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

Members to ask 22 questions (6 for oral replies and 16 for written replies)

Contents of 22 questions, Members to ask such questions and public officers to reply set out in Appendix 2

A Member to ask an urgent oral question in Appendix 2A

(Standing over from the meeting of 10 July 2019)

(Debate and voting arrangements set out in LC Paper Nos. CB(3) 760/18-19 and CB(3) 55/19-20 issued on 27 June and 21 October 2019)

(Standing over from the meeting of 30 October 2019)

(Standing over from the meeting of 30 October 2019)

(Standing over from the meeting of 6 November 2019)

Prohibition on Face Covering Regulation (L.N. 119/2019)

(The following 2 Members to move motions to repeal L.N. 119/2019)

(The following 8 Members to move motions to amend L.N. 119/2019)

(Debate and voting arrangements set out in LC Paper No. CB(3) 114/19-20 issued on 12 November 2019)

(Standing over from the meeting of 10 July 2019)

(Standing over from the meeting of 23 October 2019)

(Standing over from the meeting of 30 October 2019)

(Standing over from the meeting of 6 November 2019)

(Standing over from the meeting of 12 June 2019)

(Standing over from the meeting of 10 July 2019)

(Debate and voting arrangements set out in LC Paper No. CB(3) 771/18-19 issued on 27 June 2019)

(Standing over from the meeting of 23 October 2019)

(Standing over from the meeting of 3 July 2019)

(Debate and voting arrangements set out in LC Paper No. CB(3) 723/18-19 issued on 19 June 2019)

(Standing over from the meeting of 23 October 2019)

(Standing over from the meeting of 30 October 2019)

(Standing over from the meeting of 12 June 2019)

(Standing over from the meeting of 12 June 2019)

Hon Alvin YEUNG to ask:

According to the footage captured by the media, on the night of 31 August this year, some police officers attacked members of the public, who did not put up any resistance, with batons and pepper spray and pointed guns at them on the platforms of MTR Prince Edward Station and inside the train compartments thereat. It has been reported that on that night, the Police evicted journalists and volunteer first-aiders from Prince Edward Station and then, by claiming that there were no injured persons in the station, hindered the entry of ambulancemen of the Fire Services Department ("FSD") to the station to perform rescue work, resulting in the delayed treatment of quite a number of injured persons. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon WU Chi-wai to ask:

It has been reported that since June this year, the Police have arrested several thousand demonstrators during a number of demonstrations. Some arrestees had been detained for a period longer than 48 hours, the limit prescribed by law, before they were brought before a magistrate or released. Furthermore, a 13-year-old boy was not accompanied by any parent or guardian, nor was he informed of his rights, when he made a statement. Regarding the procedural issues of the Police's handling of such arrestees, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon KWONG Chun-yu to ask:

Since June this year, the Police deployed on a number of occasions police dogs to assist in the handling of demonstrations. While the police officers all wore gas masks when firing tear gas rounds to disperse demonstrators, the police dogs at the scene had no protective gear. Some members of the public are concerned that tear gas is hazardous to the health of the police dogs. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon Paul TSE to ask:

It has been reported that with Hong Kong experiencing months of social turmoil, many industries have become languished, and the numbers of Mainland and overseas visitors have plunged (e.g. the number of visitor arrivals from the Mainland during the "National Day Golden Week" has dropped drastically by 56% to a record low in nine years). The number of visitors to Lei Yue Mun, a famous tourist area in Kowloon East, has dropped significantly as well. As a result, a large number of tourism-related shops have closed down one after another. Earlier on, the Financial Secretary has introduced a $19.1 billion package of measures to "support enterprises, safeguard jobs and relieve people's burden" ("relief measures"), which include a 50% rental reduction for a period of six months for most short-term tenancies of government land for business use under the Lands Department ("LandsD") and for public market stalls. However, some shop operators in Lei Yue Mun and the District Council members of the district have relayed to me that the aforesaid shop operators have successively received notices from LandsD that their rentals will be raised by 7% shortly. They are afraid that such rental increase will give rise to a wave of closure of these shops, thereby leading to the fading out of a world-renowned tourist attraction in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon Charles Peter MOK to ask:

It has been reported that the Hong Kong Police Force acquired systems with facial recognition function several years ago. Some members of the public are worried that the extensive collection and use of facial images and other biometric data by government departments, together with integration of the data from various databases, will enable the creation of personal data profiles or credit scoring systems. On the other hand, foreign countries have put in place legislation to regulate the application of biometric data to prevent members of the public from being subject to excessive monitoring, so as to protect human rights, including privacy. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Dr Hon Priscilla LEUNG to ask:

Since June this year, the controversies arising from the proposals to amend the law concerning surrender of fugitive offenders have eventually turned into social disturbances, resulting in a large number of demonstrators being arrested and quite a number of shops and public facilities being vandalized. The Chief Executive has indicated in her Policy Address delivered earlier on that she will later invite community leaders, experts and academics to conduct an in‑depth and independent examination of the social conflicts in Hong Kong and the deep‑rooted problems that must be addressed ("independent examination"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon Jeremy TAM to ask:

Under section 40 of the Public Order Ordinance (Cap. 245), the Chief Executive ("CE") may authorize the Commissioner of Police (‍"CP") to appoint any person to act as a special constable; under section 24 of the Police Force Ordinance (Cap. 232), CP may employ any person to serve temporarily as a police officer; under section 18 of the Essential Services Corps (General) Regulations (Cap. 197A), CE may call out members of the Essential Services Corps ("Corps members") for active service. These three types of officers, when discharging police duties, enjoy the same powers, protection and immunities as police officers do, and must comply with all orders given by CP. It is not required under the aforesaid legislation that the relevant appointment, employment or call-out procedure must be conducted openly. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council, since 1 July 1997:

Hon LEUNG Che-cheung to ask:

Regarding the parks, zoological and botanical gardens and children's playgrounds under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department ("LCSD"), will the Government inform this Council:

Hon Jimmy NG to ask:

In August 2018, the Government rolled out enhancement measures for the "Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales" ("BUD Fund") and the "SME Export Marketing Fund" ("EMF") to help enterprises open up new markets. In August this year, the Government announced the introduction of new support measures, including the injection of funding into the two funds and, at the same time, raising the funding ceilings of such funds for individual enterprises with a view to assisting local enterprises (especially small and medium enterprises ("SMEs")) in facing up to economic adversities. Quite a number of SME proprietors have expressed concern about the success rate and the time taken for the vetting and approval of the funding applications concerned. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon CHAN Hak-kan to ask:

Since June this year, members of the public have taken to the streets for many times to stage demonstrations. Radical demonstrators wantonly vandalized MTR station facilities, resulting in temporary closure of a number of MTR stations and reduction in railway services. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon Kenneth LEUNG to ask:

The Environmental Protection Department ("EPD") has indicated that as the disposal of plastic bags rose again in two consecutive years in 2016 and 2017, it will review the effectiveness (including the charge amount and exemption issues) of the existing Plastic Shopping Bag Charging Scheme ("Charging Scheme"). On the other hand, currently there is no legislation regulating the use of disposable plastic products (including packaging materials, tableware and containers). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon Elizabeth QUAT to ask:

Non-locally trained medical practitioners are required to pass the Licensing Examination administered by the Medical Council of Hong Kong ("MCHK") and to complete a period of internship at the Hospital Authority ("HA") before they may be registered as medical practitioners. In addition, non-locally trained medical practitioners, if employed by designated institutions such as HA for the purposes of teaching, conducting research or performing clinical work, may apply to MCHK for limited registration. Regarding the demand and supply situation of medical practitioners, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon CHEUNG Kwok-kwan to ask:

In September this year, the Education Bureau ("EDB") introduced professional consultancy services under which publishers may voluntarily submit their textbooks for the Liberal Studies ("LS") subject under the senior secondary education to EDB for a professional team to offer professional advice and recommendations on the contents of the textbooks in the light of the curriculum objectives and goals of the subject. EDB will upload onto the EDB webpage a list of LS textbooks which have undergone the professional consultancy procedure and completed the follow-up actions on the recommendations received. On the other hand, it has been reported that some LS teachers have earlier been alleged to have distinct political stances, have made hostile remarks against the Police on the Internet, and have compiled for their schools LS teaching materials ("self-compiled teaching materials") and examination questions with obviously biased views. Regarding the LS subject under the senior secondary education, will the Government inform this Council:

Dr Hon Fernando CHEUNG to ask:

Since 9 June this year, a number of large-scale public meetings and processions ("public events") relating to the "anti-extradition to China" movement have occurred in Hong Kong. During those public events, a number of demonstrators and bystanders, including children under the age of 16, were arrested. It has been reported that subsequent to the arrests of three children aged between 13 and 15 on 29 August this year, despite confirmation from their parents that they would fulfil their duty to protect and care for their children, the Police still filed applications to the juvenile court for Care or Protection Orders ("C or P Orders"). Such children were detained in Tuen Mun Children and Juvenile Home ("TMCJH") of the Social Welfare Department ("SWD"), for 27 days in the longest case, while the court was awaiting reports from SWD. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Dr Hon Helena WONG to ask:

It has been reported that earlier on, a primary school stated in a notice to the parents that some of its students had contracted the hand, foot and mouth disease ("HFMD"), and that the Centre for Health Protection ("CHP") of the Department of Health had instructed that there was no need for students to wear masks because the disease was not transmitted by respiratory droplets. In response to media enquiries, CHP advised that while wearing masks was not the main measure for preventing the disease, it had not given the said instruction. Furthermore, CHP points out on its website that HFMD is mainly transmitted by contact with an infected person's nose or throat discharges, saliva, etc. In its guidelines distributed to schools, CHP classifies the mode of transmission for HFMD as "contact transmission" instead of "droplet transmission". However, a paediatrician has pointed out that the disease can be transmitted by respiratory droplets (saliva being a type of such droplets), and that wearing masks is one of the precautionary measures. Some members of the public find the relevant information on HFMD confusing. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Prof Hon Joseph LEE to ask:

Since June this year, during their operations to disperse demonstrators in various districts, the Police used pepper sprays, fired pepper balls and tear gas rounds, as well as deployed specialized crowd management vehicles (commonly known as "water cannon vehicles") to spray coloured water containing irritants. The Secretary for Food and Health has indicated earlier that the impacts of tear gas on human health are short-term. However, it has been pointed out in an article published recently in the Lancet, a medical journal, that an overseas research study found that among 5 910 people who had been exposed to such chemical irritants, two died and many suffered permanent disabilities. The authors of the article have criticized the Hong Kong Government for neither taking the lead in cleaning the places contaminated by these chemicals nor issuing decontamination guidelines and health advice. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon CHAN Han-pan to ask:

In the past two decades, the Audit Commission conducted value for money audits on a number of occasions in respect of the work and services of particular areas under the purview of the Hospital Authority ("HA") and the Department of Health ("DH"), and published 8 and 16 reports respectively. However, such audits did not cover issues of overall operation of these two institutions. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether, in the past five years, the Government conducted on its own or commissioned consultants to conduct:

Hon CHAN Chi-chuen to ask:

It has been reported that on 20 October this year, the coloured water sprayed by a specialized crowd management vehicle (commonly known as "water cannon vehicle") operated by the Police when dispersing demonstrators hit 10-odd members of the public and reporters outside the entrance of the Kowloon Mosque. Some of them felt unwell (e.g. temporary loss of sight, burning sensation on the skin) and sought medical consultation, but the doctors were unable to prescribe the right treatment as they were unclear about the composition of the coloured water. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon HO Kai-ming to ask:

Under the Apprenticeship Ordinance (Cap. 47) ("the Ordinance"), an employer who employs a young person (i.e. a person of or over the age of 14 years and under the age of 19 years) in a trade designated under the Ordinance (45 trades in total) must enter into a valid contract of apprenticeship with the young person (unless the young person has completed an apprenticeship, and is in possession of a certificate of completion, in that trade), and send the contract to the Director of Apprenticeship to apply for registration. Employers may also apply for voluntary registration of contracts of apprenticeship involving non-designated trades or employees aged 19 or above. The Office of the Director of Apprenticeship of the Vocational Training Council is the statutory unit which enforces the Ordinance. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon CHAN Chun-ying to ask:

The Hong Kong Housing Authority ("HA") implemented, from 1998 to 2005, the Tenants Purchase Scheme ("TPS") for tenants of 39 selected public rental housing ("PRH") estates to buy the flats in which they lived at a discounted price. Since then, HA has not added any estate to TPS, and one of the reasons is that the co-existence of flat owners of TPS estates and HA's PRH tenants ("mixed tenure") has given rise to quite a number of problems in estate management and repair. For example, the Housing Department ("HD") cannot effectively carry out repair works in buildings that involve both sold and rental units. On the other hand, the Chief Executive ("CE") has mentioned in this year's Policy Address that she will propose that HA make active preparations to accelerate the sale of about 42 000 flats that remain unsold in the 39 TPS estates. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon HUI Chi-fung to ask:

Will the Government inform this Council:

Hon LUK Chung-hung to ask:

It is learnt that car parking spaces in Hong Kong are persistently in short supply, and the shortfall of parking spaces for commercial vehicles is particularly severe. The Transport Department ("TD") is taking forward pilot projects of automated parking systems ("APSs") involving six sites ("pilot projects") with a view to providing more car parking spaces. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon IP Kin-yuen to ask:

The situation in Hong Kong has continued to deteriorate recently. Not only a student, who had been injured during the course of the Police's dispersal operation, died eventually, but resistance activities also occurred in a number of districts in the past five consecutive days since the 8th of this month, and such confrontations have a tendency to spread across the whole territory. Apart from the continued law enforcement actions to be taken by the Police, whether the Government has formulated any emergency measures to allay public resentment, so as to avoid further deterioration of the situation?