A 14/15-27
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 20 May 2015 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers
Other Papers
| 1. | No. 94 | - | The Government Minute in response to the Report of the Public Accounts Committee No. 63 of February 2015 |
| (to be presented by the Chief Secretary for Administration, who will address the Council)
| |||
| 2. | Report No. 20/14-15 of the House Committee on Consideration of Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments | ||
| (to be presented by Hon Andrew LEUNG, Chairman of the House Committee) | |||
II. Questions for Written Replies
1. Hon KWOK Wai-keung to ask: (Translation)
It is noted that a number of District Councils ("DCs") have received complaints from members of the public about the congregation of wild pigeons in their districts causing not only environmental hygiene problems but also the risk of spreading diseases. However, due to the lack of effective government measures at present, the number of wild pigeons has shown signs of increase. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of complaints referred in each of the past five years to the authorities by DCs about wild pigeons causing environmental hygiene problems, with a breakdown by DC district; how the authorities handled such complaints; of the measures currently in place to deal with the relevant environmental hygiene problems; (2) whether it studied, in the past three years, the reasons why wild pigeons congregate in densely-populated areas; if it did, of the findings of the study; if not, the reasons for that; of the current number and locations of the spots where wild pigeons congregate; whether the authorities will draw up a list of black spots of wild pigeon congregation and formulate corresponding measures to reduce the impact of wild pigeons on the local community; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) whether the authorities monitored, in the past five years, the number of wild pigeons; if they did, of the number each year; whether the number of wild pigeons increased last year; if so, of the increase in the number and whether the authorities have studied the reasons for that; and (4) of the number of persons to whom the authorities issued fixed penalty notices in each of the past five years for contravening section 4(1) (Dumping of litter in public places) of the Public Cleansing and Prevention of Nuisances Regulation (Cap. 132 sub. leg. BK) by feeding wild pigeons; whether the authorities will step up law enforcement efforts; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
2. Dr Hon LAM Tai-fai to ask: (Translation)
Hong Kong Television Network Limited ("HKTVN") earlier applied for judicial review against the decision of the Chief Executive in Council ("CEIC") not to grant it a domestic free television programme service licence ("licence"). The High Court ruled in favour of HKTVN on 24 April this year and ordered that the relevant licence application be remitted back to CEIC for reconsideration. The Chief Executive said in response to the incident that CEIC, in handling all the licence applications, has acted in accordance with the law and considered the matter from the legal point of view, and that the relevant department would obtain legal advice for consideration by CEIC, so that there would be a legal basis for CEIC to determine the next course of action. On the other hand, as the Government has decided not to renew the licence of Asia Televsion Limited ("ATV"), members of the public will have fewer choices of free television programmes. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it will file an appeal; if it will, when it will do so; if not, of the reasons for that; (2) of the time when the lawyer is due to provide legal advice to CEIC, as required by the relevant department; whether it will announce the details of the legal advice and the next course of action; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) whether CEIC had sought legal advice before deciding not to grant a licence to HKTVN; if it had, of the details (including the legal basis for not granting a licence to HKTVN); if not, the reasons for that; (4) whether it will start afresh the process of vetting and approval of HKTVN's licence application; if it will, of the details, and when the relevant proposal will be submitted to CEIC for discussion; if not, of the factors of consideration; (5) whether it has assessed if the ruling against the Government in this lawsuit has affected the credibility of its governance, the public perception of the Government and the popularity of the officials concerned; if it has assessed, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (6) given that ATV's licence has not been renewed, whether it will start afresh the process of vetting and approval of HKTVN's licence application in the light of the latest situation; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (7) whether it will review the procedures for vetting and approval of licence applications and the relevant policy in the light of the aforesaid ruling; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (8) given that there are views that the granting of licence is a "black box operation", whether it will publish clear assessment criteria and guidelines again in this regard; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (9) whether it will re-examine the capacity of the television market and consider issuing more licences, so that the audiences will have more choices of free television programmes; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (10) given that the Broadcasting Ordinance (Cap. 562) does not stipulate an upper limit on the number of licences to be granted by the authorities, of the circumstances under which the authorities will consider capping the number of licences?
3. Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to ask: (Translation)
The Hospital Authority ("HA") has implemented the Drug Formulary ("the Formulary") since 2005 with a view to ensuring equitable access by patients to cost-effective drugs of proven efficacy and safety through standardization of policies on drugs and drug utilization. Drugs in the Formulary are categorized into General Drugs, Special Drugs and Self-financed Drugs ("SFDs"). Drugs in the first two categories are subsidized by public funds while those in the last category need to be purchased by patients at their own expense. A patient group has pointed out that 14 new cancer drugs were registered in Hong Kong in the past two years, but they have not been incorporated by HA into the list of SFDs on the grounds that "there is no sufficient evidence to prove the cost-effectiveness of the drugs". This patient group has also pointed out that since many new target therapy drugs for cancers have not been incorporated by HA into the list of SFDs, healthcare personnel in public hospitals generally will not take the initiative to provide patients with information about such drugs, thus undermining patients' right to know. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
(1) regarding the new drugs that came onto the market in the past five years, (i) the average length of time between registration in Hong Kong and incorporation by HA into the Formulary, and (ii) the percentage of drugs that were not incorporated into the Formulary and the reasons for that; (2) the specific criteria currently adopted by HA when considering the incorporation or otherwise of new drugs into the list of SFDs; the standards adopted by HA for determining the cost-effectiveness of new drugs; (3) whether the Drug Advisory Committee ("DAC") of HA will adopt measures (such as increasing the frequency of meetings) to speed up the process of vetting and approval of new drugs, with a view to keeping pace with the rapid development of healthcare technology; if DAC will, of the details; whether HA has considered expanding the membership of DAC and inviting stakeholders from various sectors (including representatives from patient groups) to join, so as to enhance the transparency of DAC's work; and (4) whether HA will conduct a comprehensive review of the Formulary system; if HA will, of the details and specific timetable; whether HA will consider issuing guidelines to healthcare personnel requiring them to provide patients with comprehensive information about drugs outside the Formulary (especially target therapy drugs for cancers that are of greater concern to patients); if HA will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
4. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that an industrial building unit in Tai Po Industrial Estate has been converted into a large-scale children activity centre catering specifically for parents bringing their babies or infants to play and join interest classes. The centre offers rooms for rent for other uses, and baby products for sale. It has also been reported that while the centre can accommodate more than 50 people, its fire service installations and equipment are not in compliance with the relevant requirements, posing safety hazards to the parents and infants inside the premises in the event of fire. Moreover, given that there are various types of trucks frequently entering and exiting the industrial building, and loading and unloading goods in the vicinity, it is not advisable for infants to stay there. Moreover, some members of the public have relayed to me that similar children activity centres have been found in the industrial buildings in Sham Shui Po, Cheung Sha Wan, Sha Tin and Fo Tan districts. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the current number of the aforesaid type of children activity centres in the territory; (2) whether the setting up of children activity centres and selling of products for baby and children are prohibited by the land leases of industrial buildings; if so, whether the authorities conducted inspections in this respect in the past five years; if they did, of the number of lease-breaching cases; whether they instituted prosecutions; of the penalties imposed on the persons convicted; whether they have published a list of children activity centres in breach of land lease conditions; if they have, how the list has been published; (3) whether operators of children activity centres may apply to the authorities for waivers of the relevant land lease conditions; if they may, of the criteria for vetting and approval of such applications; whether setting up children activity centres in the name of "private clubs" in industrial buildings to provide service for or lease rooms to their members, commercial organizations and registered organizations under a membership system is in breach of the land lease conditions; (4) whether the aforesaid type of children activity centres are regulated under the Child Care Services Ordinance (Cap. 243); if so, how many of them are child care centres registered under the Ordinance; of the number of illegal children activity centres operating in the past five years; whether the authorities instituted prosecutions; of the penalties imposed on the persons convicted; whether the authorities have published a list of illegal children activity centres; if so, how the list has been published; and (5) whether the authorities conduct regular inspections on children activity centres in the territory; if so, of the frequency of such inspections; if not, the reasons for that; of the number of days within which the authorities normally conduct inspections upon receipt of reports concerning the operation of an illegal children activity centre, and the government department responsible for conducting the inspection?
5. Hon CHAN Hak-kan to ask: (Translation)
Recently, some North District Council members and Sha Tau Kok residents have relayed to me that it has become increasingly difficult for members of the public to apply for a Frontier Closed Area Permit ("FCAP") and the waiting time for such applications is unduly long, often taking more than two hours. Regarding the Sha Tau Kok Closed Area, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the policies and criteria currently adopted by the Police for vetting and approval of applications for FCAPs; whether the Police adjusted or tightened the relevant policies and criteria last year; (2) of the number of FCAPs issued in each of the past five years, broken down by the type of applicants (including indigenous villagers/ indigenous fishermen, residents, persons visiting close relatives, persons visiting non-close relatives, persons owning/managing properties in the closed area, persons taking care of properties in the closed area as trustees, parents or guardians escorting their children to and from schools in the closed area, grave sweepers at Sha Ling Cemetery, persons entering the closed area for work, officers of government departments/members of the media); (3) of the number of applications for FCAPs on other special grounds in each of the past five years, as well as the criteria for vetting and approval of such applications; (4) of the types of persons who (i) are eligible to act as sponsors for outside persons/organizations applying for FCAPs to enter the area for taking part in community activities, and (ii) may assist local residents in seeking reviews from the Police against their decisions to reject applications for FCAPs; whether such types of persons include members of the District Council concerned and members of the Rural Committee; and (5) of the details of the authorities' plan to implement the third-stage of Frontier Closed Area ("FCA") reduction (covering the section between Ng Tung River and Lin Ma Hang) within this year; whether they will consider further relaxing the policy on the restriction for entering Sha Tau Kok Closed Area, including relaxing the requirement that any visitor who enters the Sha Tau Kok Pier in FCA must hold a valid FCAP, so as to facilitate visitors heading for Lai Chi Wo to take ferries at the Pier?
6. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)
Hong Kong Television Network Limited ("HKTVN") earlier applied for judicial review against the decision of the Chief Executive in Council ("CEIC") not to grant it a domestic free television programme service licence ("licence"). The High Court ruled in favour of HKTVN on 24 April this year. The judgment stated that the adoption by CEIC of a gradual and orderly approach in considering licence applications was not in adherence to the established policy under which there was no upper limit set on the number of licences to be issued, and was also contrary to HKTVN's legitimate expectation. As such, the Court ruled that the decision by CEIC was invalid, and ordered that the relevant licence application be remitted back to CEIC for reconsideration. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it had, before the Court handed down the verdict, formulated a contingency plan in the event of losing the lawsuit; if it had, whether the contingency plan was to expeditiously re-examine the relevant licence application, or to definitely file an appeal all the way to the Court of Final Appeal in any event; if it has not formulated such a contingency plan, of the reasons for that; (2) as quite a number of members of the public have expressed grave concern about the decision of CEIC not to grant a licence to HKTVN and the decision has aroused controversies in the community, whether the authorities have reviewed the process of and justifications for making the decision, so as to identify the deficiencies in that; if they have not, of the reasons for that; (3) as the Chief Executive said after the High Court had handed down the aforesaid verdict that the relevant government department would obtain legal advice for consideration by CEIC, so that there would be a "legal basis" for CEIC to determine the next course of action, of the latest development in this respect; the respective weightings of the following factors when CEIC determines the next course of action: the need to uphold the prestige of governance, demonstrating CEIC's respect for the Court's verdict, earlier public reaction to CEIC's decision of not accepting the application for a licence by HKTVN, and political considerations; and (4) whether it will consider filing an application to the Court for a suspension of execution of the aforesaid verdict while awaiting an appeal hearing; if it will not, of the reasons for that; whether it will re-examine the relevant licence application while awaiting an appeal hearing, so as to show respect for the Court's verdict; if it will not do so, of the reasons for that?
7. Hon Andrew LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
According to the Births and Deaths Registration Ordinance (Cap. 174), within 42 days of the birth of a child, exclusive of the day of birth, either parent of the child is required to furnish the registrar with information required to be registered, and in such case, no fee is payable for the registration and for the issuance of a Certificate of Registration of Birth. If a birth is registered after the expiry of 42 days from the date of the birth but within 12 months after the birth, exclusive of the day of birth, the informant has to pay a fee of HK$140. If a birth is registered after the expiry of 12 months from the date of the birth, exclusive of the day of birth, the consent of the Registrar has to be obtained and the informant has to pay a fee of HK$680. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the number of cases, since 1 July 1997, in which the birth of a child has not been registered upon the expiry of 12 months from the date of the birth, exclusive of the day of birth; (2) of the number of cases, since 1 July 1997, in which the birth of a child was registered after the expiry of 42 days from the date of the birth but within 12 months after the birth, exclusive of the day of birth, as well as the total amount of registration fees involved; (3) of the number of cases, since 1 July 1997, in which the birth of a child was registered after the expiry of 12 months from the date of the birth, exclusive of the day of birth and, among such cases, of the longest overdue period; and (4) of the authorities' ways to minimize cases of non-registration or late registration of births?
8. Hon CHAN Kam-lam to ask: (Translation)
The Public Opinion Programme ("POP") was set up under the Faculty of Social Sciences of the publicly-funded University of Hong Kong ("HKU"). POP, the office of which is located in the HKU campus, conducts academic surveys for its parent institution, undertakes public opinion polls commissioned by other organizations and provides relevant services. Regarding the financial management and resource utilization of POP, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
(1) whether the relevant authorities have audited the financial management and resource utilization of POP; if they have, of the relevant details in the academic years from 2010-2011 to 2014-2015, including: (i) the major sources of funding and a breakdown of the amounts (such as the recurrent and non-recurrent funding provided by the University Grants Committee ("UGC"), donations (specifying the conditions and uses of the donations) and service fees); (ii) the major expenditure items and a breakdown of the amounts (such as expenditure on staff salaries, operational expenses of the office, fees payable to and sharing of profits with HKU); (iii) the number of staff members and a breakdown by the funding source for the salaries of the relevant posts (i.e. recurrent funding from UGC, funding under commissioned projects, sponsorships from outside organizations and other income) and by staff type (such as researchers and administrators); and (iv) the details of the research projects conducted, including the detailed contents, the collaborating organizations and the relevant expenditures of the research projects funded by UGC and those conducted for HKU and outside organizations; if they have not, whether the relevant authorities will conduct a comprehensive audit, and request POP to enhance the transparency of its cooperation with outside organizations, so as to ensure no misuse of public funds; and (2) as it has been reported that during the period between May 2013 and February last year, an Associate Professor at the Faculty of Law of HKU passed on "secret donations" totalling $1.3 million respectively to the Faculty of Law, the Faculty of Arts and POP of HKU, among which $800,000 were given to POP, whether the relevant authorities (i) have specific requirements for the acceptance of donations by POP, including penalties for contraventions, and (ii) will conduct a comprehensive investigation into the acceptance of the aforesaid donations by POP?
9. Dr Hon LEUNG Ka-lau to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the services of computed tomography ("CT"), magnetic resonance imaging ("MRI"), ultrasound scan, mammogram and positron emission tomography (collectively referred to as "diagnostic radiology") provided by public hospitals, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
(1) the respective numbers of pieces of diagnostic radiology equipment in various acute hospitals in the past five years, and the respective average service periods of such equipment; (2) whether the Hospital Authority ("HA") has any mechanism in place for making decisions on purchasing and phasing out diagnostic radiology equipment; if HA does, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) the respective (i) person-times and (ii) waiting time of 25th, 50th, 75th and 90th percentile for each type of diagnostic radiology services in each acute hospital in each of the past five years; and (4) as HA has implemented the Pilot Project on Enhancing Radiological Investigation Services through Collaboration with the Private Sector since May 2012 to provide full subsidy to patients from selected cancer groups to receive CT and MRI examinations provided by designated private service providers, whether HA has any plan to extend the pilot project to include other types of examination services (e.g. ultrasound scan and mammogram), provide examination services to eligible patients suffering from other illnesses, and increase the service quotas?
10. Hon Christopher CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)
The total number of credit card accounts in Hong Kong was as high as 17 million in the fourth quarter of last year while the population in Hong Kong stood at 7.26 million in the same period, representing that each member of the public had, on average, more than two credit cards, which indicated that the penetration rate of credit cards was quite high. Moreover, while online shopping has become increasingly popular at present, it has been reported that some lawbreakers, exploiting the security loopholes in credit card online payment systems, made online purchases using stolen credit card account information. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of reports received by the Police on credit card account information being stolen and used for online purchases, the number of such cases detected, the total amount of money involved and the number of persons arrested, in each of the past three years; (2) as I have learnt that newly issued credit cards these days are pre-set with the function for online transactions, whether the Hong Kong Monetary Authority ("HKMA") will ask card-issuing banks to require that the online transaction function of credit cards will be activated only after the relevant cardholders have completed a confirmation process; if HKMA will, of the implementation time; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) as there may be loopholes in the security measures of some shopping web sites at present, such as online purchases requiring only the provision of the credit card number, the year and month of card expiry, the cardholder's name and the verification code on the back of the card for payment by credit cards, whether HKMA will require card-issuing banks to enhance the authentication process for online purchases by credit cards, such as introducing a two-factor authentication; if HKMA will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
11. Hon Frankie YICK to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that recently, a taxi driver who had been disqualified from driving by the court continued to rent a taxi to take passengers to earn a living during disqualification and, in an attempt to evade a police stop check, engaged in furious driving, eventually causing a traffic accident which involved the collisions of nine vehicles. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of drivers prosecuted in the past five years for driving during disqualification, with a breakdown by vehicle class; of the measures currently in place to combat driving during disqualification; (2) of the number of applications to the Police for a Certificate Relating to Previous Conviction from drivers or persons authorized by them in each of the past five years; as it is learnt that the Certificate is available in English only, whether the authorities will consider providing a Chinese version; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) given that some members of the transport sector have indicated that while they regularly check if the drivers they hire are holding valid driving licences, driving licences are normally valid for a period of 10 years and carry no information about traffic offences committed by the holders, whether the authorities have studied with the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data the conditions under which a "blacklist" may be provided for reference of employers or vehicle owners so that they will not inadvertently employ drivers who have been disqualified from driving; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and whether they will conduct the relevant study; and (4) given that at a meeting of the Joint Subcommittee on Issues Relating to Insurance Coverage for the Transport Sector of this Council in April 2012, some members suggested that in the event that a driver was alleged to have committed a traffic offence, the Police could provide a copy of the Notice of Intended Prosecution to or notify the vehicle owner concerned, and the public officer had then undertaken to study the suggestion, of the progress of the study; whether the suggestion will be implemented; if so, of the details; if not, the measures the authorities have in place to facilitate vehicle owners (including those of taxis/public light buses) in getting to know that the drivers renting their vehicles have been involved in traffic accidents so that they can follow up on whether the drivers have been disqualified?
12. Hon IP Kin-yuen to ask: (Translation)
The Office of The Ombudsman issued a direct investigation report on 24 March this year, pointing out that the default situations of the non-means-tested loan schemes administered by the Working Family and Student Financial Assistance Agency ("WFSFAA"), especially that of the Extended Non-means-tested Loan Scheme ("ENLS"), are serious. The Office of The Ombudsman recommended that WFSFAA should consider afresh forwarding the negative data of the defaulters of the more serious cases to credit reference agencies for greater deterrent effect. It has been reported that the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data ("OPCPD") has objected to this proposal, pointing out that TransUnion Limited ("TransUnion") is the only consumer credit reference agency in Hong Kong and it is not subject to monitoring by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority. WFSFAA will have no control over the impacts of the practice of forwarding the defaulters' very personal and sensitive data to TransUnion on the defaulters. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) in each of the past five school years, of the respective numbers of people pursuing the following types of courses who (a) applied for loans and (b) were granted loans under ENLS, as well as (c) the number of the relevant borrowers who defaulted on repayment of the loans (set out the breakdown by school year in tables of the same format as the table below) - (i) courses accredited by the Hong Kong Council for Accreditation of Academic and Vocational Qualifications, (ii) courses offered by institutions (including their schools of professional and continuing education) by virtue of their self-accrediting status or Programme Area Accreditation status, (iii) courses under Yi Jin Diploma, (iv) courses covered by the Financial Assistance Scheme for Designated Evening Adult Education Courses, (v) training and development courses provided or funded by local statutory bodies, and (vi) registered courses and exempted courses under the Non-local Higher and Professional Education (Regulation) Ordinance (Cap. 493); school year: _____________
Type of courses Number of persons who applied for loans
(a)Number of persons who were granted loans
(b)Number of defaulters
(c)(i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) (2) in each of the past five school years, of the respective numbers of working people who applied for and were granted loans under ENLS, as well as the respective percentages of this type of borrowers defaulting on repayment of the loans; (3) whether WFSFAA will review the eligibility criteria for loans under ENLS to ensure that only people with genuine needs will be granted loans; if WFSFAA will , of the details; and (4) how WFSFAA will respond to the views of OPCPD, and whether it will adopt the aforesaid recommendation made by the Office of The Ombudsman despite the objection raised by OPCPD; if WFSFAA will, of the reasons for that?
13. Hon WONG Ting-kwong to ask: (Translation)
Quite a number of employers have relayed to me that since the implementation of the Statutory Minimum Wage ("SMW") regime in 2011, some vacancies have remained unfilled despite their wages having been raised to a level above the minimum wage. In addition, starting from the first day of this month, the SMW rate has been raised from $30 per hour to $32.5 per hour. It has been reported that some academics anticipate that if the SMW rate is raised further, some jobs with less favourable working environment will face greater difficulty in recruiting staff, causing the aggravation of the manpower shortage situation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has compiled statistics on the growth rate of the annual total payroll expenses of various industries since the implementation of the SMW regime; if it has, of a breakdown by industry; (2) of the respective increases in the numbers of part-time and full-time employees of the security, catering and retail industries since the implementation of the SMW regime; and (3) whether it has studied the impacts of the implementation of the SMW regime on enterprises, particularly small and medium enterprises, in respect of business operation and recruitment of staff; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
14. Hon Dennis KWOK to ask:
It has been noted that numerous advertisements in the form of posters, trackside billboards, etc. advocating for the passage of the constitutional reform proposal made by the Government have recently been seen inside train compartments, as well as in the precincts of MTR stations and MTR-owned properties. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of the aforesaid advertisements in various forms inside MTR train compartments as well as in the precinct of each MTR station and MTR-owned property; the respective average number of days for which such advertisements in various forms are to be displayed; and (2) whether it is required to pay for the display of such advertisements; if so, of the respective rates charged for various forms of advertisements, and whether the Government knows how such rates compare with those charged by the MTR Corporation Limited for commercial advertisements?
15. Hon Christopher CHUNG to ask: (Translation)
A number of crimes, including robberies with firearms, burglaries, kidnapping, etc., allegedly committed by mainland people in Hong Kong have occurred recently. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of serious crimes allegedly committed by mainland people in Hong Kong in the past three years and its breakdown by type; (2) of the number of mainland people arrested in the past three years for having allegedly committed crimes in Hong Kong, broken down by their means of entry to Hong Kong in the table below;
Means of entry Number of persons arrested Holding an Exit-entry Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong and Macao
(commonly known as "two-way exit permit")Under the Individual Visit Scheme for mainland people/
holding other travel documentsIllegal entry Others (3) among the serious crimes allegedly committed by mainland people in Hong Kong in the past three years, of the respective percentages of cases detected by the Hong Kong Police and the mainland public security authorities; and (4) whether it has assessed if there has been an upward trend in the numbers of crimes committed by mainland people in Hong Kong in recent years; if the assessment result is in the affirmative, of the causes for that, and the corresponding measures to be taken by the authorities?
16. Hon CHAN Kin-por to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that in recent years, some doctors have, on the requests of their patients, issued sick leave certificates to them even when they were not ill, or issued sick leave certificates of a duration longer than necessary. However, the Medical Council of Hong Kong ("MCHK") has often found it hard to gather evidence sufficient to prove that the sick leave certificates were issued abusively. Some members of the legal profession have pointed out that MCHK should cooperate with the Police and refer to the Police for investigation those serious cases in which sick leave certificates are suspected to have been issued abusively. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether, in the past five years, the Police conducted any investigation into suspected cases of abusive issuance of sick leave certificates; if they did, of the number of such cases and, among them, the number of cases in which prosecution was not instituted due to insufficient evidence and the number of convicted cases; of the penalties generally imposed on the convicted doctors and patients, and among the convicted doctors, of the number of those whose names were removed from the registers by MCHK; (2) whether the Police conduct any evidence gathering work at present on complaint cases against doctors about abusive issuance of sick leave certificates; if they do, whether they have encountered any difficulty; if so, of the details; (3) whether, in the past five years, the Police deployed police officers to disguise as patients for gathering evidence; if they did, of the number of such operations; if not, whether the Police have other means to gather evidence; if they do, of the details; (4) given that some private clinics, in particular Chinese medicine clinics, still keep patient records manually at present, making it time-consuming and cumbersome to check the records of sick leave certificates issued by the doctors concerned, whether the authorities have grasped the current situation of private clinics using computers to keep patient records; whether the authorities have measures to encourage doctors to keep all patient records using computers, including records of issuance of sick leave certificates to patients; if they do, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (5) whether it knows if MCHK has implemented any measure in recent years to enhance the professional conduct of doctors; if MCHK has, of the details; and (6) whether it knows if MCHK will consider imposing heavier punishments on doctors who issue sick leave certificates abusively in order to enhance the deterrent effect; if MCHK will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
III. Bill
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Committee Stage and Third Reading
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| Appropriation Bill 2015 | : | The Financial Secretary
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| Amendments to heads of estimates in committee of the whole Council on the Appropriation Bill 2015 | ||
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Dr Hon Kenneth CHAN, Hon Claudia MO, Hon WONG Yuk-man, Hon Albert CHAN, Hon Gary FAN, Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki, Hon CHAN Chi-chuen, Hon LEUNG Kwok-hung, Hon Emily LAU, Dr Hon Helena WONG, Hon Albert HO, Hon WU Chi-wai, Hon James TO, Hon Cyd HO, Hon LEE Cheuk-yan, Hon CHEUNG Kwok-che and Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG to move Committee stage amendments in the Appendix.
(These amendments were also issued on 20 and 21 April 2015 under LC Paper Nos. CB(3) 602/14-15 and CB(3) 613/14-15 respectively) (Debate and voting arrangements for Committee stage amendments to the Appropriation Bill 2015 (issued on 20 April and 12 May 2015 under LC Paper Nos. CB(3) 607/14-15 and CB(3) 670/14-15)) | ||
| Other Public Officers to attend the Committee stage | : | The Chief Secretary for Administration
The Secretary for Justice
Secretary for Transport and Housing Secretary for Home Affairs Secretary for Labour and Welfare Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Secretary for Security Secretary for Education Secretary for the Civil Service Secretary for Food and Health Secretary for the Environment Secretary for Development Under Secretary for Home Affairs Under Secretary for the Environment Under Secretary for Transport and Housing Under Secretary for Security Under Secretary for Food and Health Under Secretary for Education Under Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Under Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury Under Secretary for Development Under Secretary for Labour and Welfare |
IV. Motions
| 1. | Proposed resolution under section 54A of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development to move the following motion: Resolved that the Resolution made and passed by the Legislative Council on 29 October 2014 and published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 132 of 2014 be repealed. |
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(The above motion was also issued on 30 April 2015 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 646/14-15) | |
| 2. | Proposed resolution under section 54A of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development to move the motion in the Annex.
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(The above motion was also issued on 30 April 2015 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 646/14-15) Hon CHAN Chi-chuen and Hon Albert CHAN to move amendments to this proposed resolution (The amendments were issued on 19 May 2015 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 684/14-15) |
V. Members' Motions
VI. Request for Special Leave of the Council to Give Evidence of Council Proceedings
Request made under section 7 of the Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance (Cap. 382) and Rule 90 of the Rules of Procedure for special leave of the Council to give evidence of Council proceedings
The request of Y.S. LAU & Partners has been set out under LC Paper No. CB(3) 679/14-15 issued on 14 May 2015.
Clerk to the Legislative Council