A 98/99-24(1)

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 20 January 1999 at 2:30 pm I. Papers

Subsidiary Legislation L.N. No.
1.Port Control (Public Cargo Working Area) Order 19998/99
2.Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Public Pleasure Grounds) (Amendment of Fourth Schedule) Order 1999 9/99
3.Public Swimming Pools (Designation) Order 1999 10/99
4.Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Public Markets) (Designation and Amendment of Tenth Schedule) Order 199911/99
5.Declaration of Markets in the Regional Council Area (Amendment) Declaration 199912/99
6.Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal (Amendment) Rules 199913/99
7.Road Traffic (Construction and Maintenance of Vehicles) (Amendment) Regulation 199914/99

Sessional Papers

1.No.84-Hong Kong Council for Academic Accreditation
Annual Report 1997 - 98

(to be presented by Secretary for Education and Manpower)

2.No.85-Audited Financial Statements and Programme of Activities of the Hong Kong Examinations Authority for the year ending 31 August 1998

(to be presented by Secretary for Education and Manpower)


Report

Report of the Bills Committee on Lifts and Escalators (Safety) (Amendment) Bill 1998

(to be presented by Dr Hon HO Chung-tai, Chairman of the Bills Committee)

II. Questions

1. Prof Hon NG Ching-fai to ask: (Translation)

With regard to the uses and investment strategies of the Land Fund and the Exchange Fund, will the Government inform this Council:
  1. on completion of the merger of the Land Fund assets into that of the Exchange Fund, of the differences between the use of the Land Fund and the Exchange Fund which aims at maintaining the stability and integrity of the monetary and financial systems in Hong Kong; of the recommendations the Administration has on the long-term use of the Land Fund, and when it plans to submit the recommendations to this Council;

  2. whether it has assessed the relationship between the Financial Secretary's earlier disclosure that the Administration has decided to adopt a more progressive strategy in the investment of the Exchange Fund on the one hand and the following two events on the other hand:

    1. the decision to merge the assets of the Land Fund into that of the Exchange Fund;

    2. the use of more than a hundred billions of the Exchange Fund to purchase equities last year; and

  3. whether it has assessed if the objective of the Administration holding equities through the Exchange Fund at present is different from that pledged at the time of market intervention which was to maintain the stability and integrity of our monetary and financial systems and, if they are different, whether the holding of equities has changed into an investment?
Public Officers to reply :Secretary for the Treasury
Secretary for Financial Services

2. Hon CHOY So-yuk to ask: (Translation)

In view of the Mainland's rapid economic development, and the constant updating of its trade and industry policies, will the Government inform this Council whether the Administration has put in place a mechanism for conducting regular and systematic studies of the development of the Mainland's economy and related policies, and for providing guidance to those Hong Kong people who have encountered difficulties in their business activities or factory operations on the Mainland; if so, how the mechanism is functioning; whether it has assessed the effectiveness and identified room for improvement of the mechanism; if not, whether the Administration will consider putting in place such a mechanism as soon as possible?

Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Trade and Industry

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

It is reported that in a recent fire incident at a unit in Ching Yung House of Cheung Ching Estate in Tsing Yi, as maintenance works for the fire service pump of the building were underway, the fire alarms and other fire service installations and equipment could not function. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the public housing estates which have installed fire service systems identical to that installed in Ching Yung House, and of the measures that the Housing Department ("HD") will adopt to ensure the safety of the residents concerned during the maintenance period of such fire service systems;

  2. whether similar problems will arise during the maintenance period of fire service systems installed in other public housing estates; if so, of the measures that HD will adopt to ensure the safety of the residents concerned during the maintenance period of such fire service systems; and

  3. whether any legislation is currently in force to require the management companies of private premises to provide temporary fire service equipment during the maintenance period of the fire service systems of the premises under their management; if not, whether the Administration will consider introducing legislation to this effect?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing

4. Hon Howard YOUNG to ask:

For many years the travel industry has been urging the Government to relax the criteria for approving visit visa applications from nationals of Russia, Eastern European and Middle East countries. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council what relaxations it has made since 1995?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

5. Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:
  1. of the respective numbers of suicides and attempted suicides committed by Hong Kong residents in the past year;

  2. whether these figures are higher than those of the previous year; if so, whether the Administration has analyzed the relationship between such a phenomenon and the economic downturn and the hardship experienced by the people; and

  3. what measures the Administration has in place to prevent the occurrence of suicides?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

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

It is learnt that the Government will, upon completing the investigation of the collapse of a balcony in Swallow Garden, a small-house estate in Fanling, draw up measures to monitor the structural safety of small houses. The new measures will lay down building guidelines to govern the construction of small houses, specify the technology requirement for high risk structures and require that high risk structural works be undertaken by contractors authorised by the Government. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether consideration has been given to requiring registered structural engineers to submit the structural plans to the Buildings Department for approval, and that in such plans, the standard structural parts should be designed in accordance with guidelines issued by the Government, and detailed structural designs and plans be attached for the non-standard structural parts such as the foundation and balconies, so as to ensure that the materials and procedure for the construction of small houses are up to the required standard and that public safety is guaranteed; if not, why not;

  2. since the proposed new measures would not have any legal effect, how the Administration ensures that contractors will conform to such guidelines in the absence of professional supervision; and

  3. whether consideration will be given to re-drafting the guidelines and the approval criteria and discussing the supervisory details with engineering sectors?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands

*7. Hon HO Sai-chu to ask: (Translation)

It is reported that two Hong Kong residents and one Malaysian Chinese kidnapped by Muslim guerrillas in the Philippines in September last year were released at the end of last month. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

  1. it has taken any action to facilitate the release of the two Hong Kong residents; if so,

    1. the details of it;

    2. whether the action has been taken through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China; if not, of the reasons; and

  2. it has paid any ransom to the kidnappers; if so, of the details, and the circumstances under which the decision to pay the ransom was made?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*8. Dr Hon LUI Ming-wah to ask: (Translation)

It is learnt that quite a number of passengers of the Kowloon-Canton Railway now travel in first class compartments without valid first class tickets. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:

  1. the actions taken by the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation ("KCRC") against such passengers; and

  2. whether it constitutes a breach of the KCRC's regulations for the staff of the KCRC to only order the rule-breaking passengers to return to ordinary class compartments without imposing fines on them?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

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

Regarding the promotion of the development of young people's potentials in culture, arts and sports, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether it knows if an applicant's outstanding performance in culture, arts and sports will be considered by tertiary institutions in their admission of students; if so, of the details of such consideration;

  2. whether it knows if tertiary institutions have made alternative arrangements in respect of their curricula to enable their students to undergo relevant training in culture, arts and sports;

  3. how the relevant authorities assist tertiary institutions in providing an environment conducive to the development of their students' potentials in arts, culture and sports; and

  4. whether the outstanding performance of tertiary institution graduates in culture, arts and sports will be considered by the relevant authorities in the selection of candidates for appointment to the civil service?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

*10. Hon Kenneth TING to ask: (Translation)

It is learnt that Hong Kong's economy has entered a period of deflation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether it has assessed the impact of deflation on the volume of investment in the manufacturing sector and on the sales volume in the retail sector in Hong Kong; if not, whether such assessments will be made as soon as possible, and of the estimated time taken to complete the assessments;

  2. whether it has estimated the respective numbers of job losses in these sectors as a result of deflation; and

  3. of the specific measures in place to stimulate consumer sentiment, boost the public's spending power and attract more people to invest in Hong Kong?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services

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

The Government had stated that in considering the application for Hong Kong Star Internet Limited to transfer its Internet-related business to Hong Kong Telecom IMS Limited, it would, by making reference to experience in other countries, conduct public interest tests on the impact of the transaction on the competition position and efficiency of the Internet market. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of the details and results of such tests?

Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting

*12. Dr Hon David LI to ask:

It is reported that Scandinavian Airlines System will terminate its scheduled flight service from Hong Kong to Europe on 1 March 1999, due to a slump in business and high operating costs of such flights. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the number of international airlines that have ceased operating scheduled flights to and from Hong Kong since the opening of the new airport at Chek Lap Kok and whether it knows the reasons for such decisions;

  2. whether it has compared the airplanes landing fee and other airport charges levied on airlines at the new and the old airports; if so, of the details; and

  3. whether it knows if the Airport Authority will consider reducing the landing fee and other airport charges to attract more airlines to use Hong Kong for their scheduled flights?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Services

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

It is reported that the amount of funds allocated by the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology ("HKUST") to its library for the acquisition of publications in 1998/99 is drastically reduced by 40% compared to the funding in the last financial year. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council if they know:

  1. the criteria adopted by the HKUST for allocating funds to its library for the acquisition of publications;

  2. the justifications for the HKUST's decision to reduce funding for that purpose in 1998/99; and

  3. the impact of such a decision on the HKUST library in the acquisition of publications?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

*14. Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)

In its reply to a question raised by this Council on 16 December last year, the Government said that the Mass Transit Railway ("MTR") Corporation had plans to install retro-fitting platform screen doors on all platforms of underground stations, and the company also estimated that the studies into the technical aspects of such installation programme would be completed by the latter part of 1999. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

  1. it knows the total number of passengers who fell onto the railway track from MTR platforms (please list them by various causes) in the past three years; among them, the numbers of persons who were injured or killed respectively;

  2. it knows if the company has plans to install retro-fitting platform screen doors on the platforms of stations at ground level; if there are no such plans, the reasons for that; and

  3. the Administration will urge the company to expedite the progress of its studies, so as to implement the programme for installing screen doors at an earlier date?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

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

In connection with the collapses of the tunnel sewers currently under construction, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the details of the collapses and their impacts on the progress and the construction costs of the project;

  2. of the present progress of the works, and whether assessment has been made as to whether the project can be completed on schedule; and

  3. whether any mechanism is in place to monitor the works progress and cost control of the project; if so, the details of it?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Works

*16. Hon Kenneth TING to ask: (Translation)

In view of the increasingly keen competition faced by Hong Kong's toy manufacturing industry in the world market, will the Government inform this Council whether it will consider:

  1. allocating more resources and formulating measures to assist the local toy manufacturers in introducing and developing new technology for making toys; if so, the details of them; and

  2. providing the necessary assistance to the manufacturers concerned in securing bank loans with longer repayment periods for the purchase of machinery and equipment?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Trade and Industry

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

Will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether any legislation and administrative measures are in place to protect the intellectual property rights of information in text, picture, audio-visual and other forms accessible on the Internet; if so, of the specific stipulations in this respect; and

  2. of the number of complaints received in the past year about infringements of intellectual property rights of information accessible on the Internet, the details of such complaints and how the Administration handled such complaints?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Trade and Industry

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

It is reported that recently an excessive number of franchised buses has been put into service in some districts on Hong Kong Island, causing traffic congestion and aggravating air pollution in the districts concerned. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:

  1. how the number of franchised buses at present compares with that a year ago;

  2. how franchised bus ridership at present compares with that a year ago;

  3. whether there are cases of franchised bus service running behind schedule; if so, of the details and how the situation compares with that a year ago; and

  4. whether, on the understanding that the bus services will not be seriously affected, there is any plan to require the various franchised bus companies to adjust their schedules of bus services where there is an excess of bus services; if so, the details of it?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Transport

*19. Hon Christine LOH to ask:

With regard to the introduction of taxis fuelled by liquefied petroleum gas ("LPG") into Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether the existing LPG taxis imported from Japan used in the trial scheme of LPG taxis meet Hong Kong's specifications on vehicle engine;

  2. whether modifications to the design of the engine of these taxis are required if they are to meet such specifications; if so, whether it knows,
    1. the earliest date that such taxis with the modified designs can be manufactured; and

    2. the estimated price of the modified taxis;

  3. the measures that the Government will take with regard to the licensing requirements of LPG taxis which do not meet such specifications; and

  4. whether the Government has any plan to enable the introduction of second-hand taxis which meet such specifications?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands

*20. Hon Michael HO to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council whether it has formulated a comprehensive policy on primary health care services; if so, of,

  1. the documents setting out the policy;

  2. the areas covered by the policy, as well as the targets and service items, the public, private sector organizations or departments responsible for providing the services, the service items to be implemented and the timetable for implementation in each area; and

  3. the ways to coordinate the various services provided by different public and private sector organizations and departments?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Health and Welfare

* For written reply.

III. Bills

First Reading

Adaptation of Laws (No.18) Bill 1998

Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned) Adaptation of Laws (No.18) Bill 1998 : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

Lifts and Escalators (Safety) (Amendment) Bill 1998 : Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands


IV. Motions

Proposed resolution under the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance and Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

Secretary for Education and Manpower to move the following motion:

(See Proposed resolution at Appendix)

V. Members' Motions

1. Right and freedom of Hong Kong residents to strike

Hon CHAN Wing-chan: (Translation)

That, whereas Article 27 of the Basic Law provides that Hong Kong residents shall have the right and freedom to strike, employers may, by virtue of section 9 of the Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57), dismiss their employees who go on strike or take industrial action without notice or payment in lieu of notice; that section is clearly in contravention of Article 27 of the Basic Law, this Council urges the Government to expeditiously amend the Employment Ordinance to give effect to the right and freedom of Hong Kong residents to strike, as conferred by the Basic Law.

Amendment to Hon CHAN Wing-chan's motion Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung: (Translation)

To add "there is no legislation in Hong Kong to expressly safeguard this provision and" after "the right and freedom to strike,"; to add "introduce a comprehensive law on the right to strike so as to protect Hong Kong residents from being dismissed for going on strike, and to" after "this Council urges the Government to expeditiously"; to delete "to give effect to the right and freedom of Hong Kong residents to strike, as conferred by the Basic Law" and substitute with "by repealing the provisions which are in contravention of the Basic Law and strengthening the protection for employees participating in trade union activities".

Public Officer to attend: Secretary for Education and Manpower

2. Comprehensive review of the Target Oriented Curriculum

Hon YEUNG Yiu-chung: (Translation)

That, as there have been doubts about the effectiveness of the Target Oriented Curriculum (TOC) since its implementation, this Council urges the Government to suspend the implementation of the TOC in Primary Five classes in September this year and expeditiously conduct a comprehensive review of the TOC to decide the way forward for the Curriculum, so as to truly improve the overall quality of students and promote the development of quality education.

Public Officer to attend: Secretary for Education and Manpower

Clerk to the Legislative Council