Question 1
(For oral reply)
(Translation)
Implementation of environmental, social and governance education
Hon CHU Kwok-keung to ask:
It is learnt that various sectors of society are actively exploring the integration of environmental, social and governance ("ESG") concepts into the education curriculum. However, some members of the education sector have relayed that primary and secondary schools will face challenges in the process of implementing ESG education, including the allocation of education resources, curriculum design and teacher training, etc. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the specific policies and measures in place to promote ESG education; whether it will incorporate ESG concepts into the curricula of primary and secondary schools and kindergartens, and commence the relevant teacher training; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2)
whether it will collaborate with various sectors of society and make reference to overseas experience to promote the innovation and development of ESG education, so as to achieve the best use of resources; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3)
whether it will include the performance of schools in teaching ESG in the Performance Indicators for Hong Kong Schools and take the performance of schools in teaching ESG into consideration when evaluating their performance, as well as ensure that education institutions at various levels are provided with sufficient resources and support in the process of implementing ESG education; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Question 2
(For oral reply)
(Translation)
Making good use of government-owned monuments to develop tourism
Hon YIU Pak-leung to ask:
There are views pointing out that the 1 444 historic buildings in Hong Kong, which have been graded by the Antiquities Advisory Board, are precious tourism resources, but quite a number of government-owned monuments are not being put to good use at present, and some of them are even fenced off. Taking the facade of the Old Mental Hospital at High Street as an example, this monument is of monumental Early-Baroque architectural style featuring a wide arched verandah as well as rusticated granite blocks at the lower level, but it has been locked up. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the number of graded historic buildings owned by the Government and, among them, the number of those which can be open for public visit; the criteria based on which the Government decides to open such historic buildings for public visit;
(2)
of the reasons why the verandah at the facade is not open for public visit; whether the authorities will consider opening up the verandah to make it another landmark in the Central and Western District that attracts "check-ins" on social media; and
(3)
apart from the existing Revitalizing Historic Buildings Through Partnership Scheme, whether the authorities have plans to comprehensively examine the tourism potential of government-owned monuments from the perspective of tourism development values, with a view to opening for public visit more monuments which are of viewing and historical values, conveniently accessible by transport and easy to manage, thereby promoting heritage, culture and history tourism in Hong Kong; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Question 3
(For oral reply)
(Translation)
Measures to cope with the discharge of nuclear wastewater by the Japanese Government
Hon Joephy CHAN to ask:
It has been reported that the Embassy of Japan in China earlier held a briefing session in Beijing on the discharge of nuclear wastewater generated by the Fukushima Nuclear Power Station, but it did not invite the Chinese media to attend the session, and even disseminated false information at the session in an attempt to mislead the international community. Also, it did not follow the principle of goodwill consultation to explore other options to dispose of the nuclear wastewater. There are views that the Government should formulate the most stringent precautionary measures in response to the discharge plan. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether it has assessed the immediate impact and level of risks posed by the discharge plan to food safety and public health in Hong Kong, and of the measures in place to enhance the public's understanding of the plan and its risks to their own health;
(2)
apart from aquatic products, whether the Government will impose import control on processed food (regardless of their places of origin) made from fresh food from Fukushima and its neighbouring areas, expand the scope of radiological testing on imported Japanese food products, and require all processed food imported from Japan to be accompanied by radiation certificates and pass the relevant tests; and
(3)
whether the authorities will, in addition to drawing reference from the reports published by the International Atomic Energy Agency on the discharge plan, draw reference from other representative international research and assessment reports to help them formulate more comprehensive corresponding measures; if so, of the titles of such reports, as well as the details of the corresponding measures (including the additional manpower and total expenditure involved); if not, the reasons for that?
Question 4
(For oral reply)
(Translation)
Further building Hong Kong into an offshore Renminbi hub
Hon Carmen KAN to ask:
There are views that Hong Kong, as an international financial centre and offshore Renminbi ("RMB") hub, should continue to leverage its own advantages in the process of actively dovetailing itself with the high-quality Belt and Road development. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
as there are views pointing out that with the increasing recognition of RMB in the Belt and Road countries, the market demand for the internationalization of RMB is on the rise, how the Government continues to further build Hong Kong into an offshore RMB hub, such as launching more products that comply with international trading rules and promoting issuance of offshore RMB bonds in Hong Kong by multinational enterprises from the Belt and Road countries;
(2)
as there are views that Hong Kong is performing an important function of re-allocating RMB funds to the world, how the Government continues to strengthen market entities' awareness of exchange rate risk neutrality, enhance the transparency of market regulation, improve market support facilities and enhance the level of mutual access of RMB financial markets, so as to bring convenience to the optimal allocation of RMB funds around the world; and
(3)
on the aspect of international cooperation on digital currencies, how the Government will further enhance market infrastructure, explore flexible interface of multiple systems, expand application scenarios and develop retail central bank digital currencies, so as to promote safe, convenient and inexpensive cross-border payment by digital RMB?
Question 5
(For oral reply)
(Translation)
Combating deceptive activities jointly with the banking sector
Hon LAM San-keung to ask:
In the first quarter of this year, Hong Kong recorded 8 886 deception cases, representing an increase of about 65% as compared to the same period last year, and accounting for more than 40% of the overall crime figure. Besides, last year, bank staff assisted in preventing 232 deception cases from happening, and the Anti-Deception Coordination Centre also successfully intercepted defrauded money of more than $1.3 billion in 888 deception cases. On the other hand, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority will launch a platform for sharing information on corporate mule accounts among banks, and encourage banks to enhance the adoption of Regtech and data analytics, so as to expedite the detection of suspicious accounts, guard against account abuses, as well as prevent and combat deception cases. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the number of deception cases involving the accounts of four major banks (i.e. HSBC, Bank of China, Standard Chartered Bank and Hang Seng Bank) with the defrauded money being $500,000 or above, and the total amount of defrauded money in the past year; and
(2)
whether the Government or regulatory bodies can disclose to banks the personal data of all holders of bank accounts involved in deception cases and immediately terminate fund transfers to and from such bank accounts, as well as establish a database and a "blacklist of account holders", so as to prevent the persons involved in the cases from opening bank accounts again for deception; if not, of the reasons for that?
Question 6
(For oral reply)
(Translation)
Making the "Three Instruments of Peace"
Hon Doreen KONG to ask:
It has been reported that the elderly population in Hong Kong will increase to 24.6% in 2026, and by then Hong Kong will become a "super-aged society" as defined by the World Health Organization. However, a survey has found that over 80% of the respondents have not made the "Three Instruments of Peace" (i.e. an enduring power of attorney ("EPA"), an advance medical directive ("AMD") and a will), so as to make adequate end-of-life preparation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether it knows the respective numbers of EPAs signed under the witness of public hospital doctors as well as valid AMDs received and executed by public hospitals in each of the past five years; of the Government's comprehensive publicity plans to enhance public awareness of the Three Instruments of Peace as well as life and death education;
(2)
of the progress of and detailed timetable for taking forward the legislative proposals relating to the Continuing Powers of Attorney Ordinance and the Advance Decision on Life-Sustaining Treatment Bill; and
(3)
whether it has plans to properly store signed documents on the Three Instruments of Peace by electronic means or by setting up a central repository in the future?
Question 7
(For written reply)
(Translation)
Combating "quick money-making" crimes
Hon MA Fung-kwok to ask:
It has been reported that following the full resumption of normal travel between Hong Kong and the Mainland as well as the rest of the world, various types of "quick money-making" crimes (e.g. pickpocketing, snatching, burglary and deception) have been on the increase in Hong Kong in recent months. Some Mainland tourist victims have criticized that the law and order of Hong Kong has deteriorated. Suspecting that some people have targeted Mainland tourists when committing crimes, such tourists have called upon Mainland tourists to be cautious and have even advised Mainland residents not to visit Hong Kong. On the other hand, some members of the public have claimed that some of these offenders are non-Hong Kong residents and are even tourists. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether it has compiled statistics to see if the aforesaid "quick money-making" crimes or other types of crimes have increased significantly since January this year, and set out in a table the number of relevant crimes by month;
(2)
among the victims of the crimes mentioned in (1), of the respective numbers of Hong Kong residents and non-Hong Kong residents (with a breakdown by place of origin);
(3)
of the detection rate of the crimes mentioned in (1); among the people arrested, the ratio of Hong Kong residents to non-Hong Kong residents; whether the non-Hong Kong residents include refugees and asylum seekers stranded in Hong Kong; if so, of their numbers and proportion; and
(4)
whether measures are in place to enhance the protection for the safety of tourists and combat the aforesaid "quick money-making" crimes (including reminding tourists to stay alert of suspicious persons and increasing the number of patrols at relevant crime blackspots), and whether it will release on a regular basis the number of relevant crimes committed by tourists, so as to avoid deliberate dissemination of unproven information by some people to stir up conflicts between members of the public and tourists?
Question 8
(For written reply)
(Translation)
Non-emergency ambulance transfer service
Hon LAM Chun-sing to ask:
There are views pointing out that the number of person-times using the non-emergency ambulance transfer service ("NEATS") of the Hospital Authority ("HA") has been on the rise in recent years. Non-emergency ambulances often transport multiple patients at the same time, which, coupled with the difficulties in parking encountered in some places, has caused some patients to suffer waiting for several hours before they can reach their destinations. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether it knows the average number of persons transported by HA's NEATS in each of the past five years, with a breakdown by the type of patients transported (e.g. patients living at home, in residential care homes for the elderly and in residential care homes for persons with disabilities) and hospital cluster;
(2)
whether it knows the (i) staffing establishment, (ii) strength, (iii) wastage rate and (iv) number of new recruits of NEATS attendants in various hospital clusters in each of the past five years;
(3)
as it is learnt that non-emergency ambulances often encounter difficulties when entering public or private housing estates and private car parks (including places under the management of the Housing Department ("HD") and the Link Real Estate Investment Trust ("Link REIT")), including being requested to park at loading areas and spending long time paying parking fees, etc., thus affecting the quality of transport service, whether the Government will enhance communication and coordination with HD and Link REIT, and study turning non-emergency ambulances to special purpose vehicles, so as to facilitate the transport of patients and speed up the transport; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(4)
as there are views that the ageing of the population and the development of quite a number of new areas in the future will result in a continuous rise in the demand for NEATS and a substantial increase in the workload of NEATS attendants, whether it knows if HA has considered increasing the number of non-emergency ambulances and raising the remuneration packages of NEATS attendants to retain talents and attract talents to join the service; if HA has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Question 9
(For written reply)
(Translation)
Adopting payment means commonly used on the Mainland
Prof Hon William WONG to ask:
It is learnt that the number of Mainland tourists is increasing gradually, but they generally face payment problems in spending and travelling. For instance, during the Labour Day Golden Week just passed, as a large number of Mainland tourists wished to take ferry rides, they needed to wait in long queues to buy Octopus cards for making payment. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether it has compiled statistics on the current number of businesses in Hong Kong that accept electronic payment means other than Octopus and, among them, the number of businesses that accept the payment means more commonly used by Mainland residents (e.g. Alipay and WeChat Pay); if not, whether it will compile such statistics, so as to gain an understanding of the actual situation of businesses' acceptance of payment means;
(2)
as it is learnt that Mainland residents are accustomed to using payment means such as Alipay and WeChat Pay, but the majority of businesses and ferries in Hong Kong still only accept payment by cash or Octopus, of the measures put in place by the authorities to encourage more large and small businesses to provide the QR code payment means commonly used by Mainland residents; before such payment means become popular, of the authorities' plans to publicize the payment means commonly used in Hong Kong to tourists wishing to visit Hong Kong, so that they can make preparations in advance; and
(3)
as it is learnt that Mainland residents can use the mobile application "Super App" to pay the fares of public transport modes in a number of provinces and municipalities, of the current number of types of public transport modes in Hong Kong that accept payment via that application; whether the Government will consider requiring the payment systems of all public transport modes to be connected with that application, so as to facilitate payment of fares by Mainland tourists?
Question 10
(For written reply)
(Translation)
Measures to improve road surface conditions
Hon CHAN Han-pan to ask:
Regarding the measures to improve road surface conditions to ensure traffic safety, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the specific work undertaken by the Government since it put forward the 10 enhancement measures on roadside tree planting and maintenance and tree risk assessment early this year, and set out in a table the details of the various tasks and the latest progress; whether these tasks include regular removal of trees blocking road signs and tree felling; if so, of the number of such tasks; whether the authorities have formulated performance pledges for the handling of complaints about roadside trees affecting road safety; if so, of the time limits for replying and taking action after receipt of a complaint;
(2)
whether it has compiled statistics on the number of cases in the past five years in which the front windscreens of vehicles were broken or the bodies of vehicles were damaged as a result of being struck by road debris, and the number of times the road debris was cleared each month; whether measures are in place to step up the clearance work and improve the situation concerned; if so, of the details and the timetable; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3)
of the number of cases in the past five years in which miscellaneous objects fell onto the road from moving green materials collection vehicles or goods vehicles, the types of miscellaneous objects involved and the number of prosecutions; whether the authorities will consider amending the legislation to require such vehicles to use a more enclosed goods compartment; if so, of the details and the timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
Question 11
(For written reply)
(Translation)
Standards in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area
Dr Hon Kennedy WONG to ask:
The authorities of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding on jointly promoting the development of standards in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area ("GBA Standards") in Shenzhen with a view to strengthening the advancement of the development of GBA Standards. The relevant list of GBA Standards covers a total of 110 items in 25 fields. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the procedures for setting the GBA Standards, the departments and organizations involved and the latest work progress;
(2)
of the procedures and time required for the industries to apply for adoption of the GBA Standards;
(3)
whether there is a first batch of items in Hong Kong that has been approved to adopt the GBA Standards; if so, of the types and numbers of the items concerned; if not, the expected time when the first batch of items will be approved to adopt the GBA Standards, as well as the details of the items concerned; and
(4)
whether the authorities have promoted and publicized the adoption of GBA Standards among organizations and enterprises in the relevant industries, so as to enable them to be aware of and understand the GBA Standards; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Question 12
(For written reply)
(Translation)
Sector-specific labour importation schemes
Ir Dr Hon LO Wai-kwok to ask:
On the 13th of this month, the Government announced the sector-specific labour importation schemes under which the construction and transport sectors are allocated a quota of 12 000 and 8 000 respectively for importation of labour. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether the Government has a timetable for introducing sector-specific labour importation schemes for other sectors with acute manpower shortages (such as the tourism sector); if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2)
given that the Government has indicated that the sector-specific labour importation scheme for the construction sector should primarily apply to public sector construction works, and private sector construction works with special circumstances will also be considered, whether the Government has formulated a clear definition or guidelines for "special circumstances"; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(3)
as some labour in foreign places have indicated that they do not know the details and application channels of the sector-specific labour importation schemes, whether the Government will step up publicity and promotion outside Hong Kong, so as to prevent labour in foreign places from being misled by unscrupulous labour service agencies; if so, of the details; and
(4)
whether it will launch a one-stop online platform to enable practitioners of the relevant sectors and foreign job seekers to keep abreast of the latest recruitment information and application procedures, and provide answers to frequently asked questions; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Question 13
(For written reply)
(Translation)
Provision of support for elderly singletons
Hon TANG Ka-piu to ask:
According to the data in the 2021 Population Census, the number of domestic households with elderly persons aged 65 and above was about 1.02 million in 2021 and, among them, the proportion of elderly singletons to all domestic households with elderly persons was 18.5%. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the number of households with elderly singletons aged 60 or above in public housing estates across the territory, with a breakdown by the age group of such households (i.e. aged 60 to 69, 70 to 79, 80 to 89, 90 to 99, and 100 or above);
(2)
of the number of members of elderly centres subsidized by the Social Welfare Department ("SWD") and, among them, the number of members who are elderly singletons; whether it has assessed the effectiveness of the services of such elderly centres;
(3)
of the current number of elderly singletons assessed by the Standardized Care Need Assessment Mechanism for Elderly Services as frail cases, with a breakdown by the age group of such elderly persons (i.e. aged 60 to 69, 70 to 79, 80 to 89, 90 to 99, and 100 or above);
(4)
of the respective current numbers of elderly singletons receiving various government cash benefits (including Comprehensive Social Security Assistance, Old Age Living Allowance, Old Age Allowance and Disability Allowance, etc.);
(5)
whether the Housing Department, SWD (including SWD-subsidized elderly centres) and the Hospital Authority will consolidate the information on elderly singletons and establish an information sharing platform on elderly singleton households to improve the coordination among the relevant departments, thereby ensuring that every elderly singleton in need can receive welfare support; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(6)
whether it will collaborate with the relevant departments to make use of gerontechnology to install home safety monitoring systems for elderly singletons, such as monitoring systems for bed exit and fall detection, so as to ensure that elderly singletons can receive timely rescue and assistance in case of home accidents, thereby preventing recurrence of incidents of failure to rescue which occurred frequently in recent years; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Question 14
(For written reply)
(Translation)
Hong Kong enterprises' investment in the fields of innovation and technology on the Mainland
Hon CHAN Yung to ask:
The National 14th Five-Year Plan has expressed clear support for Hong Kong to develop into an international innovation and technology ("I&T") hub. However, there are views that according to the Special Administrative Measures (Negative List) for Foreign Investment Access (2021 Edition) ("the Negative List"), Hong Kong investors are overseas investors on the Mainland and are not allowed to access some of the fields of biotechnology and information technology services industries, which is not conducive to Hong Kong leveraging its I&T strengths and supporting the development of the nation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it will strive for the Central Government's relaxation of the prohibition in the Negative List against investment by Hong Kong enterprises in the development and application of human stem cells as well as genetic diagnosis and treatment technology, and its permission for enterprises which have Chinese Hong Kong permanent residents serving as their major shareholders and are registered in the Lok Ma Chau Loop to access the Mainland market directly, so that such enterprises can be given the same treatment as that given to domestic-funded enterprises?
Question 15
(For written reply)
(Translation)
Support for ethnic minorities
Hon Vincent CHENG to ask:
It has been reported that a familicide occurred recently in Sham Shui Po, in which three young ethnic minority ("EM") girls died unfortunately and their mother was arrested. The incident has aroused public concern about the mental health of EMs and the problem of inadequate support services for them. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
given that currently in Hong Kong, there are six support service centres and two sub-centres for EMs set up by non-profit-making organizations with funding from the Government to provide dedicated support services for EMs, whether the authorities will allocate additional resources to increase the number of such centres and ensure that there are EM staff members; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2)
given that the Social Welfare Department ("SWD") has commissioned three non-governmental organizations to set up three outreaching teams for EMs, for each of the outreaching teams in the past three years, of (i) the staffing establishment and (ii) the number of EMs contacted and, among them, the number of those who received services, with a breakdown by the type of the services involved;
(3)
whether it will consider setting up additional outreaching teams for EMs in districts in which a large number of EMs reside; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(4)
as it has been reported that the Government is planning to make use of the District Health Centres to divert people in need of mental counselling to SWD's community mental health services units, of the details of the relevant plan, and whether such services units will provide counselling services, so that members of the public (including EMs) in need can have more channels to seek assistance from professionals; if so, of the details; and
(5)
given that according to the latest figures released by the Hospital Authority ("HA"), the median waiting time for stable new cases at psychiatric specialist outpatient clinics in various hospital clusters ranges from 18 weeks to 65 weeks at present, whether it knows if HA will study proposals for shortening the waiting time at psychiatric specialist outpatient clinics to ensure that patients, including EM patients, can receive timely treatment; if HA will, of the details?
Question 16
(For written reply)
(Translation)
Pilot Scheme for Short-term Visitors
Hon Jimmy NG to ask:
In June 2022, the Government launched the Pilot Scheme on Immigration Facilitation for Visitors Participating in Short-term Activities in Designated Sectors ("the Pilot Scheme for STV"), with an aim to provide immigration facilitation for non-local talents to participate in specified short-term activities, so as to facilitate business and foster the development of relevant sectors. Since February this year, the coverage of the Pilot Scheme for STV has been further expanded. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the number of visitors who have come to Hong Kong under the Pilot Scheme for STV so far, as well as the average number of days that each visitor has stayed in Hong Kong and the average number of specified short-term activities that each visitor has participated in, with a breakdown by designated sector;
(2)
given that it is stipulated under the Pilot Scheme for STV that the duration of eligible visitors' participation in the specified short-term activities is up to 14 consecutive calendar days for each period of permitted stay as visitor, whether the Government will consider raising the cap on the number of such days; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(3)
whether it will consider further expanding the coverage of the Pilot Scheme for STV and increasing the number of authorized host organizations; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(4)
whether it will consider regularizing the Pilot Scheme for STV; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Question 17
(For written reply)
(Translation)
Expediting the processing of applications for renewal of HKSAR passports
Hon YANG Wing-kit to ask:
It is learnt that quite a number of members of the public, whose Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("HKSAR") passports have expired, have been unable to make appointments to renew their passports, thus affecting their travel and business trips outside Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the respective numbers of Hong Kong residents whose HKSAR passports have expired and will expire in the coming six months;
(2)
given that in reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council in respect of the Estimates of Expenditure 2023-2024, the Government indicated that the Immigration Department ("ImmD") had employed additional manpower to expedite the processing of renewal of HKSAR passports, whether ImmD will consider further employing additional manpower to expedite the processing of the backlog of applications; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(3)
whether it will extend the appointment bookable period for renewal of HKSAR passports from 24 working days to 90 working days counting from the following working day, so as to facilitate members of the public to renew their HKSAR passports; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(4)
of the total number of members of the public assisted in applying for passports by the HKSAR Passport Mobile Application Stations ("PMAS") during their operation; the reasons for suspending the operation of PMAS, and whether it will re-launch PMAS to travel around all 18 districts through Hong Kong to call on and assist members of the public to apply for passports online; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(5)
whether it will set up additional Travel Document Submission Kiosks and Passport Collection Kiosks at MTR stations and government premises such as District Offices or Government Offices in various districts, so as to ease the influx of applications for passport renewals; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(6)
whether it will study the provision of passport delivery service to enable members of the public to acknowledge receipt of their HKSAR passports through the government mobile application "iAM Smart" upon receipt of them, so as to promote e-Government; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Question 18
(For written reply)
(Translation)
Promoting the development of the maritime industry
Hon Holden CHOW to ask:
It is learnt that in order to promote the development of the maritime industry, the Government has introduced in recent years a number of policies, such as tax concession measures. There are views that should the Government be more proactive in attracting more international maritime enterprises to set up their operations in Hong Kong, Hong Kong's maritime industry will certainly be taken to a higher level. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether, in order to support the development of a high value-added maritime industry, the Government has considered upgrading the Hong Kong Maritime and Port Board to an independent statutory body, thereby conferring on it wider powers and functions, and enabling it to steer more effectively the development of a high value-added maritime industry;
(2)
whether it has considered allocating government land for pooling together the operations set up by international organizations in the maritime industry (including organizations relating to issues such as marine insurance, maritime arbitration and ship leasing), so as to establish a landmark conducive to the clustering of the maritime industry, as well as strengthen Hong Kong's image of promoting a high value-added maritime industry; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3)
given that there is an offshore liquefied natural gas ("LNG") terminal in the waters of Hong Kong, whether the Government has set up a task force to explore the feasibility of allowing vessels to receive LNG offshore with the latest technology, so as to facilitate the development of Hong Kong's maritime industry, as well as achieve the targets of protecting the environment and reducing emissions, and tying in with the Central Government's efforts to realize carbon neutrality; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Question 19
(For written reply)
(Translation)
Illegal parking in public housing estates
Dr Hon NGAN Man-yu to ask:
It has been reported that the problem of illegal parking in public housing estates has become increasingly serious in recent years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the number of parking spaces in public housing estates under the Hong Kong Housing Authority and the Hong Kong Housing Society (including those sold to enterprises such as Gaw Capital Partners and Link Real Estate Investment Trust), with a tabulated breakdown by District Council district;
(2)
of the number of vehicles illegally parked in the public housing estates mentioned in (1) above that were subject to enforcement actions in each of the past three years, with a tabulated breakdown by type of enforcement action (including towing, impounding, issuing fixed penalty notices in accordance with the Housing (Traffic Contraventions) (Fixed Penalty) Bylaw (Cap. 283 sub. leg. C) by authorized staff of the Housing Department, etc.) and District Council district;
(3)
whether cases of evading law enforcement by parking the vehicles on the footpaths of public housing estates were found in the past three years; if so, of the number of vehicles involved and the follow-up actions taken by the authorities; and
(4)
of the measures put in place by the authorities in the past three years to improve the problem of illegal parking in public housing estates, and whether they have assessed the effectiveness of such measures?
Question 20
(For written reply)
(Translation)
Admission requirements for medical students
Hon CHAN Hok-fung to ask:
There are views pointing out that the "Hippocratic Oath" is the code of ethics observed by quite a number of medical students. However, incidents of strikes staged by Hong Kong healthcare practitioners took place during the riots in which political stances prevailed over professional conduct. Regarding the admission requirements for medical students, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether it knows the respective percentages of students admitted to the faculties of medicine of the two local universities through the Joint University Programmes Admissions System ("JUPAS") and non-JUPAS in the past three years and, among all the medical students admitted, of the number of students who sat for examinations of subjects similar to Liberal Studies or Citizenship and Social Development in public examinations (including those in Hong Kong and overseas);
(2)
given that one of the objectives of the subject of Citizenship and Social Development is to cultivate among students a sense of national identity and the subject will become one of the compulsory subjects under the basic entrance requirements for JUPAS applications starting from the 2024-2025 school year, whether it knows if the faculties of medicine of the two local universities have compiled statistics on whether students admitted through non-JUPAS have sat for examinations of subjects related to the development of a sense of national identity, and whether such courses will be included as a basic requirement for non-JUPAS applicants who are Hong Kong students enrolling for programmes in medicine; if they have not compiled the statistics and will not include such courses as a basic requirement for Hong Kong students enrolling for programmes in medicine, of the reasons for that; and
(3)
as it is learnt that the universities in some countries require students to complete undergraduate degree programmes before they can enrol for programmes in medicine, whether it knows if the faculties of medicine of the two local universities will consider adopting such a requirement; if they will not, of the reasons for that?
Question 21
(For written reply)
(Translation)
Talent List
Hon CHAN Pui-leung to ask:
The Government announced in May this year the expanded Talent List ("the List") that increases the coverage from the originally 13 to 51 professions and immediately applies to the Quality Migrant Admission Scheme, the General Employment Policy and the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals, with a view to attracting more high-quality talents to come to Hong Kong and meeting Hong Kong's development needs. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the respective numbers of applications for the aforesaid three talent admission schemes (i) received and (ii) approved by the authorities since the List was first drawn up in 2018, and set out in the table below a breakdown by profession on the List;
Profession on the List | (i) | (ii) |
|
|
|
Total |
|
|
(2)
whether the authorities have compiled statistics on the professional talents belonging to the professions on the List who have been approved to come to Hong Kong since the List was first drawn up in 2018, including their place of origin, gender, age, academic qualification and working experience, etc.; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(3)
of the longest, shortest and average processing time for the approved applications since the List was first drawn up in 2018; and
(4)
whether it has reviewed if the number of talents admitted under the List in the past five years met the Government's expectations; how the Government gauges and assesses the effectiveness of the expanded List?
Question 22
(For written reply)
(Translation)
Making good use of reservoirs for leisure purpose
Hon Tony TSE to ask:
There are views that Hong Kong has many man-made reservoirs that are as picturesque as natural lakes. However, owing to the need to safeguard fresh water supply and safety, there are restrictions on the leisure activities among the public and visitors in reservoirs and the associated catchments. In addition, some reservoirs, due to their smaller storage capacities, in fact have limited contributions to the supply of fresh water, the Government should consider discontinuing the use of such reservoirs for water supply purpose and making good use of them for other purposes, so as to achieve cost savings in repairs and maintenance of the relevant water supply systems. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the water supply quantities of Dongjiang water and reservoirs, and their proportion in the overall fresh water consumption in Hong Kong in each of the past five years; whether the authorities have made projections on the future water supply proportion of Dongjiang water and various reservoirs and developed a water supply strategy;
(2)
of the reservoirs currently still in use for water supply, their storage capacities and surface areas, as well as the average actual water supply quantities, and repair and maintenance expenses involved in each of the past five years (set out in a table);
(3)
of the number of cases (including those in which warnings were issued, arrests were made, prosecutions were instituted and convictions were handed down) involving the violation of the Waterworks Ordinance (Cap. 102) and the Waterworks Regulations (Cap. 102A) in reservoirs or the catchment areas in the past five years, and the major offences involved; whether it has studied if there is room to suitably relax some of the restrictions specified in Cap. 102 and Cap. 102A (e.g. the requirement for a fishing licence when fishing in reservoirs, and restrictions on swimming and rowing in reservoirs);
(4)
whether it will review the use of certain reservoirs with smaller storage capacities to enhance the promotion of a water-friendly culture, and meet the leisure needs of the public and visitors;
(5)
as it has been reported that the pleasure boat operations in Wong Nai Chung Reservoir Park have resumed since 2021, of the utilization of such facility since its resumption of operation; whether the authorities will consider introducing additional leisure facilities to the Park to provide convenience for and attract visitors; and
(6)
as it is learnt that the originally abandoned Jordan Valley Reservoir and Ma Yau Tong Reservoir have been converted for other uses, whether there are other existing abandoned reservoirs in Hong Kong; if so, of the authorities' plans to optimize their uses?