Council Meeting (Agenda) 13 March 2024

(1)

as it has been reported that a wave of panic buying of cotton buds and floss picks emerged in the community earlier on since many members of the public were mistaken that they could no longer buy such products after the commencement of the relevant regulation, whether the Government will learn from the experience and step up efforts to disseminate the correct messages to members of the public at an early stage before the commencement of the second-phase regulation;

(2)

as it has been reported that some operators of small and medium eateries are worried about an increase in their operating costs as a result of the need to shift to non-plastic tableware for the purpose of going "plastic-free", whether the Government has gained an understanding from them of the implication of going plastic-free on their operating costs, and assessed if eateries' shift to paper or bamboo tableware will in effect lead to another kind of wastage; if it has, of the details, including the extent of the increase in their operating costs; if not, the reasons for that; and

(3)

of the expenditure incurred by and the number of downloads of the "Plastic-Free Rewards" mobile application; whether the Government will consider combining it with another application "GREEN$" in order to reduce expenditure and enhance efficiency?

(1)

whether it will consider adjusting the supply ratio of PRH and GSH to other SSFs to 50:50, so as to ease the Government's financial burden and address the public's keen demand for home ownership;

(2)

as there are views that given the "inter-changeability" between PRH and subsidized sale housing, the quality of these two types of housing is almost the same, whether the Government will review the principle of inter-changeability with a view to enhancing the quality of subsidized sale housing; and

(3)

as there are views that building more PRH may not always be advantageous because some members of the public will deliberately control their income in order to be eligible for and live in PRH, and that PRH, with a substantial amount of land and financial resources required for its construction and operation, is a heavy burden for the Government in the long run, whether the Government will study formulating an optimal proportion of PRH in the overall housing supply and setting a ceiling on its supply in LTHS?

(1)

whether it will consider introducing for contractors a demerit point system whereby demerit points will be allotted to contractors who are found to have breached OSH-related requirements during safety inspections, and the demerit points accumulated by the contractors concerned will be taken into account in evaluating their tenders submitted for public works projects, and the tendering qualifications of contractors whose demerit points have exceeded a specified limit will be suspended, so as to enhance deterrence;

(2)

as it is learnt that individual contractors have implemented on their own "marking schemes for workers" under which demerit points will be allotted to workers who have breached safety rules at construction sites, and workers whose accumulated demerit points have reached the maximum limit may be suspended from work, and it has been reported that the Construction Industry Council ("CIC") will standardize the relevant criteria for allotting demerit points and implement a "safety performance scheme" in the first half of this year, whether the authorities will make it mandatory for all contractors to participate in the scheme; and

(3)

as a number of major infrastructural projects will commence in Hong Kong, and according to the Construction Expenditure Forecast released by CIC in July last year, the total construction expenditure of the construction industry in Hong Kong will range from $240‍ billion to $375 billion per annum from 2022-2023 to 2031‍-‍2032, whether the authorities will proportionally increase the expenses spent on OSH-related measures to raise the OSH awareness in society as a whole?

(1)

in order to ensure that the future traffic needs of the multitude of new economy industries in the vicinity of Lung Kwu Tan in Tuen Mun West can be met, whether the authorities will conduct studies and assessments on the traffic carrying capacity of Lung Fu Road, Lung Mun Road and Wong Chu Road; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(2)

whether it has plans to build a new trunk road or a green mass transit system for connecting Tuen Mun East and Tuen Mun West; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(3)

whether it will consider substantially lowering the tolls of the Tai Lam Tunnel after taking over the tunnel in 2025, so as to divert the heavy vehicular flow from Tuen Mun Road; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

(1)

as it is learnt that to promote the development of the tourism industry, various local governments in the Mainland have worked in solidarity with the entire municipality and even the entire province to break barriers and remove obstacles among various industries and trades, whether the HKSAR Government can connect various industries and trades as well as mobilize and coordinate resources across the territory, so that various departments will be able to work together to facilitate the development of Hong Kong's tourism industry, thereby getting rid of the predicament of the industry being lagging behind;

(2)

as there are views that the major current pursuits of Mainland tourists in travelling are high cost-effectiveness and cosy experience, how the Government can enhance the travel experiences of Mainland tourists with their limited time and budgets as well as encourage and motivate the whole society to foster a cordial and welcoming atmosphere; and

(3)

as it is learnt that nowadays, tourists prefer to "check-in" at popular, unique and iconic landmarks and street scenes, and the public opinions and trends presented on the We Media can bring a huge influence, whether the Government has plans to, by tapping on Hong Kong's characteristics and advantages, adopt a more proactive approach to steer Hong Kong's tourism promotional efforts towards a more compassionate and attractive direction, such as opening a We ‍Media account to actively exchange views and interact with netizens?

(1)

as it is learnt that at present, many bazaar stalls only sell pre-cooked dishes or simple food, and there are stringent restrictions in respect of the thresholds for selling food cooked on-site as well as the types of food served, which compare unfavourably to bazaars in the neighbouring regions, whether the Government will study providing stalls with more support for their applications for temporary food factory licences or liquor licences, or adjusting the overly stringent licence requirements, so that the stalls can offer more variety of food and beverages, thereby strengthening the bazaar economy;

(2)

whether it will integrate the characteristics of districts as well as local culture and creativity into bazaars, conduct a territory-wide review for areas with potentials for bazaar development, and consider a crossover of the local culture with international cultures or the cultures of other cities in our country, and assign a dedicated department to coordinate the relevant matters, so as to establish bazaars and night markets with characteristics and appeal; and

(3)

of the attendances, revenue and the numbers of various types of stalls (including stalls involving the heating up of pre-cooked food, stalls involving the cooking of pre-prepared and ready-to-cook food, and stalls selling dry goods) in respect of the bazaars under the Day ‍x ‍Night Vibes@18 Districts; how it assesses the economic benefits of such bazaars, and whether it has reviewed the areas that need further enhancement and improvement?

(1)

as the Government announced in the 2018-2019 Budget that it would expedite the implementation of projects to construct some new facilities for which the community had been longing in various districts, and the selected project in the Kowloon City district is the construction of the Ho Man Tin Government Complex with facilities including a community hall, a multi-purpose conference room, a residential care home for the elderly cum day care unit for the elderly, an Integrated Community Centre for Mental Wellness, an integrated family service centre and a district R&S centre, of the latest development timetable for the Complex (including the time of applying for funding, and commencing and completing works), as well as the expected commissioning time of the various related facilities, the numbers of their beneficiaries and their service details;

(2)

as it has been reported that with redevelopment projects in Hung Hom commencing one after another in recent years, the population will significantly increase in the future, whether the authorities will, in order to cater for the needs of the population in the district, consider adopting the "single site, multiple uses" model to develop the Wuhu Street Temporary Playground in Hung Hom into a government complex, so as to provide cultural and sports facilities, a public clinic, an elderly service centre, a day child care centre, etc.; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(3)

as the scope of the open space project at Hung Hom Waterfront includes the construction of a children's playground with diversified inclusive play equipment, as well as the provision of a viewing deck whose design will imitate a ship under construction to resemble the shipbuilding scene in the Whampoa Dock in the old days, of the latest progress of the project?

(1)

of the following information in respect of the various Near Boundary Polling Stations ("NBPSs") set up for the 2023 District Council Ordinary Election ("the Election"): (i) the number of electors allocated to such NBPSs and (ii) the actual number of voters, with a breakdown by polling station (i.e. (a) Covered Playground and (b) Hall of Hong Kong Taoist Association Tang Hin Memorial Secondary School, and (c) Covered Playground and (d) Hall of Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Kap Yan Directors' College) (set out in Table 1);

Polling station	(i)	(ii)
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)

(2)

of the voter turnout at each of the NBPSs mentioned in (1) during different time slots of the Election (set out in Table 2);

Time slot (hourly)	Voter turnout
	(a)	(b)	(c)	(d)
8:30 am to 9:30 am
…
11:30 pm to 12:00 midnight

(3)

whether it has received on the polling day of the Election any cases in which electors have erroneously gone to NBPSs not allocated to them or the polling stations in Hong Kong originally allocated to them to cast votes; if so, of the number of such cases and the details;

(4)

given that the Government indicated in reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on 11 January last year that it would conduct a more specific study on the implementation of electronic voting, of the current progress and details of the relevant work;

(5)

whether it has studied the introduction of more measures to facilitate the participation by Hong Kong electors who are on the Mainland in voting in Hong Kong's elections (including the progress of the study on setting up polling stations on the Mainland), and engaged in regular communications and exchanges of views with stakeholders such as associations of Hong Kong people on the Mainland and related concern groups on the relevant issues; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(6)

given that according to the Guidelines on Election-related Activities in respect of the District Council Election, which were updated in September last year, if a Hong Kong permanent resident has left Hong Kong to reside in another place without maintaining connections with Hong Kong or no longer having a principal or only residence in Hong Kong, then the person no longer meets the statutory eligibility requirements for registration, but there are views that the aforesaid measure may result in some Hong Kong people on the Mainland being disqualified from being electors on grounds that they have been absent from Hong Kong for a long period of time without habitual residences, whether the authorities will study relaxing the requirement of "ordinarily residing in Hong Kong" for electors, so as to safeguard the right to vote of Hong Kong people who are on the Mainland; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

(1)

whether it knows the current situation of flights to and from Hong Kong using sustainable aviation fuels ("SAFs"), including the percentage of such flights using SAFs in the total number of such flights and the total carbon emissions that can be reduced;

(2)

of the measures in place to encourage more flights to and from Hong Kong to use SAFs;

(3)

of the measures in place to facilitate the development of Hong Kong as an important SAF bunkering hub in the region, so as to tie in with the use of SAFs by more flights in the future; and

(4)

as the 2023 Policy Address has mentioned that the Airport Authority Hong Kong will formulate an action plan to drive airlines' use of SAFs for bunkering their flights in Hong Kong, of the expected completion time of the action plan?

(1)

of the following information on civil service lifeguards (including senior lifeguards and lifeguards) in each of the past five years: (i) the target number of recruits, (ii) the number of applications received, (iii) the number of applicants invited to attend the recruitment interview, (iv) the number of applicants who passed the trade test, (v) the number of applicants who passed the recruitment interview, (vi) the number of applicants who passed the medical examination and other procedures, (vii) the number of appointment letters issued, (viii) the number of applicants who declined the offer of appointment, (ix) the number of applicants who reported for duty, and (x) the total recruitment expenses incurred in each recruitment exercise, with a breakdown by type of post;

(2)

of the following information on non-civil service contract seasonal lifeguards ("seasonal lifeguards") in each of the past five years: (i) the target number of recruits, (ii) the number of applications received, (iii) the number of applicants invited to attend the recruitment interview, (iv) the number of applicants who passed the trade test, (v) the number of applicants who passed the recruitment interview, (vi) the number of applicants who passed the medical examination and other procedures, (vii) the number of appointment letters issued, (viii) the number of applicants who declined the offer of appointment, (ix) the number of applicants who reported for duty, and (x) the total recruitment expenses incurred in each recruitment exercise, with a breakdown by type of employment contract terms;

(3)

of (i) the estimated expenditure on the employment of seasonal lifeguards by the Government, and (ii) the actual expenditure on the salaries and benefits of such lifeguards in each of the past eight years;

(4)

in respect of each aquatic venue under LCSD in each of the past eight years, of (i) the number of scheduled opening hours of each of its facilities, and (ii) the number of hours during which each of its facilities was closed due to insufficient manpower of lifeguards, with a breakdown by District Council district; and

(5)

as the Government indicated at the meeting of the Panel on Public Service of this Council on 15 May last year that it would explore ways to reduce the reliance on seasonal lifeguards with a view to tackling the problem of shortage of core lifeguards, of the progress and details of the relevant work at present?

(1)

of the number of interviews given or briefings conducted by politically appointed officials for overseas media since the current-‍term Government took office, as well as the names of overseas media involved, together with a breakdown by politically appointed official;

(2)

whether the Government will proactively engage overseas media in explanatory work and formulate a detailed work plan for telling the good stories of China and Hong Kong this year, thereby properly performing its task of making explanations to media organizations around the world; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(3)

whether the current-term Government will set performance indicators shortly for the work of politically appointed officials in making rebuttals, clarifications and explanations to overseas media, so as to ensure that politically appointed officials will continuously do a good job in liaising with overseas media, thereby consolidating and enhancing Hong Kong's status as an international metropolis?

(1)

of the current number of SPP holders in Hong Kong, together with a breakdown by permit category (i.e. Category A and Category B); whether it has estimated the number of security personnel who need to change to apply for Category A SPPs upon reaching the age of 71 or above in each of the coming five years;

(2)

whether it will review the existing arrangement under which security personnel aged 71 or above can only perform Category A guarding work for single private residential buildings; and

(3)

as it is learnt that there are fewer jobs for Category A guarding work in the market, whether the authorities will consider relaxing the upper age limit for Category B SPP applications, so that persons aged 71 or above can apply for Category B SPPs; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

(1)

whether it has compiled statistics on the number of Candida auris infection cases, the age of the patients and the number of deaths among them in each year since 2019 (set out in a table);

(2)

whether it has compiled statistics on the number of cases mentioned in (1) which were nosocomial infection cases in public hospitals and the number of patients involved, with a breakdown by the hospital involved;

(3)

as it has been reported that the number of Candida auris carrier cases in public hospitals increased substantially in the first 10 months of 2023, whether it knows if the Hospital Authority ("HA") has gained an understanding of the reasons for that;

(4)

of the new infection control measures against multidrug-resistant fungi currently put in place by public hospitals;

(5)

as it has been reported that many patients have become carriers of multidrug-resistant fungi/bacteria as a result of their admission to public hospitals, whether the authorities have reviewed if the relevant infection control measures in public hospitals are adequate; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(6)

regarding elderly singletons infected with multidrug-resistant fungi/bacteria or patients whose family members are incapable of taking care of them, whether it knows if HA has measures in place at present to provide support to and follow up on such patients after their discharge from hospitals; if HA has, whether it knows if HA will consider strengthening the relevant support; if HA will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

(1)

of the number of complaints about nuisances caused by wild pigs, the number of cases of wild pigs injuring people and the number of cases of wild pigs causing disruptions to shops resulting in property damage, as well as the average time taken by the personnel of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department ("AFCD") to respond to the aforesaid cases, in each of the past five years, with a breakdown of such information by District Council district;

(2)

given that the Government launched the pilot Capture and Contraception/Relocation Programme ("CCRP") in 2017 to address the nuisances caused by wild pigs, of the number of operations conducted, as well as the respective numbers of wild pigs (i) captured and (ii) administered with contraceptive vaccine or surgically sterilized, under CCRP so far, with a breakdown by District Council district;

(3)

of the number of cases in which prosecutions were instituted against people who had illegally fed wild pigs since the Government extended "the places at which the feeding of any wild animal is‍ prohibited" specified under the Wild Animals Protection Ordinance‍ (Cap. 170) to the entire territory of Hong Kong on 31‍ December 2022, as well as the penalties imposed on the convicted persons;

(4)

given that since 2021, AFCD has placed three types of wildlife-‍resistant refuse collection facilities at over 70 locations, whether the Government has assessed the effectiveness of such facilities so far (including whether they can reduce the nuisances caused by wild pigs to the community);

(5)

whether it has studied new measures to reduce situations of wild pigs causing nuisances to residential areas and their intrusion into places where many people gather; and

(6)

given that the Government has been committed to promoting the development of a "smart city" in recent years, whether government departments have considered installing smart monitors in areas where wild pigs are found, so as to accurately measure and monitor the activity areas of wild pigs, and deploying manpower and taking corresponding control measures when necessary; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

(1)

of the number of applications approved by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department for the import of cats and dogs, as well as the number of cats and dogs involved, in each of the past three years;

(2)

of the number of smuggled cats and dogs seized by the Customs and Excise Department, as well as the number of cases involved, in each of the past three years;

(3)

whether it has considered taking the initiative to investigate the sale of smuggled cats and dogs on social platforms through decoy operations;

(4)

as there are views pointing out that the existing stringent quarantine requirement for imported cats and dogs (i.e. a quarantine period of no less than 120 days) is one of the main causes of rampant smuggling of cats and dogs, and the Government indicated in reply to a question raised by a Member of this Council on 21 February this year that it was conducting a risk review to explore the feasibility of shortening the quarantine period for cats and dogs imported from certain places in the relevant group (including the Mainland) by measures such as rabies vaccination and rabies antibody titer testing, of the expected timing for the completion of such work; and

(5)

given that there have been cases of cat and dog flesh being sold as food in Hong Kong in recent years, whether it has investigated if the cat and dog flesh in question involves smuggling?

(1)

whether it knows the current number of patients suffering from treatment-resistant depression who are receiving treatment at the psychiatric departments of the hospitals under the Hospital Authority ("HA");

(2)

as it has been reported that a study has confirmed that an antidepressant drug that targets the glutamate system can, within a few hours, alleviate the suicidal thoughts of patients suffering from treatment-resistant depression, and that approval was given by the Department of Health in July last year for the inclusion of the drug in the Drug Formulary of HA, whether it knows (i) the hospitals whose psychiatric departments are currently prescribing the drug, and (ii) the number of patients who have received treatment with the drug so far, with a breakdown by hospital cluster; and

(3)

whether it knows if HA will allocate additional resources so that more patients suffering from depression can benefit from medication treatment with a better and faster curative effect; if HA will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

(1)

in respect of TVP applicants from the financial services industry, of (i) the number of applications received and its proportion to the total number of TVP applications, (ii) the average vetting and approval time per application, (iii) the success rate of applications, (iv) the average amount of funding applied for per application, and (v) the average amount of subsidy approved per application, in each of the past three years;

(2)

as many members of the financial services industry have relayed that they face problems in making applications under TVP as regards its complicated procedures, long vetting and approval time, as well as the small amount of approved subsidy, whether the authorities will consider further streamlining the application procedures of TVP, expediting the vetting and approval time, and increasing the amount of approved subsidy; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(3)

since the launch of the enhancement measures, how TVP has been enhanced in terms of the success rate of applications, flexibility in vetting and approval, etc.; and

(4)

given that while the Government has launched the four-in-one integrated services to provide enterprises with consolidated and comprehensive information of various government funding schemes (including TVP) as well as consultation services, many members of the industry have relayed that they still have no in-depth understanding of such services, of the authorities' plans in place to step up publicity and promotion to help the industry grasp the details of such services, so as to increase the success rate of applications under TVP?

(1)

as the aforesaid regulatory framework mainly regulates the conduct of AV trials, whether the authorities have plans to establish vehicle design standards for AVs running on public roads in the future;

(2)

whether it has plans to progressively open up more public roads to allow the conduct of larger-scale AV trials under more authentic road conditions; if so, of the details; if not, the plans in place to promote the trial and use of AVs; and

(3)

whether it will consider stepping up communication with members of the autonomous driving industry for providing in the road infrastructure the requisite vehicle-to-everything and infrastructural facilities for the application of autonomous driving technology?

(1)

whether it has plans to review the application criteria for Security Personnel Permits ("SPPs"); if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(2)

whether it will consider introducing a complaint mechanism, with the imposition of penalties or even revocation of SPPs for security personnel with serious dereliction of duty; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(3)

given that currently employers can import security personnel through the Enhanced Supplementary Labour Scheme, how the authorities ensure that such imported foreign workers are suitable to work in the security industry?

(1)

whether it knows the respective numbers of applications made by operators of RMBs and green minibuses ("GMBs") operating scheduled services for the Pre-approved Principal Payment Holiday Scheme ("the Scheme") launched by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority together with the Banking Sector SME Lending Coordination Mechanism;

(2)

given that an orderly exit from the Scheme has commenced upon its expiry at the end of July last year, whether it knows the respective numbers of cases involving RMB and GMB operators having defaulted on loan repayments under the Scheme at present, as well as the respective amounts of loans involved; and

(3)

whether the authorities have plans to provide support for the RMB trade, so as to enable it to tide over the difficulties arising from economic downturn; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

(1)

of the respective longest and shortest lengths of stay in Hong Kong of persons admitted to Hong Kong via TTPS, as well as the average number of days of their stay so far; whether the Government has any requirement or expectation regarding the length of stay in Hong Kong of such persons; if not, whether it will set a minimum requirement or other conditions on the length of stay in Hong Kong of such persons;

(2)

how it ensures that persons admitted to Hong Kong via TTPS truly work, reside and pay taxes in Hong Kong; whether the Government will step up efforts in monitoring and checking the length of stay, and the status of employment and tax payment of such persons in Hong Kong, so as to prevent abuse of the scheme or wastage of resources by such persons; and

(3)

of the total number of persons admitted to Hong Kong via TTPS investigated by the relevant government departments for allegedly making use of false employment relationships, providing inaccurate documents or failing to pay taxes as required (and the percentage of such number in all persons admitted to Hong Kong via TTPS) as at the end of December last year, as well as the outcome of the relevant investigations, together with a breakdown by application category of TTPS (i.e. Category A, B and C)?

(1)

whether it has formulated a specific implementation timetable for improving the ancillary facilities of RNCP; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(2)

whether it has plans to set up a visitors' centre for RNCP; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(3)

as it is learnt that there are many military relics of historical value (such as lookouts, firing trenches and forts) in the areas around RNCP, whether the Government will conserve and revitalize such military relics, so as to turn them into military-themed tourism resources; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(4)

as it is learnt that currently, a section of the hiking track involving Lin Ma Hang Road and leading to the MacIntosh Fort (Kong Shan) and the Lin Ma Hang Lead Mine Cave which is undergoing revitalization works is within the Frontier Closed Area ("FCA"), hikers are prone to trespass on the area inadvertently and need to backtrack and leave through another exit, whether the authorities have considered opening up the part of FCA in the vicinity of RNCP to make it convenient for tourists to go there for sightseeing and leave by going downhill along the trail; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?