A 13/14-34
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 2 July 2014 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers
Other Papers
| 1. | No. 110 | - | Prisoners' Welfare Fund
Report by the Commissioner of Correctional Services on the administration of the Fund for the year ended 31 March 2014 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Security) | |||
| 2. | No. 111 | - | Hong Kong Trade Development Council
Annual Report 2013/14 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development) | |||
| 3. | No. 112 | - | The Standing Committee on Legal Education and Training Annual Report 2013
1 January 2013 to 31 December 2013 |
| (to be presented by the Secretary for Justice) | |||
| 4. | No. 113 | - | Sir David Trench Fund for Recreation
Annual Report 2013-2014 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Home Affairs) | |||
| 5. | No. 114 | - | Hong Kong Export Credit Insurance Corporation
Annual Report 2013-14 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development) | |||
| 6. | No. 115 | - | Construction Industry Council
Annual Report 2013 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Development) | |||
| 7. | No. 116 | - | Annual Report of The Ombudsman 2014 |
| (to be presented by the Chief Secretary for Administration) | |||
| 8. | No. 117 | - | Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Independent Commission Against Corruption Annual Report 2013 |
| (to be presented by Hon Andrew LEUNG, member of the Advisory Committee on Corruption of the Independent Commission Against Corruption, who will address the Council) | |||
| 9. | No. 118 | - | Independent Commission Against Corruption
Complaints Committee Annual Report 2013 |
| (to be presented by Hon Jeffrey LAM, member of the Committee, who will address the Council) | |||
| 10. | Report No. 21/13-14 of the House Committee on Consideration of Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments | ||
| (to be presented by Hon Andrew LEUNG, Chairman of the House Committee) | |||
| 11. | Report of the Bills Committee on Electoral Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2014 | ||
| (to be presented by Hon IP Kwok-him, Chairman of the Bills Committee) | |||
| 12. | Report of the Panel on Home Affairs 2013-2014 | ||
| (to be presented by Hon MA Fung-kwok, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council) | |||
| 13. | Report of the Panel on Security 2013-2014 | ||
| (to be presented by Hon IP Kwok-him, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council) | |||
| 14. | Report of the Panel on Constitutional Affairs 2013-2014 | ||
| (to be presented by Hon TAM Yiu-chung, Chairman of the Panel, who will address the Council) | |||
II. Questions
1. Hon Vincent FANG to ask: (Translation)
The Medical Council of Hong Kong ("MCHK") has recently been criticized for its tardiness in handling medical complaints. There are also public criticisms that although it was founded to assure quality in the medical profession for protection of patients and foster ethical conduct of medical practitioners, MCHK acts like a trade union aiming to protect the interests of members of the profession. As such, there have been increasing calls for a comprehensive reform of MCHK. It is learnt that, some years ago, MCHK submitted a reform proposal to the Government, which included increasing the proportion of lay members with a view to enhancing its independence, but the proposal ended up with nothing definite. Recently, MCHK has submitted a proposal to reform itself to the authorities. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the main contents of the reform proposal submitted by MCHK recently to the authorities; apart from the proposed increase in the number of lay assessors, whether the reform proposal contains any suggestion for the adoption of a composition with equal numbers of medical members and lay members, similar to that of the General Medical Council in the United Kingdom; if it does not, whether it knows the reasons for that; (2) given that, notwithstanding the increase by MCHK of the number of licensing examinations for medical practitioners from once a year to twice a year, the Medical Registration Ordinance stipulates that the validity period of a limited registration must not exceed one year, whether the Government will introduce legislative amendments to relax such provision and urge MCHK to grant registration with a longer validity period; if it will not, of the reasons for that; and given that overseas medical practitioners are employed by the Hospital Authority under one-year contracts only, of the authorities' plan to attract overseas medical practitioners, in particular those with international reputation, to practise in Hong Kong under limited registration; and (3) of the amount of resources provided by the Government to MCHK annually; given that MCHK will need additional manpower and other resources in order to enhance its operational efficiency and transparency, thereby upgrading its standard of professional regulation, whether the Government has any plan to provide additional resources to MCHK; if it does, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
2. Hon Jeffrey LAM to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that at a meeting of the Commission on Strategic Development held last month, the Chief Executive raised the issue of reducing the number of mainland people visiting Hong Kong under the Individual Visit Scheme ("IVS visitors") to seek the views of Commission members. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) according to the studies conducted by the authorities, of the feasible ways to control the number of visitors to Hong Kong and the relevant details; (2) whether it has assessed in detail the impacts of a reduction in the number of IVS visitors by 10% to 30% on Hong Kong's economy and people's livelihood; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) given that the number of visitors to Hong Kong during this year's Labour Day Golden Week holidays has dropped as compared to that in the same period last year, and some members of the tourism industry have pointed out that there has been a downward trend in the spending power of visitors to Hong Kong in recent months, whether the authorities will, in response to these latest developments, revise its forecast on the number of visitors to Hong Kong and the contribution of IVS visitors to Hong Kong's economy for this year?
3. Hon Michael TIEN to ask with Hon Mrs Regina IP's consent: (Translation)
The Hong Kong Fire Services Department Ambulancemen's Union ("the Union") has relayed to me that the frontline ambulancemen have a meal break of thirty minutes only, which is often interrupted by service calls. If ambulancemen are called out during the designated meal break periods before they have taken a continuous 30-minute meal break, they may be compensated with another 30-minute meal break afterwards ("compensatory meal break"). However, to ensure that the provision of service will not be affected, the Fire Services Department ("FSD") has set quotas for two periods of time, i.e. from 1 pm to 2 pm and 3 am to 4:30 am, to restrict the number of ambulancemen taking compensatory meal breaks during these periods. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that at present, some ambulancemen may have meal breaks within the designated three-hour period, of the operational details of such an arrangement, including ways to ensure that the meal breaks of ambulancemen will not be interrupted by service calls; (2) as some ambulancemen have pointed out that the present quotas for compensatory meal breaks are inadequate, with the result that some ambulancemen need to unduly defer their meal breaks or even give up applying for compensatory meal breaks, and such a situation will deal a blow to the morale of ambulancemen and jeopardize their health in the long run, whether FSD will make improvements to the arrangements for compensatory meal breaks; if it will, of its specific proposals; and (3) whether it will consider increasing the number of ambulance depots and ambulancemen manpower in those operational regions with higher turnout rates, in order to improve the situations that meal breaks of ambulancemen are often interrupted and the quotas for compensatory meal breaks are insufficient; whether the Government will consider the proposal put forward by the Union of setting up a round-the-clock on-call special support team in each operational region, so that there will be additional resources of ambulances and ambulancemen to cope with the service demand when certain ambulance depot is unable to deal with the emergency calls within its service area; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
4. Hon CHAN Yuen-han to ask: (Translation)
Under the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Ordinance, an employer may use the accrued benefits derived from his contributions to a Mandatory Provident Fund ("MPF") scheme for an employee to offset the severance payments or long service payments payable to that employee under the Employment Ordinance ("the offsetting arrangement"). The Chief Executive pledged in his election manifesto that "we will adopt measures to progressively reduce the proportion of accrued benefits attributed to employer's contribution in the MPF account that can be applied by the employer to offset long-service or severance payments". In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as the Chief Executive indicated at the Question and Answer Session on 22 May that the Government could not initiate any legislative amendment exercise before the community had reached a consensus on the abolition of the offsetting arrangement, whether it has assessed if this reflects that the Chief Executive has no intention to fulfil his election pledge to initiate work on the abolition of the offsetting arrangement within his current term; (2) whether it will take the lead to cease incorporating the offsetting arrangement into the terms of employment of non-civil service contract staff, and require that the contracts made between government outsourced service contractors and their employees must not include the offsetting arrangement; and, at the same time, establish dedicated funds for reimbursement of expenses on making, on the premise of not offsetting MPF contributions, severance payments and long service payments to the assistants and other staff members of Members; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether it will establish an inter-departmental joint working group dedicated to handling and studying issues in relation to the abolition of the offsetting arrangement, and formulate a legislative timetable concerned, with a view to completing the legislative work on the abolition of the offsetting arrangement within the current term of the Government; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
| Public Officers to reply | : | Secretary for Labour and Welfare
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury |
5. Dr Hon LEUNG Ka-lau to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that Orthokeratology lenses, commonly known as Ortho-Ks, work to reduce myopia on the principle that they exert pressure directly on the corneas, thus changing the corneal curvature, and Ortho-K must be worn continually during sleep for the effect to last. Some optometrists have prescribed Ortho-K for children, claiming that such lens can slow down the progression of myopia. Recently, The Chinese University of Hong Kong published the findings of a research, which pointed out that the risk of contracting microbial keratitis for children using Ortho-K is five times higher than that for ordinary people. The researchers analyzed 18 cases of in-patient children diagnosed with microbial keratitis in the Prince of Wales Hospital in the past 10 years, and found that 83% of the cases were related to the use of contact lenses, while 38% involved the use of Ortho-K. In addition, there were 23 cases in the past decade of children being admitted to the Hong Kong Eye Hospital for treatment of serious microbial keratitis caused by the use of Ortho-K. After treatment, all the patients concerned suffered from irreversible visual impairment and could restore only 70% of their eyesight on average, while the severe cases had even resulted in blindness. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows, in each of the past three years, the number of minors who used Ortho-K, as well as the number of cases in which patients suffering from microbial keratitis sought treatment from public ophthalmology specialist outpatient clinics or were admitted to public hospitals, with a tabulated breakdown by whether the patients were adults and the cause of infection (e.g. use of ordinary contact lenses, Ortho-K or other causes); if it does not know, whether it will conduct a survey in this regard; (2) under the existing legislation, whether Ortho-K is an optical appliance and whether optometrists may prescribe or provide Ortho-K; if they may, of the provisions concerned; and (3) given the health risks associated with Ortho-K, whether the authorities have corresponding measures; if they do, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
6. Hon CHAN Hak-kan to ask: (Translation)
Some schools and parents of students have relayed to me that the short supply of school bus services and the discouraging responses to the tendering exercises for such services in recent years, coupled with a surge in the charges for school bus services, have caused inconveniences to schools and parents. In addition, more and more non-franchised public buses ("NFBs") with student service endorsements no longer provide school bus services, and instead provide passenger services for visitors, which generates more income. As the results of the central allocation of Primary One places this year show that the ratio of students being allocated places in the schools among their first three choices is the lowest in 12 years, more school children will cross districts to attend school in the next school year, thus boosting the demand for school bus services. Meanwhile, quite a number of school bus service operators have relayed that the profits generated from school bus services are meager, because they not only have to pay high licence fees, but also need to meet various expenses, such as salaries for escorts, insurance premiums and maintenance fees, etc. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of new student service endorsements issued by the authorities in the past three years; whether it knows the current number of NFBs providing school bus services and the current number of school children using the services of school buses or school private light buses; whether it has assessed the adequacy of school bus services to meet demand currently and in the next school year; (2) whether it will establish a mechanism to regulate the annual rate of increase in the charges for school bus services, e.g. imposing a cap on the rate of increase; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; as some parents have indicated that they cannot afford the high charges of school bus services, whether the Government will provide additional travel subsidy to school children in need; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) as some parents have pointed out that more NFBs are expected to switch to provide passenger services for cross-boundary visitors upon the commissioning of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, how the Government ensures adequate school bus services to meet the demand; whether it has enhanced its communication with the NFB sector; whether it will consider lowering the relevant licence fees; and whether it will relax the conditions for the application for the endorsements concerned, e.g. the validity period required of the school bus service contract which must be produced on application, so as to attract more NFBs to join in the provision of school bus services?
*7. Hon CHUNG Kwok-pan to ask: (Translation)
Some members of the public have relayed to me that parallel trading activities have caused nuisance to the daily lives of Hong Kong residents, with the situation being the most acute in the North District. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has compiled statistics, for each of the past 24 months, on (i) the number of mainland people, who were suspected to be engaged in parallel trading activities, subjected to immigration examination by the authorities, (ii) the number of mainland people, who were suspected to be engaged in parallel trading activities, refused entry by the authorities, and (iii) the number of people, among the suspected parallel traders who were refused entry, trying to enter Hong Kong on the One-year Multiple-entry Individual Visit Scheme Endorsements (i.e. multiple-entry permits); (2) of the major types of goods involved in parallel trading activities; and (3) whether the authorities have reviewed the effectiveness of various measures taken since 2012 to combat parallel trading activities, and whether they will further step up efforts to combat parallel trading activities; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*8. Hon Michael TIEN to ask: (Translation)
The Government established the Steering Committee on Review of Regulation of Private Healthcare Facilities ("Steering Committee") in October 2012, and set up the Working Group on Differentiation between Medical Procedures and Beauty Services ("Working Group") under the Steering Committee to differentiate between medical treatments and ordinary beauty services as well as to make recommendations on the regulatory approach. The Working Group has recommended to stipulate that only healthcare professionals may operate energy-emitting devices, some of which involve 15 cosmetic procedures. However, the beauty industry does not concur with such a recommendation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the detailed justifications for the authorities' inclination to define all energy-emitting devices (e.g. laser and intense pulsed light equipment) as medical devices under the new regulatory regime; (2) whether the authorities will consider allowing beauty practitioners who have received appropriate training and obtained relevant qualifications to operate energy-emitting devices under the new regulatory regime; (3) whether it will adopt the Working Group's recommendation to set up an expert panel under the new regulatory regime to advise on the risk levels of, and the appropriate control over, the application of innovative devices for new cosmetic procedures; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) given that the authorities have proposed to set up, under the new regulatory regime, an advisory committee comprising members from relevant stakeholder groups to advise the Department of Health on the classification of medical devices and issues relating to the implementation and administration of the future legislation, whether the authorities will undertake that members of that committee will include representatives of the beauty industry; if they will make such an undertaking, of the respective proportions of various types of stakeholders (e.g. the beauty industry, medical practitioners and the academia) in the composition of that committee?
*9. Hon YIU Si-wing to ask: (Translation)
It has been learnt that parallel trading activities have caused nuisance to the daily lives of residents in the North District, and that parallel traders make multiple trips to and from Hong Kong on a day. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has surveyed the respective daily average numbers of adult mainland people and Hong Kong residents who entered and departed Hong Kong twice as well as thrice or more within the same day (a round trip being counted as once) in the past five years, as well as their respective percentages in the total numbers, with the figures to be set out in the table below; if it has not conducted any survey, of the reasons for that;
Year Type of cross-boundary travellers Entering and departing Hong Kong twice within the same day Entering and departing Hong Kong thrice or more within the same day Average daily number Percentage in the total number Average daily number Percentage in the total number 2010 Mainland people Hong Kong residents Total 2011 Mainland people Hong Kong residents Total 2012 Mainland people Hong Kong residents Total 2013 Mainland people Hong Kong residents Total 2014 Mainland people Hong Kong residents Total (2) whether it has investigated the purposes of the persons mentioned in (1) in making trips to Hong Kong; if it has, of the details, including the percentage of parallel traders among such persons; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether it has any new measures to further combat parallel trading activities; if it does, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*10. Hon SIN Chung-kai to ask: (Translation)
Gibberellic acids, a plant growth regulator, is a pesticide registered under the Pesticides Ordinance (Cap. 133). However, a group of farmers have recently relayed to me that the pesticide is highly toxic. They have also claimed that Tai Lung Experimental Station of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department ("AFCD") taught farmers to use Gibberellic acids in growing strawberries, which AFCD has denied, adding that the pesticide has very low toxicity to mammals. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows if the European Union or other countries have prohibited the use of Gibberellic acids; if they have done so, of the details and the reasons for the Government not following the practices of those countries; and (2) whether it has made guidelines to teach farmers the proper and safe use of plant growth regulators (including the appropriate quantities to be applied); if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*11. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)
Recently, some flat owners of a housing court undergoing major maintenance works were dissatisfied with the exorbitant costs of such works, and they suspected that someone had secured the maintenance works contracts by means of bid-rigging so as to earn excessive profits. Hence, they participated in a campaign "against bid-rigging" in building maintenance but received letters afterwards threatening the safety of their families. On another front, paragraph 1(2) of Schedule 3 to the Building Management Ordinance (Cap.344) ("the Ordinance") provides that "[t]he chairman of the management committee shall convene a general meeting of the [owners'] corporation at the request of not less than 5% of the owners for the purposes specified by such owners within 14 days of receiving such request, and hold the general meeting within 45 days of receiving such request". I have learnt that after securing the consent of 5% of the owners, some owners of a housing court requested the chairman of the management committee ("MC") of the owners' corporation ("OC") of the housing court to convene a general meeting in accordance with the aforesaid provision to give an account of the maintenance works for that housing court. However, the MC chairman concerned subsequently resigned, and the MC refused to appoint a new chairman. As a result, no general meeting can be convened since then. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the new measures to effectively combat bid-rigging in building maintenance works, and the ways to protect the personal safety of owners who have raised queries on the maintenance works; (2) given that even at the request of not less than 5% of the owners, no general meeting can be convened as long as the office of the MC chairman is vacant, whether it has assessed if there is any loophole in the Ordinance; if the assessment outcome is in the affirmative, whether the Government will amend the Ordinance shortly to plug the loopholes; and (3) whether it has examined if the MC in the second aforesaid case has discharged the duties of an OC under section 18 of the Ordinance in good faith and in a reasonable manner; if the assessment outcome is in the negative, whether the Authority will order under section 40B of the Ordinance the MC to appoint, within a specified reasonable period, a building management agent for the purposes of managing the housing court?
*12. Hon NG Leung-sing to ask: (Translation)
The Financial System Stability Assessment report released by the International Monetary Fund ("IMF") on 22 May this year has pointed out that while Hong Kong's financial system is resilient, it also faces a number of major risks: the anticipated exit from unconventional monetary policy in the United States can increase capital market volatility and reduce system-wide liquidity; any correction of property prices, which now stand at historical highs, poses risks for both borrowers and banks; the increasing economic and financial integration between Hong Kong and the Mainland offers considerable expansion opportunities for businesses, but at the same time generates significant spillover risks, especially if there is any significant financial disruption or economic slowdown on the Mainland. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the authorities have conducted any assessment on the major risks pointed out by IMF; if they have, of the assessment results; if not, the reasons for that; (2) of the precautionary and forward-looking measures the authorities will take in respect of such major risks to enhance the resilience of Hong Kong's financial system; and (3) whether the authorities have plans to take a new round of counter-cyclical prudential and fiscal measures in the light of the existing market situations; if they do, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*13. Hon Claudia MO to ask: (Translation)
Aquilaria sinensis ("incense tree") is an endangered plant species protected under the Protection of Endangered Species of Animals and Plants Ordinance (Cap. 586). Incense tree is said to be the origin of the name "Hong Kong" (which means "fragrant port"), but some green groups have alleged that over the years, the Government has not endeavoured to protect incense trees, a symbol of Hong Kong. For instance, while 168 incense trees were illegally felled in Hong Kong last year, 219 have already been felled illegally in the first five months of this year, and the situation is deteriorating. They have pointed out that if the Government continues to ignore this problem, it is very likely that incense trees will become extinct in a few years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that at a meeting with some incense tree concern groups and myself on 3 June this year, officials of the Environment Bureau undertook that they would consider studying the inclusion of incense tree in the Forestry Regulation (Cap. 96 sub. leg. A) to prohibit any person from selling, offering for sale, or having in his possession or under his custody or control incense trees or any portion of it, whether the authorities have initiated any follow-up action in this regard; if they have, of the details, and whether they have set a legislative timetable; if they have no follow-up action, the reasons for that, and when the legislative exercise is expected to commence; (2) as it has been reported that most of the people engaged in illegal tree-felling activities came from the Mainland, and the hewing tools in their possession, e.g. axes and electric saws, could be used as weapons which posed threats to the personal safety of Hong Kong people, whether the Police have investigated if such tree-felling activities were organized by crime syndicates; if they have, of the details; if not, when they will commence such investigation; (3) of the details of the authorities' patrols in forests at present, and list by location of forest the responsible government departments, the number of patrol staff and the frequency of such patrols; whether the authorities will step up law enforcement actions to protect incense trees, such as stepping up patrols or fencing off lands planted with incense trees; (4) as some green groups have relayed that many incense trees in Tai Po Kau Nature Reserve have been felled in recent years, whether the authorities will step up patrols in that Reserve; (5) of the number and details of cases of smuggling of incense trees which were intercepted by the Police and the Customs and Excise Department in the past three years; whether it has plans to step up efforts in combating the smuggling of incense trees; (6) of the numbers of reports received and prosecutions instituted by the authorities in each of the past five years in respect of illegal felling of protected trees (with a breakdown by species and age of tree); the punishment imposed on the convicted persons in general, with a breakdown of the number of such persons by their nationality; and (7) as some green groups have pointed out that the Taiwanese Government has installed infrared detection systems in nature reserves to curb illegal tree-felling in order to protect precious trees in the territory, whether the authorities will adopt a similar practice to protect the incense trees in Hong Kong?
*14. Hon Abraham SHEK to ask: (Translation)
The Government established the Continuing Education Fund ("CEF") in 2002 to encourage the local labour force to equip themselves in coping with the globalized and knowledge-based economic development, and to create opportunities for young people to move up the social ladder. There are views that while continuing education will facilitate personal development to a certain extent, some members of the public have, for various reasons (e.g. high tuition fees) chosen not to pursue further studies. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of applicants granted subsidies by CEF in the past five years, together with a breakdown by qualifications to be obtained by applicants upon completion of the reimbursable courses; (2) of the respective numbers of applicants and cases granted subsidies since the establishment of CEF, together with a breakdown by age group (e.g. 18 to 30, 31 to 50 and 51 to 65 years of age) to which the applicant belonged and gender of the applicant; whether it has assessed the number of applicants whom CEF can subsidize with its current balance; if so, of the details; (3) notwithstanding the Financial Secretary's indication that CEF should not be considered as a standing measure in the long run, but that the economic environment has changed and is moving towards diversification, whether the authorities will consider injecting additional funds into CEF; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (4) as it has been reported that the tuition fees for some courses run by self-financing post-secondary institutions increased by as high as 25% in the 2013-2014 academic year, but the ceiling of subsidies at $10,000 in total for each applicant has remained unchanged since the establishment of CEF, whether the authorities will raise the ceiling of subsidies, so as to alleviate the financial burden of the applicants; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; whether there are measures in place to encourage private institutions to formulate policies of subsidizing their employees to pursue further studies or participate in training programmes; if there are measures, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (5) given that the consultation paper on population policy released by the Government in 2013 has pointed out that the construction industry, retail and catering industries, and care service sector, are facing labour shortage, how many courses currently on the list of reimbursable courses are associated with such industries, and how many people have been granted subsidies to enrol in such courses by CEF since its establishment; whether it has compiled statistics on the number of persons who changed jobs in the past three years to work in such industries within one year after completion of the relevant courses; whether it has plans to incorporate more courses associated with such industries into the list of reimbursable courses, so as to encourage more people to join such industries, thereby alleviating the labour shortage?
*15. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)
It is learnt that two sites at Hoi Fai Road and Hoi Fan Road in Olympic have been zoned "Open space" for years. The Leisure and Cultural Services Department ("LCSD") has planned to develop parks on the two sites, but the related works have yet to commence. Regarding "Open space" sites, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the latest progress of the works projects in relation to the aforesaid two sites; when the authorities intend to submit the relevant funding proposals to the Finance Committee of this Council and when the works are expected to commence and complete; (2) as I have learned that works on the Hoi Fan Road site cannot commence because LCSD has not received the layout plan from the Architectural Services Department, of the number of similar cases at the moment; (3) of the current number of "Open space" sites in Hong Kong the end-use of which has been confirmed but the related works have yet to commence; the lot number, area, the end-use, the number of years lapsed since the decision on the land use was made and the reasons for not commencing the related works, set out in a table; (4) among the sites in (3), of the number of those to be used as a park in the end; among such sites, the number of those which have been handed over to LCSD; the respective lot numbers and handover dates of such park sites, set out in a table; (5) whether LCSD has drawn up any performance pledge on the period of time within which it must complete the works after possession of sites for park development; if it has, of the details; if not, whether it has considered drawing up such performance pledge; (6) whether it has plans to change the land use of some park sites on which the works have yet to commence; if it does, set out the details in a table; and (7) of the number of sites rezoned from "Open space" to other uses in the past three years, and set out the respective lot numbers and new planned uses of these sites in a table?
*16. Hon LEUNG Che-cheung to ask: (Translation)
Recently, several members of the public have sought my assistance. They said that subsequent to their purchase of brick houses built on a piece of private land in Yuen Long, they were notified by the Lands Department ("LandsD") that the land concerned was for agricultural use only, and therefore their brick houses were regarded as structures in breach of land leases ("lease-breaching structures"). Thereafter, LandsD invoked the Government Rights (Re-entry and Vesting Remedies) Ordinance (Cap. 126) ("the Ordinance") to resume the land in question and ordered them to move out before the deadline. They had requested the seller to refund them of the money paid for the houses but were refused, and hence had reported to the Police for assistance. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of (i) the number of cases handled by LandsD involving lease-breaching structures erected for residential purpose on private agricultural land, and (ii) the number of such cases in respect of which LandsD invoked the Ordinance to resume the land concerned, in each of the past three years, broken down by District Lands Office district; and (2) as it has been reported that after LandsD had discovered some time ago that the aforesaid brick houses were lease-breaching structures, it posted warning notices there, but the notices were torn off right afterwards, and as a result, the aforesaid assistance seekers did not know that the brick houses they had purchased were lease-breaching structures, whether LandsD will consider adopting other means which are more effective in notifying the public which buildings are lease-breaching structures, so as to prevent the recurrence of similar kind of incidents?
*17. Hon CHAN Kin-por to ask: (Translation)
The Government has proposed to earmark a funding of more than $400 million over the next five years for implementing a colorectal cancer screening programme ("screening programme") to subsidize people belonging to specific age groups who do not have symptoms suggestive of colorectal cancer to take screening tests. The Government formed a multi-disciplinary task force and several working groups in January this year to oversee the planning, implementation, promotion and evaluation of the screening programme. In May this year, the Secretary for Food and Health told the press that as complex issues were involved in colorectal cancer screening, it was expected that the programme would not be launched until 2015 at the earliest. It has been reported that the screening programme will be implemented by phases, and people aged between 65 and 70 will first be invited to participate in the first phase. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the details of the screening method, service delivery model and operational logistics devised for the screening programme so far by the aforesaid task force and working groups; the detailed reasons why the screening programme could not be rolled out within this year and the technical problems involved; the time for completion of the study reports by the task force and various working groups; the follow-up work to be undertaken by the authorities after the completion of such studies; (2) as the majority of colorectal cancer patients are people aged 50 or above, but the service targets of the first phase of the screening programme only cover those aged between 65 and 70, of the considerations involved; the proposed details of the phased implementation of the screening programme; how the authorities determine the age groups to be covered by various phases, and whether they have studied the estimated number of cases of medical treatment of people, who belong to the age groups covered by the later phases of the screening programme under its phased implementation, to be delayed because an early diagnosis of colorectal cancer is not available; (3) as it has been reported that the authorities will consider collaborating with private hospitals in implementing the screening programme in order not to disrupt the day-to-day services of public hospitals, of the specific views received from private hospitals so far by the authorities in respect of the screening programme; whether they will make reference to the practice relating to healthcare vouchers and issue colorectal cancer screening vouchers to eligible persons; if they will, of the details; if not, the other modes of cooperation under consideration; apart from private hospitals, whether the authorities will seek collaboration with the colorectal cancer educational centres of universities as well as other organizations providing such screening services; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) whether the authorities will collect relevant data pertinent to the screening programme and develop a screening database as well as conduct a systematic analysis to examine the effectiveness of the programme for reference in deciding the way forward (including studying the extension of the scope of screening to cover other types of cancer or high-risk diseases); if they will, of the details; if not, the reason for that?
*18. Dr Hon CHIANG Lai-wan to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the Consumer Council has recently made enquiries with 20 banks in Hong Kong about the details of their services relating to general savings accounts in Hong Kong dollars, and found that 17 banks have set initial minimum deposit thresholds ranging from $10 to $2,000. In addition, 14 banks have set a minimum account balance requirement ranging from $5,000 to $30,000, and account holders who do not meet such requirements will be charged $50 to $100 per month ("low account balance fees") by the banks. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the respective numbers and names of the banks in Hong Kong, five years ago and at present, that (i) did/do not set an initial minimum deposit requirement and (ii) did/do not set a minimum account balance requirement; (2) given that 22 banks signed the Treat Customers Fairly Charter ("the Charter") in October last year, whether it knows if the banks which have currently set initial minimum deposit requirements and low account balance fees have signed the Charter; if these banks have signed, whether the authorities have assessed if these banks have violated the Charter; if they have assessed, of the outcome; if not, the reasons for that; (3) whether it knows the respective numbers and contents of the complaints received by the Consumer Council and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority in the past five years about the banks in Hong Kong setting initial minimum deposit requirements and low account balance fees; (4) given that there are views that the minimum account balance requirements set by banks are unfavourable to the low income group's access to basic banking services, whether the authorities will, in addition to promoting the implementation of the Charter among banks, propose to banks that they should consider either abolishing the related fees or extending the scope of the waivers for such fees; and (5) whether the authorities have put in place policies and measures to ensure that the low income group have access to basic banking services; if they have not, whether they will consider introducing relevant policies and measures?
*19. Hon TANG Ka-piu to ask: (Translation)
Recently, some groups for persons with disabilities ("PWDs") have relayed to me their views on the facilities and services provided at MTR stations. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has required the MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL") to provide specified barrier-free facilities at various stations; if so, of the details; if not, how the authorities monitor the provision of barrier-free facilities at MTR stations; whether it knows if MTRCL holds regular meetings with representatives from PWD groups to listen to their views on the barrier-free facilities at the stations; if MTRCL does, of the details; (2) whether it knows the current situation of installation of lifts connecting the station concourse and the street level ("concourse/street-level lifts") at MTR stations (set out in the table below):
Situation of provision of concourse/street-level lifts Name of station Expected completion date of works Progress of works or/and difficulties encountered (i) No need for installation as the station concourse is located at street level N/A N/A (ii) Already provided N/A N/A (iii) Installation works in progress (iv) Installation works yet to commence (3) as the proposed works to install concourse/street-level lift at the Admiralty Station will be carried out as part of the South Island Line project, but recently there has been delay in the works of the South Island Line at the Admiralty Station, whether it knows if the concourse/street-level lift at that station will be available for use in 2015 as scheduled; (4) whether it knows when the proposal of retrofitting a concourse/street-level lift at the Fortress Hill Station will be implemented, and when the relevant works will commence; (5) whether it knows if MTRCL will consider deploying platform assistants to assist PWDs in boarding and alighting trains, including helping wheelchairs to cross the platform gap and calling on other passengers to make room or passage for PWDs, as well as providing platform assistants with relevant training and guidelines; (6) given that at present MTRCL can provide movable ramps for connecting the platform and the train to facilitate wheelchairs crossing wider platform gaps, whether it knows how long in advance a wheelchair user has to make a booking for such a service; as some PWD groups have relayed that quite a number of wheelchair users are not aware of such a service, whether it knows if MTRCL will step up publicity on the service; as it has been reported that owing to the limited time for each train stopping at a station, MTRCL staff can provide such a service to only one wheelchair user for each train stopping at the station, whether it knows if MTRCL will consider providing additional movable ramps and relevant manpower at individual stations where there is a need; of the current maximum number of wheelchairs that can be accommodated in a train compartment with a multi-purpose area; (7) given that currently, MTRCL disseminates information on unforeseen incidents or delays in train services mainly through the public announcement systems in MTR stations, whether it knows if MTRCL will consider displaying such information on the display panels at train platforms and concourses as well, in order to facilitate persons with hearing impairment; (8) as it has been reported that MTRCL previously considered the plan to retrofit flash lights at the top of the platform screen doors to signal that the screen doors are about to close in order to facilitate persons with hearing impairment, but there are views that flash lights are likely to induce seizures among epileptics, whether it knows the latest development of the plan, and if MTRCL has explored solutions which can balance the needs of these two types of people; and (9) given that some groups for persons with visual impairment have pointed out that different railway lines are currently using different buzzer sounds for signalling the opening and closing of train doors, and that the close proximity of the upward-moving and downward-moving escalators at some stations has resulted in mingling of their warning sounds, whether it knows if MTRCL will consider standardizing the buzzer sounds and setting a minimum distance between upward-moving and downward-moving escalators, in order to facilitate persons with visual impairment?
*20. Dr Hon Elizabeth QUAT to ask: (Translation)
Among the three landfills in Hong Kong, the South East New Territories ("SENT") Landfill in Tseung Kwan O ("TKO") is the one closest to residential areas. As TKO residents are gravely concerned about the impacts of the SENT Landfill extension project on their living environment, the Government is implementing a number of measures to address the residents' concerns. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that the SENT Landfill will only accept odourless construction waste for disposal after the commencement of the newly enacted Waste Disposal (Designated Waste Disposal Facility) (Amendment) Regulation 2013 ("the Regulation"), of the commencement date of the Regulation; whether it has measures in place to ensure that the SENT Landfill will not accept construction waste which is hazardous to health; if so, of the details, as well as the criteria for the relevant tests to be conducted; if not, the reasons for that; (2) given that the authorities will increase as much as possible the transportation of fill materials by sea to the TKO fill bank in order to reduce the traffic and environmental impacts of construction waste vehicles in TKO area, of the authorities' progress in the construction of the relevant facilities; whether they have drawn up a timetable for that; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) whether it has drawn up a timetable for the implementation of the measure under which the SENT Landfill will stop accepting sludge; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (4) of the details, including the frequency, schedule and methods, of the daily cleansing work carried out at Wan Po Road in TKO at present, as well as whether it has evaluated if the cleansing work is effective in removing the odour in the air generated by the leachate from the refuse collection vehicles ("RCVs") passing by; (5) notwithstanding the Government's advice that the PM2.5 level (24-hour average) recorded at Wan Po Road is similar to those recorded at the general air quality monitoring stations elsewhere in Hong Kong, and yet very few RCVs drive past Wan Po Road outside the operating hours of the SENT Landfill, whether the Government could make public the hourly average level of PM2.5 at Wan Po Road during the operating hours of the SENT Landfill, as well as whether such a level of air pollutants is detrimental to the health of the residents; if it is detrimental to health, whether the Government has put in place any measures to protect public health; if it has such measures, of the details; if it does not have such measures, the reasons for that; (6) given that the aforesaid Regulation requires that all RCVs entering landfills or refuse transfer stations be equipped with a metal tailgate cover and waste water sump tank, whether it knows when all private RCVs will be equipped with those facilities, and whether the authorities have set a deadline for that; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (7) whether it will legislate against environmental pollution caused by dump trucks carrying sand and silt (e.g. silt dripping from trucks); if so, of the details; if not; the reasons for that; and (8) given that the authorities have advised that they will step up law enforcement actions against illegal fly-tipping at Wan Po Road and nearby areas , of the number of relevant prosecutions instituted by the authorities since January this year; whether, apart from stepping up patrol, the authorities have other targeted measures to deter fly-tipping; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*21. Dr Hon Kenneth CHAN to ask: (Translation)
According to the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage ("the Convention") of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization ("UNESCO"), each State Party shall adopt a general policy to safeguard the intangible cultural heritage ("ICH") present in its territory, including (i) establishing dedicated institutions, (ii) fostering relevant scientific and artistic studies as well as research methodologies, (iii) adopting measures to strengthen the training for the managing institutions, and fostering the transmission of such heritage through providing forums and spaces intended for the performance or expression thereof. The Convention also states that each State Party shall provide relevant promotional and educational programmes, in particular capacity-building activities for management and scientific research, aiming at the general public. The Convention was extended to Hong Kong in 2004. In 2009, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department ("LCSD") commissioned a local university to conduct a territory-wide survey of ICH in Hong Kong ("the survey"). Based on the survey results, LCSD has compiled the first ICH inventory of Hong Kong ("the inventory"), which covered 480 items, and promulgated it in the middle of last month. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the Government has any plan to make reference to the practice of Macao of enacting the Cultural Heritage Protection Law and adopt the approach of enacting laws to regulate the existing work on the safeguarding of ICH, in order to ensure the sustainability of the policy; if it has such a plan, of the details of the legislative work; if not, the reasons for that; (2) given that the Secretary for Home Affairs wrote an article in Hong Kong Commercial Daily on 10 June last year pointing out that according to the survey, the holders of several ICH items in Hong Kong are aged persons with no successors, but the authorities have not proposed any corresponding measures to address the problem, save for compiling the inventory and conducting promotional activities: (a) apart from relying on the subsidies from the Cantonese Opera Development Fund, the Lord Wilson Heritage Trust and the Hong Kong Jockey Club Charities Trust, whether the Government will consider making reference to the practice of the Japanese Government of subsidizing the holders/groups of holders of "Important Intangible Cultural Properties", or taking other financial measures to facilitate the transmission of ICH in Hong Kong; and (b) of the details of the measures to be devised and implemented, as undertaken by the Government, for safeguarding ICH (including the work of identification, documentation, in-depth research, preservation, promotion and transmission of ICH, etc.), and how the authorities intend to solve the aforesaid problem of transmission; and (3) why the inventory has not included items such as Jeet Kune Do which originated from Hong Kong, Hong Kong-style Cantonese pop songs, Hong Kong comics, as well as over 100 items which are listed as items requiring further research and study in the survey report (provide specific reasons for each item in table form)?
*22. Hon Kenneth LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the Police currently assign police officers to conduct "cyber patrol" for detection of crimes on the Internet. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the specific tasks and approach of the Police in conducting cyber patrol; the departments of the Hong Kong Police Force which conduct cyber patrol and the relevant staffing establishments; (2) whether the Police keep the information, including texts and images, of the relevant web pages when conducting cyber patrol; if they do, of the method and criteria for keeping such information, and whether there is any requirement that information which will not be used for institution of prosecutions must be destroyed within a specified period of time; if there is such a requirement, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) of the scale of the cyber patrol currently conducted by the Police, including the respective numbers of web pages viewed and kept in each of the past five years; the performance indicators set for cyber patrol by the Police; (4) of the number of crimes uncovered during the Police's cyber patrol, as well as the respective numbers of the related prosecutions and convictions, in each of the past five years, broken down by type of crimes; and (5) of the number of cases in which the authorities instituted prosecutions against persons for their online acts under the common law offence of "committing an act outraging public decency" in each of the past five years, and the number of convictions among such cases?
* For written reply
III. Bills
| First Reading
Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Amendment) Bill 2014 Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned) | |||
| Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes (Amendment) Bill 2014 | : | Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury | |
| Second Reading (Debate to resume), Committee Stage and Third Reading | |||
| 1. | Supplementary Appropriation (2013-2014) Bill | : | Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury |
| 2. | Electoral Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2014 | : | Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs |
| Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs to move Committee stage amendments (The amendments were issued on 26 June 2014 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 757/13-14) | |||
|
(Debate and voting arrangements for Committee stage amendments to the Electoral Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2014 (issued on 30 June 2014 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 778/13-14(01))
| |||
IV. Motion
| Proposed resolution under section 54A of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development to move the motion in the Appendix. |
| (The motion was also issued on 16 June 2014
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 723/13-14) Hon CHAN Chi-chuen and Hon Albert CHAN to move amendments to the proposed resolution. (The amendments were issued on 27 June 2014 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 767/13-14) |
| (The voting arrangement for the proposed resolution was issued on 30 June 2014 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 770/13-14)
|