A 10/11-36

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 13 July 2011 at 11:00 am

I.Tabling of Papers

Subsidiary Legislation / InstrumentsL.N. No.
1.Securities and Futures (Levy) (Amendment) Order 2011115/2011
2.Securities and Futures (Levy) (Amendment) Rules 2011116/2011
3.Securities and Futures (Contracts Limits and Reportable Positions) (Amendment) Rules 2011117/2011
4.Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Contributions for Casual Employees) (Amendment) Order 2011118/2011

Other Papers

1.No. 104-Clothing Industry Training Authority Annual Report 2010
(to be presented by the Secretary for Labour and Welfare)

2.No. 105-Broadcasting Authority Annual Report 2009-2010
(to be presented by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development)

3.No. 106-Hong Kong Trade Development Council Annual Report 2010/11
(to be presented by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development)

4.No. 107-The Standing Committee on Legal Education and Training Annual Report 2010
1 January 2010 to 31 December 2010
(to be presented by the Secretary for Justice)

5.No. 108-J.E. Joseph Trust Fund
Report of the Trustee and the signed and audited financial statements together with the Report of the Director of Audit for the period from 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011
(to be presented by the Secretary for Food and Health)

6.No. 109-Kadoorie Agricultural Aid Loan Fund
Report of the Kadoorie Agricultural Aid Loan Fund Committee and the signed and audited financial statements together with the Report of the Director of Audit for the period from 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2011
(to be presented by the Secretary for Food and Health)

7.No. 110-Hong Kong Deposit Protection Board Annual Report 2010-2011
(to be presented by the Financial Secretary)

8.No. 111-Sir David Trench Fund for Recreation Trustee's Report 2010-2011
(to be presented by the Secretary for Home Affairs)

9.No. 112-Sir Robert Black Trust Fund
Signed and audited financial statements together with the Auditor's report and report of the Trustee on the Administration of the Fund for the year ended 31 March 2011
(to be presented by the Secretary for Home Affairs)

10.No. 113-Hong Kong Export Credit Insurance Corporation 2010-11 Annual Report
(to be presented by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development)

11.Committee on Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Progress Report for the period November 2010 to June 2011
(to be presented by Hon TAM Yiu-chung, Chairman of the Committee on Rules of Procedure, who will address the Council)

12.Report No. 29/10-11 of the House Committee on Consideration of Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments
(to be presented by Hon Miriam LAU, Chairman of the House Committee)

13.Report of the Bills Committee on University of Hong Kong (Amendment) Bill 2010
(to be presented by Hon Cyd HO, Chairman of the Bills Committee)

14.Report of the Panel on Health Services 2010-2011
(to be presented by Dr Hon LEUNG Ka-lau, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)

15.Report of the Panel on Development 2010-2011
(to be presented by Prof Hon Patrick LAU, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)

16.Report of the Panel on Constitutional Affairs 2010-2011
(to be presented by Hon TAM Yiu-chung, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)

17.Report of the Panel on Commerce and Industry 2010-2011
(to be presented by Hon WONG Ting-kwong, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)

18.Report of the Panel on Security 2010-2011
(to be presented by Hon James TO, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)

19.Report of the Panel on Public Service 2010-2011
(to be presented by Hon Mrs Regina IP, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)

20.Report of the Panel on Education 2010-2011
(to be presented by Hon Starry LEE, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)

21.Report of the Panel on Economic Development 2010-2011
(to be presented by Hon Jeffrey LAM, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)

22.Report of the Panel on Administration of Justice and Legal Services 2010-2011
(to be presented by Dr Hon Margaret NG, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)

23.Report of the Panel on Transport 2010-2011
(to be presented by Hon Andrew CHENG, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)

24.Report of the Panel on Financial Affairs 2010-2011
(to be presented by Hon CHAN Kam-lam, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)

25.Report of the Panel on Information Technology and Broadcasting 2010-2011
(to be presented by Hon WONG Yuk-man, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)

26.Report of the Panel on Environmental Affairs 2010-2011
(to be presented by Hon CHAN Hak-kan, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)

27.Report of the Panel on Housing 2010-2011
(to be presented by Hon LEE Wing-tat, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council)

II. Questions under Rule 24(4) of the Rules of Procedure

1. Hon IP Kwok-him to ask: (Translation)

An incident of an escalator suddenly revering direction occurred at Beijing Zoo Station of Beijing Metro Line 4 on 5 July this year, resulting in one death and 13 injuries, and on 7 July this year, an incident of an escalator of the same model and produced by the same manufacturer emitting smoke occurred at Mei Foo MTR Station. It has been reported that escalators of this model were involved in several serious accidents in Shenzhen and Beijing respectively over the past seven months, causing a total of one death and 55 injuries. The General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine ("AQSIQ") of the People's Republic of China has requested that escalators of this model all over the country be immediately suspended from use for inspection on the ground that they have design defects. At present, a total of 78 escalators of the same model are currently installed at Mei Foo, Mong Kok, Tsim Sha Tsui, Shau Kei Wan, Lo Wu, Lok Ma Chau, Sheung Shui, Kowloon Tong, Austin and Hung Hom Stations, which are all MTR stations with high passenger flows, and the above incidents have aroused public concern about the safety of escalators. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a)of the number of reports on incidents received by the Government over the past year involving escalators of the same model which were produced by the same manufacturer involved in the aforesaid incident in Beijing, and among the reports, the number of those which involved improper maintenance or design defects; and

    (b)given that AQSIQ has pointed out that the escalator model involved in the incident has design defects, and requested that escalators of this model all over the country be immediately suspended from use for inspection, whether the Government will immediately suspend the use of those escalators in Hong Kong which are of the same model and were produced by the same manufacturer involved in the incident; if it will not, of the reasons for that; whether the Government has enquired with the mainland authorities concerned about the design defects of this model of escalator in order to take follow-up action?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

2. Hon WONG Yuk-man to ask: (Translation)

In the early hours on 2 July this year, over 2 000 protesters participated in a sit-in protest at Queensway Road and requested to stage a demonstration outside the Government House to express the wish that the Government would withdraw the Legislative Council (Amendment) Bill 2011, and the Police eventually decided to use force to clear the scene and took about 140 of the protesters to a police station. In the incident, Legislative Council Members and reporters were injured. As a similar assembly will be held outside the Legislative Council Building from 13 July until the evening on 15 July, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a)whether the Police will, without giving prior warning, use pepper spray and force on the participants of the aforesaid assembly to be held from 13 to 15 July;

    (b)whether the Police will cordon-off the area in which the assembly will be held, and of the circumstances under which the Police will allow other people to enter such cordoned-off area; and

    (c)of the circumstances under which the Police will arrest participants of the assembly, and the criteria the Police will adopt in using handcuffs or plastic strings to arrest them?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Security

IIA. Questions

1.Hon Cyd HO to ask: (Translation)

Regarding the provisions in the Guidelines on Election-related Activities in respect of the Chief Executive Elections and the Code for Officials under the Political Appointment System on the participation in the Chief Executive ("CE") elections by politically appointed officials, will the Government inform this Council:

    (a)given that at the Council meeting held on 29 June this year, a Member of this Council asked whether the Chief Secretary for Administration ("CS") had deployed public resources of the Government to prepare for the CE electioneering campaign, and when I raised a supplementary question on whether CE had asked CS or instructed anyone to ask CS if the web site under preparation was the official web site for CS or his own personal web site, the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs did not provide the required information, whether the authorities can provide a clear response in this regard because it is the responsibility of CE to ensure that appointed officials follow all rules and regulations in both official business and their private life; if after making the enquiries they have learnt that the web site under preparation is an official web site, whether the web site has been produced by ePlus Communications Limited ("ePlus"), whether the service contract of web site production has been granted to ePlus through tendering, and of the fees charged by ePlus for this service as well as whether such fees are on a par with market prices; if ePlus has not charged fees that are on a par with market prices, of the channels through which the politically appointed official concerned has declared his interests;

    (b)whether the authorities have set upper limits in monetary terms on the services, gifts, discounts and sponsorships received by politically appointed officials; if they have, of these upper limits; whether they have assessed if officials accepting such advantages without making declarations have contravened the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance or the Independent Commission Against Corruption Ordinance, and of the mechanism in place to examine if such advantages will give rise to any conflict of interest with their official duties; and

    (c)of the existing mechanism to prevent politically appointed officials from requiring their civil servant subordinates, in particular those in the Administrative Officer or Information Officer grades or directorate civil servants, to participate during or outside office hours in private activities for promoting the personal image of politically appointed officials, including their participation in the preparatory work for electioneering activities?
Public Officers to reply:Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs
Secretary for the Civil Service

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

Under the existing Mandatory Provident Fund ("MPF") Scheme, if scheme members wish to withdraw the accrued benefits from their MPF accounts when they reach the age of 65, they may do so only by withdrawing all the benefits in one go. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether the authorities will conduct a study on requiring MPF trustees to provide annuity plans for scheme members, so that the latter can choose to inject all or part of the accrued benefits into such plans and withdraw a fixed amount of money on a monthly basis upon retirement, thereby ensuring a stream of stable income for their retirement; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
    Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

    3.Hon CHAN Hak-kan to ask:     (Translation)

    In 2006, the authorities planned to reserve a land for the construction of a centralized poultry slaughtering centre ("PSC"), and they first proposed to use the site near Shek Wu Hui Sewage Treatment Works in Sheung Shui and then proposed the site in the vicinity of Fu Tei Au Tsuen next to Man Kam To Road, which cover an area of 10 500 and 15 000 square metres respectively, but subsequently, as the risk of avian influenza in Hong Kong was kept at a low level, the Secretary for Food and Health announced shelving the centralized PSC project in June last year. To date, the aforesaid two sites have been left vacant for more than five years; and it has been learnt that at present, there are also other sites which are left vacant due to changes in policies or shelving of works projects. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

      (a)whether at present it has any specific short-term and long-term plans to use the aforesaid two sites; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

      (b)given the keen demand for public housing from residents of the North District in the New Territories, whether it will consider constructing public rental housing at the aforesaid sites or reserving them for Home Ownership Scheme flats which may be constructed in the future; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

      (c)of the number of government sites which are vacant at present due to changes in policies or shelving of works projects; the respective areas of the sites involved and the districts in which the sites are located; of the specific plans it has in place to optimize the use of such vacant sites?
    Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

    4.Prof Hon Patrick LAU to ask:     (Translation)

    The tragedy in which a No. 3 alarm fire broke out in a tenement building at 111 Ma Tau Wai Road in To Kwa Wan resulting in the death of four persons and an unborn child and 19 injured, has aroused public concern again about the fire safety problem of flat units divided into separate units (commonly known as "sub-divided units"). Some members of the Subcommittee on Building Safety and Related Issues of this Council pointed out that as sub-divided units could meet the housing needs of certain people, they should not be totally banned, and that in order to safeguard the lives and properties of the public, the fire safety of sub-divided units had to be further enhanced. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

      (a)given that the fire service equipment in private residential units is not regulated by law at present, whether the authorities will consider introducing legislation to regulate the fire service equipment in sub-divided units converted from private residential units, so as to ensure that sub-divided units for letting or sale are subject to corresponding regulation as in the case of other small-sized rooms for letting which are regulated by law; if they will not, of the reasons for that;

      (b)as items of works commonly found in subdivided units are gradually being included in the Minor Works Control System ("MWCS") by the authorities, whether the authorities will expeditiously consider incorporating fire service equipment including smoke detectors, automatic sprinkler system and fire alarm system, etc. in MWCS to expedite the enhancement of fire safety in sub-divided units, thereby safeguarding the lives and safety of sub-divided unit tenants and their neighbours; if they will not, of the reasons for that; and

      (c)whether, apart from the Building Safety Loan Scheme and Building Maintenance Grant Scheme for Elderly Owners, the authorities will consider expanding other relevant subsidy schemes to provide loans or subsidies to owners of private residential units, including sub-divided units, in Hong Kong to encourage them to take the initiative to improve the fire service equipment in their units; and whether the authorities will consider strengthening the support provided by the Urban Renewal Authority under the Integrated Building Maintenance Assistance Scheme by enhancing its role in public education, thereby increasing the awareness among the owners and tenants of sub-divided units and the general public of fire safety in private residential units, including sub-divided units (e.g. making use of 3D building design models to instil in them correct knowledge about building and fire safety); if they will not, of the reasons for that?
    Public Officers to reply:Secretary for Development
    Secretary for Security

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

    A opinion poll conducted by the University of Hong Kong in June this year has revealed that the governance crisis of the Hong Kong Government continues to deepen and recent incidents concerning unauthorized, building works, Jeremy GODFREY, the foul start of the Chief Executive election campaigns and disputes over the "real estate hegemony", etc. have eroded the Government's credibility. The aforesaid opinion poll has also showed that the Chief Executive ("CE")'s support rating stands at 46.5 marks, which is not only a record low since his assumption of office as CE but is even lower than the ratings scored by his predecessor, putting him under the category of "depressing" performance, and among all politically appointed officials, no official falls under the category of "ideal" performer any more. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

      (a)whether it has reviewed why the popularity rating of the incumbent CE is even lower than that of his predecessor; if it has, of the reasons for the low popularity rating, and whether it will adopt any measure to alleviate public grievances; if it has not, the reasons for that; and

      (b)whether it has reviewed what blunders in policy implementation the Government made in the past six years; if it has, of the blunders it made, and whether it will apologize for the blunders to all members of the public of Hong Kong; if it has not conducted any review, the reasons for that?
    Public Officer to reply : The Chief Secretary for Administration

    6.Hon CHAN Kin-por to ask:     (Translation)

    The World Health Organization ("WHO") of the United Nations has recently classified mobile phones as possibly carcinogenic to humans, and placed them in the same category as pesticides, human immunodeficiency virus and plasticizer which has attracted wide media coverage recently. WHO has advised that prolonged use of mobile phones is associated with the risk for acoustic neuroma, and that using mobile phones for more than 30 minutes daily will result in an increase in the risk for gliomas by 40%. Medical specialists have pointed out that a malignant glioma cannot be completely cured, and only half of the patients with such a tumour have a survival rate of one year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

      (a)whether the authorities will follow up the WHO report by conducting a study on the effect of exposure to radiation from mobile phones on public health; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; given that it has been pointed out in the Lancet, an international medical journal, that the amount of radiation absorbed by the head tissues of children is two times higher than that of adults, and the Department of Health has also advised that children should avoid using mobile phones frequently, whether the authorities will specifically warn parents of young children about this and encourage members of the public to use hands-free devices as far as possible or even use communication means which can reduce exposure to radiation such as SMS messages;

      (b)given that the Office of the Telecommunications Authority ("OFTA") currently encourages mobile phone manufacturers, suppliers and dealers to affix labels on a voluntary basis to mobile phones stating that they are type-approved, yet these labels do not show the Specific Absorption Rate ("SAR") of mobile phones, which is a measure of the amount of radiofrequency radiation absorbed by the organs of a person when he is using a mobile phone, and that among the mobiles phones which are confirmed to have complied with OFTA's standard on the safety limits of radiofrequency radiation at present, the difference in their SARs can be over 27 times, whether it knows if OFTA will consider requiring mobile phone manufacturers, suppliers and dealers to affix labels to the packaging boxes of mobile-phone products to state the products' radiation data for public reference; and

      (c)as OFTA is applying two different standards on the safety limits of radiofrequency radiation for mobile phones, whether it knows if OFTA has any plan to apply the most stringent standard only; given that the information provided by the National Cancer Institute in the United States shows that mobile phones will have higher radiation emission level in poor reception areas, and OFTA has also advised that members of the public should consider avoiding using mobile phones in poor reception areas, whether the authorities will check the strength of signals of mobile phone networks in individual areas, in particular remote areas, and further assist mobile network operators in improving the coverage of mobile networks in poor reception areas, so as to obviate the need for mobile phones to increase the radiant power over a prolonged period in order to search and maintain signals, which will affect public health?
    Public Officers to reply:Secretary for Food and Health
    Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

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

    It has been learnt that some merchants sell parallel-imported products (commonly known as "parallel imports") as products imported through official dealers (commonly known as "authorized products"), and such practice is often found in the sale of electronic products. Some shops claimed that the products they sell are "authorized products", but when consumers find that the products are actually "parallel imports", the shopkeepers will use an excuse that the products are "authorized products for Japan" or "authorized products for China" instead of "authorized products for Hong Kong" as an explanation; some merchants also repack "parallel imports" with the packing of "authorized products for Hong Kong", or put a label of "original authorized products for Hong Kong" onto the package of "parallel imports", or mark on the price tags that such products are "authorized products". Apart from the price differences, there are also differences in after-sales services and specifications, etc. between "parallel imports" and "authorized products", but quite a number of consumers and tourists have been cheated as they are not able to distinguish between "parallel imports" and "authorized products". In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

      (a)whether in Hong Kong the interpretation of "authorized product" is stipulated in law; whether it has assessed if it is illegal for shops to indicate on the invoices, packages or price tags of "parallel imports" that the products are "authorized products", or to repack "parallel imports" with the packing of "authorized products" for sale; how the authorities prevent merchants from indiscriminately claiming their products as "authorized products" and stop shops from using the packing of "authorized products" as disguise; as it is difficult for consumers to tell from the product packing whether it is an "authorized product" or to call the dealer to make enquiries each time they make a purchase, what measures the authorities have in place to protect consumers from such frauds;

      (b)whether it has assessed if it is illegal to sell "parallel imports" as "authorized products"; if the assessment result is in the affirmative, of the relevant penalties; whether apart from making refunds, the persons-in-charge of the shops have to bear other legal liabilities; whether the shops which are uncovered to have sold "parallel imports" as "authorized products" may continue to operate; in the past three years, of the respective numbers of complaints received and prosecutions instituted in respect of such sales practice, the number of inspections carried out to check whether there is such sales practice in the market, as well as the number of shops which have repeatedly been complained for selling "parallel imports" as "authorized products" or of which the persons-in-charge have repeatedly been prosecuted for such sales practice;

      (c)of the measures the authorities have put in place to protect tourists and consumers by which they can claim their losses easily and quickly after being cheated by shops selling "parallel imports" as "authorized products"; and by what means tourists who have left Hong Kong can make claims and take follow-up actions;

      (d)given that some shops have made use of online platforms, discussion forums, and social networking sites, etc. to claim that their products are "authorized products" and list the prices to attract consumers, whether the persons-in-charge of such online platforms have to bear the relevant legal liabilities; if so, of the details; and

      (e)whether the Government will formulate a list of "unscrupulous shops" which sell "parallel imports" as "authorized products" for the reference of consumers and tourists and disclose the information of shops which have repeatedly been complained or of which the persons-in-charge have been convicted as a result of such sales practice?
    Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

    *8.Hon IP Kwok-him to ask:     (Translation)

    I have recently received complaints from members of the public that on the same day after they submitted their resumes to employers via electronic mails when seeking jobs by using the Interactive Employment Service of the Labour Department ("LD"), they received calls from a number of telemarketing companies promoting their products, which caused much disturbance to them. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

      (a)whether LD has, in respect of the various employment and recruitment services it provides, taken any measure to ensure that employers will use the personal data of job seekers collected through posting of recruitment advertisements at LD only for recruitment purpose; whether LD had received complaints about the misuse of personal data of job seekers in the past three years; if it had, of the details of the complaints; the numbers of such complaint cases received in each of the years; and among them, the number of substantiated cases;

      (b)given that some of the recruitment information or advertisements released through LD's various employment and recruitment services are on job vacancies of private employment agencies, whether LD had received, in the past three years, complaints from job seekers alleging that those employment agencies did not have actual business operation, or the vacancies listed in the recruitment information or advertisements did not even exist; if it had, of the respective numbers of such complaints it had received in each of the years and the investigation results; and

      (c)of the provisions in the existing Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (Cap. 486) which are applicable to restricting enterprises, employers or any other persons from the improper keeping and use of personal data of job seekers collected through recruitment channels; the respective numbers of cases in which prosecutions were instituted for breaching the relevant legislation in each of the past three years; among them, the percentage of convicted cases; the respective maximum and minimum penalties imposed for such cases?
    Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Labour and Welfare

    *9.Hon WONG Kwok-kin to ask:     (Translation)

    The 2011 Population Census is now underway. It has been learnt that some young female Census officers have been arranged to enter the flats of responding households alone to conduct questionnaire surveys. As each long-form questionnaire takes around 40 minutes to complete, these Census officers are worried about their personal safety, and their family members have the same concern. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether Census officers are allowed under the guidelines of the authorities to enter the flats of responding households alone to conduct the survey; if so, of the reasons for that; if not, whether the authorities will expeditiously rearrange the Census officers to conduct the surveys in pairs and make sure that the arrangement concerned will be implemented?
      Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

      *10.Dr Hon Samson TAM to ask:       (Translation)

      I have recently received complaints from quite a number of members of the public that when they requested to terminate the contracts for residential broadband network services after moving house as they could not continue to use the services due to a lack of network coverage or insufficient cable capacity in their new residence, they were levied a service charge or fine by the Internet service providers. The Office of the Telecommunications Authority ("OFTA") introduced the new Code of Practice ("CoP") in February 2010, requiring telecommunications service operators ("operators") to waive any fee for the aforesaid circumstances, but the CoP is implemented on a voluntary basis only. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

        (a)of the number of complaint cases received by the authorities from members of the public in the past two years in relation to the levy of service charge or fine on them upon termination of network service contracts because there was no broadband network coverage in their new residence, as well as the follow-up actions;

        (b)whether it knows the number of operators which have indicated their willingness to comply with the CoP since its issuance by OFTA; whether it has assessed if the voluntary CoP can effectively regulate the operators; if the result of the assessment is in the negative, when it will introduce more stringent measures to safeguard consumers' rights, and of the details of such measures; whether it will consider incorporating into the licences upon renewal mandatory provisions to require full compliance by the operators; and

        (c)given that the authorities issued the consultation paper on the Customer Complaint Settlement Scheme in June 2010, of the progress of the consultation at present and when they will make public the latest consultation outcome?
      Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

      *11.Hon Vincent FANG to ask:       (Translation)

      I have received complaints from the industry about the increasingly serious situation of people purchasing products or foods (including vegetables, fruits, eggs and meat that are subject to respective export and import controls on the Mainland and in Hong Kong) on the Mainland and then bringing them back, by adopting the "ants moving home" tactics, to Hong Kong for sale. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

        (a)of the respective daily average numbers of Hong Kong residents and mainland visitors under the Individual Visit Scheme crossing the boundary via various control points in Hong Kong and Shenzhen in the past 12 months, as well as the percentage changes in each month; whether statistics have been compiled on the respective numbers of people entering the territory twice a day or more; whether the authorities will inspect one by one the items carried by those persons who enter the territory twice a day or more;

        (b)of the measures adopted by the staff at boundary control points to check whether persons entering the territory bring in items which are subject to import control (including endangered species, uncooked meat, birds and vegetables, and eggs, etc.); of the number of persons found by staff at boundary control points to have brought such items into the territory last year; of the types, quantities and weights of the items involved; whether the authorities had instituted prosecution against or given warnings to these persons, and how the seized items were disposed of; how the authorities verified claims that such items which are subject to import control were brought into the territory only for personal consumption; whether follow-up actions would be taken to find out if these persons had subsequently put the items on sale; whether they have any plan to regulate the bringing into the territory by visitors items which are subject to import control in Hong Kong; and

        (c)given that quite a number of members of the public of Hong Kong have complained that the areas adjacent to MTR stations are often occupied for use as distribution points for the aforesaid items, thus creating serious environmental hygiene problems, of the measures the authorities have in place to deal with the situation?
      Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

      *12.Dr Hon Priscilla LEUNG to ask:       (Translation)

      I have received complaints from a number of members of the public that nearly 200 trips of cross-boundary coaches ("CBC") are operated by a number of bus companies each day in the area of Playing Field Road and Portland Street in Kowloon, causing traffic conjestion, endangering the safety of pedestrians as well as creating problems such as serious noise nuisances and vehicular emissions in the community. In addition, some members of the public even queried why these CBC companies are not subject to any regulation and can freely set up pick-up/set-down points on the street, thereby creating even more serious problems in the community. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

        (a)whether the authorities have, apart from Lok Ma Chau - Huanggang Cross-boundary Shuttle Bus Service, regulated the operation of other CBC services (including the locations of pick-up/set-down points and coach frequencies, etc.); if they have, of the government departments which are responsible for monitoring such operation and the details; if not, the reasons why this type of public transport services operating on a commercial basis is not regulated by the law;

        (b)whether the authorities have compiled statistics on the number of locations in various districts in the territory which are currently used as CBC terminals; among them, of the number of those for which formal approval has been granted by the Government; whether they have examined if the remaining ones have been set up illegally, and whether such a situation involves any grey area in the law;

        (c)whether the Government had, in the past five years, taken any follow-up actions (such as requesting the immediate removal of the pick-up/set-down points or instituting prosecutions) against those CBC companies which were found to have illegally occupied the roads to set up pick-up/set-down points; if it had, of the details;

        (d)whether the Government had, in the past five years, received any complaints from the public regarding the noise nuisances, vehicular emissions or street obstruction caused by CBC stops; if it had, of the number and the subject of such complaints (with a breakdown by year set out in table form); and (e) whether the authorities will consider making reference to the existing means of regulating the operation of residents' service coaches to handle and rationalize the provision of CBC services?
      Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing

      *13.Dr Hon LEUNG Ka-lau to ask:       (Translation)

      Regarding the Secretary for Development's reply on 16 February this year to a question on the removal of asbestos materials under Operation Building Bright, will the Government inform this Council:

        (a)given that the Government only indicated in its reply, "[U]p to the end of 2010, the EPD [Environmental Protection Department] has conducted initial assessment for about 1 400 target buildings and confirmed that about 1 100 buildings contain asbestos containing material." and "[T]he EPD has also sent staff to the abovementioned buildings to carry out assessments and inspections for about 1 500 times", whether the authorities will further publish the list of the target buildings which are subjected to asbestos assessment and confirmed to contain asbestos materials and were inspected by EPD staff for the purpose of asbestos material removal works, to let workers and members of the public become aware of the relevant information and take precautions accordingly before carrying out maintenance for the target buildings; if not, of the reasons for that; and

        (b)whether the Labour Department and the Environmental Protection Department have collected air samples for testing in the target buildings to ascertain that there is no risk of inhaling asbestos fibres by the workers when carrying out the works; if not, of the reasons for that; if yes, the dates, times and locations of taking air samples, the sampling and testing methods, number of tests conducted, number of samples taken and the test results (including the types of asbestos contained in the samples and the level of asbestos content in the air of the work sites); if it cannot provide such information, the reasons for that?
      Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

      *14.Hon Albert HO to ask:       (Translation)

      It has been learnt that ePlus Communications Limited ("ePlus"), a subsidiary of the Internet Professional Association ("IProA"), produced a web site for the Chief Secretary for Administration, and ePlus also has close connections with Letlink Technology Limited ("Letlink"), Chinese World Ventures Limited ("CWV"), China Multi Media Resources Limited ("CMMR") and Portal Health International Limited ("PHI"); and that a company named TOOB Creative Workshop Limited ("TOOB") was appointed by the Government to carry out work on analyzing or disseminating political comments. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

        (a)whether the Government had appointed the aforesaid companies or organizations (IProA, ePlus, Letlink, CWV, CMMR, PHI and TOOB) to undertake government work or publicly-funded projects in the past five years; if so, of such government work or publicly-funded projects and the respective amounts of public funds involved;

        (b)whether it had carried out work on analyzing or disseminating political comments on the Internet or related work; if so, whether it had appointed any company or organization to carry out such work; if it had, of the names of those companies or organizations and the amounts of public funds involved; and

        (c)whether it will, in deciding the companies or organizations to be appointed for undertaking government work or publicly-funded projects, take into account the political background of the members of those companies or organizations?
      Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

      *15.Hon Alan LEONG to ask:       (Translation)

      Recently, it has been reported that three "open spaces" sites at Wang Kwong Road and Wang Chiu Road near Richland Gardens (respectively located at its western, northern and north-eastern sides) in Kowloon Bay, have been occupied by the Highways Department ("HyD") as temporary work depots for a long time, causing air and noise pollution. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

        (a)of the locations of all temporary sites or depots of government works in the territory at present, the residential premises (estates, buildings or villages) nearest to such sites, the dates on which they were first deployed for such uses and the initial expiry dates for such deployments, the subsequent dates on which such deployments were extended each time, as well as the expiry dates of the current deployments of such sites (to be listed in the table below);

        Locations of the temporary sites or depots of government works Residential premises nearest to the temporary sites or depots of government works Dates on which they were first deployed for such uses and the initial expiry dates for such deployments Subsequent dates on which such deployments were extended each time Expiry dates of the current deployments of such sites











        (b)as the aforesaid three sites have been used by HyD as temporary work depots since 1996 and 2002 respectively, among which the longest duration of use to date has reached 15 years, whether the Lands Department has looked for alternative sites in other locations in the interim to relocate the aforesaid temporary work depots; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

        (c)as it has been learnt that the aforesaid two sites located respectively on the northern and north-eastern sides of Richland Gardens have been zoned as "district open spaces" since 1986, but the Leisure and Cultural Services Department had all along not yet developed the sites for leisure use over a period of almost 30 years in the past, of the reasons for that;

        (d)as it has been reported that some residents in Richland Gardens are deeply discontented that the aforesaid sites have been used as temporary work depots for a long time instead of being developed for leisure use, of the measures of the authorities to respond to the requests of such members of the public;

        (e)as road maintenance works are one of the long-term and recurrent undertakings of HyD, and the construction plant and various materials (including sand and concrete) of such works must be stored in work depots in different areas to facilitate deployment and for use in handling contingencies, whether the Government will set up long-term and fixed work depots for HyD; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

        (f)whether the authorities have in place a mechanism or guidelines for assessing the impact on the daily lives of the residents nearby when selecting the locations of temporary sites or depots of government works; if they have, of the details; if not, whether they will consider establishing such mechanism or guidelines?
      Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Development

      *16.Dr Hon Joseph LEE to ask:       (Translation)

      It has been reported that some Taiwanese academics found, in testing auxiliary medical devices (e.g. blood bags and infusion bags) earlier, that Polyvinylchloride ("PVC") materials could easily release plasticizers, and the concentration was at an exceedingly high level. As PVC materials are widely used in medical supplies, Hong Kong is equally exposed to the risk of contamination by plasticizers. It has also been reported that when fatty solutions (e.g. chemotherapy drugs and blood, etc.) come into contact with auxiliary medical devices containing PVC materials, more plasticizers will be released, which may be transmitted into the body through these medical devices and may cause more serious harm than consuming food contaminated by plasticizers, in particular to premature babies, chronic patients and patients with severe illness. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

        (a)whether the authorities know if, at present, there are auxiliary medical devices in Hong Kong which contain PVC materials; if there are, set out such devices by type;

        (b)whether the authorities have tested the level of plasticizers contained in auxiliary medical devices commonly used in Hong Kong, to ensure that the devices are not contaminated by plasticizers; if they have, of the standards and criteria adopted by the authorities for testing such devices; if not, whether they will conduct such tests to address the concerns of the public; and

        (c)whether the authorities have explored using alternatives to auxiliary medical devices containing PVC materials, which may have the risk of being contaminated by plasticizers; if they have, of the details; if not, whether they will consider conducting studies?
      Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

      *17.Dr Hon David LI to ask:

      The "2009-2010 Household Expenditure Survey and the Rebasing of the Consumer Price Indices" ("2009-2010 HES") published in April this year offers up-to-date information on the expenditure patterns of households. Based on the 2009-2010 HES results, the 2009-2010-based Consumer Price Index ("CPI")(A), CPI(B) and CPI(C) have been compiled respectively according to the expenditure patterns of households in the various expenditure ranges, and the Composite CPI has been compiled based on the expenditure pattern of all the households taken together. Separately, the "Quarterly Report on General Household Survey" publishes, on a quarterly basis, the overall median household income. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

        (a)of the median and average monthly expenditures of households in 1999-2000, 2004-2005 and 2009-2010, by households in the respective expenditure ranges of CPI(A), CPI(B) and CPI(C);

        (b)of the median and average monthly expenditures of households in 1999-2000, 2004-2005 and 2009-2010 with the effects of the Government's one-off relief measures (if any) being removed, by households in the respective expenditure ranges of CPI(A), CPI(B) and CPI(C); and

        (c)of the median incomes of households in 1999-2000, 2004-2005 and 2009-2010, by households in the respective expenditure ranges of CPI(A), CPI(B) and CPI(C)?
      Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury

      *18.Hon Ronny TONG to ask:       (Translation)

      In response to media enquiries, the Hospital Authority ("HA") indicated on 16 June this year that HA would conduct a local clinical trial in collaboration with the University of Hong Kong and The Chinese University of Hong Kong on the use of Avastin and Lucentis in wet Age-Related Macular Degeneration ("AMD") patients by the end of this year, in order to gather local evidence and experience for devising a specific treatment protocol in public hospitals. In addition, with additional funding from the Government, HA reserved a sum of $12 million in the year 2010-2011 for providing subsidies to wet AMD patients in suitable clinical conditions for their treatment. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

        (a)whether it knows if the aforesaid funding already reserved in the last financial year has to date been used for subsidizing wet AMD patients to receive treatment; if so, of the number of patients who have received the subsidy; if not, the reasons for that; of the number of patients estimated by the authorities who were not given timely treatment because the funding had remained unused last year;

        (b)whether it knows if HA will use the funding for conducting the aforesaid clinical trial;

        (c)whether it knows the purposes of the plan of HA and the aforesaid two universities to launch the clinical trial on the use of Avastin in the treatment of wet AMD; whether testing the safety of the drug is among such purposes; if so, of the protocols and standards based on which such clinical trial will be conducted; whether such clinical trial will meet the highest safety requirements for drugs approved by drug regulatory authorities of European countries and the United States;

        (d)given that the manufacturer of Avastin has not indicated that the drug can be used for the treatment of wet AMD, whether the authorities have assessed if HA or the Government are liable for compensation to wet AMD patients who suffer from severe side-effects or blindness induced by receiving Avastin treatment, or damages associated with the quality problems of the drug itself; if the assessment outcome is in the affirmative, of the maximum amount of compensation for each patient; of the justifications for the Government to deploy public funds to bear such liability for compensation;

        (e)whether it knows, under the current policy, if HA will solely base on the indications of drugs registered with the Department of Health in considering listing the relevant drugs, including general, special and self-financed drugs, on the Hospital Authority Drug Formulary; if it will, of the reasons for and purposes of introducing such policy; if not, the reasons and justifications; and

        (f)whether it knows if HA monitors the prescription of drugs for patients in public hospitals to ensure that drugs are used only for their registered indications, and restricts public hospitals from prescribing drugs in treatments which are beyond their registered indications, in order to safeguard the safety of patients; if it does, how these are enforced?
      Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Food and Health

      *19. Hon Miriam LAU to ask:

      With a view to improving the administrative arrangements for management of public records, the Government introduced a set of mandatory records management requirements ("the requirements") in April 2009 for compliance by policy bureaux and government departments ("B/Ds"). However, criticisms from the public remain that this is insufficient to ensure that government records are properly managed and disposed of. There are still calls from the community for introduction of an archival law or public records law in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

        (a)whether the Government Records Service ("GRS") has carried out records audits to ensure compliance with the requirements; if it has, of the details of such audits conducted in the past two years; if not, the reasons for that;

        (b)whether GRS can make it mandatory for B/Ds to make all their records available for appraisal and transfer to the archives; if not, what mechanism is at present in place to ensure that B/Ds do not withhold their records from GRS; whether B/Ds are required to maintain and comply with a record disposal schedule;

        (c)whether the present public records management system requires the submission of policy records to GRS from the following public offices: Office of the Chief Executive, Chief Secretary for Administration's Office, Financial Secretary's Office, the Central Policy Unit, Invest Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the Independent Commission Against Corruption; if not, of the reasons for that;

        (d)in view of the relocation of the offices at the Central Government Offices to Tamar in September this year, what measures will be taken to ensure that government records will not be misplaced or disposed of improperly during the removal process; whether an inventory of all the record series will be taken to identify which records will be moved, as well as which records will be otherwise dealt with, etc.;

        (e)in respect of the records kept by B/Ds, of the percentages of those in electronic form, and those in paper format; what mechanism is in place to ensure that these electronic records will not be manipulated or deleted improperly; and

        (f)given that there is an absence of an archival law or public records law to underpin the present public records management system, can the Government give an undertaking that no government record will be destroyed until proper appraisal has been conducted by GRS or other qualified archivists?
      Public Officer to reply : The Chief Secretary for Administration

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

      The Education Bureau ("EDB") has planned to make "moral and national education" an independent subject and fully implement it in secondary and primary schools in Hong Kong in the 2013-2014 school year; and as early as in 2001, moral and civic education had already been identified as one of the four key tasks in the curriculum reform. In addition, the National Education Centre ("NEC") and the National Education Services Centre, which have been established with the support from EDB and the Home Affairs Bureau, provide support on national education each year for students and teachers in Hong Kong. Different academic groups have expressed concerns over the effectiveness the national education implemented so far. The results of the annual surveys on national identity conducted by NEC have revealed that the sense of national identity amongst students has been strengthened in recent years, but it has only been improving slowly in the last two years. On the other hand, the officer-in-charge of NEC has pointed out that each year NEC is offering 500 student exchange places on the Mainland, but the quotas are often not sufficient to meet the demand, reflecting that there is a keen demand from students for national education. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

        (a)of the resources injected by EDB into the area of national education in each of the past five years, the types of national education activities covered, and the allocation of resources to such activities;

        (b)whether EDB will conduct regular assessments and reviews on the effectiveness of the various national education activities funded by it (such as exchange trips and national study programmes, etc.) in strengthening the sense of national identity amongst students; if it will, of the evaluation criteria;

        (c)of the statistics (including the number of activities organized, the amount of resources injected and the number of participating students, etc.) on the various national education activities funded by EDB (such as exchange trips and national study programmes, etc.) in the past five years;

        (d)of the total amount of subsidies from EDB for schools to organize exchange trips to the Mainland in each of the past five years; and

        (e)whether the various funds (such as the Civic Education Fund or the Community Investment and Inclusion Fund) set up by the Government have funded programmes relevant to national education in the past five years; if so, of the respective amounts of funds for various programmes?
      Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Education

      * For written reply

      III. Bills

      First Reading

      1.Personal Data (Privacy) (Amendment) Bill 2011

      2.Immigration (Amendment) Bill 2011

      3.Protection of Wages on Insolvency (Amendment) Bill 2011

      4.Road Traffic (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2011

      Second Reading (Debates to be adjourned)

      1.Personal Data (Privacy) (Amendment) Bill 2011:Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs

      2.Immigration (Amendment) Bill 2011:Secretary for Security

      3.Protection of Wages on Insolvency (Amendment) Bill 2011:Secretary for Labour and Welfare

      4.Road Traffic (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2011:Secretary for Transport and Housing

      IV. Members' Bills

      First Reading

      The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (Amendment) Bill 2011

      Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)

      The Hong Kong Polytechnic University (Amendment) Bill 2011:Dr Hon LAM Tai-fai

      Public Officer to attend:Secretary for Education

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

      University of Hong Kong (Amendment) Bill 2010:Dr Hon David LI

      Dr Hon David LI to move Committee stage amendments
      (The amendments were issued on 6 July 2011
      under LC Paper No. CB(3) 1014/10-11)

      V. Members' Motions

      1. Proposed resolution under Rule 85 of the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region

        Hon Mrs Sophie LEUNG to move the following motion:

        Resolved that having considered the report of the Committee on Members' Interests made to this Council on 22 June 2011 under Rule 73(1)(e) of the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in relation to its consideration of a complaint against Honourable Abraham SHEK Lai-him, Honourable Abraham SHEK Lai-him be admonished for failing to disclose the nature of his pecuniary interest in the project to construct the Hong Kong Section of Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link ("XRL Project") by virtue of his being an independent non-executive director of MTR Corporation Limited before he spoke on the XRL Project at the meetings of the Subcommittee on Matters Relating to Railways of the Panel on Transport of the Legislative Council held on 6, 16 and 17 November 2009, contrary to Rule 83A of the aforesaid Rules.

      2. Appointment of a select committee

        Hon Emily LAU to move the following motion:

        That this Council appoints a select committee to inquire into whether there are government officials or other persons who acted unduly, in the course of selecting the implementing organization for the Internet Learning Support Programme, to interfere with the selection process to influence the selection results with a political aim to assist the selected organization, as well as related matters, and based on the results of the above inquiry, to make recommendations on the tendering and selection procedures of government programmes funded by public moneys and other related matters; and that in the performance of its duties the committee be authorized under section 9(2) of the Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance (Cap. 382) to exercise the powers conferred by section 9(1) of that Ordinance.

        Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development

      3. Public Accounts Committee's Report on 'Hong Kong 2009 East Asian Games'

        Dr Hon Philip WONG to move the following motion: (Translation)

        That this Council notes Chapter 1 of the Public Accounts Committee Report No. 56 on 'Hong Kong 2009 East Asian Games'.

        Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Home Affairs

      4. Issues in relation to procedural rules on pecuniary interests

        Hon Mrs Sophie LEUNG to move the following motion: (Translation)

        That this Council takes note of the issues in relation to the procedural rules on pecuniary interests that are set out in the Report of the Committee on Members' Interests on its consideration of a complaint against Ir Dr Hon Raymond HO, Hon Jeffrey LAM and Hon Abraham SHEK.

      5. Improving the medical services of the various clusters under the Hospital Authority

        Hon Fred LI to move the following motion: (Translation)

        That the proportion of the Government's expenditure on medical and health services in its recurrent expenditure has increased from 15.9% in 2007-2008 to 16.5% in 2011-2012, but population ageing and population growth have resulted in increased healthcare costs, and the Government's development of the healthcare industry and private medical services in the absence of proper manpower planning has led to a serious wastage of healthcare manpower and manpower shortage in the public healthcare system, and the manpower retention measures adopted by the Hospital Authority ('HA') have resulted in further increases in the costs of public medical services; at the same time, owing to the uneven distribution of resources among the various clusters and the lack of transparency in the allocation of manpower and resources within individual clusters, many community hospitals are unable to improve services in response to the demands of residents within the communities; in this connection, this Council urges the executive authorities to face up to the problems of increasing healthcare costs and healthcare manpower shortage, review the policy direction and the pace of developing the healthcare industry and private medical services to reduce the impact on the public medical system, improve the management of HA, set a staffing establishment so as to ensure that public medical resources are put to proper uses and spent on the districts and fields with the greatest need, and apart from handling problems commonly found in various districts, such as the HA Drug Formulary rendering many patients unable to get the required drugs, long waiting time for services of accident and emergency departments as well as specialist out-patient services, long booking periods for surgical operations, difficulties in booking out-patient services and the non-provision of dental services in the public medical system, etc., focus particularly on clusters facing a particularly severe shortage of medical resources and manpower, such as New Territories West Cluster and Kowloon East Cluster, etc., and allocate more resources and manpower to respond to people's aspirations and improve services within the districts; the relevant measures should include:

        (a)to expand United Christian Hospital and include the provision of oncology services;

        (b)to extend the services of Tseung Kwan O Hospital, provide a more comprehensive range of healthcare services, and draw up a timetable for equipping it with delivery rooms;

        (c)to introduce 24-hour out-patient services or services of the Accident and Emergency Department in Our Lady of Maryknoll Hospital;

        (d)to expeditiously and fully launch the new facilities at Pok Oi Hospital, which was redeveloped in 2007, for service commencement;

        (e)to extend the services of North District Hospital by providing in-patient services in its Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine Department, strengthen the support for its Accident and Emergency Department, and, in view of the various major medical incidents at North District Hospital, to raise the number and quality of its healthcare personnel; and

        (f)to improve transportation support for Lantau Island residents going to Princess Margaret Hospital, and expeditiously complete the construction of North Lantau Hospital, so as to provide medical services for Lantau Island residents.

        Amendments to the motion
        (i)Hon Frederick FUNG to move the following amendment: (Translation)

        To add ", although" after "That"; to delete "but" after "2011-2012,"; to add "(e) to relocate Shek Kip Mei Health Centre and upgrade it to an integrated health services centre, so as to rectify its existing problems of remote location and inadequate facilities, etc.;" after "service commencement;"; to delete the original "(e)" and substitute with "(f)"; and to delete the original "(f)" and substitute with "(g)".

        (ii)Hon CHAN Hak-kan to move the following amendment: (Translation)

        To add ", although" after "That"; to delete "but" after "2011-2012,"; to add ", finalize the planning details of the district hospital under the Kai Tak Development, and require that the hospital must benefit the residents in Wong Tai Sin District" after "Maryknoll Hospital"; to add "reinstate emergency obstetric services," after "Adolescent Medicine Department,"; to delete "and" after "healthcare personnel;"; and to add "; (g) for facilitating the integration and comprehensive development of public medical services on Lantau Island, to relocate the existing Tung Chung Health Centre to North Lantau Hospital under construction, and develop an integrated Chinese medicine services centre in the existing site vacated by the health centre; (h) focusing on the impact of mainland pregnant women giving birth in Hong Kong on the medical system in Hong Kong, including the impact on obstetrics and gynaecology, neonatal intensive care as well as maternal and child health centre services, to conduct a comprehensive assessment and proceed with planning of manpower and resources, so as to avoid affecting the quality of overall medical services; and (i) to expeditiously establish the remaining three public Chinese medicine out-patient clinics for honouring the undertaking of establishing public Chinese medicine out-patient clinics in all 18 districts, and proactively introduce Chinese medicine in-patient services and conjoint Chinese medicine and Western medicine consultations in the various clusters" immediately before the full stop.

        (iii)Dr Hon PAN Pey-chyou to move the following amendment: (Translation)

        To add ", education and social welfare aside, health is the policy area which occupies the largest proportion in the Government's total expenditure;" after "That"; to add "continuously" after "owing to the"; to add "expeditiously implement the establishment of Chinese medicine clinics in all 18 districts of Hong Kong, introduce men's medical check-up and specialist services," after "medical system, etc.,"; to add ", having regard to the characteristics of population structures within the districts," after "Cluster, etc., and"; to add "reduce cross-district medical consultations and" after "and manpower to"; to add "(d) apart from the Centre of Excellence in Paediatrics and the Centre of Excellence in Neuroscience, to expeditiously implement the establishment of an acute general hospital at the Kai Tak site, so as to share the burden of meeting Kowloon East residents' demand for public medical services;" after "of Maryknoll Hospital;"; to delete the original "(d)" and substitute with "(e)"; to add "(f) to expedite the completion of Tin Shui Wai Hospital, and before the commencement of the Hospital's services, to expeditiously launch the integrated clinic building in Tin Shui Wai Area 109, so as to cope with the demand of Tin Shui Wai's residents for medical services; (g) to honour the undertaking of reinstating the provision of urology services at Yan Chai Hospital after its redevelopment;" after "service commencement;"; to delete the original "(e)" and substitute with "(h)"; to add "and introducing obstetrics and gynaecology hospitalization and delivery care services" after "Adolescent Medicine Department"; to delete "and" after "healthcare personnel;"; to delete the original "(f)" and substitute with "(i)"; and to add "; and before the completion of North Lantau Hospital, to maintain and improve the holiday and evening clinic services in Tung Chung; and (j) to implement the provision of general out-patient and family medicine clinic services in Siu Sai Wan" immediately before the full stop.

        (iv)Hon Tommy CHEUNG to move the following amendment: (Translation)

        To add ", given that" after "That"; to add "besides, manpower shortage, coupled with the prevalence of Mainland pregnant women giving birth in Hong Kong, has overloaded public sector obstetric and gynaecology services as well as maternal and child health services, seriously affecting the quality of the services enjoyed by local pregnant women, and the authorities' quota system for non-local pregnant women giving birth in Hong Kong is unable to meet the needs of Hong Kong people's pregnant wives on the Mainland;" after "public medical services;"; to add ", insufficient obstetric and gynaecology as well as maternal and child health services," after "booking out-patient services"; to delete "and" after "healthcare personnel;"; and to add "; (g) to conduct studies on separately handling Hong Kong people's pregnant wives on the Mainland and other Mainland pregnant women under the quota system for admission of non-local pregnant women giving birth in public hospitals, and provide the former with opportunities of waiting for quota places of giving birth in Hong Kong on a priority basis; and (h) to improve obstetric and gynaecology services as well as maternal and child health services, so as to avoid undermining the healthcare rights and interests of local pregnant women and infants" immediately before the full stop.

        (v)Dr Hon LEUNG Ka-lau to move the following amendment: (Translation)

        To add "public" after "Government's expenditure on"; to delete "and population growth have" after "population ageing" and substitute with "has"; to delete "has" after "proper manpower planning" and substitute with "and its refusal to provide healthcare personnel in the public healthcare system with reasonable working conditions have"; to delete "healthcare" after "serious wastage of"; to delete "in the public healthcare system, and the manpower retention measures adopted by the Hospital Authority ('HA') have resulted in further increases in the costs of public medical services" after "and manpower shortage"; to delete "within individual clusters" after "manpower and resources"; to delete "community" after ", many"; to delete "shortage" after "and healthcare manpower" and substitute with "mismatch"; to delete "reduce the" after "medical services to" and substitute with "cause positive"; to delete "HA" after "the management of" and substitute with "Hospital Authority ('HA')"; and to add "undergo cost-benefit assessment and may" after "relevant measures should".

        (vi)Hon Ronny TONG to move the following amendment: (Translation)

        To add ", although" after "That"; to delete "but" after "2011-2012,"; to add "and offering a full range of obstetric services" after "with delivery rooms"; to delete "and" after "healthcare personnel;"; and to add "; (g) to increase the resources allocated for New Territories West Cluster and improve the services of Tuen Mun Hospital; and (h) to strengthen mental health services in the various clusters and shorten waiting time" immediately before the full stop.

        Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Food and Health

      6. Perfecting harbourfront planning and management in all districts of Hong Kong

        Prof Hon Patrick LAU to move the following motion: (Translation)

        That this Council urges the Government to adopt the following measures to perfect harbourfront planning and management in all districts of Hong Kong:

        (a)to make reference to appropriate overseas experience to formulate a comprehensive strategic harbourfront development policy with the objective of harbourfront beatification;

        (b)to establish a statutory body and recruit professionals to co-ordinate and implement strategic harbourfront development; formulate harbourfront development master plans for all districts of Hong Kong; organize open competitions on harbourfront design; construct harbourfronts of different styles by integrating the special features of various districts and dovetailing with community characteristics, and undertake a comprehensive planning for the provision of convenient, easily accessible and three-dimensional harbourfront connective networks, so as to link up fragmented harbourfronts and connect them to the communities in the vicinity;

        (c)through the public-private partnership approach, to proceed with continuous monitoring, public engagement and private development throughout the process from strategy formulation and design concept to operational management; encourage public engagement in the planning consultation for harbourfront community construction, and provide public space in private development projects, with a view to providing local community residents with harbourfront community facilities that suit their needs;

        (d)to support tourism-based harbourfront development, provide high quality tourism facilities that are convenient and attract visitors, including various forms of water transport, and promote diversified leisure water sports, for example, the provision of vessel berthing spaces, water sports rafts, hydroplane and seafood restaurants, etc.;

        (e)through harbourfront improvement plans, to revitalize and develop afresh decommissioned old piers and support the development of the local community economy; and

        (f)to manage harbourfronts with sustainable modes of financial operations.

        Amendments to the motion
        (i)Hon WONG Kwok-hing to move the following amendment: (Translation)

        To add ", given that Hong Kong's harbourfront development strategy always plans only one step ahead, and government departments follow different policies on the use of harbourfront land, displaying a lack of foresight and failing to progress with the times," after "That"; to add "forward-looking and" after "formulate a"; to add ", a development plan and a timetable for implementation" after "harbourfront development policy"; to add "and greening" after "harbourfront beatification"; to add "(e) to fully utilize harbourfront resources for holding a diversified range of tourism, recreational and festive events, such as international or local mega events such as dragon boat races, boat shows and cross-harbour swimming competitions, etc., with a view to boosting local community economy;" after "seafood restaurants, etc.;"; to delete the original "(e)" and substitute with "(f)"; to delete "and" after "the local community;" and substitute with "(g) with a view to dovetailing with the plan of harbourfront beautification and greening, and optimizing the precious natural endowment of Hong Kong's harbourfront, the top echelons of the Government should co-ordinate various government departments as early as possible to expeditiously formulate planning and make proper arrangements for the various existing waterfront urban public environment facilities, so as to turn negative factors into positive factors, and in turn revitalize to the fullest extent the various existing public facilities to dovetail with the new strategic development of the harbourfront; and"; and to delete the original "(f)" and substitute with "(h)".

        (ii)Hon KAM Nai-wai to move the following amendment: (Translation)

        To add ", given that Hong Kong's harbourfronts lack overall planning and management," after "That"; to delete "and" after local community economy;"; and to add "; (g) when adopting the public-private-partnership approach for putting harbourfront construction and management under private development projects, to ensure that harbourfronts are accessible, and the public can freely enjoy harbourfronts without unreasonable restrictions; and (h) to expeditiously resolve the problem of harbourfront areas being used by public facilities or falling within privately-owned land, so that more harbourfront lands can be linked up to form harbourfront promenades for public enjoyment" immediately before the full stop.

        (iii)Hon IP Kwok-him to move the following amendment: (Translation)

        To add ", given that Hong Kong's overall planning for the development of harbourfront land is still inadequate," after "That"; to add ", in the spirit of 'Harbourfront for the People', build the two sides of the Victoria Harbour into a world-class harbourfront area, give a makeover to the shorelines of Hong Kong Island and Kowloon Peninsula on the two sides of the harbour and energize community connections for showing the distinctive vitality and scenery of Hong Kong's Victoria Harbour, and to" after "the Government to"; to delete "establish" after "(b) to" and substitute with "explore establishing"; to add "(d) under the people-based principle, to construct a harbourfront promenade stretching from Kennedy Town to Chai Wan, and build infrastructures along the harbourfront promenade, including revitalizing Western Wholesale Food Market, preserving Fenwick Pier in Wan Chai, developing Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter and connecting it with Victoria Park, constructing a cycling park at North Point Ferry Pier, building a cultural and recreational district in Quarry Bay, revitalizing Shau Kei Wan Wholesale Fish Market and the shipyards nearby, constructing a water sports centre in Chai Wan, and constructing a 'new harbourfront promenade in Kowloon' linking up Lei Yue Mun, Kai Tak, To Kwa Wan, Hung Hom, Tsim Sha Tsui as well as Sham Shui Po and cutting through the West Kowloon Cultural District;" after "suit their needs;"; to delete the original "(d)" and substitute with "(e)"; to delete the original "(e)" and substitute with "(f)"; and to delete the original "(f)" and substitute with "(g)".

        (iv)Hon Tanya CHAN to move the following amendment: (Translation)

        To add ", given that the harbour and coastlines are Hong Kong's important natural endowment," after "That"; to add "diversified modes of co-operation, including" after "(c) through"; to delete "proceed with continuous monitoring, public engagement and private development" after "partnership approach, to" and substitute with "allow public engagement"; to add ", planning" after "strategy formulation"; to add ", so as to continuously monitor harbourfront development" after "operational management"; to add "harbourfront" after "provide high quality"; to add "heritage conservation and" after "old piers and support"; to delete "and" after "local community economy;"; and to add "; (g) in the course of harbourfront planning and management, to give appropriate consideration to the needs of the shipping, cruise and ferry industries, so as to take advantage of the harbour; (h) to provide appropriate ancillary facilities for the public to make good use of harbourfronts for conducting various community recreational activities; and (i) to perfect effluent treatment and sewage systems, so as to improve the water quality of the harbour and harbourfront views" immediately before the full stop.

        Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Development

      7. Bidding farewell to the Legislative Council Building

        Hon Miriam LAU to move the following motion: (Translation)

        That, as the Legislative Council will move to the new Legislative Council Complex after this legislative session, this Council bids farewell to this historic building.
      Clerk to the Legislative Council