A 98/99-38(1)

Legislative Council

Agenda
Wednesday 26 May 1999 at 2:30 pm

I. Papers

Subsidiary Legislation L.N. No.
1.Specification of Arrangements (Government of the Russian Federation Concerning Air Services) (Double Taxation) Order123/99

2.Estate Agents Practice (General Duties and Hong Kong Residential Properties) Regulation124/99

3.Estate Agents (Determination of Commission Disputes) Regulation125/99

4.Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Public Markets) (Designation and Amendment of Tenth Schedule) (No.2) Order 1999 126/99

5.Declaration of Markets in the Urban Council Area (Amendment) Declaration 1999127/99

6.Hawker (Permitted Place) Declaration 1999 128/99

7.Housing Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule) Order 1999 (L.N. 63 of 1999) (Commencement) Notice 1999129/99


Sessional Paper

No. 127-Report on the Administration of the Fire Services Welfare Fund together with the Director of Audit's Report and Audited Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31 March 1998

(to be presented by Secretary for Security)

II. Questions

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

Regarding the buildings completed before World War II, will the Government inform this Council of the following:

  1. the total number of flats in such buildings as well as the numbers of households and people involved;

  2. the number of such buildings which have been included in redevelopment programmes of the Land Development Corporation, and the numbers of households and people involved; and

  3. given that most of the facilities of those buildings such as staircases, internal partitions and mezzanines are made of wood and have been constructed a long time ago, the measures it has taken to ensure the structural safety of such buildings and that they are adequately equipped against fire?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands

2. Hon James TIEN to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the average numbers of persons with a disability who were in employment and those who were unemployed, the employment rate as well as the total numbers of job vacancies for persons with a disability on the register of the Selective Placement Division of the Labour Department, in each of the three years both before and after the commencement of the Disability Discrimination Ordinance (Cap. 487);

  2. whether there are significant differences between such figures before and those after the commencement of the Ordinance; and

  3. whether it has assessed if the commencement of the Ordinance has adversely affected the employment opportunities of persons with a disability; if it has so affected, the details of the effects?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

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

According to the results of the last general revaluation, the rateable values of residential properties have on average dropped by 18%, and more than 80% of owners of residential properties will pay less rates as a result. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

  1. public housing flats under the management of the Hong Kong Housing Authority ("HKHA") were included in this revaluation; if so, whether the rateable values of such flats have been reduced; if there was a reduction, the average percentage of reduction, as well as the total amount of rents attributable to such reduction in a year; and

  2. the HKHA will adjust public housing rental, which is inclusive of rates, in line with the reduction in rateable values; if so, the planned timing for the rental adjustments to take effect; if not, the reasons for that; and how the HKHA will dispose of the overcharged rates?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing

4. Hon Ambrose CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)

The Chief Executive indicated in the 1998 Policy Address that in order to enhance Hong Kong's appeal as a tourist destination, the Government is planning for a new, state-of-the-art performance venue on the West Kowloon reclamation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the siting, facilities, completion date and construction costs of the performance venue;

  2. of the measures it will take to ensure that the design and facilities of the performance venue can meet the expectation of residents and international standards; and

  3. whether it will consider co-operating with private developers in the construction of the venue, so as to reduce the commitment of public funds and shorten the time required for completing the project; if so, the form of co-operation; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

5. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)

The Securities and Futures Commission ("SFC") last month upheld its previous decision made in January 1994 to publicly reprimand two persons who were involved in the purchase of shares in Shun Ho Resources Holdings Ltd in 1988 and 1989, for breaching the provisions of the Takeovers Code. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council whether:

  1. they know the amount of time and money that the SFC has spent in investigating the case;

  2. they have assessed the deterrent effect of public reprimand upon actions in breach of the Takeovers Code; and

  3. there are plans to criminalize breaches of the Takeovers Code?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services

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

The covered overhead pedestrian footbridge near the Cross-Harbour Tunnel at Hung Hom, which connects the railway terminus, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University and bus stops on the ground level, is always flooded with pedestrians, many of whom carry bulky baggage and have to climb the stairs from the bus stops on the ground level to the footbridge leading to the railway terminus for the trains to the Mainland. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it has plans to install escalators to link up the bus stops and the covered overhead pedestrian footbridge; if so, the details of such plans; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

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

Regarding the construction of public housing, will the Government inform this Council of:

  1. the number of cases in which irregularities in the construction procedure of building projects were found in the past three years; the details of the irregularities in those works; and the number of contractors involved; and

  2. the follow-up measures taken by the relevant authorities in respect of those cases and the penalties imposed on contractors for such irregularities?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing

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

Since 1 September 1997, school buses have been required to provide escorts when transporting primary school or kindergarten children. Moreover, a new requirement which came into operation on 1 May 1997 stipulated that school buses newly registered on or after that date should be equipped with certain facilities to enhance safety. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the number of traffic accidents involving school buses since September 1997 and the number of casualties involving school children;

  2. of the traffic accident rate of school buses and the number of casualties involving school children since the implementation of these requirements as compared to the respective figures before the requirements were implemented;

  3. of the number of cases in which school buses were found not providing escorts since September 1997; of the penalty for breach of that requirement;

  4. how it monitors the school bus service and ensures that registered escorts do stay on buses to take care of children; and

  5. whether it has considered plans to further enhance the safety of school buses; if so, the details of such consideration?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

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

In view of the economic downturn and the persistent high unemployment rate at present, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows if the Hong Kong Housing Authority will continue to freeze the rents of public rental housing estates at the existing levels so as not to increase the financial burden of public housing tenants; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing

*10. Hon Howard YOUNG to ask:

Will the Government inform this Council whether the Post Office has any plan to expand its scope of service to include selling stationery related to postal services, accepting payments for rates, vehicle licence fees and fixed penalty fines on behalf of other government departments; if so, the details of it?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Services

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

It is reported that the Government intends to collaborate with members of the commercial and industrial sectors to set up various action groups to identify solutions to the environmental pollution problems in Hong Kong; and that some overseas persons have refused to take up work in Hong Kong for fear that our polluted environment will be hazardous to their health. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:

  1. the composition and terms of reference of these action groups; and

  2. the measures to improve our polluted environment, so as to ensure that the environment for conducting business will not be affected?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands

*12. Hon Albert HO to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the franchised bus services between Tuen Mun and Yuen Long, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether it knows:

    1. the respective percentages of delayed and lost trips against the total number of scheduled trips in the past year;

    2. how the percentages in item (i) above compare to those of other parts of the New Territories;

    3. the reasons for the delayed and lost trips, and the respective percentages of delayed or lost trips caused by each of such reasons;

  2. of the measures it has taken to reduce the number of delayed and lost trips, and their effectiveness;

  3. whether there are plans to implement further measures to improve the situation; and

  4. whether it has set performance targets to be met by franchised bus companies in respect of franchised buses running on schedule; if so, the details of the targets; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

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

With regard to the unauthorised use of personal data, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the total number of cases handled by the Police since 1996 involving the unauthorised use of personal data leading to monetary losses; the average number of alleged acts of unauthorised use of personal data and the average amount of losses in each case;

  2. of the respective numbers of prosecutions and successful prosecutions of these cases in each of the past three years; the usual means through which the offenders obtained the personal data of the victims; the average penalty imposed on convicted persons; the average amount of money successfully recovered and returned to the victims; and

  3. of the measures in place to prevent the unauthorised use of personal data; whether it has plans to step up such measures; if so, the details of it; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

Section 29A of the Securities and Futures Commission Ordinance (Cap. 24)("SFCO") empowers the Securities and Futures Commission ("SFC") to inspect a listed company's books and records if its directors and officers are suspected of impropriety in the management of the company's affairs. According to the SFC's 97/98 Annual Report, the power was invoked on two occasions during the year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether it knows:

    1. the reasons for the SFC to have invoked such power in 1997/98 on two occasions only;

    2. of the circumstances under which the SFC will exercise such power, or decide to refer the cases to the Financial Secretary for determining whether an inspection should be initiated under the Companies Ordinance ("CO")(Cap. 32);

    3. whether the SFC is subject to any constraint in invoking such power; if so, what the constraints are;

    4. whether the SFC has exercised such power since April 1998 to inspect listed companies with financial problems; if so, of the number of companies inspected and the progress of such inspections; if not, the reasons for that; and

  2. of the criteria the relevant authorities adopt in determining whether inspections should be initiated on companies suspected of impropriety, under the SFCO or CO?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services

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

Under section 52 of the Banking Ordinance (Cap 155), the Monetary Authority may exercise the following powers: to require banks, restricted licence banks and deposit-taking companies forthwith to take any immediate action as he may consider necessary, to make any requirement imposing restrictions on such institutions, or to appoint a person to be the Advisor or Manager of any of such institutions. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if the Monetary Authority has exercised these powers since its establishment; if so, the principles adopted by the Monetary Authority in deciding to exercise such powers, the number of times these powers were exercised each year, and in respect of each case, the exact power exercised, the reasons for exercising such power and the amount of public funds involved?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services

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

I have received a complaint that the Legal Aid Department ("LAD") had refused to grant legal aid to an applicant on the grounds that the amount claimed was too low. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the number of cases in which LAD refused to grant legal aid on the above grounds in the past three years; and

  2. whether the amount of claims is a major consideration in vetting and approving legal aid applications by LAD; if so, whether the LAD will consider removing this consideration from the criteria for vetting and approving such applications?
Public Officer to reply : Chief Secretary for Administration

*17. Hon Christine LOH to ask:

Regarding the Government's proposal to build a road between Tai Ho Wan and Mui Wo on Lantau, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether an environmental impact assessment has been or will be conducted;

  2. of the options that it has considered in respect of the road alignment;

  3. whether in evaluating these options, it has adopted a weighting system regarding noise, air, visual, landscape, ecological and land use impacts as well as costs and feasibility; if so, whether the result of the evaluation has been published and provided to the Country and Marine Parks Board;

  4. of the types of vehicles that will be allowed to use the road; and

  5. whether it will consider widening Tung Chung Road as an alternative to building a new road; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

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

It has been reported that the management of a listed company has said that a report on the feasibility of constructing the Shenzhen Western Corridor linking Shekou and Yuen Long had been completed. The company expects that the project would be endorsed by the relevant Mainland authorities in October this year, and the relevant reclamation works will commence by the end of this year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

  1. it has received a copy of the feasibility report; if it has, the major contents of it;

  2. it knows:

    1. the progress of the project; and

    2. if the relevant authorities in the Mainland have plans to endorse the project within this year;

  3. it has examined the planning details and the designed traffic volume of the Corridor; if so, the outcome of that;

  4. it has examined the environmental impacts of the Corridor on the New Territories west after its opening; if so, the details of that; and

  5. it has plans to discuss with the Mainland authorities relaxing the restriction on the number of vehicles allowed to travel between Hong Kong and the Mainland, and simplifing the application procedures for driving licences of the other side of the border by applicants from the Mainland and from Hong Kong after the opening of the Corridor?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands

*19. Hon Howard YOUNG to ask:

Same-day transit passengers are now exempt from air passenger departure tax. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it will discuss with the Airport Authority the relocation of the Departure Tax Information Counter in Chek Lap Kok Airport from the landside to the airside to allow such passengers to apply for tax refund without leaving the airside?

Public Officer to reply: Secretary for the Treasury

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

It is reported that according to what has been planned, the construction of the proposed Route 10 which links Northern Lantau Island and Yuen Long will involve underwater explosion works within the Ma Wan Channel. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of the ecological impact of these construction works on the Chinese white dolphins within those waters; and the measures in place to ensure that these construction works will not disrupt the marine ecology of those waters?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

* For written reply.

III. Bills

First Reading

1. Road Tunnels (Government) (Amendment) Bill 1999
2. Roads and Tunnels Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 1999
3. Banking (Amendment) Bill 1999
4. Witness Protection Bill

Second Reading (Debates to be adjourned)

1. Road Tunnels (Government) (Amendment) Bill 1999 :Secretary for Transport

2. Roads and Tunnels Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 1999:Secretary for Transport

3. Banking (Amendment) Bill 1999:Secretary for Financial Services

4. Witness Protection Bill:Secretary for Security

IV. Members' Bills

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

Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital Incorporation (Amendment) Bill 1999:Hon Eric LI

V. Members' Motions

1. Interpretation of the Basic Law

Hon Albert HO: (Translation)

That, in order to uphold the principles of 'one country, two systems', a high degree of autonomy and judicial independence, this Council objects to the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress interpreting those articles of the Basic Law relating to the limits of the autonomy of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Public Officer to attend: Secretary for Justice

2. Promoting extensive use of English

Hon James TIEN:

That, as an excellent command and the extensive use of English is pivotal in maintaining and enhancing Hong Kong's status as an international city and centre of trade, commerce and finance, this Council urges the Government to adopt comprehensive measures to improve the standard of English as well as increase its use in Hong Kong; such measures include better training and development of local teachers of English, promoting and encouraging the learning and extensive use of English in schools, the business and professional sectors, government departments and the community.

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Education and Manpower

Clerk to the Legislative Council