Revised version
OP 96/97-36(1) (Issued at 11:00 am on 13.6.97)

The Legislative Council
Order Paper

Tuesday 17 June 1997 and Wednesday 18 June 1997 at 9:00 am

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I. Papers
II. Questions
III. Government Motions

1. Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance
2. Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
3. Patents Ordinance
IV. Government Bills
Second Reading ( Debates to resume), Committee Stage and Third Reading
V. Members' Motions
1. Report of the Select Committee to Inquire into the Circumstances Surrounding the Departure of Mr LEUNG Ming-yin from the Government and Related Issues
2. Settlement of bedspace apartment tenants
VI. Members' Bills
Second Reading ( Debates to resume), Committee Stage and Third Reading

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I. Papers

Subsidiary Legislation	L.N. NO.
1. Continuing Legal Education (Amendment) Rules 1997	310/97
2. Practising Certificate (Solicitors) (Amendment) Rules 1997	311/97
3. Foreign Lawyers Registration (Fees) (Amendment) Rules 1997	312/97
4. Rules of the Supreme Court (Amendment) (No.3) Rules 1997	313/97
5. District Court Civil Procedure (Forms) (Amendment) Rules 1997	314/97
6. Coroners (Forms) (Amendment) Rules 1997	315/97
7. Auxiliary Medical Service Regulation	316/97
8. Civil Aid Service Regulation	317/97
9. Pay Classification (Auxiliary Medical Service) Assignment Notice	318/97
10. Pay Classification (Civil Aid Service) Assignment Notice	319/97
11. Declaration of Change of Titles (Auxiliary Medical Services, Chief Staff Officer, Auxiliary Medical Services and Staff Officer, Auxiliary Medical Services) Notice 1997	320/97
12. Declaration of Change of Titles (Civil Aid Services, Chief Staff Officer, Civil Aid Services and Staff Officer, Civil Aid Services) Notice 1997	321/97
13. Merchant Shipping (Collision Damage Liability and Salvage) Ordinance (35 of 1997) (Commencement) Notice 1997	322/97
14. Auxiliary Medical Service Ordinance (57 of 1997) (Commencement) Notice 1997	323/97
15. Civil Aid Service Ordinance (58 of 1997) (Commencement) Notice 1997	324/97
16. Television (Royalty and Licence Fees) (Amendment) Regulation 1997 (L.N.188 of 1997) (Commencement) Notice 1997	325/97
17. Fugitive Offenders (Canada) Order (L.N.199 of 1997) (Commencement) Notice 1997	326/97
18. Fugitive Offenders (Safety of Civil Aviation) Order (L.N.204 of 1997) (Commencement) Notice 1997	327/97
19. Fugitive Offenders (Internationally Protected Persons and Hostages) Order (L.N.205 of 1997) (Commencement) Notice 1997	328/97
20. Fugitive Offenders (Torture) Order (L.N.206 of 1997) (Commencement) Notice 1997	329/97
21. Fugitive Offenders (Genocide) Order (L.N.208 of 1997) (Commencement) Notice 1997	330/97
22. Official Languages (Authentic Chinese Text) (Air Transport (Licensing of Air Services) Regulations and Hong Kong Civil Aviation (Investigation of Accidents) Regulations) Order Corrigendum	(C) 178/97

II. Questions

1. Mr Ambrose LAU to ask : (Translation)

Regarding the enrolment of handicapped students in ordinary schools, will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the total number of ordinary primary and secondary schools which have admitted handicapped students;

2. of the number of schools mentioned in the answer to (a) above which have purpose-built facilities, such as special access or lifts, for handicapped students; and

3. what measures or plans does the Government have to encourage ordinary schools to admit more handicapped students?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

2. Mrs Selina CHOW to ask :

(Translation)

A university student was videotaped furtively by a video camera installed in her room in the students' hostel while she was changing in the room. However, the incident was not regarded as a criminal act of peeping and the only punishment the University could inflict on the offender was expulsion. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

1. whether an individual is under the protection of the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance if he or she is watched furtively while doing a private act at a private place; if so, as the offender in the above incident was not prosecuted, whether this reflects the existence of loopholes or ambiguities in the existing legislation; and

2. if the answer to the latter part of (a) above is in the affirmative, whether the Government will amend the relevant legislation to plug the loopholes or eliminate the ambiguities?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

3. Dr John TSE to ask :

(Translation)

As the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) has been introduced into the territory since the end of last year, will the Government inform this Council of:

1. the concrete measures the Government has taken to implement the provisions of the CEDAW since its introduction;

2. the channels through which the Government publicizes and promotes the CEDAW, and the number of copies of the CEDAW published for issue; and

3. the parts of the CEDAW which have not been introduced into the territory and the reasons therefor, and when the Government will introduce such parts into the territory?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

4. Mr K K FUNG to ask :

(Translation)

According to the Housing Department (HD), the Housing Authority (HA) is facing the problem of under-provision of land for meeting the target production levels for public rental housing (PRH) flats in the coming 10 years set out in the Long Term Housing Strategy. At present, the land required for construction of PRH flats up to the year 2003 has been allocated to HA by the Government, but the land required to cope with the production levels for the years 2004 to 2007 has yet to be allocated. According to the HD's lead time in the construction of PRH flats, the preparation work has to commence by the end of this year if the flats are to be completed by 2004, otherwise a drastic drop in the level of production of flats will occur again in 2004. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the reasons for the Government not providing sufficient land to HA in response to the production target set out in the Long Term Housing Strategy; and

2. whether the Government will consider improving the current arrangement for allocating land to HA, so that sufficient land will be allocated to HA to enable it to meet the levels of production of PRH flats in the coming 10 years?

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

* 5. Mr MOK Ying-fan to ask :

(Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the number of complaints from the public about the services provided by Chinese medicine practitioners, received by the relevant authorities in the past three years, and the nature of such complaints; and

2. of the outcome of the handling of the above complaints by the authorities concerned?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

* 6. Mr CHOY Kan-pui to ask :

(Translation)

In view of the recent criticism from a judge about inaccurate translation by court interpreters, will the Government inform this Council of:

1. the existing establishment and strength of court interpreters and whether there is sufficient manpower to meet the needs of various levels of the court;

2. the entry requirements of court interpreters;

3. the on-the-job training currently provided for court interpreters and whether a review on such training will be conducted;

4. the mechanism in place to monitor the quality of court interpreters and ensure that their interpretation work meets the standard required; and

5. the total number of complaints about inaccurate interpretation by court interpreters, and the number of appeal cases lodged on the ground of inaccurate interpretation by interpreters resulting in unfair trials or judgement, in the past three years?

Public Officer to reply : Chief Secretary

* 7. Mr Ambrose LAU to ask :

(Translation)

It is learnt that at the time when computer manufacturers designed the current computer systems, it was not envisaged that the systems would continue to operate in the next century, and this has resulted in such systems not being able to handle the new year digits in the new century. In this connection, will the Administration inform this Council of:

1. the percentage of computer systems in government departments which have been adjusted to enable such systems to operate in the year 2000;

2. the estimated time required to complete the adjustment of the remaining computer systems in various government departments; and

3. the estimated expenses for the adjustment of the computer systems mentioned in (a) and (b) above?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Treasury

* 8. Mr CHAN Wing-chan to ask :

(Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council whether it can provide a statistical breakdown of Hong Kong's population in the "60-64" and "65 and over" age groups in 1996 according to the following categories-

1. sex and activity status;

2. sex and educational attainment;

3. sex and marital status;

4. sex and duration residence in Hong Kong";

5. sex and type of housing;

6. sex and geographic area of residence;

7. sex and household size;

8. sex and household income; and

9. sex and household composition;

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

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services

* 9. Miss CHAN Yuen-han to ask :

(Translation)

Will the Government provide the data in respect of the non-economically active population among new arrivals from the Mainland (those with less than seven years' residency in the territory) in 1986, 1991 and 1996, by "type of housing resided", "geographical area", "household size", and "household composition", and provide the data by "type of housing resided", "geographical area", "household size" and "household composition" in respect of the following income groups in the working population among new arrivals from the Mainland (those with less than seven years' residency in the territory) in 1986, 1991 and 1996:

1. under $4000;

2. $4000 to $4999;

3. $5000 to $5999;

4. $6000 to $6999;

5. $7000 to $7999;

6. $8000 to $8999;

7. $9000 to $9999;

8. $10000 to $10999;

9. $11000 to $11999;

10. $12000 or above;

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

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services

*10. Mr Fred LI to ask :

(Translation)

Regarding the reports in the press about an incident involving counterfeit bank notes being found amongst the bank notes drawn from an Auto-teller Machine (ATM) of a bank, will the Government inform this Council:

1. whether it know of the reasons for the occurrence of the above incident;

2. whether the bank concerned has breached the law concerning the illegal use of counterfeit bank notes and other related laws;

3. whether there is currently any mechanism monitoring the banks' procedures in handling bank notes, to safeguard the rights of the public using ATMs and prevent the public from suffering any loss; and

4. whether members of the public who find counterfeit bank notes whilst drawing bank notes from ATMs can claim compensation from the banks concerned; if not, why not?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services

*11. Mr Howard YOUNG to ask :

The Federation of Hong Kong Hotel Owners has alleged that the assessment of the rateable values of hotels is based on profitability rather than their rental values, resulting in a 50 - 120% increase in the amount of rates payable. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of the factors that are taken into account in assessing the rateable values of hotels?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Treasury

*12. Mr WONG Wai-yin to ask :

(Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the total area of land in the territory which were illegally used for storage of containers in the past three years, and the number of owners of such land who were ordered by the authorities concerned to stop the illegal use of the land in question;

2. of the locations and areas of the sites in respect of which permission was granted for the sites to be used for storage of containers in the past three years, as well as the criteria adopted for granting such permission; and

3. of the reasons for the authorities concerned permitting certain sites mentioned in (b) above to be used for storage of containers, despite complaints being lodged by residents that the use of these sites for storage of containers has caused noise nuisance and heavy flooding?

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

*13. Mr Fred LI to ask :

(Translation)

Under the "Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines", the Government will establish a general out-patient clinic for every 100 000 persons. However, there are only four general out-patient clinics in Kwun Tong District with one of them providing evening out-patient service, despite the fact that the District has a population of almost 600 000. In this regard, will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the reasons for the number of general out-patient clinics in Kwun Tong District failing to meet the above planning standard;

2. whether the Government will consider increasing the number of general out-patient clinics in the District; if not, why not;

3. of the reasons for there being only one general out-patient clinic in Kwun Tong District providing evening out-patient service, as opposed to a total of six general out-patient clinics in Kowloon City, Yau Tsim Mong, Shamshuipo and Wong Tai Sin Districts providing such a service;

4. of the criteria adopted for providing evening out-patient service in general out-patient clinics; and

5. whether the Government will consider reinforcing the evening out-patient service in Kwun Tong District, particularly in regard to providing evening out-patient service in Lam Tin Polyclinic; if not, why not?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

*14. Mr Howard YOUNG to ask :

Will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the number of persons who were prosecuted for committing crimes on flights within Hong Kong's airspace in the past three years, together with a breakdown of the nature of such crimes and the outcome of the prosecutions; and

2. whether the Government has sought the co-operation of the airline industry to prevent the occurrence of crimes on flights within Hong Kong's airspace; if so, what the details are?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*15. Mr WONG Wai-yin to ask :

(Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the number of drivers who have been prosecuted for using the bus-only lane on Tuen Mun Highway illegally since the implementation of the bus-only lane on the Highway, and provide a breakdown of the prosecutions by the type of vehicle involved; and

2. how the authorities concerned will step up prosecutions so as to deter drivers from using the above bus-only lane illegally?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

*16. Mr LEE Wing-tat to ask :

(Translation)

Regarding the traffic arrangements for the North Lantau Expressway since it was opened to vehicles, will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the daily numbers of vehicles driving through the Expressway during the period from the date of its commissioning up to 11 June;

2. how long will the arrangement of prohibiting private cars from accessing the Expressway via Tsing Yi Road West during holidays - which is designed to prevent traffic congestion on Tsing Yi Island - be in force; and

3. whether adequate public transport is provided for carrying passengers from Tung Chung to South Lantau and the Po Lin Monastery during holidays?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

*17. Mr LEUNG Yiu-chung to ask :

(Translation)

It is learnt that a women's body has submitted an application for a Certificate of Incorporation as a Charitable Organisation, but so far approval has not been granted for the reason that one of the articles of the body concerned is considered to have political overtones as it advocates "fighting for equality between men and women". In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:

1. the criteria for approving an application for a certificate of incorporation as a charitable organization, and the rationale for the adoption of such criteria; and

2. the criteria for determining whether an activity and/or an organization has political overtones, and the rationale for the adoption of such criteria?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Treasury

*18. Dr John TSE to ask :

(Translation)

As the noise control standards imposed on newly built roads are more stringent than those imposed on existing roads, will the Government inform this Council of:

1. the number of roads in each of the 18 districts in the territory with noise levels exceeding the standards applied to newly built roads, as well as the name of the road with the highest noise level in each of the 18 districts; and

2. the measures which have been or will be implemented to reduce the noise nuisance and to raise the noise control standards on existing roads?

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

*19. Mr MOK Ying-fan to ask :

(Translation)

Regarding the interior decoration industry in the territory, will the Government inform this Council of the following in each of the past three years:

1. the number of interior decoration companies in operation, the numbers of male and female employed persons and their respective percentages, as well as the number of vacancies and its proportion to the total number of posts in the industry;

2. the respective numbers of unemployed and underemployed workers, as well as their respective proportions to the total number of workers in the industry; and

3. the nominal wage index and the real wage index of workers in the industry?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services

*20. Mr LEE Wing-tat to ask :

(Translation)

As Tung Chung and South Lantau are located far away from urban areas and it takes time for an ambulance to cover the long distance, will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the average times taken for an ambulance to travel from Princess Margaret Hospital to Tung Chung and South Lantau respectively; and whether such times meet the "travel time" target;

2. given that the Planning Department is actively considering increasing the planned population in North Lantau (including Tung Chung and Tai Ho), whether the Government will re-consider constructing of a hospital on Lantau Island in view of the increase in population in North Lantau and the need to cope with emergencies at the new airport; and

3. whether the Government will set up a clinic providing accident and emergency services in Tung Chung to coincide with the time when the public housing estates in Tung Chung are ready for occupation?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

III. Government Motions

1. Occupational Safety and Health Ordinance

Secretary for Education and Manpower :

That the Occupational Safety and Health Regulation, made by the Acting Commissioner for Labour on 31 May 1997, be approved.

2. Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands :

(See Resolution at Appendix)

3. Patents Ordinance

Secretary for Trade and Industry :

That the Patents (Transitional Arrangements) Rules, made by the Governor in Council on 3 June 1997, be approved.

IV. Government Bills

Second Reading ( Debates to resume), Committee Stage and Third Reading

V. Members' Motions

1. Report of the Select Committee to Inquire into the Circumstances Surrounding the Departure of Mr LEUNG Ming-yin from the Government and Related Issues

Mr IP Kwok-him : (Translation)

That this Council endorses the Report of the Select Committee to Inquire into the Circumstances Surrounding the Departure of Mr LEUNG Ming-yin from the Government and Related Issues.

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for the Civil Service

2. Settlement of bedspace apartment tenants

Mr David CHU : (Translation)

That this Council urges the Government to arrange as soon as possible reasonable rehousing for tenants living in bedspace apartments, and to formulate legislation to prohibit owners from converting their properties into bedspace apartments for rent.

Amendments to Mr David CHU's motion

1. Mr K K FUNG : (Translation)

To add "and partitioned cubicles" after "bedspace apartmentslegislation to prohibit owners from converting their properties into bedspace apartments for rent"; and to delete "prohibit owners from converting their properties into bedspace apartments for rent" and substitute with "regulate those sublet units, so as to ensure compliance with safety standards".

Amendment to Mr K K FUNG's Amendment

Miss CHAN Yuen-han : (Translation)

To delete "and"; and to add "; and to increase the supply of proper accommodation to resolve the housing problem of the bedspace apartment tenants" after "regulate those sublet units, so as to ensure compliance with safety standards".

2. Mr LEE Wing-tat : (Translation)

To delete ", and to" and to add "and, at the same time, to increase the supply of single-person accommodation, so as to fully meet the housing needs of single persons in the low income group; in the long run, to" before "formulate legislation to prohibit owners from converting their properties into bedspace apartments for rent".

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Home Affairs

VI. Members' Bills

Second Reading ( Debates to resume), Committee Stage and Third Reading

Ray CHAN
for Clerk to the Legislative Council