A 13/14-8
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 20 November 2013 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers
| Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments | L.N. No. | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Air Navigation (Hong Kong) Order 1995 (Amendment of Schedule 16) Order 2013 | 182/2013 |
| 2. | Dangerous Goods (Consignment by Air) (Safety) Regulations (Amendment of Schedule) Order 2013 | 183/2013 |
| 3. | Statutes of the University of Hong Kong (Amendment) Statute 2013 | 184/2013
|
| 1. | No. 37 | - | Director of Social Welfare Incorporated
Financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2013 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Labour and Welfare)
| |||
| 2. | No. 38 | - | Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation
Annual Report, Report of the Directors and Financial Statements 2012-2013 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development)
| |||
| 3. | No. 39 | - | Hong Kong Productivity Council
Annual Report 2012-2013 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development)
| |||
| 4. | Report No. 4/13-14 of the House Committee on Consideration of Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments | ||
| (to be presented by Hon Andrew LEUNG, Chairman of the House Committee)
| |||
| 5. | Report of the Bills Committee on Peak Tramway (Amendment) Bill 2013 | ||
| (to be presented by Hon Jeffrey LAM, Chairman of the Bills Committee)
| |||
II. Questions
1. Hon Steven HO to ask: (Translation)
In recent years, marine works have commenced one after another in Hong Kong. Following the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (Hong Kong Section) project that is underway, other marine works will be launched soon. Some fishermen have relayed to me that the marine works in recent years have resulted in a shrinkage of fishing grounds and affected their livelihood. They have also pointed out that the Government's current package of ex-gratia allowance ("EGA") has not fully reflected the fishermen's losses arising from a permanent or temporary loss of fishing grounds as a result of marine works. In addition, upon the completion of some marine works, the Government has set up restricted areas near the worksites (e.g. the Hong Kong International Airport) to which vessel entry is prohibited, but has not compensated the fishermen in this regard. Quite a number of fishermen have pointed out that the incessant launching of marine works by the Government has rendered the fisheries industry unable to have sustainable development, and breached the pledge of the Chief Executive in his election manifesto to promote the development of the agricultural and fisheries industry. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it conducted in the past five years comprehensive or localized surveys on the fisheries resources in Hong Kong waters (in particular the waters to the west of the New Territories) to compile statistics on the area of Hong Kong waters (away from fairways) that is actually available for fishing each year and on the fisheries resources in various stretches of waters, and to assess the impacts of the marine works to be launched in the next five years on the ecological environment of fishing grounds, etc.; if it did, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and whether it will collect such data and information as soon as possible; (b) whether it has any measure to increase fisheries resources, such as placing more artificial reefs in the sea, restocking, and adjusting the proposed policy on marine reserve, etc. so as to protect fishermen's livelihood and promote the sustainable development of the fisheries industry; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (c) given that the restricted areas set up by the authorities in some waters have led to a shrinkage of fishing grounds, whether the authorities will review the scope of compensation covered by the existing EGA package and make compensation to the affected fishermen; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
2. Hon YIU Si-wing to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that on the evening of 27 October this year, a large number of departing visitors were stranded at the Shenzhen Bay Control Point due to inadequate manpower of the Immigration Department ("ImmD") performing immigration control duties at that control point, and the waiting time for departure clearance of these visitors was as long as four hours. It has also been reported that there has been a shortfall of manpower in ImmD for a long time, resulting in exceedingly long working hours of the frontline staff, compression of their rest breaks and accumulation of the untaken leave balance of many staff members reaching nearly the ceiling. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the total number and annual growth rate of staff of ImmD, and among them, the number and annual growth rate of staff responsible for performing immigration control duties, in each year since 2003; how such growth rates compare with those of visitors coming to Hong Kong in the same period; (b) of the duty hours and rest break arrangements of ImmD staff performing immigration control duties; the situation of untaken leave accumulated by such staff in the past three years, and how the authorities handled cases in which the accumulated untaken leave balance of ImmD staff had reached the ceiling but the staff members concerned were unable to take leave due to operational needs; and (c) given the continuous increase in the number of visitors coming to Hong Kong in recent years and the successive commissioning of the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal in the middle of this year, the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link in late 2015, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge in 2016 and the Liantang Control Point in 2018, whether the authorities will, in response to the increase in the number of boundary control points, expand the staffing establishment of ImmD and enhance the efficiency of immigration control work to alleviate the work pressure of frontline staff?
3. Hon Frankie YICK to ask: (Translation)
Some members of the transport industry have relayed to me that as parking spaces for commercial vehicles (including coaches and articulated vehicles, etc.) are in short supply in various districts at present, such vehicles are forced to be parked in other districts or remote districts. The trips made by drivers to park and retrieve their vehicles are very time-consuming, incur extra fuel expenditure, add to the road traffic loads and cause air pollution. They have also pointed out that a site at King Yip Street in Kwun Tong was originally planned for the provision of a multi-storey car park for private cars and commercial vehicles, but the project was shelved as the departments concerned considered it not economical after assessment. The site has been left idle or leased on short-term leases for more than 10 years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) other than the aforesaid site, of the land lots that have been planned for use as sites for multi-storey car parks but the projects have yet to be implemented, and in respect of each of such land lots, the location, floor area of the proposed car park, the types and numbers of vehicles which can be parked there, the reasons why such projects have yet to be implemented, as well as the current position regarding the car park development projects; (b) whether, in considering whether or not to implement a multi-storey car park project, the authorities will take into account, apart from the rate of return of the project, the overall benefits that the car park may bring to the community upon completion, including the possible resultant reduction in the social costs arising from indiscriminate parking of commercial vehicles; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (c) as I have learnt that several temporary car parks for commercial vehicles within the Kai Tak Development Area will cease operation following the progressive implementation of the Kai Tak Development, of the measures of the authorities to prevent the vehicles concerned from being forced to be parked indiscriminately on the roadside in future?
4. Hon Starry LEE to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that a university professor claimed earlier that he had conducted tests on the turtle jelly products of a certain brand and found no constituents of turtle plastrons, and the commercial establishment concerned claimed that there had been a significant drop in business and its goodwill had been undermined as a result. The Customs and Excise Department subsequently test-purchased and collected samples of turtle jelly products of different brands in various districts of the territory for testing by the Government Laboratory, with the findings that all samples contained turtle constituents. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) how the authorities generally handle reports of alleged discrepancies between the composition of food products and product descriptions; whether the Government has prescribed composition standards for turtle jelly products; how the authorities at present conduct laboratory tests on the composition of food products, as well as the organizations that conduct such tests and the criteria adopted for selecting the testing method; (b) when the laboratory test results of private testing organizations show that a food product does not meet the safety standards or that the descriptions of that food product may have violated the Trade Descriptions Ordinance, how the relevant government departments will follow up such cases; whether there were occasions in the past five years on which tests on the same food product conducted separately by the Government Laboratory, the testing organizations commissioned by the Government and private testing organizations generated remarkably different results; if there were, of the reasons and the number of relevant cases; and (c) where the Government's laboratory test results confirm that the composition of food products conforms with the relevant descriptions or safety standards, whether the authorities will assist the commercial establishments affected by false laboratory test results in making claims or request the private testing organizations which have conducted the relevant tests to make clarifications?
5. Hon WONG Ting-kwong to ask: (Translation)
A survey report has pointed out that as the prices of duty-paid cigarettes in Hong Kong are much higher than those in other Southeast Asian regions, activities of crime syndicates selling duty-not-paid cigarettes ("illicit cigarettes") are thus very rampant in the territory. The report has projected that one out of every three packs of cigarettes consumed in Hong Kong is illicit, and estimated that the Government hence suffers a loss in revenue from tobacco duty as much as $3.3 billion annually. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the number of operations mounted by the Customs and Excise Department to combat illicit cigarettes in the past three years, as well as the quantity and total dutiable value of the illicit cigarettes seized in such operations; (b) of the number of persons arrested in the past three years for selling or buying illicit cigarettes and, among them, the respective numbers of those prosecuted and convicted; the penalty generally imposed on the convicted persons; and (c) given that some members of the public have pointed out that smokers, particularly young students with lower spending power who are vulnerable to peer influence, buy illicit cigarettes to save money, yet such purchases not only constitute a breach of law, but also encourage triad elements engaged in smuggling and trafficking illicit cigarettes to conduct other illegal activities, whether the authorities have launched targeted publicity in this connection to caution members of the public against the perils of buying illicit cigarettes; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
6. Hon CHAN Hak-kan to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that as the mainland authorities have launched the "Operation Green Fence" since February this year to tighten up the inspection and testing standards for imported waste, a large quantity of waste has now been stranded in Hong Kong awaiting disposal. Moreover, some green groups have pointed out that on the one hand some eco-business enterprises cannot recover sufficient raw materials from waste (e.g. waste glass) in the territory, on the other hand some recycling companies commissioned by the Government have been found sending the plastic waste collected through the three-colour recycling bins directly to the landfills for disposal. In order to step up concerted efforts in reducing waste at source and promoting the development of the recycling industry, the Government established in August this year the Steering Committee to Promote the Sustainable Development of the Recycling Industry ("the Steering Committee") chaired by the Chief Secretary for Administration. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it has assessed the quantities of waste plastic and "foreign waste" currently stranded in Hong Kong as a result of the Operation Green Fence; if it has, of the quantities; whether the Government will help the recycling companies handle such stranded waste; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (b) of the number of meetings the Steering Committee has held so far, the matters discussed at those meetings, as well as the progress and achievement of the related follow-up actions; the mode of operation of the "Recycling Fund" to be established and how the Fund will help promote waste recovery in the community; and (c) as some eco-business enterprises have expressed that they have difficulties in operating their businesses, whether the Government has consulted them comprehensively to understand what support such companies need; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; whether it will offer assistance in areas such as land supply, technology, funding and government procurement policies to eco-business enterprises in order to provide comprehensive support for the development of local eco-business enterprises; if it will, of the details of the support measures; if not, the reasons for that?
*7. Hon Andrew LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
The Hong Kong Planning Standards and Guidelines stipulate that a standard parking space for private cars shall be 5 metres ("m") in length, 2.5 m in width and 2.4 m in height. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the current respective numbers of private car parking spaces in private and public car parks in Hong Kong; (b) whether the authorities will, before the commissioning of car parking facilities, measure the dimensions of private car parking spaces in such facilities to see if the aforesaid standard has been complied with; whether the authorities regularly send officers to inspect private and public car parks to count the number of private car parking spaces which meet the aforesaid standard; and (c) when private car parking spaces not meeting the aforesaid standard are found, whether the authorities will require the owners of the car parks concerned to carry out improvements and impose punishment on those owners who refuse to carry out improvements; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*8. Hon Paul TSE to ask: (Translation)
Some voluntary organizations dedicated to helping victims of sex crimes ("victims") have pointed out that quite a number of victims have given up pursuing their cases as they are worried about exposing their identity or they do not wish to recount in court their experience of being sexually abused, thus allowing the offenders to escape justice and go unpunished. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the respective numbers of cases in which the prosecution helped the victims apply to the court for protective measures (i.e. via live television link or behind screen) in giving evidence in each year between January 2010 and September 2013, as well as those in which approval was given to the victims to do so, with a breakdown by category of victims (i.e. (i) person with mental incapacity, (ii) person aged 17 or below and (iii) able-bodied adult) in the following table; Year Category of protective measures applied for Number of cases in which the victim belonged to the following category Person with mental incapacity Person aged 17 or below Able-bodied adult Applied Approved Applied Approved Applied Approved 2010 Live television link Behind screen 2011 Live television link Behind screen 2012 Live television link Behind screen 2013
(up to September)Live television link Behind screen (b) whether it knows the respective factors generally considered by the court in approving or rejecting applications from victims for giving evidence via live television link or behind screen; (c) of the numbers of cases in which the victim made statements with the company of female police officers or by way of video recording after reporting the case between January and September this year, with a breakdown by police district in the following table; Police district Number of cases in which victims made statements with the company of female police officers Number of cases in which victims made statements by way of video recording Rape Indecent assault Rape Indecent assault Hong Kong Island Kowloon East Kowloon West New Territories North New Territories South Marine (d) of the respective numbers of cases in which the defendant was convicted of rape or indecent assault in each year between January 2010 and September 2013; and (e) of the respective total numbers of cases in which the Police discontinued investigation after receiving reports of rape and indecent assault in each year between January 2010 and September 2013, with a breakdown by reason of discontinuing investigation (including charge withdrawn by the victim, case not pursuable, complaint resolved summarily and false report, etc.) in the following table? Year Category of sex crime Total number of cases in which the Police discontinued investigation after receiving reports Number of cases in which investigation was discontinued due to the following reasons Charge withdrawn by the victim Case not pursuable Complaint resolved summarily False report and others 2010 Rape Indecent assault 2011 Rape Indecent assault 2012 Rape Indecent assault 2013
(up to September)Rape Indecent assault
*9. Hon Charles Peter MOK to ask: (Translation)
Since 2008, the Government Wi-Fi Programme ("GovWiFi") has been implemented to provide the public with free wireless broadband Internet connection service at government premises. The Government is planning to further extend the GovWiFi service to more leisure locations as well as popular focal points. It will also work with public organizations (such as public hospitals) to provide free wireless Internet connection services at their premises, and is planning to promote a common Wi-Fi branding for Wi-Fi services offered free of charge. In relation to the establishment of a public Wi-Fi network, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the average daily number of users and number of Internet connections for GovWiFi as at October this year; (b) of (i) a breakdown by type of premises of the number of premises provided with GovWiFi service, and (ii) the number of Wi-Fi hotspots provided by commercial organizations, as at October this year, broken down by District Council district; (c) as some members of the public have relayed to me that the stability of connection and data transmission speed of the GovWiFi hotspots at individual premises are poor, whether the authorities have plans to make improvements; if they have, of the details; (d) given that the former Office of the Telecommunications Authority revised in 2007 the "Guidance Note for Submission of Application for Installing Micro-cell Base Station on Highway Facilities or on Unleased and Unallocated Government Land" to facilitate telecommunications services operators to provide and expand the coverage of outdoor wireless Internet connection services in Hong Kong, of the number of operators which have passed the relevant power supply tests and have installed Wi-Fi devices on lamp posts, as well as the total number of Wi-Fi devices installed by these operators and the distribution of such devices, as at October this year; whether the authorities will consider establishing an inter-departmental coordinating group to provide one-stop services to the operators so as to help them apply for installing Wi-Fi devices on lamp posts and to solve related technical or other problems; (e) given that the Director of Audit's Report No. 60 has recommended the authorities to "run the [GovWiFi] service more cost-effectively", whether the authorities have drawn up any specific targets and plans in this regard; and (f) given that the service contract with the existing contractor of GovWiFi will expire in December 2017, whether the authorities have plans to review the current mode of procuring integrated services from the market (e.g. examining the feasibility of adopting a public-private partnership approach), so as to enhance service quality and encourage creative options for utilizing GovWiFi hotspots; if they have, of the details, timetable and targets?
*10. Dr Hon Helena WONG to ask: (Translation)
The Police Force introduced equal pay for equal work for male and female police officers as early as in the 1970s and, since the 1990s, all newly recruited female police officers have been allowed to carry a firearm whilst on duty. Some members of the public have indicated that as quite a number of women have participated in public activities such as demonstrations and processions in recent years, they are very concerned about whether there are enough female police officers and their work arrangements. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the respective numbers of male and female police officers and the percentages of women in various ranks in the Police Force since 1990, and set out the relevant figures in the table below; Rank
YearChief Superintendent of Police Senior Superintendent of Police Superintendent of Police Chief Inspector of Police Probationary Inspector of Police / Inspector of Police / Senior Inspector of Police Station Sergeant Sergeant Corporal / Constable Total number of female police officers Total number of police officers Percentage of women in the total number of police officers Male Female Percentage of women Male Female Percentage of women Male Female Percentage of women Male Female Percentage of women Male Female Percentage of women Male Female Percentage of women Male Female Percentage of women Male Female Percentage of women 1990 1991 1992 .
.
.2010 2011 2012 (b) whether the Police have taken any measure to increase the proportion of women in the Police Force; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (c) whether the Police have made use of the Gender Mainstreaming Checklist to review the accoutrements, the contents of training, the environment and nature of work, and the promotion system for male and female police officers; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (d) of the respective average waiting time for male and female police officers to receive training in the Police Tactical Unit at present?
*11. Hon SIN Chung-kai to ask: (Translation)
Will the Government inform this Council of the respective numbers, percentages and cumulative percentages of assessed properties broken down by their monthly rateable values as at (i) 1 April 2011, (ii) 1 April 2012 and (iii) 1 April 2013 (set out by year in tables of the same format as the following)?
-
as at 1 April_____________
Monthly rateable values Assessed properties Number Percentage Cumulative percentage Below $5,000 $5,000 to $10,000 $10,001 to $20,000 $20,001 to $30,000 $30,001 to $40,000 $40,001 to $50,000 $50,001 to $60,000 $60,001 to $70,000 $70,001 to $80,000 $80,001 to $90,000 $90,001 to $100,000 $100,001 to $120,000 $120,001 to $140,000 $140,001 to $160,000 $160,001 to $180,000 $180,001 to $200,000 $200,001 or above
*12. Hon Alice MAK to ask: (Translation)
Since its cessation of public cremation service for animals in 1999, the Government disposes of animal carcasses collected only by sending them to landfills. Members of the public who need hospice or cremation service for pets can only patronize private companies which provide such service ("hospice service companies"), resulting in continuous increase in the number of such companies in recent years. However, some members of the public have pointed out that as the Government does not regulate such kind of companies, the rights and interests of consumers lack protection and the cremation service concerned often causes environmental hygiene problems which affect residents in the neighbourhood. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the number of animal carcasses collected by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department in each of the past five years, with a breakdown by animal type; (b) whether it knows the number of hospice service companies in each of the past five years, with a breakdown by building type of the premises where cremation service is provided; (c) of the number of complaints relating to hospice service companies received by the authorities in each of the past five years, with a breakdown by the content of such complaints (including the business practices, quality of service, and environmental hygiene problems caused by cremation service etc.); (d) whether the authorities had conducted inspections in the past five years to check if hospice service companies and the premises where cremation service was provided had contravened legislation on fire safety, land use or environmental hygiene, etc.; if they had, of the number of inspections conducted each year, with a breakdown of the contravention cases; (e) whether the authorities will consider afresh regulating hospice service companies by means of licensing; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; how the authorities will effectively address environmental hygiene problems caused by cremation service for pets; and (f) whether the authorities will consider afresh resuming the provision of cremation service for animals; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*13. Hon Kenneth LEUNG to ask:
In July 2013, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development launched an Action Plan on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting, identifying 15 specific actions needed to tackle aggressive tax planning in respect of profits being shifted to locations where there is little or no real activity but the taxes are low, resulting in little or no overall corporate tax being paid. The Action Plan was endorsed by the Finance Ministers of the Group of Twenty ("G20") at their July 2013 meeting in Moscow as well as the G20 heads of state at their meeting in Saint Petersburg in September 2013. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) what actions it has taken to complement the Action Plan; and (b) whether it has imminent plans to introduce a more comprehensive transfer pricing regime into the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112) to replace the current departmental practice note 46 issued by the Inland Revenue Department?
*14. Dr Hon CHIANG Lai-wan to ask: (Translation)
According to a report released by the World Health Organization in 2001, approximately 25% of individuals across the world developed one or more mental or behavioural disorders during their lifetime. It was projected that depression would become the second leading disease in the world by the year 2020. In recent years, there have been newspaper reports from time to time on cases about people suffering from emotional problems committing suicide or inflicting injuries on their family members. Emotional problems have become more prevalent among the people of Hong Kong. Statistics also show that one in every five people in Hong Kong suffers from emotional problems to a certain extent, and there is a rising demand for professionals who assist in solving emotional problems in the community. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it knows the numbers of patients (including new and old cases) on the waiting lists of public psychiatric specialist out-patient clinics and the waiting time, with a breakdown by District Council district; if such information is unavailable, of the reasons for that; (b) whether it knows the numbers of counsellors, psychologists and psychiatrists currently practising in Hong Kong; if such information is unavailable, of the reasons for that; (c) whether it knows the information such as the numbers of places and the duration of study, etc. about the counselling and psychology programmes (including both first-degree and master degree programmes) offered by various tertiary institutions at present, as well as the statistics on graduates working in the relevant professions; if such information is unavailable, of the reasons for that; (d) of the channels and means for the registration of counsellors, psychologists and psychiatrists in Hong Kong; if such information is unavailable, of the reasons for that; (e) whether it knows the names of the organizations currently providing training for counsellors, psychologists and psychiatrists which have yet to be recognized by the Government, as well as the reasons for such organizations not being recognized yet; if such information is unavailable, of the reasons for that; (f) whether the authorities will consider allocating additional funding for developing counselling and psychology programmes (including both first-degree and master degree programmes); if they will not, of the reasons for that; (g) whether the authorities will consider subsidizing family doctors to take diploma courses on psychiatry, so that they will be well qualified with adequate professional knowledge for treating patients suffering from mild emotional problems, with a view to reducing the number of cases in which the patients have to wait for treatment at public psychiatric specialist out-patient clinics; if they will not, of the reasons for that; and (h) whether the authorities will consider allocating additional resources in future for enhancing the support services provided to members of the public suffering from emotional problems; if they will not, of the reasons for that?
*15. Dr Hon Elizabeth QUAT to ask: (Translation)
Some members from the information technology ("IT") and education sectors have relayed to me that the world has entered the digital era and various countries have experienced rapid developments in electronic teaching and learning (in particular wireless learning). They have also pointed out that although the Government has launched three IT in Education strategies, at present IT education in secondary and primary schools places emphasis only on teaching word processing software and Internet browsing skills, etc. rather than the latest IT knowledge. Moreover, they have also criticized the Government for the slow progress in comprehensive development of information network infrastructures in schools as well as updating IT teaching and learning tools, etc. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether it has plans to provide the secondary and primary schools in Hong Kong with comprehensive and free Wi-Fi network coverage; if it has, of the details and the implementation timetable; if not, the reasons for that; (b) whether it has plans to implement the policy of "one computer per student" in the secondary and primary schools in Hong Kong and encourage students to bring their own mobile devices for learning purpose in order to enhance the effectiveness of electronic learning; if it has, of the details and the implementation timetable; of the measures in place to provide subsidies to students in need so as to eliminate the obstacles faced by students of poor families in pursuing online learning, in order to ensure that they enjoy equal learning opportunities; if not, of the reasons for that; (c) whether it has plans to allocate additional resources to help schools procure computers and wireless network equipment of the most advanced models, and to recycle outdated IT equipment; if it has, of the details and the implementation timetable; if not, the reasons for that; (d) whether it has plans to invite the IT sector to collaborate with it to have IT staff in place of teachers to take charge of the professional work of network equipment maintenance and management so that teachers can concentrate on their teaching work; if it has, of the details and the implementation timetable; if not, the reasons for that; (e) whether it has plans to provide regular training to teachers and schools' technical staff to ensure the effective implementation of electronic teaching and learning in schools; if it has, of the details and the implementation timetable; if not, the reasons for that; (f) with the advent of the era of the second-generation Internet, whether it has plans to reform the curricula of secondary and primary schools, and to cooperate with the IT and the publishing sectors in providing the corresponding technical support and developing teaching materials, so as to promote c-learning (i.e. with emphases on collaborative, contributory and creative learning) for guiding students in the process of learning to exchange among themselves, collaborate with and learn from one another, and work together to achieve the learning objectives of the curricula; if it has, of the details and the implementation timetable; if not, the reasons for that; and (g) whether it has plans to introduce programming courses using the most advanced computer languages into the curricula of all secondary and primary schools in Hong Kong in order to lay a foundation for nurturing IT talents; if it has, of the details and the implementation timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
*16. Hon Christopher CHUNG to ask: (Translation)
I have recently received a complaint from a taxi association, alleging that quite a number of taxi drivers offering fare discounts to passengers (commonly known as "discount gangs") are soliciting business by making use of taxi-call service mobile applications, which can be downloaded by the public for free. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the number of taxi drivers convicted of offering fare discounts in the past five years, and the highest penalty imposed on them by the court; whether it has taken measures or actions to combat the business practices of discount gangs, so as to safeguard the livelihood of those tax drivers who charge fares according to taximeters; if so, of the details; (b) regarding the discount gangs' practice of using mobile applications as a platform for soliciting business, of the measures the authorities have in place to combat such business practice; and (c) given that some members of the public and members of the taxi trade have pointed out that as the discount gangs often check the screens of their smart phones for messages and operate their mobile phones manually to reply clients' calls while driving, traffic accidents are prone to occur as a result of distraction, whether the authorities prosecuted any taxi driver of operating smart phones while driving in the past three years; if so, of the details; and whether measures are in place to curb using mobile applications by taxi drivers while driving?
*17. Hon Albert CHAN to ask: (Translation)
At present, the web site of the Lands Department ("LandsD") does not have an online version of demarcation district plans, and the resolution of the preview images of aerial photographs is too low for members of the public to see the images clearly. In addition, digital aerial photographs sold at the Survey and Mapping Office of LandsD are hardly affordable to the public as they are much more expensive than paper aerial photographs. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the various types of information of LandsD with online version not yet available; (b) why LandsD provides preview images for aerial photographs at low resolution only; (c) why digital aerial photographs are more expensive than paper aerial photographs; and (d) whether the authorities will consider uploading the graphical information prepared by LandsD and other government departments onto the relevant web sites for free inspection and download by the public; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*18. Hon MA Fung-kwok to ask: (Translation)
The Government announced at around 5:00 pm on 15 October this year the decision made by the Chief Executive in Council on applications for domestic free television programme service licences ("free TV licences") by Hong Kong Television Network Limited, Fantastic Television Limited and Hong Kong Television Entertainment Company Limited. Yet, I have learnt that it had already been rumoured at noon on that day that the Government would announce the issuance of additional free TV licences, and the prices of the stocks of the aforesaid three applicants or their parent companies recorded significant volatility on the day when the application results were announced and on the following day. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) whether the authorities have noticed the volatility of the aforesaid stocks; if they have, whether they have looked into the reasons for such volatility and assessed the situation; whether the authorities will take any follow-up action, including launching an investigation into the incident; if they will not, of the reasons for that; (b) whether the authorities, before announcing the aforesaid decision on granting free TV licences, had taken any measure to prevent the news about that decision from affecting the prices of the stocks of the applicants or their parent companies; whether they had requested the applicants or their parent companies to apply for a trading halt on the day when the application results were announced; if they had not, of the reasons for that; and (c) whether the authorities have mechanisms in place at present to require listed companies concerned to apply for a trading halt of their stocks before the announcement of any price-sensitive information, so as to maintain fairness in the market and prevent insider dealings; if they have, of the mechanisms; if not, the reasons for that, as well as the measures in place to protect the interests of the small investors?
*19. Hon James TIEN to ask: (Translation)
Some members of the public have relayed to me that as minors (i.e. persons aged below 18) can buy alcoholic beverages without restrictions from retail shops such as convenience stores and supermarkets, etc. at present, they may commit illegal or dangerous acts under the influence of alcohol. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the number of cases in each of the past three years in which minors allegedly committed illegal or dangerous acts under the influence of alcohol, with a breakdown by type of act; (b) whether it knows if there is any study report with findings showing that the ready purchase by minors of alcoholic beverages has contributed to an increase in the number of cases in (a) or the problem of alcohol abuse among young people; if there are such reports, of the details; (c) whether it has studied if the sale of alcoholic beverages by retail shops to minors is subject to regulation in overseas countries or regions; and (d) whether there is any existing legislation or measure that regulates the sale of alcoholic beverages by retail shops to minors; if there is, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and whether it has any plan to impose regulation in this regard; if it has such a plan, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*20. Hon CHEUNG Kwok-che to ask: (Translation)
The Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau issued the Administrative Guidelines on Promotion of Racial Equality ("the Guidelines") in 2010 to provide guidance to the relevant bureaux, departments and other public authorities on promoting racial equality and ensuring equal access to public services by ethnic minorities in the key areas concerned. Moreover, the Centre for Harmony and Enhancement of Ethnic Minority Residents ("CHEER"), a support service centre for ethnic minorities funded by the Home Affairs Department, provides interpretation and translation services to facilitate ethnic minorities in using public services. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the respective numbers of occasions of CHEER providing interpretation and translation services and the respective numbers of occasions of government departments using "telephone interpretation service", "on-site (escort) interpretation service", "on-sight interpretation service" and "three-way video conferencing service" provided by CHEER, in each of the past three years; (b) whether it knows the respective expenditure on implementation of the Guidelines incurred by the relevant bureaux, departments and other public authorities (including the Education Bureau, Food and Health Bureau, Department of Health, Labour Department, Social Welfare Department, Home Affairs Department, Hospital Authority, Vocational Training Council, Employees Retraining Board, Construction Industry Council, Office of the Government Chief Information Officer, Television and Entertainment Licensing Authority, the former Office of the Telecommunications Authority as well as Innovation and Technology Commission) in each of the past three years; (c) as some social workers have pointed out that quite a number of people from the ethnic minorities seek assistance from the Housing Department ("HD") on public housing matters from time to time, why HD is currently not covered by the Guidelines, and the criteria adopted by the authorities for determining which public services and government departments should be covered by the Guidelines; (d) of the measures taken in the past three years and those to be taken in the next three years by the authorities to monitor the implementation of the Guidelines by the relevant bureaux, departments and other public authorities; and (e) as some social workers have relayed to me that quite a number of people from the ethnic minorities are discriminated against in education and employment at present, whether the authorities will, in view of this, review the Guidelines; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*21. Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that as some lifeguards of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department ("LCSD") were dissatisfied with LCSD's extended disregard for the shortage of manpower and rejection of their demand for additional manpower and pay improvement, they have recently protested by taking sick leave concurrently, resulting in temporary closure of some swimming facilities in individual public swimming pool complexes and parts of the swimming zones in public beaches. Regarding the lifeguard services provided at the public swimming pools and beaches under LCSD, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the number of cases between 2009 and end of October this year in which some swimming facilities or swimming zones of public swimming pools and beaches needed to be closed temporarily because of unscheduled leave taken by lifeguards (set out in Table 1 and Table 2);
Table 1: Public swimming pools with some swimming facilities closed temporarilyDistrict Council districts Public swimming pools Year 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
(as at end of October)Southern Pao Yue Kong Swimming Pool Central & Western Kennedy Town Swimming Pool Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park Swimming Pool Wan Chai Morrison Hill Swimming Pool Wan Chai Swimming Pool Eastern Chai Wan Swimming Pool Victoria Park Swimming Pool Island East Swimming Pool Siu Sai Wan Swimming Pool Sham Shui Po Lai Chi Kok Park Swimming Pool Lei Cheng Uk Swimming Pool Sham Shui Po Park Swimming Pool Yau Tsim Mong Kowloon Park Swimming Pool Tai Kok Tsui Swimming Pool Kowloon City Tai Wan Shan Swimming Pool Ho Man Tin Swimming Pool Kowloon Tsai Swimming Pool Wong Tai Sin Morse Park Swimming Pool Hammer Hill Road Swimming Pool Kwun Tong Jordan Valley Swimming Pool Kwun Tong Swimming Pool Lam Tin Swimming Pool Islands Mui Wo Swimming Pool Tung Chung Swimming Pool Tuen Mun Tuen Mun Swimming Pool Jockey Club Yan Oi Tong Swimming Pool Tuen Mun North West Swimming Pool Yuen Long Tin Shui Wai Swimming Pool Yuen Long Swimming Pool Ping Shan Tin Shui Wai Swimming Pool Tsuen Wan Shing Mun Valley Swimming Pool Tsuen King Circuit Wu Chung Swimming Pool Kwai Tsing Kwai Shing Swimming Pool North Kwai Chung Jockey Club Swimming Pool Tsing Yi Swimming Pool North Fanling Swimming Pool Sheung Shui Swimming Pool Tai Po Tai Po Swimming Pool Shatin Hin Tin Swimming Pool Ma On Shan Swimming Pool Sha Tin Jockey Club Swimming Pool Sai Kung Sai Kung Swimming Pool Tseung Kwan O Swimming Pool
Table 2: Public beaches with swimming zones reduced temporarilyPublic beaches Year Date and time for reducing swimming zones 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
(as at end of October)Deep Water Bay Beach Repulse Bay Beach Middle Bay Beach South Bay Beach Chung Hom Kok Beach St. Stephen's Beach Stanley Main Beach Hairpin Beach Turtle Cove Beach Shek O Beach Rocky Bay Beach Big Wave Bay Beach Hung Shing Yeh Beach Lo So Shing Beach Kwun Yam Beach Cheung Chau Tung Wan Beach Silver Mine Bay Beach Pui O Beach Lower Cheung Sha Beach Upper Cheung Sha Beach Tong Fuk Beach Butterfly Beach Castle Peak Beach Kadoorie Beach Cafeteria Old Beach Cafeteria New Beach Golden Beach Anglers' Beach GeminiBeaches Hoi Mei Wan Beach Casam Beach Lido Beach Ting Kau Beach Approach Beach Ma Wan Tung Wan Beach Trio Beach Kiu Tsui Beach Hap Mun Bay Beach Silverstrand Beach Clear Water Bay First Beach Clear Water Bay Second Beach (b) of a breakdown of the cases listed in Table 1 by duration of closure and number of facilities closed each time; (c) of the respective numbers of rescue, fatal, give-a-hand and accident cases which occurred between 2009 and end of October this year at public swimming pools and beaches while lifeguards were on duty (set out in Table 3);
Table 3Year 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
(as at end of October)Public swimming pools Rescue cases Fatal cases Give-a-hand cases Accident cases Total Public beaches Rescue cases Fatal cases Give-a-hand cases Accident cases Total
(d) of the respective average weekly working hours of lifeguards in the civil service establishment and seasonal lifeguards between 2009 and end of October this year (set out in Table 4);
Table 4Year 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
(as at end of October)Public swimming pools Lifeguards in the civil service establishment Seasonal lifeguards Public beaches Lifeguards in the civil service establishment Seasonal lifeguards
(e) of LCSD's recruitment targets for lifeguards and the actual number recruited between 2009 and end of October this year (set out in Table 5); and
Table 5Year Lifeguards in the civil service establishment Seasonal lifeguards 2009 Target Actual number recruited 2010 Target Actual number recruited 2011 Target Actual number recruited 2012 Target Actual number recruited 2013
(as at end of October)Target Actual number recruited
(f) whether LCSD will conduct a review on the grade structure of lifeguards and consider re-grading them from the Artisan grade, to which they belong at present, to the Ambulanceman grade so as to enhance the remuneration package for lifeguards, in order to attract new entrants to become lifeguards; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*22. Hon LEUNG Kwok-hung to ask: (Translation)
In reply to my question on 5 June this year, the Government indicated that in 2011, the Hong Kong Federation of Youth Groups ("HKFYG") had irregularities in having wrongly reported the training hours of a Professional Bridal Make-up and Hair Styling Training Course it organized under the "Targeted Career Training Mission" of the Youth Pre-employment Training Programme and Youth Work Experience and Training Scheme ("the Scheme") of the Labour Department ("LD"), and because of that, HKFYG had taken the initiative to refund LD all monies related to the course. LD subsequently issued a serious warning to HKFYG. Moreover, although the Government had also separately replied to my questions regarding the Scheme on 24 April, 8 May and 15 May this year, quite a number of members of the public and social workers still continued to relay to me the problems of the Scheme. They pointed out that when problems of the training courses arose, some "authorized persons" of the training bodies appointed under the Scheme (i.e. the persons authorized by a training body to sign all application forms for reimbursement of course fees ("the forms") under the Scheme) often covered up their own fault of improper supervision and shifted the blame to those social workers who had already left the positions. They also pointed out that some training bodies had, through administrative means, required their staff to make advance payments for purchasing materials needed for the courses held under the Scheme, but refused to reimburse the staff concerned afterwards. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the number of courses organized by HKFYG under the Scheme and the amount of public money involved in each of the past five Programme Years; (b) other than the aforesaid incident, whether LD had uncovered in the past five Programme Years other incidents of irregularities or submission of false financial records by HKFYG when it organized other courses under the Scheme; if so, of the details of such incidents as well as the sanctions imposed by LD on HKFYG; (c) whether it knows if the two authorized persons appointed by HKFYG are of the rank of deputy executive director; if so, which one of them was involved in the aforesaid incident of providing incorrect information; if not, of the rank of the authorized persons; (d) whether the Scheme has any requirement on the lowest rank of staff members who may be appointed as an authorized person; if so, of that rank and the justifications for that; if not, whether a training body may decide to appoint its staff of any rank as an authorized person; (e) whether it is provided under the Scheme that an authorized person is responsible for ascertaining the accuracy of the information provided on the forms submitted to LD; if so, whether LD has asked the training bodies to clearly inform their authorized persons of such responsibility they have to bear; if there is no such provision, whether an authorized person will not be held responsible for submitting incorrect information; (f) whether LD has encouraged the training bodies to require their staff to make advance payments for purchasing materials needed under the Scheme and refuse to reimburse the staff concerned afterwards; if so, of the reasons for that; whether the training bodies will breach any requirement under the Scheme if they adopt such a practice; if they will breach any requirement, of the requirement concerned; if not, whether it has assessed if LD has given tacit consent to the training bodies for exploiting their staff; (g) whether LD has conducted serious investigation to see if the training bodies under the Scheme have adopted the practice mentioned in (f); if it has uncovered such a practice, whether LD will impose severe punishment on the training bodies concerned; whether the Government will reimburse the social workers concerned for the payments they made and request the relevant LD staff to take the blame and resign from their posts only after such social workers have instituted legal proceedings and won their cases; if the social workers concerned do not need to recover their money through legal means, of the mechanism through which they can recover their money; and (h) given that, in its reply to my question on 5 June, the Government indicated that LD had not initiated any prosecution against HKFYG for the aforesaid incident of irregularities, whether it has assessed if the government officials responsible have wilfully harboured the staff of the training body and those public officers who blundered?
* For written reply
III. Bill
Second Reading (Debate to resume), Committee Stage and Third Reading
Peak Tramway (Amendment) Bill 2013 : Secretary for Transport and Housing