A 10/11-16

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 26 January 2011 at 11:00 am

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
1.Schedule of Routes (Citybus Limited) Order 201112/2011
2.Schedule of Routes (Citybus Limited) (North Lantau and Chek Lap Kok Airport) Order 201113/2011
3.Schedule of Routes (Kowloon Motor Bus Company (1933) Limited) Order 201114/2011
4.Schedule of Routes (Long Win Bus Company Limited) Order 201115/2011
5.Schedule of Routes (New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Limited) Order 201116/2011
6.Schedule of Routes (New World First Bus Services Limited) Order 201117/2011
7.Buildings Energy Efficiency (Fees) Regulation18/2011
8.Buildings Energy Efficiency (Registered Energy Assessors) Regulation19/2011
9.Travel Industry Compensation Fund (Amount of Ex gratia Payments and Financial Penalty) (Amendment) Rules 201120/2011
10.Factories and Industrial Undertakings (Loadshifting Machinery) Regulation (Commencement) Notice 201121/2011

Other Papers

1.No. 59-Samaritan Fund
Financial statements, Report of the Director of Audit and Report on the Samaritan Fund for the year ended 31 March 2010
(to be presented by the Secretary for Food and Health)

2.No. 60-Hospital Authority Annual Report 2009-2010
(to be presented by the Secretary for Food and Health)

3.Report No. 11/10-11 of the House Committee on Consideration of Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments
(to be presented by Hon Miriam LAU, Chairman of the House Committee)

II. Questions

1. Hon Andrew CHENG to ask: (Translation)

In mid-2010, the media in Hong Kong and the Mainland widely reported that a food additive called "One Drop of Incense" ("ODI") was found on the mainland market. The reports stated that if ODI was chemically synthesized, it would very likely be harmful to the human body and might even contain carcinogenic substances. The reports also pointed out that as contacts between Hong Kong and the Mainland were frequent, Hong Kong people were worried that ODI would make its way into the restaurants in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
    (a)it has found a food additive called ODI in Hong Kong;

    (b)it had conducted any study in the past three years on the health impact of the food additives used on the market; if it had, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)it will regulate the use of food additives which may be harmful to the human body; if it will, whether it will cooperate with local universities to expedite the study; if not, of the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

2. Hon Ronny TONG to ask: (Translation)

Recent press reports and complaints from the relevant organizations indicate that the situation of children in Hong Kong being abused by their relatives or others is deteriorating. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of child abuse cases last year; detailed information such as the age, family background, family income and parents' education level, etc. of the abused children involved in the child abuse cases in the past five years;

    (b)of the number of prosecutions brought against and convictions of the abusers in the child abuse cases in the past five years; whether the authorities have any established policy and measures to assist in the rehabilitation of the abused children; if so, of the specific policies and measures; whether the authorities have any indicator to assess if such policies and measures are really effective; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)apart from implementing a pilot project to review child fatality, whether the Government had conducted other studies in the past five years to ascertain the factors behind children being abused in recent years; if so, of the long-term policy the Government has put in place, which focuses on such factors, to make improvements in order to prevent deterioration of the situation of child abuse; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

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

After the media uncovered the unusual behaviour in the property transactions of the development project of "39 Conduit Road" in 2009, the Government first wrote to the developer of the property in March 2010 to make enquiries and then submitted the relevant correspondences to the Legislative Council ("LegCo") in July of the same year and indicated that it would follow up and investigate the incident. The Police had also officially stepped in immediately to investigate the cancellation of the Agreement for Sale and Purchase ("ASP") of some of the first-hand units of "39 Conduit Road" and went to the developer's head office and the law firm concerned to seize a batch of documents suspected to be related to the case, and the investigation has been going on for more than six months. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)how many units and which units of "39 Conduit Road" have been successfully sold to date; of the respective selling prices of the units sold; the number of units the ASP of which has been cancelled and the units involved, and among these units, the number of those for which only a 5% deposit was charged; the respective number of units for which deficiency in price has and has not been recovered, and the deficiency in price recovered;

    (b)of the total number of times the authorities have exchanged correspondences with the developer of "39 Conduit Road" to date; how many correspondences have not been submitted to LegCo and how they will arrange to pass those correspondences to LegCo; the progress and outcome of the follow-up actions taken and investigations conducted by the Lands Department and the Police on the incident; whether anyone has been interviewed; if so, who have been interviewed; whether they have examined if anyone has conspired to create fraudulent property transactions; and

    (c)whether the authorities have learnt any lesson from this incident to enhance the restrictions on the sales of private residential properties under the "Consent Scheme", so as to plug any loophole that will enable developers to cooperate with buyers to create the illusion of transactions on the market?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

4. Hon Fred LI to ask: (Translation)

Members of the public who are eligible to apply for public rental housing ("PRH") and have submitted their applications must first obtain an application number, then wait for allocation of PRH flats according to their order of registration on the PRH Waiting List, and PRH flats will be allocated to them when suitable flats are available. At present, the average space allocated is normally not less than seven square metres per person. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)why at present, the authorities generally need three months to allocate an application number to a PRH applicant and whether that duration can be shortened; among the ordinary family applications which had been allocated PRH flats in the past three years, of the average waiting time from the date of registration to the acceptance of flat offer (i.e. being successfully allocated a flat), the median waiting time, and the respective numbers and percentages of applicants who accepted the flats allocated to them on the first, second and third offers;

    (b)among the ordinary family applications currently on the Waiting List, of the average waiting time from the date of registration till the end of December 2010, the median waiting time, and the respective numbers of applications which have been given flat offers once or twice, and whether the time required for making the second or the third offers can be shortened; and

    (c)among the applications from the three-person, four-person and five-person families which had been allocated PRH flats in the past three years, of the respective average space allocated to each person, and whether the authorities will consider relaxing the space allocation standard, which had been established many years ago, of an average of seven square metres per person?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

5. Hon Vincent FANG to ask: (Translation)

Although the overall waste recovery rate in Hong Kong at present has reached 49%, over 90% of the recovered waste is exported to other countries and regions, with a very small amount of waste being recycled in Hong Kong. However, officials of the Environment Bureau have indicated to the Panel on Environmental Affairs of this Council that "as there were no outlets for" some recyclable wastes, "these (waste plastics) had to be disposed of at landfills" and "some recycling operations had since become financially non-viable". In addition, some countries and regions (including the Mainland) have gradually banned the import of waste materials, and some environmentalists have pointed out that it is doubtful how much recovered waste in Hong Kong is eventually recycled successfully; and whether the proposals in the Government's "Policy Framework for the Management of Municipal Solid Waste" can successfully reduce waste and achieve the specific targets under the "3R principles" is even more worrying. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)among the waste recovered in 2010, of the ratio between the waste which is exported and which is recycled locally, whether it knows the types and amounts of waste received by places of import in the past three years, and the amount and percentage of waste which cannot be recycled and is eventually disposed of at landfills in the past three years;

    (b)whether it knows the number of recycling operators in Hong Kong, the types of waste recycled and their production capabilities; whether these operators are currently receiving support or funding from the Government or other organizations; whether the Government will adjust the current business strategies of EcoPark; and

    (c)given the remarks of the officials of the Environment Bureau that some recycling operations were financially non-viable, whether the Government will, by making reference to the practices of other countries, provide direct support and funding for or even invest in waste recycling industries in order to resolve the problem of waste accumulation; if not, of the reasons for that; and the measures to resolve the problem of waste accumulation in Hong Kong as waste has become worthless and unmarketable with no importing ends because of declining economic benefits brought by waste recovery?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment

6. Hon WONG Yuk-man to ask: (Translation)

There have been comments that the problem of shortfall in the supply of subsidized places in the nursing homes ("NH") and care-and-attention ("C&A") homes for the elderly has been worsening since the Chief Executive ("CE") took office in 2005, and although quite a number of elderly people have dedicated their whole life to Hong Kong, they can neither share the fruits of prosperity nor lead a dignified and comfortable retirement life. Since CE took office in 2005, the number of elderly people who died while waiting for subsidized NH places increased sharply from 1 339 in 2005 to 1 822 in 2009, representing an increase of more than 36% over a period of five years. In addition, the number of elderly people who died while waiting for subsidized C&A places also increased sharply from 2 053 in 2005 to 2 716 in 2009, representing an increase of more than 32% over a period of five years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective numbers of elderly people who died while waiting for subsidized NH places and C&A places in 2010;

    (b)whether the Government has assessed the reasons for the upsurge in the number of elderly people who died while waiting for subsidized NH places and C&A places; if it has, of the reasons; if not, whether it will conduct an assessment; and

    (c)whether the Government has assessed the effectiveness of the measures to ameliorate the problem of acute shortfall of subsidized places in residential care homes for the elderly; if the assessment outcome is in the affirmative, when the number of elderly people who die while waiting will decline; if the assessment outcome is in the negative, the principal officials who shall be held responsible under the accountability system headed by CE?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

*7. Dr Hon Margaret NG to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that this year, three of the four incumbent Deputy Directors of Public Prosecutions in the Prosecutions Division ("PD") of the Department of Justice ("DoJ") have left or will soon leave office, while seven of the 15 Senior Assistant Director of Public Prosecutions positions have been vacant or will soon become vacant, which means that staff changes of an extensive scale will take place in PD. It has also been reported that the officers to fill these vacancies do not have a lot of experience and hence, quite a number of members of the public are worried that there is succession problem in PD which may affect the quality of prosecution. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective numbers of officers in each rank in PD at present, including Public Prosecutors, Senior Public Prosecutors, Senior Assistant Directors of Public Prosecutions and Directors of Public Prosecutions, and among them, the respective numbers of those with experience of five or more years and those with experience of 10 or more years (set out in table form);

    (b)whether DoJ has formulated measures to prevent massive manpower wastage in PD or ensure that there will be enough senior officers to fill the vacancies; if it has, of the specific measures; and

    (c)whether DoJ has formulated measures to prevent the quality of prosecution being affected by manpower wastage; if it has, of the specific measures?
Public Officer to reply : The Secretary for Justice

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

Regarding the problem of underpayment of wages to foreign domestic helpers ("FDHs") in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the criteria currently adopted by the Labour Department ("LD") and the Labour Tribunal ("LT") to invite underpaid FDHs to come forward as witnesses for prosecutions against employers for underpayment of wages;

    (b)of the total number of underpaid FDHs invited by LD and LT to come forward as witnesses in the past five years; and among them, the number of those who accepted the invitation and the major reasons for some FDHs who were unwilling to come forward as witnesses;

    (c)of the total number of cases handled by LD and LT in the past five years in respect of claims made by FDHs to recover the underpaid wages from their employers; and among such cases, the number of those in which the FDHs concerned succeeded in recovering the full amount of their underpaid wages;

    (d)of the number of employers convicted for underpayment of wages to FDHs in the past five years, together with a breakdown by the penalty imposed on them; and

    (e)whether the Immigration Department ("ImmD") will impose restrictions on further applications for employing FDHs from employers who have been prosecuted and convicted for underpayment of wages to their FDHs; if it will not, of the reasons for that; if it will, the details, and among the applications by Hong Kong employers for employing FDHs which were rejected by ImmD in the past five years, the number of applications which were rejected on reasons related to the employers concerned having been convicted for underpayment of wages?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

*9. Hon WONG Ting-kwong to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that culprits of Internet commercial fraud have employed many different defrauding tricks and recently some culprits have even carried out fraud activities on fake web pages set up on popular social networking sites. According to the information provided by the Commercial Crime Bureau of the Police, a total of 505 Internet commercial fraud cases have been recorded in the first 10 months of 2010, representing a sharp increase of 58.3% as compared with that of the same period in the previous year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether there are fraud cases involving fake bank web sites among the aforesaid Internet commercial fraud cases; if so, of the total number of cases involving fake bank web sites on the Internet uncovered in the past three years and the main defrauding tricks used in such cases; what measures the authorities have to assist the detection of Internet commercial fraud committed by using ever-evolving information technologies and to assist members of the public in enhancing their ability to distinguish whether a web site is fake or not;

    (b)whether the authorities have studied the causes for the aforesaid increase of nearly 60% in the Internet commercial fraud cases; if so, of the details; of the effective measures to combat such crimes; and

    (c)in view of the sharp increase in the number of the aforesaid fraud cases, whether it has drawn up plans to educate members of the public to guard against Internet fraud or fraudulent acts; if so, of the details?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*10. Hon KAM Nai-wai to ask: (Translation)

At present, there are two major automatic teller machine ("ATM") systems used by banks in Hong Kong, namely Electronic Teller Card ("ETC") and Joint Electronic Teller Services Limited ("JETCO"). The two ATM systems operate independently, and the ATM cards of one system cannot be used in the ATMs of the other system. In recent years, banks have reduced the number of branches as they need to cut costs, which has affected the distribution of ATMs, causing inconvenience to the public. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows the respective numbers of ATMs under the ETC and JETCO systems in Hong Kong at present, and their distribution in the 18 District Council districts;

    (b)whether the Hong Kong Monetary Authority ("HKMA") had, in collaboration with the operators of the above two systems, conducted any study in the past three years on the feasibility of connecting the two systems, i.e. making it possible for the public to use their ATM cards in both systems, so as to expand the ATM network available to the public for their convenience; if it had, of the outcome of the study; if not, the reasons for that;

    (c)whether HKMA had, in the past three years, conducted any study on the collaboration between banks and government departments to install ATMs in those government facilities (e.g. post offices and markets, etc.) which are used by relatively more members of the public for their convenience; if it had, of the outcome of the study; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (d)given that the number of mainland residents coming to Hong Kong for sightseeing and shopping is increasing, whether HKMA had, in the past three years, conducted any study on further promoting the use of the Mainland's Renminbi credit card "UnionPay Card" in the ATMs in Hong Kong; if it had, of the outcome of the study; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

*11. Hon Paul TSE to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that the Law Reform Commission ("the Commission") has completed 27 reports since 1997, but the Government has not yet implemented the law reform recommendations contained in 22 of these reports. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the details of the Government's follow-up actions on the Commission's various law reform recommendations since 1997, and the reasons why some of the recommendations have not yet been followed up;

    (b)whether it has assessed the specific impact of the Government not following up, in a timely manner, most of the Commission's recommendations on amending legislation; if it has, of the results of the assessment; if not, whether it can immediately conduct such an assessment and make improvements accordingly; and

    (c)whether it will make reference to the statutory procedures of other countries, and require the Government to handle the law reform recommendations of the Commission or other relevant statutory bodies within a statutory period, so as to ensure that Hong Kong's legislation can keep abreast of time?
Public Officer to reply : The Chief Secretary for Administration

*12. Hon Abraham SHEK to ask:

According to section 88 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance ("the Ordinance") (Cap. 112), "there shall be exempt and there shall be deemed always to have been exempt from tax any charitable institution or trust of a public character" provided that the profits derived from the trade or business carried on by such institution are applied solely for charitable purposes and are not expended substantially outside Hong Kong. It has been reported that there are more than 6 000 registered charities in Hong Kong of which only 170 are monitored by the Social Welfare Department. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the details of the criteria adopted for vetting and approving applications for registering charitable institutions bearing tax exemption status;

    (b)whether any review of the Ordinance had been conducted in the past three years so as to enhance the financial transparency over the operation of tax-exempted charitable institutions; if so, whether it has considered including public access to financial information as a necessary condition in vetting and approving the applications in (a) and of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (c)of the details of the established measures for monitoring the fund-raising activities and financial operation of registered tax-exempted charitable institutions;

    (d)given that only the "Reference Guide on Best Practices for Charitable Fund-raising Activities" was issued as a voluntary guideline in 2004, whether it has considered since 2004, with reference to the examples of overseas jurisdictions, drafting charity law to regulate the operation of charitable institutions; if so, of the details regarding its proposed timetable for conducting public consultation; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (e)of the number of charitable institutions that had been prosecuted in the past three years for carrying out fund-raising activities not serving charitable purposes, and respectively of the details of the penalties imposed on such institutions; whether it has considered raising the penalties on such improper activities; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

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

The Hong Kong SAR Government participated respectively in the 60th National Anniversary float parade held in Beijing in 2009 and the exhibitions in the World Exposition 2010 Shanghai China ("Shanghai Expo"). However, the float entitled "Blooming Bauhinia" that participated in the parade was criticized at that time as resembling a "paper offering", while the Hong Kong Pavilion in the Shanghai Expo was even said to be featureless. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it has, when participating in the two aforesaid national events, deployed staff before, during and after the events to conduct opinion surveys among participants on site, including those from the Mainland and Hong Kong; if it has, of the details, and the discrepancies between the survey outcome and the public comments at that time; if not, the reasons for that, and whether it will consider conducting opinion surveys during its participation in major national events in future so that more comprehensive and fair comments on the participation of the authorities in such events can be obtained;

    (b)whether the government departments responsible for the coordination have conducted thorough review and make enhancement recommendations after Hong Kong's participation in the two aforesaid national events; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and whether they will consider conducting thorough review in future; and

    (c)given that the report on the work of the Office of the Government of the HKSAR in Beijing presented to this Council in 2010 merely accounted for Hong Kong's participation in the activities to celebrate the 60th National Anniversary in a few short paragraphs, why the report did not review the effectiveness of the participation in the event?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs

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

It has been reported that the throughput of Hong Kong's container freight industry in 2010 has resumed to the level in 2008 before the outbreak of the financial tsunami. Yet, there is a shortage of container truck drivers as many of them have switched to other trades in view of poor prospects during times of economic downturn, resulting in the situation of "trucks lacking drivers and cargos needing carriage". Even though the remuneration of cross-boundary container truck drivers has correspondingly been adjusted upward, only a few of them have switched back to the trade, and they are getting old. If no improvement is made, not only will the transportation cost increase, but the competitiveness of Hong Kong's container freight industry will also be affected. Further, upon the completion of cross-boundary transport infrastructure projects (including the completion of the works in respect of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge Main Bridge in 2015 and the dredging of the Kwai Tsing container basin and its approach channels in 2014), as well as the implementation of various measures to enhance the competitiveness of Hong Kong's logistics industry, there will be an even greater demand for cross-boundary truck drivers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it knows the respective numbers of drivers working in the cross-boundary container freight industry in each of the past three years (set out in the table below);

    Age (years)200820092010
    below 20


    20 to 29


    30 to 39


    40 to 49


    50 to 59


    60 or above



    (b)whether it has assessed Hong Kong logistics industry's demand for cross-boundary container truck drivers in the coming five years; if so, of the assessment outcome;

    (c)what short-term measures the authorities have to relieve the current shortage of cross-boundary container truck drivers, and whether they have considered providing subsidies for drivers' applications for cross-boundary container truck driving licences, offering programmes for cross-boundary container truck drivers under the Employees Retraining Scheme or the Skills Upgrading Scheme, as well as importing Mainland drivers; if so, of the details of such measures; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (d)what long-term measures the authorities have to attract more new drivers to join the trade, so as to dovetail with the future development of the container freight industry?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

*15. Dr Hon David LI to ask:

It was widely reported in the media that an accident involving two residents' service coaches in which one person died occurred at a private housing estate in Tung Chung on 10 December 2010. A residents' service is operated under Passenger Service Licence A06 ("PSL-A06") granted by the Transport Department ("TD"), and the licence is normally renewed annually. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the total number of separate PSL-A06 licences that had been issued in each of the past three years, and among them, the number of those that had been issued to companies or individuals with an operating history of less than two years;

    (b)of the average number of coaches operating under a PSL-A06 licence for a single private building or estate at present, as well as the median number, the smallest number and the maximum number;

    (c)of the total number of accidents involving coaches operating under a PSL-A06 licence in each of the past three years, and whether licensed operators are under any obligation to report accidents to TD;

    (d)of the total number of complaints received by TD concerning coaches operating under PSL-A06 licences in each of the past three years, as well as the number of investigations carried out, whether any action was taken against PSL-A06 service operators as a result of such investigations and the nature of any action taken;

    (e)whether TD has any power to refuse to issue a PSL-A06 licence upon receipt of a valid application; if so, of the grounds upon which it may refuse to issue a licence, and the number of times it had refused an application in each of the past three years;

    (f)whether TD has any power to carry out any review or inspection of PSL-A06 services, including the drivers and vehicles involved; if so, of the number of reviews or inspections it had carried out in each of the past three years and the nature of those inspections;

    (g)of the number of PSL-A06 licences issued with permission for standees in each of the past three years, and whether any special condition had been attached to the issue of such licences;

    (h)of the factors TD considers when evaluating whether a particular service should be provided under a PSL-A06 licence or under franchised bus services; and

    (i)whether TD will consider reviewing the rules governing the provision of PSL-A06 services with the aim of better regulating the provision of residents' services?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

*16. Dr Hon LAM Tai-fai to ask: (Translation)

Regarding section 39E of the Inland Revenue Ordinance ("IRO") (Cap. 112), will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)given that in reply to my question on 12 January 2011, the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury ("SFST") has not provided a direct response to the issue relating to the "relevant authorities of the Guangdong Province" which was mentioned in his reply to the questions raised on 24 November and 8 December 2010, whether SFST can now provide a direct response to which mainland authorities are actually referred to as "relevant authorities of the Guangdong Province", when SFST asked them for information (together with copies of the relevant correspondences and information papers), and whether SFST has assessed if the views of the "relevant authorities of the Guangdong Province" are correct;

    (b)given that SFST indicated in his reply to a Legislative Council Member's supplementary question on 24 November 2010 that he had conducted a lot of communication in great detail with the sectors through different opportunities, and he had conducted face-to-face communication with the sectors numerous times, of the names of the associations and individuals from the industry whom SFST had met with in the past three years regarding the issue of section 39E, as well as the dates and venues of the relevant meetings (list in table form); if such information cannot be provided, of the reasons for that;

    (c)whether the Joint Liaison Committee on Taxation ("JLCT") has responded to the letter dated 24 November 2010 from SFST, indicating his refusal to accept JLCT's recommendation; if it has, whether SFST can provide the relevant papers and correspondences; and whether the authorities have any further communication and contact with JLCT thereafter; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (d) given that SFST indicated in his reply to my question on 24 November 2010 that JLCT has not proposed effective measures to plug possible tax avoidance loopholes, whether the authorities, in inviting JLCT to look into the issue of section 39E, have also clearly requested JLCT to explore effective measures to plug possible tax avoidance loopholes; if they have, of the details and whether JLCT has clearly acknowledged the Government's request; if not, the reasons for that;

    (e)whether the Government will again request JLCT or other experts to explore effective measures to plug the tax avoidance loopholes which may exist as claimed by the Government; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (f)given that SFST indicated in his reply to my question on 20 October 2010 that if there is a need to consult other government departments in the course of review, including the Department of Justice ("DoJ") and the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau ("CEDB"), the authorities will invite their participation, whether the authorities have consulted other government departments, such as DoJ and CEDB on the issue of section 39E; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (g)how CEDB assesses the impact of the problem of section 39E on enterprises' investment on machinery and plant to enhance their productivity and competitiveness;

    (h)in each of the past 10 years, of the respective numbers of Hong Kong enterprises that had declared to have upgraded and restructured from originally engaging in "contract processing" to engaging in "import processing", and the number of enterprises engaging in "import processing" that had winded up their businesses;

    (i)given that the Chief Executive indicated at the Question and Answer Session of this Council on 13 July 2010 that he expected me to follow up the issue of section 39E with SFST, and if there were still problems, they could be handled by the Financial Secretary, and then by him, whether SFST has reported to the Chief Executive on the issue and sought his advice; if he has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (j)given that in reply to my question on 12 January 2011, SFST has not explained why he refused to accept the recommendation made by JLCT in its review report to amend the definition related to "lease" in section 2 of IRO, and whether it is too loose an interpretation for the Inland Revenue Department to indicate that the definition covers the situation of Hong Kong enterprises making available their machinery and plant for use by mainland enterprises free of charge under "import processing", whether SFST can now provide a direct response to these questions; if not, of the reasons for that;

    (k)given that in reply to my question on 12 January 2011, SFST has not responded to the claim that when section 39E was amended in 1992, the situation in which Hong Kong enterprises made available their machinery and plant for use by mainland enterprises free of charge under "import processing" was not prevalent, and therefore the amendments to section 39E at that time were not aimed at handling this situation, whether SFST can now respond directly if this claim is true; if he again refuses to respond directly, of the reasons for that; and

    (l)given that in reply to my question on 12 January 2011, SFST has not replied to my question as to whether the comments made by the Board of Review in its written decision on the case with reference no. D61/08, that section 39E had not stipulated that there should be "an intention to avoid tax" for the application of the provision, is inconsistent with section 19 of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap. 1) and the principle adopted by the court in the construction of legislation, of the reasons for that; whether SFST will, after consulting DoJ, submit DoJ's legal advice to this Council; if he will not, of the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

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

The Public Records (Access) Rules 1996 ("the Rules") establishes that, with certain exceptions, the public shall be granted access to most archival records that have been closed for at least 30 years. Access to archival records that have been closed for less than 30 years requires prior application in writing to the Government Records Service ("GRS") Director. Upon receipt of such applications, GRS will refer them to the appropriate records creating agency for consideration and approval (or otherwise). In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council, since the Rules have come into operation:
    (a)in respect of the records that have been closed for at least 30 years:

    (i)of the number of records available for public inspection; of the percentage of such number in the total number of archival records which are at least 30 years old;

    (ii)of the number of records classified as not available for public inspection and the grounds for the classification; and

    (iii)of the number of applications from members of the public for access to archival records; the number of applications rejected by the authorities and the reasons for the rejection; and

    (b)in respect of records that have been closed for less than 30 years:

    (i)of the number of applications for inspection received by GRS;

    (ii)of the number of applications for inspection approved by GRS; the types of these applications; and

    (iii)of the number of applications for inspection rejected by GRS; the nature of these records; and the reasons for the rejection?
Public Officer to reply : The Chief Secretary for Administration

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

In October 2003, the Housing Department ("HD") introduced a "temporary permission" arrangement whereby the tenants of public rental housing ("PRH") who were then keeping dogs would be allowed to continue keeping their dogs after registration with HD and obtaining approval, whereas those who did not keep any dog at that time are not allowed to do so in PRH. However, with economic development in recent years, more and more members of the public, including PRH tenants, would like to keep dogs. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of PRH tenants who are keeping dogs lawfully at present, with a detailed list of the names of those public housing estates concerned;

    (b)of the numbers of PRH tenants who were allotted penalty points or prosecuted for unlawful dog-keeping in PRH in each of the past three years, with a detailed list of the names of those public housing estates concerned; and

    (c)whether the Housing Authority will consider relaxing the restrictions on dog-keeping in suitable public housing estates to allow PRH tenants to keep dogs; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

*19. Hon Mrs Regina IP to ask: (Translation)

In the paper entitled "Consultancy Study on Rationalising the Utilisation of Road Harbour Crossings" submitted to the Panel on Transport of this Council on 9 November 2010, the Secretary for Transport and Housing indicated that, as pointed out by the consultants, toll adjustment would be necessary to achieve a better traffic distribution among the three road harbour crossings ("RHCs"), and most of those better toll scenarios involved upward adjustments to the Cross Harbour Tunnel tolls and corresponding downward adjustments to the tolls of the Eastern Harbour Crossing and the Western Harbour Crossing. Yet, a member of the public has raised with me a creative option of constructing a cross harbour tunnel for pedestrians to improve the traffic of the three RHCs. According to that member of the public, the proposed cross harbour tunnel for pedestrians, which links up Central and Tsim Sha Tsui, will be of about 20 minutes' walking distance, and pedestrian conveyors may also be installed; the cross harbour tunnel for pedestrians will include a public shopping corridor, and through the offer of low rent or a profit sharing arrangement, social enterprises are encouraged to operate and young people to set up their own business there. That member of the public considers that the proposal will help ease the traffic flow of the three RHCs, enhance environmental protection and reduce emissions, as well as develop public space with special characteristics, so as to facilitate members of the public to exercise and undertake leisure activities. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
    (a)it will assess the feasibility of constructing a cross harbour tunnel for pedestrians as proposed by the aforesaid member of the public; if the assessment result is in the negative, of the specific reasons; and

    (b)the Government has ever had the idea of constructing a cross harbour tunnel for pedestrians in the past; if it has, why such idea was shelved at that time?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

*20. Hon CHEUNG Kwok-che to ask: (Translation)

At present, the Student Financial Assistance Agency ("SFAA") implements the School Textbook Assistance Scheme and disburses textbook assistance to needy students before the start of the school year under the Principal Recommendation Scheme ("PRS"). In the 2010-2011 school year, about 14 000 primary and 16 000 secondary students received the grant in August 2010. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective numbers of applications received and approved by SFAA in each school year under PRS since the scheme was first implemented in the 2006-2007 school year; the percentages of such numbers in the total number of applications for textbook assistance in that year; whether each school has set a limit on the number of applications;

    (b)apart from contacting schools, whether SFAA has directly promoted PRS among parents, so that poor families are aware of the scheme and encouraged to use it;

    (c)of the criteria based on which SFAA classified families as "families of relatively lower income" and took the initiative to invite them to submit early applications for textbook assistance of the 2010-2011 school year; the total number of students to whom such invitation had been extended this year; the respective numbers of students whose applications were subsequently approved and not approved, and those students who were found ineligible after their applications were approved resulting in action being taken to recover the assistance granted;

    (d)of the number of students who had been granted textbook assistance for two consecutive school years among those who had been granted such assistance in each of the last three school years; the percentage of such number in the total number of applicants in that school year; and

    (e)why, in the current school year, SFAA did not invite other students, who had been granted textbook assistance in the last and current school years, to submit early applications for such assistance; how SFAA can improve the criteria so that more students can benefit from advanced disbursement of textbook assistance?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education

* For written reply

III. Bills

First Reading

Companies Bill

Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)

Companies Bill : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

IV. Members' Motions
  1. Equal Opportunities Commission's Formal Investigation Report on Accessibility in Publicly Accessible Premises

    Hon CHEUNG Kwok-che to move the following motion: (Translation)

    That this Council notes the Equal Opportunities Commission's Formal Investigation Report on Accessibility in Publicly Accessible Premises and the Government's response to and follow-up action on the 23 recommendations in the Report.

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

  2. The centenary of the Xinhai Revolution

    Hon Albert CHAN to move the following motion: (Translation)

    That the Chinese people successfully toppled the monarchy in the Xinhai Revolution 100 years ago and established the first democratic republic in Asia; unfortunately, after the passage of 100 years, with the exception that the people in Taiwan can, through a democratic electoral system which is fair, open, impartial and based on the principles of universality and equality, choose their own government and return their elected representative assemblies, the people in Mainland China, Macao and Hong Kong are still unable to enjoy direct and full electoral rights; in view of this, on this day which is almost 100 years after the Xinhai Revolution, this Council urges the Chinese people all over the world to adhere to the teachings of the Founding Father and strive to promote nationalism, livelihood and democracy, so that democratization, human rights and the rule of law can be expeditiously realized on the soil of China.

    Amendments to the motion
    (i)Hon IP Kwok-him to move the following amendment: (Translation)

    To delete "first democratic republic in Asia; unfortunately, after the passage of 100 years, with the exception that the people in Taiwan can, through a democratic electoral system which is fair, open, impartial and based on the principles of universality and equality, choose their own government and return their elected representative assemblies, the people in Mainland China, Macao and Hong Kong are still unable to enjoy direct and full electoral rights; in view of this," after "established the" and substitute with "republican form of government;"; to delete "teachings of the Founding Father and" after "adhere to the" and substitute with "unfulfilled aspirations of Dr SUN Yat-sen and other revolutionary vanguards, continue to"; to delete "so that" after "livelihood and democracy," and substitute with "foster the grand unity of all Chinese people of the Mainland and overseas, and join hands to promote the peaceful reunification of the Motherland, so as to bring forth the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and continuous improvements to"; and to delete "can be expeditiously realized" after "rule of law".

    (ii)Hon WONG Yuk-man to move the following amendment: (Translation)

    To add "the Xinhai Revolution was first nurtured in Hong Kong, and during Dr SUN Yat-sen's early revolutionary career, Hong Kong was the base of his revolutionary campaign; while studying in Hong Kong, he witnessed the perverse and evil politics of the Qing on Mainland China, thus forming the revolutionary ideas underpinned by the question 'Why can we not reform the evil politics in China?';" after "full electoral rights;"; and to add "; and this Council also urges the HKSAR Government to incorporate the history and impact of the Xinhai Revolution and its relationship with Hong Kong into the curriculum guide of national education under the subject of Liberal Studies, so as to cultivate young people's democratic qualities" immediately before the full stop.

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs
Clerk to the Legislative Council