A 99/00-12(1)

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 15 December 1999 at 2:30 pm


I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation L.N. No.
1.Electoral Affairs Commission (Printing of Name of Organization and Emblem on Ballot Paper) (Legislative Council) Regulation

306/99
2.Electoral Affairs Commission (Registration) (Electors for Functional Constituencies) (Voters for Subsectors) (Members of Election Committee) (Legislative Council) (Amendment) Regulation 1999

307/99
3. Clubs (Safety of Premises) (Exclusion) (Amendment) (No. 2) Order 1999

308/99
4. Designation of Libraries (Regional Council Area) Order 1999

309/99
5. Road Traffic (Traffic Control) (Designation of Prohibited and Restricted Zones) Notice

310/99
6. Social Workers Registration (Specification of Relevant Matter) Notice

311/99
7. Tate's Cairn Tunnel Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule) Notice 1999

312/99
8. Midwives Registration (Amendment) Ordinance 1997 (61 of 1997) (Commencement) (No.2) Notice 1999

313/99
9. Midwives Registration (Fees) Regulation (L.N. 281 of 1999) (Commencement) Notice 1999

314/99
10. Midwives (Registration and Disciplinary Procedure) Regulation (L.N. 300 of 1999) (Commencement) Notice 1999

315/99
11.Midwives Registration (Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulation (L.N. 301 of 1999) (Commencement) Notice 1999

316/99

Other Papers

1.No.43-Queen Elizabeth Foundation for the Mentally Handicapped Report and Accounts 1998-99
(to be presented by Secretary for Health and Welfare)

2.No.44-Emergency Relief Fund
Annual Report by the Trustee for the year ending on 31 March 1999
(to be presented by Secretary for Health and Welfare)

3.No.45-Social Work Training Fund
Thirty-eighth Annual Report by the Trustee for the year ending on 31 March 1999
(to be presented by Secretary for Health and Welfare)

4.No.46-The Accounts of the Lotteries Fund 1998-99
(to be presented by Secretary for the Treasury)

5.No.47-Report of changes to the approved Estimates of Expenditure approved during the second quarter of 1999-2000
(Public Finance Ordinance : Section 8)
(to be presented by Secretary for the Treasury)

6.No.48-Consumer Council
Annual Report 1998-99
(to be presented by Secretary for Trade and Industry)

7.No.49-Hong Kong Housing Authority
Annual Report 1998/99
(to be presented by Secretary for Housing)

8.No.50-Hong Kong Housing Authority Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 1999
(to be presented by Secretary for Housing)

9.No.51-Equal Opportunities Commission
Annual Report 1998/99
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

10.No.52-Grantham Scholarships Fund
Annual Report for the year 1 September 1998 to 31 August 1999
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

11.No.53-Report of the Brewin Trust Fund Committee on the Administration of the Fund for the year ended 30 June 1999
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

12.No.54-The Sir Murray MacLehose Trust Fund
Trustee's Report for the period 1 April 1998 to 31 March 1999
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

13.No.55-Report of the Chinese Temples Committee on the administration of the Chinese Temples Fund for the year ended 31 March 1999
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

14.No.56-Report of the Chinese Temples Committee on the administration of the General Chinese Charities Fund for the year ended 31 March 1999
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

15.No.57-Revised list of works of the Provisional Regional Council for the 1999/2000 financial year (during the second quarter ended 30 September 1999)
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

16.No.58-Revised list of works of the Provisional Urban Council for the 1999/2000 financial year (during the second quarter ended 30 September 1999)
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

17.Report of the Bills Committee on Adaptation of Laws (No.10) Bill 1999
(to be presented by Hon Andrew WONG, Chairman of the Bills Committee)

II. Questions

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

It was reported that, according to the results of a laboratory test on the levels of lead, cadmium, zinc and copper contents in the soil, the levels of cadmium content in all the 56 soil samples taken from the parks in the urban areas were higher than the relevant international standards. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether the Housing Department, Urban Services Department, Regional Services Department, Agriculture and Fisheries Department and other departments concerned carry out tests regularly on the contents of toxic metals in the soil of the parks under their management; if they do, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

  2. of the maximum allowable levels of toxic metal contents in the fertilizers and pesticides used in the parks, as stipulated by these departments; and

  3. of the plans to reduce the excessive level of cadmium content in the soil of the parks in urban areas?

Public Officers to reply: Secretary for Home Affairs
Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands
Secretary for Health and Welfare

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

With regard to addressing the special needs of the blind or visually-impaired persons in respect of new information technology ("IT") products and services, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the estimated respective numbers of blind or visually-impaired persons in Hong Kong at present;

  2. whether it knows how the blind or visually-impaired persons may be assisted in accessing information on the Internet and whether it has allocated any funding for the provision of such assistance; if it has, of the amount of funds allocated in the past year; if not, whether it will consider allocating such funds; and

  3. whether it will consider enacting codes of practice or legislation to require licensees of telecommunications services to give due consideration to the needs of the blind or visually-impaired persons before introducing new IT products or services?

Public Officers to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare
Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting

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

Regarding the implementation of the policy on the medium of instruction and its development, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. how it assesses the effectiveness of teaching and learning in the medium of instruction permitted by the Education Department ("ED"), in secondary schools;

  2. whether the ED has any plans to terminate the inspection of secondary schools for the purpose of monitoring the use of the permitted medium of instruction in teaching; if it has, of the reasons and the implementation date; and

  3. of the studies conducted by the ED, the Board of Education, the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research and other educational advisory bodies on the policy on the medium of instruction; of the current progress and findings of such studies; and whether the Administration will announce the findings of such studies?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

4. Hon Bernard CHAN to ask: (Translation)

It was reported that the Administration was considering the introduction of a mandatory scheme to require building owners to take out third party insurance for their buildings to ensure that, in case accidents occur within the precincts of their buildings, the people affected by the accidents can be compensated. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of the details of the scheme, the implementation timetable and the difficulties anticipated in implementing such a scheme?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

It is learnt that the Administration plans to designate a site beside the sewage treatment works on Lee Nam Road on Ap Lei Chau as a temporary material transfer station in order to tie in with the construction work of the Cyberport. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the reasons for choosing the location and the duration of the use of the site for such purpose; and

  2. whether it has assessed the impact of the vehicles travelling to and from the transfer station on the air quality and noise level in the vicinity, as well as their impact on the traffic moving to, from and on the island, when the transfer station comes into operation?

Public Officers to reply : Secretary for Works
Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting

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

Regarding Shue Yan College's bid to become the first private university, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether it knows the reasons for Shue Yan College not being accreditated as a degree-awarding university by the Hong Kong Council for Academic Accreditation ("HKCAA") in 1996; of the requirements and procedure the College needs to fulfil and undergo before it can become a university; 　

  2. whether it will bear the costs incurred by the HKCAA in assessing the College's academic standards in the future; if not, the reasons for that; and 　

  3. of its policies on the development of private universities in Hong Kong; whether it has received any application so far for establishing a private university; if so, of the details of the applications?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

*7. Dr Hon YEUNG Sum to ask: (Translation)

It was reported that an unemployed person stole some food from a supermarket because he had no money to buy food while the Social Welfare Department ("SWD") was processing his application for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance ("CSSA"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the average time taken by the SWD to vet and approve CSSA applications submitted by unemployed persons at present; whether the SWD has made any performance pledge in this respect; if it has, of the details;

  2. of the assistance rendered by the SWD to CSSA applicants while their applications are being considered; and

  3. whether it has established a contingency fund to offer cash assistance to CSSA applicants in need while their applications are being considered; if it has, of the amount paid out and the number of cases involved in each of the three months before and after the implementation of the recommendations in the Review of the CSSA Scheme on 1 June this year?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

*8. Hon LAU Wong-fat to ask: (Translation)

One of the amendments in the Post Office (Amendment) Regulation 1999 which has been passed by this Council empowers the Postmaster General to issue money orders for payment in a place outside Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:

  1. the progress of the negotiation between the Hong Kong Post Office ("HKPO") and the State Post Bureau on the development of a reciprocal remittance service; and

  2. the difficulties, as noted by the authorities concerned in the course of the negotiation, that need to be overcome in the provision of the service for money orders payable in the Mainland, and when the HKPO plans to introduce this service?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Services

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

The Government advised the Panel on Information Technology and Broadcasting of this Council in May this year that it would, after taking into account the findings of the survey on the operation of the Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance (Cap. 390) and in the light of the operational experience of the enforcement agencies, formulate proposals to improve the Ordinance and other related regulatory measures and would consult the public on such proposals by the end of the year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether it has completed the formulation of the relevant proposals; if so, of the contents of the proposals; if not, the timing for its completion;

  2. when the public consultation will be conducted and the issues that will be covered in the consultation; and

  3. when it plans to submit the legislative proposals to this Council?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting

*10. Hon David CHU to ask: (Translation)

It was reported that, according to the findings of a survey conducted among students of primary and secondary schools, 10% of the respondents claimed to have intimate friends of the other sex and 3% admitted having had sex before. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether it knows the total number of cases reported to the authorities and relevant organizations in the past three years regarding primary and secondary school students having sex with others; the number among these cases which involved pregnancies; and the number of persons prosecuted for having sex with girls under the age of 16;

  2. whether it has plans to step up publicity to arouse primary and secondary school students' awareness of the legal consequences of having sex with girls under the age of 16; and

  3. as the existing Control of Obscene and Indecent Articles Ordinance (Cap. 390) fails to effectively prevent access of the primary and secondary school students to publications containing pornographic materials, of the remedial measures it will take?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

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

It was reported that, in each of the past six years, there were theft cases in which jewellery was stolen from exhibitors participating in an annual international jewellery exhibition held in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the total number of theft cases occurring in exhibition venues during the jewellery exhibitions held in Hong Kong, and the estimated total value of jewellery stolen in the past three years;

  2. whether it knows if the perpetrators of such crimes were local residents; if they were not, the places they came from; and

  3. of the measures taken by the police to deter such crimes?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

On the 22nd last month, a fire broke out at an unauthorised stall in the rear lane of a building in Yau Ma Tei, resulting in nine residents of that building being killed or injured. It was reported that long before the incident, the Owners' Corporation of the building had approached various Government departments time and again for assistance in relation to these unauthorized rear lane structures. However, because the unauthorised stalls were classified as not posing an immediate danger, the various Government departments concerned offered no real assistance. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the Government departments that have received requests for assistance or complaints regarding the unauthorized structures in the rear lane of that building, lodged by the Owners' Corporation or the property management company concerned over the past three years, the time when such requests or complaints were received, and the follow-up actions taken by the Government departments concerned;

  2. of the coordinating mechanism among the various Government departments for enforcement against unauthorized structures;

  3. whether it has estimated the present number of unauthorized structures in rear lanes in the territory; and

  4. how it determines which of the unauthorized structures pose no immediate danger; and of the policy on handling this type of unauthorized structures?

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

*13. Dr Hon David LI to ask:

It was reported that about 40% of the children of the respondents to a survey had been subjected to violence and verbal abuses. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:

  1. the respective numbers of cases reported to the authorities concerned in the past three years involving students fighting, bullying, causing bodily harm to and verbally abusing other students at school; and

  2. the details of the guidelines issued to school teachers or social workers on handling such cases?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

*14. Hon Emily LAU to ask:

In reply to my question on 12 May this year, the Secretary for Health and Welfare informed this Council that the Department of Health would examine how to enhance the regulatory measures to ensure that genetically-modified ("GM") foods are safe for human consumption, and that the Administration was collecting information in regard to the labelling requirements for GM foods in other territories. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:

  1. of the progress of and findings in the examination of ways to enhance the regulation of GM foods;

  2. of the details of the information collected on the labelling requirements for GM foods; and

  3. whether it has plans to introduce labelling requirements for GM foods sold in Hong Kong; if it has, of the specific timetable; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

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

On 22 August this year, an aircraft of China Airlines crashed on the runway while landing at the Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok, resulting in a number of casualties. After the accident, the Airport Authority ("AA") had to repair the section of the runway damaged in the accident and 43 sets of landing lights and remove the aircraft wreckage. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether it knows if AA has claimed the relevant expenses from the airline company concerned; if AA has done so, of the items involved and the amount claimed in respect of each item, and the progress of the claims; if AA has not done so, of the reasons for that; and

  2. of the number of aircraft accidents at Kai Tak Airport in its last five years of operation and, in respect of each accident, the expenses incurred by the Civil Aviation Department on the recovery work and the amounts recovered from the airline companies concerned?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Services

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

It is learnt that upon receipt of a complaint from an insurance policyholder relating to the refusal of his insurer to settle the claim, the Insurance Claims Complaints Bureau will refer the case to the insurer concerned for a reply. If the insurer maintains its position, the Bureau will refer the case to its Honorary Secretary for an objective assessment. If the Honorary Secretary is not in favour of the insurer's position, the Bureau will refer the case to the insurer for reconsideration. If the insurer still maintains its position, the case will be referred to the Insurance Claims Complaints Board ("the Board") under the Bureau for deliberation and adjudication. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:

  1. the number of complaints received by the Bureau in the past three years, with a breakdown of such cases by different types of insurance policies; and

  2. of these complaints,

    1. the respective numbers of cases in which insurers settled the claims upon the first and the second referrals; and the number of cases in which insurers settled the claims after the Board's adjudication;

    2. the average amount of compensation adjudicated by the Board and how this amount compares to the average amount claimed by the policyholders concerned;

    3. a breakdown of these cases by the types of disputes, including coverage of the insurance policies, information required to be disclosed by policyholders in taking out insurance, determination of the amount of compensation to be awarded and interpretation of other terms in the policies; and

    4. the number of cases which were rendered invalid by the Bureau without making the above-mentioned referrals or seeking adjudication by its Board; and the rationale for the Bureau making such decisions?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services

*17. Hon Christine LOH to ask:

With regard to the social impacts of Government policies and programmes, will the Government inform this Council whether:

  1. it has conducted detailed social impact assessments ("SIAs") on any Government policy or programme; and

  2. it plans to conduct detailed SIAs on all major policies and programmes in future; if so, whether

    1. in particular, it will conduct detailed SIAs in respect of the Disney theme park project and urban renewal programmes; and

    2. in conducting SIAs, it will use the social sustainability indicators developed in the Study on Sustainable Development for the 21st Century;

if not, the reasons for that?

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

*18. Hon Emily LAU to ask:

It was reported that Mr LI Hiu-ming, who is a Hong Kong resident holding a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region passport, was recently tried in a court in Zhejiang Province as a mainlander of Shenzhen after being detained on the Mainland for more than a year. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council whether they are aware of the details of the case, and whether they have enquired with the relevant Mainland authorities about the reason for trying a Hong Kong resident as a mainlander?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

In view of a number of recent cases in which members of the public suffered financial losses as a result of suspected professional misconduct on the part of practising solicitors, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether it knows

    1. the total number of prosecutions against practising solicitors for fraudulent acts, and the number of cases in which the offenders were convicted by the court;

    2. the total number of civil proceedings for damages instituted by members of the public who suffered financial losses as a result of negligence or fraudulent acts on the part of practising solicitors, and the number of cases in which the court ruled in favour of the plaintiffs, as well as the average amount of damages awarded; and

    3. the respective numbers of inquiries and investigations conducted by the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal of the Law Society of Hong Kong into matters relating to the professional conduct of practising solicitors, together with a breakdown of substantiated cases by the form of disciplinary actions (including striking the name of the solicitor off the roll of solicitors, suspension of practice, permitting practice subject to conditions, payment of a penalty and censure) taken by the Tribunal against solicitors who were found guilty of professional misconduct;

    in the past three years; and

  2. of the measures in place, while honouring the principle of self-regulation by professions, to strengthen protection for the clients of solicitors?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Justice

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

At present, about half of the whole-day primary school students order lunch through their schools and most of the food containers used are made of styrofoam. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether it plans to compile statistics on the amount of such styrofoam-container waste discarded each year by primary schools in Hong Kong; if not, the reasons for that;

  2. of the number of whole-day primary schools where facilities are available to students for washing their tableware, and its percentage in the total number of whole-day primary schools; and

  3. of the difficulties encountered in implementing measures to reduce styrofoam waste in schools?

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

*For written reply.

III. Bills

First Reading

1. Landlord and Tenant (Consolidation) (Amendment) Bill 1999

2. Education (Amendment) Bill 1999

3. Drug Trafficking and Organized Crimes (Amendment) Bill 1999

Second Reading (Debates to be adjourned)

1. Landlord and Tenant (Consolidation) (Amendment) Bill 1999 : Secretary for Housing
2. Education (Amendment) Bill 1999 : Secretary for Education and Manpower
3. Drug Trafficking and Organized Crimes (Amendment) Bill 1999 : Secretary for Security

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

1. Adaptation of Laws (No.10) Bill 1999 : Chief Secretary for Administration
2. Industrial Training (Clothing Industry) (Amendment) Bill 1999 : Secretary for Trade and Industry

IV. Motions

Proposed resolution under the Import and Export Ordinance

Secretary for Trade and Industry to move the following motion:

RESOLVED that the Import and Export (Registration) (Amendment) Regulation 1999, made by the Chief Executive in Council on 16 November 1999, be approved.

(Import and Export (Registration) (Amendment) Regulation 1999 has been circulated on 3 December 1999 under LC Paper CB(3) 295/99-00)

V. Members' Motions

1. Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

Hon Ronald ARCULLI to move the following motion:

RESOLVED that in relation to the -

  1. Legislative Council (Registration of Electors) (Appeals) (Amendment) Regulation 1999, published as Legal Notice No. 282 of 1999;

  2. Declaration of Geographical Constituencies (Legislative Council) Order 1999, published as Legal Notice No. 283 of 1999; and

  3. (Electoral Affairs Commission (Registration of Electors) (Geographical Constituencies) (Legislative Council) (Amendment) Regulation 1999, published as Legal Notice No. 284 of 1999,

and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 24 November 1999, 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 5 January 2000.

2. Long-term transport strategy for Hong Kong

Hon Mrs Miriam LAU: (Translation)

　 That, in order to develop a safe, comfortable, environmentally-friendly and efficient transport system which matches the growth of Hong Kong's population and economy in the 21st century, this Council urges the Government, in implementing the various proposals contained in 'Hong Kong Moving Ahead: A Transport Strategy For The Future', to provide a new transport infrastructure in a timely manner to match population growth; to conduct people-oriented transport and town planning to promote harmony between people and the environment; to optimize the use of space to achieve separation of pedestrian and vehicular traffic; to provide sufficient support facilities to facilitate freight movements; to maximize the functions of various public transport means and ensure that they have room for development individually; to promote fair competition among different means of public transport to provide choices for the public; and to formulate a timetable for implementing the proposals in the transport strategy, as well as to further explore other forward-looking and innovative initiatives to complement the inadequacies in the existing proposals.

Amendments to Hon Mrs Miriam LAU's motion

(i) Hon Christine LOH: (Translation) 　

To delete ", in implementing the various proposals contained in 'Hong Kong Moving Ahead: A Transport Strategy For The Future', to provide a new transport infrastructure in a timely manner to match population growth;" and substitute with "to truly promote a rail-based transport system by fairly evaluating roads versus railways on an economic as well as financial basis and transferring the responsibility for railway development out of Highways Department;"; to delete "conduct" from "conduct people-oriented transport and town planning" and substitute with "promote"; to delete "to promote harmony between people and the environment; to optimize the use of space to achieve" and substitute with "by increasing"; to add "through provision of more street level pedestrianization schemes; to optimize the use of space by putting roads underground wherever possible" after "separation of pedestrian and vehicular traffic"; and to delete "provide sufficient support facilities to facilitate freight movements to maximize the functions of various public transport means and ensure that they have room for development individually; to promote fair competition among different means of public transport to provide choices for the public; and to formulate a timetable for implementing the proposals in the transport strategy, as well as to further explore other forward-looking and innovative initiatives to complement the inadequacies in the existing proposals" and substitute with "promote environmentally-friendlier modes of freight transport such as rail and off-peak hour road deliveries; to manage road traffic growth through road pricing or other traffic management measures; to promote public transport through the use of Intelligent Transport Systems; and to implement the recommendations of the Strategic Environmental Impact Assessment for the Third Comprehensive Transport Study to avoid the projected deteriorating environmental quality resulting from the current transport strategy".

(ii) Hon Albert HO: (Translation)

To add "; this Council also urges the Government to play a more proactive monitoring role in Hong Kong's transport strategy to ensure that the quality of public transport services and the levels of fares are reasonable, so as to safeguard the interests of the public" after "to complement the inadequacies in the existing proposals".

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Transport

3. Opposing the legalization of gambling on football matches

Hon YEUNG Yiu-chung: (Translation) 　 That this Council opposes the legalization of gambling on football matches, and urges the Government to step up enforcement actions and enhance public education, so as to effectively combat illegal gambling on football matches.

Amendment to Hon YEUNG Yiu-chung's motion

Hon CHOY So-yuk: (Translation)

To delete "opposes" and substitute with "urges the Government to carefully study and consider the views of the public, including conducting opinion surveys to gauge public opinion, before deciding on"; and to delete ", and" after "gambling on football matches" and substitute with "; in the meantime, this Council".

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Home Affairs


Clerk to the Legislative Council