A 14/15-34
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 8 July 2015 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers
Other Papers
IIA. Questions under Rule 24(4) of the Rules of Procedure
1. Dr Hon Elizabeth QUAT to ask: (Translation)
On the 27th of last month, an explosion of coloured powder occurred and a fire broke out at the Formosa Water Park in New Taipei City of Taiwan, causing nearly 500 casualties. Given the grave concern of members of the public about the safety of two large-scale events to be held in Hong Kong this month and in December this year respectively, in which coloured paints or powder will be used, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has immediately reviewed the system adopted by the authorities for regulating the use of coloured paints or powder in public events, including the procedures for vetting and approval of such applications, and prohibition on the use of substances which are harmful to the skin and to the respiratory system or which are inflammable; if it has reviewed, of the outcome; if not, whether it will conduct such a review immediately; and (2) whether it has immediately reviewed if the hospitals in Hong Kong can cope with a scenario in which hundreds of people suffer from burns; if the review outcome is that the hospitals can hardly cope with such a scenario, whether it will immediately draw up contingency measures?
| Public Officers to reply | : | Secretary for Food and Health
Secretary for Security |
2. Dr Hon Helena WONG to ask: (Translation)
At the end of last month, an explosion of theatrical powder occurred and a fire broke out in the middle of an event named "Color Play Asia" held in New Taipei City of Taiwan, causing nearly 500 casualties. On the other hand, two large-scale events named Life in Color and The Color Run, in which coloured paints or theatrical powder will be used, will be held in Hong Kong respectively at the end of this month and December this year. Some members of the public have expressed concern about whether it will be safe to attend these two events. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it will immediately require the organizers of the two events to cancel the use of theatrical powder or other inflammable paints in the events, failing which it will refuse to issue or cancel the relevant Temporary Places of Public Entertainment Licences, so as to safeguard public safety; if it will not, of the reasons for that?
| Public Officers to reply | : | Secretary for Food and Health
Secretary for Security |
II. Questions
1. Hon Tommy CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)
Under the existing legislation, liquor licences may be issued only to natural persons but not body corporates or companies. I have often received complaints from members of the bar industry that such a requirement is detrimental to the business environment. Since liquor licensees are required to personally monitor and manage the licensed premises, those operators who own a number of liquor-selling premises have no alternative but to have the liquor licences of those premises held by their employees. When such employees apply privately to the Liquor Licensing Board for revocation of the liquor licences, or when there are staff changes (such as staff departure), those premises are forced to close down and the operators suffer economic losses as a result. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has compiled statistics on the number of cases in each of the past three years in which, soon after applications by the liquor licensees for revocation of liquor licences had been approved, the operators of the premises concerned applied afresh for liquor licences; if it has, of the numbers of such cases; if not, whether it will compile such statistics; (2) whether it will consider requiring that when applying for revocation of liquor licences, liquor licensees must submit documents proving that the operators of the premises concerned agree to such revocations; if it will, of the details of such measures and the implementation timetable; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) as the authorities indicated in early 2012 that they intended to implement a reserve licensee mechanism to minimize disruption to businesses of liquor-licensed premises by having a reserve licensee to take over the role of the original licensee at any given time during the licence period should circumstances so warrant, of the current work progress and the implementation timetable for such proposal?
2. Hon Charles Peter MOK to ask: (Translation)
Some practitioners from the information technology ("IT") sector have relayed to me that although the authorities have been committed to developing the innovation and technology industry in recent years, their procurement policy for IT products and services as well as approach for implementing government IT projects are both unable to dovetail with the development of the industry. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that the authorities have set up specific service groups under the Standing Offer Agreement for Quality Professional Services for policy bureaux/government departments ("B/Ds") to acquire IT professional services with contract value not exceeding HK$1.43 million, of the respective numbers of local small and medium enterprises ("SMEs") which were awarded IT service contracts worth less than and more than HK$1.43 million in each of the past three years, and the respective areas of services involved in such contracts; among such contracts awarded by the Government, of the percentage of contracts awarded to SMEs; whether the authorities will, under the principle of not violating the Agreement on Government Procurement of the World Trade Organization, introduce more elements of "priority to locals" to the relevant procurement policies and procedures; if they will, of the details; (2) given that the various B/Ds currently employ non-civil service contract staff to provide them with IT services, and they also procure this kind of services provided by the "body-shopping" contract (commonly called "T-contract") staff employed by employment agencies, but the remuneration packages of these two types of staff are inferior to those of civil servants, whether the authorities will conduct studies on converting some of the posts held by the aforesaid two types of staff into civil service posts, so as to improve the remuneration packages of such staff and attract more people to join IT industry to dovetail with IT development; if they will not, whether the authorities will review the terms and conditions of "T-contracts", with a view to improving the remuneration packages of agency workers; if they will, of the details; and (3) given that the development of and demand for IT are rapidly advancing and changing, whether the authorities will encourage various B/Ds to adopt approaches in line with Agile development in implementing government IT projects, so as to reduce development costs, enhance efficiency and shorten the time required for development; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
3. Hon Andrew LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
Excessive intake of trans fats will increase the risk of coronary heart disease, and partially hydrogenated vegetable oil ("PHVO") is the major source of artificial trans fats in processed foods. The United States Food and Drug Administration decided last month that, except with its permission, no food manufacturers would be allowed to add PHVO to foods, subject to a transition period of three years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has compiled statistics on the quantities and percentages of foods, beverages, food additives and flavourings currently available on the market that contain artificial trans fats; if it has compiled, of the details of such quantities and percentages in the last three years; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether it will, by making reference to the aforesaid practice in the United States, prohibit the import or sale of processed foods containing PHVO; if it will prohibit, of the timetable; if not, whether it will consider setting a ceiling on artificial trans fat content in various kinds of processed foods; and (3) whether it will regulate the artificial trans fat content of powdered formula and prepackaged foods for infants and young children under the age of 36 months; if it will regulate, of the timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
4. Hon Christopher CHUNG to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the Police raided a bomb-making site and an arsenal last month, seizing large quantities of chemicals that could be used for making extremely lethal bombs, detonators, modified firearms, promotional leaflets, maps, etc. Some of the suspects involved in the case admitted that they belonged to an organization called the "National Independent Party". The mission of the organization is to strive to connect pro-independence groups and organizations in Taiwan with those in Hong Kong, so as to form a new "independent force". Some members of the public suspect that some Hong Kong pro-independence groups intend to achieve their goals by violent means. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as there are comments that it is evident from the above incident that certain Hong Kong pro-independence groups have sufficient skills to make extremely lethal bombs with ordinary chemicals, of the counter measures that the Government has put in place; whether the Government will assess afresh the potential threats posed to the law and order of Hong Kong by Hong Kong pro-independence groups, and whether it will enhance the security measures implemented for various government buildings and premises; (2) given that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has not yet, as required under Article 23 of the Basic Law, enacted laws on its own to prohibit, among others, acts of secession, whether the Department of Justice has studied if section 2(1)(c) of the Crimes Ordinance or other legislative provisions may be invoked to institute prosecutions against those people who openly advocate independence of Hong Kong, recruit members for Hong Kong pro-independence groups and take substantive actions to realize independence of Hong Kong; and (3) whether it has conducted any investigation to see if any underground or online political groups advocating the use of violent means to stage political protests are currently committing offences under the United Nations (Anti-Terrorism Measures) Ordinance; if the investigation result is in the affirmative, whether it will apply to the Court for an order to specify the members of these organizations as terrorists and proscribe the relevant organizations?
5. Hon Cyd HO to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress ("NPCSC") adopted the National Security Law of the People's Republic of China ("the new national security law") last week, and Article 11(2) and Article 40(3) therein make reference to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("SAR"), stipulating that the residents and government of the SAR have a "shared obligation" identical to that of Mainland residents regarding national security. This is the first time that the Mainland adopts such an approach for enacting legislation. Some local journalism organizations have pointed out that the reference to the SAR in the new national security law runs counter to the principle of "one country, two systems", and the definition of "national security" in the new national security law far exceeds the Johannesburg Principles on National Security, Freedom of Expression and Access to Information, seriously infringing the freedom of expression of the public. Those organizations have also pointed out that in the event that this law is passed, if people commit acts in the SAR which are not in contravention of Hong Kong legislation but in breach of the new national security law, such as chanting slogans on putting an end to one-party dictatorship, the mainland authorities may take law enforcement actions against them under the new national security law upon their entry into the Mainland. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has assessed how the aforesaid two Articles will be enforced in the SAR following the passage of the new national security law; whether the SAR Government can confirm that it will not enact legislation on Article 23 of the Basic Law in response to the passage of the new national security law; as some journalism organizations have pointed out that the offences involving "national security" in the new national security law are beyond the scope of those acts that the SAR should enact laws on its own to prohibit under Article 23 of the Basic Law, whether the SAR must adopt the definition in the new national security law in defining "national security"; (2) whether it has any plan to conduct studies on the impact of the new national security law on the SAR, as well as collect and relay to NPCSC the views of Hong Kong people; if it does, of the details and timetable; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) as some journalism organizations have pointed out that under Article 77 and Article 78 of the new national security law, mainland citizens must proactively cooperate with state organs in their investigations related to national security and provide leads, whether it has assessed, given the provision on "shared obligation", if the requirement for Hong Kong people to discharge the obligation described in those Articles runs counter to the principle of placing the onus of proof on the prosecution under the common law practised in Hong Kong, and also to the principle of "one country, two systems"; if it has, of the findings; whether the SAR Government will relay the concerns of the aforesaid journalism organizations to NPCSC?
6. Hon Gary FAN to ask: (Translation)
I have recently received complaints from some members of the public that they found that during the "anti-pocket-it-first march" initiated by the Civil Human Rights Front on 14 June this year, a number of police vehicles parked in the playground of Queen's College, located near the starting point of the march, with some police officers passing through the main entrance of the school. These members of the public queried whether the Police had the power to requisition government school facilities in discharging police duties. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) which facilities in Queen's College were requisitioned by the Police on 14 June this year, and for what uses such facilities were requisitioned; (2) of the legal basis for the Police to requisition public resources not under its control for discharging police duties, as well as the relevant procedure and criteria for approval; and (3) as the resources of government schools are for education purposes, whether the Police or other law enforcement agencies are required to consider the intended uses of the resources of government schools or other government departments when borrowing them for use, so as to ensure that public funds are used properly and public resources will not be mismatched or even tilted towards law enforcement agencies?
*7. Hon LEE Cheuk-yan to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the importation of foreign labour, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as the authorities rolled out enhancement measures in April last year to expedite the preparatory work for applications submitted by public work contractors under the Supplementary Labour Scheme involving 26 trades with manpower shortage, of (i) the number of such applications received by the authorities so far and, in respect of each approved application, (ii) the name of the contractor, (iii) the location of the construction site, (iv) the number of foreign workers applied to be imported, and (v) the number of foreign workers approved to be imported (broken down by the 26 trades); (2) as the authorities introduced measures in April last year allowing private residential care homes for the elderly participating in the Enhanced Bought Place Scheme to apply for importation of foreign labour for their non-bought places, of (i) the number of such applications received by the authorities so far and, in respect of each approved application, (ii) the number of foreign workers applied to be imported, and (iii) the number of foreign workers approved to be imported; whether the authorities will provide the voting records of the Labour Advisory Board in respect of each application; (3) of the number of persons who were issued employment visas by the authorities under the "General Employment Policy" in each of the past three years, with a breakdown by education level of the applicants as well as the salary group, occupation and industry to which they belonged; and (4) whether the Immigration Department ("ImmD") has, in the course of vetting and approving applications under "the General Employment Policy" and "the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals", demanded the employers to provide information (e.g. copies of the recruitment advertisements and the number of candidates) to prove that they have conducted local recruitment exercises for the relevant posts but could not identify suitable candidates in the exercises; if ImmD has, of the number of times it made such a demand in each of the past three years?
*8. Dr Hon Kenneth CHAN to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the closure of the Tin Hau campus of International Montessori School in July next year and the plan of the School to arrange the affected students to study at its campus in Stanley may bring changes to the number of international school places available in the districts concerned. Besides, quite a number of international schools and local schools have offered International Baccalaureate ("IB") programmes, giving students non-mainstream choices in pursuing further studies. In connection with the supply of and demand for the aforesaid two types of places, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the projected numbers of international school places at primary and secondary levels respectively in the 2015-2016 school year, broken down by District Council ("DC") district; (2) of the numbers of places and students of IB programmes in the 2014-2015 school year, broken down by DC district and school type (i.e. international school and non-international school); the relevant projected figures in the 2015-2016 school year; and (3) given that the authorities indicated in April this year that they had commissioned a new round of study to update the latest position of international school places at primary and secondary levels and to better understand the nature of the demand in the next few years, whether the authorities will concurrently study and assess the future supply of and demand for IB programme places and, on the basis of the results, plan for (i) the supply and distribution of these two types of places, and (ii) the ratio of local students to non-local ones in such schools/programmes; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*9. Hon YIU Si-wing to ask: (Translation)
There are views that as the existing two-runway system ("2RS") of the airport will likely reach its maximum practical capacity in 2016-2017, it is necessary for the authorities to formulate measures to further enhance the capacity of the airport to receive visitors before expanding it into a three-runway system ("3RS"), so as to maintain the service quality of the airport as well as its status as an aviation hub in Asia. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows, among the visitors received by the airport in each of the past five years, the respective numbers of Hong Kong residents, overseas visitors and mainland visitors (set out in the table below);
Hong Kong residents Overseas visitors Mainland visitors Total 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 (2) whether it knows, among the overseas visitors and mainland visitors received by the airport in each of the past five years, the respective numbers of those (i) destined for Hong Kong, (ii) transiting via Hong Kong to mainland cities, and (iii) transiting via Hong Kong to overseas cities (set out in the table below); and
Overseas visitors Mainland visitors (i) (ii) (iii) (i) (ii) (iii) 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 (3) whether it has assessed the capacity of the airport to receive transit passengers during the period when the maximum practical capacity of 2RS has saturated and the 3RS has yet to be commissioned; if it has, of the details and the corresponding measures; if not, the reasons for that; whether it has assessed how far the capacity of the airport to receive transit passengers may be enhanced upon the commissioning of 3RS; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*10. Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)
It is learnt that the Commission on Youth ("COY") receives government funding to implement the Funding Scheme for Youth Internship in the Mainland and the Funding Scheme for Youth Exchange in the Mainland, under which community organizations are given funding support to offer internship and exchange opportunities for youths. It has been reported that Hua Jing Society Limited ("HJS"), one of the beneficiary organizations, arranges internships for post-secondary graduates in mainland enterprises each year. However, some interns of 2012 have complained that despite HJS's pledge that it would award a scholarship of $3,000 to each of the 10 interns with outstanding performance, it had yet to pay such amounts after a lapse of three years. Moreover, some interns of 2013 have pointed out that HJS promised to reimburse a tour fee of about $1,000 to each of the 57 interns of the tour, but it did not make such reimbursements after a lapse of two years. Some university lecturers responsible for arranging internships in the Mainland for local post-secondary graduates have pointed out that such incidents reflect that the administration within HJS is chaotic, and the Government has failed to effectively monitor the use of public money. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
(1) whether COY has reviewed the assessment standards for the two aforesaid funding schemes to ensure that only competent organizations will be granted funding support; whether the political stances of the managements of applicant organizations will affect their chance of securing funding support; (2) how COY monitors the content and quality of those internship and exchange activities which have obtained funding support so as to ensure the prudent use of public money; and (3) how COY penalizes those organizations that do not comply with the funding guidelines; the channels through which participants of such internship and exchange activities may lodge complaints against blunders on the part of the organizers?
*11. Hon Frankie YICK to ask: (Translation)
The Transport Advisory Committee submitted its Report on Study of Road Traffic Congestion in Hong Kong to the Transport and Housing Bureau ("THB") at the end of last year. THB agrees to the recommendations put forward in the Report, including containing the growth of private cars ("PCs") by raising their first registration tax ("FRT") and annual licence fee in order to alleviate road traffic congestion. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
(1) a breakdown by vehicle price (excluding the FRT payable) of (i) the number of newly registered PCs, and (ii) the year-on-year percentage change in such number, in each of the past 10 years (set out in the table below);
Year Vehicle price ($) Total 150,000
or less150,001
to
300,000300,001
to
500,000500,001
or more(i) (ii) (i) (ii) (i) (ii) (i) (ii) (i) (ii) 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 (2) (i) the number of PCs the ownership of which was transferred, (ii) the year-on-year percentage change in such number, and (iii) the percentage of such number in the total number of registered PCs, in each of the past 10 years (set out in the table below);
Year (i) (ii) (iii) 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 (3) the number of PCs the vehicle registration of which was cancelled in each of the past 10 years, broken down by the vehicle age group to which they belonged (set out in the table below);
Vehicle age 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 16 years or more 11 to 15 years 6 to 10 years 5 years or less (4) the respective (i) numbers and (ii) percentages of registered PCs as at the end of 2014 which belonged to the vehicle age groups set out in the table below; and
Vehicle age (i) (ii) 21 years or more 16 to 20 years 11 to 15 years 7 to 10 years 6 years or less (5) the factors considered by the Government in deciding whether to increase the FRT rate of PCs?
*12. Hon LEUNG Kwok-hung to ask: (Translation)
Some prisoners and discharged prisoners have relayed to me that the Correctional Services Department ("CSD") has deprived prisoners of their rights in respect of meals, wages, reading and visits by relatives and friends. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) as CSD currently provides four main dietary scales for prisoners, of the respective weekly menus of breakfast, lunch and dinner of each dietary scale, as well as the cost of each set of food; the criteria based on which CSD provides a certain type of dietary scale for a prisoner; (2) of the criteria adopted by CSD for determining the wages of prisoners; the grounds, other than medical reasons verified by medical practitioners, on which prisoners may refuse the work arranged for them by CSD; whether prisoners will be penalized for refusing to work; if so, of the details; (3) of the government departments and public organizations that purchased in the past five years the products made and services provided by prisoners; the respective market values of such products and services; (4) as CSD currently requires that the relatives and friends of a prisoner may provide the prisoner with only six items of reading materials per month and that devotional books are not subject to any limit, of the criteria adopted by CSD for determining such a limit; whether CSD will consider reviewing the limit to enable prisoners to have more reading materials to read; if CSD will consider, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (5) given that currently the relatives and friends visiting a prisoner may only speak through a phone to the prisoner on the other side of a glass partition in a visiting room, whether CSD will allow relatives and friends to visit a prisoner under an arrangement same as that for legal advisers to visit prisoners, so that prisoners can talk to their relatives and friends without any barrier; if CSD will allow, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*13. Hon CHAN Kin-por to ask: (Translation)
At present, for the majority of the cases heard at Magistrates' Courts, prosecutions are undertaken by Court Prosecutors ("CPs") from the Prosecutions Division of the Department of Justice, with the exception of important cases or cases involving difficult points of law. The minimum entry requirement for the CP grade is an attainment of Level 3 or equivalent in five subjects in the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination or matriculation, or equivalent. After joining the service, each CP is required to attend a nine-month full time training course on advocacy techniques, rules of evidence, criminal law, court procedure, etc. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number and the profile of academic qualifications of the newly recruited CPs in the past 10 years and, among them, the number of those who hold relevant legal qualifications; of the numbers, the profiles of academic qualifications, the numbers of those who hold relevant legal qualifications and the turnover rates of CPs in various ranks at present; (2) whether it has plans to recruit CPs in the next three years; if it does, whether it will raise the minimum entry requirement for the grade to possession of relevant legal qualifications (e.g. a professional law degree), strengthen the on-the-job training and adopt a more stringent appraisal system; if it will, of the details; (3) for cases heard at Magistrates' Courts in which the defendants are represented by senior counsel with rich advocacy experience, whether a mechanism is currently in place to ensure that these cases are heard under the condition that the strength of both the prosecution and the defence is similar; if so, of the details; if not, the measures adopted by the authorities to ensure that the performance of CPs meets the professional standard required for handling such cases; and (4) whether a mechanism is in place at present for handling complaints lodged by members of the public about the performance of CPs; if so, of the details, including the arrangement for assigning another CP to handle the case concerned; if not, whether the authorities will consider establishing such a mechanism so as to ensure that the performance of CPs is appropriately monitored by the public?
*14. Dr Hon Helena WONG to ask: (Translation)
A concern group on the poverty situation of South Asian ethnic minority ("EM") families has conducted a survey. According to the survey findings, among the 133 working EMs interviewed, more than 60% of them come from families the living standard of which is below the poverty line set by the Government; among the 75 families with children, over half of them have to maintain three to five children, and over 80% of EM youths aged above 15 are not receiving schooling. Nonetheless, it is often the case that EMs, due to language barriers, have not applied for any social welfare or other support. On the other hand, the International Social Service - Hong Kong Branch ("ISSHK") has been commissioned by the Home Affairs Department ("HAD") to implement an ambassador scheme to provide support for EMs. Besides, HAD currently sponsors two community support teams (i.e. the Pakistani Community Support Team and the Nepalese Community Support Team) to provide community services for the EMs concerned. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
(1) whether they know, in respect of the community services including outreach services, home visits, case referrals and information seminars/workshops provided by ISSHK under the ambassador scheme in each of the past three years, (i) the number and (ii) the geographical distribution of such services, as well as (iii) the number of person-times using such services, (iv) the race distribution of the service users and (v) the service details (set out the breakdown by year in tables of the same format as the table below);
(i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) Outreach services Home visits Case referrals Information seminars/workshops Others (please specify) (2) whether they know, in respect of the community services including outreach services, home visits, case referrals, escort/interpretation services and enquiry services provided by the aforesaid two community support teams in each of the past three years, (i) the number and (ii) the geographical distribution of such services, as well as (iii) the number of person-times using such services and (iv) the service details (set out the breakdown by year of each community support team in tables of the same format as the table below);
(i) (ii) (iii) (iv) Outreach services Home visits Case referrals Escort/interpretation services Enquiry services Others (please specify) (3) of the criteria adopted by HAD for providing funding for ISSHK and the two community support teams, as well as the funding guidelines for compliance by these organizations; and (4) whether HAD has conducted regular reviews of the effectiveness of the services provided by ISSHK and the two community support teams; if HAD has, whether it will make public the review reports; if it has not, of the reasons for that, and whether HAD will consider conducting such reviews?
*15. Hon Tony TSE to ask: (Translation)
Under the Town Planning Ordinance (Cap. 131), the Town Planning Board ("TPB") may designate a certain site in an Outline Zoning Plan as a comprehensive development area ("CDA"). The main purpose of designating a CDA is to conduct comprehensive planning and implement systematic development for the area concerned by taking account of environmental, traffic and infrastructure constraints. The proponent of a CDA must submit an application to TPB in the form of a master layout plan and obtain the approval of TPB before proceeding with development. Some practitioners from the surveying profession have relayed to me that at present, due to the fragmented ownerships of quite a number of CDAs, proponents of CDAs must first consolidate the ownerships before they can submit applications for such development projects to TPB. However, the work of consolidating ownerships often takes a very long time, thus slowing down land development and housing supply. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) among those CDA sites which have yet to be developed or the master layout plans for which have yet to be approved, of (i) the year in which the site was zoned as CDA, (ii) the land area, (iii) the proposed plot ratio, and (iv) the permitted gross floor area of each site, with a breakdown by District Council district; (2) whether the authorities know the reasons why some CDA sites have yet to be developed; whether hindrance in consolidation of ownerships is the main reason; if the authorities do, whether they will consider adjusting the coverage of the relevant CDA sites so as to expedite their development; and (3) as I have learnt that at present TPB conducts the first review of each CDA site at the end of the third year following its zoning and annual review thereafter, whether TPB will consider rezoning CDA sites when such sites have been left undeveloped for a certain number of years after zoning, so as to enhance their development opportunities; if TPB will not, of the reasons for that?
*16. Hon CHAN Han-pan to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the streets in Kwai Chung industrial area and those in the vicinity of Rambler Channel Typhoon Shelter, including Kwai Yue Street, Kwai Tai Road, Kwai Hei Street and Wing Lap Street, have become popular locations for fly-tipping of construction waste, industrial waste or other bulky waste in recent years. Some local residents have relayed that the accumulated waste affects environmental hygiene and compromises the safety of road users, and the authorities should therefore address and follow up the issue expeditiously. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the time periods of regular cleaning of the aforesaid streets by the authorities at present and the manpower deployed; (2) of the number of complaints received in each of the past three years by the authorities about fly-tipping of construction waste, industrial waste and other waste in the aforesaid areas; (3) of the number of prosecutions instituted in each of the past three years by the authorities against persons who fly-tipped waste in the aforesaid areas; and (4) whether the authorities will deploy additional manpower to combat the aforesaid fly-tipping activities and install closed circuit television surveillance systems in the aforesaid areas to curb such illegal activities?
*17. Hon LEUNG Che-cheung to ask: (Translation)
Recently, some incidents have aroused the public's grave concerns about the safety of the residents of residential care homes for the elderly ("RCHEs"). For example, there was a case in which an RCHE, upon knowing that one of its residents had gone missing at night, not only failed to immediately report the case to the Police, but also delayed informing the resident's relatives until after the resident had gone missing for two hours. Upon knowing the incident, the relatives reported it to the Police, and the resident concerned was finally found by the Police. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the numbers of reports, received by the Licensing Office of Residential Care Homes for the Elderly of the Social Welfare Department ("SWD") in each of the past three years, on incidents involving RCHE residents (e.g. residents contracting infectious diseases, going missing) which were submitted by RCHEs in accordance with the Residential Care Homes (Elderly Persons) Regulation (Cap. 459 sub. leg. A) or the Code of Practice for Residential Care Homes (Elderly Persons), with a breakdown by type of incident; how SWD followed up such incidents; (2) of the timeframe and procedure currently required by SWD for RCHEs to inform the relatives of their residents who encountered incidents; the number of RCHEs violating such requirements in the past three years and the penalties imposed by SWD on such RCHEs; (3) as SWD currently requires that upon the occurrence of accidents involving residents, RCHEs make records of the details of the accidents and keep the records, but it does not require RCHEs to submit reports on such accidents, whether SWD will consider requiring RCHEs to do so, in order to strengthen its monitoring of RCHEs; if SWD will not consider, of the reasons for that; and (4) whether SWD has grasped the information about those RCHE residents who pay home fees with their Comprehensive Social Security Assistance payments at present and do not receive regular visits by relatives; if SWD has, whether it regularly sends officers to visit such residents so as to understand their living conditions at RCHEs, and provide assistance to them in a timely manner?
*18. Hon IP Kin-yuen to ask: (Translation)
In its report entitled Aspiration for the Higher Education System in Hong Kong published in 2010, the University Grants Committee ("UGC") stated that it encouraged local universities to pursue actively the development of distance learning, or collaboration in joint or double degrees, and in a measured way other forms of delivery of educational provision on the Mainland. UGC pointed out, however, that the institutions must balance the need to maintain standards in Hong Kong with the desire to expand their network on the Mainland. In recent years, tertiary institutions funded by UGC ("UGC-funded institutions") have established joint-venture or wholly-owned satellite campuses, research institutes, as well as other academic institutions and programmes ("educational institutions and programmes") on the Mainland. In April this year, it was reported that some staff members of the research institute established by The Chinese University of Hong Kong in Shenzhen were found to have allegedly embezzled funds of the institute, but the management did not report to the Council of the University until two years after the incident. Some members of the public are concerned whether the provision of educational and research services on the Mainland by various UGC-funded institutions has been developing too fast, and whether a proper regulatory mechanism is lacking. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
(1) whether the various UGC-funded institutions are required to report to UGC on the establishment of educational institutions and programmes on the Mainland; if so, (i) the respective names of the educational institutions and programmes as well as other affiliated institutions established and to be established on the Mainland by the various UGC-funded institutions, and (ii) the respective expenditure and revenue of the educational institutions and programmes established by various UGC-funded institutions on the Mainland in the past five years; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether various UGC-funded institutions have drawn up guidelines or codes of practice for the establishment of educational institutions and programmes on the Mainland: if they have, the details; if not; the reasons for that; and (3) the respective laws and requirements in Hong Kong and on the Mainland that regulate the establishment of educational institutions and programmes by UGC-funded institutions on the Mainland?
*19. Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to ask: (Translation)
The Airport Authority ("AA") is planning to develop the North Commercial District ("NCD") on the airport island. The site, which has an area of over 10 hectares and is currently used as a temporary golf course and a car park, will be converted for use by retail and hotel development, providing a total floor area of over two million square feet in the first phase of retail development. On the other hand, a commercial site in Tung Chung Area 3A, adjacent to the airport with a permissible gross floor area of 540 000 square feet, was sold at $2,328 million in 2013, reflecting that the NCD site is very valuable. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether AA has applied to the authorities for waiving the land premium for the aforesaid site; if it has, of the details, and the authorities' considerations for vetting and approving the application; (2) whether it has charged AA the land premium for the aforesaid site; if it has, whether it has assessed why AA has the financial ability to undertake this commercial development project on the one hand, but, on the other hand, has resorted to methods such as stop paying dividends to the Government for 10 years in order to raise funds for expanding the airport into a three-runway system; if it has not charged any land premium, of the reasons for that, and who made the decision; whether it has assessed if there was any dereliction of duty on the part of government officials, and whether the Chief Executive and the Chief Secretary for Administration were aware of this; if they were, of the reasons why they approved the decision; and (3) other than the NCD site, of the number of sites under AA with land premiums not fully paid, the total sum involved, the permissible gross floor area of those sites, the expiry dates of their land leases, and their total market value; why the Government did not charge the full land premiums for those sites?
*20. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)
Some members of the public have complained to me that quite a number of barbecue sites currently located on the podiums or rooftops of residential, industrial and commercial buildings are allegedly operating in contravention of the law (e.g. carrying on a food business and selling liquor without a licence) and in breach of the conditions of the relevant land leases ("unauthorized barbecue sites"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of (i) prosecutions instituted and (ii) verbal advice issued by the authorities against operators of unauthorized barbecue sites in the past five years, as well as (iii) the number of barbecue sites involved in such prosecution cases, with a breakdown by type of buildings where such barbecue sites are situated and offence (i.e. (a) carrying on a food business without a licence, (b) selling liquor without a licence, (c) contravention of the Fire Services Ordinance (Cap. 95) and (d) contravention of the Buildings Ordinance (Cap. 123)) in the table below:
Residential buildings Industrial buildings Commercial buildings Composite commercial/
residential buildingsOthers (i) (ii) (iii) (i) (ii) (iii) (i) (ii) (iii) (i) (ii) (iii) (i) (ii) (iii) (a) (b) (c) (d) (2) given that last year, the authorities put forward proposals to amend the relevant legislation in order to empower the Hotel and Guesthouse Accommodation Authority to refuse issuance of licence when handling guesthouse licence applications on the grounds that the Deed of Mutual Covenant of the building concerned contains restrictive provisions, and to introduce deeming provisions, so as to strengthen law enforcement against unlicensed guesthouses, whether the authorities will conduct studies on the introduction of a similar licensing and law enforcement regime for stepping up the regulation of barbecue sites; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) as there are views that the penalties currently applicable to unauthorized barbecue sites are too lenient and therefore lack deterrent effect, whether the authorities will conduct studies on (i) amending the legislation to increase the penalties and implement a progressive system of fines, (ii) applying to the Court for issuance of closure orders against the relevant premises, and (iii) resuming the premises in breach of conditions of land leases, with a view to combating unauthorized barbecue sites; (4) as the regulation of such barbecue sites involves a number of legislation and government departments, whether there is at present any exchange of prosecution information among the various departments; if there is not, whether the authorities will consider establishing an inter-departmental group to enhance coordination in law enforcement; and (5) of the number of complaints received by the authorities in the past five years about noises generated from barbecue sites, and the largest number of complaints about the same barbecue site in the same business period; the details of the law enforcement actions currently taken by the authorities against noises generated from barbecue sites, and whether they have reviewed the effectiveness of the law enforcement actions?
*21. Hon Emily LAU to ask:
In 2014, the Employment Agencies Administration ("EAA") of the Labour Department received 170 complaints against employment agencies ("EAs") in Hong Kong which provided intermediary service for foreign domestic helpers ("FDHs"). However, only four EAs were convicted in that year: one for overcharging an FDH, two for unlicensed operations, and one for failing to notify the Labour Department of the change of management within the statutory timeframe. Regarding the handling of complaints against EAs by EAA, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
(1) among the 170 complaints received by EAA in 2014, of the number of those which were rejected by EAA; of the most common reasons for EAA rejecting such complaints; (2) whether a mechanism is in place to ensure that EAA fully considers the merits of a complaint before deciding to reject it; and (3) of the total number of complaints against EAs received by EAA from FDHs in the past three years; among such complaints: the respective numbers of those which were rejected and those rejected for evidential reasons; a breakdown of the number of those rejected complaints by reason for rejection; if such statistics are not available, the relevant statistics for another period which are available?
*22. Hon WU Chi-wai to ask: (Translation)
In recent years, the Government has introduced the Journey Time Indication System ("JTIS") and Speed Map Panels ("SMPs") to provide road traffic information to motorists. At present, JTIS is installed along the major routes leading to the three road harbour crossings ("RHCs") on Hong Kong Island and in Kowloon, and SMPs are installed along the trunk roads in the New Territories heading for Kowloon. I have recently proposed to the Transport Department that the two systems be installed in East Kowloon to enable motorists using the New Clear Water Bay Road to choose different driving routes, so as to alleviate the traffic congestion at the Choi Hung Road Interchange and even in the entire East Kowloon. The Transport Department, however, responded that due to cost-effectiveness considerations, it would install journey time indicators only along the busy roads leading to RHCs for the time being. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has assessed the project cost and annual additional recurrent expenditure involved in installing the aforesaid two systems in East Kowloon; if it has, of the details; (2) given that the information provided by the authorities in reply to my question in May 2013 indicated that, in 2010 and 2011, the traffic flow on Kwun Tong Bypass and Lung Cheung Road during rush hours was similar to that on the trunk roads leading to the Cross Harbour Tunnel, whether the authorities will review the decision of installing journey time indicators only along the roads leading to RHCs, and reconsider installing JTIS in East Kowloon; if they will not, of the other measures to alleviate the traffic congestion in East Kowloon; (3) whether it currently has any plan to expand the two systems to other roads, such as installing SMPs along the trunk roads not leading to RHCs; and (4) apart from the two systems and other relevant existing technological applications, whether the Government has considered introducing technologies which are aimed at providing road traffic information to motorists; if it has, of the details?
* For written reply
III. Bills
| First Reading
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| 1. | Chinese Permanent Cemeteries (Amendment) Bill 2015
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| 2. | Supplementary Appropriation (2014-2015) Bill
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| 3. | Kai Tak Cruise Terminal Bill
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| 4. | Promotion of Recycling and Proper Disposal (Product Container) (Amendment) Bill 2015
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| Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned)
| |||
| 1. | Chinese Permanent Cemeteries (Amendment) Bill 2015 | : | Secretary for Home Affairs
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| 2. | Supplementary Appropriation (2014-2015) Bill | : | Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
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| 3. | Kai Tak Cruise Terminal Bill | : | Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
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| 4. | Promotion of Recycling and Proper Disposal (Product Container) (Amendment) Bill 2015 | : | Secretary for the Environment
|
| Second Reading (Debate to resume), Committee Stage and Third Reading
| |||
| 1. | Special Holiday (3 September 2015) Bill | : | Secretary for Labour and Welfare
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| 2. | Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill 2015 | : | Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
|
| 3. | Arbitration (Amendment) Bill 2015 | : | The Secretary for Justice
|
| The Secretary for Justice to move a Committee stage amendment
(The amendment was issued on 24 June 2015 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 797/14-15) | |||
| (Debate and voting arrangements for Committee stage amendments to the Arbitration (Amendment) Bill 2015 (issued on 7 July 2015 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 851/14-15(01)))
| |||
| 4. | Insurance Companies (Amendment) Bill 2014 | : | Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
|
| Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury to move Committee stage amendments
(The amendments were issued on 2 July 2015 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 823/14-15) | |||
| (Debate and voting arrangements for Committee stage amendments to the Insurance Companies (Amendment) Bill 2014 (issued on 7 July 2015 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 852/14-15(01)))
| |||
| 5. | Inland Revenue (Amendment) Bill 2015 | : | Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
|
| 6. | Electoral Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2015 | : | Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs
|
| 7. | Electronic Health Record Sharing System Bill | : | Secretary for Food and Health
|
| (i) Secretary for Food and Health to move Committee stage amendments
(The amendments were issued on 30 June 2015 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 806/14-15) | |||
| (ii) Dr Hon LEUNG Ka-lau to move Committee stage amendments
(The amendments were issued on 6 July 2015 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 845/14-15) | |||
| (Debate and voting arrangements for Committee stage amendments to the Electronic Health Record Sharing System Bill (issued on 7 July 2015 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 855/14-15(01)))
| |||
IV. Motions
| 1. | Proposed resolution under the Legal Aid Ordinance
Secretary for Home Affairs to move the motion in Appendix I. |
| (The motion was also issued on 19 June 2015
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 783/14-15) | |
| 2. | Proposed resolution under the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
Secretary for the Environment to move the motion in Appendix II. |
| (The motion was also issued on 3 July 2015
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 825/14-15) | |