Subsidiary Legislation	L.N. NO.
1. Banking (Amendment) Ordinance 1995 (49 of 1995) (Commencement) Notice 1995	515/95
2. Official Languages (Authentic Chinese Text) (Customs and Excise Service Ordinance) Order	(C) 96/95
3. Official Languages (Authentic Chinese Text) (Insurance Companies Ordinance) Order	(C) 97/95

Sessional Papers 1995/96

The Secretary for the Treasury to present :

1. No. 24 - Report of Changes to the Approved Estimates of Expenditure Approved during the First Quarter of 1995-96 Public Finance Ordinance : Section 8

Mr. Michael HO to present and to address the Council on :

2. No. 25 - Open Learning Institute of Hong Kong

Annual Report 1994-1995

II. QUESTIONS

1. Miss Emily LAU to ask : (Translation)

In regard to the British Governments Fourth Periodic Report in respect of Hong Kong submitted under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) to the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Committee and its attendance at the UN hearing on the report, will the Government inform this Council:

how the Government will follow up on the UN Human Rights Committees recommendations regarding the report; and
whether the Government will consider requesting the British Government to submit further reports under the ICCPR to the UN Human Rights Committee before July 1997?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

2. Mrs. Selina CHOW to ask : (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:

of the manpower and resources which the Government has deployed in the past five years (1990/91 - 1994/95) to combat cigarette smuggling since the drastic increase in tobacco tax;
of the respective numbers of cigarette smuggling cases and persons prosecuted, as well as the quantity of cigarettes seized, in each of the past five years; of the cases which resulted in prosecutions, what is the conviction rate and what are the penalties (by suitable intervals) imposed on those convicted; and
whether the Government has made an estimate of the average daily quantity of dutiable cigarettes smuggled into the territory in the past five years; if so, what is the percentage of such quantity when compared with the average daily total quantity of cigarettes imported to the territory, and what is the estimated loss to the Government in duty revenue and to cigarette dealers respectively, in the same period?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Treasury

3. Mr. LEE Wing-tat to ask : (Translation)

As the Governor has pledged in his Policy Address this year that the Government will reduce the average waiting time for public rental flats to five years by 2001, will the Government inform this Council:

whether, in working out the above-mentioned waiting time for public rental flats, it has taken into account such factors as the estimated number of public rental flats to be vacated by public housing tenants who are successful in their applications for Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) flats, the prices of HOS flats, and the opportunities of allocation of public rental flats; if so, how are such figures arrived at; and
whether, in view of the fact that there are different categories of applicants on the waiting list, private housing tenants who apply for public rental flats will also be allocated public housing units within five years?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing

4. Mr. LAU Chin-shek to ask : (Translation)

In regard to the Railway Development Strategy, will the Government inform this Council of the following:

what will be the actual benefits arising from the KCR extension from Hung Hom to Tsim Sha Tsui as recommended in the Strategy, and whether the proposed extension will result in an increase of passenger flow at the already overloaded Tsim Sha Tsui MTR station;
whether the Government will consider the feasibility of extending the MTR to Kowloon City in view of the proposed extension from Hung Hom to Tsim Sha Tsui; and
whether, apart from the high priority projects of the three railway networks recommended in the Strategy, the Government will study the construction of other new railway networks in the near future?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

5. Mrs. Miriam LAU to ask : (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:

how much land in the New Territories has been planned for open storage use; of this, how much has actually been used as container yards and container truck parking lots;
what measures the Government has put in place to resolve the problem of shortage of parking spaces for container trucks, bearing in mind that according to the sources from the trade, there is a shortage of parking spaces for at least 2,000 container trucks and their tractors; and
what measures does the Government have to ensure that the land which has been planned for open storage use can actually be used as container truck parking lots and container yards, having regard to the fact that the majority of such land is privately-owned?

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

Secretary for Transport

6. Mr. CHEUNG Hon-chung to ask : (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:

of the number of cases in which senior citizens who were former recipients of the Old Age Allowance and who were either disqualified from receiving the allowance or required to refund the allowance owing to their failure to comply with the rule on the period of absence from the territory, as well as the amount which the Government has saved as a result of such disqualification and refund, in each of the past three years;
whether the Government has assessed the effects of such a rule on the livelihood of senior citizens; if so, what those effects are; and
whether the Government has examined the feasibility of relaxing the rule; if so, what is the progress and when its recommendations are expected to be released?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

* 7. Mr. LEE Cheuk-yan to ask : (Translation)

In his recent briefing for Members of this Council on the Governments policy commitments, the Secretary for Home Affairs stated that he would continue to co-ordinate the review of legislation to ensure its compliance with the Bill of Rights, and that the Government would introduce draft amendments to four Ordinances in the current legislative session. On the other hand, the Chinese Government has indicated that the Hong Kong Government should not make any major changes to existing legislation before 1997. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

of the four Ordinances to which the Government intends to introduce amendment bills in the current legislative session; and
whether the Government will give up its efforts in continuing to revise legislation which contravenes the Bill of Rights in view of the Chinese Governments stance mentioned above?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

In the past, there were a number of cases in which a reclamation area was initially designated as a dumping site. According to the papers provided to the Central and Western District Board by the Government, the Green Island public dump covers 20% of the proposed Green Island Reclamation area, and this has aroused public concern as to whether the Government intends to start the reclamation project on the dumping site. In view of this, will the Government inform this Council:

whether any objections to the Green Island Dumping Project have been received; if so, whether consideration will be given to shelving the project;
how many dumping sites will be designated in the next two years; and
whether any of such sites will be situated within the areas of other reclamation projects?

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

* 9. Mr. LAU Hon-chuen to ask : (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council of the details and progress of the various programmes for the repatriation of Vietnamese migrants (VMs), as well as the estimated time when all VMs stranded in the territory will be repatriated?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

In view of growing economic activities between China and the territory, the total amount of Hong Kong currency circulating in China over the years has accumulated to a substantial level, which can impose a significant effect on the economy of the territory. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:

the total value of Hong Kong currency in circulation in China in each of the past three years, together with its percentage to the total currency circulation in the territory;
the anticipated circulation of Hong Kong currency in China in the next three years; and
the anticipated effect the circulation of Hong Kong currency in China on the inflation rate and the economic conditions in the territory?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services

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

Regarding the student intake of local tertiary institutions in 1994/95, will the Government provide this Council with the following information:

the breakdown of intake figures by number of students who have applied, number of students who have been admitted, and number of students who have enrolled, in each of the seven tertiary institutions funded by the University Grants Committee and the Hong Kong Institute of Education;
of the students admitted to the Hong Kong Institute of Education, what is the percentage of those who have obtained a pass in both English Language and Chinese Language in the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE), and how many have satisfied the Institutes minimum entrance requirement with HKCEE results obtained from more than one attempt; and
the number of students admitted to each of the above-mentioned tertiary institutions whose results in English Language and Chinese Language in the HKCEE or Use of Language in the Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination are below the minimum entrance requirement of the institution concerned?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

*12. Mr. Albert CHAN to ask : (Translation)

In view of the upward trend in the number of races held annually in recent years, will the Government inform this Council of the criteria for approving the Royal Hong Kong Jockey Clubs application for increasing the number of races held in a year?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

As the problem of students committing suicide in the territory has become serious in recent years, will the Government inform this Council:

whether the Government has provided any counselling and related supporting service to prevent students from committing suicide; if so, how many counsellors and supporting staff are engaged in such service and what training is given to them;
what types of moral education courses does the Government provide to schools to complement this type of counselling service; and
what long-term strategy and measures does the Government have to solve this pro blem?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

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

Regarding the application for compassionate rehousing by divorced women, will the Government inform this Council of the following:

how many divorced women have applied for compassionate rehousing over the past three years; of this, how many have failed in their applications, and what the reasons are;
how long it will normally take for an applicant to obtain rehousing; and
whether the existing application criteria for compassionate rehousing will be reviewed and whether consideration will be given to increasing the number of units provided for this purpose?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

*15. Mr. LAU Chin-shek to ask : (Translation)

Regarding the charges for international telecommunications services, will the Government inform this Council:

of the breakdown, by region, of the percentage increase or decrease in international telephone charges for calls from Hong Kong to overseas countries and territories in each of the past three years;
of the differences between the international telephone charges levied by Hongkong Telecom International Limited and those levied by other companies offering similar services in each of the past three years;
whether the Government has any plan to negotiate with Hongkong Telecom International Limited to secure a further reduction in international telephone charges levied by the company; and
whether the Government and Hongkong Telecom International Limited have formulated any specific measures to reduce international telephone charges for calls between Hong Kong and mainland China?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Services

*16. Mr. LEE Wing-tat to ask : (Translation)

With regard to the clearance of Temporary Housing Areas (THAs), will the Government inform this Council:

whether the decision to retain 13 THAs as announced by the Housing Authority is in contravention of its policy on THAs made previously;
how the rehousing arrangements of those residents living in the above-mentioned THAs which are not yet scheduled for demolition compare with those living in THAs with firm clearance dates; and
what environmental improvement programmes will be implemented by the Government for these 13 THAs, and what the estimated cost is?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing

*17. Mrs. Selina CHOW to ask : (Translation)

At present, many occupational diseases afflict employees in the retail industry as well as general office workers. There is however no legislation to protect them against health hazards arising from their employment. In this years Policy Address, the Governor made reference to a proposal to publish a Charter for Safety in the Workplace (the Charter). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

what is the time frame planned for the full implementation of the Charter; and
whether the Charter will provide safeguards for the occupational safety and health of employees in the retail industry and office workers; if so, how the Charter will be able to improve the occupational safety and health of these employees and office workers?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

*18. Miss Emily LAU to ask :

It is reported that a Housing Department development project in Area 90 of Ma On Shan is several months behind schedule. According to the report, the piling contractor of the project blamed the delay on the discovery of underground marble caverns but this was denied by the Chairman of the Building Committee of the Housing Authority. The piling contractor further accused the Chairman of the Building Committee of having a substantial conflict of interest because he is also a senior partner of the architectural firm which designed the development project. In this connection, will the Administration inform this Council:

whether the problem of underground marble caverns was anticipated and whether allowance for such problem was made in the design of the project;
whether there are other reasons for the delay in the project; if so, what those reasons are;
how much more money the project will cost;
whether the accusation of conflict of interest has been investigated; and
when the project is expected to be completed?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing

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

Will the Government inform this Council what measures the Government has to (a) protect those workers at petrol filling stations and residents nearby against health risk and even chronic illness which may be caused by the inhaling of gases such as benzene over a long period of time; and (b) safeguard the occupational safety of the workers and the health of the residents?

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

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

In his 1994 Policy Address the Governor pledged that a sum of $190 million would be spent over the next three years on flood protection schemes for some 12 villages which were particularly vulnerable to flooding. However, it is learnt that the schemes are now running behind schedule because the time taken for land resumption has been longer than expected. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

of the villages where the flood protection schemes are running behind schedule, and how far have these schemes fallen behind the original schedule;
what measures does the Government have to ensure that there will be no further delay in land resumption; and
whether inadequate manpower in the Lands Department is a factor contributing to the delay in land resumption; if so, whether the Government will consider increasing the Lands Departments manpower?

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

* For written reply.

III. BILLS

FIRST READING

Merchant Shipping (Registration) (Amendment) Bill 1995
Land Registration (Amendment) Bill 1995
Town Planning (Amendment) Bill 1995

SECOND READING

Debates to be adjourned

1. Secretary for Economic Services	:	Merchant Shipping (Registration) (Amendment) Bill 1995
2. Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands	:	Land Registration (Amendment) Bill 1995
3. Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands	:	Town Planning (Amendment) Bill 1995

Debates to be resumed

4. Secretary for the Treasury

Air Passenger Departure Tax (Amendment) Bill 1995

COMMITTEE STAGE AND THIRD READING

Secretary for the Treasury

Air Passenger Departure Tax (Amendment) Bill 1995

IV. PRIVATE MEMBER'S MOTIONS

1. INTERPRETATION AND GENERAL CLAUSES ORDINANCE

Mr. Edward HO :

That the Marine Fish Culture (Amendment) Regulation 1995, published as Legal Notice No. 467 of 1995 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 25 October 1995, be repealed.

2. INTERPRETATION AND GENERAL CLAUSES ORDINANCE

Mr. Edward HO:

That in relation to the Building (Administration) (Amendment)(No. 3) Regulation 1995, published as Legal Notice No. 466 of 1995 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 25 October 1995, 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 29 November 1995.

3. INTERPRETATION AND GENERAL CLAUSES ORDINANCE

Mr. Edward HO:

That the Building (Administration) (Amendment)(No. 3) Regulation 1995, published as Legal Notice No. 466 of 1995 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 25 October 1995, be amended in section 1 by repealing 23 November 1995 and substituting 1 December 1995.

4. URBAN RENEWAL POLICY

Mr. James TO : (Translation)

That this Council expresses deep regret at the failure of the Government to set out in its consultation paper on Urban Renewal a comprehensive policy in resolving the long-standing problems in urban renewal, and therefore requests the Government to expeditiously formulate a comprehensive policy to speed up the pace of urban renewal and improve the living standard of people residing in old urban districts, with due emphasis on tackling the problems relating to the acquisition of properties by developers and ensuring that residents affected will be rehoused in the same locality and reasonably compensated.

AMENDMENTS to Mr. James TO's MOTION

1. Miss Christine LOH : (Translation)

To delete expeditiously formulate a comprehensive policy and substitute with take forward proposals to increase powers of land resumption in conjunction with measures to increase the transparency and accountability of the Town Planning Board, increase minimum levels of statutory compensation to tenants with the aim of increasing payments to the poorest tenants forced out by urban renewal, and increase the availability of public resources, especially land, in order and to delete with due emphasis on tackling the problems relating to the acquisition of properties by developers and ensuring and substitute with and to ensure.

2. Mr. Edward HO : (Translation)

To delete rehoused in the same locality and reasonably compensated. and substitute with fairly compensated, and rehoused according to the principle of equity as applied to all.

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

5. PROPOSALS OF THE LEGAL SUB-GROUP OF THE PRELIMINARY WORKING COMMITTEE

Mr. HO Chun-yan: (Translation)

That this Council strongly objects to the proposal by the Legal sub-group of the Preliminary Working Committee to repeal in 1997 certain provisions of the Bill of Rights Ordinance as well as to reinstate laws amended by this Council to comply with the Bill of Rights; and urges the Government to review immediately existing laws and present to this Council for amendment those laws which are in breach of the Bill of Rights, so as to enhance the protection of human rights in Hong Kong.

AMENDMENT to Mr. HO Chun-yan's MOTION

Miss Christine LOH : (Translation)

To add after to comply with the Bill of Rights the following: , to repeal the New Territories Land (Exemption) Ordinance which has the effect of providing all indigenous inhabitants of the New Territories to enjoy equal inheritance rights to rural land, as well as to dissolve the Legislative Council Commission.

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Home Affairs

Last Updated on 29 July 1999

THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ORDER PAPER

Wednesday, 15 November 1995 at 2.30 p.m.

THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL
ORDER PAPER