A 02/03-17

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 12 February 2003 at 2:30 pm

I. Tabling of Papers
Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments L.N. No.
1.Practising Certificate (Special Conditions) Rules (L.N. 184 of 2002) (Commencement) Notice 2003 19/2003
2.Official Languages (Alteration of Text under Section 4D) Order 2003 24/2003
3.Tax Reserve Certificates (Rate of Interest) Notice 2003 25/2003
4.Registration of Electors (Appeals) (Amendment) Regulation 2003 26/2003
5.Election Committee (Registration) (Voters For Subsectors) (Members of Election Committee) (Appeals) (Amendment) Regulation 2003 27/2003
6.Fugitive Offenders (Sri Lanka) Order28/2003
7.Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Public Pleasure Grounds) (Amendment of Fourth Schedule) Order 2003 29/2003
8.Trade Marks Rules 30/2003
9.Trade Marks Ordinance (Cap. 559) (Commencement) Notice 2003 31/2003

Other Papers

1. No.56 - AIDS Trust Fund 2001-2002 Annual Accounts together with the Director of Audit's Report
(to be presented by Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food)

2. No.57 - Report of changes to the approved Estimates of Expenditure approved during the second quarter of 2002-03 (Public Finance Ordinance : Section 8)
(to be presented by Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury)

3. No.58 - Annual Report 2001-2002, including Statement of Accounts and Auditor's Report, of the Hospital Authority
(to be presented by Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food)

4. No.59 - Report and Statement of Accounts of the Samaritan Fund, together with the Director of Audit's Report, for the year ended 31 March 2002
(to be presented by Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food)

5. Report of the Bills Committee on Village Representative Election Bill
(to be presented by Hon IP Kwok-him, Chairman of the Bills Committee)

II. Questions

1. Hon LI Fung-ying to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that the contractors of outsourced government services are paying low wages to the workers concerned and not providing them with statutory rest days. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a) of the services outsourced by various government departments in the past two years, whether it knows the number of workers employed by the contractors for these services, and the highest, lowest and median monthly wages of these employees during the period, together with a breakdown by the types of jobs;

    (b) of the respective numbers of complaints received by the departments concerned last year from these workers regarding their wages and remuneration, with a breakdown of the numbers by the nature of the complaints; and

    (c) whether any measures are in place to ensure that these employees are paid reasonable wages and provided with statutory rest days; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

2. Hon TSANG Yok-sing to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the ethnic minorities, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a) the population sizes of various ethnic minorities at present, and how they compare to those for each of the past five years;

    (b) the situation of their employment and schooling; and

    (c) the difficulties they encountered in integrating into society, and the assistance provided to them by the Administration?
Public Officer to reply:Secretary for Home Affairs
Secretary for Education and Manpower
Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

3. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)

The Housing Department launched the Proactive Registration Campaign for Elderly Persons between November 2000 and March 2001 and pledged to allocate public rental housing ("PRH") flats to the registered and eligible elderly households by the end of 2003. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a) of the number of eligible elderly households registered in the Campaign; among them, the respective numbers of elderly households which have been allocated with PRH flats, have refused to accept the allocated units and are still waiting for allocation;

    (b) of the number of each type of PRH flats offered by the Housing Department to the elderly households so far; and

    (c) whether there are enough small self-contained PRH flats for allocation to these elderly households by the end of this year; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

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

Concerning Radio Television Hong Kong's ("RTHK") services, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a) whether the services currently provided by RTHK include "publicizing and promoting government policies"; if so, of the Administration's criteria for assessing the quality and effectiveness of such service and the assessment results; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (b) whether, given that the Chief Executive has stated in this year's Policy Address that the Administration will "economize, enhance efficiency, dispense with redundant services and re-deploy our resources, taking practical measures to prevent any erosion in the quality of public services and ensuring the continuation of the necessary ones", it has assessed if the various services currently provided by RTHK are the necessary ones; if so, of the relevant assessment criteria and results; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology

5. Dr Hon LAW Chi-kwong to ask: (Translation)

It is learnt that the Administration will, in collaboration with a proponent organization, implement a pilot scheme on the separate collection of wet and dry wastes in several housing estates on Island East early this year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a) the name of the organization concerned and the division of responsibilities between the organization and the relevant government department(s);

    (b) the total estimated expenditure of the pilot scheme and the amount to be borne by public money, together with the expenditure on the procurement and distribution of plastic bags; and

    (c) the criteria for determining whether to collaborate with non-governmental organizations in organizing waste recovery activities; and the organizations with which it will collaborate in organizing such activities?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

6. Hon WONG Sing-chi to ask: (Translation)

On the 12th of last month, two manhole covers suddenly flew up at Chung On Street, Tsuen Wan, hitting and injuring some passers-by. The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited ("Towngas"), after investigation by its staff, concluded that the incident was caused by an explosion of the accumulated town gas which had seeped from an underground cast iron gas pipe. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a) whether the relevant departments have investigated thoroughly the causes of the incident; if so, of the findings;

    (b) whether it has assessed if Towngas should expeditiously replace all underground cast iron gas pipes, so as to safeguard public safety; and

    (c) of the measures to ensure that underground fuel pipes will not pose a threat to public safety?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

*7. Hon Eric LI to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that a woman was found last month to have withheld information about her possessing assets in Hong Kong and the Mainland, the value of which was over ten million dollars, in order to defraud the government of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance ("CSSA") payments. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
    (a) it conducts investigations when vetting and approving CSSA applications to find out if the applicants possess assets in other territories; if it does, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b) it conducts regular random checks on the immigration records of CSSA recipients' leaving and returning to Hong Kong, and asks them to give the reasons for their departure from Hong Kong; and (c) it will consider imposing financial penalties on those who have been convicted of obtaining CSSA payments by deception?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

*8. Hon LAU Wong-fat to ask: (Translation)

As it has been more than five years since Hong Kong's reunification with the Motherland and the economic and trade relationship between Shenzhen and Hong Kong is becoming increasingly close, will the Government inform this Council whether it will consider relaxing the various restrictions imposed on the Frontier Closed Area; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

*9. Hon CHAN Kam-lam to ask: (Translation)

The Hong Kong Society of Accountants ("HKSA") may, at its discretion, form Investigation Committees and Disciplinary Committees to deal with complaints about the professional misconduct of professional accountants. It has been reported that the authorities suggested to HKSA in December last year that, to enhance the credibility of these committees, the number of lay members should be more than half of their respective membership. In response, HKSA accepted the suggestion and further proposed to set up an Independent Investigation Board to investigate cases involving alleged substandard audit work performed for listed and regulated companies. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a) of the content and progress of the discussions between the authorities and HKSA;

    (b) whether it has estimated when the new arrangements can be implemented; and

    (c) whether it plans to have the self-regulation arrangement for the accountancy profession eventually replaced?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

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

The Fixed Penalty (Public Cleanliness Offences) Ordinance commenced operation in June last year. In this regard, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a) the details of the enforcement actions taken by the relevant government departments; and

    (b) the districts and kinds of premises with higher littering rates as indicated by the number of fixed penalty notices issued?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

*11. Hon LAU Ping-cheung to ask: (Translation)

In its Policy Objectives published in October 1999, the Government indicated that it intended to introduce legislation in early 2000 to resolve the problem of missing or illegible Government leases and grants. However, the Administration advised this Council at the end of last year that the introduction of the relevant bill would be deferred to 2004/05. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a) of the respective numbers of cases of failure to complete conveyancing transactions and disputes over land boundaries as a result of missing or illegible Government leases and grants in the past three years;

    (b) of the difficulties encountered in drafting the relevant bill; and

    (c) whether interim measures will be taken to facilitate conveyancing transactions prior to commencement of the legislation; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

*12. Hon LEUNG Fu-wah to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the supply and demand of quarters for the officers of disciplined services (other than the post-tied quarters and operational quarters designated by departments for their staff), will the Government inform this Council:
    (a) of a breakdown by the types of disciplined services, the grades and locations of the quarters, the numbers of quarters supplied, demanded and allocated as well as the average quarters vacancy rate in the past three years, and the anticipated supply and demand in the next three years;

    (b) of the current average waiting time for various grades of staff in the disciplined services before they are allocated quarters;

    (c) whether there is specific stipulation in the existing policies that the Administration is required to allocate quarters for the staff in the disciplined services within a certain period of waiting time; if so, of the details;

    (d) whether it has assessed the need for measures to shorten the waiting times; if the assessment outcome is in the affirmative, of the target waiting times; if it is in the negative, the reasons for that;

    (e) whether it has assessed the reasons for a relatively high vacancy rate for some of the quarters, and of the solutions; and

    (f) whether it will allocate flats under the Home Ownership Scheme that are now vacant or expected to be completed soon for use as quarters for the disciplined services; if so, of the specific arrangements and implementation timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

As the employment population in Sai Ying Pun and the Central District in 2008 is anticipated to be lower than the previous forecast, and the Western District Development has not been confirmed, the authorities decided last month to defer the construction of the North Hong Kong Island Line of the Mass Transit Railway ("MTR"), shelve the West Hong Kong Island Line Phase 2, and request the MTR Corporation Limited to examine modifications to its preliminary proposal on the South Hong Kong Island Line. In this regard, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a) of the ways to avoid further discrepancies in employment population forecasts; and

    (b) whether it has assessed the impact of the relevant projects being deferred and shelved on the residents in the Western and Southern Districts?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

*14. Hon LEE Cheuk-yan to ask: (Translation)

Will the Government inform this Council:
    (a) of the number of outstanding wage claims received by the Labour Department in the past three years, together with a breakdown by trade;

    (b) of the number of employers prosecuted for defaulting on payment of wages to their employees in the past three years and, among them, the number of those who were convicted and its breakdown by the penalties imposed by the court; and

    (c) whether it has reviewed the enforcement of the relevant legislation and its adequacy in deterring employers from defaulting on payment of wages; if so, of the outcome of the review and the areas where improvement is needed?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

*15. Hon Henry WU to ask: (Translation)

Some newly completed Home Ownership Scheme ("HOS") (including Private Sector Participation Scheme) flats are pre-installed with household appliances, such as electric water heaters and air-conditioners, before they are put up for sale. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a) the normal commencement date of the maintenance period for such electrical appliances;

    (b) the number of reports of defective appliances pre-installed in the HOS flats, made by the flat owners when they took possession of their flats to the Housing Department ("HD") or the developers concerned, the number of items involved for each type of electrical appliances, the expenditure on repairing or replacing these defective appliances and the party who paid for it, in each of the past five years;

    (c) the follow-up measures that HD or the developers concerned will take if the maintenance period of such appliances has already expired when the owners take possession of the flats; and

    (d) the current number of completed HOS flats which have not been sold, together with a breakdown by the types of pre-installed household appliances; whether it will, when leasing or selling such flats in the future, consider replacing such appliances or extending their maintenance period before handing them over to the tenants/owners; if it will, of the estimated cost?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

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

Regarding the provision of medical and elderly services to the frail elderly, will the Government inform this Council whether it has plans to:
    (a) develop a care system based on the case management model so that the frail elderly can receive one-stop and continuous medical and elderly services,

    (b) set up a central database on the medical and elderly services that have been used by each frail elderly, saving the need to conduct case review by the service institutions concerned, and

    (c) enhance the training of front-line staff to promote their understanding about other professions and strengthen the co-ordination of various professional services, thereby improving the long-term care services continuously provided to the frail elderly; if it has such plans, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

*17. Hon Abraham SHEK to ask: (Translation)

Regarding guesthouses and service apartments converted from office buildings, will the Government inform this Council whether:
    (a) these two types of converted premises are subject to the same extent of regulation as hotels under the Buildings Ordinance (Cap. 123), the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Ordinance (Cap. 349) and the Fire Services Ordinance (Cap. 95); if not, of the reasons for that and the relevant details; and

    (b) it has assessed the impact of the conversion into guesthouses and service apartments from office buildings on the hotel industry and the private residential rental market; if so, of the assessment results; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

*18. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)

Regarding statistics on Mainland people settling in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a) of the number of Mainland people who came to Hong Kong for settlement under the Certificate of Entitlement ("C of E") Scheme during the period from 1 July 1997 to the end of December 2002 and, among them, the respective numbers of those who were "aged under 20" and "aged 20 or above" on arrival;

    (b) of the number of people who had been issued with the C of E but were still residing in the Mainland at the end of December last year;

    (c) of the number of C of E applications which were being processed by the Administration at the end of December last year;

    (d) of the number of people entering Hong Kong from the Mainland for reunion with spouses on One-way Exit Permits ("OEPs") last year, together with a breakdown by the following: (i) the OEPs issued under the "sub-quota for long-separated spouses" or other sub-quotas;(ii) the OEPs issued by the Guangdong Authorities or other authorities; and(iii) the number of years of marriage with spouses in Hong Kong, i.e. "less than five years" or "five to less than 10 years", which they furnished on arrival; and

    (e) whether it knows the daily average number of OEPs issued by the Mainland public security departments last year and, among them, the respective numbers of those which were issued under the sub-quotas specified for "children born in the Mainland of Hong Kong permanent residents" and for "long-separated spouses"?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

Regarding traffic accidents involving vehicles carrying out maintenance and cleaning work on highways, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a) of the number of such accidents and the resultant casualties in each of the past three years, together with a breakdown by the occurrence of such accidents in the day time and night time;

    (b) whether it will enhance monitoring of the contractors concerned to ensure strict compliance with the road safety code; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c) whether it will review the adequacy of the safety measures in place for road maintenance work, and formulate new measures in this respect in the light of the various causes of accidents, such as drivers of other vehicles driving at high speed; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

*20. Hon CHAN Kwok-keung to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the long-term unemployed people, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a) of their number and the longest period of unemployment among them, according to the information from the Census and Statistics Department;

    (b) whether it has looked into the ways by which long-term unemployed people meet their daily expenses and the difficulties they encounter when they look for jobs; and

    (c) of the assistance, apart from the Re-employment Pilot Programme for the Middle-aged, rendered to the long-term unemployed people with regard to their employment and financial means?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

*For written reply.

IIA. Statements

Bill to implement Article 23 of the Basic Law:Secretary for Security


III. Bills

First Reading

1. Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2003

2. Tung Chung Cable Car Bill

Second Reading (Debates to be adjourned)

1. Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2003 :Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology

2. Tung Chung Cable Car Bill :Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

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

Village Representative Election Bill:Secretary for Home Affairs

IV. Motions

  1. Proposed resolution under the Housing Ordinance

    Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands to move the following motion:


    2. RESOLVED that the Housing (Traffic Contraventions)(Fixed Penalty)(Amendment) Bylaw 2003, made by the Housing Authority on 20 January 2003, be approved.(The above Bylaw has been issued on 24 January 2003under LC Paper No. CB(3) 314/02-03)

  2. Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

    Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food to move the following motion:


    3. RESOLVED that the Appeal Board on Closure Orders (Immediate Health Hazard) Rules, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 200 of 2002 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 11 December 2002, be amended -



    (a) in section 2, in the definition of "working day", by repealing "日" and substituting "天";

    (b) in section 4 -

    (i)by repealing "clear";

    (ii)in paragraph (b), by repealing "bound" and substituting "affected";

    (c) in section 5, by repealing "clear";

    (d) in section 6(1), by repealing "clear";

    (e) in section 7 -

    (i)in subsection (1), by repealing "clear";

    (ii)in subsection (2)(a), by repealing "clear";

    (f) in section 8(a), by repealing "clear";

    (g) in section 10, by adding -

    "(3)An appellant may apply to the person who is to preside at the hearing of the appeal to conduct the hearing in Chinese or English or both.";

    (h) in section 12(2), by repealing "clear";

    (i) in section 13 -

    (i)by renumbering it as section 13(2);

    (ii)by adding -

    "(l) The Appeal Board shall, as soon as practicable and in any event not later than 10 working days after the completion of the hearing of an appeal, deliver its decision on the appeal.";

    (j) in section 15(3), by repealing "clear".

  3. Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

    Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury to move the motion


    4. (Contents of the motion are contained in the paper issued on 7 February 2003 under LC Paper No. CB(3)345/02-03)

V. Members' Motions

  1. Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance

    Hon Mrs Selina CHOW to move the following motion:


    2. RESOLVED that in relation to the Ocean Park Bylaw, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 1 of 2003 and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 15 January 2003, 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 5 March 2003.

  2. First Report of the Select Committee

    Hon Miriam LAU:
    3. (Translation)

    That this Council endorses the First Report of the Select Committee on Building Problems of Public Housing Units.

    Amendment to Hon Miriam LAU's motion

    Hon Frederick FUNG:     (Translation)

    To add ", and condemns Mr Dominic WONG Shing-wah and Mr John Anthony MILLER who respectively held the posts of Secretary for Housing and Director of Housing at the time of the three incidents relating to the public housing projects in Shatin Area 14B Phase 2, Tung Chung Area 30 Phase 3 and Shek Yam Estate Phase 2, as well as demands that the Administration impose punishment on them" after "That this Council endorses the First Report of the Select Committee on Building Problems of Public Housing Units".

    Amendment to Hon Frederick FUNG's amendment

    Hon Albert HO:     (Translation)

    To delete "condemns Mr Dominic WONG Shing-wah and Mr John Anthony MILLER who respectively held the posts of Secretary for Housing and Director of Housing at the time of the three incidents relating to the public housing projects in Shatin Area 14B Phase 2, Tung Chung Area 30 Phase 3 and Shek Yam Estate Phase 2, as well as" after "That this Council endorses the First Report of the Select Committee on Building Problems of Public Housing Units, and"; to delete "Administration" after "demands that the" and substitute with "Government"; to add "appropriate" after "impose"; and to delete "them" after "punishment on" and substitute with "those officials who should be held responsible for the incidents".

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

  3. Policy on heritage preservation

    Hon LAU Ping-cheung:
    4. (Translation)

    That this Council urges the Government to expeditiously formulate a comprehensive policy on heritage preservation so that relics of historical value can be duly preserved; the policy should include:



    (a) protecting buildings of conservation value by bringing them into the ambit of the mechanism for declaration of monuments;

    (b) providing incentives or setting up a reasonable compensation mechanism to encourage owners of cultural relics to carry out the necessary maintenance and repairs to the relics; and

    (c) devising a comprehensive mechanism for promoting the preservation of monuments so that historical buildings can be reused upon restoration for purposes compatible with their former functions, so as to revive the original characteristics of the buildings.

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Home Affairs


Clerk to the Legislative Council