Subsidiary Legislation	L.N. NO.
1. Television (Date of Renewal of Licence) (Asia Television Limited) Order 1995	477/95
2. Television (Date of Renewal of Licence) (Television Broadcasts Limited) Order 1995	478/95
3. Television (Royalty and Licence Fees) (Amendment) Regulation 1995	479/95
4. Official Languages (Alteration of Text) (Firearms and Ammunition Ordinance) Order 1995	481/95
5. Security and Guarding Services (Fees) Regulation (L.N. 258 of 1995) (Commencement) Notice 1995	482/95
6. Insurance Companies (Amendment) Ordinance 1994 (25 of 1994) (Commencement) Notice 1995	483/95
7. Insurance Companies (Determination of Long Term Liabilities) Regulation (L.N. 327 of 1995) (Commencement) Notice 1995	484/95
8. Insurance Companies (Margin of Solvency) Regulation (L.N. 328 of 1995) (Commencement) Notice 1995	485/95
9. Official Languages (Authentic Chinese Text) (Pensions (Special Provisions) (Customs Officers) Ordinance) Order	(C) 83/95
10. Official Languages (Authentic Chinese Text) (Legal Officers Ordinance) Order	(C) 84/95
11. Official Languages (Authentic Chinese Text) (Pensions (Special Provisions) (Hong Kong Polytechnic) Ordinance) Order	(C) 85/95
12. Official Languages (Authentic Chinese Text) (Pensions (Special Provisions) Ordinance) Order	(C) 86/95
13. Official Languages (Authentic Chinese Text) (Misrepresentation Ordinance) Order	(C) 87/95
14. Official Languages (Authentic Chinese Text) (Pensions (Increase) Ordinance) Order	(C) 88/95
15. Official Languages (Authentic Chinese Text) (Firearms and Ammunition Ordinance) Order	(C) 89/95
16. Official Languages (Authentic Chinese Text) (Marriage (War Period) (Validity) Ordinance) Order	(C) 90/95

Sessional Papers 1995/96

The Secretary for Economic Services to present and to address the Council on :

1. No. 15 - Hong Kong Tourist Association

Annual Report 1994/95

The Secretary for Education and Manpower to present :

2. No. 16 - Annual Report of the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund Board 1994/95

II. QUESTIONS

* 1. Mr. CHOY Kan-pui to ask : (Translation)

Since the Chinese Foreign Minister and the British Foreign Secretary have reached an understanding to seek a solution to the container terminal issue in the territory, will the Government inform this Council whether it has submitted or is planning to submit in the near future a new proposal to the Chinese side, so that the Sino-British Joint Liaison Group can discuss the new proposal and come to a decision early; if so, when has it submitted or when will it submit the new proposal?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for EconomicServices

* 2. Mr. Andrew CHENG to ask : (Translation)

Regarding the Governments failure to introduce the proposed omnibus broadcasting bill into this Council in the last session, will the Government inform this Council whether:

the Government will introduce the bill into this Council in this session; if so, when it will be introduced; if not, why not; and
agreement of the Chinese Government is required before the bill can be introduced into this Council; if so, whether it is because the bill involves such issues as the ratio of foreign-owned shareholding of a broadcasting corporation and cross-media ownership?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Recreation and Culture

* 3. Mr. Henry TANG to ask : (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:

of the respective average numbers of licensing applications and related enquiries received daily by the Trade Department, and whether there are low and peak seasons for submitting applications and making enquiries;
of the average time taken for processing an application as well as the average waiting time for making an enquiry; and
whether the Trade Department will consider opening their offices during lunch time to handle applications, as in the case of other government departments such as the Transport Department and the Home Affairs Department; if not, why not?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Trade and Industry

* 4. Mr. Allen LEE to ask : (Translation)

In regard to the Governments proposal to set up a Liaison Office to co-ordinate liaison matters between the Government and the Preparatory Committee, will the Government inform this Council of:

the functions and scope of duties of the Liaison Office;
the criteria to be adopted by the Liaison Office for determining which categories of information on the Government and government officials will be provided to the Preparatory Committee; and
the criteria to be adopted by the Liaison Office for providing the necessary practical assistance to the Preparatory Committee and the Chief Executive (Designate)?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional Affairs

Environment and Lands

* 5. Mr. K.K. FUNG to ask : (Translation)

With regard to its commitment of providing decent accommodation for all elderly people currently living in bedspace apartments by the end of 1997, will the Government inform this Council:

of the respective numbers of elderly people currently living in bedspace apartments and cubicles;
of the types of resettlement housing for the elderly currently living in bedspace apartments; what is the breakdown by types of housing units expected to be set aside for rehousing these elderly people in each of the next two years;
whether there is any plan to rehouse the elderly living in cubicles; if so, what is the breakdown by types of housing units expected to be set aside for rehousing these elderly people in each of the next two years; if not, why not; and
what is the definition of the term decent accommodation mentioned by the Government?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing

* 6. Mr. James TIEN to ask : (Translation)

At present people in the territory especially those in the low-income bracket have to bear a heavy mortgage repayment burden. Moreover, there were between 300 and 400 forfeiture of deposit cases a year in the purchase of Home Ownership Scheme flats over the past two years and there is a tendency for such cases to continue to increase. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it will reconsider adding a Housing Allowance in the salaries tax personal assessment, which will enable taxpayers to enjoy tax exemption of an amount set at $20,000 per annum on actual expenditure on rent or mortgage repayment, so that the burden of taxpayers with heavy expenditure on housing can be alleviated?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Treasury Manpower

*7. Mr. James TIEN to ask : (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council of the following:

what is the present situation regarding the demand for hi-tech personnel in product and software design in the industrial sector in the territory; and
are the Governments efforts in providing training in this field adequate; what is its long term policy, and what is the amount of funds that will be spent, in this regard?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

* 8. Dr. John TSE to ask : (Translation)

Regarding the problem of industrial facilities (such as garages) which pollute the environment being located in residential areas, will the Government inform this Council of the following:

how many commercial establishments engaged in polluting industries are located in residential areas in the territory;
what impact do such industries have, in so far as environmental hygiene is concerned, on the residents nearby, and how many residents are affected; and
what short-term measures and long-term policy the Government has put in place to deal with this problem; and whether consideration will be given to relocating such commercial establishments and giving them compensation?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands

* 9. Dr. Samuel WONG to ask :

According to the Code of Practice on Shock-proof Design in Buildings and Other Constructions adopted by the Chinese government, Hong Kong is zoned in an area with the same seismic hazard as Shanghai. It is also pointed out in independent studies carried out and published in the territory that the zoning for Hong Kong as set out in the above-mentioned Code of Practice is reasonable. In view of this, will the Government inform this Council:

what measures has the Government taken to reduce the damage caused by seismic activity?
whether the Government will require the relevant authorities to apply additional rules in the design of low-rise buildings; and
whether the Government will introduce or amend building design regulations requiring the design of Government or institutional buildings, as well as civil engineering projects such as bridges, power stations in the territory, to withstand a certain degree of seismic hazard?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands

*10. Mr. CHEUNG Bing-leung to ask : (Translation)

In his reply to the question raised in this Council last year on the open recruitment of staff in the Curriculum Development Institute (CDI), the Secretary for Education and Manpower stated that it was the objective of the Government to increase the proportion of posts filled by open recruitment to 60% by 1998-99. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:

the progress of recruitment so far, and a breakdown of the number of recruits by their professions; and
the recruitment target set for the coming year?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

*11. Mr. WONG Wai-yin to ask : (Translation)

In regard to the recent incident of power failure of the Mass Transit Railway which occurred during the morning rush hours and which resulted in disruption of train services for several hours, will the Government inform this Council whether it is aware of the following:

what were the causes of the incident;
how the Mass Transit Railway Corporation (MTRC) will prevent similar incidents from occurring in future;
what contingency measures does the MTRC have to divert passengers in the event of a serious incident occurring during rush hours;
whether the measures mentioned in (c) are effective; if not, whether the MTRC will be asked to review such measures and devise new ones; and
whether the MTRC has any plan to purchase buses for emergency and contingency use; if so, when such plan will be put into effect; if not, why not?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

*12. Mr. LEE Kai-ming to ask : (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council of:

the total number of women employed in the industrial sector; and
the person-times and number of hours of overtime work undertaken by women employed in the industrial sector this year, together with the number of those employees who were required to work beyond 11:00 p.m.?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

*13. Mrs Elizabeth WONG to ask :

Will the Government inform this Council whether it supports the Community Rehabilitation Network Scheme, which is currently funded by the Jockey Club; if so, when will the Government fund the entire scheme through subvention from general revenue; if not, why not?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

*14. Mr. Henry TANG to ask : (Translation)

In view of the huge amount of outstanding debt which the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has yet to repay the Hong Kong Government for looking after and maintaining the Vietnamese migrants (Vms), will the Government inform this Council of the following:

what is the total sum presently owed by the UNHCR, when is this sum expected to be repaid in full, and what is the time-table for repayment;
how much is the Government required to contribute towards such cost before the repatriation of all Vms, and what are the purposes for which the Governments contributions will be used; and
will the Government seek the commitment of the British Government to repay any outstanding debt not fully repaid before July 1997?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*15. Dr. John TSE to ask : (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council of the following:

how many petrol filling stations are at present located less than 50 metres away from residential buildings in the territory; and
what measures does the Government have to prevent the danger being caused to the residents in the event of an outbreak of fire at one of these petrol filling stations?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*16. Mr. WONG Wai-yin to ask : (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:

of the number of school children who died suddenly whilst attending classes in schools over the past three years, together with the causes of their death; and
what measures does the Government have to prevent the occurrence of such deaths?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

*17. Mr. CHEUNG Man-kwong to ask : (Translation)

With regard to the latest design standards for secondary and primary school premises, will the Government inform this Council:

of the details of the design standards, together with a list showing the number and area of various rooms, utility areas and venues; and whether new school premises must be built to these standards;
of the number of secondary and primary schools whose designs have yet to meet these standards at present;
of the names of the 20 secondary schools and the 20 primary schools whose designs fall short of these standards by the widest margin in terms of total floor area and open playground area per student;
whether the Government has any schedules for the improvement, expansion or extension of all schools of sub-standard design, so as to bring them up to standard as soon as possible; and
whether the Government has put in place any interim arrangements and measures to assist those schools which are significantly below standard in improving their crowded environment before the completion of the up-grading project recommended in the Education Commission Report No. 5 for existing secondary and primary schools?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

*For written reply.

III. MOTIONS

1. INTERPRETATION AND GENERAL CLAUSES ORDINANCE

Chief Secretary:

(See Resolution at Annex)

2. CRIMINAL PROCEDURE ORDINANCE

Chief Secretary:

That the Legal Aid in Criminal Cases (Amendment)(No.3) Rules 1995, made by the Chief Justice on 14 October 1995, be approved.

I V. BILLS

FIRST READING

Costs in Criminal Cases Bill
Employment (Amendment) (No.4) Bill 1995
Lands Tribunal (Amendment) Bill 1995

SECOND READING

Debates to be adjourned

1. Attorney General	:	Costs in Criminal Cases Bill
2. Secretary for Education and Manpower	:	Employment (Amendment) (No.4) Bill 1995
3. Secretary for Planning,Environment and Lands	:	Lands Tribunal (Amendment) Bill 1995

Debates to be resumed

4. Secretary for Financial Services	:	Bank Notes Issue (Amendment Bill 1995
5. Secretary for the Treasury	:	Tax Reserve Certificates (Amendment) Bill 1995

COMMITTEE STAGE AND THIRD READING

1. Secretary for Financial Services	:	Bank Notes Issue (Amendment0 Bill 1995
2. Secretary for the Treasury	:	Tax Reserve Certificates (Amendment) Bill 1995

V. PRIVATE MEMBER'S MOTIONS

1. INTERPRETATION AND GENERAL CLAUSES ORDINANCE

Mr. Ronald ARCULLI :

That the Noise Control (General)(Amendment) Regulation 1995, published as Legal Notice No. 426 of 1995 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 11 October 1995, be repealed.