A 99/00-28(1)

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 17 May 2000 at 2:30 pm

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
1.Security and Guarding Services (Fees) (Amendment) Regulation 2000134/2000
2.Security and Guarding Services (Licensing) (Amendment) Regulation 2000135/2000
3.Mass Transit Railway Ordinance (13 of 2000) (Commencement) Notice 2000136/2000

Other Papers

1. No.99 -Audited Statement of Accounts of the Quality Education 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)

2. No.100 -Report on the Administration of the Fire Services Welfare Fund together with the Director of Audit's Report and Audited Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31 March 1999

(to be presented by Secretary for Security)

3. No.101 -Report by the Trustee of the Correctional Services Children's Education Trust for the period 1st September 1998 to 31st August 1999

(to be presented by Secretary for Security)

4. Report of the Bills Committee on District Court (Amendment) Bill 1999

(to be presented by Hon Margaret NG, Chairman of the Bills Committee)

II. Questions

1. Hon Andrew WONG to ask: (Translation)

Regarding improvements to train services, will the Government inform this Council whether it will request the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation to:

  1. install retrofitting platform screen doors at railway stations to enhance passenger safety;

  2. install air-conditioning systems on railway platforms to provide passengers with a more comfortable environment while waiting for trains in summer; and

  3. construct roof covers above the rails between platforms so that passengers need not open their umbrellas while boarding and getting off the train on rainy days?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

2. Hon Martin LEE to ask: (Translation)

On the 20th day of last month, some students who participated in the procession and petition organized by the Hong Kong Federation of Students were interrogated and had their identity cards inspected by police officers on the street and inside Mass Transit Railway stations immediately after the petition was over. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the purpose of and use for the Police's interrogating the participants of the procession and petition and inspecting their identity cards;

  2. of the criteria the Police adopts for random checking the identity cards of members of the public in public places; and

  3. how the Police handle the personal data obtained from stopping and inspecting the identity cards of members of the public in public places?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

Regarding the means to preserve the views of the ridgelines along both sides of the Victoria Harbour, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether, since the relocation of the airport from Kowloon City, there are newly or almost completed buildings located in areas where height restriction had previously been in force for aviation safety reasons which are blocking or will block the view of the ridgelines of the Lion Rock; and

  2. whether there are policies or concrete plans for retaining the visibility of the Kowloon ridgelines from the former HMS Tamar of the Admiralty on Hong Kong Island; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Planning and Lands

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

In the early hours of the 4th this month, an underground potable water pipe in Cheung Sha Wan burst. The outpour of water and mud caused serious flooding and as a result, traffic in the vicinity was disrupted for several hours during the peak hours in the morning. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the reasons for the bursting of the relevant water pipe;

  2. whether the Water Supplies Department staff providing emergency services outside office hours are on shift duty or on-call at home; and

  3. whether underground potable water pipes are regularly inspected, maintained and replaced; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Works

5. Hon Andrew CHENG to ask: (Translation)

At present, in stipulating the fares of franchised bus routes, the authority concerned classifies individual routes into groups before considering such factors as journey distance and whether air-conditioned buses should be deployed to provide services. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:

  1. the criteria used for determining the respective groups to which the individual routes operated by the Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited belong, especially in regard to Kowloon urban routes, New Territories urban routes, New Territories rural routes or New Territories recreation routes;

  2. the criteria used for determining the respective groups to which individual routes operated by other franchised bus companies belong, in regard to urban routes, suburban routes, New Territories routes or recreation routes; and

  3. the time when these criteria were first adopted and whether it will review these criteria; if so, of the timetable; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

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

Regarding the redundancy scheme announced by China Light and Power Company Limited ("CLP") in late March and the prevention of redundancy by franchised public utility companies, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the government departments involved in mediating the labour dispute arising from CLP's redundancy act and the mediation process and outcome thereof;

  2. whether contingency measures have been drawn up to minimize the inconvenience to the industrial and commercial sectors and the general public when problems with electricity supply arise due to the industrial actions of the CLP staff; and

  3. whether the Government has asked CLP and other franchised public utility companies to avoid large-scale redundancy; if not, whether it will consider including such terms in new franchise agreements; if it will not, of the rationale for that?

Public Officers to reply : Secretary for Economic Services
Secretary for Education and Manpower

*7. Hon HO Sai-chu to ask: (Translation)

It was reported that staff of some residential homes for the elderly abetted elderly residents and their family members in withholding information about the assets and income of the elderly residents concerned so as to obtain the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance payments by deception. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether it has investigated if the above-mentioned cases are prevalent; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

  2. of the measures it will adopt to curb such abetting acts?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

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

It has been reported that some university students who will be graduating from medical schools this year plan to practise in Singapore as they have not been able to secure suitable jobs in public hospitals in Hong Kong. Moreover, both the starting salaries and the number of posts available for graduates in other professional disciplines (such as law, surveying, accounting and engineering) have been reducing year by year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of the measures and policies currently in place to ensure a balance in manpower supply and demand in the various professions?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

*9. Hon CHOY So-yuk to ask: (Translation)

With regard to matters relating to the removal and disposal of fixtures of newly-completed Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) flats by their owners before they move in, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether it has estimated the number of sanitary ware sets removed from newly built HOS flats and disposed of each year;

  2. of the average expenditure on disposing of a set of sanitary ware by means of landfill, including the costs of collection, transportation and landfill operation; and

  3. whether it has estimated the annual savings on landfill costs after implementing the measure to provide prospective buyers of HOS flats with three choices on fixtures and fittings?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing

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

Will the Government inform this Council of:

  1. the number of fixed penalty tickets issued to motorcycle owners for illegal parking in each of the past five years;

  2. the number of motorcycle parking spaces on residential development land at the end of each of the past five years; and

  3. the current supply and demand situations of motorcycle parking spaces in various districts in Hong Kong during rush hours and non-rush hours respectively?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

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

Will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the respective average utilisation rates in each of the past three years in respect of each of the 37 clinics under the Department of Health which had an average utilisation rate of 92% or above last year; whether it has adopted any measures, such as extending the service hours and increasing the number of consultations to enhance the services of these clinics in the past three years;

  2. how it arrived at the estimated figure of 4.76 million attendances this year at the general out-patient clinics under the Department of Health;

  3. whether it has surveyed the demand for general out-patient service in various districts; if it has, of the survey results; if it has not, of the criteria and statistics which provide the basis for determining the number of consultations, service hours and resource allocation for the general out-patient clinics in various districts; and

  4. whether it has investigated the reasons for non-urgent patients using the service of accident and emergency departments; if it has, of the investigation results and whether they are related to insufficient general out-patient services; if it has not, whether it will conduct such an investigation?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

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

Will the Government inform this Council of the number of certified public accountants engaged by the Securities and Futures Commission as at 31 March this year to undertake regulatory work, such as investigating misfeasance or misconduct in the trading of securities and futures contracts, examining the books and records of listed companies, and liaising with the certified public accountants concerned?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services

*13. Hon Howard YOUNG to ask:

Will the Government inform this Council whether it has assessed the feasibility of providing helipad facilities at Chek Lap Kok for the operation of helicopter services between Hong Kong and Macau; if the assessment result is in the positive, of its implementation plans; if the assessment result is in the negative, of the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Services

*14. Hon Christine LOH to ask:

Regarding the adverse health effects suffered by the public during periods when the Air Pollution Index ("API") reaches high levels, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether it has assessed if persons suffering from heart diseases, asthma or respiratory diseases are entitled to paid leave on days of high pollution, as they will have to venture into the streets with polluted air on the journey to work;

  2. whether, in view of the health risks associated with travelling to and from work on days of poor air quality, it plans to issue a code, similar to the Code of Practice in times of Typhoons and Rainstorms, recommending employers not to require employees to report for duty on these days unless their services are absolutely essential;

  3. of the factors it will take into consideration and their relative weights when it evaluates the proposal to close schools on days when the API is high;

  4. whether it is a breach of the Occupational Safety and Health Regulations (Cap. 509 sub. leg.) for employers to supply air to a workplace by drawing in external air which has a quality inferior to the Air Quality Objectives; and

  5. of the legal protection for workers who are required to work outdoors when the air quality is inferior to the Air Quality Objectives?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

*15. Hon Emily LAU to ask:

Will the Government inform this Council whether:

  1. it knows the details of the "Healthy City" project in Tseung Kwan O;

  2. it has assessed if the project, with its multi-disciplinary approach, is effective in promoting public health; and

  3. it will consider allocating resources to support similar projects in future?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

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

Regarding the operation of the "Autotoll" system, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether the system has been installed at all tolled roads and tunnels at present;

  2. whether it knows, in respect of each road and tunnel installed with the system, the monthly number of vehicles which passed the autotoll booths but failed to effect payment over the past three years and the amounts of tolls involved; the number of cases which involved malfunction of sensors; the main reasons for malfunction of sensors; the tunnel that had the highest rate of malfunction of sensors;

  3. whether it knows the average administrative costs involved on each occasion when the management company of the system recovers the tolls from the vehicle owners;

  4. whether it knows if the management company of that system will consider not recovering tolls from those vehicle owners who fail to effect payment because of malfunction of sensors; if this will not be considered, of the reasons for that;

  5. whether it knows the channels currently available for vehicle owners to pay the tolls in arrears; whether the management company has reviewed if such channels are sufficient and convenient; and whether it will consider providing other channels of payment, such as the Payment by Phone Service; and

  6. whether the Administration has assessed if it is fair for those vehicle owners who fail to effect payment because of malfunction of sensors to have to spend their time on making such payments?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

*17. Hon Martin LEE to ask: (Translation)

At present, the "respirable suspended particulates" concentration, in respect of which an air quality objective has been set, is measured by the weight of particulates with an aerodynamic diameter of less than 10 micrometres (known as "PM10") in every cubic metre of air. In view of the fact that the smaller the size of a particulate is, the greater impact it has on human health, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ("EPA") introduced air quality standard for PM2.5 in 1997. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. in regard to each of the districts in the territory, of the respective numbers of days since 1998 on which the 24-hour average PM2.5 pollutant concentration in the air exceeded the standard established by the EPA;

  2. whether the Environmental Protection Department has plans to commission a consultancy study on the source of PM2.5 pollutants in the territory; if it has, of the details and the timetable; and

  3. whether it will consider introducing an air quality objective based on PM2.5?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment and Food

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

Will the Government inform this Council of:

  1. the number of elderly persons who are sharing the same public housing unit or part of the facilities inside a unit with unrelated persons, together with a breakdown by housing estate and by the mode of sharing;

  2. the respective numbers of applications for transfer by such elderly tenants and approvals granted in the past three years; and

  3. the criteria adopted by the Social Welfare Department for deciding whether to recommend the transfers to the Housing Department?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing

*19. Hon Christine LOH to ask:

Will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the number and percentage of licensed researchers who filed returns under section 12 of the Animals (Control of Experiments) Ordinance (Cap. 340) last year;

  2. of the measures it has taken to ensure compliance with sections 11 and 12 of the Ordinance;

  3. whether it has assessed if the provisions of the Ordinance:

    1. are still in line with the "best practices" for carrying out experiments on animals in other jurisdictions; and

    2. are impediments to the recognition by the international scientific community of the results of researches conducted in Hong Kong; and

  4. given that the Ordinance was enacted nearly 40 years ago and with the rapid advances in scientific research methods in the past decades, whether it will consider enacting a new piece of legislation for regulating experiments on animals; if not, of the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

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

Will the Executive Authorities inform this Council whether:

  1. revisions are made regularly to the health education curricula of primary and secondary schools to tie in with the times; if so, of the relevant details, as well as the date of the last revision and the major topics incorporated; and

  2. it has plans to incorporate the healthy living objectives set by the World Health Organization into the health education curricula; if so, of the proposed timing of such incorporation; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

*For written reply.

III. Bills

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

1. District Court (Amendment) Bill 1999 : Chief Secretary for Administration
2. Air Cargo Transhipment (Facilitation) Bill 2000 : Secretary for Trade and Industry

IV. Motions

1. Proposed resolution under the Pneumoconiosis (Compensation) Ordinance
Secretary for Education and Manpower to move the following motion:

RESOLVED that the resolution made and passed by the then Legislative Council on 3 December 1980 (Cap. 360 sub. leg.) be amended in paragraphs (a) and (c) by repealing "0.3%" and substituting "0.25%".

2. Proposed resolution under the Provision of Municipal Services (Reorganization) Ordinance
Secretary for the Environment and Food to move the following motion:

RESOLVED that the Provision of Municipal Services (Reorganization) Order, made by the Chief Executive in Council on 18 April 2000, be approved.

(Provision of Municipal Services (Reorganization) Order has been issued on 25 April 2000 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 816/99-00)

3. Proposed resolution under the Dogs and Cats Ordinance and the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

Secretary for the Environment and Food to move the motion the contents of which were contained in the preliminary Agenda issued on 9 May 2000 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 852/99-00

V. Members' Motions

1. The 4 June incident
Hon SZETO Wah: (Translation)

That this Council urges that: the 4 June incident be not forgotten and the 1989 pro-democracy movement be vindicated.

2. Minimum wage
Hon LEE Cheuk-yan: (Translation)

That this Council urges the Government to legislate for the implementation of a minimum wage system, and to set up a "Low Income Commission" comprising academics and representatives of employees and employers to examine and establish the appropriate minimum wage level and details of implementation, so as to resolve the increasingly serious problem of "working poverty".

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Education and Manpower

Clerk to the Legislative Council