A 04/05-21

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 9 March 2005 at 2:30pm

I. Tabling of Papers
Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
1.Fixed Penalty (Public Cleanliness Offences) Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 2) Order 200520/2005
2.Magistrates Ordinance (Amendment of Fourth Schedule) Order 200521/2005
3.Telecommunications (Telecommunications Apparatus) (Exemption from Licensing) (Amendment) Order 200522/2005
4.Telecommunications (Amendment) Regulation 200523/2005
5.Telecommunications (Carrier Licences) (Amendment) Regulation 200524/2005
6.Tax Reserve Certificates (Rate of Interest) Notice 200525/2005
7.Interest and Surcharge on Arrears of Maintenance Ordinance 2003 (Commencement) Notice 200526/2005

Other Papers

1. No.62-Audited Statement of Accounts of the Language Fund for the year ended 31 August 2004, together with the Director of Audit's Report
(to be presented by Secretary for Education and Manpower)

2. No.63-Employees' Compensation Insurance Levies Management Board Annual Report 2003/2004
(to be presented by Secretary for Economic Development and Labour)

3. No.64-Employees Compensation Assistance Fund Board Annual Report 2003/2004
(to be presented by Secretary for Economic Development and Labour)

4. No.65-Occupational Deafness Compensation Board Annual Report 2003-2004
(to be presented by Secretary for Economic Development and Labour)

5. No.66-Pneumoconiosis Compensation Fund Board Annual Report 2003
(to be presented by Secretary for Economic Development and Labour)

6. No.67-Report of the Committee on Members' Interests on its consideration of the cases of Hon James TO's failure to register interests with the Clerk to the Legislative Council pursuant to Rule 83 of the Rules of Procedure
(to be presented by Hon Mrs Sophie LEUNG, Chairman of the Committee on Members' Interests, who will address the Council)

II. Questions

1. Hon KWONG Chi-kin to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the outsourcing of government services, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the total number of services for which feasibility studies are being conducted on outsourcing of government services or public-private-partnership ("PPP"), as well as the details about such services, including the names of departments or consultancy firms responsible for the studies, and the expenditures on the study, and whether the study results will be released to the public or staff of the relevant departments; if so, of the release time;

    (b)of the reasons for conducting each of the above studies and whether the authorities have, before conducting the studies, assessed if there will be abuse of power and corruption after implementation of the outsourcing of or PPP in the provision of the relevant government services; and

    (c)whether it will consult the civil servants who are providing the relevant government services or their unions when conducting the studies?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

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

Regarding the monitoring of fund-raising activities, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective numbers of applications for organizing flag days and other fund-raising activities received in each of the past three years and, among them, the number of applications which were unsuccessful and the reasons for their being so; and the criteria adopted by the authorities for granting charitable institutions permits for organizing such activities; whether they have regularly assessed the performance of these institutions after granting them the permits so as to ensure that their reputation and management capacity are satisfactory; if they have, of the assessment results; if not, the reasons for that;

    (b)whether it has assessed the effectiveness of the existing measures adopted for monitoring the fund-raising activities organized by charitable institutions on streets and via the Internet and the usage of such funds; if it has, of the assessment results; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)as the Reference Guide on Best Practices for Charitable Fund-raising Activities published by the Social Welfare Department in November last year contains no restrictions on the ratio of the administration fees in the donation proceeds nor stipulates any penalties on charitable institutions for non-compliance with the Guide, and the Guide itself is not legally binding, whether the authorities will consider enacting legislation to impose such restrictions and drawing up prosecution measures for non-compliance with the Guide; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

3. Hon Martin LEE to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that One-way Exit Permit ("OEP") holders who came to Hong Kong numbered 34 000 last year, representing a decrease of about 36% from 53 000 in the previous year, and the annual OEP quota for that year, with a daily limit of 150, was not used up. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the usage of the various categories of OEP quotas last year, including whether there was a shortfall in the respective sub-quotas for the minors born in the Mainland to Hong Kong residents and have no right of abode in Hong Kong and for the spouses of Hong Kong residents in the Mainland, as well as the numbers of these two categories of persons still awaiting the approval for settlement in Hong Kong;

    (b)whether it will propose to the Central Government that the basis of allocating OEP quotas be revised, for example, by adopting a family, instead of an individual, as the unit for the granting of OEPs, or shortening the period of separation between Hong Kong residents and their Mainland spouses required for the granting of OEPs, and that the applications by Mainlanders for settlement in Hong Kong be vetted and approved by the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government, so that the Hong Kong authorities may adjust the various categories of OEP quotas flexibly to take account of the actual situation in Hong Kong; and

    (c)as the annual quota of OEPs has not been used up, whether it will relax the eligibility criteria for the admission schemes for Mainland professionals and capital investors intending to invest, work and settle in Hong Kong, so as to admit more persons of such categories to Hong Kong for settlement?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

Will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
    (a)the amount of waste to be produced daily by the Hong Kong Disneyland ("HKDL") upon its opening in September this year; and whether there are plans to recover and recycle such waste; if so, of the details of the plans;

    (b)which of the facilities in HKDL have adopted energy-saving designs; and

    (c)whether renewable energy will be used in HKDL; if so, of the details, including the percentage of the electricity thus saved against the total electricity consumption?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

5. Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)

Persons born in the Mainland to Hong Kong residents do not have the right of abode in Hong Kong if their parents were not Hong Kong permanent residents when they were born. If these persons are aged over 18, they may not apply for One-way Permits for settlement in Hong Kong on grounds that they are dependent children seeking support from their relatives in Hong Kong. The former Secretary for Security said in January 2002 that she would discuss with the Mainland authorities the issue of permitting adults who were born to Hong Kong residents to settle in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the time, occasions and with which Mainland authorities the Administration discussed the said issue, and the details and progress of the discussions; and

    (b)whether the Administration will discuss with the Mainland authorities the formulation of more transparent measures to enable adults who were born to Hong Kong residents to apply for settlement in Hong Kong as soon as possible?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

6. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that there are more than 30 000 cases of owners of small house holdings in the New Territories (many of them being indigenous villagers) defaulting payment of Government rent and rates, and the arrears amounts to at least $75 million and may even exceed $200 million. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
    (a)of their policies on the collection of Government rent and rates in respect of small house holdings and the land owned by indigenous villagers as well as the details of the relevant legislation;

    (b)whether they know the reasons for the owners concerned not paying the Government rent and rates; and

    (c)of the accumulated number of cases of non-payment of Government rent and rates since 1 July 1997 in respect of the aforesaid holdings and land as well as the total amount of arrears involved; the measures adopted by the government departments concerned to recover the arrears, as well as the number of cases in which the arrears have been recovered and the total amount of arrears recovered?
Public Officers to reply :Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
Secretary for Housing, Planning and Lands

*7. Hon Andrew LEUNG Kwan-yuen to ask: (Translation)

In this year's Policy Address, the Chief Executive states that government departments will adopt a green procurement policy to help create a market for environmentally friendly products, and will also make it a policy to implement mandatory product responsibility schemes to ensure the recovery and recycling of the products concerned. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective amounts of paper used by government departments in correspondence and publications, as well as the respective numbers of ink cartridges consumed by their printers and facsimile machines and the expenses involved in each of the past three years, and how these figures compare to those in the previous year;

    (b)of the respective percentages of recycled products in the above paper and ink cartridges that were consumed;

    (c)of the percentage of recycled products being procured at present in the total procurements of government departments, and the rates of increase/decrease over the past three years;

    (d)whether government departments have been implementing recycling programmes for different materials; if so, of the effectiveness of these programmes; and

    (e)apart from implementing the green procurement policy in government departments, whether the authorities have other practical programmes to support the market for environmentally friendly products, such as the implementation of the Green Label Programme or the provision of economic incentives, to encourage the public to use more environmentally friendly products?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

*8. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)

Section 50 of the Shipping and Port Control Ordinance (Cap. 313) stipulates that no vessel in the waters of Hong Kong shall emit smoke in such quantity as to be a nuisance, except in circumstances affecting the safety of life or of the vessel. Regarding the emissions from vessels, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective numbers of complaints received by the authorities concerned about emission of smoke from vessels, verbal warnings issued to and prosecutions instituted against the shipowners concerned by the Marine Department, and convictions in the past three years;

    (b)whether it has assessed the adequacy of the current arrangement whereby law enforcement actions are taken by the Marine Department only; whether it will consider empowering the Environmental Protection Department to take law enforcement actions in this respect, particularly in cases involving excessive smoke emitted from the vessels berthing at the piers along both sides of the Victoria Harbour (for example, the Ocean Terminal in Tsim Sha Tsui and piers for inner harbour and outlying island services);

    (c)given that the above provision only targets the quantity of smoke emitted from vessels and does not specify limits on the concentrations of various harmful substances contained in the smoke, whether it will consider amending the legislation to specify the emission standards applicable to vessels;

    (d)whether it has conducted tests on the concentrations of harmful substances in the emissions from vessels and assessed their impact on public health and the air quality; and

    (e)whether it will draw up measures to encourage the installation of emission reduction devices in vessels?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

In 2000, the Chief Executive set a target of providing, within ten years, 60% of Hong Kong senior secondary school leavers the opportunity to receive tertiary education. This year, he indicated in his Policy Address that the target might be achieved ahead of schedule. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether places in pre-associate degree programmes have been included in determining whether the above target has been achieved; and

    (b)between the 2000-01 and the 2007-08 academic years:

    (i)the annual numbers of senior secondary school leavers; and

    (ii)the numbers of places and enrollment figures of various types of tertiary-level courses offered by each tertiary institution each year, with a breakdown by the level of qualifications awarded or to be awarded upon completion of the courses and by whether the courses are public-funded?
Public Officer to reply :Secretary for the Civil Service
(in the absence of Secretary for Education and Manpower)

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

At present, temporary accommodation service is not available to men who are distressed by domestic problems, including family violence. The Family Crisis Support Centre ("FCSC") operated by Caritas-Hong Kong can arrange for them short-term accommodation for a limited period of two to three days. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of cases in which married men distressed by domestic problems sought assistance from the Social Welfare Department or subvented social service agencies over the past three years, with a breakdown of such cases by reasons for seeking assistance;

    (b)whether it has assessed the possibility of strengthening the short-term accommodation service provided by the FCSC, including relaxation of the time restriction on stay; if it has, of the assessment results; and

    (c)whether it will consider providing temporary accommodation service for men and assess the demand for such service?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

*11. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)

It has been reported that the Commission on Youth advocates the development of multiple intelligence among the youth and the establishment of a benchmark for measuring multiple intelligence, so as to change the current trend of putting too much emphasis on achievements in conventional academic subjects in our society and enable young people to develop their multiple intelligence according to their individual abilities and interests as well as through complementary measures in terms of training and qualification recognition. Moreover, at the Youth Summit 2004 held in November last year, the Secretary for Constitutional Affairs said that funds would be allocated for the establishment of youth councils in the next financial year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the specific plan for the development of multiple intelligence and its effectiveness in the past three years;

    (b)whether the education system has been changed in response to the need for developing multiple intelligence among students, and whether the authorities have taken such a need into account in making the recommendations in the Consultation Document on Reforming the Academic Systems for Senior Secondary and Higher Education; and

    (c)of the specific plan for the formation of youth councils, including the method for the selection of council representatives, and whether they will be designated as statutory or consultative bodies, and the role of youth councils in formulating policies on youth?
Public Officer to reply :Secretary for the Civil Service
(in the absence of Secretary for Home Affairs)

*12. Hon Abraham SHEK to ask:

The Government originally intended to invite bidding for the two Private Sector Finance ("PSF") projects on leisure and cultural facilities in Kwun Tong and Tseung Kwan O by mid 2004. However, so far the Government has only invited Expressions of Interest for these projects. In January this year, the Secretary for Home Affairs informed the Panel on Home Affairs that the Government was examining the details of the tendering arrangement, and no implementation timetable could be provided. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)why the above two projects have lagged behind schedule;

    (b)why a timetable for implementing the projects concerned has not been provided in this year's policy initiatives, and when the Administration will invite bidding for these projects;

    (c)of the details of the new PSF projects to be launched in the next 12 months, and whether they include the reprovisioning of the Sha Tin Water Treatment Works; and

    (d)of the measures taken by the Administration to expand the scope of the PSF projects?
Public Officer to reply :Secretary for the Civil Service
(in the absence of Secretary for Home Affairs)

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

It has been reported that as the Mainland customs authorities have recently prohibited the import of electronic waste, an increasing amount of such waste has been trans-shipped to Hong Kong for processing, resulting in several pieces of land in the New Territories being used for their storage. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the respective amounts of electronic waste imported into and trans-shipped via Hong Kong, the top three import sources and export destinations in terms of quantities, and how the waste importers concerned dealt with the waste over the past three years;

    (b)whether it has drawn up guidelines to regulate the importers concerned in handling electronic waste; if it has, of the effectiveness of these guidelines; if not, the reasons for that and whether the authorities will consider drawing up such guidelines;

    (c)of the measures to monitor the facilities of electronic waste sites to ensure their compliance with the relevant requirements of the Environmental Protection Department, in order to prevent toxic electronic waste from polluting the environment and posing safety hazards to workers in those sites; and

    (d)whether it will formulate a comprehensive policy to tackle the problem of electronic waste, such as making reference to the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive and the Restriction of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive formulated by the European Union, which will come into effect in August this year and July next year respectively, to legislate against the use of toxic materials by manufacturers in the production of electronic devices in order to avoid environmental pollution caused by discarded electronic devices containing toxic materials?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

Recently, some members of the industry told me that the Travel Industry Compensation Fund ("TICF") had accumulated a balance of some 300 million dollars. Moreover, over the past 16 years, the total payment made by TICF as compensation and emergency financial relief for tourists against their losses arising from the closure of travel agents was about 17 million dollars, representing less than 1% of the above accumulated balance. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:
    (a)it will consider suspending the imposition of the levy in relation to TICF, or lowering the level of levy currently set at 0.3% of the outbound tour fees, or extending the usage of TICF so as to make full use of it; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (b)it has set an upper limit for the accumulated balance of TICF; if so, of the amount and justifications of such limit?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

*15. Hon Albert CHAN to ask: (Translation)

In recent years, I have received a number of complaints from members of the public about the sub-standard services of telecommunications service providers and the unreasonable fees charged by them. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of complaints received by the Office of the Telecommunications Authority and the names of the telecommunications service providers involved in each of the past three years, broken down by the type of telecommunications services (such as fixed-line telephones, mobile phones, external telecommunications and broadband Internet access) and the nature of complaints;

    (b)among the cases mentioned in (a) above, of the number of those in which the complainants made successful claims for compensation, and the names of the telecommunications service providers which were prosecuted, and the number of prosecutions instituted against them; and

    (c)whether the authorities will, apart from continuing with the existing measures to regulate telecommunications service providers, adopt new regulatory measures to better protect the consumers' interests; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology

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

Among the passenger trips by land to the Passenger Terminal Building of the airport in 2002-03, those made by the Airport Railway accounted for 19% only, and such a market share figure fell far short of the 43% forecast in the New Airport Master Plan, drawn up by the relevant authorities in 1991. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the basis on which the market share of the Airport Railway in respect of land passenger transport was arrived at in 1991, and whether it has looked into the reasons for the substantial difference between the forecast and actual market shares; if so, of the findings and whether the fare level of the Airport Railway is considered one of the factors; and

    (b)the respective current market shares of various modes of land transport in respect of passenger traffic to the airport, and how they have changed over the past five years?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

It has been reported that upon completing the initial phase of the External School Review ("ESR") involving some 100 primary and secondary schools, the Education and Manpower Bureau noticed a substantial difference between the School Self-evaluation ("SSE") scores and the ESR scores. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the reasons for the substantial difference in the above scores and whether the difference is mainly in the scores for secondary schools or primary schools;

    (b)how it deals with the substantial difference in scores; and

    (c)whether it will review if it is appropriate to assess the performance standard of the schools concerned by way of SSE?
Public Officer to reply :Secretary for the Civil Service
(in the absence of Secretary for Education and Manpower)

*18. Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)

The Government informed the Subcommittee on juvenile justice system of the last Legislative Council ("LegCo") term that it would enhance the support measures targeted at unruly children and young offenders, and would report to the LegCo of the current term the development of a new juvenile justice system. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the implementation details and effectiveness of the following enhanced support measures undertaken by the Government:

    (i)extension of the service of the Police's Juvenile Protection Section to unruly children below the age of 10, and of the number of these cases handled last year;

    (ii)enhanced referral mechanism between the Police and Social Welfare Department/Education and Manpower Bureau regarding cases involving unruly children, and of the number of cases so referred by the Police last year;

    (iii)improved information leaflet on the provision of professional support services for distribution by the Police to unruly children and their parents; and

    (iv)introduction of the Pilot Scheme on Family Conferences ("FSFC") for those aged above 10 but below 18;

    (b)whether it has provided enforcement guidelines and relevant training for frontline police officers in implementing the measures mentioned in items (i), (ii) and (iii) above; if it has, of the details;

    (c)of the outcome of the government's review on the PSFC, and whether the Government will put forward improvement proposals in the light of the outcome of the above review and when it will consult non-governmental social service organizations on the relevant proposals; and

    (d)whether it has conducted any studies on the development of a new juvenile justice system; if it has, of the results of the study and whether it will consult non-governmental social service organizations?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

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

Last year, the Shenzhen Municipal Government proposed to pump seawater to flush the Shenzhen River in order to improve the water quality there. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it has assessed the impacts of such flushing on the ecosystems of the Ramsar site around Mai Po and Inner Deep Bay as well as other waters in Hong Kong; if it has, of the results and the remedial measures to be adopted; if not, the reasons for that? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

Since the commissioning of the Ma On Shan Rail ("MOSR") in December last year, I have incessantly received complaints from residents along the MOSR about the noise nuisances caused by running trains. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
    (a)of the total number of complaints about the noise nuisances related to the MOSR received by the relevant government departments and the Kowloon-Canton Railway Corporation ("KCRC") since the commissioning of the MOSR;

    (b)of the highest and average noise levels generated by trains running along the MOSR; and

    (c)although the noise levels generated by trains running along the MOSR have not exceeded the statutory limit, whether the authorities will advise the KCRC to adopt further measures to abate the noise nuisances caused to the residents; if so, of the details of the measures; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

*For written reply.

III. Bills

First Reading

1. Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2005

2. Aviation Security (Amendment) Bill 2005

Second Reading (Debates to be adjourned)

1. Statute Law (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2005 :Secretary for Justice

2. Aviation Security (Amendment) Bill 2005 :Secretary for Security

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

Merchant Shipping (Limitation of Shipowners Liability) (Amendment) Bill 2005 :Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

IV. Members' Motions

  1. Seeking papers, books, records and documents regarding the Cyberport project Hon LEE Wing-tat: (Translation)

    That, pursuant to section 9(1) of the Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance (Cap. 382), this Council orders the Private Secretary to the Chief Executive of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to attend before the Council on 6 April 2005 to produce any papers, books, records or documents in relation to any meeting held between the Chief Executive and Mr Richard Li Tzar-kai, Chairman of the Pacific Century Group ("PCG"), during the period from 1998 to 1999 regarding the Cyberport project, and orders the Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to attend before the Council on 6 April 2005 to produce any papers, books, records or documents in relation to the following matters:

      (a)the Government's deliberations of the Cyberport project and any other similar projects before September 1998;

      (b)the negotiations between the Government and the PCG concerning the Cyberport project;

      (c)any internal discussion and follow-up action within the Government between August 1998 and May 1999 regarding the Cyberport project, including but not limited to the internal discussions and follow-up actions of the working group referred to by the then Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting in his letter dated 14 January 1999 to the PCG; and

      (d)the Government's decision to drop the take-up guarantee proposed by the PCG, which was originally stated in the Letter of Intent.

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology

  2. Shortcomings of functional constituencies

    Hon Ronny TONG Ka-wah: (Translation)

    That this Council considers that any constitutional reform proposal which involves an increase in the numbers of functional constituency seats in the Legislative Council and of the members representing functional constituencies in the Election Committee violates Articles 45 and 68 of the Basic Law, which stipulate that the principles of "gradual and orderly progress" and "actual situation" should be followed in achieving the aim of universal suffrage; and requests the Government to state clearly in the Fifth Report of the Constitutional Development Task Force that any so-called "mainstream proposal" which will be put forward in the future will not include proposals to increase the numbers of functional constituency seats in the Legislative Council and of the members representing functional constituencies in the Election Committee.

    Amendment to motion
    Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki:     (Translation)

    To add "; furthermore, to achieve the aim of universal suffrage, the Report should also, on the basis of no increase in the number of functional constituency seats, stipulate the specific proposal to increase the number of geographical constituency seats" after "will not include proposals to increase the numbers of functional constituency seats in the Legislative Council and of the members representing functional constituencies in the Election Committee".

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Constitutional Affairs

  3. Defending sovereignty over the Diaoyutai Islands

    Hon LEE Wing-tat: (Translation)

    That this Council strongly protests against the Japanese Government's unlawful occupation of the Diaoyutai Islands which are within the territory of our country, and urges our Government and people to defend our sovereignty over the Diaoyutai Islands.
Clerk to the Legislative Council