Revised version
OP 96/97-23(1)
(Issued at 11:00 am on 10.3.97)

The Legislative Council
Order Paper

Wednesday 12 March 1997 at 2:30 pm

I. Papers

Subsidiary LegislationL.N. NO.
1. Legal Aid (Assessment of Resources and Contributions) (Amendment) Regulation 199785/97
2. Telecommunication (Cordless Telephone Apparatus) (Exemption from Licensing) (Amendment) Order 199786/97
3. Official Languages (Alteration of Text) (Trade Descriptions Ordinance) Order 199787/97
4. Banking Ordinance (Amendment of Tenth Schedule) Notice 199788/97
5. Official Languages (Authentic Chinese Text) (Yan Chai Hospital Ordinance) Order(C) 22/97
6. Official Languages (Authentic Chinese Text) (International Organizations and Diplomatic Privileges Ordinance) Order(C) 23/97
7. Official Languages (Authentic Chinese Text) (Matilda and War Memorial Hospital Ordinance) Order(C) 24/97
8. Official Languages (Authentic Chinese Text) (Tung Wah Group of Hospitals Ordinance) Order(C) 25/97
9. Official Languages (Authentic Chinese Text)(Pok Oi Hospital Incorporation Ordinance) Order(C) 26/97
10. Official Languages (Authentic Chinese Text) (Alice Ho Miu Ling Nethersole Hospital Incorporation Ordinance) Order(C)27/97
11. Official Languages (Authentic Chinese Text)(The Prince Philip Dental Hospital Ordinance) Order(C) 28/97
12. Official Languages (Authentic Chinese Text) (Trade Descriptions Ordinance) Order (C) 29/97

Sessional Papers 1996-97

1.No.72-Draft Estimates for the year ending 31 March 1998; Volume IA and Volume IB - General Revenue Account
(to be presented by the Financial Secretary)
2.No.73-Draft Estimates for the year ending 31 March 1998; Volume II - Fund Accounts
(to be presented by the Financial Secretary)

II. Questions

* 1. Dr Samuel WONG to ask :

It is learnt that a substantial amount of postal articles are wrapped in plastic envelopes or bags, thus presenting considerable sorting and stamping problems to the Post Office which requires extra manpower and time to handle such articles. The use of plastic materials for such a purpose also causes environmental problems. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it will consider prohibiting people from posting their mail in plastic envelopes or bags?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Services

* 2. Mr LEE Wing-tat to ask : (Translation)

It is learnt that the Environmental Protection Department (EPD) is formulating a plan for the delivery of the territory's clinical wastes to the Chemical Waste Treatment Centre (CWTC) on Tsing Yi Island for disposal. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether:

  1. the EPD's move to formulate such a plan is because of the drastic drop in the amount of chemical wastes disposed of at the CWTC last year;
  2. an Environmental Impact Assessment will be undertaken on the above plan; and
  3. the EPD will suspend its plan to construct a purpose-built centralised incineration facility for the disposal of all clinical wastes generated in the territory?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands

* 3. Mr CHOY Kan-pui to ask : (Translation)

Regarding the incident concerning the fresh water supply in two newly occupied estates in Ma On Shan - a public housing estate and a Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) estate - becoming salty several days age, does the Government know:

  1. which departments should be responsible for the above incident, and whether the residents and shop owners who have suffered losses or injuries as a result of the incident will be compensated; and
  2. of the total number of cases involving fresh water supply problems in public housing estates and HOS estates of the Housing Authority in the past three years, the classification of such cases, and whether there are any of such cases for which the Government should bear responsibility?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing

* 4. Mr Albert CHAN to ask : (Translation)

It is learnt that in major works projects undertaken by the Government in the rural area, a certain sum from the project vote will be set aside to meet the expenses incurred in connection with "Tun Fu" ceremonies. However, no funds are reserved for "Tun Fu" ceremonies in respect of minor projects, and this has resulted in a number of minor maintenance and improvement works not being proceeded with. In this regard, will the Government inform this Council whether it will review the budgets for minor works projects so that District Offices will be provided with adequate funds to meet "Tun Fu" expenses in special circumstances; if so, when the review will take place; if not, why not?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

* 5. Dr David LI to ask :

The Privacy Commissioner for Personal Data recently stated that the number of complaints received by his Office since the implementation of the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance in December last year was running at about one per day, and he expressed concern that the 32 staff members in the Office might not be able to cope with the workload. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council whether it will consider allocating additional resources to the Office to cope with the workload?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Home Affairs

* 6. Dr HUANG Chen-ya to ask : (Translation)

It is learnt that in recent years, there have been a number of serious frauds in the United Kingdom involving some reinsurance companies, and this has undermined the financial health of insurance companies. In view of this, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. whether locally registered insurance companies are allowed to enter into reinsurance arrangements with reinsurance companies which are not registered in the territory; if so, of the amount of such reinsurance premiums and the proportion of this amount to the total amount of reinsurance premiums of these insurance companies;
  2. whether there are any locally registered insurance companies which have suffered losses as a result of the reinsurers running into operational problems in the past five years; if so, of the number of insurance companies so affected and their respective losses; and
  3. of the measures taken by the Office of the Commissioner of Insurance to regulate the operations of the non-locally registered reinsurance companies which enter into reinsurance arrangements with locally registered insurance companies?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Financial Services

* 7. Mr WONG Wai-yin to ask :(Translation)

At the meeting of the LegCo Panel on Welfare Services held on 10 January this year, officials from the Social Welfare Department stated that they were in the process of commissioning a consultancy firm to study how the Senior Citizen Card Scheme can be improved. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the scope of the above study;
  2. of the expected commencement and completion dates of the study; and
  3. whether the public will be consulted on the results of the study?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

* 8. Miss Emily LAU to ask : (Translation)

Does the Government know:

  1. whether there have been any Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) flat owners who have sold or leased out their HOS flats unlawfully within the ten-year restriction period; if so,
  2. how many of these owners have been prosecuted;
  3. whether there are any of these owners who have not been prosecuted and if so, what the reasons are; and
  4. of the measures which will be taken by the authority concerned to eliminate these unlawful activities?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Housing

* 9. Dr HUANG Chen-ya to ask : (Translation)

Does the Government know:

  1. of the number of elderly or disabled singletons who attended the out-patient departments of public hospitals and the out-patient clinics of the Department of Health, and the number of these out-patients who called for ambulance services or requested escort services in order to attend the out-patient departments or clinics, in the past year;
  2. whether there are any statistical data to show the number of these two types of persons who were unable to attend the out-patient departments or clinics due to the lack of escort services in the past year; and
  3. of the types of escort services for medical treatment which are now available, and the plans in hand to improve such services?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Health and Welfare

*10.Mr LEE Wing-tat to ask : (Translation)

The Government plans to construct noise insulation facilities at the Tsing Yi Station of the Airport Railway (AR) with a view to reducing the noise nuisance caused to the residents of Cheung On Estate, but it does not have any plan to provide a total enclosure for this section of the AR. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council of the following:

  1. whether the authorities concerned will conduct a test on the level of noise at this section of the railway when the AR is due to have its trial run; if so, whether concerned parties in the district (including District Board members and members of the local concern groups and Mutual Aid Committees) will be invited to take part in the test; and
  2. if the noise level at this section of the railway is found to be higher than the acceptable level, whether the authorities concerned will provide a total enclosure for this section and carry out noise mitigation measures, such as the insulation of windows and the provision of air conditioners, in the neighbouring buildings?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands

*11.Dr Samuel WONG to ask :

Will the Government inform this Council whether there are any regulations:

  1. governing the types of materials used in additional partitioning, renovation and decoration works undertaken in high-rise commercial buildings after the issue of occupation permits; and
  2. requiring the above additional installations to comply with fire regulations?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Planning, Environment and Lands

*12.Miss Christine LOH to ask :

The Hong Kong Electric Company Limited (HEC) and the China Light & Power Company Limited (CLP) have monopoly to supply electricity to Hong Kong Island and Kowloon/New Territories respectively. The two companies have separately built, and will continue to build, additional electricity generating capacities which are not needed to meet the territory's electricity demand, and this has resulted in unnecessarily high tariff charges. In view of this, will the Government inform this Council:

  1. of the current price per Kwh at which CLP and HEC sell electricity to each other;
  2. of the plans in place to encourage the two utility companies to compete for customers in order to reduce excess capacity, with a view to achieving lower tariff charges; and
  3. of the plans in place to establish a fair access charge so that each company can use the other's grid to distribute electricity to customers?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Economic Services

*13. Mr WONG Wai-yin to ask : (Translation)

With regard to the float parade accident on 7 February this year, will the Government inform this Council of the measures which will be adopted by the Transport Department to strengthen the monitoring of the safety of parade floats, including the specifications of the decorative designs, so as to ensure that accidents do not occur?

Public Officer to reply : Secretary for Transport

III. Government Bills

First Reading

Appropriation Bill 1997

Second Reading

Debate to be adjourned

Appropriation Bill 1997: Financial Secretary

Ray CHAN
for Clerk to the Legislative Council