A 99/00-24(1)

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 5 April 2000 at 2:30 pm


I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
1.Tax Reserve Certificates (Rate of Interest) (No.3) Notice 2000

73/2000
2.Port Control (Cargo Working Areas) (Amendment) (No.2) Regulation 1999 (L.N. 279 of 1999) (Commencement) Notice 2000

74/2000
3.Discovery Bay Tunnel Link Regulation (Cap. 520 sub.leg.) (Commencement) Notice 2000

75/2000

Other Papers

1. No.86 -Estimates for the year ending 31 March 2001General Revenue Account Summaries and Revenue Analysis by Heads and Subheads
(to be presented by Financial Secretary)

2. No.87 -Employees Retraining Board 98-99 Annual Report
(to be presented by Secretary for Education and Manpower)

3. No.88 -Audited Statement of Accounts of the Language Fund together with the Director of Audit's Report for the year ended 31 August 1999
(to be presented by Secretary for Education and Manpower)

II. Questions for Written Replies

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

It was reported that only occupation certificates instead of occupation permits had been issued in respect of some residential units of Fairview Park in Yuen Long, resulting in some owners being unable to sell their properties. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the respective legal effects of an occupation permit and an occupation certificate;

  2. whether there are any differences in terms of building specifications and titles between residential units issued with occupation permits and those with occupation certificates; if so, of the details;

  3. of the respective numbers of residential units of Fairview Park issued with occupation permits and occupation certificates, and the reasons for some residential units having been issued with occupation certificates only; and

  4. of the measures in place to dispel legal concerns among owners of those residential units issued with occupation certificates only?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Planning and Lands

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

The Administration plans to provide funding for non-governmental welfare organizations in lump sums, instead of its current practice of basing the funding on their actual expenditure. The management of some welfare organizations has stated that the new subvention system will compel them to cut their staff's salaries and benefits. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it has studied if the new subvention system is in breach of Article 144 of the Basic Law, which stipulates that "Staff members previously serving in subvented organizations in Hong Kong may remain in their employment in accordance with the previous system"; if it is not, of the detailed justifications?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

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

Regarding assistance given to the disadvantaged groups to promote their understanding and use of information technology ("IT"), will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether it knows the number and percentage of activity centres for the elderly in Hong Kong which are installed with computers for use by the elderly, and the total number of computers made available to the elderly for access to the Internet in such centres; and

  2. of its policy on assisting the disadvantaged groups in understanding and using IT, and the measures to implement the policy?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

4. Hon Emily LAU to ask:

Will the Executive Authorities inform this Council whether the Independent Commission Against Corruption has recommended to journalists associations that journalists who specialize in reporting news about the stock market and who at the same time also participate in share trading should declare their interests; if so, of the details of the recommendations; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Chief Secretary for Administration

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

The Government plans to provide buyers a 20-year guarantee in respect of the structural safety of the public housing units in Tin Shui Wai when launching them in future, which is twice the length of the current 10-year guarantee period. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it will consider extending the guarantee period:

  1. to other Home Ownership Scheme ("HOS") estates that have already been occupied or are about to be completed; if so, of the criteria it will adopt in determining the HOS estates to be covered; and

  2. to other HOS estates where structural problems have already been identified, such as Kam Fung Court in Ma On Shan and Tong Ming Court in Tseung Kwan O; if not, of the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing

6. Hon Christine LOH to ask:

With reference to the on-going studies to construct Route 7 to connect Aberdeen with Kennedy Town and the Government's stated transport policy of using railways as the first choice to meet passenger traffic demand wherever practicable, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the respective costs incurred so far on the feasibility, engineering and environmental studies conducted specifically on Route 7;

  2. of the estimated volume and proportion of traffic for Route 7 attributable to goods vehicles and private vehicles respectively;

  3. whether it has assessed if the construction of Route 7 is consistent with Government policy of discouraging the use of private cars on roads;

  4. whether it has conducted any feasibility studies on constructing the Mass Transit Railway South Island line ("the railway") as an alternative to Route 7; if so, of the respective costs of the feasibility, engineering and environmental studies to be conducted on the railway option; if not, the reasons for that;

  5. whether the reduction in volume of traffic attributable to private cars on existing roads in the Southern District, estimated to be brought about by the railway upon completion, will adequately accommodate the growth in freight traffic in the district;

  6. whether it has compared the direct costs to the Government of Route 7 and the railway; if so, of the details of the costs;

  7. of the criteria it uses to evaluate the highway and railway options, and the respective weights given to each criterion; and

  8. whether, before deciding on adopting either of the two options, it will consider the overall economic impact of each option on the Southern District, including the market value of properties there; and of the economic factors that it will take into account in making the decision?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

7. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)

In the fiscal year 1998-99, the average numbers of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance ("CSSA") cases in the blind, physically disabled and mentally ill categories were 550, 4 313 and 9 668 respectively. The numbers of such CSSA cases have decreased significantly since last May, with only 291, 2 752 and 8 627 cases per month respectively, as calculated by averaging out the figures between last May and last December. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council whether:

  1. they know the reasons for the reduction in the numbers of CSSA cases in these categories during the past year; and

  2. they have graded the degree of disability of such CSSA recipients; if so,

    1. of the details of and the criteria for grading; and

    2. of a further breakdown of the CSSA cases in the above-mentioned categories, by the disability gradings assigned to the recipients, on a monthly basis since May last year?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

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

Regarding the problem of speeding among public light bus ("PLB") drivers, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the number of traffic accidents involving PLBs over the past year and of its percentage in the total number of traffic accidents that year;

  2. of the number of cases in which PLB drivers were prosecuted for speeding over the past year, with a breakdown by bands of 10 km per hour in excess of the speed limit;

  3. whether it knows if the manufacturers for various models of PLBs have conducted vehicle collision tests at the design stage; if they have, of the details;

  4. of the factors it has considered when setting the maximum dimension and weight limits for PLBs; whether it has assessed if PLBs to be installed with passenger seat belts will result in their permissible maximum dimension and weight limits being exceeded; if they will, whether it will relax such limits;

  5. whether it will step up law enforcement actions to curb speeding by PLB drivers, particularly at night or in the early hours; and

  6. whether it has explored measures to reduce the casualty rate of PLB passengers in traffic accidents?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

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

The Buildings Department plans to clear the unauthorized structures on the external walls and rooftops of 400 buildings in the current fiscal year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the geographical distribution of these 400 buildings and the number of unauthorized rooftop structures ("URSs") involved;

  2. whether it has estimated the number of URSs on these buildings in respect of which the transfers of ownership have been registered with the Land Registry;

  3. whether it will consider offering compensation on compassionate grounds to owners of URSs in respect of which the transfers of ownership have been registered; if so, of the amount of funds required for such purpose in this fiscal year; if not, the reasons for that; and

  4. whether it will consider conducting an occupancy survey before clearance for the purpose of rehousing the occupants of these URSs; if so, of the specific timetable?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Planning and Lands

10. Hon David CHU to ask: (Translation)

It was reported that the Office of the Telecommunications Authority received last month some 500 complaints from Internet users about their being unknowingly connected to overseas electronic bulletin board systems through International Direct Dial ("IDD") lines, after downloading and launching certain software according to the instructions on certain web sites in order to watch downloadable pictures and movies on the sites, and that they were thus required to pay the IDD charges incurred. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:

  1. the software the using of which will lead to the above-mentioned situation;

  2. the number, site locations and types of contents of the web sites involved in the complaints concerned; among these web sites, the number of those which had explained clearly on their web pages that users would be switched to IDD connections when the software was used; and

  3. the measures the authorities will take to caution Internet users that using certain types of software may result in the above-mentioned situation?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting

11. Hon Michael HO to ask: (Translation)

On the 3rd of last month, a fresh provision shop operator was convicted by the court of selling pork containing Clenbuterol, an asthma drug, and the conviction was the first of its kind. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the annual number of persons hospitalized after eating pork or pig offal suspected of containing Clenbuterol since 1998;

  2. of the annual number of prosecutions instituted against sellers of such pork since 1998, the current number of cases set down for hearing, the reasons for unsuccessful conviction until early last month, as well as the difficulties encountered in gathering evidence and instituting prosecutions;

  3. whether it has traced the source of the pork containing Clenbuterol sold by the fresh provision shop concerned; and

  4. of the progress of the plan to regulate the use of Clenbuterol and other chemicals by poultry farmers in feeding poultry, the relevant legislative proposals and the specific legislative timetable?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment and Food

12. Hon Eric LI to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council whether the Department of Justice, when drafting bills pertaining to the regulation of the financial market, has engaged persons who are familiar with the operation of the financial markets, such as professional accountants, to provide professional input, in order to ensure that the provisions of the bill suit the actual market situations?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Justice

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

According to the Motor Vehicles Insurance (Third Party Risks) Ordinance (Cap. 272), the owner of a motor vehicle for use on the road must take out a valid insurance policy on third party risks. However, it is understood that the Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited ("KMB") is only insured against third party risks for compensation equivalent to or in excess of a certain amount. Claims for compensation below that amount will be met by KMB itself. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

  1. KMB is allowed not to take out full insurance coverage for third party risks by virtue of Section 4(4)(c) of the above-mentioned Ordinance; if so, whether it has assessed if the exemption granted to KMB under the provision is consistent with its original legislative intent; if it is not by virtue of that provision, of the legal basis for KMB not taking out full insurance coverage for third party risks;

  2. it knows the policies and handling procedure formulated by KMB on insurance claims in relation to third party risks;

  3. it has assessed which of the following practices is fairer or more beneficial to the claimants: KMB's practice of taking out insurance in respect of third party risks versus the practice of other franchised bus companies taking out full insurance coverage; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

  4. it knows the respective numbers of claims handled by KMB and the relevant insurance company in each of the past three years; of the respective numbers of cases in which those claimants who were dissatisfied with the compensation proposals approached the KMB for negotiations, lodged complaints with government departments and claimed compensation by seeking civil remedies?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

14. Hon Bernard CHAN to ask:

There are complaints that applicants for admission to subvented residential care homes for the elderly such as hostels, homes for the aged, care-and-attention homes and nursing homes, have to wait for a long time before such places are allocated to them. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:

  1. the respective numbers of applicants for admission to various types of residential care homes who had died before places were allocated to them in the past five years;

  2. the current waiting time for admission to each type of residential care homes for the elderly; and

  3. the measures it will take to shorten such waiting time?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

15. Dr Hon David LI to ask:

According to a survey conducted by the Hong Kong Young Women's Christian Association, many teachers felt extraordinary pressure at work and found serious difficulty in helping students to handle their personal problems because they lacked the professional knowledge, skills and necessary experience in counselling. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:

  1. the progress in providing each secondary school with one school social worker; and

  2. the community resources available to teachers to assist them in coping with stress and providing counselling to students?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

III. Bills

First Reading

Revenue (No.2) Bill 2000

Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)

Revenue (No.2) Bill 2000 : Secretary for the Treasury

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

1. Appropriation Bill 2000 : Financial Secretary

(i) Proposed resolution under Rule 69(3) of the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Hon James TO to move the following motion:

RESOLVED that head 122 be reduced by $64,040,000 in respect of subhead 000.

(ii) Proposed resolution under Rule 69(3) of the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

Hon James TO to move the following motion:

RESOLVED that head 122 be reduced by $105,621,000 in respect of subhead 103.

2. Employees' Compensation (Amendment) Bill 2000 : Secretary for Education and Manpower

3. Revenue Bill 2000 : Secretary for the Treasury

IV. Motions

Proposed resolution under the Factories and Industrial Undertakings Ordinance

Secretary for Education and Manpower to move the following motion:

RESOLVED that the Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Loadshifting Machinery) Regulation, made by the Commissioner for Labour on 25 February 2000, be approved.

(Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Loadshifting Machinery) Regulation has been issued on 17 March 2000 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 709/99-00)

V. Members' Motions

Proposed resolution under Article 75 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China

Hon Mrs Selina CHOW to move the motion in the Appendix

Clerk to the Legislative Council