A 17/18-11
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 13 December 2017 at 11:00 am
IA. Presentation of Petitions
1. Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to present a petition (Appendix IA).
2. Hon Jeremy TAM to present a petition (Appendix IB).
I. Tabling of Papers
II. Questions
1. Hon Alvin YEUNG to ask: (Translation)
According to the population projections released by the Census and Statistics Department in September this year, the number of elderly persons aged 65 and above will rise from over 1.16 million at present to 2.37 million by 2036 (accounting for about 30% of the total population across the territory at that time), and the number of elderly persons is projected to be over 2.3 million for at least 30 years afterwards. There are views that the existing manpower of medical practitioners in the elderly-related specialties has already been stretched to the limit, and the elderly population doubling in future will aggravate the situation. With regard to coping with the forthcoming silver tsunami, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that there are only 21 and 160 locally registered medical practitioners specialized in palliative medicine and geriatric medicine respectively, of the details of the authorities' plan to train these two types of specialists in Hong Kong in the next five years, including the estimated expenditure and the manpower target; (2) whether it will discuss with the two faculties of medicine the designation of palliative treatment as a compulsory subject in the specialty of family medicine, and subsidize the existing 433 registered medical practitioners specialized in family medicine to attend courses on palliative medicine; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) as the Government proposed in the Policy Agenda released in October this year that it would conduct public consultation on the implementation of the Law Reform Commission's recommendations on enacting legislation to extend the scope of an enduring power of attorney to include matters relating to the personal care of the donor, of the latest progress of such work, as well as the respective timetables for conducting public consultation and enacting legislation?
2. Hon CHAN Hak-kan to ask: (Translation)
At present, the ratio of electric vehicles ("EVs") to public charging facilities in Hong Kong is about 7:1. Quite a number of EV owners have indicated that it is often difficult for them to find public charging facilities to charge their EVs. Regarding public charging facilities for EVs, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as the Secretary for the Environment said at this Council last month that "public charging facilities are merely supplementary in nature, enabling EVs to top up their batteries to complete their journeys at times of occasional needs", whether, in planning for the provision of public charging facilities, the Government has all along adopted the guiding principle that such facilities are merely supplementary in nature; if so, of the parameters adopted for such guiding principle; if not, when and why the guiding principle was adopted; (2) given that although the Government has, by way of organizing seminars, encouraged the property management industry to provide charging facilities in housing estates, quite a number of members of the public who intend to buy EVs have indicated that the owners' corporations and the property management companies of the housing estates in which they reside do not consent to the installation of charging facilities in their own private parking spaces, what measures the Government has put in place to help them; and (3) given that the Government is conducting a pilot scheme at four open car parks to test the reliability of outdoor charging facilities, whether the Government will, after making reference to the review outcome of the pilot scheme available next year, consider introducing parking meters equipped with public charging facilities; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; whether the Government will develop mobile applications to facilitate EV owners to find vacant public parking spaces in the vicinity that are equipped with charging facilities for EVs?
3. Hon Holden CHOW to ask: (Translation)
The Law Reform Commission of Hong Kong ("LRC") published a report in May 2012 proposing the introduction of a mechanism for class actions in Hong Kong. A cross-sector working group established by the Department of Justice commenced in February 2013 a study on the proposals of the report, but it has not published the results of the study so far. Furthermore, the report proposed phasing the implementation of a class action mechanism by starting with consumer cases, with funding made available through the Consumer Legal Action Fund ("the Fund") managed by the Consumer Council for class action proceedings arising from consumer claims and, upon experience accrued, making assessments on whether and when the class action mechanism should be extended to other types of cases. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the number of proceedings subsidized by the Fund in the past three years and, among them, the number of class action proceedings; (2) as there are comments that the vetting and approval procedure of the Fund is complicated, whether the Government knows if the Consumer Council has reviewed the existing vetting and approval procedure and made improvements; if the Consumer Council has, of the improvement measures; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) given that the Government has not yet announced a timetable for the implementation of a class action mechanism, whether the authorities have assessed how this affects the rights of the general public to obtain judicial relief; if so, of the details?
4. Hon LAU Kwok-fan to ask: (Translation)
On the 23rd of last month, several traffic accidents happened successively at Fanling Highway near Kai Leng Roundabout and Tai Tau Leng Roundabout, leading to severe congestion on the relevant sections of Fanling Highway, So Kwun Po Road, San Wan Road, Po Shek Wu Road, Jockey Club Road and Lung Sum Avenue during afternoon rush hours from 4 pm to 8 pm, which in turn caused serious inconvenience to members of the public commuting to and from the North District. Regarding the traffic congestion in the North District, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether, in the past three years, the Police and the Transport Department studied the causes for the rise in the number of traffic accidents which happened at Fanling Highway from 83 in 2012 to 146 in 2016, and reviewed the follow-up actions taken and temporary traffic arrangements made after traffic accidents had happened in the North District, including whether sufficient manpower and resources had been deployed, whether the duration of traffic congestion could be shortened, and what improvement measures could be implemented; if they conducted such a study and review, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) of the progress of the various ongoing traffic improvement works in the North District (including works to add a southbound lane in the section of carriageway of Sha Tau Kok Road between Ma Sik Road and Sui Wan Road, widen and improve several busy junctions along Sha Tau Kok Road near Fanling Centre, and add southbound lanes in Po Shek Wu Road and So Kwun Po Road); and (3) given the serious problem of illegal parking in the vicinity of Shek Wu Hui, which has given rise to severe traffic congestion on Kai Leng Roundabout and other trunk roads within the district whenever traffic accidents happen in the district, of the authorities' measures to improve the situation?
5. Hon Wilson OR to ask: (Translation)
The Government announced by notice published in the Gazette in March 2011 that the Chief Executive in Council had authorized under the law the construction works of an elevated walkway system in Kowloon Bay. The elevated walkway system aims to link up several buildings in the Kowloon Bay Industrial Area, Telford Gardens and the existing footbridge to the MTR Kowloon Bay Station. It has been reported that as the Government and the relevant developers failed to reach a consensus on the management and maintenance of the elevated walkway system after its completion, the works project, which was originally scheduled for completion in 2014, has not yet commenced to date. On the other hand, the Government indicated in the 2016 Policy Address that it would implement new policies for Kowloon East, including the introduction of a pilot scheme of waiving the land premium for lease modification to encourage landowners to construct footbridges or subways at their own cost in accordance with the planned pedestrian network. The pilot scheme was open to applications on 2 February this year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of applications received to date by the authorities under the pilot scheme; the latest progress of such applications, and the number of applications which have been approved; (2) whether the pilot scheme has now ceased to accept applications; if so, whether the authorities have plans to resume accepting applications; and (3) whether it has plans to construct footbridges or subways by using public funds to link up the Kowloon Bay Business Area and the MTR Kowloon Bay Station?
6. Hon Michael TIEN to ask: (Translation)
It is learnt that the Development Plan for a City Cluster in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area has basically been finalized and will be submitted to the State Council for vetting and approval, with a view to its promulgation by the end of this year. Quite a number of members of the public have relayed to me that the implementation of the Plan will provide Hong Kong people with more opportunities for starting businesses and taking up employment in various Mainland cities within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Bay Area ("Mainland cities in the Bay Area"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that at present, Hong Kong people who have stayed continuously or in aggregate for over 183 days on the Mainland in an assessment year are required to pay personal income tax of the Mainland, whether the Government has plans to discuss with the Central Authorities the offering of tax concessions to Hong Kong people working in Mainland cities in the Bay Area, e.g. those who return to Hong Kong on the same day will be deemed to have stayed on the Mainland for only half a day; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) as it is anticipated that upon the commissioning of the Hong Kong Section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link ("XRL"), more Hong Kong people will take up employment in Mainland cities in the Bay Area, whether the Government has plans to discuss with the Mainland authorities the offering of transport fare concessions to such Hong Kong people, e.g. concessionary monthly passes for trips to and from the West Kowloon Station and the Shenzhen North Station of XRL; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether it has plans to discuss with the Central Authorities the offering of rent and tax concessions, etc. for start-up enterprises set up in Mainland cities in the Bay Area, so as to encourage Hong Kong people to start their businesses there; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*7. Hon Jeremy TAM to ask: (Translation)
In October last year, the Hong Kong Housing Authority ("HA") put up King Tai Court in San Po Kong, a pilot project under the Green Form Subsidized Home Ownership Scheme ("GSH"), for sale. In respect of King Tai Court, HA has adopted the same definition of "Green Form applicants" as that for the Home Ownership Scheme ("HOS"), i.e. Green Form applicants include public rental housing ("PRH") tenants and PRH applicants who have passed the detailed eligibility vetting and obtained a Green Form Certificate ("GF Certificate"). Moreover, the Chief Executive indicated in the Policy Address she delivered in October this year that future public housing developments should include more GSH units instead of PRH units, and she had already requested HA to complete the relevant review as soon as possible, with a view to regularizing GSH. She has also pointed out that as the general PRH tenants are required, upon purchasing GSH units, to vacate and surrender the units in which they have been residing, the waiting time for applicants on the PRH Waiting List will not be affected. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
(1) the number of PRH units surrendered by PRH tenants in each of the past five years, with a breakdown by the reason for surrendering the units (e.g. the tenants concerned had purchased (i) the HOS units put up for sale by HA, (ii) the second-hand premium-unpaid units in HOS estates, (iii) the second-hand premium-unpaid units in Tenants Purchase Scheme estates, and (iv) GSH units); (2) the top 10 PRH estates with the largest number of tenants who have surrendered their PRH units after purchase of the units of King Tai Court, and the number of units involved in each estate; the respective numbers of such PRH tenants who, at the time when they subscribed for the units of King Tai Court, were required to pay (i) 1.5 times net rent plus rates and (ii) double net rent plus rates under the "Well-off Tenants Policies" of HA; and (3) the respective numbers of owners of King Tai Court who are (i) GF Certificate holders on the PRH Waiting List, (ii) those GF Certificate holders who resided in PRH units previously but whose names have been deleted from the PRH tenancies due to divorce/splitting, and (iii) junior civil servants who meet the eligibility criteria for applying for Civil Service Public Housing Quota?
*8. Hon KWONG Chun-yu to ask: (Translation)
In a Special Topics Report on persons with disabilities and chronic diseases published in December 2014, the Census and Statistics Department ("C&SD") pointed out that difficulties had been encountered when collecting information on persons with intellectual disabilities ("PIDs") under the setting of a statistical survey, and hence the survey findings pertaining to PIDs were considered to be subject to a certain degree of under-estimation. With reference to various relevant administrative records and some broad findings of a special topic enquiry and an institutions survey, and on the basis of different assumptions, C&SD arrived at two statistical assessment scenarios, the results of which indicated that the total number of PIDs in Hong Kong was about 71 000 to 101 000, which had a difference as big as 40% between them. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) how the Government, in the absence of an accurate grasp of the number of PIDs in Hong Kong, conducts the relevant service planning to ensure that PIDs are provided with adequate and appropriate services; (2) whether C&SD will include the number of PIDs as a survey item in the population censuses it conducts once every 10 years; if so, whether this will be implemented in the next population census; if not, of the reasons for that; and (3) whether the Government will consider allocating additional resources for the Labour and Welfare Bureau to take the lead to (i) commission C&SD or (ii) work in collaboration with C&SD, the Labour Department, the Social Welfare Department, the Hospital Authority and the Education Bureau, to conduct a comprehensive statistical survey on PIDs, so as to grasp an accurate number of PIDs and improve the relevant service planning; if so, of the details and the implementation timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
*9. Hon CHAN Kin-por to ask: (Translation)
A survey has revealed that in recent years, members of the public generally lack exercise and their problem of overweight or obesity is worsening. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the Leisure and Cultural Services Department ("LCSD") conducted, in the past three years, analysis on the utilization (e.g. frequency of use and duration) of the fitness rooms and other recreation and sports facilities under its management by members of the public of various ages; if so, set out the outcome of the analysis by age groups (each group covering five years); if not, of the reasons for that; (2) apart from the existing Fitness Room Monthly Ticket Scheme, whether LCSD will consider launching other concession or incentive schemes to encourage members of the public to use the fitness rooms under its management more frequently; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) whether it formulated measures in the past three years to encourage members of the public of various ages to develop a habit of exercising regularly; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (4) whether it will implement a universal health assessment programme, including blood tests on blood glucose, blood lipids, etc., to let members of the public understand their own health conditions and enhance their health awareness; and (5) whether it conducted promotional activities in the past three years to let members of the public understand the health risks posed by overweight or obesity; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*10. Prof Hon Joseph LEE to ask: (Translation)
The Observers Scheme is one of the means whereby the Independent Police Complaints Council ("IPCC") performs its monitoring function. Under the Scheme, observers appointed by the Secretary for Security may, on a pre-arranged or surprise basis, attend the interviews conducted by the Complaints Against Police Office ("CAPO") of the Hong Kong Police Force in connection with investigation of reportable complaints by CAPO and observe the collection of evidence conducted by CAPO in respect of such investigations (collectively referred to as "observations"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
(1) the number of observations carried out by the observers and the number of complaints they involved, in each of the past three years, with a breakdown by whether such observations were carried out on (i) a pre-arranged basis or (ii) surprise basis; (2) in respect of the observations carried out on (i) a pre-arranged basis and (ii) surprise basis respectively, the largest, smallest and average numbers of observations carried out by the observers in each of the past three years; and (3) given that the findings of a public opinion survey conducted by IPCC in 2017 showed that only 45% of the respondents expressed confidence in IPCC, whether IPCC will (i) review the effectiveness of its work, (ii) propose amending the relevant legislation to enable the authorities to appoint more observers and engage full-time observers, and (iii) adopt other measures with an aim to strengthen its monitoring function, so as to boost public confidence in both IPCC and the entire police complaints system; if IPCC will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*11. Hon LEUNG Che-cheung to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that push bikes (also known as "balance bikes"), a kind of pedal-less and brake-less bicycle for small children which are quite popular in Europe and America, have been introduced into Hong Kong in recent years. Quite a number of parents consider it safer to ride balance bikes than ordinary bicycles due to their slower travelling speeds and are therefore happy to accompany their children in riding balance bikes. However, a number of residents have recently relayed to me that small children riding balance bikes in recreation and sports venues where cycling is allowed, which are under the management of government departments such as the Home Affairs Department, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department and the Housing Department, are often stopped by venue attendants, but after intervention by District Council members, such activity is allowed in some of the venues. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the rules or guidelines made by the authorities on riding balance bikes and using other wheeled sports equipment in various public recreation and sports venues; if riding balance bikes is forbidden in such venues, of the reasons for that; (2) whether the authorities will study the provision of dedicated venues for balance bike riding; if not, of the reasons for that; (3) as some members of the public have relayed that the utilization rates of the existing public roller skating rinks are low because roller skating is no longer popular, whether the authorities regularly reviewed in the past three years the utilization of the various public recreation and sports venues and the rules on their use, and provide suitable recreation and sports venues in tandem with the rise and decline of various types of sports; (4) as some members of the public have relayed that since balance bike riding is a new sport, they can hardly take out third party risks insurance as required by the terms and conditions of hire of public recreation and sports venues, whether the authorities will provide assistance in this respect to encourage the development of balance bike riding and other new sports; if so, of the details; and (5) whether the authorities will consider launching a trial/pilot scheme to open up the recreation and sports venues of public schools outside school hours for public use so as to help solve the problem of insufficient recreation and sports venues in local districts, thereby promoting the development of new sports?
*12. Hon Claudia MO to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the protection of animal rights and welfare, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as the Chief Executive has pledged on her official webpage of social media earlier on that she and her colleagues concerned will show more care about animal rights in future, how the Chief Executive and the relevant policy bureaux will honour the pledge; (2) whether the Government will allocate additional resources to the relevant policy bureaux and government departments in next year's Budget for enhanced efforts to protect animal rights and welfare; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) given that I have repeatedly suggested in the past the transfer of the policy area of protecting animal rights and welfare from the Food and Health Bureau to the Environment Bureau ("ENB"), so that ENB will take up the responsibility of drawing up all relevant policies on protecting animal rights and welfare, with a view to safeguarding biological diversity, as well as stepping up environmental conservation and sustainable development, whether discussions or studies in this regard have been undertaken within the Government; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (4) of the number of measures on the protection of animal rights and welfare implemented by the authorities at present, and the details of such measures and the annual public expenditure involved; (5) whether the authorities will examine expanding the scale of their current cooperation with community groups, in order to step up the efforts to protect animal rights and welfare; whether the authorities will invite and subsidize community groups to conduct studies and tests so as to make use of folk wisdom and adopt a bottom-up approach to put forward suggestions on protecting animal rights and welfare; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (6) whether the authorities will consider specifying animal abandonment as an act of animal cruelty and raising the relevant penalties under the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance (Cap. 169), with a view to curbing such acts; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (7) given that in the reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on the 22nd of last month, the authorities indicated that the review of covering cats and dogs in section 56 of the Road Traffic Ordinance (Cap. 374) was expected to be completed within next year, whether the authorities will expeditiously make public the proposed provisions, and when the relevant bill is expected to be introduced into this Council; (8) whether the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department will consider allowing members of the public to adopt animals directly from its four animal management centres; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (9) given that under the existing "Temporary Permission Rule", public rental housing ("PRH") tenants may, upon obtaining the approval from the Housing Department ("HD"), continue to keep small dogs (i.e. of less than 20 kg in weight) which have already been kept in PRH units before 1 August 2003, whether HD will consider relaxing such requirement to allow other tenants to keep dogs; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*13. Hon WU Chi-wai to ask: (Translation)
In the Policy Address she delivered in October this year, the Chief Executive indicated that the Government would adopt a new funding model to increase the recurrent funding for the Hospital Authority ("HA") progressively on a triennium basis, having regard to population growth rates and demographic changes. Regarding funding for HA and its allocation of resources to various hospital clusters ("clusters"), will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the factors, apart from population growth rates and demographic changes, that the Government will consider in determining the amount of recurrent funding for HA in future; whether such factors include patient attendances, and the weightings of various factors; whether the aforesaid new funding model has fully considered the non-linear relationship between medical and health expenditure and age, so as to ensure that the amount of funding is sufficient in meeting the demand for medical services; (2) as the Government indicated in the 2007-2008 Policy Address that it would increase the percentage of Government recurrent expenditure on medical and health services from the then 15% to 17% in 2011-2012, whether it has currently set an upper/lower limit or a target for such percentage; if so, of the details; if an upper limit has been set, whether it has plans to review such limit, and the measures to ensure that the recurrent funding for HA will still increase progressively even when the Government needs to formulate a deficit budget due to an economic downturn; (3) whether it will set up a mechanism (such as establishing a stabilization fund for medical and health expenditure) so that medical and health expenditure need not decrease in tandem with reductions in Government recurrent expenditure, and may even increase at such times; (4) whether it knows (i) the funding for, (ii) the population covered by, and (iii) the per capita medical expenditure of patients in, the various clusters in each of the past five years; (5) whether it has studied if the new funding model can ameliorate the problem of uneven distribution of resources among the various clusters; of the measures put in place to ensure that HA will allocate resources based on the population growth rates and demographic changes in the clusters; and (6) whether it has estimated the changes in (i) population and (ii) population aged 65 or above in various clusters in the coming decade; if so, of the details, and whether it knows how HA will adjust its resource allocation work in response to such changes?
*14. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)
Since 2015, I have received requests for assistance from quite a number of members of the public who said that they had, at the property fairs held in Hong Kong or on referrals of friends, purchased uncompleted housing units in more than 25 development projects located in countries such as the United Kingdom, the United States, Thailand, etc. through Hong Kong's licensed estate agents or unlicensed salespersons, but all the projects concerned had subsequently gone "failed". As the developers concerned had also been ordered to be wound up, they were not only unable to recover their monetary losses, but might even have to bear further financial obligations in respect of such property transactions. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of requests for assistance or complaints, received since January 2015 by (i) the Commercial Crime Bureau of the Hong Kong Police Force, (ii) the police stations in various police districts, (iii) the Securities and Futures Commission ("SFC"), (iv) the Customs and Excise Department ("C&ED"), and (v) the Estate Agents Authority ("EAA"), about Hong Kong people suffering losses from the purchase of overseas properties in Hong Kong; the respective numbers of Hong Kong people, countries, development projects, licensed estate agents and unlicensed salespersons involved in such cases; (2) whether the Police have passed on the requests for assistance or complaints they received to the Commercial Crime Bureau for centralized handling and for investigating whether the persons concerned committed, in the course of the sale of properties, the relevant offences of fraud or provision of false information, etc.; if not, whether the Police will make such an arrangement in future; (3) whether it knows if SFC has investigated whether the requests for assistance or complaints it received involved sales arrangements inviting members of the public to participate in collective investment schemes that are subject to regulation by the Securities and Futures Ordinance ("SFO") (Cap. 571) and related unlawful acts; if SFC has, of the number of such cases uncovered and the relevant law enforcement actions taken by SFC, and whether SFC has punished the persons concerned (e.g. revoking licences issued to them under Cap. 571); (4) whether the act of selling overseas properties in Hong Kong is subject to regulation by the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (Cap. 362); if so, whether C&ED will proactively send staff to conduct inspections at overseas property fairs held in Hong Kong to see if the unfair trade practices caught by Cap. 362 are employed in the sale of properties; (5) whether it knows if EAA has carried out any investigation to ascertain if the requests for assistance or complaints it received involved estate agent licensees' failure to observe or comply with the Code of Ethics and practice circulars issued by EAA; if such investigation has been conducted and the results show that such situation does exist, of the number of the licensees concerned and the punishments imposed on them for that; (6) given that EAA is preparing the issue of a set of guidelines by the end of this year on the sale of non-local residential properties in Hong Kong, whether it knows if salespersons who are not estate agent licensees will be subject to regulation by the guidelines; if not, whether the authorities will consider regulating the sale of overseas properties in Hong Kong by such type of persons through other means (e.g. enacting legislation); if so, when such legislation will be enacted; if such legislation will not be enacted, of the means that will be employed to regulate the sale of overseas properties in Hong Kong by such type of persons; and (7) whether it knows if the overseas Hong Kong Economic and Trade Offices and the Chinese Diplomatic and Consular Missions abroad have received complaints lodged by members of the public in Hong Kong concerning the development projects in the countries concerned that have gone "failed" after they have purchased in Hong Kong the properties of such projects; if they have, of the follow-up work and the outcome?
*15. Hon Andrew WAN to ask: (Translation)
Regarding information on housing sites, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) in respect of the 215 sites with housing development potential in the short to medium term identified by the Government in the past several years, of the area of each site and the respective numbers of public and/or private housing flats that can be constructed on each site, and mark the location of each site on the map of the District Council district to which it belongs; and (2) in respect of each of the housing sites for which the resumption procedure undertaken by the authorities under the Lands Resumption Ordinance (Cap. 124) was completed last year or is in progress, whether it knows (i) its location, (ii) the current number of residents in it and (iii) which of the following describes its present situation (and provide the relevant information): (a) the freezing survey has not yet conducted; (b) the freezing survey is in progress; (c) the freezing survey has been completed; (d) the households concerned have been rehoused and compensated (and the total amount of compensation involved for each site); and (e) others (please specify)?
*16. Hon CHAN Chun-ying to ask: (Translation)
In 2000, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority ("HKMA") issued a Guideline on the Authorization of Virtual Banks ("the Guideline (2000 edition)"), stating that HKMA would "not object to the establishment of virtual banks in Hong Kong" provided that such virtual banks could satisfy the same prudential criteria applicable to conventional banks. However, HKMA announced in September this year the initiatives for preparing Hong Kong to move into a new era of smart banking, one of which was the "promotion of virtual banking" in which HKMA clearly stated that it "welcomes the introduction of virtual banks in Hong Kong" and it would consult the banking industry to review and amend the Guideline (2000 edition). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of applications for operating virtual banks received and approved by HKMA in the 17 years since the Guideline (2000 edition) was issued; the business scale, service categories and cost-effectiveness of the virtual banks permitted to operate and, among such banks, the number of those which are still operating at present; (2) of the considerations based on which HKMA changed its stance on the establishment of virtual banks in Hong Kong from no-objection in 2000 to welcoming it in September this year; whether HKMA had consulted members of the banking industry before changing its stance; if HKMA had, of the details and the views received; if not, the reasons for that; (3) given that a webpage on "Guide to Authorization" (last revised on 18 November 2016) on HKMA's website can be hyperlinked to a document entitled Guideline on Authorization of Virtual Banks ("the Guideline (newer edition)"), and paragraph 2 of that document states that the Guideline (newer edition) supersedes the Guideline (2000 edition), of the reasons why HKMA still indicated in September this year that it would consult the banking industry to review and amend the Guideline (2000 edition); and (4) given that one of the conditions for institutions incorporated overseas to apply for the establishment of virtual banks, as prescribed in Guideline (2000 edition), was that such institutions had to have a total assets of more than US$16 billion, whereas the Guideline (newer edition) only requires such institutions to maintain a minimum level of share capital of HK$300 million, whether HKMA had consulted members of the banking industry before it decided to significantly reduce the capital requirement for virtual banks; if so, of the details and the views received; if not, the reasons for that?
*17. Hon Alice MAK to ask: (Translation)
A member of the public omitted, when applying for public rental housing ("PRH") seven years ago, to declare the wage he earned by working as a casual worker for two days, and was subsequently prosecuted for and convicted of "knowingly making a false statement". Earlier on, he lodged an appeal to the Court of First Instance of the High Court, and the appeal was allowed. Some PRH tenants and PRH applicants have relayed that as the existing forms for income declaration are unclear, they are prone to omit declaration of one-off or irregular income, or wages paid afterwards. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of prosecutions instituted in each of the past five years by the authorities against PRH tenants and PRH applicants for making false statements in income declarations; among them, the number of convicted cases and the respective resultant numbers of (i) PRH tenants being ordered to vacate their PRH flats and (ii) PRH applicants being disqualified from applying for PRH; (2) among the convicted cases mentioned in (1), of the respective numbers of cases involving under reporting of (i) one-off income, (ii) irregular income and (iii) wages paid afterwards; whether the authorities will, in the light of the aforesaid ruling, take the initiative to review such cases; (3) as the High Court judge has recommended in the judgement on the aforesaid appeal that the Department of Justice should provide legal advice to the Hong Kong Housing Authority to clarify the definition of declarable income for PRH tenants and PRH applicants, whether the Department has followed up on such recommendation; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) whether it has assessed the impact of the aforesaid ruling on the income declaration system for PRH tenants and PRH applicants; whether it will step up publicity efforts to clarify to frontline staff of the Housing Department, PRH tenants and PRH applicants the definition and method for calculation of declarable income?
*18. Hon Paul TSE to ask: (Translation)
Some members of the public have relayed that in recent years, the craze for using unmanned aircraft systems ("UASs"), particularly for aerial photography, has been in the ascendant. It has been reported that it has become increasingly common for both public and private organizations to make use of UASs in their operations. For example, The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited makes use of UASs to inspect gas pipes, and some logistics companies are also exploring the use of UASs to deliver parcels. With the continued increase in size and travelling speed of UASs, and the great variance in the skills in operating UASs, there are reports from time to time that accidents involving UASs used for aerial photography have resulted in injuries and damages to property (e.g. during the Formula E Hong Kong e-Prix held early this month, a UAS fell within the precincts of the venue and a person was injured when dodging to avoid the falling UAS). That situation, coupled with reports of intrusion on privacy by aerial photography, has resulted in an incessant rise in the number of relevant complaints. As such, some members of the public consider that the Government should step up the regulation on the use of UASs for aerial photography and on the procurement of third party risks insurance for related activities. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the details of the use of UASs for aerial photography by various government departments and public organizations (including the number and models of UASs, as well as the qualifications possessed and the techniques employed by the UAS operators); (2) of the number of cases received by the authorities since 2015 in which accidents involving UASs used for aerial photography resulted in injuries or damages to property; whether the number of such cases has shown an upward trend; (3) of the existing policy and legislation that regulate the use of UASs for aerial photography, such as the safety and privacy protection measures required to be taken by UAS operators and issues relating to the third party risks insurance for aerial photography underwritten by insurance companies (including the coverage, the items that are not covered and the minimum amount of compensation); whether the Government will review the relevant policy and legislation to make them stay abreast of the latest developments; (4) whether it knows the number of cases of third party risks insurance for aerial photography underwritten by insurance companies in the past two years; whether it knows the respective numbers of complaints about insurance for aerial photography received by the Consumer Council, the Insurance Authority (or formerly the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance) and the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers since 2015; and (5) whether it knows the channels through which the person who sustained injuries in the aforesaid incident concerning a UAS fallen during the prix may seek compensation?
*19. Hon Kenneth LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
The Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority ("HKMA") has stated that HKMA has all along been encouraging the banking industry to put the spirit of financial inclusion into practice, so that the general public and small and micro enterprises can open and maintain bank accounts and have access to basic banking services to meet their basic needs in daily lives or in fund transfers for business operations. HKMA also encourages banks to employ new technologies and new solutions (e.g. mobile branches) to provide banking services for residents in remote areas where the coverage of such services is insufficient. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether HKMA has drawn up a specific strategy and work plan for the coming three years to encourage the banking industry to put the spirit of financial inclusion into practice; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether HKMA has, according to the population and actual circumstances of various districts, formulated specific indicators on the coverage of banking services in various districts, so as to facilitate the identification of those districts where banking services are insufficient; if so, of the details; if not, whether HKMA will formulate such indicators expeditiously; (3) whether HKMA knows the latest situation of mobile branches launched by the banking industry, including the number of such branches, service locations and the development plan for the coming year; (4) as the Hong Kong Association of Banks ("HKAB") announced last month that in collaboration with EPS Company (Hong Kong) Limited and a chain convenience store, the banking industry would launch early next year, as a pilot scheme, a service for the elderly to withdraw cash, without making purchases, at 34 convenience stores in areas such as Cheung Chau, Lantau Island and Tin Shui Wai, whether HKMA will urge HKAB to expeditiously extend the service to other districts and other types of stores; if so, of the details and the implementation timetable; if not, the reasons for that; and (5) whether HKMA will launch public education to encourage the public to use more e-banking and electronic payment services, including Internet bank account management, electronic wallets and mobile payment services, so as to reduce the public's reliance on physical bank branches; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*20. Hon Charles Peter MOK to ask: (Translation)
At present, a vehicle licence (commonly known as "vehicle licence disc") has a validity period of either one year or four months. A vehicle owner who applies for renewal of his vehicle licence disc ("licence renewal") after the expiry of the original vehicle licence disc shall pay an additional fee for the period during which the vehicle was unlicensed unless the Commissioner for Transport is satisfied that the vehicle concerned has not been used on a road during such period. On the other hand, some vehicle owners have alleged that the procedure for renewing licence online is complicated. For example, (i) the applicant must be a holder of a valid personal or organizational digital certificate, (ii) applications for late licence renewal are not accepted online and the Government even advises that late licence renewal should be done in person, and (iii) the renewal must be processed through the GovHK website and the applicant's computer must have been installed with Java software before the website's services can be accessed, but a number of commonly used browsers (e.g. Edge, Firefox (version 52 or later) and Chrome) have ceased to support Java plug-ins. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of (i) the number of applications for late licence renewal, (ii) the average number of days for which licence renewal was late in those applications, and (iii) the number of fixed penalty notices issued by the Police for failure to display valid vehicle licence discs on windscreens of vehicles, in each of the past five years; (2) of the number of (i) applications for late licence renewal on which additional fees were levied by the Government and the total amount of money received, and (ii) applications for which additional fees were waived by the Government and the total amount of revenue foregone, in the past five years; (3) whether it will consider introducing short message service to remind vehicle owners that their vehicle licence discs will soon expire so that they may apply for licence renewal in time; (4) of the number of page views of the web pages for online licence renewal, and the number of cases of licence renewal completed through such web pages, in the past five years; given that a number of browsers no longer support Java plug-ins, whether the Government will add maintenance and upgrade clauses in the tender document when inviting public tenders for the new electronic service system to ensure that the new system stays abreast of the times; (5) given that under the requirements of the existing legislation, private cars which are six years old or above are required to pass an annual vehicle examination conducted by a car testing centre authorized by the Government before the licences for them may be renewed, and there is no such requirement for those below six years old, whether the authorities will allow owners of private cars of all ages to opt for vehicle licence discs with a validity period of two years during licence renewal (and owners of private cars which are below six years old may even opt for vehicle licence discs with a validity period of three years) so as to reduce the trouble created for those vehicle owners; and (6) whether it will adopt the following measures to improve the procedure for online licence renewal: (i) abolishing the requirement for applicants to hold valid digital certificates, (ii) accepting applications for licence renewal made after the expiry of the original vehicle licence discs (especially those applications made in respect of private cars below six years old for which annual vehicle examination is not required), (iii) adding to the online licence renewal system the function of automatic calculation of the amount of the additional fees payable for late licence renewal, and (iv) reducing the documents required to be submitted (e.g. proof is not required to be submitted for the same address the proof for which has already been submitted by the vehicle owner when applying for a driving licence)?
*21. Dr Hon Elizabeth QUAT to ask: (Translation)
The Hong Kong Poverty Situation Report 2016 published by the Government last month has shown that the pre-intervention poverty rate of elderly persons (i.e. persons aged 65 and above) in 2016 was over 30%. Regarding the problem of elderly poverty and measures to improve the situation of poor elderly persons, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that the current poverty line framework takes into account only the income but not the assets of households, whether the authorities will improve the approach for drawing the poverty line, to avoid retired elderly persons who are asset-rich but with low/no income being classified as poor persons, with a view to reflecting the elderly poverty situation more accurately and formulating appropriate measures for poverty alleviation and prevention to help those elderly persons with genuine needs; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) as the Secretary for Labour and Welfare has recently indicated that the authorities are considering subsidizing, in the form of cash vouchers, needy elderly singletons who are tenants of public rental housing ("PRH") for hiring foreign domestic helpers, of the proposed eligibility criteria and the estimated number of beneficiaries; the justifications for stipulating that such scheme is only applicable to PRH tenants, and whether they will consider extending the scheme to cover those needy elderly singletons who are not PRH tenants; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) whether it will lower the age threshold for receiving the non-means-tested Old Age Allowance (commonly known as "fruit grant") from 70 to 65 so that the welfare initiative can benefit all elderly persons; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (4) given that the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation Limited will launch a life annuity scheme next year to enable elderly persons to convert part of their savings into a fixed monthly income, of the details and work schedule of the scheme and whether, according to the authorities' assessment, the implementation of the scheme can alleviate the elderly poverty problem; and (5) as employment is one of the means of getting rid of poverty, whether the Government will consider introducing new measures, such as (i) prescribing a lower salaries tax rate for elderly employees, (ii) encouraging the insurance sector to offer labour insurance products for elderly employees and (iii) providing tax concessions to employers who have hired elderly persons, to assist elderly persons in taking up employment again if they wish and are able to do so; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*22. Hon Alvin YEUNG to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the application of artificial intelligence ("AI") and opening up government data through the data.gov.hk website ("data.gov.hk") (web address: data.gov.hk) by the Government, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the following details of the AI projects that will be launched by various government departments from January to December next year: project names, departments, services to be provided, launch dates, annual estimates of expenditure, and names of the departments or service contractors responsible for their implementation; (2) among the data currently opened up through data.gov.hk, of the quantity and percentage of data that are available in (i) JSON digital format (including GeoJSON), (ii) Application Programming Interface ("API") and (iii) Batch API format; the departments providing such data and the areas to which such data relate; (3) whether the Transport Department ("TD") and the Highways Department have plans to uniformly adopt the General Transit Feed Specification ("GTFS") and Unified API format, which are applied globally, for opening up their data, so as to facilitate public access to the real-time information provided by them; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (4) as some motorists have pointed out that they could hardly rely on the real-time parking vacancy data currently provided by TD as the data often suffer time lags ranging from hours to even months, of the Government's improvement measures; (5) as some members of the public have relayed that the data on data.gov.hk are not displayed in a format familiar to ordinary people and the website is poorly designed, such as the absence of an interactive map to enable preview of information containing data with latitude and longitude coordinates, whether the Government has regularly reviewed if the forms and formats in which the data opened up through data.gov.hk are being displayed suit users' needs; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons and the improvement measures for that; and (6) as there are views that data.gov.hk neither provides guide and technical support for the development of applications nor provides a platform for developers and users of applications to exchange views on the use of the data available on the website, whether the Government will draw reference from the relevant approach adopted by the Taipei City Government in its open data platform (web address: data.taipei), and provide the relevant support and exchange platform within next year, so as to improve users' experience with data.gov.hk; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
* For written reply
III. Members' Motions
| Stand-over items: Members' motions nos. 1 to 12 (since the meeting of 6 December 2017)
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| 1. | Proposed resolution under Article 75 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
Hon Paul TSE moved the motion in Appendix 1. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 27 November 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 176/17-18) | |||||
| 2. | Proposed resolution under Article 75 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
Hon Alvin YEUNG to move the motion in Appendix 2. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 27 November 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 176/17-18) | |||||
| 3. | Proposed resolution under Article 75 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
Hon Tanya CHAN to move the motion in Appendix 3. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 27 November 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 176/17-18) | |||||
| 4. | Proposed resolution under Article 75 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
Hon WU Chi-wai to move the motion in Appendix 4. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 27 November 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 176/17-18) | |||||
| 5. | Proposed resolution under Article 75 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
Hon Charles Peter MOK to move the motion in Appendix 5. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 27 November 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 176/17-18) | |||||
| 6. | Proposed resolution under Article 75 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
Hon Kenneth LEUNG to move the motion in Appendix 6. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 27 November 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 176/17-18) | |||||
| 7. | Proposed resolution under Article 75 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG to move the motion in Appendix 7. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 27 November 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 176/17-18) | |||||
| 8. | Proposed resolution under Article 75 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
Hon Jeremy TAM to move the motion in Appendix 8. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 27 November 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 176/17-18) | |||||
| 9. | Proposed resolution under Article 75 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
Hon Dennis KWOK to move the motion in Appendix 9. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 27 November 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 176/17-18) | |||||
| 10. | Proposed resolution under Article 75 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to move the motion in Appendix 10. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 27 November 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 176/17-18) | |||||
| 11. | Proposed resolution under Article 75 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
Hon CHAN Chi-chuen to move the motion in Appendix 11. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 27 November 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 176/17-18) | |||||
| 12. | Proposed resolution under Article 75 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
Hon Martin LIAO to move the motion in Appendix 12. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 27 November 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 176/17-18) | |||||
| Hon Andrew WAN, Hon LAM Cheuk-ting, Dr Hon Helena WONG, Hon WU Chi-wai, Hon IP Kin-yuen, Hon James TO, Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG, Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki, Hon Alvin YEUNG, Hon Jeremy TAM and Hon CHU Hoi-dick to move amending motions to the proposed resolution
| |||||
| (The amending motions were issued on 4 December 2017
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 186/17-18) | |||||
| (Debate and voting arrangements for the proposed resolutions under Article 75 of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China and the relevant amending motions (issued on 5 December 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 198/17-18(01)) (same as the Appendix to the Script of Council meeting of 6 December 2017))
Stand-over item: Member's motion no. 13 (since the meeting of 18 October 2017) | |||||
| 13. | Motion under Rule 49B(1A) of the Rules of Procedure
Hon Claudia MO to move the motion in Appendix 13A. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 10 October 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 21/17-18) | |||||
| Stand-over items: Members' motions nos. 14 to 30 (since the meeting of 6 December 2017)
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| 14. | Motion under Rule 49B(1A) of the Rules of Procedure
Hon Andrew WAN to move the motion in Appendix 13. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 24 November 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 169/17-18) | |||||
| 15. | Motion under Rule 49B(1A) of the Rules of Procedure
Hon CHU Hoi-dick to move the motion in Appendix 14. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 24 November 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 169/17-18) | |||||
| 16. | Motion under Rule 49B(1A) of the Rules of Procedure
Hon WU Chi-wai to move the motion in Appendix 15. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 24 November 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 169/17-18) | |||||
| 17. | Motion under Rule 49B(1A) of the Rules of Procedure
Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to move the motion in Appendix 16. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 24 November 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 170/17-18) | |||||
| 18. | Motion under Rule 49B(1A) of the Rules of Procedure
Hon Charles Peter MOK to move the motion in Appendix 17. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 24 November 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 169/17-18) | |||||
| 19. | Motion under Articles 73(5) and 73(10) of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
Hon Jeremy TAM to move the motion in Appendix 18. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 24 November 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 168/17-18 | |||||
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| 20. | Motion under Articles 73(5) and 73(10) of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG to move the motion in Appendix 19. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 24 November 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 168/17-18 | |||||
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| 21. | Motion under Articles 73(5) and 73(10) of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
Hon Kenneth LEUNG to move the motion in Appendix 20. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 24 November 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 168/17-18 | |||||
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| 22. | Motion under Articles 73(5) and 73(10) of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
Hon Tanya CHAN to move the motion in Appendix 21. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 24 November 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 168/17-18 | |||||
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| 23. | Motion under Articles 73(5) and 73(10) of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
Hon Jeremy TAM to move the motion in Appendix 22. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 24 November 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 168/17-18 | |||||
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| 24. | Motion under Articles 73(5) and 73(10) of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
Hon Kenneth LEUNG to move the motion in Appendix 23. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 24 November 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 168/17-18 | |||||
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| 25. | Motion under Articles 73(5) and 73(10) of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
Hon James TO to move the motion in Appendix 24. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 24 November 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 168/17-18 | |||||
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| 26. | Motion under Articles 73(5) and 73(10) of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
Hon James TO to move the motion in Appendix 25. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 24 November 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 168/17-18 | |||||
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| 27. | Motion under Articles 73(5) and 73(10) of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
Hon WU Chi-wai to move the motion in Appendix 26. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 24 November 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 168/17-18 | |||||
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| 28. | Motion under Articles 73(5) and 73(10) of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
Hon HUI Chi-fung to move the motion in Appendix 27. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 24 November 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 168/17-18 | |||||
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| 29. | Motion under Articles 73(5) and 73(10) of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
Hon HUI Chi-fung to move the motion in Appendix 28. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 24 November 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 168/17-18 | |||||
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| 30. | Motion under Articles 73(5) and 73(10) of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
Hon KWONG Chun-yu to move the motion in Appendix 29. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 24 November 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 168/17-18 | |||||
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| 31. | Motion under Articles 73(5) and 73(10) of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
Hon CHU Hoi-dick to move the motion in Appendix 30. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 5 December 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 193/17-18) | |||||
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| 32. | Motion under Articles 73(5) and 73(10) of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
Hon CHU Hoi-dick to move the motion in Appendix 31. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 5 December 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 193/17-18) | |||||
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| 33. | Motion under Articles 73(5) and 73(10) of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
Hon CHU Hoi-dick to move the motion in Appendix 32. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 5 December 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 193/17-18) | |||||
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| 34. | Motion under Articles 73(5) and 73(10) of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
Hon CHU Hoi-dick to move the motion in Appendix 33. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 5 December 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 193/17-18) | |||||
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| 35. | Motion under Articles 73(5) and 73(10) of the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China
Hon CHU Hoi-dick to move the motion in Appendix 34. | ||||
| (The motion was issued on 5 December 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 193/17-18) | |||||
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| Stand-over items: Members' motions nos. 36 and 37 (since the meeting of 12 July 2017)
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| 36. | Establishing a comprehensive 're-industrialization' policy regime
Hon Jimmy NG to move the following motion: (Translation) That given the new opportunities brought about by global reforms in industrial technologies, many countries or places are proactively developing high value-added advanced manufacturing industries, and Hong Kong is no exception; the Government has already made it clear that re-industrialization is a potential new area of economic growth for Hong Kong, and announced the establishment of a committee on innovation, technology and re-industrialization; in this connection, this Council urges the Government to conduct a timely review and elevate the positioning of the 're-industrialization' policy, with a view to upgrading the existing industrial policy regime led by innovation and technology to a comprehensive industrial policy regime which is more independent, forward-looking and systematic; the Government should also examine the role of industries in the local economic structure and societal development, and study the 'external development' feature of Hong Kong's industries, with the aim of providing tax support for those offshore Hong Kong manufacturers engaging in manufacturing and production industries, thereby consolidating the economic foundation of Hong Kong and promoting the diversification of industries. | ||||
| Hon HO Kai-ming, Hon Kenneth LEUNG, Dr Hon CHIANG Lai-wan, Hon WU Chi-wai, Ir Dr Hon LO Wai-kwok, Hon Charles Peter MOK and Hon Jeremy TAM to move amendments to the motion
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| (The amendments were issued on 29 June 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 760/16-17) | |||||
| Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Innovation and Technology
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| 37. | Conducting a comprehensive review of labour legislation to improve labour rights and interests
Hon HO Kai-ming to move the following motion: (Translation) That this Council urges the Government to make safeguarding labour rights and interests its priority task and expeditiously conduct a comprehensive review of and make amendments to the various legislation relating to labour matters, so as to ensure that such legislation keeps pace with the times. | ||||
| Hon LUK Chung-hung, Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki, Dr Hon Helena WONG and Hon Andrew WAN to move amendments to the motion
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| (The amendments were issued on 29 June 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 759/16-17) | |||||
| Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Labour and Welfare
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