A 98/99-40(1)

Legislative Council

Agenda
Wednesday 9 June 1999 at 2:30 pm

I. Papers

Subsidiary Legislation		L.N. No.
1.	Control of Chemicals Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 3) Order 1999	138/99
2.	The Ombudsman Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 1) Order 1999	139/99
3.	Rehabilitation of Offenders Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule) Order 1999	140/99
4.	Securities and Futures Commission (Fees) (Amendment) Rules 1999	141/99
5.	Electoral Affairs Commission (Electoral Procedure) (District Councils) Regulation	142/99
6.	District Councils (Election Petition) Rules	143/99
7.	Control of Chemicals Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 2) Order 1999	144/99
8.	Tax Reserve Certificates (Rate of Interest) (No. 4) Notice 1999	145/99

II. Questions

1. Hon NG Leung-sing to ask: (Translation)

An expatriate official has been appointed to temporarily fill the post of Commissioner for Tourism because the open recruitment exercise failed to identify a suitable candidate for the post. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the major reasons for not being able to identify a suitable candidate in the open recruitment exercise;

2. whether it has assessed if the person for appointment to the post of Commissioner for Tourism must be proficient in Chinese and have a good understanding of local customs and culture; and

3. whether it will consider consulting the travel industry on lowering the entry qualifications for the post?

Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Economic Services

2. Hon LEE Wing-tat to ask: (Translation)

Regarding a private developer's proposal to build a cruise pier at North Point, will the Government inform this Council whether:

1. any assessment has been made of the future demand for cruise piers in Hong Kong; and

2. the piece of government land involved in the proposal will be granted by way of private treaty; if so, what the reasons are and whether it has assessed if the granting of the government land concerned not by way of public tender will go against the principle of providing a level playing field in the market as well as dampen investors' confidence in making investments in Hong Kong?

Public Officers to reply :

Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands Secretary for Economic Services

3. Hon CHAN Yuen-han to ask: (Translation)

It is learnt that places such as slopes and roads and footbridges connecting different housing estates, which were originally excluded from the estate area, have been included in the Deed of Mutual Covenants ("DMCs") of the estates identified for sale under the Tenants Purchase Scheme ("TPS"). As a result, the relevant owners will have to shoulder the responsibility for the repairs and maintenance of these places in future. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)(i)	of the respective numbers of applications withdrawn by the applicants prior to the acceptance of their offers by the Housing Authority ("HA") and those rescinded by the applicants after the offers have been accepted, since the launch of TPS Phase 2 due to the applicants' disagreement with such terms in DMCs; and
(ii)	whether there have been increases in such cases, as compared to those of TPS Phase 1; and the respective percentages of these cases in the total number of withdrawn and rescinded cases in TPS Phase 2;
(b)	whether the HA will agree to amend the terms in DMCs, if the applicants consider that such terms are not reasonable; and
(c)	of the mechanism in place to arbitrate the disputes between the HA and the applicants in this respect?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing

4. Hon YEUNG Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the quality and number of practising solicitors and barristers in Hong Kong as well as the fees they charge, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:

1. the respective numbers of students who graduated with various classes of honours degrees from the Faculty of Law in the University of Hong Kong and the School of Law in the City University of Hong Kong in each of the past three years, and among these graduates, the respective numbers of those practising as solicitors and barristers;

2. the respective numbers of law firms in Hong Kong with practising solicitors numbering over 20, between 10 to 19, between five to nine, and less than four; and

3. the respective numbers of cases in which the public hired practising solicitors and barristers in the past year, together with the respective highest, lowest and average amounts of fees charged in those cases; how the respective average fees compare with those charged by their counterparts in South Africa and the United Kingdom?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Justice

5. Hon MA Fung-kwok to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the current number of production lines permitted by the Commissioner of Customs and Excise for the manufacture of optical discs, and the total number of optical discs manufactured by them each day;

2. of the number of locally-manufactured optical discs exported in the past six months, according to the Customs and Excise Department's records; and

3. whether it has assessed if the number of optical discs produced in Hong Kong tally with the total number for local sales and export; if the numbers do not tally, the reasons for that, and whether it is related to illegal export?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Trade and Industry

6. Hon Ambrose CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)

The Government introduced the Provision of Municipal Services (Reorganization) Bill into this Council on 28 April this year, and intends to dissolve the provisional municipal councils on 31 December this year if the council passes the Bill. The Bill has aroused widespread concern and controversy among the public, particularly over whether it is in contravention of the Basic Law. Article 39 of the Basic Law stipulates that the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as applied to Hong Kong shall remain in force, and Article 25(a) of the Covenant provides that every citizen shall have the right to take part in the conduct of public affairs directly or through freely chosen representatives. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

1. whether it has assessed if the Bill contravenes Article 39 of the Basic Law, given that, within the existing three tiers of representative government, the provisional municipal councils are the only statutory bodies with financial autonomy and authority to formulate policies on municipal services and monitor their implementation, and embody the public's right to participate in the conduct of public affairs; and

2. of the methods that it plans to use, after the dissolution of the elected municipal councils which have financial autonomy, to retain the public's rights to take part in the formulation of municipal service policies and to monitor the municipal services?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional Affairs

*7. Hon LEE Cheuk-yan to ask: (Translation)

At the Legislative Council meeting on 22 July 1998, the Secretary for Education and Manpower undertook to review the amount of compensation for bereavement as provided in the Pneumoconiosis (Compensation) Ordinance (Cap. 360), and to study the proposal of adjusting the amount of compensation every 12 months. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of the current progress and findings of the above review and study?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

*8. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)

At present, Hong Kong adopts the standards stipulated in the World Health Organisation Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality (1993) (WHO standards). It is reported that according to the recent territory-wide test on drinking water samples carried out by the Water Supplies Department, of the samples collected from public housing, the iron rust level of 8% of them exceeded the standard; of those from private housing, 18% exceeded the standard. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

1. whether it knows the countries which adopt the WHO standards and the countries which adopt more stringent standards;

2. whether it will, in conducting regular testing if the water quality of drinking water meets the standards, consider using domestic tap water instead of freshly treated drinking water from water treatment works; and

3. whether it has plans to conduct comprehensive sample tests on the water quality of domestic tap water, and notify those households whose water samples have iron rust levels exceeding the WHO standard?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Works

*9. Hon CHENG Kai-nam to ask: (Translation)

In reply to my question on 12 May this year, the authority pointed out that the Building Management Ordinance (Cap. 344) has been invoked by a total number of 165 Owners' Corporations to terminate the property managers' appointment since its implementation in 1993. While 156 of them succeeded, nine of them failed. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the average number of owner households in those 165 Owners' Corporations;

2. among the property managers appointed by those 165 Owners' Corporations, how many of them were the subsidiary companies of the property developers concerned, and the average number of ownership shares owned by the property developers concerned in these properties;

3. of the respective reasons for failing to terminate the property managers' appointment in the nine failure cases; and

4. whether it has any plan to consult all owners' corporations in Hong Kong as to whether the Ordinance is still applicable to the present-day need; if so, the timetable for the consultation?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

*10. Hon Andrew CHENG to ask: (Translation)

It is noted that the Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital in Tai Po has purchased some obstetric and gynaecological equipment which is worth a few million dollars, but the Hospital Authority ("HA") has subsequently decided that obstetric and gynaecological services will not be provided at the hospital, and therefore the equipment has never been used. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:

1. the time at which the hospital received the obstetric and gynaecological equipment;

2. the types, quantity and value of the equipment which has been ordered by the hospital but has not yet been delivered;

3. how the obstetric and gynaecological equipment which has been delivered to the hospital and the equipment which is yet to arrive will be disposed of; and

4. the criteria with which the HA assesses:
   1. the needs of the residents in New Territories East for obstetric and gynaecological services; and

   2. the ability of HA in providing adequate obstetric and gynaecological services in New Territories East?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

*11. Hon Howard YOUNG to ask:

At present, Chinese passport holders who have a valid visa or landing permit for entry to a country or place outside Hong Kong and who have a valid airline ticket to such destination are allowed to stay in Hong Kong for seven days without an entry permit whilst en route to or from the Mainland. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it will consider allowing such persons to re-enter Hong Kong after visiting Macau during the seven-day visa-free period; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*12. Hon Mrs Miriam LAU to ask:

It is learnt that in conjunction with a franchised bus company, the Environmental Protection Department has completed a three-year trial on the effectiveness of diesel oxidation catalyst in reducing emissions from double decker buses. In this connection, will the Administration inform this Council:

1. of the results of the trial; and

2. whether it will conduct similar trials on other diesel-powered vehicles, such as light buses, trucks and taxis; if so, the details of them; if not, the reasons for that?

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

*13. Hon LAW Chi-kwong to ask: (Translation)

The Social Welfare Department ("SWD") has planned to deliver new or improved services through redeployment of resources in the next financial year. Such services will include (1) providing a Dementia Supplement to more elderly persons in residential care; (2) strengthening SWD's Service Performance Section to implement the output monitoring system of welfare services; (3) setting up in SWD a Contract Management Unit to support contracting out initiatives; (4) providing additional 48 integrated child care centre places; and (5) establishing five teams to examine the eligibility for admission to residential care homes for the elderly. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:

1. the number of elderly recipients of the supplement mentioned in item (1) above;

2. the estimated amount of expenditure to be incurred in the delivery of each service mentioned above; and

3. the details of SWD's target savings in resources in this financial year for the purpose of implementing the above plan, including the expenditure items from which savings will be achieved and the respective amounts of savings to be achieved, and whether any temporary staff have been employed at a salary equivalent to 70% of the entry point of the permanent staff; if so, of the amount of savings achieved?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

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

It is reported that in Australia, a young person was killed in an explosion in a petrol station caused by the sparkle of his mobile phone which rang while he was refuelling his car. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

1. whether it knows the details of the above incident;

2. whether it knows the global number of similar accidents and the casualties involved; and

3. whether measures have been taken to advise the public not to use mobile phones or to turn the phones off while they are in a petrol station?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

With regard to the body weight of primary school and secondary school students, will the Government inform this Council:

1. whether the Department of Health has set standard weights for students of different ages;

   1. if so, whether statistics are available on the respective proportions of students in Hong Kong whose weights are 10% below or above the standard to all students in the territory; and

   2. if not, whether it will consider setting the relevant standards;

2. whether the Department of Health has assessed the impact of abnormal body weight on the physical and mental health development of the students; if so, the results of the assessments; if not, the reasons for that;

3. whether the annual health check-up service provided by the Department of Health to students includes referring students with abnormal body weight for treatment or psychological services;
   1. if so, the operational guidelines issued to front-line health care personnel, the referral procedure and the numbers of referrals in the past three years; and

   2. if not, the reasons for that;

4. whether the Department of Health has drawn up measures to encourage or assist schools or voluntary agencies in organizing training courses to help students with abnormal body weight achieve normal weight; and

5. whether the Department of Health has plans to impart upon different groups of people such as students, teachers, parents and the public, the importance of normal body weight; if so, the details of them; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

*16. Hon CHEUNG Man-kwong to ask: (Translation)

Sections 3 and 8 of the Protection of Investors Ordinance (Cap. 335) prohibit acts of misrepresentation in respect of investments; similar provisions are contained in section 40A of the Companies Ordinance (Cap. 32) and section 138 of the Securities Ordinance (Cap. 333). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the organizations responsible for enforcing the Protection of Investors Ordinance;

2. whether it knows the number of cases, classified by investment products, involving acts of misrepresentation into which investigations have been conducted and against which prosecutions have been instituted by the enforcement organizations under the Protection of Investors Ordinance over the past three years; the number of convictions, the details of the offences and the penalties imposed;

3. whether it knows the number of cases in which civil proceedings were instituted by investors under section 8 of the Protection of Investors Ordinance in the past three years; the number of cases in which the court passed judgement in favour of the investors; and

4. how the Protection of Investors Ordinance compares with the Companies Ordinance and the Securities Ordinance, in so far as protection of investors' interests is concerned?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services

*17. Hon SIN Chung-kai to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council whether:

1. personnel and vehicles of the People's Liberation Army ("PLA") stationed in Hong Kong are subject to inspection by the Customs and Excise Department at immigration control points; if so, whether the inspection criteria for them are the same as those applied to other travellers and vehicles; if they are different, the details of the differences; if the PLA personnel and vehicles are not subject to customs inspection, the reasons for that; and

2. the items brought into and out of Hong Kong by PLA personnel and vehicles are regulated by the law of Hong Kong; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*18. Hon Christine LOH to ask:

Regarding the Cyberport project, will the Government inform this Council:

1. whether the related environmental impact assessment ("EIA") study was completed in March 1999; if so, the reasons for the Southern Provisional District Board not being informed of the findings of this study when it considered the project on 22 March 1999;

2. of the impact of the project on air and noise;

3. whether reclamation will be involved; if so, the extent of it; and

4. whether Route 7 will precede the project?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting

*19. Hon LAU Kong-wah to ask: (Translation)

It is reported that Hong Kong has recently found its first case in which a patient was infected with Vancomycin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus ("VRSA") and died subsequently. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the symptoms of a patient who is infected with VRSA;

2. of the types of bacteria which have developed drug resistance; provide a breakdown, by the types of bacteria, of the numbers of deaths arising from infection of such drug-resistant bacteria over the past three years;

3. of the measures in place to combat the drug resistance of bacteria; whether it will explore such measures if they are not available; and

4. whether it has planned to enhance publicity efforts to inform health care personnel and the general public that the abuse of antibiotics will result in drug resistance of bacteria?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

*20. Hon Ambrose CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)

From 1959 to 1962, the Government granted land to the Hong Kong Settlers Housing Corporation Limited on concessionary terms at a price below the market level and offered loans to the Corporation for the construction of rental housing flats at Tai Hang Sai. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

1. of the ways in which Government monitors the Corporation in implementing and executing the relevant grant conditions;

2. whether it has considered establishing a mechanism to monitor the management of Tai Hang Sai Village, given that the village is similar in nature to the public rental housing under Hong Kong Housing Authority and the Hong Kong Housing Society;

3. whether it has considered including Tai Hang Sai Village in redevelopment plans; if so, the details of them; if not, the reasons for that;

4. whether there are organisations similar to the corporation in Hong Kong; and

5. whether it has plans to grant land to private companies in the same manner for rental housing development in the future?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing

* For written reply.

III. Bills

First Reading

Adaptation of Laws (No.15) Bill 1999

Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)

Adaptation of Laws (No.15) Bill 1999 : Secretary for Economic Services

IV. Members' Motions

1. Civil Service Reform

Hon CHAN Kwok-keung: (Translation)

That this Council considers that the Government has to gain the acceptance and support of civil servants before introducing the civil service reform, and that only through the active participation of civil servants can the reform be implemented successfully; as such, this Council urges that, prior to implementing the reform, the Government should:

1. set out clearly the details of the reform proposals, consult the civil service adequately and seriously take their views into account; and

2. reconsider the proposals put forward in the Consultation Document on Civil Service Reform, such as appointment on agreement terms and performance pay, with a view to maintaining a stable, honest, law-abiding and outstanding civil service, and should adopt a step by step approach in implementing the reform.

Amendment to Hon CHAN Kwok-keung's motion

Hon Emily LAU: (Translation)

To delete "the Government has to gain the acceptance and support of civil servants before introducing the civil service reform, and that only through the active participation of civil servants can the reform be implemented successfully; as such, this Council urges that, prior to implementing the reform, the Government" after "That this Council considers that" and substitute with "the civil service reform"; and to delete "(a) set out clearly the details of the reform proposals, consult the civil service adequately and seriously take their views into account; and (b) reconsider the proposals put forward in the Consultation Document on Civil Service Reform, such as appointment on agreement terms and performance pay, with a view to maintaining a stable, honest, law-abiding and outstanding civil service, and should adopt a step by step approach in implementing the reform" and substitute with "(a) include the system of accountability for senior civil servants; (b) streamline the disciplinary procedures; (c) not implement employment on agreement terms across the board; (d) consider the introduction of a provident fund system; and (e) establish a fair and open performance appraisal mechanism before introducing performance pay; and as a stable, honest, law-abiding and outstanding civil service is of great importance to Hong Kong and the civil service reform will have far-reaching implications, this Council urges the Administration to fully consider the views of the public and of the civil service".

Amendment to Hon Emily LAU's amendment

Hon CHEUNG Man-kwong: (Translation)

To add "set up an independent review committee to study the above issues," after "this Council urges the Administration to"; to delete "and of" from "fully consider the views of the public and of" and substitute with ","; and to add 弌nd the Government, and submit a report and make recommendations thereafter " after " the civil service".

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for the Civil Service

2. Developing Chinese medicine centre

Hon YEUNG Yiu-chung: (Translation)

That this Council urges the Government to expeditiously formulate a comprehensive and long-term policy on the development of Chinese medicine, so as to facilitate the development of Hong Kong into an international centre for Chinese medicine; the policy should include:

1. incorporating Chinese medicine into Hong Kong's public health care system;

2. developing Hong Kong into a centre for the co-ordination, research and development, quality control, information and promotion of Chinese medicine; and

3. developing Hong Kong into a centre for promoting high value-added proprietary Chinese medicine, as well as natural and health products.

Public Officers to attend :

Secretary for Trade and Industry Secretary for Health and Welfare

Clerk to the Legislative Council