Council Meeting ( Agenda ) 22 October 2003

A 03/04-4

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 22 October 2003 at 2:30 pm

I.Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments		L.N. No.
1.	Securities and Futures (Contracts Limits and Reportable Positions) (Amendment) (No. 2) Rules 2003	221/2003
2.	Dutiable Commodities Ordinance (Amendment of Schedules 1A and 1B) Notice 2003	222/2003
3.	Import and Export Ordinance (Amendment of Schedules 2 and 3) Notice 2003	223/2003

Other Papers

1.	No.10	-	The Land Registry Trading Fund Hong Kong 2002/2003 Annual Report
(to be presented by Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands)
2.	No.11	-	Companies Registry Annual Report 2002-03
(to be presented by Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury)
3.	No.12	-	Hongkong Post Annual Report 2002/03
(to be presented by Secretary for Economic Development and Labour)
4.	No.13	-	Environment and Conservation FundTrustee Report 2002-2003
(to be presented by Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works)

II. Questions

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

Although the local business community welcomes the Mainland/Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement ("CEPA") signed between the Central Government and the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and considers that CEPA provides golden opportunities for entering the Mainland markets, they have some doubts and worries about doing business in the Mainland. For instance, the lengthy quarantine and the complicated licensing procedures render Hong Kong businessmen unable to benefit from CEPA. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	how the authorities will, upon implementation of CEPA, assist the local business community in streamlining the complicated administrative procedures they have to go through when doing business in the Mainland; and
(b)	whether it has appealed to the Central Government for relaxation of foreign exchange control, so that the local business community can flexibly deploy their capital in the future; if so, of the progress to date?

Public Officer to reply :

Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

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

Will the Government inform this Council of:

(a)	the respective numbers of crimes in which the suspects were Mainland visitors who travelled to Hong Kong on individual visit endorsements, business visas and other types of documentation, together with a breakdown of such crimes by category; and
(b)	the number of Mainland visitors convicted of criminal offences and the sentences passed on them in the past 36 months?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

3. Hon CHAN Yuen-han to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that the Hospital Authority ("HA") has reduced the intake of graduates in Medicine due to its expenditure reduction, thus depriving the graduates of their chances to receive specialist training and placement in Hong Kong. They are thus unable to apply their expertise to serve the community and some even have to practise overseas, resulting in a waste of the public money spent on training the talents. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the respective numbers of graduates in Hong Kong in each of the past five years and, among them, the percentage of those who have been employed to receive specialist training by HA;
(b)	as it has been reported that quite a number of graduates in Medicine are offered to receive the Family Medicine Specialist Training of a shorter duration, of the criteria adopted by HA for allocating graduates to receive such specialist training; and
(c)	of the average cost of training a graduate in Medicine, and the measures taken by the authorities to assist them in finding employment so as to avoid wasting resources?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

4. Hon Fred LI to ask: (Translation)

According to the 1989 Water Supply Agreement, the prices of Dongjiang water supplied to Hong Kong are to be determined each year through consultation between the governments of Guangdong Province and Hong Kong, and the adjustment range depends on the increase in operating costs, taking into account changes in relevant price indices of the two places, and the exchange rate between the Hong Kong Dollar and Renminbi. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the changes in the three factors just mentioned, namely "operating costs", "relevant price indices in Guangdong and Hong Kong" and "exchange rate", in each of the past five years; and, based on the changes in these factors, how the current Dongjiang water prices should be adjusted;
(b)	whether it has sought mediation or assistance from the Central People's Government ("CPG") during its discussion with the Guangdong Authority on formulating a new water supply agreement; if it has, of the reasons for that, and whether CPG has proposed to compensate the injured party by itself; and
(c)	whether its negotiation with the Guangdong Authority on the prices and amount of Dongjiang water to be supplied to Hong Kong is nearing completion; if so, of the major negotiation results; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

5. Hon Albert HO to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the appointment of retired judges to public offices, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)

whether the authorities have, in appointing retired judges to public offices, an established practice of granting permission for them to receive their pension in addition to the remuneration for the public offices concerned; if so, of the rationale and criteria for adopting the practice, and relevant examples over the past five years; if not, the reasons and criteria for the authorities' granting permission, in appointing the present Chairperson of the Equal Opportunities Commission, for him to receive his pension in addition to the remuneration for the public office concerned; and

(b)

whether the authorities have consulted the Judiciary on their granting of permission for the present Chairperson of the Equal Opportunities Commission to receive his pension in addition to the above remuneration; if so, whether the consultation was made before or after the granting of the permission?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

6. Hon Albert CHAN to ask: (Translation)

According to my observation, the Chief Executive has had more meetings with Legislative Council ("LegCo") Members from the Democratic Alliance for Betterment of Hong Kong, the Liberal Party, the Hong Kong Progressive Alliance and the Breakfast Group than with Members from the pro-democracy camp since the commencement of the current LegCo term in October, 2000. This gives many people an impression that he listens to public opinions partially. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the total number of times the Chief Executive has offered to meet LegCo Members since the beginning of the current LegCo term, with a breakdown listing the number of invitations sent to each LegCo Member and the total number of hours of such meetings;
(b)	of the selection criteria based on which the Chief Executive offers to meet LegCo Members; and
(c)	whether the Chief Executive will consider enhancing communication with LegCo Members from the pro-democracy camp, so as to change the public's impression that he listens to public opinions partially?

Public Officer to reply : Chief Secretary for Administration

*7. Hon WONG Sing-chi to ask: (Translation)

The Building Safety Loan Scheme ("BSLS") administered by the Buildings Department ("BD") provides loans to private building owners for carrying out maintenance and repair works for the purpose of restoring or improving the safety of their buildings and/or private slopes. Since the implementation of BSLS in July 2001, BD has only granted loans of $155.57 million as at July this year, with over $500 million remaining in the fund for the Scheme, and the number of owners whose applications were successful is only 5 185. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of a monthly breakdown of the number of applications received since the implementation of BSLS, and the respective numbers of successful and rejected applications, as well as the respective amounts of loans involved;
(b)	of the number of "statutory orders" such as investigation orders, repair orders, demolition orders, etc. issued to private building owners by BD over the past two years, the number of owners who have failed to complete the required works within the period specified in such orders, the percentage of such owners among all owners served with such orders, and the reasons for their failure to complete the required works; and
(c)	of its plans to encourage private building owners to apply for loans under BSLS to carry out maintenance and repair works, as well as assist owners of private buildings without Owners' Corporations in applying for loans under BSLS, so as to facilitate early improvement to their buildings; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

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

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

Regarding the penalties imposed by the court on employers for employing illegal workers, will the Government inform this Council of:

(a)	the number of employers convicted of employing illegal workers and the details of such cases;
(b)	the number and percentage of cases in which convicted employers were sentenced to imprisonment; and
(c)	the average term of imprisonment imposed on these employers; whether the court will be invited to consider reviewing the guideline on the term of imprisonment for such offence, with a view to strengthening the deterrent effect

in the past three years? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*9. Hon CHOY So-yuk to ask: (Translation)

At present, non-profit-making organizations may apply for funding from the Environment and Conservation Fund for launching their community waste recovery projects. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the types of materials recovered and their respective weights, broken down by waste recovery project completed over the past two years;
(b)	of the unit cost of recovery (i.e. the ratio between the amount of funding granted and the weight of the recovered materials) of the projects mentioned in (a) above, and the market price per tonne of the materials recovered, broken down by type of recovered materials; and
(c)	whether the organizers of the community waste recovery projects had offered the materials recovered in the past two years for sale in the market and forwarded the revenue so generated to the authorities; if so, of the sum received by the authorities; if not, how the organizers and the authorities have disposed of the materials recovered?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

Will the Government inform this Council of the details of the services provided by public relations firms which were commissioned by government departments in each of the past three years, including the government departments and the public relations firms involved, the respective values and contents of the contracts, and the services provided by these firms? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

It has been reported that in May and June this year, more than 8 000 people, or roughly seven times the figure in April, took boat cruises for dolphin watching, with the peak number of boats engaged in such activities being at 30 a day. Some boats travelled very close to other boats, posing possible hazards; while some cut their way through schools of dolphins, causing serious disturbance to the habitat of dolphins. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:

(a)	of the measures in place to regulate dolphin-watching activities;
(b)	of the number of operators of such boats prosecuted for breaching legislation on marine and wildlife protection in each of the past 12 months; whether the Authorities have plans to step up law enforcement actions; if not, of the reasons for that; and
(c)	whether they plan to step up the regulation of dolphin-watching activities; if so, of the details of the plans; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

It is learnt that before 1991, as there were substantial differences between the first registration taxes and licence fees for vans and private cars, and saloon cars with a carrying capacity of seven passengers were not yet widely available, some car owners had converted their vans into passenger carrying private cars. In order to curb such conversions, the first registration tax and licence fee for vans were increased in 1991. However, with the increasing popularity of saloon cars with a carrying capacity of seven passengers, the number of such conversions has decreased since the 1990's. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

(a)	the authorities have reviewed the first registration tax and licence fee for vans in the past two years; if so, of the review results; if not, the reasons for that;
(b)	it will consult the trade on the need to reduce the above first registration tax and licence fee; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c)	it will reduce the above first registration tax and licence fee; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

*13. Hon Albert CHAN to ask: (Translation)

In reply to my question on 8 May last year, the Administration stated that it had issued warnings to the operators of the shuttle bus services for the Kingswood Ginza and Park'n Shop in Tin Shui Wai, and that it was considering means to tighten the regulation of free shuttle bus services. However, I have recently received complaints alleging that the Police had time and again prosecuted the residents' bus operators at Tin Shui Wai for breaching the stipulations on the routing prescribed by the Transport Department ("TD") and slightly breaching the requirement on the frequency and time of the services but they had not instituted prosecutions against the persons concerned in relation to the free shuttle bus services and the residents' bus services provided by the operators of Kingswood Ginza and Harbour Plaza Resort City respectively in the same district, which have been operating without the approval of the TD. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the reasons for the inconsistency in its yardstick for law enforcement against various types of non-franchised bus services; and
(b)	whether it will consider relaxing the restrictions on residents' coach services, such as their routing and service hours, so that more residents may use such services?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

*14. Hon CHOY So-yuk to ask: (Translation)

At present, the Government provides waste separation bins of three different colours in public places to recover plastic bottles, aluminium cans and waste papers respectively. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the amount of public money spent so far on the waste recovery scheme (with a breakdown of the costs of recovery bins, the fees payable to transport companies and recyclable waste collectors, etc.);
(b)	of the respective weights of the different types of materials recovered through the scheme so far;
(c)	of the unit cost of recovery (i.e. the ratio between the amount of funding granted and the weight of the recovered materials) of each type of recovered materials, and the market price per tonne of the materials recovered, broken down by type of materials recovered; and
(d)	whether the recovered materials mentioned above have been offered for sale in the market; if so, of the revenue so generated by the authorities; if not, how the authorities have disposed of the materials recovered?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

Will the Executive Authorities inform this Council whether they know if the contractors for the Mass Transit Railway Tseung Kwan O Extension project have made claims against the MTR Corporation Limited; if they have, of:

(a)	the number of such claims;
(b)	the nature and amount of each claim, and the percentage of the amount of each claim in relation to the value of the contract concerned; and
(c)	the number of claims still unresolved and the total amount being claimed?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

Regarding Mainland residents visiting Hong Kong individually, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	whether it knows the total number of applications for endorsements to visit Hong Kong individually for leisure which have been rejected by Mainland public security authorities since 1 July this year and the main reasons for their rejections; if so, of the details;
(b)	of the number of Mainland residents holding endorsements for visiting Hong Kong individually for leisure who were refused entry by the Immigration Department at border control points in the past three months, together with a breakdown by the reasons for refusal; and
(c)	whether it has reviewed if there are loopholes in the reciprocal notification mechanism between the Mainland and Hong Kong in respect of the lists of persons who are forbidden to enter Hong Kong; if so, of the review results?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

Regarding the efforts to combat the employment of illegal workers, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)

of the following over the past 36 months -

(i)	the respective numbers of illegal workers arrested by law enforcement officers, including construction site labours, foreign domestic helpers engaged in non-domestic duties, and other types of illegal workers, together with a breakdown by the travel documents they held;
(ii)	the number of operations against illegal employment executed by the officers of the Labour Department and the Immigration Department ("ImmD");
(iii)	the number of visitors who were suspected of attempting to enter Hong Kong for illegal employment and thus refused entry by ImmD;
(iv)	the number of reports made to ImmD by members of the public on suspected employment of illegal workers; and
(v)	the number of construction site controllers convicted of employing persons not lawfully employable (including illegal immigrants), and the average penalty imposed by the court on such persons; and

(b)

of the new measures being considered by the Administration to step up efforts to combat the employment of illegal workers?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

It has been reported that in order to promote business opportunities for the taxi trade, the Government has extended the Taxi Hiring Scheme for official duty journeys to 98 government departments since the end of February this year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the number of hirings made and the total amount of hire charges since the implementation of the scheme;
(b)	of the evaluations of the scheme by the taxi trade; and
(c)	how to balance the scheme with the expenditure-saving policy of the Government?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

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

At present, no lockers are provided by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department ("LCSD") for public use on the beaches it manages. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(a)	of the number of thefts on the beaches reported to the Police and the number of suspects arrested for alleged thefts thereat over the past three years;
(b)	whether LCSD plans to provide lockers for public use on the beaches it manages; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c)	of the measures in place to further safeguard the property of beach-goers?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

*20. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the problem of eating and drinking on the trains of the Mass Transit Railway, Kowloon-Canton Railway and Light Rail, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:

(a)	the number of complaints about passengers eating and drinking on the trains received by each of the above railway operators in each of the past five years, as well as the number of warnings issued and prosecutions instituted for such offences; and
(b)	the measures taken by these operators to reduce the nuisance caused to other passengers by those who eat and drink on the trains?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

*For written reply.

III. Statements

Hong Kong's Economy and the Management of Public Finances

Financial Secretary

IV. Bills

First Reading Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2003
Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)
Road Traffic (Amendment) Bill 2003	:	Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

V. Motions

Proposed resolution under the Western Harbour Crossing Ordinance

Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works to move the following motion:

RESOLVED that the Western Harbour Crossing (Amendment) Bylaw 2003, made by the Western Harbour Tunnel Company Limited on 30 September 2003, be approved.

CB(3) 22/03-04

VI. Members' Motions

Indoor air quality

Hon CHOY So-yuk: (Translation)

That, as good indoor air quality is essential to healthy living and conducive to reducing the threat of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and other respiratory diseases, this Council urges the Government to expeditiously account for the progress in implementing the "Indoor Air Quality Management Programme", promptly and fully implement the relevant proposals, including formulating relevant laws and regulations, and at the same time educate the public extensively on the correct ways to keep the indoor air fresh, so as to prevent poor indoor air quality from doing harm to people's health.

Amendment to Hon CHOY So-yuk's motion
Hon Howard YOUNG: (Translation)

To delete ", promptly and fully" after "this Council urges the Government to expeditiously account for the progress in implementing the 'Indoor Air Quality Management Programme' " and substitute with "and, taking into account the pace of economic recovery and after assessing the impacts on the business environment, gradually"; and to delete ", including formulating relevant laws and regulations" after "implement the relevant proposals" and substitute with "on a voluntary basis".

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

Elderly persons taking up permanent residence in the Mainland

Hon CHAN Kam-lam: (Translation)

That, as the existing policy fails to meet the needs of the elderly persons who intend to take up permanent residence in the Mainland, this Council urges the Government to:

(a)	extend the "Portable Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme" to places outside Guangdong Province;
(b)	solve the medical problems encountered by elderly persons who take up permanent residence in the Mainland and continue to receive Comprehensive Social Security Assistance; and
(c)	relax the limits of absence from Hong Kong for Old Age Allowance recipients.

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

Clerk to the Legislative Council

Legislative Council

Agenda Wednesday 22 October 2003 at 2:30 pm

Agenda

Wednesday 22 October 2003 at 2:30 pm