A 00/01-19(1)
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 21 February 2001 at 2:30 pm
I. Tabling of Papers| Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments | L.N. No.
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| 1. | Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Public Markets) (Designation and Amendment of Tenth Schedule) Order 2001 | 43/2001
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| 2. | Declaration of Markets Notice (Amendment) Declaration 2001 | 44/2001
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| 3. | Broadcasting Ordinance (48 of 2000) (Commencement) Notice 2001 | 45/2001
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| 4. | Intellectual Property (Miscellaneous Amendments) Ordinance 2000 (64 of 2000) (Commencement) Notice 2001 | 46/2001
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II. Questions
1. Hon NG Leung-sing to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the current on-site testing of the new seawall design for incorporation in the Jordan Road Reclamation project, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the projected efficiency of the new-design seawall in absorbing wave energy, its estimated construction cost and annual maintenance cost;
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| (b) | whether it has assessed if the new-design seawall will have impacts on marine traffic and marine ecosystem, and if it will generate environmental hygiene problems; if it is assessed that there will be such impacts and problems, of the solutions in place; and
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| (c) | whether the new seawall design will be adopted for the Central and Wanchai Reclamation project which is currently in the planning stage; if not, of the seawall design to be adopted and how the seawall with such a design compares to the new-design seawall in terms of wave energy absorption, construction cost and maintenance cost?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Works
2. Hon LAU Kong-wah to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the two "station-skipping" incidents involving East Rail trains of the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation ("KCRC") early this month, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
| (a) | the causes of these two incidents and whether they relate to KCRC's manning scale of drivers, train frequency and train braking system; and
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| (b) | the measures KCRC will adopt to prevent the recurrence of such incidents?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Transport
3. Hon Kenneth TING to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the record of an organization indicates that the number of young children being sent abroad for education has been on the increase for three consecutive years, and these children are sent abroad at a much younger age; there are comments that this situation is related to the hasty and ineffective education reforms implemented in Hong Kong in recent years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
| (a) | it has statistics on the number of Hong Kong children aged 12 or below sent to the United Kingdom or the United States of America for education in each of the past three years; if it has not, whether it will compile the statistics as soon as possible; and
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| (b) | it has assessed if the above situation is related to the public's lack of confidence in Hong Kong's education system and the education reforms implemented in recent years; if the assessment result is in the affirmative, of the counter-measures in place, including ways to incorporate the public's views when considering education reform initiatives; if the result is in the negative, of the justifications for that?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Education and Manpower
4. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)
In view of the possible link between brain tumours and the use of mobile phones, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council whether they will consider:
| (a) | conducting a study on the impact of the use of mobile phones on human health; if not, of the reasons for that;
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| (b) | implementing a mandatory labelling system whereby the mobile phone's radiation emission level must be marked on it before it is put on sale; if not, of the reasons for that; and
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| (c) | requiring mobile phone services operators to issue warnings on the potential health hazards of using mobile phones, especially by children; if not, of the reasons for that?
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| Public Officers to reply | : | Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting
Secretary for Health and Welfare
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5. Hon Fred LI to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that information about the areas of the slopes and retaining walls within the boundary of Hong Yat Court in Lam Tin, a Home Ownership Scheme ("HOS") project for which the application deadline was due last month, and details about obligations in their management, maintenance and repairs were not disclosed in the sales leaflets, and such information would only be available to prospective purchasers in the sales brochures issued after the determination of the flat-selection sequence by ballot. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the criteria it adopts for determining the information to be provided in the sales leaflets, and the reasons for not providing the information on the slopes in the sales leaflets of the housing estate;
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| (b) | how the contents of HOS sales leaflets are regulated under the existing legislation; if no regulation is in place, of the reasons for that; and
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| (c) | whether it will consider, when the next HOS project is offered for sale, releasing comprehensive information on the relevant housing estates as early as possible?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Housing
6. Hon LEUNG Fu-wah to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the labour disputes and claims successfully mediated by the Labour Department ("LD"), will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | among the labour disputes and claims settled upon mediation by LD in 1999 and 2000, of the number and percentage of cases in which the compensation awarded to the employees concerned was no less than their legal entitlements; and
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| (b) | in respect of the cases successfully mediated, whether LD has investigated if the employers concerned had contravened the requirements of the Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57) and brought prosecutions against those considered to have breached the law; if so, of the respective numbers of investigations and prosecutions in 1999 and 2000; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Education and Manpower
*7. Hon Timothy FOK Tsun-ting to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the plan to develop the West Kowloon Reclamation into an integrated arts, cultural and entertainment district, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the progress of the plan; and
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| (b) | when it will announce the timetable and relevant details of the open competition on the planning design for the district?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Planning and Lands
*8. Hon IP Kwok-him to ask: (Translation)
On certain holidays, the authorities adopt measures of closing vehicular access to roads or implementing one-way pedestrian traffic at places where large crowds gather or celebrations are held. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether it has reviewed the effectiveness of such measures; if it has, of the results of the review; if it has not, the reasons for that;
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| (b) | of the criteria adopted by the Police for deciding whether or not to implement one-way pedestrian traffic;
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| (c) | whether it will assess the inconvenience caused to residents nearby before deciding to implement closure of roads; and
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| (d) | whether police officers on the spot are empowered to make on-the-spot changes to the predetermined arrangements; if so, of the guideline they have to follow?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Security
*9. Hon LAU Wong-fat to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the cases involving applications for removing from the land lease of small houses the provisions restricting their assignment, for which additional premiums are required to be paid, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | the number of such cases approved; and
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| (b) | the amount of additional premiums received in each of the past five financial years?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Planning and Lands
*10. Dr Hon TANG Siu-tong to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the study of underground water in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | whether it has conducted or planned to conduct comprehensive and systematic studies on the following:
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| (i) | the physical phenomena of underground water in Hong Kong (including the water flow, flow rate and water level) and the extent of contamination in it;
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| (ii) | the effects of urban development and reclamation on the physical phenomena of underground water; and
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| (iii) | the effects of changes in the physical phenomena of underground water on slope safety, drainage capacity, the environment and ecology;
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| (b) | if studies have been conducted, of the scope, year of completion, conclusions and recommendations of these studies as well as the contents of the follow-up studies; if there are plans to carry out studies, of the scope, commencement date and estimated costs of such studies, and whether local academics will be commissioned to do the researches; if there are no such plans, the reasons for that;
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| (c) | whether the Slope Safety Technical Review Board has recommended in the past five years the conduct of studies on the physical phenomena of underground water; if so, whether the recommendations have been adopted;
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| (d) | whether, in planning the development of new towns or before the commencement of reclamation works, assessments have been made of the impact of such development projects or reclamation works on the physical phenomena of underground water; if so, of the results of the assessments, including the effects of physical changes of underground water on the drainage capacity of the North West New Territories; and
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| (e) | whether it will consider improving the design of drainage networks by drawing on the knowledge of the physical phenomena of underground water, so as to enhance the drainage capacity of low-lying areas and stability of slopes; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Works
*11. Hon TAM Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)
Regarding frauds in the transactions of uncompleted small houses in the New Territories, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the number of such fraud cases received by the Police in each of the past three years, and the number of developers involved; and
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| (b) | whether it will step up publicity efforts to warn the public against being cheated?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Planning and Lands
*12. Hon Cyd HO to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the deportation and removal of persons, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | (i) | of the number of removal orders made by the Chief Executive against undesirable immigrants under section 19(1)(a) of the Immigration Ordinance (Cap. 115);
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| (ii) | of the number of removal orders made by the Director of Immigration, a Deputy Director of Immigration or an Assistant Director of Immigration under section 19(1)(b) of the Immigration Ordinance against persons who did not have the right of abode in Hong Kong;
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| (iii) | of the number of deportation orders made by the Chief Executive under section 20(1)(a) of the Immigration Ordinance against immigrants who had been found guilty of an offence punishable with imprisonment for not less than two years; and
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| (iv) | of the number of deportation orders made by the Chief Executive on the grounds of public interest under section 20(1)(b) of the Immigration Ordinance in the past three years;
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| (b) | of the respective numbers of appeals which were allowed, petitions which were made for suspension or rescission of the above orders and the petitions which were allowed in each of the above categories of cases;
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| (c) | whether it will consider publishing the above statistics regularly; if not, of the reasons for that; and
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| (d) | whether it will consider requesting the Central People's Government to remove the reservation, in respect of "restrictions on expulsion from Hong Kong" when the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights was extended to Hong Kong, which does not confer a right of review in respect of a decision to deport a person not having the right of abode in Hong Kong or a right to be represented for this purpose before the competent authority; if not, of the justifications for that?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Security
*13. Hon SIN Chung-kai to ask: (Translation)
At present, if owners of mortgaged dwellings which are used as their principal places of residence have assessable income in a financial year, they are entitled to claim "home loan interest deductions" in respect of the interest paid on mortgages in that year; if they have no assessable income, they may nominate their spouses who live in the same dwelling and have assessable income to make such claims. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the reasons for the Administration stipulating that these persons may only nominate their spouses but not their children to lodge the claims; and
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| (b) | whether the Administration will consider amending the relevant legislation to give the children of such persons the same right; if not, of the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for the Treasury
*14. Hon Albert CHAN to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the impact of windshear on ascending or descending aircraft, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the details, findings and recommendations of the studies on windshear commissioned by the Administration when designing the Hong Kong International Airport ("HKIA") at Chek Lap Kok;
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| (b) | during the first two years after the opening of HKIA,
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| (i) | how the incidence of windshear recorded compares with the estimation of the above studies; and
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| (ii) | whether there were incidents in which aircraft movement was affected by windshear; if so, of the details of these incidents and the contingency actions taken by the Civil Aviation Department; and
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| (c) | of the measures to ensure that the phenomenon of windshear will not jeopardize the safety of ascending or descending aircraft?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Economic Services
*15. Ir Dr Hon HO Chung-tai to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the recycling of construction and demolition ("C&D") materials, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the average weight of C&D materials dumped at landfills every day last year;
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| (b) | whether it has arranged for the recovery of C&D materials from landfills; if so, of the manpower involved and the weight of C&D materials recovered daily; and
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| (c) | of the number of companies now engaged in recycling C&D materials in Hong Kong, and the support provided to such companies?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for the Environment and Food
*16. Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)
Full-time housewives are excluded from the Mandatory Provident Fund Scheme implemented by the Administration. In this regard, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the present number of full-time housewives;
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| (b) | whether it has studied if the above exclusion constitutes discrimination against full-time housewives and denial of their contribution to society; if it has, of the results of its study; if it has not, the reasons for that;
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| (c) | whether it has consulted the Equal Opportunities Commission and sought legal advice on whether such exclusion constitutes a breach of the provisions of the Sex Discrimination Ordinance (Cap. 480) as well as the Family Status Discrimination Ordinance (Cap. 527); if it has, of the outcome of the consultation and the legal advice obtained; if it has not, whether it will consult and seek legal advice shortly; and
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| (d) | apart from implementing the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme and providing the Old Age Allowance, whether it has any policies and measures to support the livelihood of full-time housewives when they reach 65 years old; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Financial Services
*17. Hon CHEUNG Man-kwong to ask: (Translation)
With regard to refresher courses provided by the Education Department to serving teachers, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the number of places provided for serving teachers in the respective refresher courses on English Language, Chinese Language, Putonghua and Information Technology Education in each of the past five years and the respective public expenditure involved;
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| (b) | whether schools may apply to the authorities for funding to engage substitute teachers so that serving teachers can attend refresher courses; if so, of the refresher courses meeting the relevant application criteria, and the relevant funding allocated in each of the past five years; if not, the reasons for that; and
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| (c) | of the refresher courses terminated in the past five years and will soon be terminated by the authorities, the reasons for their termination and the replacement courses provided?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Education and Manpower
*18. Hon LAW Chi-kwong to ask: (Translation)
There are now three refuge centres in Hong Kong which provide temporary accommodation for women and their children who are faced with family crises. Regarding the staffing of and the services provided by these centres, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the staffing establishment of each centre;
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| (b) | (i) | of the number of admissions of women into these centres and their average length of stay; and
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| (ii) | whether there have been instances in which these centres were fully occupied, resulting in women in need not being admitted immediately; if so, of the highest number of women awaiting admission and their average waiting time in the past three years;
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| (c) | whether the women occupants, on admission into these centres, are required to sign an undertaking to move out after a certain period of time; if so, of the length of the period; and
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| (d) | whether there are in/out time restrictions for the occupants of these centres; if so, of the reasons for setting these time restrictions, and whether the centres allow entry and exit of those occupants who go to work and return outside the permitted hours?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Health and Welfare
*19. Hon Mrs Sophie LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the feasibility of installing green traffic light signal count-down timers in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:
| (a) | of the progress of the relevant study; and
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| (b) | whether it plans to conduct tests on the count-down timers in order to evaluate their effectiveness and their suitability for Hong Kong; if so, of the timetable for conducting the tests and the costs needed; if not, the reasons for that?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Transport
*20. Hon Howard YOUNG to ask:
Regarding flight delays, will the Government inform this Council of:
| (a) | the respective numbers of delays in flight departure and arrival for more than one hour, since the opening of the Hong Kong International Airport at Chek Lap Kok; and
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| (b) | the actions the Airport Authority and the Government have taken to reduce flight delays?
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Public Officer to reply
: Secretary for Economic Services
*For written reply.
III. Motions
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 29 January 2001, be approved -
| (a) | the Pharmacy and Poisons (Amendment) Regulation 2001; and
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| (b) | the Poisons List (Amendment) Regulation 2001.
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(The two Regulations have been issued on 2 February 2001 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 375/00-01)
IV. Members' Motions
1. Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
Hon LAU Chin-shek / Hon James TIEN to move the following motion:
RESOLVED that the Clubs (Safety of Premises) (Fees) (Amendment) Regulation 2001, published as Legal Notice No. 13 of 2001 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 17 January 2001, be amended by repealing section 2(a), (b), (c), (d), (e), (f), (g) and (h).
Public Officer to attend
: Secretary for the Treasury
2. Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
Hon LAU Chin-shek / Hon James TIEN to move the following motion:
RESOLVED that the Builders' Lifts and Tower Working Platforms (Safety) (Fees) (Amendment) Regulation 2001, published as Legal Notice No. 14 of 2001 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 17 January 2001, be repealed.
Public Officer to attend
: Secretary for the Treasury
3. Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
Hon LAU Chin-shek / Hon James TIEN to move the following motion:
RESOLVED that the Fire Service (Installation Contractors) (Amendment) Regulation 2001, published as Legal Notice No. 15 of 2001 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 17 January 2001, be repealed.
Public Officer to attend : Secretary for the Treasury
4. Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
Hon LAU Chin-shek / Hon James TIEN to move the following motion:
RESOLVED that the Timber Stores (Amendment) Regulation 2001, published as Legal Notice No. 16 of 2001 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 17 January 2001, be repealed.
Public Officer to attend
: Secretary for the Treasury
5. Conditions of employment offered by subvented organizations and contractors of government projects or services
Hon LEE Cheuk-yan: (Translation)
That this Council urges the Government to require that the conditions of employment offered by subvented organizations and contractors of government projects or services to their staff should comply with the minimum standards of employment, including minimum wages and upper limits on working hours.
Amendment to Hon LEE Cheuk-yan's motion
Hon YEUNG Yiu-chung: (Translation)
To delete "minimum" from "minimum wages" and substitute with "reasonable"; to delete "upper limits on"; and to add ", provision of rest days, paid leave and termination benefits, etc., so as to enable the staff to enjoy the full employment protection and benefits conferred by legislation; at the same time, the Government should explore ways of ensuring that the remuneration and benefits for the staff concerned will not be subject to unreasonable exploitation" after "working hours".
Public Officer to attend
: Secretary for Education and Manpower
6. Negative assets
Hon Howard YOUNG: (Translation)
That, as the local property market is still beset by the problem of negative assets, which not only undermines local people's desire for consumption and investment and puts pressure on the stability of the financial market, but also adversely affects the overall economy of Hong Kong, thereby causing plights among many middle-class people, small and medium enterprises and people with negative assets, this Council urges the Government to expeditiously adopt effective measures to improve the situation, including:
| (a) | reviewing the housing policy, including examining the value of the existence of and the function of the Home Ownership Scheme, and whether they contradict the original intention of establishing the Scheme;
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| (b) | urging the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to encourage banks to adopt a tolerant mortgage policy towards people with negative assets, such as allowing a grace period for recovering from them the differences between the amounts of the mortgage loans and the market prices of the flats, offering them low-interest loans for repaying such differences, and adopting the temporary arrangement of allowing them to repay the principal, but not the interest, of the loans; and
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| (c) | urging the Hong Kong Monetary Authority to encourage banks to adopt the same mortgage policy for both new and second-hand property.
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Amendments to Hon Howard YOUNG's motion
| (i) | Hon Frederick FUNG: (Translation)
To add "formulate a clear and stable housing policy, maintain the role of the Home Ownership Scheme in assisting people who cannot afford private property in acquiring their own flats, and" after "this Council urges the Government to"; to delete "(a) reviewing the housing policy, including examining the value of the existence of and the function of the Home Ownership Scheme, and whether they contradict the original intention of establishing the Scheme;"; to delete "(b)" and substitute with "(a)"; and to delete "(c)" and substitute with "(b)".
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| (ii) | Hon Albert HO: (Translation)
To delete "the housing" after "(a) reviewing" and substitute with "Hong Kong's overall"; to delete ", including examining the value of the existence of and the function of the Home Ownership Scheme, and whether they contradict the original intention of establishing the Scheme" and substitute with "and, providing appropriate assistance to people with negative assets and, at the same time, formulating a clear and stable housing policy, honouring its pledge to build not less than 50,000 public housing units each year primarily for renting out, and affirming the importance of the Home Ownership Scheme in assisting people who cannot afford private property to acquire their own flats;"; to delete "mortgage" after "to adopt a tolerant"; to delete "offering them low-interest loans for repaying such differences, and adopting the temporary arrangement of allowing them to repay the principal, but not the interest, of the loans" and substitute with "offering to those households who repay their mortgage loans regularly an interest rate close to the level for new property, extending the period of repayment and, as a temporary measure, allowing them to repay the interest, but not the principal, of the loans"; and to delete "the same mortgage policy" and substitute with "similar mortgage policies".
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| (iii) | Hon CHAN Kam-lam: (Translation)
To add "policies on" after "(a) reviewing the"; to delete "policy" from "housing policy" and substitute with "and land supply"; to delete "examining the value of the existence of and the function of"; and to delete ", and whether they contradict the original intention of establishing the Scheme" and substitute with "and various loan schemes which assist people in acquiring their own flats".
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| Public Officers to attend | : | Secretary for Housing
Secretary for Financial Services
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Clerk to the Legislative Council
