A 13/14-11
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 11 December 2013 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers
| Subsidiary Legislation / Instrument | L.N. No. |
|---|---|
| Import and Export (General) Regulations (Amendment of Schedule 7) (No. 2) Notice 2013 | 198/2013 |
Other Papers
| 1. | No. 47 | - | Immigration Service Welfare Fund Report on the administration of the Fund prepared by the Director of Immigration Incorporated in accordance with section 12(b) of the Immigration Service (Welfare Fund) Regulation |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Security)
| |||
| 2. | No. 48 | - | The Prince Philip Dental Hospital 2012/13 Annual Report The Board of Governors |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Food and Health)
| |||
| 3. | No. 49 | - | The Government Minute in response to the 25th Annual Report of The Ombudsman 2013 |
| (to be presented by the Chief Secretary for Administration, who will address the Council) | |||
II. Questions
1. Hon CHAN Han-pan to ask: (Translation)
The authorities have started the Tung Chung New Town Development Extension Study, and various large-scale infrastructure projects on North Lantau, such as the Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities ("HKBCF") of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge ("HZMB"), Hong Kong Link Road and Tuen Mun-Chap Lap Kok Link, etc., have commenced one after another. Some civil organizations have pointed out that on the premise of striking a balance between conservation and development, the authorities should improve the internal and external transport links of Lantau Island, make good use of port facilities there to develop "bridgehead economy", develop Tung Chung into a new town with local characteristics which is suitable for living, doing business, working, sightseeing and schooling, and promote the economic development of Hong Kong by capitalizing on the synergy generated by the North Lantau development. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) as there are views that the traffic flows between the urban areas and Lantau Island will increase substantially upon the commissioning of HZMB, of the details of the plans drawn up by the authorities for improving the road networks concerned, and how future vehicle flows into Hong Kong through HZMB will be diverted to avoid traffic congestions in areas around Tung Chung; (b) given that the artificial island for HKBCF will have an area of up to 150 hectares, whether the authorities will, apart from the provision of cross boundary facilities, build other facilities, including car parks, shopping malls and hotels, etc. on the island; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (c) given that the authorities have indicated that they will consider providing additional conference and exhibition facilities, hotels, shopping malls and sightseeing attractions, etc. on Lantau Island to receive visitors coming to Hong Kong through HZMB, what specific plans the authorities have for developing bridgehead economy; whether they have plans to establish an inter-departmental organizations (such as Lantau Island Development Committee) to coordinate the relevant work of various government departments, so as to avoid the situation of a lack of co-ordination among the departments; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
2. Hon CHAN Chi-chuen to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the Air Traffic Control Centre of the Civil Aviation Department and the 999 reporting centres ("reporting centres") of the Hong Kong Police Force had separately procured more than 100 office chairs of well-known brands, and the retail prices of the chairs ranged between $8,000 and $10,000 each, with a total value exceeding $1 million. The authorities explained that the procurement of expensive chairs was for the purpose of allowing their staff to concentrate on work. However, notwithstanding the need of the counter staff of the Immigration Department at the immigration control points ("control points") to sit for long hours at work as well, the prices of their chairs are less than $900 each. Regarding the criteria and requirements governing the procurement of office furniture and other stores by government departments, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the details of the chairs currently used by the staff of reporting centres and counter staff of control points respectively (including brand names, model numbers, quantities and unit prices); and the reasons for the departments concerned to procure chairs that vary greatly in price; (b) apart from the requirement to comply with the Stores and Procurement Regulations (the "Regulations"), of the relevant factors that government departments may consider in procuring stores, and how the question of whether staff members are concentrated on their work is related to the prices of chairs; and (c) given that the Regulations stipulate that procurement of stores and services exceeding $1.43 million in value by policy bureaux and government departments must be done by the use of open and competitive tendering procedures so as to obtain the best value for money tenders, whether the Government has formulated procurement rules for stores of total value less than $1.43 million but with high unit prices; if it has, of the details; if not, how it regulates government departments' procurement of stores with unit prices which are beyond a reasonable level; whether the Government has put in place practicable measures to guard against government departments' circumventing the procurement requirement of open and competitive tendering procedures for stores and services with total value exceeding $1.43 million by procuring them in batches?
3. Hon WONG Kwok-hing to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that a media organization earlier collected samples of toilet paper from public toilets managed by government departments and public organizations for laboratory tests. The test results showed that the bacterial contents of all samples had exceeded the level prescribed in the relevant mainland standards. Given that some doctors have pointed out that the use of toilet paper with bacterial contents exceeding the prescribed level may cause diseases such as cystitis, the aforesaid situation has aroused concern about whether public health is at hazard. Regarding the quality of public hygiene services, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether the existing legislation has prescribed any standard on the level of bacterial contents of toilet paper; if so, of the details; if not, whether the authorities will prescribe the relevant standards so as to assess the hygienic level of toilet paper; if they will, when such standards will be implemented; if they will not, of the reasons for that; (b) whether it regularly collects samples of toilet paper from public toilets managed by government departments and public organizations for tests on bacterial contents; whether it has conducted studies on enhancing the design of public toilets, so as to improve their hygiene conditions; if it has conducted such studies, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; of the authorities' measures to step up publicity and education, to raise public awareness of maintaining the hygiene of public toilets, with a view to reducing the breeding and spreading of bacteria and viruses; and (c) whether it has stipulated in the contracts for outsourced public toilet cleansing services that contractors are required to provide toilet paper that meets hygiene standards; whether it has issued guidelines to contractors regarding matters such as the storage and delivery of toilet paper; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; whether the authorities will consider switching to the direct provision by government departments of public hygiene services that are currently outsourced, so as to ensure the quality of services and enhance the protection for the public; if they will, of the details; if they will not, the reasons for that?
4. Hon YIU Si-wing to ask: (Translation)
Some members of the tourism industry have pointed out that, with the implementation of the Individual Visit Scheme, there have been changes in the travel patterns of inbound tourists in recent years. It is no longer viable for Hong Kong to rely solely on traditional attractions and shopping to attract tourists to come again. There is thus a need to integrate the existing tourism resources to promote thematic tourism with characteristics. They have also pointed out that as tourists now move around mainly in tourist areas, other districts cannot share the economic benefits of tourism and the tourism resources in such districts are also left idle. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether there are plans to make use of the distinctive tourism resources in various districts, including natural scenery, cuisine, historic buildings, temples, churches, and so on, to draw up tour routes of different themes and formulate relevant policies for development and promotion; if there are, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (b) as I have learnt that in order to promote district-wise economic development and employment, various District Councils ("DCs") have proposed to develop tourism projects of different themes, including eco-tourism for Sai Kung District, the Aberdeen Tourism Project of the Southern District, the Sun Yat-Sen Historical Trail and the "Religious Trail" of the Central and Western District, and so on, whether the authorities have drawn up any long-term development plan in relation to the tourism projects put forward by various DCs, so as to support and guide various DCs in developing such projects, and co-ordinate various DCs to conduct joint promotional activities; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (c) given that some members in the community have expressed the view that the Yu Lan Ghost Festival, which has been put on the third national list of intangible cultural heritage, has attracted quite a number of visitors to come here for its reputation, but the organizing teams of the Festival are ageing, giving rise to a succession problem, and there is also a lack of venues for organizing such activities, whether the authorities have assessed the tourism values of traditional festive activities and related traditional handicrafts, and formulated specific preservation and support measures pinpointing the difficulties encountered; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; whether the authorities have plans to promote traditional festivals integrated with elements of tourism to tourists; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
5. Hon CHEUNG Kwok-che to ask: (Translation)
In the 2010-2011 Policy Address, the Government indicated that it would enhance the services provided for autistic children on aspects such as healthcare, education and pre-school services, including providing more information about autism to parents and carers of autistic children and expanding the professional team for relevant healthcare services. Besides, the Government indicated in the Budget released subsequently that services would be provided for an additional 3 000 or so children with autism or hyperactivity disorder each year. Regarding the services provided for children (i.e. persons aged under 18) with autism or hyperactivity disorder, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the respective numbers of children who were assessed for autism or hyperactivity disorder in each of the past three years, broken down by age; among such children, of the respective numbers of those who were diagnosed to be autistic children with and without intellectual disabilities, as well as those diagnosed to have hyperactivity disorder; of the current number of autistic children in the territory according to the authorities' estimation; (b) of the respective details concerning the healthcare, education and welfare services provided for children with autism or hyperactivity disorder by the authorities in the past three years, and the respective waiting time for such services; and (c) whether the targets of the healthcare, education and welfare services currently provided for autistic children include autistic children without intellectual disabilities; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
6. Hon Tommy CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)
In 2005, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department ("AFCD") introduced the "Accredited Fish Farm Scheme" to enhance the quality of local fish products and set up a product quality assurance system so as to increase the competitiveness of such products. Moreover, to promote the sustainable development of the local aquaculture industry, AFCD has from time to time introduced new species of fish from abroad for culturing by fish farmers, e.g. the organic Jade Perch brought in from Australia and promoted comprehensively in 2011. It has been reported that despite a growing interest of the public in fish products from accredited fish farms and aquatic products cultured by organic aquaculture, the retail outlets of these fish products are mainly located in large supermarkets. Regarding the channels and situation of the sale of locally cultured fish products, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it knows the number of retail outlets selling certified organic fish products in public markets in Hong Kong in each of the past three years; if such retail outlets are few in number, of the reasons for that, and whether it has planned to increase the number of such retail outlets to make such fish products more accessible to the public; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (b) whether it knows the respective annual production and sales volume of Jade Perch so far; whether it has assessed if the sale was satisfactory, and whether culturing Jade Perch in accredited fish farms was profitable; if it was not profitable, of the reasons for that?
*7. Hon Cyd HO to ask: (Translation)
It is learnt that the authorities make annual assessments on the trend of local electricity demand in the next decade, including the forecasts on electricity sales and maximum demand. There is a view that since the two power companies have submitted their respective Five-Year Development Plans to the authorities earlier, it is an opportune time for the authorities to assess the future demand for electricity and related infrastructures. In connection with the electricity demand and the power grid, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it knows the overall situation of the use of electricity in Hong Kong at present, the monthly variations in the power system load in 2012, and the variations in the power system load throughout the day with the highest electricity load in the summer of that year; (b) of the anticipated total electricity sales in Hong Kong each year between 2014 and 2020; (c) of the highest ("peak value") and lowest ("valley value") electricity demand forecasts in Hong Kong each year between 2014 and 2020, with a breakdown by power company in the following table;
China Light and Power Company Limited The Hong Kong Electric Company Limited Year Lowest electricity
demand forecast
("valley value")Highest electricity
demand forecast
("peak value")Lowest electricity
demand forecast
("valley value")Highest electricity
demand forecast
("peak value")2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 (d) whether it knows the retirement schedules of the coal-fired generating units of the two power companies, and the accounting arrangements for the net value of the related fixed assets; (e) whether it knows (i) the ownership and (ii) the party responsible for the day-to-day operation and maintenance, of the power grid for transmitting electricity from the Guangdong Daya Bay Nuclear Power Station to Hong Kong; and (f) whether it knows the actual situation of the electricity transmission from Guangzhou Pumped Water Storage Power Station to Hong Kong, and the quantity of electricity and number of hours of electricity supply provided to Hong Kong by that power station in 2012?
*8. Hon IP Kin-yuen to ask: (Translation)
According to the web site of the Home Affairs Bureau, the Government has currently established 460 advisory and statutory bodies ("ASBs") to advise the Government on different policy areas or perform statutory functions. In this connection, will the Government:
(a) set out by the name of such ASBs the (i) ranks and (ii) notional annual mid-point salaries of the civil servants serving as secretaries to such bodies; and (b) inform this Council whether it has regularly reviewed the ranks of the civil servants to be assigned to serve as secretaries to various ASBs and the relevant payroll costs, as well as submitted reports to the Legislative Council and made public the relevant details; if it has not, of the reasons for that?
*9. Hon Mrs Regina IP to ask: (Translation)
Quite a number of public officers have relayed to me that while on duty, they are often provoked by some members of the public using abusive language or obscene gestures. As there is no specific provision under the existing legislation criminalizing the act of insulting public officers on duty, they can only put up with such behaviour in silence, which has aroused negative emotions and resulted in very low morale among them. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the respective numbers of cases in the past five years in which the authorities invoked section 23 of the Summary Offences Ordinance (Cap. 228), section 63 of the Police Force Ordinance (Cap. 232) and section 36 of the Offences Against the Person Ordinance (Cap. 212) to institute prosecutions against persons who had resisted or obstructed a public officer or police officer in the execution of duty; and among such cases, the number of convictions; and among the conviction cases, the number of those involving defendants who insulted public officers or police officers with abusive language or behaviour; (b) given that there is an offence of "insult" under the Penal Code of Macao, and the penalty will be heavier if a public officer in execution of duty is the subject of an insult (i.e. "aggravated insult"), whether the authorities will make reference to such legal provisions and study the introduction of legislation to prohibit any act of insulting public officers on duty; if they will not, of the reasons for that; (c) given that it is currently stipulated in section 139 of the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132) that "[a]ny person who wilfully obstructs, resists, or uses abusive language to, any person acting in the execution of his duties under [this] Ordinance, or under any order or warrant made or issued thereunder, shall, in any case for which no other provision is made by [this] Ordinance, be guilty of an offence", whether the authorities will consider using this provision as a blueprint and enacting legislation to prohibit the use of abusive language to other public officers on duty; if they will not, of the reasons for that; and (d) of the training, emotional counselling and support currently provided for frontline public officers in handling situations of being insulted while on duty?
*10. Hon Albert HO to ask: (Translation)
The Commission on Poverty has drawn the poverty line, which is set at 50% of the median household income ("median income") before government policy intervention (i.e. before tax and social benefits transfers). Moreover, according to the Hong Kong Poverty Situation Report 2012 released by the Government on 28 September this year, among the 430 000 poor households last year, over 150 000 were working-poor households. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it has compiled statistics on the respective current numbers of households whose income is (i) below 50% of the median income, (ii) between 51% and 60% of the median income, and (iii) between 61% and 70% of the median income; if so, of the numbers, and a breakdown of the numbers of these three groups of households by the number of able-bodied children, disabled children and those with special educational needs in the family; and (b) whether it will announce specific measures for poverty alleviation and the implementation timetable shortly; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*11. Hon Claudia MO to ask: (Translation)
The Government has earlier decided that a gradual and orderly approach should be adopted in introducing competition into the free television ("TV") market and it thus refused to approve all three applications for domestic free TV programme service licences ("TV licences"). On the other hand, on the ground that there are intense competing demands in the telecommunications service market for the 2 x 59.2 MHz of paired spectrum in the 1.9 - 2.2 GHz band ("3G Spectrum"), the authorities have decided to re-assign a portion of the 3G Spectrum by way of auction upon the expiry of the existing assignments in October 2016. Some views query that the Government has adopted double standards in handling TV licences and the assignment of 3G Spectrum, and the reason behind such a move is to provide tailor-made business environments to individual TV and telecommunications service operators. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) as it has been reported that in response to the allegation of adopting double standards, a senior official had indicated that the TV market should not be compared with the telecommunications service market given the different developments of the two markets, of the specific differences between the developments of the two markets, which have caused the Government to formulate entirely different long-term development policies for them; (b) as the authorities have reportedly said that should there be five free TV operators in the market, it will ultimately lead to the closure of several TV operators at the same time, bringing shocks to society, whether the authorities' not giving approval to all three TV licence applications was aimed at protecting individual TV operators which are less competitive from closing down; if so, of the details and the reasons for that; if not, whether it has assessed if the decision on TV licence applications made by the authorities has interfered with free market operation and obstructed fair competition; (c) as the managing partner of the consultancy firm which wrote the reports on TV market for the Government had disclosed to the media that she had asked the authorities several times if it was necessary to update the consultancy reports regarding information on the market and the applicants, so that the authorities might make decisions on TV licence applications based on the most updated information, why the authorities have all along not requested the consultancy firm to update the consultancy reports; given that the consultancy firm had openly questioned certain approaches adopted by the authorities in handling TV licence applications, whether the authorities will penalize the consultancy firm by never hiring it again; and (d) whether it has assessed if state-owned enterprises with abundant funds will pocket all the re-auctioned 3G Spectrum, as well as the implications of such a situation on the public; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*12. Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)
Quite a number of students studying locally-accredited self-financing post-secondary programmes have relayed to me that the tuition fees of such programmes have been rising incessantly in recent years, rendering it necessary for them to take out substantial amounts of loans from the Student Financial Assistance Agency ("SFAA"). They are worried about the heavy burden of loan repayments in future. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it knows the respective (i) total number of places and (ii) average amount of tuition fees of the aforesaid programmes in each of the past five academic years, with a breakdown by programme type (i.e. full-time associate degree, higher diploma and undergraduate programmes, etc.) (set out in tables of the same format as Table 1);
Table 1: Programme type:_______
Academic year 2008-2009 2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 Total number of places Average amount of tuition fees (b) of the numbers of students of the aforesaid programmes who applied for loans under SFAA and the total amounts of loans applied for in each of the past five academic years, with a breakdown by programme type (set out in tables of the same format as Table 2);
Table 2: Programme type:_______
Academic year 2008-2009 2009-2010 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 Number of students applying for loans Aggregate amount of loan applied for (c) of the total amount of loans granted by SFAA to students of the aforesaid programmes, the total amount of interest received annually under such loans and the uses of such interest, since 2008; and (d) whether it knows the adjustment mechanism for tuition fees of the aforesaid programmes; whether measures are in place to ensure the level of tuition fees not exceeding the repayment ability of those students in future; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*13. Prof Hon Joseph LEE to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the employment of part-time nurses by the Hospital Authority ("HA"), will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
(a) the modes under which part-time nurses are currently employed by HA, and the employment terms under each mode; the criteria based on which HA determines the number of part-time nurses to be employed and their employment terms; (b) in respect of each employment mode, the number of part-time nurses employed by HA with a breakdown by rank, and the average, longest and shortest periods of employment of the part-time nurses of each rank; (c) given that the Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57) provides that an employee shall be entitled to certain employee rights and benefits only if he or she is employed under a continuous contract (i.e. he or she has been employed by the same employer for four weeks or more, with at least 18 hours worked in each week), whether HA has, for the purpose of evading its obligations to provide part-time nurses with employee rights and benefits so as to save resources, deliberately made administrative arrangements to make their working hours not meeting the conditions for a continuous contract; (d) the number of part-time nurses currently employed by HA not under a continuous contract, and the reasons for that; and (e) whether HA has considered making more flexible work arrangements for part-time nurses and improving their employment terms, so as to retain part-time nurses and attract more nurses to join their ranks; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*14. Hon SIN Chung-kai to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the three batches of inflation-linked retail bonds ("iBond") which have been issued, will the Government inform this Council of:
(a) the annual total returns and rates of return on investment, after deduction of the fund management fees and other related costs, in relation to the sum received from each batch of iBond issuance and placed with the Exchange Fund for investment purpose; (b) the annual total amount of interests paid by the Government for each batch of iBond and the respective interest rates for each batch of iBond; and (c) the total interest payments, proceeds, total management fees and net surplus for each batch of iBond?
*15. Hon Paul TSE to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that on each occasion of the Chief Executive ("CE") conducting a consultation activity in a district, huge crowds assemble at the scene and stage protests. As people holding different views in the crowds frequently have conflicts, the Police have to deploy significant manpower to maintain order. Moreover, during a consultation forum conducted by CE in Sha Tin last month, about half of those drawn by lots for raising questions were District Council members ("DC members"). Therefore, some members of the public who attended that forum alleged that the forum had been reduced to a platform for DC members to express their views and its effectiveness in consulting the public was questionable. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the police manpower deployed on average for each of these district consultation activities conducted by the incumbent CE since his assumption of office, the numbers of officers in uniform and in plain-clothes among those deployed and their ratio, and the average total payroll cost for deploying such officers to discharge the duties concerned on each occasion; (b) whether it has assessed the actual effectiveness of such consultation activities; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (c) whether it has assessed, in terms of the effectiveness of gauging people's views, the differences between using platforms such as the Internet or telephone, and taking the current cumbersome approach by CE and the principal officials in conducting personal visits to various districts; if it has assessed, of the results; if not, whether it will do so immediately; and (d) given that on each occasion when CE attends a district consultation activity, a large number of people holding different views assemble, which often develops into a war of words and even scuffles, whether the authorities have reviewed if such a phenomenon will intensify social conflicts; if they have conducted such a review, of the results; whether the authorities will consider not holding such activities again, or switching to use the Internet, telephone or other platforms for CE to gauge people's views, so as to reduce the unnecessary nuisance to the districts, as well as to save police manpower and public money?
*16. Dr Hon Kenneth CHAN to ask: (Translation)
It is learnt that, at present, quite a number of school sponsoring bodies and tertiary institutions hope that the Government will grant land for them to build schools or teaching facilities. Regarding the planning of land for education purposes and the arrangements for vacant school premises, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the details of the idle government sites which have currently been planned for education purposes, including their locations, areas, the duration for which they have been left idle, the types of educational institutions by which such sites have been planned to be used and the specific uses planned, as well as their current uses; (b) of the details of the various vacant school premises which have currently been returned to the Government, including their addresses, floor areas, the types of educational institutions to which the original users belonged, the numbers of classrooms and facilities available therein, the duration for which they have been left vacant, their current situations, as well as the finalized uses of the school premises or the sites on which such school premises are located; (c) in respect of all idle government sites which have currently been planned for education purposes and the government sites on which vacant school premises are located, whether the Government has drawn up specific development plans and implementation timetables for such plans; if it has, of the details; if not, whether the Government will expeditiously draw up such plans and timetables; if it will draw up such plans, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (d) whether the Education Bureau had received in the past three years any proposals put forward by other policy bureaux for rezoning certain idle government sites originally planned for education purposes to other uses; if it had, of the details of the locations, areas, proposed new uses and development plans of such sites; and (e) whether the Education Bureau has plans to discuss with other policy bureaux to strive for rezoning more idle government sites for education purposes, thereby providing school sponsoring bodies and tertiary institutions with the land needed; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*17. Dr Hon Elizabeth QUAT to ask: (Translation)
A group of Primary Six students from the Tseung Kwan O ("TKO") district have recently told me that in the district, there is a serious problem of youth gangs and young night drifters, who are suspected of being involved in triad and drug trafficking activities. The students are worried that the problem has remained unresolved for a prolong period of time due to inadequate police manpower in the district. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether the authorities have assessed the activities of youth gangs and young night drifters in the TKO district, including whether the Police have collected intelligence on triad and drug trafficking activities involving youth gangs; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (b) as the Police have planned to upgrade the TKO Police Division to a Police District in 2015, whether the authorities have taken any measure to strengthen, before the upgrade, the police manpower so as to improve the law and order in the district; if they have, of the details of such measures and the implementation timetable; if not, the reasons for that; (c) as there is a comment that the inadequacy of youth facilities in the TKO district at night time has resulted in youngsters wandering the streets in the middle of the night, whether the authorities will open up more government facilities at night time for use by youngsters to avoid them from being touted on the streets by lawbreakers for carrying out illegal activities; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (d) whether the authorities will allocate additional resources to those agencies offering extended services for young night drifters at present, so that such agencies can provide further assistance to these youths in the district; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (e) whether the authorities have other means or plans to tackle the problem of youth gangs and young night drifters in the TKO district; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*18. Dr Hon LAM Tai-fai to ask: (Translation)
According to the 2012 Hong Kong Population Projections released by the Census and Statistics Department, the Education Bureau ("EDB") anticipates a continuous decline in the annual intake of Secondary One ("S1") students from 64 900 in the 2012-2013 school year to 54 000 in the 2016-2017 school year, and then the number will rebound steadily and annually from the 2017-2018 school year onwards, surpassing the level of this school year. Last year, EDB proposed a progressive reduction of the number of students allocated to each S1 class under the "2-1-1" and "1-1-1" options (i.e. the number of students allocated to each S1 class will be reduced by two, one and one progressively or by one student each year in three school years) as an interim measure to address the problem. Yet, the education sector is very concerned about how the authorities will ensure the teaching quality of secondary schools in the long run. Some members of the education sector have pointed out that as the plunge in the number of S1 students and the imminent implementation of "reduction of classes" and "closure of schools" have sapped the morale of quite a number of teachers and deterred aspiring graduates from joining the teaching profession, the authorities have to introduce measures to enable secondary schools to maintain stability and have sustainable development. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the annual supply of S1 places from the 2014-2015 to 2018-2019 school years in various District Council ("DC") districts; (b) whether it has assessed the annual demand for secondary school places in various DC districts in the next five school years; if it has, of the figures; if not, the reasons for that; (c) as some members of the education sector have pointed out that certain secondary schools currently operate only one S1 class while some others have only a dozen or so students studying at S1 level, whether the authorities have assessed the number of secondary schools which will encounter such situations in the next five school years and the impact of such situations on teaching quality; if they have, of the numbers of such schools and the relevant impact; if not, the reasons for that; (d) given the varied decline rate of S1 students in various DC districts in the next several years, whether EDB has assessed which districts will face an imbalance of supply and demand of S1 places; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (e) of the detailed reasons for EDB proposing the "2-1-1" and "1-1-1" options for the reduction of the number of students allocated to each S1 class instead of adopting the "3-2-1" option (i.e. the number of students allocated to each S1 class will be reduced by three, two and one progressively in three school years) put forth by the education sector; whether the authorities have assessed the pros and cons of the aforesaid three proposals; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (f) whether EDB will further reduce the number of S1 students per class for those DC districts with a higher decline rate of S1 students; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (g) as the Secretary for Education said in 2012 that it would hold discussions with stakeholders again if the reduction of the number of students per class under the "2-1-1" and "1-1-1" options was considered not sufficiently effective, whether EDB will review the effectiveness of the reduction of the number of students per class in individual DC districts; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (h) given the sharp increase in the number of cross-boundary students in recent years, causing keen competition for kindergarten and primary school places in certain districts, whether EDB has assessed if a similar situation will emerge in S1 classes; if it has, of the authorities' measures to address such situation; if not, the reasons for that; (i) given that the education sector has proposed that a certain number of S1 places should be reserved for students from other schools, efforts should be stepped up to further reduce the number of students allocated to each S1 class by one student across the board, and consideration should be given to allowing those districts with an over-supply of S1 places to adopt a district-based approach to reduce the number of students per class, whether EDB has carefully considered the feasibility of the aforesaid proposals; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (j) whether EDB will meet with members and organizations of the education sector before the end of this year to have in-depth communication on and to explore solutions for issues concerning the reduction of the number of classes and the number of students allocated to each S1 class; if it will, of the schedule of such meetings; if not, the reasons for that; (k) given that last year EDB proposed measures for "preserving our schools, the teaching force and the strengths of our education sector" ("three-fold preservation policy") so as to stabilize the teaching force and preserve the strength of the sector, whether the authorities have assessed the pros and cons of those measures and their impact on education development and teaching quality; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (l) given that the "three-fold preservation policy" will be implemented for three years only, whether EDB has formulated corresponding plans to deal with the continuous decline or reversal of the decline in the number of S1 students; (m) whether it has assessed the number of new teachers in secondary schools in each of the next five school years; if it has, of the figures; if not, the reasons for that; (n) notwithstanding that the retention period for surplus secondary school teachers has been extended from one year to three years so that some serving teachers can retain their teaching posts in the short term, whether the authorities have assessed if the reduction of classes will affect the morale of serving teachers and hinder new teachers from joining their ranks; if they have, of the details and the specific measures for attracting new teachers to join the profession; if not, the reasons for that; and (o) of the specific blueprint for development drawn up by EDB in respect of its policy on secondary schools to ensure that the quality of education will not be affected by the fluctuations in secondary school student population and issues such as reduction of classes and closure of schools?
*19. Hon Albert CHAN to ask: (Translation)
In reply to my question in February 2012, the authorities indicated that they had adopted a number of measures to curb the proliferation of a climbing plant Mikania micrantha in rural areas. However, I have learnt that the proliferation of Mikania micrantha has seen signs of drastic deterioration this year, and quite a number of plants withered because they were strangled by Mikania micrantha. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the scope and total area of the proliferation of Mikania micrantha since 2012; (b) of the new measures adopted by the authorities since 2012 to prevent Mikania micrantha from harming trees; (c) as the authorities indicated in 2004 that the joint study carried out by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department ("AFCD") and the Guangdong Forestry Bureau on control of Mikania micrantha had been completed, resulting in the identification of a herbicide "Sulfometuron-methyl" which was effective in killing the weed, and AFCD had carried out the trials on the application of this herbicide and would closely monitor its performance over a longer period of time, of the effects of the application of this herbicide by AFCD; and the reasons for the continuous proliferation of Mikania micrantha after the application of this herbicide; and (d) whether the authorities will formulate measures which are more effective in curbing the proliferation of Mikania micrantha; if they will, of the details of the measures; if not, the reasons for that?
*20. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)
Earlier on, some residents of the Mid-levels on Hong Kong Island have relayed to me that due to a prolonged lack of maintenance, many vehicular flyovers and footbridges ("bridges") in the district look dilapidated, and problems of water seepage and concrete spalling have even been found in them. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it currently maintains a list recording information on those bridges which have been in use for several decades throughout Hong Kong, including their maintenance conditions, the commissioning dates, designed lifespans and safety factors adopted at the design stage, etc.; if it does not, of the reasons for that; (b) of a list of bridges having reached their designed lifespans; (c) of the procedure for repair and maintenance currently in place to ensure that bridges having reached their designed lifespans can continue to be used safely; and (d) whether any mechanism is currently in place to determine the demolition or reconstruction of bridges built in accordance with outdated design standards or excessively low safety factors; if such mechanism is not in place, of the reasons for that?
*21. Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to ask: (Translation)
According to a paper submitted by the Government to this Council in October this year on the construction of the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link ("XRL"), the MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL") has commenced the boring works for the Ngau Tam Mei ("NTM") section of the railway tunnels, and the structural works for the ventilation buildings located at Mai Po and NTM. It has been reported that earlier on, some NTM residents have found that, since the commencement of the XRL works, quite a number of cracks appeared on the steps and the floor of the corridors inside the buildings in which they live, and some exterior walls of their buildings even slanted outward. Moreover, the koi cultivators and farmers there have found that some of the wells in NTM area have dried up, which are allegedly caused by the ground water drawdown resulting from the pumping away of underground water during the excavation and tunneling works, and thus their livelihood has been seriously affected. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it knows the number of assessments made by MTRCL since the commencement of the XRL works in respect of the impacts of such works on the underground water sources and the aboveground structures in NTM, and whether MTRCL has made public such assessment reports; of the number of site inspections conducted so far by staff from the authorities and MTRCL with regard to the aforesaid complaints by the residents; (b) whether the authorities and MTRCL have made any detailed assessment since the commencement of the XRL works in respect of the impacts of such works on the fish farming and agricultural industries in NTM; if they have, of the details and whether the assessment reports have been made public; if they have not made such assessments, the reasons for that and whether the authorities and MTRCL will do so as soon as possible; (c) of the total number of complaints received so far by the authorities and MTRCL from NTM residents in which the residents have alleged that the XRL works and related issues (such as traffic management, tidiness and cleanliness of works sites) have affected the underground water sources, building structures, residents' livelihood , etc. in that area, as well as the main contents of such complaints and the follow-up actions taken; (d) of the details of the rectification measures taken by the authorities and MTRCL in response to the reduction in underground water sources caused by the XRL works, as well as the effectiveness of such measures; and (e) whether the authorities and MTRCL have any plans at present to provide compensations to NTM residents affected by the XRL works; if they have, of the progress in computing the amounts of compensation payments; if not, the reasons for that?
*22. Hon Charles Peter MOK to ask: (Translation)
The Leisure and Cultural Services Department ("LCSD") engages the Cityline (Hong Kong) Limited ("Cityline") as the contractor to develop, operate and maintain the Urban Ticketing System ("URBTIX") at the company's own cost. With 41 outlets and the provision of telephone and Internet booking as well as ticketing enquiry services, URBTIX is a major ticket sales channel for concerts and cultural and sports events in Hong Kong. Quite a number of members of the public have relayed to me that they intend to purchase tickets through the booking web site ("booking site") of URBTIX, but the booking site very often merely displays the message that all Internet ticketing slots are being taken up by customers, and therefore the service is not available. This situation has caused them great inconvenience. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the duration, service fee and service details of the service contract signed between LCSD and Cityline; (b) whether it knows the daily average of the following in relation to the main web page of the booking site in the past three years: (i) the page views, (ii) the number of unique visitors and (iii) the number of times error messages were displayed because the server was overloaded; (c) whether it knows if Cityline has calculated the maximum number of transactions that the Internet booking service can handle concurrently; if Cityline has, of the number; whether Cityline has investigated the reason why some members of the public often fail to purchase tickets through the booking site; if Cityline has, whether it has reviewed the design of the ticketing system and made any improvement; (d) whether the service contract signed between LCSD and Cityline stipulates any performance pledge in respect of the Internet booking service; if so, of the details, and whether there is any record of Cityline failing to meet such performance pledges; if there are such records, of the details; (e) whether it knows if Cityline has set a ceiling on the ratio of tickets available for sale on the Internet to the total number of tickets; if Cityline has, of the ceiling ratio, and the number of cultural and recreational events in the past three years for which the tickets available for sale on the Internet were sold out, together with a list of the titles of such events by the length of the duration from the time tickets were open for sale to the time tickets were sold out; (f) whether it knows the number of customers who, in the past three years, often purchased multiple tickets for the same event or made repeated attempts to purchase tickets for the same event through the booking site, the average number of tickets per event purchased by them, and the total amount of payments made by such customers for purchasing the tickets; and (g) whether it knows if Cityline has detected unusual cases in which individual customers often made repeated or bulk purchases of tickets through the booking site, and if Cityline has assessed whether such cases involve ticket scalping activities; if the assessment outcome is in the affirmative, of the follow-up actions taken by the authorities?
* For written reply