A 99/00-19(1)

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 1 March 2000 at 2:30 pm


I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
Hong Kong Sports Development Board (Amendment) Ordinance 2000 (7 of 2000) (Commencement) Notice 200050/2000

Other Papers

1. No.78 - Report by the Commissioner of Correctional Services on the Administration of the Correctional Services Department Welfare Fund for the year ended 31 March 1999
(to be presented by Secretary for Security)

2. No.79 - The Lord Wilson Heritage Trust Annual Report 1998 - 1999
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

3. No.82 - The Government Minute in response to the Report No. 33A of the Public Accounts Committee dated December 1999
(to be presented by Financial Secretary, who will address the Council)

4. Report of the Bills Committee on International Organizations (Privileges and Immunities) Bill
(to be presented by Hon James TO, Chairman of the Bills Committee)

II. Questions

1. Hon David CHU to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether it knows the "octane numbers" of the petrol recommended by manufacturers for various types of private cars commonly used in Hong Kong;

  2. of the criteria adopted and factors considered in setting the "research octane number" at not less than 95.0 in the existing legislation in respect of unleaded petrol being sold in Hong Kong; and

  3. whether it has assessed how the level of pollutants concentration in vehicle emission will be affected if the petrol used by vehicles has an octane number higher or lower than that recommended by vehicle manufacturers?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment and Food

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

Will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:

  1. the number of trade fairs organized by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council ("TDC") in Europe, America and Japan in each of the past five years, the number of exhibitors from Hong Kong participating in each of these TDC fairs and the respective sizes of their accompanying delegations, as well as the reasons for the year-on-year changes in the number of exhibitors; and

  2. in terms of charges per square metre of exhibition area, how the charges levied by the TDC on the Hong Kong exhibitors concerned compare to those levied by local exhibition organizers; if comparison figures are not available, of the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Trade and Industry

3. Hon Cyd HO to ask: (Translation)

In accordance with Annex I to the Basic Law, the Chief Executive of the second term shall be elected by an Election Committee consisting of 800 members. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:

  1. the expected time when all members of the Election Committee are returned;

  2. the measures in place to prevent the incumbent Chief Executive and other persons from influencing the voting preference of members of the Election Committee in the election of the next Chief Executive, through the offer of advantages to them before declaring their plans to run for the next Chief Executive's office; and

  3. the specific measures, in formulating the policies governing the personal interests of members of the Election Committee, to resolve the problem of the incumbent Chief Executive playing the roles of the policy-maker as well as a candidate for the office of the next Chief Executive?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional Affairs

4. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)

At the end of last year, in reviewing the forecasts of electricity demand made by CLP Power Hong Kong Limited ("CLP"), the Government's Economic Analysis Division ("EAD") and the independent consultant, Burns and Roe Company ("B & R") have come to the same conclusion that Units 7 and 8 of the Black Point Power Station would be required in 2008 and 2010 respectively. Given that CLP's wrong forecast in 1992 and the Administration's failure to monitor the situation then have imposed a huge financial burden on consumers, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council of the methodologies and procedure adopted by CLP, B & R and EAD respectively to ensure the accuracy of the forecasts of electricity demand?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Services

5. Hon CHOY So-yuk to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether it knows if it is stipulated in the franchise agreement between the Airport Authority ("AA") and Hong Kong Air Cargo Terminals Limited ("HACTL") that AA has the right to introduce new operators to provide air cargo handling services in 2003 or earlier;

  2. if such stipulation is in place, whether it knows if AA has drawn up any plan for introducing new operators; if there is such a plan, of the details and the preparatory work carried out so far; if there is no such plan, of the reasons and the objective criteria to be adopted by AA to determine the time for introducing new operators, as well as the envisaged time by which the air cargo industry will reach the levels set out in such criteria; and

  3. in view of the significance of air cargo services on the economy of Hong Kong, of the measures it will adopt to ensure that the air cargo industry will not be monopolized?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Services

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

In connection with countering tax evasion, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. over the past five years, the estimated amount of undercharged tax resulting from evasion each year; the number of confirmed cases of tax evasion and the total amount of tax successfully recovered each year; the number of occasions on which section 60 of the Inland Revenue Ordinance was invoked to make assessments or additional back year assessments against tax evaders and the amount of tax involved each year;

  2. of the measures in place for countering tax evasion, and whether the effectiveness of these measures is regularly reviewed; and

  3. whether it has plans to introduce legislative amendments to impose heavier penalties against tax evaders; if not, of the reasons?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Treasury

*7. Hon Ambrose LAU to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the work of the newly established Leisure and Cultural Services Department, will the Government inform this Council of:

  1. the policies and the specific measures formulated by the Department in the following areas:

    1. sports education for all;

    2. sports elitist training;

    3. soliciting support from the commercial and industrial community for cultural, leisure and sports activities; and

    4. encouraging public participation in cultural, leisure and sports activities; and

  2. the co-operation programmes and the exchange activities to be organized by the Department with the relevant organizations in the Mainland and overseas countries?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

*8. Hon Mrs Selina CHOW to ask: (Translation)

It is learnt that the Helping Business Awards Scheme organized by the Administration from April to July last year received favourable response; 147 civil servants from 40 government departments submitted a total of 116 proposals. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it will consider launching a similar award scheme to invite civil servants to submit proposals on saving public expenditure; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Treasury

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

In connection with assisting enterprises to develop their business in the Mainland, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the numbers of meetings arranged respectively by the Trade Department and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council ("TDC") during the past three years for Hong Kong businessmen and Mainland officials to discuss matters concerning legislation, taxation etc in the Mainland; and the matters discussed as well as the outcome of each meeting;

  2. of the numbers of conferences on investment policies and trade, as well as trade missions for foreign enterprises based in Hong Kong, that had been arranged respectively by the Industry Department and the TDC in collaboration with the central and local organizations in the Mainland over the past three years; the number of projects for developing business and making investments in the Mainland by the enterprises concerned, which were finalized through such promotional efforts, and the industries and investment amounts involved in those projects; and

  3. in view of the imminent accession of China to the World Trade Organization, whether the Industry Department and the TDC have formulated specific plans to encourage foreign enterprises which are based in Hong Kong to develop their business in the Mainland in the coming year; if so, of the details of them?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Trade and Industry

*10. Hon Fred LI to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the number of reported cases received last year in which elderly people were allegedly abused;

  2. of the respective definitions of "acts of abusing elderly people" adopted by the government departments concerned, and whether working guidelines on this subject have been issued to front-line staff by the departments concerned; if they have been issued, of the details; if not, whether it will consider doing so;

  3. whether it will consider conducting regular statistical surveys on the gravity of the problem of elderly people being abused; if it will not, of the reasons; and

  4. whether it has plans to introduce legislation to prohibit the act of abusing elderly people and to penalize the abusers; if it has such plans, of the specific timetable; if not, the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

*11. Hon LEE Wing-tat to ask: (Translation)

In order to compile the 1999 Geographic Constituencies Voter Register, the Administration had conducted a vetting exercise on cases in respect of which poll cards for the first Legislative Council election were undeliverable. However, 13 900 cases were excluded from that vetting exercise; most of these cases involved voters residing in remote rural areas outside the Post Office's delivery zone or served by communal post boxes. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether, in the current voter registration campaign conducted in the form of large-scale household visits, these voters were visited at their registered addresses so as to confirm that they are still residing there, so that the voter register can be updated more accurately; if not, of the reasons for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional Affairs

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

As air pollution in Hong Kong is worsening, the percentage of the annual number of deaths due to respiratory system diseases in the total number of deaths in the same year rose gradually from 15.8% in 1981 to 20.2% in 1997. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the total number of hospitalization days of patients of respiratory system diseases, including asthma, bronchitis, pulmonary emphysema and lung cancer, in each of the past five years, and the year-on-year increases in public health care expenditure so incurred;

  2. of the measures adopted to alleviate the impact of air pollution on the health of vulnerable persons such as children, the elderly and people suffering from asthma; and

  3. whether it will consider organizing civic education activities such as "Fresh Air Week" or "No Driving Day" to bring home to the public the message that reducing air pollution is a responsibility for everyone?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

*13. Hon Bernard CHAN to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the provision of low-rental exhibition venues and studios to artists, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the current monthly rent per square foot for the former Cheung Sha Wan Abattoir; the criteria adopted for determining the rental level of such premises, and how the rent compares to that of the neighbouring government factory estates; whether the Administration will consider lowering the rent for such premises;

  2. whether it will take measures to provide more exhibition venues and studios to artists; and

  3. whether it will consider requiring property developers to allocate a certain proportion of floor areas in buildings completed in future for displaying works of art, so as to provide more opportunities for the public to appreciate such works?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

*14. Hon NG Leung-sing to ask: (Translation)

Hong Kong is a signatory to the World Trade Organization Agreement on Government Procurement ("the Agreement"). Under the Agreement, government procurement should be conducted in accordance with the criteria and procedure laid down in the Agreement when the values of the goods, services or construction contracts to be procured exceed the specified limits, including not giving any preferential treatment to local suppliers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the similarities and differences in its practices in conducting procurement covered and not covered by the Agreement, and the reasons for such differences;

  2. whether it knows if other signatories to the Agreement accord the same treatment to both local and non-local suppliers in conducting procurement not covered by the Agreement; if there is a difference in treatment, of the details; and

  3. whether it will consider giving priority to local suppliers in inviting bids for procurement not covered by the Agreement; if not, of the rationale for that?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Treasury

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

It was reported that during the last Lunar New Year holidays, the number of attendances at the accident and emergency ("A&E") departments of public hospitals was higher than that on normal days, and that some of the private medical practitioners who maintained consultation services during this period raised their consultation fees drastically. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

  1. it knows if the Hospital authority had deployed additional medical and nursing staff to the A&E departments of public hospitals during that period, and if the number of medical and nursing staff who served at these A&E departments were sufficient to meet the increased demand; and

  2. it has plans to regulate the level of consultation fees charged by private medical practitioners during public holidays; if it has such plans, of the details; if not, of the measures to prevent private medical practitioners from overcharging consultation fees during public holidays?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

*16. Hon Howard YOUNG to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council whether it knows if the various mobile phone services operators have conducted any mobile phone signal reception tests along the Airport Express; if they have, of the results of the tests and the locations identified as blind spots; and if they have not, whether the authorities concerned will request the operators to conduct such tests and publish the results?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting

*17. Ir Dr Hon HO Chung-tai to ask: (Translation)

It was reported that, owing to insufficient sewage treatment capacity, the Shatin Sewage Treatment Works has been intermittently discharging sewage with pullutants level exceeding the stipulated permissible limits ("sub-standard sewage") since 1996, resulting in the deterioration of the water quality of the Victoria Harbour. To address the problem, the Administration planned to expand the Treatment Works and Phase I of the project was expected to be completed in four years time. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the point in time it became aware that the sewage treatment capacity of the Treatment Works was insufficient to meet the demand;

  2. whether it has assessed the cumulative amount of sub-standard sewage discharged to the Victoria Harbour by the Treatment Works since 1996;

  3. of the remedial measures in place to solve the water pollution problem of the Victoria Harbour; and

  4. of the measures it will put in place, before the completion of the expansion project, to prevent the Treatment Works from discharging sub-standard sewage and to reduce the impact of those sewage on the environment?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment and Food

*18. Dr Hon David LI to ask:

It is noted that the number of computer-related crimes reported to the Police increased from 34 in 1998 to 228 in 1999. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of its timetable for amending the relevant existing legislation to meet the need of our rapidly advancing information technology-based society?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

Will the Government inform this Council whether:

  1. it has statistics on the numbers of radiocommunication service transponders and satellite television receivers currently installed within or on the rooftops of buildings; if so, of the respective numbers of different types of equipment installed, and a breakdown of these figures by category of buildings (according to land use); and

  2. it has conducted any study on the impact of electromagnetic waves emitted by these equipment on human health and medical equipment with electronic components; if so, of the findings of the study; whether it knows if similar studies have been carried out in other countries; if so, of the findings of the studies?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting

*20. Hon CHEUNG Man-kwong to ask: (Translation)

In November last year, an insurance company which was dissatisfied with the adjudication of the Insurance Claims Complaints Bureau on an insurance policy's compensation claim, applied to the High Court for judicial review and won the case. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

  1. it knows the criteria adopted by the Bureau for determining if a complaint lodged by an insurance policyholder is substantiated; whether such criteria have spelt out if the literal interpretation of the terms in a policy or the judgement made by common sense should prevail in the event of discrepancy between the two; whether the Bureau has amended such criteria in the light of the court's ruling; if it has, of the details;

  2. it knows if the Bureau has plans to amend its rules and regulations or adopt other measures to prevent insurance companies from overturning, by means of judicial review, the Bureau's adjudication on insurance compensation claims made against them;

  3. the Bureau is an organization exercising public functions under the auspices of the Government; and

  4. the Administration will conduct a review on the operations and structure of the Bureau to ensure that the interests of insurance policyholders are duly protected?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services

*For written reply.

III. Bills

First Reading

1. Road Traffic Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2000

2. Employees' Compensation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2000

Second Reading (Debates to be adjourned)

1. Road Traffic Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2000 : Secretary for Transport
2. Employees' Compensation (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2000 : Secretary for Education and Manpower

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

1. International Organizations (Privileges and Immunities) Bill : Chief Secretary for Administration
2. Legislative Council (Amendment) Ordinance 1999 (Amendment) Bill 2000: Secretary for Constitutional Affairs
3. Dumping at Sea (Amendment) Bill 2000 : Secretary for the Environment and Food
4. Mental Health (Amendment) Bill 2000 : Secretary for Health and Welfare

IV. Members' Motions

1. Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

Hon Emily LAU to move the following motion:

RESOLVED that the Legislative Council (Formation of Election Committee) (Appeals) (Amendment) Regulation 2000, published as Legal Notice No. 13 of 2000 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 26 January 2000, be repealed.

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Constitutional Affairs

2. Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

Hon Emily LAU to move the following motion:

RESOLVED that the Distribution of Number of Members Among Designated Bodies (Election Committee) (Legislative Council) Order 2000, published as Legal Notice No. 15 of 2000 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 26 January 2000, be repealed.

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Constitutional Affairs

3. Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

Hon Emily LAU to move the following motion:

RESOLVED that the Maximum Scale of Election Expenses (Legislative Council) Order 1997 (Amendment) Order 2000, published as Legal Notice No. 16 of 2000 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 26 January 2000, be amended by repealing section 3(a) and substituting -

"(a) by repealing subsection (1)(a), (b) and (c) and substituting -

    "(a) in respect of the Kowloon West geographical constituency and the Kowloon East geographical constituency, $750,000;

    (b) in respect of the Hong Kong Island geographical constituency, $1,000,000;

    (c) in respect of the New Territories West geographical constituency and the New Territories East geographical constituency, $1,250,000.";".

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Constitutional Affairs

4. Accident and emergency services

Hon Howard YOUNG: (Translation)

That, in view of the prolonged serious overcrowding at the accident and emergency departments of public hospitals, which has adversely affected the quality of the medical services provided, and in order to effectively reduce the misuse of accident and emergency services and ensure that those who are really suffering from acute illnesses can receive speedy medical treatment, this Council urges the Government to actively introduce and improve other medical services, including extending the service hours of out-patient government clinics at various districts, reforming the allocation and operating systems of clinics in public housing estates, and promoting the development of comprehensive primary medical services in private housing estates, so that the public can have more choices in medical services.

Amendments to Hon Howard YOUNG's motion

(i) Dr Hon TANG Siu-tong: (Translation)

To add "fact that the community has yet to reach a consensus on the comprehensive reform in the health care services, this Council opposes the Government's charging of fees for consultations at the accident and emergency departments of public hospitals; however, in view of the" after "in view of the"; to delete "effectively reduce the misuse of accident and emergency services and"; to add "allocate adequate resources to ensure that all patients who are in critical conditions can receive speedy medical treatment, and at the same time, to" after "urges the Government to"; to add "operating out-patient services in the vicinity of accident and emergency departments; increasing the quota for consultations in and" after "including"; to delete "at" after "government clinics" and substitute with "according to different demands in"; to delete "reforming" and substitute with "improving"; and to add "as well as educating and assisting the public, through long-term and continuous publicity and educational efforts, to choose appropriate medical services" after "choices in medical services,".

(ii) Dr Hon LEONG Che-hung: (Translation)

To delete "which has adversely affected the quality of the medical services provided,"; to delete "misuse" and substitute with "inappropriate use"; to delete "and ensure that those who are really suffering from acute illnesses can receive speedy medical treatment"; to delete "introduce and improve other medical services" and substitute with "initiate, as an integral part of the overall health care reform, improvement measures"; to add "introducing accident and emergency department fees at an appropriate level, putting in place a pilot scheme to provide out-patient services operated by private medical practitioners in the vicinity of accident and emergency departments," after "including"; to delete "reforming the allocation and operating systems of" and substitute with "and promoting"; to delete ", and promoting the development of" and substitute with "in developing"; and to delete "in private housing estates, so that the public can have more choices in medical services" and substitute with ", etc".

(iii) Hon CHAN Yuen-han: (Translation)

To add "and led to a serious mismatch in the provision of medical services" after "the medical services provided"; to delete "effectively reduce the misuse of accident and emergency services and"; to add "and that resources can be put to more effective use" after "speedy medical treatment"; to add "operating 24-hour out-patient services in all public hospitals with accident and emergency departments," after "at various districts,"; to delete "development of comprehensive primary medical services in private housing estates" and substitute with "introduction of a whole-day service networking system by private primary medical service providers"; and to add ", and the pressure on the use of accident and emergency departments can be alleviated" after "choices in medical services".

(iv) Hon Michael HO: (Translation)

To delete "and in order to effectively reduce the misuse of accident and emergency services and ensure that those who are really suffering from acute illnesses can receive speedy medical treatment,"; to add "considers that charging patients at accident and emergency departments is not a solution to the problem, and that" after "this Council"; to delete "urges"; to delete "to" after "the Government" and substitute with "should"; to delete ", including" and substitute with "to provide more choices in medical services for the public, so that the inappropriate use of accident and emergency services can be effectively reduced; to this end, this Council urges the Government to adopt the following specific improvement measures: (a) operating 24-hour out-patient services on a trial basis in the vicinity of accident and emergency departments;"; to delete "extending the service hours of out-patient government clinics at various districts," and substitute with "(b) conducting a comprehensive review of the quota for consultations and chips allotment systems in out-patient public clinics at various districts as well as their service hours;"; to delete "reforming the allocation and operating systems of clinics in pubic housing estates," and substitute with "(c) reviewing the policy on allocation of clinics in public housing estates, and considering the inclusion of additional conditions in tenancy agreements to ensure that the opening hours and operation of such clinics can tie in with the needs of residents of public housing estates;" to add "(d)" before "promoting"; to delete "the development of" and substitute with "and developing"; and to delete "in private housing estates, so that the public can have more choices in medical services".

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Health and Welfare

5. Alleviating the disparity between the rich and the poor

Hon CHAN Wing-chan: (Translation)

That, in view of the fact that the structurally imbalanced development of the local economy over the past 20-plus years has resulted in the less skilled and less educated labour being forced out of the market or to take up jobs with lower remuneration, that the financial turmoil has dealt a further blow to the job market, causing a deterioration in the employment environment and a drastic drop in the living standards of the grass-roots labour, and that the Government has cut back the financial assistance to the poor in a bid to tighten expenditure, thereby aggravating the disparity between the rich and the poor, this Council urges the Government to expeditiously formulate a policy of assisting the local labour to re-join the workforce, with a view to alleviating the disparity between the rich and the poor; the specific measures should include:

  1. formulating a priority employment policy to ensure that local workers will be given priority in employment;

  2. initiating a 're-employment support scheme' to assist the unemployed in receiving urgent assistance and appropriate bridging-over training to facilitate their re-joining the labour market;

  3. increasing the investment in human resource training targeted at the needs of the less educated labour and new arrivals to Hong Kong and offering more effective general and technical training; and

  4. developing emerging industries such as the waste recycling and recovery industry in Hong Kong, in order to provide a certain number of labour-intensive jobs belonging to the less skilled categories, consolidate the local job market and give impetus to social services.

Amendment to Hon CHAN Wing-chan's motion

Hon LAW Chi-kwong: (Translation)

To delete "educated" after "the less skilled and less" and substitute with "academically qualified"; to add ", and at the same time to provide the unemployed with counselling and support services," after "between the rich and the poor"; to delete "initiating a 're-employment support scheme' to assist" and substitute with "strengthening the actual operation and complementary measures of the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance system to achieve the objective of encouraging the poor to get rid of poverty by providing"; to delete "in receiving" and substitute with "and their families with"; to add "financial" after "urgent"; to delete "and" before "appropriate bridging-over training" and substitute with "as well as assisting the unemployed in receiving"; to delete "educated" before "labour and new arrivals" and substitute with "qualified"; to delete "and" after "technical training;"; and to add "; and (e) establishing an inter-departmental working group to formulate a comprehensive policy on eliminating poverty and to conduct reviews on a regular basis" after "impetus to social services".

Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Education and Manpower


Clerk to the Legislative Council