A 15/16-1
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 14 October 2015 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers
Other Papers
II. Questions
1. Hon Charles Peter MOK to ask: (Translation)
Under the law, if private car owners intend to use their vehicles for the carriage of passengers for hire or reward, they must hold a hire car permit ("permit") issued by the Commissioner for Transport and maintain a valid insurance policy in respect of third party risks applicable to such use. In August this year, the Police arrested a few employees of a company which offered Internet car calling services and a few private car drivers who were suspected of carrying passengers for reward without a permit. Some members of the industry have relayed that the vetting and approval criteria for a permit are so overly stringent that it is difficult for private car owners to lawfully operate services for the carriage of passengers for reward. They also hold the view that as taxi services vary in quality, there is genuine demand among members of the public for Internet car calling services and hire car sharing services ("car-sharing services"). It is learnt that places such as certain cities in the Unites States, Singapore and the Philippines have conducted consultation on Internet car calling services and amended their relevant legislation, so as to make use of information technology to enhance the efficiency and standard of their transport services. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of enquires on Private Service (Limousine) Hire Car Permits received by the authorities as well as the respective numbers of applications received, approved and rejected, in each of the past three years; the vetting and approval criteria for various kinds of permits; the average processing time of each application last year, and the current number of valid permits and their validity periods; (2) whether the authorities will consult operators of Internet car calling business when reviewing the vetting and approval criteria for permits, and consider relaxing the criteria so that companies and car owners operating such business may operate lawfully with a permit, thereby increasing competition in the hire car market; if they will, of the details; and (3) whether, when conducting the Public Transport Strategy Study, the authorities will, by making reference to the practice of foreign countries, consider setting up a registration system for Internet car hire services as well as car-sharing services and drawing up a code of ethics for drivers, safety specifications for vehicles and requirements on procuring insurance, etc., and consult the industry on such issues; if they will, of the details?
2. Hon WU Chi-wai to ask: (Translation)
Last month, the Lantau Development Advisory Committee ("LanDAC") endorsed the overall spatial planning and conservation concepts as well as the proposed recreation, tourism and social development strategies for Lantau Island ("Lantau development proposals"). The Lantau development proposals include: developing the East Lantau Metropolis which can accommodate a population of 400 000 to 700 000, thereby increasing the population of Lantau Island to about 1 million; constructing roads to connect Mui Wo and the future North Lantau development areas; and exploring the reprovisioning of the correctional facilities at Hei Ling Chau as well as the consolidation and relocation of other correctional facilities on Lantau Island, in order to release some of the penal sites for residential, recreational or other purposes. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the data or premise based on which the Government put forward the proposal of increasing the future population of Lantau Island to about 1 million; given that the authorities have told LanDAC that the country parks and the southern part of Lantau Island would be reserved for conservation and recreational purposes, and yet the aforesaid roads proposed to be constructed will significantly increase the traffic flow on Lantau Island, whether the authorities have assessed if the construction of such roads will run contrary to the concept of conserving South Lantau; if they have assessed, of the outcome; given that a member of LanDAC proposed at its meeting in March this year that the Shek Pik Reservoir be reclaimed to provide land for housing development and to improve the traffic on Lantau Island, of the Government's specific response to this proposal; (2) whether the Government will review the distribution and planning of the correctional facilities throughout Hong Kong before drawing up plans for the consolidation and relocation of the correctional facilities on Lantau Island; whether it has plans to build a large-scale prison somewhere on Lantau Island for relocating the existing correctional facilities on the island; if it has such plans, given that the Government shelved in October 2004 the project for building a large-scale prison at Hei Ling Chau due to strong public objection, of the Government's justifications to persuade the public nowadays to consent to the building of a large-scale prison on Lantau Island; and (3) whether the Government intends to replace the Revised Concept Plan for Lantau ("Concept Plan"), which was formulated in 2007 after public consultation, by the Lantau development proposals; if it does, given that the development concepts set out in the Concept Plan were that "the development of major economic infrastructure and tourism uses should focus on North Lantau whereas the rest of Lantau should be preserved for nature conservation and environmentally sustainable recreational uses", why the Government revised the Concept Plan substantially?
3. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that last month, some staff members of the MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL") disallowed a secondary school student carrying a guzheng to enter the paid areas and issued a warning letter to a university student riding MTR with a cello on the grounds that the lengths of the musical instruments they carried exceeded the luggage size limit. Moreover, MTRCL staff drove away a young man singing and playing the guitar on a footbridge outside Kwun Tong MTR station. According to MTRCL, the relevant site is a public area under MTRCL's management. Such incidents have aroused public concern as to whether the regulations under the Mass Transit Railway By-laws and the Mass Transit Railway (North-West Railway) Bylaw are reasonable and still suit the present circumstances. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the respective numbers of verbal and written warnings issued by MTRCL each year since January 2012 to members of the public for unlawful acts committed in areas under its management, as well as the number of convicted cases and the relevant penalties, with a breakdown of such information by unlawful act (including carriage of musical instruments and sporting goods the sizes of which have exceeded the allowed limit as well as unlawful acts committed in the public areas outside MTR stations); (2) of the channel through which the public and this Council may monitor the reasonableness of the luggage size limit implemented by MTRCL, and the ways to find out and monitor the regulations concerning MTRCL's management of the public areas outside MTR stations and the areas under its jurisdiction; whether it knows the details of the guidelines issued by MTRCL to its staff for discharging the relevant duties, including whether or not its staff may exercise discretion; and (3) given that MTRCL submitted some 70 pages of draft amendments to the aforesaid two sets of bylaws to the Subcommittee on Matters Relating to Railways of this Council in June 2010, but it indicated in April last year that no amendment was necessary, whether the Government has reviewed the decision made by MTRCL last year, and whether it will request MTRCL to submit afresh to this Council proposals for amending the bylaws (including the regulations concerning the luggage size limit and the management of the public areas outside MTR stations)?
4. Hon Jeffrey LAM to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that the Government is currently carrying out studies on the development of Lantau Island and the formation of artificial islands with a reclamation area of about 600 to 800 hectares in the central waters between Lantau Island and Hong Kong Island for the development of an East Lantau Metropolis, i.e. the third core business district of Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of:
(1) the land planning details of the artificial islands, and the job opportunities to be provided upon the completion of the third core business district; (2) the transport infrastructure projects (including roads and railways) to be implemented to connect Hong Kong Island, Lantau Island, New Territories West and the artificial islands; and (3) the respective percentages of green areas, commercial and residential areas in the existing planned land sites on Lantau Island; whether it has plans to increase the residential land area of Lantau Island for the construction of more residential units; if it does, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
5. Hon POON Siu-ping to ask: (Translation)
It is learnt that with the recent global economic slowdown, the business environment of Hong Kong has gradually worsened and the demand for labour has shown a downward trend, affecting the employment as well as the rights and interests of some employees. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that the authorities have implemented further enhancement measures under the Supplementary Labour Scheme since May this year to allow contractors to apply for the importation of skilled workers to work in the various public sector works projects under such contractors, so as to enhance the flexibility of worker deployment and to make better use of workers' productivity, of the number of such applications received by the authorities so far and, among them, the numbers of approved cases and workers involved, with a breakdown of the relevant information by post; (2) given the recent economic downturn of Hong Kong, whether the authorities will consider abolishing the aforesaid enhancement measures to safeguard the employment of local workers; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) as I have learnt that tour guides are often required by their employers to make advanced payments on their behalf to meet the costs of receiving inbound mainland tour groups, and some travel agencies have closed down in recent months due to the decrease in mainland tourists visiting Hong Kong, quite a number of tour guides have thus been owed wages and advanced payments, how the authorities assist such employees in recovering the advanced payments, which are not protected by labour legislation?
| Public Officers to reply | : | Secretary for Labour and Welfare Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development |
6. Hon WONG Kwok-hing to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that apart from applying for admission to funded post-secondary programmes ("funded programmes") through the Joint University Programmes Admissions System, quite a number of candidates sitting for the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination also apply for admission to certain self-financing post-secondary programmes ("self-financing programmes") as a fallback. Upon being admitted to a self-financing programme, they are normally required to pay an enrolment deposit and the first instalment of tuition fees immediately. Different programmes have different refund arrangements, which also depend on the reasons for application for refund. If the reason is that they have enrolled in other programmes, whether they will receive a refund depends on whether the programmes in which they have switched to enrol are funded or self-financing ones. Some students consider that as the fees range from as high as tens of thousand to several tens of thousand dollars, the no-refund practice not only poses considerable burden to students from grass-roots families but also gives rise to unfairness. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that for students who have paid the enrolment deposits and the first instalment of tuition fees for self-financing programmes, they may generally get a full or partial refund if they switch to enrol in funded programmes, but they will not get any refund if they switch to enrol in other self-financing programmes, and the latter may feel being discriminated against, what measures the authorities will take to rectify such situation; (2) as I have learnt that some institutions will at their discretion refund students who have enrolled in self-financing programmes the fees they have paid, but such discretion is often confined to refund applications made for the reason of suffering from critical illnesses, whether the authorities will request the institutions concerned to revise the refund guidelines to refund students from poor families on a discretionary basis; and (3) whether the authorities will rationalize the admission procedures for funded and self-financing programmes and align the dates for announcing admission results of both types of programmes so that students can select their most favourite programmes and pay tuition fees after learning the admission results of the various programmes concerned; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*7. Hon IP Kin-yuen to ask: (Translation)
Under the existing policy, the Government will install double-glazed windows and air-conditioning systems for aided schools affected by traffic noise, such that the noise levels in classrooms are reduced to 60 dB(A) or below. If schools decide to have air-conditioning systems installed in their classrooms and halls on grounds such as preventing mosquitoes and pests, lowering indoor temperature and improving air quality, etc., they have to raise funds on their own from parents or other persons for meeting the capital and recurrent expenditure so incurred. Some members of the education sector have pointed out that as students of special schools will have more physical and emotional problems in a sweltering environment, there is a pressing need for such schools to be installed with air-conditioning systems in their classrooms and halls. However, owing to the small numbers of students in such schools, it is often difficult for such schools to raise sufficient funds to meet the relevant expenses. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has compiled statistics on the respective numbers of aided schools which at present do not have air-conditioning systems installed in (i) all their classrooms and (ii) their halls, with a breakdown by primary and secondary schools; if it has not, whether it will compile such statistics; (2) of the grounds, other than traffic noise, based on which the Government will install air-conditioning systems for existing schools; and (3) whether, in order to improve the teaching environment of schools, it will review the existing policy on installation of air-conditioning systems for schools; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*8. Hon Paul TSE to ask: (Translation)
In the past several years, I have incessantly received complaints about the handling of water seepage in buildings by the Joint Office ("JO") of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department ("FEHD") and the Buildings Department ("BD"). It is learnt that at a seminar held in East Kowloon last month, an official of JO said that in most cases, it was difficult to ascertain the causes of water seepage and the time needed for concluding an investigation, the success rate of colour water tests in identifying the sources of water seepage was just about 50%, and the use of infrared cameras for identifying the sources of water seepage had yet to be formally put into use after years of trials conducted by JO. Residents attending the seminar were dissatisfied with such remarks given by the official concerned. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the current staff establishment and expenditure of JO; (2) of the respective numbers of (i) complaints about water seepage in buildings received, (ii) cases in which investigations were concluded, and (iii) cases in which the sources of water seepage were ascertained, by JO since 1 April this year, and among those cases in which investigations were concluded, of the average investigation time and expenditure involved in each case; (3) of the number of complaints from residents of the Kwun Tong and Wong Tai Sin districts about water seepage in buildings currently handled by JO and the manpower deployed for such work; (4) given that I have learnt that some members of the public have switched to lodge complaints with the Office of The Ombudsman, FEHD or BD about water seepage in buildings on the grounds that JO does not handle such complaints effectively, whether the authorities know the respective numbers of complaints received by such organizations each year since the 2013-2014 financial year; (5) given that it has become a common practice in the community to investigate the causes of water seepage in buildings by using infrared cameras, which are more time-saving and quicker than colour water tests, whether the authorities have compiled statistics on the number of cases, since the 2013-2014 financial year, in which applications for civil claims were submitted by members of the public, to the Small Claims Tribunal or the Court after they had found the causes of water seepage by using infrared cameras; if they have compiled, of the numbers of such cases; if not, whether they will compile the relevant statistics as soon as possible; (6) of the time taken and public money spent by JO on studying the use of infrared cameras to identify the sources of water seepage in buildings, and the reasons why this method has not yet been adopted by JO; (7) given that JO is collaborating with the Hong Kong Applied Science and Technology Research Institute to explore more effective methods for investigating the causes of water seepage, and JO is also preparing for the commissioning of a consultancy study to examine the latest technology in identifying the sources of water seepage in buildings, of the estimated expenditure of the relevant work and the expected completion time; (8) of the number of cases in which investigations into the sources of water seepage have been outsourced by JO since 1 April this year and the total expenditure so incurred; the average time and expenditure involved in each outsourced investigation; and (9) how the investigations into the sources of water seepage in buildings conducted by outsourced contractors in the past two financial years compare, in terms of the expenditure and time taken as well as the success rate in identifying the sources of water seepage, to those conducted by JO staff members?
*9. Hon Frankie YICK to ask: (Translation)
To improve roadside air quality, the Government is phasing out pre-Euro IV diesel commercial vehicles ("DCVs") in phases. The relevant measures include the offer of ex-gratia payments to vehicle owners who have scrapped such vehicles and retiring such vehicles by ceasing to issue licences for them. The deadline for applications for ex-gratia payments and the retirement date of pre-Euro DCVs fall on 31 December this year and 1 January next year respectively. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of pre-Euro DCVs to date in respect of which the authorities have granted ex-gratia payments, together with a breakdown by vehicle class; the respective percentages of the numbers of such vehicles in the total number of vehicles eligible for applying for ex-gratia payments; the total amount of ex-gratia payments granted by the authorities so far; (2) whether it has studied the reasons why the owners of some pre-Euro DCVs have not replaced their vehicles to date, and whether such reasons include (i) new vehicles of the relevant models being out of stock, (ii) shortage of vehicle builders to convert new vehicles to meet their operational needs and (iii) vehicle owners planning to close down their businesses upon retirement of the vehicles concerned due to high operational costs; if it has, of the outcome; if not, whether it will conduct the relevant study; and (3) as it is now less than three months away from the retirement date of pre-Euro DCVs, whether the authorities have measures in place to expedite replacement of such vehicles by vehicle owners, and whether they will consider deferring the deadline for applications for ex-gratia payments and the retirement date of pre-Euro DCVs; if they have such measures, of the details; if they will not defer the relevant deadline and retirement date, the reasons for that?
*10. Ir Dr Hon LO Wai-kwok to ask: (Translation)
With the relevant technology maturing gradually, the prices of unmanned aircraft systems ("UASs") have been on continuous decline, and they have become increasingly versatile. Flying UASs has now become a recreational activity for quite a number of members of the public. At the same time, the popularization of UASs has brought about quite a number of new problems, including issues of public safety. For instance, in July this year, a teenager in the United States conducted an experiment in which he succeeded in remotely firing four shots in a row from an automatic handgun mounted on a UAS, and he uploaded the clip of his experiment onto the Internet for showing off, leading to the worry that lawbreakers may follow suit. Also in the same month, an incident occurred in Taipei in which a UAS hit the external wall of Taipei 101. Regarding the regulation of UASs, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that under the existing legislation, flying UASs weighing not more than seven kilograms (without its fuel) for recreational purpose can be classified as flying radio-controlled model aircraft, and no application to the Civil Aviation Department ("CAD") is required, but prior permission from CAD is required for flying UASs exceeding this weight for recreational purpose, whether the Government will consider amending the relevant legislation expeditiously to standardize the regulation of flying UASs of different weights for recreational purpose, and drawing up the relevant codes of operation of UASs; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) as UASs have become increasingly versatile, whether the Government will consider regulating the manufacture, import and sale of UASs used for different purposes, so as to safeguard public safety on the premise of not thwarting the healthy development of the relevant industries; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether it will consider collaborating with the relevant professional bodies to step up publicity and education on issues such as the uses and operation of UASs, the avoidance of privacy infringement and the safeguarding of public safety, etc.; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*11. Dr Hon Priscilla LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
The Water Supplies Department commenced the Water Mains Replacement and Rehabilitation Programme in 2000 to comprehensively replace and rehabilitate about 3 000 kilometres of aged water mains in phases. The programme is expected to be substantially completed within this year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) regarding those water mains covered by the aforesaid programme, of the respective total lengths of those water mains in various District Council ("DC") districts for which works have yet to start at the present moment, and the relevant work schedules; (2) of the details of each incident of fresh water main bursting since January 2014, broken down by DC district, including (i) the location of the burst water main, (ii) the duration of the resultant fresh water supply suspension, and (iii) the number of years for which the burst water main had been used; among such incidents, the number of those involving water mains which had been used for less than 30 years; and (3) whether the authorities will, upon the completion of the aforesaid programme, gradually replace and rehabilitate water mains with relatively shorter years of usage; if they will, of the manpower and expenditure involved; if not, the reasons for that?
*12. Dr Hon Elizabeth QUAT to ask: (Translation)
According to the statistics published by the Hong Kong Jockey Club Centre for Suicide Research and Prevention ("CSRP") of the University of Hong Kong last month, the suicide rates in Hong Kong have dropped continuously since 2003. However, the suicide rate of youths aged 15 to 24 increased by 1% to 2% last year, as compared with that of the year before. Since the commencement of the current school year last month, there have already been three cases in which three students aged 11 to 21 committed suicide and died. In a telephone survey conducted in 2013 on 1 010 young people aged 12 to 29, CSRP found that 30.9% of the respondents had experienced emotional distress and 28% of them had not sought any help. On the other hand, the Education Bureau updated the School Administration Guide in this September, which reminds teachers in its "Student suicide cases" section that they should not "over-patronise [students who attempted to suicide] afterwards". Some clinical psychologists are of the view that the relevant contents of such section may mislead teachers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the child and youth suicide statistics in the past five years, including the respective numbers of fatal and attempted cases and the number of requests for assistance made because they contemplated suicide; (2) whether the authorities added contents on mental health to the relevant primary and secondary school curricula in the past five years so as to raise the self-awareness of students and enable them to identify warning signals of suicide in their peers and to be more proactive in seeking help, thereby preventing suicide; (3) whether the authorities stepped up efforts in promoting the message of cherishing life among children and youths in the past five years, and informed them and their parents of the channels available for seeking assistance; if they did, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (4) whether the authorities allocated additional resources to the relevant non-governmental organizations in the past five years for the early provision of appropriate services to suicide-prone children and youths; if they did, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (5) whether the authorities made reference to overseas experience in the past five years and studied ways to lower the suicide rates of children and youths; if they did, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (6) as the statistics of CSRP indicated that many children and youths experiencing emotional distress had not sought assistance from their families and teachers, whether the authorities taught parents and teachers in the past five years, through issuing clear guidelines and organizing seminars, how to (i) identify warning signals of suicide in children and youths at an early stage, and (ii) provide them with appropriate assistance; if they did, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*13. Hon LEUNG Kwok-hung to ask: (Translation)
Will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of complaints lodged by members of the public in the past 12 months about nuisances caused by stray dogs, with a breakdown of that by District Council districts in which the places frequented by the stray dogs were situated; (2) of the number of stray dogs caught by the authorities in the past 12 months, and the respective numbers of such dogs which were subsequently adopted and euthanized; and (3) whether it knows the effectiveness of the "Trap-Neuter-Return" trial programme for stray dogs recently implemented by animal welfare organizations; if the programme is remarkably effective, whether the authorities will implement it comprehensively; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*14. Hon Kenneth LEUNG to ask: (Translation)
The Professional Accountants (Amendment) Ordinance 2013 ("the Amendment Ordinance"), which has come into operation since 24 January 2014, contains provisions prohibiting a body corporate not being a corporate practice to use misleading descriptions such as "certified public accountant", the initials "CPA" and the characters "會計師". Recently, some members of the industry have relayed to me that accounting practices suspected to be in breach of the Amendment Ordinance or the existing code of practice are still prevalent in the market. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has formulated policies and operational objectives for enforcing the Amendment Ordinance; if it has, of the details, including the government department responsible for the enforcement; if not, the reasons for that; (2) whether it has assessed the effectiveness of the law enforcement efforts in respect of the Amendment Ordinance; if it has, of the details; (3) whether the authorities have allocated additional resources to step up law enforcement efforts since the Amendment Ordinance came into operation; if they have, of the details; (4) of the government departments/organizations to which members of the public may report suspected cases of illegal use of misleading descriptions; the number of such reports received by the authorities since the Amendment Ordinance came into operation; whether the authorities have conducted investigations and instituted prosecutions in respect of such cases; if they have, of the respective numbers of prosecutions and convictions, as well as the sentences imposed by the court on the convicted persons; and (5) whether it has plans to step up efforts in enforcing the Amendment Ordinance; if it does, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*15. Hon Gary FAN to ask: (Translation)
As pointed out in the review report released by the Steering Committee on Review of Hospital Authority ("HA") in July this year, there is a priority need for HA to provide additional funding for three hospital clusters, namely the New Territories East Cluster ("NTEC"), the New Territories West Cluster and the Kowloon East Cluster, to serve the continuously growing population in these catchment districts, and to echo the concerns expressed by hospital staff on under-provision of resources for some hospitals in the three clusters. In addition, according to the latest report on the Surgical Outcomes Monitoring and Improvement Programme released by HA, among the 13 public hospitals which provide emergency surgeries, North District Hospital ("NDH") in NTEC is the only hospital the performance of which has been rated as unsatisfactory. HA considers that the relevant outcome is related to the manpower shortage of surgeons in NDH and the increases of cross-boundary patients and elderly patients. In connection with public healthcare services, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has any plan to consolidate the data on transient population, so as to grasp the demand of Hong Kong residents residing on the Mainland for local healthcare services; if it does, of the details; (2) whether it knows, in each of the past five years, the respective attendances at various public hospitals of Hong Kong residents residing on the Mainland for (i) using the services of the accident and emergency departments, (ii) receiving surgical operations and (iii) staying in hospitals for treatment; if it knows, of a breakdown of the figures by hospital name and the cluster to which the hospital belongs; (3) whether it knows, in respect of the Hong Kong residents residing on the Mainland, (i) their attendances at public general out-patient clinics to seek consultations for the first time, (ii) their attendances at these clinics to seek follow-up consultations and (iii) the number of referrals to specialist out-patient clinics made for them by these clinics, in each of the past five years; if it knows, of a breakdown of the figures by clinic name and the cluster to which the clinic belongs; (4) given that the aforesaid review report pointed out that the Government would allocate a time-limited funding of $300 million for the next three financial years from 2015-2016 to enhance the existing services of the three aforesaid clusters, whether the authorities know the details of the allocation of such funding, including the considerations to be given to the demand of Hong Kong residents residing on the Mainland for local healthcare services in the process of resource allocation; (5) whether it will expeditiously implement the expansion projects of Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital ("AHNH") and NDH, so as to improve the provision of public healthcare services in New Territories East and meet the demand of Hong Kong residents residing on the Mainland for local healthcare services; and (6) given that among the various police posts set up in the accident and emergency departments of public hospitals, only the police posts in AHNH and NDH in NTEC do not operate round the clock, whether the authorities will allocate additional resources to enable the two police posts to operate round the clock in order to strengthen the protection of the personal safety of patients and healthcare personnel?
*16. Hon WONG Yuk-man to ask: (Translation)
In recent years, a number of lifts and escalators installed in public places and public housing estates were involved in repeated incidents. For instance, incidents in which escalators suddenly broke up while in operation occurred at Times Square as well as the MTR Quarry Bay Station and Wong Tai Sin Station in August and September this year respectively. The newly-installed lifts and escalators at Sha Kok Commercial Complex have broken down frequently, and serious lift incidents have often occurred at Tin Yee House, Tin Cheung House and Tin Hor House of Tin Ping Estate in Sheung Shui over the past two years (including the incidents in July this year in which residents of that Estate were trapped in a lift and a lift was suspected to have plunged). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether, in the past two years, the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department stepped up its efforts in monitoring the periodic examinations as well as the repair and maintenance work for lifts and escalators in public places managed by private organizations; if so, of the relevant operational procedures and follow-up measures; if not, the reasons for that; and (2) of the respective percentages of the lifts installed in public housing estates which have now been in use for more than 10 years, 20 years and 30 years; the latest details and progress of the Hong Kong Housing Authority's lift modernization programme in public housing estates?
*17. Hon YIU Si-wing to ask: (Translation)
Some members of the public have complained to me that the time taken by the Hong Kong International Airport ("the Airport") for delivering passenger baggage from arriving aircraft to the Baggage Reclaim Hall ("baggage delivery time") has been getting longer and longer in recent years, and some members of the public could only reclaim their baggage more than 90 minutes after flight landing. As shown by the annual report of the Airport, the percentages of the first and last pieces of baggage of arriving aircraft being delivered to the Baggage Reclaim Hall within 20 minutes and 40 minutes after landing respectively fell from 98.1 and 96.9 in 2010-2011 to 91.5 and 92 in 2013-2014. Although the performance improved slightly in 2014-2015, it still lagged behind the level in 2010-2011. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows if the Airport Authority Hong Kong ("AAHK") has drawn up any performance pledge on baggage delivery time; if AAHK has, of the details, and whether the authorities have introduced penalties on AAHK's failure to meet the performance pledge; if they have, of the details; (2) whether it knows the respective percentages, in each of the past five years, of the last piece of baggage of arriving aircraft being delivered to the Baggage Reclaim Hall within 60, 90 and 120 minutes as well as more than 120 minutes after landing (set out the relevant figures in the table below); and
Time of the last piece of baggage
being delivered to
the Baggage Reclaim HallPercentage 2014-2015 2013-2014 2012-2013 2011-2012 2010-2011 within 60 minutes within 90 minutes within 120 minutes more than 120 minutes (3) given that construction works are being carried out by AAHK to enhance the passenger handling capacity of the Airport, whether it knows the measures to be implemented by AAHK to enhance the efficiency of baggage delivery?
*18. Hon Frederick FUNG to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that recently a German vehicle manufacturer was found to have installed software in the diesel private cars it manufactured so as to cheat on vehicle emission tests. According to the information from the Environmental Protection Department ("EPD"), there has not been any registration of diesel private cars of the relevant models in Hong Kong, but EPD will further look into the incident and gather information. At present, all imported vehicles must comply with Euro V emission standards and, in processing the registration of imported vehicles, EPD requires the applicant to provide an emission testing report issued by an independent and recognized third-party testing organization or a certificate issued by a foreign official regulatory body after testing to prove vehicle emission compliance with the statutory standards in Hong Kong. Regarding the regulation of vehicle emissions, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the authorities have held a meeting with the Hong Kong agent of the vehicle manufacturer concerned in relation to the aforesaid incident; if they have, of the information obtained, including details of the cheating tactics; whether the authorities have studied the possibility of other vehicle manufacturers cheating with similar tactics; and (2) whether the authorities will review the existing system for regulating vehicle emissions, including conducting vehicle emission tests when processing vehicle type approval; if they will not, of the reasons for that?
*19. Dr Hon Kenneth CHAN to ask: (Translation)
Currently, members of the District Councils ("DCs") are provided with an accountable Operating Expenses Reimbursement ("OER") to meet operational expenses incurred in discharging DC duties. The Home Affairs Department has formulated the Guidelines on the Remuneration Package for Members of the District Councils of the HKSAR ("the Guidelines") for DC members to follow. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether, according to the Guidelines, DC members may claim reimbursements for the operational expenses involving conflicts of interests (e.g. procurement of goods or services from companies the shares of which they own); if they may not, of the details; if they may, the reasons for that; (2) of the number (with a breakdown by DC) and nature of cases of contravention of the Guidelines identified by the authorities in the past three years, as well as the follow-up actions taken by the authorities in respect of such cases; (3) given that reimbursement claims submitted by DC members are processed by the secretariats of the DCs to which the DC members belong, how the authorities ensure that the various secretariats adopt the same yardsticks in processing these claims; whether the authorities will consider introducing an independent audit system to review such reimbursement claims; if they will, of the work plan and timetable; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) whether it will consider amending the Guidelines to prevent the occurrence of a conflict-of-interests/roles situation when DC members make procurement in discharging DC duties; if it will, of the work plan and timetable; if not, the reasons for that?
*20. Hon Emily LAU to ask: (Translation)
According to the information from the Census and Statistics Department, during the two-year period from August 2013 to July 2015, the import prices of unleaded petrol, diesel and liquefied petroleum gas dropped from their peak levels by 40% to 50%, but their retail prices decreased by a mere 10% to 20%, showing inconsistent rates of decrease. In addition, there were about 30 occasions in the past two years in which three or more oil companies adjusted the retail prices of auto-fuel on the same day, thus arousing suspicion of collusive price-fixing by the companies in order to make the auto-fuel market lack competition. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
(1) whether they have assessed if the local oil companies have justifications for not lowering the retail prices by an extent corresponding to the drop in the import prices of auto-fuel; if they have made such an assessment, of the criteria adopted; if the assessment outcome is that the oil companies do not have justifications, of the measures the authorities have in place to urge the oil companies to lower the relevant prices; (2) whether they have studied if the adjustment of retail prices of auto-fuel on the same day by various oil companies involved anti-competitive practices; if they have conducted such a study, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) whether they will consider stepping up the monitoring of the auto-fuel retail pricing mechanism of oil companies to enhance the transparency of the relevant price adjustments; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (4) whether they have studied ways to improve the open tender system for petrol filling station sites to remove barriers to the auto-fuel market, so as to encourage new operators to enter the market, thereby promoting competition and enhancing economic efficiency; if they have conducted such a study, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (5) whether they have studied the formulation of a new monitoring mechanism with a view to more effectively promoting competition in the auto-fuel market; if they have conducted such a study, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*21. Hon CHAN Han-pan to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that some traders have sold products containing western herbs and Chinese medicines as health food products. As the packaging and names of such products are very similar to those of registered proprietary Chinese medicines ("pCm"), it is difficult for consumers to differentiate between them. Since such products are not required to meet the requirements in respect of safety, quality and efficacy applicable to registered pCm, consumption of them by members of the public may be harmful to their health. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the authorities received complaints about pCm and health food products in the past three years; if they did, of the number and details of such complaints; whether they instituted prosecutions against the persons concerned; if they did, of the number of such prosecutions; (2) whether the authorities uncovered cases in the past three years in which traders sold products originally required to be registered as pCm as health food products by using tactics such as adding non-Chinese medicines to the products, changing product names and packaging, etc.; if they did, of the number of such products; (3) whether any legislation is currently in place to regulate the sale of health food products whose names and packaging are very similar to those of pCm; if so, of the details; and (4) whether the authorities will conduct studies on formulating specific legislation and framework to regulate health food products containing Chinese medicines, so as to protect the health of consumers and prevent the reputation of Hong Kong's pCm trade from being tarnished?
*22. Hon LEUNG Che-cheung to ask: (Translation)
In recent years, the use of unmanned aircraft systems ("UASs") by members of the public for photography purpose has become increasingly common. According to the existing legislation, flying UASs weighing not more than seven kilograms (without its fuel) for recreational purpose can be classified as flying radio-controlled model aircraft, and no application to the Civil Aviation Department ("CAD") is required. However, permits must first be obtained from CAD for flying UASs exceeding this weight for recreational purpose. On the other hand, if UASs are used for reward, such as photography work, regardless of their sizes or weights, an application must be made to CAD prior to their operation and, in the provision of services, the conditions stipulated in the permit granted by CAD must be complied with. Regarding the regulation of using UASs for photography purpose, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of CAD's current procedures and staff establishment for processing applications for the aforesaid permits; the number of such applications received by CAD in the past three years and, among such applications, the respective numbers of approved and rejected cases; (2) of the channels available for members of the public to lodge complaints against the problems caused by flying UASs; the number of related complaints received by CAD in the past three years; the respective numbers of cases in which the persons under complaint were warned, prosecuted and convicted; apart from CAD, the other government departments which are responsible for law enforcement and the legislation involved; (3) given that CAD has stipulated the location parameters for flying UASs, of the penalties for contravening the relevant parameters; (4) given that members of the public upload UAS footage onto the Internet from time to time, whether CAD will examine such footage to see if it contains evidence of illegal flying of UASs and institute prosecutions using such evidence; (5) as I have learnt that some employers require their employees to learn and use UASs for undertaking photography work, whether the authorities have assessed if the employees concerned will be held criminally liable in case an accident occurs in the course of operating the UAS; if the assessment outcome is in the affirmative, of the details of the criminal liabilities; and (6) given the advancing and changing technology in the use of UASs for photography purpose, whether the authorities will consider strengthening regulation in order to protect public safety; if they will not, of the reasons for that?
* For written reply
III. Bill
| First Reading
Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Bill 2015 Second Reading (Debate to be adjourned) | |||
| Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Bill 2015 | : | Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury | |
IV. Members' Motions
| 1. | Motion under Rule 49E(2) of the Rules of Procedure
Hon Andrew LEUNG to move the following motion: That this Council takes note of Report No. 1/15-16 of the House Committee laid on the Table of the Council on 14 October 2015 in relation to the subsidiary legislation and instrument(s) as listed below: | |||||||||
Public Officer to attend : Secretary for Food and Health | ||||||||||
| 2. | Motion under the Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance
Hon Gary FAN to move the following motion: That this Council appoints a select committee to inquire into the incident of lead in the drinking water samples taken from public and private buildings exceeding the World Health Organization's standard, including the cause(s) of lead in drinking water, the responsibilities that must be borne by the contractors, whether there are any problems with the Government's procedures for selecting and monitoring the main contractors of public buildings, and whether the relevant government departments have properly discharged their monitoring responsibilities in the incident and all other related matters; and based on the results of the above inquiry, to make recommendations to the Government for improvement; and that in the performance of its duties the committee be authorized under section 9(2) of the Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance (Cap. 382) to exercise the powers conferred by section 9(1) of that Ordinance. | |||||||||
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| 3. | Motion under the Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance
Hon Cyd HO to move the following motion: That this Council appoints a select committee to inquire into the cause(s) of lead in the drinking water samples taken from public and private buildings exceeding the World Health Organization's standard and related matters, including but not limited to whether the Transport and Housing Bureau, the Development Bureau, the Housing Authority, other government departments and public bodies have properly performed their duties; and to inquire into the defaults and responsibilities of the contractors in charge of the construction of the projects at issue and relevant parties or organizations, as well as related matters; and based on the results of the above inquiry, to make recommendations on the Government's work of ensuring the quality and safety of drinking water in the future and related matters; and that in the performance of its duties the committee be authorized under section 9(2) of the Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance (Cap. 382) to exercise the powers conferred by section 9(1) of that Ordinance. | |||||||||
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| (The debate and voting arrangements for the two motions under the Legislative Council (Powers and Privileges) Ordinance were issued on 5 and 12 October 2015 under LC Papers Nos. CB(3) 11/15-16 and CB(3) 22/15-16 respectively)
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| 4. | Seizing the opportunities brought about by 'One Belt One Road' and seeking new directions for Hong Kong's economy
Hon Martin LIAO to move the following motion: (Translation) That the 'Silk Road Economic Belt' and the '21st Century Maritime Silk Road' ('One Belt One Road') is a major strategy for the country's future long-term development, and is a new opportunity for promoting multi-faceted co-operation in regional economies and market development around the world; in this connection, this Council urges the SAR Government to lead and support various industries to seize the opportunities in a timely manner, and seek new directions for the sustainable development of Hong Kong's overall economy. Amendments to the motion | |||||||||
| (i) | Hon Christopher CHEUNG to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To add "the country is seeking a new pathway for economic development, and" after "That"; and to add ", including striving for setting up the headquarters of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank in Hong Kong, so as to consolidate Hong Kong's status as an international financial centre, thereby attracting more multinational enterprises to issue bonds and get listed in Hong Kong and making Hong Kong's financial market more vibrant" immediately before the full stop. | |||||||||
| (ii) | Hon CHAN Kam-lam to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To add "during his visits to countries in Central Asia and Southeast Asia in September and October 2013, State President XI Jinping respectively put forward the vision of jointly building" after "That"; to add "; 'One Belt One Road' " after " ('One Belt One Road') "; and to delete "seek" after "manner, and" and substitute with "capitalize on Hong Kong's own advantages in modernized services to promote the development of Hong Kong's major industries of trade and logistics, finance, tourism, professional services and information technology, etc., with a view to providing innovative and high quality services for the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and related projects of the Silk Road Fund under the development strategy of 'One Belt One Road', and seeking". | |||||||||
| (iii) | Hon NG Leung-sing to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To add "of its own economy and external economic and trade activities" after "long-term development"; and to delete "seek" after "manner, and" and substitute with "give play to Hong Kong's unique advantages as an international financial centre as well as its role as a 'super-connector' between the Mainland and the world, with a view to exploring new development potentials and seeking". | |||||||||
| (iv) | Hon MA Fung-kwok to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To delete "lead and support various industries to seize the opportunities in a timely manner, and seek" after "Government to" and substitute with "not only implement the suggestions made by the Chief Executive at the Annual Conference of Boao Forum this year to develop Hong Kong into the fundraising hub, offshore Renminbi hub, trade and investment hub, hub for service professionals as well as logistics and transportation hub under the 'One Belt One Road' initiatives, but also take the opportunities brought about by 'One Belt One Road' to help promote the development of local culture and arts and the creative industry, with a view to seeking". | |||||||||
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| 5. | Legislating for safety of drinking water
Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki to move the following motion: (Translation) That since the discovery of excess lead in drinking water at consumers' taps in some public rental housing estates in Hong Kong in early July this year, more and more cases of excess lead in drinking water samples have been uncovered, including samples taken from Home Ownership Scheme flats, private housing estates, hospitals and even schools, but the Government has shown its ineptitude in handling lead in drinking water incidents, thus shattering Hong Kong people's confidence in the safety of drinking water; in addition, the relevant legislation on water supply in Hong Kong is outdated and unable to effectively regulate the drinking water quality in Hong Kong; in this connection, this Council urges the Government to immediately legislate for the safety of drinking water, so as to ensure that Hong Kong people are able to consume safe and reliable drinking water. Amendments to the motion | |||||||||
| (i) | Hon KWOK Wai-keung to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To add "Hong Kong people have all along been able to enjoy a sufficient supply of safe drinking water, but" after "That"; to delete "more and more" after "this year,"; to delete "been uncovered, including samples taken from" after "water samples have" and substitute with "spread to"; to delete ", but the Government has shown its ineptitude in handling lead in drinking water incidents, thus shattering" after "even schools" and substitute with "; although the Government has immediately undertaken remedial measures and comprehensive investigations,"; to delete "; in addition," after "in the safety of drinking water" and substitute with "has yet to be restored, and as"; to delete "in Hong Kong" after "water supply"; to delete "and unable to effectively regulate" after "outdated" and substitute with "and enforcement and regulatory efforts have been lax, there is no effective regulation on"; to delete "legislate for the safety of drinking water" after "immediately" and substitute with "review and amend the Waterworks Ordinance and its relevant legislation"; and to add "; in addition, the Government should also adopt the following measures to restore people's confidence in the safety of drinking water: (1) to improve the regulatory regime for water supply systems during the construction and acceptance stages of buildings, which includes adding heavy metal content as one of the testing items for the safety of drinking water, raising the overall safety standard of sampling tests on water quality conducted by the Water Supplies Department for newly constructed buildings, increasing the number of samples to be tested and the frequency of sampling, as well as enhancing the licensing system and supervision methodology for plumbers and relevant professionals; (2) to provide testing support for buildings (such as schools) suspected to have excess lead in drinking water; and (3) to make arrangements for waiving rents and water charges for public rental housing tenants affected by the recent incidents of lead in drinking water until the problem is completely resolved" immediately before the full stop. | |||||||||
| (ii) | Hon CHAN Han-pan to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To add "the safety of drinking water is an important livelihood issue, yet" after "That"; to delete "thus" after "drinking water incidents," and substitute with "causing distress to nearly 30 000 households in the public rental housing estates confirmed to have excess lead in drinking water, and also seriously affecting their daily lives, hence"; and to add "; in order to restore people's confidence in the safety of drinking water in the short run and compensate the affected public rental housing tenants, this Council also urges the Government to introduce the following measures: (1) to reasonably waive water charges and rents for all the affected public rental housing tenants; (2) to conduct drinking water sampling tests for the affected public rental housing tenants who have installed water filters, so as to ensure the effective functioning of such water filters; (3) to expand the scope of priority blood testing for the affected public rental housing tenants to household members aged below six when moving into their flats; (4) to clearly advise the affected public rental housing tenants of a timetable for the replacement of problem pipes and/or fittings, as well as the relevant arrangements and progress, and to assist the affected tenants in seeking compensation; and (5) to put forward proposals for assisting the affected schools and hospitals, etc. in replacing problem pipes and/or fittings" immediately before the full stop. | |||||||||
| (iii) | Hon CHAN Chi-chuen to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To delete "since" after "That" and substitute with "given the Government's failure to properly monitor the quality of water pipe installation works in newly constructed public rental housing estates and following"; to add ", and among the young children and pregnant women who have taken blood tests, some of them whose blood lead levels have also exceeded the normal level" after "even schools"; and to add "; and to expedite the sampling tests of drinking water quality of all buildings in the territory, including the testing of lead content in drinking water at buildings which have completed the maintenance work under the Operation Building Bright and have new water pipes installed, drinking fountains in public facilities frequently used by children and young people such as sports centres, libraries and study rooms, etc., as well as newly constructed buildings on 'Government, Institution or Community facilities' sites" after "for the safety of drinking water". | |||||||||
| (iv) | Dr Hon Helena WONG to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To add "the Government has always claimed that it provides people with quality drinking water, but" after "That"; to add "very" after "Hong Kong is"; and to add "; the relevant contents should include: (1) to include the supply of drinking water from the source of water supply to consumers' taps in the scope of water quality monitoring for water supply systems in public and private buildings; (2) to stipulate the responsibilities and supervisory roles of contractors and government departments in building construction works; (3) to stipulate, in cases where the water quality of the water supply system in a building does not comply with the testing standards, the civil and criminal liability that must be borne by the contractor concerned, as well as the penalties; in cases where the quality of drinking water in a public building does not comply with the testing standards, the responsible government departments must consider replacing the relevant plumbing fixtures; (4) to establish a monitoring system for the quality of components in the water supply chain, including updating the testing standards for water supply components regularly and introducing a safe drinking water equipment labelling scheme, so as to ensure compliance of all components with the standards; (5) to stipulate the relevant standards on the quality of water supply for ancillary water facilities of buildings, such as thermostatic electric water heaters; (6) to stipulate, by making reference to the World Health Organization's Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality, drinking water quality parameters; and make it mandatory for public drinking water suppliers to have drinking water samples tested regularly in accredited laboratories to examine whether the samples have any heavy metals and toxic contaminants; (7) the Government to compile and publish on a yearly basis drinking water quality testing reports concerning the communities such as public rental housing estates, schools (including nurseries), hospitals, residential care homes and food establishments, etc., so as to give an account of any drinking water quality problems in the communities in the past year; and give the public an explanation of the areas affected and formulate counter-measures; and (8) to step up the training of plumbing workers and establish a construction site certified workers regime, so as to improve the skill assessment and promotion mechanism for plumbing workers; and affirm the role of licensed plumbers in works supervision" immediately before the full stop. | |||||||||
| (v) | Hon CHEUNG Kwok-che to move the following amendment: (Translation)
To add ", and so far at least one hundred-odd children living in public rental housing estates with uncovered cases of excess lead in drinking water have been tested with an elevated blood lead level, which may affect their intellectual development" after "in the safety of drinking water"; and to add "; and to provide, through subsidized services or procurement of outside professional services, therapeutic or training services to the children suffering from developmental delay as a result of elevated blood lead level" immediately before the full stop. | |||||||||
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