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A 18/19-26

Legislative Council

Agenda
Wednesday 3 April 2019 at 11:30 am
(or immediately after the meeting for the Chief Executive's Question Time
to be held at 11:00 am that day)

I.
Papers to be laid on the Table of the Council

10 items of subsidiary legislation/instruments and 3 other papers to be laid on the Table of the Council are set out in Appendix 1

II.
Questions

Members to ask 22 questions (6 for oral replies and 16 for written replies)
Questions for oral replies to be asked by
Public officers to reply
1.
Secretary for the Civil Service
2.
Secretary for Food and Health
3.
Secretary for Transport and Housing
4.
Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
5.
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
6.
Secretary for Development
Contents of the 22 questions, the Members to ask such questions and the public officers to reply are set out in Appendix 2

III.
Government Bill

First Reading and Second Reading (debate to be adjourned)

IV.
Government Motions

1.
Proposed resolution under the Employees' Compensation Ordinance
Secretary for Labour and Welfare to move the motion in Appendix 3
2.
Proposed resolution under the Pneumoconiosis and Mesothelioma (Compensation) Ordinance
Secretary for Labour and Welfare to move the motion in Appendix 4
3.
Proposed resolution under the Occupational Deafness (Compensation) Ordinance
Secretary for Labour and Welfare to move the motion in Appendix 5
(The debate and voting arrangements for the above three proposed resolutions are set out in LC Paper No. CB(3) 484/18-19 issued on 20 March 2019)

V.
Member's Bill

Second Reading (debate to resume), consideration by committee of the whole Council and Third Reading
Hon Kenneth LEUNG to move amendments as set out in LC Paper No. CB(3) 507 /18-19 issued on 29 March 2019

(The debate and voting arrangements are set out in LC Paper No. CB(3) 511/18-19 issued on 1 April 2019)

(No public officer will attend the above item of business)

VI.
Members' Motions

1.
Motion on "Not forgetting the 4 June incident"
Hon WU Chi-wai to move the motion in Appendix 6

(No public officer will attend the above item of business)
2.
Motion on "Requesting the Government to overcome the 'three big mountains' in people's livelihood"
Hon Alice MAK to move the motion in Appendix 7

8 Members (Hon KWOK Wai-keung, Hon HO Kai-ming, Hon LUK Chung-hung, Hon LEUNG Yiu-chung, Dr Hon KWOK Ka-ki, Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG, Hon CHU Hoi-dick and Hon AU Nok-hin) to move amendments as set out in LC Paper No. CB(3) 509/18-19 issued on 29 March 2019
Public officers to attend
:
Chief Secretary for Administration
Secretary for Labour and Welfare
Secretary for Transport and Housing
Under Secretary for Labour and Welfare
Under Secretary for Transport and Housing



Clerk to the Legislative Council






Appendix 1

Council meeting of 3 April 2019

Papers to be laid on the Table of the Council

Subsidiary legislation/instruments
Legal Notice No.
1.
43 of 2019
2.
44 of 2019
3.
45 of 2019
4.
46 of 2019
5.
47 of 2019
6.
48 of 2019
7.
49 of 2019
8.
50 of 2019
9.
51 of 2019
10.
52 of 2019
Other papers




Appendix 2

22 questions to be asked at the Council meeting of 3 April 2019

Subject matters
Public officers to reply
Questions for oral replies
1
Dr Hon Elizabeth QUAT
Secretary for the Civil Service
2
Hon Gary FAN
Secretary for Food and Health
3
Hon Vincent CHENG
Secretary for Transport and Housing
4
Hon Charles Peter MOK
Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
5
Hon LAU Kwok-fan
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
6
Hon CHAN Han-pan
Secretary for Development
Questions for written replies
7
Hon YIU Si-wing
Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
8
Hon KWOK Wai-keung
Secretary for Labour and Welfare
9
Hon Michael TIEN
Secretary for Transport and Housing
10
Hon SHIU Ka-chun
Secretary for Security
11
Hon CHU Hoi-dick
Secretary for Security
12
Dr Hon Pierre CHAN
Secretary for Food and Health
13
Hon Mrs Regina IP
Secretary for Food and Health
14
Hon HO Kai-ming
Secretary for Development
15
Prof Hon Joseph LEE
Secretary for Labour and Welfare
16
Hon Dennis KWOK
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
17
Hon Paul TSE
Secretary for Development
18
Hon Tony TSE
Secretary for Development
19
Hon Andrew WAN
Secretary for Transport and Housing
20
Hon WU Chi-wai
Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
21
Hon Jimmy NG
Secretary for Security
22
Hon CHAN Hak-kan
Secretary for Transport and Housing




Question 1
(For oral reply)

(Translation)

Remuneration packages for disciplined services staff

Dr Hon Elizabeth QUAT to ask:
Some disciplined services staff have indicated that they have all along been dedicated to their work, making Hong Kong one of the safest cities in the world. However, the remuneration packages for disciplined services staff have not reasonably reflected their contributions, thereby undermining their morale and leading to talent wastage. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
given that while the work of the disciplined services is more dangerous than that of civilian staff, the pay difference between successive pay points on the General Disciplined Services (Rank and File) Pay Scale is only about 3%, whether the authorities will consider adjusting upward the pay difference between successive pay points on the pay scale to 6%, so as to make it on a par with that on the pay scale for civilian staff; if so, of the details and the timetable; if not, the reasons for that;
(2)
given the manpower wastage problem currently faced by and the need to pass on experience in the disciplined services, whether the authorities will consider afresh offering disciplined services staff appointed before June 2000 the choice of extending their retirement age; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3)
given the acute shortfall of departmental quarters for disciplined services at present, of the authorities' measures in place to mitigate the situation; whether they will identify land for constructing new quarters; if so, of the details and the timetable; if not, the reasons for that?




Question 2
(For oral reply)

(Translation)

Non-eligible persons defaulting on payment of medical fees

Hon Gary FAN to ask:
Non-eligible persons ("NEPs") (including Mainland residents) receiving public healthcare services are required to pay for medical fees which are determined on a cost-recovery basis. It has been reported that a Mainland woman, since being injured in a traffic accident in Hong Kong in November 2015, has been staying in a public hospital without paying any medical fees. Last month, the Hospital Authority ("HA") filed claims in court against that woman for recovery of arrears which amounted to $6,170,000. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether it knows the highest and average figures in each of the past five financial years in respect of the following: the number of days for which NEPs stayed in public hospitals, the amount of medical fees in default by NEPs and the number of days involved, and HA's expenditure on recovery of arrears and the amount of arrears written off;
(2)
whether it knows if HA has made arrangements for medical social workers to communicate with NEPs defaulting on payment of medical fees or with their families to make as early as possible suitable arrangements for them so as to prevent the worsening of the situation of patients defaulting on payment of medical fees; and
(3)
regarding those Mainland residents visiting Hong Kong who cannot be discharged from public hospitals due to personal difficulties even though their conditions have become stable, whether the Government will discuss with the Mainland authorities the setting up of a mechanism so that assistance may be provided to them to facilitate their early discharge and return to the Mainland; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 



Question 3
(For oral reply)

(Translation)

Increasing the number of parking spaces

Hon Vincent CHENG to ask:
In February last year, there were over 770 000 licensed vehicles across the territory and the number of parking spaces stood at 750 000, meaning that less than one parking space was available to each vehicle on average. In recent years, the problem of illegal parking has been worsening due to the shortage of parking spaces. Last year, the Police issued as many as 2.01 million fixed penalty notices against parking contraventions, which was nearly three times that of a decade ago. The Transport Department has recently proposed building, under a pilot scheme, Hong Kong's first underground public smart car park in Sham Shui Po, which is expected to provide 200 parking spaces. In respect of increasing the number of parking spaces, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether it has drawn up a vehicle-to-parking space target ratio in respect of each class of vehicles; if so, of the respective current shortfalls of parking spaces for the various classes of vehicles calculated on the basis of such ratios; of the respective projected numbers of new parking spaces to be provided by public and private organizations in the coming three years;
(2)
of the number of car parks (including smart car parks) that the Government will build in the coming three years in government facilities and public open spaces under the principle of "single site, multiple uses", and the number of parking spaces to be provided in such car parks; and
(3)
whether it will take measures (e.g. providing incentives) to encourage private organizations to build smart car parks which can provide more parking spaces (including cylinder-vertical-lifting, lift-sliding and so-called "Ferris-wheel-style" mechanical parking spaces); if so, of the details (including the estimated number of extra parking spaces to be provided)?
 



Question 4
(For oral reply)

(Translation)

Preparation for the development
of the fifth generation mobile network and services

Hon Charles Peter MOK to ask:
The authorities have indicated that it will commence auctions of a total of 380 MHz of the spectrum in the 3.3 GHz, 3.5 GHz and 4.9 GHz bands from July to August this year for the development of the fifth generation ("5G") mobile network and services. Some members of the industry have pointed out that as it takes about two years for telecommunications service operators ("operators") to make preparation after the assignment of the spectrum to them, it may lead to the situation that 5G services can only be launched by the latter half of 2021 at the earliest, and such a pace lags far behind that in South Korea, Japan, etc. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
given that last year, the authorities briefed the relevant Panel of this Council on the auctioning arrangements seven months prior to the auctioning of the spectrum in the 900 MHz and 1 800 MHz bands and then introduced amendments to the relevant subsidiary legislation, why the authorities have not yet announced the auctioning arrangements for the 5G spectrum, when it will give an account of this matter to this Council, and how it will ensure that the auctions will be held as scheduled; of the respective timetables for the various auction-related work and amending the law;
(2)
given that operators need to install, for 5G networks, base stations which will be more densely distributed than the existing ones, and the authorities will open up about 1 000 suitable government premises for this purpose, of the progress in opening up the premises; whether they will provide more premises to help operators address the difficulties in identifying sites for base stations; and
(3)
given that for the avoidance of interference with satellite earth stations, the authorities have imposed restriction zones in Tai Po and Stanley such that the 3.5 GHz band inside the restriction zones may not be used for providing 5G services, which will result in the relevant research and development work in The Chinese University of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Science Park and the use of 5G communications by more than 700 000 members of the public being affected, of the latest progress of the authorities' efforts in solving this problem; the estimated costs for relocating the satellite earth stations at Tai Po to Stanley; whether they will allow outdoor use of the 3.3 GHz band, and of the additional band(s) of the spectrum that they will make available for operators to provide 5G services in the restriction zones?
 



Question 5
(For oral reply)

(Translation)

Making good use of government properties and lands

Hon LAU Kwok-fan to ask:
It has been reported that there are currently quite a number of government properties located in the urban areas which have, for years, been left vacant or put to temporary uses only, which appears to be a waste of precious land resources. For instance, the former Mong Kok Market has all along been used for temporary storage only since it was closed nine years ago. On the other hand, non-government organizations currently may apply for lease of certain vacant government sites under short-term tenancies ("STTs") for community, institutional or other non-profit-making uses. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the address and gross floor area of each government property in the urban area which is currently vacant or used for temporary storage and has a gross floor area of over 1 000 square feet, as well as the duration for which the property has been left in such a state (set out such information in a table); given that the Government has proposed in the Budget of this financial year an allocation of $20 billion for the purchase of 60 properties for the provision of additional welfare facilities, whether the Government had considered using the government properties just mentioned for welfare facilities before it made such a proposal; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2)
whether, in the long run, the Government has plans to convert the government properties mentioned in (1) to welfare, transitional housing or other public uses, so as to put them to optimal uses; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3)
of the respective numbers of applications for lease of vacant government sites under STTs received and approved by the Government so far; the average processing time for each approved application, and whether it has reviewed the effectiveness of the relevant measures; if so, of the details?
 



Question 6
(For oral reply)

(Translation)

Redevelopment of old areas

Hon CHAN Han-pan to ask:
It is learnt that quite a number of old areas in the New Territories (such as Tsuen Wan) are satellite towns developed in the early days. Many buildings in those areas are aged over 50 years, and quite a number of buildings suspected to have been constructed with the use of salt water are seriously dilapidated. As the plot ratios for the sites concerned have been fully utilized, such buildings lack redevelopment potential, and their conditions will only deteriorate further. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether it has plans to relax the plot ratios of the old areas in the New Territories so as to enhance the redevelopment potential of the sites concerned; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2)
in respect of the old areas in the New Territories which lack redevelopment potential, whether the Government will offer financial incentives to the Urban Renewal Authority or developers, with a view to expediting the pace of redevelopment of such areas; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3)
whether it has any specific plans to redevelop the old areas in Tsuen Wan in order to improve the environment; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 



Question 7
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Travel agents switching to use the E-levy System

Hon YIU Si-wing to ask:
Under the Travel Agents Ordinance (Cap. 218), a travel agent is liable to pay a levy in respect of every outbound fare received for an outbound travel service (i.e. a service comprising any two or all of the following: carriage from Hong Kong to places outside Hong Kong, accommodation outside Hong Kong and an activity outside Hong Kong). When travel agents make levy payments, they must make use of the traditional franking machines or the E-levy System to put levy stamps on the receipts for issue to customers (and travellers must hold receipts with levy stamps in order for them to be protected by the Travel Industry Compensation Fund). It is learnt that the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong ("TIC") has recently informed travel agents that as the supplier of the traditional franking machines will cease providing services, all traditional franking machines will be taken out of use with effect from 1 July this year, and all travel agents must then use the E-levy System to put levy stamps on receipts. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
(1)
among all travel agents, the number and percentage of those which are currently using the E-levy System, and the measures put in place by TIC to ensure that all travel agents will have completed the preparation work for switching to use the E-levy System before the traditional franking machines are put out of use;
(2)
whether TIC has formulated contingency plans to deal with the situation where the E-levy System cannot, due to malfunctioning, put levy stamps on receipts; and
(3)
whether TIC will expand the functions of the E-levy System to collect data on travel agents' sales of group tours and independent travel products, and then disseminate to the travel industry the statistics generated from such data for conducting market analyses and developing new products; if TIC will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?




Question 8
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Manpower situation of the elderly service sector

Hon KWOK Wai-keung to ask:
Regarding the manpower situation of the elderly service sector, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether it knows the respective numbers of care workers and health workers currently employed by (i) subvented residential care homes for the elderly ("RCHEs") and (ii) private RCHEs in Hong Kong;
(2)
of the number of workers imported in each of the past two years by the elderly service sector under the Supplementary Labour Scheme, and the current (i) median monthly wage and (ii) average weekly working hours of such kind of workers;
(3)
whether it knows the numbers of (a) certificate courses on care workers training and (b) certificate courses on health workers training organized respectively by the Employees Retraining Board and the Vocational Training Council in the past two years, and set out the following information on such courses: (i) title, (ii) the type to which the course belonged, (iii) the professional field to which the course belonged (e.g. health care and residential care), (iv) mode of study, (v) duration of training, (vi) originally estimated and actual numbers of enrolled trainees, (vii) number of graduates, and (viii) percentage of trainees employed by the elderly service sector upon graduation; and
(4)
given that the Social Welfare Department ("SWD") has implemented the Navigation Scheme for Young Persons in Care Services since July 2015 to encourage young persons to join the elderly service sector, of (i) the quota take-up and dropout rates of the Scheme so far, and (ii) among the participants in each intake of the Scheme, the number of those who have completed the two-year part-time course under the Scheme; whether SWD will review and improve the remuneration package of the participants to increase the attractiveness of the Scheme?




Question 9
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Illegal parking

Hon Michael TIEN to ask:
Roadside lay-bys are supposed to be used for picking up/setting down passengers or loading/unloading goods by vehicles. However, it is learnt that the problem of vehicles parking (including stopping and waiting) illegally at lay-bys is serious. Examples include the lay-by at Mei Wan Street, Tsuen Wan, where illegal parking is particularly serious during weekends and public holidays. Some drivers illegally pick up/set down passengers or load/unload goods on traffic lanes marked with double yellow lines because the lay-bys are occupied, thereby causing traffic congestion. On the other hand, the Energizing Kowloon East Office of the Development Bureau is conducting a Proof of Concept Trial on Illegal Parking Monitoring System, and the Police will launch another trial scheme to explore the use of video analytic techniques in the law enforcement actions against traffic contraventions. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it has studied if the Police may rely solely on video footage as evidence to institute prosecution against the driver or owner of a vehicle illegally parked respectively for the situations where the driver is and is not in the vehicle respectively; if it has studied and the outcome is in the affirmative, of the details; if the study outcome is in the negative, whether the Government will consider amending the legislation to empower the Police to institute prosecution by this means?
 



Question 10
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Persons in custody applying for early release

Hon SHIU Ka-chun to ask:
Currently, persons in custody ("PICs") may make applications for early release under the "Release under Supervision Scheme" and the "Pre-release Employment Scheme" provided for in the Prisoners (Release under Supervision) Ordinance (Cap. 325). The recommendations made by the Release under Supervision Board ("the Board") after consideration of such applications are submitted to the Secretary for Security for his decision by exercising the powers delegated to him by the Chief Executive under Cap. 325. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the respective numbers of applications for early release made under the two aforesaid schemes by PICs which were rejected in each of the past five years, together with the reasons;
(2)
as some PICs alleged that staff members of the Correctional Services Department had, on various grounds, withheld their applications for early release which were intended to be submitted to the Chief Executive through the Board, whether the various correctional institutions have currently kept written records of the early-release applications submitted by PICs, so as to safeguard PICs' rights and interests; and
(3)
as PICs must have secured employment before they may apply for early release under the Pre-release Employment Scheme, of the policies and measures currently put in place to encourage employers to offer jobs for PICs?




Question 11
(For written reply)

(Translation)

An incident occurred in the airport restricted area

Hon CHU Hoi-dick to ask:
It was reported that two Saudi Arabian women who intended to seek asylum from the Australian Government arrived at the Hong Kong International Airport from Colombo on a flight of the SriLankan Airlines ("SLA") in September last year. While they were waiting for a connecting flight of the Cathay Pacific Airways ("CX") to Melbourne in the airport restricted area, two staff members from the Consulate of Saudi Arabia in Hong Kong attempted to deceive them into boarding a flight to Dubai, and the staff members of SLA and CX cancelled their bookings of the flight to Melbourne. The two women were later permitted to enter Hong Kong and have now left Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether it knows the means by which and the capacity in which the staff members of the Consulate of Saudi Arabia in Hong Kong entered the airport restricted area; whether it has assessed if their acts in the airport restricted area constituted any criminal offence; if it has assessed and the outcome is in the affirmative, of the follow-up actions; and
(2)
whether it has assessed if the cancellation of the two women's flight bookings by the staff members of SLA and CX has undermined the women's consumer rights?
 



Question 12
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Use of public healthcare services by persons
who were issued the Hong Kong identity cards in certain years

Dr Hon Pierre CHAN to ask:
It has been reported that Hong Kong identity cards issued respectively from 28 December 2000 to 31 July 2011 and since 1 August 2011 have numbers beginning with "R" and "M", and a majority of those persons holding such identity cards ("R and M persons") are new arrivals to Hong Kong. Regarding the use of public healthcare services by R and M persons, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether it knows the respective total numbers of new cases of R and M persons being diagnosed, in public hospitals during the period between 2013 and 2018, with the cancers set out in the table below; set out a breakdown in the table below by gender of such persons and the age group to which they belonged;
Type of cancers Gender Age group (years old) Total
0-19 20-44 45-64 65-74 75 or above
Colorectal
cancer		 Female            
Male            
Lung tumour Female            
Male            
Liver tumour Female           
Male            
Leukaemia Female            
Male            
Hodgkin's lymphoma Female            
Male            
Non-Hodgkin's lymphoma Female            
Male            
Total: Female            
Male            
(2)
whether it knows the respective total numbers of new and old cases of R and M persons receiving diagnoses and treatments in public hospitals in each year between 2013 and 2018, with a tabulated breakdown by gender of such persons, the age group to which they belonged (as set out in the table above) and the following diagnoses and treatments as well as services they received: renal replacement therapy (including peritoneal dialysis and haemodialysis), cataract surgery, treatment for Hepatitis B and specialist outpatient services of psychiatry, chest, paediatrics and cardiology;
(3)
given that countries such as Singapore, the United Kingdom, Canada and the United States require a person who applies for residence to pass a health check (including a confirmation that the person has not suffered from any infectious diseases such as tuberculosis, serious diseases or chronic diseases), whether the Government will, by making reference to this practice, impose a similar requirement on those persons coming to Hong Kong for settlement, with a view to relieving the burden on the public healthcare system; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(4)
whether the Government will approach the Central Authorities to gain an understanding of the anticipated number of Mainland residents who will come to Hong Kong for settlement on Permits for Proceeding to Hong Kong and Macao (commonly known as "One-way Permits") in the coming 10 years as well as their age and gender distribution, so as to facilitate the making of accurate projections on the demand for and the capacities of healthcare and other public services in Hong Kong in future, and the corresponding planning work; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 



Question 13
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Environmental hygiene problems caused by wild birds

Hon Mrs Regina IP to ask:
I have received complaints from many members of the public that there are from time to time people feeding wild pigeons in public places, resulting in wild pigeons congregating and depositing large quantities of droppings, which has seriously affected environmental hygiene and posed health hazards to members of the public. The spots where wild pigeons congregate include an area underneath the flyover outside Mount Sterling Mall at Mei Foo Sun Chuen and the open space nearby (especially at dusk), and a footpath on Sha Kok Street adjacent to Sha Kok Estate (with more than 200 wild pigeons congregating at the most). Although the Sha Tin District Council has all along been requesting, in the past decade or so, the relevant government departments to take measures to tackle the problem of wild pigeons congregating, the situation has not been improved. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the number of complaints received by the authorities in each of the past three years about bird droppings causing environmental hygiene problems, with a breakdown by District Council district;
(2)
whether the authorities will step up law enforcement efforts and inspections to curb the acts of feeding wild birds; if so, of the details; and
(3)
apart from installing Internet Protocol cameras at the spots concerned to curb the acts of feeding wild birds, of the measures adopted by the authorities in the past three years to prevent wild birds congregating and the effectiveness of such measures; whether they will consider installing netting at those spots to prevent entry by wild birds; if so, of the details?
 



Question 14
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Manpower situation of the construction industry

Hon HO Kai-ming to ask:
In 2014, the Construction Industry Council formulated a labour-supply list on 26 trades in the construction industry. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether it knows (i) the mode of employment of workers (i.e. being employed or self-employed), (ii) the method for calculating the wages, and (iii) the number of hours worked per week by each worker on average, in respect of each of the 26 trades at present, and set out such information in Table 1;

Table 1
Trade (i) (ii) (iii)
1. Bar bender & fixer      
2. Carpenter (Formwork)      
...      
25. Trackworker      
26. Shotfirer      
(2)
whether it knows (i) the number of people employed, (ii) the number of job seekers, (iii) the number of job vacancies, (iv) the job vacancy rate, (v) the number of industrial accidents, and (vi) the respective numbers of workers the importation for whom was applied and approved, in respect of each of the 26 trades in each of the past five years, and set out such figures using tables of the same format as Table 2;

Table 2   　　Year: ________
Trade (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi)
1. Bar bender & fixer            
2. Carpenter (Formwork)            
...            
25. Trackworker            
26. Shotfirer            
(3)
whether it knows the total number of training courses provided by the Vocational Training Council and the Construction Industry Council (including the training bodies under them) for the 26 trades in the past five years, as well as (i) the name, (ii) the years in which the course was offered, (iii) the number of training places, (iv) the entry requirements, (v) the duration of training, and (vi) the employment rate of graduated trainees, in respect of each of the training courses; set out such information by trade and training body using tables of the same format as Table 3; and

Table 3　  　　Trade: ________
Training body (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi)
             
             
             
             
(4)
whether the authorities have formulated new measures to attract local workers to join the construction industry to work in the 26 trades, and to reduce the manpower wastage in those trades; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?




Question 15
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Financial assistance for patients with permanent stomata

Prof Hon Joseph LEE to ask:
It is learnt that when the colon, rectum, ileum or urinary bladder of a patient is functionally damaged due to lesions or accidents, doctors may carry out surgical operations to create an opening on the patient's abdomen for waste discharge, known as "stoma". Stomata are classified into colostomy, ileostomy and urostomy. Owing to incapacity as a result of their physical conditions, most stoma patients cannot afford the expenses incurred for purchasing stoma bags, which are used for collecting waste, and other medical consumables. In 2017, the Community Care Fund rolled out a three-year Pilot Scheme on Providing Special Subsidy for Persons with Permanent Stoma from Low-income Families for Purchasing Medical Consumables ("the Pilot Scheme"), under which eligible persons with permanent stomata are provided with subsidies at the rates of full grant (i.e. $1,000 per month), three-quarters grant or half grant, with a view to relieving their financial burden. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the respective numbers of applications under the Pilot Scheme received and approved by the authorities last year, with a breakdown of the approved applications by type of stoma and rate of subsidy;
(2)
as it is necessary for patients with permanent stomata to use the relevant medical consumables, whether the authorities will consider providing full-grant subsidies across the board for all eligible patients; and
(3)
whether the authorities will entrust the responsibility of conducting medical assessments for applications for Disability Allowances lodged by stoma patients to those specialists who are more familiar with the medical conditions and disability conditions of such patients, such as gastroenterologists or urologists; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 



Question 16
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Regulation of financial technology applications

Hon Dennis KWOK to ask:
In November last year, the Securities and Futures Commission ("SFC") announced a new regulatory approach for virtual assets aiming to bring virtual asset portfolio managers and distributors of virtual asset funds within the scope of SFC's regulation, which includes imposing licensing conditions on such managers and exploring regulation of virtual asset trading platform operators. In addition, SFC launched in September 2017 the SFC Regulatory Sandbox to provide a confined regulatory environment for qualified firms to conduct regulated activities utilizing financial technologies ("Fintech"). Regarding the regulation of Fintech applications, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether it has plans to amend the legislation to bring the trading activities of virtual currencies within the scope of regulation by SFC; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2)
of the measures in place to prevent lawbreakers from conducting money laundering activities and other illegal activities through the trading of virtual currencies, which are currently not regulated by the law;
(3)
whether it knows the regulatory actions which SFC has taken against relevant managers and distributors since the new regulatory approach was announced;
(4)
whether it knows if the SFC Regulatory Sandbox has conducted trials on activities on crowdfunding platforms; if the Sandbox has, of the results and operation; whether it will amend the existing legislation to facilitate the launch in Hong Kong of new types of crowdfunding activities conducted by utilizing Fintech; if so, of the details and timetable; if not, the reasons for that;
(5)
whether it knows if the SFC Regulatory Sandbox has currently included, in its scope of regulation and study, the securities dealing activities conducted through artificial intelligence; if the Sandbox has, of the results; if not, the reasons for that; and
(6)
of the following details of the trials which the SFC Regulatory Sandbox has conducted or is conducting (set out by product in the table below):
(i)
the commencement date of the trial,
(ii)
the end date of the trial,
(iii)
the reasons for ending the trial,
(iv)
whether legislative amendments were/are involved,
(v)
(if legislative amendments were/are involved) the details of the amendments, and
(vi)
(if legislative amendments were/are not involved) the reasons for amendments not being involved?
Product on trial (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi)
             
             
             




Question 17
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Kwun Tong Typhoon Shelter

Hon Paul TSE to ask:
Some studies have pointed out that reclamation at the Kwun Tong Typhoon Shelter ("KTTS") can produce a sizable piece of land in a short period of time, and is a more cost-effective option than the Lantau Tomorrow Vision. Besides, some members of the public have relayed that there are not many economic activities at KTTS, with only some yachts and oil barges berthing at it for most of the time. It has been reported by the media that some people use pontoons to occupy berthing spaces at KTTS for berthing of yachts and they make profits by extorting "security fees" and "berthing fees" from the relevant parties. In its Direct Investigation Report published last month, the Office of The Ombudsman expressed concern about whether the right of other vessels to the fair use of KTTS had been deprived of. Some members of the public have criticized the Protection of the Harbour Ordinance (Cap. 531) for its overcorrection, which has become an ordinance offering protection to all sorts of illegal activities at typhoon shelters. Besides, there are views that at present, KTTS is unable to provide ancillary transport facilities for the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal ("KTCT") which has remained idle for a long period of time, not to mention creating synergy with it. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether it has studied if the aforesaid occupation of berthing spaces by pontoons and extortion of fees for the berthing of yachts is an organized crime; if it has studied and the outcome is in the affirmative, of the follow-up actions taken by the Government and the number of successful prosecutions against the persons concerned, in the past three years;
(2)
given that while the Government intends to submit to this Council a funding application of $500 million-odd for undertaking studies relating to the artificial islands in the Central Waters under the Lantau Tomorrow Vision, some members of the public consider such an amount too high, whether the Government will consider sparing, by reducing the relevant expenditure, an amount of money for conducting studies on the feasibility and benefits of reclamation at KTTS, including the value of the newly formed land, the number of units that can be built, the population that can be accommodated, as well as the ancillary transport facilities that can be provided for KTCT and the synergy that can be achieved with it;
(3)
whether the Government assessed, in the past three years, (i) the economic benefits that could have been generated by arranging vessels to berth at KTTS (including the aforesaid activity of occupying berthing spaces for berthing of yachts) and (ii) the economic contributions brought about by the various commercial activities at KTTS;
(4)
whether it will expeditiously conduct the studies and assessments mentioned in (2) and (3) respectively, so as to assess whether the KTTS reclamation plan should be taken forward;
(5)
given that the Development Bureau mentioned earlier, in reply to my suggestions made in respect of the 2019-2020 Budget, that if reclamation was to be conducted at KTTS, site(s) had to be identified in advance for planning of new typhoon shelters or sheltered anchorages, whether the Government has proposals on the sites for the provision of typhoon shelters; if so, of the details; if not, whether it will immediately commence the site identification work;
(6)
given that a few days ago, the Secretary for Development indicated, in reply to a question on the Environmentally Friendly Linkage System for Kowloon East ("EFLS") raised by a Member of this Council, that the proposed viaduct, which had originally been planned to run from the tip of KTCT and cross KTTS to connect with the MTR Kwun Tong Station via Hoi Yuen Road, was faced with a lot of technical difficulties as it failed to meet a number of fire safety requirements stipulated under the Fire Safety (Buildings) Ordinance (Cap. 572), whether the Government will continue to study EFLS on the one hand, and examine the road transport network that can be provided through reclamation at KTTS on the other, as a contingency plan in the event that EFLS is not pursued; and
(7)
whether it will immediately amend the Protection of the Harbour Ordinance to facilitate the implementation of EFLS and reclamation of KTTS, so as to provide a large piece of residential land for the Energizing Kowloon East vision, thereby solving the traffic problems in the district and at KTCT?
 



Question 18
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Staffing issues relating to tree management and landscape work

Hon Tony TSE to ask:
At present, the Greening, Landscape and Tree Management Section ("GLTMS") of the Development Bureau is responsible for formulating and coordinating the overall landscape and tree management strategy and initiatives in Hong Kong, while the Tree Management Office ("TMO") under GLTMS is responsible for coordinating the tree management work of various government departments, etc. It has been reported that the two posts of Head of GLTMS and Head of TMO were vacant on a number of occasions in the past few years, and the present incumbents of the posts lack the professional qualifications in tree management or landscape, resulting in the problem of the non-professionals leading the professionals. On the other hand, the Development Bureau indicated last year that it was conducting a review on tree management and the responsibilities of TMO, and it would review at the same time the recruitment and appointment arrangements for the posts concerned. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether the scope of the aforesaid review covers the duties, organization structure and staffing establishment of GLTMS and TMO; of the progress and expected completion date of the review;
(2)
whether the scope of the review on the recruitment and appointment arrangements for the two aforesaid posts covers the approach for recruitment (e.g. giving priority to internal promotion) and the entry qualification requirements (e.g. the requirement of possessing professional qualifications in tree management and landscape); and
(3)
whether it will, before the completion of the aforesaid review, expeditiously recruit or deploy personnel with professional qualifications in tree management and landscape to fill the two posts; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 



Question 19
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Making good use and combating abuses of public rental housing resources

Hon Andrew WAN to ask:
Regarding the work of the Housing Department ("HD") to make good use and combat abuses of public rental housing ("PRH") resources, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of HD's staffing establishment for the investigations of suspected abuses of PRH resources and the expenditure involved, in each of the past five years;
(2)
whether HD will (i) establish a dedicated team and allocate additional manpower and other resources needed to step up its investigations into cases of PRH tenants suspected of concealing their assets outside Hong Kong, and (ii) raise the penalties for the act of concealment, so as to enhance the deterrent effect;
(3)
as some principal tenants of PRH have applied for deleting their household members with higher income from the tenancy to avoid their household income exceeding the limits, of the number of applications received by HD in each of the past five years for deleting household members from the PRH tenancy;
(4)
of the number of tenants whose tenancy was terminated by HD in each of the past five years for the reason that their household income or net assets had exceeded the limits;
(5)
of the number of appeals lodged in the past five years with the Appeal Panel (Housing) by PRH tenants against HD's termination of their tenancy, together with a tabulated breakdown by reason of tenancy termination (e.g. failure to truthfully declare income or assets and household members in the tenancy not living in the units concerned); and
(6)
of the number of under-occupation households at the end of each of the past five years which were not arranged to move to smaller PRH units due to a shortage of such units?
 



Question 20
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Regulation of virtual asset investment activities

Hon WU Chi-wai to ask:
It is learnt that following the rapid development of virtual asset-related investment activities in recent years, incidents of investors incurring losses have occurred frequently. For instances, the Court has recently ordered the winding up of a virtual currency exchange, and the Police have earlier arrested a person for allegedly having enticed investors by fraudulent means into buying mining devices purportedly for mining virtual currency. On the other hand, the Securities and Futures Commission ("SFC") announced in November last year a new regulatory approach for virtual assets, aiming to bring virtual asset portfolio managers and distributors of virtual asset funds into SFC's regulatory net. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the details of the law enforcement actions taken in the past three years by various law enforcement agencies on suspected cases of (a) using virtual currencies for money laundering, (b) enticing investors into buying mining devices by fraudulent means, and (c) soliciting investments in virtual assets by unlawful means, including (i) the amount of money involved, (ii) the respective numbers of persons arrested, prosecuted and convicted, and (iii) the penalties imposed on those convicted;
(2)
whether the sale of virtual asset-related commodities (such as mining devices) falls within the ambit of the Trade Descriptions Ordinance (Cap. 362); if not, of the reasons for that, and whether the Government will amend the legislation to bring it into the ambit by the Customs and Excise Department;
(3)
whether individuals or business operators are currently required to pay taxes for transactions (such as trading of properties or funds) conducted using virtual currencies; if so, how the Inland Revenue Department ("IRD") ensures that the secrecy associated with transactions of virtual currencies will not lead to a reduction in tax revenue;
(4)
of the respective amounts of profits taxes collected in each of the past three years by IRD on the operation of (i) virtual assets trading platforms, (ii) the sale of mining devices, (iii) cloud mining, (iv) smart vending machines equipped with virtual currency-related functions, and (v) other virtual asset-related commercial activities;
(5)
whether IRD initiated investigations in the past three years into cases of suspected tax evasion regarding the operation of virtual asset-related businesses; if so, of the respective numbers of investigations, prosecutions and convictions, and the penalties imposed on those convicted; of the number of cases in which the offenders paid fines in lieu of being prosecuted, and the average amount of fines paid by them; and
(6)
whether SFC, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and the relevant government departments will study the stepping up of the regulation of virtual asset-related investment activities; if so, of the details?
 



Question 21
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Handling of claimants

Hon Jimmy NG to ask:
It is learnt that in recent years, a large number of illegal entrants lodged, immediately upon entry into Hong Kong, torture claims or non-refoulement claims (collectively referred to as "claims") under the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
the past five year, of (i) the number of rejected claimants removed from Hong Kong each year and (ii) the five major countries from where such persons came, together with the number of such persons from each of those countries and its percentage in the total number of claimants (set out in a table);
(2)
given that a vast majority of claimants are currently released on recognisance in lieu of detention, and the number of person-times of non-ethnic Chinese persons on recognisance (mostly non-refoulement claimants) arrested for committing criminal offences increased by about 40% from 1 113 in 2015 to 1 542 in 2017, whether the Government took any targeted measures last year to combat such offences; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(3)
as the Government has proposed to amend the Immigration Ordinance (Cap. 115) by tightening the statutory timeframe for a claimant's submission of a claim form from 28 days to 14 days and cancelling the period of 21 additional days currently given to all claimants by administrative measures, whether it has studied the processing time that can be shortened for each claim on average after the amendments concerned have come into force; and
(4)
whether it will consider afresh setting up holding centres or closed camps for the claimants; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 



Question 22
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Subsidized sale flats

Hon CHAN Hak-kan to ask:
Regarding the subsidized sale flats projects developed by the Hong Kong Housing Authority ("HA") and the Hong Kong Housing Society ("HKHS"), will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
given that the total project costs of the Home Ownership Scheme ("HOS") projects developed by HA comprise development costs, land costs at 35% of the development costs, administration overheads and other sales related expenditure, of the respective specific expenditure items included in the (i) development costs, (ii) land costs and (iii) administration overheads;
(2)
of the reasons for the Government to pitch the land costs of HOS projects at 35% of their development costs;
(3)
of the (i) total project costs, (ii) total sales proceeds, (iii) operating surplus, and (iv) land costs in respect of each HOS sale exercise conducted in the past five years;
(4)
whether it will standardize the calculation of the land costs payable to the Government by HA and HKHS for the subsidized sale flats they develop; if not, of the reasons for that;
(5)
of the respective numbers of sale exercises for subsidized sale flats projects to be conducted and the respective total numbers of flats involved, as projected by HA and HKHS for the current as well as each of the coming four financial years; and
(6)
given that the number of White Form ("WF") applicants far exceeded that of Green Form ("GF") applicants in each HOS sale exercise conducted in recent years, whether HA will change the ratio of the quota between GF and WF applicants from the current 50:50 to 40:60; if not, of the reasons for that; if so, the details?