Revised version
OP 96/97-29(1)
(Issued at 11:00 am on 28.4.97)

The Legislative Council
Order Paper

Wednesday 30 April 1997 at 2:30 pm

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I. Papers
Sessional Paper 1996-97
II. Questions
III. Government Bills
First Reading
Second Reading

• Debates to be adjourned
IV. Members' Motions
1. Vetting of applications from residents in the Mainland for settlement in Hong Kong
2. Services for mental patients
V. Members' Bills
First Reading
Second Reading
• Debate to be adjourned
• Debate to resume
Committee Stage and Third Reading

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I. Papers

Subsidiary Legislation	L.N. NO
1. Road Traffic (Registration and Licensing of Vehicles) (Amendment) Regulation 1997	172/97
2. Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicles) (Amendment) (No.6) Regulation 1997	173/97
3. Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Amendment of Second Schedule) Order 1997	174/97
4. Specification of Public Office	175/97
5. Legal Aid (Amendment) Ordinance 1997 (8 of 1997) (Commencement) Notice 1997	176/97
6. Legal Aid (Assessment of Resources and Contributions) (Amendment) Regulation 1997 (L.N.85 of 1997) (Commencement) Notice 1997	177/97
7. Administration of Justice (Miscellaneous Provisions) (No.2) Ordinance 1997 (14 of 1997) (Commencement) Notice 1997	178/97
8. Fugitive Offenders Ordinance (23 of 1997) (Commencement) Notice 1997	179/97
9. Fire Services Department (Reports and Certificates) (Amendment) (No.2) Regulation 1997 (L.N.95 of 1997) (Commencement) Notice 1997	180/97
10. Import and Export (Registration) (Amendment) Regulation 1995 (L.N.544 of 1995) (Commencement) Notice 1997	181/97
11. Import and Export (Registration) (Amendment) Regulation 1997 (L.N.142 of 1997) (Commencement) Notice 1997	182/97
12. Road Traffic (Driving Licences) (Amendment) (No.2) Regulation 1997	183/97

Sessional Paper 1996-97

No.94-

Hong Kong Monetary Authority Annual Report 1996

(to be presented by the Financial Secretary)

II. Questions

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

Regarding the demand for construction workers and their training, will the Government inform this Council:

1. whether it has made an assessment of the demand and supply of construction workers in the coming five years; if so, of a breakdown of the demand and supply by work type;

2. if the answer to (a) above shows an imbalance in the demand and supply of construction works, of the plan in place to resolve the problems arising from such a situation; and

3. of a breakdown by work type of-

   1. the numbers of construction workers who have participated in short or long training courses organized by the Construction Industry Training Authority, Employees Retraining Council and other public vocational training bodies respectively in the past year;

   2. the number of construction workers expected to receive training provided by these organisations in the coming five years?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

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

In regard to the "problem canopies", will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the current total number of "problem canopies" listed as requiring inspection by the Buildings Department (the Department);

2. of the total number of "problem canopies" which have been inspected by the Department to date and the results of such inspections;

3. of the average time required for the inspection of a "problem canopy" and the estimated time required to complete the inspection of all the "problem canopies"; and

4. of the measures put in place by the Government to ensure that those "problem canopies" which have not been inspected by the Department will not endanger public safety?

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

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

Regarding the current speculative activities in the residential property market, will the Government inform this Council:

1. how the current speculative activities in the residential property market compare with those before the implementation of measures by the Government in 1994 to dampen property prices; and

2. apart from the measures adopted to curb speculative activities in the residential property market since the beginning of this year, whether, and if so under what circumstances, the Government will adopt further special measures to curb such activities?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing

4. Miss Emily LAU to ask :(Translation)

In spite of the designation of Yan Chau Tong as a marine park, fishermen have recently illegally set up rafts at nearby waters for fish farming, thus polluting the water quality and upsetting the marine ecology in the area. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

1. whether the departments concerned will take actions to prohibit the operation of these illegal rafts; if not, why not;

2. whether the Government will amend the Marine Parks Ordinance and other relevant legislation so as to enable the departments concerned to have the authority to order offenders to cease operation immediately or operate outside the boundary of the marine park on the one hand, and increase the penalties substantially to strengthen the deterrent effect on the other; and

3. of the impact on the water quality of the above marine park as a result of the pollution generated by the rapidly increasing industrial and economic activities in the area inside the China boundary adjacent to Yan Chau Tong?

Public Officers to reply

:

Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands Secretary for Economic Services

5. Mr Howard YOUNG to ask :

In view of the fact that all British Dependent Territories Citizen (BDTC) passports will expire at a date on or before 30 June this year and that many countries do not accept travel documents with a validity period of less than six months, will the Government inform this Council:

1. whether the Government has any information regarding BDTC passport holders being rejected at the Kai Tak airport or any other overseas airports because their travel documents do not have a validity period in excess of six months; and

2. in regard to people who have not applied for British National (Overseas) passports but who have the need to travel overseas within the next two months, what recourse do they have to obtain a valid travel document?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

6. Mr HO Chun-yan to ask : (Translation)

It is learnt that the China Legal Service (HK) Limited (the Company), which was established with the approval of the Chinese Ministry of Justice, provides legal services in the territory without applying to the Law Society of Hong Kong (the Society) for registration as a foreign law firm in accordance with the requirements of the law of the territory. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

1. whether the owner of the Company and its lawyers have contravened the Legal Practitioners Ordinance and its subsidiary legislation; and

2. whether, following the receipt of the complaint from the Society against the Company, the Government has requested the Company to go through the necessary procedures for registration as a foreign law firm as soon as possible; if so, what the outcome is; if not, why not; and whether the Government has considered instituting prosecutions, if not, why not?

Public Officer to reply : Attorney General

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

Will the Government inform this Council of the following in each of the past five years:

1. the respective numbers of commercial and residential buildings inspected by the Fire Services Department in each district; and

2. the respective numbers of commercial and residential buildings found to be in breach of the relevant regulations in each district; together with a breakdown by district of the number of warning letters issued to the owners concerned requiring them to adopt improvement measures, and the number of prosecutions instituted against the offending owners?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

* 8. Mr CHAN Wing-chan to ask :(Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council of:

1. the total number of persons and who were unemployed due to dismissal or redundancy who applied for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) in the past three years; and

2. whether it can provide a breakdown of the numbers of the above unemployed persons according to "sex and previous employment by trade classification", "age and previous employment by trade classification", "sex and previous occupation" and "age and previous occupation"; 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 Health and Welfare

* 9. Miss CHAN Yuen-han to ask : (Translation)

It is learnt that the Government currently holds a total of over 4300 hectares of land which can be developed for residential use. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the reasons for the above land not being used for building residential flats; and

2. whether it has formulated any plan to develop the above land; if so, what the details are?

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

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

It is reported that the number of child illegal immigrants (child IIs) from the Mainland intercepted by the Police has increased significantly in recent months. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

1. whether Police officers will take into account the fact that these child IIs are under the influence of their parents or illegal immigrant smugglers in attempting to enter the territory illegally, and thus accord these child IIs appropriate treatment while carrying out their interception duties;

2. whether handcuffs have been used in arresting these child IIs; if so, what the reasons are;

3. whether there are sufficient facilities in the children reception centres or residential institutions to accommodate the large number of such child IIs;

4. whether these child IIs are detained together with other juvenile offenders; if so, what the reasons are; and

5. whether, in repatriating these child IIs, counselling is given to them to enable them to understand that entering the territory illegally is an offence under the law?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*11. Mr Howard YOUNG to ask :

Will the Government inform this Council whether, since the relaxation of plot ratios for hotels in September 1995, any applications have been received from existing hotel operators or developers of new hotels to utilize the higher plot ratios; if so, of the number of applications which have been approved to date?

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

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

Will the Government inform this Council of:

1. the number of cases involving children running away from home in each of the past three years, as well as the reasons for their running away from home;

2. the measures taken by the authorities concerned to prevent the occurrence of such cases; and

3. the number of runaway children found in the past three years, and the circumstances in which they were found?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

The Security and Guarding Services Ordinance came into effect in June 1995. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the following information regarding the application for the security guard permit (the permit):

   1. the number of applicants;

   2. the number of applicants whose applications have been approved and the number of applicants whose applications have been rejected;

   3. the number of unsuccessful applicants who have submitted representations to the Police and whose representations have been accepted;

   4. the number of unsuccessful applicants who have submitted representations to the Police and whose representations have been rejected;

   5. the number of applicants who have appealed to the Administrative Appeals Board, and the number of these applicants who have ultimately been granted the permit;

2. the average time taken in processing an application for the permit;

3. of the reasons for the Police refusing to issue the permit as well as the reasons for the Police rejecting the applicants' representations; and

4. whether the Security and Guarding Services Industry Authority will conduct a review on the implementation arrangements of the Security and Guarding Services Ordinance; if so, when the review will be conducted?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

It is learnt that the University Grants Committee (UGC) has recently criticized the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) for being too enthusiastic in developing world-class technology researches at the expense of curriculum design, and relying too heavily on teaching assistants to conduct teaching activities, thus affecting the quality of teaching. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

1. whether it knows of how the HKUST has responded to the above criticism and how it will improve the situation;

2. of the role played by the HKUST Council in supervising the curriculum design and quality of teaching in the HKUST; and

3. whether the Government and the authorities concerned will review the role of the Councils of the UGC-funded institutions, with a view to strengthening their supervisory functions?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

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

Does the Government know of:

1. the respective numbers of housing blocks and units in each of the public housing estates under the management of the Housing Authority; and

2. the respective annual total repair and maintenance costs of each public housing estate in the past five years?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing

*16. Mr CHAN Wing-chan to ask : (Translation)

The Government has announced that, since the voting down of the resolution to increase sewage charges and trade effluent surcharge by this Council last year, the Sewage Services Trading Fund only managed to break even at the end of last year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether the Drainage Services Department will propose increases in the sewage charges and trade effluent surcharges again in the near future; if so, of the estimated rates of increase?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Works

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

Since 1986, the Education Department has been providing extra resources to schools which have adopted mother-tongue teaching, in order to promote students' language proficiency. Recently, the Government has further proposed to implement mother-tongue teaching in all Secondary 1 (S1) classes in secondary schools throughout the territory from September 1998 onward. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:

1. the differences in English language proficiency between students of Chinese middle schools and students of Anglo-Chinese secondary schools over the past ten years;

2. the ratios of school-leavers from Chinese middle schools and school-leaver from Anglo-Chinese secondary schools, who were admitted to local universities in the past three years; and

3. the specific measures in place to ensure that there will be sufficient qualified teachers to teach the relevant subjects upon the implementation of mother-tongue teaching in all S1 classes next year?

Public Officer to reply :Secretary for Education and Manpower

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

Regarding the issue of compensation payment in the demolition of the factory estates in Cheung Sha Wan and Yuen Long, will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the reasons why those commercial tenants who have been paying a higher rent are given lower compensation payments than those who have been paying a lower rent; and

2. whether it will review the above compensation arrangement; if so, when this will be carried out; if not, why not?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing

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

Regarding new arrivals from the Mainland who have resided in the territory for less than seven years, will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the current population of the above new arrivals in the territory;

2. of a breakdown of such new arrivals in employment by occupation and level of education; and

3. whether it has carried out any study to examine how the occupations of the new arrivals relate to their educational levels; if so, what the details are; and whether the findings of the survey show that the educational levels of the new arrivals are incompatible with their occupations?

Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Education and Manpower

*20. Miss CHAN Yuen-han to ask : (Translation)

Does the Government know:

1. of the respective lengths of time required to build private and public housing blocks (from land development to completion of construction); and

2. given that the standardized design of Harmony blocks is adopted for almost all public housing construction, of the reasons why it still takes a period of 25 months to carry out design work; and whether consideration has been given to streamlining the design process in order to reduce the time required for building public housing blocks; if so, of the estimated length of time that can be saved?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing

III. Government Bills

First Reading

1. Trustee (Amendment) Bill 1997

2. Child Abduction and Custody Bill

3. The Open Learning Institute of Hong Kong (Amendment) Bill 1997

4. Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Amendment) Bill 1997

5. New Territories Land Exchange Entitlements (Redemption)(Amendment) Bill 1997

6. Inland Revenue (Amendment) Bill 1997

7. Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No.2) Bill 1997

8. Stamp Duty (Amendment) Bill 1997

9. Estate Duty (Amendment) Bill 1997

10. Dutiable Commodities (Amendment) Bill 1997

11. Traffic Accident Victims (Assistance Fund) (Amendment) Bill 1997

12. Merchant Shipping (Liability and Compensation for Oil Pollution) (Amendment) Bill 1997

13. Marriage and Children (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 1997

Second Reading

Debates to be adjourned

IV. Members' Motions

1. Vetting of applications from residents in the Mainland for settlement in Hong Kong

Mr LAW Chi-kwong : (Translation)

That, in view of the emergence of a large number of split families under the existing mechanism for vetting applications from residents in the Mainland for settlement in Hong Kong and as the Government has not been able to effectively regulate the immigration volume to complement the needs of Hong Kong and formulate corresponding social policies, this Council urges the future Special Administrative Region Government to actively strive for the authority to vet and approve applications from residents in the Mainland for settlement in Hong Kong and to establish a points system, according priority vetting to applications on grounds of family reunion.

Amendment to Mr LAW Chi-kwong's motion

Mr CHEUNG Hon-chung : (Translation)

To delete "in view of the emergence of a large number of split families" and substitute with "as a large number of children of Hong Kong permanent residents, who were born in the Mainland and according to the Basic Law have the right of abode in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, are entering the territory illegally before obtaining proper authorization"; to delete "and as the Government has not been able to effectively regulate the immigration volume to complement the needs of Hong Kong and formulate corresponding social policies"; to delete "future Special Administrative Region Government to actively strive for the authority to vet and approve applications from residents in the Mainland for settlement in Hong Kong and to establish a points system, according priority vetting to applications on grounds of family reunion" and substitute with "Government to expeditiously strengthen liaison and the exchange of information with relevant departments in the Mainland, and to establish the number of such children on the waiting list, so as to formulate policies to arrange for their entry into Hong Kong by batches and according to a prescribed schedule, and to repatriate those children who are staying illegally in the territory, reinforce the interception of illegal immigrants and impose heavy penalties on "smugglers of illegal immigrants" to combat illegal immigration".

Amendment to Mr CHEUNG Hon-chung's Amendment

Mr Bruce LIU : (Translation)

To delete "such" and substitute with "Mainland", to add "born to Hong Kong residents" after "children", to add "of applications to settle in the territory" after "on the waiting list", to add "including the establishment of a points system according priority on grounds of family reunion," after "so as to formulate policies", to delete ", and to repatriate those children who are staying illegally in the territory,", to add "; this Council also urges the Government of the future Special Administrative Region to strive for participation in the process of vetting applications from residents in the Mainland for settlement in Hong Kong, so as to enhance cooperation with relevant departments in the Mainland, and to" and to add "in accordance with the law" before "to combat illegal immigration".

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Security

2. Services for mental patients

Dr HUANG Chen-ya : (Translation)

That this Council urges the Government to allocate more resources, improve the process of service delivery and strengthen the interface of the services for mental patients, so as to provide them with sustained and comprehensive treatment, aftercare and rehabilitation services and to help them re-integrate into the community.

Amendment to Dr HUANG Chen-ya's motion

Miss CHAN Yuen-han : (Translation)

To add ", as the serious shortage of proper aftercare support for mental patients and ex-mental patients, coupled with the long-standing neglect of the needs of their families, have given rise to numerous problems in the rehabilitation of mental patients in the community," after "That"; to delete ", improve the process of service delivery and strengthen the interface of the services for mental patients, so as to provide them with" and substitute with "for the provision of"; to add "as well as community-based rehabilitation services for mental patients and ex-mental patients;" after "comprehensive treatment" and to delete "aftercare and rehabilitation services and to help them re-integrate" and substitute with "furthermore, the Government should develop supporting services for their families, so as to enable ex-mental patients to better integrate".

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Health and Welfare

V. Members' Bills

First Reading

Hong Kong Bill of Rights (Amendment) Bill 1997

Second Reading

Debate to be adjourned

Debate to resume

2. The Hong Kong Institute of Housing Bill

:

Mr Edward HO

Committee Stage and Third Reading

The Hong Kong Institute of Housing Bill

:

Mr Edward HO

LAW Wing-lok

for Clerk to the Legislative Council