A 99/00-29(1)

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 24 May 2000 at 2:30 pm



I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
1. Shipping and Port Control (Amendment) (No. 2)Regulation 2000 140/2000
2. Shipping and Port Control (Amendment) (No.3) Regulation 2000 141/2000
3. Import and Export (General) (Amendment) Regulation 2000 142/2000
4. Reserved Commodities (Control of Imports, Exports and Reserve Stocks) (Amendment) Regulation 2000 143/2000
5. Air Navigation (Flight Prohibition) Order 144/2000
6. Specification of Arrangements (The Mainland of China Concerning Air Services) (Double Taxation) Order 145/2000
7. Firearms and Ammunition (Amendment) Regulation 2000 146/2000
8. Legal Aid (Amendment) Regulation 2000 147/2000
9. Legal Aid (Assessment of Resources and Contributions) (Amendment) Regulation 2000 148/2000
10. Animals and Plants (Protection of Endangered Species) Ordinance (Replacement of Schedule 5) Order 2000 149/2000
11. Census and Statistics (2001 Population Census) Order 150/2000
12. Civil Aviation (Insurance) Order 151/2000
13. The Ombudsman Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 1) Order 2000 152/2000
14. Chinese Medicine Practitioners (Fees) Regulation 153/2000
15. Chinese Medicine Practitioners (Registration) Regulation 154/2000
16. Chinese Medicine Practitioners (Discipline) Regulation 155/2000
17. Air Pollution Control (Motor Vehicle Fuel) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulation 2000 156/2000
18. Air Pollution Control (Vehicle Design Standards) (Emission) (Amendment) Regulation 2000 157/2000
19. Building (Administration) (Amendment) Regulation 2000 158/2000
20. Fixed Penalty (Criminal Proceedings) (Amendment) Regulation 2000 159/2000
21. Road Traffic (Construction and Maintenance of Vehicles) (Amendment) (No.2) Regulation 2000 160/2000
22. Road Traffic (Driving Licences) (Amendment) Regulation 2000 161/2000
23. Road Traffic (Safety Equipment) (Amendment) Regulation 2000 162/2000
24. Animals and Plants (Protection of Endangered Species) (Exemption) (Amendment) Order 2000 163/2000
25. Animals and Plants (Protection of Endangered Species) Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 3) Notice 2000 164/2000
26. Control of Chemicals Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 2) Order 2000 165/2000
27. Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Amendment of First Schedule) Order 2000 166/2000
28. Electronic Transactions (Exclusion) (Amendment) Order 2000 167/2000
29. Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation (Permitted Activities) (Consolidation) (Amendment) Order 2000 168/2000
30. Mental Health (New Territories East Psychiatric Observation Unit) (Mental Hospital) Order 169/2000
31. Hospital Authority Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 2) Order 2000 170/2000
32. Military Installations Closed Areas (Amendment) Order 2000 171/2000
33. Protected Places (Declaration) Order 2000 172/2000
34. Declaration of Change of Titles (Trade and Industry Bureau, Secretary for Trade and Industry, Trade Department, Director-General of Trade, Deputy Director-General of Trade and Assistant Director-General of Trade) Notice 2000 173/2000
35. Federation of Hong Kong Industries (Addition of a Scheduled Group) Notice 2000 174/2000
36. Inland Revenue (Amendment) Ordinance 1998 (31 of 1998) (Application) Notice 2000 175/2000
37. Stamp Duty (Amendment) Ordinance 2000 (5 of 2000) (Commencement) Notice 2000 176/2000
38. Grant Schools Provident Fund (Amendment) Rules 2000 (L.N. 78 of 2000) (Commencement) Notice 2000 177/2000
39. Subsidized Schools Provident Fund (Amendment) Rules 2000 (L.N. 79 of 2000) (Commencement) Notice 2000 178/2000
40. Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Contributions for Casual Employees) Order 179/2000
41. Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Specification of Permitted Periods) Notice 180/2000
42. The Rules of the District Court 186/2000
43. District Court Civil Procedure (Fees) (Amendment) Rules 2000 187/2000
44. Reserved Commodities (Control of Imports, Exports and Reserve Stocks) (Amendment) Regulation 2000 (L.N. 143 of 2000) (Commencement) Notice 2000 188/2000
45.Dangerous Dogs Regulation (L.N. 185 of 2000) (Commencement) Notice 2000189/2000


Other Paper

Report of the Bills Committee on Securities (Amendment) Bill 1999
(to be presented by Hon Ronald ARCULLI, Chairman of the Bills Committee)

II. Questions

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

Regarding the channels for students who have completed Secondary 3 ("S3") to pursue further education, will the Government inform this Council of:

  1. the number of S3 students who could not further their studies due to inadequacy of school places in each of the past three years;

  2. the number and percentage of students who have completed S3 among all students enrolled in the Certificate in Vocational Studies ("CVS") course of the Vocational Training Council for this school year; whether there will be a minimum number of places designated for such students in respect of the CVS course for the next school year; and

  3. the channels available to students who have completed S3 to pursue further education; and the respective numbers of places being and to be offered by these channels at present and in each of the next three years?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

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

The population of Hong Kong at the end of last year stood at 6.97 million, representing an increase of 2.5% from the end of the preceding year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. how the aforesaid population growth rate compares to the annual growth rates over the past decade, and of the factors contributing to the population growth in Hong Kong;

  2. of the projected annual growth rates of the Hong Kong population for the next decade, the reasons for the future population growth, and the basis on which such projections are made; and

  3. of the implications of the population growth in Hong Kong on the demands on natural, social and economic resources; whether there is any plan to formulate a population policy that matches the available resources; if so, the details of the plan; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Planning and Lands

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

Starting from the last fiscal year, singletons have been allowed to participate in the Home Starter Loan Scheme. It is learnt that the Hong Kong Housing Society ("HKHS") has so far received more than 7　400 applications from singletons. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:

  1. the respective quotas of loans the HKHS has set aside for application by singletons in this and the last fiscal year; and

  2. if the HKHS will increase the quota of loans for singletons in view of the large number of applications submitted; if it will not, of the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing

4. Dr Hon YEUNG Sum to ask: (Translation)

The existing Scheme of Control Agreement ("SCA") signed between the Government and the Hongkong Electric Company Limited ("HEC"), which is due to expire in 2008, guarantees shareholders of HEC a permitted return. It has been reported that the Economic Services Bureau had recently agreed to HEC's construction of a new gas-fired power plant on Lamma Island. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the total amount of investment in and the area of land occupied by the new power plant;

  2. of the impact of the new power plant on HEC's tariff and on the electricity reserve margins of Hong Kong Island and the territory as a whole, in each of the years from its commission date to 2008; and

  3. whether it has reached any consensus with or made commitment to HEC on the permitted return after 2008 in respect of its investment in the power plant in question; if there is any consensus or commitment, of the details; if there is none, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Services

5. Hon Michael HO to ask: (Translation)

It is learnt that The Medical Council of Hong Kong ("MCHK") is now considering prohibiting non-Hong Kong residents who have been trained overseas from taking the Licensing Examination for medical practitioners, so as to relieve the over-supply of medical practitioners in Hong Kong. Regarding the regulation of non-Hong Kong residents practising in Hong Kong by various medical and nursing regulatory bodies, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether it has assessed if the MCHK is obligated or has the authority to regulate the number of local medical practitioners through the Licensing Examination;

  2. whether it has assessed if it is a breach of any international agreements and a failure to fulfil international obligations to prohibit foreigners from taking the Licensing Examination on the grounds that they are not Hong Kong residents or for the reason of regulating the number of medical practitioners; and

  3. of the measures in place to ensure that various medical and nursing regulatory bodies will fairly deal with the issue of foreigners from different countries and regions practising in Hong Kong?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

6. Hon Howard YOUNG to ask:

Will the Government inform this Council whether it has any measures to deal with unruly passengers on board aircrafts arriving in or departing from Hong Kong; if so, of the details of the measures; if not, whether it will consider introducing such measures?

Public Officers to reply:Secretary for Security
Secretary for Economic Services

*7. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)

According to the Building (Standards of Sanitary Fitments, Plumbing, Drainage Works and Latrines) Regulations (Cap. 123, sub. leg.), discharge to the watercloset fitment on each occasion should not be less than 9 litres. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether, in order to avoid wasting flushing water, the above regulations will be amended to provide that newly installed watercloset fitments should have two different discharge volumes for users to choose according to their needs?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Planning and Lands

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

With regard to the promotion of the system of long-term employment for construction workers and the upgrading of the project quality and safety level of the construction industry, will the Government inform this Council of:

  1. the details, implementation date, and the trades and number of the workers concerned in respect of the trial scheme launched by the Works Bureau ("WB") for this purpose; and

  2. the time by which the WB plans to stipulate in works contracts the clause requiring contractors to submit information on their sub-contractors?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Works

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

Will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether it has assessed the existing number of abandoned cattle in the territory and of the locations that they often appear;

  2. of the respective numbers of traffic accidents and resultant casualties caused by these abandoned cattle over the past three years; and

  3. of the measures it will take to tackle the problem of abandoned cattle straying about?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment and Food

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

Will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the effects of euro's continuing weakness in recent months on the assets value of the Exchange Fund;

  2. whether the Hong Kong Monetary Authority ("HKMA") has accordingly adjusted the currency portfolio of the Exchange Fund's foreign currency investments; and

  3. of the risk management measures adopted by the HKMA to maintain the stability of the Exchange Fund's assets value, having regard to euro's highly volatile exchange rate?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services

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

Regarding the negotiation on the Air Services Agreement between the HKSAR Government and the United States ("US") authorities held last month, will the Government inform this Council of:

  1. the issues on which a consensus has been reached, and the details of such issues;

  2. the issues on which a consensus has yet to be reached and the disagreement between both parties;

  3. the specific proposals on opening up aviation rights made by the Administration to the US authorities; and

  4. the timetable for the next round of negotiation?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Services

*12. Hon Emily LAU to ask:

Regarding the recent controversy over the re-appointment of the President of Lingnan University and the war of words between the Chairmen of the Council and the Court of the University, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:

  1. whether they know the background to the row; and

  2. of the steps being taken to minimize the damage done to the University's reputation and the morale of the staff and students?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

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

Will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the respective numbers of kindergarten places and enrolments in each school district in each of the past five school years;

  2. of the respective numbers of kindergartens set up and closed down by school operators in each school district in each of the past five school years; and

  3. given that there has been over-provision of kindergarten places in the territory for a number of years, whether it will set down the upper limit of kindergarten places for each district in accordance with the number of school-age children in the district, and approve applications for setting up profit-making and non-profit-making kindergartens in each district in accordance with the upper limit?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

*14. Dr Hon David LI to ask:

Serving English and Putonghua teachers in primary and secondary schools are to be benchmarked by 2005 through taking the Language Benchmark Examinations or attending accredited training courses. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it will consider extending the language benchmark requirement to teachers of other subjects; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

*15. Hon Christine LOH to ask:

Regarding the relationship between Hong Kong and Taiwan, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether there have been changes to the principles and policies adopted for handling matters of mutual concern between Hong Kong and Taiwan since Hong Kong's reunification with China;

  2. whether there have been recent changes to the work profile relating to Taiwan matters of the Special Adviser to the Chief Executive;

  3. of the reasons why the new head of Chung Hwa Travel Service has yet to be issued with a work visa despite the fact that five months have elapsed since the former head returned to Taiwan, and whether they are related to changes in the conditions of the visa;

  4. whether there have been changes in the policy on Taiwan officials visiting Hong Kong after the establishment of the HKSAR Government; and

  5. whether it has formulated contingency plans to deal with Hong Kong-Taiwan matters when the relationship between Beijing and Taipei deteriorates?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional Affairs

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

In February this year, a Hong Kong resident was robbed and given an injection of bacteria-contaminated fluid in Shenzhen, and died after returning to Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether it knows the number of Hong Kong people who were robbed in the Mainland over the past three years, the number of such cases and the number of casualties thus caused;

  2. of the follow-up actions that it usually takes upon receiving reports of Hong Kong people being robbed in the Mainland, and whether it will liaise with or seek the assistance of the relevant Public Security Bureaux ("PSBs") in the Mainland; if not, of the reasons for that;

  3. whether there are regular dialogues with Mainland PSBs on the issue of Hong Kong people being robbed in the Mainland; if so, of the details, if not, the reasons for that; and

  4. whether it will provide guidelines to Hong Kong people on the immediate action that they should take after being robbed in the Mainland?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

Given that a computer virus known as "I Love You" has caused severe damage to computer systems all over the world recently, some members of the information technology ("IT") industry have called the provision of funding by Government for the establishment of a Computer Emergency Response Centre ("CERC") in Hong Kong to deal with urgent cases relating to computer security. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:

  1. whether they have estimated the economic losses Hong Kong has incurred due to the computer virus;

  2. of the countries or territories in Asia where computers are widely used but such CERCs have yet to be set up;

  3. whether members of the IT industry have applied to the Administration for funding to set up a CERC; if so, of the relevant details and the outcome; and

  4. whether they will consider setting up a CERC; if so, of the timing for its establishment; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting

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

It was reported that cracks appeared on the external walls of several buildings in North Point, allegedly caused by the expansion works undertaken by the Mass Transit Railway Corporation ("MTRC") at North Point Station. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

  1. it is aware of the number of relevant complaints, the names of the buildings involved and the details of the damage caused to these buildings;

  2. such complaints have been followed up by the relevant Government departments; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

  3. it knows if the works carried out by the MTRC in the past had affected the external walls or even the structure of the buildings in the vicinity; if so, of the relevant details; and

  4. it has assessed the adequacy of the protective measures currently taken by the MTRC to lessen the impact of its works on the buildings in the vicinity; and of the measures it has put in place to ensure that such works will not endanger the properties and the residents nearby?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

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

Will the Government inform this Council of:

  1. the number of closed road permits issued for Lantau Island, together with a breakdown by type of vehicles;

  2. the number of vehicles that entered Tung Chung Road on Lantau Island without such permits over the past three years, and the number of traffic accidents and resultant casualties; and

  3. the measures in place to prevent vehicles from entering the closed roads on Lantau Island without these permits?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

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

It was reported that a lorry had a traffic accident in Yuen Long on 5 February this year, resulted in the spilling of massive amounts of styrene, which then flowed into Deep Bay along open nullahs. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

  1. it has, immediately after the accident, sent staff to collect soil samples from the scene and water samples from Deep Bay for testing; if it has, of the test results and the measures taken by the Administration to clear up the styrene at the scene of the accident; and

  2. it has assessed the impact of massive amounts of styrene flowing into Deep Bay on its marine ecology, and of the measures to alleviate the damage caused to the environment of Deep Bay and its nearby areas, including Mai Po?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment and Food

*For written reply.

III. Bills

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

1. Securities (Amendment) Bill 1999:Secretary for Financial Services
2. Insurance Companies (Amendment) Bill 2000:Secretary for Financial Services

IV. Members' Motions

1. Environmental protection and tourism

Hon HO Sai-chu: (Translation)

That this Council urges the Government to adopt positive measures to enhance the environmental quality of Hong Kong and open up more green tourist attractions with a view to further promoting tourism; such measures should include:

  1. expediting the designation of more pedestrian precincts in busy areas;

  2. providing incentives to encourage the use of more environmentally friendly vehicles by the transport operators serving the tourist industry;

  3. examining the feasibility of sprinkling water regularly on streets with heavy traffic so as to reduce air pollution;

  4. strengthening and effectively enforcing punitive measures to control excessive vehicle emission and to crack down on the trading of illicit diesel, as well as legislating expeditiously to prohibit vehicle engines from being left idling;

  5. refraining from undertaking any unnecessary reclamation projects in the harbour as well as improving sewage treatment, so as to maintain the landscape and cleanliness of the Victoria Harbour;

  6. building a green city by constructing more garden parks, and greening streets and man-made slopes;

  7. establishing more marine ecological reserves for the development of green marine tourism;

  8. opening and developing green hill hiking trails on a full scale; and

  9. conducting a comprehensive comparative study of the environmental quality of Hong Kong and that of the neighbouring cities which are popular with tourists.

Public Officers to attend:Secretary for Economic Services
Secretary for the Environment and Food

2. Remarks of official of the Central People's Government's Liaison Office

Hon Martin LEE: (Translation)

That this Council considers the recent remarks of Mr WANG Fengchao, Deputy Director of the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, regarding Cable Television's interview of and reports on Ms Annette LU Hsiu-lien to have contravened the Basic Law, seriously undermined Hong Kong's press freedom and damaged "one country, two systems".

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Constitutional Affairs

Clerk to the Legislative Council