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A 07/08-14

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 16 January 2008 at 11:00 am

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
Road Traffic (Driving Licences) (Amendment) Regulation 20083/2008

Other Paper

No.57-Legal Aid Services Council
Annual Report 2006-2007
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

II. Questions

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

Regarding the Hong Kong Monetary Authority ("HKMA")'s monitoring banks' compliance with the guideline capping the loan-to-value ratio for residential mortgage lending at 70% ("70% guideline"), i.e. the mortgage loan amount should not exceed 70% of the market value of the residential property concerned, will the Government inform this Council:
Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

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

At present, in the calculation of the amount of assistance payable to recipients under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance ("CSSA") Scheme, the earnings from employment have to be deducted, but a maximum of $2,500 of earnings can be disregarded each month. Such an arrangement aims at encouraging CSSA recipients to find and remain in employment. However, quite a number of CSSA recipients have relayed to me that the current arrangement often makes them "work more but earn less" because their earnings from employment, after deducting the employment-related expenses, are more or less the same as the amount of CSSA payments deducted. Earlier, a young man on CSSA had been found to have earnings from employment and was therefore required by the Social Welfare Department ("SWD") to return the overpaid CSSA. It was suspected that his failure to cope with the pressure of livelihood had led to his committing suicide subsequently. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Labour and Welfare

3. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)

Recently, some members of the public have reflected to me that on the polling day of the District Council election on 18 November last year, some people who claimed to be from a certain policy research centre conducted an exit poll outside the exits of polling stations, enquiring electors who had cast their votes about their voting preferences. These people claimed that they had been commissioned by the Government to conduct the poll. Some of them even entered the polling stations to conduct the poll. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council whether:
Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs

4. Hon Albert Jinghan CHENG to ask: (Translation)

In Hong Kong in recent years, franchised buses were involved in a number of traffic accidents and it is often heard that the vehicle bodies of the double-decked buses involved in the accidents were severely damaged after colliding with other vehicles, and passengers on the upper deck who were thrown out of the buses were injured or died. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Transport and Housing

5. Hon James TIEN to ask: (Translation)

There have been public comments that the current penalties and sentences for dangerous driving are too lenient, and this is one of the reasons why it is so difficult to curb the offence. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Transport and Housing

6. Hon TAM Heung-man to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the impact of the sub-prime mortgage problem in the United States on Hong Kong's economy, will the Government inform this Council:
Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

*7. Hon KWONG Chi-kin to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:
Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Labour and Welfare

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

Given that recently, politically exposed persons have successively received intimidation letters, will the Government inform this Council of:
Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Security

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

A member of the public has approached me for assistance, saying that he had suffered losses earlier due to the bursting of communal flushing water pipes in his public rental housing ("PRH") unit. When he claimed compensation from the Hong Kong Housing Authority ("HA"), the HA's representative indicated that under clause IV(4) of the Tenancy Agreement for his PRH unit, "the landlord shall not be under any liability whatsoever to the Tenant or any member of the Tenant's family or any servant or licensee of his in respect of any damage sustained to the person or property of the Tenant or such other person caused by or through or in any way due to the overflow of water or drainage from any part of the building of which the said flat forms part." Therefore, "HA does not have any contractual liabilities in the incident". In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Transport and Housing

*10. Dr Hon YEUNG Sum to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:
Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Development

*11. Hon LI Fung-ying to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that the Ambulancemen Grade and the Fire Services Communications Centre of the Fire Services Department are both experiencing the problem of manpower shortage. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Security

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

In view of the media reports about the detection of veterinary drug residues in canned pork by the authorities in Singapore, the Centre for Food Safety ("CFS") has recently taken 19 samples of canned pork products for testing and found a trace amount of nitrofuran metabolite in two of them. Moreover, the State General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine has detected the presence of potassium bromate in a potato chip product, which is available for sale in Hong Kong, but the local agent concerned has not recalled the product. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Food and Health

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

It has been reported that following an incident in which a person was bitten by stray dogs in Ma Tin Pok Village of Yuen Long at the end of December 2007, staff of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department ("AFCD") caught and detained 16 stray dogs including new-born puppies in the vicinity. I have learnt that some villagers pointed out that those stray dogs ("construction site dogs") were abandoned by a construction site nearby upon completion of works. Since the incident, various animal protection organizations in the community had contacted AFCD to indicate their willingness to adopt these dogs, but AFCD rejected their requests. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Food and Health

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

Regarding the removal of unauthorized building works ("UBWs"), will the Government inform this Council:
Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Development

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

It has been reported that electric vehicles are now quite common in overseas countries, and such vehicles are expected to become popular in the next five to 10 years. Yet, people from the automobile industry have pointed out that the government policies and measures for promoting electric vehicles are inadequate, and even hinder the popularization of such vehicles. As a result, electric vehicles produced in Hong Kong can only be sold to Europe but not in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Transport and Housing
(in the absence of Secretary for the Environment)


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

To facilitate expeditious and cost-effective provision of Wi-Fi service in public places, the Government has made available government properties and facilities in public streets, such as lamp posts and road bridges/footbridges, at nominal rental to authorized service providers for the installation of Wi-Fi antennas. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

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

Recently, the Public Policy Research Institute ("the Institute") of the Hong Kong Polytechnic University commissioned by the Home Affairs Bureau to conduct a telephone poll on West Kowloon Cultural District was alleged to have deviated from the professional guidelines when conducting the poll. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Home Affairs

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

I have received a complaint from a member of the public that his application for using his smart identity ("ID") card for public library services was unsuccessful because the information stored in his smart ID card could not be retrieved. The library staff told him that there had been similar cases in the past and the problem might be related to the fact that the surface of the chip in the ID card had oxidized. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Security

*19. Hon Daniel LAM Wai-keung to ask: (Translation)

The statutory no smoking areas have been expanded since 1 January 2007. Yet, quite a number of members of the public have reflected to me that they frequently see people smoking in parks which have been designated as no smoking areas (especially in the early hours of the morning and at night), and such acts cause nuisance to other park users. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Food and Health

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

The Housing Authority decided in June 2003 that new public rental housing ("PRH") units would no longer be provided with metal gates. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Transport and Housing

*For written reply.

III. Bills

First Reading

Munsang College and Heep Yunn School (Change of Corporate Names and General Amendments) Bill 2008

Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)

Munsang College and Heep Yunn School (Change of Corporate Names and General Amendments) Bill 2008:Secretary for Education

IV. Members' Motions

  1. Coping with inflation

    Dr Hon YEUNG Sum:
    (Translation)

    That, as the inflation cycle has returned recently, quite a number of public transport operators and public utilities have applied for increase in fares or charges, and the prices for food and oil supplies continue to rise, thus aggravating the burden on the public, this Council urges the Government to adopt measures to cope with inflation so as to alleviate the pressure of livelihood on the public; such measures should include:

    (a)assessing the public's affordability when considering applications for fare increase by public transport operators;

    (b)lowering the rates of permitted return of the two power companies to single digit so as to reduce electricity charges when formulating the new Scheme of Control Agreements;

    (c)discussing with the Mainland authorities to further open up the livestock market in order to protect the interests of Hong Kong consumers, and requesting the major food suppliers to ensure the supply of major food items and foodstuffs from the Mainland so as to prevent the prices of food items from increasing heftily due to insufficient supply; and

    (d)increasing the amount of Old Age Allowance to prevent the quality of life of the elderly from declining.

    Amendments to motion
    (i)Hon Frederick FUNG: (Translation)

    To delete "as" after "That," and substitute with "the problem of disparity between the rich and the poor in Hong Kong continues to worsen, wages of the grassroots have not increased and"; to add "waiving the rates and Government rent for the whole of the next financial year, subject to a ceiling of $5,000 per quarter per household; (b) waiving the rent of public rental housing for one to two months; (c)" after "(a)"; to delete the original "(b)" and substitute with "(d)"; to delete the original "(c)" and substitute with "(e)"; and to delete "and (d)" after "from increasing heftily due to insufficient supply;" and substitute with "(f) adopting the method whereby the rates of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance payments are determined on the basis of the inflation forecast, and shortening the adjustment cycle; and (g)".

    (ii)Hon Tommy CHEUNG: (Translation)

    To delete "the inflation cycle has returned recently," after "That, as"; to add "recently" after "public utilities have"; to delete "and oil supplies continue to rise, thus aggravating" after "the prices for food" and substitute with "including flour, meat and edible oil, etc, have also risen sharply, which will definitely push up inflation and aggravate"; to delete "to" after "this Council urges the Government" and substitute with ", in anticipation of recording a substantial surplus, to expeditiously"; to delete "lowering the rates of permitted return of the two power companies to single digit so as to reduce electricity charges when formulating" after "(b)" and substitute with "the Government having to effectively monitor the two power companies to ensure that they will implement the reduction in their rates of permitted return, although such rates have been lowered to single digit in"; to delete "further open up the" after "the Mainland authorities to" and substitute with "abolish the quota system for supplying livestock to Hong Kong and freely determine the import volume according to market supply and demand, expeditiously providing additional support facilities such as lairages in slaughterhouses, etc, to ensure the further opening up of Hong Kong's"; to delete "and foodstuffs" after "the supply of major food items" and substitute with ", foodstuffs and key ingredients, including grain flour, for the manufacture of food"; to delete "and" after "increasing heftily due to insufficient supply;"; and to add "; and (e) conducting a comprehensive review of the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance ('CSSA') system, including reviewing the period of conducting regular reviews and the weightings of individual consumption items in the Social Security Assistance Index of Prices, so as to assist CSSA families in coping with the impact brought about by inflation" immediately before the full stop.

    (iii)Hon CHAN Kam-lam: (Translation)

    To delete "as" after "That," and substitute with "although Hong Kong's economy continues to recover, the public at large still cannot fully benefit, moreover,"; to delete "recently" after "the inflation cycle has returned"; to delete "and" after "for increase in fares or charges,"; to add "also" after "food and oil supplies"; to delete "public" after "the burden on the" and substitute with "livelihood of the public; in this connection"; to delete "lowering the rates of permitted return of" after "(b)" and substitute with "reducing the electricity charges chargable by"; to delete "to single digit so as to reduce electricity charges when formulating" after "the two power companies" and substitute with "immediately after"; to add "take effect" after "the new Scheme of Control Agreements"; to delete "and" after "increasing heftily due to insufficient supply;"; and to add "waiving the rates for one year, subject to a ceiling of $5,000 per quarter; (e) freezing various Government fees and charges which affect people's livelihood; (f) actively studying various measures to reduce the tolls of the Eastern Harbour Crossing, Western Harbour Crossing and Route 3 (Country Park Section), including buying them out or extending their franchise periods; (g) providing two additional months of Social Security Allowance and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance payments; and (h)" after "(d)".

    (iv)Hon CHAN Yuen-han: (Translation)

    To delete ", as" after "That"; to add "using the fiscal surplus to waive the fees and charges for public facilities and services provided by the Government; (c) drawing up a new water supply agreement with the Guangdong Province with payment based on the supply quantity, so as to lower the water charges payable by the public; (d)" after "(b)"; to delete the original "(c)" and substitute with "(e) enhancing competition among oil companies in Hong Kong, and waiving the levy on processed oil when oil prices are persistently high so as to stablize oil prices; (f)"; to delete "to further open up" after "discussing with the Mainland authorities" and substitute with "not to impose export quotas on food and foodstuffs exported to Hong Kong, and requesting to further open up"; to delete "protect the interests of Hong Kong consumers, and requesting the major food suppliers to" after "the livestock market in order to"; to delete the original "(d)" and substitute with "(g)"; and to add "and providing living supplement to the poor elders not on Comprehensive Social Security Assistance in order" after "the amount of Old Age Allowance".

    (v)Hon Emily LAU: (Translation)

    To delete "and" after "increase in fares or charges,"; to add "and the cost of living is sky-rocketing" after "food and oil supplies continue to rise"; to delete "and" after "increasing heftily due to insufficient supply;"; and to delete "Old Age Allowance to prevent the quality of life of the elderly from declining" and substitute with "Normal Old Age Allowance (OAA) and Higher OAA to $1,000 per month, and relaxing the asset limit of OAA recipients aged 65 to 69 to $200,000, so as to improve the livelihood of the poor elders; (e) waiving the rents payable by public rental housing tenants for three months and the rates for the 2008-2009 financial year, subject to a ceiling of $5,000 per household, so as to alleviate the increasing financial burden on the grassroots; (f) providing transport subsidy for the working poor living in remote areas with a view to improving the livelihood of the working poor and people with low income; and (g) offering public transport half-fare concessions to people with disabilities, or providing them with transport subsidy, and improving facilities in order to reduce the barriers to the disabled" immediately before the full stop.

    (vi)Hon LEE Cheuk-yan: (Translation)

    To add ", and discussing with the MTR Corporation to offer fare concessions for rides on all its lines to full-time students aged above 12" after "fare increase by public transport operators".

    Public Officer to attend:Financial Secretary

  2. Protecting the rights and interests of animals

    Hon Albert HO:
    (Translation)

    That, the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Amendment) Bill 2006 was passed by this Council last year to increase the penalty for cruelty to animals, yet incidents of animal cruelty still continue to occur; in order to protect the rights and interests of animals, this Council urges the Government to adopt various measures to ensure that animals are protected under the law; the relevant measures should include:

    (a)comprehensively reviewing and amending the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance, including reviewing the definition of cruelty to animals and making abandonment of animals an offence of animal cruelty;

    (b)improving the licensing and regulatory system for the sale and breeding of pets and consulting the public before amending the Public Health (Animals and Birds) Ordinance and the relevant regulations, extending the animal registration system to cover cats and other kinds of animals that are commonly kept as pets, improving the licensing and regulatory system for pet shops and breeding farms, introducing legislation to regulate the sources of animals for sale in pet shops, requiring that all such animals should come from licensed breeding farms, and stepping up enforcement actions against unlicensed breeding, so as to stop the entry of animals from unknown sources into the pet market;

    (c)enhancing the transparency of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department in its handling of stray dogs and cats, treating the animals kindly, abandoning the "Trap-and-Kill" method, cooperating with community organizations in jointly promoting the "Trap-Neuter-Return" programme, and using humane means to deal with the problem of stray dogs and cats, with a view to reducing their number in the community;

    (d)requiring law enforcement officers to actively handle the reports on cruelty to animals from the public, considering drawing on overseas experience to set up "animal police" teams specially tasked to investigate cases of animal cruelty and abandonment, and rigorously enforcing the law to curb the situation of animal cruelty and abandonment from becoming prevalent; and

    (e)studying the provision of places at suitable locations for animals to move around, including providing more parks and leisure venues which are accessible to dogs and cats.

    Amendments to motion
    (i)Hon WONG Kwok-hing: (Translation)

    To add "although" after "That,"; to delete "yet" after "to increase the penalty for cruelty to animals,"; to delete "and" after "becoming prevalent;"; and to add "; (f) actively identifying suitable locations for the provision of public toilets for dogs, so as to make available suitable places for dogs to toilet and improve the environmental hygiene of streets; and (g) actively identifying suitable locations for placing dog excreta collection bins in areas or streets where public toilets for dogs cannot be provided, and increasing the frequency of cleaning and washing to improve environmental hygiene" immediately before the full stop.

    (ii)Hon Audrey EU: (Translation)

    To add "as" after "That,"; to delete "last year" after "passed by this Council"; to delete "and" after "becoming prevalent;"; and to add "; (f) regulating by licensing hospice service for animals; and (g) improving the situation of fragmentation of responsibilities in dealing with the rights and interests of animals, and clearly designating a responsible department to avoid confusion over the implementation of policies" immediately before the full stop.

    (iii)Hon CHOY So-yuk: (Translation)

    To add "as quite a number of people in Hong Kong are concerned about incidents of animal cruelty in recent years, which have aroused discussions in the community and this Council about protecting the rights and interests of animals, the Government had also introduced" after "That,"; to add ", which" after "the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Amendment) Bill 2006"; to add "," after "this Council last year"; to add "and, on the premise of respecting animals' right to live, appropriately address the problem of stray animals and reduce their numbers, educate the public to be responsible pet owners, face up to and actively handle reports on cruelty to animals, and strictly penalize the perpetrators" after "animals are protected under the law"; to add "advising pet shops and private/domestic pet breeders that when selling pets to prospective pet keepers, the former should follow the practice of animal groups in dog adoption by confirming that the deeds of mutual covenant of the buildings where the dog keepers live state that the keeping of dogs is not objected to, so as to reduce the chance of the dogs concerned being abandoned in the future; (d)" after "(c)"; to delete the original "(d)" and substitute with "(e) further educating the public on the concept of animal care and responsible pet ownership, and providing incentives to encourage people to arrange their pets to undergo sterilization and regular physical examinations; (f) ensuring that all dogs are implanted with microchips to fully implement the existing statutory requirements, thereby enabling the relevant authorities to track down the owners of the abandoned dogs according to the stored information and enforcing the penalties; (g)"; and to delete "and (e)" after "becoming prevalent;" and substitute with "(h) further educating the public to, before proceeding to keep dogs, carefully consider and ascertain that the deeds of mutual covenant of the buildings where they live state that the keeping of dogs is not objected to and to truly behave as responsible pet owners, so as to reduce the chance of the dogs concerned being abandoned in the future; and (i)".

    (iv)Hon Mrs Selina CHOW: (Translation)

    To delete "enforcement actions against" after "stepping up" and substitute with "publicity and education to crack down on"; to add "step up law enforcement actions and" after "law enforcement officers to"; to add "additional" after "studying the provision of"; and to add ", and studying whether it is possible to appropriately relax the ban on dog keeping in public housing estates" immediately before the full stop.

    Public Officer to attend:Secretary for Food and Health
Clerk to the Legislative Council