A 15/16-29
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 8 June 2016 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers
| 1. | No. 101 | - | The 27th Report on the Work of the Advisory Committee on Post-service Employment of Civil Servants
(1 January - 31 December 2015) |
| (to be presented by Secretary for the Civil Service)
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| 2. | Report No. 20/15-16 of the House Committee on Consideration of Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments | ||
| (to be presented by Hon Andrew LEUNG, Chairman of the House Committee)
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| 3. | Report of the Bills Committee on Inland Revenue (Amendment) Bill 2016 | ||
| (to be presented by Hon Andrew LEUNG, Chairman of the Bills Committee) | |||
II. Questions
1. Hon Tommy CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)
Earlier on, the Equal Opportunities Commission ("EOC") instituted under the Sex Discrimination Ordinance ("SDO") legal proceedings on behalf of a man against the owner of an entertainment venue, alleging that the "ladies' nights" (in which female customers are charged a lower admission fee than male customers) offered by that entertainment venue was discriminatory on the ground of sex. In the absence of the defendant from the hearing, the District Court ruled in favour of the plaintiff. Many members of the bar industry have relayed to me that they are surprised and disappointed at the ruling, and they are also worried that they will be prosecuted for sex discrimination when using promotional tactics like ladies' nights to develop the female customer market in future. These members have also pointed out that they have offered ladies' nights merely to attract more customers, with absolutely no intention of sex discrimination. This practice has a long history and is a trade practice commonly adopted worldwide. Given that the case has aroused public concern and that there are queries whether EOC has overcorrected, will the Government inform this Council whether:
(1) the authorities will conduct a public consultation or an opinion survey to gauge public views on trade practices like ladies' nights and gentlemen's nights, whether they agree that all trade practices which use concessionary prices to attract customers of a certain gender should be regarded as discriminatory on the ground of sex, and whether they agree to exempting such trade practices from the ambit of SDO, etc.; if they will, of the timetable and details of the consultation; if not, the reasons for that; and (2) apart from exploring the views of the pubic, the authorities will consider taking the initiative to amend SDO to exempt from the ambit of the Ordinance those acts of offering ladies' nights and gentlemen's nights, etc. for business promotion done by operators of bar and catering services; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
2. Hon Albert CHAN to ask: (Translation)
In its reply to my question at the Council meeting of 4 July 2012, the Government indicated that the Police attached great importance to combating illegal debt collection activities conducted by debt collection agencies ("DCAs"). However, I have learnt that the situation of debtors being harassed by debt collection activities is worsening and it is still very common for banks, finance companies, telecommunications service companies, beauty service companies and tutorial teachers to hire DCAs to collect money owed by their customers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of reports received in each year since January of 2012 by the Police from members of the public about the harassment caused by DCAs' debt collection practices; (2) whether the Government will consider afresh accepting the recommendations in the report of the Law Reform Commission of Hong Kong on "The Regulation of Debt Collection Practices" published in 2002 that a criminal offence of harassment of debtors and others should be created, and a statutory licensing system to monitor DCAs should be established; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether it will consider introducing new enforcement measures to curb the harassing practices adopted by DCAs to recover debts; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
3. Hon LEUNG Che-cheung to ask: (Translation)
In 2013, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department put forward a plan to construct a Central Repository for public museums ("the Central Repository Project") in Tin Shui Wai to house museum collections scattered in different parts of Hong Kong, with a view to better preserving and managing the relics. The facilities in the Central Repository will include the first large-scale thematic exhibition gallery in the Northwest New Territories, but the construction works for the Central Repository Project have yet to commence. In addition, the Home Affairs Bureau cooperated with the arts sector, business sector and members of the community to launch a community-based art project called "Beautiful Hong Kong" ("BHK Project") in 2015 for the purpose of bringing artistic creations, such as wall and street painting creations and Chinese ink staircase, into the community. However, no artistic creation under this project has yet been brought into the Yuen Long and Tuen Mun districts. Regarding the measures to increase the opportunities for members of the public to appreciate relics and artistic works, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the latest progress of the Central Repository Project; whether it has assessed the impacts of the prolonged delay in establishing the aforesaid large-scale thematic exhibition gallery on residents of the Northwest New Territories; (2) when the BHK Project will bring the aforesaid artistic creations into the Yuen Long and Tuen Mun districts, and of the progress and details of the preparatory work concerned; and (3) how the authorities bring art and culture into the community (especially the Yuen Long and Tuen Mun districts); of the new policies and measures put in place by the authorities to increase the opportunities for members of the public to appreciate relics and art museum collections, and to upgrade their cultural qualities and artistic tastes?
4. Hon Alice MAK to ask: (Translation)
Currently, members of the public may conduct land search to inspect the Land Register and copies of registered instruments (collectively referred to as "land records") maintained by the Land Registry ("LR") through LR's online system or in person through the counters and self-service terminals at LR's customer centre or search offices. It has been reported that early this year, a swindler obtained the personal data of the owner of a private residential flat through land search and used such data to forge an identity card. That person then, disguising as the owner, put up the flat for sale and succeeded in cheating a buyer into paying a deposit. Some members of the public have pointed out that the aforesaid case reveals that the personal data in public registers may be used for illegal purposes, thereby jeopardizing the interests of the data subjects. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the authorities instituted prosecutions in the past five years against persons who made abusive use of the personal data in land records and those who used such data to disguise as other people in the purchase and sale of properties; if they did, of the respective numbers of such cases and the procedures for handling such cases; (2) whether the authorities will consider adopting the following measures to prevent abusive use of the personal data in various public registers: recording the personal data of searchers; requesting searchers conducting search through counters to confirm that they are aware of the purpose for establishing the registers, the restrictions on the use of public registers and the consequences of abusive use of the information obtained; requesting searchers to make a statement on the intended purpose for which the information obtained is to be used; and amending the Land Registration Ordinance and other related ordinances to stipulate that people will be held criminally liable for abusive use of the personal data in the relevant public registers; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether there are other measures to prevent abusive use of the personal data in various public registers in order to protect the interests of the data subjects; if so, of the details?
| Public Officers to reply | : | Secretary for Development
Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs |
5. Hon POON Siu-ping to ask: (Translation)
To encourage contractors of public works projects to implement site safety measures, the Government has implemented since 1993 the Pay for Safety Scheme, under which funding is earmarked for public works project contracts to finance contractors to carry out site safety items. At the end of last year, the Development Bureau released a consultation document on the review of safety management system for public works projects to gauge the views of stakeholders of the construction industry on the improvement directions it had proposed for the safety management system currently applicable to public works project contracts. Such directions include reducing some of the site safety items in the Bills of Quantities in order to cut expenses. Moreover, the Chief Executive has indicated in this year’s Policy Address that as construction costs have been escalating incessantly in recent years and several major public works projects have experienced significant cost overruns, there is a need for the Government to strengthen project cost control. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the manner in which the authorities gauged the views of stakeholders of the construction industry on the aforesaid consultation document, the names of the bodies and organizations consulted, and the time when the consultation outcome will be published; (2) whether the authorities have assessed the impacts of the reduction of site safety items in the Bills of Quantities on industrial safety; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) given that the Labour Department has issued a non-legally binding guide on "Prevention of Heat Stroke at Work in a Hot Environment" advising employers to make special arrangements in hot workplaces for employees for the prevention of heat stroke (such as the provision of ventilation facilities, drinking water and additional rest breaks), whether the authorities have explored ways to ensure compliance with such guide by contractors after the reduction of site safety items for public works projects; whether the authorities will consider enacting legislation to require all employers to make special arrangements in hot workplaces for employees for the prevention of heat stroke so as to ensure work safety; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
6. Hon CHUNG Kwok-pan to ask: (Translation)
Recently, the owner of a small company sought my assistance, saying that he received a phone call from his telecommunications service provider ("TSP") in early March this year, notifying him that his company's telephone line for long distance calls had been "hacked". He then followed the TSP's advice to encrypt the telephone line to prevent recurrence of similar incidents. However, he later received the telephone bill for the month of March in which the fees payable soared to nearly $40,000 from the normal level of $560, with most of the charges relating to the long distance calls that his company had never made. While confirming that the company's telephone line for long distance calls had been "hacked", the TSP concerned still requested the company to pay the bill in full, otherwise the TSP would terminate the telecommunications services for that company. The owner had sought assistance from the Consumer Council and the Communications Authority ("CA"), but the former said it would not accept complaints from commercial organizations about the goods and services they purchased, and the latter said that it would not handle complaints involving only monetary disputes. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the number of complaints received by CA from commercial organizations against TSPs in each of the past three years, with a breakdown by the content of the complaints, and whether the number of such type of complaints has shown an upward trend; among such complaints, of the number of those involving TSPs charging unreasonable fees from commercial organizations whose telephone lines have been hacked; (2) of the statutory institutions, other than the court, that may currently handle complaints from commercial organizations about the goods and services they purchased; and (3) whether it knows if CA will discuss with TSPs to examine the formulation of measures to protect the rights and interests of clients, for example, TSPs making enquiries immediately with the clients or even suspending the relevant services once TSPs are aware of suspicious call records in the clients' accounts, capping the number of calls for long distance call accounts, and building in a procedure for verifying the identities of clients, with a view to reducing the disputes between TSPs and their clients over telecommunications service fees?
*7. Hon Andrew LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
The Food and Drugs (Composition and Labelling) (Amendment: Requirements for Nutrition Labelling and Nutrition Claim) Regulation 2008 (L.N. 69 of 2008) ("Amendment Regulation") has come into effect since 1 July 2010. The Amendment Regulation implements a Nutrition Labelling Scheme which covers two types of nutrition information on food labels, namely nutrition labelling and nutrition claims. From 1 July 2010 onwards, most prepackaged food products are required to bear a label containing a food nutrient table, but food products with annual sales volume not exceeding 30 000 units may be exempted ("exempt food products"). Nevertheless, exempt food products are required to have a specific label on the packages to indicate their exemption status, and the exemption grantees may not make any nutrition claim in respect of such food products on the label or in any advertisement. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of the following since 1 July 2010:
(1) the number of times for which the authorities conducted sample tests on their own initiative to check if the nutrient content of prepackaged food products tallied with the information on the nutrition labels; the number of non-compliance cases found in such tests, and the penalties imposed generally by the court on the persons convicted; (2) the number of complaints received by the authorities relating to discrepancies between the food nutrient content and the information on the nutrition labels; how the authorities followed up those cases, and the relevant details; and (3) whether the authorities conducted random inspections to see if the labels of exempt food products have contravened the requirement that they may not carry any nutrient claims; if they did, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*8. Hon LEE Cheuk-yan to ask: (Translation)
The Government is studying the implementation of an Electronic Road Pricing pilot scheme in Central and its adjacent areas. Nevertheless, quite a number of drivers have relayed to me that the scheme will not be effective in alleviating the traffic congestion problem in Central because illegal parking is the major cause of the problem. Although the authorities have all along emphasized that they will step up law enforcement against illegal parking in Central, some media found, after making observations for several consecutive days in mid-February this year, that there were more than a hundred vehicles parked illegally during peak hours on the roads in Central and its vicinity, and some of the vehicles were used by senior government officials. Besides, a community group found, after making observations for three days in mid-March this year at Pedder Street and Chater Road in Central, that the problems of illegal parking as well as picking up/setting down passengers and loading/unloading goods at improper locations were extremely serious. While the community group recorded a total of 1 617 instances of illegal parking on the two roads, only 13 law enforcement actions taken by police officers (e.g. giving advice or issuing fixed penalty tickets to the drivers involved in illegal parking) were recorded during the same period (i.e. the ratio of illegal parking to law enforcement action is 124:1). Moreover, during the "Regional Traffic Day of Hong Kong Island" which fell on 11 March, the community group recorded a total of 1 226 instances of illegal parking on the aforesaid two roads, but witnessed only six law enforcement actions taken by police officers (i.e. the ratio of illegal parking to law enforcement action is 204:1). As such, some members of the public consider that the authorities merely go through the motions in their so-called "stepping up of law enforcement". In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the authorities will set a good example by formulating effective measures to eradicate the situation of illegal parking of government vehicles in Central, so as to alleviate the problem of traffic congestion in Central; if they will, of the details; and (2) whether the authorities will re-examine their policy on combating illegal parking in Central and step up law enforcement, with a view to managing the traffic in the district in an effective manner?
*9. Hon CHAN Han-pan to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the April just past broke the record for the most humid April in the past 55 years, and a humid environment provides favourable breeding grounds for biting midges. Biting midges are insects smaller than mosquitoes in size and usually appear in groups, and as a result, persons who get bitten often have a few dozens of red swollen spots on their bodies. Moreover, it is learnt that like mosquitoes, biting midges can transmit disease. Previous overseas cases show that the saliva of biting midges may possibly trigger allergic reaction in persons who get bitten. Those in serious condition may suffer from shock and even die. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of complaints received by the authorities about the problem of biting midges in each of the past three months and in each of the past three years; (2) whether the authorities have kept records on the transmission of communicable diseases by biting midges, e.g. dengue fever, Japanese encephalitis and Zika virus; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) given that various types of trapping stickers for biting midges are currently available for sale on the market, whether the authorities have used such trapping stickers in public places; whether they have conducted any study on the effectiveness of the various brands and types of trapping stickers for biting midges; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) whether the authorities will formulate preventive measures in the near future, and draw up medium and long-term plans to address the problem of biting midges; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*10. Hon CHAN Chi-chuen to ask: (Translation)
The Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress ("the Chairman") visited Hong Kong from the 17th to the 19th of last month to attend the Belt and Road Summit ("the Summit") and other activities. The Police devised the security arrangements for the visit of the Chairman and other countries' dignitaries to Hong Kong according to the grading for counter-terrorism security operations. Apart from the designation of security zones at Grand Hyatt Hong Kong where the Chairman stayed, in the vicinity of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre where the Summit was held, and at a number of locations where the Chairman and his entourage passed by, substantial police manpower was even deployed to perform tight monitoring and to prevent crowd gathering in these locations. Also, a number of roads were closed off and temporary traffic arrangements were implemented. Some members of the public consider that the relevant security arrangements have not only wasted manpower and money, but also affected their daily living. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of water barriers, mills barriers and vehicles deployed by the Police, as well as the respective numbers of police officers and police dogs on duty during the aforesaid security operations; the respective numbers of staff members of other government departments rendering assistance during the security operations, with a breakdown by the government department to which they belonged; (2) of the legal basis on which the Police determined the coverage of the relevant security zones; as some members of the public have queried that the coverage of the security zones was exceedingly large, whether the Police have responded to such queries; if the Police have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) given that the security grading for the Chairman's visit to Hong Kong was higher than that for the previous visits to Hong Kong by state leaders, of the reasons for the Police to have devised the security arrangements for the former visit according to the grading for counter-terrorism security operations; (4) as there are views that the public activity areas where demonstrations could be held ("demonstration areas"), designated by the Police at the Gloucester Road Garden, the Fleming Road Garden and the Harbour Road Garden during the Chairman's visit to Hong Kong, were not only surrounded by double layers of water barriers but also far from the hotel where the Chairman stayed, thus making it impossible for the public to articulate their aspirations to the Chairman directly, whether the authorities have assessed if the Police's designation of such locations as demonstration areas had deprived the public of their freedom of speech, assembly and demonstration; and (5) given that at the request of the Police, the Central-Wan Chai Bypass project and the MTR Shatin to Central Link project, which are still under construction, were suspended for four days during the Chairman's visit to Hong Kong, whether the authorities know the number of workers whose earnings have been reduced due to the suspension; the economic losses caused by the suspension to the projects, and whether such losses have to be paid by public funds?
*11. Hon YIU Si-wing to ask: (Translation)
In 1999, the Government and The Walt Disney Company ("WDC") formed a joint-venture company, the Hong Kong International Theme Parks Limited, to build and operate Hong Kong Disneyland ("HKD"). HKD laid off some of its staff in April this year, and the layoff has aroused public concern as it was the first time ever since its opening in 2005. It is learnt that the layoff involved nearly a hundred employees and the reason for laying them off was associated with the poor business performance of HKD. According to the Government's assessment in 1999, HKD would provide Hong Kong with a net economic benefit of $148 billion in a period of 40 years, and the number of employment opportunities to be created directly and indirectly would be about 18 400 in the first year of its operation, with that number rising to 35 800 within a 20-year period. However, the respective numbers of full-time and part-time employees of HKD in the 2015-2016 financial year were about 5 300 and 2 500 only, far below those projected in the aforesaid assessment. Some members of the public have pointed out that unlike other tourism projects, HKD is a project the construction of which was led and invested by the Government, with an aim to promote economic development and create employment opportunities, and the layoff indicates that changes have taken place in respect of WDC's direction of development in the Hong Kong market. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knew about the layoff beforehand; if it did, of the Government's stance on the layoff; if not, whether the Government, being the majority shareholder of the joint-venture company holding 52% of the shares, has looked into the reasons why it had not been notified of the layoff beforehand; (2) whether it has assessed if the layoff is reflective of WDC's intention to scale back its investments in HKD, and whether the company has planned to shelve the Phase 2 development of HKD currently under planning; and (3) given that Shanghai Disneyland will open on the 16th of this month and it has been reported that a craze for its admission tickets has been triggered off on the Mainland, while HKD, on the contrary, is already 10 years in age and smaller in size, whether the Government knows what measures HKD has in place to tackle the challenges posed by Shanghai Disneyland, as well as its long-term development plan to maintain competitiveness and attractiveness?
*12. Hon Albert HO to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the processing of applications by the Highways Department ("HyD") for installation of street lights in rural areas in the New Territories, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of the aforesaid applications received by HyD in each of the past five years, and the number of applications being processed as at end-March this year, with a breakdown by the relevant District Council district; (2) whether HyD has set a quota on the number of the aforesaid applications to be accepted; if HyD has, of the quota for each of the past five years; (3) whether HyD reviewed, in the past three years, how the processing of the aforesaid applications could be expedited; if HyD did, of the details; whether HyD has set a performance pledge for the time for processing the applications; if HyD has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) whether HyD will install solar-powered street lights in rural areas; if HyD will, of the implementation timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
*13. Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)
Over the years, the authorities have from time to time invited non-profit-making organizations ("NPOs") to submit proposals for the operation of support service centres ("SSCs") for the ethnic minorities ("EMs"). An assessment panel, comprising representatives from relevant policy bureaux and government departments, vet and approve such proposals using certain criteria, which include the applicants' experience in providing services for EMs, past performance, organizational support, service network, and ability to cooperate with other organizations. I have recently learnt that last year, the assessment panel did not award the service contract of an SSC in the Kwai Tsing District to an NPO which is experienced (with more than 10 years' experience in providing the relevant services in the district), reputable and acclaimed for its service quality. Instead, the service contract was awarded to an NPO which, at that time, had only three months' experience in providing the services. Some members of the social welfare sector, completely baffled by such outcome, have considered that the criteria for vetting and approval of the proposals lack transparency. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the criteria currently adopted by the assessment panel for vetting and approval of the proposals submitted by NPOs for the operation of SSCs, and whether such criteria include relevant service experience and performance; if so, of their weightings; if not, the reasons for that; (2) why the authorities have awarded the service contract of the SSC in the Kwai Tsing District to an inexperienced NPO with no proven track record in providing quality services; (3) whether, since the commencement of the operation of the SSC in the Kwai Tsing District in June last year, the authorities have monitored the service performance of the NPO concerned; if they have, of the details; whether the authorities know the respective expenses incurred so far by the NPO for the various services (e.g. classes on the Chinese and English languages, after-school tutorial classes, community integration programmes, and other services such as consultation, counselling, referral, interpretation and translation); (4) given that some members of the social welfare sector have queried that the NPO currently operating the SSC in the Kwai Tsing District was awarded the service contract mainly because of its close relationship with relevant Mainland organizations, whether the authorities have responded to such a query; if they have, of the details; and (5) given that the Home Affairs Bureau will kick-start a new round of Neighbourhood Mutual Help Programme in the third quarter of this year to provide support services for persons from the Mainland who have resided in Hong Kong for less than seven years and for EMs, and is carrying out tendering work in this regard, of the details of the vetting and approving criteria concerned, and the weighting accorded to each criterion?
*14. Dr Hon Helena WONG to ask: (Translation)
Under section 4 of the Pesticide Residues in Food Regulation (Cap. 132 CM) ("the Regulation"), a person may sell for human consumption a food which contains pesticide residues only if the concentration of the pesticide residues does not exceed the maximum residue limit ("MRL") specified, for that particular pesticide in respect of the food, in Part 1 of Schedule 1 to the Regulation ("Part 1"). It is learnt that some foods which are not popular worldwide but are commonly consumed by local people, such as Indian lettuce, white radish, lotus root and bean sprout, are not covered by Part 1. In January this year, the Office of the Ombudsman published an investigation report on improper handling of food safety complaints by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department ("FEHD"). As pointed out in the investigation report, the Centre for Food Safety ("CFS") under FEHD mistakenly classified Indian lettuce under "Lettuce, Leaf" among the food listed in Part 1, and subsequently reclassified Indian lettuce as "leafy vegetables", a type not covered by Part 1. In response to media enquiries, CFS has indicated that "Indian lettuce and white radish belong to ‘leafy vegetables' and ‘root and tuber vegetables' respectively according to the current classification of vegetables by CFS. For food items of local specialties but with no MRLs specified, CFS will conduct risk assessments according to the statutory requirements to determine whether consumption of the food is hazardous or prejudicial to health when pesticide residues are detected in that food." In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it was after the publication of the aforesaid investigation report that CFS reclassified/classified Indian lettuce and white radish as "leafy vegetables" and "root and tuber vegetables" respectively; if so, of the details of the procedure and process involved in the reclassification/classification of vegetables; (2) of the vegetable types under which lotus root and bean sprout are currently classified by CFS, and whether such types are covered by Part 1; (3) of the number of food items of local specialties currently not listed in Part 1 and the name of each of those items; and (4) among the 360 pesticides covered by Part 1, of the number and the names of those which are highly toxic?
*15. Dr Hon LAM Tai-fai to ask: (Translation)
Last month, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China cum Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress ("the Chairman") paid a visit to Hong Kong for three days. Upon arrival, the Chairman summarized the purpose of his visit as "seeing, listening and speaking". The Chairman attended the "Belt and Road Summit" and made a speech. He also visited the Hong Kong Science Park, an elderly services centre and a subsidized housing project, and met with members of various sectors of the community, including four Legislative Council Members from the pan-democratic camp. It has been reported that it was the first time ever since the reunification of Hong Kong for a state leader to have a separate dialogue with Members from the pan-democratic camp. In a speech made in Hong Kong, the Chairman remarked that the rule of law was one of the core values shared by Hong Kong's community, and no offenders could elude justice on any grounds. He hoped that the Government of the Special Administrative Region ("the SAR Government") and the Judiciary would strictly enforce the law and tolerate no unlawful acts. He also reminded Hong Kong people to uphold the Basic Law and the principle of "one country, two systems", otherwise Hong Kong "will be ruined for sure", and he dismissed any calls for "self-determination" and "independence of Hong Kong" as unfeasible. He further commented that we were all in the same boat, "if Hong Kong did well, everyone would benefit. Should Hong Kong turn chaotic, everyone had to foot the bill". In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has assessed if the purpose of the Chairman's visit has been achieved; if it has assessed, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether it has assessed if the Chairman's visit to Hong Kong has raised the popularity ratings of the Chief Executive ("CE") and the SAR Government, and boosted public confidence in CE and the SAR Government; if it has assessed, of the respective outcome; if not, the reasons for that; (3) whether it has assessed if the Chairman's meeting with 10 Members of this Council is conducive to improving the relationship between the Executive Authorities and the Legislature; if it has assessed, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (4) why it has not arranged for the Chairman to visit universities and meet with their students to understand the aspirations of the young people nowadays; (5) why it has not arranged for the Chairman to visit places such as sub divisions of flat units (commonly known as "sub-divided units"), cubicle apartments and caged homes to gain a better understanding of the current living conditions of the grassroots; (6) why it has not arranged for the Chairman to visit Mong Kok and briefed him on the whole story and causes of the riot that took place in Mong Kok in the early hours of the second day of the Lunar New Year this year; (7) why it has not arranged for the Chairman to visit Sheung Shui to understand on-site the nuisance caused by parallel trading activities to local residents, the effectiveness of the enforcement of the "restriction on powdered formula" (i.e. the requirement that each person aged 16 or above may only carry, on his/her departure from Hong Kong within a 24-hour period, powdered formula for infants and young children under the age of 36 months of a total net weight of no more than 1.8 kilograms), as well as the problem of increasing conflicts between the residents of Hong Kong and the Mainland due to parallel trading activities; (8) whether it will, in light of the Chairman's remark, strictly enforce the law against people who advocate the independence of Hong Kong; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (9) whether it has formulated any policy focusing on curbing and preventing the spread of views advocating the independence of Hong Kong; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (10) whether it has reported to the Chairman on the views of various sectors of Hong Kong on constitutional reform, and recommended when constitutional reform can be initiated again; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (11) whether it has obtained any intelligence regarding some people intending to stir up trouble during the Chairman's visit to Hong Kong, mess up the Chairman's visit to Hong Kong or cause harm to him; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*16. Dr Hon LEUNG Ka-lau to ask: (Translation)
On the 20th of April this year, the authorities replied to my question on the Course on National Affairs for staff of the Hospital Authority ("HA"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that according to the aforesaid reply, the contents of the Course on National Affairs included lectures given by Mainland scholars and officials on national systems and policies in different areas such as healthcare reform and visits to healthcare institutions on the Mainland, and the junior doctors attended the Course on National Affairs on this occasion were mainly responsible for frontline clinical work, whether the authorities know the benefits, gained by junior doctors through attending the Course on National Affairs, on their clinical work; given that they came from different specialties, how such a course of visits and exchanges of a general nature can effectively raise their professional competence; (2) whether it knows if it is the aim of HA to provide administrative training for junior doctors through the Course on National Affairs; if so, why HA has not recommended junior doctors to attend some basic administrative training courses which are normally arranged for healthcare personnel, such as the "Management 101" training programme, and instead chosen the Course on National Affairs for them, as well as of the administrative training courses (other than the Course on National Affairs) which HA recommended its junior doctors to attend in the past five years; (3) given that the authorities have listed in the reply the Ministry of Health of Singapore, Hospital for Sick Children of Canada, Australian Council on Healthcare Standards, International Society for Quality in Healthcare, International Hospital Federation, Health Information and Management Systems Society in Singapore, overseas and local universities, Hong Kong Academy of Medicine and various specialist groups as the HA's training partners and the organizations with which HA conducted exchange activities in recent years, but the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, the organizer of the Course on National Affairs, is the representative organization of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, and the nature of its operation is totally different from that of the aforesaid healthcare organizations, whether the authorities know the criteria adopted by HA for deciding to accept the staff training sponsorship offered by such official political organizations, and whether HA accepted sponsorship offered by other political organizations in the past five years; and (4) as it has been reported that the doctors concerned were granted special paid study leave when attending the one-week Course on National Affairs and those leave days would not be deducted from the total number of days of paid study leave which they were entitled to ("total leave days"), but junior doctors are only granted a maximum of 1.5 days of paid study leave each time when they attend professional qualifications examinations and the days of study leave granted for them to participate in academic exchange activities or refresher courses are required to be deducted from their total leave days, whether the authorities know why junior doctors, when attending the Course on National Affairs which was not directly related to their clinical work, could enjoy special treatment?
*17. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)
Regarding statistics on Mainland visitors committing crimes in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of Mainland visitors who were arrested and prosecuted in the past five years for offences allegedly committed by them in Hong Kong, with a breakdown by offence; (2) of the number of Mainland visitors who were sentenced to imprisonment in the past five years, with a tabulated breakdown by length of sentence imposed on them (namely (i) one year or below, (ii) more than one year to three years, (iii) more than three years to 10 years, and (iv) more than 10 years); (3) of the number of Mainland visitors absconded in the past five years; the measures the Police have in place to make those people return to Hong Kong for investigation or trials, and whether they have sought assistance from the Mainland departments in respect of such cases; if they have, of the procedure; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) whether the particulars of absconding Mainland visitors will be put on the watchlist of the immigration control system; if so, of the latest number of persons on the watchlist; if not, the reasons for that?
*18. Hon KWOK Wai-keung to ask: (Translation)
Will the Government inform this Council, in each of the past five years, of the respective employment figures in, as well as Nominal Wage Indices, Real Wage Indices and Nominal Indices of Payroll per Person Engaged (adopting the first quarter of 2004 as the base period, i.e. first quarter of 2004 = 100) for, the various industries and trades in Hong Kong?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
*19. Hon Paul TSE to ask: (Translation)
Mr CHEUNG Tai-on ("Mr CHEUNG"), a Hong Kong permanent resident who had been sentenced to 40 years' imprisonment in the Philippines upon conviction of drug trafficking, died in a Philippine prison on the 14th of last month. Mr CHEUNG's father told the media that he had doubts about the cause of his son's death. He also pointed out that the British Embassy and Mr CHEUNG's pro bono lawyer had repeatedly contacted and provided assistance to his son over the years. However, not until the Philippine authorities announced the death of Mr CHEUNG did officials of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region contact Mr CHEUNG's father, and the State Ministry of Foreign Affairs had never approached him. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it will, given the case that Mr CHEUNG died in a foreign country allegedly from unnatural causes, review and step up the assistance for Mr TANG Lung-wai ("Mr TANG"), another imprisoned Hong Kong resident in the same case, and particularly urge the State Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide appropriate legal assistance in regard to his desperate wait for appeal (as it has been reported that the Philippine Department of Justice has demanded him to first pay a penalty of 500,000 pesos before his application for appeal will be processed and that he has to hire a translator at his own expense); if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether it has reviewed why the assistance provided for Mr CHEUNG by the Government and the State Ministry of Foreign Affairs over the years was, as claimed by Mr CHEUNG's father, even less than that provided by the British Embassy; if it has reviewed, of the details, and whether it will, in the light of the review outcome, step up its assistance for Mr TANG and other Hong Kong residents being imprisoned by the Philippine authorities for long periods of time; if it has not reviewed, the reasons for that; (3) of the current number of Hong Kong residents serving long-term sentences in the Philippines who have applied for returning to Hong Kong to serve their remaining sentences under the transfer of sentenced persons agreement ("TSPA") signed between the two governments; their ages, years of sentences, the dates on which the applications were made and the progress of such applications; whether the Government has requested the Philippine authorities through the State Ministry of Foreign Affairs to expedite the processing of such applications, and what difficulties it has encountered in the process; (4) of the number of Hong Kong residents who have been transferred, while serving sentences in other places, back to Hong Kong to serve their remaining sentences since the Transfer of Sentenced Persons Ordinance (Cap. 513) came into operation in 1997; (5) of the number Hong Kong residents serving sentences in places or countries which have signed TSPAs with Hong Kong who have applied for returning to Hong Kong to serve their remaining sentences, apart from those who are serving sentences in the Philippines; and (6) given that the Government has decided not to disburse the money under the "Scheme $6,000" (i.e. a scheme launched by the Government in 2011 to give each Hong Kong permanent resident aged 18 or above a sum of HK$6,000 on a one-off basis) to the aforesaid persons being imprisoned in the Philippines for long periods of time on the ground that they did not hold a smart Hong Kong Permanent Identity Card, and my repeated appeals to the Security Bureau to fight for the benefit for such persons were also to no avail, yet it has been reported that Mr TANG used his own subsistence money to arrange for the temporary storage of Mr CHEUNG's body on a stretcher, lest the body would be left on the ground, whether the Government will review if the aforesaid decision is reasonable and consider afresh disbursing at its discretion HK$6,000 to these Hong Kong permanent residents who are staying in foreign places and experiencing imminent financial difficulties?
*20. Hon CHAN Hak-kan to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the April of this year is the most humid April in the past 55 years, and a humid environment provides favourable breeding grounds for biting midges. Recently, swarms of biting midges have been found in a number of artificial turf football pitches and parks under the management of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department. It is learnt that the saliva secreted by female biting midges during blood sucking will cause swollen and itchy skin or trigger allergic reaction, and may even contain pathogens such as viruses, parasites, etc. As there have been overseas cases of fatal anaphylactic shock triggered by midge bites, some members of the public consider that the Government should actively prevent and control biting midges. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the number of cases from January to May this year in which members of the public fell sick due to midge bites and sought medical consultation; if it knows, of the number of cases and how such number compares with that in the same period of last year; (2) given that the authorities are currently implementing an enhanced dengue vector surveillance programme for monitoring the distribution of Aedes albopictus at selected areas, whether the authorities will consider implementing a surveillance programme targeting at biting midges; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) whether the authorities will launch a large-scale anti-midge campaign; if they will, of the details, including the types of insecticide sprays to be used; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) whether the authorities will step up their efforts in public education to publicize among the public ways to prevent midge bites; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*21. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)
Early this year, the British Government announced that two years later, it would introduce a sugar levy payable by drinks manufacturers, with a view to reducing sugar content in various kinds of drinks so as to mitigate the problem of childhood obesity. There will be two tiers of the proposed sugar levy according to sugar content: drinks with sugar content above 5 g/100 ml are subject to a levy of six pence (around HK$0.70) and those with more than 8 g/100 ml are subject to a levy of eight pence (around HK$0.90). The British Government will use the revenue from the sugar levy, estimated to be about £520 million a year, to fund sports activities organized by schools. In addition, the United States Government announced earlier that it would reform the nutrition labelling scheme for prepackaged food, including requiring that information on the amount of "added sugars" and its percentage in the maximum daily intake recommended by the World Health Organization ("WHO") be added on food labels in order to enhance national awareness of sugar content in food. Moreover, WHO published a report on the problem of childhood obesity early this year, calling on governments of various countries to restrict marketing practices that promote unhealthy food and to impose additional tax on sugar-sweetened drinks in order to mitigate the problem of childhood obesity. However, the Committee on Reduction of Salt and Sugar in Food ("the Committee") in Hong Kong, which has been established for more than a year, still adopts an approach of voluntary participation and self-discipline of the industry and suggests that a voluntary labelling scheme be introduced for prepackaged food to provide simple salt and sugar information on such food. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the specific work achievements of the Committee so far; the details of the strategies and methods to be adopted by the Committee for reducing salt and sugar content in food; whether it has assessed if the salt and sugar content in food can really be reduced and excessive intake of salt and sugar by members of the public can be prevented solely by adopting the approach of voluntary participation and self-discipline of the industry; if it has, of the outcome; (2) whether the authorities will, by making reference to the aforesaid measures and recommendations of other jurisdictions and WHO, adopt more effective means, including legislation and taxation, to regulate the salt and sugar content in food and drinks, with a view to preventing unhealthy food and drinks from entering the market; if they will not, of the reasons for that; and (3) whether the authorities will introduce new measures and methods to promote healthy eating, such as (i) prohibiting television stations from broadcasting advertisements of unhealthy food and drinks during children's programme hours and "family viewing time", (ii) prohibiting marketing activities related to food and drinks that are hazardous to children's health, (iii) encouraging and exploring the development of low-sugar-and-salt food product formulation targeting restaurants/fast food shops and various aspects of food production, (iv) installing more drinking fountains in public places, including parks and playgrounds within public housing estates which I had repeatedly suggested to the Government, and (v) imposing restrictions on the sale of unhealthy food and drinks in vending machines in public places; if they will not, of the reasons for that?
*22. Dr Hon Kenneth CHAN to ask: (Translation)
With effect from 1 August this year, the permanent exhibitions of five fee-charging museums under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department ("LCSD") will be open free to the public, and the permanent exhibitions of another two museums will be open free to full-time students. Regarding the operation of various LCSD museums ("the museums"), will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the operating expenditure of each museum in each of the past three years, together with a breakdown by expenditure item; (2) of the staffing establishment of each museum in each of the past three years, together with a breakdown by grade and rank; and (3) whether the authorities will conduct a review of the impacts and effectiveness of the aforesaid arrangement of free admission to the museums after implementation for some time, and whether they will consider opening the permanent exhibitions of more museums free to the public in light of the review outcome; if they will, of the detailed plan and timeframe of the review; if not, the reasons for that?
* For written reply
III. Government Bills
| Committee Stage and Third Reading
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| Interception of Communications and Surveillance (Amendment) Bill 2015 | : | Secretary for Security
Under Secretary for Security | |||||||||||
(Debate and voting arrangements for Committee stage of the Interception of Communications and Surveillance (Amendment) Bill 2015 (issued on 31 May 2016 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 653/15-16(01))) Second Reading (Debate to resume), Committee Stage and Third Reading | |||||||||||||
| Inland Revenue (Amendment) Bill 2016 | : | Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury | |||||||||||
| Hon James TO to move Committee stage amendments
(The amendments were issued on 6 June 2016 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 672/15-16) | |||||||||||||
| (Debate and voting arrangements for Committee stage of the Inland Revenue (Amendment) Bill 2016 (issued on 7 June 2016 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 676/15-16(01))) | |||||||||||||
IV. Government Motions
| 1. | Proposed resolution under the Road Traffic Ordinance
Secretary for Transport and Housing to move the following motion: Resolved that the period extended to 20 June 2016 by Legal Notice No. 54 of 2011, and for which there remains in force the limit on the number of vehicles which may be registered as public light buses specified in the Public Light Buses (Limitation on Number) Notice (Cap. 374 sub. leg. K), be further extended to 20 June 2021. |
| 2. | Proposed resolution under the Public Bus Services Ordinance
Secretary for Transport and Housing to move the following motion: Resolved that the franchise granted on 22 September 2015 under section 5 of the Public Bus Services Ordinance (Cap. 230) to Citybus Limited (城巴有限公司) and published in the Gazette as G.N. 7692 of 2015 is not subject to sections 27, 28, 29 and 31 of that Ordinance for the entire period of the franchise. |
| 3. | Proposed resolution under the Public Bus Services Ordinance
Secretary for Transport and Housing to move the following motion: Resolved that the franchise granted on 22 September 2015 under section 5 of the Public Bus Services Ordinance (Cap. 230) to New Lantao Bus Company (1973) Limited (新大嶼山巴士(1973)有限公司) and published in the Gazette as G.N. 7693 of 2015 is not subject to sections 27, 28, 29 and 31 of that Ordinance for the entire period of the franchise. |
| 4. | Proposed resolution under the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance
Secretary for Security to move the following motion: Resolved that the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (Sweden) Order, made by the Chief Executive in Council on 16 February 2016, be approved. |
|
(The Order is in Appendix I and was also issued on
14 April 2016 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 518/15-16) | |
| 5. | Proposed resolution under the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance
Secretary for Security to move the following motion: Resolved that the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (Argentina) Order, made by the Chief Executive in Council on 16 February 2016, be approved. |
|
(The Order is in Appendix II and was also issued on
14 April 2016 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 518/15-16) | |
| 6. | Proposed resolution under the Criminal Procedure Ordinance
Secretary for Home Affairs to move the following motion: Resolved that the Legal Aid in Criminal Cases (Amendment) Rules 2016, made by the Criminal Procedure Rules Committee on 4 May 2016, be approved. |
| (The Rules are in Appendix III and were also issued
on 13 May 2016 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 591/15-16) | |
V. Members' Motions on Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments
VI. Members' Bills
| First Reading
| ||
| Bank of Communications (Hong Kong) Limited (Merger) Bill
| ||
| Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)
| ||
| Bank of Communications (Hong Kong) Limited (Merger) Bill | : | Hon NG Leung-sing
|
| Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
| ||
| Second Reading (Debate to resume), Committee Stage and Third Reading
| ||
| Kowloon Tong Church of the Chinese Christian and Missionary Alliance Incorporation (Amendment) Bill 2014 | : | Dr Hon Priscilla LEUNG
|
VII. Members' Motions
| 1. | Motion under the Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance
Hon WONG Yuk-man to move the following motion: That this Council appoints a select committee to inquire into the clashes between the Police and members of the public in Mong Kok from the night of 8 February to the early morning of 9 February 2016 which caused injuries to many people, and other related matters; and that in the performance of its duties the committee be authorized under section 9(2) of the Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance (Cap. 382) to exercise the powers conferred by section 9(1) of that Ordinance.
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| 2. | Motion under the Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance
Hon WONG Yuk-man to move the following motion: That this Council appoints a select committee to inquire into the incident of the alleged airport security breach by the family members of Chief Executive LEUNG Chun-ying during the period from the night of 27 March to the small hours of 28 March 2016, and other related matters; and that in the performance of its duties the committee be authorized under section 9(2) of the Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance (Cap. 382) to exercise the powers conferred by section 9(1) of that Ordinance.
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| 3. | Actively studying the establishment of a middle class commission
Hon Tommy CHEUNG to move the following motion: (Translation) That this Council requests the Government to actively study the establishment of a middle class commission. Amendments to the motion | ||||
| (i) | Hon Frankie YICK to move the following amendment:
(Translation) To add "the middle class has always been an important force for maintaining social stability and promoting economic development, but in recent years, the long-standing concerns in the external economic environment, the seriously lopsided development of Hong Kong's industries, the short supply of housing, the polarization between the rich and the poor, and the never-ending political wrangling have caused the middle class to face problems of housing, taxation, education and healthcare, etc., and created a trend of downward mobility of the middle class; the Government's support for the middle class has all along been limited to one-off relief measures such as providing tax rebates, increasing tax allowances, exempting rates or offering electricity charge subsidies, etc., but these measures are just utterly inadequate for the middle class and have not practically alleviated their plight; in addition, as currently there is no precise definition of the middle class, and the Government does not regularly provide statistics and information specific to the middle class, if the authorities or community organizations use such information to formulate policies or measures to support the middle class, such policies or measures will very often be out of focus, biased and superficial; in this connection," after "That"; and to add "to comprehensively review the policies or measures relating to the middle class from a focused and higher-level perspective, so as to alleviate the various problems faced by the middle class and consolidate the strength of the middle class, thereby promoting afresh economic development and strengthening the momentum of upward mobility of the community as a whole; the relevant measures should include: Definition (1) to lay down a clear and precise definition of the middle class, and regularly publish relevant statistics in respect of the definition; Development of industries (2) to adopt a multi-pronged approach to promote diversified development of industries in Hong Kong, so as to create more jobs at the middle and senior levels as well as business start-up opportunities in various industries and professions; (3) to further strengthen regional economic development for integration with the economic development circles of different regions on the Mainland, so as to provide more and better career development opportunities for middle-class professionals within or outside the territory; Housing (4) to expedite the identification of land for developing new development areas, optimize the use of rock caverns and carry out reclamation on an appropriate scale outside Victoria Harbour, so as to increase the supply of residential land on all fronts; and to increase the transparency of the housing plans as well as the supply of and demand for residential land for the next 10 years, and conduct an interim strategic review of and make corresponding adjustment to the relevant plans every five years; (5) to actively study the exploitation of green belt areas and 'brownfield sites' for the purpose of residential development; (6) to introduce a tax allowance for rentals for the marginal middle class; Taxation (7) to adjust salaries tax downwards, in particular widening tax bands for salaries tax and lowering the marginal rate, so as to vigorously alleviate the burden of the marginal middle class; (8) to relax the restrictions on the dependent parent or dependent grandparent allowance by relaxing the eligibility requirement from living in the same unit to living in the same housing estate; Education (9) to introduce a tax allowance for children's education to alleviate the burden of children education expenses on middle-class families; (10) to substantially increase the salaries tax deduction for self-education expenses and the subsidy under the Continuing Education Fund; Healthcare (11) to provide tax deduction for medical insurance contributions; and (12) to provide tax deduction for medical examinations to encourage the middle class to undergo such examinations on a regular basis" immediately before the full stop. | ||||
| (ii) | Hon SIN Chung-kai to move the following amendment:
(Translation) To add "as the Government has disregarded the needs of the middle class over the years," after "That"; to delete "establishment of a" after "study the" and substitute with "concerns of the"; and to delete "commission" immediately before the full stop and substitute with ", which include: (1) raising the various tax allowances, including the basic allowance for individuals, married person's allowance as well as dependent parent allowance, and widening the tax bands for salaries tax and abolishing the standard rate for salaries tax, so that members of the public pay their salaries tax according to the marginal tax rate, thereby alleviating the tax burden on the middle class; (2) reintroducing the Sandwich Class Housing Scheme to increase the opportunities for the middle class to acquire homes; (3) increasing the numbers of days of paid maternity leave and paternity leave and introducing flexible working hours to perfect family-friendly policies and promote a culture of work-life balance; (4) reviewing the teaching quality of government and subsidized schools, and allocating additional resources for such schools to adopt the teaching mode of Direct Subsidy Scheme schools and the merits of International Baccalaureate programmes, so that children of middle-class families can enjoy quality education; (5) upholding local core values and combating corruption to rebuild a society with integrity and fairness, thereby providing the middle class with an environment with fair competition; and (6) formulating proposals for electing the Chief Executive and the Legislative Council by universal suffrage with equal rights to make nomination, to vote and to stand for election in an open, fair and impartial manner, with a view to forging a consensus on promoting democracy, thereby strengthening the middle class's sense of belonging to Hong Kong". | ||||
| (iii) | Hon Christopher CHEUNG to move the following amendment:
(Translation) To add "the middle class, despite being the mainstay of Hong Kong society, has to bear increasingly heavy livelihood and financial burdens and face pressures of downward mobility; in this connection," after "That"; to delete "actively study the establishment of" after "Government to" and substitute with "expeditiously establish"; and to add "to formulate permanent and focused policies and measures, with a view to alleviating the livelihood and financial burdens of the middle class and providing them with more opportunities for upward mobility and room for development" immediately before the full stop. | ||||
| (iv) | Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to move the following amendment:
(Translation) To add "as the Government's measures to assist the middle class in recent years have no merit worth mentioning, the middle class has been unable to resolve their livelihood difficulties; in this connection," after "That"; to delete "actively study the establishment of" after "Government to" and substitute with "expeditiously establish"; and to add "whose functions include studying the following matters: (1) immediately constructing subsidized housing on idle Government land and increasing the number of subsidized sale flats to provide the middle class with a home acquisition ladder, and to enable the middle class to purchase flats for self-occupation at reasonable prices; (2) expeditiously implementing 15-year free education and stepping up the regulation of Direct Subsidy Scheme schools to ensure that the tuition fees of such schools are set at a reasonable level, thereby alleviating the burden of children education expenses on middle-class families; (3) refraining from using a salary-based approach to define the scope of application of standard working hours to ensure that the middle class has more leisure time to enjoy life; and (4) stepping up the regulation of private hospitals, enhancing the service quality of public hospitals, allocating additional land for constructing private hospitals, and immediately abolishing the Drug Formulary system, so as to alleviate the healthcare burden on the middle class" immediately before the full stop. | ||||
| (v) | Hon Starry LEE to move the following amendment:
(Translation) To add ", as the middle class is the mainstay of society," after "That"; and to add "to cater for the interests of the middle class and respond to their different demands, as well as to create more opportunities for upward mobility to expand the ratio of the middle-class population, thereby enabling the society to develop in a sustainable, stable and harmonious manner" immediately before the full stop. | ||||
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| 4. | Reconstructing the image of Hong Kong's tourism industry
Hon YIU Si-wing to move the following motion: (Translation) That according to the Third Quarter Economic Report 2015 published by the Government in November 2015, inbound tourism slackened further in the third quarter of 2015, and overall visitor arrivals to Hong Kong fell by 6.4% as compared to the same period last year, the first decline since the third quarter of 2009; the Report also points out that exports of travel services (covering visitors' spending on shopping, food and beverages, accommodation and entertainment, etc.) fell by 5.6% in real terms in the third quarter, and the average achieved hotel room rate also dropped by 13.1% as compared to the same period last year; as the share of tourists' shopping expenditure in retail sales value has been substantial (around 42% in 2014), the further slackening of inbound tourism has led to a decline in Hong Kong's total retail sales value for seven consecutive months this year, recording the longest downward trend over the past six years; this will also further affect Hong Kong's economy and employment; in this connection, this Council urges the Government to seriously review the reasons for the decline in visitor arrivals to Hong Kong, formulate corresponding measures and allocate additional resources to reconstruct the positive image of the tourism industry, with a view to preventing the continued decline in visitor arrivals to Hong Kong which will affect Hong Kong's economic development. Amendments to the motion | ||||
| (i) | Hon TANG Ka-piu to move the following amendment:
(Translation) To add ", the tourism industry has all along brought a large number of middle-level and elementary job opportunities to the hotel, catering and transport sectors, etc.; however," after "That"; to add "to reverse the present development trend of the Hong Kong tourism industry, which emphasizes quantity rather than quality, so as" after "resources"; to delete ", with a view to preventing the continued decline in visitor arrivals to Hong Kong which will affect" after "tourism industry" and substitute with "and enable healthy development of the tourism industry, with a view to creating more job opportunities and promoting"; and to add "; the relevant measures should include: (1) to expeditiously establish a travel industry authority to centrally monitor travel agents, tour escorts and tourist guides; (2) to adopt decisive measures to combat the use of unscrupulous operation practices in the tourism sector such as 'zero/negative/low-fare' tours and coerced shopping, etc., and step up publicity among visitors to Hong Kong on the need for vigilance against those unscrupulous operation practices and on the channels for lodging complaints; and to examine regulating the proportion and duration of 'arranged shopping' in the daily itinerary of inbound tours from the Mainland; (3) to formulate an overall development strategy for the tourism industry, which should not only facilitate visitors in retail consumption, but also strengthen the development of exploration tourism, including local in-depth tourism, cultural tourism and eco-tourism, so as to attract visitors of different types (including visitors who are with high spending power, young or stay overnight) to Hong Kong; (4) to promote the development of tourism supporting facilities and scenic spots, such as home-stay lodgings, creativity bazaars and night markets, etc., and to amend existing legislation to support and dovetail with such development; (5) to improve the infrastructural facilities (including water and power supply facilities) and transport links on some outlying islands, such as Po Toi Island and Tung Ping Chau, etc., so as to make good use of their rich tourism resources for developing these places as new tourist spots and benefit the economic development of local residents; (6) to improve the hardware ancillary facilities at existing scenic spots and step up the promotion of a 'hospitable culture' among the tourism sector and the public, with a view to upgrading the tourism quality of Hong Kong; and (7) to closely keep in view changes in visitor arrivals to Hong Kong and activities of visitors carrying duty-free commodities into the Mainland for sale (commonly known as 'parallel trading activities'), and to join hands with the Mainland authorities to continuously combat parallel trading activities and formulate timely and appropriate measures, so as to deal with the problem at root and reduce unnecessary conflicts between Mainland visitors and local people" immediately before the full stop. | ||||
| (ii) | Hon POON Siu-ping to move the following amendment:
(Translation) To add ", as the Hong Kong tourism industry and related industries employ over 200 000 employees, which is around 7.6% of the overall employment population in Hong Kong, the livelihood of the 200 000-odd employees will directly be affected if the tourism industry development continues to shrink; yet," after "That"; to add "effective" after "formulate"; and to add "enhance the binding effect of the industry directives issued by the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong to ensure protection of the rights and interests of front-line staff in the tourism industry, expeditiously establish a tourism industry authority to balance the rights and interests of the operators and practitioners in the tourism industry, and" after "resources to". | ||||
| (iii) | Hon Gary FAN to move the following amendment:
(Translation) To add "the Government has proposed in the 2015-16 Budget that an additional $80 million will be allocated to the Hong Kong Tourism Board to step up its promotion of the tourism industry; however," after "That"; and to add "to develop a greater variety of tourism, including cultural tourism and eco-tourism with local characteristics, etc., to welcome tourists from around the world, and to step up efforts to combat rip-offs such as 'zero/negative-fare' tours and 'shadow tour group members', etc., adopted by Mainland travel agencies, so as" after "resources". | ||||
| (iv) | Hon Paul TSE to move the following amendment:
(Translation) To add "tourism and related industries are of utmost importance to the economy of Hong Kong, but" after "That"; to add "establish a tourism bureau to consolidate the various tourism-related departments and institutions, and" after "the decline in visitor arrivals to Hong Kong,"; and to delete "and allocate additional resources" after "measures" and substitute with "to conduct studies on effective use of resources and overall planning, execution and regulation". | ||||
| (v) | Hon CHAN Hak-kan to move the following amendment:
(Translation) To add "Hong Kong's tourism industry is now facing challenges;" after "That"; and to add "; when formulating measures on promoting the development of the tourism industry, the Government should focus on enhancing the visitor receiving capacity of Hong Kong society, including increasing the number of tourist spots and improving transportation and other ancillary facilities, etc., and take full account of the actual situations in Hong Kong, so as to avoid any adverse impacts on people's daily lives; at the same time, the Government should expeditiously establish a travel industry authority to enhance the regulatory regime for the tourism industry, and step up law enforcement to combat unscrupulous shop operators who rip off visitors" immediately before the full stop. | ||||
| (vi) | Hon Charles Peter MOK to move the following amendment:
(Translation) To add "coupled with the fact that Hong Kong lags behind other Asian competitors due to its shortage of large-scale convention facilities," after "past six years;"; and to add "and expedite the expansion of the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre and the planning of new convention facilities to enhance Hong Kong's capacity to hold conventions and attract more high value-added business travellers," after "tourism industry,". | ||||
| (vii) | Hon SIN Chung-kai to move the following amendment:
(Translation) To add "expeditiously establish a travel industry authority to strengthen the monitoring of local travel agents, tour escorts and tourist guides," after "the decline in visitor arrivals to Hong Kong,"; and to add "step up promotion in the international market and" after "resources to". | ||||
| (viii) | Hon Jeffrey LAM to move the following amendment:
(Translation) To add "and" after "the decline in visitor arrivals to Hong Kong,"; to delete "and allocate additional resources to" after "measures" and substitute with ", including giving consideration to examining afresh the entry arrangements and policy for Mainland visitors and relieving Mainland visitors' sentiments, with a view to reversing the decline in visitor arrivals to Hong Kong in the short run; in the long run, the Government should also formulate a comprehensive development strategy and blueprint for the tourism industry, and make stronger efforts to develop different tourism facilities and scenic spots, so as to"; and to delete "continued decline in visitor arrivals to Hong Kong" after "preventing the" and substitute with "persistent shrinkage of visitor arrivals to Hong Kong". | ||||
| (ix) | Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG to move the following amendment:
(Translation) To delete ", with a view to preventing the continued decline in visitor arrivals to Hong Kong which will affect Hong Kong's economic development" immediately before the full stop and substitute with "; the relevant measures include: monitoring visitor arrivals to Hong Kong based on the actual visitor receiving capacity of Hong Kong, so as to attract visitors from different countries to Hong Kong with planning and promote the sustainable development of the tourism industry; and regulating activities of carrying duty-free commodities into the Mainland for sale (commonly known as 'parallel trading activities') to avoid the impacts of massive parallel trading activities on Hong Kong people's quality of life". | ||||
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VIII. 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 Hon WONG Yuk-man was set out in LC Paper No. CB(3) 664/15-16 issued on 3 June 2016.
IX. Motion for the Adjournment of the Council
| Motion for the adjournment of the Council under Rule 16(4) of the Rules of Procedure
Hon Claudia MO to move the following motion: (Translation) That this Council do now adjourn for the purpose of debating the following issue: the successive 'forced disappearance' of the shareholders and managers of Causeway Bay Books. | ||||
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