Revised version
A 97/98-17(1)
(Issued at 11:00 am on 17.11.97)

Provisional Legislative Council

Agenda
Wednesday 19 November 1997 at 2:30 pm

I. Papers

Sessional Papers

1.No. 36-	Report of the Director of Audit on the Accounts of the Hong Kong Government for the year ended 31 March 1997
(to be presented by the President)
2.No.37-	Report of the Director of Audit on the results of value for money audits - October 1997 Director of Audit's Report No.29
(to be presented by the President)
3.No.38-	Annual Report of the Director of Accounting Services and the Accounts of the Government for the year ended 31 March 1997
(to be presented by Secretary for the Treasury)
4.No.39-	Report of the Electoral Affairs Commission on the Delineation of Geographical Constituencies in respect of the General Election of the Legislative Council to be held in May 1998
(to be presented by Secretary for Constitutional Affairs)

Report

Report of the Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee

(to be presented by Mr Eric LI, Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee)

II. Questions

1.Mr NGAI Shiu-kit to ask :

(Translation)

In view of the fact that gambling and gaming activities involving the use of credit cards for payment are proliferating on the Internet, will the Government inform this Council whether it will consider amending the Gambling Ordinance to control such activities?

Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Home Affairs

2.Dr C H LEONG to ask :

Regarding reports on unsatisfactory maintenance of shark prevention nets installed at public beaches in Hong Kong, does the Government know:

1. whether the maintenance contracts in respect of shark prevention nets contain any penalty provisions for unsatisfactory maintenance of these nets; if so, what the details are;

2. whether, during the past 3 years, penalties have been imposed on any contractors for unsatisfactory maintenance of the nets; if so, what the details are; and

3. the measures in place to ensure the quality of these maintenance contractors and prevent unsatisfactory maintenance of the nets?

Public Officer to reply:

Secretary for Broadcasting, Culture and Sport

3. Mrs Peggy LAM to ask :(Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the number of applications for divorce made by women over the past three years;

2. of the number of children involved in these divorce cases and their average age; and the number of cases in respect of which the custody of children was granted to the mother;

3. whether it is aware of the criteria adopted by courts in determining the amount of alimony payable to divorced women; and

4. of the number of complaints made by women to the authority over the past three years about default in payment of the alimony awarded to them by courts?

Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Home Affairs

4.Mr LAU Kong-wah to ask :

(Translation)

It is learned that in recent years there are quite a number of children of Hong Kong Permanent Resident status residing in Lo Wu of Shenzhen who cross the border to go to schools in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:

1. the number of such students and the localities of their schools in Hong Kong; and

2. the measures in place to shorten these students' waiting time for completing immigration procedures?

Public Officer to reply

: Secretary for Education and Manpower

5.Mr YEUNG Yiu-chung to ask : (Translation)

It is stated in the Policy Address that the Administration will ensure that 60% of kindergarten teachers have formal training by 2000. However, some kindergarten principals have indicated that the implementation of such a policy will increase the operating costs of and will cause financial difficulties to kindergartens. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of the measures in place to provide incentives for kindergartens to employ more trained teachers?

Public Officer to reply

: Secretary for Education and Manpower

* 6.Mr Howard YOUNG to ask :

Will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the estimated number of residents in Tung Chung New Town upon the commissioning of the new airport and, of these residents, the number expected to work at the new airport;

2. of the number of residents who have already moved to Tung Chung New Town;

3. of the planned as well as the established community facilities in Tung Chung New Town; and

4. whether it has assessed if these facilities meet the need of the increasing population in Tung Chung New Town; if so, what the findings are?

Public Officer to reply

: Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands

* 7.Mr Henry WU to ask :(Translation)

Recently, there have been many cases where stock underwriters ceased to perform underwriting contracts under the "force majeure" clause therein. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:

1. the total number of listing plans which have been aborted as a result of underwriters invoking the "force majeure" clause to cease to perform underwriting contracts, and the proportion of the aborted plans to the total number of listing plans, over the past three years; and

2. the measures to be taken to ensure that the "force majeure" clause in the underwriting contract will not be abused?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services

* 8.Mr IP Kwok-him to ask :

(Translation)

It is reported that due to stringent entry requirements, poor promotion prospects and heavy workload, there has been a shortage of Specialists (Education Services) in the Education Department. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the current establishment and strength of the said grade;

2. of the present workload of a Specialist (Education Services) and the number of school children (including those of special schools) he counsels;

3. whether it has reviewed the workload vis-a-vis the establishment of the Specialist (Education Services) grade; if so, what the findings are; and

4. whether it will consider relaxing the entry requirements and improving the promotion prospects of the grade, with a view to attracting qualified persons to join the grade?

Public Officer to reply

: Secretary for Education and Manpower

* 9.Mr Ambrose LAU to ask : (Translation)

It is reported that according to the findings of a test on electric water heaters conducted by the Consumer Council, a number of storage-type electric water heaters on the market are not up to the safety standards prescribed in the relevant legislation. However, three unvented models of these water heaters are approved by the Water Supplies Department (WSD) for use in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:

1. the safety standards adopted by the WSD in assessing the safety level of unvented storage-type electric water heaters available on the market in Hong Kong, and whether the Department has made reference to international safety standards in making such assessment;

2. the measures adopted by the authority to prohibit suppliers from making, and the punitive actions against, unauthorized alterations to the safety devices of electric water heaters which are approved by the WSD for use in Hong Kong; and

3. the remedial measures it will adopt (such as issuing guidelines on the choice of storage-type electric water heaters) to ensure the safety of users?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Works

*10.Mr LEE Kai-ming to ask : (Translation)

Recently, a plumbing and electrical artisan, who became quadriplegic after falling from a building where he was carrying out maintenance works, was awarded compensation of over $27 million by the court. As the owners' corporation of the building had neither taken out public liability insurance nor employees' compensation insurance at the time of the accident, owners of the flats of the building may have to pay the compensation themselves. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:

1. the number of similar cases occurring in Hong Kong over the past three years and the total amount of compensation involved;

2. the number of cases in which compensation to injured employees was paid from the Employees Compensation Assistance Fund due to the failure of employers to take out insurance for their employees, over the same period of time, and the total amount of payment involved; and

3. the measures to be adopted to encourage owners' corporations of buildings to take out public liability insurance or employees' compensation insurance, especially when renovating their premises?

Public Officer to reply

: Secretary for Education and Manpower

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

Will the Government inform this Council:

1. whether it is aware of:
   1. the respective total numbers of paging companies in Hong Kong and their employees at present;

   2. the number of paging companies which have moved their business away from Hong Kong in the past three years; and

2. whether it has assessed the impact of the moving of the paging companies' business away from Hong Kong on the local labour market; if so, what the details are?

Public Officer to reply

: Secretary for Education and Manpower

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

It is reported that a local female singer's daughter, who was born in the Mainland early this year, was issued with an entry permit to settle in Hong Kong by the Immigration Department only ten months after her birth. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the established criteria and procedure according to which the Immigration Department issued the entry permit to the baby girl; whether these criteria and procedure are applicable to all infants born to female Hong Kong permanent residents during their brief stay in the Mainland; if not, why not;

2. whether Immigration Department officers have discretionary power with regard to the application for entry permits by such mothers for their infants; if so, the measures in place to monitor the use of the discretionary power by Immigration Department officers in issuing entry permits; and

3. if it has undertaken any study on whether or not the issuance of an entry permit to the baby girl has contravened the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance and the principle of equal opportunity; if not, why not?

Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Security

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

Will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the estimated number of mentally handicapped children living in the Yuen Long and Tuen Mun districts at present and among them, the number awaiting admission to special schools in their respective districts;

2. of the total number of special school places in the Yuen Long and Tuen Mun districts;

3. of these schools, the number not provided with halls and playgrounds; and

4. whether it will conduct a review on the adequacy of special school places in the Yuen Long and Tuen Mun districts; if so, what the details are; if not, why not?

Public Officer to reply

: Secretary for Education and Manpower

*14.Mr NGAI Shiu-kit to ask : (Translation)

Regarding the public's access to the Policy Address, will the Government inform this Council of:

1. the total number of copies of the Policy Address distributed to the public;

2. the total number of downloading from the Government's web page on the Internet containing the Policy Address; and

3. the respective production costs and administration expenses involved in the printing of the Policy Address and its uploading to the web page on the Internet?

Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Home Affairs

*15.Mr Henry WU to ask :

(Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council of:

1. the respective numbers of official and private banquets held by the former Governor, Mr Christopher PATTEN, in former Government House each year during his term of office;

2. the respective average direct expenditure incurred in holding the official and private banquets (including the remuneration for temporary staff), and the respective proportions of the expenditure paid out of public funds to the total amount of such expenditure; and

3. the respective average indirect expenditure incurred in holding the official and private banquets (including the personal emoluments for those public officers responsible for preparing these banquets as well as for staff members at former Government House)?

Public Officer to reply: Chief Secretary for Administration

*16.Dr YEUNG Chun-kam to ask :

(Translation)

In the Policy Programme of the Trade and Industry Bureau issued together with the 1997 Policy Address, it is mentioned that the Government will provide support for manufacturing and service industries. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

1. how the Government defines "manufacturing industry" and "service industry";

2. of the amount allocated by the Government to support the manufacturing industry in undertaking technological research in each of the past five years; such amount as a percentage of the value of net output by the manufacturing industry; and the provisions allocated respectively by the governments of Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Singapore in this regard; and

3. of the amount allocated by the Government to finance the Services Support Fund of the service industry in each of the past five years, and such amount as a percentage of the value of net output by the service industry?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Trade and Industry

*17.Mr CHAN Choi-hi to ask :

(Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the average monthly usage and operating cost of the hillside escalator between the Central District and the Mid-Levels (the Escalator) since its opening, and how these figures compare to the Government's original forecasts;

2. whether it has any plan to build more hillside escalators in the Central and Western Districts; if so, what the number is and whether such plans will be carried out as scheduled; if not, of the reasons for not building more escalators; and

3. whether it has studied the feasibility of constructing other hillside escalators by using methods which will cost less than that used for the Escalator; if so, of the findings of the study; if not, of the reasons for not conducting the study?

Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Transport

*18.Mr Howard YOUNG to ask :

Regarding the public bus service in Tung Chung New Town, will the Government inform this Council:

1. whether there are complaints lodged against such service; if so, the total number of such complaints, together with a breakdown by their nature;

2. of the actions taken in response to these complaints; and

3. whether the public bus service between Tung Chung New Town and Hong Kong Island will be put in place before the commissioning of the new airport in April next year; if so, what the bus routes will be; if not, why not?

Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Transport

*19.Mr LAU Kong-wah to ask :

(Translation)

In May this year, a court in the United Kingdom ruled that a former member of the British Garrison in Hong Kong who had allegedly committed homicide whilst stationed in Hong Kong should be extradited to Hong Kong for trial. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the progress of extraditing the suspect to Hong Kong and the anticipated commencement date of the trial; and

2. whether it will consider requesting the British servicemen who had witnessed the incident to return to Hong Kong to give evidence?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

* For written reply.

III. Motions

1.Cross-Harbour Tunnel Ordinance

Secretary for Transport :

That the Cross-Harbour Tunnel (Amendment) Bylaw 1997, made by The Cross-Harbour Tunnel Company, Limited on 6 October 1997, be approved.

2.Eastern Harbour Crossing Ordinance

Secretary for Transport :

That the Eastern Harbour Crossing Road Tunnel (Amendment) Bylaw 1997, made by the New Hong Kong Tunnel Company Limited on 22 October 1997, be approved.

3.Tate's Cairn Tunnel Ordinance

Secretary for Transport :

That the Tate's Cairn Tunnel (Amendment) Bylaw 1997, made by the Tate's Cairn Tunnel Company Limited on 14 October 1997, be approved.

4.Western Harbour Crossing Ordinance

Secretary for Transport :

That the Western Harbour Crossing (Amendment) Bylaw 1997, made by the Western Harbour Tunnel Company Limited on 6 October 1997, be approved.

5.Trading Funds Ordinance

Secretary for the Treasury :

That -

1. on the recommendation of the Financial Secretary, the Sewage Services Trading Fund ("the trading fund") shall be closed at the end of the day on 31 March 1998;

2. on the closure of the trading fund -
   1. all money whether from operating revenue or from cash assets shall be part of the Capital Investment Fund;

   2. all liabilities shall be assumed by the Government;

   3. all other assets shall be transferred back to and form part of the property of the Government.

IV. Members' Motions

1.Concern for environmental problems in Hong Kong

Dr Mrs TSO WONG Man-yin :

(Translation)

That, as the environmental pollution problems in Hong Kong have become increasingly serious in recent years, this Council urges the Government to:

1. adopt effective measures to ensure that the various environmental protection programmes will not be delayed, so as to safeguard public health;

2. set up an incentive mechanism to facilitate the development and introduction of cost-effective environmental protection technologies;

3. extensively consult the public and expeditiously formulate long-term, concrete and progressive environmental protection strategies, so as to ensure that a balance is struck between economic development and environmental protection; and

4. enhance the function and transparency of the Hong Kong/Guangdong Environmental Protection Liaison Group and promote co-operation with the Mainland in cross-region environmental protection programmes relating to waste disposal, water and air quality, etc.

Public Officer to attend

: Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands

2.Increase of bus fares

Mr CHEUNG Hon-chung :

(Translation)

That, in the absence of justifications for the fare increase applications made by the China Motor Bus Company Limited, the Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited and the Citybus Limited, this Council urges the Government to veto the fare increase applications of these three bus companies.

Amendment to Mr CHEUNG Hon-chung's motion

Dr HO Chung-tai :

(Translation)

To delete "the absence of justifications for" after "That, in" and substitute with "order to properly resolve the opposing views arising from"; and to delete "veto the fare increase applications of these three bus companies" and substitute with "expeditiously set up a mechanism to ensure that future fare increase applications can meet the interests of all parties".

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Transport

Clerk to the Provisional Legislative Council