A 17/18-25
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 11 April 2018 at 11:30 am
(or immediately after the meeting for the Chief Executive's Question Time
to be held at 11:00 am that day)
I. Tabling of Papers
Other Papers
II. Questions
1. Hon CHU Hoi-dick to ask: (Translation)
Some people who are concerned about animal welfare have relayed to me that as the Government has taken forward a number of major development projects in the rural areas of the New Territories in recent years, quite a number of rural animals have been deprived of their habitats. It would be difficult for them to escape the eventual destiny of being euthanized upon being handed over to, or caught by, the authorities. Such people hold the view that the Government should take measures to protect the welfare of these animals in order to avoid recurrence of the aforesaid situation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has formulated a comprehensive policy on the protection of the welfare of rural animals, in order to avoid their being affected by development projects and their being euthanized; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) given that the Wang Chau public housing development Phase 1 in Yuen Long will commence shortly, whether it has compiled any statistics on the number of animals (including dogs, cats, cattle, goats and sheep, as well as other animals) that will be affected by the development project and has taken measures to protect the welfare of these animals in order to avoid their being euthanized; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and whether it will compile such statistics immediately; and (3) whether it will strengthen the cooperation with and increase the subsidies to the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Hong Kong) and other animal welfare organizations, so as to facilitate their assisting the Government in compiling the relevant statistics and undertaking work on protecting the welfare of rural animals; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
2. Hon Christopher CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)
In February this year, the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited ("the Exchange") published a Consultation Paper on a Listing Regime for Companies from Emerging and Innovative Sectors in respect of expanding Hong Kong's listing regime, and conducted a one-month public consultation exercise. The paper recommends the adoption of a lower listing threshold for biotech companies, the grant of permission for the listing of companies with weighted voting right structures, and the establishment of a new concessionary route to secondary listing. The Exchange is making every effort to have the new regime implemented within the second quarter of this year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as it has been reported that the authorities of Singapore and the Mainland are taking proactive measures to attract companies from the emerging and innovative sectors to seek listing in their stock exchange markets (e.g. the Mainland authorities plan to attract, through the means of Chinese depositary receipts, the listing of unicorn enterprises in the Mainland's A-share market, and to speed up the vetting and approval of the relevant listing applications), whether the authorities have assessed if such developments will dampen the desire of companies from the emerging and innovative sectors in seeking listing in Hong Kong; if they have assessed, of the outcome; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether the authorities will, on the premise of providing adequate protection for the interests of investors, examine afresh if Hong Kong needs to further open up and improve its listing regime, so as to compete for the listing in Hong Kong of companies from the emerging and innovative sectors; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) given that the Outline of the 13th Five-Year Plan for the National Economic and Social Development of the People's Republic of China published in 2016 put forward supporting Hong Kong to reinforce and enhance Hong Kong's position as an international financial centre, and the State leaders have recently mentioned on a number of occasions about supporting the integration of Hong Kong's economy into the overall development of the Country, whether the authorities need to examine afresh the roles and positioning of Hong Kong as an international financial centre and the measures that the Government needs to take to tie in with the overall development of the Country?
3. Dr Hon Priscilla LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
The Chief Executive stated in the Policy Address delivered in October last year that the Government should encourage the community to make better use of the harbourfront so that it would become more vibrant and more quality public space would be available for public enjoyment. The Government has earmarked a dedicated funding of $500 million for implementing six harbourfront enhancement projects. Regarding harbourfront enhancement, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as the Chief Executive indicated in her election manifesto that she would promote the establishment of a Harbourfront Authority, of the progress of such task; (2) given that the authorities have conducted the Urban Design Study for the Wan Chai North and North Point Harbourfront Areas as well as the Hong Kong Island East Harbourfront Study in recent years to gauge public views, whether the Government will consider conducting similar studies for the harbourfront areas on the Kowloon side; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether it will consider introducing measures to encourage ferry service operators to provide during non-rush hours water taxi services departing from the Hung Hom Ferry Pier, with a view to revitalizing the Hung Hom Ferry Pier and tying in with the implementation of the West Kowloon Cultural District project; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
4. Hon Alvin YEUNG to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that since 2006, 14 youth uniformed groups have been invited to perform the flag-raising ceremony which is held at the Golden Bauhinia Square on the 4th of May each year to commemorate the May Fourth Movement. In early February this year, the Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("LOCPG") invited seven of such uniformed groups to a meeting to discuss matters relating to their members giving up the British style of marching that they have all along adopted, and switching to the Chinese style of marching in the said ceremony. Afterwards, all the uniformed groups were requested to provide non-anonymous written replies to indicate the marching style to be adopted in the ceremony. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as Article 5 of the Basic Law stipulates that the previous capitalist system and way of life of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("SAR") shall remain unchanged for 50 years, Article 22 stipulates that no department of the Central People's Government ("CPG") and the like may interfere in the affairs which SAR administers on its own in accordance with the Basic Law, and Article 146 stipulates that voluntary organizations providing social services in SAR may on their own decide their forms of service provided that the law is not contravened, whether the Government has assessed if LOCPG's action of getting involved in the marching style to be adopted by the uniformed groups in SAR has constituted a breach of the aforesaid provisions of the Basic Law; if it has assessed and the outcome is in the affirmative, of the measures to be taken by the Government to prevent the recurrence of such situation; if the assessment outcome is in the negative, the justifications for that; (2) of the policies and measures put in place to uphold the autonomy of the uniformed groups in SAR in their services; and (3) whether it will consider enacting legislation on Article 22 of the Basic Law to prohibit departments of CPG from interfering in the affairs of SAR; if so, of the details and specific timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
| Public Officers to reply | : | Secretary for Home Affairs
Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs |
5. Hon Holden CHOW to ask: (Translation)
The Education Bureau ("EDB") has pointed out that upon receipt of complaints relating to sexual harassment, schools should make reference to the principles and procedures set out in the Framework for Sexual Harassment Policies in Schools ("the Framework") drawn up by the Equal Opportunities Commission, and activate their school-based procedure for handling sexual harassment complaints. The Framework stipulates that schools should put in place both formal and informal mechanisms for handling sexual harassment complaints. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the number of sexual harassment complaints received by secondary and primary schools in the territory in each of the past five years; among such complaints, of the number of those cases which were found substantiated, together with a breakdown by the punishments imposed on the harassers concerned; (2) whether EDB has required schools to report the details of sexual harassment complaints handled formally and those handled informally; if not, of the reasons for that; if so, the mechanism put in place by EDB to monitor compliance with the requirement by schools and whether it will find out those sexual harassment complaints of a more serious nature and follow up such cases; and (3) whether EDB has formulated new policies and measures to enhance the awareness among teaching staff and students of sexual harassment in schools; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
6. Hon Michael TIEN to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that in recent years whenever popular performances were staged, the scalping of tickets for performances became rampant. For example, prices as high as 17 times of the original prices were fetched in recent days for the scalped tickets for a series of "standup comedy" performances, arousing strong dissatisfaction among those members of the public who were unsuccessful in purchasing the tickets. On the other hand, according to the Terms and Conditions of Hire of the Hong Kong Coliseum and the Queen Elizabeth Stadium, only those hirers who choose Urban Ticketing System for the sale of tickets are required to set aside, for open sale, at least one-fifth of the tickets of each price category. However, under the terms and conditions of hire of quite a number of private venues, hirers are required to set aside at least half of the tickets for open sale. Regarding the Government's efforts to combat ticket scalping on the policy, legislation and law enforcement fronts, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it will seriously consider requiring that tickets for events held in government venues must be sold by way of real name registration, and that venue hirers must set aside at least half of the tickets for open sale; (2) as some members of the public have criticized that section 6 of the Places of Public Entertainment Ordinance, which prohibits ticket scalping, has a loophole in that events held in venues managed by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department ("LCSD") are not subject to regulation and has set a penalty (i.e. a maximum fine of $2,000) far too lenient, whether the Government will consider enacting a comprehensive legislation to curb ticket scalping and raising the relevant penalty level (e.g. increasing the maximum amount of fine or introducing a prison sentence), so as to enhance the deterrent effect; and (3) notwithstanding the Government's claim that LCSD has deployed additional venue and security staff to patrol venues under the purview of LCSD when events are being held so as to combat ticket scalping, but most of the touting activities for scalped tickets are currently conducted on the Internet, of the specific strategies adopted by the Government for combating online ticket scalping, including whether it will request the relevant websites to proactively remove information relating to ticket scalping?
*7. Hon CHUNG Kwok-pan to ask: (Translation)
It is learnt that the testing and certification ("T&C") industry provides testing, inspection and certification services for various trades to ensure that their products and services comply with international standards. It provides important support for the manufacturing industry and export trade as well as the high-end manufacturing industry introduced under the policy of "re-industrialization". Currently, the Hong Kong Accreditation Service ("HKAS") under the Innovation and Technology Commission provides accreditation service under which T&C establishments are given official recognition of their competence in carrying out specific conformity assessment tasks. Regarding the promotion of the development of the T&C industry, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that HKAS has currently entered into mutual recognition arrangements with 100 accreditation bodies in 99 economies, of the type of T&C services covered under the arrangements; the testing technologies and certification criteria involved in those services; how the authorities will seek a wider recognition of Hong Kong's T&C services internationally; and (2) given that HKAS is a member of international organizations such as the International Accreditation Forum and the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation, of the degree of participation of HKAS in such organizations; whether HKAS has proposed to such organizations the adoption of the certification criteria and testing methods developed in Hong Kong to create a brand of "Tested in Hong Kong, Certified in Hong Kong", with a view to building a leading position for Hong Kong's T&C industry internationally (particularly in the Southeast Asian region with a lower level of T&C technology), thus tapping new markets; if so, of the outcome, including whether the proposals have been accepted; if HKAS has not, the reasons for that, and whether it will allocate more resources to take forward the relevant work?
*8. Hon Mrs Regina IP to ask: (Translation)
Over the years, there have all along been elderly persons (i.e. persons aged 65 or above) complaining that the consultation quotas for public general outpatient clinics ("outpatient clinics") are in short supply, and that they have encountered quite a number of difficulties in using the General Outpatient Clinics Telephone Appointment Service (e.g. being unable to complete the telephone appointment procedure due to failure to press the buttons as instructed within the time limit). On the other hand, the Government indicated in the Policy Agenda published in October last year that it would improve the elderly healthcare services, but it said little about improving the provision of public general outpatient services for elderly persons. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the appointment quotas provided by each outpatient clinic under the Hospital Authority ("HA"), and the number and percentage of such quotas which were Elderly Appointment Quotas, in each of the past three years; (2) given that the number of elderly persons has increased continuously in recent years, and the rates of elderly population growth in various districts vary, resulting in varied ratios of elderly person to consultation quota in various districts, whether the Government will request HA to review the resources allocated to the outpatient clinics in various districts, in order to meet the demand of elderly persons for general outpatient services; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) as the Government has proposed in the 2018-2019 Budget that a sum of $300 billion be earmarked for improving the public healthcare system, whether the Government will allocate additional resources and manpower to improve the arrangements for making appointments for public general outpatient services (e.g. providing telephone appointment services answered by real persons), in order to facilitate the booking of services by elderly persons; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) as some of the elderly persons who have been unsuccessful in booking public general outpatient services will seek consultation from private doctors instead, of the authorities' measures in the coming year to encourage elderly persons to register on the Electronic Health Record Sharing System, with a view to their receiving better and more timely diagnoses and treatments?
*9. Hon LAU Kwok-fan to ask: (Translation)
In recent months, quite a number of members of the public have relayed to me that they purchased a considerable number of cash coupons from certain shop operators but they were unaware or forgot that expiry dates had been set for the cash coupons. When they attempted to use the cash coupons, the shop operators concerned refused to let them do so, citing the reason that the validity periods of the coupons had expired. Those members of the public opine that as their purchase by cash of cash coupons of equivalent value is tantamount to a pre-payment mode of consumption, the unilateral setting of expiry dates for the cash coupons by the shop operators is unreasonable and has prejudiced the rights and interests of consumers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the number of complaints about the use of cash coupons received from consumers by the Consumer Council in each of the past three years, the industries to which the shop operators concerned belonged, and the main contents of such complaints; (2) of the number of reports about malpractices of shop operators received from users of cash coupons by various government departments concerned in each of the past three years, the industries to which the shop operators concerned belonged, and the main contents of such reports; the mechanism for handling such reports; whether those government departments have examined the characteristics of the reports received over the years and whether they will consider stepping up the monitoring of the sale of cash coupons by shop operators; and (3) whether it will consider studying the imposition of restrictions on the setting of expiry dates for cash coupons by shop operators, with a view to protecting the rights and interests of consumers; if so, of the details; if not, the justifications for that?
*10. Hon Starry LEE to ask: (Translation)
The Basic Law Promotion Steering Committee ("BLPSC"), established in 1998 and led by the Chief Secretary for Administration, provides steer on the overall programme and strategy for promoting the Basic Law, and provides an organizational focus for coordinating the efforts of government departments and the various sectors in the community to promote the Basic Law. One of the important tasks of BLPSC is to promote the Basic Law among students and young people so as to enable them to gain a comprehensive and correct understanding of the Basic Law. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has assessed the effectiveness of the efforts of BLPSC in each of the past three years to promote the Basic Law among students and young people; if so, of the methodology and indicators adopted for conducting the assessment; whether it will review such methodology and indicators; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (2) given that in recent years, some young people have acted radically, with some of them even advocating independence and self-determination for Hong Kong and blatantly disregarding the Basic Law and the principle of "one country, two systems" set out therein, whether the Government will step up its efforts to promote among students and young people (i) the relationship between our Country's Constitution and the Basic Law as well as (ii) the relationship between "one country" and "two systems"; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*11. Hon LEUNG Che-cheung to ask: (Translation)
Quite a number of grass-roots elderly people who have just reached the age of 60 have relayed that as they earlier on retired because they had reached the age of 60 or left the workforce due to health issues, they no longer have any work income. Coupled with the fact that they are ineligible to apply for most of the welfare benefits for the elderly as they have not reached the age of 65, they therefore have no choice but to live on their meagre savings. They criticize that the prevailing elderly welfare policy is at odds with reality, leaving those aged between 60 and 64 in a welfare vacuum for several years. What is worse, the Government will implement in the fourth quarter of this year the earliest an arrangement of raising the eligible age for elderly Comprehensive Social Security Assistance ("CSSA") from 60 to 65. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it will consider lowering the eligible age to 60 in respect of Old Age Living Allowance, Elderly Health Care Vouchers and the $2 transport fare concession for the elderly, and of the additional expenditure involved annually; if not, whether it will provide similar welfare benefits for those aged between 60 and 64 through the Community Care Fund; (2) notwithstanding the Government's plan to provide an on-the-job training allowance for employers to encourage them to engage people aged 60 or above who have left the workforce or are unemployed, but some unemployed people who have recently reached the age of 60 have indicated that they have difficulties in securing a job owing to their low academic qualifications and lacking professional skills, of the Government's new measures to help them find employment; whether it will enact legislation to provide for a retirement age at 65, so as to enhance the employment protection for those aged between 60 and 64; and (3) whether it will consider maintaining the eligible age for elderly CSSA at 60; if not, of the reasons for that?
*12. Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to ask: (Translation)
According to the Employees' Compensation Ordinance (Cap. 282), employees who have sustained an injury or died as a result of a work accident which occurred in the course of their employment or those who have suffered from an occupational disease specified in Cap. 282 owing to the nature of their work may receive compensation under a no-fault principle. Regarding the work injury sick leave of employees, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) in respect of each year since 2012, of the respective numbers of employees who were granted sick leave due to work injury for a period of (i) three to six months, (ii) more than six months to one year, (iii) more than one year to two years, and (iv) more than two years, as well as the economic losses arising from their taking sick leave, with a tabulated breakdown by type of jobs undertaken by them; (2) whether, since 2012, the authorities have arranged (i) rehabilitation programmes and (ii) transitional work for employees taking work injury sick leave for a period of more than one year; if so, of the details (including the number of cases and the amount of expenditure incurred); if not, the reasons for that; (3) of the reinstatement rate, since 2012, of employees who had taken work injury sick leave for a period of more than one year (including employees resuming their positions and being posted to other positions); and (4) whether it knows, in respect of each year since 2012, the respective expenditures incurred, by the various programmes managed by (i) the Labour Department, (ii) the Social Welfare Department and (iii) the Hospital Authority, for providing compensation, assistance and rehabilitation programmes to employees who suffered incapacity as a result of work injury?
*13. Hon LAM Cheuk-ting to ask: (Translation)
According to the existing policy on civil service housing benefits, eligible overseas officers appointed before 1 October 1990 or local officers on or above Point 45 of the Master Pay Scale or equivalent may be allocated non-departmental quarters ("NDQs"). On the other hand, married staff of the disciplined services may be allocated departmental quarters ("DQs"), subject to the availability of resources. It has been reported that at present, quite a number of disciplined services staff who had retired or left the service (including dismissed former policemen) have still not vacated the DQs several years after the deadlines. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers, as at 31 March this year, of persons who had been dismissed or compulsorily retired and did not vacate NDQs and DQs by the deadlines, and their reasons for not vacating the quarters; (2) of the current number of persons who did not vacate the quarters by the deadlines, with a breakdown by (i) the department to which they belonged before they retired/left the service, (ii) the duration of overstaying, and (iii) the monthly market rent group (each group spanning $5,000) to which the occupied unit belongs; and (3) of the procedure adopted by the Government for repossessing the units of the quarters not surrendered by the deadlines; since when persons who did not vacate the quarters by the deadlines are required to pay market rents and the procedure that the Government will adopt for recovering from them the outstanding rents?
*14. Hon HO Kai-ming to ask: (Translation)
Will the Government inform this Council of the manpower situation of the construction, catering, aviation, and retail industries as well as the nursing and the electrical and mechanical trades:
(1) in respect of each industry/trade, the respective numbers of (i) people employed, (ii) job seekers, (iii) people dismissed or made redundant, and (iv) people who resigned, in each year since 2016, and the respective percentages of such numbers in the number of jobs in the industry/trade, broken down by the age groups set out in the table below (set out in tables of the same format as the table below);
Industry: ___________ Year: ___________
Age group Number of (i)
(%)Number of (ii)
(%)Number of (iii)
(%)Number of (iv)
(%)15-19 20-29 30-39 40-49 50-59 60 or above Total (2) in respect of each industry/trade, the yearly average of (i) the monthly percentages of the number of vacancies in the number of jobs, (ii) the monthly unemployment rates, (iii) the median monthly wages, and (iv) the median weekly working hours, in each year since 2016; and (3) whether it has formulated new measures to attract members of the public to join those industries/trades and to reduce their manpower wastage rate?
*15. Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)
Some residents on Po Toi Island have relayed that as the main source of water supply on the Island now comes from a water storage tank used to collect and store rainwater, water supply on the Island is extremely unstable. According to a study conducted by the consultant commissioned by the Water Supplies Department ("WSD"), underground water from a disused well in the Island can be used as a backup supply. WSD has indicated that it will further explore the technical feasibility of the option with the Islands District Office ("IsDO"). On the other hand, over the years, the electricity generated by the two power generators on the Island has been insufficient to meet the demand and the electricity supply network is in a very dilapidated condition with the risk of electricity leakage. The Environment Bureau has indicated that it had given approval for a power company to study the construction of renewable energy power generation facilities on the Island. In addition, residents on Po Toi Island have, over the years, been striving for the construction of a barrier-free access to connect the pier of the Island and Tai Wan in the centre of the Island to replace the only existing pedestrian passage which is rugged and uneven with many steps, so as to facilitate the elderly and people with impaired mobility to move on the Island. However, the Development Bureau has stated that the matter does not fall within its purview, and IsDO has stated that as the estimated cost of the works concerned has exceeded the estimate ceiling allowable for a project under the District Minor Works Programme and the Rural Public Works Programme, the works cannot be undertaken under such Programmes. IsDO has referred the proposed works to the relevant policy bureau or department for consideration. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the outcome of the study on the use of underground water in Po Toi Island; if the study outcome finds it feasible, of the details (including the timetable) of the works to be undertaken; if the study finds it infeasible, the reasons for that; (2) of the outcome of the study on the construction of renewable energy power generation facilities on Po Toi Island; if the study outcome finds it feasible, of the details (including the timetable) of the works to be undertaken; whether it will consider re-laying the electricity supply network on the Island; if so, of the details (including timetable); if not, the reasons for that; (3) of the government department currently responsible for following up the aforesaid proposal to construct a barrier-free access and whether that department accepts the proposal; if so, of the details (including the department which will carry out the works and bear the project cost, estimated project cost and timetable) of the works to be undertaken; if not, the reasons for that; (4) of the measures to assist residents and tourists with impaired mobility in moving on the Island before the barrier-free access is completed; (5) whether it has formulated contingency measures to ensure that residents and tourists on the Island can receive timely emergency rescue service; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (6) as certain sections of the aforesaid pedestrian passage fall on private land, whether it has formulated contingency measures to deal with the scenario that the land owners concerned close the pedestrian passage; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*16. Dr Hon CHENG Chung-tai to ask: (Translation)
The Hong Kong Housing Authority ("HA") has adopted since 1988 a single-operator arrangement for letting markets, under which an operator is awarded a single tenancy for the management of a market as a whole, who then sublets the stalls in the market to individual stall operators. Quite a number of stall operators from single-operator markets ("SOMs") have indicated that they have to move out because they cannot afford the high rents for the stalls. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the considerations based on which HA selected the six out of its 22 markets for letting under the single-operator arrangement; the rental income received by HA from those six markets in each of the past five years; (2) as HA has indicated that the purpose of implementing SOMs is to leverage on the expertise and flexible management as well as operation mode of the private sector, with a view to providing better services for residents, whether the selection of single operators is undertaken mainly by civil servants who do not have any experience in doing business; if so, how those civil servants determine whether the shortlisted operators possess such qualities; whether HA will reconsider including a provision in new SOM contracts to specify the maximum rent levels that single operators may charge stall operators; and (3) given that the Panel on Housing of this Council passed a motion at its meeting on 5 June last year urging HA to abolish the single-operator arrangement for letting markets, of the response of HA?
*17. Hon Paul TSE to ask: (Translation)
Since the time of my previous office as a Member of this Council returned by the tourism functional constituency, the Government of the Special Administrative Region ("SAR") and the tourism authorities of various Mainland provinces and municipalities have been encouraging the residents of the Mainland and Hong Kong to enhance mutual understanding through tourism activities and exchanges. The Chief Executive of the last term also encouraged Hong Kong people (especially young people) to understand the development of our Country from different perspectives, and indicated that the SAR Government was willing to facilitate the exchanges and communications between members of various sectors of Hong Kong and the Mainland. Nonetheless, the Hainan Wenchang Space Launch Center ("WSLC") in Hainan Province of the Mainland has all along been open to Mainland residents only. Hong Kong permanent residents are classified as "foreigners" and as such are not permitted to visit WSLC. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has gained an understanding from the Mainland authorities of the circumstances leading to WSLC's refusing visits by Hong Kong people; (2) whether it has gained an understanding from the Mainland authorities of the other Mainland tourist destinations which are open only to Mainland residents and not to Hong Kong people; and (3) as the current national policy is to enable Hong Kong to integrate into the overall development of our Country, but the aforesaid admission policy of WSLC is contrary to such national policy in some Hong Kong residents' opinion, whether the Government has assessed if the differential treatment accorded to Mainland residents and Hong Kong people by WSLC and other Mainland tourist destinations is not conducive to developing a sense of national identity among Hong Kong people and upholding "one country, two systems"; if it has assessed and the outcome is in the affirmative, of the Government's measures to deal with the situation?
*18. Hon Jeremy TAM to ask: (Translation)
Some women who miscarried before the 24th week of pregnancy have relayed that as the Hospital Authority ("HA") will not issue certificates of still-birth for stillborn foetuses of less than 24 weeks' gestation, it is difficult for them to find licensed organizations to provide burial or cremation services for the stillborn foetuses. These stillborn foetuses, if unclaimed by their parents, will be treated as clinical waste by HA and sent to the Chemical Waste Treatment Centre for disposal. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the total number of abortuses in each of the past five years and, among them, the number of stillborn foetuses of less than 24 weeks' gestation; (2) notwithstanding the Government's claim that pet cremation service organizations may cremate stillborn foetuses of less than 24 weeks' gestation, but some members of the public have indicated that the vast majority of such organizations are unwilling to provide cremation services for stillborn foetuses, how the Government helps the parents of these stillborn foetuses obtain such services; (3) whether any government department is currently responsible for monitoring the provision of cremation services for stillborn foetuses of less than 24 weeks' gestation by private organizations; if so, of that department; if not, the reasons for that; (4) as some officials of the Food and Health Bureau have told me that there will be new private cremation facilities providing cremation services for stillborn foetuses of less than 24 weeks' gestation, whether such facilities are required to be issued with the relevant licences; if so, whether there is a licensing timetable; whether it knows if the facilities concerned are situated in temples or Taoist monasteries or are set up by organizations with religious background; (5) given that the Catholic Diocese of Hong Kong set up last year a garden of remembrance called "Angel Garden" at the Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery at Cape Collinson for the burial of stillborn foetuses of less than 24 weeks' gestation, whether the Government will draw reference from such practice and set up gardens of remembrance in public cemeteries for burying this type of stillborn foetuses; if so, of the details (including the names and charges of the selected cemeteries); if not, the reasons for that; and (6) whether it knows if HA has expressly required its healthcare staff to proactively explain to women who have miscarried that stillborn foetuses not collected will be treated as clinical waste; whether HA will consider producing brochures or adopting other means to step up its publicity efforts on such arrangement among women who have miscarried; if so, of the details?
*19. Hon CHAN Chun-ying to ask: (Translation)
It is learnt that banks upgrade their computer systems from time to time gearing to the needs for financial technology development. In addition, more and more banks have applied or planned to apply biometric authentication technology, through using customers' biological characteristics (including fingerprints, voice, iris and finger veins), for authenticating the identity of customers. However, some members of the public worry that the tests conducted by banks prior to their upgrading of computer systems and introduction of biometric authentication are incomprehensive, leading to inadequacies in the relevant systems and services which may cause errors in the information on customers' bank accounts or leakage of customers' biometric data. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the relevant authorities have issued to banks a code of practice on upgrading of computer systems and taken monitoring measures, so as to ensure that the relevant processes and the upgraded systems run smoothly; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (2) whether the relevant authorities have issued to banks a code of practice on the application of biometric authentication technology and taken monitoring measures, so as to ensure that there will not be any leakage or misuse of bank customers' biometric data; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*20. Hon WU Chi-wai to ask: (Translation)
The statutory ceiling for passenger seating capacity of public light buses ("PLBs") was raised from 16 to 19 seats on 7 July of last year. Regarding the statistics on and operation of PLBs, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of registered 19-seat (a) green minibuses ("GMBs") and (b) red minibuses ("RMBs") as at 31 March this year, with a breakdown by (i) model, (ii) manufacturer and (iii) design carrying capacity of vehicles; (2) of the models of the 19-seat PLBs in respect of which applications for type approvals were received, approved and rejected respectively by the Transport Department ("TD") up to 31 March this year; (3) whether it has forecast the number of registered 19-seat PLBs by 31 December this year; if so, of the details; (4) of the respective numbers of applications for conversion of RMB to GMB operation received and approved by TD in each of the past three years; (5) of the number of registered PLBs as at 31 March this year that met Euro VI emission standards, with a breakdown by vehicle model; (6) whether TD has conducted a survey on how the respective patronage and average passenger waiting time of the various routes plied by 19-seat PLBs compare with the relevant figures of such routes when they were previously plied by 16-seat PLBs; if so, of the details; and (7) of the details of the GMB routes for which fare increase applications were made between August of last year and March this year and, among such routes, the number of those which were plied by 19-seat PLBs?
*21. Hon Alice MAK to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the provision of transitional housing by making use of vacant government properties and idle lands, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the current number of vacant government properties (including school premises) and, in respect of each property, (i) the original use, (ii) the number of years for which the property has been left vacant, (iii) the site area and (iv) the total gross floor area (set out in a table by District Council district); (2) of the number of government sites that were leased to non-profit-making organizations by the Government in the past five years on short-term tenancies for temporary uses, and (i) the location, (ii) the area and (iii) the current use of each site; (3) whether it will launch a subsidy scheme to encourage and facilitate non-profit-making organizations to provide transitional housing by making use of the vacant government properties and idle lands; if so, of the details (including the eligibility criteria for application and selection criteria); and (4) whether it will conduct a technical feasibility study on the conversion of vacant government properties into transitional housing; if so, of the details; if not, the other transitional arrangements in place to alleviate the demand for housing?
*22. Hon Jimmy NG to ask: (Translation)
To help small and medium enterprises ("SMEs") grasp economic opportunities and boost their competitiveness, the Government has implemented a number of funding schemes, which include: (1) the Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales ("BUD Fund"), (2) the SME Export Marketing Fund and the SME Development Fund the expenditures of which are met by the SME Export Marketing and Development Funds, and (3) the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme ("SFGS"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) during the periods from the launch of the aforesaid funding schemes to 31 March this year, of (i) the number of applications approved, (ii) the number of enterprises benefitted, and (iii) the average amount of the subsidy/loan approved for each application, under each scheme each year; (2) notwithstanding the proposal in this year's Budget that the geographical scope for the subsidy of the Enterprise Support Programme ("ESP") under the BUD Fund be extended to include the member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, whether the Government will further extend such geographical scope for subsidy to include all countries and regions along the Belt and Road so that Hong Kong enterprises may tap on the tremendous business opportunities brought about by the Belt and Road Initiative; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) whether it will consider raising the maximum subsidy contribution percentage (i.e. 50% of the total approved project cost) applicable to ESP, so as to further alleviate the burden of SMEs; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (4) as the application period for the special concessionary measures under SFGS has been extended by the Government for six times since the launch of such measures in May 2012, whether the Government will regularize such measures to facilitate SMEs' financing arrangements; (5) as SMEs may have urgent liquidity needs at any time, whether the Government will speed up the processing of the applications they submitted under SFGS and offer other financial support to such SMEs; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (6) given that quite a number of persons-in-charge of SMEs have indicated that they are required to provide voluminous and elaborate information when making applications under the aforesaid funding schemes and to answer many questions from the vetting and approving authorities during the vetting and approval process for their applications, which cost them a lot of time and effort, thereby discouraging them from making applications, whether the Government will (i) streamline the relevant application and vetting and approval procedure, and (ii) establish a pre-vetting mechanism so as to advise the applicants as early as possible of any inaccuracy or omission in the information they intend to submit, with a view to increasing the chances of success in their applications; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
* For written reply
III. Government Bills
| First Reading and Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)
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| Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2018 | : | Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
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| Second Reading (Debate to resume), Consideration by Committee of the Whole Council and Third Reading
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| 1. | Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017 | : | Secretary for Justice
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| Secretary for Justice to move amendments
(The amendments were issued on 4 April 2018 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 484/17-18) | ||||
| (Debate and voting arrangements for Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017 in committee of the whole Council (issued on 10 April 2018 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 510/17-18(01)) (same as the Appendix to the Script of Council meeting of 11 April 2018))
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| 2. | Stamp Duty (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2017 | : | Secretary for Transport and Housing
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| (i) Secretary for Transport and Housing to move amendments
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| (The amendments were issued on 27 March 2018
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 468/17-18) | ||||
| (ii) Hon James TO to move amendments
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| (The amendments were issued on 9 April 2018
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 499/17-18) | ||||
| (Debate and voting arrangements for Stamp Duty (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2017 in committee of the whole Council (issued on 10 April 2018 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 511/17-18(01)) (same as the Appendix to the Script of Council meeting of 11 April 2018))
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IV. Member's Motion on Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments
Proposed resolution under section 34(4) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
Hon WONG Ting-kwong to move the following motion:
Resolved that in relation to the Rating (Exemption) Order 2018, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 37 of 2018, and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 21 March 2018, the period for amending subsidiary legislation referred to in section 34(2) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap. 1) be extended under section 34(4) of that Ordinance to the meeting of 9 May 2018.
V. Member's Bill
| First Reading and Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)
| ||
| Sailors Home and Missions to Seamen Incorporation (Amendment) Bill 2018 | : | Hon Frankie YICK |
VI. Members' Motions
| 1. | Promoting the popularization of electric vehicles
Hon Frankie YICK to move the following motion: (Translation) That, since the global awareness of environmental protection has been rising and emission from fuel-engined vehicles is one of the main sources of air pollution, the governments of various countries, including China, Norway, Germany and the United Kingdom, have announced the prohibition of sale of fuel-engined vehicles successively after 2025; meanwhile, the biggest vehicle manufacturer in the world has indicated that it will completely cease the production of fuel-engined vehicles in 2050, and various vehicle manufacturers have also indicated that they will inject more resources into the research and development of new-generation zero-emission electric vehicles ('EVs'), thus evident that the production of EVs has become the general direction of the development of the automobile industry worldwide; the SAR Government has waived the first registration tax for EVs for more than 20 years since 1994, but as at end of August 2017, the result has been unsatisfactory with only 11 033 EVs in Hong Kong, accounting for 1.3% of the total number of registered vehicles in the territory; to further promote the popularization of EVs, this Council urges the SAR Government to: | ||||
| (1) | comprehensively review the policy on the promotion of EVs and set phased targets for such promotion;
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| (2) | amend the relevant provisions of the Buildings Ordinance to mandate the provision of charging facilities for charging EVs at all parking spaces in newly constructed commercial and residential buildings;
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| (3) | review the provision of ancillary facilities for charging EVs, including conducting a study on retrofitting the existing car parks in government properties and public housing estates, on-street parking spaces and public car parks with charging facilities for EVs;
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| (4) | in light of the successive replacement of batteries of registered EVs, formulate expeditiously a mechanism for the recycling and disposal of waste vehicle batteries, so as to prevent such batteries containing toxic substances from being dumped at landfills, causing serious perils to the environment and ecology; and
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| (5) | incentivize tertiary institutions to offer programmes on the design, scientific research, maintenance, etc. of EVs for nurturing talents for the EV industry, so as to assist Hong Kong in developing the industry of EVs or EV parts.
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| Hon Kenneth LEUNG, Hon Charles Peter MOK, Ir Dr Hon LO Wai-kwok, Hon HUI Chi-fung, Hon YUNG Hoi-yan, Hon CHAN Hak-kan, Hon Tanya CHAN and Dr Hon Junius HO to move amendments to the motion
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| (The amendments were issued on 20 October 2017
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 59/17-18) | |||||
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| 2. | Setting up an information database on the conduct of police officers
Dr Hon CHENG Chung-tai to move the following motion: (Translation) That, in recent years, there have been cases from time to time of on-duty and off-duty police officers committing criminal offences, including theft, sex crimes, violence, false allegations and corruption, and convicted and dismissed police officers may become potential hazards to law and order in society, causing people to worry more about the threat to their personal safety and security of their property; on the other hand, many people have complained to the Complaints Against Police Office and the Independent Police Complaints Council about abuse of power by police officers, but the relevant departments have failed to handle such cases in an open, fair and impartial manner; in this connection, this Council requests the Government to set up an information database on the conduct of police officers, allowing public access to information about faults committed by and complaints against various police officers. | ||||
| Hon James TO to move an amendment to the motion
(The amendment was issued on 30 October 2017 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 87/17-18) | |||||
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