A 98/99 -20(1)

Legislative Council

Agenda
Wednesday 16 December 1998 at 2:30 pm

I. Papers

Subsidiary LegislationL.N. No.
1. Import and Export (Removal of Articles) (Amendment) Regulation 1998 370/98
2. Air Pollution Control (Petrol Filling Stations) (Vapour Recovery) Regulation 379/98
3. Import and Export Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 3) Notice 1998 380/98


Sessional Papers

1.No.69-Queen Elizabeth Foundation for the Mentally Handicapped Report and Accounts 1997-98
(to be presented by Secretary for Health and Welfare)

2.No.70-Emergency Relief Fund
Annual Report by the Trustee for the year ending on 31 March 1998
(to be presented by Secretary for Health and Welfare)

3.No.71-The Sir Murray MacLehose Trust Fund Trustee's Report for the period 1 April 1997 to 31 March 1998
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

4.No.72-Grantham Scholarships Fund Annual Report for the year 1 September 1997 to 31 August 1998
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

5.No.73-The Accounts of the Lotteries Fund 1997-98
(to be presented by Secretary for the Treasury)

6.No.74-Thirty-seventh Annual Report by the Social Work
Training Fund Trustee for the year ending on 31 March 1998
(to be presented by Secretary for Health and Welfare)

7.No.75-Hong Kong Housing Authority
Annual Report 1997/98
(to be presented by Secretary for Housing)

8.No.76-Hong Kong Housing Authority Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 1998
(to be presented by Secretary for Housing)

9.No.77-Revised list of works of the Provisional Regional Council for the 1998/99 financial year (during the second quarter ended 30 September 1998)
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

10.No.78-Revised list of works of the Provisional Urban Council for the 1998/99 financial year (during the second quarter ended 30 September 1998)
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

11.No.79-Report of the Chinese Temples Committee on the administration of the Chinese Temples Fund for the year ended 31 March 1998
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

12.No.80-Report of the Chinese Temples Committee on the administration of the General Chinese Charities Fund for the year ended 31 March 1998
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)


Report

Report of the Bills Committee on Introduction of the Euro Bill

(to be presented by Hon Howard YOUNG, Chairman of the Bills Committee)

II. Questions

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

It is learnt that, in order to explore the feasibility of transforming waste into energy, an environment protection organization plans to launch a six-month "biodiesel" pilot scheme early next year for converting waste cooking oils and animal fats discharged by food outlets into fuel for vehicles. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:

  1. the measures in place to assist the organization in carrying out the pilot scheme; and

  2. the scope and progress of the feasibility study on the development of waste-to-energy incinerators in Hong Kong?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands

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

It is reported that a waste paper recycling plant in Yuen Long has closed down recently. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:

  1. the contingency measures the Environmental Protection Department has taken to handle the additional waste paper as a result of the closure of the plant;

  2. the government departments which purchased recycled paper and the total amount of recycled paper purchased by them in the past three years, and whether such purchases included local recycled paper; if not, why not; and

  3. the policies and specific measures it has adopted to encourage and support the development of the local paper recycling industry, for example, in encouraging government departments to give priority to buying local recycled paper?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands

3. Hon LAU Wong-fat to ask: (Translation)

It is reported that on 30 March and 25 October this year, due to a surge in electricity voltage to 380 volts caused by the failures of overhead three-phase wires, the electrical appliances of many households in Yuen Long and Shatin were damaged. China Light and Power Company Limited ("CLP"), in accordance with the exemption clause in its Supply Rules, refused to compensate the affected consumers for their losses. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether it knows when CLP started using such overhead three-phase wires; and of the number of households in the New Territories involved;

  2. whether it has conducted any safety tests on such three-phase wires in respect of their effects on electrical appliances and possibility of fire hazards in case of failure; and whether CLP will be required to switch to the use of other more reliable overhead lines in the light of these incidents; and

  3. whether it has assessed if CLP can, under the exemption clause in its Supply Rules, disclaim legal responsibility for compensating consumers and property owners for loss of lives and property caused by the voltage surge of the overhead three-phase wires or the resultant fires?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Economic Services

4. Hon David CHU to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the implementation of provisions in the Electrical Products (Safety) Regulation, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether it has undertaken a survey on the number of shops which are engaged mainly in selling electrical products through parallel import; of the total number of staff employed by such shops;

  2. whether it has assessed if the fees charged and time required by private Recognized Certification Bodies for testing and issuing Certificates of Safety Compliance are reasonable; whether it will consider issuing guidelines in respect of such fees and time; if it does not intend to issue such guidelines, the reason for that; and

  3. whether it has assessed if there is a need to extend the one-month grace period in respect of the provisions for the above Certificates in the Regulation?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Economic Services

5. Hon HUI Cheung-ching to ask: (Translation)

The value of Hong Kong's re-exports has registered negative growth in the months since January, except for a 3.7% growth in March; and the value of overall exports has dropped by 17.5% in October compared with the same time last year. On the other hand, it is reported that the throughput of the three largest container ports in the Mainland increased by 66% in the first half of the year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether it has assessed if the above phenomena indicates that the competitiveness of the container freight trade in Hong Kong is on the decline; if so, of the remedial measures to be taken; and

  2. given that starting from January next year, the relevant Mainland authorities will levy a value-added tax at a rate between 6% to 8% on the export products of industrial enterprises operated by Hong Kong manufacturers in the Mainland, whether it has assessed the impact of this measure on Hong Kong's export and re-export trade?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Trade and Industry

*6. Hon David CHU to ask: (Translation)

In regard to the employment situation of young people, will the Government inform this Council of:

  1. the number of young people in Hong Kong aged 15 to 24 who are unemployed at present, broken down by age, sex and qualifications; as well as the average unemployment period of such young people;

  2. the median entry pay of tertiary institution graduates in each of the past three years; the disciplines studied by those tertiary institution graduates having a poorer chance of securing employment; and

  3. the progress of the programmes organised by the Administration in conjunction with voluntary agencies, which allow young people to participate in voluntary work so as to get prepared for taking up employment?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

*7. Hon Kenneth TING to ask:

Regarding the use of public funds on duty visits outside Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the expenditure on air tickets, and its percentage of the overall expenditure on duty visits undertaken by civil servants in the last 12 months;

  2. of the expenditure on duty visits in respect of each Bureau and Department in the last 12 months;

  3. of the ten Bureaux or Departments incurring the highest amount of expenditure on duty visits in the last 12 months;

  4. whether it knows the expenditure on duty visits of statutory public bodies such as Hong Kong Trade Development Council, Hong Kong Tourist Association and Hong Kong Monetary Authority; if so, the details of them; and

  5. whether it knows if the statutory public bodies in (d) above have similar guidelines as those of the civil service on the selection of airlines and routes?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for the Treasury

*8. Hon Bernard CHAN to ask: (Translation)

It is learnt that serious traffic accidents sometimes occur when one-tube-two-way-operation is implemented at night. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether it knows the details regarding the present practice of closing various tunnel tubes at night, including the respective average numbers of days closed per month, the numbers of hours per day and the reasons for closure;

  2. of the numbers of traffic accidents which occurred within the various tunnel zones when one-tube-two-way-operation was in force in the past five years and, among these, the respective numbers of accidents which occurred due to speeding, improper overtaking and without using the dipped headlight;

  3. whether there has been publicity on the safe driving code during one-tube-two-way-operation; if so, how effective the publicity is; if not, why not; and (d) whether it has assessed the possibility of shortening the number of days per month and the hours per day for closing various tunnels, so as to reduce the chances of traffic accidents?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Transport

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

Will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the annual statistics in respect of the following since 1995:

    1. the respective numbers of male and female foreign domestic helpers who were issued with employment visas;

    2. the number of families which applied for the importation of foreign domestic helpers; and

    3. the number of employers who were prosecuted for and convicted of deploying foreign domestic helpers to take up non-domestic duties;

  2. whether there is currently a limit on the number of foreign domestic helpers an individual family may employ; if so, of the limit and the greatest number of domestic foreign helpers being employed by a single family at present; and

  3. of the mechanism in place for preventing employers from deploying foreign domestic helpers to take up non-domestic duties?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

Regarding the refurbishment of the Housing Department's vacant public housing estate units for letting, will the Government inform this Council of:

  1. the number of vacant units that the Housing Department can refurbish each year, having regard to the Department's present financial position;

  2. the number of vacant units for which refurbishment works have been carried out by the Housing Department in the past three years; the relevant costs of works, the types of public housing units involved and the districts in which these vacant units are located; and

  3. the time generally required to let out such units again, starting from the time when they were vacated by the original tenants to after the completion of refurbishment works; and the procedures involved?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Housing

*11. Hon TAM Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council, since the Security and Guarding Services Ordinance (Cap 460) came in operation:

  1. of the total number of applications for the Security Personnel Permit received by the authorities concerned, and among them, the number of applications approved;

  2. of the number of applications rejected on the grounds of the applicants' record of conviction, and whether there are statistics on the time gaps between the dates of their conviction and the dates at which they made their applications; if so, of a breakdown of such time gaps in groups of five-year intervals; and

  3. whether the authorities concerned will take into account the time gap between the date of conviction and the date on which the application is made, when examining applications from those who have a record of conviction?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Security

*12. Hon SIN Chung-kai to ask:

Regarding the information technology ("IT") strategy known as "Digital 21" which was announced recently, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the benchmarks to be used for evaluating the progress and success of Digital 21; and

  2. whether such benchmarks will be based on statistics such as the percentage of households owning personal computers, level and percentage of IT literacy of the population, IT-related trade figures and their contributions to the Gross Domestic Product; if so, whether the Census and Statistics Department will design a programme to collect these statistics?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting

*13. Hon Christine LOH to ask:

In respect of public education on racial discrimination, will the Government inform this Council of:

  1. the public education programmes to be launched during the year 1999-2000; and the funds allocated or to be allocated to these programmes; and

  2. the funding available for application by non-government organizations for implementing such public education programmes; and the details of the application procedure?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

It is learnt that the China Light and Power Company Limited ("CLP") changed its tariff structure two years ago, from a flat unit rate to an inverted block structure whereby higher consumption is charged at progressively higher unit rates, with a view to encouraging users to reduce electricity consumption. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether it knows if the volume of electricity supplied by CLP has reduced since the implementation of the inverted block structure; if the volume has not reduced, whether the Administration will propose to CLP that it should abolish the inverted block structure; and

  2. whether it has assessed the effectiveness in achieving a reduction in electricity consumption by the public solely by adopting an inverted block structure?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Services

*15. Dr Hon David LI to ask:

It is reported that a passenger on the platform of a Mass Transit Railway ("MTR") station was allegedly shoved onto the railway track by a psychiatric patient and was seriously injured by an oncoming train. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

  1. it knows the total number of incidents in which passengers were shoved onto the railway track since the MTR came into operation;

  2. the Mass Transit Railway Corporation ("MTRC") will issue safety instructions to passengers on how to avoid injuries should they fall onto the railway track; and

  3. the MTRC has studied the feasibility of installing screen doors along the platforms of MTR stations to guard against passengers falling onto railway track; if so, the results of such study; and if screen doors are to be installed, the target completion date of the installation work?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Transport

*16. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the selection of successors to the Director of Water Supplies and other directorate posts in the Water Supplies Department, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:

  1. in selecting the successor to the Director of the Department, whether they will consider requiring that the appointee should have experience in water supply operations and possess substantial knowledge of water quality and safety; if not, the reason for that; and

  2. whether appropriate training programmes have been drawn up to ensure that there are suitable candidates within the Department for succession to directorate posts; if so, the details of such programmes?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Works

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

According to the annual reports of the Environmental Protection Department, the concentration levels of some air pollutants in Yuen Long district in both 1996 and 1997 exceeded the standards in the air quality objectives set by the Department. In this regard, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether it knows the reasons for the concentration levels of air pollutants in the district exceeding the relevant standards;

  2. whether it has assessed the impact of air pollution on the health of residents in the district; and

  3. of the immediate and long-term measures adopted to improve the air quality in the district?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands

*18. Hon Christine LOH to ask:

In his 1997 Policy Address, the Chief Executive set the target of achieving 70% home ownership for Hong Kong people by 2007. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of the basis and justifications used in setting the target?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing

*19. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)

In reply to my question about bringing the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited ("the Exchange") under the ambit of the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance (Cap 201) ("the Ordinance") at a meeting of the former Legislative Council on 1 May 1996, the Executive Authorities stated that the Exchange was seeking clarification from the Independent Commission Against Corruption ("ICAC") on whether the statutory definition of "public servants" in the Ordinance would include staff and all the various categories of membership of the Exchange, if the Exchange were listed as a public body under the Ordinance; and legal advice was being sought at the same time as to whether a broker member of the Exchange who was not an agent of the Exchange in the ordinary course of business would be regarded as a public servant under the Ordinance. It is learnt that the Exchange has not yet been brought under the ambit of the Ordinance. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:

  1. whether they are aware of the understanding reached between the ICAC and the Exchange on this issue;

  2. whether they know if the ICAC has encountered difficulties in pursuing this matter, and if difficulties have been encountered, the details of them and the time such difficulties are expected to be resolved; and

  3. when they plan to introduce a bill into this Council to amend the Ordinance?
Public Officer to reply: Chief Secretary for Administration

* For written reply.

III. Bills

First Reading

District Councils Bill

Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)

District Councils Bill:Secretary for Constitutional Affairs


Second Reading (Debates to resume), Committee Stage and Third Reading

1.Industrial Training (Clothing Industry) (Amendment) Bill 1998 :Secretary for Trade and Industry

2.Introduction of the Euro Bill :Secretary for Financial Services

IV. Members' Motions

1. Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

Dr Hon LEONG Che-hung to move the following motion:

RESOLVED that in relation to the Legal Practitioners (Fees) (Amendment) Rule 1998, published as Legal Notice No. 359 of 1998 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 2 December 1998, 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 6 January 1999.

2. Combating pirated compact discs

Hon Mrs Selina CHOW: (Translation)

That, in view of the recent proliferation of pirated compact discs in various districts, this Council urges the Government to immediately review the existing policies and strengthen the co-ordination of various law enforcement authorities, so as to combat more effectively the manufacture, importation and sale of pirated video, music and software compact discs; furthermore, the Government should strengthen its publicity and education programmes with a view to making the public aware that the infringement of intellectual property rights is immoral; this Council also urges the Government to actively consider amending the relevant legislation in order to empower the law enforcement authorities to prosecute those engaged in the pirated recording of movies in cinemas and consider the imposition of fines on purchasers of pirated compact discs, thereby achieving deterrent effects.

Amendments to Hon Mrs Selina CHOW's motion

1. Hon Christine LOH: (Translation)

To add "in view of the corresponding need to ensure availability of genuine copyright works, the Government should further consider ways to promote maximum availability to consumers;" after "the infringement of intellectual property rights is immoral;".

2. Hon CHAN Kam-lam: (Translation)

To delete "and consider the imposition of fines on purchasers of pirated compact discs".

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Trade and Industry

3. Reducing the weight of schoolbags

Hon CHEUNG Man-kwong: (Translation)

That, in view of the long-standing problem of Hong Kong school children carrying overweight schoolbags, which has seriously affected their health and learning, this Council urges the Government to formulate appropriate education policies and measures with emphasis on promoting curriculum reform, reducing both the volume and weight of textbooks and exercise books, and improving the facilities and provision of space in schools, etc.; at the same time, schools and parents should also make concerted efforts to reduce the weight of schoolbags and the pressure of homework on school children, in order to protect their physical and mental health.

Public Officer to attend: Secretary for Education and Manpower

Clerk to the Legislative Council