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A 20/21-6

Legislative Council

Agenda

Wednesday 18 November 2020 at 11:00 am

I.
Laying of Papers on the Table of the Council

2 items of subsidiary legislation and 5 other papers to be laid on the Table of the Council set out in Appendix 1

II.
Questions

Members to ask 20 questions (5 for oral replies and 15 for written replies)
Questions for oral replies to be asked by
Public officers to reply
1.
Secretary for Security
Under Secretary for Education
Under Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
2.
Secretary for Transport and Housing
3.
Secretary for Labour and Welfare
4.
Secretary for Food and Health
5.
Secretary for Innovation and Technology
Contents of 20 questions, Members to ask such questions and public officers to reply set out in Appendix 2

III.
Members' Motions on Subsidiary Legislation

1st debate (covering the following motion)
1.
Proposed resolution to extend the period for amending subsidiary legislation (L.N. 206 of 2020)
Mover
:
Hon Starry LEE
Wording of the motion
:
2nd debate (covering the following motion)
2.
Proposed resolution to extend the period for amending subsidiary legislation (L.N. 207 and L.N. 208 of 2020)
Mover
:
Hon WONG Ting-kwong
Wording of the motion
:
3rd debate (covering the following motion)
3.
Proposed resolution to extend the period for amending subsidiary legislation (L.N. 209 of 2020)
Mover
:
Hon Mrs Regina IP
Wording of the motion
:

IV.
Members' Motions (not including those on Subsidiary Legislation)

1st debate (covering the following motion)
1.
Motion on "Formulating a new mechanism for importing non-locally trained doctors"
Mover
:
Hon Tommy CHEUNG
Wording of the motion
:
Public officers to attend
:
Secretary for Food and Health
Under Secretary for Food and Health
2nd debate (covering the following motion)
2.
Motion on "Alleviating road traffic congestion"
Mover
:
Hon LUK Chung-hung
Wording of the motion
:
Amendment mover
:
Hon CHAN Han-pan
(Amendment set out in LC Paper No. CB(3) 734/18-19 issued on 24 June 2019)
Public officers to attend
:
Secretary for Transport and Housing
Under Secretary for Transport and Housing



Clerk to the Legislative Council




Appendix 1

Council meeting of 18 November 2020

Laying of Papers on the Table of the Council

Subsidiary legislation
Legal Notice No.
Other papers
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.




Appendix 2

20 questions to be asked at the Council meeting of 18 November 2020

Subject matters
Public officers to reply
Questions for oral replies
1
Hon James TO
Secretary for Security
Under Secretary for Education
Under Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development
Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury
2
Hon CHAN Han-pan
Secretary for Transport and Housing
3
Hon Starry LEE
Secretary for Labour and Welfare
4
Hon Elizabeth QUAT
Secretary for Food and Health
5
Hon Charles Peter MOK
Secretary for Innovation and Technology
Questions for written replies
6
Hon CHAN Hak-kan
Secretary for Development
7
Hon Wilson OR
Secretary for Transport and Housing
8
Prof Hon Joseph LEE
Secretary for Food and Health
9
Ir Dr Hon LO Wai-kwok
Secretary for Transport and Housing
10
Hon Kenneth LAU
Secretary for Home Affairs
11
Hon SHIU Ka-fai
Secretary for Innovation and Technology
12
Hon Jeffrey LAM
Secretary for Food and Health
13
Hon WU Chi-wai
Secretary for Education
14
Hon CHAN Chun-ying
Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs
15
Hon Jeremy TAM
Secretary for Transport and Housing
16
Hon IP Kin-yuen
Secretary for Education
17
Hon Mrs Regina IP
Secretary for Labour and Welfare
18
Hon Martin LIAO
Secretary for Innovation and Technology
19
Hon Alice MAK
Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs
20
Dr Hon Pierre CHAN
Secretary for Food and Health
Note:There are only five (instead of six) oral questions and 15 (instead of 16) written questions for this meeting because:
(a)the Government announced on 11 November 2020 that Mr KWOK Ka-ki, who had earlier given notice for asking an oral question, was no longer qualified for the office as a member of the Legislative Council; and
(b)Hon Claudia MO, who had earlier given notice for asking a written question, resigned from the office as a member of the Legislative Council with effect from 13 November 2020.




Question 1
(For oral reply)

(Translation)

Changes in Hong Kong's economy,
rule of law and freedom as well as society

Hon James TO to ask:
It has been reported that with the Law of the People's Republic of China on Safeguarding National Security in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region coming into operation on 30 June this year, aspects of Hong Kong such as economy, rule of law and freedom, as well as society have shown accelerated changes. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council, since the beginning of this year:
(1)
of the countries which have implemented economic sanction measures on Hong Kong (including the revocation of preferential treatments); the bilateral economic and trade agreements the signing or implementation of which has been deferred, or which have been suspended or rescinded; the foreign technology groups or electronic data storage providers which have denied access of the Securities and Futures Commission to their clients' financial data stored at data centres; the international economic and trade, cultural and educational exchange programmes organized with Hong Kong which have been suspended (set out in a table);
(2)
of the bilateral judicial agreements (including agreements on surrender of fugitive offenders and legal assistance) the signing or implementation of which has been deferred, or which have been suspended or rescinded; the overseas TechNet companies which have suspended the processing of the Hong Kong Police's requests for seeking users' information; the changes in Hong Kong's global rankings in terms of rule of law and freedom in the past 12 months; and
(3)
of the respective numbers of Hong Kong people who have applied for Certificates of No Criminal Conviction on grounds of emigration and pursuing further studies, as well as the respective numbers of university, secondary school and primary school students who have dropped out (with a breakdown by reasons); how such figures compare with the figures for the same periods in the past two years; whether it has estimated if such figures will continue to rise in future, and assessed the impacts of such trend on the development of Hong Kong?




Question 2
(For oral reply)

(Translation)

Protecting Hong Kong buyers of properties outside Hong Kong

Hon CHAN Han-pan to ask:
In recent years, it has been increasingly common for Hong Kong people to purchase properties outside Hong Kong, and scenarios in which the uncompleted properties failed to be delivered in the end or Hong Kong buyers suffered losses as a result of being misled by estate agents have been heard from time to time. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the number of complaints received by the authorities in the past three years about the sale of properties outside Hong Kong, and the total amount of money involved; whether there were cases in which the estate agents concerned were disciplined or prosecuted; if so, of the number and details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2)
given that an estate agent who deals exclusively with properties outside Hong Kong may be exempted under the Estate Agents (Exemption from Licensing) Order from obtaining a local estate agent's licence, and is in effect not subject to the regulation by the Estate Agents Authority, whether any legislation and codes are currently in place to protect the interests of Hong Kong buyers; if so, of the details; if not, whether it will enact legislation or introduce legislative amendments to enhance the protection for Hong Kong buyers; and
(3)
of the measures or legislation through which the authorities currently assist Hong Kong buyers in seeking compensation for the losses incurred in respect of their purchase of properties outside Hong Kong; whether there were cases in the past three years in which they assisted buyers in successfully seeking compensation; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?




Question 3
(For oral reply)

(Translation)

Assist the youth in securing employment

Hon Starry LEE to ask:
As Hong Kong's economy has been hard hit by social disturbances and the epidemic, the unemployment rate has surged to 6.4% which is the highest in 16 years, and the unemployment rate of the youth aged 20 to 24 even stands as high as 20%. In addition to creating around 30 000 time-limited jobs in the coming two years, the Government will recruit over 10 000 civil servants and hire about 5 000 short-term youth interns. However, some academics have pointed out that as fresh graduates and the youth have less working experience, their unemployment rate will continue to climb. On the other hand, the rapid economic development of the Mainland cities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area ("Greater Bay Area") in recent years can provide quite a number of employment opportunities for the youth of Hong Kong, but this requires the Government's provision of more support measures and incentives for them. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the progress of the work to create jobs for the youth, with a breakdown of such jobs by the industry to which such jobs belong and the job type;
(2)
of the measures in place to help and facilitate youth who are interested in going to the Mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area for career development, to have a better grasp of the information on living, the job markets and working environments in such cities, with a view to helping them seek employment there and overcome barriers; and
(3)
whether it has plans to collaborate with the business sector in creating job opportunities in Hong Kong and the Mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area for the youth, and to step up job matching services for them; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?




Question 4
(For oral reply)

(Translation)

Conduct of Hospital Authority staff

Hon Elizabeth QUAT to ask:
It has been reported that while the Coronavirus Disease 2019 was raging on in Hong Kong, several thousand staff members of the Hospital Authority ("HA") responded to a call made by a trade union and went on strike from 3 to 7 February this year in an attempt to press HA to put forward to the Government the demand for implementing "border-closing" measures, etc. Furthermore, some HA staff members, while on duty, displayed slogans showing political stance and put on relevant accessories within the bounds of hospitals. Some patients have relayed that they were impolitely treated by such staff members and were even in panic. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:
(1)
the number of HA patients who experienced delay in receiving diagnosis and treatment because of the aforesaid strike action and, among such patients, the number of those whose conditions deteriorated or who died as a result; the respective numbers of the relevant complaints and litigation cases received by HA from patients so far, and the total amount of compensation made;
(2)
whether those staff members who participated in the aforesaid strike action will be punished; given that there are public opinions criticizing the strike action for being a case of political aspirations overriding professional commitment that recklessly disregarded patients' well-being, what specific measures the Government has put in place to prevent HA's services from being affected by strike action of the same kind in future; and
(3)
what specific measures HA has put in place to ensure staff members' compliance with the requirements under HA's code of conduct (including dress code) while on duty, and to punish non-compliant staff members?




Question 5
(For oral reply)

(Translation)

"LeaveHomeSafe" mobile application

Hon Charles Peter MOK to ask:
To help combat the Coronavirus Disease 2019 epidemic, the Government launched, on the 16th of this month, a mobile application ("app") named "LeaveHomeSafe" for voluntary download and use by members of the public. Members of the public may use the app to record the venues which they have visited by scanning the QR codes posted at the venues. When it is subsequently found that the venues concerned have been visited at the relevant time by persons confirmed to be infected, those members of the public will receive notifications through the app. Although the Government has indicated that the app only stores the visit records of members of the public in encrypted form in their mobile phones and the records will not be divulged, some members of the public are still concerned about the protection of privacy afforded by the app. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the types of information collected and the data encryption standard adopted by the app; the measures in place to ensure that users' personal data will not be stolen during the scanning of the QR codes;
(2)
of the measures in place to ensure that the management of the venues concerned will not refuse the entry of those members of the public who do not use the app, so as to avoid members of the public being forced to use the app in effect; and
(3)
whether it has engaged an independent third party to assess the information security risk of the app and if its privacy protection is adequate; if so, of the details, and whether the assessment outcome will be made public?




Question 6
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Vetting and approval procedures for development projects

Hon CHAN Hak-kan to ask:
In October 2017, the Development Bureau set up a steering group to explore how best to consolidate and rationalize the standards and definitions adopted by different government departments (namely the Planning Department, Lands Department ("LandsD") and Buildings Department ("BD")) in vetting and approving development projects, with a view to streamlining the vetting and approval procedures. Moreover, BD is spearheading the development of a system which will not only allow the industry to submit building plans and relevant applications electronically, but will also enable the authorities concerned to process various plans and applications on that platform, so as to achieve the adoption of new technologies in processing development applications thereby substantially streamlining the vetting and approval procedures. BD has planned to accept electronic submission of plans and applications in phases starting from 2021-2022. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the respective numbers of measures for streamlining the vetting and approval arrangements which have been (i) promulgated and (ii) implemented since the steering group was set up; the details of the measures and the estimated vetting and approval time saved by each measure; the future work plans of the steering group;
(2)
whether the steering group has studied the establishment of a single window or the designation of a single government department to take up the coordination of all vetting and approval procedures for development projects (including rezoning of land, lease modification as well as vetting and approval of building plans), so as to expedite the entire application process for housing developments; if not, whether the authorities will commence such a study;
(3)
whether the aforesaid system for electronic submission of building plans and relevant applications will be commissioned as scheduled in 2021-2022; if not, of the reasons for that; and
(4)
of the number of land premium ("premium") assessments for residential development projects completed by LandsD in the past three financial years, and in respect of each project, set out in a table (i) the original use of the land, (ii) the site area, (iii) the date on which the application for premium assessment was first received, (iv) the date on which an agreement was reached on the premium amount, and (v) the number of residential units provided/to be provided under the project; as the authorities indicated in April this year that the steering group would formulate streamlining measures on the charging of premium, of the progress of such work and the estimated number of days that may be saved in the premium negotiation process through such measures?




Question 7
(For written reply)

(Translation)

The proposed East Kowloon Line

Hon Wilson OR to ask:
In the Railway Development Strategy 2014, the Government put forward the implementation of seven new railway projects and, for the East Kowloon Line ("EKL") among such projects, initially proposed an implementation timetable of 2019 to 2025. In July this year, the Secretary for Transport and Housing revealed that upon conducting a preliminary study, the MTR Corporation Limited ("MTRCL") had found that the topography along the alignment of EKL was too steep for trains to run through, and that MTRCL was exploring whether there were new technologies to overcome such problem. As a result, an implementation timetable for EKL was not available. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
as it has been reported that the Government already learnt about the problem of steep topography along the proposed alignment of EKL in as early as 2014, and that upon conducting a study, the consultancy firm considered at the time that such problem could be overcome technically, of the reasons why the authorities are currently still exploring ways to overcome such problem; apart from such problem, what other difficulties the authorities have encountered in the planning work of EKL;
(2)
of the latest progress of the planning work of EKL; whether it knows how much longer it will take for MTRCL to explore new technologies to overcome the topographic problem; whether the alignment of EKL will be modified so that EKL can be implemented in time before 2025; and
(3)
given the frequent occurrence of traffic congestion on a number of roads in East Kowloon at present, the unavailability of an implementation timetable for EKL, and the continuous growth of the population of East Kowloon in the coming decade, of the authorities' plans to prevent the transport in East Kowloon from being paralysed?




Question 8
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Related matters of seasonal influenza vaccination

Prof Hon Joseph LEE to ask:
Amid the haze of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 ("COVID-19") epidemic, quite a number of members of the public are worried about the serious conditions arising from dual infections with influenza and COVID-19. They have therefore received influenza vaccination earlier than last year, resulting in a tight supply of influenza vaccines. Earlier on, the Department of Health ("DH") indicated that it had procured a total of 878 000 doses of influenza vaccine for the 2020-2021 vaccination programmes, including 628 000 doses for the Government Vaccination Programme ("GVP") and 250 000 doses for the Seasonal Influenza Vaccination School Outreach (Free of Charge - Primary School) ("SIV"). Besides, DH would provide free vaccination to the eligible people of high-risk groups in phases. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the respective quantities of vaccines procured in each of the past three years under (i) GVP and (ii) SIV and the respective expenditures involved;
(2)
of the number of persons who received influenza vaccination under the Vaccination Subsidy Scheme ("VSS") in each of the past three years and the amount of expenditure involved, with a breakdown by target group (i.e. (i) children between 6 months and under 6 years old, (ii) children aged between 6 and under 12, (iii) persons aged between 50 and 64, (iv) persons aged 65 or above, and (v) others);
(3)
whether it knows the number of persons who received, other than under VSS, in the past three years influenza vaccination at private (i) hospitals and (ii) clinics (with a breakdown by the groups mentioned in (2));
(4)
given that members of the public have a strong demand for influenza vaccination and some private doctors have indicated that they fail to obtain sufficient quantity of vaccines, whether the authorities will regularly review the supply of vaccines to Hong Kong, the demands of the public and private healthcare systems for vaccines as well as the vaccine stock of the Government and, when necessary, procure additional doses of vaccines and carry out coordination work, including providing the private medical sector with additional vaccines again on the condition that private doctors undertake to abide by specified requirements (which include not charging additional fees and giving high-risk persons priority to receive vaccination); if so, of the details and the resources involved; if not, the reasons for that; and
(5)
given that there have been recent cases in South Korea and Taiwan in which some residents had adverse reactions or even died soon after receiving influenza vaccination, and that it is learnt that one of the pharmaceutical companies involved is a major vaccine supplier in Hong Kong, whether the authorities have formulated measures to tackle the occurrence of similar cases in Hong Kong; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?




Question 9
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Facilitating Hong Kong's integration into
the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area

Ir Dr Hon LO Wai-kwok to ask:
On facilitating Hong Kong's integration into the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area ("Greater Bay Area"), will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
as the National Development and Reform Commission indicated in July this year that it had agreed to the implementation of a batch of planning proposals concerning intercity rail projects in the Greater Bay Area in an orderly manner, of the Government's plan to conduct discussions with the authorities of Guangdong and Macao on facilitating the linking up of Hong Kong's railway network with the railway networks of the Mainland cities within the Greater Bay Area, as well as strengthening the role of Hong Kong's railway network in the Greater Bay Area;
(2)
whether it will discuss with the authorities of Guangdong and Macao the establishment of a managing authority for cross-boundary transport in the Greater Bay Area to coordinate the development and operation of the cross-boundary transport infrastructure (including airports, ports, railways and bridges) in the Area, thereby creating synergy within the region to enable the development of the Greater Bay Area into a world-class transport and logistics hub; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3)
of its plan to discuss with the authorities of Guangdong and Macao the measures to increase the flow of people, goods, capital and information within the Greater Bay Area, including removing the red tape in respect of customs clearance, taxation, flow of personnel and capital, so as to make it more convenient for Hong Kong people to live, work and receive education in the Mainland cities within the Greater Bay Area?




Question 10
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Hong Kong's youth developing career and studying on the Mainland

Hon Kenneth LAU to ask:
The Government is currently promoting and supporting Hong Kong's youth in entrepreneurship and employment in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area ("Greater Bay Area"), in accordance with the Outline Development Plan for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area promulgated in early 2019. On the other hand, there are quite a number of Hong Kong's youth studying on the Mainland at present. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether it knows the respective numbers of Hong Kong's youth aged between 15 and 40 who have now (i) started up businesses and (ii) taken up employment, in other cities in the Greater Bay Area, and set out in the table below a breakdown by the age group to which they belong and the city in which they live; if such figures are unavailable, whether it will compile the statistics;
Age groupOther cities in the Greater Bay Area
GuangzhouShenzhenZhuhaiFoshanDongguanZhaoqingZhongshanJiangmenHuizhouMacao
15 to 20(i)          
(ii)          
21 to 25(i)          
(ii)          
26 to 30(i)          
(ii)          
31 to 35(i)          
(ii)          
36 to 40(i)          
(ii)          
Total(i)          
(ii)          
(2)
whether it knows the major categories of occupations and trades in which Hong Kong's youth mentioned in (1) are engaged, and a breakdown of the relevant number of persons; if such figures are unavailable, whether it will compile the statistics;
(3)
in respect of (i) the Funding Scheme for Youth Entrepreneurship in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and (ii) the Funding Scheme for Experiential Programmes at Innovation and Entrepreneurial Bases in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area rolled out in March 2019 under the Youth Development Fund, of the respective numbers of applications (a) received and (b) approved so far;
(4)
of the number of applications received under the Mainland University Study Subsidy Scheme in each of the past five years; whether it knows, among the persons who had received such subsidies in the past five years, the respective numbers of those who, upon graduation, (i) returned to Hong Kong for employment and (ii) stayed on the Mainland to pursue career development, as well as the respective major occupations and positions in which they are engaged; and
(5)
whether it has formulated further measures to facilitate Hong Kong's youth studying and developing career on the Mainland, as well as help them understand the country and integrate themselves into the country's development; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
 



Question 11
(For written reply)

(Translation)

The wholesale and retail sectors
moving towards a new business model

Hon SHIU Ka-fai to ask:
There are comments that under the impact of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 epidemic, purchasing goods and services online has become increasingly common, and remote working or service provision has developed into a new trend. Quite a number of wholesalers and retailers have expedited the adoption of an integrated online-to-offline ("O2O") model of doing business. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the number of applications received from wholesale and retail business operators under the Distance Business Programme, which was launched under the Anti-Epidemic Fund, by the time when applications closed on 31 October, and among such applications, the number of those approved; a breakdown by the type of information technology solutions involved; the (i) total, (ii) average, (iii) largest and (iv) smallest amounts of funding granted in respect of the approved applications;
(2)
of the annual numbers of applications received from wholesale and retail business operators under the Technology Voucher Programme ("TVP") since its launch in November 2016, and among such applications, the number of those approved and the total amount of funding involved;
(3)
given that the Government successively launched three rounds of enhancement measures for TVP between February 2018 and April this year, whether it has plans to launch enhancement measures again in the coming year; if so, of the details; if not, whether it will conduct a review expeditiously; and
(4)
whether, in light of the wholesale and retail sectors moving towards the integrated O2O business model, it has plans to step up the relevant support for the sectors; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?




Question 12
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Regulation of the sale of drugs

Hon Jeffrey LAM to ask:
Some members of the trade engaging in the sale of drugs have pointed out that new drugs are constantly being introduced to replace the old ones, and more and more people purchase drugs through the Internet. The fact that the existing legislation regulating the sale of drugs is outdated is not conducive to enhancing the Government's capabilities to respond to emergency public health incidents, and it hinders the channels for selling drugs. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether it has assessed if the existing legislation has struck a balance between ensuring the safety of drugs purchased online and facilitating the sale of drugs;
(2)
of the number of complaints about drug safety received by the Government in each of the past three years and, among such cases, the number of those involving drugs purchased online; the follow-up actions taken by the Government;
(3)
of the views received by the Government from members of the trade in the past three years regarding the facilitation of the online sale of drugs, as well as the details of the follow-up work;
(4)
given that even if members of the trade engaged in the sale of drugs merely distribute sample packs of innovative western medicines or proprietary Chinese medicines free of charge at exhibitions, they still need to apply for the registration of such medicines in Hong Kong, but the procedure concerned is time-consuming, whether the Government will, in this regard, introduce a simple and easy registration procedure and specify the conditions for registration (such as the requirement for the packaging of drugs to carry the descriptions that the drugs are prohibited from being sold in Hong Kong and are restricted to trial uses), so as to facilitate the trade's drug promotion work; and
(5)
whether it will conduct a comprehensive review of, and public consultation on, the legislation regulating drugs, with a view to keeping the relevant legislation in pace with the times?




Question 13
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Internet devices at home for students from grass-roots families

Hon WU Chi-wai to ask:
To cope with the Coronavirus Disease 2019 epidemic, schools suspended classes and implemented online teaching and learning on a number of occasions in recent months. While classes have now been resumed in schools, quite a number of schools still use online teaching and learning on a supplementary basis. Some parents from grass-roots families have relayed that this mode of learning is more demanding on the Internet devices at home, which has increased their financial burden. However, they are ineligible to apply for the "Provision of Subsidy to Needy Primary and Secondary Students for Purchasing Mobile Computer Devices to Facilitate the Practice of e-Learning" under the Community Care Fund ("the assistance programme") because the schools in which their children study have not participated in the programme. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
as the Education Bureau ("EDB") has, in view of the epidemic, flexibly handled applications under the assistance programme submitted by schools for their eligible students, whether it has assessed if this arrangement has resulted in an increase in the numbers of schools participating in the programme and students benefitting from the programme; if so, of the details;
(2)
of the respective current numbers of (i) schools participating in the assistance programme and (ii) schools which are eligible but have not participated in the programme; respective tabulated breakdowns of such numbers by schools' (a) type (i.e. secondary school, primary school and special school) and (b) funding mode (i.e. government, aided, caput, and Direct Subsidy Scheme); if such figures are not available, whether it will compile the statistics;
(3)
given that EDB indicated last month that it expected around 100 000 students from some 800 schools would benefit from the assistance programme in this school year, of a breakdown of such number of schools by type and funding mode (as above); the basis on which such projected numbers were derived; and
(4)
whether it will examine relaxing the eligibility criteria and streamlining the vetting and approval procedure of the assistance programme, so as to encourage schools to participate in the programme and enable more students from grass-roots families to benefit from the programme?




Question 14
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Hong Kong people purchasing properties in the Greater Bay Area

Hon CHAN Chun-ying to ask:
On 6 November last year, the Central Government announced 16 measures which would benefit Hong Kong, one of which was to facilitate the purchases of properties by Hong Kong people in the Mainland cities of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area ("Greater Bay Area"). Quite a number of members of the public have relayed that as the Mainland authorities have imposed restrictions on the amount of cross-boundary Renminbi ("RMB") remittances, when they make payments for the properties by remitting RMB to the Mainland developers, they cannot do so through local banks but only through money changers using improper channels. As a result, they have to bear the risks of being prosecuted for money laundering, or their remittances being frozen by the Mainland authorities or stolen. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
whether, since the announcement of the aforesaid measure, it has discussed with the Mainland authorities arrangements for facilitating Hong Kong people to remit RMB to Mainland developers and allowing Hong Kong people to make payments for the properties in Hong Kong dollars; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2)
whether it will step up publicity and education efforts to remind members of the public who intend to purchase properties in the Mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area of the risks they have to bear for making payments for the properties through money changers; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3)
whether it will strive for the introduction of more policies by the Mainland authorities to facilitate the purchases of properties by Hong Kong people in the Mainland cities of the Greater Bay Area; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?




Question 15
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Imposition of sanctions on US companies by China

Hon Jeremy TAM to ask:
On the 26th of last month, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China announced the imposition of sanctions on three companies from the United States ("US"), namely Boeing Defense, Lockheed Martin, and Raytheon. Currently, Raytheon is the supplier of the Air Traffic Management System ("ATMS") of the Civil Aviation Department ("CAD") installed at the Hong Kong International Airport, and provides hardware and software maintenance services for ATMS. As the Basic Law stipulates that the Central People's Government ("CPG") shall be responsible for the foreign affairs relating to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ("SAR") and its defence, some members of the public are concerned that the sanctions may have impacts on the SAR Government. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the government departments which (i) have entered into or (ii) are negotiating for contracts with the three aforesaid companies for the supply of services/goods, and set out in the table below the relevant details;
Government departmentCompany nameName, value,
effective date and expiry date
of existing contract		Name and value of
contract under
negotiation
CADRaytheon  
…   
(2)
whether the ATMS maintenance service contracts involve any service or equipment which is subject to the US export controls on dual-use technologies; if so, of the details; and
(3)
whether the SAR Government is required to follow CPG by imposing sanctions on the three companies; if so, in respect of such sanctions, (i) of the details, (ii) whether they have impacts on the ATMS repair and maintenance work (if they do, of the corresponding plans to ensure that aviation safety will not be affected), and (iii) whether they have impacts on the procurement work and operation of various government departments (if they do, of the corresponding plans); if not, the reasons for that?




Question 16
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Salary arrangements for kindergarten teachers

Hon IP Kin-yuen to ask:
The Chief Executive ("CE") put forward in her election manifesto in 2017 the establishment of a salary scale for kindergarten ("KG") teachers with the aim of providing KG teachers with a stable working and teaching environment. The Education Bureau ("EDB") has introduced, since the 2017-2018 school year, the Kindergarten Education Scheme ("the Scheme"), under which eligible local non-profit-making KGs are provided with a direct subsidy and salary ranges have been set for KG teachers. On the other hand, the wastage rate of KG teachers in recent years has remained on the high side, standing at 12% or higher in the past two school years. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
given that EDB has, since the middle of last year, started to consult stakeholders on the introduction of a salary scale for KG teachers and the corresponding "basic half-day unit subsidy" arrangements, etc., of the views received and the final proposal of EDB; the estimated additional recurrent expenditure to be incurred annually for implementing the proposal;
(2)
whether it has plans to complete the establishment of a salary scale for KG teachers by the end of the term of the current Government; if so, of the implementation timetable; if not, the reasons for that, and whether it will assess if CE has failed to honour the relevant pledge she made in her election manifesto; and
(3)
given that under the Scheme, EDB provides a tide-over grant for KGs so that they can retain their long serving teachers, and the grant will cease by the end of the next school year, of the follow-up arrangements to be put in place by EDB, and whether EDB will announce such arrangements expeditiously so that KGs' management can make early preparation?




Question 17
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Transport fare-related subsidy schemes

Hon Mrs Regina IP to ask:
The Government is currently implementing a number of transport fare-related subsidy schemes, including the Work Incentive Transport Subsidy Scheme ("Scheme 1"), the Public Transport Fare Subsidy Scheme ("Scheme 2"), and the Government Public Transport Fare Concession Scheme for the Elderly and Eligible Persons with Disabilities ("Scheme 3"). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the total amount of subsidy granted, the number of beneficiaries, and the administrative cost incurred in respect of Scheme 1 in each year since its launch in 2011;
(2)
of the total amount of subsidy granted, the number of beneficiaries, and the administrative cost incurred in respect of Scheme 2 since its launch in 2019; and
(3)
given that no income or asset test is provided for Scheme 2 and Scheme 3, and the Government is studying the lowering of the eligibility age of Scheme 3 to 60, whether the Government has any concrete plans to prevent those members of the public who have no financial needs from enjoying double or triple benefits, so as to ensure the proper use of public funds; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?




Question 18
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Proposed "Joint Policy Package" for Hong Kong and Shenzhen

Hon Martin LIAO to ask:
It has been reported that the authorities of Hong Kong and Shenzhen are discussing the rolling out of a "Joint Policy Package", which covers joint policies on the flows of talents, capital, resources and data between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, with a view to enhancing the attraction to innovation and technology ("I&T") talents, adding momentum to the I&T synergistic development between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, as well as promoting the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area ("Greater Bay Area") into an international I&T hub. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
in respect of the discussion and cooperation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen, of the differences between the mode and mechanism proposed to be established under the Joint Policy Package and the existing ones;
(2)
whether (i) specific targets (e.g. the number of I&T talents to be admitted, as well as the categories and areas of scientific researches to which they belong), and (ii) implementation timetables for the various policies concerned, will be formulated in respect of the Joint Policy Package;
(3)
whether, apart from I&T, the Government will consider discussing with the Shenzhen authorities the introduction of similar joint policy packages in respect of other key areas of cooperation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen (e.g. finance and healthcare); and
(4)
whether it will consider discussing with the authorities of other cities in the Greater Bay Area the formulation of similar joint policy packages?
 



Question 19
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Services for searching various registers and government records

Hon Alice MAK to ask:
Regarding the services provided by the Government for searching various registers and government records which contain personal data ("search services"), will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the number of applications for each type of search services in each of the past two financial years and, among them, the number of those rejected;
(2)
whether the relevant government departments have imposed regulation and conducted random checks on the search services to prevent them from being abused; if so, of the details, and the respective numbers of persons prosecuted and convicted in the past five years for unlawful use of the personal data obtained through the search services;
(3)
of the current requirements of the various search services in respect of the following: (i) whether the applicants are required to give reasons for the applications, (ii) whether there are restrictions on the types of applicants, and (iii) whether the types of data obtainable are dependent on the reasons for application and the types of applicants; whether the Government will comprehensively review such requirements with a view to preventing abuses of the search services;
(4)
whether it will enact legislation or formulate a mechanism to enable a data subject to apply on reasonable grounds (such as personal safety being threatened) for classification of the data relating to him or her in a register or government record as confidential or non-public, so that it does not fall within the scope of data which is obtainable from the search services; and
(5)
of the measures in place to prevent personal data obtained through the search services from being used for improper purposes, such as doxxing?




Question 20
(For written reply)

(Translation)

Statistics on seasonal influenza vaccination

Dr Hon Pierre CHAN to ask:
The various seasonal influenza vaccination schemes for 2020-2021 commenced one after another in October this year. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1)
of the respective numbers of (a) primary schools and (b) kindergartens/child care centres which participated in (i) the Seasonal Influenza Vaccination School Outreach (Free of Charge) ("SIV") and (ii) the Vaccination Subsidy Scheme School Outreach (Extra Charge Allowed) since the beginning of the current school year and the relevant details; the respective numbers of school children who have and who have not received influenza vaccination so far, and how the relevant vaccination coverage rates of school children compare with those of the same period last year;
(2)
given that there have been successive cases in South Korea and Taiwan recently in which some residents died soon after receiving influenza vaccination, arousing concerns among quite a number of parents of school children about the safety of the influenza vaccines in Hong Kong, whether it knows the respective numbers, since the beginning of the current school year, of school children from (i) primary schools and (ii) kindergartens/child care centres whose parents have withdrawn the consent forms for their children to receive vaccination;
(3)
given that under SIV, the vaccines for primary schools are provided by the Department of Health ("DH") but the vaccines for kindergartens/child care centres are arranged by the participating doctors themselves, whether it will modify the arrangement so that vaccines will be provided by DH across the board; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(4)
whether it knows the number of members of the public in Hong Kong who received influenza vaccination in each of the past five years (including those who received vaccination at their own expense) and their vaccination coverage rate, broken down by the groups set out in the table below (set out separately in tables of the same format as the table below);  
Year：             
GroupNumber of persons who
received vaccination		Vaccination
coverage rate
Children between 6 months and under 6 years old  
Children aged between 6 and under 12  
Persons aged between 12 and under 50  
Persons aged between 50 and under 65  
Persons aged 65 or above  
Pregnant women  
Persons with chronic health problems  
Overall population  
(5)
of (i) the quantity of nasal influenza vaccines procured by DH and the amount of expenditure so incurred, as well as (ii) the respective numbers of those persons belonging to the various groups set out in the aforesaid table who have received such vaccines, since April last year; whether it will use more nasal vaccines in providing influenza vaccination services for children in 2021-2022; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(6)
of the quantity of influenza vaccines provided for the Hospital Authority by DH under the Government Vaccination Programme and the amount of expenditure involved, in each of the past five years;
(7)
of the total amount of subsidy disbursed by the Government to the private doctors participating in the Vaccination Subsidy Scheme in 2019-2020;
(8)
of the quantity of unused but expired or damaged influenza vaccines and the amount of money involved under the various vaccination schemes, in each of the past five years; and
(9)
of the number of cases received by DH in each of the past five years from members of the public who felt extremely unwell soon after receiving influenza vaccination, with a breakdown by the age group to which they belonged and their illnesses?