Revised version
OP 96/97-26(1)
(Issued at 11:00 am on 14.4.97)

The Legislative Council
Order Paper

Wednesday 16 April 1997 at 2:30 pm

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I. Papers
Sessional Papers 1996-97
III. Government Motions
1. Import and Export Ordinance
2. Import and Export Ordinance
IV. Government Bills
Second Reading
• Debate to resume
Committee Stage and Third Reading
V. Members' Motions
VI. Members' Bills
First Reading
Second Reading
• Debates to be adjourned
• Debate to resume
Committee Stage and Third Reading

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I. Papers

Subsidiary Legislation	L.N. NO
1. Hong Kong Academy of Medicine Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule) Order 1997	133/97
2. Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Public Pleasure Grounds) (Amendment of Fourth Schedule) Order 1997	134/97

Sessional Papers 1996-97

1.No.84 -

Estimates for the year ending 31 March 1998 General Revenue Account Summaries Revenue by Heads and Subheads

(to be presented by the Financial Secretary)

2.No.85 -

Report of the Broadcasting Authority September 1995-August 1996

(to be presented by the Secretary for Broadcasting, Culture and Sport)

II. Questions

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

Will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the total number of fires which were related to power leakage in the past three years; and whether such fires were caused by power leakage in electrical appliances or power cords or as a result of short circuits; and

2. whether the existing legislation provides sufficient control measures to prevent the outbreak of fires due to power leakage?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

* 2. Dr CHEUNG Bing-leung to ask : (Translation)

Regarding the Secretary for Education and Manpower's recent proposal to require primary and secondary school teachers to participate in the language benchmark pilot exercise, will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the date of introducing the above language benchmark pilot exercise and the specific details of the pilot exercise;

2. of the following information regarding specialised language training of school teachers-
   1. the respective numbers of Chinese language teachers in primary and secondary schools who have received specialised language training;

   2. the respective numbers of Chinese language teachers in primary and secondary schools who have not received specialised language training;

   3. the respective numbers of English language teachers in primary and secondary schools who have received specialised language training;

   4. the respective numbers of English language teachers in primary and secondary schools who have not received specialised language training; and

3. whether the Government will provide training for teachers who fail the benchmark assessment test so as to enable them to attain the required standard?

Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Education and Manpower

* 3. Mr LAW Chi-kwong to ask :

As the Government is undertaking a review of the Social Security Allowance (SSA) scheme, will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the purpose and scope of the review;

2. of the time schedule of the review;

3. of the composition of the review group, and whether service users (such as the elderly and people with a disability) are represented on the review group; and

4. given the concern over a proposal to introduce means-testing to the SSA scheme, of the position the Government takes on the proposal and whether the issue will be addressed by the review group?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

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

Will the Government inform this Council whether it has collected any data on the real wage index of employees by industry group-

1. if so, please list the respective percentage changes in the real wage index of the following monthly income groups in September 1996 as compared to the corresponding figures in the month of September in 1993, 1994 and 1995:

   1. $4,999 and below,

   2. $5,000 - 6,999,

   3. $7,000 - 8,999,

   4. $9,000 - 14,999,

   5. $15,000 - 19,999,

   6. $20,000 - 29,999,

   7. $30,000 or above;

2. if not, why not; and whether it will consider collecting such data and publishing them on a regular basis?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services

* 5. Dr Samuel WONG to ask :

Will the Government inform this Council of the latest progress regarding the construction of Container Terminal No. 9 on Tsing Yi Island and the scheduled date of completion of the project?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Services

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

As the Government records revenues derived from land sales on a cash accounting basis, will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the amount of revenues derived from land sales in 1996-97 which will be recorded in the accounts of the following fiscal year; and

2. whether consideration will be given to adopting an accrual accounting system for recording revenues, so as to reflect accurately the revenues received in each fiscal year?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Treasury

* 7.Mr Fred LI to ask : (Translation)

Regarding the issue of temporary permits (commonly known as "going-out passes") - which allow holders of such permits to move about in the territory - to certain illegal immigrants or visitors who have been granted extension of stay, will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the procedures for the issue of "going-out passes" and the ranks of public officers who are authorised to issue such passes;

2. of the criteria for issuing "going-out passes";

3. whether the number of "going-out passes" issued during the first quarter of this year shows an upward trend in comparison with those issued in the corresponding period over the past two years; and

4. whether holders of "going-out passes" are eligible for the Hong Kong Identity Card if they remain in the territory after 1st July this year?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

In May last year, I wrote a letter to the Planning, Environment and Lands Branch concerning the abatement of road traffic noise, and I was subsequently advised in writing by the Branch that the Environmental Protection Department had commissioned a territory-wide consultancy study to assess the feasibility of implementing remedial road traffic noise mitigation measures. As the study has now been completed, will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the roads listed by the consultancy firm as requiring the implementation of noise mitigation works, and of the expected commencement dates of such works;

2. as it is learnt that the consultancy firm has recommended in its report that noise mitigation works should be carried out in three stages, of the expected commencement dates of the works in the second stage covering Tuen Mun Road and Cheung Pei Shan Road; and

3. when the measures on the abatement of road traffic noise currently in force will be reviewed?

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

* 9. Mr Howard YOUNG to ask :

As Route 3 and Route 9 are the only two arteries connecting Tsing Yi Island with the new airport at Chek Lap Kok and the rest of the territory, will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the comparison in terms of the highest traffic volume handled and speed limit imposed between Route 3/Route 9 and other major highways in the territory;

2. of the traffic volume on Route 3 and Route 9 since they have become operational; and

3. whether the Government will consider relaxing the present speed limit imposed on other major highways in the territory to bring it in line with that imposed on Route 3 and Route 9, so as to avoid the occurrence of 'bottlenecks' on those highways as a result of traffic coming in from the direction of the new airport and the North Lantau Expressway; if not, why not?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

*10. Miss Christine LOH to ask :

It is reported that the recent fire at a karaoke bar killing 17 persons was suspected to have been caused by arson committed by triad members. In view of this, will the Government inform this Council whether:

1. it has any policy of vigorously combating triad activities; if so, what the details are; and

2. it has carried out any study to ascertain if there is a widespread public perception that triad activities are prevalent and likely to become worse in the future; if so, what the outcome of the study is?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

It is learnt that the Government-commissioned study on the female drug addiction problem conducted by the Department of Psychology of the Chinese University of Hong Kong was completed in the latter part of last year. Will the Government inform this Council of:

1. the findings and recommendations of the above study and how the Government will implement those recommendations;

2. the number of female drug abusers in the territory in each of the past three years, and whether these figures indicate a rising trend in the number of female drug abusers; and

3. the treatment and rehabilitation facilities provided for female drug abusers and the effectiveness of such facilities?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*12. Dr HUANG Chen-ya to ask : (Translation)

Does the Government know of:

1. the total number of epileptic patients who attended the out-patient departments of public hospitals in the past year;

2. the total number of patients who underwent epileptic surgery in the past year;

3. the total number of epileptic patients discharged from public hospitals, as well as the number of these discharged patients who were in unstable condition after discharge and had frequent seizures, in the past year; and

4. the current estimated number of patients who need to undergo epileptic surgery?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

*13. Dr CHEUNG Bing-leung to ask : (Translation)

The issue of special stamps by the Post Office has resulted in a substantial increase in the revenue of the Post Office. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the total number of special stamp sets issued by the Post Office over the past three years, together with the quantity of each set issued and the net revenue generated from the sale of each set;

2. whether the Post Office will consider reducing the rate of postage increase in future or not increasing the postage this year; and

3. how the Government ensures that the extra revenue from the sale of special stamps will be put to effective use so as to enhance the cost-effectiveness of the Post Office Trading Fund?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Services

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

The information provided by the Government indicates that since 1995, the main reasons for unemployment among those who had worked before were due to dismissal or redundancy. Amongst those people who became unemployed in the third quarter of last year, 59.4% were dismissed or made redundant, which was much higher than the figure of 30.7% in the same period in 1991. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of the following:

1. whether it has collected any information relating to items (i) to (iv) below; if so, please provide the following information in the past three years:

   1. a breakdown of the number of unemployed persons who were dismissed or made redundant, by "sex and previous employment by trade classification", "age and previous employment by trade classification", "sex and previous occupation" and "age and previous occupation";

   2. the numbers of persons, amongst the unemployed who were dismissed or made redundant, who had taken part in courses under the Employees Retraining Scheme or received Comprehensive Social Security Assistance payments respectively;

   3. the numbers of persons, amongst the unemployed who were dismissed or made redundant, who were engaged in the same trade for less than one year, one to less than four years, four to less than six years, and six years and above respectively;

   4. the policies put in place by the Government to assist unemployed persons who were dismissed or made redundant to obtain re-employment, and the number of such persons who have been re-employed;

      if not, what the reasons are; and whether the Government will consider collecting such information and publishing it on a regular basis; and

2. whether it will consider requiring employers to inform the Labour Department when employees are dismissed or made redundant, so that the Labour Department can assist the displaced employees in obtaining re-employment; if not, why not?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

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

On 24 February this year, an explosion occurred in a container truck which was carrying motorcycles at the time, and it is learnt that there is at present no legislation prohibiting the carrying of motorcycles by container trucks. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the controls which the Fire Services Department, the Transport Department and the Marine Department have under the existing legislation in regard to the carrying of dangerous goods by container trucks, and the details of such controls; and

2. whether, in the wake of the above accident, these departments will consider amending the existing legislation concerned, so as to bring in new control measures to prevent the occurrence of similar accidents; if so, of the expected implementation date of these new measures?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*16. Dr HUANG Chen-ya to ask : (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council of the average and largest percentages, in terms of number and amount, of the following categories of loans out of all loans granted by the banks in the territory, as well as the standard deviation of percentages, in each quarter of the past year:

1. personal property mortgage loans;

2. company residential property mortgage loans;

3. commercial property mortgage loans;

4. borrowings by property developers; and

5. other property-related loans?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services

*17. Mr NGAN Kam-chuen to ask : (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the progress in the implementation of the proposals set out in the policy statement on "Urban Renewal in Hong Kong";

2. whether an agreement has been reached with the Land Development Corporation (LDC) to the effect that the LDC in future may, without having to seek approval from the Executive Council, invoke the Crown Lands Resumption Ordinance to resume land required for urban renewal projects; and

3. when an agreement can be reached with the LDC regarding the setting up of an Urban Renewal Authority?

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

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

Will the Government inform this Council of:

1. the number of reported cases of loss of wallets, and the number of such cases in which the lost wallets were recovered, in each of the past three years;

2. the number of persons convicted of "theft by finding", as well as the average penalty imposed on these offenders, in each of the past three years; and

3. the measures taken by the Government to publicise the message that "theft by finding" is an offence under the law?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*19. Dr David LI to ask :

It is learnt that the Hospital Authority's budget for 1997/98 includes a provision for providing additional 669 beds in public hospitals. However, it is learnt that the President of the Public Doctors' Association has stated that the establishment of medical personnel in public hospitals should be increased by a further 10% to alleviate the chronic shortage of medical staff, instead of providing more hospital beds. In this connection, does the Government know whether the Hospital Authority:

1. has assessed the staffing level of medical personnel in each of the public hospitals before drawing up the budget; and

2. will allocate additional provision for the recruitment of more medical personnel?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

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

Will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the number of overseas visitors who came to visit the territory in each of the past three years by arrangement of and under the sponsorship of the Hong Kong Government, together with a breakdown of these visitors by nationality;

2. of the policy objective and effectiveness of the above sponsored visits; and

3. whether the current policy objective of inviting politicians or other people from mainland China and Taiwan to visit the territory is the same as the policy objective mentioned in the answer to (b) above; if not, why not?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

III. Government Motions

1. Import and Export Ordinance

Secretary for Trade and Industry :

That section 5 of the Import and Export (Registration) (Am endment) Regulation 1995 (L.N. 544 of 1995), made by the Governor in Council on 21 November 1995, be approved.

2. Import and Export Ordinance

Secretary for Trade and Industry :

That the Import and Export (Registration) (Amendment) Regulation 1997, made by the Governor in Council on 18 March 1997, be approved.

IV. Government Bills

Second Reading

Debate to resume

Committee Stage and Third Reading

V. Members' Motions

1. Hong Kong Royal Instructions 1917 to 1993 (Nos. 1 and 2)

Dr C H LEONG :

That the Standing Orders of the Legislative Council of Hong Kong be amended -

1. by repealing Standing Order Nos. 60A(2) and 60B(2) and substituting -

   "(2) The committee shall consist of a chairman, deputy chairman and five members who shall be Members appointed by the President in accordance with an election procedure determined by the House Committee. In the event of the temporary absence of the chairman and deputy chairman, the committee may elect a chairman to act during such absence. The chairman and two other members shall constitute a quorum.";

2. by repealing Standing Order No. 61(2) and substituting -

   "(2) The President shall decide the size of every select committee and shall appoint the chairman, deputy chairman and members thereof in accordance with an election procedure determined by the House Committee. In the event of the temporary absence of the chairman and deputy chairman, the committee may elect a chairman to act during such absence.";

3. by repealing Standing Order No. 62(3).

2. Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance

Dr C H LEONG :

That the Resolution made and passed by the Legislative Council for the purposes of section 15 of the Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance (Cap. 382) on 25 May 1994, as amended on 20 November 1996, be further amended in paragraph 1 of the Schedule by deleting the definition of "relevant body" and substituting -

" "relevant body", ( ) in relation to a committee before which a witness is attending to give evidence or to produce any paper, book, record or document, means -

1. the chairman and deputy chairman of the committee, where both are present (and references to the delivering of the opinion of the relevant body shall be taken to mean the opinion of the chairman where the chairman and deputy chairman disagree);

2. the chairman alone where the deputy chairman is absent;

3. the deputy chairman alone where the chairman is absent; or

4. where both the chairman and deputy chairman are absent, the member elected to act as chairman during such absence.".

3. Fatal Accidents Ordinance

Mr HO Chun-yan :

That section 4(3) of the Fatal Accidents Ordinance be amended by repealing "$70,000" and substituting "$150,000".

Public Officer to attend : Attorney General

4. Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

Mr IP Kwok-him :

That in relation to the Western Harbour Crossing Regulation, published as Legal Notice No. 94 of 1997 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 19 March 1997, the period referred to in section 34(2) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap. 1) for amending subsidiary legislation be extended under section 34(4) of that Ordinance to the sitting of 23 April 1997.

VI. Members' Bills

First Reading

1. Cross-Harbour Tunnel (Cross-Harbour Tunnel Regulations) (Amendment) Bill 1997

2. Eastern Harbour Crossing (Eastern Harbour Crossing Road Tunnel Regulations) (Amendment) Bill 1997

3. Tate's Cairn Tunnel (Tate's Cairn Tunnel Regulations) (Amendment) Bill 1997

4. Occupational Deafness (Compensation)(Amendment) Bill 1997

5. Smoking (Public Health) (Amendment) Bill 1997

Second Reading

Debates to be adjourned

Ray CHAN

for Clerk to the Legislative Council