A 13/14-5
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 30 October 2013 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers
| Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments | L.N. No. | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Air Pollution Control (Air Pollutant Emission) (Controlled Vehicles) Regulation | 160/2013 |
| 2. | Companies Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 7) Notice 2013 | 161/2013 |
| 3. | Companies Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 10) Notice 2013 | 162/2013 |
| 4. | Companies Ordinance (Commencement) Notice 2013 | 163/2013 |
| 5. | Lifts and Escalators Ordinance (Commencement) Notice 2013 | 164/2013 |
Other Papers
| 1. | No. 14 | - | Equal Opportunities Commission Annual Report 2012/13 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs) | |||
| 2. | No. 15 | - | Environment and Conservation Fund Trustee Report 2012-2013 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for the Environment) | |||
| 3. | No. 16 | - | Office of the Communications Authority Trading Fund Report 2012/13 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development) | |||
| 4. | No. 17 | - | Electrical and Mechanical Services Trading Fund Report 2012/13 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Development) | |||
| 5. | No. 18 | - | Hongkong Post Annual Report 2012/13 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development) | |||
| 6. | No. 19 | - | Companies Registry Trading Fund Annual Report 2012-13 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury) | |||
| 7. | Report of the Bills Committee on Professional Accountants (Amendment) Bill 2013 | ||
| (to be presented by Hon Charles Peter MOK, Chairman of the Bills Committee) | |||
II. Questions
1. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)
The Head of the Division of Cardiology of the Prince of Wales Hospital ("PWH") was ordered on 1 February this year to immediately cease handling all cardiac interventional procedures ("the suspension"). Only after a lapse of several months and a complaint on maladministration had been lodged against its Chief Executive ("CE of PWH") did PWH set up two clinical audit committees ("the investigation panels") to investigate the incident. It has been learnt that the incident has aroused wide public concerns, and a joint statement has also been published in newspapers by some patients, members of the public and healthcare personnel, urging the authorities to dissolve the investigation panels and appoint afresh an independent investigation committee to thoroughly investigate the suspension. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it knows why PWH has, in the absence of sufficient evidence, immediately suspended the doctor concerned from surgical duties prior to the conduct of a formal investigation, whether such a move is an established practice and of the existing mechanism governing the suspension of doctors from surgical duties; (b) of the number of cases of transcatheter aortic valve implantation ("TAVI") performed by the Division since 1 February this year, the number of patients involved and, among them, the number of those who developed complications; whether the Division has looked into the causes of such complications and their impact on patients; whether the surgeries resulting in complications were performed by doctors in accordance with international standards and guidelines, and of the respective numbers of qualified and non-qualified doctors jointly performing each of such surgeries as well as the relevant details; and (c) given that the two aforesaid investigation panels were set up by CE of PWH after a complaint had been made against him and two-thirds of the members of the two investigation panels were his subordinates, whether the authorities have assessed if the investigations will not be independent and will be in breach of procedural justice; of the number of doctors in the investigation panels which are tasked with investigating the relevant cases, and their actual experience in performing TAVIs and left atrial appendage occlusions respectively; whether the authorities have assessed if the investigation panels are professionally competent to conduct investigations into the relevant cases; given that the Independent Review Committee subsequently set up by the Hospital Authority is mainly responsible for considering the investigation reports submitted by the investigation panels and will not conduct its own investigation, whether the authorities will appoint an investigation committee that is genuinely independent in order to thoroughly investigate the incident and to report its findings to the public?
2. Dr Hon CHIANG Lai-wan to ask: (Translation)
In reply to a question from a Member of this Council last year, the authorities stated that where necessary, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department ("FEHD") would carry out pest control work in public places and promote concerted efforts of government departments. However, it has been recently reported that the numbers of complaints and requests for assistance concerning bedbugs received by FEHD and the Housing Department ("HD") are on the rise, reflecting that bedbugs have caused nuisance to the public. I have received more than a hundred relevant complaints just from Tai Hang Tung Estate, Nam Shan Estate and Un Chau Estate in Sham Shui Po. According to the residents affected, HD indicated that there had been only individual sporadic cases of bedbug problems, and that HD would neither intervene nor provide assistance. On the other hand, private companies often charge fees ranging from several thousand to over ten thousand dollars for bedbug control services, which are hardly affordable to residents of public rental housing estates. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the respective numbers of complaints and requests for assistance concerning bedbugs received by various government departments as well as the numbers of bedbug control operations carried out by them in public places in response to such cases each year from January 2009 to August this year, with a breakdown by District Council district; (b) of the names, nature and effectiveness of inter-departmental anti-mosquito, pest control or bedbug control operations carried out last year; if such information is not available, of the reasons for that; and (c) given the recent surge in the numbers of complaints and requests for assistance concerning bedbugs, whether the authorities will reconsider setting up a mechanism to monitor the proliferation and distribution of bedbugs in the territory, implementing measures to control bedbugs and help households exterminate bedbugs, and carrying out a major territory-wide bedbug control operation to safeguard public health and environmental hygiene; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
3. Hon Kenneth LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that there are altogether as many as two million instances of police officers conducting stop-and-searches and checking identity cards on the streets every year. There are comments that the practices of police officers in conducting stop-and-searches and checking identity cards infringe upon personal privacy and restrict personal freedom. Regarding the necessity of conducting such law enforcement actions by the Police and whether the number of searches is proportionate to and commensurate with the crime rate, etc., will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the number of instances in which police officers on patrol checked the identity cards of members of the public, the number of body searches conducted on the spot and the number of suspects arrested subsequently each year from 2008 to 2012 (with a breakdown for each quarter by the type of offences in which they were involved); (b) regarding those members of the public who have not been identified as crime suspects by police officers after checking their identity cards, whether the Police will keep the personal information obtained by checking the identity cards of such persons; if they will, of the use and handling of such personal information (including whether it will be stored in a database), as well as the reasons and legal basis for keeping such information; whether there is a requirement for the Police to destroy such information after a certain period of time; if there is, of the details; if not, the reasons and legal basis for that; and (c) of the total number of complaints received by the Complaints Against Police Office each year from 2008 to 2012 in respect of checking identity cards or conducting body searches by police officers on the streets, with a breakdown for each quarter by the respective results of investigation into the complaints; whether the Police have reviewed regularly the appropriateness and effectiveness of such practices?
4. Hon LEUNG Che-cheung to ask: (Translation)
The operator of the ferry service between Discovery Bay and Mui Wo indicated earlier that it would discontinue the operation of that ferry route in November this year due to operating difficulties. Upon cessation of the service, some 40 primary pupils going to school in Discovery Bay from Mui Wo by ferry every day and over a thousand visitors to these places during the holidays will be affected. It will take those pupils one and a half hours each journey to go to school by bus instead, which is three times of that by ferry. To show its solicitude for the affected school children and residents, the ferry operator has recently announced that it will continue operating the ferry route until 9 February next year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the Government's initiative to help the affected school children so that they need not spend three hours on travelling to and from school every day under the circumstances of the existing ferry operator discontinuing the ferry service between Discovery Bay and Mui Wo with no other operator taking over the operation; (b) given the report that the discontinuation of the aforesaid ferry service by its existing operator is due to the substantial rise in costs caused by the Marine Department's proposed implementation of measures to enhance vessel and navigational safety, but some of such measures aim primarily to facilitate collecting evidence and tracking down the responsible party by the enforcement authorities in the wake of an accident, rather than enhancing navigational safety, of the views received by the Government during consultation with the industry on such safety measures, as well as the Government's response to such views, including whether it will amend the relevant measures in response to the request of the industry; and (c) given the report that owing to the small population of outlying islands, ferry service operators may still encounter operating difficulties even if high ferry fares are charged, and that the Government has subsidized ferry services between outlying islands and urban areas on a number of occasions, why the Government has never subsidized other ferry services the operators of which have similarly encountered operating difficulties; whether it will consider providing the relevant subsidies; and whether it will consider, when providing subsidies to ferry service operators, requiring them to take over ferry services of those routes which are not provided with subsidies and have been discontinued due to operating difficulties; if it will not, of the reasons for that?
5. Hon CHEUNG Kwok-che to ask: (Translation)
The University Grants Committee ("UGC") implemented the "Competitive Allocation" mechanism for the first time in the 2009-2012 triennium. Under the mechanism, various UGC-funded institutions ("institutions") have to reserve a certain percentage of their first-year-first-degree ("FYFD") places for reallocation among the institutions by UGC in the light of the outcome of its assessment of the Academic Development Proposals ("ADPs") of the institutions. In addition, the Chief Executive undertook in his election platform to review the role, functions and resource allocation criteria of UGC and the Research Grants Committee ("RGC"), and to provide more subsidized tertiary education opportunities. So far, such pledges have not yet been fulfilled. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it knows the work schedule and details of the academic development planning for the 2015-2018 triennium conducted by UGC and various institutions; when UGC will notify the institutions in writing to submit their ADPs, and the respective percentages of FYFD places the institutions are required to reserve; whether the authorities have reviewed the Competitive Allocation mechanism's effectiveness and impacts on the institutions in the 2009-2012 triennium and the 2012-2015 triennium respectively; if they have, of the details; if not, whether the authorities will conduct such reviews, and the specific timetable for conducting the reviews; whether the authorities have made an assessment with the outcome that the institutions lack the ability to review on their own their teaching capability and development strategies, and they therefore continue to implement the Competitive Allocation mechanism; whether enhancing institutions' international competitiveness is the primary resource allocation criterion adopted by the Government; if so, of the reasons for that; if not, the major criteria; (b) whether the Government has specifically reviewed last year the functions of UGC and RGC, as well as their respective resource allocation work and criteria; if it has, of the details; if not, whether it will conduct such reviews, and the specific timetable concerned; and (c) given that quite a number of members of the public have urged the Government to increase the number of publicly-funded FYFD places, whether the Government of the current term has any plan to increase such places, so as to fulfill the election pledge made by the Chief Executive; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
6. Dr Hon Priscilla LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
It is learnt that in October 2009, the Buildings Department ("BD") issued repair orders to the owners of a tenement building at 51 Kai Ming Street, To Kwa Wan, requiring them to repair the external walls, common areas and pipes of the building. In early 2010, BD further found that there were problems with the cantilevered slab balconies of the building and, therefore, issued statutory orders to the owners requiring them to arrange for a detailed investigation. Subsequently, BD included the building in the "Operation Building Bright" programme, and the owners paid the costs of about $17,000 per household for the repair works, which were completed in October 2011. Yet, in August this year (i.e. less than two years after the completion of the works) and on the ground that the balconies of the building constituted an immediate danger, BD applied to the court and was granted a closure order to close the building. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the specific relocation arrangements made by the authorities for the affected residents and ground floor shop operators since the aforesaid closure order was served, as well as the progress of the investigation works conducted by BD and the anticipated completion date; whether the authorities have formulated plans to deal with the situation where the building is confirmed as no longer suitable for habitation, including matters such as demolition of the building and proper resettlement of the residents; (b) given that BD had, as early as in the beginning of 2010, found that the aforesaid building had structural problems and erected emergency shoring as a protective measure, which indicated that the building was in danger of collapse at any time, why BD subsequently did not incorporate the further strengthening works of the balconies into the repair works under the Operation Building Bright programme for concurrent implementation, and whether the authorities have assessed if there is any mishandling involved; and (c) whether it knows if the Urban Renewal Authority will consider taking the initiative to make offers for acquiring the aforesaid building as well as other old buildings in the vicinity for redevelopment; if not, of the reasons for that?
*7. Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)
It has been recently reported in the press that the outsourced cleansing service contractors ("contractors") of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department ("FEHD") did not provide changing facilities for staff to change their uniforms. As a result, female cleansing workers have to change their clothes in outdoor areas. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether FEHD has followed up the aforesaid report; if it has, of the progress; if not, the reasons for that; (b) whether it is stipulated in the existing cleansing service contracts that contractors must provide changing facilities for their staff; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (c) whether it has provided contractors with sufficient space for setting up changing facilities to avoid recurrence of the aforesaid problem; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; whether the Government has other measures in place to solve the problem; if it has, of the measures; if not, the reasons for that?
*8. Hon Abraham SHEK to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that in the first eight months of this year, the number of pickpocketing cases on Hong Kong Island recorded an increase of 26.5% over the same period last year. It has been learnt that some pickpockets are mainlanders who came to Hong Kong with the intent of committing crimes. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the respective numbers of pickpocketing cases in various districts of Hong Kong in the first eight months of this year; (b) whether it has assessed the reasons for the rise in the number of pickpocketing cases on Hong Kong Island this year; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (c) of the detection rate of pickpocketing cases in Hong Kong last year; whether it has assessed the effectiveness of the Police's efforts in combating such crimes at present; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (d) given reports that pickpockets from the Mainland usually commit crimes in Hong Kong in gangs of two or three persons, of the corresponding counter-measures adopted by the Police; whether the Police will step up its publicity efforts to urge members of the public to help one another in fighting against such crimes; and (e) whether it has assessed if the penalties meted out in general to pickpockets by courts in Hong Kong are adequate to deter mainland pickpockets from committing crimes in Hong Kong; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*9. Hon WONG Ting-kwong to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that members of the public can easily purchase "Salvia divinorum" (a dangerous drug listed in the Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Cap. 134)) and a wide array of tools for taking drugs from web sites on the Mainland. Meanwhile, regarding the use of Internet as a platform for selling drugs, the Police have set up a Narcotics Intelligence Team ("the Intelligence Team") with four police officers who are responsible for carrying out Internet patrol and collecting relevant intelligence and evidence. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether the authorities have followed up the aforesaid report; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (b) according to the understanding of the Intelligence Team, whether the sale of drugs on the Internet is rampant at present; whether it has assessed if the manpower for collection of intelligence is sufficient; whether the authorities have encountered any difficulty in combating the sale of drugs involving web sites outside Hong Kong; if they have, of the difficulties; (c) of the number of cyber drug trafficking cases detected by the Police since 2008, the details of such cases and penalties imposed on the convicted persons, and set out the information in table form; and (d) regarding the problem of purchasing drugs on the Internet, whether the authorities have drawn up any measure to curb the activities concerned and stepped up efforts in publicizing the relevant legislation; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*10. Hon Starry LEE to ask: (Translation)
The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department ("FEHD") and the Buildings Department set up a Joint Office ("JO") in 2006 to centralize the handling of complaints and enquiries about water seepage in buildings. In his 2010-2011 Annual Report, The Ombudsman pointed out that the lack of concerted effort among the departments concerned in handling water seepage problems was very common and he had drawn the attention of the Central Administration to the matter and had urged for effective measures for improvement. The Director of Audit's Report No. 59 released last year also pointed out that among 10 of the more recent water-seepage cases examined, there had been long periods of inaction by FEHD in eight of them, with the time of inaction up to five years in individual cases and 44 months on average. The Audit Commission suggested FEHD to improve the efficiency of its investigations. Besides, some professionals have pointed out that the testing techniques currently adopted by the Government are extremely out-dated, requiring entry into the complainant's unit as well as the unit suspected to have caused the seepage, which will prolong the investigation time, and the success rate of ascertaining the source of seepage in the end is on the low side. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the number of complaints about water seepage received by JO in each of the past three years, with a breakdown by District Council district where the complaints arose; of the number of those cases in which the source of seepage could not be ascertained in the end and investigation was discontinued; and of the number of cases investigation of which has lasted more than a year but has yet to be concluded since the setting up of JO; (b) of the measures the departments concerned will take to improve the success rate in ascertaining the source of seepage and to shorten the investigation time required; whether they will consider changing testing techniques to be employed and use more advanced equipment; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (c) in respect of the cases in which investigation has lasted more than a year but has yet to be concluded, whether the departments concerned will consider according priority to tackling such cases with one-off deployment of additional manpower; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*11. Prof Hon Joseph LEE to ask: (Translation)
Some members of the pharmaceutical industry have relayed to me that it takes a long time (up to several years for the longest) for completing the procedures for the registration of new drugs in Hong Kong. Moreover, the criteria and procedures adopted by the Hospital Authority ("HA"), the Samaritan Fund ("SF") and the Community Care Fund ("CCF") for assessing whether a drug should be included in the HA Drug Formulary ("the Formulary") or in the scope of subsidies of the funds are not transparent. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the number of drug items in respect of which applications for registration in Hong Kong had been made in the past five years; the average, the longest and the shortest time currently taken for vetting and approving applications for drug registration, with a breakdown by the various vetting and approval procedures; whether the authorities will review the existing vetting and approval procedures, establish clear application guidelines and set a reasonable vetting-and-approval timeframe so that drug registration in Hong Kong can be expeditiously completed, so as to benefit the patients in need; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (b) given that at present, committees have been set up by various hospital clusters/hospitals to decide if drugs included in the Formulary are to be used in the clusters/hospitals concerned as well as to oversee and manage the Formulary, which may also submit applications to the HA Drug Advisory Committee for evaluation of new drugs for the latter to decide whether a drug should be included in the Formulary, whether it knows the respective procedures of such committees in conducting the relevant assessments; the average, the longest and the shortest time taken for completing the procedures; whether the authorities will review the existing assessment procedures with a view to streamlining and shortening the time required for drug assessment with a view to expeditiously including suitable drugs in the Formulary, so as to benefit the patients in need; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (c) whether the authorities will, in the long run, consider setting up an independent committee to assess the inclusion of drugs in the Formulary in a more effective and fair manner; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (d) whether it knows the procedures and criteria adopted by SF and the CCF Medical Assistance Programme (before its incorporation into SF on 1 September 2012) for assessing whether a drug should be included in their lists of subsidized drugs?
*12. Hon Albert CHAN to ask: (Translation)
I have learnt that many members of the public are currently suffering from persistent dental problems, and quite a number of them are low-income persons who are, nonetheless, ineligible for various subsidies, such as the grant to cover dental treatment costs under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme, the subsidy for dental services for the elderly under the Community Care Fund nor the Elderly Health Care Voucher. Due to the inadequacy in public dental services, they can seek treatment only in private dental clinics, which is a heavy financial burden on them. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it has assessed the number of adults in need of dental treatment services; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (b) whether it has assessed the number of members of the public who cannot afford private dental treatment services; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (c) whether it has assessed if the existing public dental services are sufficient to meet public demand; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (d) whether it will consider enhancing public dental services, including the introduction of ex gratia allowances for elderly dental services and increasing the number of public dental clinics, so that more members of the public can receive inexpensive quality dental services; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*13. Dr Hon Elizabeth QUAT to ask: (Translation)
Quite a number of residents of New Territories East have complained to me that the train compartments of various railway lines are packed with passengers during both the rush hours and off-peak hours at night, and passengers thus often have to wait for a long time before they can board the train. They consider that the patronage of the existing railway has already reached its capacity, and they are worried that the overcrowding of train compartments will worsen upon the commissioning of the West Island Line and South Island Line (East) in 2014 and 2015 respectively. Regarding the expeditious implementation of the railway development plans for new railway lines to alleviate the crowdedness of train compartments, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) given that the Stage One and Stage Two of the Public Engagement Exercises in connection with the review and update of the Railway Development Strategy 2000 were completed in July 2012 and May 2013, of the schedule and details of the relevant follow-up work; (b) given that the Government plans to give an account to the public of the way forward of the different railway projects within 2014 (i.e. more than one year after the completion of the public engagement exercises), of the reasons for the long time required for the relevant follow-up work, whether it has evaluated if such pace of work runs counter to public expectation, and whether it can give an account to the public at an earlier date; if it can, of the schedule; if not, the reasons for that; and (c) whether it will consider giving an account to the public at an earlier date of the way forward of those new railway projects of a more pressing need; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*14. Hon CHAN Kin-por to ask: (Translation)
Recently, the State Council announced the launch of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone Scheme to set up the Shanghai free trade zone ("FTZ"). The objectives of setting up FTZ include liberalization of the Renminbi ("RMB") capital accounts, implementation of a taxation policy which promotes investment, and development of offshore financial business. According to some analyses, the setting up of FTZ will pose a threat to Hong Kong and deal a blow to its status as an offshore RMB business centre. There are also concerns that the Central People's Government is copying the model of Hong Kong's economy on the Mainland. Nevertheless, the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury ("SFST") told the media that FTZ is only "a testing ground for the liberalization of the economy", and Hong Kong should not be over worried about losing business to FTZ. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it has conducted a comprehensive assessment on the impact of FTZ upon Hong Kong, in particular its short and long term impact on Hong Kong's economic and financial development as well as its impact upon Hong Kong as an offshore RMB business centre; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and whether it has assessed if SFST's view that FTZ is only a testing ground instead of an offshore centre is over optimistic; if it has, of the assessment results; (b) whether it has formulated plans to seek cooperation with FTZ, e.g. enhancing liaison with FTZ with the support of Hong Kong's comprehensive financial infrastructure, banking services which are in line with international standards and the supplementary facilitates in the entire financial market, so as to increase cooperation between Hong Kong and Shanghai in order to achieve mutual benefits; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (c) in the face of the challenges brought about by FTZ, of the authorities' specific measures to consolidate Hong Kong's status as an offshore RMB business centre, e.g. whether they will consider cooperating with the authorities of Guangdong Province and Macao in developing a Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao FTZ?
*15. Hon LEE Cheuk-yan to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the data collected from the 2001 and 2011 Population Censuses and the 2006 Population By-census on the monthly rent, mortgage payment, loan repayment and income of the households, will the Government inform this Council of the following figures in each of the aforesaid three years:
-
(a) in respect of households living in rented tenements, the lower quartile, median and upper quartile of (i) the monthly rent and (ii) monthly rent to income ratios of the households, broken down by household size and type of quarters (set out by year in tables of the same format as Tables 1 and 2);
Table 1 Year：____Household size Monthly rent of
the householdsType of quarters Public rental
housing unitsPrivate
residential flatsAll households
living in
rented
tenements1 person Lower quartile Median Upper quartile 2 persons Lower quartile Median Upper quartile 3 persons Lower quartile Median Upper quartile 4 persons Lower quartile Median Upper quartile 5 persons Lower quartile Median Upper quartile 6 persons or more Lower quartile Median Upper quartile Total Lower quartile Median Upper quartile
Table 2 Year：____Household size Monthly rent to
income ratios of
the householdsType of quarters Public rental
housing unitsPrivate
residential flatsAll households
living in
rented
tenements1 person Lower quartile Median Upper quartile 2 persons Lower quartile Median Upper quartile 3 persons Lower quartile Median Upper quartile 4 persons Lower quartile Median Upper quartile 5 persons Lower quartile Median Upper quartile 6 persons or more Lower quartile Median Upper quartile Total Lower quartile Median Upper quartile (b) in respect of households living in owner-occupier accommodation with mortgage payment or loan repayment, the lower quartile, median and upper quartile of (i) the monthly mortgage payment and loan repayment and (ii) monthly mortgage payment and loan repayment to income ratios of the households, broken down by household size and type of housing (set out by year in tables of the same format as Tables 3 and 4);
Table 3 Year：____Household size Monthly
mortgage
payment and
loan repayment
of the householdsType of housing Subsidized
sale flatsPrivate
permanent
housingAll households
living in
owner-occupier
accommodation
with mortgage
payment or
loan repayment1 person Lower quartile Median Upper quartile 2 persons Lower quartile Median Upper quartile 3 persons Lower quartile Median Upper quartile 4 persons Lower quartile Median Upper quartile 5 persons Lower quartile Median Upper quartile 6 persons or more Lower quartile Median Upper quartile Total Lower quartile Median Upper quartile
Table 4 Year：____Household size Monthly
mortgage
payment and loan
repayment to
income ratios of
the householdsType of housing Subsidized
sale flatsPrivate
permanent
housingAll households
living in
owner-occupier
accommodation
with mortgage
payment or
loan repayment1 person Lower quartile Median Upper quartile 2 persons Lower quartile Median Upper quartile 3 persons Lower quartile Median Upper quartile 4 persons Lower quartile Median Upper quartile 5 persons Lower quartile Median Upper quartile 6 persons or more Lower quartile Median Upper quartile Total Lower quartile Median Upper quartile (c) the lower quartile, median and upper quartile of the monthly income of the households after deduction of rent or mortgage payment and loan repayment, broken down by household size, tenure of accommodation and type of quarters or housing (set out by year in tables of the same format as Table 5); and
Table 5 Year: ____Household size Monthly
income of the
households
after deduction
of rent or
mortgage
payment and
loan repaymentHouseholds
living in
rented tenementsHouseholds living in
owner-occupier accommodationAll households With mortgage
payment or
loan repaymentWithout mortgage payment or loan repayment All households living in owner-occupier accommodation Public rental housing units Private residential flats All households living in rented tenements Subsidized sale flats Private permanent housing Sub-total 1 person Lower quartile Median Upper quartile 2 persons Lower quartile Median Upper quartile 3 persons Lower quartile Median Upper quartile 4 persons Lower quartile Median Upper quartile 5 persons Lower quartile Median Upper quartile 6 persons or more Lower quartile Median Upper quartile Total Lower quartile Median Upper quartile (d) the lower quartile, median and upper quartile of the per capita monthly income of the households after deduction of rent or mortgage payment and loan repayment, broken down by tenure of accommodation and type of quarters or housing (set out in Table 6)?
Table 6Year Per capita
monthly
income of the
households
after deduction
of rent or
mortgage
payment and
loan repaymentHouseholds
living in
rented tenementsHouseholds living in
owner-occupier accommodationAll households With mortgage
payment or
loan repaymentWithout mortgage payment or loan repayment All households living in owner-occupier accommodation Public rental housing units Private residential flats All households living in rented tenements Subsidized sale flats Private permanent housing Sub-total 2001 Lower quartile Median Upper quartile 2006 Lower quartile Median Upper quartile 2011 Lower quartile Median Upper quartile
*16. Hon Paul TSE to ask: (Translation)
The first berth of Kai Tak Cruise Terminal ("Cruise Terminal") was commissioned in June this year. However, the Government has indicated that the proposal to construct the Environmentally Friendly Linkage System ("Linkage System") to connect the Kai Tak Development Area and Kowloon East, even if it is confirmed now, will not be commissioned before 2023. It is learnt that some members of the public have criticized that the Cruise Terminal does not have enough ancillary facilities, thus constraining its utilization. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it will consider conducting studies on other means (such as constructing a transportation link between Kwun Tong and the Cruise Terminal for passengers and vehicles, as well as constructing additional pedestrian facilities connecting Cha Kwo Ling, Yau Tong waterfront and Lei Yue Mun) before the confirmation and completion of the Linkage System to facilitate cruise passengers going ashore to visit the tourist attractions and shopping spots in Kwun Tong and Lei Yue Mun, so as to enhance the overall economic benefits brought about by the Cruise Terminal and promote the synergy between the commercial and tourism sectors in Kowloon East; (b) of the estimated number of days with no cruise vessels berthing at the Cruise Terminal in each of the coming three years; (c) whether it has studied if the venues and facilities of the Cruise Terminal can also be used, apart from holding exhibitions, for concerts, community activities or other performances during the periods when no vessels are berthing at the Terminal; if the study outcome is in the affirmative, of the expected audience capacity, venue application procedures, rental fees and types of performances to be held, as well as the economic benefits to be brought about by such activities to the Cruise Terminal; if the study outcome is in the negative, of the reasons for that; and (d) whether it has, as indicated by the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development in reply to an oral question raised at the meeting of this Council on 24 October last year, studied the feasibility of providing water taxi services or other waterborne transport services to connect the Cruise Terminal, based on Hong Kong's actual needs and unique environment and with regard to aspects of technology, operation, safety and legislation, etc.; if it has, of the outcome of the study; if not, the reasons for that, and whether a study can be conducted immediately?
*17. Dr Hon LAM Tai-fai to ask: (Translation)
Earlier, the Government announced the results of the applications for domestic free television programme service licences ("free TV licences"). Among the three applicants, the applications of Fantastic Television Limited and HK Television Entertainment Company Limited were granted approval-in-principle ("AIP") whilst the application of Hong Kong Television Network Limited ("HKTVN") was rejected. This has aroused public concern and caused a large number of people to take to the streets to protest. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) given that a large number of people have taken to the streets to protest against the Government's decision on granting free TV licences and that public interest is one of the considerations for vetting and approving licence applications, whether the authorities will review afresh the applications concerned; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (b) given that the Chairman of HKTVN has stated clearly that he will initiate legal proceedings regarding the Government's decision on granting free TV licences, whether the Government has assessed (i) the impact of such action on the two applicants whose applications were granted AIP, and (ii) whether it will affect the procedure for issuing formal licences; if the assessment outcome is in the affirmative, of the details; if the assessment outcome is in the negative, the reasons for that; (c) given that the Chief Executive ("CE") indicated at the Question and Answer ("Q&A") Session of this Council on 17 October 2013 that the Government had received an application for judicial review of the decision on granting free TV licences and it was therefore inappropriate to make further comments, of the person/organization that has submitted such an application; and the reasons why the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau ("CEDB") has, after the aforesaid Q&A Session, still repeatedly made comments to the media on the decision on granting free TV licences (e.g. in response to media enquiries, a CEDB spokesman said on 20 October that the Government considered that if AIP of three additional free TV licences was to be granted, the healthy and orderly development of the market would be compromised); (d) given that the two existing licensees of free TV licences will submit their licence renewal applications on or before 30 November this year, when the Government will make a decision on such applications, and of the assessment criteria for licence renewal; (e) whether the Government will take the initiative to arrange a closed meeting with the Chairman of HKTVN to explain the reasons for not granting HKTVN a free TV licence; if it will, when such a meeting will be held; if not, of the reasons for that; (f) given that on the 20th of this month, the Convenor of the Executive Council ("ExCo") said in response to media enquiries that ExCo Members, who played an advisory role as stipulated under the Basic Law, had already tried their best to express their views on the issuance of free TV licences to CE, and some ExCo Members also said that the Bureau and the senior officials of the SAR Government should, as far as possible, seize the opportunities to expound to the public the considerations involved in issuing free TV licences, and they requested the Government to disclose more the reasons for not granting a free TV licence to the applicant concerned, whether the Government will consider further disclosing more details to the public; if it will, when such details will be disclosed; if not, of the reasons for that; and (g) given that the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development stated clearly at the press conference on the 15th of this month that there was no appeal mechanism for vetting and approving free TV licence applications, why the authorities have not set up an appeal mechanism; whether such an arrangement has been adopted all along; and whether any organization has ever lodged an appeal in the past against the rejection of its application?
*18. Dr Hon Kenneth CHAN to ask: (Translation)
In reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on 16 October 2013, the Government pointed out that, at present, the total area of land zoned "Village Type Development" on statutory plans was 33 square kilometres (being approximately 3% of the total land area of Hong Kong), which could be used for low-density residential development, including New Territories small houses. Under the existing policy, each male indigenous villager of the existing 642 recognized villages may apply, once in a lifetime, to the authority for permission to erect for himself during his lifetime a small house within his own village. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) given that in reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on 6 February 2013, the Government indicated that the Planning Department, when drawing up Village Type Development zones on statutory plans, took into consideration the estimate of the demand for small houses in the coming 10 years and other factors, but it also indicated at the same time that the Government had not grasped the future demand for small houses by eligible indigenous villagers for each of the recognized villages, of the criteria adopted by the Government under such circumstances for determining the land needed to be reserved for meeting future demand for building small houses; (b) given that the Lands Department received fewer than 17 000 applications for building small houses in the past 10 years, whether it has assessed the area of the lands involved in these applications; (c) whether it has assessed the number of small houses that can be built on the sites for Village Type Development where currently no small houses have been built; if it has, of the details; if not, the justifications for the Government to reserve about 932 hectares of land for Village Type Development; (d) whether the Government will reconsider releasing some of the Village Type Development sites for other residential development uses; if it will, of the total area of the lands expected to be released; if not, the reasons for that; (e) given that, at present, quite a number of indigenous villagers of the recognized villages have already owned alternative accommodation in Hong Kong or have emigrated overseas, whether the Government has adjusted its estimate of the land demand for building small houses by indigenous villagers of the various recognized villages; if it has not, of the reasons for that; and (f) as quite a number of small houses are not occupied by indigenous villagers or their offspring at present, which is a deviation from the original policy intent, whether the Government will consider immediately launching a review of the Small House Policy; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*19. Hon TANG Ka-piu to ask: (Translation)
According to the information from the Water Supplies Department ("WSD"), tap water supply is at present available to about 99.9% of the population in Hong Kong, and 6 000-odd people are not yet supplied with tap water, including the residents of Tai Long Village on Lantau Island and Po Toi Island. Some residents of Tai Long Village have complained to me that while they rely on stream water for daily consumption, the stream water dries up during dry seasons in autumn and winter. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the names of the villages in Hong Kong yet to be supplied with tap water, and the number of households and the population of each of these villages, set out by District Council district; (b) of the numbers of requests for assistance or complaints received by WSD from residents regarding unavailability of tap water in each of the past three years, and the districts involved in such complaints; (c) whether the authorities have conducted any technical feasibility study and cost-effectiveness assessment in the past three years in respect of laying fresh water mains for areas yet to be supplied with tap water; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (d) given that the authorities have formulated schemes of "Water Supply to Remaining Remote Villages in the New Territories" and have arranged the supply of tap water by phases to some of the remote villages (such as Wu Kau Tang Village and Tai Ho Village), whether they have formulated any timetable for supplying tap water to all the households in the remaining villages that are yet to be supplied with tap supply; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; given that the Government has stated that if the development of the adjoining areas of remote villages makes water supply schemes more economical, it will reconsider the supply of water to the villages concerned, whether the adjoining areas of the villages with no tap water supply have not undergone any development in the past decade, so that the Government has not reconsidered the water supply schemes; if so, of the details; (e) of the details of the water supply services provided by WSD to residents of areas or villages that are yet to be supplied with tap water since 2003; of the amount of public money spent on such services in the past three years; whether it has taken any measure to ensure that residents of villages relying on stream water for daily consumption can still have supply of water meeting hygiene standards during the time when the stream water dries up; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (f) whether the Government has signed any international convention to undertake that the people of Hong Kong will be provided with stable and clean water supply for daily consumption; if it has, of the details?
*20. Hon Charles Peter MOK to ask: (Translation)
Applications for the first phase ("Phase 1") of the E-textbook Market Development Scheme ("EMADS") launched by the Education Bureau closed at the end of September 2012. Applications from 13 organizations, which involved 30 projects on the development of e-textbooks, were approved. The second phase ("Phase 2") of EMADS is now open for application and the authorities have extended the scope of EMADS to cover the senior secondary curricula. However, some e-textbook developers have relayed to me that as they have difficulties in complying with the terms of EMADS, they are discouraged from submitting their applications. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the number of projects completed under Phase 1 of EMADS, the curricula information of the respective projects, the number of projects of which the e-textbooks developed have been tried out by partner schools under the Partner Schools Scheme, as well as the respective numbers of schools, teachers and students involved in the field-test of each project, as at the end of September this year; (b) of the performance indicators set by the authorities for the completed projects (e.g. whether they have assessed the impact of the projects on students' academic performance, the degree of satisfaction of the teachers and students with the projects, and the views of the developers, etc.); whether relevant statistics are available at present; if so, of the details; whether it has, before launching Phase 2 of EMADS, made reference to the relevant indicators and data for making corresponding adjustments to EMADS so as to promote the utilization rate of such teaching materials and encourage developers to submit applications; if so, of the details; (c) as the authorities have indicated to the press that three of the successful applicants in Phase 1 of EMADS have not yet entered into an EMADS agreement with the authorities for "specific reasons", of such reasons, and the progress made by the authorities in following up with the implementation of the projects by the three applicants; and (d) given that at the present stage, Phase 2 of EMADS covers only the subjects of primary and junior secondary schools as well as six subjects of senior secondary schools (i.e. English, History, Geography, Physics, Biology and Chemistry), whether the authorities will incorporate all the subjects of senior secondary schools into EMADS; if so, of the implementation timetable and details?
*21. Hon Alan LEONG to ask: (Translation)
On the 17th of this month, the Chief Executive ("CE") announced the formation of a task force led by the Chief Secretary for Administration to handle the tasks of public consultation on constitutional development ("the task force") in relation to the method for forming the Legislative Council ("LegCo") in 2016 and the selection of CE by universal suffrage in 2017. Other members of the task force include the Secretary for Justice and the Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs. The task force will publish a consultation document on constitutional development by the end of this year at the earliest. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
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(a) when the task force will convene its first meeting, and whether it will meet on a weekly basis thereafter; (b) of the task force's timetable for various tasks, including the time for launching the various stages of consultation, the time required for the various consultation stages and for the consolidation of findings of the consultation, as well as when it will consult the public on the concrete proposals for constitutional reform; given that the "Interpretation of Article 7 of Annex I and Article III of Annex II to the Basic Law", adopted by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress in 2004, provides that the constitutional reform process must go through a "five-step mechanism", of the timetable for these five steps; (c) of the budgeted expenditure and the manpower required for conducting the consultation on constitutional development; and (d) whether the consultation document for the first stage consultation will consult the public on the following issues: (i) whether the CE selection in 2017 should adopt a mechanism for civil nomination of the candidates (i.e. a person who intends to stand for the election is eligible for becoming a valid CE candidate if he/she has obtained the nomination by a certain number of voters); if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (ii) whether the boundaries of the geographical constituencies for the 2016 LegCo Election should be redrawn; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (iii) whether the split voting system of LegCo should be abolished in 2016, and whether the ratio between the LegCo seats returned by functional constituencies elections and those returned by geographical constituencies through direct elections should be changed?
*22. Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that, at present, children need to wait for more than a year before arrangements are made for them to receive assessment at the Child Assessment Centres ("CACs") under the Department of Health for identifying learning disabilities. After the assessment, most parents are issued with a simple assessment report only, while a small number issued with a detailed report. Regarding the support for children with learning disabilities, will the Government inform this Council:
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(a) of the following statistics in each of the past three years - (i) the respective numbers of children referred by doctors, schools and other channels to CACs for receiving assessment; (ii) the average waiting time for children to receive assessment; (iii) a breakdown, by the type of learning disabilities confirmed after assessment, of the number of children who had received assessment; (iv) the respective numbers of children issued with the simple and the detailed versions of the assessment report; and (v) the respective average time between the receipt of assessments by children and the issuance of the simple or detailed report to their parents; (b) of the criteria adopted by CACs for determining whether to issue the simple or the detailed report; (c) of the number and percentage of those children with learning disabilities at present in all school-age children in the territory, with a breakdown by type of learning disabilities; and (d) whether it will consider drawing reference from neighbouring regions (e.g. Taiwan) and introducing legislation to protect the rights and interests of students with learning disabilities; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
* For written reply
III. Motions
| 1. | Proposed resolution under the Bankruptcy Ordinance
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury to move the following motion: Resolved that the Bankruptcy (Amendment) Rules 2013, made by the Chief Justice on 18 June 2013, be approved. | ||
| (The Rules are in Appendix I and were also issued
on 17 October 2013 under LC Paper No. CB(3)61/13-14) | |||
| 2. | Proposed resolution under the Bankruptcy Ordinance
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury to move the following motion: Resolved that the Bankruptcy (Fees and Percentages) (Amendment) Order 2013, made by the Chief Justice on 18 June 2013, be approved. | ||
| (The Order is in Appendix II and was also issued
on 17 October 2013 under LC Paper No. CB(3)61/13-14) | |||
| 3. | Proposed resolution under the Companies Ordinance
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury to move the following motion: Resolved that the Companies (Fees and Percentages) (Amendment) Order 2013, made by the Chief Justice on 18 June 2013, be approved. | ||
| (The Order is in Appendix III and was also issued
on 17 October 2013 under LC Paper No. CB(3)61/13-14) | |||
| 4. | Proposed resolution under the Companies Ordinance
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury to move the following motion: Resolved that the Companies (Winding-up) (Amendment) Rules 2013, made by the Chief Justice on 18 June 2013, be approved. | ||
| (The Rules are in Appendix IV and were also issued
on 17 October 2013 under LC Paper No. CB(3)61/13-14) | |||
IV. Members' Motions on Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments
V. Member's Bill
| Second Reading (Debate to resume), Committee Stage and Third Reading
| ||
| Professional Accountants (Amendment) Bill 2013 | : | Hon Kenneth LEUNG
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| Hon Charles Peter MOK to move Committee stage amendments
(The amendments were issued on 21 October 2013 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 73/13-14) | ||
VI. Members' Motions
| 1. | Transgender marriage
Hon CHAN Chi-chuen to move the following motion: (Translation) That the Court of Final Appeal ('CFA') earlier ruled that transsexual people are entitled to marriage right; the judgment stated that the relevant provisions in the Marriage Ordinance ('MO') and the Matrimonial Causes Ordinance ('MCO') restricting the criteria for ascertaining a person's gender to merely biological factors are unconstitutional; CFA also held that all circumstances relevant to assessing a person's sexual identity at the time of the proposed marriage, including biological, psychological and social elements and whether any sex reassignment surgery has occurred, need to be considered; in this connection, this Council urges the Government to expeditiously comply with CFA's judgment and amend MO and MCO, so that transgender people can enjoy marriage right and related legal rights according to the sexual identity they adopt, and to expeditiously enact a gender recognition ordinance to address the various legal problems arising from sex reassignment.
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| 2. | Adhering to the need to 'put Hong Kong people first' in formulating policies
Hon Gary FAN to move the following motion: (Translation) That this Council urges the Government to proactively handle China-Hong Kong conflicts, and to adhere to the need to 'put Hong Kong people first' in formulating policies.
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