A 99/00-18(1)

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 16 February 2000 at 2:30 pm


I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
1.Television (Royalty and Licence Fees) (Amendment) Regulation 2000

25/2000
2.Arbitration (Amendment) Ordinance 2000 (2 of 2000) (Commencement) Notice 2000

26/2000
3.Merchant Shipping (Safety) (Amendment) Ordinance 2000 (6 of 2000) (Commencement) Notice 2000

27/2000
4.Merchant Shipping (Safety) (Cargo Ship Construction and Survey) (Ships Built Before 1 September 1984) (Amendment) Regulation 2000

32/2000
5.Merchant Shipping (Safety) (Cargo Ship Construction and Survey) (Ships Built On or After 1 September 1984) (Amendment) Regulation 2000

33/2000
6.Merchant Shipping (Safety) (Cargo Ship Safety Equipment Survey) (Amendment) Regulation 2000

34/2000
7.Merchant Shipping (Safety) (Load Line) (Amendment) Regulation 2000

35/2000
8.Merchant Shipping (Safety) (Load Lines) (Length of Ship) (Amendment) Regulation 2000

36/2000
9.Merchant Shipping (Safety) (Passenger Ship Construction and Survey) (Ships Built On or After 1 September 1984) (Amendment) Regulation 2000

37/2000
10.Merchant Shipping (Safety) (Radio Installations Survey) (Amendment) Regulation 2000

38/2000
11.Road Traffic (Traffic Control) (Amendment) Regulation 2000

39/2000
12.Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Civic Centres) (Amendment of Thirteenth Schedule) Order 2000

40/2000
13.Tax Reserve Certificates (Rate of Interest) Notice 2000

41/2000
14.Air Pollution Control (Motor Vehicle Fuel) (Amendment) Regulation 2000

42/2000
15.Licensing Appeals Board Rules

43/2000
16.Import and Export (Strategic Commodities) Regulations (Amendment of Schedule 1) Order 2000 (L.N. 2 of 2000) (Commencement) Notice 2000

44/2000

Other Papers

1. No.71-Report by the Commissioner of Correctional Services on the administration of the Prisoners' Welfare Fund for the year ended 31 March 1999
(to be presented by Secretary for Security)

2. No.72 -Audited Statement of Accounts together with the Director of Audit's Report and Trustee's Report on the Administration of the Education Scholarships Fund for the year ended 31 August 1999
(to be presented by Secretary for Education and Manpower)

3. No.73 -The Legislative Council Commission Annual Report 1998-1999
(to be presented by Chairman of the Legislative Council Commission)

4. No.74-Report of the Public Accounts Committee on the Reports of the Director of Audit on the Accounts of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for the year ended 31 March 1999 and the Results of Value for Money Audits (Report No. 33) (February 2000 - P.A.C. Report No. 33)
(to be presented by Hon Eric LI, Chairman of the Public Accounts Committee, who will address the Council)

5. No.75 -Legal Aid Services Council Annual Report 1998-99
(to be presented by Chief Secretary for Administration, who will address the Council)

6. Report of the Bills Committee on Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Bill
(to be presented by Hon Ronald ARCULLI, Chairman of the Bills Committee)

II. Questions

1. Hon Ambrose LAU to ask: (Translation)

As Hong Kong's economy and society are becoming more knowledge-based, with service industries moving towards specialization, cut-throat price wars have occurred in certain professions, hence giving the public the impression that the service quality of the professions concerned may be deteriorating. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of the measures in place to:

  1. strengthen the pre-employment and on-the-job training for local professionals and upgrade their international status in order to enhance their competitiveness;

  2. create more employment opportunities for local professionals; and

  3. safeguard the autonomy of professions in formulating their codes of practice, so as to ensure the quality of those professional services?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

2. Hon Eric LI to ask: (Translation)

Given that in performing his duties, the Director of Audit has to be directly accountable to the Chief Executive, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether an operational mechanism is in place regarding how the Director of Audit should be accountable to the Chief Executive; if so, of the implementation date and details of it; if not, of the reasons for that;

  2. of the number and contents of the meetings held between the Chief Executive and the Director of Audit since the establishment of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region; and

  3. how the independence of the work of the Director of Audit is ensured?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Treasury

3. Hon LAW Chi-kwong to ask: (Translation)

At present, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department awards Excellence in Hygiene grading certificates only to restaurants with high hygiene standards. The Department conducts inspections on these restaurants at six-week interval, and on other restaurants at two or four-week interval. It was reported that staff of the Department had tipped off a restaurant with a grading of Excellence in Hygiene prior to an inspection on the restaurant following the detection of vibrio cholera in its fish tanks. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the criteria used in determining the frequency of regular inspections on restaurants, and whether it will consider increasing the frequency of inspections on restaurants with a grading of Excellence in Hygiene to ensure that their hygiene standards meet the requirements of the grade;

  2. whether it has investigated the tipping-off incident; if so, of the outcome of the investigation; and the measures in place to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents; and

  3. whether it will consider reviewing the existing grading system or classifying all restaurants in Hong Kong into five grades according to their hygiene standards, and publishing the grading for consumers' reference?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment and Food

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

Recently, there have been sharp fluctuations in the stock prices of some listed companies engaging in the technology and Internet business. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

  1. it knows if the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong ("HKSE") has encountered any difficulties in supervising the disclosure of price sensitive information by such companies; if it has encountered difficulties, of the relevant details; whether the HKSE has any plan to strengthen supervision over the disclosure of price sensitive information by such companies, and whether it has made reference to the relevant experience and practices of regulators of overseas stock markets; if reference has been made, of the areas from which experience can be drawn;

  2. it has assessed if the present development of the Hong Kong stock market is healthy and truly reflects the performance of the local economy; if so, of the results of the assessment; and

  3. it knows if there is any plan to introduce a technology stocks index?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services

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

According to the published results of laboratory tests conducted by the Consumer Council last month on shark liver oil capsules which are claimed to be a health food product, some of the test samples were found containing polychlorinated biphenyls, a carcinogenic substance. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether it has assessed if the laws for regulating health food are adequate in protecting the right to information and the health of the public; if they are assessed as being adequate, of the rationale for that; if they are assessed as being inadequate, of the follow-up actions it will take; and

  2. of the basis used in classifying various types of health food product as food or medicine, so as to decide on the policy bureau and department which should bear the monitoring responsibility in respect of each type of health food product?

Public Officers to reply: Secretary for the Environment and Food
Secretary for Health and Welfare

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

The Government has planned to set up a Culture and Heritage Commission ("the Commission") after the dissolution of the Provisional Municipal Councils. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:

  1. the planned timetable for setting up the Commission; and

  2. the resources to be allocated to the Commission?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

Will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of a breakdown by trade of the number of industrial accidents and the accident rate in 1999; and

  2. of the number of cases among these industrial accidents which involved a breach of industrial safety legislation by employers or employees; the respective numbers of prosecutions and convicted cases; and whether it has made reference to the safety records of the employers concerned and requested the courts to impose heavier penalties on the employers who had breached the law?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

*8. Hon TSANG Yok-sing to ask: (Translation)

With regard to the disposal of vacant quarters of the University Grants Committee-funded institutions and government properties, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. if it knows the specific measures and timetable proposed by the Task Force for the disposal of the 759 staff quarters which are vacated due to the introduction of the Home Financing Scheme for eligible staff of the University Grants Committee-funded institutions;

  2. of the total number of vacant government quarters and other properties at present; the duration of these quarters and properties being left vacant and the financial losses thus incurred so far; and

  3. of the specific plans to dispose of these government properties?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Treasury

*9. Hon LEE Cheuk-yan to ask: (Translation)

The Administration implemented the recommendations contained in the Report on Review of the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance ("CSSA") Scheme on 1 June last year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether the Social Welfare Department has issued to frontline workers working guidelines on various new stipulations of the CSSA Scheme; if so:

  1. of the contents of the guidelines;

  2. whether the guidelines will be issued to social workers employed in non-governmental social service organizations for reference; if not, of the reasons for that; and

  3. whether it plans to publish the guidelines in the form of booklets so that they can be made available to CSSA applicants and the public on request; if not, of the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

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

Will the Government inform this Council of:

    a)(i)the number of residents' bus with passenger service licences operating service at the end of each year, and their percentage in the total number of non-franchised buses at that time;

    (ii)the number of such passenger service licences revoked each year on the grounds that the operators had breached the licensing conditions; and

    (iii)the number of persons prosecuted for operating residents' bus service without a licence and the number of buses involved, as well as the average penalty imposed on the convicted persons

    in the past three years; and
    b)the measures taken to crack down on the operation of a residents' bus service without a licence?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

*11. Hon WONG Yung-kan to ask: (Translation)

On the 11th last month, a tanker overturned on Tung Chung Road on Lantau Island and the accident led to a traffic gridlock between Northern and Southern Lantau for five hours. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:

  1. the current progress of the construction works of the Lantau North - South Link between Tai Ho Wan and Mui Wo; and

  2. the contingency measures available for alleviating the traffic congestion caused by traffic accidents on Tung Chung Road before the new link is open to traffic?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

*12. Hon Kenneth TING to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that the increasingly popular activities conducted through the Internet would have an impact on the revenue of the Government in the future. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

  1. the commercial and trading transactions, share trading and gambling activities conducted through the Internet have resulted in a reduction of Government's income; if so, of the estimated amount of income foregone each year; and

  2. it has studied the need for amending the relevant laws so as to plug the loopholes in this regard; if so, of the specific approach; if not, of the reasons for it?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Treasury

*13. Hon LEE Kai-ming to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that the incidence of hepatitis E in Guangdong Province last year was ten times higher than that in the preceding year, and hepatitis E virus ("HEV") was transmitted via food and physical contact. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the number of confirmed cases of hepatitis E in Hong Kong last year;

  2. whether it knows if the various medical institutions have kept reserves of HEV vaccine; if they have, of the details; if they have not, of the reasons for that; and

  3. of the measures taken to prevent the spread of the disease?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

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

Will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the number of contract staff employed by the secretariats of the two former Provisional Municipal Councils and the two former Municipal Services Departments before their dissolution; whether all the contract staff concerned have been employed by the Government upon the dissolution of these organizations; if not, the reasons for that; and

  2. whether the remuneration of the contract staff of these organizations has been adjusted upon their being employed by the Government; if so, of the number of the staff affected and the magnitude of the adjustment?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

*15. Hon Michael HO to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the services provided by the Hospital Authority ("HA") to patients, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:

    a)the service items for which fees are charged; the chargeable service items added or deleted in each of the past five fiscal years;

    b)(i) the fee payable for and average unit cost of each chargeable service item; and

    (ii) the respective numbers of cases in which fees were paid, not paid and waived, as well as the respective total amount of fees involved in these cases, and a breakdown by the type of services;

    in each of the past five fiscal years;

    c)the basis the HA used in setting the fees for such services, and the categories of persons with fees waived; and

    d)if the HA has plans to adjust the fees for such services and add chargeable service items; if it has, of the magnitudes of adjustments to be made and the achievements expected of such adjustments?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

*16. Hon James TIEN to ask: (Translation)

It was reported that the scheme to switch taxis running on diesel to Liquefied Petroleum Gas ("LPG") had received lukewarm response and owners wishing to switch to LPG taxis must obtain a quota from the Environmental Protection Department. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:

  1. the current number of LPG taxis in service;

  2. the current quota for LPG taxis, and whether restrictions are attached to some taxis approved under the quota system, such as they may be refuelled during non-peak hours only; if so, of the details and the reasons for such restrictions;

  3. the implementation timetable for providing grants to diesel taxi owners to encourage the switch from diesel to LPG; and

  4. the difficulties encountered in implementing the scheme?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment and Food

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

Regarding the project to develop the West Kowloon reclamation area into an art and entertainment district, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the current progress and timetable of the project;

  2. of the details and time-table for holding an open competition on the planning design for the district; and

  3. whether public consultation on the planning design will be conducted prior to its formal acceptance; if so, when it will be conducted; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Planning and Lands

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

Will the Government inform this Council whether, in order to assist owners' corporations ("OCs") in their work, it has plans to amend the Legal Aid Ordinance (Cap. 91) to allow eligible OCs to apply for legal aid when they are involved in civil proceedings; if it has, of the relevant eligibility requirements and conditions it will set; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Chief Secretary for Administration

*19. Dr Hon David LI to ask:

In 1999, there were 300 civil servants against whom disciplinary action for alleged misconduct was recommended by the Independent Commission Against Corruption. This figure is 61% higher than the corresponding figure in the previous year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:

  1. the reasons for the increase; and

  2. the additional measures it will adopt to tackle the problem?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Civil Service

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

The consultant commissioned by the Education and Manpower Bureau ("EMB") has completed a study on the manpower and training needs of the information technology industry in Hong Kong, and the EMB has circulated the draft final report on the study to the relevant government bureaux and departments for comments. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the current progress of preparing the report;

  2. of the schedule for reporting the results of the study to the Legislative Council and the publication thereof; and

  3. whether it has any plan to formulate relevant policies to follow up and implement the results of the study; if so, of the details and the policy formulation schedule?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

*For written reply.

III. Bills

First Reading

1. Legislative Council (Amendment) Ordinance 1999 (Amendment) Bill 2000

2. Town Planning Bill

3. Urban Renewal Authority Bill

4. Buildings (Amendment) Bill 2000

5. Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2000

6. Employees' Compensation (Amendment) Bill 2000

7. Broadcasting Bill

8. Family Status Discrimination (Amendment) Bill 2000

9. Noise Control (Amendment) Bill 2000

10. Security and Guarding Services (Amendment) Bill 2000

Second Reading (Debates to be adjourned)

1. Legislative Council (Amendment) Ordinance 1999 (Amendment) Bill 2000 : Secretary for Constitutional Affairs
2. Town Planning Bill : Secretary for Planning and Lands
3. Urban Renewal Authority Bill : Secretary for Planning and Lands
4. Buildings (Amendment) Bill 2000 : Secretary for Planning and Lands
5. Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2000 : Secretary for Transport
6. Employees' Compensation (Amendment) Bill 2000 : Secretary for Education and Manpower
7. Broadcasting Bill : Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting
8. Family Status Discrimination (Amendment) Bill 2000 : Secretary for Home Affairs
9. Noise Control (Amendment) Bill 2000 : Secretary for the Environment and Food
10. Security and Guarding Services (Amendment) Bill 2000 :Secretary for Security

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

1. Consular Relations Bill : Chief Secretary for Administration
2. Elections (Corrupt and Illegal Conduct) Bill: Secretary for Constitutional Affairs
3. Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Amendment) (No.2) Bill 1999: Secretary for Education and Manpower

IV. Members' Motions

1. Opposing the levy of a sales tax

Dr Hon YEUNG Sum: (Translation)

That this Council opposes levying a sales tax.

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for the Treasury

2. Preserving natural resources and developing leisure agriculture and fishery trades

Hon WONG Yung-kan: (Translation)

That this Council urges the Government to make its best endeavours to preserve the natural resources, create an environment for the sustainable development of agriculture and fisheries and promote the leisure agriculture and fishery trades, in order to keep in line with environmental protection and further developments in green and marine tourism, so that Hong Kong may, while preserving its natural resources, open up new dimensions in agriculture and fisheries to ensure their continued contribution to the economy of Hong Kong.

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for the Environment and Food

Clerk to the Legislative Council