A 98/99-33(1)

Legislative Council

Agenda
Wednesday 28 April 1999 at 2:30 pm

I. Papers

Subsidiary LegislationL.N. No.
1.Merchant Shipping (Safety) (Subdivision and Damage Stability of Cargo Ships Over 100 Metres in Length) (Amendment) Regulation 199999/99
2.Lands Tribunal (Amendment) Rules 1999 100/99
3.Hawker (Regional Council) (Amendment) Bylaw 1999101/99
4.Hawker (Urban Council) (Amendment) Bylaw 1999 102/99
5.Statutes of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Amendment) Statutes 1999103/99
6.Land (Compulsory Sale for Redevelopment) Ordinance (Cap. 545) (Commencement) Notice 1999104/99
7.Port Control (Cargo Working Areas) (Amendment) Regulation 1999 (L.N. 71 of 1999) (Commencement) Notice 1999105/99

Sessional Paper

No.123-Report of changes to the approved Estimates of Expenditure approved during the third quarter of 1998-99 (Public Finance Ordinance : Section 8)
(to be presented by Secretary for the Treasury)


Reports

1. Committee on Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Progress Report for the period July 1998 to April 1999
(to be presented by Hon Mrs Selina CHOW, Chairman of the Committee, who will address the Council)

2. Report of the Bills Committee on Adaptation of Laws Bill 1998
(to be presented by Hon Andrew WONG, Chairman of the Bills Committee)

II. Questions

1. Dr Hon David LI to ask:

In the last 18 months, the currencies of neighbouring economies have depreciated against the Hong Kong Dollar. In relative terms, the cost of doing business in Hong Kong is much higher. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it is aware of any evidence that multinational companies or, indeed, any businesses are investing in other places as a result of this; if there is such evidence, of the measures it is taking to avert such a trend?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Trade and Industry

2. Hon HUI Cheung-ching to ask: (Translation)

The Administration has recently relaxed the origin rule for footwear, allowing certain products the non-principal manufacturing processes of which are performed outside Hong Kong to be labelled "made in Hong Kong" for export registration. It is reported that hundreds of manufacturers consequently plan to have the production lines currently operating in the Mainland partially relocated back in Hong Kong, so that their products can be exported as products made in Hong Kong to countries which currently levy anti-dumping duties and impose quota limits on footwear "made in China". In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of the policies and specific measures adopted by the relevant government departments to provide assistance for those manufacturers in labour training, the siting of factories, taxation and so on, in order to co-ordinate and encourage the relocation of their manufacturing processes back in Hong Kong, thereby facilitating the export of footwear and increasing employment opportunities?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Trade and Industry

3. Hon Bernard CHAN to ask:

Will the Government inform this Council of the following data in the past five years:

  1. the number of cases in which an employer was prosecuted under section 40(2) of the Employees' Compensation Ordinance (Cap. 282) for employing an employee without a valid policy of insurance in respect of the liability of the employer under the Ordinance, and the number of employees involved in each of the cases prosecuted; and

  2. the number of known cases in which the number of employees covered by a policy of insurance required under section 40(1) of the Ordinance is less than the actual number of employees employed by the employer; and the measures that the relevant authorities have put in place in order to deter employers from understating the number of employees when taking out such policy of insurance?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

4. Hon David CHU to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that a survey on Native-speaking English Teachers found that more than 30% of the respondents planned not to renew their contracts upon expiry. More than half of the respondents also thought that the recruitment procedure they had undergone were very time-consuming, while most of them considered that they had not been provided with sufficient information on the living environment and education system in Hong Kong, resulting in difficulties in adapting to the life in Hong Kong after their arrival. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:

  1. the recruitment procedure and the time required; whether it has reviewed the procedure; if so, the details of it; if not, the reasons for that; and

  2. the plans in place to facilitate these teachers in adapting to the teaching and living environments in Hong Kong, as well as renewing their contracts and staying on?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

5. Hon Albert HO to ask: (Translation)

On 1 February this year, the Police Force deployed a constable to provide assistance in traffic arrangement upon the request of the People's Liberation Army Military Force in Hong Kong (referred to as "the Garrison" below), to facilitate visiting military personnel going to Lantau Island. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:

  1. the purpose of the military personnel's visit to Lantau, and the places on Lantau which they visited on that day;

  2. the number of military personnel involved and the type of vehicles used by the Garrison; and

  3. the policy on providing traffic arrangement assistance to the Garrison; and the measures to prevent such assistance from being abused or being regarded as a privilege of the Garrison?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Security

6. Dr Hon TANG Siu-tong to ask: (Translation)

It is reported that more than half of the shops now selling Japanese sashimi and sushi are operating without licences. Disregarding the stipulated requirement to store the foods at a low temperature, these stores are jeopardizing public health. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:

  1. the number of such shops that have been licensed to operate; whether it has estimated the number of shops operating without licences; the actions that it has taken against such unlicensed shops;

  2. the number of such shops prosecuted over the past three years for not storing the sashimi and sushi on sale at low temperatures, and among them, the number of shops that were prosecuted more than once; and

  3. the number of persons who became unwell and required hospitalisation over the past three years after eating unclean sashimi or sushi; the major kinds of diseases that they contracted; and the plans it has put in place to educate the public to be mindful of the hygiene condition of such foods?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Health and Welfare

*7. Hon HO Sai-chu to ask: (Translation)

It is reported that the Police chain-handcuff a number of illegal workers together when making arrests. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

  1. the above practice is commonly used by the Police in other types of cases in which more than one suspect are arrested at the same time;

  2. any review has been conducted to see if such a practice is appropriate; and

  3. consideration will be given to changing the practice of chain-handcuffing illegal workers under arrest, on humanitarian and human rights grounds?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*8. Hon Cyd HO to ask: (Translation)

It is reported that some people in the cultural circle have criticized the Administration for lack of creativity in naming streets, and for adopting street names that were translated into English in a slapdash way. Moreover, the procedure for naming of streets in Kowloon and Hong Kong is different from that in the New Territories. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. how the relevant authorities solicit views from local groups and individuals on the proposed names of new streets in the districts concerned;

  2. whether it will consider inviting the public to propose names for new streets; if so, the details of that; if not, the reasons for that; and

  3. whether it plans to adopt a standard procedure for naming streets in Kowloon, Hong Kong and the New Territories; if so, the details of that; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands

*9. Dr Hon LEONG Che-hung to ask:

Regarding media reports that the water quality standards used in Hong Kong for monitoring the quality of potable water are in certain aspects lower than those adopted by the United States or European Union countries, will the Administration inform this Council of:

  1. a breakdown of the results of water quality tests conducted in various districts in Hong Kong in each month of last year; and how such figures compare with the water quality standards adopted by these countries; and

  2. the estimated expenses for raising the quality of potable water to meet the standards adopted by these countries?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Works

*10. Hon Kenneth TING to ask: (Translation)

It is reported that the computer systems in the border check points of the Mainland Customs at Huanggang Port and Wenjindu Port broke down successively on the 8th of this month, causing delays to some 4 000 cross-border container trucks and serious traffic congestion at the border. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether it knows the total number of computer system failures at the border check points of the Mainland Customs in the past three years;

  2. whether it has assessed the losses caused by such failures to the industrial and business sectors and the transport industry in Hong Kong; if so, the specific figures of the losses; if not, whether it will conduct assessments;

  3. whether it has discussed with the Mainland Customs and urged the latter to install back-up computer systems or draw up contingency measures at various Mainland border check points as soon as possible, so as to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents; if so, the progress in this regard; and

  4. of the measures in place to ease traffic congestion on the Hong Kong side of the border when similar incidents recur in the future?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

*11. Dr Hon LUI Ming-wah to ask: (Translation)

As there is a large number of vacant units in private flatted factories in the urban area, will the Government inform this Council whether it will consider rezoning the sites of such factories for commercial/residential use and enact legislation or take other measures to encourage the owners concerned to convert the vacant premises into commercial/residential premises, so as to relieve the shortage of residential units in the urban area, improve the urban environment and put the land to more effective use; if not, please state the details?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands

*12. Hon Mrs Sophie LEUNG to ask: (Translation)

In recent years, large scale reclamation works have been carried out in Victoria Harbour, thus narrowing the navigation channels. Meanwhile, the number of vessels cruising in the harbour has continuously increased. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the measures to be taken by the authorities to ensure safe marine traffic for pleasure vessels and merchant ships; and

  2. whether the authorities have, in planning the reclamation works, considered the traffic demand of pleasure vessels and the provision of berthing places for these vessels; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Services

*13. Hon LAW Chi-kwong to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the depths of water in Victoria Harbour, will the Government inform this Council of:

  1. the highest, lowest and average depths of water as well as the deepest and the shallowest locations in Victoria Harbour in each of the past ten years; and

  2. the causes of such variations in the depths of water in Victoria Harbour?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Services

*14. Hon SIN Chung-kai to ask: (Translation)

The Operations Review Committee of the Independent Commission Against Corruption ("ICAC") is responsible for examining progress reports submitted by the Operations Department of ICAC on current major investigations, cases that have been investigated for over 12 months and searches authorised by the Commissioner of ICAC under the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance (Cap. 201), etc. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether or not it will follow the above practice and establish an independent committee for the Securities and Futures Commission ("SFC") tasked to examine investigations conducted by the SFC so as to enhance its transparency; if so, whether legislative amendments are involved, and the specific timetable for that; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply: Secretary for Financial Services

*15. Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council whether there is legislation in place to control the emission of excessive fumes from vessels in the Hong Kong waters; if so, of the number of prosecutions instituted against vessels involved in the emission of excessive fumes in the past three years; the number of convicted cases among them and the average penalties imposed in such cases; if not, the reasons for that; whether it will consider introducing such legislation?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Services

*16. Hon YEUNG Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)

It is reported that some of the methods used to tackle the Year 2000 ("Y2K") compliance problem for computers (commonly known as the "millennium bug problem") merely serve to postpone the problem by several decades, rather than solving it completely. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows whether:

  1. the methods currently adopted by government departments and public-funded organizations can completely solve the millennium bug problem; if not, the reasons for that; and

  2. the Hong Kong Productivity Council, in providing Y2K compliance services for small and medium-sized enterprises, has informed the enterprises whether or not the methods adopted can solve the millennium bug problem completely, so that the enterprises will not adopt temporary solutions unknowingly; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting

*17. Hon Christine LOH to ask:

Some mobile telephone service providers are unable to provide telephone services inside Government tunnels because the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department ("EMSD") cannot provide the relevant infrastructure inside the tunnels. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the reasons for EMSD's inability to provide such infrastructure;

  2. when EMSD will complete installation of the necessary infrastructure;

  3. of the names of such telephone service providers; and

  4. whether the inability of EMSD to provide infrastructure for all service providers affects the level playing field, and if so, the Office of Telecommunications Authority's role to ensure fair competition?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting

*18. Hon LAU Kong-wah to ask: (Translation)

It is reported that on 5 April, a bus driver allegedly closed the boarding gate and started the bus without noticing that an elderly man was still boarding the bus. As a result, the old man got his leg trapped by the boarding gate and was dragged along and injured, and it was found that no sensory device was installed on the boarding gate of the bus involved in the incident. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:

  1. the number of public buses which are installed with sensory devices on both the boarding and alighting gates, and of its percentage in the total number of public buses;

  2. if the franchised bus companies have plans to install sensory devices on the gates of all their buses; if so, of the respective completion schedules for such installation for various companies; and

  3. the measures that the franchised bus companies will adopt to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

*19. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)

It is reported that Mr LOK Yuk-shing, who is a Hong Kong resident, has been detained since 12 June last year by the Yih Ju Meng Public Security Bureau in Inner Mongolia autonomous region. On 6 July last year, he was formally arrested for alleged fraudulent practices and has been detained in the Dongsheng Public Security Detention Centre since then. According to Article 69 of the Criminal Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, if the public security authority considers the arrest of the detainee necessary, it shall, within three days following the detention of the detainee, submit the case to the People's Procuratorate for examination and approval. Under special circumstances, the detention period may be extended for one to four days prior to submitting the case for examination and approval. Moreover, Article 124 stipulates that the suspect, after being arrested, shall not be kept in custody for investigation purpose for a period exceeding two months. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council whether there is any measure to protect the legal rights of Hong Kong people being arrested in the Mainland, and whether any follow-up actions have been taken on this case; if either answer is in the negative, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*20. Dr Hon TANG Siu-tong to ask: (Translation)

It is reported that the Labour Department has recently compiled for its internal reference a list of the 50 companies and construction sites with the highest industrial accident rates. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether the department plans to update the list regularly and:

  1. publish the list for general information; if not, the reasons for that; and

  2. forward the list to government departments and organizations in the public sector for their reference in selecting contractors for services and works projects; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

* For written reply.

III. Bills

First Reading

1. Provision of Municipal Services (Reorganization) Bill

2. Insurance Companies (Amendment) Bill 1999

Second Reading (Debates to be adjourned)

1. Provision of Municipal Services (Reorganization) Bill:Secretary for Constitutional Affairs
2. Insurance Companies (Amendment) Bill 1999: Secretary for Financial Services


Second Reading (Debate to resume), Committee Stage and Third Reading

Adaptation of Laws Bill 1998 : Secretary for Security

IV. Members' Motions

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 Mrs Selina CHOW to move the following motion:

(See Proposed resolution at Appendix)

Public Officer to attend: Chief Secretary for Administration

2. New arrivals from the Mainland

Hon LAW Chi-kwong: (Translation)

That, in anticipation of the arrival of hundreds of thousands of eligible persons from the Mainland to settle in Hong Kong following the judgment of the Court of Final Appeal (CFA), which was made according to the provisions in the Basic Law, this Council urges the Government:

  1. to collaborate with the Mainland authorities to expeditiously formulate and promulgate the new procedure for vetting and approving Certificate of Entitlement (C of E) applications in accordance with the judgment of the CFA and the spirit of the Basic Law, verify the status of C of E applicants and issue the C of E within a reasonable period of time, so as to discourage those persons who have the right of abode (ROA) in Hong Kong but whose status has not been verified from entering Hong Kong illegally;

  2. to make arrangements for persons with the ROA, without prejudice to the exercise of their right, to decide for themselves whether or when to settle in Hong Kong after being issued with the C of E; and

  3. to give new arrivals the right to enjoy social welfare in accordance with the law, assist them in becoming self-dependent and integrating into the community as soon as possible, and adopt measures to eliminate any possible discrimination and misunderstanding towards them.
Amendment to Hon LAW Chi-kwong's motion

Hon Mrs Selina CHOW: (Translation)

To delete "collaborate" after "(a) to" and substitute with "discuss"; to delete "to" after "Mainland authorities" and substitute with "and"; to delete "formulate and promulgate the new procedure for vetting and approving Certificate of Entitlement (C of E) applications" after "expeditiously" and substitute with "ascertain the number of persons in the Mainland eligible for settling in Hong Kong"; to add "the Basic Law," after "in accordance with"; to delete "spirit of the Basic Law, verify the status of C of E applicants and issue the C of E within a reasonable period of time, so as to discourage those persons who have the right of abode (ROA) in Hong Kong but whose status has not been verified from entering Hong Kong illegally" after "the judgment of the CFA and the" and substitute with "relevant provisions of the local legislation, and make corresponding arrangements for such persons to come to Hong Kong in batches and in an orderly manner, thereby preventing an influx of illegal immigrants and undesirable impacts on Hong Kong"; to delete "make arrangements for persons with the ROA, without prejudice to the exercise of their right, to decide for themselves whether or when to settle in Hong Kong after being issued with the C of E" after "(b) to" and substitute with "comprehensively review and adjust the various public policies so as to cater for the new population trends and avoid the emergence of conflicts within Hong Kong"; and to delete "give new arrivals the right to enjoy social welfare in accordance with the law, assist them in becoming self-dependent and integrating into the community as soon as possible, and adopt measures to eliminate any possible discrimination and misunderstanding towards them" after "(c) to" and substitute with "formulate measures to absorb and train these new arrivals from the Mainland with a view to developing them into a new driving force for Hong Kong's economic development".

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Security

3. Labour Day

Hon LEE Cheuk-yan: (Translation)

That, on the eve of Labour Day, this Council worries that the promotion and adoption of a flexible appointment system by both the Government and the private sector may lead to a trend of 'casualization' and job insecurity for the wage-earning class in Hong Kong, as well as a drastic plunge in their wages, resulting in general impoverishment in the community and polarization of the rich and the poor, thereby foreshadowing a potential crisis of social instability; this Council regrets that the Government has disregarded the situation, and urges the Government to improve the quality of life for the wage-earning class by adopting positive measures, including:

  1. instituting a statutory collective bargaining system and strengthening the protection for employees participating in trade union activities;

  2. setting a minimum wage to safeguard the basic livelihood of employees; and

  3. conducting a review of the tax system in Hong Kong with a view to reducing the disparity between the rich and the poor.
Amendment to Hon LEE Cheuk-yan's motion
Hon CHAN Wing-chan: (Translation)

To delete "worries that the promotion and adoption of a flexible appointment system by both the Government and the private sector may lead to a trend of "casualization' and job insecurity for the wage-earning class in Hong Kong, as well as a drastic plunge in their wages, resulting in general impoverishment in the community and polarization of the rich and the poor, thereby foreshadowing a potential crisis of social instability; this Council regrets that the Government has disregarded the situation, and" after "That, on the eve of Labour Day, this Council"; and to delete "improve the quality of life for the wage-earning class by adopting positive measures including: (a) instituting a statutory collective bargaining system and strengthening the protection for employees participating in trade union activities; (b) setting a minimum wage to safeguard the basic livelihood of employees; and (c) conducting a review of the tax system in Hong Kong with a view to reducing the disparity between the rich and the poor" after "urges the Government to" and substitute with "implement the suggestions in the 1999 "May 1 Declaration' made by the labour sector in Hong Kong for assisting the low-income people in alleviating their hardships, legislating for a statutory labour-management bargaining mechanism and recognizing the status of trade unions in bargaining".

Public Officer to attend: Secretary for Education and Manpower

Clerk to the Legislative Council