A 99/00-19

Legislative Council

Agenda
Wednesday 23 February 2000 at 2:30 pm

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments L.N. No.
1.Road Traffic (Parking) (Amendment) Regulation 200045/2000
2.Road Traffic (Parking) (Approved Cards) Notice 46/2000
3.Securities (Exchange--Traded Stock Options) (Amendment) Rules 200047/2000
4.Banking (Amendment) Ordinance 1999 (42 of 1999) (Commencement) Notice 2000 48/2000
5.Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (South Korea) Order (L.N. 23 of 2000) (Commencement) Notice 200049/2000

Other Papers

1. No.76-AIDS Trust Fund 1998-99 Annual Accounts together with the Director of Audit's Report
(to be presented by Secretary for Health and Welfare)

2. No.77-Hong Kong Tourist Association Annual Report 98/99
(to be presented by Secretary for Economic Services)

3. Report of the Bills Committee on Mass Transit Railway Bill
(to be presented by Hon Mrs Miriam LAU, Chairman of the Bills Committee)

4. Report of the Bills Committee on Exchanges and Clearing Houses (Merger) Bill
(to be presented by Hon Ronald ARCULLI, Chairman of the Bills Committee)

5. Report of the Bills Committee on Firearms and Ammunition (Amendment) Bill 1999
(to be presented by Hon James TO, Chairman of the Bills Committee)


II. Questions

1. Hon Edward HO to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council of:

  1. the estimated public expenditure on building works and civil engineering works in each of the next three financial years; and

  2. a comparison of the aforesaid expenditure to that of the Government and the former provisional municipal councils on such works in the current and the past three financial years?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for the Treasury

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

In reply to my question at the Legislative Council meeting on 16 December 1998, the Government said that it had adopted a series of measures to enhance the competitiveness of Hong Kong's container terminals and container freight industry. In 1999, the respective volumes of trade between the Mainland and Japan, the United States and the European Union registered two-digit growth rates, while the volume of trade between Hong Kong and the Mainland declined by 3.5%. Moreover, the ranking of Hong Kong among the Mainland's trade partners had also dropped from the third to the fourth. On the other hand, as China is about to join the World Trade Organization ("WTO"), direct trade between the Mainland and other member states of the WTO will continue to increase. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the progress of implementing the series of measures;

  2. whether it has studied the reasons for the decline in the value of trade between Hong Kong and the Mainland despite the implementation of these measures; if it has, of the details; and

  3. of the strategies it has to help Hong Kong's trades and industries to reverse the downward trend of the value of trade between Hong Kong and the Mainland?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Trade and Industry

3. Hon Albert HO to ask: (Translation)

On 26 January this year, the Court of Appeal of the High Court dismissed the appeal lodged by the Government and the rural committees concerned and upheld the decision of the Court of First Instance that non-indigenous residents should have the right to vote and to stand for elections of village representatives in the New Territories. Also, it is reported that an election of village representatives will be held in the middle or latter part of this month in Po Toi O Village in Sai Kung, which was involved in the case, and that the non-indigenous residents will have the right to vote and to stand for the election. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

  1. the Sai Kung District Office has followed or will follow the normal practice of assisting the Po Toi O villagers in their preparation for the said election; and

  2. it will expeditiously introduce legislation to regulate matters relating to village representative elections and give non-indigenous residents the right to vote and to stand for such elections; if it will, of the specific timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

It has been reported that as the Government is going to fully implement the Mandatory Provident Fund ("MPF") scheme, many employers intend to take this opportunity to cut back on the salaries and benefits of their employees. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the measures in place to prevent such cutbacks in staff salaries and benefits;

  2. whether it will formulate measures to encourage those employers who have already set up occupational retirement schemes with payments that exceed the statutory minimum requirements, to retain such schemes; and

  3. whether it will consider setting up hot lines and a complaints handling mechanism specifically for dealing with labour disputes relating to the MPF scheme and the relevant complaints from employees?
Public Officers to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower
Secretary for Financial Services

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

It was reported that, in order to generate additional revenue, the Administration intends to launch a trial scheme of letting out slopes alongside highways for displaying advertisements. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the plans to promote such advertisement sites to the advertising industry;

  2. of the measures in place to ensure the contents of such advertisements will neither be indecent nor inappropriate; and

  3. whether it has assessed if advertisements displayed at such sites will distract the attention of drivers; if so, of the ways to avoid traffic accidents caused by such distraction?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Planning and Lands

6. Hon Fred LI to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council whether:

  1. it has conducted any studies on the possible health hazards caused by consumption of foods cooked with repeatedly-used cooking oils;

  2. it has conducted any surveys on the number of times or the duration of cooking oils being used before disposal by various types of food outlets and food factories at present, and whether there are any statutory provisions in this regard; and

  3. in order to reduce the repeated use of cooking oils by food outlets and food factories, it has considered implementing a waste cooking oils recycling scheme, by which waste cooking oils are collected regularly from food outlets and then converted into detergents or fuels, or other measures in this regard; if it has, of the details?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment and Food

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

Regarding applications to build small houses in the New Territories as well as the vetting and approving procedure for such applications, will the Government inform this Council of:

  1. the number of applications vetted and approved over the past three years, and the average and longest periods of time required from the submission of applications to the completion of the vetting and approving procedure in such cases;

  2. the reasons for the lengthy time taken in vetting and approving some applications;

  3. the mechanism for vetting and approving applications to build small houses, as well as the roles of the relevant government departments in this mechanism;

  4. the current number of small house applications pending processing; and

  5. the measures in place to streamline the vetting and approving procedure?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Planning and Lands

*8. Hon Cyd HO to ask:

Regarding the statistics on and the handling of complaints about the service of the Immigration Department, will the Government inform this Council:

    a.(i)of the number of cases withdrawn subsequently on the complainant's own initiative and the reasons for withdrawal;
    (ii)of the number of cases in which the investigation could not be completed and the reasons for that; and
    (iii)of a breakdown by the type of disciplinary actions taken against the civil servants concerned in respect of those cases found justified;
    in each of the past three years;

    b.of the number and contents of the recommendations on the improvement of existing policies and procedure made by the Complaints Review Working Party in the past three years, and the progress of the implementation of such recommendations;

    c.whether the complainants are informed of the findings of the investigation; if not, of the reasons for that;

    d.whether it will video-tape all interviews conducted with suspects at border control points, so as to facilitate the investigation of complaints lodged in this connection in future; if so, of the implementation schedule; if not, the reasons for that; and

    e.whether it will consider establishing an independent mechanism specifically for handling and investigating such complaints?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

It is learnt that "Aricept", a medicine supplied free of charge by pharmaceutical companies, is prescribed by doctors of the Hospital Authority ("HA") for patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease (commonly known as "senile dementia"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. how the medicine compares with other medicines for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease in terms of curative effects, side effects and price; and

  2. whether it knows if the HA has any plan to purchase the medicine after the medicine supplied has been exhausted; if so, the estimated annual expenditure thereon; if not, why not?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

*10. Hon Bernard CHAN to ask:

It was reported that landmines planted during the riots in 1967 might still be buried along the border area. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

  1. it has assessed if there are still landmines buried along the border area; if the assessment result is in the positive, of the measures it will take to ensure the public's safety; and

  2. it has kept records of cases in which landmines buried along the border area were accidentally uncovered and exploded since 1967; if it has, of the number of such cases and the resultant casualties?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

Will the Government inform this Council whether it has plans to upload, by category, the contents of Government Gazettes onto the government web-sites and provide relevant search engines for them, so as to facilitate the public's access to the relevant information; if so, of the details and the implementation schedule; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Treasury

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

Will the Government inform this Council of the mechanism whereby it promotes the restoration of vacant buildings of historical interest (such as the former Wan Chai Police Station and the Yaumatei Theatre) and authorizes a change of their use; as well as the role of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department in the mechanism?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

*13. Dr Hon David LI to ask:

The Hong Kong Council on Smoking and Health estimates that 1.14 million non-smokers are suffering from passive smoking at work. In view of the health hazards of passive smoking, will the Government inform this Council if it will consider introducing legislation to completely ban smoking at indoor workplaces; if it will, of the specific timetable; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

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

With regard to the Electronic Tendering System ("ETS") recently adopted by the Government Supplies Department ("GSD"), will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of a comparison of the operating cost of the ETS to that of the traditional tendering process;

  2. of the number of suppliers currently registered with the GSD for using the ETS to submit their tender offers and a breakdown by category; and

  3. whether the GSD has plans to recommend the ETS or similar systems to those Departments which may make procurement on their own, especially for inviting tenders for goods or services of values not exceeding HKD 1.3 million?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for the Treasury

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

Will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether it knows the respective numbers of vacant staff quarters of subvented organizations, including the Hospital Authority, the Vocational Training Council and the University Grants Committee-funded institutions at present; the respective numbers of these quarters for which disposal methods have been drawn up, together with a breakdown by such disposal methods; and the reasons for these quarters being left vacant;

  2. of the number of vacant quarters returned by subvented organizations to the Government for disposal over the past three years; and among them, the number of quarters for which disposal methods have yet to be drawn up;

  3. of the average and longest waiting time before the returned vacant quarters are disposed of by the authorities; and

  4. of the measures in place to expedite the disposal of vacant quarters returned by subvented organizations?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Treasury

*16. Hon Christine LOH to ask:

Regarding racial discrimination in Hong Kong, will the Administration inform this Council:

  1. whether it knows if members of the ethnic minorities consider that racial discrimination is prevalent in Hong Kong; if it is prevalent, of the details;

  2. of the existing respective channels through which an aggrieved person can seek redress for being racially discriminated against by acts of:

    1. the Government or a public body; or

    2. other parties;

    if there are no such channels, whether it will consider ways to help such aggrieved persons; if it will not, of the reasons for that;

  3. whether it has adopted a policy of making redress channels available to all aggrieved persons who have been subject to racial discrimination acts; if not, of the reasons for that; and

  4. whether it will consider requesting the Central People's Government to make a declaration for Hong Kong in accordance with Article 14 of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, that the Hong Kong Government recognizes the competence of the Committee of the Elimination of Racial Discrimination of the United Nations to receive and consider communications from Hong Kong residents or organizations claiming to be victims of a violation by the Hong Kong Government of any rights set forth in the Convention?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Home Affairs

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

The Administration informed this Council on 5 January this year that the Chief Executive and the Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal ("Chief Justice") had met four times in the past 12 months to discuss matters relating to the resourcing of the Judiciary, legislative proposals which relate to the Judiciary and matters of mutual concern to the Judiciary and the community. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council whether:

  1. the above matters for discussion fall within the purview of the Judiciary Administrator; if so, of the reasons for the Chief Executive's meeting the Chief Justice to discuss those matters; and

  2. the Chief Executive and the Chief Justice will curtail such meetings so as to avoid damaging the public's perception of judicial independence?
Public Officer to reply : Chief Secretary for Administration

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

Regarding the progress of installing the Octopus system by public transport operators and their provision of distance-based section fares by means of the Octopus system, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:

  1. the number of franchised buses installed with Octopus processors at present and the percentage of the number of such buses in the total number of franchised buses in Hong Kong;

  2. the franchised bus routes that are currently providing distance-based section fares by means of the Octopus system, as well as the following information regarding the franchised bus companies:

    1. how they determine the routes on which section fares can be implemented by means of the Octopus system;

    2. the problems encountered in implementing section fares by means of that system; and

    3. whether they have plans to provide section fares on the remaining bus routes by means of that system; if so, the details; if not, the reasons for that;

  3. the number of green minibuses, with a breakdown by routes, installed with Octopus processors at present; whether minibus trade associations have plans to extend the Octopus system to cover the routes run by other minibuses and green minibuses; and

  4. if all inner-harbour ferry routes and those plying the outlying islands accept payment of fares by Octopus cards at present?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

*19. Hon Mrs Selina CHOW to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the arrangements for cultural and leisure services and facilities following the dissolution of the Provisional Municipal Councils, will the Government inform this Council of:

  1. the Leisure and Cultural Services Department's policy on the allocation of funds for cultural services; whether the Department will consider establishing management or advisory committees comprising members of the public and the relevant professions to supervise the operation of museums, libraries and other cultural facilities within the purview of the Department;

  2. its timetable for implementing the corporatization programmes for the Hong Kong Chinese Orchestra, Hong Kong Repertory Theatre and Hong Kong Dance Company; how it compares with the original timetable; if there are differences, of the reasons for that; and

  3. the present management framework for the Hong Kong Stadium as well as the Government's policy in this regard?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

It was reported that the Mass Transit Railway Corporation ("MTRC") had been convicted twice last year of breaching the Water Pollution Control Ordinance (Cap. 358) because sewage of pollutants level exceeding the stipulated permissible limits was found to have been discharged from the Quarry Bay Station and Central Station of the Mass Transit Railway ("MTR"); and to solve the problem, the MTRC had decided to spend $90 millions on installing additional sewage treatment facilities at the MTR stations and depots. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:

  1. the commencement and expected completion dates of the works; the measures the MTRC will adopt, before the completion of the works, to ensure that the pollutants level of the sewage discharged will not exceed the statutory provisions; and

  2. the impact of the expenditure for the works on the fares of the MTR?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

*For written reply.

III. Bills

First Reading

1. Employment (Amendment) Bill 2000
2. Entertainment Special Effects Bill
3. Drug Dependent Persons Treatment and Rehabilitation Centres (Licensing) Bill

Second Reading (Debates to be adjourned)

1. Employment (Amendment) Bill 2000:Secretary for Education and Manpower
2. Entertainment Special Effects Bill:Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting
3. Drug Dependent Persons Treatment and Rehabilitation Centres (Licensing) Bill :Secretary for Security


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

1. Mass Transit Railway Bill:Secretary for Transport
2. Exchanges and Clearing Houses (Merger) Bill:Secretary for Financial Services
3. Firearms and Ammunition (Amendment) Bill 1999:Secretary for Security


IV. 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 (Formation of Election Committee) (Appeals) (Amendment) Regulation 2000, published as Legal Notice No. 13 of 2000;

  2. Legislative Council (Subscribers and Election Deposit for Nomination) (Amendment) Regulation 2000, published as Legal Notice No. 14 of 2000;

  3. Distribution of Number of Members Among Designated Bodies (Election Committee) (Legislative Council) Order 2000, published as Legal Notice No. 15 of 2000; and

  4. Maximum Scale of Election Expenses (Legislative Council) Order 1997 (Amendment) Order 2000, published as Legal Notice No. 16 of 2000,
and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 26 January 2000, the period referred to in section 34(2) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap. 1) for amending subsidiary legislation be extended under section 34(4) of that Ordinance to the meeting of 1 March 2000.

2. Developing the semiconductor industry

Dr Hon LUI Ming-wah: (Translation)

That, as semiconductor products are the foundation of technology-based industries and the mainstay of various industries, this Council urges the Government to actively develop the semiconductor industry in Hong Kong, so as to promote economic development and create job opportunities.

Amendment to Dr Hon LUI Ming-wah's motion

Hon SIN Chung-kai: (Translation)

To delete "semiconductor products are the foundation of technology-based industries" and substitute with "the semiconductor industry provides up-stream industrial support for the information technology industry"; to delete "the mainstay of various industries" and substitute with "is the major source of supply of the necessary components for various manufacturing industries,"; to delete "actively" and substitute with "initiate studies on whether Hong Kong possesses the requisites to"; to delete "in Hong Kong," and substitute with "; assess the feasibility of Hong Kong serving as a component support base for China in the development of industries engaging in the manufacture of computerhardware and peripheral products, communication products as well as electronic and electrical goods; and create and develop favourable conditions to attract foreign investments in the industry,"; to add "seize the opportunities arising from the rapid growth of the markets for these products after China's accession to the World Trade Organization, and at the same time" after "so as to"; to add "the" before "economic development"; to delete "and create job opportunities" and substitute with "of Hong Kong in a diversified and high value-added direction".

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Trade and Industry

3. The system of long-term employment for construction workers

Hon Andrew CHENG: (Translation)

That this Council urges the authorities concerned to adopt positive measures to promote the system of long-term employment for construction workers, which include:

  1. conducting a comprehensive review on the progress of implementing the 'Supporting Pledge for Long-term Employment of Construction Workers' and expediting the implementation of the proposals contained therein;

  2. taking the lead to restrict the number of tiers involved in the sub-contracting system and require the contractors to employ a certain proportion of long-term workers when awarding government and Housing Authority construction contracts, as well as encouraging private contractors to employ workers on a long-term basis;

  3. promoting a registration system for construction workers and establishing a database of human resources in different trades of the industry;

  4. strengthening the training in skills and job safety for construction workers and facilitating them to acquire multi-faceted skills, so as to upgrade their skills and enhance their awareness in industrial safety; and

  5. reviewing the contents of trade tests for the construction industry in order to meet the needs of the industry;
so as to provide construction workers with better job security, to ensure stable human resources for the construction industry and thus to upgrade the project quality and safety of the construction industry.

Amendments to Hon Andrew CHENG's motion

  1. Hon CHAN Wing-chan: (Translation)

    To add ", as the recent problems in the construction industry relating to the quality and safety of buildings have aroused public concerns, with queries and criticisms levelled at the sub-contracting system," after "That"; to delete "adopt positive measures to promote" and substitute with "implement expeditiously"; to delete ", which" and substitute with "in order to address the existing safety and quality problems in the industry; the measures"; to add ", so as to upgrade the overall project quality and awareness in industrial safety of the industry" after "therein"; to delete "taking the lead to restrict the number of tiers involved in the sub-contracting system and"; to delete "require" and substitute with "requiring"; to delete "the contractors to" and substitute with "that it should be stipulated in government and Housing Authority construction contracts that there should not be excessive tiers of sub-contracting under the 'specialist sub-contractors' assigned by contractors; establishing a register of sub-contractors by the authorities concerned so that the financial resources and quality of sub-contractors are subjected to regulation; requiring contractors to engage only the sub-contractors listed in the register and at the same time"; to delete "when awarding government and Housing Authority construction contracts" and substitute with "so as to enhance monitoring and project quality"; to add "so that the workers can have their skills recognised through tests, which will in turn ensure the safety and quality of building projects" after "trades of the industry"; to delete "so as to"; to add ", thus providing them with better job security; and improving the image of the industry by ensuring the availability of a pool of construction workers with proven skills to the community" after "industrial safety"; to add "ensure that workers" after "in order to"; and to delete "meet the needs; so as to provide construction workers with better job security, to ensure stable human resources for the construction industry and thus to upgrade the project quality and safety of the construction industry" and substitute with "can keep up with the new requirements arising from the technological developments of the construction industry".

  2. Hon HO Sai-chu:
    3. (Translation)

    To delete "adopt positive" and substitute with "study actively the conditions and"; to delete "to promote" and substitute with "necessary for promoting"; to delete "which"and substitute with "so as to upgrade the project quality and safety of the construction industry; these conditions and measures"; to delete "conducting a comprehensive review on the progress of implementing the 'Supporting Pledge for Long-term Employment of Construction Workers' and expediting the implementation of the proposals contained therein" and substitute with "promoting actively a registration system for construction workers and establishing a database of human resources in different trades of the industry for reference of and as a basis for deciding the policy on the system of long-term employment for construction workers"; to delete "taking the lead to restrict the number of tiers involved in the sub-contracting system and require" and substitute with "requiring"; to add "some" after "awarding"; to delete "as well as encouraging private contractors to employ workers on a long-term basis" and substitute with "on a trial basis, and reviewing the results and experience afterwards for reference of and in preparation for the introduction of the system of long-term employment for construction workers to construction projects in both the public and the private sectors"; to delete "(c) promoting a registration system for construction workers and establishing a database of human resources in different trades of the industry;"; to delete "(d)" and substitute with "(c)"; to delete "(e)" and substitute with "(d)"; and to delete ";so as to provide construction workers with better job security, to ensure stable human resources for the construction industry and thus to upgrade the project quality and safety of the construction industry".

Public Officers to attend:Secretary for Education and Manpower
Secretary for Works

Clerk to the Legislative Council