Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Revised version
A 97/98-23(1)

Provisional Legislative Council

Agenda
Wednesday 14 January 1998 at 2:30 pm

I. Papers

	Subsidiary Legislation	L.N. No.
1.	Legislative Council (Formation of Election Committee) (Appeals) Regulation	1/98
2.	Prisons (Amendment) Order 1998	12/98

Sessional Papers

1.No.64-	Secretary for Home Affairs Incorporated Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31 March 1997
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)
2. No.65-	Lingnan College President's Report 1996-1997 and Lingnan College Financial Report for the Year ended 30 June 1997
(to be presented by Secretary for Education and Manpower)

Hon WONG Siu-yee will address the Council on the subsidiary legislation relating to fee increases, which was laid on the Table of the Council on 10 December 1997. private

II. Questions

1. Mrs Miriam LAU to ask :(Translation)

The Chief Executive indicated in his Policy Address that Hong Kong has the status of an international shipping centre. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

of the specific data indicating that Hong Kong has such a status;
of Hong Kong's superiority and deficiency in comparison with the shipping centres in other countries and regions; and
whether there are any plans to consolidate or strengthen Hong Kongs position as an international shipping centre; if so, what the details are?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Services

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

Will the Government inform this Council:

of the number of workers who met with accidents while working in manholes in each of the past three years;
of the main causes of these accidents; and
whether the authority has considered stepping up educational and promotional activities to enhance workers understanding of the requisite safety measures to be taken while working in manholes; if so, what the details are; if not, why not?

Public Officer to reply :

Secretary for Education
and Manpower

3. Mrs Selina CHOW to ask : (Translation)

In view of the fact that a series of domestic violence cases has occurred recently, will the Government inform this Council:

of the total number of reports on domestic violence cases received last year and, among them, the respective numbers of those involving wife-battering and child abuse;
of the number of people out of these cases who were sanctioned legally, and the average penalties imposed on them by the court; and
whether it has studied the measures adopted by other countries to prevent the occurrence of domestic violence; if it has undertaken such a study, whether reference will be made to the experience of these countries; if it has not undertaken such a study, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

4. Dr HO Chung-tai to ask : (Translation)

It is reported that, owing to the contractors delay in building the first block of the interim housing at Sha Kok Mei, Sai Kung, the Housing Authority has decided to re-tender the remaining uncompleted works. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

of the current progress of the project;
whether the project cost will be increased due to the delay, and whether the Housing Authority will recover the loss caused by the original contractor and impose penalty on the latter;
whether there are any residents affected by the delay of the project; and
how the Housing Department will monitor the progress of the remaining works in order to avoid further delay?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing

5. Ms CHOY So-yuk to ask : (Translation)

The Intelligence Wing of the Special Branch in the former British Hong Kong Government was not dissolved until the British Government was about to withdraw from Hong Kong. A similar department has not been set up since the establishment of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

whether it will consider establishing a relevant department expeditiously; if so, when such a department will be established; if not, why not;
whether it will take measures to increase the transparency of such a department; if so, what the details of these measures are; if not, why not; and
whether it has adopted other specific measures to ensure the social stability and public order in the territory; if so, what the details are; if not, why not and how it will protect the public's safety?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

6. Mr Allen LEE to ask : (Translation)

The consultancy study on indoor air quality in Hong Kong conducted by the Government was completed in 1997, but the Environmental Protection Department indicated that the relevant report would not be published until 2001. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

of the reasons for the delay in publishing the report;
whether it will wait until 2001 for introducing legislation to monitor and control indoor air quality;
whether it knows the number of Hong Kong people suffering from diseases related to the respiratory system in each of the past three years due to poor indoor air quality; and
whether any system is in place to monitor indoor air quality; if so, what the details are?

Public Officer to reply

Secretary for Planning,
Environment and Lands

* 7. Mr LO Suk-ching to ask : (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Councilis aware:

of the reasons for the AA to set up its own company to take charge of the security of the new airport; whether the issue of security is one of the reasons the rural villages without access roads in Hong Kong;
whether there are established policy and time-table for the construction of access roads to these villagesthe reasons for the AA not to engage the private company which is currently taking charge of the security at Kai Tak; if not, why not; and
whether it will consider allocating funds from the Rural Planning and Improvement Strategy Minor Works Programme in order to construct such roads?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

Will the Government inform this Council:

whether it knows of the number of complaints lodged by blind people to the organizations concerned regarding the difficulties encountered by them in using the Octopus; and
whether the Commissioner for Rehabilitation will approach organizations for the blind so as to understand their actual difficulties and to identify positive and effective solutions to their problems?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

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

Will the Government inform this Council of:

the number of citizens of Commonwealth countries who came to work in Hong Kong with employment visas during the three years between 1994 and 1996; and
a breakdown of the data in respect of these persons by:
1. sex and age;
2. sex and education level;
3. age and education level;
4. education level and trades in which they were employed in Hong Kong;
5. education level and positions held in Hong Kong;
6. age and trades in which they were employed in Hong Kong;
7. age and positions held in Hong Kong?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*10. Dr YEUNG Chun-kam to ask : (Translation)

In connection with the Governments plan to seek funding from the Finance Committee of this Council for the construction of Phase 1 of the Science Park, will the Government inform this Council:

of the advanced hi-tech support facilities to be provided in the Science Park, so as to attract local industrialists to invest in and to develop high technology industries; and
whether the Planning Committee on Science Park has made reference to the experiences of other Asia-Pacific communities in developing high technology; if so, of the areas that the Committee has made reference to and, among the recommendations made by the Committee, those that have been made by reference to such experiences?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Trade and Industry

*11. Dr C H LEONG to ask :

Regarding the receipt by the Provisional Municipal Councils of sponsorship from companies engaging in tobacco-related business for the Councils programmes, does the Government know:

whether the Councils have any guidelines in this respect; if so, what the details are; and
in respect of each Council in each of the past three years:
1. the number of such sponsored programmes and their percentage of the overall programmes staged;
2. the maximum, minimum and total amounts of such sponsorship; and
3. the respective percentages of such sponsorship as against the total cost and the total income of the sponsored programmes?

Public Officer to reply

Secretary for Broadcasting,
Culture and Sport

*12. Dr David LI to ask :

The survey undertaken by the Hong Kong Chinese Civil Servants' Association points out that the workload of the Social Security Assistants responsible for the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance scheme is accumulating, despite the fact that about 70% of them are regularly working overtime (on average one to two hours per working day) and despite their efforts to reduce the processing time of such applications (such as cutting down the number of home visits). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it is aware of such situation and if so, whether it will consider allocating additional financial resources for the creation of additional posts?

Public Officer to reply :Secretary for Health and Welfare

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

Will the Government inform this Council:

how it is co-ordinating the activities organized by various cultural bodies in Hong Kong at present;
whether it will consider creating a post of Secretary for Culture for co-ordinating and promoting cultural activities in Hong Kong; and
whether it will formulate a comprehensive policy on culture; if so, of the specific details of the policy; if not, why not?

Public Officer to reply

Secretary for Broadcasting, Culture and Sport

*14. Dr TANG Siu-tong to ask : (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:

whether it has studied if the quality of the potable water currently supplied to Hong Kong from the Mainland has deteriorated; if so, what the results are;
whether it knows of the measures adopted by the authority concerned in the Mainland to ensure that the potable water supplied to Hong Kong is not contaminated; and
of the measures currently adopted by the local authority concerned to ensure that the quality of the potable water it supplies is up to the prescribed standards?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Works

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

The air quality in Hong Kong was very poor on 18 December 1997. Thus, the department concerned reminded the public, especially those suffering from respiratory problems, to stay indoors as far as possible. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:

the channels through which the above message was conveyed to the public, and the number of times the message was delivered on that day;
the channels through which people with hearing or visual impairments could receive the message; and
the arrangements that is being made to keep students attending classes to stay in classrooms as far as possible on days when the air quality is poor?

Public Officer to reply

Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands

*16. Ms CHOY So-yuk to ask : (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council of the following:

the number of detected cases involving the illegal sale of duty-not-paid motor diesel oil (commonly known as "smuggled marked oil"), together with the amount of money and the number of persons involved (by number of persons arrested, prosecuted and convicted) in the past three years, as well as the penalties imposed by the courts on those convicted;
the trend of smuggling marked oil in the same period;
the volume of smuggled marked oil seized as a percentage of the total volume of duty-paid diesel oil in the same period;
the amount of expenses incurred in the prevention, detection and prosecution of smuggling of marked oil each year in the same period; and
whether consideration has been given to raising the amount of fines and including the expenses mentioned in (d) in the fines, so as to achieve a deterrent effect?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Treasury

*17. Mr LO Suk-ching to ask : (Translation)

Recently, some Mainlanders visiting Hong Kong on Two-way Exit Permits gathered in Sai Kung to engage in illegal activities (including getting employed illegally and prostitution). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

whether it is aware of the criteria adopted by the authority concerned in the Mainland for issuing Two-way Exit Permits;
whether, after the transfer of sovereignty, it has held discussions with the authority concerned in the Mainland about the criteria for issuing Two-way Exit Permits, and the number of permits issued each month;
whether the Immigration Department has ever suspected that some of the Two-way Exit Permit holders may engage in illegal activities and thus refused their entry since the transfer of sovereignty; if so, of the number of such persons; and
of the measures and specific actions in place to forestall Two-way Exit Permit holders from engaging in illegal activities in Sai Kung?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

Will the Government inform this Council of the reasons for the downward trend of the labour force participation rate in Hong Kong in recent years?

Public Officer to reply

Secretary for Financial Services

*19. Dr TANG Siu-tong to ask : (Translation)

In view of the fact that a number of farms, in treating their livestock waste, have caused environmental pollution, will the Government inform this Council:

of the measures in place to regulate the disposal of livestock waste;
of the staffing establishment in respect of its Livestock Waste Control Scheme; whether it has examined the adequacy of the establishment; if so, what the outcome is; and
how it encourages and assists farmers to observe and meet the requirements and standards prescribed under the Scheme?

Public Officer to reply

Secretary for Planning,
Environment and Lands

*20. Mr Paul CHENG to ask :

Concerns over recent rulings by US courts involving Wharf Holdings and Matimak Trading Co Ltd have spilled over into Hong Kong's international and local business communities. In Wharf Holdings' case, the wider issue is US courts extending their jurisdiction to what might be considered a Hong Kong matter. As for the case involving Matimak, this involves the standing of the HKSAR in the eyes of the US courts. Both issues have serious long-term repercussions for both local and US companies doing business in Hong Kong. Will the Government inform this Council:

what actions have been taken so far to clarify these issues, in particular, what has the Government actually done to help support these Hong Kong companies;
has the Government initiated any formal or informal representation with appropriate authorities in the US; and
whether these issues must be dealt with between the sovereign powers, if so, has the Government raised them with the appropriate authorities in Beijing and whether the Central Government has made representations to the US Government?

Public Officer to reply

Secretary for Trade and
Industry

* For written reply. III. Bills

First Reading

1. Housing (Amendment) Bill 1998

2. Immigration (Amendment) Bill 1998

Second Reading

Debates to be adjourned

1. Housing (Amendment) Bill 1998:Secretary for Housing

2. Immigration (Amendment) Bill 1998:Secretary for Security

Debate to resume

3. Mass Transit Railway Corporation (Amendment) Bill 1997

: Secretary for Transport

Committee Stage and Third Reading

Mass Transit Railway Corporation (Amendment) Bill 1997

: Secretary for Transport

IV. Members' Motions

1. Review of the local pre-school education policy

Ms CHOY So-yuk : (Translation)

That, in order to ensure the fulfilment of the commitments made by the Chief Executive in the Policy Address 1997 on raising the standard of local pre-school education, this Council urges the Government to adopt the following improvement measures:

to uniformize kindergartens and child care centres in terms of teacher training, teacher salary scale and teacher-to-pupil ratio, while preserving the uniqueness of these institutions, so that public resources can be more effectively allocated and used;
to improve the subsidy scheme for non-profit making kindergartens by providing direct subsidies on the basis of the ratio of qualified kindergarten teachers in a kindergarten, with a view to replacing the existing method of providing subsidies according to the number of pupils; and increase the amount of subsidy to half or more of the school fees so as to relieve parents of their burdens;
to effect actual improvements to the salary scale of pre-school education workers, raise the entry requirements for kindergarten teachers in stages and attract more people to join and to stay in the profession; and
to improve the current in-service training for pre-school education workers and provide more opportunities for pre-service training, so that more pre-school education workers can be trained and the quality of teaching will be enhanced.

Public Officer to attend

Secretary for Education
and Manpower

2. Two-tier social security system

Mr CHAN Kam-lam : (Translation)

That, as the 'Mandatory Provident Fund Scheme', to be introduced soon by the Government, will not be able to provide the people of Hong Kong with full retirement protection, this Council urges the Government to expeditiously study and put in place concrete plans for implementing an 'Old Age Pension Scheme', so as to provide full retirement protection for the working, non-working and retired people under a two-tier social security system.

Amendment to Mr CHAN Kam-lam's motion Mr Allen LEE : (Translation)

To delete ", to be introduced soon by the Government, will not be able to provide the people of Hong Kong with full retirement protection" and substitute with "is a long-term retirement protection scheme"; and to delete "expeditiously study and put in place concrete plans for implementing an 'Old Age Pension Scheme', so as to provide full retirement protection for the working, non-working and retired people under a two-tier social security system" and substitute with "immediately increase the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance payment for the elderly to $3,100 per month, so as to meet their short-term needs and provide them with immediate livelihood protection".

Public Officers to attend

Secretary for Education
and Manpower
Secretary for Health and
Welfare

Clerk to the Provisional Legislative Council