A 14/15-9
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 10 December 2014 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers
| Subsidiary Legislation / Instruments | L.N. No. | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Chinese Nationality (Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule) Order 2014 | 144/2014 |
| 2. | Immigration (Amendment) Regulation 2014 | 145/2014 |
| 3. | Marriage Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 2) Order 2014 | 146/2014 |
| 4. | Declaration of Constituencies (District Councils) Order 2014 | 147/2014 |
| 5. | Port Control (Cargo Working Areas) (Amendment) Regulation 2014 | 148/2014 |
| 6. | Registration of Persons (Amendment) Regulation 2014 | 149/2014 |
| 7. | Legislation Publication (Revision) Order 2014 | 150/2014 |
Other Papers
| 1. | No. 44 | - | The Prince Philip Dental Hospital
2013/14 Annual Report The Board of Governors |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Food and Health)
| |||
| 2. | No. 45 | - | Communications Authority
Annual Report 2013/14 |
| (to be presented by Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development)
| |||
| 3. | No. 46 | - | The Government Minute in response to The Annual Report of The Ombudsman 2014 |
| (to be presented by the Chief Secretary for Administration, who will address the Council)
| |||
| 4. | Report No. 6/14-15 of the House Committee on Consideration of Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments | ||
| (to be presented by Hon Andrew LEUNG, Chairman of the House Committee) | |||
II. Questions
1. Hon Charles Peter MOK to ask: (Translation)
When meeting with deputations earlier, I and several other Legislative Council Members learned that children with special educational needs ("SEN") and their parents had encountered many difficulties, including the excessively long waiting time for subsidized SEN assessment services ("assessment services") and rehabilitation services. In order not to delay the learning progress of their children, quite a number of parents have turned to the private sector for such assessment and rehabilitation services, but the high charges for such services are hardly affordable to grass-roots families. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has considered increasing the amounts of various allowances for SEN children and the number of places under Individual Education Plans, and stepping up assistance for SEN children in learning the application of information technology; if it has, of the details; (2) of the names of those subvented organizations, apart from public bodies, currently providing assessment services for children; the respective numbers of children aged zero to two, three to five, six to eight as well as nine to 11 for whom relevant assessments were conducted by public and subvented organizations in the past three years, as well as the respective average waiting time for the children concerned to receive such services; whether it has plans to recruit additional medical professionals to strengthen the assessment services; if it has such plans, of the details; whether it has considered providing training for the staff of schools and subvented organizations to enhance their ability in identifying and assisting SEN children; if it has considered, of the details; and (3) whether it knows how many children on the waiting list for subsidized assessment services received assessment services from the private sector in the past three years; whether it has considered providing subsidies for grass-roots families using private assessment services; if it has considered, of the details?
| Public Officers to reply | : | Secretary for Education
Secretary for Labour and Welfare |
2. Dr Hon Helena WONG to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that late last month, when assisting bailiffs in executing the injunction orders by the court at the occupied areas in Mong Kok and in subsequent operations to disperse the crowd, some police officers abused their powers, which included using excessive force on the occupiers and passers-by, arresting members of the public and reporters indiscriminately, and suppressing freedom of the press. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as it has been reported that during the operations, some police officers assaulted members of the public who were standing on the footpaths which were not covered by the injunction orders, hit their vital body parts (such as the head and the neck) with batons, pushed pedestrians onto the ground, and hurled abuses at the ethnic minority people, whether it has assessed if such behaviours of the police officers were justifiable, violated the Police General Orders ("PGO"), and reflected that the police officers had lost control of their temper; whether the authorities will make a public apology for this and how they will follow up the matter, as well as how they will prevent the occurrence of similar incidents; (2) of the Police's justifications for arresting a crew member of a television station and a newspaper reporter respectively on the 25th and 27th of last month; whether the authorities have assessed if such arrests were targeted at individual media organizations and represented hostility towards reporters; as some online media reporters said that they had been obstructed by the Police in making coverage, of the criteria adopted by the Police for dealing with such reporters and the measures in place to ensure that reporters may cover news freely during police operations; given that at least 25 reporters have claimed to have been treated violently by police officers, how the authorities will follow up such cases; and (3) as it has been reported that during the operations, a large number of police officers concealed their police identification numbers by the reflective vests which they were wearing or removed the numbers from their uniforms so that members of the public would not be able to identify them, whether the authorities have investigated if the police officers had violated the PGO by such acts and their justifications for so doing; if the investigation results indicate that such acts violated the relevant requirements or were attempts to avoid being complained, whether the authorities will penalize the police officers concerned, and how the authorities will prevent the occurrence of similar incidents?
3. Hon IP Kin-yuen to ask: (Translation)
Under the Pilot Project on Enhancement of Complaint Management in Schools ("Pilot Project") implemented by the Education Bureau ("EDB") since the past two school years, if EDB receives complaints lodged by parents or members of the public or referred to it by other organizations relating to the daily operations and internal matters of the schools that have joined the Pilot Project, it will refer such cases to the school concerned for handling after obtaining the complainant's consent. The school concerned will conduct an investigation according to its school-based complaints handling procedures. EDB will not follow the established practice of replying to the complainant after scrutinizing the complaint investigation report submitted by the school concerned. If the complainant does not agree to referral of his case to the school for handling, EDB normally will not intervene by conducting an investigation. EDB may consider conducting direct investigation only if the complaint involves incidents of serious nature or maladministration. At present, more than 350 schools have joined the Pilot Project. Some members of the education sector have relayed to me that EDB has, using school-based management as a pretext, shirked its responsibility of overseeing school administration. Also, it will be difficult for a school to investigate impartially into a complaint that involves itself because of role conflicts. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of complaints against schools directly investigated by EDB in the past two school years, and among them, the number of those involving schools which had joined the Pilot Project, with a breakdown by the number of complaints in which the school was involved (i.e. 1 to 2 cases, 3 to 5 cases, and 6 cases and above); among the complaints directly investigated by EDB, of the number of those in which the complainants lodged appeals as they were dissatisfied with the investigation results, as well as the details of the appeal mechanism; (2) whether it has assessed if the arrangement whereby EDB normally will not intervene by conducting an investigation even though the complainant does not agree to the referral of his case to the school for handling, has deprived the complainant of the right to choose to lodge his complaint with EDB, and is therefore in breach of procedural justice; and (3) whether EDB will ensure that upon completion of the Pilot Project, complaints involving school staff or labour relations will continue to be directly investigated by EDB under the prevailing mechanism?
4. Hon Michael TIEN to ask: (Translation)
Since the 2002-2003 school year, the Education Bureau has implemented the Native-speaking English Teacher ("NET") Scheme to provide each eligible primary school with a NET. One of the objectives of the Scheme is to provide an authentic environment for students to learn English. However, at a meeting of the Panel on Education of this Council held last month, the Secretary for Education advised that the main duty of NETs is to act as resource teachers in order to provide support and exchange opportunities for local English teachers, instead of teaching in classrooms. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that the Territory-wide System Assessment Reports have indicated that the Basic Competency attainment rate ("attainment rate") of Primary 3 students in English Language increased by just 4.4 percentage points over the past decade, while the attainment rate of Primary 6 students in roughly the same period increased merely by 1.9 percentage points, whether the authorities have assessed the effectiveness of the NET Scheme in improving students' basic competency in English Language, and whether such effectiveness was reflected in the attainment rates concerned; if it was reflected, whether it is evident from the insignificant increases in the attainment rates concerned that the NET Scheme is ineffective; if the NET Scheme is not ineffective, of the justifications for that; (2) whether it has assessed if the NET Scheme can provide students with an authentic and comprehensive environment to learn English given that each school has only one NET whose main duty is to act as a resource teacher; if the assessment outcome is in the affirmative, of the justifications for that; if the assessment outcome is in the negative, whether the authorities have specific plans to increase the number of NETs in each primary school, and to require that all Primary 1 English lessons be taught solely by NETs, so as to provide students with a comprehensive environment for learning English; if they have such plans, of the implementation timetable; and (3) whether it knows the respective numbers of NETs who completed their agreements and those who departed from service prematurely, in each of the past five years, as well as the reasons for their departure?
5. Hon Kenneth LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that in recent years, there have been a number of cases involving suspected dissemination of false information about companies listed in Hong Kong through the Internet and mainland media, triggering substantial fluctuations in the stock prices of such companies over a short period of time. Some members of the securities industry have pointed out that these incidents have aroused concern among investors that some people have made use of channels such as the Internet to disseminate false price-sensitive information in an attempt to manipulate stock prices. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the measures currently put in place by the authorities for monitoring the circulation of price-sensitive information on the Internet, including whether they have taken the initiative to conduct patrols; if they have conducted patrols, of the government departments and regulatory bodies responsible for this and the manpower involved; the number of cases involving dissemination of false price-sensitive information uncovered by the authorities in each of the past five years and, among such cases, the number of those in which the information was disseminated outside Hong Kong; the number of cases in which the authorities instituted prosecutions against the persons concerned and the number of convictions among such cases, with a breakdown by the offence involved; the differences between the cases involving the dissemination of such information within Hong Kong and those outside Hong Kong in terms of handling procedure and law enforcement; (2) of the mechanism currently put in place by the authorities for handling complaints about the dissemination of false price-sensitive information by making use of the Internet; the number of such complaints received by the authorities in each of the past five years and, among such cases, the respective numbers of cases found to be substantiated and those involved the dissemination of information outside Hong Kong; the number of cases in which the authorities instituted prosecutions against the persons concerned and the number of convictions among such cases, with a breakdown by the offence involved; and (3) whether any mechanism is currently in place for monitoring the coverage of price-sensitive information about Hong Kong-listed companies by the local and mainland media, so as to ensure the fair operation of the securities market and safeguard the interests of investors; if such monitoring mechanism is in place, of the details; whether the authorities will, in view of the implementation of the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect, conduct a review afresh to see if such monitoring mechanism can serve its due functions under the new investment environment?
6. Dr Hon Kenneth CHAN to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that earlier on, a number of members of student bodies as well as members of the public who openly supported the occupation movement were refused entry by mainland border officials when heading for the Mainland, and the Hong Kong and Macao Residents Entry and Exit Permits (commonly known as "home return cards") held by some of them had even been cancelled. A crew member on duty on a plane of a local airline company to Shanghai was also refused entry upon arrival. Moreover, a Hong Kong journalist was refused entry when he visited the Philippines last month as a tourist, and he thus realized that a number of Hong Kong journalists had been put on a blacklist for entry restriction by the Philippine Government. Regarding Hong Kong residents being refused entry by the immigration authorities of other jurisdictions, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the Government has received, since the start of the occupation movement, any request for assistance from members of the public because they had been refused entry or their home return cards had been cancelled by the mainland authorities; if it has, of the number and nature of such cases, and whether the Government has taken any follow-up action; if it has taken follow-up actions, of the latest progress; (2) of the details of the follow-up actions taken by the authorities in respect of the aforesaid incident of a Hong Kong journalist being refused entry by the Philippine authorities; and (3) whether the Government provided any information on Hong Kong residents to the immigration authorities of other jurisdictions in the past three years; if it did, of the reasons, principles and justifications for providing such information, the number of Hong Kong residents involved, and the number of Hong Kong residents who were refused entry by the relevant countries or places as a result?
*7. Hon CHAN Chi-chuen to ask: (Translation)
In accordance with the "Consular Marriage and Marriages under Foreign Law Order 2014" of the United Kingdom, which came into force on 3 June this year, if no objection has been raised by the authorities of the country or territory where a British Consulate ("BC") is located, that BC may provide same sex marriage registration services for British nationals inside the consulate. Currently, BCs in 25 countries around the world (including China) may provide such services. It has been reported that the Hong Kong Government once raised objection to the provision of same sex marriage registration services by BC in Hong Kong, but it later on stated that it was up to the consulate to decide what services were to be provided to its nationals. In respect of same sex marriage registration, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has assessed if the provision of same sex marriage registration services by BC in Hong Kong for British nationals or for people holding British National (Overseas) passports is in compliance with the provisions in the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and the Consular Relations Ordinance (Cap. 557); if it has, of the outcome; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether it has assessed if the Hong Kong Government has the power to interfere with the provision by foreign consulates in Hong Kong for their nationals registration services for heterosexual marriages, same sex marriages and civil partnerships inside their consulates; if it has assessed, of the outcome; if not, the reasons for that; (3) as Article 13 of the Basic Law stipulates that "[t]he Central People's Government shall be responsible for the foreign affairs relating to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region", whether the Government has consulted the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China regarding the plan of BC in Hong Kong to provide same sex marriage registration services; if it has, of the views so obtained; (4) as a marriage contracted under the existing Marriage Ordinance (Cap. 181) "is in law the voluntary union for life of one man and one woman", whether the law of Hong Kong recognizes the same sex marriages of Hong Kong residents registered outside Hong Kong or inside the foreign consulates in Hong Kong; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (5) whether it has assessed if the Government has the power to obstruct Hong Kong residents from registering for same sex marriages outside Hong Kong or inside various foreign consulates in Hong Kong; if the assessment outcome is in the affirmative, of the details; (6) whether it has compiled statistics on the current number of Hong Kong residents who have registered for same sex marriages outside Hong Kong; if it has, of such statistics; if not, whether it will add this statistical item in the 2016 Population By-census; and (7) whether it has any plan to examine the laws relating to same sex marriages and civil partnerships in various countries, so as to assess if such laws can be applied in Hong Kong; if it has such a plan, of the details; if not, the justifications for that?
*8. Dr Hon CHIANG Lai-wan to ask: (Translation)
As indicated in Annex 2 to the Government's reply to my question in May this year, all of the bodies which awarded the qualifications held by the veterinary surgeons newly registered in Hong Kong between 2009 and 2013 are located in jurisdictions outside Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has compiled statistics on the number of Hong Kong residents who are currently studying overseas in veterinary programmes and, among them, the number of those who intend to return and practise in Hong Kong upon graduation; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether only those Hong Kong permanent residents who meet the requirements of section 9 of the Veterinary Surgeons Registration Ordinance (Cap. 529) may be registered as veterinary surgeons; if not, of the reasons for that; (3) given that the bodies which awarded the qualifications to the existing registered veterinary surgeons in Hong Kong are all located in jurisdictions outside Hong Kong, whether in the long run the Government has plans to establish in Hong Kong a veterinary surgeon qualifications awarding body so as to train more local talents; if it does not, of the reasons for that; and (4) as some grass-roots members of the public have relayed to me that as they could not afford the exorbitant fees charged by veterinary surgeons, they were unable to arrange for their sick pets to receive medical treatments, thus leaving them to die from illness, what measures the Government has in place to solve this problem?
*9. Hon Frankie YICK to ask: (Translation)
It is learnt that a number of international cargo shipping companies have recently levied shippers a "Hong Kong Port Congestion Surcharge" on grounds of escalating operating costs due to container ships having to wait for some time before entering the container terminals. Some members of the freight industry have relayed to me that the container terminals in Hong Kong have become increasingly congested due to changes in the operational mode of the freight industry, which include (i) more and more shippers having switched to use cheaper water-borne transport, resulting in a short supply of berthing space for river trade vessels, (ii) the provision of port back-up areas not meeting the increased needs for container movement and storage arising from the growing volume of transshipment cargoes, and (iii) longer time for loading and unloading cargoes as container ships have become increasingly enormous in size. They have also pointed out that if the Government cannot effectively alleviate the congestion problem at container terminals, the operational efficiency of container terminals will decrease gradually. Even after the anticipated completion of the project for dredging the Kwai Tsing Container Basin and its approach channel by the end of 2015, which will allow ultra large container ships with the capacity of 18 000 Twenty-foot Equivalent Units to enter the port, the container terminals may not be able to handle the ever-increasing container throughput. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the respective rates of increase in the past three years in respect of (i) the average waiting time for container ships to berth at container terminals after arriving in Hong Kong and (ii) the average berthing duration at terminals for container ships; the number of container ships that switched to load and unload cargoes at the container terminals in the neighbouring areas in the past three years because the container terminals in Hong Kong were too congested, and the number of containers involved, as well as the resultant economic losses suffered by Hong Kong; (2) of the short, medium and long term measures for improving the operation and facilities of container terminals, including the provision of more back-up areas to increase premises for container storage and parking spaces for container vehicles; and (3) given that the Hong Kong Container Terminal Operators Association has earlier submitted to the Government a document on enhancing the competitiveness of Kwai Tsing Container Port, whether the authorities have followed up the series of improvement proposals set out in the document; if they have, of the progress?
*10. Hon Tony TSE to ask: (Translation)
In 2013, the Government introduced the "Interim Scheme to Extend the Home Ownership Scheme Secondary Market to White Form Buyers" ("the Interim Scheme") with a quota of 5 000 for persons meeting the eligibility criteria for the Home Ownership Scheme ("HOS") White Form applicants to purchase HOS flats on the HOS Secondary Market ("second-hand HOS flats") without payment of land premium. The Government announced on the 24th of last month that a new round of the Interim Scheme will be implemented in the middle of next year with a quota of 2 500. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of buyers who purchased second-hand HOS flats under the first round of the Interim Scheme as at the end of last month, with a breakdown by the age group to which they belonged, quota category, type of flats purchased and district where the flat was located, set out in the table below; Total number of buyers Age 30 or below 31-40 41-50 51-60 Above 60 Quota category Singleton Family Type of flat One-bedroom Two-bedroom Three-bedroom or larger District Hong Kong Island Kowloon New Territories (2) whether it has followed up and studied the housing situation of HOS flat owners after they sold their properties to Interim Scheme buyers; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that, and whether it will follow it up in future; (3) whether it has set a target number of second-hand HOS flats to be purchased under the second round of the Interim Scheme; if so, of the details and the criteria based on which such target was set; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) as the authorities have indicated that they will conduct a review on the effectiveness of the Interim Scheme, of the earliest time for the review to commence as well as its scope, contents and timetable; whether they will make public the outcome of the review and what follow-up actions they will take; if they will not, the reasons for that?
*11. Dr Hon LAU Wong-fat to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that on the 17th of last month, a section of a slab-paved pavement in Causeway Bay suddenly caved in forming a hole of about four metres deep, and a passer-by fell into the hole and sustained injuries. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of cases of cave-ins of slab-paved pavements in the past three years and their causes; and (2) among the cases mentioned in (1), of the respective numbers of those in which injuries were sustained by passers-by and those in which the authorities made compensation to the injured passers-by, as well as the total amount of compensation?
*12. Hon WONG Yuk-man to ask: (Translation)
In recent years, a number of tertiary institutions funded by the University Grants Committee have operated self-financing post-secondary ("SFPS") programmes through their self-financing departments. Some students studying in such programmes have relayed to me that in recent years, these institutions have offered such programmes indiscriminately and increased the tuition fees substantially. Yet, the numbers of students admitted to these programmes are excessive while the teaching quality and facilities of such programmes are unsatisfactory. Regarding the monitoring of SFPS programmes, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the authorities will, by making reference to the licensing systems for domestic free television programme services and for sound broadcasting services, require tertiary institutions to apply for time-limited licences for operating SFPS programmes renewal of which is subject to the outcome of the authorities' interim review of the programmes, as well as set penalties for violating the licensing conditions, so as to step up the regulation of these programmes; (2) whether the authorities have regularly assessed the teaching quality, financial management and operations of SFPS programmes; if they have, whether they will publish the assessment outcome; if they have not assessed, whether they will conduct such assessments; (3) given that some members of the public consider that, as the City University of Hong Kong ("CityU") was provided with an interest-free loan by the authorities in 2005 for building the school premises of the Community College of City University ("CCCU"), the formation of a strategic alliance between CCCU and an Australian university last month is tantamount to CityU's selling CCCU, which is not in the public interest, whether the authorities will consider afresh taking measures to proactively monitor the formation of the alliance by CCCU; and (4) given that the eight publicly-funded tertiary institutions reportedly recorded an average surplus of about $400 million in each year from 2009 to 2011 for operating SFPS programmes, how the authorities monitor the use of such surpluses by these institutions?
*13. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)
Will the Government inform this Council of the latest outcome of the discussions among the governments of Hong Kong, Zhuhai and Macao on the operational arrangements of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge ("HZMB") upon its commissioning, including the approach for determining the toll levels for various types of vehicles, the quota for private cars, the arrangements for commercial vehicles such as coaches and taxis, etc. to use HZMB, the arrangements for using the boundary crossing facilities, and the measures that will help increase the utilization of HZMB?
Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport and Housing
*14. Hon CHAN Kin-por to ask: (Translation)
In recent years, consumption activities carried out on the Internet have become very popular. As the costs of running online businesses are relatively low, many people (especially young people) have chosen to start their businesses online by selling products through channels such as online stores set up by them, auction web sites and online social platforms. It is learnt that some owners of online stores have neither applied for registration of their businesses in accordance with the Business Registration Ordinance (Cap. 310) nor furnished tax returns to the Inland Revenue Department ("IRD") pursuant to the Inland Revenue Ordinance (Cap. 112). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has conducted surveys on the situations of online consumption activities of and online businesses operated by Hong Kong people; if it has, of (i) the total amount of online consumer spending, (ii) the number of online stores established and (iii) the average age of the owners of online stores, in each of the past three years; if not, whether it will conduct such surveys; (2) as the Business Registration Ordinance provides that all businesses carried on in Hong Kong must apply for business registration within one month of the commencement of such businesses, whether the authorities have conducted any survey on the respective numbers of online stores, in each of the past three years, which had not applied for business registration nor furnished tax returns to IRD; whether they will step up law enforcement efforts in this respect; (3) whether it has studied taking measures to encourage young people to run online businesses, e.g. providing tax concessions, improving the online business environment, etc.; whether it will, by making reference to the "Loans for Young Entrepreneurs and Start-ups" scheme launched by the Taiwanese Government, improve the various existing funding schemes for young people starting up their businesses, so as to assist young people in obtaining business start-up capital more effectively; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) whether the Government currently provides young people with support about networking technology and training on entrepreneurial knowledge (including the procedures for establishing online stores, risk management and basic legal knowledge) in respect of running online businesses; if it does, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*15. Hon TAM Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)
As Tuen Mun district has a present population of over 500 000 but there are only about 65 000 jobs in the distrisct, the majority of the working persons of the district have to work in other districts. In June 2012, a political party submitted a planning proposal and a study report on Areas 40 and 46 in Tuen Mun ("Areas 40 and 46") to the Development Bureau in view of a number of advantages of the two areas, including (i) having a total area of about 27 hectares most of which is government land, (ii) being located at the Tuen Mun end of the Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok Link ("TM-CLKL") under construction and (iii) that they will connect TM-CLKL with Tuen Mun Western Bypass. The report proposed that the Government should develop the two areas into a "port economic zone" and an "economic industries base", so as to increase job opportunities in the district. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the latest progress of the consultancy study on the "Planning and Engineering Study for Tuen Mun Areas 40 and 46 and the Adjoining Areas – Feasibility Study" ("the consultancy study") jointly commissioned by the Planning Department and the Civil Engineering and Development Department; and the expected time for publication of the results; (2) whether the Government has included the aforesaid planning proposal on Areas 40 and 46 submitted by the political party in the scope of the consultancy study; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) as the consultancy study includes a two-stage community engagement programme, of the reasons why the Stage 1 Community Engagement originally scheduled to commence in early 2014 has been postponed to commence in early 2015; and the details of the community engagement programme; and (4) as some members of the public have pointed out that upon the commissioning of TM-CLKL in 2018, Lung Mun Road, which already has very heavy traffic, will be overloaded, whether the Government has considered ways to alleviate the traffic congestion on Lung Mun Road in future, and whether it has explored in the consultancy study the need to build new roads in and introduce major mass transit carriers to Areas 40 and 46; if it has considered, of the details and progress; if not, the reasons for that?
*16. Hon SIN Chung-kai to ask: (Translation)
Under the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect ("S-HK SC") implemented since the 17th of last month, Hong Kong and mainland investors may engage in cross-boundary trading of stocks of designated types of companies listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange and the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong respectively. S-HK SC involves cross-boundary trading, but there are differences between Hong Kong and the Mainland in terms of the regimes, the legal systems and the law enforcement approaches, etc., for regulation of securities markets. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has plans to assist the mainland authorities in further enhancing the regulation of matters relating to disclosure of information by companies listed on the Mainland; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether the existing legislation of the two places has empowered the regulatory authorities concerned to take law enforcement actions against cross-boundary illegal activities/irregularities in relation to stock trading (e.g. insider dealings); if so, of the details; if not, when the authorities will amend the legislation concerned; (3) how the regulatory authorities of the two places will cooperate in taking law enforcement actions to combat cross-boundary illegal activities/irregularities in relation to stock trading (e.g. insider dealings); how the authorities decide whether the laws of Hong Kong or those of the Mainland should be applicable; (4) given that at the meeting of the Panel on Financial Affairs of this Council held in June this year, the representative of the Securities and Futures Commission advised that the relevant authorities of the two places were studying the issue of whether the involvement of Hong Kong investors in market misconduct (e.g. market manipulations and insider dealings) in trading Shanghai stocks under S-HK SC would constitute a breach of the laws of Hong Kong, whether it knows the outcome of the study; if the study outcome is in the affirmative, of the details; if the study outcome is in the negative, the justifications for that; (5) whether any mechanism is currently in place under which compensation may be claimed by investors of the two places who have engaged in cross-boundary stock trading and suffered financial losses because of the defaults of licensed intermediaries or authorized financial institutions; if so, of the details; if not, whether the authorities will review and amend the relevant legislation, so as to protect the lawful interests of cross-boundary investors; (6) whether it has assessed if the nominee and trust arrangements under S HK SC meet the requirements set by relevant international regulatory authorities (e.g. Luxembourg's Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier) on the safe custody of assets managed by mutual funds for retail investors; if the assessment outcome is in the affirmative, of the details; if the assessment outcome is in the negative, the reasons for that; and (7) whether it has assessed the circumstances under which cross-boundary stock trading under S-HK SC will be suspended, and whether such circumstances include situations where the trading and clearing systems are under attack or there is error trade due to system errors; if it has, of the criteria for deciding to suspend trading; if not, the reasons for that?
*17. Hon CHAN Han-pan to ask: (Translation)
The two-storey building located at 213 Sha Tsui Road, Tsuen Wan, currently houses the Lady Trench General Out-patient Clinic under the Hospital Authority and the Lady Trench Methadone Clinic under the Department of Health. Some residents in the local community have indicated their hope that the building, which is in a very dilapidated state, can be demolished for redevelopment by the authorities as soon as possible in order to fully utilize the site. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the attendance of the aforesaid methadone clinic in each of the past five years, and whether such figures show a downward trend; if they do, whether the authorities will consider closing down or relocating the clinic; if they will, of the details; if they will not, the reasons for that; (2) whether it knows the attendance of the aforesaid general out-patient clinic in each of the past five years; (3) as the pedestrian flow at Sha Tsui Road on normal days is heavy, but the pavement beside the aforesaid building is very narrow, whether the authorities have considered removing the perimeter fence of the building to make room for widening the pavement there; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) whether the authorities have considered demolishing the aforesaid building for redevelopment in order to fully utilize the site; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*18. Hon Mrs Regina IP to ask: (Translation)
According to clauses 6.3 and 6.4 of the Code for Officials under the Political Appointment System ("the Code"), principal officials and the Director of the Chief Executive's Office ("DCEO") shall, when travelling on duty outside Hong Kong ("duty travel"), travel on first class at government expense, and shall be granted a subsistence allowance for the period of the journey at the same rate and manner as those applicable to the highest-ranking civil servants. Clause 6.8 of the Code also provides that if a flight award is not expected to be used for subsequent duty travel before the expiry date of the award, the politically appointed official may seek approval from the Chief Executive ("CE") to use the award for private purposes. Regarding the situation where the incumbent Secretary for Education ("the Secretary") undertakes duty travels, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of duty travels made by the Secretary since his assumption of office, as well as the following in respect of each duty travel (set out in a table): (i) the date, (ii) the destination, (iii) the purpose and main itinerary, (iv) the number of accompanying officials, (v) the number of accompanying non-official personnel, (vi) flight mileage awards earned, (vii) the class of hotel accommodation, (viii) accomplishments and (ix) total expenditure incurred; (2) of the total mileage awards for which the Secretary has been given approval under the Code to use for his private purposes since his assumption of office, and the percentage of this number in the total mileage awards earned by the Secretary from duty travels; (3) how the number and total expenditure of duty travels undertaken by the Secretary compare with those of CE, other principal officials and DCEO, and how he ranks among them; (4) of the details of the duty travels scheduled to be undertaken by the Secretary, including (i) the date, (ii) the destination, (iii) the purpose and main itinerary, and (iv) the expected accomplishments of each duty travel (set out in a table); and (5) whether it has assessed how the accomplishments/expected accomplishments of the various duty travels undertaken and scheduled to be undertaken by the Secretary can help the authorities solve the various existing education problems in Hong Kong; if it has made such an assessment, of the outcome?
*19. Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the monitoring of the expenditure of public works projects, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the following information about each of the public works projects completed in the past five years: (i) the name of the project, (ii) the date on which funding approval was granted, (iii) the amount of approved funding for the advance works, (iv) the consultancy fees for conducting advance works study, (v) the name(s) of the consultant(s) responsible for carrying out the advance works study, (vi) the commencement date of the works, (vii) the completion date of the works, (viii) the name(s) of the works consultant(s), (ix) the name(s) of the works contractor(s), (x) the initial cost estimate, and (xi) the actual cost, set out in a table according to the date on which funding approval was granted by the Finance Committee ("FC") of this Council; (2) of the following information about each of the public works projects to be submitted to FC in the coming two years: (i) the name of the project, (ii) the date on which funding application will be submitted, (iii) the amount of funding to be sought for the advance works, (iv) the name(s) of the consultant(s) responsible for carrying out the advance works study, (v) the anticipated commencement date of the works, (vi) the anticipated completion date of the works, and (vii) the cost estimate, set out in a table according to the date on which the authorities intend to submit the funding application for approval; (3) of the specific criteria adopted by the authorities for selecting consultants and contractors for works projects and the relevant tendering procedure; (4) of the following information about each of the public works projects completed in the past five years which involved consultants/contractors submitting claims to cover additional expenditures: (i) the name of the project, (ii) the commencement date of the works, (iii) the completion date of the works, (iv) the name(s) of the consultant(s)/contractor(s) submitting the claims, (v) the originally approved amount of funding, (vi) the date on which application for supplementary provision was submitted, (vii) the date on which approval for supplementary provisions was granted, (viii) the amount of the approved supplementary provision, and (ix) the justifications for applying for supplementary provisions, set out in a table according to the date on which application for supplementary provisions was approved by FC; (5) of the specific procedures adopted by the authorities for handling claims lodged by consultants or contractors to cover additional expenditures of works projects; the specific policy and legal basis adopted by the authorities for deciding whether or not to approve such claims, as well as the standards and calculation method based on which they determine the claim amounts to be accepted; how the authorities determine whether or not the companies concerned have abused the claims procedure; (6) whether the authorities initiated any criminal investigation in the past five years into cases of consultants or contractors suspected of defrauding the authorities of project costs; if they did, of the details; whether the authorities instituted any legal proceedings against consultants or contractors in those cases involving illegal practices in the past five years; if they did, of the details; and (7) given that several major infrastructure projects have experienced significant cost overruns and delay in recent years, whether the authorities have, in the selection process of consultants and contractors, taken into account the past performances of the relevant companies, including whether there are records of the projects in which they participated experiencing cost overruns or delay; whether the authorities will consider drawing up a blacklist of consultants and contractors or introducing a demerit point system in this respect; if they will, of the details?
*20. Hon LEUNG Che-cheung to ask: (Translation)
At present, the Hospital Authority ("HA") has set up a dedicated team of professionals to provide hospice and palliative care services with a comprehensive service model for terminally-ill patients to alleviate their physical and emotional distress and improve their quality of life at the end-of-life stage. Some terminally-ill patients in public hospitals have indicated that they regard their pets as family members and therefore hope that arrangements can be made for them to see their pets in the hospital ("pet visitation arrangements") as they approach the end of life. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
(1) whether HA has exercised discretion to make pet visitation arrangements on humane grounds; if HA has, of the procedures concerned; whether HA has drawn reference from relevant overseas practices; (2) the respective numbers of requests from terminally-ill patients for pet visitation arrangements received and approved by HA in the past three years; and (3) the reasons why pet visitation arrangements are not part of HA's current hospice and palliative care services; whether HA will consider including such arrangements into the scope of such services?
*21. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)
Some members of the public have relayed to me that franchised bus companies ("bus companies") have placed vending machines for drinks beside quite a number of open-air bus stops, which not only occupy public places but also reduce the queuing space for members of the public waiting for buses. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has compiled statistics on the current number of bus stops with electricity supply and the area occupied by such bus stops in general, with a tabulated breakdown by the name of the bus companies; (2) whether bus companies are allowed to conduct commercial activities other than passenger services at bus stops; if so, of the application procedures; if not, how the authorities will follow up the aforesaid situation; (3) of the parties responsible for meeting the electricity expenditure incurred in the operation of bus stops; if such expenditure is met by public funds, whether bus companies are allowed to use the electrical installations at bus stops to supply electricity for the vending machines; (4) whether the authorities' prior approval is required for bus companies to set up electrical installations at bus stops; if so, whether such approval has imposed restrictions on the scope for the use of electricity by the bus companies (including whether the bus companies are allowed to use such electrical installations to conduct commercial activities other than passenger services); if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (5) whether the operators that provide the vending machines or the bus companies are required to apply to the authorities and obtain their approval for placing vending machines at public places beside bus stops, and whether fees are payable by them; if approval or payment of fees is required, of the details and the total amount of such fees collected by the Treasury in the past three years; if not, the reasons for that?
*22. Hon TANG Ka-piu to ask: (Translation)
In its reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on the Estimates of Expenditure 2014-2015, the Government stated that there were then 21 existing road sections noise barriers retrofitting works for which were under planning and review, or under review in the light of the circumstances of individual sections. Regarding the programme for retrofitting noise barriers on existing roads ("the programme"), will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the following information on each of the aforesaid 21 works items: (i) the expected commencement date of the works, (ii) the road section concerned, (iii) the traffic noise level at the road section concerned, (iv) the estimated project cost, (v) the current work progress (including the time for drawing up the conceptual design), (vi) the expected completion date of the works, and (vii) the estimated number of persons benefitting from the works (set out in a table in chronological order of the expected commencement dates); (2) of the mechanisms adopted by the authorities for determining the order for commencing works of and the design criteria for the aforesaid 21 works items, as well as the target date for completing all these 21 works items; (3) given that when the issue of retrofitting noise barriers at Tsung Pak Long section of the Fanling Highway was discussed last year at the Traffic and Transport Committee of the North District Council, the government officials indicated that project establishment for the proposed works had been made, of the reasons why this works proposal has not yet been included in the programme so far; (4) of the measures put in place by the Government to alleviate the noise problems at the relevant road sections before completion of the noise barriers retrofitting works in (1) and (3); (5) given that the Government will retrofit noise barriers or enclosures on existing roads with noise levels exceeding 70 dB(A) under the existing traffic noise mitigation policy, whether the Government will conduct an in-depth study with a view to including in the programme those road sections with noise levels exceeding 70 dB(A) but have not yet been included in the programme; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (6) as it is learnt that the roads near Golf Parkview, a residential development in Sheung Shui, have noise levels reaching 72.4 dB(A), but the Government has all along rejected residents' request for retrofitting noise barriers at the relevant road sections, whether the Government will consider afresh retrofitting noise barriers at the road sections concerned?
* For written reply
III. Members' Motions
Clerk to the Legislative Council