Revised version

OP 95/96-32(1) (Issued at 11.00 a.m. on 3.6.96)

THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
ORDER PAPER

Wednesday, 5 June 1996 at 2.30 p.m.

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I. PAPERS

Subsidiary Legislation
Sessional Papers 1995/96

II. QUESTIONS
III. MOTIONS

1. PUBLIC BUS SERVICES ORDINANCE
2. MATRIMONIAL CAUSES ORDINANCE

IV. BILLS
FIRST READING
SECOND READING

• Debates to be adjourned
V. MEMBER'S MOTIONS

1. INTERPRETATION AND GENERAL CLAUSES ORDINANCE
2. INTERPRETATION AND GENERAL CLAUSES ORDINANCE
3. INTERPRETATION AND GENERAL CLAUSES ORDINANCE
4. INTERPRETATION AND GENERAL CLAUSES ORDINANCE
5. INTERPRETATION AND GENERAL CLAUSES ORDINANCE
6. SLOPE SAFETY
7. INCREASING FUNDING FOR FUNDAMENTAL EDUCATION

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I. PAPERS

Sessional Papers 1995/96

1. No. 85 - The Government Minute in Response to Report No.25A of the Public Accounts Committee dated February 1996

(to be presented by the Chief Secretary who will address the Council)

2. No. 86 - Report of the Special Meetings of the Finance Committee on the Draft Estimates of Expenditure 1996-97

(to be presented by Dr. YEUNG Sum who will address the Council)

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II. QUESTIONS

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

With the onset of the rainy season, maintenance works have to be carried out expeditiously on potentially hazardous slopes situated within or in the vicinity of school boundaries. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the number of schools which have such slopes within or in the vicinity of their boundaries, and the ownership of the land titles of such slopes;
2. whether the Government carries out periodic inspections to assess the safety of such slopes and informs the school management concerned of the inspection results;
3. of the procedure for the schools concerned to file applications for slope maintenance works where these need to be carried out; the average time taken between the filing of an application and the completion of the maintenance works; and the parties which will bear the maintenance costs; and
4. of the liabilities such schools have in the event of landslides occurring, and whether the Government will compensate the parties concerned for any property losses, injuries and deaths; if so, how the amount of compensation is determined?

Public Officers to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower
Secretaryfor Works

2. Mr. CHENG Yiu-tong to ask : (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council whether it has taken any follow-up action or conducted any feasibility study since the motion urging the Government to set up a central compensation fund for employees was carried in this Council on 3 November 1993 and, if so, what the details are?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

3. Mr. SIN Chung-kai to ask : (Translation)

Regarding the Government's participation in an international conference on the liberalisation of telecommunications markets convened by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in April this year, will the Government inform this Council:

1. whether an agreement on the liberalisation of global telecommunications markets has been reached among member states of the WTO at the above conference; if so, what the details of the agreement are;
2. of the stance taken by the Government on the agreement reached and whether the Government had put forward any proposals at the conference; and
3. given that the exclusive right granted to Hong Kong Telecom (HKT) to operate international telecommunications services will not expire until the year 2006, whether the Government has given consideration to terminating the HKT's exclusive right earlier, in order to avoid contravening the WTO's commitment to liberalise the international telecommunications markets by 1 January 1998; if so, what the details are?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic ervices

4. Mr. IP Kwok-him to ask : (Translation)

A series of violent incidents have occurred in the territory recently. Apart from the riot caused by Vietnamese migrants in the Whitehead Detention Centre, there was the brutal attack on a veteran journalist. In addition, threats were made to certain Members of this Council against the opening of their offices and the placards publicising the opening were criminally damaged. There were also reports that at a District Board meeting, a member openly threatened to beat up Government officials. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether measures have been adopted to halt the spread of such a phenomenon and to uphold the morale of law enforcement officers?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

5. Mrs. Miriam LAU to ask :

Article 37 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child provides, inter alia, that States Parties shall ensure that every child deprived of his or her liberty shall have the right to prompt access to legal or other appropriate assistance. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the number of cases brought before the Juvenile Court for care and protection orders in the past three years and the number of children or juveniles in those cases who were given legal representation; and
2. in those cases in which no legal representation was given, how many involved the child or juvenile in question being placed in custody at an institution (e.g. Boys' or Girls' Homes) after appearing before a Magistrate in the Juvenile Court?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

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

Regarding the incident which occurred in the early hours on 13 May this year, in which the police intercepted a group of people in possession of a large quantity of weapons and believed to have entered the territory illegally, will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the blackspots in the territory used by illegal immigrants for landing, and the measures adopted by the police to intercept illegal immigrants landing from such blackspots;
2. whether vessels registered in China entering Hong Kong waters are required to obtain the prior approval of the relevant departments in the territory; and
3. of the number of stop-and-search operations in Hong Kong waters conducted by the police on Chinese vessels entering the territory in the past three years, and the number of such vessels found to be involved in illegal activities such as carrying illegal immigrants and smuggling?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

Will the Government inform this Council of:

1. the ratio between white and green form applicants who have successfully purchased property under the Home Purchase Loan Scheme (HPLS), as well as the number of such applicants who were former Waiting List applicants and their proportion in the total number of successful applicants under the HPLS, in each of the past five years; and
2. the ratio between white and green form applicants who have successfully purchased property under the Home Ownership Scheme (HOS), as well as the number of such applicants who were former Waiting List applicants and their proportion in the total number of successful applicants under the HOS, in each of the past five years?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing

* 8. Mr. Eric LI to ask : (Translation)

It is learnt that some banks in the territory have commissioned the work of their computer departments to professional computer firms and, as a result, the personal data of the customers of these banks have been transferred to the computer firms concerned. As these computer firms are not part of the banking sector, the relevant legislation governing the banking sector cannot therefore apply to these firms. In view of this, will the Government inform this Council whether it will consider requiring these computer firms to obtain a special licence to undertake such work, so as to ensure that the personal data of the customers of the banks concerned are not released to outside organisations, thus safeguarding the interests of the customers?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services

* 9. Mr. CHIM Pui-chung to ask : (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council whether there were any cases involving foreign countries transporting toxic wastes to the territory for disposal in the past three years; if so, what safety measures were adopted by the departments concerned in the disposal of such wastes?

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

*10. Mr. Ambrose LAU to ask : (Translation)

It is learnt that at present, the majority of patients suffering from chronic illnesses have to wait for six to twelve months for a follow-up consultation at public clinics under the management of the Hospital Authority (HA) and the Department of Health (DH). In view of this, will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the total number of chronically-ill patients attending such clinics for medical consultation in each of the past three years, and the major types of their illnesses;
2. whether any guidelines have been issued by the HA and DH regarding the waiting time for chronically-ill patients seeking follow-up consultations; if so, whether the current waiting time for such consultations is in line with the standard stipulated in the guidelines; and
3. given that the territory's population is ageing and the number of chronically-ill patients may continue to rise, whether the Government will adopt any measures to reduce the waiting time for chronically-ill patients seeking follow-up consultations?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

*11. Mr. LEUNG Yiu-chung to ask : (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the amount of funds allocated for providing computer studies courses in publicly-funded secondary schools in 1995-96, and the average number of computers provided for each secondary school for teaching purposes;
2. of the objectives in providing such courses, and whether the Education Department (ED) will review whether these objectives meet the practical needs of secondary school students in computer application in their daily life; and
3. of the length of time it normally takes for the ED to process an application by a school for the purchase of computer facilities; and how the ED will solve the problem of the approved computer facilities not catching up with the developments in computer technology by the time the schools concerned have obtained approval to purchase such facilities?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

*12. Dr. David LI to ask :

It was reported that the ambulance staff of the Fire Services Department (FSD) who were endeavouring to rescue unconscious passengers in the MTR trains on 6 May 1996 were hamstrung by a lack of walkie-talkies and mobile phones. In view of this, will the Government inform this Council whether it will seek funds for the acquisition of such equipment and, if so, what the estimated total cost is and when such equipment will be available for use by the ambulance staff of the FSD?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*13 Dr. LAW Cheung-kwok to ask : (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council of:

1. the number of cases concerning poor ventilation inside markets in public housing estates which have been discussed by various District Boards in the past three years, and the major causes of poor ventilation in such cases; and
2. the measures that have been adopted to improve ventilation inside markets in public housing estates and the effects of such measures?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing

*14. Miss Emily LAU to ask :

It is learnt that the remuneration package of the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (the Chief Executive) in the past year was around $6.5 million - $7 million, which was much higher than that of the Financial Secretary. In this connection, will the Administration inform this Council:

1. of the basis and justifications for determining the remuneration package of the Chief Executive;
2. of the authority and mechanism for approving the remuneration package of the Chief Executive; and
3. how it ensures that the remuneration package of the Chief Executive is determined in an appropriate manner?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services

*15. Mr. SIN Chung-kai to ask :

According to the 1995 Annual Report of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), the expenses on staff costs increased from $196 million in 1994 to $250 million in 1995. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:

1. the comparisons between the remuneration package of staff at different levels of the directorate of the HKMA and that of their counterparts in the civil service, in each of the years from 1993 to 1995;
2. the mechanism adopted by the HKMA for determining the pay adjustment for its staff; and
3. the specific measures Government has put in place to monitor the staff costs of the HKMA?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services

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

Will the Government inform this Council:

1. whether cargo vessels and passenger liners entering Hong Kong waters are currently required to take out third party insurance to ensure that vessels which have caused accidents in Hong Kong waters resulting in casualties and property losses pay compensation to the victims concerned;
2. if the answer to part (a) is in the negative, which party would be held responsible for paying compensation in the event of the occurrence of such accidents; and if the vessels causing the accidents are not registered in Hong Kong, whether the Marine Department can prosecute the vessels where they have contravened certain regulations; and
3. of the number of accidents which have occurred in Hong Kong waters in the past three years involving locally-registered vessels being hit by vessels not registered in Hong Kong, the total amount of losses incurred by such accidents, and the actions which have been taken by the Marine Department concerning these accidents?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Services

*17. Mr. Eric LI to ask : (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council whether computer studies is one of the subjects in the curriculum of primary schools in the territory; if so, whether it is a compulsory subject; if not, whether the Education Department will introduce computer studies into the curriculum of primary schools and make it a compulsory subject?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

*18. Mr. CHIM Pui-chung to ask : (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the number of limited companies registered in Hong Kong which went into liquidation in the past three years, (including cases of liquidation initiated by the shareholders and those ordered by the court), and the number of such companies of which the Official Receiver acted as their liquidator; and
2. according to the records of the Official Receiver's Office, of the longest period of time taken for a limited company to go through the entire liquidation process and the reasons for the time taken?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services

*19. Miss Emily LAU to ask : (Translation)

According to the results of the 1994/95 Household Expenditure Survey (HES) conducted jointly by the Census and Statistics Department and the Hang Seng Bank, the proportion of expenditure on housing had increased by four to five percentage points, as compared to the results of the HES conducted in 1989/90. In respect of the relatively low expenditure households, the proportion had increased from 21% to 25%; for the medium expenditure households, from 24% to 28%; and for the relatively high expenditure households, from 29% to 34%. By contrast, for many years senior civil servants and teaching staff of tertiary institutions who live in staff quarters provided by the Government and the tertiary institutions are only required to pay 7.5% of their monthly salary as rental payment. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the respective numbers of civil servants and teaching staff of tertiary institutions who pay 7.5% of their salary as rental payment, and the grades to which they belong;
2. the year in which the 7.5% rate was formulated and the basis for it;
3. why the above rate has remained unchanged despite the fact that the housing benefits for civil servants have been changed several times over the years; and
4. whether there is any plan to review the 7.5% rate mentioned above?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Civil Service

*20. Mr. LEUNG Yiu-chung to ask : (Translation)

It is learnt that recently many employers who were ordered by the Labour Tribunal to pay compensation to their employees have failed to pay the amounts of compensation to the employees concerned. In view of this, will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the total number of cases in the past three years involving employers defaulting on payment of compensation to their employees as ordered by the Labour Tribunal;
2. whether, in view of the execution fee amounting to some $4,000 payable by an employee when applying to the District Court to sequestrate the office or factory of the defaulting employer, the Government will consider reducing such fee in order to lessen the burden on the employee concerned in recovering the arrears of compensation from his employer; and
3. whether it will consider formulating measures to enable employees to obtain arrears of compensation from their employers within a stipulated period of time?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

* For written reply.

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III. MOTIONS

1. PUBLIC BUS SERVICES ORDINANCE

Secretary for Transport:

That the franchise conferring the right on Citybus Limited to operate a public bus service on the routes specified in the Schedule of Routes (Citybus Limited) Order 1996 (L.N. 156 of 1996) and in any subsequent order made by the Governor in Council shall not, for the entire period of the franchise, be subject to sections 27, 28, 29 and 31 in Part V of the Public Bus Services Ordinance.

2. MATRIMONIAL CAUSES ORDINANCE

Secretary for the Treasury:

That the Matrimonial Causes (Fees) (Amendment) Rules 1996, made by the Chief Justice on 13th May 1996, be approved.

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IV. BILLS

FIRST READING

1. Banking (Amendment) Bill 1996
2. Aviation Security Bill
3. New Territories Land Exchange Entitlements (Redemption) Bill

SECOND READING

Debates to be adjourned

1. Banking (Amendment) Bill 1996	:	Secretary for Financial Services
2. Aviation Security Bill	:	Secretary for Security
3. New Territories Land Exchange Entitlements (Redemption) Bill	:	Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands

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V. MEMBER'S MOTIONS

1. INTERPRETATION AND GENERAL CLAUSES ORDINANCE

Mr. Fred LI :

That in relation to the Waterworks (Amendment) Regulation 1996, published as Legal Notice No. 176 of 1996 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 15 May 1996, the period referred to in section 34(2) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance for amending subsidiary legislation be extended under section 34(4) of that Ordinance until 26 June 1996.

2. INTERPRETATION AND GENERAL CLAUSES ORDINANCE

Dr. C.H. LEONG :

That in relation to the Dangerous Drugs (Amendment) Regulation 1996, published as Legal Notice No.191 of 1996 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 22 May 1996, the period referred to in section 34(2) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance for amending subsidiary legislation be extended under section 34(4) of that Ordinance until 26 June 1996.

3. INTERPRETATION AND GENERAL CLAUSES ORDINANCE

Mr. LEE Cheuk-yan :

That in relation to the Disability Discrimination Ordinance (86 of 1995) (Commencement) Notice 1996, published as Legal Notice No. 184 of 1996 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 15 May 1996, the period referred to in section 34(2) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance for amending subsidiary legislation be extended under section 34(4) of that Ordinance until 26 June 1996.

4. INTERPRETATION AND GENERAL CLAUSES ORDINANCE

Mr. LEE Cheuk-yan :

That in relation to the Sex Discrimination Ordinance (67 of 1995) (Commencement) Notice 1996, published as Legal Notice No. 185 of 1996 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 15 May 1996, the period referred to in section 34(2) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance for amending subsidiary legislation be extended under section 34(4) of that Ordinance until 26 June 1996.

5. INTERPRETATION AND GENERAL CLAUSES ORDINANCE

Mr. James TIEN :

That in relation to the Waste Disposal (Charges for Disposal of Chemical Waste) (Amendment) Regulation 1996, published as Legal Notice No. 167 of 1996 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 8 May 1996, the period referred to in section 34(2) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance for amending subsidiary legislation be extended under section 34(4) of that Ordinance until 26 June 1996.

6. SLOPE SAFETY

Mr. IP Kwok-him : (Translation)

That, with the onset of the rainy season and in the view of the numerous precipitous and potentially dangerous slopes in Hong Kong due to its special geographical environment, the problem of slope safety will certainly become a cause of public concern once again, this Council urges the Government to face the problem by deploying more manpower to speed up preliminary surveys on slopes in the territory and, through enhanced publicity and educational campaigns, to urge all the government departments and owners of private properties concerned to shoulder the responsibility for surveying and improving slopes and retaining walls, in order to prevent the recurrence of landslips which lead to heavy casualties and to safeguard lives.

Public Officer to attend : Secretaryfor Works

7. INCREASING FUNDING FOR FUNDAMENTAL EDUCATION

Mr. CHEUNG Man-kwong : (Translation)

That, as the accumulated increase in funding for fundamental education during the past five years has lagged far behind the economic growth, this Council urges the Government to expeditiously increase the funding for fundamental education to make up for the shortfalls of allocation which has lagged behind the economic growth, to actively seek resources for reforming the school curriculum; increasing the number of teachers and strengthening their training; introducing modern teaching facilities; providing more space for school activities and improving the teaching environment, and to formulate promptly the timetable for implementing whole-day primary schooling and abolishing floating classes in secondary schools, in order to promote the overall development of students and enhance the effectiveness of school education.

Public Officer to attend : Secretaryfor Education and Manpower

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