEUNG
4.
Hon KWOK Wai-keung
5.
Hon Tommy CHEUNG
6.
Hon Holden CHOW
7.
Dr Hon Priscilla LEUNG
8.
Dr Hon Junius HO

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
2.
Secretary for Security
3.
Secretary for Security
4.
Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
5.
Secretary for Home Affairs
Under Secretary for Development
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

Second Reading (debate to resume), consideration by committee of the whole Council and Third Reading
1.
:
Secretary for Transport and Housing
Amendment movers
:
Secretary for Transport and Housing
(Amendments set out in LC Paper No. CB(3) 1063/20-21 issued on 8 October 2021)
Hon Abraham SHEK
(Amendments set out in LC Paper No. CB(3) 1067/20-21 issued on 11 October 2021)
(Debate and voting arrangements set out in LC Paper No. CB(3) 1070/20-21 issued on 11 October 2021)
2.
:
Secretary for Food and Health
Amendment movers
:
Secretary for Food and Health
(Amendments set out in LC Paper No. CB(3) 1033/20-21 issued on 30 September 2021)
Dr Hon Pierre CHAN and Hon SHIU Ka-fai
(Amendments set out in LC Paper Nos. CB(3) 1033/20-21 and CB(3) 1068/20-21 issued on 30 September and 11 October 2021 respectively)
(Debate and voting arrangements set out in LC Paper No. CB(3) 1069/20-21 issued on 11 October 2021)
3.
:
Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

IV.
Members' Motions

1.
Motion on "Seizing the opportunities from the Plan for Comprehensive Deepening Reform and Opening Up of the Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone"
Mover
:
Hon CHAN Hak-kan
Wording of the motion
:
Amendment mover
:
Ir Dr Hon LO Wai-kwok
(Amendment set out in LC Paper No. CB(3) 1053/20-21 issued on 7 October 2021)
Public officers to attend
:
Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs
Under Secretary for Development
Under Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
2.
Motion on "Following the practice of the country to adhere to the United Nations' 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development"
Mover
:
Hon Mrs Regina IP
Wording of the motion
:
Public officers to attend
:
Secretary for the Environment
Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
Under Secretary for the Environment
Under Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
Under Secretary for Labour and Welfare



Clerk to the Legislative Council




Appendix 1

Council meeting of 13 October 2021

Laying of Papers on the Table of the Council

Papers
1.
2.
Hong Kong Housing Authority
Annual Report 2020/21
(to be presented by Secretary for Transport and Housing)
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
Report of the Bills Committee on Landlord and Tenant (Consolidation) (Amendment) Bill 2021
(to be presented by Hon Vincent CHENG, Chairman of the Bills Committee)
16.
Report of the Bills Committee on Medical Registration (Amendment) Bill 2021
(to be presented by Hon Elizabeth QUAT, Chairman of the Bills Committee)
17.
Report of the Panel on Food Safety and Environmental Hygiene 2020-2021
(to be presented by Hon Steven HO, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council on this paper)
18.
Report of the Panel on Security 2020-2021
(to be presented by Hon CHAN Hak-kan, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council on this paper)
19.
Report of the Panel on Economic Development 2020-2021
(to be presented by Hon Christopher CHEUNG, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council on this paper)
20.
Report of the Panel on Public Service 2020-2021
(to be presented by Hon KWOK Wai-keung, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council on this paper)
21.
Report of the Panel on Housing 2020-2021
(to be presented by Hon Tommy CHEUNG, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council on this paper)
22.
Report of the Panel on Constitutional Affairs 2020-2021
(to be presented by Hon Holden CHOW, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council on this paper)
23.
Report of the Panel on Education 2020-2021
(to be presented by Dr Hon Priscilla LEUNG, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council on this paper)
24.
Report of the Panel on Information Technology and Broadcasting 2020-2021
(to be presented by Dr Hon Junius HO, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council on this paper)




Appendix 2

22 questions to be asked at the Council meeting of 13 October 2021

Subject matters
Public officers to reply
Questions for oral replies
1
Hon SHIU Ka-fai
Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
2
Hon Alice MAK
Secretary for Security
3
Hon Tony TSE
Secretary for Security
4
Hon YIU Si-wing
Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
5
Hon Kenneth LAU
Secretary for Home Affairs
Under Secretary for Development
6
Hon Tommy CHEUNG
Secretary for Food and Health
Questions for written replies
7
Hon Michael TIEN
Secretary for Food and Health
8
Hon Abraham SHEK
Secretary for Development
9
Hon YUNG Hoi-yan
Secretary for Transport and Housing
10
Hon KWOK Wai-keung
Secretary for Labour and Welfare
11
Hon WONG Kwok-kin
Secretary for Labour and Welfare
12
Hon LEUNG Che-cheung
Secretary for Security
13
Dr Hon Pierre CHAN
Secretary for Food and Health
14
Hon Wilson OR
Secretary for Development
15
Hon Paul TSE
Chief Secretary for Administration
16
Hon Starry LEE
Secretary for Transport and Housing
17
Hon Holden CHOW
Secretary for Home Affairs
18
Hon Elizabeth QUAT
Secretary for Food and Health
19
Hon LUK Chung-hung
Secretary for Education
20
Hon Frankie YICK
Secretary for the Environment
21
Ir Dr Hon LO Wai-kwok
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
22
Hon CHAN Hak-kan
Secretary for the Environment




Question 1
(For oral reply)

(Translation)

Grasping the opportunities brought by
the Mainland's expanded domestic demand

Hon SHIU Ka-fai to ask:
In May last year, the Central Authorities put forward an economic development strategy of "dual circulation", i.e. the domestic internal circulation and the international external circulation, which includes expanding domestic demand and improving the policy on duty-free shops in cities. In order to fully unleash the consumption potential, the authorities of quite a number of Mainland cities (e.g. Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Shanghai and Beijing) have, one after another, put forward plans of developing their cities into international consumption centres and setting up duty-free shops in the cities. There are views that the Hong Kong Government should not only expeditiously agree with the Mainland authorities the arrangements for the resumption of normal traveller clearance between Hong Kong and the Mainland, but also assist Hong Kong retail industry in getting prepared so that the industry may fully grasp, upon the resumption of normal traveller clearance between the two places, the opportunities brought by the expanded domestic demand. The Government should also strive to maintain Hong Kong's advantages as an international consumption centre. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
as it has been reported that Hong Kong may need to wait for four to five more months before normal traveller clearance with the Mainland can resume, whether the Government has explored how it may shorten the waiting time; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2)
of the measures in place to assist Hong Kong retail industry in grasping the opportunities brought by the expanded domestic demand on the Mainland, and to maintain Hong Kong's advantages as an international consumption centre; and
(3)
given that in reply to my question raised at the Question and Answer Session of this Council on 15 July this year, the Chief Executive undertook to request the Central Authorities to raise the duty-free ceiling on the total value of goods that a Mainland resident may buy in Hong Kong and bring back to the Mainland from the existing RMB 5,000 to RMB 100,000, which is on a par with the duty-free shopping quota for travellers departing Hainan, of the progress of the relevant work, and whether it expects that the relevant measure can be implemented in time immediately after the resumption of normal traveller clearance between the two places?




Question 2
(For oral reply)

(Translation)

Law enforcement for national security

Hon Alice MAK to ask:
It has been reported that the Hong Kong Alliance in Support of Patriotic Democratic Movements of China ("the Hong Kong Alliance") is alleged to have upheld subversive agenda, colluded with foreign forces and received subsidies from such forces, and that its principal person-in-charge had blatantly called on foreign governments to impose sanctions on Hong Kong officials. On 25 August this year, the Hong Kong Police Force's National Security Department demanded, under Schedule 5 to the Implementation Rules for Article 43 of the National Security Law, the Hong Kong Alliance to provide specified information on its activities carried on in Hong Kong as a foreign agent, but the demand was refused. Subsequently, a number of standing committee members of the Hong Kong Alliance were arrested and the Alliance passed on 25 September a special resolution for voluntary winding up. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
how the law enforcement agencies will follow up the fund transfers of the Hong Kong Alliance to facilitate investigations into whether the associations connected with the Hong Kong Alliance have engaged in illegal activities;
(2)
whether the law enforcement agencies will fully pursue the liabilities of members of the Hong Kong Alliance for the alleged offences such as subversion and collusion with a foreign country or external elements to endanger national security, as a warning to others; and
(3)
as the Security Bureau has indicated that it is planning to recommend that the Chief Executive-in-Council exercise the power under the Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance to order the Registrar of Companies to strike the Hong Kong Alliance off the Companies Register, of the progress of the relevant work?




Question 3
(For oral reply)

(Translation)

The life safety and dignity of law enforcement officers

Hon Tony TSE to ask:
In January last year and last month respectively, three officers of the Customs and Excise Department and an officer of the Hong Kong Police Force unfortunately fell overboard and died while discharging law enforcement duties at sea. It has been reported that after these incidents, some people made cold-blooded remarks on the Internet, gloating at such officers' deaths while on duty. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether it will review the strategies of the aforesaid two departments for law enforcement at sea, enhance the performance of the relevant vessels, strengthen the training on survival techniques for law enforcement officers, and upgrade their personal protective equipment, so as to enhance the efficiency in law enforcement and protect the life safety of law enforcement officers; and
(2)
whether it has requested the relevant website operators to remove the aforesaid cold-blooded remarks, and taken other follow-up actions; whether it will study the enactment of legislation to prohibit the making of such kind of remarks, so as to uphold the dignity of law enforcement officers?




Question 4
(For oral reply)

(Translation)

Tourism development planning for Hong Kong

Hon YIU Si-wing to ask:
On 29 April this year, the State Ministry of Culture and Tourism formulated the 14th Five-Year Cultural and Tourism Development Plan ("the C&T Development Plan") according to 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"). In addition, the Tourism Law of the People's Republic of China stipulates that the State Council as well as the people's governments of provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government, etc. "shall organize the formulation of tourism development planning in accordance with the requirements of the national economy and social development planning". Regarding the tourism development planning for Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
given that the Development Blueprint for Hong Kong's Tourism Industry, promulgated by the Tourism Commission ("TC") in 2017, systematically set out short, medium and long term tourism initiatives and measures for the following five years for Hong Kong, whether TC will, by drawing reference from the guiding contents of the 14th Five-Year Plan and the C&T Development Plan, review and update the Blueprint, so as to dovetail with the national tourism development plans; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2)
whether it conducted, in the past three years, regular exchanges on tourism development planning with the State Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the tourism departments of various provinces and municipalities; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3)
as a leading official of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council indicated, during his visit to Hong Kong in August this year to give talks on the 14th Five-Year Plan, that the Central Authorities would continue to introduce more policies beneficial to Hong Kong and its people, whether the Government has, after the promulgation of the C&T Development Plan, strived for the introduction by the Central Authorities of more policies beneficial to Hong Kong in respect of the tourism industry; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?




Question 5
(For oral reply)

(Translation)

Unclaimed land resumption compensation monies
in respect of Tso/Tong lands

Hon Kenneth LAU to ask:
Tso/Tong lands (commonly known as "ancestral land") in general refer to village lands in the New Territories which are owned by traditional organizations, namely clans, families or Tongs, and not by individual persons. It is learnt that after the resumption of quite a number of Tso/Tong lands by the Government through invoking the Lands Resumption Ordinance, the land resumption compensation monies have not been claimed by the Tso/Tong members concerned for various reasons. As a result, such monies have been held in the temporary custody of the Treasury. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the number of Tsos/Tongs whose manager posts are currently vacant, and the total site area of the Tso/Tong lands held by such Tsos/Tongs, with a breakdown by District Council district;
(2)
of the total amount of land resumption compensation monies disbursed by the Government since 1997 in respect of Tso/Tong lands; and
(3)
of the current total amount of unclaimed land resumption compensation monies in respect of Tso/Tong lands, and the number of Tsos/Tongs involved; the respective amounts of such compensation monies being left unclaimed for the reasons of the Tso/Tong manager post being vacant, the Tso/Tong members failing to reach a consensus on the allotment of the compensation monies, and other issues (please specify); whether Tso/Tong members will, upon receiving their compensation monies, be paid at the same time the interest for the period of such monies having been held in the custody of the Treasury; if so, of the calculation method of the interest; if not, the reasons for that?




Question 6
(For oral reply)

(Translation)

Licensing examination for non-locally trained medical graduates

Hon Tommy CHEUNG to ask:
Except for the medical graduates of The Chinese University of Hong Kong and the University of Hong Kong, all medical graduates who wish to register with the Medical Council of Hong Kong ("MCHK") for obtaining the qualification of medical practitioners are required to pass the licensing examination ("LE") administered by MCHK and complete a period of assessment in approved hospitals or healthcare institutions before they may be fully registered. Due to the epidemic, MCHK cancelled a total of two written examinations and three clinical examinations last year and this year, and the capacity for candidates of the clinical examinations of various disciplines to be held next month has also been reduced from the original 72 to 60 or less than 72. There are comments that such arrangements have impacted on the supply of medical practitioners. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
if it has gained an understanding of whether MCHK considered factors other than the epidemic in making the aforesaid decision to reduce the capacity for candidates; if so, of the details;
(2)
whether the Government will encourage MCHK to make reference to the relevant practices adopted by the two aforesaid universities when they held graduation examinations respectively for some 200-odd medical students in the middle of this year and take appropriate anti-epidemic measures for clinical examinations, so that such examinations can have a capacity for candidates comparable to that in the past; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3)
of the measures in place to assist MCHK in expediting the holding of LE and increasing the number of LE sittings, so as to offset the reduction in the supply of medical practitioners due to the cancellation of examinations since 2020?




Question 7
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Management of public toilets

Hon Michael TIEN to ask:
At present, there are more than 800 public toilets under the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department ("FEHD"), with the cleansing services for some 600-odd of them having been outsourced to street cleansing service contractors ("contractors"), and the hygiene conditions of the public toilets have been criticized from time to time. Regarding the management of public toilets, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
as the direct investigation report published by the Office of The Ombudsman earlier on indicates that there has not been a significant drop over the years in the number of cases in which FEHD issued Default Notices ("DNs") to its contractors and deducted their monthly service fees due to their rendering of sub-standard cleansing services, whether FEHD has studied if this situation has reflected that the monitoring system is ineffective; if it has studied and the outcome is in the affirmative, of the reasons for that, and the improvement measures in place (e.g. raising the relevant penalties);
(2)
as FEHD is currently enhancing its Contract Management System in order to more effectively collect information such as verbal warnings and DNs issued by its various district offices to contractors, whether FEHD will, when determining the scores for the item of "past performance" of tenderers of cleansing services, increase the weighting assigned to such records of defaults; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(3)
as FEHD has, since May this year, put on trial a smart toilet system at two public toilets and is now evaluating the system's effectiveness, (i) how FEHD will use the data collected by the system (e.g. the usage of public toilets, environmental parameters, the usage of consumables as well as operating status of electrical and mechanical equipment) to strengthen its monitoring of contractors' performance, and (ii) of the preliminary outcome of FEHD's evaluation of the effectiveness of the system; whether FEHD will apply the system extensively to various public toilets; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(4)
given that an Internet of things ("IoT")-enabled Smart Toilet Bowl Cleaning System (in which automatic toilet cleaning robots are supplemented with an IoT smart monitoring function and a real-time data-driven cleaning strategy), which was developed by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department and has won an international award, may improve the hygiene conditions of toilets, whether FEHD will introduce this System to improve the hygiene conditions of public toilets?




Question 8
(For written reply)

Zonal Plan for Calculation of Compensation Rates

Hon Abraham SHEK to ask:
Since 1978, the Government has adopted an ex-gratia zonal compensation system for resumption of land in the New Territories. Owners of private agricultural/building land in the New Territories affected by resumption are eligible for ex-gratia compensation as an alternative to statutory claims. The ex-gratia compensation rates for various districts were shown on the Zonal Plan for Calculation of Compensation Rates ("the Zonal Plan") which used to be available for inspection by members of the public at all New Territories District Lands Offices. A number of owners of private land in the New Territories and valuation professionals have relayed that they recently found that the Zonal Plan is no longer available for inspection by members of the public. They are concerned that, in the absence of the Zonal Plan, more time is required for valuing the private land to be resumed, and the land resumption process will inevitably be lengthened. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
since when the Zonal Plan has ceased to be available for inspection by members of the public, and of the reasons for that; whether the Government has consulted the relevant parties in respect of the cessation; and
(2)
whether the Government has plans to reinstate the arrangement whereby the Zonal Plan is made available for inspection by members of the public; if not, of the measures in place to enhance the transparency in respect of compensations for land resumption exercises, so that the rights of the owners of private land in the New Territories are duly protected?




Question 9
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Repair and maintenance of roads

Hon YUNG Hoi-yan to ask:
During my recent inspection to Tai Po District, I have noticed that quite a number of road sections (including the junction of On Chee Road and On Cheung Road, the junction of On Chee Road and Ting Kok Road, the section outside 105 Kwong Fuk Road, as well as the road section turning from Po Heung Street into Kwong Fuk Road) have uneven surfaces, which may jeopardize the safety of road users. Regarding repair and maintenance of roads, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the respective numbers of complaints or reports about uneven road surfaces received by the Highways Department ("HyD") in each of the past three years, with a breakdown by District Council district; the average time taken from receipt of a complaint or report to completion of maintenance works in respect of such cases;
(2)
of the details of the road inspection and maintenance work carried out by HyD in each of the past three years, including the number of inspections, as well as the manpower and expenditure involved;
(3)
whether HyD in the past three years looked into the main causes for uneven surfaces and damage of roads; of the expected time when a more durable material (such as Highly Modified Stone Mastic Asphalt) can be widely adopted for paving roads, with a view to reducing the occurrence of uneven road surfaces; and
(4)
as HyD has undertaken in its performance pledge that it will reply to public enquiries and complaints within seven working days, whether HyD will set a more aggressive performance pledge, with a view to expeditiously responding to complaints or reports about uneven surfaces and damage of roads?




Question 10
(For written reply)

(Translation)

System for promoting occupational safety and health

Hon KWOK Wai-keung to ask:
Under the Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Safety Management) Regulation (Cap. 59AF), a proprietor or contractor of an industrial undertaking which engages in a specified business and reaches a specified scale is required to establish not less than one safety committee ("SC") having the function of identifying, recommending and keeping under review the measures to improve the occupational safety and health ("OSH") of the workers in the relevant industrial undertaking. On the other hand, the Occupational Safety and Health Council is a statutory body for promoting safety and health at work in Hong Kong, and the Construction Industry Council's scope of work includes enhancing safety at construction sites. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether it knows the total number of enterprises in Hong Kong which have established an SC, with a breakdown by the nature of business in which such enterprises engage, as well as the operating situations of the relevant SCs; if such information is unavailable, of the reasons for that;
(2)
in respect of those small and medium enterprises which are not required under Cap. 59AF to establish an SC, of the measures taken by the Government in the past three years to incentivize them to establish an SC voluntarily, and the effectiveness of such measures;
(3)
as some front-line workers have relayed that although it is stipulated under Cap. 59AF that not less than half the members of an SC should represent workers in the relevant industrial undertaking, in reality representatives of the management make up the majority of the memberships of quite a number of SCs, resulting in workers' representatives facing obstacles when raising OSH issues, whether the Government will amend the Regulation to provide specific requirements on the number and the capacity of members of an SC, as well as step up the monitoring of the enforcement of such requirements; and
(4)
whether it will review the representation of front-line workers on the governing bodies of the aforesaid and other statutory bodies which are involved in promoting OSH, and enable more representatives of trade unions and front-line workers to join such governing bodies, so as to enhance such bodies' understanding of the OSH situations of workers?




Question 11
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Employees' compensation insurance

Hon WONG Kwok-kin to ask:
Some workers engaged in different industries have relayed to me that in recent years, quite a number of employers, on the grounds that the premiums of employees' compensation insurance (commonly known as "labour insurance") policies are high or that insurance companies have declined to underwrite such policies, have failed to take out labour insurance policies for their employees and even forced their employees to become self-employed persons. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether it knows (i) the number of valid labour insurance policies and (ii) the average premium per policy, in each of the past five years;
(2)
whether it knows the respective numbers of insurance applications (a) received and (b) approved in each of the past five years under the Employees' Compensation Insurance Residual Scheme, which had been submitted by the employers of (i) the 22 high-risk industries specified under the Scheme and (ii) other industries, with a breakdown by industry;
(3)
of the respective numbers of employers who were (i) prosecuted and (ii) convicted for failure to take out labour insurance policies for their employees, and the details of the relevant inspection and monitoring work of the Labour Department, in the past five years;
(4)
as some employers have relayed that the riots and the epidemic in the past two years have led to a surge in the risk of claims for compensation under labour insurance policies for some industries, and the number of work injury cases in industries such as construction and catering has continued to increase, resulting in a rise in the premiums of labour insurance policies, whether the Government has carried out coordination work and offered support, so as to avoid a substantial increase in the premiums of labour insurance policies for the industries concerned, and ensure that there are sufficient insurance companies willing to underwrite such policies; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(5)
whether it will consider afresh setting up a central employees' compensation fund to replace the private labour insurance market, so as to reduce employers' operating costs, ensure that employees are protected under labour insurance policies and prevent employees from being forced to become self-employed persons; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?




Question 12
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Divisions under the Yuen Long Police District

Hon LEUNG Che-cheung to ask:
At present, the Yuen Long Division, Pat Heung Division and Tin Shui Wai Division are established under the Yuen Long Police District. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the respective numbers of crimes which occurred in the three divisions in the past three years, with a breakdown by type;
(2)
of the respective current establishments of front-line police officers for the three divisions; whether it will consider expanding the establishments of police officers for these divisions; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(3)
of the respective current police-to-population ratios of the various police divisions across the territory (set out in descending order); whether the relevant ratios of the three divisions are lower than the territory's average ratio; if so, whether it will consider raising the ratios of the former to bring them on par with the territory's average ratio; and
(4)
given that the current population in the Tin Shui Wai district is already close to 300 000, whether the Government will consider upgrading the Tin Shui Wai Division to a police district; if so, of the implementation schedule; if not, the reasons for that?




Question 13
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Enforcement of anti-epidemic regulations

Dr Hon Pierre CHAN to ask:
Regarding the enforcement of the Prevention and Control of Disease (Requirements and Directions) (Business and Premises) Regulation (Cap. 599F), the Prevention and Control of Disease (Prohibition on Group Gathering) Regulation (Cap. 599G) and the Prevention and Control of Disease (Wearing of Mask) Regulation (Cap. 599I), will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the respective numbers of cases, since the commencement of Cap. 599F on 28 March 2020, in which law enforcement officers (i) issued fixed penalty notices ("FPNs") to and (ii) instituted prosecutions against (a) those persons responsible for carrying on catering businesses/managers of scheduled premises, and (b) those persons present at catering business premises/scheduled premises, who had contravened the Regulation, with a breakdown by type of premises and month;
(2)
of the respective numbers of cases, since the commencement of Cap. 599G on 29 March 2020, in which law enforcement officers (i) issued FPNs to and (ii) instituted prosecutions against those persons who had contravened the Regulation, with a breakdown by month; and
(3)
of the respective numbers of cases, since the commencement of Cap. 599I on 15 July 2020, in which law enforcement officers (i) issued FPNs to and (ii) instituted prosecutions against those persons who had contravened the Regulation, with a breakdown by month?




Question 14
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Implementation of development projects

Hon Wilson OR to ask:
To expedite the supply of housing, the Development Bureau set up in December last year a Development Projects Facilitation Office ("DPFO") to follow up the development approval applications (including those relating to planning, lease modification/land exchange, as well as building plan and building consent) leading up to the commencement of works for larger-scale private residential development projects (i.e. those providing 500 residential units or more), so as to ensure a smooth vetting and approval process. Regarding the implementation of development projects, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the details of the follow-up work of DPFO in respect of each type of development approval applications as at 30 September this year, including the (i) number of cases followed up, (ii) number of cases the vetting and approval process of which was completed, (iii) average processing time for cases the vetting and approval process of which was completed, and (iv) total number of units that can be provided by the development projects concerned (set out such information in the table below);

Type of applications(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)
(a)Planning    
(b)Lease modification/land exchange    
(c)Building plan and building consent    
(2)
whether it has compared the processing time mentioned in (1) with the processing time for the relevant applications in the eight months before DPFO was set up; if so, of the details; if not, whether it will immediately do so; and
(3)
given that the former Territory Development Department (which has become the present Civil Engineering and Development Department after merging with the former Civil Engineering Department) used to draw up, on a yearly basis, 10-year development programmes for the various districts, and revise the programmes in the light of the progress of works, progress in resolving land acquisition and clearance problems, progress of engineering and landscape studies as well as changes in expenditure priorities, but it is learnt that the Government has not carried out such work since 2003, whether the Government will consider formulating afresh 10-year development programmes for various districts; if so, of the details; if not, whether this is because the current practice is more desirable; if so, of the justifications for that?




Question 15
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Facilities, privileges and immunities enjoyed by Honorary Consuls

Hon Paul TSE to ask:
At present, some states, instead of sending officials from their own countries to station in Hong Kong, have appointed local people as their Honorary Consuls ("HCs"). Article 58 of Chapter III of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, as set out in the Schedule to the Consular Relations Ordinance (Cap. 557), stipulates that the facilities, privileges and immunities ("FPIs") enjoyed by consuls under certain provisions of the Convention shall apply to HCs. However, some HCs have relayed that they do not know the FPIs which they enjoy, and they often do not receive clear replies to their enquiries from the Protocol Division, which is responsible for maintaining liaison with the foreign consuls in Hong Kong. They feel confused and not being respected. On the contrary, HCs of various states in Macao, which is also a Special Administrative Region ("SAR") as Hong Kong, are provided with official documents setting out the FPIs which they enjoy. There are views that when our country, in an attempt to tackle the situation of the United States forming the "Five Eyes alliance" and AUKUS in order to surround and block up China, is striving to garner, on the diplomatic level, more support from different states to counter such surround-and-block-up tactic, the Hong Kong Government should review and improve its policies on facilitating HCs of various states in Hong Kong to perform their duties. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the current number of HCs in Hong Kong; the FPIs enjoyed by them, as well as the differences between such FPIs and those enjoyed by Career Consuls (i.e. career consular officers who are accredited by the sending states to Hong Kong);
(2)
of the policy put in place by the Protocol Division to assist HCs in getting to know their consular FPIs, so as to facilitate them to perform their duties;
(3)
whether it will, by drawing reference from the practice of the Macao Government, provide HCs with official documents setting out the FPIs which they enjoy;
(4)
in view of the aforesaid HCs feeling confused and not being respected, whether it has conducted a review to identify the reasons behind, and what improvement measures are in place; and
(5)
whether it has assessed if, in view of the current international development, improving the relationship between the Hong Kong SAR Government and HCs of various states in Hong Kong will be conducive to strengthening our country's diplomatic relations; if it has assessed, of the outcome; if not, whether it will immediately conduct such an assessment?




Question 16
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Vehicles registered in Hong Kong being stranded on the Mainland

Hon Starry LEE to ask:
Since the outbreak of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 epidemic early last year, passenger clearance services at most land immigration control points have been suspended one after another whilst cross-boundary passenger transport services have come to a halt. Besides, immigration quarantine measures have made it difficult for Hong Kong and Mainland residents to travel between the two places. It is learnt that some vehicles registered in Hong Kong have since been stranded on the Mainland, rendering the vehicle owners concerned unable to complete for those vehicles the relevant procedures of the two places (e.g. annual vehicle examination and licence renewal). To help vehicle owners cope with the situation, the Office of Port of Entry and Exit of Shenzhen Municipal People's Government has earlier announced that cross-boundary vehicles which have failed to return to Hong Kong from Shenzhen within the prescribed period are to be exempted from penalty. The Gongbei Customs has also rolled out measures allowing Hong Kong and Macao cross-boundary vehicle owners to apply in advance, by phone or email, to the customs of the place where their vehicle's record is filed for completing the procedures for their vehicles to stay on the Mainland. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether it knows the number of vehicles registered in Hong Kong which are currently stranded on the Mainland, with a breakdown by vehicle class;
(2)
whether it has received requests for assistance from the owners of such vehicles; if so, of the details; and
(3)
whether it has discussed with the Mainland authorities the introduction of measures to help such vehicle owners to complete the procedures related to such vehicles, including considering allowing vehicles stranded on the Mainland due to the epidemic to return to Hong Kong to complete the relevant procedures; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?




Question 17
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Promoting sports development

Hon Holden CHOW to ask:
Earlier on, the Government announced a number of measures to promote sports development, including expediting the construction of the new facilities building of the Hong Kong Sports Institute ("HKSI"), and launching a Sports Science and Research Funding Scheme to strengthen the provision of support on sports science and sports medicine for Hong Kong athletes, thereby enhancing athletes' standards. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the respective numbers of (i) full-time and (ii) part-time HKSI staff members providing support on sports science and sports medicine for athletes in each of the past five years, with a breakdown by service type and post;
(2)
of the additional number of sports science and sports medicine professionals that HKSI needs to recruit for implementing the aforesaid measures, with a breakdown by service type and post; HKSI's measures and channels for attracting relevant high-level professionals to join HKSI; and
(3)
of the progress of the discussion between the Government and the business and sports sectors on promoting the industrialization of sports, as well as providing retired athletes and young people with more sports-related jobs and development opportunities?




Question 18
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Medical public-private partnership

Hon Elizabeth QUAT to ask:
Regarding the public-private partnership ("PPP") programmes implemented by the Hospital Authority ("HA"), will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether it knows the following information about the various PPP programmes implemented by HA: (i) the commencement date, (ii) the cumulative number of participating patients and (iii) the estimated service demand for the coming year;
(2)
whether it knows the current average waiting time for cancer patients to receive diagnostic radiological imaging investigations at public hospitals; the cumulative number of cancer patients who have opted to join the Project on Enhancing Radiological Investigation Services through Collaboration with the Private Sector ("Radi Collaboration"), with a breakdown by cancer type;
(3)
as a public hospital patient suspected of suffering from breast cancer indicated that the Radi Collaboration did not include mammography, and since she had been informed by HA that she would have to wait for nine months before she would be arranged to receive the examination, the patient eventually went to a private healthcare institution for such an examination at her own expense, whether the Government will propose to HA that such examination be included in the Radi Collaboration; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(4)
whether it knows if HA will review the criteria for inviting patients to join PPP programmes, with a view to enhancing the effectiveness of such programmes;
(5)
whether it knows the total number of patients of the specialist outpatient clinics ("SOPCs") under HA who have been diagnosed, since January 2019, to be in need of undergoing surgery and, among them, the number and percentage of those who have been referred to participating service providers of PPP programmes for undergoing the relevant surgeries; and
(6)
given that under the General Outpatient Clinic Public-Private Partnership Programme, SOPC patients who are in stable clinical conditions will be followed up by family doctors in the community, and they can return to public hospitals for receiving treatment in case there is a change in their clinical conditions, whether it knows if HA will consider providing subsidies to those patients whose clinical conditions have changed, so that they may switch to private hospitals to receive treatment and follow-up services (including follow-up consultations and rehabilitation treatment), thereby easing off the pressure on public hospitals?




Question 19
(For written reply)

(Translation)

VTC Earn and Learn Scheme

Hon LUK Chung-hung to ask:
Since the 2014-2015 academic year, the Government has implemented the Training and Support Scheme on a pilot basis through the Vocational Training Council ("VTC") under the name of "VTC Earn and Learn Scheme" ("the Scheme"). Trainees receive apprenticeship training and may be disbursed a guaranteed level of salary and incentive allowance under the Scheme's "earn and learn" model. Upon completion of apprenticeship training, trainees may attain a range of Qualifications Framework-recognized qualifications. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the following figures in each of the past three academic years:
(i)
the respective numbers of persons who were admitted to and completed the various programmes under the Scheme,
(ii)
the number of trainees of the Scheme who were employed in the relevant industries upon completion of training,
(iii)
the amount of funding granted to VTC by the Government for providing various programmes under the Scheme, and
(iv)
the number of employers who participated in the Scheme, with a breakdown by industry; and
(2)
whether it has plans to expand the scope of the industries and programmes covered by the Scheme in the light of the trend of Hong Kong's economic development; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?




Question 20
(For written reply)

(Translation)

EV-charging at Home Subsidy Scheme

Hon Frankie YICK to ask:
To promote popularization of electric vehicles, the Government launched the EV-charging at Home Subsidy Scheme ("EHSS") in October 2020. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of (i) the number of applications received by the Government and the total number of parking spaces involved, (ii) the number of applications approved by the Government as well as the total amount of subsidies and the total number of parking spaces involved, and (iii) the total number of applications rejected by the Government together with a breakdown by major reason for rejection, since the launch of EHSS;
(2)
as one of the eligibility criteria for EHSS is that among all the eligible parking spaces in a car park, the proportion of those in open area must be less than 60%, but there are comments that from the perspective of prudent use of public money, such criterion is unnecessary since EHSS has specified a ceiling of subsidy (i.e. $30,000 for each parking space or $15 million for the entire housing court, whichever is lower), whether the Government will, based on the principle of fairness, remove such eligibility criterion so that more housing courts may participate in EHSS; and
(3)
as the Secretary for the Environment indicated in May this year that the public response to EHSS had been overwhelming and, as a result, the commitment of EHSS had almost reached the allocation amount of $2 billion, whether the Government will expeditiously complete a review of the effectiveness of EHSS and the Government's financial position, so as to decide if there is a need to allocate additional funding to EHSS; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?




Question 21
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Alleviating the burden on public finance

Ir Dr Hon LO Wai-kwok to ask:
Amid the haze of the epidemic, the Government has introduced a number of measures to promote the recovery of the economy, including taking forward a number of major infrastructure projects. On the other hand, the Financial Secretary indicated earlier that fiscal deficits are expected to be recorded in the coming four financial years in Hong Kong. On alleviating the burden on public finance, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether it will consider financing the major infrastructure projects to be taken forward through the issuance of bonds; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2)
whether it will consider issuing on a large scale an "Anti-epidemic Development Bond" for the purpose of financing measures to be introduced for fighting against the epidemic, supporting various trades and industries, developing innovation and technology, etc.; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3)
whether it will consider ploughing back some amount of money from the balances of the eight funds established under the Public Finance Ordinance (Cap. 2) (including the Capital Works Reserve Fund, Capital Investment Fund, Civil Service Pension Reserve Fund, Disaster Relief Fund, Innovation and Technology Fund, Land Fund, Loan Fund and Lotteries Fund) to the General Revenue Account of the Government for implementing measures to boost the economy and, when the economy has recovered, injecting monies into those funds until their balances return to the original levels; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?




Question 22
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Popularization of electric vehicles

Hon CHAN Hak-kan to ask:
In March this year, the Government published the Hong Kong Roadmap on Popularization of Electric Vehicles ("the Roadmap") to promote the popularization of electric vehicles ("EVs"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the respective numbers of newly registered (a) fuel-propelled and (b) electric (i) private cars and (ii) commercial vehicles in Hong Kong in the past three years (with a tabulated breakdown of the numbers of commercial vehicles by vehicle class);
(2)
as the Government has indicated in the Roadmap that it has implemented the following measure within the Government: EVs must be the standard for all newly procured small and medium private cars and those due for replacement, whether the Government will extend such measure to other classes of government vehicles (e.g. light buses, motorcycles and light goods vehicles); if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(3)
as the Government has indicated in the Roadmap that it will encourage public organizations to make reference to the measure mentioned in (2), whether it knows the respective numbers and percentages of fuel-propelled vehicles and EVs in the existing fleets of the MTR Corporation Limited, the Urban Renewal Authority, the Hongkong Post, the Hong Kong Airport Authority and the Hong Kong Housing Society;
(4)
whether it will request the various public organizations to set specific targets for the full adoption of EVs; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; whether it will, by making reference to the practices in other places, require that at least a certain percentage of the vehicles in those fleets of a certain scale of private and public organizations must be EVs; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(5)
given that public chargers for EVs ("chargers") are unevenly distributed across the various districts at present, with the number of chargers in Kwun Tong (over 800) accounting for 20% of the total number of chargers in Hong Kong while the numbers of those set up in Tai Po, Tuen Mun and the Southern District being all less than 60, of the reasons for that; whether the Government will, in deciding on the sites selected for new public charging facilities (e.g. new chargers installed at on-street parking spaces), accord priority to those districts set up with fewer chargers;
(6)
of the respective numbers of chargers that the Government (i) has installed and (ii) is planning to install at on-street parking spaces, as well as their geographic distribution; and
(7)
as the Government indicated earlier that it would explore the option of setting up public quick charging facilities across the territory, of the sites selected for and the details of such facilities; given that the Government will study the feasibility of progressively converting existing petrol filling stations and liquefied petroleum gas filling stations into quick charging stations in the medium to long term, of the latest progress of the study?