1 item of subsidiary legislation and 4 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

(Standing over from previous meetings since 8 July 2020)

(Standing over from previous meetings since 21 October 2020)

(Standing over from previous meetings since 21 October 2020)

(Standing over from previous meetings since 20 May 2020)

(Standing over from previous meetings since 20 May 2020)

(Standing over from previous meetings since 23 October 2019)

(Debate and voting arrangements set out in LC Paper Nos. CB(3) 195/19-20, CB(3) 218/19-20 and CB(3) 29/20-21 issued on 9 and 17 December 2019 and 15 October 2020)

(Standing over from previous meetings since 23 October 2019)

(Debate and voting arrangements set out in LC Paper Nos. CB(3) 195/19-20, CB(3) 218/19-20 and CB(3) 29/20-21 issued on 9 and 17 December 2019 and 15 October 2020)

(Items 10 to 12 standing over from previous meetings since 23 October 2019)

(Item 13 standing over from previous meetings since 13 November 2019)

(Item 14 standing over from previous meetings since 11 December 2019)

(Debate and voting arrangements set out in LC Paper Nos. CB(3) 195/19-20, CB(3) 218/19-20 and CB(3) 29/20-21 issued on 9 and 17 December 2019 and 15 October 2020)

(Standing over from previous meetings since 27 November 2019)

(Debate and voting arrangements set out in LC Paper Nos. CB(3) 195/19-20, CB(3) 218/19-20 and CB(3) 29/20-21 issued on 9 and 17 December 2019 and 15 October 2020)

(Items 16 and 17 standing over from previous meetings since 15 January 2020)

(Items 18 and 19 standing over from previous meetings since 20 May 2020)

(Standing over from previous meetings since 12 June 2019)

(Standing over from previous meetings since 3 June 2020)

Hon Tony TSE to ask:

The Government indicated in April this year that it would commission consultancy firms to proactively inspect the external drainage pipes of 20 000 target private domestic and composite buildings across the territory ("the inspection scheme") in order to reduce the risk of epidemic spreading. The Government has also allocated funding under the Anti-epidemic Fund for the creation of time-limited jobs to undertake the relevant tasks. Some members of the public have criticized the inspection scheme for not covering the repair works for problematic drainage pipes and the inadequacies in the number of buildings covered and the scope of inspection items. Regarding the anti-epidemic work in private buildings, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon Andrew WAN to ask:

It has been reported that during the trials of cases relating to the movement of opposition to the proposed legislative amendments, some magistrates criticized the police officers who had given evidence as not being honest and reliable witnesses, and even as "covering one lie with another lie" and "not duly performing their duties". Moreover, some police officers were alleged to have "aligned their testimonies" because the testimonies they gave had striking similarities. Besides, some police officers were alleged to have enforced the law improperly when handling social incidents, including violently treating members of the public (some of whom were pregnant women and children), Members of the Legislative Council and the District Councils as well as journalists, arbitrarily charging people at the scene for violating the "No-gathering Order", and indiscriminately arresting people. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon Vincent CHENG to ask:

As there are dine-in restrictions in catering outlets and members of the public have gone out less frequently amid the epidemic, members of the public have made more takeaway orders, resulting in an increase in the quantity of disposable plastic tableware discarded. A green group has estimated that currently over 50 million pieces of disposable plastic tableware are discarded in the territory daily, which has more than doubled the relevant quantities in the past few years. Moreover, online shopping has become a new normal amid the epidemic, and the quantity of plastic packaging materials discarded has also increased significantly. The aforesaid situation has put a heavy burden on the ecological environment. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon CHUNG Kwok-pan to ask:

Since the beginning of this year, the Government has allocated a total of 311.5 billion dollars for implementing various relief measures, so as to assist enterprises and members of the public affected by the epidemic. That sum includes an allocation of 120 billion dollars made out of the Budget for the current financial year and an injection of 191.5 billion dollars into the Anti-epidemic Fund. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Dr Hon Junius HO to ask:

Some members of the public have pointed out that since the 2019 District Council Ordinary Election, the Government has often been "at odds" with the District Councils ("DCs") in promoting districts affairs. For instance, individual DCs have refused to organize or allocate funding to subsidize this year's activities in celebration of the National Day and the reunification of Hong Kong. Such members of the public consider that in the absence of DCs' collaboration, the Government, being an executive-led one, should take the initiative to organize related activities in various districts, so as to boost the sense of national identity and the sense of belonging to the country among members of the public. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon Kenneth LAU to ask:

Some chronically ill patients living in remote villages have relayed that due to inconvenient transport and their physical weakness, they have been unable to travel a long distance to seek medical treatment on a frequent basis and, as a result, their chronic diseases have not been treated properly. On the other hand, it has been reported that as public hospitals have recently reduced non-emergency services in light of the epidemic, some community groups have introduced the Community Interim Medication Refill Scheme to provide, during the epidemic, drug refills for chronically ill patients who cannot attend follow-up consultations as scheduled. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon Alice MAK to ask:

From the eruption in the middle of last year of the disturbances arising from the opposition to the proposed legislative amendments to 30 September this year, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data, Hong Kong ("PCPD") handled a total of over 4 700 cases relating to doxxing. Among such cases, around 35% of the persons who had been doxxed were police officers or their family members. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon Steven HO to ask:

The seven regional Squatter Control Offices ("SCOs") under the Lands Department ("LandsD") are responsible for implementing the squatter control policy. Besides, LandsD is responsible for the vetting and approval of applications for erecting agricultural structures on private agricultural land. On matters relating to squatter structures and agricultural structures, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon Martin LIAO to ask:

The Government has all along been encouraging and supporting Hong Kong's youth to go to the Mainland for exchanges and internships. However, such exchange and internship activities have been seriously affected and hindered by the travel restrictions imposed for coping with the Coronavirus Disease 2019 epidemic. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Dr Hon Priscilla LEUNG to ask:

On 14 January this year, the Chief Executive announced 10 new initiatives for people's livelihoods ("the 10 initiatives"). One of such initiatives is to expand the Government Public Transport Fare Concession Scheme for the Elderly and Eligible Persons with Disabilities ("TFC scheme") to cover persons aged 60 to 64. It has been reported that recently, a Member of the Executive Council indicated her reservation on the initiative of expanding the TFC scheme as the recurrent expenditure to be incurred by the initiative would be as high as $10 billion each year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon Mrs Regina IP to ask:

The MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL") indicated in its Interim Report 2020 published in August this year that it was preparing for a bid submission for Sweden Mälartåg, a potential railway project, to be submitted in September this year. MTRCL is currently operating via its wholly owned subsidiaries three railways in Sweden, namely Stockholm Metro, MTRX and Stockholms pendeltåg. Furthermore, as the service of MTRX has been reduced due to a decline in demand under the impact of the epidemic, a serious fall in revenue has been recorded. Besides, the wholly owned subsidiary that operates Stockholms pendeltåg will likely remain in a loss-making position this year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:

Hon Frankie YICK to ask:

Since June 2012, the Government has implemented in phases the Government Public Transport Fare Concession Scheme for the Elderly and Eligible Persons with Disabilities ("the Scheme") to encourage the elderly (i.e. persons aged 65 or above) and persons with disabilities to participate in community activities. The public transport modes currently covered by the Scheme are MTR, franchised buses, ferries and green minibuses. However, although the Scheme has been implemented for eight years, quite a number of public transport modes (e.g. red minibuses ("RMBs"), non-franchised buses providing residents' service ("RS"), kaitos, trams) have not been included in the Scheme. On the other hand, the Government commissioned a consultancy firm in 2018 to conduct a comprehensive review of the Scheme to study, among others, whether the Scheme should cover other public transport modes. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon Kenneth LEUNG to ask:

Under the Basic Law, the Hong Kong Court of Final Appeal Ordinance (Cap. 484) and the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission Ordinance (Cap. 92), the Chief Executive may, on the recommendations of the Judicial Officers Recommendation Commission and upon the endorsements of the Legislative Council, appoint judges from the common law jurisdictions outside Hong Kong as non-permanent judges from other common law jurisdictions of the Court of Final Appeal ("overseas judges"). Regarding the appointment of overseas judges and their attendance at hearings, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:

Hon Jimmy NG to ask:

To encourage and assist Hong Kong enterprises in upgrading their innovation and technological level, the Government has set up funding schemes under the Innovation and Technology Fund ("ITF") to finance research and development ("R&D") projects on innovation and technology. Besides, enterprises may claim enhanced tax deduction for the expenditures incurred on qualifying R&D activities which they have engaged "designated local research institutions" to undertake: a 300% tax deduction being granted for the first $2 million of the aggregate amount of expenditures, and 200% for the remaining amount. Quite a number of Hong Kong businessmen hope that the Government will review and enhance the vetting and approval mechanism of the aforesaid funding schemes, and relax the eligibility criteria for applying for funding and claiming enhanced tax deduction, so that more R&D activities undertaken outside Hong Kong may benefit. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon Holden CHOW to ask:

It has been reported that the Northern Connection of Tuen Mun-Chek Lap Kok Link ("TM-CLKL") will be commissioned by the end of this year at the earliest. There is a roundabout at the northern end of the Northern Connection of TM-CLKL connecting Lung Fu Road and Lung Mun Road. Some members of the transport trades are worried that upon the commissioning of the Northern Connection of TM-CLKL, the vehicular flow at the roundabout will surge, giving rise to vehicles from different directions competing for the use of the carriageways and serious traffic congestion. Regarding the transport infrastructure for the Tuen Mun District, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon James TO to ask:

In response to the Report of the Commission of Inquiry into the Collision of Vessels near Lamma Island on 1 October 2012, the Transport and Housing Bureau set up an Internal Investigation Team ("the Team") in June 2013 to investigate whether there were maladministration and negligence of duty on the part of Marine Department ("MD") officers in carrying out their duties in relation to Lamma IV. The Team submitted its investigation report to the Civil Service Bureau and the Police in 2014 to facilitate the conduct of disciplinary procedures and criminal investigations respectively. In addition, it has been reported that the Police have submitted the relevant investigation report(s) to the Coroner's Court ("CC") and the Department of Justice ("DoJ"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon Paul TSE to ask:

By raising a question at the Legislative Council meeting of the 21st of last month, I repeatedly urged the Government to allow Mandatory Provident Fund ("MPF") contributors to withdraw part of the accrued benefits in their MPF accounts in order to address their imminent financial needs and relieve their hardship, and yet the Government still flatly rejected my request. Quite a number of members of the public are gravely dissatisfied that the Government only seeks to uphold the integrity of the MPF system but turning a blind eye to people's hardship in the waves of closing down of businesses and layoffs. There were messages on my Facebook page and various major social media that slammed the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury for being "detached from reality", "living in cloud cuckoo land" and having a "let them eat cake" attitude. In the face of the waves of enterprises closing down, the upcoming Lunar New Year and the yet-to-end epidemic, some economic analysts and securities researchers have predicted a sharp rise in the unemployment rate in the coming months. In view of members of the public's discontent with the Government's disregard for their request for withdrawing their MPF contributions to address their imminent financial needs, their disgruntlement about the MPF system unreasonably locking up their usable funds for a long time, and the financial pressure exerted on them by the waves of unemployment and pay-cut which are more severe and persistent than those during the "SARS" epidemic, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon CHAN Hak-kan to ask:

It has been reported that earlier on, students with intellectual disabilities ("ID") living in the boarding facility of a special school were found to have been abused by staff members of the school. Besides, persons with ID are required to leave their schools and move out of the boarding facilities upon their reaching the age of 21, but it takes decades for them to wait for adult residential services. Such persons have to live at home and be taken care of by their family members during the time they are waiting for the services. In September this year, a tragedy was reported in which a mother, who had become mentally and physically exhausted for taking care of her 21-year-old son with ID who had just left school, was suspected of having strangled him to death, and then attempted to commit suicide. On the services provided for persons with ID and their parents, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon Charles Peter MOK to ask:

The Government has implemented a Distance Business Programme ("the Programme") under the Anti-epidemic Fund to support enterprises to continue their businesses and provide services during the epidemic through the adoption of information technology ("IT") solutions. The Programme has been open for funding applications since 18 May 2020. On 18 August, the Government introduced enhancement measures for the Programme so that social enterprises not holding a Business Registration Certificate may still be eligible for application if they submit a Social Enterprises Certificate issued by the Hong Kong Council of Social Service under the Programme. However, some operators of non-governmental organizations ("NGOs") and social enterprises have relayed that the application procedure of the Programme is time-consuming and cumbersome, making it difficult for them to benefit from the Programme. On assisting NGOs and social enterprises in enhancing the application of IT, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon Elizabeth QUAT to ask:

It has been reported that a number of serious cases of cruelty to animals have occurred one after another in Hong Kong in recent months, including those in which a mongrel was abandoned after being abused, pets were found dead or reported missing during cross-boundary shipments, a large batch of cats and dogs were found trapped in a small flat, and 30 animals were thrown from height. There are comments that as the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Ordinance (Cap. 169), which is the centre-piece legislation for animal welfare and management, was adapted as early as in 1935 from the Protection of Animals Act 1911 of the United Kingdom, it is outdated in regard to its penalties and legislative principles, albeit it has been amended on three occasions. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Dr Hon Junius HO to ask:

Some members of the public have pointed out that since the 2019 District Council Ordinary Election, the Government has often been "at odds" with the District Councils in promoting district affairs. For instance, individual District Councils have refused to organize or allocate funding to subsidize this year's activities in celebration of the National Day. On this year's National Day, National Day decorations were not put up along the roadsides in some districts as in previous years. Some residents in the Sham Shui Po district, on their own initiatives, flew national flags in the vicinity of Wong Chuk Street in the small hours of the National Day to let the public enjoy the festive atmosphere on the National Day. However, the outsourced service contractors of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department ("FEHD") and the Highways Department removed those national flags by noontime on the National Day, arousing strong reverberations among the residents. In their view, while the departments concerned have swiftly removed the national flags, they have not removed, after a prolonged period of time, the display items loaded with seditious messages on the "Lennon walls" and in "Lennon tunnels" in streets and alleys and have therefore allowed such items to scar the cityscape. Such a situation has aroused suspicion of favouritism. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon CHUNG Kwok-pan to ask:

The Centre for Health Protection has, to date, recorded over 5 000 as well as over 100 confirmed and fatal cases of Coronavirus Disease 2019 ("COVID-19") respectively. Regarding the statistics and dissemination of information on the epidemic, will the Government inform this Council: