A 98/99-9(1)

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 30 September 1998 at 2:30 pm

I. Papers

Subsidiary Legislation	L.N. No.
1. Immigration (Amendment) Regulation 1998	318/98
2. Aviation Security Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 1) Order 1998	319/98
3. Specification of Public Office	320/98
4. Admission and Registration (Amendment) Rules 1998	321/98
5. Rules of the High Court (Amendment) (No.3) Rules 1998	322/98

Sessional Paper

No.27-	Annual Report of the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Fund Board 1997-98
(to be presented by Secretary for Education and Manpower )

II. Questions

1. Hon CHAN Kwok-keung to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:

of a breakdown of the number of employment visas issued since January 1997 by industry sector and position held;
whether a ceiling is set for the issue of employment visas each year; and
the procedure and criteria for approving applications for various types of employment visas?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

Will the Government inform this Council how and when the recommendations made in the Board of Education Report on Review of 9-year Compulsory Education System published in October last year will be implemented?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

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

Regarding the cleaning up of the underground contaminants at the northern apron of the old Kai Tak Airport, will the Government inform this Council:

whether there are any potential explosion hazards before the cleaning up of the oil patches; if so, what measures have been adopted to reduce the explosion hazards; and whether the suitability of the venue for holding large scale events has been assessed;
what factors will be taken into consideration in selecting the method of cleaning up the oil patches; and
which party will bear the costs of cleaning up the oil patches?

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

4. Hon Andrew CHENG to ask: (Translation)

On 28 July this year, an extensive area in Tai Po experienced power failure for more than 10 hours. According to the findings of the investigation announced subsequently by China Light and Power Company, Limited (CLP), the power supplier for that district, the incident was caused by the consecutive failure of three underground cables in the district. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

it knows how frequently maintenance works were carried out by CLP for the cables in question in the past five years; and whether the CLP has cut down the number of staff in the Department responsible for relevant maintenance works in recent years; if so, of the number of staff reduced and whether an assessment has been made on whether the cable failure was related to such staff reduction;
the Administration has, in response to this incident, required the CLP to conduct an overall review on its repair and maintenance works; if so, what the details are; if not, what the reasons are; and
it will consider reviewing the relevant legislation, so as to step up the regulation of the company, thus minimizing the possibility of cable failure?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Services

5. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)

As the Government has not yet promulgated the commencement date of the Interception of Communications Ordinance enacted at the end of June 1997, will the Government inform this Council:

why the commencement date of the Ordinance has not yet been promulgated;
when it plans to promulgate the commencement date of the Ordinance; and
of the principles adopted in deciding the commencement dates of the ordinances passed by the legislature?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

6. Hon Mrs Selina CHOW to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council of:

the number of law enforcement actions taken by the Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority, the Hong Kong Police Force, and the Customs and Excise Department respectively against the sale and publication of pornographic video compact discs (VCDs) over the past three years; and the number of successful prosecutions as a result of such enforcement actions, as well as the total amount of fines involved; and
the measures in place to tackle the problem of selling and publishing pornographic VCDs?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting

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

Regarding the sale and resale of flats under the Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) and Private Sector Participation Scheme (PSPS) in the past five years, will the Government inform this Council:

of the respective numbers of flats sold to green form applicants (the residents of public housing estates as well as other persons eligible for public housing) and white form applicants (other eligible persons) each year;
of the number of green form applications for subsidised home ownership flats on each occasion;
of the numbers of successful green form applicants for subsidised home ownership flats each year who were:
1. public housing residents who were thus required to surrender their residing public housing units, and of the ages of these public housing blocks;
2. residents affected by the redevelopment projects of public housing estates; and
3. persons of other categories;
of the respective numbers of subsidised home ownership flat owners who sold their flats back to the Housing Authority (HA) at the original selling prices or at market prices each year; and the number of these owners and their family members who were reallocated with public housing units by the HA;
whether it is aware of the number of subsidised home ownership flats of more than three years but less than 10 years of age which were resold by the owners at the secondary market of subsidised home ownership flats each year; and
whether it is aware of the number of subsidised home ownership flats which were resold at the private property market each year?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing

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

Recently, when a private housing estate requested the Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited (HKCG) to carry out maintenance works to the gas pipes in the estate, the HKCG advised that free maintenance service would only be provided if the ownership of such pipes was transferred from the estate to the company. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

it knows the number of cases in which private housing estates were asked by the HKCG to transfer the ownership of their gas pipes, as well as the number of those cases in which the ownership has been transferred; and
it will consider amending existing legislation to make the HKCG responsible for maintaining gas pipes in safe working order?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Services

*9. Hon Fred LI to ask : (Translation)

The Mental Health (Amendment) Ordinance 1997 (Ordinance No. 81 of 1997) enacted in June last year stipulates that a Guardianship Board ("the Board") shall be established and that the chairperson of the Board shall have suitable legal experience. However, it is learnt that to date the Board has still not been established because the Administration cannot identify a suitable person as the chairperson. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

whether it has considered amending the above Ordinance, in order to relax the eligibility requirements in respect of the chairperson of the Board;
according to its plan, the date of appointment of the chairperson and members of the Board; and
of the measures to be adopted to facilitate the commencement of operation of the Board at the earliest possible date?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

*10. Hon CHAN Kam-lam to ask: (Translation)

In connection with the direction issued by the Telecommunications Authority to Hong Kong Telecom (HKT) in 1995 which specified that the company should facilitate the portability of telephone numbers on fixed telecommunications networks, will the Government inform this Council:

how HKT has complied with the direction; and
whether it has received any complaints about HKT rejecting the applications made by its customers for transfer of telephone numbers to other fixed network operators; if so, of a breakdown of such complaints by residential and commercial users, the number of such complaints which involved telephone numbers starting with "3"; and the follow-up actions that the authorities have taken?

Public Officer to reply :Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting

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

With regard to the Social Welfare Department's efforts to recover the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance payments and old age allowance wrongly paid out in the past year, will the Government inform this Council of:

the number of cases in which such payments were successfully recovered and the total amount involved; and the number of cases still outstanding; and
the means adopted for recovering such payments; whether there have been cases of directly deducting the payments from the recipients' bank accounts without giving them prior notice or seeking their consent; if so, of the number of such cases, the amount of money involved and the legal basis for such action?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

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

Will the Government inform this Council whether it will consider relocating the existing immigration anchorage off Butterfly Beach at Tuen Mun to the river trade terminal to be commissioned shortly in Tuen Mun, so as to reduce the pollution caused by the anchorage to the coastal waters of Butterfly Beach and the noise nuisance caused to residents in the neighbourhood during the late night operations hours of the anchorage?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Services

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

Regarding Mainland people touring Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:

of the quota in respect of the number of Mainland visitors to Hong Kong in each of the past three years; whether it has assessed the revenue generated for Hong Kong by these visitors;
whether there is any plan to increase the quota; if so, what the details are;
whether it knows about the departments in Mainland China which are responsible for allocating the quota in respect of visitors to Hong Kong; of the criteria for allocation; of the respective quotas allocated to different provinces in Mainland China in the past year;
whether it knows about the procedure that Mainland people have to go through when applying to visit Hong Kong; of the normal period of time taken to process an application; of the shortest and longest periods of time taken to process such applications;
whether there is a limit to the number of visits to Hong Kong for Mainland people; if so, of the number of visits to Hong Kong that can be made in one year; if not, what the reasons are;
of the length of stay in Hong Kong allowed for Mainland visitors each trip; and
of the number of Mainland visitors who overstayed in Hong Kong in the past three years and the longest time of overstaying; what measures the Government has in place to prevent Mainland visitors from overstaying in Hong Kong?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*14. Hon Eric LI to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the appointment ratio of graduate teachers and certificated masters in secondary schools, will the Government inform this Council:

of the current appointment ratio of graduate and non-graduate teachers in government secondary schools and subsidized secondary schools respectively;
whether, with the increase in the numbers of university degree graduates and of serving certificated masters studying degree courses, the Government has any plan to adjust the above ratio; if so, what the target ratio is; and
whether there is any plan in place to encourage serving certificated masters to enrol in university degree courses, so as to qualify as graduate teachers; if so, what the details are; if not, why not?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

*15. Hon Mrs Miriam LAU to ask: (Translation)

In the Parking Demand Study Report published by the Government in December 1995, 13 measures were recommended for immediate action to alleviate the parking problem. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

which of these measures have already been implemented and how effective they are; and
which of these measures have yet to be implemented and the reasons for not implementing such measures yet?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

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

Will the Executive Authorities inform this Council if they know:

whether any of the heads of the eight public-funded tertiary institutions sits on the board of directors in public bodies or private companies; if so, what the details are;
the respective total amounts of director's fee and other remuneration received annually by the heads of tertiary institutions concerned for holding such directorships; and
whether any of the key executives or shareholders in the public bodies or private companies, referred to in the answer to part (a), sits on the council or board of governors or holds similar position in any of the tertiary institutions concerned; if so, what the details are?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

*17. Hon Howard YOUNG to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council, in respect of the past five years:

of the growth in the number of directorate officers and non-directorate officers with professional qualifications, in the civil service in each year;
of the growth in the establishment of public bodies and subvented organizations in each year, as well as the growth in their respective payroll costs; and
of the respective percentages of the total payroll amounts of civil servants and employees of public bodies and subvented organizations in the total payroll amount of the entire labour force of Hong Kong in each year?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Civil Service

*18. Dr Hon David LI to ask:

Will the Government consider relaxing the eligibility criteria in respect of the Home Starter Loan Scheme, in order to allow single persons to apply?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing

*19. Hon Christine LOH to ask:

Regarding the Indoor Air Quality Study which was completed in September 1997, will the Government inform this Council of:

the findings of the study;
the reasons for not yet publishing the findings of the study; and
the scheduled time for publishing the study?

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

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

The Government has decided to increase the size of each class in primary schools by two pupils with effect from this school year, while shelving the plan for reducing the class size by five students in secondary schools. The Government has further pledged to make optimum use of vacant classrooms in primary schools and allocate more resources to schools, so as to alleviate the difficulties experienced by school management and teachers' work pressure. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of the following:

the number of vacant classrooms in primary schools and the number of the schools concerned by districts in the last and the current school years respectively;
the reasons why these classrooms are left vacant;
the plan as to how and when these classrooms will be put to use; and
the details of proposed additional resources to schools?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

* For written reply.

III. Bills

First Reading

1. Bankruptcy (Amendment) Bill 1998

2. Lifts and Escalators (Safety)(Amendment) Bill 1998

Second Reading (Debates to be adjourned)

1.Bankruptcy (Amendment) Bill 1998	:	Secretary for Financial Services
2.Lifts and Escalators (Safety) (Amendment) Bill 1998	:	Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands

IV. Members' Motions

1. Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

Hon Andrew WONG:

RESOLVED that in relation to the Statutes of the University of Hong Kong (Amendment) Statutes 1998, published as Legal Notice No. 299 of 1998, and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 9 September 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 14 October 1998.

2. Review of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority

Hon Albert HO: (Translation)

That, as the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has repeatedly erred in its efforts to maintain the linked exchange rate system in the wake of speculative attacks on the Hong Kong currency since October last year, including failing to introduce timely measures to strengthen the currency board arrangements, this Council expresses strong dissatisfaction with the performance of the HKMA and urges the HKMA to learn earnestly from the lesson so as to avoid repeating the mistakes; this Council also urges the Government to review the structure and regulatory mechanism of the HKMA, with a view to enhancing its transparency and accountability.

Public Officer to attend : Financial Secretary

3. Liberalization of the telecommunications and television markets

Hon Fred LI: (Translation)

That this Council urges the Government to adopt positive measures to expeditiously implement the full liberalization of the local and external telecommunications and television markets, so as to enhance Hong Kong's status as a communications and broadcasting hub of the Asia-Pacific region.

Amendments to Hon Fred LI's motion

1. Hon Mrs Selina CHOW: (Translation)

To delete "positive measures to expeditiously implement the full" and substitute with "a prudent approach and to take into account the market environment and the overall development of the telecommunications, filming and television industries in Hong Kong when making arrangements for the"; and to delete "enhance" from "so as to enhance" and substitute with "ensure the provision of a level playing field to facilitate healthy competition in the telecommunications and television markets in Hong Kong, thereby offering genuine choices for the public and enhancing".

2. Hon MA Fung-kwok: (Translation)

To add ", on the premise of ensuring the provision of a level playing field," after "That"; and to add "; the Government should also adopt necessary measures to ensure that the operators in the telecommunications industry are committed to the industry's development in Hong Kong, and that the operators in the broadcasting industry can promote the overall development of local culture and the filming, television and phonographic industries" after "communications and broadcasting hub of the Asia-Pacific region".

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting

Clerk to the Legislative Council