A 15/16-5
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 11 November 2015 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers
| Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments | L.N. No. | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Frontier Closed Area (Amendment) Order 2015 | 217/2015 |
| 2. | Frontier Closed Area (Permission to Enter) (Amendment) Notice 2015 | 218/2015
|
| 1. | No. 23 | - | Customs and Excise Service Children's Education Trust Fund
Report by the Trustee for the year 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2015 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Security)
| |||
| 2. | No. 24 | - | Secretary for Home Affairs Incorporated
Financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2015 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)
| |||
| 3. | No. 25 | - | Sir Edward Youde Memorial Fund
Report of the Board of Trustees for the Period 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2015 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)
| |||
| 4. | Report No. 3/15-16 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
1. Hon LEUNG Che-cheung to ask: (Translation)
When divesting certain retail and carpark facilities of its public housing estates to The Link Real Estate Investment Trust in 2005, the Hong Kong Housing Authority ("HKHA") advised that the Government would not interfere with the operation of the Trust's manager, The Link Management Limited (now renamed as "Link Asset Management Limited" ("the Link")), on the ground that it was a private enterprise, but undertook to adopt measures to regulate the continued provision of services to residents by the company. However, some residents of Tin Yiu Estate in Tin Shui Wai have complained to me that the Link recently proposed a plan to convert Tin Yiu Market into a shopping mall ("the conversion plan"), neglecting their needs to purchase fresh food products. In response to media enquiries, the Link has indicated that while it plans to relocate the wet goods stalls in Tin Yiu Market, the dry goods part will be retained. The Link has further advised that it has been adhering to the relevant land leases in proceeding with the matter. The residents have also queried that they are unable to find out whether the number of public market stalls available in the district upon the implementation of the conversion plan will be in compliance with the relevant guidelines under the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines ("HKPSG"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the details of the conversion plan; if it does, of the details; whether the authorities have received applications for changes in land use and land lease conditions, as well as other applications that require vetting and approval by government departments, which were submitted by the Link in respect of the conversion plan; if they have, of the details; (2) whether it has assessed if the conversion plan will result in a reduction of the public market services provided for local residents, i.e. the Link will not continue to provide the residents with the original services; if it has assessed and the outcome is in the affirmative, of the means through which the authorities can prevent the Link from taking forward the plan; and (3) given that while the Government amended in 2009 the number of wet market stalls set out in HKPSG to stipulate that in the planning of new public markets, in addition to the original practice of using population size as the planning guideline for public markets, other relevant factors (including community needs) must also be taken into account, but members of the public have been unable to find out whether the supply of public markets is adequate, whether the Government will conduct afresh comprehensive planning for the supply of public markets (including those built and managed by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, HKHA, the Hong Kong Housing Society, the Link, and the private sector) in the light of the population size and enhance the transparency of the planning work; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
2. Hon IP Kwok-him to ask: (Translation)
On the 26th of last month, the International Agency for Research on Cancer under the World Health Organization ("WHO") published an evaluation report on the carcinogenicity of the consumption of processed meat and red meat. Processed meat has been classified as "carcinogenic to humans" (i.e. Group 1) and red meat has been classified as "probably carcinogenic to humans" (i.e. Group 2A). The experts concerned have concluded that a daily consumption of 50 grams of processed meat products will increase the risk of colorectal cancer by 18%. Given that quite a number of people in Hong Kong love eating red meat as well as processed meat products such as bacon, sausages and ham, WHO's research findings have undoubtedly aroused concerns. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as there are differences in the ingredients of processed meat products from various places and in the body constitution of people from different ethnic origins, and various types of cancers have different causes, whether the authorities have studied if WHO's aforesaid report is applicable to the situation in Hong Kong; if they have, of the details, and the authorities' corresponding measures; if not, the reasons for that; (2) given that WHO's aforesaid report has pointed out that red meat poses cancer risks on one hand, red meat contains the nutrients essential for maintaining the normal functioning of the body (in particular the brain) on the other, whether the authorities will issue guidelines on the quantity of red meat on healthy menus and carry out publicity and educational work in this respect in order to ensure that the food supplied by institutions providing food to certain groups of people (including the Correctional Services Department, hospitals, schools and residential homes) as well as restaurants is in conformity with the principle of a balanced diet, and that members of the public will be able to make informed food choices, so as to avoid overcorrecting; if they will, of the details; and (3) given that under some existing support schemes subsidized by the Government (such as the Short-term Food Assistance Service Projects for the poor), the food items distributed are mostly processed food such as canned food, supplemented by a few fresh food coupons, whether the authorities will require organizations operating such schemes to consider increasing the proportion of fresh food in the food items to be distributed, so as to avoid increasing the cancer risks of their service targets; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
3. Dr Hon LAM Tai-fai to ask: (Translation)
The Chief Secretary for Administration said last month that the Government would actively develop multimedia platforms and better utilize social media to extend its reach, so as to enhance its communication with members of the public. After assuming office for more than three years, the Chief Executive ("CE") launched his Facebook page ("FB page") for the first time in October this year and shared his experience in planting honey peaches and dragon fruits. On the other hand, according to the findings of the public opinion surveys conducted by various universities, the popularity ratings of CE have been persistently low, at a level below the warning line. Such figures have also revealed that the younger and the more educated the respondents are, the stronger they are opposed to CE holding the post. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has assessed if the launch of the aforesaid FB page is conducive to enhancing communication between CE and the public, as well as raising CE's popularity and the levels of public support and trust in him; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) as I have learnt that among the members of the current Election Committee for the selection of CE, Hong Kong members of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and members of the Executive Council, Legislative Council and District Councils, as well as deputies of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to the National People's Congress, not all of them have been invited to join the list of friends of that FB page, whether the authorities have assessed if this approach will affect the effectiveness of the Government's efforts in improving the relationship between the Executive Authorities and the Legislature, uniting different sectors of society and creating a "Hong Kong Camp", etc.; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether it has deployed public resources to maintain and update that FB page; if it has, whether the resources so deployed include CE's time for official business; if so, whether the authorities have assessed if the use of CE's time for official business to maintain and update that FB page has affected the quality and efficiency of policy implementation by the Government as well as CE's workload; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
4. Hon Alice MAK to ask: (Translation)
Some members of the public have complained to me alleging that some staff members of financial intermediaries ("intermediaries") tricked them into remortgaging their properties in order to obtain loans to resolve their financial difficulties. Only after signing certain documents did the victims come to realize that such documents contained provisions requiring the signers to pay exorbitant intermediary fees, regardless of whether they eventually took out the loans. It is learnt that some victims have eventually sold their properties as they cannot withstand the harassment and intimidation of the intermediaries. Since last year, I have received more than 140 complaints involving a total amount of as high as over $130 million, indicating that the situation is serious. Some members of the finance industry have pointed out that the problem of unscrupulous business practices of intermediaries is rather serious, and yet the existing legislation is outdated, resulting in a lack of regulation on intermediaries. In their views, the authorities should review the relevant regulatory regime to uphold the reputation of the finance industry of Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the authorities will, by making reference to overseas experience, amend the Money Lenders Ordinance to step up the regulation of intermediaries, such as requiring these companies to regularly submit to the regulator reports on their financial positions, and stipulating that the loan and intermediary service agreements must contain a cooling-off period clause; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) in the light of the fact that operators in the money lending industry vary in standard, whether the authorities will reform the relevant licensing system, including (i) tightening the licensing conditions (e.g. requiring applicants to meet the minimum registered capital requirement and have sound business and financial records, licensees to comply with a code of conduct, etc.), (ii) setting up a registration system for practitioners, and (iii) empowering the Money Lenders Registry or a newly established body to perform various regulatory functions, including the formulation and implementation of a code of practice, granting of licences, investigation of non-compliant cases and revocation of licences; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether the authorities will provide resources to social welfare organizations with relevant experience to support them in providing disinterested financial management advisory services to members of the public, so as to reduce the cases of members of the public falling into credit traps inadvertently; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
5. Hon TAM Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)
On the night of the 23rd of last month, Kap Shui Mun Bridge connecting Ma Wan and Tsing Chau Tsai Peninsula of Lantau Island was struck by a vessel, triggering the ship impact alarms of the Bridge. As a result, all lanes of Kap Shui Mun Bridge and Tsing Ma Bridge were closed to facilitate inspection by engineering staff. During the closure period, no vehicle could enter or leave Lantau Island and the train services of the MTR Airport Express and Tung Chung Line were also suspended. As land transport to and from Lantau Island was paralysed for nearly two hours, the airport and Lantau Island suddenly became isolated and close to ten thousand travellers were stranded at various stations along the Airport Express. Some members of the public have criticized the Transport Department ("TD") for failing to respond expeditiously after the occurrence of the incident and for disseminating information in a confusing manner. They are worried that if a similar incident happens again during the peak period of outbound travel, the impact on the public will be even greater. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that the Emergency Transport Coordination Centre ("the Centre") under TD is responsible for monitoring and handling traffic and public transport incidents 24-hour a day, whether the authorities have reviewed if the Centre disseminated accurate information relating to the aforesaid incident (including information on temporary traffic arrangements) to members of the public promptly after the occurrence of the incident, and how they will improve the arrangements for the provision of temporary relief transport services by public transport operators; of the details of the Centre's information dissemination mechanism and why the mechanism failed to perform effectively in the aforesaid incident; and (2) as the Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok Link ("the Link") currently under construction will be the second trunk road connecting the airport and Lantau Island with other areas, of the authorities' measures to ensure that the Link can be completed on schedule in 2018; and the factors which may affect the completion date?
6. Hon WONG Ting-kwong to ask: (Translation)
Some people have relayed to me that radical forces have recently emerged in Hong Kong disseminating views advocating the independence of Hong Kong and instigating anti-parallel trading protests. Such views and actions have torn Hong Kong's community apart, deepened the conflicts between the people on the Mainland and in Hong Kong, and caused the Central Authorities to worry about Hong Kong's future. They also think that although it has been 25 years since the promulgation of the Basic Law, the Government's efforts in promoting the concept of "one country, two systems" of the Basic Law have so far been over-emphasizing the rights of Hong Kong people under the "two systems" while neglecting their obligations under the "one country". In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has reviewed the effectiveness of its past efforts in promoting the Basic Law; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; whether it has studied the causes for the recent emergence of radical forces in Hong Kong and the impacts of such forces on the youth; (2) as there are views that there is inadequate understanding among members of the public about the contents of the Basic Law and the process by which it was drafted, of the means that the authorities will use to deepen the understanding of the public, particularly the youth, in this regard, including the understanding that the "one country" and the "two systems" in the "one country, two systems" concept are equally important; and (3) as the Chief Executive said last month that "all people in Hong Kong, especially politicians and young people, need to gain a comprehensive understanding of the country's development from different perspectives, both for the good of the country and for their own careers", and that the Government was ready to facilitate communication between all sectors of Hong Kong and the Central Authorities as well as local governments of various provinces and municipalities on the Mainland, of the Government's plans to facilitate such communication so as to enhance the understanding of the Motherland among all sectors in Hong Kong?
*7. Dr Hon CHIANG Lai-wan to ask: (Translation)
Under the Air Passenger Departure Tax Ordinance (Cap. 140), every passenger aged 12 years or above who departs from Hong Kong by aircraft shall pay to the operator of the aircraft (i.e. the airliner) an air passenger departure tax ("APDT") of $120, and the operator shall pay the tax collected to the Director of Accounting Services. The Ordinance provides that APDT paid by a passenger who has not departed from Hong Kong by aircraft shall be refunded by the operator ("tax refund"). Survey findings recently released by the Consumer Council reveal that quite a number of airliners have engaged in a number of trade malpractices: failure to take the initiative to make such tax refunds to passengers who did not depart from the territory by aircraft, failure to show on the relevant receipts a breakdown of the APDT charged, setting time limits for APDT refund applications, and charging passengers handling fees for the tax refunds sought. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the purpose of the authorities' levy of APDT and the uses of the tax revenue collected; of the total amount of APDT received by the Treasury in the past three years; (2) whether it has compiled statistics on the number of passengers who paid APDT but did not depart from the territory in the past three years, and the total amount of such tax involved; among them, of (i) the number of passengers who did not apply for tax refunds and the total amount of such tax involved, and (ii) the number of passengers who applied for tax refunds and were charged handling fees by the airliners, and the total amount of handling fees involved; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether it will review the aforesaid Ordinance and the relevant requirements to provide for the tax refund arrangements, including (i) the requirement that airliners have to take the initiative to make tax refunds to passengers who have not departed from Hong Kong by aircraft, (ii) the requirement that airliners must not charge those passengers any fees when refunding tax to them, and (iii) the penalties on airliners for non-compliance with the requirements; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*8. Hon CHEUNG Kwok-che to ask: (Translation)
Under the Pilot Scheme on Community Care Service Voucher for the Elderly ("the Pilot Scheme") launched by the Government in September 2013, service vouchers are issued to eligible elderly persons with impairment at moderate level who are living in the pilot districts, so that they may use the vouchers to obtain community care services which meet their individual needs. The voucher has a value of $6,250 per month, which includes a co-payment amount borne by the elderly persons. The co-payment amounts payable by the elderly persons are set at five levels (depending on the elderly persons' household income). The Pilot Scheme Phase I, which lasted for two years, ended in September this year. It has been reported that the Government plans to implement, in the middle of next year, the Pilot Scheme Phase II across the 18 District Council districts in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of elderly persons, in each quarter during the Pilot Scheme Phase I, who (i) were issued with the service vouchers, (ii) used the service vouchers, (iii) did not use the service vouchers despite holding the vouchers, and (iv) withdrew from the Pilot Scheme (set out in Table 1);
Table 1Quarter (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) In the quarter Cumulative number In the quarter Cumulative number In the quarter Cumulative number In the quarter Cumulative number 4th quarter, 2013 1st quarter, 2014 2nd quarter, 2014 3rd quarter, 2014 4th quarter, 2014 1st quarter, 2015 2nd quarter, 2015 3rd quarter, 2015 (2) among the elderly persons who used the service vouchers in the first and second years of the Pilot Scheme Phase I, of the respective numbers of such persons who belonged to (i) dementia cases and (ii) general cases (set out in Table 2);
Table 2(i) (ii) Total number First year Second year (3) as the services under the Pilot Scheme have been delivered in the single mode (i.e. day care centre (part-time)) and the mixed mode (i.e. day care centre (part-time) and home care services), in respect of the elderly persons who used these two modes of services during the first and second years of the Pilot Scheme Phase I, (i) the respective numbers of them, (ii) the respective average numbers of days for which they used the relevant services, and (iii) the respective numbers of persons among them who withdrew from the Pilot Scheme (set out in Table 3);
Table 3Used services in the single mode Used services in the mixed mode Total number (i) (ii) (iii) (i) (ii) (iii) First year Second year (4) of a breakdown, by reason of withdrawal, of the number of elderly persons who withdrew from the Pilot Scheme as mentioned in (3) above; (5) as the report of the mid-term evaluation on the Pilot Scheme has indicated that the reasons for elderly persons' withdrawal included the high prices charged for the services and additional services, and given that as at 30 April 2015, among the elderly persons who used the service vouchers, 69% needed to pay only the first level of the co-payment amount (i.e. they came from families with the lowest income and 210 of them, i.e. 17%, were recipients of the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance), whether the Government will consider abolishing the arrangements whereby the elderly persons are subject to co-payments and the means test; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (6) given that the report has indicated that as at 10 October 2014, among the 184 elderly persons who withdrew from the Pilot Scheme, 130 of them withdrew due to "no suitable services packages" (109 of them with the specific reason for withdrawal being "unwilling to receive centre-based care service"), whether the authorities have reviewed if the scope of services under the Pilot Scheme can meet the needs of those elderly persons with impairment at moderate level; when launching the Pilot Scheme Phase II, whether they will consider (i) relaxing the categories of elderly persons eligible for participation in the Scheme, so as to cover those with impairment at mild level, and (ii) allowing elderly persons to purchase individual items of services according to their own needs; if they will consider, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (7) as some recognized service providers have relayed to me that the elderly persons have great demand for general care services such as household cleaning, escorting services and meal delivery, but due to constraints imposed by the requirements of the Pilot Scheme, they cannot flexibly adjust the service-hour ratio of professional services to general care services, whether the authorities will consider, when launching the Pilot Scheme Phase II, allowing service providers to flexibly adjust that ratio so as to meet the actual needs of elderly persons; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (8) given that the social welfare sector opposes to an expansion of the categories of recognized service providers for the Pilot Scheme to cover private enterprises because they generally hold the view that the quality of services provided by the private enterprises varies greatly and there is a lack of regulation, whether the authorities have planned to expand the categories of recognized service providers to cover private enterprises when implementing the Pilot Scheme Phase II; if they have, of the reasons for that and the details; (9) of the expected time for the release of the final report on the Pilot Scheme Phase I; the details of the Pilot Scheme Phase II, including the relevant timetable and the respective numbers of places for day care services offered in various districts; and (10) as the public have all along doubted the service quality and regulation of private residential care homes for the elderly, whether the authorities will consider shelving the implementation of the Pilot Scheme on Residential Care Service Voucher for the Elderly and re-allocating the relevant funds for use in the Pilot Scheme on Community Care Service Voucher for the Elderly; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*9. Hon Starry LEE to ask: (Translation)
The number of mainland visitors to Hong Kong has shown a downward trend in recent days. While the Government and members of the tourism industry are exploring ways to attract more visitors to Hong Kong, an incident has occurred recently in which a mainland visitor died after he had allegedly been attacked during a row over shopping issues. It has been reported that some mainland travel agencies have arranged people to disguise as tourists and join the tour groups organized by them (commonly called "shadow tour group members"). In order to earn commissions, such people coerce other tour group members into shopping in Hong Kong by way of persuasion or even by force. Since these shadow tour group members appear to be unrelated to the mainland travel agencies concerned, it is difficult for the mainland authorities to regulate their acts. Some members of the tourism industry have relayed to me that inbound mainland tour groups ("IMTGs") at low prices as well as arranged shopping tours have brought about quite a number of problems in recent years. Apart from repeated incidents of confrontations between tour group members and tour guides arising from forced shopping, nuisances were also caused by such groups to residents in the vicinity of shopping spots, arousing strong dissatisfaction among the residents. Such situations not only tarnish Hong Kong's hospitable image and the reputation of the tourism industry, but also undermine mainland visitors' confidence in travelling to Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of complaints received by the authorities in each of the past three years lodged by IMTG members, and among such complaints, the respective numbers of those involving forced shopping and those in which tour group members discovered after shopping at designated shops that the goods they bought did not match the descriptions; (2) whether it will, in collaboration with the China National Tourism Administration, explore measures to deal with the problem of shadow tour group members, including (i) suggesting the Mainland to make reference to the Tourist Guide Accreditation System in Hong Kong and require mainland travel agencies to register with the mainland authorities the particulars of their tour escorts before departure of the tour groups concerned, and (ii) forwarding the name list of those IMTG members who are the subjects of complaints to the mainland authorities for follow-up, as well as considering restricting them from re-entering Hong Kong; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) given that some members of the tourism industry have relayed that while the Tourism Law was introduced by the mainland authorities in 2013, with a view to curbing the irregularities of the tourism industry by means of suspension of business, heavy punishment, etc., the effectiveness of such legislation has gradually weakened in the light of the latest business situation of the industry, whether the Government will discuss with the mainland authorities ways to step up efforts in combating IMTGs at low prices; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (4) whether it will explore taking measures from the perspective of consumer rights to combat arranged shopping tours, including deploying more police officers as well as customs and excise officers to patrol outside designated shops in order to enhance the deterrent effects; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (5) of the number of complaints received by the authorities in each of the past three years about nuisances caused by IMTGs to local residents, as well as the details of such nuisances, with a breakdown by District Council district; of the authorities' measures to follow up such complaints; and (6) as members of the public hope that the Government will establish a Travel Industry Authority expeditiously in order to enhance the monitoring over IMTGs and the Government has indicated in the 2015 Policy Agenda that it will strive to pass the legislation for the establishment of the Authority before the end of the current term of the Legislative Council, of the current progress of the work on drafting the relevant bill; when the relevant bill is expected to be introduced into this Council?
*10. Hon CHAN Yuen-han to ask: (Translation)
The former St. Joseph's Home for the Aged ("SJHA"), situated at No. 35 Clear Water Bay Road, is nearly a century old. Its Villa, Gate House and Dormitory A were classified as Grade 2 historic buildings by the Antiquities Advisory Board in 2010. It has been reported that the owner of SJHA has planned to build residential buildings and commercial facilities adjacent to these historic buildings, and the building plans concerned have already been approved by the authorities. However, the land lot concerned and the historic buildings thereon have all along been lying idle because the issue of land premium is not yet settled. Some residents have relayed to me that SJHA is a rare cluster of historic buildings in Kowloon East which, if revitalized into a local historical and cultural tourist attraction, will give a boost to the re-planning of the nearby land lots and bring about significant benefits for the development of the district. Besides, they are also worried that the residential buildings and commercial facilities proposed to be built will aggravate the traffic congestion problem in the district. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has assessed the preservation value, architectural interest and current conservation status of the Gate House and Dormitory A of SJHA ("the two historic buildings"); if it has assessed, of the outcome; of the number of inspections of these buildings conducted, and the outcome of the assessments on their conditions made by the Commissioner for Heritage's Office and the government departments concerned in the past three years; (2) whether it knows if the owner of SJHA carried out maintenance works on the two historic buildings and applied for assistance under the Financial Assistance for Maintenance Scheme for historic buildings in the past three years; (3) of the details of the land premium negotiation between the authorities and the owner of SJHA; and the details of the buildings proposed to be built; (4) whether it has discussed with the owner of SJHA the conservation and revitalization of the two historic buildings; if it has, of the details of the options concerned; if not, whether it has any plan to discuss with the owner about the relevant issues, including preservation of these historic buildings in-situ and their adaptive re-use by means of land exchange or increase in gross floor area, etc.; if it has such plans, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (5) as some residents in the district have pointed out that the section of New Clear Water Bay Road near SJHA is often congested, whether the authorities have assessed the future extra traffic flow which will be brought about by the buildings proposed to be built; if they have, of the relevant figures and the current traffic data of the road section concerned?
*11. Hon Christopher CHUNG to ask: (Translation)
Earlier on, two incidents happened consecutively in which a man with mental illness records allegedly killed a family member and another stabbed passers-by. These incidents have aroused concerns about the potential threats posed to the public by mentally ill patients with a propensity to violence living in the community. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of cases, in each of the past 10 years, in which mentally ill and ex-mentally ill persons assaulted others; the resultant casualties of such cases, with a breakdown by whether or not the victim(s) and the assaulter knew each other; (2) of the number and age distribution of new patients diagnosed with mental illnesses in each of the past three years and, among them, the number of those identified as having a propensity to violence; (3) of the current situation of psychiatric specialist services of public hospitals, including the respective numbers of outpatient clinics, hospital beds and psychiatrists; (4) whether it has reviewed if the existing public psychiatric services can identify mentally ill patients with a propensity to violence so that appropriate treatments and support can be provided for such patients; (5) of the existing criteria for discharging mentally ill patients from hospitals, and whether it will review such criteria; and (6) of the measures in place to strengthen support for mentally ill patients living in the community who have a propensity to violence or records of wounding others?
*12. Dr Hon Kenneth CHAN to ask: (Translation)
Hong Kong's home match against China in the second round of the Asian region matches for the 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification will be staged on the 17th of this month. Earlier on, quite a number of football fans have expressed their hope that the match be held in the Hong Kong Stadium ("HKS"), which can accommodate more spectators, so that more football fans can cheer for the Hong Kong team at its home stadium. However, as the Olympic Rugby Sevens Qualifier Tournament had been scheduled to be staged at HKS on the 7th and the 8th of this month, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department ("LCSD") anticipated that considerable damage would be caused to the turf of HKS after around 50 rugby matches and as a result, the turf could not be restored in time for staging that football match. Eventually, the Hong Kong Football Association ("HKFA") decides to stage the football match in the Mong Kok Stadium. In connection with the venue arrangement for the football match, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as a number of home matches of the Hong Kong Football Representative Team held in the past few years drew full houses, whether the authorities have considered according priority to the aforesaid football match to use HKS; if they have considered, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) when LCSD came to know the date for staging the football match; whether LCSD received HKFA's application for hiring HKS to stage the match; if LCSD did, when HKFA submitted the application and when LCSD received HKFA's application for staging the match in the Mong Kok Stadium; (3) of the justifications for LCSD making the statement that the turf of HKS could not be restored in time; whether LCSD will make public the relevant papers and information, including the report prepared by turf experts; if LCSD will not, of the reasons for that; (4) of the details concerning the discussions and decisions made by LCSD and HKFA regarding the venue for staging the football match, including the dates of the relevant meetings and the justifications for the decisions made; whether LCSD will make public the relevant papers and information; if LCSD will not, of the reasons for that; and (5) whether, after the re-turfing work of the turf of HKS was completed in April this year, LCSD has adopted new measures for maintaining and managing the turf so as to enable more international football matches to be staged in HKS; if LCSD has, of the details of the new measures; if not, the reasons for that?
*13. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)
Earlier on, the World Health Organization ("WHO") published an evaluation report on the carcinogenicity of the consumption of processed meat and red meat. Processed meat (such as sausages, ham and bacon) has been classified as "carcinogenic to humans" (i.e. Group 1), and red meat (including pork, beef and mutton) has been classified as "probably carcinogenic to humans" (i.e. Group 2A). The experts concerned have concluded that a daily consumption of 50 grams of processed meat products will increase the risk of colorectal cancer by 18%. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether, in the light of WHO's report, it will review the existing initiatives to promote a healthy diet; whether, in addition to stepping up publicity and education efforts, the Government will adopt a more prudent approach than that in the past in conducting tendering exercises and food procurement for the canteens inside government buildings, so as to ensure that people patronizing those canteens are served with healthier food; if so, of the details; (2) given that the Handbook of Selection of Lunch Suppliers devised by the Centre for Health Protection suggests schools to require suppliers to undertake that the provision of food products such as processed or preserved meat will be limited to no more than two days per week, whether the authorities will, in the light of WHO's report, update the relevant guidelines to require suppliers to undertake to avoid using ingredients like processed meat products in preparing lunches for students; and (3) whether it will consider issuing guidelines to various bureaux and government departments to require them to choose food products and ingredients which comply with healthy diet principles (such as less meat, more vegetables as well as low sugar, low salt and low oil) in preparing or procuring food for the activities they organize, so as to take the lead in promoting a healthy dietary culture; if it will not, of the reasons for that?
*14. Prof Hon Joseph LEE to ask: (Translation)
Some members of the public have relayed to me that assessment and support services for children under 12 years of age with developmental or behavioural disorders are grossly inadequate. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) in each of the past five years, of (i) the number of children referred by doctors or schools or through other channels to queue for assessments at the Child Assessment Centres ("CACs") under the Department of Health, (ii) the number of children assessed at various CACs each year, and (iii) the average queuing time for children to receive assessments (with a breakdown of the three pieces of information by age of children and centre); (2) of the current total number of healthcare personnel in various CACs (with a breakdown by rank); whether the authorities will consider increasing the manpower and other resources for various CACs so that children with developmental or behavioural disorders can receive assessments and treatment as soon as possible; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) of the respective numbers of children diagnosed with developmental or behavioural disorders, and the percentages of such numbers in the population of children of the same age group in the territory (with a breakdown by developmental or behavioural disorder) in each of the past five years; and (4) of the support services provided for children diagnosed with developmental or behavioural disorders; the average queuing time for them to receive rehabilitation training and treatment services in the past five years?
*15. Hon Charles Peter MOK to ask: (Translation)
Currently, various policy bureaux/government departments ("B/Ds") may employ information technology ("IT") staff to fill posts under the civil service establishment, or they may, through the "body-shopping" contract ("T-contract") centrally managed by the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer, engage contractors to employ IT contract staff under a term contract ("T-contract staff") for the implementation and support of IT systems. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the following figures of various B/Ds from 2005-2006 to the first half of this year: (i) the total number of IT staff in the civil service establishment (and set out a breakdown by rank in the table below) and the total number of vacancies of such types of posts in each year; and Year Number of IT staff No. of vacancies Chief Systems Manager, Senior Systems Manager, and Systems Manager Analyst/
Programmer IAnalyst/
Programmer IIFirst half of 2015-2016 2014-2015 2013-2014 .
.
.2005-2006 (ii) the annual total number of IT staff who are non-civil service contract staff, and set out a breakdown by their years of service (i.e. over nine years, over six years to nine years, over four years to six years, and four years or below) in the table below; Year Over nine years Over six years to nine years Over four years to six years Four years or below First half of 2015-2016 2014-2015 2013-2014 .
.
.2005-2006 (2) of (i) the total number of T-contract staff, (ii) the year-on-year rate of change of such figure, (iii) the total expenditure on T-contract, and (iv) the year-on-year rate of change of such amount, in each year from 2005-2006 to the first half of this year (set out in the table below); Year (i) (ii)
(Percentage)(iii)
(HK$)(iv)
(Percentage)First half of 2015-2016 2014-2015 2013-2014 .
.
.2005-2006 (3) of the respective estimated numbers of vacancies of the civil service posts and non-civil service contract posts in the Analyst/Programmer grade, and the estimated number of T-contract staff whose duties are similar to that of such grade, in each of the coming three years; and (4) whether it will comprehensively review the long-term manpower needs of various B/Ds for the services of IT staff, and convert T-contract posts with long-term needs to civil service posts so as to support the manpower resources development in the IT sector; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*16. Hon Gary FAN to ask: (Translation)
At present, students aged between 12 and 25 who are currently enrolled on a full-time day course offered by a recognized institution may apply for Personalized Octopus encoded with "Student Status" ("student Octopus") to enjoy fare concessions when travelling on MTR. On the other hand, in 2008, the MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL") ceased to offer single journey fare concessions to students, and the current concessionary single journey tickets are to be used only by children aged three to 11 and senior citizens aged 65 or above. I have learnt that recently, when a secondary school student who forgot to carry his student Octopus used a concessionary single journey ticket, which charged a fare comparable to that charged for using a student Octopus, to ride on MTR, he was caught by a staff member of MTRCL. A surcharge of $500 was imposed on him for contravening the Mass Transit Railway By-laws (Cap. 556 sub. leg. B) ("Bylaws"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows, in each of the past five years, (i) the respective numbers of verbal and written warnings issued to passengers who failed to produce a valid ticket, (ii) the number of cases in which passengers failing to produce a valid ticket were convicted and the general penalties imposed on them, and (iii) among the cases in which warnings were issued and the conviction cases, the respective numbers of those involving the use of concessionary single journey tickets; (2) given that the fare for riding on MTR using a concessionary single journey ticket is generally higher than that for taking the same journey using a student Octopus, whether it knows the criteria adopted by MTRCL for determining the fare difference and the surcharges to be imposed on passengers for contravening the Bylaws; (3) whether it knows if MTRCL will issue guidelines to its frontline staff members to stipulate that when dealing with contravention cases involving the use of concessionary single journey tickets, they may exercise discretion to only issue verbal or written warnings to passengers who have contravened the Bylaws and put the incidents on record based on the merits of individual cases, instead of imposing surcharges on or instituting prosecutions against such persons; (4) whether it knows the means by which MTRCL publicized in the past five years the restrictions on the use of concessionary single journey tickets; whether MTRCL will step up its publicity efforts to enable the public to have a clear understanding of such restrictions; and (5) as some members of the public consider that the different fares currently payable by students using student Octopus and by those using single journey tickets are prone to cause confusion, whether the Government will urge MTRCL to reinstate the previous practice of permitting passengers holding valid student cards to use single journey tickets with fare concessions?
*17. Hon TANG Ka-piu to ask: (Translation)
Asbestos is a proven carcinogen. To protect public health, the Government has brought into force the Air Pollution Control (Amendment) Ordinance 2014 ("the Amendment Ordinance") since 4 April last year, to completely ban the import, transhipment, supply and use of all forms of asbestos and asbestos-containing materials (collectively referred to as "asbestos") ("the regulated acts"). Regarding the regulation of the use of asbestos, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the authorities have conducted any inspection in respect of the regulated acts since the Amendment Ordinance came into force; if they have, of the number of cases in which regulations were allegedly contravened (with a tabulated breakdown by the regulated act); whether the authorities instituted prosecutions in respect of such cases; if they did, of the number of cases and the penalties imposed on the convicted persons by the court (with a tabulated breakdown by the regulated act); (2) whether the authorities have received, since the Amendment Ordinance came into force, any application for exemption to carry out the regulated acts; if they have, of the names of the organizations making the applications, the reasons for applications and the quantity of asbestos involved (with a tabulated breakdown by the regulated act); among such applications, of the number of applications approved by the authorities and the reasons therefor as well as the quantity of asbestos involved (with a tabulated breakdown by the regulated act); (3) whether the authorities know what Chinese herbal medicines and proprietary Chinese medicines available on the market at present, other than tremolitum and actinolitum, contain or may contain asbestos; given that the Environmental Protection Department ("EPD") has provided to the relevant industries guidelines on the disposal of Chinese herbal medicines and proprietary Chinese medicines containing asbestos, whether EPD knows the disposal situation of the relevant medicines; (4) given that the authorities have conducted initial asbestos assessments for buildings participating in the Operation Building Bright, and owners' corporations ("OCs") and owners of individual units are required to employ registered asbestos consultants and registered asbestos contractors to handle asbestos abatement works when structures with confirmed asbestos-containing materials have been found in the areas where repair items are located, of the number of target buildings for which the authorities have carried out initial asbestos assessments since 2011; of the number of such buildings found to have structures with confirmed asbestos-containing materials in the areas where repair items were located; whether the authorities have followed up if the OCs and owners of units of those buildings carried out asbestos abatement works as required by the law; if they have not followed up, the reasons for that; (5) whether there is currently any government building confirmed to have structures with asbestos-containing materials; if so, of the details; whether the authorities have plans to conduct asbestos surveys on government buildings constructed between 1960s and 1980s; if they have such plans, of the details and the specific timetable; if not, the reasons for that; and (6) given that some workers' groups have pointed out that while all works involving asbestos are presently regulated by the Air Pollution Control Ordinance (Cap. 311) which is enforced by EPD, tasks such as works supervision and labour safety are undertaken by the Labour Department, and this may give rise to confusion over law enforcement (e.g. while a certain industrial undertaking does not carry out work involving the use of asbestos, the equipment or tools used by the workers may contain asbestos, and hence the workers concerned are not sure which department is responsible for monitoring the use of such equipment or tools), whether EPD and the Labour Department have made any coordination effort in respect of the division of law enforcement work and have explained to the workers' groups the arrangements for the division of work between the two departments; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; whether the authorities conducted investigations in the past three years to find out if the equipment and tools commonly used in the construction industry contain asbestos; if they did, of the outcome?
*18. Hon MA Fung-kwok to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the Lands Department ("LandsD") has recently taken vigorous enforcement actions against cases of industrial building units being used for purposes in breach of the uses prescribed in the land lease provisions ("the breaching cases"), and has even proceeded to re-enter some of those units. Some art groups currently renting industrial building units have relayed to me that they have received warning letters from LandsD for breaching the uses prescribed in the land lease provisions, and therefore are very worried that they will eventually be required to move out of the units. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of warning letters issued by LandsD in respect of the breaching cases last year, with a breakdown by the breach together with their percentages in the total number of such letters; (2) of the number of cases last year in which LandsD registered the warning letters issued in respect of the breaching cases at the Land Registry (commonly known as "imposing an encumbrance"), and the number of cases in which LandsD proceeded to re-enter such units, with a breakdown by the breach; (3) given that currently owners of industrial building units may apply to LandsD for a temporary waiver concerning changes in the use of such units, of the number of such applications received by LandsD in each of the past three years, with a breakdown by the proposed use; among these applications, of the respective numbers of cases approved and rejected by LandsD, as well as the reasons for rejection; (4) given that as revealed by the 2014 Area Assessment of Industrial Land in the Territory published by the Planning Department in August this year, more and more economic activities and emerging industries are opting for floor space in industrial buildings, examples of which include data centres, cultural/creative art studios, etc., and those activities and industries, which are classified as "Other Uses", currently occupy about 5.1% of industrial floor space and there is an upward trend in that percentage, how the authorities, in enforcing the land lease provisions in relation to industrial buildings, will at the same time have regard to promoting economic activities and developing emerging industries, so that the latter can survive in industrial buildings; and (5) given that the Secretary for Development mentioned in his blog in August this year that the authorities would conduct a study to explore, on the premise of satisfying all fire and building safety requirements, further relaxation of the restrictions on non-industrial uses in industrial buildings, of the details of the relevant study (including the timetable for commencing the study); in the course of the study, how the authorities will take on board the views from different stakeholders (including the local art and cultural sector, the sports sector, etc.), so as to enable them to use industrial building units in a sensible, reasonable and lawful manner?
*19. Dr Hon Priscilla LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
Recently, some of the drinking water samples taken from a number of public rental housing estates, private housing estates and schools have been found to have a lead content exceeding the provisional guideline value set out in the World Health Organization's "Guidelines for Drinking-Water Quality". Some members of the construction industry have relayed to me that large-scale replacement works of drinking water mains may need to be carried out for such affected buildings, but the relevant works will inevitably be delayed due to the already acute shortage of plumbers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the existing number of licensed plumbers, as well as the respective numbers of registered skilled workers, registered skilled workers (provisional) and registered semi-skilled workers who have registered for the trade of "plumbers" under the Construction Workers Registration Ordinance (Cap. 583); (2) whether it knows the number of plumber training courses currently offered by various training providers, as well as the projected number of trainees completing such courses in each of the coming eight quarters; (3) whether it will consider formulating specific measures to increase the supply of plumbers, e.g. by raising the training allowances, increasing the number of places of the training courses, and reviewing the contents of the courses to compress study time, etc., with a view to attracting more people to join the trade; and (4) whether it has assessed the impact on the progress of the various types of public works projects in the next few years which will be caused by the replacement works of the drinking water mains to be carried out in the aforesaid affected buildings; if it has assessed, of the details?
*20. Hon Kenneth LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that in recent days, there have been unusual movements in the share prices of quite a number of companies listed on the Growth Enterprise Market ("GEM") in the early stage of their initial listings, arousing suspicion of manipulations. There are views that the current GEM listing rules permitting the placement of shares by an issuer has resulted in a high concentration of shares in the hands of a few persons and hence manipulation of share prices is prone to occur. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that Rule 17.11 of the GEM Listing Rules stipulates that where the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong makes enquiries concerning the unusual movements in the prices or trading volume of an issuer's listed securities, the possible development of a false market in the issuer's securities or any other matters, the issuer must respond promptly, and that if the issuer is not aware of any matter that is relevant to the unusual movements in the prices or trading volume of its listed securities or is not aware of any information that needs to be announced for avoidance of a false market, the issuer must promptly make an announcement containing a statement to that effect, whether the Government knows the number of times that the issuers of securities listed on GEM made such announcements under that rule in the past five years, and the number of listed companies involved; (2) given that the Securities and Futures Commission ("SFC") makes announcements from time to time in respect of the concentration of shareholding of listed companies in the hands of a very small number of shareholders, whether the Government knows the number of times that SFC made announcements in respect of the high concentration of the shareholding of GEM listed companies in each of the past five years, and the number of listed companies involved; and (3) whether it has plans to conduct a comprehensive review of the GEM listing regime, including the criteria for making listing applications as well as vetting and approval of such applications, and the arrangement allowing the placement of securities by issuers; if it has such plans, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*21. Hon IP Kin-yuen to ask: (Translation)
At present, the Government provides an annual recurrent cash grant known as the Teacher Relief Grant ("TRG") to aided schools established with an incorporated management committee ("IMC") for hiring supply teachers. However, some members of IMCs have relayed to me that as the amount of the Grant is often insufficient to meet the actual demand or deployed for other purposes, teachers who have fallen ill refrain from taking sick leave and continue to work, which has exerted immense pressure on both the schools and the teachers, and the learning progress of students has been affected as well. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows, in the past three years, of (i) the total number of days of approved leave lasting for less than 30 days taken by teachers of aided schools over the territory, (ii) the total number of days of approved leave lasting for 30 days or more taken by teachers of aided schools over the territory, and (iii) the total number of days in which supply teachers were hired by those schools (broken down by category of leave); (2) whether it knows the amount and percentage of the aforesaid Grant deployed for purposes other than hiring supply teachers in the past three years, with a breakdown by purpose; and (3) given that a teacher has told me that he took more than 20 days of sick leave but his school did not hire any supply teacher, and he was asked to make up for the missed lessons during his absence (more than 100 lessons in total) after resuming duty, which had exerted tremendous pressure on the teacher, whether the Education Bureau ("EDB") is aware of that kind of incidents; and in this regard (i) what improvement measures EDB will implement, and (ii) whether EDB will consider allowing schools to choose, on their own, either to claim reimbursement of expenses of hiring supply teachers on an accountable basis or making use of TRG to hire supply teachers; if EDB will not, of the reasons for that?
*22. Hon CHAN Hak-kan to ask: (Translation)
It is learnt that some alien species (such as Red-eared Sliders, White Popinac and Mikania micrantha) have proliferated after they were brought into Hong Kong's natural environment, thereby posing threats to the native species and the local natural environment. However, Hong Kong currently does not have any measure in place to deal with such alien species. On the other hand, to deal with and prevent the invasion of alien species, the United States established her National Invasive Species Council as early as in 1999, while New Zealand proposed her bio-security programme in 2002 and Japan enacted specific legislation in 2005. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the Government has currently maintained a detailed database on invasive alien species; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether the Government conducted on its own or commissioned experts to conduct, in the past 10 years, any assessment and study on the impacts of alien species on the local natural environment; if it did, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) regarding certain alien species which are known to be posing threats to the local natural environment, whether the Government will make reference to the practices of the aforesaid countries and enact legislation to regulate the import of such species; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (4) given that the 2015 Policy Address mentioned that the Government was formulating the first Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan of Hong Kong, of the measures under the Plan to prevent and mitigate the impacts of alien species on the local natural environment, so as to maintain the diversity of native species; of the progress of formulating the Plan; and (5) whether the Government will step up publicity efforts to educate the public not to casually release animals, and to encourage them to report to the authorities when they find alien species invading the local natural environment; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
* For written reply
III. Bill
| First Reading
Patents (Amendment) Bill 2015 Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned) | ||
| Patents (Amendment) Bill 2015 | : | Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
|