Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Revised version
A 97/98-4(1)
(Issued at 11:00 am on 21.7.97)

Provisional Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 23 July 1997 at 2:30 pm

I. Papers

Subsidiary Legislation	L.N. NO.
1. Schedule of Routes (Kowloon Motor Bus Company) (No.2) Order 1997	394/97
2. Banking Ordinance (Declaration under Section 2(14)(d)) (No.2) Notice 1997	395/97
3. Merchant Shipping (Liability and Compensation for Oil Pollution) (Amendment) Ordinance 1997 (46 of 1997) (Commencement) Notice 1997	396/97

Sessional Papers 1997-98

1.	No. 1	-	Clothing Industry Training Authority
			Annual Report 1996
(to be presented by the Secretary for Education and Manpower)
2.	No. 2	-	Construction Industry Training Authority
			Annual Report 1996
(to be presented by the Secretary for Education and Manpower)

Report

Report of the Bills Committee on the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Passports Bill

(to be presented by Mr Howard YOUNG, Chairman of the Bills Committee, who will address the Council)

II. Questions

1.Mrs Elsie TU to ask :

Although Hong Kong has long been a bilingual community, there are still many documents which state that the English version shall prevail wherever there is a discrepancy between the Chinese and English versions. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of the measures being taken to ensure that all documents, especially legally binding documents, are written in both Chinese and English and that both versions have equal status in law, so as not to disadvantage those who speak or understand only one of the languages?

Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Justice

2.Dr C H LEONG to ask :

It is reported that the new batch of graduate medical practitioners who have just finished their housemanship in Hong Kong this summer are facing problems in seeking employment with the Hospital Authority (HA) and the Department of Health. Will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:

of the numbers of such medical practitioners who have been or will be employed by the Department of Health and the HA respectively within this year;
among those who have been or will be employed by the HA within this year, of the numbers of those who have been or will be offered permanent terms and contract terms respectively;
of the amount of funds required for employing these graduates on contract terms and the source of such funding;
of the details of the training programmes, if any, for these graduates employed on contract terms; and
whether the offer of contract terms to this batch of graduates is an one-off exercise for this year; if not, of the details of similar arrangements planned for the future in terms of the number of posts and the amount of funds required?

Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Health and Welfare

3.Mr IP Kwok-him to ask :(Translation)

The recent torrential rains have caused over a hundred landslip incidents, and the landslide at the Ten Thousand Buddhas Monastery even resulted in casualties. Landslips in other areas also resulted in road closures and serious traffic congestion, causing severe disruptions to the daily life of the community. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:

the reasons for not activating the Emergency Co-ordination Centre so as to carry out rescue and remedial work more efficiently, despite the occurrence of a number of serious landslip incidents; and the circumstances under which the Centre will become operational; and
the number of times the Centre was brought into operation since its establishment; the mechanism for activating the Centre, and whether a review has been conducted on the effectiveness of such a mechanism?

Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Security

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

The torrential rains on July 2 this year triggered off a number of landslips at different locations along the Kowloon-Canton Railway, resulting in the rail service being disrupted for hours. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

of the number of dangerous slopes located along the Kowloon-Canton Railway;
whether the Geotechnical Engineering Office has carried out regular inspections on the slopes mentioned in the answer to (a) above; and
how the Government ensures that similar incidents will not recur?

Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Works

5.Mr NGAN Kam-chuen to ask :(Translation)

Regarding the recent incident in which the bursting of the marine sewer situated at Pillar Point of Tuen Mun has resulted in water pollution in that area, it has been reported that the Drainage Services Department (DSD) knew of the bursting of the marine sewer concerned on 8 July but the DSD did not inform the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) of the incident until 11 July. Will the Government inform this Council:

of the reasons for the DSD not informing the EPD and the Provisional Regional Council of the incident immediately; and whether the Government will carry out a review to ascertain if the co-ordination among the relevant departments is adequate;
of the reasons leading to the bursting the marine sewer and the measures that the Government will adopt to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents;
whether the EPD will, pursuant to the Water Pollution Control Ordinance, prosecute the person(s) or the legal person(s) who caused the incident; if not, why not; and
whether the EPD will increase the frequency of random checks on the water quality of beaches; and whether it will expedite the process of water quality tests, so as to safeguard the health of the general public?

Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Works

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

Will the Government inform this Council whether:

it has asked the British Government to take up the responsibility for solving the problem of the Vietnamese boat people and Vietnamese refugees currently stranded in Hong Kong; if so, through what channels such a request has been made and what the up-to-date progress is; and
it has asked the British Government to make a request to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on behalf of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, or directly approached the UNHCR, for the repayment of the debt owed the Hong Kong Government in respect of the expenses on the care and maintenance of the Vietnamese boat people and Vietnamese refugees stranded in Hong Kong; if so, through what channels such a request has been made and what the up-to-date progress is?

Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Security

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

Will the Government inform this Council of the numbers of illegal immigrants (including children) who had entered Hong Kong illegally from the Mainland for one time only and for more than one time respectively in the past five years; and whether the Government knows how the Mainland Government deals with those persons who have entered Hong Kong illegally for more than one time?

Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Security

*8.Mr NGAN Kam-chuen to ask : (Translation)

In early July this year, landslips occurred in many parts of the territory due to heavy rains. Several slopes located along the Kowloon-Canton Railway collapsed and the rail service had to be temporarily suspended. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

the responsibility for slope maintenance in respect of slopes located within the confines of the various rail transport systems falls on the Government or the operators concerned; and
the geotechnical investigations on slopes located within the confines of various transport systems currently undertaken by the Government include slopes below five metres in height; if not, what the reasons are, and whether consideration will be given to allocating more resources for carrying out such investigations?
Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Works

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

With regard to the policy on the future economic development in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council whether it will, in addition to vigorously developing the financial and service sectors, also formulate long-term policy on industrial and technological development, as well as provide support for small and medium businesses and emerging high-tech industries; if so, of the specific details of the policy concerned, the resources required and the timetable for implementation; if not, why not?

Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Trade and Industry

*10.Mr K K FUNG to ask : (Translation)

In connection with the appointment of private sector staff to work in the Chief Executive's Office, will the Government inform this Council:

whether all the staff currently working in the Chief Executive's Office have completed the recruitment formalities according to the civil service appointment procedures; if not, of the capacity in which they work in the Chief Executive's Office and the reasons why such a situation is allowed to occur under the current civil service appointment system;
whether the personal driver previously employed by the Chief Executive has directly joined the civil service from the private sector and started work in the Chief Executive's Office pending the completion of recruitment formalities; and
as the Secretary for the Civil Service has been reported as saying that the incident mentioned in (b) above has not resulted in anyone being deprived of his job or required to resign, whether this means that the number of Senior Personal Chauffeur in the Chief Executive's Office has been increased; if so, whether the additional post has been included in the budget for the current financial year?

Public Officer to reply:Secretary for the Civil Service

*11.Mr WONG Siu-yee to ask : (Translation)

In less than a week after the passage of the Immigration (Amendment) (No.3) Ordinance 1997, the Legal Aid Department (the Department) has approved more than 20 applications for legal aid in relation to the Ordinance. In this regard, will the Government inform this Council:

whether the Department has verified the relationship between the applicants and their children before approving the above-mentioned applications; if so, how the Department verifies such relationship;
of the amount of public money expected to be spent on these cases; and whether the Department*s budget for the current financial year is adequate to meet the expenses arising from these cases, without having to apply to this Council for supplementary provision; and
of the reasons why the Department does not wait for the court's ruling on the first lawsuit of this nature before processing other cases; and whether the present arrangement will increase the workload of the court?

Public Officer to reply:Chief Secretary for Administration

*12.Mr MA Fung-kwok to ask : (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council of:

the current number of video compact discs (VCD) production lines operating in Hong Kong and the number of those which are involved in copyright piracy activities; and
the current number of pirated VCDs being brought into and out of Hong Kong through various border control points each day, according to the estimation of the Customs and Excise Department?

Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Trade and Industry

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

It is reported that a child patient in Prince of Wales Hospital suffering from thalassaemia is suspected to have contracted AIDS virus through blood transfusion. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

of the current procedure for examining blood products to find out whether they have been contaminated by AIDS virus; whether the occurrence of the above incident indicates that there are loopholes in the procedure concerned;
whether, before giving blood transfusion to the patients, the public hospitals in Hong Kong conduct AIDS virus and antibody tests on the blood samples which will be used for transfusion, if not, why not;
notwithstanding that the victim of the above incident may claim compensation from the AIDS Trust Fund, whether the relevant authority will bear the expenses incurred by the victim concerned in undergoing long-term treatment for AIDS in future; if not, why not; and
of the remedial actions that will be taken to avoid the recurrence of similar incidents in future?

Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Health and Welfare

*14.Mr MA Fung-kwok to ask : (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:

whether any measures are in place to promote the development of the local film industry; if so, of the resources required for the implementation of such measures and the progress made in this regard; if not, why not; and
of the reasons for the rejection by the former Broadcasting, Culture and Sport Branch of the proposal to set up a Film Commission?

Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Broadcasting, Culture and Sport

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

It is learnt that during the recent political turmoil in Cambodia, several hundred Hong Kong residents approached the Chinese Embassy (the Embassy) in Phnom Penh for assistance. However, the Embassy only advised them to find a safe route to leave Cambodia by themselves without rendering them any assistance. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

whether it knows if the Embassy offered assistance to these Hong Kong residents; if it did not, the reasons for not offering assistance;
whether it has requested the Central Government or the Embassy to provide assistance to these Hong Kong residents; if not, why not;
whether it knows of the kinds of assistance or service the Chinese organizations stationed in foreign countries will provide to Hong Kong residents in case of political turmoil or warfare in these countries; and whether such organizations will take the initiative to evacuate Hong Kong residents from the war zone and if not, why not; and
of the specific measures in place to safeguard the personal safety of Hong Kong residents who are caught in the midst of a war in a foreign country?

Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Security

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

In order to solve the housing problem in Hong Kong, the Chief Executive has recently announced the Government's plan to achieve the goal of having 70% of the people in Hong Kong becoming home owners within the next ten years. Apart from housing production, the related infrastructural and complementary development works will definitely be on the increase too. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

whether the Government has formulated a comprehensive human resources strategy to train more local professional and technical staff, so as to reduce the dependence on foreign experts; and
if the answer to (a) above is in the affirmative, whether, in inviting tenders for the projects concerned, the Government will adopt the practice in some countries of setting a ceiling on the percentage of foreign professionals to be employed, or request the companies concerned to specify the types of work requiring the service of foreign experts, so as to ensure that local professionals are given the chance to participate in these projects?

Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Education and Manpower

*17.Mrs Miriam LAU to ask : (Translation)

The Government implemented the Old Cars Scrapping Incentive Scheme in June last year by offering concession on motor vehicle first registration tax so as to encourage the owners of private cars of ten or more years old to scrap their old cars. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

of the number of private cars which were ten or more years old in Hong Kong when the Scheme was introduced, as well as the current number of such private cars;
of the total number of old cars scrapped under the Scheme and the total amount of tax concession offered since the implementation of the Scheme;
of the average number of years for which the car owners enjoying such a tax concession had owned the scrapped old cars since the implementation of the Scheme; and
how it will assess the effectiveness of the Scheme?

Public Officer to reply:Secretary for the Treasury

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

I have received many inquiries from schools about the hoisting of the national flag in schools. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it will formulate any plan to provide suitable facilities and relevant reference materials to facilitate the hoisting of the national flag in schools in the correct manner?

Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Education and Manpower

* For written reply.

III. Motions

1.Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance

Secretary for Justice :

(See Resolution at Appendix I)

2.Public Finance Ordinance

Secretary for the Treasury :

(See Resolution at Appendix II)

Amendment to Secretary for the Treasury's motion

Mr NGAN Kam-chuen :

That the motion to be moved by the Secretary for the Treasury under section 29 of the Public Finance Ordinance (Cap.2) at the Provisional Legislative Council meeting on 23 July 1997 be amended by deleting paragraph 4(b) and substituting -
"(b)after the deduction of all of the expenses relating to the administration and management of the Land Fund, all accounts receivable and all sums earned by way of investment revenue (excluding all sums earned by way of interest or dividends) relating to the investment of the Land Fund and all sums earned from the sale or other disposal of all or part of any assets of the Land Fund;".

IV. Bills

First Reading

1. Electoral Affairs Commission Bill

2. Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 1997

3. Dutiable Commodities (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 1997

Second Reading

Debates to be adjourned

1. Electoral Affairs Commission Bill	:Secretary for Constitutional Affairs
2. Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 3) Bill 1997	:Secretary for the Treasury
3. Dutiable Commodities (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 1997	:Secretary for the Treasury

Debates to resume

4. Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Passports Bill	:Secretary for Security
5. Chinese Nationality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill	:Secretary for Security

Committee Stage and Third Reading

1. Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Passports Bill	:Secretary for Security
2. Chinese Nationality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill	:Secretary for Security

V. Members' Motions

Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
Dr C H LEONG :

That in relation to the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Rules and Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Fees Rules, published as Legal Notices Nos. 384 and 385 of 1997 respectively and laid on the table of the Provisional Legislative Council on 9 July 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 20 August 1997.

Reduction of rates percentage charge
Mr NGAN Kam-chuen :

That this Council urges the Special Administrative Region Government to pay a fiscal dividend to the people of Hong Kong by expeditiously reducing by 40% the overall rates percentage charge from 5% to 3%.

Public Officer to attend:Secretary for the Treasury

Reduction of taxes
Mr Ronald ARCULLI :

That this Council urges the Government to reduce profits and salaries taxes as well as consider implementing other revenue measures that may be proposed by Members of this Council for the 1998-99 Budget so as to strive to achieve fiscal balance.

Amendments to Mr Ronald ARCULLI's motion

Dr LAW Cheung-kwok :
To delete "reduce profits and salaries taxes as well as consider implementing other revenue measures that may be proposed by Members of this Council for the 1998-99 Budget so as to strive to achieve fiscal balance" and substitute with "set up a Tax Review Committee to consider tax reforms in various aspects, which include, inter alia, (1) introducing a moderate progressive tax system; and (2) establishing new forms of tax relief (such as allowance for interest payment on first-time home buying, allowance for research and development as an incentive for enterprises, as well as reduction of salaries tax to alleviate the burden on lower and middle income groups); and that this Council considers that in order to avoid weakening the fiscal foundation of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, it is inappropriate to reduce profits tax at the present stage; and furthermore, in view of the substantial fiscal reserve held currently by the Government, it should increase expenditure so as to improve the livelihood and welfare of the people and to ameliorate the aggravating disparity between the rich and the poor".
Mr CHAN Choi-hi :

To delete "profits and salaries taxes" and substitute with "salaries tax, conduct a comprehensive review of the tax system,"; to delete "that may be"; and to add "in compliance with the relevant provisions in the Basic Law" after "to achieve fiscal balance".

Review of education
Mr David CHU:

That this Council asks the Special Administrative Region Government to conduct a comprehensive, non-partisan and non-elitist review of education in the new era, with the aims of addressing the educational problems left behind by the colonial legacy and of attaining the goal of helping our youths achieve excellence in the 21st century.

Amendment to Mr David CHU's motion

Mr CHAN Choi-hi :

To delete "asks" and substitute with "requests"; to delete ", non-partisan and non-elitist" and substitute with "and extensive"; and to delete "in the new era, with the aims of addressing the educational problems left behind by the colonial legacy and of attaining the goal of helping our youths achieve excellence in the 21st Century" and substitute with "to help local students attain all-round training and development covering ethics, intellect, physical well-being, social skills and aesthetics, and to strengthen their sense of civic responsibility, nationalism and knowledge of the Basic Law".

Amendment to Mr CHAN Choi-hi's amendment

Prof NG Ching-fai :

To add "in the territory" after "review of education"; to delete "help" and substitute with "enable"; to add "to" after "local students"; to delete "all-round training and development" and substitute with "an overall improvement in the areas"; to delete "social skills" and substitute with "team spirit"; to delete "and" before "to strengthen"; to delete "," of "responsibility," and substitute with "and"; and to delete "and knowledge of the Basic Law" and substitute with ", and to broaden their international vision so as to enhance the quality and competitiveness of our students in resonance with the needs of Hong Kong's development in the 21st century".

Public Officer to attend:Secretary for Education and Manpower

Ray CHAN
Clerk to the Provisional Legislative Council