3 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 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 23 October 2019)

(Standing over from previous meetings since 23 October 2019)

(Standing over from previous meetings since 23 October 2019)

(Standing over from previous meetings since 27 November 2019)

(Standing over from previous meetings since 15 January 2020)

(Standing over from previous meetings since 3 June 2020)

Dr Hon CHENG Chung-tai to ask:

With Hong Kong's economy and people's livelihood being hard hit by the epidemic, the non-seasonally adjusted numbers of unemployed and underemployed persons in June to August this year have risen to around 250 000 and around 150 000 respectively. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon IP Kin-yuen to ask:

Earlier on, the Education Bureau ("EDB") cancelled the registration of a primary school teacher, and issued reprimand letters or warning letters to the principal, vice-principal and relevant teachers of the school in which that teacher worked. Quite a number of members of the public have queried that such a move by EDB carried a political purpose. Also, some members of the public and bodies of the education sector have criticized that the complaint handling mechanism is tantamount to a black box operation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Ir Dr Hon LO Wai-kwok to ask:

Last month, the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development indicated that, in order to facilitate the movement of people between Hong Kong and other parts of the world, the Government was studying the introduction of a rapid nucleic acid test for Coronavirus Disease 2019 ("COVID-19") at the airport. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon SHIU Ka-chun to ask:

Currently, the Judiciary maintains a register of sign language interpreters, and engages on a freelance basis the interpreters on the register to provide interpretation service in court proceedings for people with hearing or speech impairment. Such service has been subjected to criticism from time to time in recent years. For instance, a sign language interpreter was alleged to have breached the codes of professional conduct by requesting on one's own volition the defendant to plead guilty, a defendant was in need of sign language interpretation service but such service was not arranged, and the court did not permit a sign language interpreter who was not on the register to provide interpretation service for a defendant. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:

Hon Wilson OR to ask:

It has been reported that amid the haze of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 epidemic, this year's global demand for seasonal influenza vaccines has increased drastically, resulting in a tight supply of the vaccines. On the other hand, there have been successive cases in Korea and Taiwan in which some residents felt unwell or died soon after receiving influenza vaccination, which are suspected to be related to the vaccines. One of the pharmaceutical companies involved is a major vaccine supplier of Hong Kong. Hong Kong people are at sixes and sevens as they are worried that no vaccine is available for injection while they are concerned about the safety of the vaccines. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Prof Hon Joseph LEE to ask:

It has been reported that early this year, the Hospital Authority Employees Alliance ("HAEA") called on its members to go on strike from 3 to 7 February in an attempt to press the Hospital Authority ("HA") to put forward to the Government the demand for implementing "border-closing" measures, so as to prevent persons infected with Coronavirus Disease 2019 from entering Hong Kong via the Mainland, spreading the epidemic in the community and causing an outbreak. Early last month, the Human Resources Division of HA sent emails to those healthcare staff it believed to have been absent from duty, seeking their explanations or clarifications on their "absence from duty". In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon MA Fung-kwok to ask:

The system of the Urban Ticketing System ("URBTIX") was developed by a contractor at its own cost, and is owned by it, under a contract awarded through open tender by the Leisure and Cultural Services Department ("LCSD"). During the contract period, the contractor is responsible for system operation and maintenance as well as provision of related ticketing services. As the contract for the ticketing system and related services will expire next year, LCSD has commenced a tender exercise earlier on to select a new contractor. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon LEUNG Che-cheung to ask:

It has been reported that due to worries about the serious conditions arising from dual infections with Coronavirus Disease 2019 and influenza, members of the public are more enthusiastic, as compared with the situations in previous years, about receiving seasonal influenza vaccines ("SIV") at private healthcare institutions in recent days. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon Starry LEE to ask:

Beta-adrenergic agonists (commonly known as "leanness-enhancing agents") may promote growth and muscle leanness in certain food animal species. Some experts have pointed out that leanness-enhancing agents cannot be reduced through rinsing or cooking, and human consumption of meat containing an excessive quantity of leanness-enhancing agents will cause rapid heart beats, hand tremors, etc. Patients suffering from heart problems or thyrotoxicosis may develop serious complications, including dizziness and heart failure. Due to food safety considerations, the Mainland and the European Union ("EU") have all along banned the use of leanness-enhancing agents as feed additives for pigs. It has been reported that the Taiwan authorities have decided to allow the import of pork and beef containing ractopamine (a kind of leanness-enhancing agent) from the United States starting from 1 January next year, which has aroused concerns among the local community. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon Jeffrey LAM to ask:

Under the "Government Public Transport Fare Concession Scheme for the Elderly and Eligible Persons with Disabilities" ("the Concession Scheme"), eligible persons may travel on public transport modes, such as general MTR lines and franchised buses, at any time at a concessionary fare of $2 per trip. It has been reported that more than 4 million Elder Octopus Cards are currently in circulation, and such number is far higher than the elderly population, arousing suspicion that quite a number of ineligible persons are abusing the Concession Scheme. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon CHAN Han-pan to ask:

It is learnt that whenever there are rainstorms, some rural areas (e.g. Pui O and Shui Hau of Lantau Island, and Chuen Lung of Tsuen Wan) experience varying degrees of flooding, mainly because the natural river courses or drainage channels (collectively referred to as "river channels") in these areas have been blocked by debris and silt. Moreover, approval by the relevant government departments is required for any works to be carried out at river channels identified as "ecologically important streams or rivers". In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon CHEUNG Kwok-kwan to ask:

The Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("NSL") and the National Anthem Ordinance have come into effect on 30 and 12 June this year respectively. The Secretary for Education has indicated that, the Education Bureau ("EDB") will carry out national security education and step up education on the country's Constitution and the Basic Law ("BL"), with a view to enhancing the students' awareness of national security and abiding by law. To this end, EDB will strengthen its support for schools, including adopting a wide array of measures in aspects such as the curriculums, teaching resources and professional training of teachers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon CHAN Kin-por to ask:

I have learnt that some unemployed persons had applied for Comprehensive Social Security Assistance ("CSSA") but their applications were rejected on grounds that the cash values of the life insurance policies under their names had exceeded the relevant limit, resulting in their failure to pass the asset test. Some staff members of the Social Welfare Department ("SWD") suggested such persons to apply to the insurance companies for surrender of the policies, and indicated that when they used up the money obtained by surrendering the policies, they would be eligible for applying for CSSA. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon YUNG Hoi-yan to ask:

The COVID-19 Online Dispute Resolution ("ODR") Scheme, established under the Anti-epidemic Fund by the Government, was launched on 29 June this year. Under the Scheme, an arbitration and mediation institution has been appointed to provide speedy ODR services to micro, small and medium-sized enterprises as well as members of the public. The following conditions are to be met for disputes to be admitted under the Scheme: (i) the dispute is related to the Coronavirus Disease 2019 ("COVID-19"), (ii) the claim amount does not exceed $500,000, and (iii) either one of the parties involved in the dispute is a Hong Kong resident or company. The parties involved are required to pay $200 each as registration fee, while the fees for the mediators and arbitrators will be paid by the Government. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon LUK Chung-hung to ask:

The Tuen Mun-Ma On Shan cycle track ("Tuen-Ma Track"), which is part of the New Territories cycle track network, has been linked up since 29 September this year. Some members of the public have pointed out that due to incomprehensive planning of Hong Kong's cycle track networks, the cycle tracks are disjointed and do not have enough ancillary facilities, which is not conducive to the development of a "cycling economy". In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon HUI Chi-fung to ask:

In the 2014 Policy Address, the Government proposed to convert suitable government sites in the existing central business districts into commercial uses so as to increase the supply of commercial sites. However, there are comments that following the outbreak of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 ("COVID-19") epidemic, the demand for commercial sites and office space has dwindled, some commercial sites have not been successfully sold by tender ("unsuccessful tendering") recently, and the vacancy rates of offices have surged. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Dr Hon Priscilla LEUNG to ask:

Some residents of the Kai Tak Development Area ("KTDA") have relayed that the population of the district is growing continuously, but there are only two primary schools and one secondary school in the district. Due to a shortage of school places, many school-age children have to travel to other districts to attend schools. As a number of residential developments in the district will be completed for intake in the coming few years, such residents are worried that the shortage of school places will be aggravated. Although the Government has reserved three school sites in the district, it has not announced any concrete plan for the construction of the schools. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon Claudia MO to ask:

Regarding the immigration-related transport infrastructure facilities, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon Kenneth LEUNG to ask:

Regarding the printed copies of government publications, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon Holden CHOW to ask:

There were public comments expressing dissatisfaction that the two leading supermarket chains ("the two leading supermarkets"), which had sale increase instead of decrease amid the epidemic, had received, just like other enterprises which had experienced business difficulties, the first tranche of subsidies provided to employers by the Government under the Employment Support Scheme. In view of this, the Government has required that the two leading supermarkets must implement give-back schemes approved by it before they may be granted the second tranche of subsidies under the Scheme. Their give-back schemes as approved include initiatives such as giving out cash coupons to underprivileged groups and members of the public. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon Jimmy NG to ask:

The information of the Transport Department ("TD") has shown that the number of private cars in Hong Kong has increased from about 402 000 in 2006 to about 640 000 in August 2020, representing a 59% increase, whereas the relevant ratio of parking spaces to vehicles has dropped from 1.51 to 1.07 over the same period. Such figures have revealed that the shortage of parking spaces for private cars has continued to deteriorate. Regarding the supply of car parking spaces, will the Government inform this Council:

Hon Tony TSE to ask:

It is learnt that due to the double blow of the riots and the epidemic, the businesses of quite a number of enterprises in the architectural, surveying, town planning and landscape ("ASPL") sectors have been hard hit, and the unemployment or underemployment situation of the professionals and graduates of these sectors is also quite serious. With the efforts put in by me and members of the sectors, the Government has launched a subsidy scheme under the second-round relief measures of the Anti-epidemic Fund to subsidize private enterprises to employ fresh graduates and assistant professionals of the ASPL sectors to prevent them from "becoming unemployed upon graduation" or losing the opportunity to attain the relevant professional qualifications due to disruption of on-the-job training, so as to achieve the objective of "safeguarding jobs" and at the same time "safeguarding professions". However, the some 1 400 subsidized places provided by the Government are unable to meet the needs of all eligible enterprises. Moreover, as the epidemic and the economic recession persist, some members of the sectors have anticipated that the employment situation of the graduates of the ASPL sectors next year will be worse than that of this year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council: