Council Meeting (Agenda) 26 June 2000

A 99/00-35(1)

Legislative Council

Agenda

Monday 26 June 2000 at 9:30 am

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments	L.N. No.
Legal Aid (Amendment) Ordinance 2000 (26 of 2000) (Commencement) Notice 2000	230/2000

Other Papers

1. No.114	-	J.E. Joseph Trust Fund Report for the period 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2000
(to be presented by Secretary for the Environment and Food)
2. No.115	-	Kadoorie Agricultural Aid Loan Fund Report for the period 1 April 1999 to 31 March 2000
(to be presented by Secretary for the Environment and Food)
3. No.116	-	Audited Statement of Accounts of the Director of Social Welfare Incorporated together with the Director of Audit's Report for the year ended 31 March 1999
(to be presented by Secretary for Health and Welfare)
4. No.117	-	Hong Kong Export Credit Insurance Corporation Annual Report 1999-2000
(to be presented by Secretary for Trade and Industry)
5. No.118	-	Hong Kong Trade Development Council Annual Report 1999/2000
(to be presented by Secretary for Trade and Industry)
6. No.119	-	Airport Authority Hong Kong Annual Report 1999/2000
(to be presented by Financial Secretary)
7. No.120	-	Statement of Accounts of the Customs and Excise Service Welfare Fund together with the Director of Audit's Report (1999-2000)
(to be presented by Secretary for Trade and Industry)
8.Report of the Committee on Members' Interests 1998-2000 (to be presented by Hon David CHU, Chairman of the Committee)
9.Report of the Bills Committee on Road Traffic Legislation (Amendment) Bill 1999 (to be presented by Hon David CHU, Chairman of the Bills Committee)
10.Report of the Bills Committee on Road Traffic Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2000 (to be presented by Hon CHAN Kwok-keung, Chairman of the Bills Committee)
11.Report of the Bills Committee on Employment (Amendment) Bill 2000 (to be presented by Hon LEE Kai-ming, Chairman of the Bills Committee)
12.Report of the Bills Committee on Employees' Compensation (Amendment) (No.2) Bill 2000 (to be presented by Hon Kenneth TING, Chairman of the Bills Committee)
13.Report of the Bills Committee on Dutiable Commodities (Amendment) Bill 1999 (to be presented by Hon James TO, Chairman of the Bills Committee)
14.Report of the Bills Committee on Securities and Futures Legislation (Provision of False Information) Bill 2000 (to be presented by Hon Ronald ARCULLI, Chairman of the Bills Committee)
15. Report of the Bills Committee on Adaptation of Laws (No.16) Bill 1999 (to be presented by Hon Margaret NG, Chairman of the Bills Committee)
16. Report of the Bills Committee on Urban Renewal Authority Bill (to be presented by Hon Edward HO, Chairman of the Bills Committee)
17. Report of the Bills Committee on Intellectual Property (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2000 (to be presented by Hon SIN Chung-kai, Chairman of the Bills Committee)
18. Report of the Bills Committee on Witness Protection Bill (to be presented by Hon James TO, Chairman of the Bills Committee)
19.Report of the Bills Committee on Dangerous Drugs, Independent Commission Against Corruption and Police Force (Amendment) Bill 1999 (to be presented by Hon James TO, Chairman of the Bills Committee)

II. Questions

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

The Administration is considering whether the licences for the third-generation ("3G") mobile phone services should be granted by way of auctioning or through the established practice of selecting licensees by evaluating the merits of their applications. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

of the reasons for not issuing mobile phone service licences by way of auction in the past; whether these reasons are still applicable at present;
of the factors it will take into account when deciding on the licensing approach and the relative significance of these factors; and
whether it has set targets for penetration percentage and speed for 3G mobile phone services; if it has, of the details, and how these targets affect its decision on the licensing approach to be adopted?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting

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

Will the Government inform this Council whether:

it has assessed the impact of using diesel-fuelled washing machines and drying machines on air quality; and
it knows the respective numbers of such machines in the laundries of various government departments and public hospitals at present, and whether they have plans to change over to less polluting machines?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment and Food

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

With regard to compensating the factory operators who have not yet moved out of Wah Kai Industrial Centre in Tsuen Wan, will the Government inform this Council:

given that in the past it usually compensated people affected by clearance arising from urban renewal with an amount higher than the market value of the property concerned, of the reasons for not offering to these factory operators a higher amount of compensation than the market value of their properties;
as some of these operators are facing liquidity problems arising from the land resumption by the Government, of the reasons for not offering bridging loans to those factory operators concerned through the Trade and Industry Bureau or the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation; and
in respect of those cases in which the property interests of the relevant owners have yet to be fully established, whether it will bear the risks by granting provisional payments immediately to the factory owners concerned to facilitate their speedy removal?

Public Officers to reply	:	Secretary for Planning and Lands Secretary for Transport

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

Regarding the management of the Lo Wu Control Point, will the Government inform this Council:

of the average daily passenger throughputs for each month over the past three years; how these figures compare to the average daily throughputs on public holidays and long holidays;
of the number of reports of indisposition of members of the public within the precincts of the Control Point in each month over the past three years; and
whether it has plans to install air-conditioning systems at Lo Wu Bridge; if it has, of the completion date; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

5. Hon YEUNG Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)

Various measures have recently been proposed for adoption by the Government to stabilize the property market, which include (1) bringing a halt to the production of flats under the Home Ownership Scheme; (2) putting the sites originally scheduled for sale in this financial year onto the Reserve List of land sites; (3)　relaxing the 70% ceiling for residential mortgages; and (4)　relaxing the eligibility criteria and increasing the quota in respect of the Home Starter Loan Scheme. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

it has assessed the effectiveness and feasibility of the above proposals; and
it will adopt measures to revive and boost the confidence of the public in purchasing property; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officers to reply	:	Secretary for Housing Secretary for Planning and Lands Secretary for Financial Services

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

Telephone opinion surveys are conducted by Home Affairs Bureau once every two months to gauge public opinions in respect of prevailing problems in Hong Kong, the overall performance of the Government, as well as their confidence in the future. According to the findings of the survey conducted last month, a total of 49% of the respondents rated the overall performance of the Government as "unsatisfactory" or "very unsatisfactory", while 33% of them had no confidence in the continued prosperity and stability of Hong Kong; such figures represent an increase of 8 and 9 percentage points respectively compared to the previous survey. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

whether it has analyzed the reasons for the increase in the percentage of people who were dissatisfied with the Government's performance; if it has, of the results of the analysis;
whether it has examined what responsibility principal officials should take for the public's rising dissatisfaction with the Government's work; and
of the new measures which will be announced to boost the public's confidence in the future of Hong Kong?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

*7. Hon Bernard CHAN to ask:

Regarding the designation of pedestrian precincts, will the Government inform this Council:

of its preliminary assessment of the proposal to convert a one-kilometre section along Des Voeux Road Central into a car-free pedestrian precinct, jointly submitted by the Institute of Planners and the Chartered Institute of Transport in Hong Kong recently;
whether it will consider designating more existing roads as pedestrian precincts; if so, of the roads being considered; and
of the difficulties that it may have to overcome in order to make such designations?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

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

With regard to foreign professionals in Information Technology ("IT") coming to work in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council of:

the number of IT professionals who were given permission in the past three years to come to work in Hong Kong, and the number of such applications being processed;
the countries of origin of such professionals, the duties of their employment in Hong Kong and the length of the terms of employment as set out in their contracts in general; and
the main types of business conducted by the organizations employing such professionals, and the average number of such professionals currently employed by these organizations?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

Will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:

whether they know if local churches have refused to let homosexuals participate in their gatherings or admit them as church members; if local churches have done so, whether the authorities have assessed if such refusals constitute discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation; if they are discriminatory, of the measures the authorities will adopt to eliminate such discriminatory acts; if they are not discriminatory, the rationale for that; and
how they ensure that homosexuals enjoy the "freedom to participate in religious activities" guaranteed to Hong Kong residents under Article 32 of the Basic Law?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

Regarding the number and operation of mutual aid committees ("MACs"), will the Government inform this Council of:

the number of MACs in Hong Kong at the end of each of the past five years;
the role of MACs and the government activities in which they participate at present;
the respective numbers of liaison officers and community organizers responsible for liaising with MACs and providing support to them in various District Offices in each of the past five years;
how the authorities assess the effectiveness of such liaison work; and
the measures in place to encourage those inactive MACs to play a more active role?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

Will the Government inform this Council:

of the number of meetings held with the Mainland public security authorities over the past three years to discuss law and order problems of mutual concern and police cooperation matters; and
whether any consensus on tackling cross-border law and order problems has been reached at those meetings; if so, of the details?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*12. Hon Howard YOUNG to ask:

The Hong Kong Tourist Association ("HKTA") has engaged a service provider to develop for it an Internet web-site which acts as a dedicated interface for visitors, local events and local ticketing agencies. The funding in the amount of $10.8 million for the project is provided by the Government and the Tourism Development Fund. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

it knows the detailed findings of the cost-benefit analysis conducted by HKTA in respect of the project;
it knows if HKTA will adopt measures to prevent the web-site from evolving into an Internet powerhouse or a market leader in the online travel service industry, or becoming an independent profit-making entity;
HKTA has assessed if the new web-site will become a barrier to and a competitor with local travel agents and travel service providers in entering the electronic commercial market of ticketing and other travel-related services; and
it has assessed if HKTA's selection process for the service provider was fair and transparent?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Services

*13. Hon YEUNG Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council of:

the work items initiated in respect of "parent education" in the past five years, as well as the financial provision for these items and the number of parents involved;
the difficulties encountered in implementing parent education at present; and
the measures it will adopt to enhance parent education?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

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

Two serious traffic accidents involving head-on collision of vehicles happened on the Texaco Road flyover, Tsuen Wan on the 7th of January last year and on the 9th of this month respectively, causing a death toll of 6 persons in total. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

whether the above road section has been identified as a traffic accident black-spot, and of the criteria adopted for identifying a road section as a "traffic accident black-spot";
whether it has plans to install facilities on the above road section to divide the lanes in opposite directions; if not, of the reasons for that; and
of other measures in place to reduce the chances of traffic accidents occurring on the above road section?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

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

Regarding complaints by members of the jewellery retail trade and tourist industry that the company providing the Easy Pay System ("EPS") services had changed the charging method for its service, it is understood that the company is formed by a consortium of 34 banks regulated by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and, apart from EPS, it also provides other services such as Payment by Phone, Payment Express Terminal and Octopus Add Value Machine. In view of the monopolizing edge the company has gained in the electronic payment market, will the Government inform this Council whether it will consider monitoring the charging rate and operation of the company?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services

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

Given that the current prices of residential properties have dropped substantially compared to those in 1997, when the property market was at its height, will the Government inform this Council whether:

it has statistics on the number of families owning residential units which have market values lower than the respective amounts of their outstanding mortgage loans;
it knows the number of residential units taken possession of by financial institutions because the mortgagors have defaulted on mortgage payments, in each month since January 1997; and
it has assessed the impact of the substantial downward adjustment in residential property prices on the economy of Hong Kong, the consumer sentiment of the public and their confidence in the future?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services

*17. Hon Christine LOH to ask:

Regarding the Government's effort to reduce construction and demolition waste and the potential for the use of recycled aggregates by the construction industry, will the Government inform this Council:

whether it knows the weight of filling materials both imported and used by the construction industry in each of the last two years;
of the total weight of filling materials used in public works in each of the last two years;
of the respective total weights of construction and demolition waste generated by public works and by the whole construction industry over the last two years;
of the estimated weight of recycled aggregates produced in Hong Kong that can be utilized for non-critical uses such as roads, foundations and so on during the next two years;
of the number of sets of specifications for the composition of concrete used by different government departments, and the details of each set of specifications;
of the division of responsibilities and the timetable for amending these specifications to enable the use of recycled aggregates; and
of the estimated savings to the Government arising from the use of recycled aggregates in place of new filling materials and the opportunity costs of saved landfill space?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Works

*For written reply.

III. Bills

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

1. Road Traffic Legislation (Amendment) Bill 1999	:	Secretary for Transport
2. Road Traffic Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2000	:	Secretary for Transport
3. Employment (Amendment) Bill 2000	:	Secretary for Education and Manpower
4. Employees' Compensation (Amendment) (No.2) Bill 2000	:	Secretary for Education and Manpower
5. Adaptation of Laws (No.2) Bill 1999	:	Secretary for Education and Manpower
6. Adaptation of Laws (No.19) Bill 1999	:	Secretary for Education and Manpower
7. Adaptation of Laws (No.32) Bill 1999	:	Secretary for Education and Manpower
8. Adaptation of Laws (No.33) Bill 1999	:	Secretary for Education and Manpower
9. Dutiable Commodities (Amendment) Bill 1999	:	Secretary for the Treasury
10. Securities and Futures Legislation (Provision of False Information) Bill 2000	:	Secretary for Financial Services
11. Adaptation of Laws (No.16) Bill 1998	:	Secretary for Home Affairs
12. Adaptation of Laws (No.16) Bill 1999	:	Secretary for Health and Welfare
13. Adaptation of Laws (No.34) Bill 1999	:	Secretary for Economic Services
14. Adaptation of Laws (No.11) Bill 1998	:	Secretary for Planning and Lands
15. Urban Renewal Authority Bill	:	Secretary for Planning and Lands
16. Intellectual Property (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2000	:	Secretary for Trade and Industry
17. Adaptation of Laws (No.12) Bill 1999	:	Secretary for Trade and Industry
18. Adaptation of Laws (No.13) Bill 1999	:	Secretary for Trade and Industry
19. Witness Protection Bill	:	Secretary for Security
20. Dangerous Drugs, Independent Commission Against Corruption and Police Force (Amendment) Bill 1999	:	Secretary for Security

Committee Stage and Third Reading

21. Building Management (Amendment) Bill 2000	:	Secretary for Home Affairs

IV. Motions

1. Proposed resolution under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance

Secretary for the Environment and Food to move the following motion:

RESOLVED that the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance be amended, in Part III of Schedule 1 -

in paragraph 1, by repealing "Duty" and substituting "Subject to paragraph 1A, duty";
by adding -
1. from 7 July 2000 to 31 December 2000 (both dates inclusive), at $1.11 per litre;
2. from 1 January 2001 to 31 December 2001 (both dates inclusive), at $2.00 per litre"; and
3. from 1 January 2002, at $2.89 per litre.";
by adding -
1. contains not more than 0.005% by weight of sulphur as determined by ISO 14596;
2. has a cetane number of not less than 51.0 as determined by ISO 5165;
3. has a viscosity at 40°C of not less than 2.00 mm2/s and not more than 4.50 mm2/s as determined by ISO 3104;
4. has a 95% distillation temperature of not more than 345°C as determined by ISO 3405;
5. has a specific gravity at 15°C of not more than 0.835 as determined by ISO 3675; and
6. has a distillation percentage recovered at 250°C not more than 65% by volume as determined by ISO 3405. Note: In this Part, "ISO" followed by a numerical symbol ("ISO number") means the test procedures of the International Organization for Standardization commonly known by that ISO number.".

2. Proposed resolution under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance

Secretary for Health and Welfare to move the following motion:

RESOLVED that the following Regulations, made by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board on 10 June 2000, be approved -

the Pharmacy and Poisons (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulation 2000; and
the Poisons List (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulation 2000.

(The two Regulations have been issued on 12 June 2000 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 1031/99-00)

3. Proposed resolution under the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance

Secretary for Security to move the following motion: RESOLVED that the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (Switzerland) Order, made by the Chief Executive in Council on 14 September 1999, be approved.

(Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (Switzerland) Order has been issued on 8 June 2000 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 1002/99-00)

V. Members' Motions

1.Vote of no confidence in the Chairman of the Housing Authority and the Director of Housing

Hon Fred LI: (Translation)

That, in view of the recent successive scandals on public housing involving substandard piling and construction works, this Council has no confidence in the Chairman of the Housing Authority and the Director of Housing.

Amendment to Hon Fred LI's motion

Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung: (Translation)

To add "and asks for their immediate resignation" after "this Council has no confidence in the Chairman of the Housing Authority and the Director of Housing".

Public Officers to attend	:	Chief Secretary for Administration Secretary for Housing

2. The Government not requiring the two power companies to increase their interconnection capacity and approving their financial plans

Dr Hon YEUNG Sum: (Translation)

That, as the Government has not required the Hongkong Electric Company Limited ("HEC") and the CLP Power Hong Kong Limited ("CLP") to increase their interconnection capacity and has approved the financial plans of HEC and CLP to invest a total of $57 billion up to 2004 for the extension and refurbishment of their electricity generation and supply facilities, thereby increasing the territory's electricity tariffs and the burden on the public in the coming years, this Council regrets the Government's decisions.

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Economic Services

3. Valedictory Motion

Dr Hon LEONG Che-hung: (Translation)

That this Council concludes its work at the completion of its term of office in accordance with the provision of the Basic Law and wishes for the smooth formation of the second Legislative Council to continue to serve the people of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region.

Public Officer to attend : Chief Secretary for Administration

Clerk to the Legislative Council

Legislative Council

Agenda Monday 26 June 2000 at 9:30 am

Agenda

Monday 26 June 2000 at 9:30 am