A 99/00-25(1)

Legislative Council

Agenda
Wednesday 12 April 2000 at 2:30 pm

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
1.Electrical Products (Safety) (Amendment) Regulation 200077/2000
2.Grant Schools Provident Fund (Amendment) Rules 200078/2000
3.Subsidized Schools Provident Fund (Amendment) Rules 200079/2000
4.Airport Authority Ordinance (Map of Restricted Area) Order80/2000
5.Organized and Serious Crimes (Amendment) Ordinance 2000 (8 of 2000) (Commencement) Notice 200081/2000
6.Hong Kong Arts Development Council (Amendment) Ordinance 2000 (9 of 2000) (Commencement) Notice 200082/2000
7.International Organizations (Privileges and Immunities) Ordinance (17 of 2000) (Commencement) Notice 200083/2000

Other Papers

1. No.89-Report of changes to the approved Estimates of Expenditure approved during the third quarter of 1999-2000 (Public Finance Ordinance : Section 8)

(to be presented by Secretary for the Treasury)

2. No.90-Report of the Broadcasting Authority September 1998 - August 1999

(to be presented by Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting)

3. No.91-Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation Annual Report 1999

(to be presented by Financial Secretary)

4. No.92-MTR Corporation Annual Report 1999

(to be presented by Financial Secretary)

5. No.93-Supplemental Report of the Public Accounts Committee on Report No. 33 of the Director of Audit on the Results of Value for Money Audits (April 2000 - P.A.C. Report No. 33B)

(to be presented by Hon Eric LI, Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, who will address the Council)

II. Questions

1. Hon Christine LOH to ask:

Given that the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited ("HKEC")is now a profit-making stock company, it has a fiduciary duty to maximize profits for its shareholders. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

  1. it has assessed if the HKEC has a conflict of interests in performing its dual functions of being a regulator to protect investors' interest (including refusing to list unsuitable companies or those with insufficient track record, the enforcement of the listing rules, and the sanctioning of listed companies for breaches of the listing rules), as well as setting a regulatory framework which is sufficiently relaxed to attract companies to listing, waiving and/or not strictly enforcing the rules, in order to maximize the profits of the HKEC;

  2. if there is a conflict of interests, the conflict is acceptable; if it is acceptable, of the rationale for it; and

  3. it knows the reasons for the United Kingdom ("UK") government's decision, in connection with the demutualization of the London Stock Exchange, to transfer on 1 May 2000 the responsibility for UK Listings and Regulation from the London Stock Exchange to the Financial Services Authority which will become the single statutory body for financial business, and whether it will follow suit in order to reduce the conflict of interests; if not, of the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services

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

With regard to the implementation of the Enhanced Productivity Programme ("EPP") by government departments and subvented organizations, will the Government inform this Council of:

  1. the government departments which have left permanent posts in their establishment vacant for one year or more and the respective numbers of such posts in each department; whether such posts have been left vacant in order to implement the EPP;

  2. the total number of government departments and subvented organizations which have cut back the number of their junior and frontline posts so as to implement the EPP, and the respective numbers of junior and frontline posts deleted in those departments and organizations; and

  3. the total number of government departments which have contracted out services originally provided by their staff to private organisations in order to implement the EPP; the respective numbers of staff thus affected in these departments and organizations, and whether all these staff have been assigned new duties?

Public Officers to reply :Secretary for the Civil Service
Secretary for the Treasury

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

At present, most of the University Grants Committee-funded tertiary institutions engage private companies as contractors to provide cleaning and security services for them. It has been reported that the employees of these companies are poorly paid and some are even denied statutory rest days. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

  1. it knows if these tertiary institutions, before deciding to engage private companies to provide cleaning and security services, had consulted their staff who had previously undertaken such work; if so, of the form and results of the consultation;

  2. the authorities concerned have issued guidelines to these institutions regarding the engagement of companies for the provision of services, requesting them to stipulate in the service contracts the maximum daily working hours for and the minimum wages payable to such employees of the service companies, and to monitor the levels of remuneration given by the service companies to such employees; and

  3. the authorities concerned will request these institutions, in selecting the service companies, to take into account the levels of remuneration offered to the relevant employees by the companies concerned; if not, of the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

4. Dr Hon YEUNG Sum to ask: (Translation)

Last month, a canopy collapsed in the course of the works to demolish unauthorized structures of a building, causing injuries to a number of passers-by. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether existing legislation stipulates that when carrying out works to demolish unauthorized structures as ordered by the authorities, the owner must engage registered specialist contractors or authorized persons to take charge of the works concerned; if not, of the reasons for that;

  2. whether, for the sake of safeguarding public safety, it will consider extending the application of the Building (Demolition Works) Regulations to cover demolition works in respect of unauthorized structures on external walls and rooftops; if so, of the implementation schedule; if not, the reasons for that; and

  3. of the measures in place to prevent the recurrence of similar accidents?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Planning and Lands

5. Hon SZETO Wah to ask: (Translation)

It is learnt that the Government is studying how Article 23 of the Basic Law can be given effect by way of legislation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the estimated timetable and current progress of the whole study and legislative process;

  2. whether, before submitting the relevant Bill to this Council, it will consult the people of Hong Kong and the Central People's Government; if it will, how and through what channels the consultations will be carried out; and

  3. whether it has studied if the definition for "foreign political organizations or bodies" in the above-mentioned Article includes those political organizations or bodies in Taiwan and the Macau Special Administrative Region?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

Will the Government inform this Council of:

  1. the respective daily average vehicular traffic of the Cross Harbour Tunnel ("CHT") at Hung Hom, the Western Harbour Crossing and the Eastern Harbour Crossing since the toll increase of CHT on 1 September last year, together with a breakdown of these figures by type of vehicles; and how these figures compare with their corresponding figures prior to the toll increase;

  2. a comparison of the actual effect of the above toll increase on easing traffic congestion at CHT with that expected by the authorities; and

  3. other measures in place to divert traffic originally destined for the CHT to other cross-harbour tunnels?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

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

It was reported that the Central People's Government was discussing with the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation a plan to link up the "Euroasia Transcontinental Bridge" with the Beijing-Kowloon Line with a view to increasing the freight volume between Europe and Asia by tapping Hong Kong's freight facilities. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

  1. it is aware of the details of the plan;

  2. it has assessed how Hong Kong's import and export trade and the overall economy will benefit from the implementation of the plan; and

  3. it will adjust the planning of local freight infrastructure in the light of the plan?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Services

*8. Hon Ambrose LAU to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council whether the Office of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in Beijing will provide support services to the Hong Kong deputies to the National People's Congress ("NPC") and Hong Kong members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference ("CPPCC") when they attend the NPC and the CPPCC in Beijing; if so, of the details; if not; the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional Affairs

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

Regarding the defence of computer systems against interference by hackers, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether the computer systems used in government departments are required to be equipped with security measures for defending against interference by hackers, as well as managed by technical staff with relevant training; if so, of the details of such requirements;

  2. of the general requirements on security measures laid down by government departments in the procurement of computer systems;

  3. in view of the paralysis of the services of several major Internet web-sites in February this year due to interference by hackers, whether it has assessed if the web-sites of various government departments can withstand similar interference and the system administrators can expeditiously locate the sources of interference in the event of such an incident; and

  4. whether it is a criminal offence for hackers to interfere with Internet web-sites?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting

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

Regarding the problem of tenants of private domestic flats defaulting on rent payments, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the number of complaints lodged by flat owners about tenants defaulting on rent payments with the relevant government departments over the past three years, and the follow-up actions taken by those departments; and whether it knows the percentage of cases in the total number of such complaints in which flat owners ultimately recovered the outstanding rents;

  2. of the progress of work and the specific proposals made by the Working Group which was set up last year by the Administration to review the procedures for repossession of domestic premises on grounds of non-payment of rent and recovery of arrears of rent; and

  3. whether the Working Group has considered proposing to the Administration the prosecution of those habitual and fraudulent rent-defaulting tenants; if not, of the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing

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

Will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:

  1. of the respective numbers of government and aided primary and secondary schools which usually make their school premises and facilities available for use by non-governmental organizations, voluntary agencies and the local community after school and on holidays; and

  2. whether, in order to encourage optimum use of such facilities, they will consider providing more resources for these schools to cover the additional expenses incurred (such as cleaning expenses, electricity fees and overtime allowance for janitors); if not, of the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

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

It was reported that a study recently conducted by an academic with the aid of new monitoring technology had found an unstable geological fault in the vicinity of Shing Mun Reservoir and it would affect the structural safety of Shing Mun Tunnel. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

  1. it knows the details of that study; if so, of the follow-up actions it has taken, and whether it has assessed the credibility of that study; if it has, of the assessment results;

  2. it has collected data about the changes or movements along that fault over the past three years; if it has, whether the data have revealed that the fault poses a danger; and

  3. it has regularly inspected the geotechnical safety of the areas in the vicinity of Shing Mun Reservoir and Shing Mun Tunnel; if it has, of the following:

    1. the frequency of such inspections;

    2. the details of these inspections; and

    3. the date and the outcome of the last inspection?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Works

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

Will the Executive Authorities inform this Council whether they know:

  1. the respective numbers of senior staff (including Presidents/Vice-Chancellors, Vice-Presidents/Pro-Vice-Chancellors, Deans of Faculty, Department Heads and Heads of Research and Administration Departments) of various University Grants Committee-funded tertiary institutions currently holding remunerated directorships in outside organizations;

  2. the respective amounts of directors' fees and other benefits received last year by these persons for holding such directorships, as well as the names of the private organizations involved; and

  3. if these institutions have put in place a formal procedure for vetting and approving the applications submitted by their senior staff for holding remunerated directorships in outside organizations; if so, of the details?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

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

Will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the number of prosecutions instituted last year by the Marine Department against vessels emitting excessive smoke in the waters of Hong Kong; the number of convicted cases and the average penalties imposed by the court in such cases; and

  2. how the above figures compare with the corresponding figures in each of the previous two years?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Services

*15. Hon LEE Wing-tat to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the cremation services provided by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department ("FEHD"), will the Government inform this Council of:

  1. the average and the longest waiting times for the cremation services provided by FEHD in the past three months;

  2. the number of complaints about the prolonged waiting time for cremation services lodged with the FEHD in the past three months;

  3. its performance pledge for cremation services; and

  4. the measures in place to improve such services?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment and Food

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

Will the Government inform this Council whether it has conducted investigations to identify the road sections in the territory where more vehicles have been found emitting excessive smoke over the past three years; if it has, of the number of such road sections, the number of roadside testing operations mounted on these road sections against smoky vehicles and the effectiveness of these operations; if it has not, of the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment and Food

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

"IDC/World Times Information Society Index" ("ISI") measures the ability of a country or territory to access and absorb information and information technology, by reference to 23 variables which come under four infrastructure categories, namely computer infrastructure, Internet infrastructure, information infrastructure and social infrastructure. Hong Kong's ISI ranking this year is 14th. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the items among the 23 variables on which it collects relevant data regularly, and the channels through which the data are collected and the values of the variables concerning Hong Kong are released; and

  2. whether it will consider collecting data for all the 23 variables and publishing the values of the variables concerning Hong Kong?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting

*18. Hon Christine LOH to ask:

Regarding the promotion of fair competition in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council of:

  1. the criteria for selecting the trades in which anti-competitive practices should be prohibited through legislation;

  2. the advantages and disadvantages of adopting an integrated approach, backed up by relevant legislation and regulatory mechanisms, as compared to the current fragmented approach in which only selected trades are regulated; and

  3. the reasons for adopting the current fragmented approach but not an integrated approach?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Trade and Industry

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

Towards the end of last month, the roadside air monitoring stations of the Environmental Protection Department in various parts of Hong Kong recorded air pollution index readings at very high or high levels for several days in succession. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

  1. it will formulate new measures to improve air quality; if it will, of the details;

  2. it will consider introducing legislation or drawing up guidelines to require motorists to switch off the engines of their vehicles while waiting; if not, of the reasons for that; and

  3. it has conducted a survey on the months of the year and the weather conditions in which the air quality is comparatively poorer?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment and Food

*20. Dr Hon David LI to ask:

A survey commissioned by the Council on Smoking and Health found that 69% of the respondents preferred all restaurants to be smoke-free whilst 80% would patronise a smoke-free restaurant if they were to dine out with children. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it will consider introducing legislation to completely ban smoking in restaurants in order to protect the health of the public and workers in the catering industry; if so, of the implementation timetable; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

*For written reply.

III. Bills

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

Security and Guarding Services (Amendment) Bill 2000 : Secretary for Security

IV. Motions

1. Proposed resolution under the Discovery Bay Tunnel Link Ordinance
Secretary for Transport to move the following motion:

RESOLVED that the Discovery Bay Tunnel Link Bylaw, made by the Discovery Bay Road Tunnel Company Limited on 29 February 2000, be approved.

(Discovery Bay Tunnel Link Bylaw has been issued on 1 March 2000 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 645/99-00)

2. Proposed resolution under the Electricity Ordinance and Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
Secretary for Economic Services to move the following motion:

RESOLVED that the Electricity Supply Lines (Protection) Regulation, made by the Chief Executive in Council on 14 December 1999, be approved, subject to the following amendments -

  1. in section 6(1), by deleting "that there is evidence";

  2. in section 6(1)(b), by deleting "in good faith and with all due diligence" and substituting "to the standard reasonably expected of a competent person";

  3. in section 11-

    1. in subsection (7), by deleting "instructions" and substituting "direction";

    2. in subsection (8), by deleting "instruction" where it twice appears and substituting "direction".

    (Electricity Supply Lines (Protection) Regulation has been issued on 29 December 1999 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 375/99-00)

V. 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 Chinese Medicine (Fees) Regulation, published as Legal Notice No. 69 of 2000 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 29 March 2000, 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 3 May 2000.

2. Elderly persons settling in their hometown
Hon CHAN Kam-lam: (Translation)

That, as the existing policy fails to meet the needs of the elderly persons who wish to settle in their hometown, this Council urges the Government to:

  1. extend the 'Portable Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme' (PCSSA) to places on the Mainland outside Guangdong;

  2. address the need for medical services of the elderly PCSSA recipients who settle in the Mainland;

  3. explore actively the feasibility of establishing 'estates for the elderly' in those Mainland cities in which more elderly persons choose to settle; and

  4. abolish the absence rule on old age allowance received by the elderly persons who settle in their hometown.

Amendments to Hon CHAN Kam-lam's motion

  1. Hon CHOY So-yuk:
    2.  (Translation)

    To add "and relax the requirement, that applicants under the Scheme must have been in receipt of CSSA for at least three consecutive years, to at least one year" after "to places on the Mainland outside Guangdong".

  2. Hon Fred LI:
    3. (Translation)

    To delete "abolish" from "abolish the absence rule on old age allowance received by the elderly persons who settle in their hometown" and substitute with "review".

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Health and Welfare

3. Sexual violence
Hon James TO: (Translation)

That, as the problem of sexual violence has all along been neglected in Hong Kong and there has been a lack of integrated measures to appreciate the actual situation, provide services, render legal protection and train the supporting personnel, resulting in appropriate assistance not being effectively provided to the victims, this Council urges the Government to:

  1. provide comprehensive and timely "one-stop" emergency support service, and enhance the training of relevant professionals;

  2. conduct a study on the issue and collate the relevant data;

  3. review and amend the relevant legislation and procedures; and

  4. step up community publicity, school education and the control of obscene and indecent articles, so as to enhance public awareness and prevent the occurrence of sexual violence.

Amendment to Hon James TO's motion
Hon Emily LAU: (Translation)

To add "expeditiously set up an inter-departmental working group to enable the relevant government departments to work in conjunction with non-government organizations, so as to" after "this Council urges the Government to".

Public Officers to attend:Secretary for Security
Secretary for Health and Welfare

Clerk to the Legislative Council