A 99/00-4(1)

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 20 October 1999 and
Thursday 21 October 1999 at 2:30 pm respectively

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation	L.N. No.
1. Customs and Excise Service (Welfare Fund) Regulation	250/99
2. Fire Services Department (Welfare Fund) Regulation	251/99
3. Immigration Service (Welfare Fund) Regulation	252/99
4. Police Force (Welfare Fund) Regulation	253/99
5. Prison (Amendment) Rules 1999	254/99
6. Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Public Pleasure Grounds) (Amendment of Fourth Schedule) (No.6) Order 1999	255/99
7. Labour Tribunal (Amendment) Ordinance 1999 (25 of 1999) (Commencement) Notice 1999	256/99
8. Small Claims Tribunal (Amendment) Ordinance 1999 (28 of 1999) (Commencement) Notice 1999	257/99
9. Telecommunication (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulation 1999 (L.N. 180 of 1999) (Commencement) Notice 1999	258/99

Other Papers

1. No.12 -	Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health Annual Report 1998-1999
(to be presented by Secretary for Health and Welfare)
2. No.13 -	Companies Registry Annual Report 1998-99
(to be presented by Secretary for Financial Services)
3. No.14 -	Electrical and Mechanical Services Trading Fund Annual Report 1998/1999
(to be presented by Secretary for Works)
4. No.15 -	Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Hong Kong Annual Report 1998-99
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)
5. No.16 -	Hongkong PostAnnual Report 1998/1999
(to be presented by Secretary for Economic Services)
6. No.17 -	Statement of Accounts and Auditor's Report for the Fish Marketing Organization for the year ended 31 March 1999
(to be presented by Secretary for Economic Services)
7. No.18 -	Statement of Accounts and Auditor's Report for the Vegetable Marketing Organization for the year ended 31 March 1999
(to be presented by Secretary for Economic Services)
8. No.19 -	Marine Fish Scholarship Fund Report for the period from 1 April 1998 to 31 March 1999
(to be presented by Secretary for Economic Services)
9. No.20 -	Agricultural Products Scholarship Fund Report for the period from 1 April 1998 to 31 March 1999
(to be presented by Secretary for Economic Services)

II. Questions for Written Replies

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

The eyesight of Hong Kong children is getting worse, and students are required to spend a considerable period of time looking at the computer screen since computers are used as a teaching medium and more importance is attached to the computer science subject. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

(a)	it has issued any guidelines to schools requiring teachers to advise their students to protect their eyesight when using computers; and
(b)	it knows if schools have provided parents with knowledge to protect eyesight so that they will urge their children to protect their eyesight when using computers at home?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

2. Hon Kenneth TING to ask: (Translation)

In view of the increasingly frequent business and investment activities between Hong Kong and the Mainland, will the Government inform this Council whether the Office of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in Beijing has provided support services to Hong Kong people doing business or operating factories in the Mainland; if so, of the support services provided and the channels through which Hong Kong businessmen in the Mainland can obtain such services; if not, whether the Office will consider providing such services?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Trade and Industry

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

Will the Government inform this Council of:

(a)	the respective numbers of members of political bodies as defined in the Electoral Affairs Commission Ordinance (Cap. 541) who are currently serving as members of the following organizations:
	(i)	Board of the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation;
	(ii)	Appeal Board on Public Meetings and Processions;
	(iii)	Public Service Commission;
	(iv)	Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission;
	(v)	Board of the Mass Transit Railway Corporation;
	(vi)	Administrative Appeals Board;
	(vii)	Town Planning Board;
	(viii)	Hong Kong Housing Authority;
	(ix)	Broadcasting Authority;
	(x)	Airport Authority;
	(xi)	Hospital Authority;
	(xii)	Standing Commission on Civil Service Salaries and Conditions of Service;
	(xiii)	Area Committees;
	(xiv)	Independent Police Complaints Council;
	(xv)	Social Welfare Advisory Committee;
	(xvi)	Commission on Youth;
	(xvii)	Education Commission;
	(xviii)	Commission on Strategic Development;
	(xix)	Hong Kong Housing Society; and
	(xx)	Exchange Fund Investment Limited; and
(b)	the means to enhance the transparency of the operation of statutory organizations and advisory bodies and their members' accountability to the public?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

It has been reported that during the onslaught of typhoons, many taxi drivers and public light bus drivers demanded excessive fares from passengers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the total number of complaints received in this regard over the past three years;
(b)	of the measures adopted to curb such overcharging; and
(c)	in view of the higher risks borne by the taxi trade when operating during typhoons, whether it will consider amending the relevant legislation to permit the levy of a typhoon surcharge and set the relevant surcharge rate?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

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

Since April this year, the establishment of the Hong Kong Auxiliary Police Force ("HKAPF") has been reduced through natural wastage, and regular Police officers have been deployed to perform the beat duties previously performed by Auxiliary Police officers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	how the existing establishment of HKAPF compares to that as at 1 April 1999;
(b)	of the total number of beat duty hours performed by Auxiliary Police officers per month in the past five months, and how these figures compare to the corresponding figures for the five months preceding the last five months; and
(c)	how the situation of law and order and the number of reported crimes in Hong Kong in the past five months compare to those in the 12 months preceding that period; if there are differences, whether it has assessed if there is any correlation between such differences and the reduction of beat duties performed by Auxiliary Police officers; if such assessment has been made, the results of that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

6. Hon Christine LOH to ask:

The Administration is conducting a feasibility study on introducing an electronic road pricing ("ERP") system to Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Administration inform this Council:

(a)	of the projected number of registered vehicles, in particular that of private cars, by the end of 2011; and how these figures compare with those at the end of 1996;
(b)	whether the Administration has set down any annual maximum allowable growth rate in traffic for internal reference; if so, of the details;
(c)	of the scheduled date for submitting the report of the ERP Study to this Council;
(d)	whether the public will be consulted on the recommendations of the ERP Study; if so, of the estimated time of the consultation;
(e)	whether the Administration has decided to use ERP as a means to control traffic growth; and
(f)	of the other measures that the Administration will adopt to control traffic growth, together with an assessment of the effectiveness of such measures?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

7. Hon Howard YOUNG to ask:

I was told that the Government had decided not to extend the land lease, which will expire next year, for the landing ground for commercial helicopters in Wanchai. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it plans to provide an alternative site in the vicinity so that such a service can continue?

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

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

With regard to local educational institutions (except those funded by the University Grants Committee) which collect tuition fees in advance from students enrolling in matriculation classes, certificate or diploma courses at or above Form Five level before the new school year commences, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	whether it knows:
	(i)	the arrangements made by these educational institutions in collecting tuition fees in advance, including the determination of the percentages of the tuition fees to be paid in advance;
	(ii)	if these educational institutions will effect full or partial refund on the tuition fees paid by students who have applied for withdrawal before the commencement of the school year; and
	(iii)	the respective average percentages of students who had applied for withdrawal before the school year commenced in the past and current academic years; the respective total amounts of tuition fees that were not refunded; and
(b)	whether it will urge these educational institutions to refund the tuition fees paid by students who have applied for withdrawal before the commencement of the school year; if not, of the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

9. Hon SIN Chung-kai to ask:

According to the study entitled "Consumers@shopping: an international comparative study of electronic commerce", conducted by Consumer International, a worldwide federation of consumer organisations, consumer protections in electronic commerce should be offered in the consumer's country of residence. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	whether it is aware of the study; if so, of its assessment of the findings of the study;
(b)	whether it knows the number of complaints regarding consumer rights in electronic commerce that the Consumer Council has received in the past 12 months; if so, please provide a breakdown of the complaints by nature; and
(c)	of the action, other than enacting the Electronic Transactions Ordinance, it will take to further protect consumer rights in electronic commerce?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Trade and Industry

10. Hon Mrs Sophie LEUNG to ask: (Translation)

Refuse accumulated on the seabed may cause serious damage to marine ecology. In this regard, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	whether it has plans to conduct a comprehensive study of the refuse on the seabed and its impact on the water quality and marine ecology in the vicinity; if so, of the time to conduct the study; if not, of the reasons for that;
(b)	of the methods adopted at present to clear the refuse accumulated on the seabed; of the effectiveness of these methods; and
(c)	whether it will consider legislative amendments to substantially increase the fine for littering on the sea in order to enhance the deterrent effect?

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

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

At present, waste recovery bins are available in many public housing estates to collect several types of recyclable wastes. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:

(a)	the types of wastes and the average amount of each type collected by such waste recovery bins each month;
(b)	the government department or body responsible for handling the recovered wastes and the manpower involved; and
(c)	the treatment process of the recovered wastes?

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

12. Dr Hon LUI Ming-wah to ask: (Translation)

It is learnt that goods vehicles often have to queue up for several hours at the border for customs clearance, causing economic losses to the industrial and transport sectors in Hong Kong and the Mainland. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the reasons for cross-border goods vehicles having to queue up for a long time at the border; and
(b)	whether it has assessed if the above situation is related to the operational mode and efficiency of the border control points in Hong Kong and the Mainland;
	(i)	if it is attributable to the border control points in Hong Kong, of the improvement measures it will adopt; and
	(ii)	if it is attributable to the border control points in the Mainland, whether the HKSAR Government will discuss improvement measures with the relevant authorities on the Mainland side, with a view to shortening the customs clearance time for good vehicles?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

13. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)

It was reported that the Environmental Protection Department had found in December last year and February this year that dioxin emissions from the Chemical Waste Treatment Centre ("CWTC") on Tsing Yi Island had exceeded the standard level. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council whether they know:

(a)	the respective quantities and types of chemical waste treated by the CWTC each year since its inception;
(b)	the industries and companies which are currently the main sources of the chemical waste treated by the CWTC;
(c)	the amount of dioxin emitted by the CWTC into the ambient air, as well as the average concentration of dioxin detected in the ashes of the chemical substances incinerated, in each year since 1993; and
(d)	the handling procedure adopted by the CWTC for the collection, packing, storage, transportation and disposal of the ashes, and the measures taken in respect of each procedure to ensure the safety of workers?

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

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

It is learnt that in respect of households affected by redevelopment programmes in the past five years, the median rent-to-income ratio ("MRIR") was 13.1% upon their moving to newly completed public rental housing ("PRH") estates, whereas for the singletons and 2-person households among them, the combined MRIR was 17.9%. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	given that it is stipulated in the Housing Ordinance (Cap. 283) that the Hong Kong Housing Authority should, in determining rent adjustments, see to it that the overall MRIR of all households living in PRH estates does not exceed 10%, whether it has assessed if the setting of the rents for the above households at such levels has breached the spirit of the stipulation;
(b)	how the MRIR of households living in PRH estates is calculated at present;
(c)	of the average annual earnings and the MRIR of each category of households classified by their size, in each of the past three years; and
(d)	of the MRIR in respect of the households which were involved in the latest rent adjustment exercise for PRH?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing

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

It was reported that the Environmental Protection Department had completed the environment impact assessment report for the proposed Route 9. The Report pointed out that there are four oil tanks in the vicinity of some sections of the proposed alignment, which will pose potential risks. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the risks associated with constructing a highway adjacent to oil tanks, and its plans to handle expeditiously traffic accidents that may occur in those sections; and
(b)	whether it will adopt special designs, devices or facilities for the road sections in question to avoid traffic accidents on the highway and explosion of the nearby oil tanks affecting each other?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

16. Hon Howard YOUNG to ask:

I have received a complaint from a HKSAR passport holder who, on entering Peru this summer, had his passport kept in custody by the Peruvian immigration officials. The reason given to him was that they needed to clarify whether an entry visa was required for a HKSAR passport holder. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

(a)	it has received complaints about the difficulties encountered by HKSAR passport holders on arriving in Peru; if so, of the details of such complaints; and
(b)	it will liaise with the Consulate General of Peru in Hong Kong with a view to preventing the recurrence of such incidents?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

17. Hon Mrs Sophie LEUNG to ask: (Translation)

In April this year, the Administration submitted a preliminary proposal to control advertisement signboards to the Legislative Council Panel on Planning, Lands and Works and indicated its plan to consult the Provisional District Boards and relevant bodies on the proposal. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the views of the Provisional District Boards and relevant bodies on the following issues:
	(i)	the registration requirement for the erection of advertisement signboards;
	(ii)	the positions where advertisement signboards are permitted to be erected;
	(iii)	the permissible number of advertisement signboards on the outside wall of buildings;
	(iv)	the number of advertisement signboards that each shop is allowed to erect; and
	(v)	the persons who should be held responsible for the maintenance and removal of advertisement signboards; and
(b)	when it plans to submit the relevant legislative proposal to this Council?

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

18. Hon Christine LOH to ask:

With regard to the Government's emergency response management in natural disasters and serious accidents, such as typhoons, earthquakes, air crashes, and widespread computer breakdowns arising from the millennium bug problem, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the Government official ultimately responsible for drawing up and implementing the Government's contingency plans for such events;
(b)	whether the Administration, in drawing up these plans, has made reference to similar plans in other countries;
(c)	of the tideover plans that the Administration has in respect of food and water reserves, emergency shelters, utility reserves etc., and whether such plans are open to inspection by the public;
(d)	whether the Administration's contingency and tideover plans involve non-governmental organizations and community leaders; if not, of the reasons for that; and
(e)	whether these plans have been tested for effectiveness; if so, how they were tested?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

19. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the supply of potable water to Hong Kong, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:

(a)	whether they know the progress of the construction of a closed aqueduct running from the upper reaches of Dongjiang to Shenzhen;
(b)	whether they know if the Mainland authorities have assessed whether the pollution along the middle and lower reaches of Dongjiang will worsen after the closed aqueduct is commissioned; if so, of the predicted scenario and the remedial measures to be taken;
(c)	whether they have discussed with the Mainland authorities other measures to improve the quality of Dongjiang water;
(d)	whether they have considered exploring with the Mainland authorities the possibility of using alternative sources of water supply; and
(e)	of the progress of their negotiations with the Guangdong Provincial People's Government on the quantities and prices of water supply to Hong Kong during the period from 2001 to 2008?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Works

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

It has been reported that using "biodiesel" converted from canola seed oil to replace conventional diesel as fuel for vehicles can result in less emissions from vehicles. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:

(a)	whether any pilot scheme involving the use of biodiesel as fuel for vehicles is underway in Hong Kong; if so, of the types and numbers of vehicles involved as well as the progress and preliminary results of the schemes concerned;
(b)	how this type of biodiesel compares to conventional diesel, in terms of energy efficiency and the amount of pollutants generated upon combustion; and
(c)	the countries that are currently using biodiesel as fuel for vehicles, and the types of environmentally acceptable fuels for vehicles that are widely used?

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

III. Members' Motions

Motion of Thanks

Dr Hon LEONG Che-hung: (Translation)

That this Council thanks the Chief Executive for his address.

Amendment to Dr Hon LEONG Che-hung's motion

Hon Martin LEE: (Translation)

To add ", but since the Policy Address takes no heed of people's livelihood, lacks specific measures to stimulate the economy and solve the unemployment problem, and does not have any proposals to promote democratization, this Council is very resentful and expresses deep regret" after "That this Council thanks the Chief Executive for his address".

(Debate to be adjourned after Members have spoken. Resumption of debate will take place at the meeting to be held on 27 October 1999 when public officers will respond.)

Clerk to the Legislative Council