A 04/05-9

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 24 November 2004 at 2:30pm

I. Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
1.Specification of Arrangements (Government of the Federal Republic of Germany) (Avoidance of Double Taxation on Shipping Income) Order182/2004
2.Specification of Arrangements (Government of the Kingdom of Norway) (Avoidance of Double Taxation on Income from Shipping Operation) Order183/2004
3.Specification of Arrangements (Government of the Republic of Singapore) (Avoidance of Double Taxation on Income from Shipping or Aircraft Operations) Order184/2004
4.Specification of Arrangements (Government of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka) (Avoidance of Double Taxation on Income from Shipping and Air Transport) Order185/2004
5.Trade Descriptions (Country of Manufacture) (Textile Made-up Articles) Order186/2004
6.Trade Descriptions (Place of Manufacture) (Textile Made-up Articles) Notice187/2004
7.Deposit Protection Scheme Ordinance (Cap. 581) (Commencement) (No. 2) Notice 2004188/2004
8.Rules of the District Court (Amendment) Rules 2004 (Commencement) Notice 2004189/2004

Other Papers

1.No.25-Report on the Administration of the Immigration Service Welfare Fund prepared by the Director of Immigration Incorporated in accordance with Regulation 12(b) of the Immigration Service (Welfare Fund) Regulation
(to be presented by Secretary for Security)

2.No.26-Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Hong Kong
Annual Report 2003-2004
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

3.No.27-Ocean Park Corporation
Annual Report 2003-2004
(to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs)

4.No.28-Report of the Director of Audit on the Accounts of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for the year ended 31 March 2004
(to be presented by the President)

5.No.29-Report No. 43 of the Director of Audit on the results of value for money audits - October 2004
(to be presented by the President)

6.No.30-Accounts of the Government for the year ended 31 March 2004
(to be presented by Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury)

II. Questions

1. Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung: : (Translation)

As the air pollution in Tung Chung has become increasingly serious, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether, at the planning stage for the development of the Tung Chung New Town, it had envisaged that the air pollution in this area would become very serious; if so, why it still went ahead with the development of this new town; if not, of the reasons for that;

    (b)whether it has studied the causes of the increasingly serious air pollution in Tung Chung, and of the respective current percentages of pollutants from coal-fired power plants in Hong Kong and the Mainland in the total amount of air pollutants of various kinds in this area; if so, the study results; and

    (c)of the specific and immediate measures to improve the air quality in Tung Chung?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

2. Hon WONG Yung-kan to ask: : (Translation)

From January to September this year, red tides occurred repeatedly in the Hong Kong waters and they took a longer time to recede than before. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it has analysed the reasons for the slow receding of the red tides this year; if so, of the analysis results;

    (b)whether it has assessed the impact of red tides on the marine resources, the ecology of waters and the mariculture and capture fisheries industries in Hong Kong; if so, of the assessment results; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)of the measures to reduce the occurrence of red tides and improve the red tides alert system?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

3. Hon Howard YOUNG to ask: : (Translation)

The Hong Kong Disneyland is scheduled to open officially at the end of next year. The number of visitor trips, estimated to be six million each year, will exert certain pressure on the demand on various ancillary facilities. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it has discussed with The Walt Disney Company how to increase the ancillary facilities and handle related issues, such as feeder transport services, catering, amusement and recreational facilities, accommodation and other tour facilities, as well as medical and security issues, so as to ensure that the increased demand brought about by a substantial surge in visitors at that time can be met, and that no chaos will take place; if it has, of the details of the discussion? Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Development and Labour

4. Hon Vincent FANG Kang to ask: : (Translation)

As volatile organic compounds ("VOCs") mixing into the air will cause air pollution and increase ozone concentration, and thus affect the respiratory system, the Government intends to improve the air quality and minimize the adverse effect of air pollution on health through a scheme to require registration and labelling of products containing VOCs. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the causes of smog in Hong Kong, and whether there are data to show that smog originates mainly from products containing VOCs; among such products, of the ones that release most VOCs, and of the proportion of organic compound emission from consumer products in the total amount of such emission in Hong Kong;

    (b)as the European Parliament only imposes control on the VOC contents in decorative and vehicle paints and varnishes, whether the Hong Kong authorities will adopt the same practice; and

    (c)a vast majority of the consumer products on sale in the Hong Kong market are imported, and the industry has informed me that at present imported products do not specify VOC contents, while the above scheme proposes that importers or manufacturers, when registering their products, should submit testing reports on the VOC contents of their products issued by a proper local or overseas laboratory. However, such local laboratories are rather limited in number at present, and the proposal will increase the operating cost of the industry, whether the authorities will increase the number of relevant laboratories and subsidize the small and medium enterprises affected, and how they will educate the public in choosing consumer products that contains organic compounds when the scheme is implemented?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

5. Hon James TO to ask: : (Translation)

With regard to the Development Project of West Kowloon Cultural District ("Cultural District"), will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)given that many members of the public and the cultural sector have criticized the Government for its inadequate public consultations when launching the Cultural District Project, whether it will conduct any research to find out which cultural activities and facilities will meet the needs and expectation of the community;

    (b)given that the plot ratios for buildings proposed in the three development proposals which have passed stage one of the assessment process are much higher than those stated in the Invitation for Proposals, of the measures it will take to prevent the Cultural District Development Project from becoming a real estate project, and to avoid commercial skyscrapers built in the Cultural District obstructing the views and screening off the ridgelines on both sides of the Victoria Harbour; and

    (c)whether it will consider commissioning the management responsibility of the Cultural District to a new statutory body comprising members from various sectors of society?
Public Officer to reply : Chief Secretary for Administration

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

Regarding the AsiaWorld-Expo ("AWE") which is a tripartite venture jointly financed and owned by the Government, the Airport Authority and a private consortium, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether it has given any undertaking to the other two shareholders that, in order to avoid further market competition, new exhibition venue will not be provided before the exhibition space of AWE has been expanded to 100 000 m2; if so, of the details of the undertaking, including the shareholder who first put forward the proposal, as well as the government official who gave the undertaking; why the Government did not give an account of the undertaking to the Finance Committee of this Council when applying for funding allocation of $2 billion in respect of AWE;

    (b)if the Government has not given such an undertaking, whether it has been requested to do so; if it has been, of the reasons for not acceding to the request; and

    (c)whether it has discussed the undertaking with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Development and Labour
(in the absence of Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology)

*7. Hon Andrew CHENG to ask: : (Translation)

The Administration has implemented the Driver Improvement Scheme ("DIS") since September 2002 and designated four driving improvement schools to provide Driving Improvement Courses ("DICs"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of persons who attended the DICs in each quarter since the implementation of the DIS;

    (b)of the respective up-to-date numbers of course participants whose driving licences were suspended and who incurred driving offence points for convictions under the Road Traffic (Driving-offence Points) Ordinance, within the 12 months after completion of the DICs; and

    (c)whether it has assessed the effectiveness of the DIS; if it has, of the assessment results; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

Regarding the assistance to people with specific learning disabilities ("SpLD"), will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)how it defines and identifies children with SpLD aged below 12, and how it assesses and handles persons with SpLD aged 12 or above; and of the respective numbers of children and persons involved;

    (b)of the arrangements in respect of the assessment of SpLD levels, provision of teaching resources, formulation of adjustment measures in public examinations and support for parents of people with SpLD; and

    (c)whether the Education and Manpower Bureau will impose a mandatory requirement that additional teachers recruited for the implementation of "teaching by subject specialists" should receive training in teaching people with SpLD?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

*9. Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to ask: : (Translation)

It is learnt that due to the actual demand and supply of medical manpower and the Government's development of family medicine into a focal point of medical service in the future, most medical graduates will become family doctors. Since last year, however, the Hospital Authority ("HA") has not been able to provide sufficient specialist training posts in family medicine to young doctors who have completed internship. As a result, 81 doctors are filling "non-specialist training" posts so far. Although these doctors take up the same clinical duties as other doctors receiving specialist training, they do not receive recognized specialist training. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)how the policy bureau(x) responsible for the demand and supply of medical manpower and HA address the current situation of insufficient resources and training posts when determining the size of intake for specialist trainees in family medicine;

    (b)whether the policy bureau(x) concerned and HA will formulate policies to improve the situation and provide assistance to the affected doctors; if they will, of the timetable for doing so; and

    (c)of the measures taken by the policy bureau(x) concerned and HA to prevent the above situation from deteriorating?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

At the end of last month, the Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology ("SCIT") proposed that a single, lean, skilled and responsive regulator should be set up to replace the existing Broadcasting Authority and Office of Telecommunications Authority. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the criteria adopted by the Commerce, Industry and Technology Bureau in assessing the effectiveness of the above two authorities and whether it has made such assessments recently; if it has, of the outcome; and

    (b)the reasons for proposing to set up the new organization, and whether they include the fact that complaints or requests had been lodged by stakeholders in respect of the work of the two authorities; if so, of the details of such complaints and requests?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Development and Labour
(in the absence of Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology)

*11. Dr Hon YEUNG Sum to ask: : (Translation)

Regarding the work of the Task Force on Population Policy ("the Task Force"), will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether the Task Force has studied, or instructed government departments to study, the proposal to allow children from the Mainland to receive schooling in Hong Kong in order to alleviate the problem of population aging; if so, of the details of the study and whether the Administration has consulted the public about the proposal;

    (b)of the topics the Task Force has studied since it released the Report of the Task Force on Population Policy in February last year, and the policy recommendations it is exploring; and

    (c)of the measures adopted by the Task Force to enhance the transparency of its work and whether it will report its work to the Legislative Council on a regular basis?
Public Officer to reply : Chief Secretary for Administration

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

It has been reported that since the authorisation and regulation of soccer betting last year, the number of persons participating in gambling has been on a rising trend, and the problem of gambling among adolescents has also aroused public concern. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of requests for assistance received by the counselling and treatment centres set up by The Ping Wo Fund for problem and pathological gamblers since they began operation last October, and among the persons requesting for assistance, how many were pathological gamblers, with the figures broken down by the sex of the persons requesting assistance and whether they were youth or otherwise;

    (b)among those requesting assistance, of the number of those who have received counselling and treatment from the above centres and the counselling period involved, and how many of them relapsed after recovery; and

    (c)whether it will allocate additional resources to those centres and consider providing more counselling and treatment services for problem and pathological gamblers?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

I have recently received complaints from some residents of Wang Tong Tsuen, Mui Wo that they have been seriously disturbed for years by users of holiday flats there. Very often, 20 or 30 people gather in a flat of some 700 square feet, amusing themselves and making a lot of noise through the night. Such occasions occur frequently during summer, disrupting the sleep of residents in the neighbourhood. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
    (a)the number of complaints received by the authorities concerned about noise nuisance from holiday flats in the past 12 months and, among such cases, the number of those involving holiday flats at the above location, and how the complaints were handled;

    (b)the number of warnings issued to operators of holiday flats, as well as the number of their licences revoked, by the Home Affairs Department in the past three years because of nuisance caused by users of holiday flats to residents nearby; and

    (c)the measures to reduce the nuisance caused by users of holiday flats to residents nearby?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

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

Regarding the Continuing Education Fund ("CEF"), will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the criteria for approving individual information technology courses for inclusion in the list of courses eligible for reimbursement under CEF;

    (b)whether it will consider including under the coverage of CEF those training courses related to the professional skills in information technology, such as information security, systems audit and project management; if it will, of the details of the criteria and procedures for assessing the relevant courses; if not, the reasons for that; and

    (c)whether it will review and revise the mode of operation of CEF, such as adopting the practice of the SME Training Fund which does not have a list of subsidized courses, so as to encourage more people to pursue continuing education and increase the operational flexibility of CEF?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education and Manpower

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

In reply to press enquiries after the company's extraordinary general meeting ("EGM") on the 2nd of this month, the Chairman of the Melco International Development Limited, a listed company, indicated that there were plans for injecting certain businesses into the company. The closing share price of the company rose by 16% on the day after the EGM. The company made an announcement that evening to clarify that the above remarks were made by the Chairman in his personal capacity. The closing share price of the company dropped 4% on the following day. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows:
    (a)if the Securities and Futures Commission ("SFC") has conducted an investigation into the above incident; if not, of the reasons for that and whether SFC will conduct an investigation;

    (b)the number of enquiries or investigations made by SFC on listed companies in the past three years regarding price-sensitive or misleading remarks made by directors of the companies concerned;

    (c)if the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited and SFC will initiate investigations upon receiving complaints from members of the public about price-sensitive or misleading remarks made by directors of listed companies; and

    (d)when investigating allegations of misleading remarks made by directors of listed companies, if SFC may have different ways of handling the cases according to whether or not the persons concerned have subsequently claimed that such remarks were made in their personal capacity?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

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

The number of food samples taken by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department ("FEHD") for microbiological and chemical testing each year reduced progressively from some 58 000 in 2000 to some 53 000 in last year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the specific criteria adopted for selecting the categories of food items for testing;

    (b)of the basis for determining the number of food samples taken for testing each year, and whether manpower and other resources were taken into consideration;

    (c)whether it has reviewed the adequacy of the manpower in the FEHD responsible for such work; and

    (d)whether it will consider increasing the FEHD's manpower in this respect and the number of food samples taken for testing; if so, of the details of such consideration; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

It has been reported that early in the morning of 12 October this year, a private car travelling along Tuen Mun Road, which was suspected of having gone out of control, smashed into the end of a thrie-beam barrier which was only installed in the middle of this year. The compartment of the car was pierced through by the barrier, and the driver died from serious injury. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the cause of the accident; and

    (b)whether it will examine the safety aspects of the design and installation of such barriers; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for the Environment, Transport and Works

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

Regarding the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals which came into operation on 15 July 2003, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)
    (i)of the respective number of applications received, approved, being processed and withdrawn each month, together with a breakdown by the applicants' place of origin, age, education and occupation;
    (ii)by dividing the approved persons into groups by the industries and positions in which they were engaged whilst in Hong Kong, of the average, highest and lowest monthly remuneration in each group;
    (iii)of the number of dependents who came to Hong Kong with the approved persons each month, together with a breakdown by their sex, age and education; and
    (iv)of the number of approved Mainland persons who quit their jobs and left Hong Kong subsequent to their arrival, and the number of dependents who came to Hong Kong with them, together with a breakdown by the industries such talents and professionals were engaged in and the reasons for their departure,

    since the implementation of the above Scheme; and

    (b)as the Scheme has been implemented for more than one year, whether it has conducted a comprehensive review on various aspects of the Scheme, such as its effectiveness and impact on the local employment market; if it has, of the results of the review; if not, the reasons for that, and whether there is a firm review date?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional Affairs
(in the absence of Secretary for Security)

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

It has been reported that some patients mistakenly believe that long-term use of drugs which have the word "poison" printed on their packages will be hazardous to health, and some of them may even decide to cease taking the drugs. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)whether patients have indicated to the authorities concerned, over the past three years, that they had ceased taking such drugs in the belief that taking them for a long time would be hazardous to health; if so, of the total number of such cases;

    (b)of the existing legislative provisions in respect of the requirement that the word "poison" shall be printed on the packages of some drugs, and whether it plans to amend such provisions; if so, of the details; and

    (c)whether it knows if similar provisions are stipulated in the laws of the United Kingdom, the United States of America and Canada?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

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

With regard to Hong Kong residents robbed in the Mainland, will the Government inform this Council:
    (a)of the number of such robberies reported to the authorities each month in the past two years and, among such cases, the number of those in which the victims were injured or killed as a result;

    (b)whether it has stepped up publicity efforts, such as by showing short publicity videos at boundary control points, to make more people aware of and alert to the modus operandi of culprits;

    (c)whether discussions have been held over the past two years with the relevant Mainland authorities on ways to curb such robberies; if so, of the outcome of the discussions, the measures put in place and the effectiveness of these measures; and

    (d)whether it will consider setting up offices in the Mainland, especially in Shenzhen, to handle relevant requests for assistance by Hong Kong residents whilst in the Mainland?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Constitutional Affairs
(in the absence of Secretary for Security)

*For written reply.

III. Motions

Proposed resolution under the Pharmacy and Poisons Ordinance

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

RESOLVED that the following Regulations, made by the Pharmacy and Poisons Board on 24 September 2004, be approved -
    (a)the Pharmacy and Poisons (Amendment)(No. 3) Regulation 2004; and

    (b)the Poisons List (Amendment)(No. 3) Regulation 2004.
(The two Regulations have been issued on
10 November 2004 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 140/04-05)

IV. Members' Motions
  1. Restoring Comprehensive Social Security Assistance rates to the level prior to 1 June 2003

    Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG: (Translation)

    That, as the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance ("CSSA") Scheme is the only safety net in Hong Kong, and with the worsening disparity between the rich and the poor, the reduction of CSSA rates has caused greater hardship to all the socially disadvantaged groups in receipt of CSSA payments, including the elderly, the disabled, single families, low-income groups and the unemployed, this Council urges the Government to:

      (a)restore the CSSA rates to the level prior to 1 June 2003; and

      (b)immediately conduct a study on basic and essential needs, and re-determine the CSSA rates based on the findings of the study, so as to ensure that the basic livelihood of the general public is safeguarded.

    Amendments to Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG's motion
    (i)Hon Mrs Sophie LEUNG: (Translation)

    To delete "and with the worsening disparity between the rich and the poor," after "the only safety net in Hong Kong," and substitute with "aiding the poor is an issue of concern, and"; to add "since 1 June 2003" after "the reduction of CSSA rates"; to delete "all the socially disadvantaged groups in receipt of CSSA payments" after "has caused greater hardship to" and substitute with "the very poor"; to delete ", single families, low-income groups and the unemployed" after "the disabled" and substitute with "and children"; to delete ": (a) restore the CSSA rates to the level prior to 1 June 2003; and (b)" after "this Council urges the Government to"; to delete "conduct a study on basic and essential needs" after "immediately" and substitute with "review the existing system of CSSA"; to delete "study" after "the findings of the" and substitute with "review"; to add "the purchasing power and" after "so as to ensure that"; to delete "the general public is" after "the basic livelihood of" and substitute with "CSSA recipients are"; and to add ", and that more support is provided to those who are most in need" after "safeguarded".

    (ii)Hon TAM Yiu-chung: (Translation)

    To add "payable to the elderly and people with disabilities" after "(a) restore the CSSA rates".

    (iii)Hon Fred LI: (Translation)

    To delete "and" after "(a) restore the CSSA rates to the level prior to 1 June 2003;"; and to add "; (c) strengthen the existing employment assistance programmes by providing skills training for CSSA recipients and assisting them in grasping up-to-date and most accurate market information, so as to enable them to join the workforce again as early as possible; and (d) expand the Government's 'Support for Self-reliance Scheme' so that, in addition to participating in community work, arrangements can also be made for employable CSSA recipients to work in government or subvented organizations, so as to enhance their self-confidence and skills, develop work habits and increase employment opportunities; at the same time, the Government should set up a more effective monitoring mechanism to guard against abuse of CSSA" after "the basic livelihood of the general public is safeguarded".

    Amendment to Hon Fred LI's amendment
    Hon CHAN Yuen-han:     (Translation)

    To add "and" after "the basic livelihood of the general public is safeguarded;"; to delete "strengthen the existing employment assistance programmes by providing skills training for CSSA recipients and assisting them in grasping up-to-date and most accurate market information, so as to enable them to join the workforce again as early as possible; and" after "(c)" and substitute with "consider the public's views on setting up a re-employment support scheme to provide employment, financial, training and counselling supports for the unemployed so as to enable them to re-enter the employment market;"; and to delete "(d) expand the Government's 'Support for Self-reliance Scheme' so that, in addition to participating in community work, arrangements can also be made for employable CSSA recipients to work in government or subvented organizations, so as to enhance their self-confidence and skills, develop work habits and increase employment opportunities;".

    Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Health, Welfare and Food

  2. Developing town planning and urban designs featuring local characteristics for the 18 districts
    Hon Patrick LAU Sau-shing: (Translation)

    That, as the Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines ("HKPSG") currently adopted by the Planning Department was first compiled in the 1960s and have since been in use with substantial revisions made only in 1974, most of the guidelines have become out of step with present-day circumstances, and despite the addition of the part on Urban Design Guidelines at the end of last year, the limitations on district planning still remain unchanged, this Council urges the Government to thoroughly review the existing planning policy, which takes no account of the local characteristics of various districts, expeditiously revise the HKPSG, and set up an inter-departmental task group comprising representatives from the Home Affairs Bureau and District Councils to undertake the co-ordination work, so as to facilitate the 18 districts in the territory to flexibly develop district-specific town planning and urban designs, having regard to their respective local characteristics.

    Amendments to Hon Patrick LAU Sau-shing's motion
    (i)Hon LEE Wing-tat: (Translation)

    To delete "as" after "That," and substitute with "although"; to delete "was" after "Planning Department" and substitute with ","; to delete "and have since been in use with substantial revisions made only in 1974, most of the guidelines have become out of step with present-day circumstances, and despite the addition of the part on Urban Design Guidelines at the end of last year, the limitations on district planning still remain unchanged" after "in the 1960s" and substitute with ", have been revised a number of times, as the community develops, many other practice notes and guidelines are now available, some of which have superseded the functions of the HKPSG; on the other hand, planning guidelines that cater for district characteristics are still inadequate"; to add "and consolidate the related documents, enhance public participation in the town planning process" after "revise the HKPSG"; to delete "inter-departmental task group" after "and set up an" and substitute with "organization"; to delete "the Home Affairs Bureau and" after "comprising representatives from"; to add ", members of the public and the cultural sector as well as professionals" after "District Councils"; and to add "and monitoring" after "the co-ordination".

    (ii)Hon Alan LEONG Kah-kit: (Translation)

    To delete "and despite the addition of the part on Urban Design Guidelines at the end of last year, the limitations on district planning still remain unchanged," after "present-day circumstances,"; and to delete ", which takes no account of the local characteristics of various districts, expeditiously revise the HKPSG, and set up an inter-departmental task group comprising representatives from the Home Affairs Bureau and District Councils to undertake the co-ordination work, so as to facilitate the 18 districts in the territory to flexibly develop district-specific town planning and urban designs, having regard to their respective local characteristics" after "the existing planning policy" and substitute with "in partnership with civil society and under the primary principle of promoting public participation, and carry out long-term planning for Hong Kong in accordance with the concept of sustainable development, so as to break away from the present situation in which the use of land is dominated by private developers".

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

Clerk to the Legislative Council