A 18/19-13
Legislative Council
Agenda
Wednesday 9 January 2019 at 11:00 am
I. Tabling of Papers
Other Paper
| Report No. 8/18-19 of the House Committee on Consideration of Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments | |||
| (to be presented by Hon Starry LEE, Chairman of the House Committee) | |||
II. Questions
1. Hon James TO to ask: (Translation)
The General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China ("CPC") pointed out in a report delivered at the 19th CPC National Congress that well-ordered steps must be taken to advance democracy in Hong Kong SAR. Besides, Articles 45 and 68 of the Basic Law stipulate that the ultimate aim of selecting the Chief Executive ("CE") and electing all the members of the Legislative Council ("LegCo") by universal suffrage ("dual universal suffrage") shall be achieved in the light of the actual situation in Hong Kong SAR and in accordance with the principle of gradual and orderly progress. In December 2013, which was 33 months away from the general election for the Sixth LegCo, the Government launched public consultations on the methods for selecting CE in 2017 and for forming LegCo in 2016. Given that the general election for the Seventh LegCo is only 20 months away from now, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it will consider afresh launching expeditiously public consultations on the methods for selecting CE in 2022 and for forming LegCo in 2020, as well as commencing the "Five-step Process"; if so, whether it has assessed if there is sufficient time for the relevant work to be taken; if it will not, whether it has assessed if this will run counter to the spirit of the aforesaid remarks and to the ultimate aim of dual universal suffrage being achieved in Hong Kong SAR as stipulated in the Basic Law; and (2) whether CE, during her duty visit to Beijing on the 17th of last month, discussed with leaders of the Central Authorities issues relating to constitutional reform of Hong Kong SAR; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
2. Hon CHUNG Kwok-pan to ask: (Translation)
The Kai Tak Cruise Terminal ("the Terminal"), built at a cost of over $8.2 billion by the Government, has been in operation for over five years since its commissioning in 2013. It has been reported that as the Terminal received no cruise ship calls for about two thirds of the days of last year, coupled with the facts that the public transport plying the Terminal is inconvenient and the Terminal lacks facilities to attract visits by tourists and members of the public, the Terminal has often been left deserted like a ghost town. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of ship calls at the Terminal, the cruise passenger throughput and its percentage in the total number of visitors to Hong Kong, their per capita spending in Hong Kong, the daily average visitor flow of the Terminal, as well as the percentage of the commercial floor areas leased out and the rental income therefrom, in each of the past five years; (2) whether it urged the terminal operator last year to conduct more promotional activities to boost the visitor flow of the Terminal; of the criteria adopted for assessing the performance of the operator, and the circumstances under which the authorities will remove and replace the operator; and (3) whether it will review afresh the modes of operation and management of the Terminal and hold more events and activities (such as conventions and exhibitions) at the Terminal, so as to boost its visitor flow?
3. Hon Gary FAN to ask: (Translation)
In view of the extensive damage caused by super typhoon Mangkhut during its onslaught in Hong Kong in September last year, and the fact that the nuclear power stations in Daya Bay, Taishan, Yangjiang and Lufeng of the Guangdong Province are, at the farthest, only 220 kilometres away from Hong Kong, quite a number of members of the public are concerned about the threats posed to Hong Kong by nuclear incidents occurring at such nuclear power stations caused by natural disasters. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the maximum sustained winds and the maximum gusts recorded at each of the nuclear power stations as well as the heights of the maximum storm surge and the maximum sea level recorded in the nearby waters during the onslaught of Mangkhut; the designed maximum wind pressure that each of the nuclear power stations can withstand; (2) whether the Government's work on guarding against Mangkhut included seeking information from the Guangdong provincial authorities about the pre-typhoon preparatory measures and emergency response plans put in place for the nuclear power stations in the Province, and whether it received, after the onslaught of Mangkhut, any reports from the Guangdong provincial authorities on how such nuclear power stations had been affected by the typhoon (including if any safety incident had occurred); if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (3) whether it will provide in the Contingency Plan for Natural Disaster that where a major natural disaster (such as typhoon, earthquake or tsunami) which may cause damage to such nuclear power stations has occurred, the Government must expeditiously seek information from the Guangdong provincial authorities on how the nuclear power stations have been affected, and make public the information so obtained; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
4. Hon Tommy CHEUNG to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that with the successive commissioning of cross-boundary infrastructure facilities, an "one-hour living circle" has basically been realized in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. As a result, more and more Mainlanders come to Hong Kong to seek medical treatment. Quite a number of doctors in the public hospitals have switched to work in the thriving private healthcare market, thereby aggravating the problem of shortage of doctors in the public hospitals. Consequently, the waiting time of new cases at various public specialist outpatient clinics has become longer and longer in recent years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the top 10 specialist departments in the public hospitals with the highest wastage rates of doctors last year; and the respective wastage rates concerned; (2) whether it has projected afresh the respective manpower demands for doctors in the public and the private healthcare sectors in the coming five years, having regard to the factors that more and more doctors have joined the private healthcare sector and that the number of Mainlanders coming to Hong Kong to seek medical treatment has continued to increase; if so, of the respective specific figures; if not, whether it will expeditiously make such projections; and (3) of the long-term solutions to the problem of shortage of doctors in the public hospitals; whether it will draw reference from the practice of Singapore and permit those doctors who graduated from medical schools of renowned universities outside the territory to practise in the territory without sitting for any examination, and whether it will provide incentives to encourage Hong Kong people who have completed medical training overseas to return to Hong Kong to work in the public hospitals; if so, of the details (including the implementation timetables for the relevant measures); if not, the reasons for that?
5. Hon Alvin YEUNG to ask: (Translation)
It has been reported that some human rights organizations have alleged that the Chinese Government has set up "re-education camps" in Xinjiang for detaining about a million people from the ethnic minorities, the majority of whom are ethnic Uighurs believing in Islam. A number of ethnic Uighurs alleged that their family members, relatives and friends had lost contact with them after being taken away by public security officials for no reason. Also, some people who had been detained in such camps alleged that they had been psychologically abused and even tortured there. However, the Chinese Government has stated that the camps concerned are vocational skills training institutes established with the aim of eliminating extremism from the root and preventing the emergence of terrorism. On the other hand, there are reports that the Under Secretary for Security led a delegation to Xinjiang last month to exchange views with local officials on the work on preventing terrorist activities. Regarding the visits conducted outside Hong Kong in relation to the work on preventing terrorist activities, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the details of the aforesaid visit, including the time and location of each event on the itinerary; whether the delegation visited the "re-education camps"; if so, of the details; (2) of the names and post titles of the officials who proposed, arranged and participated in the visit, and set out such information by whether they work under the Government of the Hong Kong SAR or the Mainland authorities; and (3) of the number of visits conducted outside Hong Kong by government officials in the past five years in relation to the work on preventing terrorist activities, as well as the destination and date of each visit?
6. Hon Holden CHOW to ask: (Translation)
The Government has stated that it has all along been striving to combat money laundering and terrorist financing activities in accordance with relevant international standards, in order to maintain Hong Kong's status as an international financial centre. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of reports about suspicious transactions involving money laundering or terrorist financing activities received by the Joint Financial Intelligence Unit, and the number of such cases it referred to other units for investigation, as well as the respective numbers of relevant prosecutions and convictions, in each of the past five years; (2) whether it has assessed the aggregate value of property relating to money laundering and terrorist financing activities carried out in Hong Kong, as well as the aggregate value of such property confiscated, in each of the past five years; of the measures put in place to ensure that all such property can be confiscated; and (3) given the diversified means for money laundering and terrorist financing, how the Government will step up its training for the law enforcement officers to enhance their ability to combat such activities?
*7. Hon CHAN Han-pan to ask: (Translation)
Earlier on, the Task Force on Prevention of Youth Suicides submitted a report ("the Report") to the Chief Executive. The Report proposes 13 recommendations on enhancing the Government's strategies and services. The Report points out that "[e]xcessive homework and assessment … have been seen as sources of pressure for students", and it therefore recommends that schools should make efforts to improve the quality of homework and enhance assessment literacy. On the other hand, the Education Bureau ("EDB") issued to schools in 2000, and thereafter updated from time to time, guidelines on homework and tests. Nevertheless, some parents have relayed to me recently that the problem of excessive homework and assessment remains serious. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) (i) of the new measures put in place by EDB to ensure that the recommendations made in the Report will be implemented, and (ii) whether EDB will consider afresh introducing measures to make it mandatory for schools to reduce homework and the number of examinations; if EDB will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (2) when the recommendation made in the Report that one school social worker be provided for each primary school will be fully implemented; and (3) given that the authorities launched the Joyful@School Campaign in the 2016-2017 school year to assist schools in promoting mental health and reducing the stigma attached by students to the help-seeking behaviour, of (i) the respective numbers of applications for grants under the Campaign received and approved, and (ii) the total amount of grants approved, by the authorities so far; the details and effectiveness of the activities funded?
*8. Hon LEUNG Che-cheung to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the receipt of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance ("CSSA") by elderly persons (i.e. persons aged 60 or above) and their residing in residential care homes for the elderly ("RCHEs"), will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of elderly CSSA recipients residing in private RCHEs in each of the past three years; (2) of the respective average monthly amounts of special grants and supplements currently received, on top of the standard rates, by elderly CSSA recipients, broken down by level of their disabilities (i.e. in need of constant attendance, 100% disabled and able-bodied/50% disabled); (3) whether the authorities will consider raising the amount of Residential Care Supplement disbursed to elderly CSSA recipients so as to enable them to receive residential care services of a higher quality; if so, of the details; and (4) of the number of eligible RCHEs under the Pilot Scheme on Residential Care Service Voucher for the Elderly and the number of elderly persons participating in the Scheme as at the end of last month, with a tabulated breakdown of the number of such elderly persons by the co-payment level to which they belonged?
*9. Dr Hon Pierre CHAN to ask: (Translation)
The Engineers Registration Board ("ERB") is a statutory body established under section 3 of the Engineers Registration Ordinance (Cap. 409), and is mainly responsible for handling matters relating to the registration and disciplinary offences of professional engineers, etc. Regarding the handling of the registration and disciplinary offences of engineers, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the existing channels and procedures for members of the public to lodge complaints to ERB about registered professional engineers committing disciplinary offences; (2) of (i) the number of complaints about registered professional engineers committing disciplinary offences received by ERB and, among this type of complaints, the respective numbers of those (ii) which involved the disciplinary offences as stated in sections 20(1)(b) or (g) of Cap. 409, (iii) which were referred to an inquiry committee under ERB for conducting an inquiry, (iv) which were found unsubstantiated, and (v) the processing of which is not yet completed, in each of the past five years (set out in Table 1);
Table 1Complaints about registered professional engineers committing disciplinary offences Number of complaints 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (3) of the (i) average, (ii) longest and (iii) shortest time taken by an inquiry committee under ERB to process the complaints the processing of which was completed in each of the past five years; (4) of the respective numbers of cases in each of the past five years in which an inquiry committee under ERB found that the registered professional engineers concerned had committed the following disciplinary offences (set out in Table 2): (i) committing misconduct or neglect in any professional respect, (ii) failure, without reasonable excuse, to attend before an inquiry committee when summoned either as a witness or as a person in respect of whom the inquiry committee was meeting, and (iii) having been convicted in Hong Kong or elsewhere of any offence which might bring the profession into disrepute and sentenced to imprisonment; Table 2 Disciplinary offence found to have been committed by registered professional engineers Number of cases 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 (i) (ii) (iii) (5) as section 28 of Cap. 409 provides that any person who is aggrieved by any disciplinary order made by an inquiry committee in respect of him may appeal to the Court of Appeal, of the respective numbers of appeals which were (i) lodged to the Court of Appeal, (ii) rejected, (iii) allowed and (iv) withdrawn, in each of the past five years (set out in Table 3);
Table 3Appeals lodged under
section 28 of Cap. 409Number of appeals 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (6) of the respective numbers of (i) engineers whose names were removed from the register as they had been found to have committed disciplinary offences, (ii) applications made by these engineers for restoration of their names to the register, and (iii) cases in which those engineers were allowed to restore their names to the register, in the past five years (set out in Table 4);
Table 42014 2015 2016 2017 2018 (i) (ii) (iii) (7) apart from ERB, of the organizations and government departments which are responsible for handling the registration of engineers; (8) given that the registration of an engineer under the Lifts and Escalators Ordinance (Cap. 618) was suspended last year, whether ERB has, in collaboration with the monitoring organizations and government departments mentioned in (7), established a reciprocal notification mechanism on irregularities/disciplinary offences of registered engineers, so that ERB can take follow-up actions in accordance with the provisions under Cap. 409; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (9) of the number of lay members of ERB in each of the past five years?
*10. Hon Mrs Regina IP to ask: (Translation)
In recent years, the number of complaints received by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department ("AFCD") about appearance of wild pigs or their causing nuisance has been on the rise, namely from 294 cases in 2013 to 738 cases in 2017, and the number of cases on Hong Kong Island rose from 98 to 324 in the same period, representing the highest rate of increase among all districts. Moreover, it has been reported that AFCD received 111 reports on appearance of wild pigs or their causing nuisance in the Southern District alone between January and July last year. Such figures reflect that the area of movement of wild pigs has expanded to the urban areas, posing serious threats to the personal safety of members of the public. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective numbers of (i) complaints about appearance of wild pigs or their causing nuisance and (ii) reports on wild pigs damaging public property and injuring people, which were received by AFCD last year, with a breakdown by District Council ("DC") district; (2) whether it knows the respective current numbers of wild pigs in various DC districts in Hong Kong; if not, whether it will make estimations; (3) as the Government indicated last year that AFCD "is conducting a comprehensive review of the current strategies and measures for the management of wild pigs [and therefore] the hunting operations by the [wild pig] hunting teams have been suspended since 2017", and a two-year Pilot Study on the Contraception and Relocation of Wild Pigs ("Pilot Study") was launched in October of the same year, of the time when the review will be completed, and the number of wild pigs injected with contraceptive vaccines to date; the effectiveness of the Pilot Study; if the Pilot Study is ineffective, whether it will let the wild pig hunting teams resume their hunting operations; and (4) of the number of cases in the past five years in which members of the public were prosecuted for feeding wild pigs; whether it will enhance the liaison work with the property management companies, owners' corporations and residents in the vicinity of the locations where wild pigs have appeared before, and provide them with guidance on how to guard against attacks by wild pigs?
*11. Hon Claudia MO to ask: (Translation)
The Financial Secretary said last month that visitor arrivals in 2018 would exceed 60 million, breaking the record of 2014. Regarding the local tourism industry, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) in respect of (i) overnight visitors to Hong Kong, (ii) same-day visitors to Hong Kong and (iii) all visitors to Hong Kong respectively, of their overall numbers and annual growth rates and, among them, the relevant figures respectively for those who came from the Mainland and other places, in each of the years from 2013 to 2018 (set out in tables of the same format as the table below);
(i) Overnight visitors to Hong KongYear Overall From the Mainland From other places Number of arrivals Annual growth rate Number of arrivals Annual growth rate Number of arrivals Annual growth rate 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 (2) whether there was an increase in the number of visitors to Hong Kong in the past three months as compared with the preceding three months; if so, of the markets with the major growth; whether it has studied the reasons for the growth in the number of visitors, and whether those reasons include the recent commissioning of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge ("HZMB") and the Hong Kong Section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link; (3) of the visitor throughput of the various boundary control points in each month of last year; (4) as the Financial Secretary pointed out last month that to continuously strengthen the tourism industry is an integral part of the Government to "stabilize the economy", of the new measures put in place by the Government to balance the economic contributions made by the tourism industry and its impact on the daily lives of members of the public; (5) whether it will roll out new measures in the coming three months to alleviate the problem of an excessive number of visitors in Tung Chung caused by the commissioning of HZMB; (6) whether it will consider setting up a steering committee led by the Chief Secretary for Administration to take charge of the co-ordination among the various policy bureaux and government departments on handling and following up the impacts of visitors on people's livelihood, as well as formulating mitigation measures; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (7) whether it will discuss with the Central Authorities the tightening of the Individual Visit Scheme; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (8) as the Financial Secretary indicated last month that the Government would consider relaxing the visa arrangements for residents of the Belt and Road countries and regions to visit Hong Kong, of the Belt and Road countries and regions with which the Government is holding or plans to hold discussions on the relevant arrangements, as well as the details of the discussions?
*12. Hon CHAN Chun-ying to ask: (Translation)
To relieve the impacts of the Sino-United States trade conflicts on the small and medium enterprises ("SMEs") of Hong Kong, the Government has put in place a number of measures since the middle of last year. Such measures include the three enhancement measures for the 80% Guarantee Product under the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme ("the Scheme") introduced by the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation Insurance Limited in November last year, namely, (i) increasing the maximum loan amount to HK$15 million, (ii) reducing the guarantee fee by 50%, and (iii) lengthening the maximum loan guarantee period to seven years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the number of applications received under the Scheme, and the total amount of loans involved in those applications, have increased since the introduction of the aforesaid enhancement measures; whether it has assessed if the effectiveness of such measures meets the expectations; if it has assessed and the outcome is in the negative, of the reasons for that, and the specific improvement measures in place; (2) given that the Scheme stipulates that "the loans must be used for providing general working capital for the enterprises' business operations, acquisition of equipment or assets in relation to the enterprises' business or refinancing any facilities with a guarantee issued under the Scheme", of a breakdown by usage of the amount of the loans approved under the Scheme since November last year and their respective percentages in the total loan amount; whether it has studied SMEs' demand for capital as reflected by these figures; if so, of the outcome; and (3) notwithstanding that China and the United States have restarted a three-month negotiation on their trade conflicts since early last month, there are comments that the trade conflicts are unlikely to be fully resolved in the short run, whether the Government has any medium and long term solutions to improve the business environment of SMEs (e.g. lowering various kinds of government fees and charges, reducing taxes, and attracting more tourists to Hong Kong so as to stimulate domestic consumption and sustain economic growth)?
*13. Hon MA Fung-kwok to ask: (Translation)
Since the last school year, the Education Bureau and the Home Affairs Bureau have jointly launched the Opening up School Facilities for Promotion of Sports Development Scheme ("the Scheme"). Through providing financial incentives, the Scheme encourages schools to hire out their facilities to sports organizations. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the details, as set out in the table below, of the programmes which were held/have been confirmed to be held under the Scheme (i) in the last school year and (ii) in the current school year (set out separately in tables of the same format as the table below);
School year: _________Name of sports organization Name of school
(District)Number of programmes Type of sports School facilities hired Number of participants Total: Total: Total: Total: Total: Total: (2) as the authorities indicated that they would collect views on the Scheme from the schools and sports organizations concerned after the end of the last school year, of the views so collected; the enhancement measures taken by the authorities in the light of such views; whether these measures include (i) further encouraging sports organizations and schools to participate in the Scheme, and (ii) enhancing the matching between sports organizations and schools; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (3) as some sports organizations have relayed that the levels of the hire charges for school facilities levied by some schools are higher than the relevant levels of charges for the facilities under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, whether the authorities will (i) encourage such schools to lower their hire charges and (ii) provide subsidies to sports organizations for hiring school facilities; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (4) whether the authorities will expand the lists of sports organizations eligible for participating in the Scheme; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (5) given that sports organizations participating in the Scheme are required to take out, on their own, insurance with adequate coverage (including third party risks insurance) for the programmes to be held by them in schools, whether the authorities will consider collectively purchasing the required insurance for such sports organizations so as to boost the incentives for sports organizations to participate in the Scheme; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*14. Hon HO Kai-ming to ask: (Translation)
On 30 November last year, a serious traffic accident involving a non-franchised bus happened on Cheung Tsing Highway in Tsing Yi, causing six deaths and some 30 persons injured as well as arousing public concern. The Transport Department subsequently held a meeting with the trade in respect of the road safety of non-franchised buses. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of traffic accidents involving non-franchised buses in each of the past three years, with a breakdown by type of accidents; (2) of the progress of the authorities' work on formulating guidelines on the working hours, rest times and meal breaks for non-franchised bus captains; and (3) whether the authorities will take measures (e.g. stepping up law enforcement) to improve the road safety of non-franchised buses; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*15. Hon IP Kin-yuen to ask: (Translation)
Regarding the School Administration Guide for aided schools and the Kindergarten Administration Guide for kindergartens joining the Free Quality Kindergarten Education Scheme promulgated by the Education Bureau ("EDB"), as well as the relevant regulations, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the contents of the School Administration Guide were cited in the judgments handed down by courts in the past five years; if so, set out the case numbers of such cases; (2) whether, in the past five years, EDB received any reports about schools breaching the requirements in the School Administration Guide, or uncovered breaches of this type after investigation; if EDB did, of the details and effectiveness of the follow-up actions taken, and whether there were school authorities ignoring such follow-up actions; if so, how EDB handled the situation; (3) as some members of the sector have relayed that the guideline for handling staff complaints provided in paragraph 5.5 of the Kindergarten Administration Guide is vague and general (e.g. not providing a detailed approach for handling staff complaints), whether EDB will formulate more specific guidelines (including a recommended procedure); (4) whether it has assessed if the chapters and sections in the two guides, other than those parts specifying that compliance with the relevant regulations is required, are legally binding; if it has assessed and the outcome is in the affirmative, of the details, and whether the two guides have the same legal binding effect; if they do not, of the differences; (5) given that Regulation 76(2)(a) of the Education Regulations (Cap. 279 sub. leg. A) stipulates the requirement that the dismissal of a teacher in the establishment must be approved by the managers of the school, and Section 6 of the Compendium to Code of Aid for Aided Schools sets out in detail the conditions and procedures for dismissal of teachers by aided schools and for termination of service by their teachers, but these provisions are not applicable to kindergartens joining the Free Quality Kindergarten Education Scheme, whether EDB will introduce relevant provisions for this type of kindergartens; if EDB will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (6) whether EDB consulted, in the past decade, members of the sector each time before it amended the School Administration Guide; if EDB did, of the consultation channels involved; if not, the reasons for that, and whether EDB will consult members of the sector when revising the two guides in future; if EDB will not, of the reasons for that?
*16. Hon SHIU Ka-chun to ask: (Translation)
The results of a number of studies conducted in recent years have shown that the underemployment situation of persons with disabilities ("PWDs") has not improved over the years, and that PWDs often can only secure low-skilled jobs even if they are university degree holders. Regarding the various measures implemented by the Government to assist PWDs in securing employment, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of participants of the On the Job Training Programme for People with Disabilities in each of the past five years (with a breakdown by the age group to which the participants belonged, their type of disability, as well as the service operator providing training and counselling services), and among such participants, the respective numbers of those who participated in the Programme through referral and who successfully secured employment; the average number of months of post-placement service received by the participants who successfully secured employment; (2) of the number of participants of the Sunnyway - On the Job Training Programme for Young People with Disabilities in each of the past five years (with a breakdown by the age group to which the participants belonged, type of mental illness they suffered, as well as the service operator providing employment training services), and among such participants, the respective numbers of those who participated in the Programme through referral and who successfully secured employment; the average number of months of post-placement service received by the participants who successfully secured employment; (3) of the number of organizations participating in the Work Orientation and Placement Scheme and the number of PWDs who secured employment under the Scheme in the past five years (with a breakdown by type of disability of the employees), and their average employment period; (4) of the number of applications received under the Support Programme for Employees with Disabilities, and a breakdown by uses of the amount of subsidy granted, as well as (i) the average subsidy amount of and (ii) the average processing time taken for each approved application, in the past five years; (5) of the respective numbers of (i) existing and (ii) newly recruited government employees with disabilities, as well as their percentages in the total number of government employees, in each of the past five years, with a breakdown by recruiting government department, type of disability of the employees and whether their disabilities were caused by work injuries; (6) whether it knows the number of PWDs employed in the past five years by organizations participating in the Talent-Wise Employment Charter ("Charter"), and a breakdown of such number by employment period, as well as breakdowns by name of organization, whether the organization was a public or private one and type of disability of such employees; and (7) given that the Government has in the past resolved to enact the Minimum Wage Ordinance (Cap. 608) on the basis that the Wage Protection Movement was ineffective, and that currently there are comments alleging that the Charter is ineffective, whether the Government will establish a mandatory quota system for employing PWDs in place of the non-binding Charter; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*17. Hon LUK Chung-hung to ask: (Translation)
The Government has recently accepted the improvement measures recommended by an inter-bureaux/departmental working group in respect of government outsourced service contracts that rely heavily on the employment of non-skilled employees ("service contracts"). Such measures seek to enhance the employment benefits of such employees, including entitlement to a contractual gratuity, statutory holiday pay upon employment for one month and remuneration at 1.5 times the wage for work performed when Tropical Cyclone Warning Signal No. 8 or above is in force, and encourage procuring departments to adopt a tenure of a minimum of three years for the service contracts where operational situations permit. Such measures apply to service contracts for which tenders are invited on or after 1 April this year. Regarding service contracts, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number and total value of the service contracts awarded by various government departments and the number of non-skilled employees involved, in each of the past five years, with a breakdown by the category of services (i.e. cleansing, security and others) procured under such contracts; (2) of the following information from 1 May to 31 December 2017 and in 2018: (A) the number of non-skilled employees employed by the outsourced service contractors ("contractors") of the four major procuring departments (i.e. (i) Leisure and Cultural Services Department, (ii) Housing Department, (iii) Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and (iv) Government Property Agency); (B) a breakdown of the number in (A) by the range (i.e. hourly wage at (a) $34.5 [equal to the statutory minimum wage], (b) $34.6 to $36.5, (c) $36.6 to $38.5, (d) $38.6 to $40.5, (e) $40.6 to $43, (f) $43.1 to $46, (g) $46.1 to $49 and (h) $49.1 or more, and (i) a rate higher than the statutory minimum wage rate [which is equal to the total of (b) to (h)]) to which the hourly wages, payable to such employees as pledged by the contractors in the tenders, belonged and their respective percentages; and (C) the numbers and percentages of the employees in each of the ranges of hourly wages mentioned in (B), broken down by the category of services (i.e. cleansing, security and others) they provided, and a further breakdown of the number of each group of employees by the aforesaid four major procurement departments (set out the information for each year in tables of the same format as the table below);
Year:Range of hourly wages Cleansing service Security service Other services Total % (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) Subtotal % (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) Subtotal % (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) Subtotal % (a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) (h) (i) Total(3) of the details of the re-tendering exercises of service contracts which were or will be conducted by the aforesaid four major procuring departments last year and this year, including the names of the contractors before tenders were/are invited, the commencement dates of the new contracts and the service districts involved, as well as the names of the successful contractors; (4) given that the remuneration packages for the employees under service contracts awarded through tenders invited on or after 1 April this year will be more favourable than those for the employees under service contracts awarded through tenders invited before that date, which will give rise to a situation of differential pay for workers with similar job content, whether the Government will consider earmarking funds for providing subsidies to those employees who cannot benefit from the improvement measures as those measures are not implemented with immediate effect (i.e. employees under service contracts awarded during the period from the date on which the Chief Executive announced the relevant measures in the 2018 Policy Address to 31 March this year); if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (5) whether it has set a timetable for reviewing such measures; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
*18. Hon Dennis KWOK to ask:
After reviewing the periodic reports submitted under various international human rights treaties by the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("HKSAR") through the Central People's Government, a number of committees under the United Nations ("UN") have consistently noted and criticized the insufficient efforts of the HKSAR Government in combating human trafficking, and they have recommended the HKSAR Government to step up its efforts in this respect. Meanwhile, the Trafficking in Persons Report ("TIP Report") published by the Department of State of the United States has found that Hong Kong does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking in persons, and has placed HKSAR on "Tier 2 Watch List" for three consecutive years since 2016. The 2018 TIP Report has noted that the HKSAR Government did not demonstrate increasing efforts compared to the previous reporting period. HKSAR would have been downgraded to Tier 3 automatically had a waiver not been granted to HKSAR due to the HKSAR Government's promulgation of the Action Plan to Tackle Trafficking in Persons and to Enhance Protection of Foreign Domestic Helpers in Hong Kong ("Action Plan") which, according to the 2018 TIP Report, if implemented, would constitute significant efforts to meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking in persons. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the steps it has taken or planned to take to implement each of the recommendations put forth by the following UN committees as set out in the table below: (i) paragraphs 85 and 97 of the concluding observations of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, on the report of People's Republic of China (Including Hong Kong and Macao) submitted under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, and adopted by the Committee in 2005; (ii) paragraph 88 of the concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, on the report of China (including Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Regions) submitted under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and adopted by the Committee in 2005; (iii) paragraph 20 of the concluding observations of the Human Rights Committee, on the third periodic report of Hong Kong, China, submitted under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights by People's Republic of China, and adopted by the Committee in 2013; (iv) paragraphs 45 and 46 of the concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, on the combined third and fourth periodic reports of China submitted under the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and adopted by the Committee in 2013; (v) paragraphs 56 and 57 of the concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, on the combined seventh and eighth periodic reports of China submitted under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and adopted by the Committee in 2014; (vi) paragraphs 20 and 21 of the concluding observations of the Committee Against Torture, on the fifth periodic report of China with respect to Hong Kong, China submitted under the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, and adopted by the Committee in 2016; and (vii) paragraphs 48 and 49 of the concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, on the combined fourteenth to seventeenth periodic reports of China (including Hong Kong, China and Macao, China) submitted under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, and adopted by the Committee in 2018; UN committees' recommendations Steps taken/
planned to be taken(i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) (vii) (2) of the specific measures in the Action Plan through which the Government implements the recommendations for HKSAR set out in the TIP Reports, and whether the Government has carried out those measures; if not, whether and when it will do so; (3) whether any measures in the Action Plan can be implemented only if additional financial and human resources are provided to the government departments concerned; if so, of the details of the resources needed, and whether the resources have been sought and obtained; if not, when and from whom they will be sought; (4) of the results expected to be achieved by each of the measures in the Action Plan; (5) whether it has set criteria to assess or evaluate the effectiveness of the measures in the Action Plan; if so, of the details, and whether it has made such assessments or evaluations; if so, of the outcome; if not, whether and when it will do so; and (6) whether there are other measures through which it implements the recommendations for HKSAR set out in the TIP Reports; if so, whether it has carried out those measures; if not, whether and when it will do so?
*19. Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung to ask: (Translation)
Some residents of public rental housing ("PRH") have relayed to me that the flats in the buildings in which they live were originally planned for sale under the Home Ownership Scheme but are eventually used for rental purpose, and that the lifts in such buildings frequently break down which has seriously affected their daily lives. Regarding the repair and maintenance of the lifts in such type of buildings, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the (i) name, (ii) age, (iii) number of residents by design, (iv) number of residents to date, (v) number of lifts therein, (vi) name of the lift maintenance contractor and (vii) name of the property management company, of each building, to be set out in a table by name of the public housing estate; (2) of the number of lift failures in each building in each of the past five years; among such cases, (i) the number of those in which services were suspended for more than three days, together with a breakdown by reason of the failure (if a lack of spare parts was one of the reasons, of the original warranty period of the lift concerned and how the contractor concerned solved the problem), and (ii) the respective numbers of cases in which the lifts broke down again (a) within less than 24 hours and (b) between the 24th to 48th hour after completion of repair works; (3) whether it has taken measures to reduce lift failures in such buildings in order to avoid affecting residents' daily lives; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and (4) whether the relevant lift installation contracts required the contractor to keep sufficient spare parts for replacement in future; if so, of the details; if not, whether it will consider adding such a requirement in the relevant contracts in future?
*20. Hon Andrew WAN to ask: (Translation)
The Railway Development Strategy 2014 released in September 2014 recommended that the Government should implement the projects of the Tuen Mun South Extension of the West Rail ("South Extension") and the Northern Link and Kwu Tung Station ("Northern Link") in 2019 to 2022 and in 2018 to 2023 respectively. In her Policy Address delivered in 2017, the Chief Executive undertook that the Government would aim to consult the public on these two railway schemes in 2018. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) why the Government did not consult the public on the schemes of the South Extension and the Northern Link in 2018 pursuant to the undertaking made in the 2017 Policy Address; (2) of, in the light of the current progress, the respective anticipated commencement dates of the construction works and the commissioning dates of the South Extension and the Northern Link; if the anticipated commissioning dates will be behind the originally scheduled commissioning dates, of the measures put in place by the Government prior to the completion of those railway projects to improve the traffic arrangements for residents of the New Territories commuting to and from the urban areas; and (3) given that problems of non-compliant works were uncovered earlier on in the Shatin to Central Link project, which is implemented under the concession approach, whether the Government will continue to adopt the concession approach for implementing the South Extension and the Northern Link; if so, of the reasons for that; if not, the approach(es) it will adopt for implementing those new railway projects?
*21. Hon Kenneth LAU to ask: (Translation)
Some members of the public have relayed to me that a number of villages in the New Territories with long histories not only have many buildings with conservation value but also have been preserving many traditional customs (e.g. sek pun (basin feast), lantern lighting ceremony, jiao festival and unicorn dance). However, since the closure in June 2016 of the New Territories Heritage Hall, a permanent gallery of the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, the Government has not implemented any project in public museums for promoting the cultural heritage of the New Territories. Besides, there have not been significant increases in the number of tourists visiting the Ping Shan Heritage Trail and Lung Yeuk Tau Heritage Trail over the years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the respective operating expenditures and attendances of the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, Hong Kong Museum of History, Sam Tung Uk Museum, Ping Shan Tang Clan Gallery and Sheung Yiu Folk Museum in each of the past five years; (2) of the respective numbers of guided tours conducted at the Ping Shan Heritage Trail and Lung Yeuk Tau Heritage Trail and the respective numbers of participants in such tours, in each of the past five years; (3) of the expenditure incurred in each of the past three years by the Antiquities and Monuments Office on restoring and repairing the built heritage in the New Territories, and the details of the works projects concerned; (4) whether it has formulated short and medium term plans for setting up permanent galleries in public museums or discussed with the West Kowloon Cultural District Authority and Mainland/overseas museums the collaboration in the planning of exhibitions, with a view to promoting the traditional cultural customs of the New Territories; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; (5) of the measures to increase the attractiveness of those museums and heritage trails at remote locations, so as to let more members of the public know about the traditional cultural customs of the New Territories; and (6) as the Chief Executive has announced in this year's Policy Address that the Government will allocate $300 million to strengthen the preservation, promotion and transmission of intangible cultural heritage ("ICH"), of the details of the relevant work; the specific plans to promote the relevant work among ICH bearers, the New Territories Heung Yee Kuk, various rural committees and District Councils, and assist inexperienced ICH bearers in preserving and promoting ICH?
*22. Hon Vincent CHENG to ask: (Translation)
Since 2 September 2013, the Buildings Department ("BD") has implemented a voluntary Validation Scheme for Unauthorized Signboards ("Validation Scheme") to provide an additional option for signboard owners apart from removing their unauthorized signboards and re-erecting legal ones under the Minor Works Control System ("MWCS"). In addition, BD has launched large scale operations ("LSOs") each year since 2014 on one or more street sections against dangerous signboards and unauthorized signboards not joining the Validation Scheme. The relevant work includes investigation, issuing Dangerous Structure Removal Notices ("DSRNs"), instituting prosecutions or engaging contractors to carry out removal or rectification works on behalf of the owners ("default works"). On the other hand, it was pointed out in Report No. 71 of the Director of Audit ("the Audit Report") published in November last year that there had been a number of inadequacies in BD's management of signboards. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of signboards validated under the Validation Scheme in each of the past five years (set out in a table); whether it has reviewed if the relevant figures are on the low side; (2) as the Audit Report revealed that BD conducted LSOs from 2015 to 2017 on a total of 20 street sections but none of them had been completed as at April last year, of the detailed addresses of those street sections and the latest implementation status of LSOs, including the number of removal orders issued, the respective numbers of removal orders which have been and have not been complied with, the number of cases of default works carried out, and the number of prosecutions instituted by BD (set out in a table); the follow-up work carried out by BD in respect of those street sections and whether new LSOs will be conducted; (3) given that BD issued 507 removal orders in the LSOs in 2017 but only 89 (i.e. 17%) of them had been complied with as at April last year, whether BD knows the reasons for the non-compliance of the removal orders; (4) given that BD issued 133 DSRNs in the LSOs in 2017 and the target date by which BD should carry out default works for the non-compliant cases among the DSRNs was January 2018, but as at April last year, BD had not yet carried out default works for 98 (i.e. 74%) non-compliant DSRNs among those issued, of the reasons for the slippage, as well as the plans in place to expedite the works; (5) given that BD took law enforcement actions against 106 large unauthorized signboards in 2017, and revised the target number of such signboards against which law enforcement actions were to be taken in 2018 to 170 and set time targets (i.e. requiring that removal orders issued be cleared and discharged within two and three years respectively from the conduct of LSOs), of BD's measures to ensure that the time targets can be met; (6) of the number of write-off cases in each of the past four years due to BD's failure to recover the costs of default works from signboard owners, and the total amount involved; (7) as the Audit Report recommended that BD should compile and analyze management information with a view to monitoring the operation and effectiveness of MWCS in relation to signboards, when BD will implement recommendation; and (8) whether BD will recruit additional manpower to implement the recommendations of the Audit Report; if so, of the timetable of the recruitment exercise, as well as the number and duties of the additional staff?
* For written reply
III. Government Motion
| Proposed resolution under the Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Ordinance
Secretary for Security to move the motion in the Appendix. | ||
| (The motion was issued on 29 November 2018 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 216/18-19) |
IV. Members' Motions
| 1. | Proposed resolution under section 34(4) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance
Dr Hon Pierre CHAN to move the following motion: Resolved that in relation to the - | |||||
| (a) | Private Healthcare Facilities Ordinance (Specification of Date for Section 135(1)(a)) Notice, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 261 of 2018; and
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| (b) | Private Healthcare Facilities Ordinance (Specification of Date for Section 136(1)(a)) Notice, published in the Gazette as Legal Notice No. 262 of 2018,
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| and laid on the table of the Legislative Council on 12 December 2018, the period for amending subsidiary legislation referred to in section 34(2) of the Interpretation and General Clauses Ordinance (Cap. 1) be extended under section 34(4) of that Ordinance to the meeting of 30 January 2019.
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| 2. | Motion under Rule 49E(2) of the Rules of Procedure
Hon Starry LEE to move the following motion: That this Council takes note of Report No. 8/18-19 of the House Committee laid on the Table of the Council on 9 January 2019 in relation to the subsidiary legislation and instrument(s) as listed below:
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| 3. | Motion on "Reviewing the holiday policy"
Hon POON Siu-ping to move the following motion: (Translation) That this Council urges the Government to review the holiday policy and designate the Victory Day of the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression as a statutory holiday. Hon HO Kai-ming, Hon Andrew WAN and Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG to move amendments to the motion | |||||
| (The amendments were issued on 7 December 2018 under LC Paper No. CB(3) 239/18-19) | ||||||
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| 4. | Motion on "Reviewing the policy on One-way Permit"
Hon Alvin YEUNG to move the following motion: (Translation) That as currently a large number of Mainland immigrants have come to Hong Kong for settlement on One-way Permits ('OWPs'), creating a great burden on public services and facilities in Hong Kong in such areas as social welfare, housing, education and health care, this Council urges the SAR Government to reform the policy on OWP; the relevant measures should include: | |||||
| (1) | immediately appealing to the Central Government for reducing the quota for Mainland residents coming to Hong Kong for settlement on OWPs, and expeditiously setting up a mechanism for regular consultation with the Central Government for both sides to adjust the quota annually according to the policy needs of Hong Kong;
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| (2) | establishing a dual vetting and approval mechanism for OWP in accordance with Articles 22 and 154 of the Basic Law and the Immigration Ordinance whereby the SAR Government can exercise the power to vet and approve entry for immigration and grant permission for OWP holders to come to Hong Kong for settlement only after verifying the authenticity of the documentary proof of family relationship between OWP holders and their family members who are Hong Kong permanent residents and the absence of record to the detriment of OWP holders (excluding past record of political prosecution), and that their family members who are Hong Kong permanent residents have sufficient financial means to support OWP holders' living at a standard well above the subsistence level in Hong Kong; and
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| (3) | stepping up efforts in combating bogus marriages to prevent lawbreakers from obtaining through bogus marriages the requisite documents to apply for OWPs to come to Hong Kong for settlement.
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| Hon Claudia MO, Hon CHAN Hak-kan, Hon WU Chi-wai and Hon Gary FAN to move amendments to the motion
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| (The amendments were issued on 3 January 2019
under LC Paper No. CB(3) 280/18-19) | ||||||
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