A 13/14-21
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 26 March 2014 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers
| Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments | L.N. No. |
|---|---|
| Dutiable Commodities (Amendment) Regulation 2014 | 31/2014 |
Other Papers
II. Questions
1. Hon MA Fung-kwok to ask: (Translation)
The economic contribution of the cultural and creative industries ("CCIs") in terms of percentage share in gross domestic product increased from 3.8% in 2005 to 4.9% in 2012, and the employment in such industries as a percentage in the total employment during the same period increased from 5.1% to 5.5%. Some members of the industries have pointed out that although CCIs are emerging pillar industries of Hong Kong, the room for survival of such industries has been severely compressed and their development has been seriously constrained due to tight supply of land. In reply to my question in October last year, the Chief Executive indicated that the development of creative industries at the Lok Ma Chau Loop ("the Loop") would be considered. Regarding the provision of land for the development of CCIs, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the current progress of the planning work for the Loop; how CCIs are expected to benefit from the development of such area; whether the authorities have conducted any assessment on the land required for the development of such industries; if so, how such demand for land will be met; if not, of the reasons for that; (2) whether it has considered strengthening cooperation with the mainland departments and, on the premise of comprehensive infrastructure, renting sites on the Mainland for establishing parks for emerging industries which will mainly be managed by the Hong Kong side, so as to take forward the development of CCIs of Hong Kong; and (3) whether the Consultative Committee on Economic and Trade Cooperation between Hong Kong and the Mainland has, since its establishment in October last year, discussed how to foster the development of CCIs; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; given that some members of the industries have proposed the construction of a film and television city in Nansha, whether the Committee has discussed this proposal; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
2. Hon Albert CHAN to ask: (Translation)
Some members of the public have pointed out that the Government, on the one hand, encourages the public to resolve disputes among them by arbitration or mediation but, on the other hand, resorts only to judicial proceedings in dealing with its disputes with the public (such as those on compensation for land resumption). Quite a number of members of the public cannot afford the high legal costs and hence have no choice but to accept the compensation proposals offered by the Government. Those members of the public have also pointed out that in Canada, an arbitration or mediation mechanism is in place for resolving disputes arising from land resumption by the Government, and they propose that the Hong Kong Government should follow the relevant practices. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the reasons for not resolving by arbitration or mediation those disputes which involve land resumption by the Government; (2) of the reasons for the Government taking different stances towards dispute resolution among members of the public and those between the Government and members of the public; and (3) whether it will consider introducing an arbitration or mediation mechanism by way of a pilot scheme to deal with certain common disputes between members of the public and the Government; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
| Public Officers to attend | : | The Secretary for Justice
Secretary for Development |
3. Hon IP Kin-yuen to ask: (Translation)
Quite a number of primary and secondary school teachers have relayed to me that due to an excessive number of teaching lessons and the need to cope with copious amounts of non-teaching work, they work excessively long hours and do not have adequate rest time. Such a situation not only affects teaching quality but also makes them unable to spare the time to take care of and provide counselling to individual students. These teachers opine that given the sound financial position of the Government at present and the ample supply of qualified teachers, the authorities should expeditiously implement measures to improve the class-teacher ratios of secondary and primary schools, and increase the number of permanent teaching posts in the teaching establishment, so as to relieve the problem of excessive workload of teachers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the criteria based on which the authorities set the existing class-teacher ratios of secondary and primary schools; whether they have assessed if such ratios need to be improved; if they have, of the assessment outcome and the improvement measures; if not, the reasons for that; (2) given that the incumbent Chief Executive undertook in his election manifesto that he would "suitably increase the number of teachers , thereby enabling teachers to devote more time to students and to their own professional development", whether the authorities have conducted studies or reviews on the expansion of the teaching establishment, as well as drawn up relevant measures and timetable; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) as some members of the education sector have pointed out that at present, quite a number of young people aspiring to join the teaching profession can only be appointed on fixed-term contracts due to the lack of permanent teaching post vacancies, and there has been a persistent wastage of young teachers as they have not been provided with a stable working environment to give full play to their strength and expertise, whether the Education Bureau is concerned about such a situation and how the authorities will solve the succession problem of teaching manpower in future?
4. Hon Frankie YICK to ask: (Translation)
In the past four years, among the top 10 solicitors in each year to whom the Legal Aid Department ("LAD") assigned the most legal aid cases, the number of cases assigned to the solicitor on top of the list was higher than that to the solicitor ranked the 10th by roughly 80%. Given that LAD generally assigns, according to the wishes of legally aided persons, the solicitors or counsel nominated by them to be their representatives, and legal aid cases are assigned mainly to a small number of lawyers at present, some members of the taxi and public light bus trades are worried that the legal aid system is susceptible to abuse. For instance, law-breakers may engage in champerty and abet the injured in traffic accidents to exaggerate the degree of their injuries sustained in order to make fraudulent insurance claims. Due to the increase in the amount of compensation payout, insurance companies raise the insurance premiums for vehicles, resulting in an increase in the operating expenditure of the trades. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the annual numbers of legal aid cases in which LAD refused the assignment of the lawyers nominated by the aided persons, with a breakdown by reason for refusal; the average, the highest and the lowest amounts paid for the legal costs and other disbursements for unsuccessful legal aid cases, the average difference between the amount claimed and the amount of compensation awarded by the court in respect of the successful legal aid compensation claims, and the number of traffic accidents involving taxis and public light buses among such cases, in the past five years; (2) whether LAD reviewed in the past five years the existing legal aid system, including the practice of nomination of lawyers by aided persons, the causes for legal aid cases being assigned mainly to a small number of lawyers, and whether allowing aided persons to nominate lawyers will give rise to problems such as champerty; if it did, of the outcome, and the solutions for the problems concerned; if not, whether it will conduct such a review; whether it will study the formulation of a code governing aided persons' nomination of lawyers, so as to ensure that legal aid cases will not be assigned mainly to certain lawyers; and (3) whether it will invite the Corruption Prevention Department of the Independent Commission Against Corruption to give advice on the existing procedure for assigning legal aid lawyers, so as to ensure that the procedure is fair and transparent; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
5. Hon WONG Yuk-man to ask: (Translation)
The Commerce and Economic Development Bureau completed the Assessment Report on Hong Kong's Capacity to Receive Tourists ("the Report") in December last year. The areas covered by the Report include the handling capacity of boundary control points, receiving capacity of tourist attractions and the public transport system, supply of hotel rooms, economic effects of the "Individual Visit Scheme" ("IVS"), and its impact on the livelihood of the community, etc. It is stated in the Conclusion of the Report that it is necessary to enhance the overall receiving capacity of the tourism industry of Hong Kong on various fronts. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it will set quantitative indicators of the upper or lower limits for the various aforesaid areas, so that when any relevant indicator for a certain area has been reached due to a rise in the number of visitors to Hong Kong, the Government will cease implementing policies which attract more visitors to Hong Kong; and (2) as some scholars, after analysing the data contained in the Report, wrote articles in the newspapers pointing out that IVS merely jacked up the rents of retail shops, with no significant increase seen in the real incomes of positions such as salesman, cook and office manager, etc., how the Government will improve such a situation?
6. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)
The Working Group on Civic Education ("Working Group") under the Central and Western District Council held a meeting on the 6th of this month to scrutinize funding applications for Basic Law promotional activities. At the beginning of the meeting, the Chairman of the Working Group refused to allow members of the public and journalists to observe the meeting. An argument then erupted between a District Council ("DC") member present at the meeting and the Chairman about the arrangement. The journalists at the scene were evicted from the meeting venue by security guards afterwards, and that DC member was carried away from the conference room by police officers. In response to the above incident, the Chief Executive ("CE") said that "the Police have all along acted in accordance with the law", and the Commissioner of Police ("CP") pointed out that the Police had the responsibility of "ensuring the peace of society". However, some members of the public have raised concerns and queried whether the Police have abused their power and intervened in the operation of DCs. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of police officers arriving at the scene on that day to handle the incident, and the handling methods proposed by them; whether the police officers at the scene received any request for carrying the DC member away from the conference room; whether they had sought the approval of their superior officers before taking that action; whether they had explained to the DC member the reasons for carrying him away; how they had carried him away; and why they did not allow him to return to the conference room; (2) whether there was any serious act of violence at the scene when the argument erupted among members of the Working Group; if so, of the details; if not, as the Working Group was holding a meeting in the DC conference room at that time, of the legal basis for the Police to carry the DC member away from the conference room and obstruct him from discharging his duty of attending meetings; the meaning of "acted in accordance with the law" and "peace of society" as referred to respectively by CE and CP; the legal basis for their aforesaid remarks; and (3) whether it will review if the Police have abused their power in the aforesaid incident; and of the measures in place to prevent the recurrence of similar incidents so as to safeguard DC members' right to attend meetings, and ensure that the operation of DCs is free from any unreasonable police intervention?
*7. Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)
As revealed by the "Special Topics Report No. 48: Persons with disabilities and chronic diseases" released by the Census and Statistics Department in August 2008, about 86.8% of the 347 900 persons with disabilities ("PWDs") aged 15 and over were economically inactive, i.e. only 13.2% were economically active. In addition, according to a survey report released by the Hong Kong Society for Rehabilitation in June 2013, the unemployment rate of the 1 020 adult respondents with disabilities and chronic diseases was 51.5%, whilst the median monthly personal income of the working respondents and the median monthly household income of the respondents overall were only $7,900 and $11,000 respectively. Some workers of the social welfare sector hold that the aforesaid figures show that PWDs have encountered great difficulties in seeking jobs and their wages are particularly low. Besides, quite a number of PWDs consider that the mechanism for Productivity Assessment for Employees with Disabilities under the Statutory Minimum Wage Regime ("the assessment mechanism"), set up by the Government for protecting employees with disabilities, is ineffective. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of persons undergoing the assessment each year since the assessment mechanism was implemented in 2011, and set out in Table 1 a breakdown by type of disabilities and the level of productivity which the employees with disabilities were assessed to have;
Table 1Year 2011 2012 2013 Type of disabilities Level of productivity (%) Level of productivity (%) Level of productivity (%) 100 90- 99 70- 89 50- 69 Below 50 100 90- 99 70- 89 50- 69 Below 50 100 90- 99 70- 89 50- 69 Below 50 Mobility restrictions Visual impairment Hearing impairment Speech impairment Mental illness/ emotional disorder Autism Specific learning difficulties Attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder Intellectual disabilities Total
(2) whether it has any plan to conduct a comprehensive review of the assessment mechanism and consider granting subsidies, of amounts equivalent to the differences between the wages calculated on the basis of level of productivity and the statutory minimum wage, to employees with disabilities who have undergone the assessment; if it has, of the plans and the timetable for the work concerned; if not, the reasons for that; (3) whether it knows the respective numbers of PWDs employed in the past five years by each of the following publicly-funded organizations and statutory bodies, and set out breakdowns by type of disabilities in tables of the same format as Table 2: (i) Airport Authority Hong Kong, (ii) Auxiliary Medical Service, (iii) Civil Aid Service, (iv) Consumer Council, (v) Employees Retraining Board, (vi) Equal Opportunities Commission, (vii) Estate Agents Authority, (viii) Financial Reporting Council, (ix) Hong Kong Arts Development Council, (x) Hong Kong Housing Authority, (xi) Hong Kong Housing Society, (xii) Hong Kong Sports Institute Limited, (xiii) Hospital Authority, (xiv) MTR Corporation Limited, (xv) Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority, (xvi) Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Hong Kong, (xvii) Securities and Futures Commission, (xviii) Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority, (xix) Urban Renewal Authority, (xx) Vocational Training Council, and (xxi) West Kowloon Cultural District Authority;
Table 2 Name of organization/ body:Type of disabilities 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Mobility restrictions Visual impairment Hearing impairment Speech impairment Mental illness/ emotional disorder Autism Specific learning difficulties Attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder Intellectual disabilities Total
(4) whether it has any plan to require the organizations/bodies referred to in (3) to employ more PWDs; if it has, of the plans and the timetable for the work concerned; if not, the reasons for that; and (5) given the undertaking made by the incumbent Chief Executive in his election manifesto that measures to promote the employment of PWDs, such as offering tax concessions to employers who employ PWDs, would be explored, but no specific proposals were put forth in the Policy Addresses in the past two years, of the plan and the timetable for the work concerned?
*8. Hon Tommy CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)
In March last year, this Council passed a motion urging the Government to establish a tracing mechanism, regulate and monitor the operation of local recyclers of used cooking oil, as well as collect and regularly release the relevant information and statistics about the local collection of used cooking oil. In its progress report on the motion submitted to this Council in June last year, the Government pointed out that the establishment of such a tracing mechanism could only be implemented by legislation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that it has been one year since the aforesaid motion was passed, whether the Government now keeps a list and the number of used cooking oil recyclers; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether it has compiled statistics on the quantity of locally collected used cooking oil and the percentage of such oil being recycled, in each of the past three years; if so, of the figures; if not, whether it has plans to collect such data on a regular basis; (3) whether it has compiled statistics on the quantities of used cooking oil imported and exported in each of the past three years; if so, of the figures; if not, whether it has plans to collect such data on a regular basis; and (4) whether it has plans to establish a licensing system by legislation to regulate the industry of collection and recycling of used cooking oil, thereby ensuring that used cooking oil collected will, after recycling, be used only for purposes other than human consumption, and preventing used cooking oil from re-entering the food chain; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*9. Hon Albert HO to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the number of notified cases of varicella in Hong Kong has been on the high side in recent years, and due to a persistent shortage of varicella vaccines, quite a number of parents need to wait for a long time before they can arrange for their children to be vaccinated in private clinics. Meanwhile, the Department of Health has planned to include varicella vaccines in the Hong Kong Childhood Immunization Programme. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has contacted private clinics to understand the situation of shortage in supply of varicella vaccines; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) of the exact date on which the authorities will launch the varicella vaccination programme; what measures the authorities will take to ensure an adequate supply of vaccines at the commencement of the programme; and (3) of the anticipated quantity of varicella vaccines to be purchased by the authorities in 2014-2015, and the amount of expenditure involved?
*10. Hon LEUNG Che-cheung to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that since November 2013, the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department ("AFCD") has implemented a "Trap-Neuter-Relocation" pilot programme for stray cattle ("pilot programme") to catch stray cattle dwelling in places such as Sai Kung and Lantau Island, and relocate them to other locations, with a view to controlling the stray cattle population in the long run. Some animal welfare groups have discovered that the health of some of the relocated stray cattle has deteriorated allegedly due to their inability to adapt to the new environment, and that some calves separated from their dams have lost a lot of weight abruptly and need to receive treatment. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the objective, details and progress of the pilot programme, and the rationale for implementing the programme; whether it had made reference to professional opinions and overseas successful cases in formulating the programme; if it had, of the relevant information; (2) whether AFCD had conducted district consultation before it launched the pilot programme; if it had, of the relevant information; if not, the reasons for that; (3) of the respective numbers of female and male adult stray cattle and calves involved in the pilot programme; whether AFCD has performed neutering surgeries on such cattle; (4) as some animal welfare groups have pointed out that the relocation of stray cattle by AFCD has caused the separation of calves from their dams, whether the authorities have looked into this situation; if they have, of the results; (5) as it has been reported that some cattle have intruded into Ngong Ping Village to forage for food after the commencement of the pilot programme, whether it knows if similar incidents had happened before; and (6) of the current health conditions of such cattle; as some animal welfare groups have pointed out that some stray cattle have developed health problems after being relocated, whether AFCD will terminate the programme and move such cattle back to their original dwelling places; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*11. Prof Hon Joseph LEE to ask: (Translation)
Some representatives of the beauty industry have pointed out that they have all along endeavoured to promote the development of professionalism in the industry, including encouraging beauty practitioners to obtain internationally recognized professional qualifications through study and training, promoting and implementing a qualifications framework within the industry, as well as promoting the introduction of a professional licensing examination system. In addition, they have also expressed concern about the possibility that certain devices used for beauty purposes might be included in the authorities' plan of regulating medical devices through legislation. Regarding the issues relating to the development and regulation of the beauty industry, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it will implement a standardized framework for recognizing qualifications for the beauty industry, so as to boost consumers' confidence in beauty services; if it will, of the details and the implementation timetable; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether it has completed the business impact assessment in relation to the regulation of medical devices; if it has, of the details; if not, the expected completion time of the assessment and the publication of the assessment report; of the latest development of introducing legislation to regulate medical devices; whether the authorities will put beauty devices and medical devices under the same regulatory framework; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and whether beauty devices will be subject to regulation; (3) whether the authorities will allocate resources to the beauty industry in order to provide proper training to practitioners performing beauty procedures, so as to ensure that they have adequate skills and experience to perform those procedures and operate high-risk devices; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) whether it has compiled statistics on the person-times receiving beauty services in the past five years, as well as the annual economic contributions (in terms of value added) of the beauty industry and the percentage share of the industry in Hong Kong's gross domestic product of the same years?
*12. Dr Hon Helena WONG to ask: (Translation)
The Working Group on Civic Education under the Central and Western District Council ("C&W DC") held a meeting on the 6th of this month to examine the allocation of $250,000 of public money for taking forward the publicity of the Basic Law and constitutional development. A member of the C&W DC told me that he intended to attend the meeting in order to discharge his duty of monitoring if public money was used appropriately, and his assistant and two journalists also intended to observe the meeting. According to the videos taken by the DC member and his assistant, the Chairman of the Working Group indicated at the beginning of the meeting that it was necessary to hold the meeting in camera and requested the journalists to leave, but the request was refused. The Chairman then moved a motion to oppose the presence of journalists, which was voted upon and passed by the Working Group. The journalists were then immediately evicted from the conference room by security guards, and the DC member was carried away from the conference room by several police officers. Regarding the arrangements for meetings of the committees or working groups under DCs, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
(1) which meetings of the committees or working groups allow the public to observe; and the arrangements for the media to cover and observe such meetings; (2) of the criteria and procedures for determining whether a meeting needs to be held in camera; which meetings need to be held in camera; (3) of the duties and responsibilities of the District Officers of the district and the officials in attendance at closed meetings; (4) whether DC members of the district who are not members of the committees or working groups concerned are allowed to sit in on the closed meetings of such committees or working groups; if so, whether the DC members in attendance are required to comply with certain requirements; if there are such requirements, of the details; if in-attendance is not allowed, the reasons for that; (5) whether a mechanism is in place to handle various kinds of unforeseen incidents during meetings; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; how the authorities assess if the chairmen of the meetings need to call police officers for help; (6) whether the DC members attending a meeting are authorized to call police officers for help in case of any unforeseen incident during the meeting, and how the DC secretariat assesses the need to call police officers for help; and (7) of (i) the meetings held in camera, (ii) the agenda items discussed at those meetings, (iii) the percentage of the number of closed meetings in the total number of meetings held, and (iv) the number of closed meetings involving the vetting and approval of funding applications and the percentage of the number of such meetings in the total number of closed meetings held, broken down by DC district, since the beginning of the current DC term?
*13. Hon Dennis KWOK to ask:
It has been reported that in recent months, more than a dozen regulators across Europe, the United States and Asia have been either running their own inquiries or assisting investigations into allegations of foreign exchange ("F/X") traders using electronic communication platforms such as chatrooms to share client information and collude to manipulate daily currency benchmarks (e.g. sharing information about overall trading books and individual client orders to match up their trades and align trading strategies). Internal investigations by some of the banks involved (many of which have businesses in Hong Kong) have also revealed such instances of illicit acts. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it knows if the Hong Kong Monetary Authority ("HKMA") and the Securities and Futures Commission ("SFC"):
(1) have carried out investigations to find out whether there have been similar instances of illicit acts by traders in the Hong Kong F/X market; if so, of the findings and, if such instances have been found, the follow-up actions taken (e.g. instituting criminal prosecutions, etc.) by HKMA and SFC; if no investigation has been carried out, the reasons for that; (2) have assessed whether the current relevant regulations are adequate to deter traders trading in the Hong Kong F/X market from engaging in similar illicit acts; if they have assessed, of the findings and, if the findings are in the negative, whether and when they will review the relevant regulations; and (3) have assessed whether the investigations by overseas regulators have resulted in changes in the Hong Kong F/X market (e.g. shrunken F/X trading activities, investors' diminished willingness to take risk, etc.); if so and the assessment outcome is in the affirmative, of the impacts of such changes on the Hong Kong F/X market and the follow-up actions taken by HKMA and SFC; if not, the reasons for that?
*14. Dr Hon LAM Tai-fai to ask: (Translation)
As an international metropolis, Hong Kong is often bustling with various mega sports events as well as cultural, tourism and commercial activities, while members of the public enjoy the rights of procession, assembly and demonstration. There are views that the Government should stay more vigilant on matters relating to public safety, and strengthen its counter-terrorism capability and its ability to handle major security incidents that might be caused by large-scale assemblies or processions (including the "Occupy Central" movement), with a view to safeguarding the personal safety of members of the public and their properties, as well as maintaining social order. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the criteria adopted by the authorities for determining the risk level of terrorist attacks for Hong Kong; the current risk level; whether they will re-assess the risk level of terrorist attacks for Hong Kong in light of the recent international situation; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether the authorities have regularly assessed if they have sufficient capability, manpower, experience and equipment to cope with potential terrorist attacks (such as bomb explosions or violent incidents at the Central Government Offices, the Hong Kong International Airport, the MTR or other public transport modes); if they have, of the details; (3) of the number of drills on handling terrorist attacks and major public safety incidents conducted by the authorities in the past five years, the government departments involved, the number of participants and the effectiveness of such drills; (4) whether there were intelligence exchanges between the Police and the mainland public security authorities in the past five years, so as to safeguard Hong Kong from terrorist attacks; if not, of the reasons for that; (5) whether the Police exchanged views with the People's Liberation Army Hong Kong Garrison in the past five years, on safeguarding Hong Kong's security and national security; if not, of the reasons for that; (6) as it was reported that a Hong Kong deputy to the National People's Congress ("NPC") had pointed out during a group discussion session at the 12th NPC that, in light of the terrorist attack that occurred recently in Kunming, it was necessary for Hong Kong to expeditiously enact legislation to implement Article 23 of the Basic Law for the purpose of maintaining the sovereignty and public safety, of the latest stance of the authorities on this issue, and whether they will conduct public consultation in this regard; if they will, when they will do so; if not, of the reasons for that; (7) of the respective numbers of public assemblies, demonstrations and public processions held in each of the past five years, the number of participants in such activities, the number of relevant complaints received, the number of cases of assaults on police officers related to these activities and the respective numbers of people arrested, convicted and injured (including police officers, participants of processions and passers-by); (8) of the circumstances which the Police, in the course of handling the activities mentioned in (7), will take into account when deciding the police manpower required to be deployed and determining whether it is necessary to deploy off-duty police officers and police officers from other police districts; the respective numbers of police officers that can be deployed from various police districts; (9) whether it has assessed the possibility of the trunk roads in Central being blocked for a prolonged period as a result of one of the actions of the "Occupy Central" movement; if the assessment outcome is that such a situation is very likely, of the expected scale of the action concerned (including the number of people participating in the demonstrations), the police manpower required to be deployed during the course of the action, and whether the Police have already commenced the formulation of the corresponding security arrangements; whether the Police have assessed if they have sufficient capability, manpower, experience and equipment to cope with the emergencies that may occur during the course of the action; if the assessment outcome is in the negative, of the reasons for that; and (10) whether it has assessed the impact of the trunk roads in Central being blocked for a prolonged period on the economy, traffic, tourism, social order and public safety; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*15. Hon CHEUNG Kwok-che to ask: (Translation)
According to the information of the Central Registry for Rehabilitation of the Labour and Welfare Bureau, the number of autistic persons has been increasing in the past 10-odd years. Some members of the public have relayed to me that the employment support received by autistic persons upon graduation is grossly inadequate, and the Selective Placement Division of the Labour Department ("LD") has failed to provide them with suitable employment services. Besides, quite a number of employers lack the knowledge about autistic employees and how to manage these employees. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of autistic adults in Hong Kong in each of the past three years, together with a breakdown by age group and education level; (2) of the respective numbers of autistic persons who (i) took the courses provided by the Skills Centres of the Vocational Training Council, (ii) received the vocational rehabilitation services of the Social Welfare Department, and (iii) received employment support services of LD, in each of the past three years; (3) of the respective numbers of (i) job vacancies provided, (ii) autistic persons seeking employment, (iii) autistic persons who succeeded in securing employment, (iv) employers who recruited persons with disabilities, and (v) days on average for which autistic persons were employed, through the Work Orientation and Placement Scheme of LD in each of the past three years; (4) of the respective vocational training and related services currently provided by the relevant government departments and statutory organizations to (i) autistic persons and (ii) those without other disabilities; whether it will review the effectiveness of these services; and (5) whether it will introduce new support services to assist autistic adults in securing employment; whether it will consider, by drawing reference from the relevant practices of the United Kingdom, formulating and issuing guidelines requesting front-line and management staff in public and private organizations to enhance their knowledge about autism and the support needed by autistic employees; if it will, of the details and implementation timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
*16. Dr Hon Elizabeth QUAT to ask: (Translation)
Some operators of small and medium enterprises ("SMEs") have relayed to me that the business environment in Hong Kong is deteriorating but Government's support for SMEs is insufficient, resulting in quite a number of start-up SMEs being unable to carry on their businesses for more than five years. These people have also pointed out that Government's policies and measures for encouraging the starting of businesses have no merit worth mentioning. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has compiled statistics on the respective numbers of start-up companies, those established for five to 10 years and those established for over 10 years, in each of the past 10 years (with a breakdown by industry), as well as the respective percentages of SMEs and other enterprises in such numbers; if it has, of the detailed figures; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether it has compiled statistics on the reasons for closure of local companies in the past 10 years; if it has, of the major reasons for closure (with a breakdown by industry) and for each reason, the percentage of companies the closure of which was related to it; if not, the reasons for that; (3) whether it has any policy and measure to improve the business environment for SMEs and help such companies sustain their businesses; if it does, set out in detail in a table the policies formulated and measures implemented for SMEs of different industries; if not, of the reasons for that; and (4) whether it has examined the implementation of measures for encouraging the starting of businesses, targeting at people of different age groups (in particular those who have reached retirement age but are rich in experience and still able to work) and at different industries, so as to promote economic development; if it has, of a breakdown of the relevant measures by age group and industry; if not, the reasons for that?
*17. Dr Hon Kenneth CHAN to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the pool of Associate Members of the Central Policy Unit ("CPU") was reorganized early this month, with its membership size being increased from 23 in last year to 31. Besides, two former Associate Members were not re-appointed. Regarding the appointment of Associate Members by CPU, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has set a limit on the number of Associate Members; if so, of the details; if not, the process of and criteria for determining the number of Associate Members; (2) of the tenure of Associate Members on each appointment and the restrictions on re-appointments; the respective number of years for which each incumbent Associate Member has been appointed consecutively; (3) of the criteria and procedures for determining the appointment and re-appointment of a particular Associate Member; the information (including the names and reasons for resignation or not making re-appointment) on those Associate Members who had resigned of their own accord, or had not been re-appointed, since the establishment of the Government of the current term; and (4) of the details of the honoraria or allowances for Associate Members at present; whether it will consider reviewing the mechanism for appointment of Associate Members and granting of allowances to them; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*18. Hon Charles Peter MOK to ask: (Translation)
The Hong Kong Mobile Television Network Limited ("HKMTV") recently planned to change the transmission standard of its mobile television services from China Mobile Multimedia Broadcasting ("CMMB") to Digital Terrestrial Multimedia Broadcasting ("DTMB"). It has been reported that the Office of the Communications Authority ("OFCA") sent a letter to HKMTV on 11 March, pointing out that the consequence of the change would render HKMTV's mobile television service available for reception by an audience of more than 5 000 specified premises in Hong Kong, and the company, therefore, was required to have a domestic free television programme service licence ("free TV licence") under the Broadcasting Ordinance (Cap. 562). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether a mobile television service provider is required to have a free TV licence if it provides mobile television service, received through mobile devices, to an audience of more than 5 000 specified premises; whether the existing legislation stipulates the upper limits on the number of viewers of mobile television services, as well as on the type and number of reception devices in the specified premises concerned; if so, of the details; (2) whether a mobile television service provider is required to have a free TV licence when an audience of more than 5 000 specified premises receives mobile television service through mobile devices and transmits the programmes to large displays (including but not limited to television screens) for viewing; if so, of the details; (3) whether the licensing requirements on mobile television services stipulate that the licensee must use CMMB to provide mobile television service; if so, of the details; whether it knows if HKMTV, during the period when it was owned by China Mobile Hong Kong Corporation Limited, provided mobile television service to an audience of more than 5 000 specified premises; if HKMTV did, whether the authorities have assessed if HKMTV had then violated the Broadcasting Ordinance; (4) whether it knows the justifications for OFCA stating that HKMTV must have a free TV licence before it may use DTMB to broadcast mobile television service; whether OFCA can set out clearly the transmission standards, other than CMMB, that HKMTV may use to provide mobile television service without a free TV licence; whether it has assessed if OFCA's remarks that HKMTV may not use DTMB to provide mobile television service have violated the authorities' technology-neutral principle; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (5) according to the Framework for Development of Broadcast-type Mobile Television Services in Hong Kong published by the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau in 2010, the authorities "adopt a market-led and technology-neutral approach by leaving the market to select the technical standards for broadcast-type mobile television services", and the Bureau also pointed out that "[r]egarding the regulation of mobile television programming, the content of mobile television, either local broadcast-type or streaming-type, should be subject to regulation by general laws but not the Broadcasting Ordinance. To enable self-regulation, the industry will be required to develop codes of practice on provision of mobile television services before service commencement. The codes should include, among others, the requirement of conditional access with a view to protecting public morals and children", whether the aforesaid stance of the authorities has been changed; if so, of the details and the reasons for that; (6) whether it knows if the reason for OFCA sending the letter to HKMTV was that OFCA received a relevant complaint, or was taking regulatory actions under the Broadcasting Ordinance, or was responding to the company's enquiries concerning transmission standards; whether OFCA has taken relevant legal actions after sending the letter; if OFCA has, of the details; and (7) given that the authorities have indicated that they will conduct a review of the existing regulatory regime and amend the legislation in order to update and rationalize the Telecommunications Ordinance (Cap. 106) and the Broadcasting Ordinance, of the specific timetable of the authorities for amending the relevant legislation?
*19. Hon LEUNG Kwok-hung to ask: (Translation)
Quite a number of inmates and their family members, discharged inmates and their employers, as well as social workers helping discharged inmates have complained to me that the Correctional Services Department ("CSD") attaches no importance to the educational and vocational training needs of inmates, and has not provided inmates with sufficient tutorial classes, study rooms, vocational training programmes and related computer equipment in correctional institutions, as well as study time. They have also pointed out that while the Government has, through the media, continuously called for employers to offer rehabilitation opportunities to discharged inmates, it has all along failed to proactively increase the employment opportunities for discharged inmates. For instance, even if discharged inmates had met the academic requirements and passed the related qualifying examinations of certain professions when they were in the correctional institutions, they will not be able to obtain practising qualifications owing to their criminal records. Moreover, their applications for government jobs and security personnel permits have also been rejected. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of inmates who sat for the Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination ("HKCEE") (up to 2011), Hong Kong Advanced Level Examination ("HKALE") (up to 2013) and Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination ("HKDSEE"), and the respective numbers of those inmates who enrolled in the programmes offered by the Open University of Hong Kong ("OUHK") and overseas universities, as well as the numbers of study rooms and teachers, in each correctional institution in each of the past five years (set out according to the table below);
YearCorrectional institution Number of persons who sat for/enrolled in Number of study rooms Number of teachers HKCEE HKALE HKDSEE OUHK Overseas universities Pik Uk Correctional Institution Lai King Correctional Institution Cape Collinson Correctional Institution Lai Sun Correctional Institution Hei Ling Chau Addiction Treatment Centre Hei Ling Chau Correctional Institution Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre Lai Chi Rehabilitation Centre Lo Wu Correctional Institution Ma Hang Prison Nei Kwu Correctional Institution Pak Sha Wan Correctional Institution Pik Uk Prison Sha Tsui Correctional Institution Shek Pik Prison Siu Lam Psychiatric Centre Stanley Prison Tai Lam Centre for Women Tong Fuk Correctional Institution Tung Tau Correctional Institution Wai Lan Rehabilitation Centre Chi Lan Rehabilitation Centre Lai Hang Rehabilitation Centre Tai Lam Correctional Institution
(2) whether study rooms and tutorial classes for guiding inmates' studies are currently provided in each of those correctional institutions for young inmates aged between 14 and 20; if so, of the respective numbers of inmates who took half-day and whole-day tutorial classes last year in each of such institutions; if not, whether the Government will provide additional study rooms and tutorial classes to help the inmates prepare for examinations; (3) whether study rooms and tutorial classes for guiding inmates' studies are currently provided in each of those correctional institutions for adult inmates aged 21 or above; if so, of the respective numbers of inmates who took half-day and whole-day tutorial classes last year in each of such institutions; if not, whether the Government will provide additional study rooms and tutorial classes to help the inmates prepare for examinations; if it will, when this will be implemented; (4) whether various correctional institutions currently provide training courses on Internet application to inmates and related computer equipment for use by them; if so, of the respective numbers of inmates who received such training and those who used such equipment in the past five years; whether it has assessed if the vocational training programmes and computer equipment currently provided in various correctional institutions have become outdated, and if the importance of the skills on Internet application to the discharged inmates' success in finding jobs has been underrated; if the assessment outcome is in the affirmative, when the Government will provide such additional training programmes and equipment; (5) of the respective numbers of discharged inmates who were recruited by the Government with, and those without, the assistance of the Rehabilitation Unit ("RU") of CSD, and the government departments which recruited them, in the past five years; if no discharged inmate was recruited, whether it has assessed if the civil service recruitment policy is consistent with the Government's appeal to employers for offering rehabilitation opportunities to discharged inmates; (6) whether the existing civil service recruitment policy accords equal treatment to persons with and those without criminal records; if so, whether various government departments have plans to recruit discharged inmates through RU in the coming year, so as to take the lead; (7) whether it will allow discharged inmates with criminal records to apply for security personnel permits, so as to facilitate them in taking up security work; if so, when this will be implemented; if not, of the reasons for that, and whether it has assessed if the Government is taking the lead in discriminating against discharged inmates; (8) whether the Government discussed with various professional bodies (e.g. the Hong Kong Medical Association, the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants, The Law Society of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Bar Association and the Nursing Council of Hong Kong) in the past five years on making amendments to the legislation on the registration of various professions, so that persons with and those without criminal records will be accorded equal treatment; if it did, of the details; if not, whether it has assessed if the Government is condoning discrimination against discharged inmates undertaking professional work; and (9) whether the Government will make amendments to the legislation on the registration of various professions in the coming year, so that persons with and those without criminal records will be accorded equal treatment; if so, when this will be taken forward; if not, of the reasons for that, and whether the Government has turned a blind eye to the employment needs of discharged inmates who studied diligently and are determined to live a new life?
*20. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)
According to the latest information released by the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the consumer price index in February this year rose by 2% year-on-year, which hit a record low in 13 months. While food prices rose by 2.7%, the price of pork dropped drastically by 8.7%. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the changes in the average import prices and retail prices in last year of various types of food items (including meats, vegetables and canned food, etc.) imported from the Mainland, and whether the changes in such prices were in tandem with the trend of the commodity prices on the Mainland; and (2) for each month of last year in respect of fresh and chilled pork imported from the Mainland, of (i) the average wholesale, import and retail prices, as well as the changes in such prices, (ii) the differences between the retail prices, and (iii) whether the changes in retail prices were in tandem with those of wholesale prices; if they were not, of the reasons for that?
*21. Hon Kenneth LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
The Government set up the Working Group on Long-Term Fiscal Planning ("the Working Group") in June last year to explore ways to make more comprehensive planning for Hong Kong's public finances to cope with the ageing population and the Government's other long-term financial commitments. The Working Group has completed a fiscal sustainability appraisal on the public finances of Hong Kong and released its report on 3 March this year, explaining in detail the future challenges that Hong Kong will face in public finances and the relevant recommendations. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that the Chief Executive ("CE") indicated during the press conference on the 2014 Policy Address that he had confidence that the Government could afford the increased expenditure this year, and was determined to make good use of public money, but the Financial Secretary ("FS") pointed out in his speech on the Motion of Thanks on the Policy Address at the Council meeting of 12 February this year that the Government was obliged to uphold the principle of "keeping expenditure within the limits of revenue" to avoid the structural fiscal deficit caused when the rate of spending continued to expand beyond the growth in revenue, and there are views that the aforesaid remarks show that the respective principles adopted by CE and FS in managing public finances are inconsistent, of the concepts and principles adopted by the Government in drawing up its budget; (2) as the Working Group suggested in its report that public expenditure should be strictly contained at 20% of the gross domestic product in future, of the Government's stance on the suggestion, and whether it will take on board the suggestion; (3) as the Working Group pointed out in its report that the Government was increasingly reliant on direct tax revenue, and the contribution from indirect tax to the total government revenue had dropped, of the Government's counter-measures in this regard; whether the Government has plans to increase the contribution from indirect tax to the total government revenue; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (4) as the Working Group suggested in its report that the cost recovery rates for various government services should be raised in order to strictly follow the principles of "cost recovery", "user pays" and "polluter pays", of the target cost recovery rates for various government services at present; the total number of paid services provided by the Government, and set out in the table below a breakdown by different cost recovery rates; and Cost recovery rate (against the price level in 2014-2015) Number of government services 90% to 100% 80% to 89% 70% to 79% 60% to 69% 50% to 59% 40% to 49% 30% to 39% 20% to 29% 10% to 19% 0% to 9%
(5) of the following information (to be set out in table form) in relation to each of the government services with their cost recovery rates lower than 30%: (i) fee type, (ii) government department providing the service, (iii) date of last fee adjustment, (iv) current fee level, (v) cost recovery rate (against the price level in 2014-2015), and (vi) whether there are plans to adjust the fee level (if so, of the new fee levels proposed, the amount and extent of the increase, as well as the cost recovery rate after the implementation of the new fee level)?
*22. Hon WU Chi-wai to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that in recent years, quite a number of people have, without authorization, illegally built residential structures on government lands or private lands zoned for agricultural or open storage uses, or placed containers on these sites and converted them into container houses for residential use ("illegal housing"). Some local people have relayed to me that such cases have not been handled effectively due to the unclear delineation and shirking of responsibilities among the various law enforcement departments (including the Lands Department ("LandsD"), Planning Department ("PlanD") and Buildings Department ("BD")) involved. It is learnt that the final outcome of handling of most of the cases was that LandsD merely registered the removal orders as encumbrances in the relevant land ownership history at the Land Registry (commonly known as "imposing an encumbrance"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of complaints about illegal housing on private lands found to be substantiated by LandsD, PlanD and BD in each of the past five years, together with the numbers of cases in which the persons involved were prosecuted and convicted as well as the details of such cases, and set out a breakdown by District Council district in tables of the same format as the following table;
Name of government department: LandsD/PlanD/BDDistrict Council district Year No. of complaints found to be substantiated No. and details of the cases in which the persons involved were prosecuted and convicted … … … … … … … … … … … …
(2) of the number of removal orders issued by BD under the Buildings Ordinance (Cap. 123) for illegal housing on private lands in the past five years; the respective numbers of such orders which were and which were not complied with upon expiry of the specified periods; the follow-up actions taken by the authorities against landowners or occupants who had not complied with the removal orders; (3) of the number of occasions on which LandsD imposed encumbrances against illegal housing on private lands in the past five years; whether LandsD has reviewed the effectiveness of imposition of encumbrances, and referred such cases to BD for follow-up; if it has, of the number of cases so referred each year; (4) whether it has uncovered any case in the past five years about container houses built on government lands and on lands granted on short-term tenancies by the Government; if it has, of the details; (5) given that some container houses were erected on private agricultural lands held under Block Government Leases but the landowners concerned claimed that the containers were for storage and non-residential purposes so as to circumvent regulation, whether it has assessed the impact of the court judgments of the two cases in the 1980s (namely Attorney General v Melhado Investment Ltd. [1983] HKLR 327 and Winfat Enterprise (HK) Co. Ltd. v Attorney General [1988] HKCU 261) on the regulation of private lands in the New Territories for agricultural use; if it has, of the details, and whether it will amend the relevant legislation; and (6) whether the Development Bureau will, in collaboration with the government departments concerned, review the effectiveness of the relevant legislation in curbing the aforesaid illegal activities; if it will, of the details?
* For written reply
III. Bills
| First Reading | |||
| 1. | Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Bill
| ||
| 2. | Employment (Amendment) Bill 2014
| ||
| 3. | Pharmacy and Poisons (Amendment) Bill 2014
| ||
| Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)
| |||
| 1. | Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Bill | : | The Secretary for Justice
|
| 2. | Employment (Amendment) Bill 2014 | : | Secretary for Labour and Welfare
|
| 3. | Pharmacy and Poisons (Amendment) Bill 2014 | : | Secretary for Food and Health
|
| Second Reading (Debate to resume), Committee Stage and Third Reading
| |||
| 1. | Rural Representative Election Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2013 | : | Secretary for Home Affairs
|
| Secretary for Home Affairs and Hon Albert HO to move
Committee stage amendments (The amendments were issued on 18 March 2014 under LC Paper No. CB(3)498/13-14) | |||
| (Debate and voting arrangements for Committee stage amendments to the Rural Representative Election Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2013 (issued on 25 March 2014 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 522/13-14))
| |||
| 2. | Securities and Futures (Amendment) Bill 2013 | : | Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
|
| Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury to move
Committee stage amendments (The amendments were issued on 20 March 2014 under LC Paper No. CB(3)503/13-14) | |||
| (Debate and voting arrangements for Committee stage amendments to the Securities and Futures (Amendment) Bill 2013 (issued on 25 March 2014 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 522/13-14))
| |||
| 3. | Loans (Amendment) Bill 2014 | : | Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury |
IV. Motion
| Proposed resolution under the Motor Vehicles (First Registration Tax) Ordinance
Secretary for the Environment to move the motion in the Appendix. |
| (The motion was also issued on 14 March 2014
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 476/13-14) |
| Amendment to the proposed resolution
Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG to move the following amendment: Resolved that the motion to be moved by the Secretary for the Environment under section 5(4) of the Motor Vehicles (First Registration Tax) Ordinance (Cap. 330) at the Legislative Council meeting of 26 March 2014 be amended in the Schedule by deleting "2017" and substituting "2015". |