A 07/08-9

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 28 November 2007 at 11:00 am

(a)	of the number of cases reported by the public to the Police since 1 January this year about harassment by DCAs, and the total expenditure incurred by the Government on handling such cases;
(b)	whether at this point in time, it will reconsider accepting the recommendations of the Law Reform Commission of Hong Kong made in 2002 of creating a criminal offence of harassment of debtors and others and introducing a statutory licensing system to regulate DCAs; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c)	whether it will consider taking new measures to step up law enforcement actions to curb the harassing practices of DCAs in recovering debts; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

(a)	the total amount involved in the complaints received by the authorities concerned about employers defaulting on MPF contributions over the past three years, and the number of cases in which the amount defaulted have not been successfully recovered from the employers;
(b)	whether the authorities concerned have imposed heavier penalties on employers who have repeatedly defaulted on MPF contributions; apart from the plan to raise the maximum penalty for default payment on MPF contributions, whether the authorities concerned have other measures to stop the employers from defaulting payments on MPF contributions repeatedly; and
(c)	given that employers defaulting on MPF contributions will only be fined in most cases and are not required to pay any compensation to the employees concerned, whether the authorities concerned will conduct a study to see if it should be stipulated that employees have the right to recover from employers the employees' potential loss in investment returns arising from the default payments of MPF contributions by employers; if not, of the reasons for that?

(a)

it has formulated any plan to revitalize the local manufacturing industries to make it a renewed pillar industry, so as to provide more job opportunities; if not, of the reasons for that; and

(b)

it has any plan to establish an independent industrial development council to spearhead and promote the development of the local manufacturing industries, provide services for the service industries operating outside Hong Kong, and to serve as an advisory body to be consulted by the Central Authorities on any enactment and amendment to legislation which concerns Hong Kong-owned factories on the Mainland; if not, of the reasons for that?

(a)	given that 13 months have lapsed since the enactment of the above Bill, when the Director of Health will designate PTIs as no smoking areas;
(b)	of the latest progress of the Government's work to demarcate the boundaries of no smoking areas in PTIs, and the respective situations in respect of the PTIs in covered premises and in the open air; and
(c)	whether it will introduce into this Council a bill on setting up a fixed penalty system for smoking offence within 2007; if not, of the reasons for that?

(a)	it has discovered similar cases in the inspection works carried out in other public housing estates;
(b)	it will comprehensively review all the works undertaken or being undertaken by the contractor to see if any fraudulent acts have taken place; and
(c)	it will impose heavier penalties on defrauding contractors as a warning to others?

(a)	given that the Scientific Committee on Vaccine Preventable Diseases under the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health pointed out in the Recommendations on the Use of Pneumococcal Vaccines issued in October this year that the average annual incidences of invasive pneumococcal diseases ("IPD") among children aged below two and elderly people above 65 years of age were 7.7 per 100 000 during the period from 2000 to 2004, whether the Government knows the specific method of computing such data and how such method compares with those adopted by other places for computing similar data;
(b)	of the incidences of IPD among children of different age groups (including below one year, one to under two, two to under five and five to seven years of age) during the period from 2000 to 2004;
(c)	in the past five years, of the respective numbers of children and elderly people infected with invasive Streptococcus pneumoniae together with the number of cases in which the infection had resulted in serious complications, broken down by the type of disease (including meningitis, bacteremia, pneumonia and otitis media), as well as the number of deaths caused by pneumococcal diseases;
(d)	whether it knows how the Streptococcus pneumoniae carriage rate among children in Hong Kong compares with those in countries such as the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia before and after they have carried out pneumococcal vaccination programmes on a national basis; and
(e)	whether the Government has analyzed the threat posed by Streptococcus pneumoniae to young children in Hong Kong; if it has, of the scope and findings of the analysis; if not, the reasons for that?

(a)	of the respective numbers of applications for burial grant received and approved in each of the past three financial years; among the approved cases, the number of those in which condolence money was deducted, as well as the average and total amounts of deduction; and
(b)	whether it will consider raising the maximum level of the burial grant, and abolishing the requirement to deduct donations from the grant payable; if not, of the reasons for that?

(a)	in the past three years, whether it has uncovered any cases involving the above offence and instituted prosecutions as a result, and whether it has received complaints about malpractices of Chinese herbal medicine shops in handling Chinese herbal medicines; if so, of the details of the penalties involved in cases of conviction or substantiated complaints;
(b)	how the authorities enhance the training of Chinese herbal medicine dispensers and persons responsible for decoction of Chinese herbal medicines, so as to improve the quality of service; and
(c)	whether it will establish a registration system for people engaged in the Chinese herbal medicines retail trade, so as to strengthen the monitoring of Chinese herbal medicine shops; if so, of the relevant timetable; if not, the reasons for that?

(a)	of the total value and quantity of such souvenirs and gifts allocated to various local organizations, as well as the relevant principles and mechanism for allocation;
(b)	whether it has informed all political parties, local organizations and District Council members that they may apply to the Government for the allocation of such souvenirs and gifts for distribution to the public during activities; if so, of the relevant details; if not, the reasons for that;
(c)	whether certain organizations and political parties which have come to know that such souvenirs and gifts are available for allocation had written to the relevant government department(s) on their own initiative, asking for the allocation of such items for distribution; if so and if such requests have been acceded to, whether the Government has assessed if such a practice is unfair, and if this may encourage local organizations to write to the Government on their own initiative to ask for the allocation of souvenirs and gifts, whenever such items are available for allocation;
(d)	whether it has received any complaints concerning members of political parties that they have taken the opportunity of distributing such souvenirs and gifts to promote the political parties to which they belong; if so, of the details; and
(e)	whether it will review the practice of allocating souvenirs and gifts to local organizations?

(a)	of the amount of public money spent so far on sponsoring such activities held by local organizations;
(b)	of the criteria adopted for determining if an activity should be sponsored and the amount of sponsorship;
(c)	of the name, organizer and amount of sponsorship of each activity it has sponsored;
(d)	whether any annual activities (such as dragon boat races, mid-autumn night shows) named with additional wording such as "in celebration of the 10th anniversary of Re-unification" this year received an amount of sponsorship far more than that in previous years; and
(e)	whether it has reviewed the cost-effectiveness of the activities sponsored; if it has, of the results of the review; if not, the reasons for that?

(a)

the annual attendances of the following clinical departments in each of the past five years; and Clinical department Ear, Nose and Throat Medicine Orthopaedics Surgery Attendances at the relevant hospital Outpatient Outreach Outpatient Outreach Outpatient Outreach Outpatient Outreach Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital Ruttonjee Hospital

(b)

the staff establishment of the above clinical departments in each of the past five years and their present strength? Ear, Nose and Throat Hospital Ranks of doctors Establishment Present strength 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital Consultant Senior Medical Officer/ Associate Medical Officer/Resident Ruttonjee Hospital Consultant Senior Medical Officer/ Associate Medical Officer/Resident

(a)	of the official framework under which the quality of diesel sold in both places is considered; the number of meetings held since 17 November 2006 to discuss diesel quality under this framework; the date of the next scheduled meeting; and the progress made last year on standardizing the quality of diesel sold in both places;
(b)	whether it knows the quantity of diesel produced by mainland refineries in 2006 that met the Hong Kong ultra low sulphur diesel ("ULSD") specification, the respective percentages of such quantity in the total diesel consumption in Hong Kong and in Guangdong Province in 2006, as well as the estimated capacity of mainland refineries to produce ULSD mandated in Hong Kong in 2007, 2008 and 2009; and
(c)	whether the Government has assessed if the above incentive scheme is not meeting its objectives and, if the assessment results indicate such failure of the scheme, whether it will consider withdrawing the scheme and replacing it with a subsidy on ULSD in Hong Kong for a period of two years, in order to maintain a price equilibrium with diesel sold on the Mainland, while at the same time greatly stepping up efforts to standardize the quality of diesel sold in both places?

(a)	of the current number of cross-boundary diesel vehicles, broken down by vehicle class;
(b)	whether there is a requirement that the fuel in the fuel tanks of cross-boundary diesel vehicles entering the territory must meet the stipulated specifications; if so, of the details; and
(c)	whether it will consider setting up inspection kiosks at boundary control points to restrict the entry of cross-boundary diesel vehicles whose fuel tanks contain mainland fuel that exceeds the specified quantity; if it will, of the details?

(a)	of its work plan for promoting CSR, and whether it will consider drawing up charters or guidelines for CSR and providing relevant training for companies, so as to increase the incentives for them to fulfill CSRs;
(b)	whether it will consider revising its procurement policy to require various government departments to give priority to procure the goods and services of those companies which fulfill their CSRs; and
(c)	given that the above survey focused specifically on four major dimensions of CSR, i.e. a corporation's commitment to ethical practices, minimizing negative impact, social contribution and improving employees' well-being, and it only covered local companies, whether the Government will consider establishing a mechanism to monitor the behaviour and practices of Hong Kong-based multinational enterprises with reference to these dimensions, in order to ascertain if these enterprises have fulfilled their CSRs?

(a)	of the authorities' objectives of providing the above subsidies to MACs, and the major expenditure items funded by such subsidies in the past three years;
(b)	for how long the authorities have not made an adjustment to the current rate of such subsidies; and
(c)	given that currently, the community in general desires that the spirit of good neighbourhood and mutual support and assistance be lifted, whether the authorities will consider increasing the rate of such subsidies to facilitate MACs in performing their functions (such as attending to the needs of households regularly through the introduction of floor wardens and block wardens, or even organizing recreational activities for households); if not, of the reasons for that; and whether the authorities will adjust the rate of such subsidies having regard to the factor of inflation?

(a)	of the details of the complaints received by the Government in the past two years about piling of waste on agricultural land in the New Territories, and the follow-up actions taken;
(b)	given that it has been reported that as the terms of the block leases under which old schedule agricultural lots were granted do not expressly prohibit the use of such lots as landfills, the authorities cannot take law enforcement actions against the activities of piling of waste on such agricultural land, of the ways currently adopted by the Government to resolve this problem; and
(c)	whether the authorities will consider amending the relevant legislation as soon as possible to curb the recurrence of the above situation of piling of waste?

(a)	of the respective numbers and percentages of companies in the business sectors concerned participating in the aforesaid programmes;
(b)	whether it has conducted any interim reviews on the programmes, including their effectiveness and if the objectives have been achieved; if it has, of the criteria adopted and results of such reviews; if not, the reasons for that; and
(c)	whether it will, by drawing on the commercial sector's experience in promoting e-business, assist non-government organizations such as social welfare organizations in introducing e-business, so as to help these organizations to reduce operating costs and enhance efficiency; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

(a)	whether it has conducted a study to compare the respective percentages of children, adults and the elderly in Hong Kong who are suffering from myopia, hyperopia, amblyopia, squint or other eye diseases and need to wear glasses with the corresponding figures in other places, and whether it has assessed the expenditure related to such eye diseases and the possible economic losses as a result; if so, of the results; if not, whether the Government will consider conducting such a study and assessment;
(b)	given that some optometrists have suggested that both children and the elderly should receive primary eye care examinations annually, whether the Government will consider providing free eye examination services to all school children and the elderly, as well as reconsider providing a special grant to cover the costs of spectacles to children from families receiving Comprehensive Social Security Assistance;
(c)	whether it will consider increasing the number of educational places for optometry so as to train more qualified optometrists; and
(d)	of the current work plan for promoting eye care and the progress in this respect, and whether it will consider allocating additional resources to strengthen the promotion work to enhance public awareness of eye care?

1. Maintaining the political neutrality of the civil service
   
   Hon Margaret NG: (Translation)
   
   That this Council urges the Government to adopt all measures to maintain a quality, professional, politically neutral, clean and public-spirited civil service, and to clearly delineate the division of powers, responsibilities and roles between the civil service and the politically appointed officials.
   
   Amendment to motion
   Hon Alan LEONG Kah-kit: (Translation)
   
   To add ", as there are still loopholes in the accountability system for principal officials since its implementation, and the Government, before conducting a comprehensive review of the accountability system, has put forward the proposal to further develop the political appointment system," after "That"; to add "clearly delineate the division of powers, responsibilities and roles between the civil service and the politically appointed officials, in order to" after "adopt all measures to"; to delete ", and to clearly delineate the division of powers, responsibilities and roles between the civil service and the politically appointed officials" after "public-spirited civil service" and substitute with "; the relevant measures should include expeditiously commencing a review of the accountability system for principal officials before implementing the further development of the political appointment system".
   
   Amendment to Hon Alan LEONG Kah-kit's amendment
   Hon TAM Yiu-chung: (Translation)
   
   To delete "there are still loopholes in the accountability system for principal officials since its implementation, and" after "That, as"; to delete ", before conducting a comprehensive review of the accountability system," after "the Government"; to delete "in order" after "the politically appointed officials," and substitute with "and"; and to delete "include expeditiously commencing a review of the accountability system for principal officials before implementing the further development of the political appointment system" after "the relevant measures should" and substitute with "ensure that the policies of the SAR Government can be fully implemented to achieve effective governance".
   
   

   Public Officers to attend

   :

   Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Secretary for the Civil Service

   
   
2. Responding to the problem of climate change
   
   Hon CHOY So-yuk: (Translation)
   
   That, as climate change has become an important issue in sustainable development worldwide, the United Nations will convene a summit on climate change in Bali in December this year, and many countries and places are working together to formulate effective measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; in this connection, this Council urges the Government to lead Hong Kong in shouldering its due responsibilities as an international city and take proactive actions to respond to the crisis of climate warming, which include:
   
   

   (a)	setting up an inter-departmental working group on climate change under the leadership of the Chief Executive to demonstrate the Government's determination to respond to climate change, as well as to more effectively coordinate the efforts of various departments in formulating emissions reduction and adaptation policies;
   (b)	stipulating concrete targets in the reduction of total greenhouse gas emissions;
   (c)	including the limits on the amount of greenhouse gas emissions in the terms of the new Scheme of Control Agreement with the two power companies;
   (d)	proactively promoting territory-wide greening work, collaborating with District Councils and the private sector in expediting the development of Greening Master Plans, and actively adopting the concepts of vertical greening and rooftop greening etc. to facilitate three-dimensional development of greened areas and make available additional space for greening;
   (e)	legislating for mandatory implementation of the Building Energy Codes;
   (f)	expediting full implementation of the Mandatory Energy Efficiency Labelling Scheme; and
   (g)	optimizing the use of greenhouse gas emitted from landfill sites.

   
   Amendments to motion
   

   (i)	Hon Miriam LAU: (Translation) To add "climate abnormalities frequently occur in Hong Kong in recent years and" after "That, as"; to add "also" after "climate change has"; to add "(a) strengthening cooperation with the Mainland, particularly Guangdong Province, to work together to respond to the problem of climate warming;" after "which include:"; to delete the original "(a)" and substitute with "(b)"; to delete the original "(b)" and substitute with "(c)"; to delete the original "(c)" and substitute with "(d)"; to delete the original "(d)" and substitute with "(e)"; to delete the original "(e)" and substitute with "(f)"; to delete the original "(f)" and substitute with "(g)"; to delete and (g)" after "Mandatory Energy Efficiency Labelling Scheme;" and substitute with "(h)"; and to add "; and (i) enhancing publicity and education on energy conservation so that members of the public will start with themselves to reduce greenhouse gas emissions" immediately before the full stop.
   (ii)	Hon Audrey EU: (Translation) To add "expeditiously" after "various departments in"; to add "and strategies" after "adaptation policies"; to add "short-term and long-term" after "stipulating concrete"; to add "proactively developing renewable energy for electricity generation, including providing financial incentives and technical support to facilitate grid connection of small-scale renewable energy power systems; (e)" after "(d)"; to delete the original "(e)" and substitute with "(f)"; to delete the original "(f)" and substitute with "(g)"; to delete "and (g)" after "Mandatory Energy Efficiency Labelling Scheme;" and substitute with "(h)"; and to add "; and (i) enhancing the co-operation with neighbouring regions with a view to responding to the problem of climate change with a regional perspective" immediately before the full stop.
   (iii)	Hon Jeffrey LAM Kin-fung: (Translation) To add "only after extensive consultation" after "Building Energy Codes".
   (iv)	Hon SIN Chung-kai: (Translation) To delete "and" after "Mandatory Energy Efficiency Labelling Scheme;"; and to add "; (h) setting targets for local electricity supply to be provided from renewable energy sources, including achieving 5% of total electricity supply to local households from such sources by 2020; (i) establishing mandatory minimum energy efficiency standards for products and considering following the example of Australia to mandate the phasing out of tungsten light bulbs in the next five to 10 years; (j) taking proactive steps to compensate carbon emissions, including calculating the amount of carbon emissions generated from energy used within government departments in their daily activities and making a corresponding amount of donations for tree planting, with a view to meeting the target of 'zero carbon emissions' in the long run; (k) including carbon dioxide emission project in the emission trading pilot scheme in the Pearl River Delta region ; and (l) launching a 'dress casual in summer' campaign within government departments" immediately before the full stop.

   
   Public Officer to attend : Secretary for the Environment