Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Revised version
A 97/98-20(1)
(Issued at 11:00 am on 8.12.97)

Provisional Legislative Council

Agenda
Wednesday 10 December 1997 at 2:30 pm

I. Papers

	Subsidiary Legislation	L.N. No.
1.	Merchant Shipping (Prevention and Control of Pollution) (Charges for Discharge of PollutingWaste) (Amendment) Regulation 1997	569/97
2.	Waste Disposal (Permits and Licences) (Forms and Fees) (Amendment) Regulation 1997	570/97
3.	Waste Disposal (Chemical Waste) (General) (Amendment) Regulation 1997	571/97
4.	Water Pollution Control (General) (Amendment)Regulation 1997	572/97
5.	Electoral Affairs Commission (Registration of Electors) (Geographical Constituencies) (Legislative Council) (Amendment) Regulation 1997	574/97
6.	Electoral Affairs Commission (Registration) (Electors for Functional Constituencies) (Voters for Subsectors) (Members of Election Committee) (Legislative Council) (Amendment) Regulation 1997	575/97
7.	Employment Agency (Amendment) Regulation 1997	576/97
8.	Air Pollution Control (Specified Processes) (Amendment) Regulation 1997	577/97
9.	Air Pollution Control (Open Burning) (Amendment) Regulation 1997	578/97
10.	Air Pollution Control (Asbestos) (Administration) (Amendment) Regulation 1997	579/97
11.	Ozone Layer Protection (Fees) (Amendment) Regulation 1997	580/97
12.	Noise Control (General) (Amendment) Regulation 1997	581/97
13.	Noise Control (Air Compressors) (Amendment) Regulation 1997	582/97
14.	Noise Control (Hand Held Percussive Breakers) (Amendment) Regulation 1997	583/97
15.	Dumping at Sea (Fees) (Amendment) Regulation 1997	584/97
16.	Road Traffic Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 10) Order 1997	585/97
17.	Import and Export Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 2) Notice 1997	586/97
18.	Import and Export Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 3) Notice 1997	587/97
19.	Hawker (Permitted Place) (No.2) Declaration 1997 588/97
20.	Import and Export (Amendment) Ordinance 1995 (30 of 1995) (Commencement) (No.2) Notice 1997	589/97
21.	Buildings (Amendment) Ordinance 1996 (54 of 1996) (Commencement) (No.4) Notice 1997	590/97
22.	Buildings (Amendment) Ordinance 1997 (36 of 1997) (Commencement) Notice 1997	591/97
23.	Road Traffic (Construction and Maintenance of Vehicles) (Amendment) (No.3) Regulation 1997 (L.N.243 of 1997) (Commencement) Notice 1997	592/97

Sessional Papers

1.No.44-	Report by the Trustee of the Police Children's Education Trust, Police Education and Welfare Trust for the period 1 April 1996 - 31 March 1997
(to be presented by Secretary for Security)
2.No.45-	Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Hong Kong Annual Report 1996-97
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

II. Questions

Question permitted by the President under Rule 24(4) of the Rules of Procedure

Mr Allen LEE to ask :

(Translation)

Recently an incident occurred in which a truck loaded with cyanide turned over near the reservoir, causing the cyanide to be scattered onto the road and nearly fall into the reservoir. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

of the present legislative control regarding the transport of cyanide;
whether it will study if any person has breached the law in this incident;
how the authority ensures that the legislation governing the transport of dangerous goods will be complied with; and
of the immediate measures in place to avoid the scattered cyanide jeopardizing the health of the public and the environment?

Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Security
1.Mr MOK Ying-fan to ask :
(Translation)

When submitting a funding request in 1995 on behalf of the Hospital Authority (HA) for the construction of the HA head office building, the Government told the Finance Committee of the former Legislative Council that it would support any positive moves on the part of the HA to enhance its transparency and accountability. In this connection, does the Government know whether:

the HA has taken any positive measures to enhance its transparency and accountability; if so, what the details are;
the HA will make arrangements to open its meetings to the public; if so, what the specific arrangements are; and
the HA is considering adopting other measures to further enhance its transparency and accountability?

Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Health and Welfare
2.Mr LO Suk-ching to ask :
(Translation)

It is learnt that the Airport Authority (AA) has decided to set up a company to take charge of the security at the new airport, instead of following the established practice of engaging a private company to undertake the work. In this connection, does the Government know:

of the reasons for the AA setting up its own company to take charge of the security at the new airport; whether they include any security consideration;
of the reasons for the AA not engaging the private security company currently operating at the Kai Tak Airport;
whether the AA has made arrangements to transfer the employees of that private company to the security company for the new airport; and
of the measures taken by the AA to ensure that the security company to be established can maintain the required security standards?

Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Security
3.Mr CHAN Choi-hi to ask :(Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:

whether it will consider applying to host the "World Exposition"; if not, why not; and
whether it will consider co-operating with provinces, municipalities or autonomous regions in the Mainland to hold a "China Exposition" in Hong Kong; if so, when and how preparation work will be carried out, and whether it will set up a special committee to take charge of the work?

Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Economic Services
4.Mr Howard YOUNG to ask :

It is learnt that some overseas Hong Kong permanent residents (HKPRs) have encountered difficulties in applying for Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) passports at local Chinese consulates. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

of the estimated number of travel documents issued by the Hong Kong Government to HKPRs who are now overseas, which have expired since 1 July 1997 or will expire within 12 months;
whether it knows if any measures are in place to ensure that staff at Chinese consulates know the processing procedure in respect of HKSAR passport applications, and if a time limit has been set for these consulates to forward these applications to the Immigration Department;
of the number of HKSAR passport applications sent by various Chinese consulates to the Immigration Department for processing since 1 July 1997; and
of the number and nature of complaints lodged with the Immigration Department by overseas HKPRs about the handling of their applications for HKSAR passports by Chinese consulates, and the action taken by the Immigration Department in response?

Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Security
5.Mr LAU Kong-wah to ask :
(Translation)

Currently, the waiting time for admission to subsidized residential care homes for elderly persons is exceedingly long and many elderly persons pass away before residential care places can be allocated to them. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

whether it will consider subsidizing more private residential care homes for elderly persons, so as to increase the number of residential care places; if so, of the number of places to be increased in each of the coming five years, and of the waiting time that can be shortened as a result of such increases; and
of the criteria currently adopted by the authority in determining the eligibility and priority of elderly persons for allocation of places in subvented residential care homes?

Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Health and Welfare
6.Mr HUI Yin-fat to ask :
(Translation)

Regarding the number of Assistant Social Work Officer (ASWO) posts stipulated in the "Social Welfare Manpower Planning System Report No. 9" to be created by the authority, will the Government inform this Council:

why the Report stipulated that 126 new ASWO posts would be created in 1997/98, whereas the Secretary for Health and Welfare told this Council earlier that only 29 new posts would be created;
why the Report stipulated that there would be 299 ASWO vacancies in 1997/98 whereas, up to 15 November, only 98 out of the 207 fresh social work graduates have joined the rank;
of the number of fresh social work graduates who were unable to join the rank of ASWO timely due to the authority's slippage in creating the posts, over the past three years;
how it spent the allocated funds left unused as a result of slippage in creating the posts; and whether it will adopt measures to ensure that the posts will be created as scheduled in future; if not, why not; and
whether it will adopt any remedial measures to assist those social work graduates affected by such slippage in obtaining employment; if not, why not?

Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Health and Welfare
* 7.Mr CHOY Kan-pui to ask :
(Translation)

Hong Kong is experiencing an acute shortage of coins in circulation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it has examined ways to solve the problem of public transport passengers paying extra fares due to the shortage of coins; if so, what the details are?

Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Transport

* 8.Dr TANG Siu-tong to ask :

(Translation)

With regard to the principles and arrangements relating to land resumption for the Western Corridor Railway (WCR), will the Government inform this Council:

whether the authority has conducted district consultations before resuming the land; if so, what the details are; if not, why not;
whether the proceeds from property development on the land resumed for WCR stations have been taken into account when drawing up the formula for calculating the amount of compensation;
as the kitchens of some village houses are detached from the living quarters, whether the authority will consider resuming the whole of the village houses instead of only the kitchens or the living quarters, so as to maintain their completeness; and
whether the authority had already identified the lots that would be affected by the WCR works a year ago and stopped issuing burial permits in respect of these affected lots so as to prevent them from being used as burial ground?

Public Officer to reply

Secretary for Planning,
Environment and Lands

* 9.Mr LAU Kong-wah to ask :(Translation)

In respect of the Border Liaison Group, will the Government inform this Council:

of the new name under consideration for the Border Liaison Group, and whether the current scope of work of the Group is different from that before 1 July 1997; if so, what the details are; and
of the Group's major items of work in the coming year?

Public Officer to reply

Secretary for Constitutional
Affairs

*10.Mr HUI Yin-fat to ask :(Translation)

Based on the findings of the Household Expenditure Survey conducted in 1994/95 by the Census and Statistics Department, will the Government inform this Council of the data on the living expenses of people aged 60 or above who lived on their own or shared accommodation with another tenant, and who were or were not recipients of the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA):

People who were CSSA recipients
1. the respective numbers of male and female elderly people who lived on their own;
2. the number of two-person households sharing accommodation; and
3. -the average age;
  -the average income;
  -the number of persons in employment; and
  -the details of expenses (broken down by items such as food, housing, medicine, fuel and electricity, transportation and clothing) in respect of the above two categories of people; and
People who were not CSSA recipients
the following data on one-person and two-person households in each of the 20 income groups (which are equally divided into 20 groups according to their respective income):
1. the respective numbers of male and female elderly people who lived on their own;
2. the number of two-person households sharing accommodation; and
3. -the average age;
  -the average income;
  -the number of persons in employment; and
  -the details of expenses (broken down by items such as food, housing, medicine, fuel and electricity, transportation and clothing) in respect of the above two categories of people?

Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Financial Services
*11.Dr YEUNG Chun-kam to ask :
(Translation)

It is learnt that the Government plans to construct a container port on Lantau Island, the total container throughput of which will double that of the existing Kwai Chung container port, so as to cope with the continued growth of port cargo volume in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

of the infrastructural and ancillary facilities for the new container port, together with the estimated construction cost and timeframe;
how it plans to grant the contract for the construction of the new container port; and
whether it has taken into account the economic developments of the Mainland and the throughput of container ports in the Mainland when drawing up the development plan for the new container port?

Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Economic Services
*12.Mr Howard YOUNG to ask :

Will the Government inform this Council whether it has any plan to liaise with the various public transport companies for introducing a convenient transportation ticket (such as 'Hong Kong Card' or '1-day/3-day Pass') which will enable its holders, including tourists, to travel around Hong Kong in various modes of public transport?

Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Transport

*13.Dr YEUNG Chun-kam to ask :

(Translation)

In connection with the control over food labelling, will the Government inform this Council of:

the monitoring measures in place to ensure the accuracy of food labels; and
the actions that the authority will take to deter and punish food suppliers for inaccurate labelling, so as to protect the interests of consumers?

Public Officer to reply

Secretary for Health and
Welfare

*14.Mr James TIEN to ask :(Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:

of the measures in place to encourage the staff of universities to conduct studies on the commercialization of technological research results;
of the measures in place to protect the intellectual property rights of such studies;
whether it knows which tertiary institutions in Hong Kong have set up independent companies to conduct studies on the commercialization of technological research results, other than the one set up by the University of Hong Kong; and
whether it has provided incentives to other tertiary institutions to establish similar independent companies as soon as possible to undertake studies on the commercialization of technological research results; if so, of the related measures the authority has taken in the past three years; if not, whether the authority will expeditiously formulate policies to encourage tertiary institutions to embark on these studies?

Public Officer to reply

Secretary for Education
and Manpower

*15.Mr CHAN Choi-hi to ask :(Translation)

Apart from auditing the financial statements and expenditure of various policy bureaux, government departments and agencies, and other public bodies, the Audit Commission also undertakes "value for money" audits and advises on the economy, efficiency and effectiveness with which these departments or bodies have discharged their functions. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

the Audit Commission's current resources and manpower already include those for undertaking "value for money" audits on major infrastructural projects; if not, whether consideration will be given to allocating additional resources for the Audit Commission to employ experts such as engineers to provide professional advice, so that the Commission can monitor the expenditure of major infrastructural projects more effectively; and
it will consider upgrading the Audit Commission to a policy bureau?

Public Officer to reply:Secretary for the Treasury
*16.Mr IP Kwok-him to ask :
(Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council whether:

public tender documents for procurement of stores and services are available in both Chinese and English; if not, why not;
tenderers are allowed to complete the tender forms in either Chinese or English; if not, why not; and
it will require all subvented organizations and statutory bodies wholly owned by the Government to prepare tender documents in both Chinese and English when inviting public tenders, and allow tenderers to complete the tender forms in either Chinese or English?

Public Officer to reply:Secretary for the Treasury
*17.Mr Henry WU to ask :
(Translation)

Regarding a recent incident in which the Australian authority refused the Hong Kong Government's request for extraditing a suspect to Hong Kong for trial, will the Government inform this Council:

of the total number of cases in which requests were made for the extradition of suspects to Hong Kong for trial in the past three years, together with the respective numbers of successful, unsuccessful and pending cases;
in respect of these successful cases in the same period, of the average time required for completing the extradition proceedings, and the number of cases in which proceedings were completed on or after 1 July this year;
of the names of the countries which refused requests for the extradition of suspects in the same period; the number of cases in which such requests were refused on or after 1 July this year; and whether it has assessed the impact of these cases on the confidence of Hong Kong people in Hong Kong's judicial system; and
whether it has taken any measures to ensure that the relevant legal proceedings are completed in an accurate and timely manner in applying to foreign countries for the extradition of suspects to Hong Kong for trial?

Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Security
*18.Mr YEUNG Yiu-chung to ask :
(Translation)

Currently, the Government only provides a clerical staff for a government or subsidized primary school with six classes or more. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

of the total number of government and subsidized primary schools with less than six classes each, and the distribution of such primary schools in the various districts of Hong Kong; and
whether there is any plan to provide clerical staff for such primary schools; if so, what the details are; if not, why not?

Public Officer to reply

Secretary for Education
and Manpower

*19.Mr Edward HO to ask :(Translation)

Many owners of new Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) flats choose to use new interior fitments (such as bath tubs and kitchen cabinets) for their flats in place of the original unused ones, which are quite often scrapped and discarded within the estates. This is not only a waste of resources, but also makes the estate unsightly. In this connection, does the Government know:

the costs for the Housing Authority (HA) in fitting out each HOS flat with various interior fitments (including bath tubs and kitchen cabinets);
whether the HA has estimated the financial resources which were wasted due to the use of new interior fitments by the owners for their flats in each of the past three years;
how the Housing Department handles the large quantity of original interior fitments scrapped and discarded by the HOS flat owners; and
whether the HA has considered allowing owners of new HOS flats to fit out their own flats?

Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Housing
*20.Mr YEUNG Yiu-chung to ask :
(Translation)

It is learnt that the Government has commissioned a few consultants to review the administrative and consultative frameworks of Hong Kong's education system. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

of the identity and background of these consultants;
of the criteria for employing these consultants and the costs involved; and
when the review report will be completed?

Public Officer to reply

Secretary for Education
and Manpower

* For written reply.

III. Bills

First Reading

Mass Transit Railway Corporation (Amendment) Bill 1997

Second Reading

Debate to be adjourned

1. Mass Transit RailwayCorporation (Amendment)Bill 1997

Secretary for Transport

Debates to resume

2. Cross-Harbour Tunnel(Cross-Harbour Tunnel Regulations) (Amendment)Ordinance 1997 (Amendment) Bill 1997	:	Secretary for Transport
3. Tate's Cairn Tunnel(Tate's Cairn Tunnel Regulations) (Amendment)Ordinance 1997 (Amendment) Bill 1997	:	Secretary for Transport

Committee Stage and Third Reading

1. Cross-Harbour Tunnel(Cross-Harbour Tunnel Regulations) (Amendment)Ordinance 1997 (Amendment) Bill 1997	:	Secretary for Transport
2. Tate's Cairn Tunnel(Tate's Cairn Tunnel Regulations) (Amendment)Ordinance 1997 (Amendment) Bill 1997	:	Secretary for Transport

IV. Motions

Disability Discrimination Ordinance

Secretary for Health and Welfare :

That the Disability Discrimination (Proceedings by Equal Opportunities Commission) Regulation, made by the Secretary for Health and Welfare on 25 November 1997, be approved.

V. Members' Motions

1.Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

Mr Henry WU :

That the Electoral Affairs Commission (Registration of Electors) (Geographical Constituencies) (Legislative Council) Regulation, published as Legal Notice No. 499 of 1997 and laid on the table of the Provisional Legislative Council on 5 November 1997, be amended -

in section 2(1), by repealing the definition of "identity document" and substituting -
""identity document" () has the meaning assigned to "identity document" by section 3(1) of the Legislative Council Ordinance (134 of 1997);";
in sections 3(2)(b), (3) and (5)(a), 10(4), 13(5), 14(3) and (4), 15(1)(c)(ii), (2), (3) and (9), 17(1), 18(1)(c), 19(2)(c) and 20(5) by repealing "" and substituting " ".

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Justice

2.Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

Mr Henry WU :

That the Electoral Affairs Commission (Registration) (Electors for Functional Constituencies) (Voters for Subsectors) (Members of Election Committee) (Legislative Council) Regulation, published as Legal Notice No. 534 of 1997 and laid on the table of the Provisional Legislative Council on 12 November 1997, be amended -

in section 2(1), by repealing the definition of "identity document" and substituting -
""identity document" ( ) has the meaning assigned to "identity document" by section 3(1) of the Legislative Council Ordinance (134 of 1997);";
in sections 3(2)(b), (3)(b) and (4), 4(4), 5(4)(b) and (5), 9(2)(e), 12(3), 27(c)(iii), 28(b), 29(5), 30(3), 31(11), 33(1) and 41(4) by repealing " " and substituting " ".

3.Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
Mr Edward HO :

That in relation to the -

Building (Administration) (Amendment) (No.4) Regulation 1997, published as Legal Notice No. 514 of 1997;
Building (Demolition Works) (Amendment) Regulation 1997, published as Legal Notice No. 515 of 1997;
Building (Standards of Sanitary Fitments, Plumbing, Drainage Works and Latrines) (Amendment) (No.2) Regulation 1997, published as Legal Notice No. 516 of 1997; and
Building (Ventilating Systems) (Amendment) Regulation 1997, published as Legal Notice No. 517 of 1997, and laid on the table of the Provisional Legislative Council on 12 November 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 meeting of 17 December 1997.

4.Speeding up the pace of urban renewal
Mr IP Kwok-him :
(Translation)

That this Council urges the Special Administrative Region Government to expeditiously set up an Urban Renewal Authority, so as to speed up the pace of urban renewal, improve the environment of the urban areas and increase community facilities from an overall planning perspective, provide reasonable compensation to property owners and commercial tenants affected by the renewal, and collaborate with the Housing Authority and the Housing Society in making proper arrangements for rehousing and settling matters with tenants in private residential property in the renewal areas; furthermore, the Urban Renewal Authority must have adequate transparency and ensure that its powers and resources are used in a reasonable manner.

Amendment to Mr IP Kwok-him's motion

Mr K K FUNG :

(Translation)

To delete "provide reasonable compensation to" and substitute with "review afresh the formula for calculating compensation for the"; to delete "," from "affected by the renewal,"; to delete "collaborate" and substitute with ", together"; to delete "in making proper arrangements for rehousing and settling matters with" and substitute with ", make a pledge to rehouse"; to add "within the same district" after "in the renewal areas"; and to add "representativeness, accountability and" after "the Urban Renewal Authority must have adequate".

Public Officer to attend

Secretary for Planning,
Environment and Lands

5.Review of social welfare subvention system

Mr HUI Yin-fat :

(Translation)

That, in view of the fact that the Government has all along been delivering most of the social welfare services through subvention to social welfare organizations so as to fulfil its obligation and commitment as a service provider to the community, this Council urges the Government to ensure that the quality and continuity of services be maintained in its review of the social welfare subvention system.

Amendment to Mr HUI Yin-fat's motion

Mr Bruce LIU :

(Translation)

To delete "ensure that the quality and continuity of services be maintained" and substitute with "respect the views of organizations and workers in the sector"; and to add "and ensure that social welfare organizations will have adequate resources to sustain their development and maintain the quality of their services in future" after "the social welfare subvention system".

Public Officer to attend

Secretary for Health
and Welfare

Clerk to the Provisional Legislative Council