A 12/13-30
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 29 May 2013 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers
Other Paper
| No. 96 | - | Employees Retraining Board Annual Report 2011-12 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Labour and Welfare) | ||
II. Questions
1. Hon Gary FAN to ask: (Translation)
There will be a shortfall of around 1 400 Primary One ("P1") places in the North District in the 2013-2014 school year, and the allocation results of the Central Allocation exercise under the Primary One Admission ("POA") System for that school year will be released on 1 June 2013. The Secretary for Education has indicated early this year that by then, students of the North District who have been allocated P1 places in the Tai Po District may apply for re-allocation of P1 places in the North District ("re-allocation mechanism"). The authorities will address their wish to study in their home district by increasing the number of P1 places in the North District. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether all students of the North District who have been allocated P1 places in schools outside their home district in the POA Central Allocation exercise can be re-allocated P1 places in the North District under the aforesaid re-allocation mechanism; if they cannot, whether the Education Bureau has other measures to help such students gain admission to schools in the North District; of the measures the Education Bureau has put in place to ensure that such students will be admitted to their favourite schools under the re-allocation mechanism; (b) of the respective numbers of cross-boundary students applying for P1 places in the North District, Tai Po, Shatin, Yuen Long and Tuen Mun during the Central Allocation stage in this school year, together with the number of such students in each district who were allocated places in schools in other districts due to insufficient school places; and (c) of the respective numbers of places borrowed from schools in Tai Po and Shatin in the past three school years and the current school year to cater for students of other districts; whether the schools concerned originally had surplus places; whether such a measure of borrowing school places would affect the chances of students of the two districts being allocated places in their favourite schools in their home districts; how the Education Bureau will assist students of the two districts in gaining admission to their favourite schools in their home districts?
2. Hon Albert HO to ask: (Translation)
Some members of the public have relayed to me that the Chief Executive ("CE") has yet to give a direct account of the whole story concerning the unauthorized building works ("UBWs") in his mansion on Peel Rise ("Peel Rise mansion") since such UBWs were uncovered in June last year, when he was about to assume the office of CE; and the way in which the Buildings Department ("BD") handles this case is different from that for handling the UBWs uncovered in a mansion on York Road ("York Road mansion") which belongs to another candidate who stood in the 2012 CE Election, thus causing members of the public to suspect that the authorities have been selective in taking law enforcement actions. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) as it has been reported that the Director of Buildings indicated on 7 May this year that the UBWs in the Peel Rise mansion had been demolished, the underground space had been dealt with, and the space beneath the parking space had also been filled up, and yet the Chief Executive's Office mentioned in reply to press enquiries on the following day that CE was still discussing the remedial proposal with BD in respect of the unlawfully constructed enclosed area of some 200 square feet on the lower ground floor of the Peel Rise mansion, whether the situation referred to by the Director is the actual situation at present; which of the UBWs in the Peel Rise mansion have yet to be demolished and restored to the original structure; (b) as CE had already indicated at the end of November last year that he would discuss with BD the way to handle the unlawfully constructed enclosed area in the Peel Rise mansion mentioned in (a), whether BD and CE have already reached a consensus in respect of the remedial proposal for the said UBW so far; if they have not, whether it has assessed the causes for this situation, and whether it is attributable to dereliction of duty on the part of BD staff or the property owner being uncooperative in the case; of the number of times BD has contacted the property owner to discuss the remedial proposal for the said UBW, and what the replies given by the property owner are; and (c) given that BD issued summons in February this year to prosecute the agent of the owner of the York Road mansion and the authorized persons appointed by her for carrying out unlawful building works, and to prosecute the said authorized persons for misrepresentation, whether the authorities are adopting the same standard in handling the case involving the UBWs in the Peel Rise mansion; if they are not, of the reasons for that?
3. Hon Alan LEONG to ask: (Translation)
Article 45 of the Basic Law provides that, in relation to the method for selecting the Chief Executive ("CE"), "[t]he ultimate aim is the selection of the Chief Executive by universal suffrage upon nomination by a broadly representative nominating committee in accordance with democratic procedures"; and Article 68 provides that, concerning the method for forming the Legislative Council ("LegCo"), "[t]he ultimate aim is the election of all the members of the Legislative Council by universal suffrage". In respect of the qualifications required of a person to be CE, the Chairman of the Law Committee of the National People's Congress said when he met some Members of LegCo on 24 March this year that a person who was against the Central Government would not be allowed to become CE and that CE had to "love the country and Hong Kong". Officials from the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region as well as quite a number of members from the pro-establishment camp have quoted this comment of the Chairman for a number of times, and pointed out that persons not meeting the aforesaid qualification requirements are not allowed to become CE. On the other hand, some members of the public have demanded that the members of the nominating committee should be elected on a "one person, one vote" basis in 2017; and that in the LegCo election in 2016, the split voting system should be abolished and the number of seats for Functional Constituencies ("FC") be reduced. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether the Government has studied if the aforesaid qualification requirements for CE have been provided for in the Basic Law, or if such qualification requirements override the Basic Law; if the outcome of the study is in the affirmative, of the legal basis; if the outcome of the study is in the negative, how the Government ensures that the comments relating to the aforesaid qualification requirements will not affect the constitutional reform proposal on election of CE by universal suffrage to be put forward by the Government according to the provisions in the Basic Law; (b) whether the aforesaid qualification requirements for CE represent the Government's stance; if so, of the legal basis; if not, whether the Government will, pursuant to the aim of election of CE by universal suffrage under Article 45 of the Basic Law, put forward a proposal on the election of the members of the nominating committee on a "one person, one vote" basis, when it launches its consultation on the constitutional reform proposal regarding the election of CE in 2017; and (c) whether it represents the Government's stance to adopt the objectives of abolishing the split voting system and reducing the number of seats for FC when drawing up the method for LegCo election in 2016; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
4. Hon Michael TIEN to ask: (Translation)
The chilled meat and poultry trade has been operating in Hong Kong for over a decade, and the demand for chilled meat and poultry has been rising continuously in recent years. For example, the daily quantity of imported chilled chicken increased from 80 tonnes in 2008 to 104 tonnes in 2012. Last year, the quantity of imported chilled chicken accounted for 40% of the total quantity of imported chicken, and those of chilled ducks and geese accounted for 90% and 99% respectively of the total quantities of imports of their kinds. On the other hand, chilled food products must be kept under refrigeration at a temperature of 4℃ or below under the Food Hygiene Code, and a licence is required under the law for operating a food refrigeration business. As ancillary facilities for the wholesaling of chilled meat and poultry are currently unavailable in Hong Kong, wholesalers can only put chilled meat and poultry into temporary storage in lorries equipped with refrigeration facilities and in freezers in order to carry out the process of dividing and distributing chilled meat and poultry. It has been reported that targeting at such operation mode of "storage prior to distribution", the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department prosecutes wholesalers for committing the offence of running cold stores without licences. Members of the chilled meat and poultry trade have repeatedly written to the Food and Health Bureau, requesting the Government to set up an approved distribution and storage centre for chilled meat and poultry to centralize the management of the business concerned, with a view to reducing food risks. However, no reply has been received from the Government. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether the authorities will consider drawing up and updating relevant legislation and rules to ensure that the whole process of importing and wholesaling chilled meat and poultry conforms to hygiene standards, in order to enhance food safety and provide legislation and rules for the trade to follow so as to avoid their being prosecuted; and (b) whether the authorities will consider the request of the trade for setting up an approved distribution and storage centre and initiate a site selection study?
5. Hon Christopher CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)
The Securities and Futures Commission ("SFC") announced on 18 May this year that it had received notification from Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange Limited ("HKMEx") of its decision to surrender its authorization to provide automated trading services ("the authorization") after considering that its trading revenues had been insufficient to support its operating expenses. As authorized automated trading services providers must have sufficient financial resources, SFC therefore withdrew HKMEx's authorization with immediate effect pursuant to the relevant rules. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
(a) when SFC became aware of HKMEx not having sufficient financial resources; and (b) whether, in the past, there were other financial institutions which had, on their own volition, surrendered their authorizations or licences for conducting securities and futures businesses due to failure to meet the relevant requirements; if so, of the details; as the Chairman of HKMEx has reportedly said that HKMEx will complete a rights issue to raise funds in the amount of US$100 million by the end of June for HKMEx to resume operation, whether a financial institution, for which SFC has withdrawn the authorization, may have its licence restored automatically without the need to re-apply for the licence; if it may, of the details?
6. Hon KWOK Wai-keung to ask: (Translation)
With effect from 1 May 2013, the statutory minimum wage rate has been adjusted upward from $28 per hour to $30. Calculated on the basis that each household member works for nine hours per day and 26 days per month, the monthly household income of $14,040 of a dual-income two-person household earning minimum wages will have exceeded the 2013-2014 Waiting List income limit for public rental housing ("PRH") for two-person households (i.e. $13,750). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the number of households whose applications for allocation of PRH units in each of the past three years had been rejected because their household income had exceeded the prescribed Waiting List income limits as a result of all their household members earning minimum wages; (b) whether the Hong Kong Housing Authority ("HA") has collected the following information: among the households on the Waiting List, of the current number of those whose members all earn minimum wages, and the per capita monthly income of these members; if it has, of the details; if not, whether the Government will suggest HA to collect such information; and (c) given that the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority ("MPFA") has, in the light of the adjustment to the statutory minimum wage rate, suggested that the minimum level of the relevant income for Mandatory Provident Fund contributions be increased to $7,100, whether the authorities will recommend HA to make reference to the practice of MPFA and prescribe the statutory minimum wage rate as one of the criteria for setting the Waiting List income limits; if they will not, of the reasons for that?
*7. Hon CHAN Yuen-han to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the authorities demanded, under the Land (Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Cap. 28), members of the public to remove, before a deadline, their bicycles which were parked inside the designated public parking spaces for bicycles ("parking spaces for bicycles") where a traffic sign featuring the letter "P" and a bicycle-shaped figure was erected, or else they would confiscate the bicycles. Some members of the public have pointed out that they are confused as the authorities have not provided any clear guidelines on the requirements for the use of parking spaces for bicycles. They are also of the view that at present, parking spaces for bicycles in various districts are insufficient. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the number of illegally parked bicycles confiscated by the authorities in the past three years and, among such bicycles, the number of those which were parked inside parking spaces for bicycles; (b) of the requirements that must be met for legal parking of bicycles under the existing legislation, and the reasons for the authorities confiscating the bicycles parked inside parking spaces for bicycles; (c) whether the Government has publicized the requirements for legal parking of bicycles among members of the public at present; if it has not, of the reasons for that; if it has, of the details and the relevant expenditure each year, and whether it will step up its efforts in public education; (d) of a breakdown by District Council ("DC") district of the current number of parking spaces for bicycles throughout the territory; the number of additional parking spaces for bicycles requested by each DC in the past three years, and the number of parking spaces for bicycles newly added to each DC district; (e) whether it has plans to conduct, in collaboration with the 18 District Councils in the near future, a comprehensive consultation and review in respect of the issue of insufficient parking spaces for bicycles; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (f) of the progress of the Transport Department's trials on the new "double-deck" parking systems in Fanling and Tai Po; whether the systems will be installed throughout the territory with a view to increasing the number of parking spaces for bicycles; if so, of the details and implementation timetable?
*8. Hon CHEUNG Kwok-che to ask: (Translation)
In reply to the questions raised by Members of this Council in respect of the Estimates of Expenditure 2013-2014, the authorities indicated that upon review, the performance of the Care and Support Networking Team ("CSNT") operating in West Kowloon was considered satisfactory. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the items of services included in and the criteria adopted for the aforesaid review; (b) of a breakdown, by the criteria referred to in (a), of the actual performance of CSNT in the aforesaid review and the relevant statistics; (c) given that the service contract for CSNT has been extended from 1 July 2012 to 30 June 2015, of the funding allocation and staff establishment for each of the contract years; and (d) whether the authorities have any plan to provide CSNTs in other districts?
*9. Hon Jeffrey LAM to ask: (Translation)
The Transport and Housing Bureau has indicated earlier that the Government has maintained close liaison with the MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL"), and the on-schedule completion of the Project to construct the Hong Kong Section of Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link ("XRL Project") and keeping the construction cost within budget have all along been their prime objectives. According to MTRCL's assessment, these objectives are attainable hitherto. However, it has recently been reported that an internal document of a contractor of the XRL Project has revealed that owing to the increase in costs and change of designs, etc., some of the works cannot be completed in 2015 as originally planned. It is estimated that the completion date of West Kowloon Terminus will be postponed for 562 days, and the contractor concerned has made a claim to MTRCL for $1.55 billion to compensate for the expenses arising from the delay in works. Concerning the construction progress of the XRL Project and the related immigration arrangements, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) given that MTRCL submits a report to the Government on the construction progress and financial status of the XRL Project every half year, of the date and contents of the latest report submitted by MTRCL; (b) how the construction cost and completion date of the XRL Project, based on the latest information submitted to the Government by MTRCL, compare with those in the original plan; and (c) given that the authorities have indicated that an inter-disciplinary task force has been set up to conduct an in-depth study on the relevant arrangements for the co-location of boundary control facilities at the West Kowloon Terminus, of the present progress and results of the study?
*10. Dr Hon LEUNG Ka-lau to ask: (Translation)
In connection with the statistics on the services of the accident and emergency ("A&E") departments of public hospitals for the year 2012-2013 (or, if such data are not available, statistics from January to December 2012), will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
(a) a breakdown of the average waiting time of patients by hospitals, A&E triage categories and the following six time slots (set out in a table of the same format as Table 1 for each time slot): (i) from midnight to 8:00 am on weekdays; (ii) from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm on weekdays; (iii) from 4:00 pm to midnight on weekdays; (iv) from midnight to 8:00 am on public holidays; (v) from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm on public holidays; and (vi) from 4:00 pm to midnight on public holidays; Table 1
Cluster Public hospital Category I
(critical)Category II
(emergency)Category III
(urgent)Category IV
(semi-urgent)Category V
(non-urgent)Hong Kong East Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital Ruttonjee Hospital St. John Hospital Hong Kong West Queen Mary Hospital Kowloon Central Queen Elizabeth Hospital Kowloon East Tseung Kwan O Hospital United Christian Hospital Kowloon West Caritas Medical Centre Kwong Wah Hospital Princess Margaret Hospital Yan Chai Hospital New Territories East Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital North District Hospital Prince of Wales Hospital New Territories West Pok Oi Hospital (b) a breakdown of the numbers of attendances by hospitals, A&E triage categories and the time slots referred to in (a) (set out in a table of the same format as Table 1 for each time slot); (c) the average numbers of doctors (broken down further according to the categories of doctors in Table 2) and nurses working in A&E departments, broken down by hospitals and the time slots referred to in (a) (set out in a table of the same format as Table 2 for each time slot); Table 2
Time slot: Average number of doctors Average number of nurses Cluster Public hospital A&E specialists Resident doctors undergoing A&E specialist training Doctors from other departments Hong Kong East Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital Ruttonjee Hospital St. John Hospital …… …… (d) the numbers of part-time doctors and part-time nurses working in A&E departments, their total numbers of working hours and total remunerations, broken down by hospitals (set out in Table 3); and Table 3
Cluster Public hospital Doctors Nurses Number of doctors Total number of working hours Total remuneration Number of nurses Total number of working hours Total remuneration Hong Kong East Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital Ruttonjee Hospital St. John Hospital …… …… (e) a breakdown by hospital of the numbers of doctors and nurses working in A&E departments who had worked overtime, their total hours of overtime work and total remunerations for overtime work (set out in a table of the same format as Table 3)?
*11. Hon CHAN Kin-por to ask: (Translation)
Under the existing New Pension Scheme or the Civil Service Provident Fund ("CSPF") Scheme, the prescribed retirement ages for civil servants of the disciplined grades ("disciplined service officers"), which are set at 55 or 57 (depending on their ranks), are lower than the normal retirement age of 60 for civil servants of civilian grades. It has been learnt that except for exceptional circumstances, the Government generally does not consider the continued employment of officers beyond the retirement age, and quite a number of retired disciplined service officers continue to work in the private sector. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the number of disciplined service officers who retired in each of the past five years, broken down by their ranks and ages at the time of retirement, and whether they were under the New Pension Scheme or CSPF Scheme; and the anticipated number of those who will retire in the coming five years; (b) given that civil servants who take up post-service outside work during the final leave, or former civil servants who take up such outside work during the specified restriction periods after retirement, are required to seek and obtain prior permission, of the number of such applications, received by the authorities in the past five years from retiring/retired disciplined service officers, and the positions of outside work involved in general in such applications; (c) given that some disciplined service officers are re-employed by their disciplined services on a contract basis after retirement, of the number of such contract staff at present; and the details of the policy concerned, including the criteria adopted by the authorities for deciding to re-employ such officers; and (d) whether it has assessed if the stipulation on the retirement ages of the disciplined service officers has led to succession problems or wastage of experienced staff in the disciplined services; whether the authorities have considered establishing a mechanism to allow those disciplined service officers who meet relevant requirements to apply for extending their retirement age to 60; if they have not, of the reasons for that?
*12. Hon TAM Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)
In January this year, a fireboat took as long as 40 minutes to arrive at the fire scene after receipt of reports of a fire which broke out and spread to several fishing vessels at the typhoon shelter opposite Sam Shing Estate, Tuen Mun. On 2 May this year, a Number 3 alarm fire broke out in Tai O, Lantau Island, burning down a number of stilted houses, and some residents queried that the fire-fighting efforts had been hindered by the inadequate fire service facilities there. Besides, the fireboat "Elite", which is berthed at Central, had earlier encountered mechanical failure in the course of providing service. Given the aforesaid incidents, quite a number of people in the community have told me that at present on the outlying islands, in remote areas and at typhoon shelters in New Territories West, the fire service facilities are inadequate, roadside fire hydrants are ageing, fireboats are inadequate, etc. They are worried that when fire breaks out in those areas, it will be difficult to put it out expeditiously. They therefore hope that the authorities will enhance the fire service facilities in such areas. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether the authorities have regularly (i) reviewed if there are adequate fire service facilities on outlying islands and in remote areas such as Tai O, Tong Fuk and Peng Chau, and (ii) checked if such facilities have ageing problems; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (b) given that the existing Fireboat 7 will be replaced by a new fireboat at the end of 2014, and the berthing place will be changed from the Hong Kong International Airport to Tuen Mun, whether the authorities will consider procuring an additional fireboat to be berthed at the airport, so as to provide service in the waters near the airport and North Lantau; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (c) whether the authorities will conduct a comprehensive review to see if the existing marine fire service facilities in the territory are adequate, and allocate additional resources to procure fire service facilities (e.g. fireboats) so as to ensure that there are adequate fire service facilities to cope with fire occurring along the shore or at sea; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*13. Hon SIN Chung-kai to ask: (Translation)
Currently, half of the 70 seats of the Legislative Council are functional constituency ("FC") seats. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of the following data in each year from 2008 to 2012:
(a) the percentages of the value added of the relevant industries under various FCs in the Gross Domestic Product ("GDP") (set out in Table 1); (b) the percentages of the numbers of employees in the relevant industries under various FCs in the labour force (set out in Table 2); and (c) the numbers of (i) eligible electors and (ii) registered electors of various FCs when the final register of electors was published (set out in Table 3)?
Table 1
FCs
(excluding Labour, District Council and Heung Yee Kuk)Percentage of value added of relevant industries in GDP 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Accountancy Agriculture and Fisheries Architectural, Surveying and Planning Catering Commercial (First)
Commercial (Second)Education Engineering Finance Financial Services Health Services Import and Export Industrial (First)
Industrial (Second)Information Technology Insurance Legal Medical Real Estate and Construction Social Welfare Sports, Performing Arts, Culture and Publication Textiles and Garment Tourism Transport Wholesale and Retail
Table 2FCs
(excluding Labour, District Council and Heung Yee Kuk)Percentage of the number of employees in the relevant industries in the labour force 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Accountancy Agriculture and Fisheries ...
Table 3
FCs
(excluding District Council (Second))(i) Number of eligible electors
(ii) Number of registered electors
2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Accountancy (i)
(ii)(i)
(ii)(i)
(ii)(i)
(ii)(i)
(ii)Agriculture and Fisheries (i)
(ii)(i)
(ii)(i)
(ii)(i)
(ii)(i)
(ii)...
*14. Hon NG Leung-sing to ask: (Translation)
According to the statistics from the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, personal loans have been consistently growing faster than the overall economy in recent years, and in the second half of 2012, the rate of household loans (including residential mortgages, credit card advances and personal loans) to the gross domestic product ("household debt-to-GDP ratio") rose to a new high of 61%. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
(a) the respective annual proportions of the various components of household loans in Hong Kong and the annual growth rates of household loans (excluding residential mortgages) in the past three years; (b) the results of a comparison between the household debt-to-GDP ratio in Hong Kong and the corresponding ratios in other regions in the past three years; and (c) the growth rate of the total amount of personal loans taken out by foreign domestic helpers working in Hong Kong and the percentage of such amount in the total amount of personal loans in Hong Kong, in each of the past three years?
*15. Hon WONG Yuk-man to ask: (Translation)
Some elderly persons have encountered difficulties in applying for Old Age Living Allowance ("OALA"), including inability to complete the application form for OALA ("application form"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) how the Social Welfare Department ("SWD") assists those members of the public who are less competent in reading and writing in filling the application form; (b) given that an application form must be signed by a witness for it to be accepted, but some singleton elderly persons are unable to find relatives or friends to be their witnesses, how SWD handles such situation; (c) given that some members of the public have indicated that the design of the application form is extremely complicated, the printed letters are too tiny and the space for filling in information is too small, but much and repetitive information is required to be provided, whether SWD will improve the design of the application form; if it will not, of the reasons for that; and (d) given that some members of the public have relayed that they are unable to get through the OALA hotline over a protracted time, whether SWD will further improve the hotline service; if it will not, of the reasons for that?
*16. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)
At the special meetings of the Finance Committee of this Council held in the past few years to examine the Government's Estimates of Expenditure, I had raised questions time and again on the works progress of the Project to construct the Hong Kong Section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link ("XRL Project"), and whether there had been any delays or difficulties unforeseen at the design stage, etc. The Government replied that it had all along been closely monitoring the works carried out by the MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL") to ensure that the works of the Project were of good quality, would be completed as scheduled and would not exceed the approved project estimate. The Government also advised that "there have been no signs of cost overrun or major delay" for the XRL Project. However, it has recently been reported in the press that there have been severe delays in some of the works of the XRL Project, resulting in the delay of the completion date by one and a half year, and a contractor putting forward claims exceeding $1.55 billion for the additional expenses caused by the delays. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
(a) it has assessed if the situation as reported above is consistent with the authorities' replies to me; if the assessment result is in the affirmative, of the justifications; if the assessment result is in the negative, of the reasons for that, and whether the situation involves MTRCL knowingly not reporting the truth, and ineffective monitoring on the part of the Project Supervision Committee, which is chaired by the Director of Highways and is tasked with monitoring the XRL project; and (b) it will require MTRCL to truthfully and comprehensively report on the latest progress of the XRL Project (including whether there have been delays and/or cost overrun and the relevant causes); of the expected completion date and estimated total expenditure of the XRL Project according to the latest progress; if there is expected delay in the completion date, whether the authorities have assessed the impact of such a situation on the economy of Hong Kong and on the transport in the districts concerned?
*17. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)
According to the Government's reply to my question on 15 May this year, expenses on entertainment and overseas visits incurred by the five disciplined services, namely the Hong Kong Police Force ("HKPF"), Immigration Department ("ImmD"), Fire Services Department ("FSD"), Customs and Excise Department ("C&ED") and Correctional Services Department ("CSD"), in the past five financial years had recorded notable increases. For example, HKPF's expenses on overseas visits increased by 64% to over $11 million, the expenses on overseas visits of C&ED and CSD increased by 66% and 64% respectively, and ImmD's expenses on entertainment increased by 67%. Regarding the details of overseas visits, entertainment activities and presentation of gifts of these disciplined services as well as the acceptance of gifts by the officers of these disciplined services in the past five financial years, will the Government inform this Council of:
(a) the number of overseas visits made by each disciplined service each year and, among these visits, the respective numbers of those (i) in which its commissioner/director had participated (and set out the visits concerned); (ii) the destinations of which included mainland cities (and set out the names of those cities and mainland organizations visited); and (iii) which involved overspending (and set out the reasons for the overspending); the details (including the amounts of expenses, dates, purposes, destinations and names of organizations visited) of the 20 overseas visits incurring the highest amounts of expenses, set out in descending order; (b) the number of entertainment activities hosted by each disciplined service each year and, among these activities, the respective numbers of those which (i) were attended by its commissioner/director (and set out the entertainment activities concerned); (ii) were attended by representatives from mainland organizations/offices of the Central People's Government in Hong Kong ("CPG's offices") (and set out the mainland organizations/CPG's offices concerned); and (iii) involved overspending (and set out the reasons for such overspending); the details (including the names of the activities, amounts of expenses incurred, dates, venues and names of organizations entertained) of the 20 entertainment activities incurring the highest amounts of expenses, set out in descending order; (c) the amount of expenditure incurred each year by each disciplined service for the purchase of gifts (including wooden trophies, crystal displays and stationery) for presentation to others, as well as the percentage of that amount in the "general departmental expenses"; the details (including the types, unit prices and quantities) of the top 10 types of gifts with the highest unit prices, set out in descending order; (d) the number of gifts (including souvenirs) received each year by the officers of each disciplined service, the types and methods of disposal of such gifts, as well as the types of such gifts which may be retained by the officers concerned and the approval procedures; the details (including the types, value and quantities) of the 10 types of gifts with the highest value, set out in descending order; and (e) the number of cases handled by each disciplined service in which its officers were suspected of contravening the Civil Service Regulations or other government regulations in relation to claiming overseas visit allowances, incurring entertainment expenses, presentation of gifts and receipt of gifts, and among such cases, the number of those which were substantiated and the officers concerned had been subject to disciplinary actions?
*18. Hon Tony TSE to ask: (Translation)
In his 2013 Policy Address, the Chief Executive ("CE") put forward a number of measures to increase the supply of housing land in the short to medium term. One of those measures is that he had "asked the policy bureaux to act decisively to optimize the use of land and, where the original intended use is not required anymore, to convert the land for housing development or other uses that meet the more pressing needs in the community as soon as possible". Furthermore, the Financial Secretary is heading the Steering Committee on Land Supply to coordinate the overall plans for development and supply of land in Hong Kong for various uses. On the other hand, according to the information provided by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department, there are currently about 3 278 hectares of land zoned for "Agricultural Use" in the territory. Yet, there are comments that many pieces of such agricultural land have been left derelict or illegally converted to other uses (such as building houses). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether, regarding how to optimize the use of lands in the New Territories (including Lantau Island), CE has given instructions to various policy bureaux and departments concerned to rezone the agricultural lands which are no longer suitable for agricultural activities to other uses, so as to increase the land supply for development; if he has, of the contents of such instructions; if not, the reasons for that; (b) whether the responsibilities of the Steering Committee on Land Supply include deliberations on how to optimize the use of lands in the New Territories and implement the relevant measures; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (c) whether it has any plan to set up an inter-departmental committee, comprising heads or representatives of the relevant policy bureaux and departments, dedicated to coordinating and organizing efforts for resolving the various issues (e.g. planning, building houses, relocation, compensation, transport, ancillary facilities, etc.) which arise in the process of optimizing the use of lands in the New Territories; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (d) whether the authorities will comprehensively review the use of agricultural lands in the New Territories, with a view to releasing more land for residential developments; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*19. Dr Hon LAM Tai-fai to ask: (Translation)
After the Appropriation Bill 2013 ("the Bill") received its Second Reading on 24 April 2013, this Council forthwith went into committee of the whole Council to consider the 710 Committee stage amendments ("CSAs") proposed mainly by four Members. These four Members stated unequivocally that the purpose of their proposing a large number of CSAs was to "filibuster" the Bill and force the Government to accede to their demands. After meeting the Financial Secretary ("FS") in the afternoon of 10 May, the four Members were determined to continue with their filibuster. All the proceedings on the Bill were finally completed on 21 May. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it has assessed the additional government expenditure brought about by the filibuster; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (b) whether it has assessed the specific impacts of the filibuster on the operation of various government departments; if it has, set out in detail the departments affected and the impacts (including those relating to service provision and additional expenses caused, etc.); if not, of the reasons for that; (c) during the 16-day period between the commencement of the filibuster and the day on which FS met with the four Members, whether the Government had lobbied these Members and directly explained to them the consequences and impacts if the Bill was not passed by the deadline; if it had, of the details of those official(s) who had undertaken such task, as well as the date(s) and time, venue(s) and format(s) of such meeting(s); if not, the reasons for that; (d) whether it has assessed the impacts of the filibuster on the relationship between the Executive Authorities and the Legislature; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (e) whether the Chief Executive ("CE") had in person lobbied the Members who filibustered, and urged them to withdraw some or all of their CSAs; if not, of the reasons for that; (f) whether it has assessed the extent to which people from various sectors of the community supported the filibuster, as well as the responses of various political parties/groups to the filibuster; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (g) given that CE, when attending this Council's Question and Answer Session on 9 May this year, had indicated that the filibuster would bring negative impacts particularly on the needy of society, and also obstruct the Government's implementation of those relief measures put forward in the 2013-2014 Budget, whether the authorities can set out the details of such relief measures and the amounts involved; (h) given that CE, at the aforesaid Question and Answer Session, had indicated that if the Bill could not be passed in time, it would have inestimable impacts on the finances, people's livelihood and operation of the whole community, whether the Government had, before those Members commenced the filibuster, explained to the public and Members of this Council what "inestimable" impacts the filibuster would have; if it had, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (i) given that CE, at the aforesaid Question and Answer Session, had indicated that if the Bill could not be passed by this Council by 15 May, there would be serious consequences comparable to facing a "fiscal cliff", and the Bill was passed by this Council several days later than the time specified by the Government, of those serious consequences that CE had referred to and whether the "fiscal cliff" has occurred; (j) whether it had approached the President of the Legislative Council ("LegCo") with regard to the four Members' filibustering and requested him to put an end to the filibuster; if it had, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (k) whether it had known in advance that the President of LegCo was to announce the arrangements for ending the filibuster on the morning of 13 May; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*20. Hon Paul TSE to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that Cheung Kong (Holdings) Limited ("Cheung Kong"), based on the reason that "harmony is precious", decided to unwind the sale of all hotel room units at The Apex Horizon ("the Sale") after entering into an agreement with the Securities and Futures Commission ("SFC"), in order to avoid SFC conducting an investigation under the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Cap. 571) ("the Ordinance") into whether the Sale involved a Collective Investment Scheme ("CIS"). In addition, there are comments that Cheung Kong unwound the Sale because a Member of this Council had sent a letter to SFC requesting it to conduct an investigation into whether the Sale constituted a CIS. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) given that Cheung Kong had, for the sake of selling hotel room units, sought and obtained permission from the Lands Department for splitting The Apex Horizon's land lease, while the Chief Executive, the Chief Secretary for Administration, the Secretary for Development as well as officials from the Lands Department and Buildings Department had neither stopped the Sale nor indicated that the relevant transactions might contravene the Ordinance, whether such situations had arisen because the Government had never realized that the Sale might involve a CIS; if so, of the reasons for that; if not, when the Government started to examine whether the Sale had contravened the Ordinance; (b) whether it will review the competence of members of the governing team of the Government and government officials in interpreting and enforcing various legislation which is applicable to the regulation of developers, in order to avoid similar suspected illegal sale in future; and (c) whether it knows if SFC will clarify whether the Sale or similar selling approaches violate any regulations, and whether it will study if it is necessary to take further legal actions and amend the relevant legislation so as to avoid criticism of inappropriately taking "harmony is precious" approach and "tackling problems with developers in private" as well as to prevent the recurrence of similar disputes in future?
*21. Hon Albert CHAN to ask: (Translation)
In reply to my question at the meeting of this Council on 18 April 2012, the Government indicated that the Civil Aviation Department had, since October 1998, implemented a number of aircraft noise mitigating measures to minimize the impact of aircraft noise on the districts near the flight paths. Such measures included: (i) arranging flights departing Hong Kong from 11 pm to 7 am the next day to use the southbound route via the West Lamma Channel, and flights arriving in Hong Kong from midnight to 7 am the next day to land from the waters southwest of the airport, as far as possible so as to avoid aircraft overflying densely populated areas in the early hours; (ii) requiring aircraft approaching from the northeast to adopt the Continuous Descent Approach when landing; (iii) requiring aircraft taking off towards the northeast to follow the noise abatement departure procedures so as to reach a higher altitude within a shorter distance; (iv) allowing only aircraft of a lower noise level (as defined in the Convention on International Civil Aviation) to land and take off in Hong Kong; and (v) requiring all aircraft which could make use of the satellite navigation technology to follow a set of "Radius-to-Fix" turn procedures when taking off towards the northeast and turning south to the West Lamma Channel so as to reduce the noise impact on Ma Wan residents, etc. However, I have learnt that aircraft noise during the aforesaid hours still causes nuisance to the residents of quite a number of housing estates, making it difficult for them to fall asleep. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the monthly data recorded in 2012 and 2013 by various aircraft noise monitoring terminals on aircraft noise levels which reached 70 to 74, 75 to 79, and 80 decibels ("dB") or above during the aforesaid hours; (b) of the types of aircraft with noise levels reaching 80 dB or above last year, and the names of the airline companies to which such aircraft belonged; and (c) whether it will further enhance the existing aircraft noise mitigating measures to reduce the nuisance caused to residents in the districts concerned; if it will, of the details?
*22. Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to ask: (Translation)
The Chief Executive mentioned in the 2013 Policy Address that the Government would review bus services, rationalize bus routing, enhance feeder service and improve interchange arrangements. Also, in a paper submitted to this Council on 18 January this year, the Transport and Housing Bureau mentioned that the Transport Department and the franchised bus companies would try out an "Area Approach" in reviewing and rationalizing bus services, and set up Bus-Bus Interchanges ("BBIs") similar to the newly opened Tuen Mun Road Bus-Bus Interchange. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
(a) it has formulated a detailed timetable for commencing discussions with the three franchised bus companies and the various District Councils on using an "Area Approach" in formulating bus route rationalization plans and the relevant implementation arrangements; if it has, of the timetable and the details of the work concerned; if not, the reasons for that; (b) it has prepared a list of feasible sites for providing new BBIs; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (c) it will consider converting certain large-scale bus termini (e.g. Cheung On Bus Terminus at Tsing Yi) into area-based BBIs; if it will, of the details of the relevant plans; if not, the reasons for that; and (d) it has any plan to make reference to the practices of other places (e.g. Taiwan) and require franchised bus companies to set up Estimated Bus Arrival Time systems to enable passengers to check the bus arrival time via announcing devices set up at BBIs or mobile phone applications, as well as consider including such a requirement in the franchise agreements to be signed with bus companies in future; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
* For written reply
III. Motion
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Proposed resolution under the Road Traffic Ordinance and the Road Traffic (Driving-offence Points) Ordinance
Secretary for Transport and Housing to move the motion in the Appendix. |
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(The motion was also issued on 14 May 2013 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 584/12-13) |