LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8433

OFFICIAL RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

Wednesday, 15 April 2015

The Council met at Eleven o'clock

MEMBERS PRESENT:

THE PRESIDENT THE HONOURABLE JASPER TSANG YOK-SING, G.B.S., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE ALBERT HO CHUN-YAN

THE HONOURABLE LEE CHEUK-YAN

THE HONOURABLE JAMES TO KUN-SUN

THE HONOURABLE CHAN KAM-LAM, S.B.S., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE LEUNG YIU-CHUNG

THE HONOURABLE EMILY LAU WAI-HING, J.P.

THE HONOURABLE TAM YIU-CHUNG, G.B.S., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE ABRAHAM SHEK LAI-HIM, G.B.S., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE TOMMY CHEUNG YU-YAN, S.B.S., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE FREDERICK FUNG KIN-KEE, S.B.S., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE WONG KWOK-HING, B.B.S., M.H.

PROF THE HONOURABLE JOSEPH LEE KOK-LONG, S.B.S., J.P., Ph.D., R.N.

8434 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

THE HONOURABLE JEFFREY LAM KIN-FUNG, G.B.S., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE ANDREW LEUNG KWAN-YUEN, G.B.S., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE WONG TING-KWONG, S.B.S., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE RONNY TONG KA-WAH, S.C.

THE HONOURABLE CYD HO SAU-LAN, J.P.

THE HONOURABLE STARRY LEE WAI-KING, J.P.

DR THE HONOURABLE LAM TAI-FAI, S.B.S., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE CHAN HAK-KAN, J.P.

THE HONOURABLE CHAN KIN-POR, B.B.S., J.P.

DR THE HONOURABLE PRISCILLA LEUNG MEI-FUN, S.B.S., J.P.

DR THE HONOURABLE LEUNG KA-LAU

THE HONOURABLE CHEUNG KWOK-CHE

THE HONOURABLE WONG KWOK-KIN, S.B.S.

THE HONOURABLE IP KWOK-HIM, G.B.S., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE MRS REGINA IP LAU SUK-YEE, G.B.S., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE PAUL TSE WAI-CHUN, J.P.

THE HONOURABLE ALAN LEONG KAH-KIT, S.C.

THE HONOURABLE LEUNG KWOK-HUNG

THE HONOURABLE ALBERT CHAN WAI-YIP

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8435

THE HONOURABLE WONG YUK-MAN

THE HONOURABLE CLAUDIA MO

THE HONOURABLE JAMES TIEN PEI-CHUN, G.B.S., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE NG LEUNG-SING, S.B.S., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE STEVEN HO CHUN-YIN

THE HONOURABLE FRANKIE YICK CHI-MING

THE HONOURABLE WU CHI-WAI, M.H.

THE HONOURABLE YIU SI-WING

THE HONOURABLE GARY FAN KWOK-WAI

THE HONOURABLE MA FUNG-KWOK, S.B.S., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE CHARLES PETER MOK, J.P.

THE HONOURABLE CHAN CHI-CHUEN

THE HONOURABLE CHAN HAN-PAN, J.P.

DR THE HONOURABLE KENNETH CHAN KA-LOK

THE HONOURABLE CHAN YUEN-HAN, S.B.S., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE LEUNG CHE-CHEUNG, B.B.S., M.H., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE KENNETH LEUNG

THE HONOURABLE ALICE MAK MEI-KUEN, J.P.

DR THE HONOURABLE KWOK KA-KI

8436 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

THE HONOURABLE KWOK WAI-KEUNG

THE HONOURABLE DENNIS KWOK

THE HONOURABLE CHRISTOPHER CHEUNG WAH-FUNG, S.B.S., J.P.

DR THE HONOURABLE FERNANDO CHEUNG CHIU-HUNG

THE HONOURABLE SIN CHUNG-KAI, S.B.S., J.P.

DR THE HONOURABLE HELENA WONG PIK-WAN

THE HONOURABLE IP KIN-YUEN

THE HONOURABLE MARTIN LIAO CHEUNG-KONG, S.B.S., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE POON SIU-PING, B.B.S., M.H.

THE HONOURABLE TANG KA-PIU, J.P.

DR THE HONOURABLE CHIANG LAI-WAN, J.P.

IR DR THE HONOURABLE LO WAI-KWOK, B.B.S., M.H., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE CHUNG KWOK-PAN

THE HONOURABLE CHRISTOPHER CHUNG SHU-KUN, B.B.S., M.H., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE TONY TSE WAI-CHUEN, B.B.S.

MEMBERS ABSENT:

DR THE HONOURABLE LAU WONG-FAT, G.B.M., G.B.S., J.P.

THE HONOURABLE VINCENT FANG KANG, S.B.S., J.P.

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THE HONOURABLE MICHAEL TIEN PUK-SUN, B.B.S., J.P.

DR THE HONOURABLE ELIZABETH QUAT, J.P.

PUBLIC OFFICERS ATTENDING:

THE HONOURABLE MRS CARRIE LAM CHENG YUET-NGOR, G.B.S., J.P. THE CHIEF SECRETARY FOR ADMINISTRATION

THE HONOURABLE JOHN TSANG CHUN-WAH, G.B.M., J.P. THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY

MR YAU SHING-MU, J.P. SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT AND HOUSING

THE HONOURABLE MATTHEW CHEUNG KIN-CHUNG, G.B.S., J.P. SECRETARY FOR LABOUR AND WELFARE

PROF THE HONOURABLE K C CHAN, G.B.S., J.P. SECRETARY FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES AND THE TREASURY

THE HONOURABLE EDDIE NG HAK-KIM, S.B.S., J.P. SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION

THE HONOURABLE WONG KAM-SING, J.P. SECRETARY FOR THE ENVIRONMENT

THE HONOURABLE PAUL CHAN MO-PO, M.H., J.P. SECRETARY FOR DEVELOPMENT

MR SHIU SIN-POR, S.B.S., J.P. HEAD, CENTRAL POLICY UNIT

MR LAU KONG-WAH, J.P. UNDER SECRETARY FOR CONSTITUTIONAL AND MAINLAND AFFAIRS

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CLERKS IN ATTENDANCE:

MR KENNETH CHEN WEI-ON, S.B.S., SECRETARY GENERAL

MRS JUSTINA LAM CHENG BO-LING, DEPUTY SECRETARY GENERAL

MISS FLORA TAI YIN-PING, ASSISTANT SECRETARY GENERAL

MISS ODELIA LEUNG HING-YEE, ASSISTANT SECRETARY GENERAL

MR MATTHEW LOO, ASSISTANT SECRETARY GENERAL

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8439

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Will the Clerk please ring the bell to summon Members to the Chamber.

(After the summoning bell had been rung, a number of Members entered the Chamber)

TABLING OF PAPERS

The following papers were laid on the table under Rule 21(2) of the Rules of Procedure:

Subsidiary Legislation/Instruments L.N. No.

Pharmacy and Poisons (Amendment) (No. 3) Regulation 2015 ...... 67/2015

Summary Disposal of Complaints (Solicitors) (Amendment) Rules 2014 (Commencement) Notice ...... 68/2015

Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Pollution by Garbage) Regulation ...... 74/2015

Merchant Shipping (Prevention of Pollution by Garbage) Regulation (Repeal) Regulation ...... 75/2015

Solicitors (General) Costs (Amendment) Rules 2014 (Commencement) Notice ...... 76/2015

Other Papers

No. 88 ─ Financial Reporting Council Annual Report 2014

Report No. 16/14-15 of the House Committee on Consideration of Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments

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WRITTEN ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS

Handling of Protests Against Parallel Traders

1. MR CHRISTOPHER CHUNG (in Chinese): President, on the 8th of last month, some people who were against parallel traders staged guerrilla protests in response to calls on the Internet. They took part in protests, for which letters of no objection had not been sought from the Police, first in Sheung Shui, then in Tuen Mun and afterwards switching to Tsim Sha Tsui. The protesters circled passers-by whom they suspected to be mainland visitors and hurled abuses at them, kicked the trolleys of such passers-by resulting in physical confrontations, and even charged into shops and hurled abuses at the customers. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) as it has been reported that the Police were exhausted in dealing with the guerrilla protests staged by the anti-parallel trader groups on the same day in various districts, of the new measures the Police have in place to tackle this sort of protests and the public order problems caused by such protests; whether it has assessed if the deployment of substantial police manpower to deal with this sort of protests has caused any deterioration of law and order in other districts; if it has assessed, of the outcome;

(2) given that the behaviours of the protesters against parallel traders have become increasingly radical recently, whether the Police will consider setting up temporary police posts in major shopping areas during holidays to ensure that mainland visitors who are harassed or attacked can expeditiously seek police assistance; and

(3) as inciting members of the public on the Internet to take part in unlawful protests against parallel traders is becoming increasingly popular and open, of the existing legislation based on which the Police may prohibit such act?

SECRETARY FOR SECURITY (in Chinese): President, Hong Kong residents enjoy the freedom of and the right to peaceful assembly, procession and demonstration under the Basic Law. It is the established policy of the Police to strike a balance between facilitating all lawful and peaceful public meetings and LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8441 reducing the impact of such meetings on the community and road users, and to ensure public order and public safety. We have been urging participants of public order events to remain law-abiding, peaceful and orderly when expressing their views and refrain from behaviour that is detrimental to public order or violent.

However, the so-called "anti-parallel trader" protests in different districts of Hong Kong on many weekends in February and March this year saw various forms of unruly behaviour, verbal abuses, nuisance, violence and wilful disruption. Some radical protestors humiliated innocent passers-by and disturbed shoppers on streets, in shopping malls or inside shops. Small children, elderly persons, local residents and Mainland visitors have all suffered as a result. Some were even pushed onto the ground or had their belongings being kicked. Such blatant defiance of the law has seriously upset the rule of law, public safety and social order of Hong Kong. The SAR Government has expressed its severest condemnation against these violent and illegal acts.

In the recent spate of incidents, as at 8 April, the Police arrested 72 persons for alleged disorder in public places, fighting in a public place and possession of offensive weapons, and so on. The Police will continue their serious investigation into these incidents for full pursuit of legal responsibility. The Police have absolutely no tolerance for any illegal behaviour and will take resolute enforcement actions.

The Government's reply to Mr Christopher CHUNG's question is as follows:

(1) and (2)

In handling public order events, the Police will conduct holistic risk assessment and consideration, taking into account the purpose, nature and attendance of such events as well as strategies used and experience gained in similar past events. By doing so, the Police will work out the overall strategies and contingency plans, and, having regard to the circumstances at the time, deploy manpower flexibly and implement crowd management measures in order to safeguard public safety and maintain public order.

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In response to recent protests against parallel traders, the Police have strengthened their manpower and made corresponding deployment in districts with higher risk, such as mobilizing police manpower of various regions to deal with emergencies. Deployment is also strengthened during holidays at places more frequented by visitors and in districts clustered by protestors.

In addition, the Police have enhanced communications with shopping malls, shop operators and public transport companies, and so on, in districts with higher risk for minimizing the impact on personal safety, public order and public transport services during such protests. Having regard to the situation, the Police have urged organizers and participants of public order events to abide by the law. Organizers should give prior notice of such events to the Police in accordance with the law. Participants should exercise restraint, express their views in a peaceful and rational manner, and comply with the instructions of police officers at scene.

The safety of local residents and tourists is equally important to the Police. Protecting the lives and property of both local residents and tourists is Police's primary responsibility. We appeal to victims to report to the Police at the first instance. Residents and tourists who have witnessed any violent or illegal acts should notify the Police as soon as possible so that the Police could take action immediately. We also urge members of the public to come forward and provide the Police with relevant information such as video footage, photos and statements to facilitate Police's adduction of evidence to bring law-breakers to justice.

We have to stress that in order to uphold the rule of law, in addition to the Police's stringent law enforcement, co-operation from the general public by observing the law and maintaining social order jointly is required. In the period ahead, the Police will continue to keep a close watch on the situation and adopt all necessary measures to ensure public order and public safety. In parallel, the Police will deploy sufficient manpower to various districts of Hong Kong so as to maintain the Police's routine work and public services.

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(3) The Basic Law guarantees the freedom of speech of Hong Kong residents. However, such freedoms of speech and assembly, no matter how extensive they can be, are not without bounds. Provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) as applied to Hong Kong, including Article 19 on the freedom of opinion and expression and Article 21 on the right of peaceful assembly, have been incorporated into the Hong Kong Bill of Rights Ordinance (Cap. 383, Laws of Hong Kong). As stated in Article 19 of the ICCPR and Article 16 of the Hong Kong Bill of Rights, the exercise of the right to the freedom of expression carries with it special duties and responsibilities. It may therefore be subject to certain restrictions. In exercising the abovementioned rights, any person shall respect the rights of others and shall not compromise public order and public safety.

We strongly condemn such acts as online calls for others to drive away tourists and charge shops by violent means. We have to make it clear that be it the real or the cyber world, any persons committing unlawful acts, including inciting others through online platforms to conduct illegal activities, may be guilty of an offence and subject to criminal liability. To cite an example, the person who posted on an online discussion forum last year a document entitled "Guidelines on fighting at the Legislative Council", in which assembly participants were suggested to bring along tools to break open doors and windows of the Legislative Council Complex and even to resort to such radical acts as snatching police shields, was eventually charged, convicted and sentenced to a rehabilitation centre for 12 months.

The Police will continue to remind the public that the Internet is not a lawless virtual world. According to existing legislation in Hong Kong, most of the crime-prevention laws in the real world are applicable to the Internet world. Members of the public are advised by the Police not to defy the law, but instead adhere to the proper and lawful use of the Internet and refrain from sending any irresponsible messages and those inciting others to commit crimes. Any illegal online activities will definitely be followed up by the Police by conducting investigation, collecting evidence, and, if necessary, making arrest for pursuit of legal responsibility.

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Small and Medium Enterprises Financing Guarantee Scheme

2. MR CHUNG KWOK-PAN (in Chinese): President, the Small and Medium Enterprises Financing Guarantee Scheme (SFGS) implemented by the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation Limited (HKMC) aims to help small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) obtain loans from participating lenders such as banks for meeting their business needs. According to the Government's reply to a question raised by me at the Legislative Council meeting of 25 February this year, the numbers of applications received and cases of loans approved in respect of the special concessionary measures (SCM) under SFGS in the second half of 2014 dropped by about 30% compared with the figures of the same period in 2013. Moreover, from April 2013 to January this year, HKMC received 196 net default claims (i.e. claims other than those in which the outstanding amounts had been fully repaid or those withdrawn by the lending institutions) relating to SCM, totalling about $420 million. Among these claims, only 11 cases (i.e. 5.6%) in respect of which the processing was completed and payment was made, while 185 cases were still outstanding. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council if it knows:

(1) in respect of the aforesaid 11 cases, the average time (the number of days counting from the day of receipt of the claim to the day of payment for the claim, and the same applies below) taken by HKMC for completing the processing of each case, and the details of these cases;

(2) the respective approval percentages of the net default claims under SFGS and SCM in each of the past three years; the average time taken by HKMC to process each of such claims, and how such time taken compares with the target time that "under normal circumstances, HKMC would respond to a lending institution within 10 working days upon receipt of its default claim indicating whether the claim concerned is approved or not or the additional information/documents the lending institution would need to provide" as stated in the aforesaid reply; why HKMC had not yet completed the processing of the aforesaid 185 net default claims, the respective numbers and details of those claims which have been received for six months to one year and those for more than one year, and the expected time for completion of the processing of such claims; and

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8445

(3) whether HKMC has assessed if the low proportion, of those cases in respect of which the processing was completed and payment was made among the net default claims under SFGS, reflects an unduly long time taken by HKMC to process default claims, and if this has affected lending institutions' willingness in participating in SFGS, which indirectly affects the number of applications for SFGS; whether the authorities will review and enhance SFGS so that it will be more effective in helping SMEs obtain loans?

SECRETARY FOR COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (in Chinese): President, the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation Limited (HKMC) launched the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme (SFGS) on 1 January 2011 to provide a market-based loan guarantee scheme to assist Hong Kong enterprises in meeting their financing needs.

In the light of the uncertain external economic environment, the Government has provided a total loan guarantee commitment of $100 billion for the HKMC to implement time-limited special concessionary measures under the SFGS from 31 May 2012, under which 80% loan guarantees are offered at a concessionary guarantee fee rate. The application period of the special concessionary measures was originally nine months until end of February 2013, which was subsequently extended thrice to the end of February 2016. My reply to the question is as follows:

(1) From April 2013 to January 2015, the HKMC has received 196 net default claims under the special concessionary measures involving a total claim amount of around $420 million, of which the HKMC has approved and settled the payment of 11 claims. The 11 claims come from different industries, with the claim amount ranging from about $100,000 to about $4.8 million. The total amount of payment is around $20 million.

The average time taken by the HKMC to complete the processing of these claims is 341 calendar days (counting from the day of receipt of the claim to the day of payment of the claim). The average actual time taken by the HKMC to vet these claims is 101 calendar days, the average time taken by the lending institutions to prepare for the information/documents required is 218 calendar days, and the 8446 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

average time taken by the HKMC to remit the compensations to the lending institutions is 22 calendar days(1).

(2) From 31 May 2012 to 31 March 2015, the HKMC has received 246 default claims under the special concessionary measures, of which the HKMC has approved 19 claims and further settled payment of 16 claims. The average time taken for processing these 16 claims is 380 calendar days (counting from the day of receipt of the claim to the day of payment of the claim). The average actual time taken by the HKMC to vet these claims is 105 calendar days, the average time taken by the lending institutions to prepare for the information/documents required is 257 calendar days, and the average time taken by the HKMC to remit the compensations to the lending institutions is 18 calendar days(1).

Since the launch of the special concessionary measures on 31 May 2012, the approval rate of default claims submitted thereunder for which the due diligence review has been completed is 100%.

Under normal circumstances, the HKMC would respond to a lending institution within 10 working days upon receipt of its default claim, indicating (i) whether the claim concerned is approved or not; or (ii) the additional information/documents it needs to provide. The actual processing time would depend on the complexity of each claim and whether the lending institution could provide complete information/documents. Generally speaking, each case would require multiple rounds of questions and answers before the due diligence review can be completed and the final amount of compensation can be determined.

As for the 185 default claims received between April 2013 and January 2015 and which remained outstanding as at the end of January 2015, the borrowing enterprises come from different industries and the claim amount ranged from about $40,000 to around $9.6 million. The HKMC has been actively processing these outstanding default claims, and the primary reason why the

(1) The HKMC would remit the compensations which have been approved before the closing day of the month but have yet to be paid to the designated account of the lending institutions concerned on the last working day of that month. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8447

HKMC could not yet complete the vetting of these claims is that the lending institutions concerned have not yet provided the HKMC with all the required information/documents for the due diligence review. The breakdown of these claims is shown as follows:

Counting from the day of receipt of claims Number of cases (as at the end of January 2015) Received for six months or less 99 Received for six months to one year 52 Received for more than one year 34 Total 185

As at the end of March 2015, the lending institutions in respect of 169 of the above claims have yet to provide the required information/documents.

The HKMC has reviewed from time to time to ensure that it has sufficient resources to process the claims received from the lending institutions, and aims to complete the processing of the above claims as soon as possible upon receipt of the required information/documents from the lending institutions concerned.

(3) To ensure the prudent use of public funds, in processing a default claim, the HKMC needs to conduct due diligence review to verify whether the lending institution has complied with the relevant requirements, including the requirements stated in the Master Deed of Guarantee of the SFGS signed with the HKMC, and whether it has complied with its relevant internal policies and procedures in handling loan applications, credit monitoring and default cases under the special concessionary measures. The actual processing time would depend on the complexity of each default claim and whether the lending institution could provide complete information/documents. Generally speaking, each case would require multiple rounds of questions and answers before the due diligence review can be completed and the final amount of compensation can be determined.

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To expedite the processing of default claims, the HKMC has had meetings with the lending institutions over the past year to explain the requirements of its due diligence review and to have a better understanding of the internal policies and operation of the individual lending institutions.

The loan demand and the number of guarantee applications are affected by a number of factors, including the economic environment and market situation, and so on. We will continue to monitor closely the operation of the special concessionary measures, with a view to providing timely and adequate support to enterprises.

Tender Exercises for Capital Works Projects

3. MR ABRAHAM SHEK (in Chinese): President, according to government information, as at the end of March last year, the outstanding financial commitment of capital works was about $340 billion. In addition, the Budget of this year estimated that the total financial commitment of the Capital Works Reserve Fund would reach $306.7 billion by the end of March this year, among which capital works projects would account for $296.1 billion. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) in each of the past five financial years, of (i) the number of capital works projects the tender exercises for which were conducted, (ii) the number of contracts awarded for those projects, (iii) the total value of those contracts, and (iv) the reasons for contracts not being awarded for some of the projects (set out in a table); and

(2) regarding the capital works projects the funding approvals for which have been granted by the Finance Committee of this Council but tender exercises have not yet been conducted at present, of (i) their names, (ii) the amounts of approved funding and (iii) the anticipated commencement dates of tendering (set out in a table)?

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SECRETARY FOR DEVELOPMENT (in Chinese): President, my reply to the two parts of Mr SHEK's question is as follows:

(1) The information on the tender exercises and contracts awarded in each of the past five financial years for capital works projects, excluding projects entrusted to/implemented by the MTR Corporation Limited, the Hospital Authority, subvented bodies, and so on, are tabulated below:

Contracts Awarded* Reasons for Not Number of Year Total Value Awarding Tenders* Number ($ billion) Contracts for the Projects 2010-2011 43 43 17.06 2011-2012 49 49 22.30 2012-2013 50 50 49.28 See Remark 2013-2014 57 57 51.08 2014-2015 18 18 18.23

Notes:

* The number of tender exercises as well as the number and value of contracts awarded are based on the number of tender invitations published in Gazette and with contracts successfully awarded subsequently. The figures do not include minor works contracts without Gazette notifications, contracts not awarded after tender invitations, and so on.

As sensitive information of individual tenders are involved and is not appropriate to disclose here. However, generally speaking, the main reasons for not awarding a contract include contract could not be awarded before expiry of the tender validity period, tender return price exceeded the approved funding, insufficient number of qualified tenders received, and so on.

(2) The project titles of the capital works projects that have obtained funding approval from the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council but have not yet commenced tender exercise, their respective amount of approved funding and anticipated tender invitation dates are tabulated below:

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Anticipated Approved Project Project Title Tender Invitation Estimates Date B197SC ― Reprovisioning of Pak Tin Community Hall and special child care centre-cum-early education and training centre in Pak Tin $318.3 million April 2015 Estate redevelopment site, and construction of a footbridge link at Nam Cheong Street, Sham Shui Po 3273RS ― Sports centre in $639.7 million April 2015 Area 24D, Sha Tin 4372DS ― Rehabilitation and construction of trunk $140 million mid-2015 sewers underneath Shing Mun River Channel 5163DR ― Northeast New Territories Landfill $7,510 million end 2015 Extension 5177DR ― Development of Integrated Waste $19,203.7 million end 2015 Management Facilities Phase 1

Hong Kong's Capacity to Receive Visitors

4. MR JEFFREY LAM (in Chinese): President, the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau completed the Assessment Report on Hong Kong's Capacity to Receive Tourists (the Report) in December 2013. The assessment areas covered by the Report included the handling capacity of the control points in Hong Kong as well as the tourist receiving capacity of tourism attractions, hotels, public transport, etc. The Report projected that the visitor arrivals to Hong Kong would exceed 70 million in 2017, and this projected number was taken as the basis for assessment of Hong Kong's capacity to receive LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8451 tourists. The Report also pointed out that the Government would continue to enhance the overall receiving capacity of the tourism industry in Hong Kong. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the measures that the Government will launch in the coming two years to enhance the handling capacity of various control points, and the anticipated effect of such measures;

(2) of the measures that the Government will launch in the coming two years to alleviate the following problems: a shortage of supply of hotel rooms, traffic congestion at tourist and shopping hotspots, as well as insufficient coach parking spaces in such locations;

(3) given that notwithstanding the Report's projection that the visitor arrivals to Hong Kong would exceed 70 million in 2017, some members of the tourism industry have pointed out that the recent protests against parallel traders have already tarnished Hong Kong's image as a hospitable city, whether the Government has revised such figure; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(4) whether it has estimated the manpower demand in the tourism industry in the coming two years; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(5) whether the Government will launch measures in the coming two years to enhance the tourist receiving capacity of the Northwest New Territories to a level sufficient to meet the demand; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

SECRETARY FOR COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (in Chinese): President, the HKSAR Government attaches great importance to the long-term and healthy development of Hong Kong's tourism industry. At the same time, we understand the community's concern about the impact of the continuous growth in visitor arrivals on people's livelihood. Thus, regarding this issue, the HKSAR Government has been working on various fronts, including completing the Assessment Report on Hong Kong's Capacity to Receive Tourists 8452 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

(the Report) in late 2013, relaying different views of the Hong Kong community to the Central Government, and raising the specific proposal of improving the "multiple-entry" policy by replacing it by "one trip per week" policy in June last year. The HKSAR Government is grateful for the Central Government, Guangdong Provincial and Shenzhen Municipal Government's understanding of Hong Kong's situation. The Bureau of Exit and Entry Administration of the Ministry of Public Security announced on 13 April that with immediate effect, the issuance of "multiple-entry" Individual Visit Endorsements for permanent residents of Shenzhen would be stopped. Instead, "one trip per week" Individual Visit Endorsements for permanent residents of Shenzhen would be issued. At the same time, the HKSAR Government is making great efforts to enhance Hong Kong's capacity to receive tourists along the recommendations in the Report, including the expansion of the two theme parks, the commissioning of the second berth of the Kai Tak Cruise Terminal, and so on. We will also continue to adopt a multi-pronged approach to increase the supply of hotel rooms.

Our replies to the questions raised by Mr Jeffrey LAM are as follows:

(1) In order to sustain efficient immigration clearance, the Immigration Department (ImmD) continues to adopt a multi-pronged approach and implement various measures to enhance service quality and optimize handling capacity of various control points. In addition to improvement works at existing control points, flexible manpower deployment and streamlining immigration clearance workflow, the ImmD will make further use of information technology, including launching a new immigration control system (ICONS) in 2016 by phase as planned. Under ICONS, the ImmD will upgrade all existing resident e-Channels to multi-purpose ones and install over 150 new multi-purpose e-Channels to allow more flexible deployment of e-Channels and further enhance clearance efficiency.

Furthermore, to tie in with introduction of a new electronic Exit-Entry Permit for Travelling to and from Hong Kong (e-EEP) by Mainland authorities since 20 May 2014, the ImmD has extended e-Channel service to eligible e-EEP holders. A continuous increase in the number of visitors holding electronic travel documents (e-TD) is expected, with the percentage of visitors holding e-TDs exceeding 60% of all visitor arrivals by 2016, increasing to over 90% by 2020.

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Separately, a number of new control points works projects are being carried out. Commissioning of these new control points in due course would alleviate the pressure on the existing ones.

(2) and (5)

On the hotel supply front, there were a total of 244 hotels providing some 72 700 hotel rooms as at end 2014. The new hotel projects of our two flagship theme parks and the airport's North Commercial District will come on stream, providing a total of about 2 200 rooms. In addition, the HKSAR Government has included in the 2015-2016 Land Sale Programme a hotel site within the "hotel belt" along the former Kai Tak Runway. This development is expected to provide some 500 hotel rooms. All in all, it is expected that more new hotels will be coming on stream in the years ahead and the total number of hotel room supply in 2017 will increase to around 84 000.

As regards public transport, the HKSAR Government has been adopting a three-pronged approach to tackle road traffic congestion, that is, by improving transport infrastructure, expanding and improving the public transport system, and managing road use. The HKSAR Government will continue to monitor the road traffic condition in Hong Kong, and implement appropriate measures under the three-pronged approach.

As regards coach parking spaces, the HKSAR Government has been closely monitoring the demand and supply for coach parking spaces in various districts of Hong Kong. The HKSAR Government has been providing additional pick-up and drop-off spaces as well as parking spaces at appropriate locations (including tourist and shopping hotspots) for coaches, as long as road safety and other road users are not affected. We also provide parking of coaches through short-term tenancy car parks. In addition, we will request developers to provide specified number of parking spaces for coaches in suitable new developments after fully taking into account the nearby traffic conditions.

8454 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

At the same time, the Tourism Commission (TC) has been maintaining close liaison with the tourism sector, including the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong, as well as listening to their views and reviewing timely the provision of coach parking spaces and ancillary transport facilities in major tourist districts. In addition, the TC also co-ordinates relevant departments to keep in view and examine whether the existing ancillary transport facilities are effective and adequate, and will, in conjunction with the relevant departments, make appropriate adjustment and improvement measures as necessary. To address the problem of inadequate coach parking spaces, the TC and relevant departments, together with the tourism sector, have worked out some feasible improvement measures to increase coach parking spaces in major tourist districts, including Tsim Sha Tsui, Hung Hom, To Kwa Wan and North Point. We are actively taking forward these proposed measures.

As for the suggestion of developing a boundary shopping centre near the Lok Ma Chau border area, we consider it worth considering from the tourism perspective. If materialized, the development may help divert visitors in the short term and provide job opportunities to residents of the existing and planned new towns in the New Territories in the long run. Application for development of the boundary shopping centre should be implemented in accordance with the established statutory procedures on planning, land administration and other relevant aspects. The Commence and Economic Development Bureau has been co-ordinating relevant government departments to offer advice to the project proponent on the information required for its application and the relevant statutory procedures, and so on. The HKSAR Government will keep a close watch on the progress of the project and continue to provide assistance to the proponent as appropriate.

On the other hand, the HKSAR Government is conducting the "Preliminary Feasibility Study on Developing the New Territories North". If there are suitable locations for developing shopping facilities at the boundary area, the HKSAR Government will examine the feasibility of the proposal accordingly.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8455

(3) The violent and illegal acts in the recent anti-parallel trading protests have seriously damaged Hong Kong's reputation as a tourist destination. The HKSAR Government will definitely take resolute enforcement actions against illegal acts, which are by no means tolerated.

The HKSAR Government understands the trade's concern regarding the damage of Hong Kong's hospitable culture by the anti-parallel trading protests. To rebuild visitors' confidence and entice them to visit Hong Kong, the Financial Secretary has announced in the 2015-2016 Budget to provide an additional funding of $80 million to the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) for strengthening the image of Hong Kong as a premier tourist destination. As regards promotional efforts in the Mainland, the HKTB will roll out new videos on its "My Time for Hong Kong" promotional platform in collaboration with nationwide media organizations and online video platforms in 2015-2016, and broadcast them on TV and digital marketing channels to promote Hong Kong's hospitable culture and unique tourism experiences. The HKTB will also promote relevant themes to Mainland consumers through newspapers, magazines, outdoor promotions and other channels in the market.

As regards the Report finished in late 2013, we had made an assessment based on different factors at that time. The HKSAR Government will continue to closely monitor Hong Kong's situation on various fronts, and formulate relevant policies with the major premise of maintaining the long-term and healthy development of Hong Kong's tourism industry.

(4) The number of employees employed by the tourism industry and other relevant industries (for example, retail industry, food and beverage services industry, and so on) depends on different factors of individual enterprises, including market operation, business model, business decisions, and so on. Thus, the HKSAR Government does not possess estimates in this regard.

8456 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

Spalling of Bitumen Protective Inner Coatings of Fresh Water Pipes

5. MR GARY FAN (in Chinese): President, it has been reported that since July last year, some households in the housing estates along Sha Tin Wai (including Shatin Park Stages 1 to 3, Fung Shing Court, Greenfield Court, Garden Rivera and Greenwood Garden) have, one after another, found black particles in fresh water. Following laboratory tests, the Water Supplies Department (WSD) preliminarily confirmed that the particles were bitumen, which was suspected to be spalled fragments of anti-corrosive bitumen protective inner coatings of old-style fresh water pipes due to pipe ageing. WSD undertook to locate the problematic sections of the water pipes and install strainers to solve the problem. However, WSD has not given an account of the investigation results so far. Some households are worried that prolonged consumption of fresh water containing bitumen particles will affect their health or even cause cancers. Regarding the spalling of bitumen protective inner coatings of fresh water pipes, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether WSD has located the sections of water pipes involved in the above incident; if it has, of their exact locations and age, and the reasons and remedies for the spalling of bitumen protective inner coatings; whether WSD has prepared an investigation report on the incident; if it has not, the reasons for that;

(2) whether WSD has formulated plans to comprehensively inspect all fresh water pipes in Shatin district for spalling of bitumen protective inner coatings in the light of the above incident; if it has, of the respective numbers of water pipes which have and have not been inspected; if not, the reasons for that;

(3) of the number of complaints about fresh water containing foreign objects received by WSD in each month of 2014, and the number of cases in which the foreign objects concerned were confirmed to be bitumen (with a breakdown by District Council district); and

(4) whether WSD has plans to inspect all fresh water pipes in Hong Kong for spalling of bitumen protective inner coatings, and whether it has formulated measures to prevent the recurrence of incidents of bitumen particles found in fresh water?

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8457

SECRETARY FOR DEVELOPMENT (in Chinese): President, in designing water supply networks, the Water Supplies Department (WSD) uses different types of pipe materials to suit the need. Steel pipe is one of the major and commonly used pipe materials. As for the internal protective lining for fresh water steel pipes, bitumen was the most popular choice in the last century. The bitumen used had to comply with the BS4147, which precluded any harmful substance that might affect the safety of fresh water. Generally, the risk of the internal protective lining peeling off is not high. However, the possibility of tiny patches of bituminous lining peeling off from water mains after long years of service cannot be ruled out. Regarding the concerns of some customers about the organic compounds being leached from bituminous materials that might affect the quality of fresh water supplies, all the chemical test results for water samples taken regularly by WSD show that the fresh water is compliant with the Guidelines for Drinking-water Quality promulgated by the World Health Organization and is suitable for potable consumption.

Our reply to the four parts of the question is as follows:

(1) On receipt of complaints about fresh water supplies containing tiny bituminous particles lodged by some customers in the housing estates at Sha Tin Wai area in July 2014, the WSD conducted an investigation and found that the causes were related to the emergency repair works for a burst main at Che Kung Miu Road in Tai Wai on 19 July 2014 and the repair work for a water valve in Sha Tin on 30 July 2014. On resumption of water supply after the repair works, water pressure inside the network increased sharply, causing small patches of internal bituminous protective lining to peel off from the 800 mm diameter fresh water main under Che Kung Miu Road and a 600 mm diameter fresh water main under A Kung Kok Shan Road. These two water mains are steel pipes laid in 1983 and have been in use for over 30 years. The bituminous protective lining peeled off as a result of the sudden rise in water pressure and the ageing of pipes. The WSD has put these two water mains into the replacement and rehabilitation (R&R) programme. Relevant works are scheduled to commence in 2015. In the meantime, the WSD has installed six water strainers at the 8458 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

affected housing estates in order to prevent foreign particles from entering into the interior plumbing of the customers' premises. These strainers are also cleaned regularly.

(2) and (4)

As mentioned above, the bituminous materials of the internal protective lining for fresh water steel pipes do not contain any harmful substance and, hence, will not affect the safety of fresh water. That said, the WSD has been taking water samples for tests from the supply networks regularly over the territories, including Sha Tin, and undertook regular flush cleansing of the water mains. On discovery of or receipt of a report about bituminous particles in water samples, the WSD will take immediate follow-up actions, including taking further water samples for tests and flush cleansing the water mains to ensure that the fresh water is compliant with the required standard. The WSD recorded two cases involving bituminous particles in the fresh water supplied by the government water supply system in 2014. Both of them occurred in the housing estates at Sha Tin Wai area. For details, please refer to part (1) above.

In fact, the WSD has begun to replace and rehabilitate the aged water mains under the R&R programme since 2000 and will continue the work as necessary. Since 2005, the WSD has replaced bitumen with epoxy as internal protective lining for pipes so as to prevent water quality from being affected by peeling bitumen.

(3) A breakdown by the constituency areas of the District Councils of the complaints related to "fresh water supplies with foreign objects" arising from the government mains and the cases of "foreign objects confirmed to be bitumen" as received by the WSD in 2014 are shown in the Annex.

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Annex

A breakdown by the constituency areas of the District Councils of the public complaints related to "fresh water supplies with foreign objects" arising from the government mains and the cases of "foreign objects confirmed to be bitumen" as received by the WSD in 2014 are shown in the tables below:

Fresh Water Supplies with Year 2014 Foreign Objects Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total Hong Central and

Kong and Western Islands Wan Chai Region Southern Eastern 1^ 1 Islands Kowloon Kwun Tong Region Sham Shui Po 1 1 Yau Tsim Mong Wong Tai Sin Kowloon City New Sha Tin 2* 2 Territories Sai Kung 1 1 East Tai Po Region North New Tsuen Wan Territories Yuen Long 1 1 West Kwai Tsing Region Tuen Mun Monthly Total 1 1 2 2 6

Foreign Objects Confirmed Year 2014 to be Bitumen Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total Hong Central and

Kong and Western Islands Wan Chai Region Southern Eastern Islands Kowloon Kwun Tong Region Sham Shui Po Yau Tsim Mong Wong Tai Sin Kowloon City 8460 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

Foreign Objects Confirmed Year 2014 to be Bitumen Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Total New Sha Tin 2* 2 Territories Sai Kung East Tai Po Region North New Tsuen Wan Territories Yuen Long West Kwai Tsing Region Tuen Mun Monthly Total 2 2

Notes:

* There were 352 and 44 complaints about water quality related to bitumen particles in fresh water supply from the housing estates at Sha Tin Wai area on 19 and 30 July 2014 respectively.

^ There were 11 complaints about water quality arising from the incident that occurred on 8 June 2014.

The blank boxes denote no complaint of "fresh water supplies with foreign objects" was received and no case for "those foreign objects confirmed to be bitumen".

Certain sediments (such as traces of iron or other minerals) in the water mains may be stirred up by water current generated by the resumption of water supply after a period of suspension. Such was the case for all remaining cases that did not confirm findings of bitumen. The sediments that accumulate in the pipes are generally hydrated lime and traces of iron or minerals, which would not affect people's health or the water quality.

Green Form Home Ownership Pilot Scheme

6. MR PAUL TSE (in Chinese): President, the Government announced in January this year that it would launch the Green Form Home Ownership Pilot Scheme (GFHOPS). It has been reported that under the scheme, sitting public rental housing (PRH) tenants and PRH applicants who have passed the detailed vetting and are due for flat allocation (Green Form applicants) may apply for the purchase of newly built PRH flats offered at half of the market price, and that the Anderson Road public housing development (the Anderson Road development) and So Uk Estate redevelopment will be the first two pilot projects. In the past two months, quite a number of members of the public enquired with me about the details of GFHOPS. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) when PRH flats under the first phase of GFHOPS will be available for sale, and when Green Form applicants may purchase the newly built PRH flats;

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8461

(2) of the respective numbers of PRH flats to be provided for purchase by Green Form applicants under the Anderson Road development and the So Uk Estate redevelopment projects;

(3) of the resale restrictions that the authorities will impose on the PRH flats to be sold under GFHOPS in order to avoid fueling speculations in the property market; and

(4) in view of the continuously surging prices of small residential flats, whether the authorities have assessed if the flats to be sold at half of the market price under GFHOPS will turn out to be purchased only by well-off PRH tenants who are paying 1.5 times rent, double rent or market rent (well-off tenants) because such flats are not affordable to Green Form applicants in general, and the scheme will, in effect, subsidize well-off tenants to replace their residential properties by public money?

SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT AND HOUSING (in Chinese): President, the Long Term Housing Strategy (LTHS) promulgated by the Government in December last year states that the Government will consider how to further expand the forms of subsidized home ownership in the context of reinforcing the housing ladder and promoting social mobility. During the public consultation on LTHS, there were suggestions from public rental housing (PRH) tenants and members of District Councils to relaunch the Tenants Purchase Scheme (TPS) to facilitate PRH tenants to achieve home ownership. However, in light of the management problems arising from the co-existence of owners and tenants in TPS estates, the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) has decided not to launch TPS outside the existing 39 TPS estates. Nevertheless, there are still suggestions in the society that subsidized sale flats with prices lower than that of Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) could be provided to PRH tenants.

In his 2015 Policy Address, the Chief Executive proposed to HA that suitable flats should be identified among its PRH developments under construction for sale to eligible Green Form (GF) applicants, mainly PRH tenants, in the form of a pilot scheme, with prices set at a level lower than those of HOS. Generally referred to as the "Green Form Subsidised Home Ownership Scheme" at present (or "GSH" in short), this proposal is a response to the LTHS's general direction of expanding the forms of subsidized home ownership and further reinforcing the housing ladder. Apart from helping GF applicants achieve home 8462 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 ownership, based on the "one-for-one" concept, the scheme will release existing PRH flats as a result for allocation to families awaiting PRH allocation.

The Strategic Planning Committee of HA has discussed the guiding principles for GSH and supported the introduction of the pilot scheme. Based on the guiding principles, the Housing Department is now working on the implementation details, including eligibility criteria, price setting mechanism, resale arrangements, site selection principle, and so on. The proposed implementation details, once mapped out, will be submitted to the Subsidised Housing Committee (SHC) of HA for consideration. Since SHC has not yet discussed the implementation details of GSH, we are unable to provide the required details at this stage. It is also too early to discuss the site for GSH.

GF applicants (mainly PRH sitting tenants and PRH applicants who have passed the detailed eligibility vetting and are due for flat allocation in about a year's time) have always been allowed to apply for HOS. As seen from the experience of the sale of surplus HOS flats from 2007 to 2013, among the some 17 800 flats sold, about half of them were bought by GF applicants. Over 80% of these GF applicants were not PRH tenants paying additional rent; while about 4% of GF purchasers were PRH applicants who had passed the detailed eligibility vetting and were due for flat allocation in about a year's time. Although SHC has not yet discussed the pricing of GSH flats, we believe that the affordability of GF applicants, the financial capability of HA and equity across subsidized sale flat schemes will be taken into consideration.

Information Technology Support Services in Bureaux and Government Departments

7. MR CHARLES PETER MOK (in Chinese): President, As indicated in government papers, with the devolution of information technology (IT) support from the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) to client government departments, various departments are required to take charge of their own IT support services. Some bureaux and government departments (B/Ds) have set up Information Technology Management Units (ITMUs), which are responsible for assisting the B/Ds concerned in the planning, management and co-ordination of IT services, formulation of IT policies, development of IT systems, repair and maintenance of IT systems as well as provision of technical and systems operation support, etc. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8463

(1) of the following information on the ITMUs under various B/Ds, and set out the information by B/D in tabulated form:

(i) the number of IT professional staff,

(ii) the organization chart, as well as the numbers of civil servants and non-civil service contract staff,

(iii) the scope of work,

(iv) the number of staff members and their main duties, broken down by rank, whether their posts are permanent ones and the means of recruitment (including internal promotion, internal transfer and open recruitment), and the number of directorate officers among them,

(v) the payroll expenses and numbers of posts in each of the past three years, and

(vi) the major IT projects currently undertaken by them, as well as the details of and staff deployment for these projects;

(2) of the following information on the heads of the ITMUs under various B/Ds, and set out the information by B/D in tabulated form:

(i) the ranks and whether they belong to one-rank grades,

(ii) the means of recruitment (including internal promotion, internal transfer or transfer from OGCIO and open recruitment),

(iii) the nature of employment contracts (whether they are civil service agreements or non-civil service contracts),

(iv) the IT-related qualifications possessed, and

(v) whether their posts are permanent ones;

8464 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

(3) of the criteria adopted by various B/Ds for determining the establishment of their ITMUs; whether any mechanism is in place for reviewing the demand for IT application in various B/Ds, as well as the organizational structure, staff establishment and work effectiveness of their ITMUs, and for allocating additional resources and manpower to them when necessary; if so, of the details; and

(4) whether it has any plans to provide additional resources (such as manpower) for individual B/Ds in the coming three years to cope with the IT projects to be implemented shortly; if so, of the details?

SECRETARY FOR COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (in Chinese): President, Government's policy on information technology (IT) is to take full advantage of the extensive use of IT to improve the efficiency, service quality and cost-effectiveness of government bureaux and departments (B/Ds) in the delivery of public service, and to enable citizens and businesses to realize the full potential of an information society. Most of the B/Ds have established IT Management Units (ITMUs) to drive the best use of IT in conducting internal business and delivering public services. My reply to the four-part question is as follows:

(1) The composition, size and organizational placement of 61 ITMUs established in Government vary from one B/D to another depending on the size and complexity of their IT portfolios, their state of IT adoption, the nature of the service needs as well as the extent of IT outsourcing. For those B/Ds that have established an ITMU,

(i) The number of IT professional staff in the ITMU is tabulated in Annex 1.

(ii) The number of civil servants and non-civil service contract staff in the ITMU are tabulated in Annex 1. We do not have the organization chart of each of the ITMUs.

(iii) The major functions of ITMUs generally include:

(a) Developing IT plans and schedules to meet policy objectives;

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8465

(b) Prioritizing IT demand and resource allocation;

(c) Delivering IT solutions by suitable adoption of insourcing/outsourcing arrangements;

(d) Participating in the development of inter-agency systems in the Government; and

(e) Communicating with the Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) on service-wide matters on IT including IT standards, central IT services, IT security policy and guidelines, as well as professional development of government IT professionals.

(iv) For the Analyst/Programmer Grade and the Computer Operator Grade of which the OGCIO assumes the head of grade duties, except for the posts of the entry rank (that is, Analyst/Programmer II and Computer Operator II respectively) which are filled by recruitment, all higher rank posts are currently filled by internal promotion. The number of staff of the Analyst/Programmer Grade and the Computer Operator Grade in the ITMUs can be found in Annex 1 and their main responsibilities can be found in Annex 2. The number of directorate officers in the ITMUs is tabulated in Annex 1.

(v) We do not keep record of the payroll expenses and the number of posts in each of the ITMUs in each of the past three years.

(vi) The list of major IT projects currently undertaken by the B/Ds together with the staff deployment for these projects is provided in Annex 3.

(2) Given the substantial interplay between the B/D's business and IT strategies, the head of ITMU is pitched at a sufficiently senior level to steer and drive IT adoption in commensurate with the IT needs of the B/D. For those B/Ds that have established an ITMU,

8466 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

(i) The rank of the head of ITMU aligns with the IT portfolio and the extent of IT outsourcing in the B/D. Please refer to Annex 1 for details.

(ii) The filling of the heads of ITMUs is arranged by OGCIO or the concerned B/D, depending on whether the ITMU is headed by the Analyst/Programmer Grade or other grades, respectively.

(iii) For the heads of ITMUs, the majority of them are civil servants. Please refer to Annex 1 for details.

(iv) For those heads of ITMUs who are members of the Analyst/Programmer Grade, they normally possess a degree in IT or equivalent, or have substantial experience in the IT field. For those heads of ITMUs who are of other grades, they have extensive knowledge of the business domains of the B/D and are knowledgeable of how IT can be used to help achieve the policy objectives and meet the needs of the B/D concerned.

(v) For the posts of the heads of ITMUs, the majority of them are on permanent establishment. Please refer to Annex 1 for details.

(3) The ITMU of a B/D is responsible for IT planning, management, implementation and operation for the B/D. It has oversight and co-ordination responsibility over all IT activities within the entire IT portfolio of the B/D. The composition and size of the ITMU may vary over time depending on the IT portfolio and the extent of IT outsourcing. B/Ds would consult and where necessary review with the OGCIO on the structure and composition of its ITMU in order to ensure that it has the capability and capacity to accomplish its mission.

(4) In the annual resource allocation exercise, B/Ds may bid resources for expanding the size of its ITMU to cater for upcoming new work. To increase manpower capacity in the ITMU, B/Ds may also consider engaging additional contract IT professionals to meet their IT service needs.

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Annex 1

Information of the IT Management Units (ITMUs) under various Bureaux/Departments (B/Ds)

Number of Staff in ITMU ITMU Head IT Professional Civil Nature Non-Civil Nature of Grade Staff Servant of Service Directorate Employment B/D Analyst/ Computer (Including Rank@ Staff Contract Officer Terms Programmer Operator all Post Staff ^ (C/N)* Grade Grade Grades) (P)# 1. Agriculture, 4 0 6 0 0 Senior C P Fisheries and Systems Conservation Manager Department

2. Audit 0 0 4 0 1 Principal C P Commission Auditor 3. Buildings 7 0 19 4 0 Senior C P Department Building Surveyor 4. Census and 25 5 60 2 1 Assistant C P Statistics Commissioner Department 5. Chief Secretary 4 2 9 0 0 Senior C P for Systems Administration's Manager Office Administration Wing 6. Civil Aviation 0 0 1 1 1 Chief C P Department Electronic Engineer 7. Civil 1 0 10 0 0 Senior C P Engineering Engineer and Development Department 8. Civil Service 10 2 12 0 0 Senior C P Bureau Systems Manager 9. Companies 5 10 15 0 0 Senior C P Registry Systems Manager 8468 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

Number of Staff in ITMU ITMU Head IT Professional Civil Nature Non-Civil Nature of Grade Staff Servant of Service Directorate Employment B/D Analyst/ Computer (Including Rank@ Staff Contract Officer Terms Programmer Operator all Post Staff ^ (C/N)* Grade Grade Grades) (P)# 10. Constitutional 1 0 2 0 0 Chief C P and Mainland Executive Affairs Bureau Officer 11. Customs and 26 17 43 0 0 Senior C P Excise Systems Department Manager 12. Department of 8 2 11 0 1 Assistant C P Health Director 13. Department of 7 0 18 0 0 Senior C P Justice Systems Manager 14. Development 3 0 5 0 0 Chief C P Bureau ― Executive Planning and Officer Lands Branch 15. Development 5 0 5 0 0 Systems C P Bureau ― Manager Works Branch 16. Drainage 3 0 7 6 0 Senior C P Services Engineer Department 17. Education 18 0 63 3 1 Chief C P Bureau Systems Manager 18. Electrical and 1 0 1 2 0 Systems C P Mechanical Manager Services Department 19. Environmental 4 0 35 0 0 Senior C P Protection Environmental Department Protection Officer 20. Financial 2 0 5 0 0 Systems C P Services and Manager the Treasury Bureau ― The Treasury Branch LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8469

Number of Staff in ITMU ITMU Head IT Professional Civil Nature Non-Civil Nature of Grade Staff Servant of Service Directorate Employment B/D Analyst/ Computer (Including Rank@ Staff Contract Officer Terms Programmer Operator all Post Staff ^ (C/N)* Grade Grade Grades) (P)# 21. Fire Services 0 0 13 6 0 Senior C P Department, Divisional Hong Kong Officer 22. Food and 2 9 17 9 0 Senior C P Environmental Systems Hygiene Manager Department 23. Food and 2 0 3 0 1 Principal C P Health Bureau Management Services Officer 24. Government 5 3 9 0 1 Controller of C P Logistics Government Department Land Transport 25. Highways 2 0 17 0 0 Senior C P Department Engineer 26. Home Affairs 2 0 2 0 0 Systems C P Bureau Manager 27. Home Affairs 4 1 8 5 0 Chief C P Department Executive Officer 28. Hong Kong 11 0 12 0 0 Senior C P Observatory Scientific Officer 29. Hong Kong 71 56 129 0 1 Chief C P Police Force Systems Manager 30. Hongkong Post 12 0 23 20 1 Chief C P Systems Manager 31. Housing 37 20 63 86 1 Chief C P Department Systems Manager 32. Immigration 53 77 135 0 1 Chief C P Department Systems Manager 8470 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

Number of Staff in ITMU ITMU Head IT Professional Civil Nature Non-Civil Nature of Grade Staff Servant of Service Directorate Employment B/D Analyst/ Computer (Including Rank@ Staff Contract Officer Terms Programmer Operator all Post Staff ^ (C/N)* Grade Grade Grades) (P)# 33. Independent 0 0 48 4 0 Principal C P Commission Investigator Against Corruption 34. Information 4 2 6 0 0 Senior C P Services Systems Department Manager 35. Inland Revenue 31 41 114 0 1 Chief C P Department Systems Manager 36. Intellectual 1 0 2 0 0 Chief C P Property Intellectual Department Property Examiner 37. Invest Hong 0 0 0 4 0 Chief N n/a Kong Marketing Officer and English Writer 38. Labour and 3 0 3 1 0 Systems C P Welfare Bureau Manager 39. Labour 7 2 9 0 0 Senior C P Department Systems Manager 40. Land Registry 11 12 28 4 0 Senior C P Systems Manager 41. Lands 4 0 4 0 0 Systems C P Department Manager 42. Legal Aid 3 1 7 0 0 Senior C P Department Systems Manager 43. Leisure and 12 16 35 31 1 Chief C P Cultural Systems Services Manager Department 44. Marine 14 0 19 0 0 Senior C P Department Marine Officer LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8471

Number of Staff in ITMU ITMU Head IT Professional Civil Nature Non-Civil Nature of Grade Staff Servant of Service Directorate Employment B/D Analyst/ Computer (Including Rank@ Staff Contract Officer Terms Programmer Operator all Post Staff ^ (C/N)* Grade Grade Grades) (P)# 45. Office of the 0 0 1 4 1 Assistant C P Commissioner Commissioner of Insurance of Insurance 46. Office of the 0 0 0 14 0 Senior IT N n/a Communications Manager Authority and Office for Film, Newspaper and Article Administration 47. Office of the 20 3 25 0 1 Chief C P Government Systems Chief Manager Information Officer 48. Official 2 0 2 0 0 Systems C P Receiver's Manager Office 49. Planning 9 0 9 2 0 Senior C P Department Systems Manager 50. Radio 0 0 0 12 0 Head/IT N n/a Television Hong Kong 51. Rating and 17 13 30 17 0 Senior C P Valuation Systems Department Manager 52. Registration 6 0 9 8 0 Senior C P and Electoral Systems Office Manager 53. Security 9 0 9 0 0 Senior C P Bureau Systems Manager 54. Social Welfare 3 0 22 2 1 Principal C P Department Social Work Officer 55. Trade and 12 10 29 4 0 Senior C P Industry Systems Department Manager 8472 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

Number of Staff in ITMU ITMU Head IT Professional Civil Nature Non-Civil Nature of Grade Staff Servant of Service Directorate Employment B/D Analyst/ Computer (Including Rank@ Staff Contract Officer Terms Programmer Operator all Post Staff ^ (C/N)* Grade Grade Grades) (P)# 56. Transport and 2 0 2 0 0 Systems C P Housing Manager Bureau ― Transport Branch 57. Transport 0 0 17 1 1 Assistant C P Department Commissioner 58. Treasury 22 30 61 1 0 Senior C P Systems Manager 59. Water Supplies 1 0 11 2 0 Senior C P Department Engineer 60. Working 7 0 9 14 0 Senior C P Family and Systems Student Manager Financial Assistance Agency ― Student Finance Office 61. Working 8 0 8 0 0 Senior C P Family and Systems Student Manager Financial Assistance Agency ― Working Family Allowance Office

Notes:

^ Excluding IT contract staff services acquired under term contracts (commonly known as T-contracts)

@ Chief Systems Manager, Senior Systems Manager and Systems Manager are ranks under the Analyst/Programmer Grade

* Nature of employment terms C ― Civil Servant N ― Non-Civil Service Contract Staff

# Nature of staff post P ― Permanent Establishment

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8473

Annex 2

Main responsibilities of the Analyst/Programmer Grade in ITMUs:

(1) Formulating policies and strategies to harness the benefits of IT to meet policy objectives of B/Ds.

(2) Conducting information systems studies; designing, implementing, maintaining and supporting IT systems.

(3) Developing, managing and maintaining IT infrastructure, and providing technical advice to departmental management and users.

(4) Procuring hardware, software and IT services and managing outsourcing projects.

Main responsibilities of the Computer Operator Grade in ITMUs:

(1) Providing services to B/Ds to support their business operation through the management, operation and maintenance of IT services in government data centres round-the-clock.

(2) Performing IT supporting functions to departmental users including helpdesk, on-site support service on network, desktop computers and servers, and other technical administrative tasks.

Annex 3

Major IT projects currently undertaken by Bureaux/Departments (B/Ds) with project details and staff deployment

B/D Projects Project details Staff Deployment 1. Census and Computer The Census and Statistics Analyst/Programmer Statistics equipment and Department plans to acquire Grade staff: 1 Department services for the computer equipment and 2016 Population services for making adaptation Contract staff: 456 By-census and enhancement to the 2011 man-months Population Census computer system for handling the work of 8474 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

B/D Projects Project details Staff Deployment the 2016 Population By-census, and to develop a new Mobile Questionnaire Application and Administrative Sub-system to support the use of mobile devices in field operation. 2. Customs and Development of The system is to offer trade Analyst/Programmer Excise Dutiable facilitation by allowing Grade staff: 97 Department Commodities electronic mode of both licence man-months System and permit applications, and to provide more efficient and Contract staff: 352 reliable dutiable commodities man-months related services. 3. Department Implementation To provide the public with a Analyst/Programmer of Justice of a verified, website facilitating free and Grade staff: 2 authenticated convenient access to accurate (internal deployed and searchable and up-to-date Hong Kong through existing electronic legislation with legal status and establishment) database of to support the operations of the Hong Kong Law Drafting Division of the Contract staff: 3 legislation department in the following processes: legislation capture, legislation compilation, online publication, full chapter reprint, and audit and checking. 4. Education Infrastructure To enhance the IT infrastructure Analyst/Programmer Bureau enhancement for of the Education Information Grade staff: 194 Education System in order to upkeep the man-months Information quality of existing services System supported by the system and Contract staff: 453 improve the system capability to man-months cater for future growth in service capacity. 5. Education Upgrading the To upgrade the system server Analyst/Programmer Bureau Web-based (hardware and software) of the Grade staff: 15 School Administration and Management man-months Administration System in public sector schools and and schools under the Direct Contract staff: 96 Management Subsidy Scheme in order to man-months System uphold the system availability and minimize security risks. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8475

B/D Projects Project details Staff Deployment 6. Fire Services Implementation To replace the existing fire Contract staff: 3 Department, of an Integrated protection information system Hong Kong Licensing, Fire with an integrated system for Safety and licensing application, fire safety Prosecution inspection and prosecution for System better support the department's operational needs. 7. Fire Services Implementation The system is an information Contract staff: 2 Department, of Asset management system which Hong Kong Management assists the department in and handling asset management and Maintenance maintenance activities. The System major functions include asset planning, acquisition, inventory control, maintenance and disposal. 8. Food and Development of The new system will provide an Analyst/Programmer Health a territory-wide essential infrastructure for access Grade staff: 5 Bureau Electronic and sharing of participating Health Record patients' health data by Contract staff: 5 Sharing System authorized healthcare providers in the public and private sectors. The objectives are to enhance continuity of care, promote public/private sector collaboration and improve quality of healthcare delivery. 9. Hong Kong Development of To replace the second generation Implemented by Police Force the Third of the system to enhance data outsourcing Generation of collection, operational and contractors Major Incident investigative capabilities for Investigation crime detection, flexibility in and Disaster overseas deployment and Support System conformity to Interpol standard. 10. Hong Kong Development of To replace existing Communal Implemented by Police Force the Second Information System to meet outsourcing Generation of evolving operational, legal, contractors Communal social and IT requirements. Information System 8476 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

B/D Projects Project details Staff Deployment 11. Hong Kong Enhancement of To enhance the IT infrastructure Implemented by Police Force the IT by employing the virtualization outsourcing Infrastructure by technology with a view to contractors using Virtual improving information Workstation accessibility, enhancing (Initial operational mobility and Implementation) efficiency as well as to mitigating data leakage risk. 12. Immigration Computer To install computer systems to Analyst/Programmer Department systems at the support the operation of the Grade staff: 84 new control Immigration Department at the man-months point for the new control point for the Hong Hong Kong-Shenzhen Western Kong-Shenzhen Corridor. Western Corridor 13. Immigration New IT To implement a new IT Analyst/Programmer Department infrastructure infrastructure and acquire data Grade staff: 135 centre services for Immigration man-months Department and subsequent migration of the new IT infrastructure and other application systems to permanent data centre at the department's headquarters. 14. Immigration New To develop a new control point Analyst/Programmer Department immigration system to enhance operational Grade staff: 201 control system efficiency and effectiveness at man-months immigration control points for meeting rising service demands. 15. Independent Integration and To build an integrated IT Contract staff: 2 Commission application of IT infrastructure in the new ICAC Against in the New Headquarters (HQs) building, Corruption Headquarters migrate existing application Building of the systems and install new Independent application systems to support Commission the business operation of the Against ICAC upon its relocation to the Corruption new HQs building. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8477

B/D Projects Project details Staff Deployment 16. Independent Implementation To replace the existing system Contract staff: 2 Commission of a New with a new generation system to Against Generation meet evolving IT and Corruption Operations operational needs and better Department support the entire investigation Information process and case management of System its Operations Department. 17. Inland Implementation The project includes file server Analyst/Programmer Revenue of system and workstation infrastructure Grade staff: 11 Department infrastructure upgrade, Document enhancement Management System upgrade Contract staff: 57 project and migration of mainframe applications to midrange platform. 18. Intellectual Redevelopment The project is to redevelop the Analyst/Programmer Property of the Electronic department's existing electronic Grade staff: 3 Department Processing processing systems, E-filing man-months Systems, System and Online Search E-filing System System, which were launched in Contract staff: 135 and Online different phases since January man-months Search System 2003 and are approaching the of the end of their serviceable life span. Intellectual The new systems will use the Property latest technologies to enhance Department the functions of the department's IT systems in order to cope with changing operational needs and future developments. 19. Office of the Provision of To provide free wireless Internet Analyst/Programmer Government Wi-Fi wireless access services to citizens by Grade staff: 264 Chief Internet facilities installing Wi-Fi facilities at man-months Information at Government designated government Officer premises premises. Contract staff: 200 man-months 20. Office of the New hosting The new hosting infrastructure Analyst/Programmer Government infrastructure for provides central hosting services Grade staff: 252 Chief e-Government to support B/Ds efficiently and man-months Information services effectively. Officer 8478 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

B/D Projects Project details Staff Deployment 21. Office of the Implementation To implement a Government Analyst/Programmer Government of a Government Cloud Platform to support the Grade staff: 144 Chief Cloud Platform hosting of common man-months Information e-government services for shared Officer use by B/Ds. 22. Social Implementation To implement the following two Contract staff: 15 Welfare of Information parts of the project: Department Systems Strategy, (i) Technical Infrastructure Phase II which provides a communication backbone for the department to deploy departmental-wide information systems in a common office environment with word processing, spreadsheet and e-mail capabilities.

(ii) Client Information System which provides client-focused, automated, standardized and streamlined case management process, captures client information to facilitate case management decisions and generate management and statistical information for service planning and monitoring. 23. Social Replacement of To replace the Computerized Analyst/Programmer Welfare the Social Security System. Grade staff: 12 Department Computerized Social Security Contract staff: 31 System 24. Social Establishment of To establish the next generation Analyst/Programmer Welfare the next IT infrastructure for the Social Grade staff: 3 Department generation IT Welfare Department. infrastructure Contract staff: 3 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8479

B/D Projects Project details Staff Deployment 25. Trade and Relocation and To relocate and re-provision the Through internal Industry re-provisioning Trade and Industry Department's redeployment, Department of IT systems IT systems and facilities to tie in acquiring IT contract and facilities to with the relocation of the staff services and the Trade and Department in 2015 to the Trade outsourcing part of Industry Tower and Industry Tower ― a new the activities for the Trade joint-user government office and Industry building at the Kai Tak Department Development Area, to ensure the economic and cost-effective use of government properties. 26. Transport Development of The proposed Traffic and Analyst/Programmer Department the Traffic and Incident Management System is Grade staff: 1 Incident a computerized system to Management perform automatic incident Contract staff: 2 System detection, generate suggested traffic and transport contingency plans, provide a common view of traffic information to all stakeholders, streamline the dissemination of traffic and transport information to the public, and co-ordinate existing and future Traffic Control and Surveillance Systems. It will also include a common data platform for interested parties to acquire Transport Department's traffic speed and incident information for developing value-added services. 27. Transport The Vehicles To enhance the infrastructure of Redeployed from Department and Drivers the system by replacing the existing staff Licensing ageing hardware and software resources Integrated Data with updated ones, and aligning System with the latest technologies so as Infrastructure to ensure continuity of service of Enhancement the system. Project 8480 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

B/D Projects Project details Staff Deployment 28. Working Implementation The system is an integrated Analyst/Programmer Family and of the Integrated function-based computer system, Grade staff: 3 Student Student which will replace the existing Financial Financial six scheme-based computer Contract staff: 12 Assistance Assistance systems in phases; covering the Agency ― System operation of all the 13 student Student financial assistance schemes as Finance well as 28 publicly-funded and Office privately-donated scholarship, merit award and related schemes currently administered by Student Finance Office. 29. Working IT System and This project is to develop an IT Analyst/Programmer Family and Office system for implementing the Grade staff: 9 Student Automation Low-income Working Family Financial Facilities for the Allowance Scheme and setting Contract staff: 11 Assistance Working Family up office automation facilities in Agency ― Allowance the Working Family Allowance Working Office Office. Family Allowance Office

Assisting Farmers Affected by Resumption of Agricultural Lands to Relocate Their Farms

8. MR STEVEN HO (in Chinese): President, in order to increase the supply of housing land, the Government is conducting a number of land planning and engineering studies as well as land use reviews (studies/reviews), among which are the Hung Shui Kiu New Development Area Planning and Engineering Study, Planning and Engineering Study for Housing Sites in Yuen Long South, and Land Use Review for Kam Tin South and Pat Heung. Regarding assisting farmers affected by resumption of agricultural lands to relocate their farms, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) among the areas covered by the aforesaid three studies/reviews, of the respective areas of agricultural lands the uses of which the authorities have planned to change, and the respective numbers of LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8481

vegetable, flower and livestock farmers involved in each of the three studies/reviews, whose farms will have to be relocated due to resumption of agricultural lands;

(2) of the Government's existing mechanism to assist farmers affected by resumption of agricultural lands in relocating their farms;

(3) as I have learnt that quite a number of farmers affected by resumption of agricultural lands have encountered difficulties in identifying sites for relocating their farms, of the Government's means to help them overcome such difficulties; in order not to affect the livelihood of farmers, whether the Government will consider implementing the proposal of "identifying sites for relocation prior to removal"; and

(4) given that relocating livestock farms involves demolition and relocation of a number of major facilities, of the Government's means to assist livestock farmers in resolving the problems concerned?

SECRETARY FOR DEVELOPMENT (in Chinese): President, the Government has implemented a number of measures to increase land supply through a multi-pronged approach, including the development of suitable rural area in the New Territories (NT) through comprehensive planning and infrastructure provision, to meet housing need and various social and economic development. In the planning for development of rural area in NT, the Government has tried to minimize the impacts on residents and other stakeholders in the area. However, it is inevitable that some existing occupants and users of land would be affected, including some farmers who will not be able to continue their agricultural practices in-situ. Under the existing land resumption and clearance mechanism, there are established compensation and rehousing arrangements, taking care of affected parties, including farmers.

Our reply to parts (1) to (4) is as follows:

(1) The "Hung Shui Kiu New Development Area Planning and Engineering Study" and "Planning and Engineering Study for Housing Sites in Yuen Long South" are still underway. Regarding 8482 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

the "Land Use Review for Kam Tin South and Pat Heung", the Government is still reviewing the public comments collected and conducting the relevant feasibility study. The actual impact of the relevant development proposals on the existing farmers, including the areas of agricultural land to be affected, is yet to be confirmed, subject to the recommendations made in the respective studies.

(2) and (3)

Under the established mechanism, affected genuine farmers with their farms for resumption and clearance under public work can purchase or rent private agricultural land elsewhere to continue farming. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) will assist the affected farmers who intend to continue farming to discuss with land owners for rental arrangements.

(4) Regarding the affected pig or poultry farmers whose lands are resumed and cleared under public work, their farms are eligible for the ex-gratia allowance (EGA) if their farm structures were registered for such use in the 1982 squatter control survey conducted by the Housing Department, or if their farm structures have been legitimately operating on private agricultural land (that is, holders of all government permits) even though they were not covered in the 1982 survey. To be eligible for the EGA, the number of each kind of poultry kept must be at least 30.

According to the Food and Health Bureau, in the event that a licensed livestock farm is affected by Government development projects and the licensee considers relocation, he/she should look for a relocation site which can fulfil the requirements set out under the Public Health (Animals and Birds) (Licensing of Livestock Keeping) Regulation (Cap. 139L) with regard to regulation over livestock keeping control, bio-security, environmental protection, and so on, as well as requirements under planning and lands legislation and the relevant policy requirements. The AFCD will provide assistance as appropriate to farmers.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8483

Nurturing Talents for Architectural, Surveying, Town Planning and Landscape Professions

9. MR TONY TSE (in Chinese): President, the 2015 Policy Address has pointed out that adequate and quality manpower resources are the key to Hong Kong's sustainable socio-economic development, so Hong Kong needs to develop and nurture a population that will continuously support and drive Hong Kong's socio-economic development as Asia's world city. Some practitioners from the architectural, surveying, town planning and landscape professions have relayed to me that the Government has failed to allocate adequate educational resources to these professions, resulting in the numbers of places and contents of training programmes failing to meet the demands of these professions. Regarding the nurturing of talents for such professions, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether it knows the numbers of programmes related to the aforesaid professions offered by various tertiary institutions and the student intakes and numbers of graduates of the sub-degree, undergraduate and master's degree programmes among them in each of the past five years (with a breakdown by tertiary institution and profession); the numbers of teaching and non-teaching staff employed by various tertiary institutions on a full-time and part-time basis for the purpose of offering these programmes (with a breakdown by tertiary institution and profession);

(2) whether it knows if the various tertiary institutions have plans to increase the numbers of places in the programmes related to the aforesaid professions; whether the various tertiary institutions have consulted the industries to ensure that the programme contents suit the needs;

(3) of the respective numbers of civil service job vacancies belonging to the aforesaid professions in each of the past five years;

(4) whether it knows the numbers of Hong Kong residents who returned to work in the aforesaid professions after graduating from overseas universities in each of the past five years; and

(5) as the 2015 Policy Address has mentioned that in a bid to attract talents from outside Hong Kong, the Government will study the feasibility of drawing up a talent list to attract, in a more effective 8484 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

and focused manner, high-quality talents to support Hong Kong's development as a diversified and high value-added economy, whether the authorities will include the aforesaid professions in the talent list?

SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION (in Chinese): President, the Government has always attached great importance to developing and nurturing a population with talents in various sectors, including the architectural, surveying, town planning and landscape professions, that will continuously support and drive Hong Kong's socio-economic development as Asia's world city.

On education, the Government is committed to providing our young people with quality and diversified study pathways with multiple entry and exit points, thus enabling them to unleash their full potential in accordance with their interests, aptitudes and abilities. At present, there are 19 local degree-awarding institutions in Hong Kong. In the 2014-2015 academic year, about 300 undergraduate programmes and 400 sub-degree programmes, including those related to the architectural, surveying, town planning and landscape disciplines, are offered by these institutions for meeting the manpower needs of various industries. Students may apply for programmes of different disciplines in accordance with their aptitudes and abilities.

As Mr TSE's question covers a number of policy areas, the Education Bureau, in consultation with the relevant bureaux, gives the following reply on behalf of the Government:

(1) The numbers of University Grants Committee (UGC)-funded programmes related to the architectural, surveying, town planning and landscape disciplines, and the respective numbers of student intakes and graduates of these programmes between the 2010-2011 and 2014-2015 academic years are set out at Annexes 1 and 2 respectively.

The numbers of full-time locally-accredited self-financing and Vocational Training Council (VTC)-operated publicly-funded post-secondary programmes in disciplines related to architecture, surveying, town planning and landscape, and the respective numbers of student intakes and graduates of these programmes between the 2010-2011 to 2014-2015 academic years by institution are set out at Annex 3.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8485

Information on the numbers of full-time and part-time teaching and non-teaching staff hired by institutions for the provision of such programmes is not available.

(2) Post-secondary institutions in Hong Kong enjoy a high degree of autonomy and academic freedom in programme design. They can offer programmes in different academic disciplines according to the needs of the community and relevant industries as well as their own development strategies. Post-secondary institutions have been collaborating closely with industries and engaging them in programme design to better understand and meet their needs. Besides, the Government facilitates communication between both sides by reflecting the needs of industries to institutions. For example, during the UGC's triennial academic planning, the Education Bureau will consult and invite various bureaux and departments to provide information on the manpower trends of industries under their purview for reference by the UGC-funded institutions.

Regarding the manpower situation of the construction professionals, the Development Bureau has been working with the Construction Industry Council (CIC) to assess the overall construction output of public and private sectors, and project the manpower supply and demand of the construction industry (including construction professionals) over a 10-year horizon. On manpower projection of the construction industry, CIC has formed a task force comprising the representatives of stakeholders including the relevant trade associations, labour unions, professional bodies and the Government to formulate the methodology of manpower forecast and endorse the results. The results reveal that construction professionals are generally in shortage. Particularly, the manpower situation of civil engineers, structural engineers, quantity surveyors and landscape architects are more critical. The results were released on the CIC website in November 2014 and the manpower projection will be updated regularly. Besides, the Development Bureau and CIC have conveyed the results to institutions through the Education Bureau and UGC under the established mechanism mentioned above. The same has also been passed to VTC. This is to ensure that institutions will take account of the needs of the construction industry when formulating their academic development plans.

8486 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

In addition, industry stakeholders such as the Hong Kong Construction Association and professional institutes (for example, the Hong Kong Institute of Architects, the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers and the Hong Kong Institute of Surveyors) have, over a number of occasions, made repeated calls for an enhanced and sustainable supply of suitably trained engineering and construction-related graduates to support the infrastructural development of Hong Kong in the coming years.

Regarding programme design, the Development Bureau has also reflected the needs of the construction industry to institutions via the Education Bureau and UGC under the established mechanism mentioned above. It has thus pointed out the needs to enhance the programme content of construction-related subjects and strengthen the training in generic skills including communication in English and Putonghua, and to raise awareness and knowledge in subjects like Building Information Modelling, sustainable development, green construction, landscape and tree management, and heritage conservation. The students should also be encouraged to develop a global and international perspective.

(3) The respective numbers of civil service and non-civil service vacancies in professions related to architecture, surveying, town planning and landscape between the 2010-2011 and 2014-2015 financial years are at Annex 4.

(4) The Government does not have any information on the numbers of Hong Kong residents who returned to work in the architectural, surveying, town planning and landscape professions after graduating from overseas universities.

(5) In the light of Hong Kong's current demographic structure and the new challenges brought about by changes in the population structure, the Steering Committee on Population Policy, headed by the Chief Secretary for Administration, has drawn up the objectives of the population policy. One of the measures formulated to achieve the objectives is the conduct of a study on the feasibility of drawing up a talent list.

We will accord priority to nurturing local youths and building a pool of talent through continuing education and training. At the same LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8487

time, it is imperative for Hong Kong as a cosmopolitan city to recruit as many global talent as possible to join our community, especially those who are able to facilitate the development of emerging industries, with a view to broadening Hong Kong's economic base, and creating diversified job opportunities with promising prospects for the younger generation.

The Government will study, having regard to overseas experiences, the feasibility of drawing up a talent list to attract high-quality talent from around the world in a more effective and focused manner to support Hong Kong's development into a high value-added and diversified economy. The Labour and Welfare Bureau is planning to start the work, together with other bureaux and departments, and will consult the relevant stakeholders in due course. Since the feasibility study is yet to commence, details of the relevant work are not available at the moment.

Annex 1

Numbers of programmes and student intakes of UGC-funded programmes related to architectural, surveying, town planning and landscape disciplines by academic programme category, level of study and institution between 2010-2011 and 2014-2015 academic years

Number Academic Number Academic of Programme Level of study Institution of year student category programmes intakes Architecture Sub-degree 2010-2011 CityU 1 103 Total 1 103 2011-2012 CityU 1 88 Total 1 88 2012-2013 CityU 1 108 Total 1 108 2013-2014 CityU 1 98 Total 1 98 2014-2015 CityU 1 103 Total 1 103 8488 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

Number Academic Number Academic of Programme Level of study Institution of year student category programmes intakes Undergraduate 2010-2011 CUHK 1 53 HKU 2 78 Total 3 131 2011-2012 CUHK 1 49 HKU 2 76 Total 3 125 2012-2013 CityU 1 40 CUHK 7 105 HKU 5 182 Total 13 327 2013-2014 CityU 1 40 CUHK 4 63 HKU 3 90 Total 8 193 2014-2015 CityU 1 47 CUHK 4 59 HKU 3 109 Total 8 215 Taught 2010-2011 CUHK 1 41 Postgraduate HKU 1 79 Total 2 120 2011-2012 CUHK 1 40 HKU 2 82 Total 3 122 2012-2013 CUHK 1 40 HKU 2 81 Total 3 121 2013-2014 CUHK 1 40 HKU 2 79 Total 3 119 2014-2015 CUHK 1 40 HKU 2 85 Total 3 125 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8489

Number Academic Number Academic of Programme Level of study Institution of year student category programmes intakes Research 2010-2011 CUHK 1 3 Postgraduate PolyU 2 * HKU 2 7 Total 5 10 2011-2012 CUHK 1 3 PolyU 1 * HKU 2 4 Total 4 7 2012-2013 CUHK 1 5 PolyU 2 1 HKU 2 7 Total 5 13 2013-2014 CUHK 1 7 PolyU 2 1 HKU 2 7 Total 5 15 2014-2015 CityU 1 2 CUHK 1 4 PolyU 2 1 HKU 2 6 Total 6 12 Surveying Sub-degree 2010-2011 CityU 1 165 PolyU 1 44 Total 2 209 2011-2012 CityU 1 211 PolyU 1 43 Total 2 254 2012-2013 CityU 1 184 PolyU 2 48 Total 3 232 2013-2014 CityU 1 165 PolyU 1 47 Total 2 213 2014-2015 CityU 1 175 PolyU 1 49 Total 2 223 8490 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

Number Academic Number Academic of Programme Level of study Institution of year student category programmes intakes Undergraduate 2010-2011 CityU 1 54 PolyU 2 40 Total 3 94 2011-2012 CityU 1 51 PolyU 2 41 Total 3 92 2012-2013 CityU 3 95 PolyU 4 71 Total 7 166 2013-2014 CityU 2 50 PolyU 3 41 Total 5 91 2014-2015 CityU 2 68 PolyU 2 42 Total 4 110 Research 2010-2011 CityU 2 2 Postgraduate PolyU 4 7 Total 6 9 2011-2012 CityU 1 1 PolyU 3 6 Total 4 7 2012-2013 CityU 1 1 PolyU 4 9 Total 5 10 2013-2014 CityU 1 1 PolyU 3 11 Total 4 12 2014-2015 CityU 1 1 PolyU 2 8 Total 3 9 Building and Sub-degree 2010-2011 CityU 1 82 Real Estate PolyU 1 106 Total 2 188 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8491

Number Academic Number Academic of Programme Level of study Institution of year student category programmes intakes 2011-2012 CityU 1 110 PolyU 1 139 Total 2 249 2012-2013 CityU 1 108 PolyU 2 118 Total 3 226 2013-2014 CityU 1 98 PolyU 1 115 Total 2 213 2014-2015 CityU 1 103 PolyU 1 112 Total 2 215 Undergraduate 2010-2011 CityU 1 43 PolyU 1 157 HKU 1 46 Total 3 246 2011-2012 CityU 1 46 PolyU 1 163 HKU 1 45 Total 3 254 2012-2013 CityU 3 79 PolyU 3 280 HKU 2 120 Total 8 479 2013-2014 CityU 2 40 PolyU 3 167 HKU 1 48 Total 6 255 2014-2015 CityU 2 49 PolyU 2 153 HKU 1 51 Total 5 253 8492 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

Number Academic Number Academic of Programme Level of study Institution of year student category programmes intakes Research 2010-2011 CityU 2 3 Postgraduate PolyU 4 6 HKU 2 11 Total 8 20 2011-2012 CityU 1 2 PolyU 4 7 HKU 2 11 Total 7 19 2012-2013 CityU 1 2 PolyU 5 10 HKU 2 8 Total 8 20 2013-2014 CityU 1 3 PolyU 4 9 HKU 2 8 Total 7 20 2014-2015 CityU 1 1 PolyU 3 10 HKU 2 10 Total 6 21 Town Undergraduate 2012-2013 HKU 1 15 Planning Total 1 15 2013-2014 HKU 1 19 Total 1 19 2014-2015 HKU 1 22 Total 1 22 Taught 2010-2011 HKU 1 25 Postgraduate Total 1 25 2011-2012 HKU 1 25 Total 1 25 2012-2013 HKU 1 25 Total 1 25 2013-2014 HKU 1 25 Total 1 25 2014-2015 HKU 1 26 Total 1 26 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8493

Number Academic Number Academic of Programme Level of study Institution of year student category programmes intakes Research 2010-2011 HKBU 1 * Postgraduate PolyU 2 1 HKU 2 7 Total 5 8 2011-2012 HKBU 2 * PolyU 2 * HKU 2 5 Total 6 6 2012-2013 HKBU 1 * PolyU 1 1 HKU 1 9 Total 3 9 2013-2014 HKBU 2 * PolyU 1 * HKU 1 5 Total 4 5 2014-2015 HKBU 1 * PolyU 1 * HKU 1 9 Total 3 10

Legend:

CityU City University of Hong Kong CUHK The Chinese University of Hong Kong HKU University of Hong Kong PolyU The Hong Kong Polytechnic University HKBU Hong Kong Baptist University

Notes:

(1) Programmes related to architecture, surveying, town planning and landscape are determined having regard to the academic programme categories (APCs) of the programmes as reported by the UGC-funded institutions. Landscape is under the APC of Architecture.

(2) Since some UGC-funded programmes are mapped to more than one APC, student intake figures of these programmes are counted on a pro rata basis under the relevant APC. Therefore, the student numbers under some APCs are decimal figures. All decimal 8494 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

figures in the above table are rounded to the nearest whole number. '*' denotes a figure less than 0.5. Due to rounding, figures may not add up to the corresponding totals.

(3) To tie in with the implementation of the new academic structure, institutions admitted two cohorts of undergraduate students under the old and new academic structures in the 2012-2013 academic year.

(4) Figures of research postgraduate students refer to students funded by UGC within their normal study period.

(5) Figures for the 2014-2015 academic year are provisional figures.

Annex 2

Numbers of graduates of UGC-funded programmes related to architectural, surveying, town planning and landscape disciplines by academic programme category, level of study and institution between 2010-2011 to 2013-2014 academic years

Programme Academic Number of Level of study Institution category year graduates Architecture Sub-degree 2010-2011 CityU 72 Total 72 2011-2012 CityU 79 Total 79 2012-2013 CityU 74 Total 74 2013-2014 CityU 82 Total 82 Undergraduate 2010-2011 CUHK 39 HKU 72 Total 111 2011-2012 CUHK 52 HKU 62 Total 114 2012-2013 CUHK 52 HKU 72 Total 124 2013-2014 CityU 33 CUHK 49 HKU 73 Total 155 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8495

Programme Academic Number of Level of study Institution category year graduates Taught Postgraduate 2010-2011 CUHK 34 HKU 73 Total 107 2011-2012 CUHK 34 HKU 85 Total 119 2012-2013 CUHK 42 HKU 78 Total 120 2013-2014 CUHK 38 HKU 81 Total 119 Research Postgraduate 2010-2011 CUHK 4 PolyU 1 HKU 6 Total 11 2011-2012 CUHK 1 PolyU 1 HKU 2 Total 4 2012-2013 CUHK 3 PolyU 1 HKU 5 Total 9 2013-2014 CUHK 4 PolyU 1 HKU 6 Total 11 Surveying Sub-degree 2010-2011 CityU 92 PolyU 32 Total 124 2011-2012 CityU 144 PolyU 32 Total 176 2012-2013 CityU 162 PolyU 28 Total 190 8496 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

Programme Academic Number of Level of study Institution category year graduates 2013-2014 CityU 158 PolyU 38 Total 196 Undergraduate 2010-2011 CityU 54 PolyU 27 Total 81 2011-2012 CityU 54 PolyU 37 Total 91 2012-2013 CityU 63 PolyU 42 Total 105 2013-2014 CityU 35 PolyU 36 Total 71 Research Postgraduate 2010-2011 CityU 3 PolyU 4 Total 7 2011-2012 CityU 2 PolyU 4 Total 6 2012-2013 CityU 1 PolyU 7 Total 9 2013-2014 CityU 2 PolyU 11 Total 13 Building and Sub-degree 2010-2011 CityU 53 Real Estate PolyU 71 Total 124 2011-2012 CityU 56 PolyU 75 Total 131 2012-2013 CityU 66 PolyU 93 Total 159 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8497

Programme Academic Number of Level of study Institution category year graduates 2013-2014 CityU 80 PolyU 73 Total 153 Undergraduate 2010-2011 CityU 48 PolyU 157 HKU 47 Total 252 2011-2012 CityU 35 PolyU 141 HKU 38 Total 214 2012-2013 CityU 50 PolyU 149 HKU 47 Total 246 2013-2014 CityU 37 PolyU 159 HKU 37 Total 233 Research Postgraduate 2010-2011 CityU 4 PolyU 11 HKU 7 Total 22 2011-2012 CityU 4 PolyU 9 HKU 15 Total 28 2012-2013 CityU 3 PolyU 8 HKU 13 Total 24 2013-2014 CityU 4 PolyU 10 HKU 18 Total 32 8498 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

Programme Academic Number of Level of study Institution category year graduates Town Planning Taught Postgraduate 2010-2011 HKU 24 Total 24 2011-2012 HKU 24 Total 24 2012-2013 HKU 27 Total 27 2013-2014 HKU 24 Total 24 Research Postgraduate 2010-2011 HKBU * PolyU 1 HKU 3 Total 4 2011-2012 HKBU 1 PolyU * HKU 5 Total 6 2012-2013 HKBU * PolyU 1 HKU 6 Total 7 2013-2014 HKBU * PolyU * HKU 4 Total 4

Notes:

(1) Programmes related to architecture, surveying, town planning and landscape are determined having regard to the academic programme categories (APCs) of the programmes as reported by the UGC-funded institutions. Landscape is under the APC of Architecture.

(2) Since some UGC-funded programmes are mapped to more than one APC, the number of graduates of these programmes are counted on a pro rata basis under the relevant APC. Therefore, the graduate numbers under some APCs are decimal figures. All decimal figures in the above table are rounded to the nearest whole number. '*' denotes a figure less than 0.5. Due to rounding, figures may not add up to the corresponding totals.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8499

Annex 3

Numbers of full-time locally-accredited self-financing programmes and VTC-operated publicly-funded programmes on disciplines related to architecture, surveying, planning and landscape, and the respective numbers of student intakes and graduates of these programmes by institution, level of study and academic programme category between 2010-2011 to 2014-2015 academic years

2014- 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014 2010-2011 2015 academic academic academic academic year academic year year year year

#

Self- Academic # financing/ Institution Level of study programme funded category Number ofNumber graduates Number ofNumber graduates Number ofNumber graduates Number o fNumber graduates Number ofNumber programmes Number ofNumber programmes Number ofNumber programmes Number ofNumber programmes Number ofNumber programmes Number ofintakesNumber student Number ofintakesNumber student Number ofintakesNumber student Number ofintakesNumber student Number ofintakesNumber student

Self- Chu Hai Undergraduate Architecture 2 12 5 2 15 13 2 30 13 2 13 * 2 21 financing College of programme and town Higher planning Education Self- City Top-up degree Architecture 1 35 41 1 34 36 - - 32 - - 1 - - financing University programme and town of Hong planning Kong Self- Chinese Taught Physical 1 3 3 1 22 22 2 33 33 2 51 51 2 18 financing University postgraduate sciences of Hong programme Architecture ------1 39 Kong and town planning Self- University Research Architecture ------1 1 0 3 5 1 4 4 financing of Hong postgraduate and town Kong programme planning Self- University Taught Engineering 1 26 29 1 10 11 1 14 13 1 9 9 1 13 financing of Hong postgraduate and Kong programme technology Architecture - - - 1 26 21 1 26 25 1 28 25 1 28 and town planning Self- HKU Sub-degree Architecture ------1 108 0 1 68 * 1 * financing SPACE programme and town Community planning College Self- VTC-School Top-up degree Architecture ------1 * financing for Higher programmete and town and planning Professional Education 8500 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

2014- 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014 2010-2011 2015 academic academic academic academic year academic year year year year

#

Self- Academic # financing/ Institution Level of study programme funded category Number ofNumber graduates Number ofNumber graduates Number ofNumber graduates Number o fNumber graduates Number ofNumber programmes Number ofNumber programmes Number ofNumber programmes Number ofNumber programmes Number ofNumber programmes Number ofintakesNumber student Number ofintakesNumber student Number ofintakesNumber student Number ofintakesNumber student Number ofintakesNumber student

Self- VTC- Undergraduate Architecture ------1 69 * 1 * financing Technological programme and town and Higher planning Education Institute of Hong Kong Publicly- VTC-Hong Sub-degree Engineering ------2 351 77 1 262 * 1 * funded Kong programme and Institute of technology Vocational Architecture ------3 140 119 3 230 * 3 * Education/ and town Hong Kong planning Design Institute

Notes:

# denotes provisional figures

* denotes no figures

- denotes no relevant programmes available

Annex 4

Numbers of government civil service and non-civil service vacancies in professions related to architecture, surveying, town planning and landscape between 2010-2011 and 2014-2015 financial years

Government vacancies Financial Architecture Surveying Town planning Landscape year# Civil Non-civil Civil Non-civil Civil Non-civil Civil Non-civil ＠ ＠ ＠ ＠ service* service service* service service* service service* service 2010-2011 11 - 35 51 7 - - 4 2011-2012 8 1 36 52 2 - - 4 2012-2013 21 2 39 48 12 - - 4 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8501

Government vacancies Financial Architecture Surveying Town planning Landscape year# Civil Non-civil Civil Non-civil Civil Non-civil Civil Non-civil ＠ ＠ ＠ ＠ service* service service* service service* service service* service 2013-2014 15 - 12 48 4 - - 2 2014-2015 30 2 23 32 18 1 - 6

Notes:

# Figures are as at the end of each financial year, that is, 31 March, except that the number of civil service vacancies in 2014-2015 refers to the position as at 31 December 2014.

* Civil service establishment figures include permanent posts, and supernumerary posts approved by the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council.

@ Non-civil service vacancies include the number of non-civil service vacancies in the Development Bureau and all departments under its purview. The surveying sector includes quantity surveying, land surveying, estate surveying, building surveying and maintenance surveying.

- Indicates that there is no vacancy.

Declaration of Interests by Members of Executive Council

10. MR SIN CHUNG-KAI (in Chinese): President, it has been reported that the Chief Executive (CE) facilitated the making of a donation of nearly HK$400 million by a local businessman to an overseas medical institute in early February this year. The institute, for which CE's son is working, has revealed its intention to establish a research institution in Hong Kong. Moreover, according to a press release issued by the Government on 16 February this year, CE made a declaration that his son was going to undertake research at that medical institute during internal discussion on relevant issues within the Government. In connection with the declaration of interests by Members of the Executive Council (ExCo), will the Government inform this Council:

(1) when the declaration mentioned in the aforesaid press release was made, and whether the ExCo Secretariat has received such declaration; if the ExCo Secretariat has not, of the reasons for that;

(2) whether an ExCo Member is required, under the system of declaration of interests by ExCo Members, to declare interests in relation to his/her facilitation of the making of donations by Hong Kong residents or organizations to institutions which employ his/her immediate family members; if he/she is not required to do so, of the reasons for that; and

8502 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

(3) whether it will review the scope of "exclusionary interests" (i.e. interests which are so "direct and significant" that they require exclusion of an ExCo Member from the deliberations of ExCo) which an ExCo Member is required to declare, and expand the scope to cover interests of the immediate family members of ExCo Members; if it will, when it will conduct the review; if not, of the reasons for that?

CHIEF SECRETARY FOR ADMINISTRATION (in Chinese): President, my reply to the question is as follows:

(1) and (2)

As President of Executive Council (ExCo), the Chief Executive observes the system of declaration of interests for ExCo Members, including the requirement for regular declarations. The Chief Executive has declared his registrable interests annually for public inspection. He has also made declarations on his financial interests annually on a confidential basis deposited with the Clerk to ExCo. As with other ExCo Members, the Chief Executive will notify the Clerk to ExCo of any changes to the interests declared in accordance with the system.

According to the aforementioned system for declaration of interests, ExCo Members are required to make regular declarations, which comprise the following six items:

(i) remunerated directorships in any public or private company;

(ii) remunerated employments, offices, trades, profession, and so on;

(iii) if the interests in the above two items include provision to clients of personal services which arise out of or relate in any manner to Members' position as ExCo Members, the names of clients;

(iv) land and property owned by Members in or outside Hong Kong, including those which are held in the name of Members' spouses, children or other persons or companies but LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8503

are actually owned by Members; or those which are not owned by Members but in which Members have a beneficial interest;

(v) names of companies or bodies in which Members have, either themselves or with or on behalf of their spouses or children, a beneficial interest in shareholdings of a nominal value greater than 1% of the issued share capital; and

(vi) membership of boards, committees or other organizations.

According to the existing declaration system, ExCo Members are not required to declare the remunerated employments of their immediate family members in their regular declarations.

The second part of the declaration system is declarations in respect of individual items discussed by the ExCo. It is the personal responsibility of ExCo Members to examine whether they have an interest in any item discussed by the ExCo and declare it before the ExCo discussion. In line with the principle of confidentiality of ExCo, the Government does not disclose the content of ExCo discussion or the related declarations of interests. However, we would like to point out that the Government has put in place an effective system to check potential conflict of interests on the part of the Chief Executive and other ExCo Members in dealing with ExCo business. The system includes the following:

(i) the responsible bureau or department submitting an item to ExCo and the Clerk to ExCo will, in exercising due diligence, examine whether the Chief Executive or any ExCo Member may have an interest in the subject matter; and

(ii) where available information shows that the Chief Executive or any ExCo Member may have an exclusionary or declaratory interest in the matter, the Clerk to ExCo will, prior to the relevant ExCo meeting, draw the Chief Executive's attention to that interest for the Chief Executive to consider whether the interest should be declared at the meeting and how the ExCo discussion should be handled.

8504 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

In respect of the declaration enquired in the question, as stated in the press release issued by the Chief Executive's Office on 16 February 2015, the relevant medical institute is a world-class medical university and has been working closely in medical research with a number of tertiary institutions in Hong Kong, such as the University of Hong Kong and The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Since early 2010, Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, the Innovation and Technology Commission and the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation have already been in touch with the medical institute to explore co-operation opportunities. The Chief Executive had also declared that his son was going to undertake post-doctoral research at that medical institute during internal discussion on relevant issues within the Government.

(3) The Independent Review Committee for the Prevention and Handling of Potential Conflicts of Interests (IRC) has examined the existing system of declaration of interests for ExCo Members in detail. According to its report released in May 2012, the IRC considers that the current system for declaration of interests by ExCo Members is on the whole satisfactory. At present, the Government has no plan to revise the declaration system of ExCo.

Provision of Integrated Home Care Services for Elderly

11. MR ALBERT CHAN (in Chinese): President, in recent years, I have received quite a number of complaints from elderly people that the operators of Integrated Home Care Services (IHCS) have cut back on meal delivery services, and certain operators have even refused to provide such services to some elderly people on the grounds that they are "not old enough and still healthy". Some elderly people have also complained that the unduly long waiting time for IHCS renders them unable to solve their household problems, particularly household cleaning. Regarding the provision of IHCS for the elderly, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the respective expenditures on IHCS (Ordinary Cases) (ordinary case services) and IHCS (Frail Cases) (frail case services) in each year since the overall enhancement of IHCS in 2003;

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8505

(2) of the respective numbers of applications for ordinary case and frail case services and, among such applications, the respective numbers of approved and rejected cases in each year since the overall enhancement of IHCS in 2003; of the reasons for some of the applications being rejected; and

(3) whether it has assessed the failure of operators to provide appropriate IHCS for the elderly runs counter to the concepts of "ageing in place" and "continuum of care"; if it has assessed, of the outcome and whether the authorities will take measures to ensure that the service operators improve their services; if it has not assessed, the reasons for that?

SECRETARY FOR LABOUR AND WELFARE (in Chinese): President, my reply to the question raised by Mr Albert CHAN is as follows:

(1) The annual expenditure for Integrated Home Care Services (IHCS) (covering both ordinary cases and frail cases) from 2004-2005 to 2015-2016 is set out at Annex 1.

(2) The number of applicants and cases served under IHCS from 2003-2004 to 2014-2015 are set out in Annexes 2 and 3 respectively. The Social Welfare Department (SWD) does not keep statistics on the number of and reasons for cases not being provided with services.

(3) Frail elderly persons who have been assessed as moderately or severely impaired under the Standardized Care Need Assessment Mechanism for Elderly Services may waitlist for IHCS (Frail Cases (FC)) and/or the Enhanced Home and Community Care Services (EHCCS). Should they have urgent need for the concerned services, the SWD will give special consideration and arrange for priority placement. As for applicants for IHCS (Ordinary Cases (OC)), IHCS service teams will accord priority to those with urgent needs in accordance with their health conditions and other community support available to them.

The SWD has entered into Funding and Service Agreements (FSAs) with the subvented non-governmental organizations (NGOs) providing IHCS. The SWD requires the NGOs concerned to provide IHCS in accordance with FSAs. The SWD monitors the 8506 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

NGOs' performance in providing the subsidized services through the Service Performance Monitoring System (SPMS). Under SPMS, the SWD will assess and monitor the performance of the service units through their submission of regular reports. The SWD will also conduct regular or surprise visits to assess the service units' performance on a random basis. Should the service units fail to meet the requirements, the SWD will request the relevant operating organizations to submit improvement action plans and monitor their implementation.

Annex 1

Expenditure for IHCS (Ordinary Cases and Frail Cases) (2004-2005 to 2015-2016)

Amount Year ($ million) 2004-2005 380.0 2005-2006 369.2 2006-2007 379.8 2007-2008 412.4 2008-2009 453.1 2009-2010 452.5 2010-2011 453.7 2011-2012 471.0 2012-2013 499.7 2013-2014 522.6 2014-2015 (Revised Estimate) 570.5 2015-2016 (Estimate) 573.0

Annex 2

Number of Applicants for IHCS (2003-2004 to 2014-2015)

Financial Year Number of Applicants (As at end-March) IHCS (OC) IHCS (FC)(1) 2003-2004 1 152 Not applicable 2004-2005 982 273 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8507

Financial Year Number of Applicants (As at end-March) IHCS (OC) IHCS (FC)(1) 2005-2006 2 710 327 2006-2007 2 596 376 2007-2008 2 062 624 2008-2009 2 397 663 2009-2010 3 080 746 2010-2011 3 779 1 342 2011-2012 4 230 911 2012-2013 5 094 1 246 2013-2014 5 337 2 185(2) 2014-2015 4 678 2 956(3) (As at end-December 2014)

Notes:

(1) Since elderly persons applying for IHCS (FC) may at the same time choose to apply for the EHCCS, the figures include applicants for IHCS (FC) and/or the EHCCS. The SWD does not keep statistics on the number of applicants waiting for IHCS (FC) only.

(2) The figure does not include 63 elderly persons classified as inactive cases due to their participation in the Pilot Scheme on Community Care Service Voucher for the Elderly.

(3) The figure does not include 97 elderly persons classified as inactive cases due to their participation in the Pilot Scheme on Community Care Service Voucher for the Elderly.

Annex 3

Number of Cases Served under IHCS (2003-2004 to 2014-2015)

Number of Cases Served Year IHCS (OC) IHCS (FC) 2003-2004 26 645 Not applicable 2004-2005 25 279 1 527 2005-2006 25 205 1 644 2006-2007 25 323 1 595 2007-2008 26 991 1 626 2008-2009 27 669 1 568 2009-2010 27 839 1 495 2010-2011 28 323 1 342 2011-2012 27 573 1 443 8508 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

Number of Cases Served Year IHCS (OC) IHCS (FC) 2012-2013 25 940 1 422 2013-2014 25 738 1 455 2014-2015 24 109 1 353 (As at end-December 2014)

Marriage and Divorce Trends in Hong Kong and Their Impacts on Various Social Aspects

12. MISS ALICE MAK (in Chinese): President, according to the information compiled by the Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong recorded an annual average of over 50 000 marriages from 2010 to 2013, while divorces increased from 18 000-odd cases in 2010 to 22 000-odd cases in 2013. Besides, remarriages likewise increased from 16 000-odd cases in 2010 to 19 000-odd cases in 2013. Regarding the marriage and divorce trends in Hong Kong and their impacts on various social aspects, including housing, people's daily lives and employment, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the crude marriage rate (i.e. the number of marriages registered in a calendar year per 1 000 mid-year population of that year) and the crude divorce rate (i.e. the number of divorce decrees granted in a calendar year per 1 000 mid-year population of that year) in Hong Kong last year; the average age of the people who were granted divorce decrees in each of the past five years;

(2) of the number of remarriages last year; among the remarriages in each of the past five years, the number of those in which either or both parties remarried for the second or more times;

(3) of the number and percentage of cross-boundary marriages in each of the past five years; among such marriages, the respective percentages of those in which the bridegroom or the bride was not a Hong Kong permanent resident;

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8509

(4) of the number of requests received by the authorities in each of the past five years from public housing tenants for splitting tenancies due to divorces and the number of approved cases among them; the average processing time for such kind of cases of splitting tenancies;

(5) targeting at the continuous increase in the numbers of divorces and remarriages in recent years, of the support and counseling services provided to divorcees and remarried persons as well as their families by organizations such as the Social Welfare Department and the Family Planning Association, whether it has assessed the effectiveness of such services achieved last year; if so, of the outcome; and

(6) whether the authorities have studied the impacts of the continuous rising trends of divorces and remarriages in recent years on the demographic structure, family formation, as well as the demand for housing, employment assistance and various social services in Hong Kong; if they have not, whether the authorities would study the relevant topics?

SECRETARY FOR HOME AFFAIRS (in Chinese): President, Miss Alice MAK's question straddles various bureaux and departments, the overall response of the Government is as follows:

(1) The crude marriage rate and the crude divorce rate are 7.8(1) and 2.76 respectively in 2014. The Judiciary does not keep information on average age of the people who were granted divorce decrees.

(2) The number of remarriages registered in Hong Kong in 2014 is not yet available as the relevant information is being processed. Information on the number of remarriages registered in Hong Kong, and the number of remarriage cases with two or more remarriages for either or both parties for each of the years from 2010 to 2013 is as follows:

(1) The crude marriage rate in 2014 is provisional figure. 8510 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

Number of Among the remarriage cases, total remarriages number of cases with two or more Year# registered in remarriages for either or Hong Kong both parties 2010 16 642 913 2011 18 268 1 057 2012 19 542 1 574 2013 19 508 2 117

Note:

# Year refers to calendar year from 1 January to 31 December.

(3) Information on the number and percentage of cross-boundary marriages(2) as well as the percentage of cross-boundary marriages by gender for the past five years is as follows:

Number of Percentage of cross-boundary Number of cross- Percentage marriages by gender marriages boundary of cross- Bridegrooms Brides from registered marriages boundary from the Year@ the Mainland in registered marriages Mainland Hong Kong in (ii)/(i) (i) Hong Kong x100% Number % Number % (ii) 2010 52 558 18 659 35.5 3 259 17.5 15 400 82.5 2011 58 369 20 635 35.4 4 129 20.0 16 506 80.0 2012 60 459 21 860 36.2 4 930 22.6 16 930 77.4 2013 55 274 21 030 38.0 5 293 25.2 15 737 74.8 2014* 56 392 20 651 36.6 5 435 26.3 15 216 73.7

Notes:

@ Year refers to calendar year from 1 January to 31 December.

* Numbers of marriages and cross-boundary marriages in 2014 are provisional figures.

(4) In accordance with the principle of rational allocation of public housing resources, tenants will not be allocated additional public housing resources because of divorce. Upon divorce of tenants,

(2) Cross-boundary marriages refer to the marriages between Hong Kong residents and persons from the Mainland. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8511

one of the divorced parties should make their own accommodation arrangements. If they cannot reach an agreement on the allocation of the original public rental housing (PRH) tenancy, the Housing Department (HD) will generally grant the PRH tenancy to the party with the custody of children or with whom other authorized occupants in the tenancy (such as grown-up children, parents, in-laws, and so on) have opted to live with. The other party should move out of the PRH flat. However, if the displaced party has an imminent housing need and reasons for compassionate consideration, the HD will, upon the recommendation of the Social Welfare Department (SWD), arrange another PRH flat for the displaced party through compassionate rehousing.

We have not kept data on cases involving the allocation of additional housing resources on grounds of divorce. Furthermore, the circumstances of cases involving the allocation of another PRH flat to the displaced party through compassionate rehousing are different and it would not be appropriate to generalise those cases. Hence, we have not kept the average processing time of these cases.

(5) At present, the 65 Integrated Family Service Centres (IFSCs) and two Integrated Services Centres (ISCs) operated by the SWD or non-governmental organizations over the territory will, through their own and district networks, identify early needy families, including divorced and remarried persons and their family members, to provide timely intervention. Social workers of these centres, equipped with professional and relevant experience and skills, will make a comprehensive assessment of the needs of the divorced or remarried families and provide them with appropriate services with a view to helping them tide over the difficulties and resume family functioning as soon as practicable. IFSCs and ISCs provide a spectrum of preventive, supportive and remedial services, including family life education, parent-child activities, enquiry services, volunteer training, outreaching service, groups and programmes, intensive counselling, financial assistance and referral services, and so on. In 2013-2014, about 37 200 or 98% of the IFSC service users were satisfied with the services they received, and about 32 800 or 97% of the service users indicated that their problem-solving capacities had been enhanced.

8512 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

As far as the work of the Family Planning Association of Hong Kong (the Association) is concerned, it advocates and promotes sexual and reproductive health and rights, and provides related information, education, medical and counselling services for individuals, families and the community. The Association does not provide any special support or counselling services for divorced or remarried families.

(6) To promote better understanding of matters relating to family, the Family Council has been engaging tertiary institutions and research organizations to conduct researches and surveys. In 2014, the research team commissioned by the Family Council completed the "Study on the Phenomenon of Divorce in Hong Kong", covering both quantitative and qualitative data to examine the issue of divorce in Hong Kong. Research findings of the study, alongside with the work progress of the Family Council, were presented to the Legislative Council Panel on Welfare Services on 9 June 2014. In gist, the study has helped identify the demographic and socioeconomic patterns, trend of divorce, the risk and protective factors, impacts of divorce as well as the needs of divorced families in Hong Kong. The Family Council will continue to co-ordinate efforts and inputs from relevant bureaux and departments in pursuing the recommendations of the study.

Working Hours of Employees in Hong Kong and Overtime Work Performed by Them

13. MR KWOK WAI-KEUNG (in Chinese): President, regarding the working hours of the employees in Hong Kong and overtime work performed by them, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the average weekly working hours of the employees in Hong Kong at present, with a breakdown by industry, job type and wage level;

(2) of the average weekly hours of overtime work performed by the employees in Hong Kong at present, with a breakdown by industry, job type, wage level and form of compensation;

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8513

(3) of the respective numbers of employees, as estimated by the Government, who will be affected by the enactment of legislation prescribing the standard working hours (SWH) at 40, 42, 44, 46 or 48 hours per week, as well as the industries and job types in which such employees are engaged and their wage levels; and

(4) whether the authorities will formulate, before enacting legislation on SWH, new measures to reduce uncompensated overtime work performed by employees; whether they will conduct relevant researches to look further into the causes for overtime work and its impacts on employees' daily lives; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

SECRETARY FOR LABOUR AND WELFARE (in Chinese): President, my reply to the question raised by Mr KWOK Wai-keung is as follows:

(1) and (2)

The Standard Working Hours (SWH) Committee, established by the Government, commissioned a consulting firm to conduct a territory-wide large-scale household survey between June and August 2014 to collect working hours statistics and relevant information with a view to facilitating an objective and impartial discussion on a working hours policy. According to the key survey findings previously released by the SWH Committee, it is estimated that the average and median total working hours during the past seven days before enumeration for all employees in Hong Kong (3 142 500 persons) were 43.5 and 44.0 respectively, but the working hours varied significantly across sectors (with median total working hours during the past seven days before enumeration ranging from 40.0 to 54.0). Of these, 228 300 employees had performed compensated overtime work (with overtime pay and/or time-off in lieu) during the past seven days before enumeration and the median of the compensated overtime hours concerned was 5.0. Altogether 578 300 employees had engaged in overtime work without pay or time-off in lieu (that is, uncompensated) and the median of the uncompensated overtime hours concerned was also 5.0.

8514 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

(3) The SWH Committee has not hitherto conducted any impact assessment on the number of employees affected under different working hours policy options.

(4) The Government has been encouraging employers to adopt different types of family-friendly employment practices (FFEP), having regard to the company size, resources and culture as well as employees' needs, to help employees achieve a better balance between work and family lives. The Labour Department (LD) will continue to disseminate relevant information to the community through a wide range of publicity channels and various educational and promotional activities such as publications, large-scale seminars, thematic exhibitions, newspaper feature articles, advertisements in periodical journals of major employers' associations and in public transport network as well as regular meetings and exchanges with corporate executives and human resources managers. In 2015-2016, the LD will enhance its publicity and education efforts in promoting FFEP by publishing a series of news supplements on successful experiences of enterprises in implementing FFEP, and compile the series into a casebook for related parties to encourage more employers to adopt FFEP.

Working Dogs in Government Departments

14. DR HELENA WONG (in Chinese): President, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the current number of government departments which have set up teams comprising working dogs, and a breakdown of the number of working dogs by department and breed;

(2) whether there are guidelines on the hours of work, hours of rest and meal arrangements for working dogs as well as the area of and the facilities in their rest stations; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(3) whether working dogs are provided with medical services; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8515

(4) whether the various government departments have guidelines on the retirement ages of working dogs; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(5) of the respective numbers of working dogs in the past five years which were adopted and euthanized after retirement, and the reasons for euthanizing some of the dogs; and

(6) as it has been reported that a number of incidents of suspected suicides of Malinois police dogs have occurred, of the number of in-service Malinois police dogs which died of unnatural causes in the past five years; and whether the Police have examined the causes of their deaths; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

SECRETARY FOR FOOD AND HEALTH (in Chinese): President, the Government deploys working dogs to assist officers of the relevant departments in performing various duties pertaining to the maintenance of law and order and the protection of public safety. These include quarantine inspection, narcotics interdiction, investigation, patrol, and tasks related to publicity and education, and so on. Currently, working dog units are set up in the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD), Customs and Excise Department (C&ED), Correctional Services Department (CSD), Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD), Fire Services Department (FSD) and the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF). With the experience gathered over the years, these departments provide training for the dogs according to the characteristics of their breeds so that the dogs will be able to give of their best in performing their duties whilst at the same time helping to enhance the operational efficiency of the departments concerned.

My reply to various parts of the question is as follows:

(1) Six government departments have set up working dog units. The breed and number of working dogs in these departments are tabulated below:

8516 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

Breed and Government Departments Number of Working AFCD C&ED CSD FEHD FSD HKPF Dogs Labrador 5 44 7 3 5 29 Beagle 2 0 1 1 0 0 Springer 0 5 22 0 0 29 Spaniel Belgian 0 0 0 0 0 74 Shepherd (Malinois) German 0 0 27 0 0 43 Shepherd Rottweiler 0 0 0 0 0 5 Doberman 0 0 0 0 0 4 Kunming 0 0 4 0 0 0 Dog Cross-breed 1 0 0 0 0 0 Total 8 49 61 4 5 184

(2) Having regard to the duties of its working dogs and the actual circumstances of each department, AFCD, C&ED, CSD, FEHD, FSD and HKPF have formulated their own work and rest schedules, meal arrangements, as well as the size of the rest stations for their working dogs and the standards of the facilities.

Work and rest schedule of working dogs

In general, working dogs of AFCD, C&ED, CSD, FEHD and HKPF work three to eight hours a day, with at least one or two days off per week. Working dogs of FSD are responsible for providing support in fire investigation and rescue operations pertaining to collapsed structures, assisting rescue officers in searching for victims trapped at the scene. Given the special nature of their duties, FSD's working dogs and their respective dog handlers work on a "24 hours on, 24/48 hours off" shift system on a team basis. Having regard to the actual situation on the ground, each department would duly ensure that the working dogs have sufficient rest time.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8517

Meal arrangements for working dogs

The abovementioned government departments have their own meal arrangements for working dogs, with the prescription of dry dog food as their main diet. Where necessary, the departments may consult AFCD's veterinary surgeons and, on the basis of their professional advice, make special meal arrangements for individual working dogs including adjustment to food portion and food type.

Area and facilities of rest stations for working dogs

The working dogs of these government departments have their own individual partitioned rest space. Each rest station has a covered area of at least 3 sq m, fitted with facility that provides clean drinking water, sufficient lighting, ventilation or thermostat control, and drainage system.

(3) Medical services are provided for these working dogs by departmental medical teams, the AFCD or practising veterinary surgeons in the private sector. The services include periodic medical examination, immunization, surgical treatment and emergency medical support.

(4) Retirement plans have been drawn up for working dogs in the abovementioned government departments. A working dog usually retires at the age of eight to 10. Given the different conditions of individual working dogs, the actual retirement age may vary depending on their health conditions and the views of veterinary surgeons. Taking into account the need to maintain the high quality of services provided by the government departments concerned, working dogs that are no longer suitable for work may be retired early to safeguard their health.

(5) Generally speaking, handlers of working dogs will have priority over others when applying to adopt the retired working dogs. However, not every handler is able to adopt a retired dog due to personal reasons or constraints in living environment. As such, C&ED, 8518 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

CSD, FSD and HKPF will allow interested members of the public to adopt retired dogs subject to relevant assessment. For working dogs there are waiting for adoption or those that are not adopted, they will be arranged to spend their remaining days in comfort in the relevant departments. Only retired dogs in very poor health conditions will be arranged for euthanasia by registered veterinary surgeons.

The number of working dogs that are (i) retired, (ii) adopted after retirement and (iii) euthanized after retirement over the past five years is given below:

Government Departments Year AFCD C&ED CSD# FEHD FSD HKPF 2010 (i) 0 4 8 0 0 10 (ii) 0 4 1 0 0 10 (iii) 0 0 0 0 0 0 2011 (i) 0 3 3 0 0 11 (ii) 0 3 1 0 0 11 (iii) 0 0 0 0 0 0 2012 (i) 0 2 3 0 0 13 (ii) 0 2 6 0 0 9 (iii) 0 0 0 0 0 1* 2013 (i) 0 7 5 0 2 22 (ii) 0 7 1 0 2 16 (iii) 0 0 0 0 0 0 2014 (i) 0 12 3 0 0 19 (ii) 0 12 6 0 0 17 (iii) 0 0 0 0 0 0

Notes:

* In 2012, a nine-year-old retired Malinois police dog had to be euthanized on the recommendation of a veterinary surgeon after being diagnosed as suffering from gastric dilatation volvulus.

# As retired working dogs pending adoption are arranged to spend their remaining days in comfort in the department, working dogs adopted in one year are not limited to those dogs that retired in the same year.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8519

(6) According to HKPF, three incidents of police dogs dying of unnatural causes were recorded in the past five years. Upon investigation, all three cases were classified as accidents. The HKPF has reviewed these cases and taken proactive precautions to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

Supply of and Demand for Domestic Helpers

15. MR CHAN KIN-POR (in Chinese): President, according to a government paper, as at end-January 2014, there were about 323 400 foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) in Hong Kong. Among them, the numbers of Philippine and Indonesian FDHs were about 166 200 and 149 700 respectively, accounting for over 95% of FDHs in total. It has been reported that in the light of the continuously rising demand for domestic labour as a result of the improving economies, the Philippine and Indonesian Governments will stop the export of domestic helpers (DHs) by 2017 and within five years respectively. In connection with the supply of and demand for DHs in Hong Kong, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) whether it has studied the short-term or long-term impacts, of the cessation of export of DHs from the Philippines and Indonesia to Hong Kong, on Hong Kong in areas such as the economy, labour and family; whether the authorities have projected the demand of Hong Kong households for FDHs in the next decade, and whether the supply of FDHs can meet the demand;

(2) of the measures that the authorities will implement in the coming year to encourage local employers to employ FDHs from other countries in order to reduce the dependence of Hong Kong on Philippine and Indonesian DHs; whether the authorities will allocate more resources to provide economic incentives (such as providing subsidies for intermediaries to train FDHs) to encourage intermediaries to enhance the training for FDHs of other nationalities so as to enhance their capabilities at work, thereby increasing the confidence of local employers in employing them; and

(3) whether the authorities have assessed the effectiveness of the measures currently adopted to encourage employers to employ local domestic helpers (LDHs); if they have, of the assessment results; 8520 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

whether they have assessed if Hong Kong has been over-dependent on FDHs in recent years; if the assessment result is in the affirmative, whether the authorities will consider enhancing the relevant measures (such as allocating more resources to enhance LDHs' capabilities at work) and making more active efforts to encourage local grass-roots workers (especially female new arrivals) to join the domestic helper industry so as to increase the manpower supply?

SECRETARY FOR LABOUR AND WELFARE (in Chinese): President, my reply to the question raised by Mr CHAN Kin-por is as follows:

(1) The Government has not commissioned any study on the actual demand for and supply of foreign domestic helpers (FDHs) in the next decade.

(2) Owing to immigration control and security considerations, the current entry arrangement for FDHs does not apply to Chinese residents of the Mainland, Macao Special Administrative Region and Taiwan, as well as nationals of Afghanistan, Cambodia, Cuba, Laos, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Nepal and Vietnam. Save from the above, the Government has not imposed any restrictions on, nor will it promote the employment of FDHs of, any particular nationalities. Employers may, having regard to individual requirements, decide to hire FDHs from any countries and regions other than those specified above.

(3) The Government's established policy on labour is to ensure that local workers will have priority in employment. Importation of labour will be allowed in a restrictive manner only when there is shortage of local workers in certain specific sectors or trades. Since very few local workers have been willing to take up live-in and full-time domestic jobs for a long period of time, there has been an acute and long-standing shortage of labour in this trade, failing to meet the demand of local employers. The Government has thus allowed the importation of full-time live-in domestic workers according to the abovementioned policy.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8521

To promote the engagement of local non-live-in domestic services, the Employees Retraining Board (ERB) provides courses for the domestic services industry to eligible local residents (including new arrivals). In 2015-2016, the ERB plans to provide over 3 200 training places for courses relevant to the domestic services industry. It will adjust the number of training places for these courses in the light of changing circumstances. With a view to enhancing the employment opportunities of graduates, the "Smart Living" scheme of ERB provides free-of-charge, one-stop referral services for graduates of relevant courses and domestic employers, which cover vacancies on domestic work (cleaning, laundry, cooking, and so on), healthcare (healthcare massage) and personal care (elderly and patient care, escort services for medical attendance, and so on). In the past three years, an annual average of 47 000 vacancies was registered with the "Smart Living" scheme. Around 30 000 vacancies were successfully filled by graduates. The ERB will continue to improve the services and step up its promotional efforts.

The Labour Department (LD) also provides a comprehensive range of employment services free of charge for job seekers (including new arrivals). As some job seekers may wish to find local domestic helper work, the LD has set up a dedicated webpage for local domestic helpers under the Interactive Employment Service website to facilitate their access to employment information and search for vacancies in this respect.

Voluntary Residential Drug Treatment and Rehabilitation Services

16. PROF JOSEPH LEE (in Chinese): President, at present, there are a number of models of drug treatment and rehabilitation services in Hong Kong, including the voluntary residential drug treatment and rehabilitation programmes run by non-governmental organizations. There are currently 39 residential drug treatment and rehabilitation centres and halfway houses (drug treatment institutions) under these programmes, of which 19 are subvented by the Government. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

8522 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

(1) of the respective amounts of subvention received by the aforesaid 19 drug treatment institutions from the Government, and the respective percentages of these amounts in their total income, in each of the past three years, with a breakdown by institution;

(2) of the current number of residential places provided by each of the 39 drug treatment institutions and, among these places, the respective numbers of those for men and for women and their occupancy rates;

(3) whether it knows the current number of people on the waiting lists for places in the hostels run by the drug treatment institutions and for how long they have to wait on average, with a breakdown by gender; whether the authorities have considered helping these institutions increase the number of residential places or enhance their services so as to shorten the waiting time and facilitate drug addicts to receive drug treatment expeditiously; if they have, of the details, if not, the reasons for that; and

(4) of the channels through which the authorities cooperate with those non-government subvented drug treatment institutions so that the latter's services can dovetail with the anti-drug policy of the Government; whether the authorities have approached these institutions to look into the difficulties faced by them (such as raising funds and identifying sites for building hostels); if they have, of the details, and whether they have considered assisting these institutions to resolve the difficulties; if they have not looked into the difficulties, the reasons for that?

SECRETARY FOR SECURITY (in Chinese): President, drug abuse is a complex problem which has to be tackled in a comprehensive and holistic manner. Hence, the Government has all along adopted the five-pronged strategy in the anti-drug policy, namely (i) preventive education and publicity, (ii) treatment and rehabilitation (T&R), (iii) legislation and law enforcement, (iv) external co-operation and (v) research. Residential drug treatment service constitutes an important component of the T&R strategy. Hong Kong currently has 39 drug treatment and rehabilitation centres (DTRCs) (including halfway houses) operated by 17 non-governmental organizations (NGOs), providing a total of 1 538 places. DTRCs are heterogeneous in terms of their philosophy and thus offer different T&R programmes. In general, drug abusers may, LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8523 according to their individual circumstances, choose the services that best suit their needs.

The specific information sought by Prof Joseph LEE is set out as follows:

(1) Information on the 19 Government-subvented DTRCs for the past three years is given in the ensuing paragraphs.

Subvention provided by the Social Welfare Department (SWD) to 13 DTRCs(1):

2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015 Year (Actual) (Actual) (Revised estimate) Amount ($million) 31.5 32.8 34.5

Subvention provided by the Department of Health (DH) to six DTRCs:

2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015 Year (Actual) (Actual) (Revised estimate) Amount ($million) 99.9 105.4 110.4

Note:

 Four of the DTRCs subvented by DH are operated by the Society for Aid and Rehabilitation of Drug Abusers (SARDA). Apart from residential T&R programmes, the DH also subvents SARDA to provide counselling service to users of the Methadone Treatment Programme. The above amounts include the subvention for this service.

Some NGOs provide not just drug-related services and may have different sources of income. The Government does not have information on the percentage of the subvention for these NGOs against the total income of their drug-related services.

(2) Details of the capacity by gender provided by the 17 NGOs are given below (order in the English name of the NGOs):

Male Centre Female Centre NGOs Number Capacity Number Capacity Barnabas Charitable Service 0 0 2 53 Association Limited

(1) Since 1 May 2014, a NGO under SWD's subvention has combined its treatment centre and halfway house into one DTRC upon issue of licence. Hence, the number of DTRCs has reduced from 14 to the current 13. 8524 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

Male Centre Female Centre NGOs Number Capacity Number Capacity Caritas Hong Kong 1 28 0 0 Christian New Life 1 40 0 0 Association Limited Christian Zheng Sheng 4 132 2 34 Association Limited Drug Addicts Counselling 1 24 0 0 and Rehabilitation Services Limited Glorious Praise Fellowship 1 30 0 0 (Hong Kong) Limited Hong Kong Christian 1 32 0 0 Service Mission Ark Limited 1 20 0 0 Operation Dawn Limited 2 82 1 15 Perfect Fellowship Limited 1 20 0 0 Remar Association (Hong 1 20 0 0 Kong) Limited St. Stephen's Society At present, St. Stephen's Society Limited Limited is operating two centres. One of them is a female centre providing 18 places. The other centre, admitting both male and female residents, provides 230 places. The Christian New Being 1 116 0 0 Fellowship Limited The Evangelical Lutheran 2 74 0 0 Church of Hong Kong The Society for Aid and 6 357 3 82 Rehabilitation of Drug Abusers The Society of 1 16 1 10 Rehabilitation and Crime Prevention, Hong Kong Wu Oi Christian Centre 3 90 1 15

In the past year, the overall occupancy rate of the DTRCs was about 60%.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8525

(3) The Government does not have statistics on the number of people on waiting lists or the waiting time for individual DTRCs. However, in 2014, 89% of the probationers were admitted to a DTRC within two weeks. The Government has been closely monitoring the changing demands of T&R services, and had increased the number of subvented DTRC places by 101 and 18 in 2008-2009 and 2010-2011 respectively.

(4) Hong Kong adopts a multi-modality approach in the provision of T&R services to cater for the divergent needs of drug dependent persons from varying backgrounds. These include residential DTRCs operated by NGOs. As mentioned above, DTRCs offer different T&R programmes according to their philosophy, and the challenges they each face also vary. The Government maintains a close dialogue with DTRC operators, including those which are not directly subvented. The Commissioner for Narcotics chairs a Drug Liaison Committee of which all DTRC operators are members. The Committee is an effective platform for exchange of views, communication and collaboration between the Government and NGOs on drug-related matters.

For the DTRCs which have yet to obtain a license under the Drug Dependent Persons Treatment and Rehabilitation Centres (Licensing) Ordinance (Cap. 566), the Narcotics Division and the concerned departments will continue to render assistance to help them carry out in-situ upgrading works or relocate to a new site so that they could meet the relevant requirements. Such assistance may include co-ordinating different departments in helping the DTRCs in site search, addressing land use and planning issues, mapping out consultation strategies, as well as other necessary procedures for carrying out associated works projects.

The relevant departments would also assist NGOs in obtaining the necessary funding for works projects through various channels, such as the Beat Drugs Fund and the Lotteries Fund, and so on. Since May 2011, the Beat Drugs Fund has raised the ceiling of grants of each DTRC upgrading project from $3 million to $50 million.

8526 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

Combating Illegal Carriage of Passengers for Hire or Reward Through Use of Mobile Applications

17. DR CHIANG LAI-WAN (in Chinese): President, it has been reported that as the practice of calling taxis through the use of mobile applications (Apps) has become prevalent in recent years, quite a number of owners of van-type light goods vehicles and private cars without hire car permits have been attracted to engage in the business of carrying passengers for hire or reward (illegal car hire service). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the total numbers of persons prosecuted and convicted for operating illegal car hire service in the past three years, and the penalties imposed on them;

(2) whether the authorities will step up the enforcement efforts to curb the operation of illegal car hire service through the use of Apps; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;

(3) whether the authorities have assessed if the existing legislation is effective in combating the operation of illegal car hire service through the use of Apps; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(4) whether the authorities will step up publicity to make members of the public understand that the operation of such car hire service is illegal and the risks they have to bear for travelling on such vehicles; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT AND HOUSING (in Chinese): President, my reply to the various parts of Dr CHIANG Lai-wan's question is as follows:

(1) The numbers of prosecution cases instituted by the Police for illegal carriage of passengers for reward were four in both 2012 and 2013, and nine in 2014. The Police do not maintain any records on the convictions and penalties of the relevant cases.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8527

(2) and (3)

Pursuant to section 52 of the Road Traffic Ordinance (Cap. 374), it is an offence for any person to use light goods vehicles (LGVs) or private cars without hire car permits for carrying passengers for hire or reward. It is also an offence to solicit or attempt to solicit any person for hire or reward to travel in an LGV or a private car. Any person who commits any of the abovementioned offences is liable to a fine of $5,000 and three-month imprisonment for a first conviction, and $10,000 and six-month imprisonment for a second or subsequent conviction. There are already clear control and penalties in the existing legislation over any form (including the use of mobile applications) of soliciting or attempting to solicit any person for hire or reward to travel in an LGV or a private car.

In addition, according to the Road Traffic (Public Service Vehicles) Regulations (Cap. 374D), a hire car permit shall be displayed inside the private car in respect of which it is issued for inspection. Thus, members of the public who intend to use hire car service may make an enquiry with the service operator or inspect the private car concerned to ascertain whether a hire car permit has been issued to the car.

The Police have been keeping an eye on such illegal activities. Depending on the circumstances, the Police will deploy plain-clothes police officers for "decoy operations". The Police will also collect intelligence and evidence during their routine patrol work for combating these illegal activities. The Police will continue to closely monitor the situation and step up enforcement actions where necessary.

(4) The Transport Department (TD) has conducted publicity and educational activities through various channels (including broadcasting of Announcements of Public Interest) to drive home to the public the message that it is an offence to use LGVs for carrying passengers for reward; and reminded the general public that passengers using illegal transport service may not have the necessary protection since the third party insurance covering the vehicle 8528 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

involved may be invalid in such circumstances. In addition, the TD will continue to communicate with the transport trades through regular meetings so as to remind drivers of the need to abide by the law.

On the other hand, the Police previously arranged stand-up press conferences after arrest operations against illegal carriage of passengers for reward so as to give the public and relevant parties a better understanding of the legal requirements and the consequences of any contravention. The Police will continue to make similar arrangements having regard to the circumstances.

To sum up, the Government will continue to combat illegal carriage of passengers for reward through efforts on three fronts, namely law enforcement, publicity and education.

Impact of Revisions to Quota and Points System for Public Rental Housing on Non-elderly One-person Applicants

18. MR WONG KWOK-HING (in Chinese): President, the Housing Authority (HA) has implemented the refined Quota and Points System (new QPS) for public rental housing (PRH) since 1 February this year. Some non-elderly one-person applicants aged below 45 have relayed to me that they have been waiting for PRH units for many years and could have been allocated a PRH unit within one to two years, but their waiting time has been prolonged as a result of non-elderly one-person applicants aged 45 or above being awarded a one-off bonus of 60 points under the new QPS, and this is unfair to them. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the respective numbers of non-elderly one-person applicants who could have been allocated a PRH unit within 12, 18 and 24 months from 1 February this year before the implementation of the new QPS and, among them, the respective numbers of applicants whose waiting time has been prolonged due to the implementation of the new QPS, their age distribution, as well as the biggest and smallest increase in their waiting time;

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8529

(2) whether HA has explained to the affected applicants how the new QPS impacts on their waiting time, and whether HA has established a redress channel in this regard, so that it can consider exercising discretion to give priority allocation of PRH units to applicants with pressing housing needs; and

(3) whether HA will increase this year's PRH allocation quota for non-elderly one-person applicants to bring the waiting time of applicants who could have been allocated a PRH unit within 24 months to the same level as that of applicants aged 45 or above after the implementation of the new QPS, so as to reduce the conflicts among applicants and minimize the adverse impact of the new QPS; if HA will not, how HA ensures that the new QPS is fair and reasonable?

SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT AND HOUSING (in Chinese): President, it is the policy of the Government and the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) to accord priority to general applicants (that is, family and elderly one-person applicants) over non-elderly one-person applicants in the allocation of public rental housing (PRH) flats. Towards this end, the HA introduced the Quota and Points System (QPS) for non-elderly one-person applicants in September 2005. Unlike general applicants, under QPS:

(i) the allocation of flats is subject to an annual quota;

(ii) the priority of applicants is determined by a points system; and

(iii) the target of providing the first flat offer at around three years on average is not applicable to QPS applicants.

In 2012, the Government established the Long Term Housing Strategy (LTHS) Steering Committee. On QPS, the LTHS Steering Committee was concerned that older applicants might have relatively limited upward mobility and therefore should be given higher priority. During the public consultation on the LTHS, a considerable number of respondents agreed that more points should be given to non-elderly one-person applicants who are above the age of 45. In its 8530 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 report submitted to the Government, the LTHS Steering Committee called on the HA to carefully review PRH-related policies, including QPS, to ensure the proper use of valuable PRH resources.

At the same time, in his Report No. 61 on the allocation and utilization of PRH flats, the Director of Audit observed that there was a built-in incentive for applicants to apply for PRH early under QPS (that is, to apply at the minimum eligible age of 18 in order to accumulate more waiting time points), and recommended the HA to conduct a comprehensive review of QPS. Subsequently, the Legislative Council Public Accounts Committee (PAC) also considered that the HA should review the points system of QPS with a view to introducing improvement measures. The Subcommittee on LTHS under the Legislative Council Panel on Housing also mentioned Members' different views on this subject in its report published in July 2014.

Taking into account views from all parties, the HA's Subsidized Housing Committee (SHC) decided to refine QPS on 14 October 2014. Refinements include awarding a one-off bonus of 60 points to applicants when they have reached the age of 45 to accord them with a higher priority over other younger applicants; and increasing the scale of age points from three to nine points per year of age increase at the time of application to reduce the incentive for early registration. The refined points system was implemented with effect from 1 February 2015.

My reply to the three parts of the question raised by Mr WONG Kwok-hing is as follows:

(1) Under QPS, the relative priority of PRH flat allocation to applicants is determined by the points of applicants obtained under the points system. The points of applicants are determined by a series of factors, including the age of the applicants, whether the applicants are living in PRH, and the waiting time. Due to different circumstances of individual applicants such as waiting time, whether they are living in PRH and their district choice of PRH allocation, and the fact that there would be new applicants from time to time whose circumstances are also different, we cannot predict the time of flat allocation for individual applicants. Besides, the progress of PRH allocation is also affected by factors such as the number of flats LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8531

reserved for allocation, the supply of newly built and refurbished PRH flats in different districts, and whether applicants accept flat offers. Therefore, we are unable to estimate the number and the age distribution of applicants who could have been allocated a PRH flat within 12, 18 and 24 months from 1 February 2015 under the old system and the actual impact of implementing the new points system on them.

Under the refined QPS, generally speaking older applicants will be allocated flats earlier. However, the actual priority of individual applicants is determined by their points under the refined system, and is ultimately subject to the supply of PRH and circumstances of other applicants.

(2) As pointed out above, the proposal to refine QPS has been thoroughly discussed at different fora. Before the HA decided to refine QPS, it has carefully considered the recommendations of the LTHS Steering Committee, views collected during the public consultation on LTHS, views of the Director of Audit as well as that of the Legislative Council's PAC. The HA has immediately issued a press release on 14 October 2014 to announce the relevant details after it decided to refine QPS. The HA has also issued letters to inform individual QPS applicants of the refinement and the latest calculation of their points in early February 2015.

Same as other PRH applicants, QPS applicants can apply under the Express Flat Allocation Scheme for earlier allocation of PRH flats. Applicants with pressing housing needs due to social or health reasons can apply for Compassionate Rehousing upon recommendation of the Social Welfare Department.

(3) When the HA's SHC decided to refine the points system of QPS on 14 October 2014, it also decided to increase the annual allocation quota under QPS from 8% to 10% of the total number of flats to be allocated to general and QPS applicants, subject to a cap which was also increased from 2 000 to 2 200 units, starting from the HA's PRH Allocation Plan for 2015-2016.

8532 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

To facilitate the implementation of the refined system, the HA's SHC also decided to adopt the following one-off arrangements:

(i) the points of those applicants who have submitted applications or have been registered before the implementation date (that is, 1 February 2015) would be re-calculated under the refined system. If the re-calculated total points for these applicants are higher than the total points already awarded to them under the old system, the HA would award the difference in points to them on the implementation date;

(ii) for those applicants who have passed the detailed eligibility vetting on or before the date of the HA's decision to refine QPS (that is, 14 October 2014) and are undergoing the allocation process, their priority for PRH allocation would be based on their points awarded under either the refined system or the old system, whichever enables earlier allocation; and

(iii) as Long Bin Interim Housing will be cleared in January 2016, non-elderly one-person households living in the Long Bin Interim Housing can retain their priority for rehousing to PRH under the old system.

The HA will continue to closely monitor the implementation of QPS.

Expansion of Hong Kong International Airport into a Three-runway System

19. DR KWOK KA-KI (in Chinese): President, on 17 March this year, the Chief Executive in Council affirmed the need to expand the Hong Kong International Airport into a three-runway system (3RS), with a construction cost around $141.5 billion in money-of-the-day prices. As for the financial arrangement, the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) has proposed that a "joint contribution" principle be adopted to meet the expenditures on 3RS, making use of internal sources of fund, external borrowing and levying charges from users (the financing arrangement) to finance the project. As such, the relevant expenditures do not require the vetting and approval of the Finance Committee of this Council. Regarding the management of the Pearl River Delta (PRD) airspace, the Secretary for Transport and Housing has advised that the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8533

Civil Aviation Administration of China, the Civil Aviation Department of Hong Kong and the Civil Aviation Authority of Macao jointly drew up the "PRD Region Air Traffic Management Planning and Implementation Plan" (the Plan) in 2007, with a view to implementing a number of optimization measures in phases before 2020. It has been reported that the Plan has proposed to remove the airspace constraints of PRD and set up "the Southern PRD Terminal Area", with the airspace to be managed jointly by the relevant departments of the Guangdong province and Hong Kong. Some concern groups are of the view that such an arrangement is tantamount to the introduction of a "co-location arrangement in the air", and it may contravene the requirements under Article 130 of the Basic Law that the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region shall be responsible on its own for matters of routine business and technical management of civil aviation. These concern groups also query the economic benefits that will be brought about by 3RS as well as AAHK's practice of not publishing its internal rate of return (IRR). In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) given that Article 73 of the Basic Law stipulates that one of the powers and functions exercised by this Council is to approve taxation and public expenditure, whether the Government has sought legal advice on the compliance or otherwise of the financing arrangement with that Article; if it has, of the details; if not, whether the Government has assessed the legal risks that may be brought about by the financing arrangement;

(2) whether it knows the details of AAHK's external borrowing plan for 3RS; whether the Government has conducted an independent financial risk assessment on the plan; if it has, of the details; whether the Government has assessed the impacts on the debts to be borne by AAHK in the event of cost overrun of the 3RS project or returns failing to meet the expected targets in future; whether the Government has assessed the possible financial and legal consequences should AAHK fail to repay the debts; if it has, of the details, and whether the Government will help AAHK repay all or part of the debts;

(3) whether the relevant departments of Hong Kong, the Mainland and Macao have convened meetings to discuss the optimization measures in the Plan; if they have, of the dates, venues and attendance lists of 8534 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

such meetings, and the details of the various optimization measures that are planned to be implemented; whether the Government has plans to discuss with the mainland authorities the re-delineation of the airspace boundaries of Hong Kong and the Mainland; if it has such plans, of the details and the implementation timetable;

(4) whether it has studied if the setting up of the Southern PRD Terminal Area complies with the requirements under Article 130 of the Basic Law; if it has, of the details; if not, whether the Government has assessed the legal consequences of removing the airspace constraints of PRD; and

(5) whether it knows the reasons for AAHK not publishing the IRR of 3RS; whether AAHK has provided such information to the Government; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; whether the Government has assessed the economic impacts on 3RS to be brought about by the situation that the problems of the airspace of PRD have not been solved; if it has, of the details?

SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT AND HOUSING (in Chinese): President, air traffic at Hong Kong International Airport (HKIA) has been growing significantly over the past few years. According to the latest projection, the existing two-runway system (2RS) would likely reach its maximum practical capacity of 420 000 air traffic movements (ATMs) per annum in 2016 or 2017, a few years ahead of the original forecast in the HKIA Master Plan 2030 released by the Airport Authority Hong Kong (AAHK) in 2011. Besides, Hong Kong is facing intensifying competition from airports in neighbouring cities such as Singapore, Seoul, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and so on. All the airports in these cities have already committed/planned or are in the course of implementing major airport expansion plans. Without major expansion plans like the three-runway system (3RS) at HKIA, Hong Kong will eventually lose out on the development of our aviation business, as well as affiliated sectors particularly in logistics, tourism, trade and retail, to our major competitors. There is an urgent need for the implementation of the 3RS project to meet Hong Kong's long-term air traffic demand and to maintain our overall competitiveness.

Our reply to the question from Dr KWOK Ka-ki is as follows:

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8535

(1) As the proponent of the 3RS project, the AAHK has drawn up the financial arrangement of the project and submitted a proposal to the Government. As set out in its proposal, the AAHK will finance the 3RS project by making use of internal sources of funds, external borrowings and charging airport users (including the adjustment of airport charges payable by the airlines and the imposition of Airport Construction Fee (ACF) on departing local and foreign air passengers). This proposal, which is a three-pronged approach under the principle of joint contribution, is more equitable than direct government funding out of the general revenue or asking tax payers at large to pay for the construction costs. Under the proposed financial arrangement, no fund allocation, capital injection or loan guarantee from the Government is required.

Article 73 of the Basic Law stipulates that the powers and functions of the Legislative Council include the approval of taxation and public expenditure. Since the financing arrangement proposed by the AAHK does not involve taxation or public expenditure, the requirements of Article 73 are not applicable here.

(2) According to its financial consultant, based on the AAHK's current excellent AAA credit rating, robust revenue performance in the past and its strong financial position, as well as the continued growth in revenue projected for future years in the light of the steadily growing air traffic demand at HKIA, the AAHK's proposal to self-finance the project is reasonable and practicable. In its briefing to the Legislative Council's Panel on Economic Development on 23 March 2015, the AAHK revealed that it expected to raise some HK$53 billion from the market. External borrowing is not only financially viable, but also makes prudent commercial sense, since the market can help to assess whether there is indeed a sound economic and business case for the 3RS project. The Government's independent financial consultant has also agreed to the above conclusion.

As the AAHK has to finance the 3RS project by itself, it will critically examine if there is any room for reducing the capital cost and at the same time adopt stringent cost-control measures during the detailed design and construction stages of the 3RS project. It 8536 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

has also conducted sensitivity tests on the construction programme, revenue and cost estimates of the project. The Government has made it clear to the AAHK that it has the responsibility to ensure sound project management and to contain the project cost within budget. In the event of cost overrun, the Government expects the AAHK to exhaust all possible and reasonable means to cope with the overruns.

(3) and (4)

In recent years, driven by the robust economic growth of Hong Kong and the nearby Pearl River Delta (PRD) Region, air traffic in the region has become busier day by day. In as early as 2004, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), the Civil Aviation Department (CAD) of Hong Kong and the Civil Aviation Authority of Macao (CAAM) set up the "PRD Region Air Traffic Management Planning and Implementation Tripartite Working Group (TWG)" to formulate measures to rationalize the airspace structure and air traffic management arrangements in the PRD Region to optimize the use of airspace and enhance safety. After conducting more than 10 different meetings, the TWG jointly drew up the "PRD Region Air Traffic Management Planning and Implementation Plan (Version 2.0)" (the Plan) in 2007, which clearly stipulated the short-, medium- and long-term optimization targets and measures to be achieved and implemented before 2020. The TWG also agreed to optimize the use of the PRD airspace resources through joint airspace planning, use of common standards and harmonized flight procedure design, with a view to supporting the continued development of the civil aviation industry in the region. The Plan has fully considered the practical operational needs of the major airports in the region and the estimated air traffic flow and demand of these airports up to 2020. The Plan has been analysed and studied by technical personnel from the Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao with the use of advanced evaluation techniques, and has incorporated the advice of air traffic control experts of the three sides during its formulation. It is a practical and feasible plan for mutual benefits and will achieve a win-win situation for the three sides.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8537

The CAD has been discussing the implementation of the measures set out in the Plan and the associated technical arrangements with the CAAC and the CAAM through the TWG. Since the formulation of the Plan in 2007, over 10 meetings at different levels, which were mainly attended by officers responsible for policies and technicalities in the aviation authorities of the three sides, have been held in the Mainland, Hong Kong and Macao. Through the efforts of the TWG, a number of air traffic management enhancement measures in the Plan have been implemented, including the establishment of peripheral flight paths in the PRD Region, addition of handover points and adjustment of the Zhuhai airspace structure, thereby enhancing the efficiency in flight operations and air traffic management. None of the air traffic management enhancement measures set out in the Plan concern the allocation of civil aviation airspace stipulated by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

The CAD will, through the TWG, continue to implement the measures in the Plan progressively with the CAAC and CAAM to support the planning of the 3RS project at the HKIA and cater for the development needs of the airports in the region, thereby achieving mutual benefits and a win-win situation for the three sides. In the course of taking forward the Plan, the CAD will ensure that the arrangements made are in compliant with the relevant provisions of the Basic Law and the relevant requirements set down by the ICAO.

(5) The Financial Internal Rate of Return (FIRR) of the 3RS is directly related to the AAHK's projected revenue in the future. In response to the views of the Government and the general public, the AAHK is now reviewing the charging level of the proposed ACF, with a view to minimizing it to lessen air passengers' burden. Upon completion of the review, the AAHK will re-calculate the FIRR of the 3RS project based on the review findings, and announce the FIRR together with its review findings.

It is worth noting that the FIRR only considers the financial viability of 3RS as a standalone project; it does not reflect the project's overall economic contribution to Hong Kong. Regarding the economic 8538 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

benefits of the 3RS, according to the projections made by the AAHK's consultant, based on the maximum passenger/cargo throughput that can be achieved under the 3RS (that is, around 100 million of passengers and around 9 million tonnes of cargo), the 3RS can bring additional economic benefits of $455 billion (in 2012 dollars) over the 50-year period from 2012 to 2061, as compared with the existing 2RS.

To optimize the use and management of the PRD airspace, the CAD will continue to discuss with the CAAC and the CAAM ways to gradually take forward the Plan jointly drawn up in 2007, so that the planned maximum capacity target of the 3RS (that is, 102 ATMs per hour) can be achieved.

Supply and Prices of Powdered Formula for Infants and Young Children

20. MRS REGINA IP (in Chinese): President, since March 2013, the Government has been enforcing the requirement that each person aged 16 or above may only carry, on his/her departure from Hong Kong within a 24-hour period, powdered formula for infants and young children under the age of 36 months (powdered formula) of a total net weight no more than 1.8 kilograms (commonly known as "restriction on powdered formula"). In order to understand the supply and prices of powdered formula, the Consumer Council conducted a survey throughout the 18 districts in Hong Kong during the pre-Chinese New Year period (i.e. the period between 26 January and 11 February) this year. The survey results reveal that the overall shortage situation of powdered formula improved during the aforesaid period as compared to that in the same period last year, but the shortage rates in some districts were still on the high side. For instance, the shortage rates of several major brands of powdered formula in Po Lam, Tseung Kwan O, and Sham Shui Po were still over 20%, while those of individual brands of powdered formula in Tai Po and Sham Shui Po were even higher than 40%. Regarding price differences among drug stores, the price differentials of individual brands among drug stores in different districts also exceeded 26%. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8539

(1) of the respective numbers of prosecution and conviction cases involving violations of the restriction on powdered formula since its implementation (with a breakdown by quarter and control point); if such figures cannot be provided, of the reasons for that;

(2) whether it has formulated specific measures to resolve the lingering problem of serious shortage of powdered formula in individual districts; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and

(3) regarding the problem that there are still marked differences in the prices of individual brands of powdered formula among drug stores in different districts, whether the Government has formulated specific measures to mitigate the problem; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

SECRETARY FOR FOOD AND HEALTH (in Chinese): President,

(1) The quarterly breakdown figures of convicted cases in each control point involving violation of the Import and Export (General) (Amendment) Regulation 2013 (the Amendment Regulation) since its enactment are set out as follows:

Second Third Fourth First Second Third Fourth First quarter quarter quarter quarter quarter quarter quarter quarter

of of of of of of of of 2013 2013 2013 2014 2014 2014 2014 2015* Lo Wu 250 771 935 627 1 081 846 641 283 Hung 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 Hom Lok Ma 42 18 14 4 7 7 7 4 Chau Control Point Lok Ma 130 236 281 205 367 418 510 399 Chau Spur Line Man Kam 2 0 0 3 26 21 17 12 To Sha Tau 6 2 1 0 2 5 3 2 Kok 8540 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

Second Third Fourth First Second Third Fourth First quarter quarter quarter quarter quarter quarter quarter quarter

of of of of of of of of 2013 2013 2013 2014 2014 2014 2014 2015* Macau 2 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 Ferry Terminal Shenzhen 70 70 68 75 62 71 96 30 Bay

Note:

* As at 28 February 2015

(2) To get a good grasp of the supply and prices of powdered formula at the local retail level, the Food and Health Bureau commissioned a consultancy firm in 2014 to conduct regular surveys. According to the results of the regular surveys, since the implementation of the Amendment Regulation, the supply of powdered formula at local retail stores was relatively sufficient compared to the situation in early 2013, and shortage of two popular brands of powdered formula slightly improved in 2014. However, these brands still experienced a certain degree of shortage in individual districts. We have shared the results of the regular surveys with the suppliers concerned and requested them to take active follow-up action to ensure stable and sufficient supply of powdered formula for local infants and young children. We will continue to urge suppliers of powdered formula to follow up the recommendations for improving the supply chain as proposed in the consultancy report(1).

We also encourage suppliers to promote various pre-order services (including the Coupon Scheme(2) and order placement through their hotlines for home delivery or collection from chain stores) via channels such as the media and the Internet. We are of the view

(1) To assist the Government and the Committee on Supply Chain of Powdered Formula in examining the improvement measures on the supply chain proposed by suppliers of powdered formula, the Government commissioned a consultancy firm in 2013 to study these measures and make recommendations.

(2) Under the Coupon Scheme, parents of local infants and young children aged under 36 months can apply for coupons from seven major powdered formula suppliers (that is, Abbott, Cow & Gate, Friso, Mead Johnson, Nestle, Snow Brand and Wyeth). Coupon holders are entitled to order powdered formula by presenting the coupons at designated pharmacies under the Hong Kong General Chamber of Pharmacy Limited. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8541

that pre-order services can act as a "dedicated supply chain" for local infants and young children, thus separating local demand from non-local demand. They play an effective role in ensuring sufficient supply for local infants and young children when powdered formula is in short supply. As such, in the face of a tight market situation, purchasing powdered formula through pre-order services is a preferred approach. Suppliers have pledged that parents of local infants and young children placing orders through pre-order channels will receive powdered formula in three working days (excluding Saturdays and public holidays) after confirmation of their orders. They have also undertaken to reserve enough stock of powdered formula for local infants and young children and to respond to all calls from customers within 24 hours.

Since pre-order services are effective in alleviating the pressure of demand when there is a shortage of powdered formula at the retail level, we have also commissioned a consultancy firm to conduct surveys to gauge the experience of parents of local infants and young children in purchasing powdered formula and their attitude towards using various pre-order channels. The survey results enable us to better assess the level of their understanding and acceptance of various pre-order services and assist suppliers in adjusting their strategies of promoting pre-order services.

We have submitted the above survey results to the Committee on Supply Chain of Powdered Formula(3) to assist it in effectively advising the trade on ways to further improve the supply chain and promote the use of pre-order services by parents of local infants and young children.

We will continue to conduct the two surveys mentioned above, and follow up and monitor the improvements in the powdered formula supply chain undertaken by suppliers through the Committee on Supply Chain of Powdered Formula.

(3) In July 2013, the Government appointed a Committee on Supply Chain of Powdered Formula to study and recommend to the Government measures to improve the supply chain of powdered formula. The Committee comprises 14 non-official members, including major powdered formula suppliers, retailers, parents, representatives from the logistics sector and the academia, and those representing consumer interests. 8542 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

(3) Regarding retail prices, the findings of the above regular surveys revealed no price fluctuation in major chain stores and pharmacies. The prices remained stable during the survey periods. The retail prices in major chain stores were more or less the same as the suppliers' recommended retail prices, while the average retail prices in pharmacies were close to or lower than those in major chain stores. We are aware of the survey on the supply and prices of powdered formula conducted by the Consumer Council in 18 districts in Hong Kong before the Chinese New Year this year. The survey was conducted in a different way from the above regular surveys including the number of samples collected, the districts studied, and so on. The results of the two surveys are therefore not directly comparable but we will continue to conduct the regular surveys and keep the retail prices in view, and follow up the matter with relevant suppliers where necessary.

Releasing Findings of Public Opinion Surveys

21. MR FREDERICK FUNG (in Chinese): President, at the Question and Answer Session of this Council on 26 March this year, the Chief Executive (CE) remarked that according to the findings of a public opinion survey, people who were willing to accept the Decision made by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on 31 August last year on issues such as the selection of CE of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region by universal suffrage (NPCSC's Decision) outnumbered those who were unwilling to do so. Prior to this, CE also remarked on 28 February this year (and the authorities subsequently supplemented on 18 March in reply to my question) that according to the findings of a public opinion survey conducted by a professional agency commissioned by the Government, more than half of Hong Kong people were agreeable to the selection of CE by universal suffrage in 2017 to be implemented in accordance with NPCSC's Decision. On the other hand, the Centre for Communication and Public Opinion Survey (CCPOS) of The Chinese University of Hong Kong has been conducting tracking surveys on constitutional reform issues since September last year, and the findings of the five surveys already conducted as at last month showed that on the question of whether this Council should approve the package of selecting CE by universal suffrage in 2017 to be proposed by the Government in accordance with NPCSC's Decision (the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8543 proposed package), those respondents who considered that this Council should reject the package outnumbered those who considered that this Council should approve it. For example, according to the latest survey findings released on the 15th of last month, 46.9% of the respondents considered that this Council should reject the proposed package, while 40.2% considered that this Council should approve it. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:

(1) of the details of the public opinion survey referred to by CE in the aforesaid Question and Answer Session; whether the survey is for Government's internal reference only and its details are generally not made public;

(2) whether the authorities had provided CE with the findings of the aforesaid surveys conducted by CCPOS before CE made public the findings of the public opinion survey mentioned in (1); if the authorities had not done so, whether the authorities will review (i) if CE's repeated remarks on public opinions were too reckless, or would make people think that he was politically motivated to do so, (ii) if it was necessary for government officials to have a more comprehensive grasp of the findings of the public opinion surveys conducted in the community before making remarks of a similar nature, and (iii) if government officials should avoid making one-sided generalizations when releasing findings of public opinion surveys; and

(3) whether it has assessed if CE's past references on several occasions to the findings of certain public opinion surveys without disclosing the sources of such information will give people an impression that the SAR Government and CE are untruthful, disrespectful to public opinions or even manipulative of public opinions; if it has assessed, of the results; if not, the reasons for that?

SECRETARY FOR CONSTITUTIONAL AND MAINLAND AFFAIRS (in Chinese): President, in consultation with the Chief Executive's Office and the Central Policy Unit (CPU), our reply to the questions raised by Mr FUNG is as follows:

8544 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

In mentioning the information regarding opinion polls related to the implementation of universal suffrage for the Chief Executive Election in 2017 at the Chief Executive's Question and Answer Session of the Legislative Council on 26 March, the Chief Executive made reference to various opinion polls conducted and made public by external organizations, as well as opinion polls conducted by professional agencies commissioned by the CPU for the Government's internal reference. The Government is committed to implementing universal suffrage for the Chief Executive Election in 2017, in accordance with the Basic Law and the Decision of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on Issues Relating to the Selection of the Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region by Universal Suffrage and on the Method for Forming the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region in the Year 2016 adopted by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress on 31 August 2014, and will work hard to secure support from a two-thirds majority of all Members of the Legislative Council, so that 5 million eligible voters in Hong Kong can elect the next Chief Executive by universal suffrage through "one person, one vote" in 2017 as scheduled.

Payment of Sickness Allowance

22. MS EMILY LAU (in Chinese): President, under the Employment Ordinance (Cap. 57), an employee who has been employed by his employer under a continuous contract for a period of one month or more immediately preceding a sickness day shall be paid by his employer sickness allowance in accordance with such Ordinance, but an employee who takes less than four consecutive days as sickness days shall not be entitled to be paid sickness allowance in respect thereof. The rate of sickness allowance is set at 80% of the employee's average daily wages. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:

(1) of the number of complaints they received in each of the past three years in relation to sickness days and sickness allowance, as well as the details of such complaints;

(2) whether they know the current number of employers who do not pay sickness allowance to those employees who have taken less than four consecutive days as sickness days, and the rate of the allowance they pay to eligible employees barely meets the minimum statutory LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8545

requirement; whether they received in the past three years complaints from employees that the aforesaid requirements were outdated and mean; and

(3) given that the authorities have not amended the Employment Ordinance to adjust the rate of sickness allowance since 1996, whether they will amend the Ordinance with a view to raising the rate of sickness allowance to a level equivalent to 100% of the average daily wages of the employee concerned, as well as repeal the provision under which employees taking less than four consecutive days as sickness days shall not be entitled to such allowance; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?

SECRETARY FOR LABOUR AND WELFARE (in Chinese): President, my reply to the questions of Ms Emily LAU is as follows:

(1) In 2012, 2013 and 2014, the number of claim cases related to sickness allowance handled by the Labour Department was 67, 95 and 80 respectively. These cases usually involved computation or payment of sickness allowance, or disputes on longer or frequent sick leave taken or submission of medical certificates by employees. The majority of these cases were resolved by mutual consent between the employers and employees after the Labour Department's conciliation. Disputes that could not be settled through conciliation were referred to the Labour Tribunal or the Minor Employment Claims Adjudication Board for adjudication.

(2) Under the Employment Ordinance (EO), an employee is entitled to sickness allowance equivalent to four fifths of the employee's average daily wages if he or she takes not less than four consecutive days of sick leave and fulfils other statutory requirements (for example, sufficient number of paid sickness days accumulated).

Some employees may consider the current legislative provision setting the trigger point of sickness allowance at four days as inadequate. At the same time, some employers are of the view that, unlike temporary incapacity resulting from work-related injury, an 8546 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

employee's absence from work because of illness is not necessarily employment-related and therefore the loss of earnings during an employee's illness should not be borne solely by the employer.

The EO only sets out the minimum standards of rights and benefits under the law. The Government always encourages individual employers, having regard to their own business operations and affordability, to offer employment benefits above the statutory standards to their employees. The Labour Department does not have statistics on employers granting sickness allowance just in accordance with the statutory requirements. Given the improved socio-economic conditions and the tight manpower situation in Hong Kong, we believe that more employers are now willing to offer employment conditions, including, inter alia, sickness allowance, that are more favourable than those provided under the EO.

(3) An employee's absence from work owing to illness is not necessarily employment-related. In apportioning the financial liability arising from an employee's illness, there is a need to maintain a reasonable balance between the interests of employers and employees. Unlike statutory leave that all employees are entitled to take and should enjoy full pay during the leave irrespective of their individual personal needs (for example, statutory holiday and annual leave), sick leave is incidental to certain employees taken on account of their own physical conditions or personal needs. It is not considered that the statutory sickness allowance should be paid at full rate, mirroring the arrangement applicable for the statutory holidays and annual leave. Given that sickness allowance is payable for sick leave taken for four consecutive days or more, the present provisions have served to provide suitable protection to employees if they need to take a longer period of sick leave.

Since the introduction of sickness allowance in the EO, the Labour Department has from time to time reviewed the relevant provisions. A number of improvement measures have been implemented, including significantly increasing the maximum number of paid sickness days that can be accumulated from 24 initially to the present level of 120 days; and increasing the rate of sickness allowance from one half to the present level of four fifths of an employee's average LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8547

daily wages. The medical professionals recognized under the EO for certifying an employee's incapability to work in consequence of sickness or injury have also been extended from registered medical practitioners to cover also registered dentists and registered Chinese medicine practitioners, thus affording employees the freedom to choose the suitable treatment in respect of their sickness or injury.

Our EO requirement for a period of not less than four consecutive days of sick leave is comparable to the requirement applicable in other places such as the United Kingdom, France, Japan and Taiwan. The current rate of sickness allowance in Hong Kong is no less favourable than some neighbouring and developed economies like Taiwan, Japan and France in which sickness benefits are provided at around 50% to 66% of the employee's wages.

Having regard to the socio-economic development of Hong Kong, the current provisions under the EO on sickness allowance have struck a reasonable balance between the interests of employees and employers. At this stage, the Government has no plan to make amendments to such provisions but will continue to review the labour legislation from time to time.

BILLS

Second Reading of Bills

Resumption of Second Reading Debate on Bills

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Bill. This Council now resumes the Second Reading debate on the Appropriation Bill 2015. Members may speak at today's or tomorrow's meeting. Today's debate will end at about 8 pm, and the debate for tomorrow will start at 9 am. At this meeting, after Members have spoken at the resumption of the Second Reading debate on the Bill, the Council will consider two proposed resolutions in relation to subsidiary legislation.

I wish to remind Members that at the third Budget meeting to be held next Wednesday, only public officers may speak before consideration of the 8548 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 provisions of and amendments to the Appropriation Bill 2015 at its Committee stage.

Members who wish to speak today will please press the "Request to speak" button.

APPROPRIATION BILL 2015

Resumption of debate on Second Reading which was moved on 25 February 2015

MISS CHAN YUEN-HAN (in Cantonese): President, on the day when the Budget was presented, I conveyed a message to the "God of Wealth" through a line of lyrics which goes, "爭取領前，就要敢跨出腳步" ("In order to take the lead, one has to be bold enough to move a step forward"). This year's Budget seems to be a balanced one, benefiting various classes of people and thus winning a lot of applause, but I do not think the Government is daring enough to make a breakthrough. Some have even pointed out that if what the Financial Secretary is expected to do is just to hand out "candies" to different strata of society, the job can actually be done by anyone else.

President, I do have some expectation of the capability of the "God of Wealth", who has also been referred to as a "good fighter" because of his mastery of fencing and Chinese martial arts. It is definitely my hope that he could move forward and be courageous enough to take things further so that Hong Kong would be ahead of others.

There are a few points which I would like to make and first of all, I hope the "God of Wealth" will really implement the proposal of introducing Food Trucks rather than indulging in empty talk. I held an event under a flyover last week to promote street markets. A backdrop using the food truck proposed by the Financial Secretary as the main theme and complemented with a logo of the "God of Wealth" was specially set up for the event and well-received by the public. I wish to use this function to show the Financial Secretary that it is a good idea to introduce Food Trucks and the response of the community to the proposal is rather encouraging. Over a dozen food business operators have LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8549 indicated their keen interest in the proposal and asked if the business could be set up with several hundred thousand dollars. As they have to spend $200,000 on rent each month, they all earnestly hope that the proposal can be taken forward.

Regrettably, the Financial Secretary did not want to undertake the responsibility when he was once asked about the details of the proposal. Instead, he passed the job to Secretary SO. I hope this matter can be taken forward by the Financial Secretary for a very simple reason: it is rather difficult to introduce a vehicle used solely for selling food when the relevant authority and responsibility have yet to be distributed among the public officials. The process of applying for licences from various government departments such as the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, the Transport Department and the Fire Services Department alone is already a road paved with all sorts of difficulties. By placing a dummy food truck which cannot be used for selling food in the event venue, we want to tell the Financial Secretary that if a concept is put forward without the determination to have it implemented and the various bureaucratic red tapes are not cleared, the proposal of introducing Food Trucks will possibly remain a mere backdrop forever.

Now that the Financial Secretary has put forward a good idea, it is our hope that he could make a breakthrough, move a step forward, undertake the responsibility and take charge of the matter at a level higher than the Policy Bureaux. Otherwise, I am afraid the prospect for the implementation of the proposal will be very dim. The government departments should not be allowed to shirk their responsibility to each other. If they cannot do a good job in implementing the proposal of introducing Food Trucks, it is just meaningless to talk about anything else. If the Government bothers to set up a committee to regulate the use of salt and sugar in food, it ought to take the proposal of introducing Food Trucks seriously as a number of policy areas are involved, such as tourism, food and catering, creative industry, youth entrepreneurship, and so on.

Promotion of street markets is the second area which I hope the Financial Secretary will start working on. Yesterday, I attended the meetings of the Legislative Council Subcommittee on Hawker Policy held in the morning and afternoon and discovered something very important. At the meetings attended by more than 100 deputations and individuals, I noticed that the public officers present did not know exactly what we were talking about and what they should do 8550 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 to address the issues under discussion. During the course of discussion, I was approached by some pedlars who seemed to be members of trade unions, and they were of the view that the public officers present might be capable of managing or arresting hawkers but could hardly answer their questions when it came to hawker policy.

Why is it that Hong Kong has to clutch at just one single "life-saving straw" every time, such as depending solely on the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS) to relieve us from our economic plight? Why does Hong Kong not develop a diversified economy seriously? Let us take the United States which the Financial Secretary is familiar with as an example. The country has, since a long time, been advocating a dual economic structure theory whereby mainstream economic activities are developed on the one hand, and various economic matters are dealt with on the other to resolve for the grass-roots sector crucially important issues like employment, means of livelihood, and so on.

What frustrates me most is that the previous Government has done nothing at all, thinking that it can resting on its laurels after passing one economic hurdle with the IVS arrangement. Because of its failure to seize the opportunity to plan anew for Hong Kong's economic development, Hong Kong's industries have become gravely homogeneous, with our economy still depending essentially on the financial, real estate and service sectors. I believe we all have a pretty good idea of the desirability and sustainability of such kind of economic development.

Being over-dependent on certain industries will definitely do no good to the economic development of any society, as the stability of economic development will be affected adversely. And more importantly, such overdependence will also deprive the grass-roots people of their opportunity and rights to share the fruits of economic growth. In order to have such an unhealthy mode of economic development reversed, we have no other alternatives but to earnestly promote the diversified development of our economy and establish more pillars to support the economic development of Hong Kong through industrial diversification. This is an issue which the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (FTU) has been discussing for some 10-odd years.

I wish to point out that if we are to achieve the so-called diversified economic development and industrial diversification, we cannot rely solely on the development of a few priority industries, or confine our efforts to the development of some so-called high-end and high value-added industries. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8551

Today, it is all the more important for us go back to the basics because a lot of young people and grass-roots people hope very much that our society can allow them some room to develop another economic sector. In my opinion, it would be a good idea for the Government to make use of the public aspiration and promote anew the development of Hong Kong in this regard, so as to give support to the industries which have been overlooked over the past few decades but are of very high economic value.

I have to emphasize specially that such industries are conducive to employment generation for the grass-roots, middle class and even creative people. In particular, I hope the Government will give serious consideration to industries that can give a boost to the economic activities at grass-roots levels. Against this background, I conducted a study last year and subsequently grouped together the small capital economy and creative industry which I had been looking into for years with the agricultural industry, and named them collectively as "street economy".

As the Financial Secretary has seen in the market event held last week, many creative young people grasped the opportunity to try out the response to the handicrafts and artworks they made. Honourable colleagues, such handicrafts and artworks are indeed beautiful and well-received. The young people of Hong Kong do have infinite creativity and they have been yearning for more opportunity to sell their works on the street. Actually, it should be the responsibility of the Government to develop small-capital economies which can practically help to provide employment opportunities for young people. It is my hope that John TSANG, the Financial Secretary, will take into careful consideration and promote vigorously activities like the event he attended last week. That way, not only will the young people be offered an opportunity, the Government will also be able to break away from its old way of thinking. What is more, this may be a great chance for the Government to mend the crack in its relationship with the young people.

Retirement protection is the third area which I hope the Financial Secretary can take a great step forward, and this is also something which I have been fighting for over the past few decades. In this connection, the Financial Secretary brought up the issue of retirement protection in paragraphs 143 and 146 of the Budget Speech and made it clear he would set aside $50 billion for the initiatives in this respect. While I and those members of community who have been fighting for retirement protection do welcome this funding of $50 billion, 8552 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 we can hardly agree with what the Financial Secretary has put forth in the Budget. This is because Prof Nelson CHOW has already completed a detailed study on universal retirement protection and recommended a proposal which is both feasible and capable of meeting the needs in this respect. What the various sectors of society need to do now is to conduct discussions and consultations on the proposal recommended by Prof Nelson CHOW with a view to reaching a consensus, rather than arguing over the adoption of the proposal.

At the meeting of the Subcommittee on Retirement Protection held yesterday, we argued with Mr Matthew CHEUNG, the Secretary responsible for the issue, for two hours. But then, he just kept talking about things he had been doing since 20 years ago. I wonder if it was just a delaying tactic of his. Despite the many meetings held by the Subcommittee and consultations conducted one after another, the option proposal put forward by Prof Nelson CHOW is nowhere to be found? This is really weird and the only explanation I can think of is that the Government is trying to delay the efforts that need to be made.

Given that the Financial Secretary is such an open-minded person, I will find it very disappointing if he still adopts some outdated perspectives in handling retirement protection matters. Perhaps the Financial Secretary believes that the poor economic conditions of certain countries in Europe are attributable to the retirement protection systems they have, but I think an in-depth study should be conducted in this regard. Indeed, there are many different retirement protection systems and we need to look into them one by one. I have to specially emphasize that one out of three Hong Kong people living in poverty is an elderly person and this is an undeniable fact. If we do not provide for a rainy day by commencing today the work required to implement retirement protection, some years later a large number of elderly people in Hong Kong will be queuing up for Old Age Living Allowance and Comprehensive Social Security Assistance. And I do not think any one of them would want this to happen. Hence, I hope the Government will do a good job in this respect to cater for needs of an ageing population and address the problem of elderly in poverty.

Finally, I hope the Financial Secretary can move a further step forward to address some tax-related issues. I have worked with a number of Financial Secretaries all these years and always found the way they dealt with tax-related matters far from satisfactory. Donald TSANG and "TANG TANG" were no LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8553 exception, and so is the incumbent Financial Secretary. The Financial Secretary is harping on the same old tune again this year in making reference to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the Budget Speech, thus arousing public speculation about his intention to levy GST, a proposal which the FTU always opposes to.

Some people consider that as the GST is generally introduced in different places across the world, why can Hong Kong not do the same? First of all, as a special administrative region Hong Kong is not required to submit any tax revenue to the Central Authorities, and the financial status of Hong Kong is more than self-sufficient as our population is only 7-odd million. Judging from our existing levels of foreign currency reserve and fiscal reserve which stand at $2,500-odd billion and $800 billion respectively, we can say that Hong Kong is indeed financially sound.

Moreover, the principle of vertical equity is missing in Hong Kong's tax system. The only exception is the salaries tax which adopts a progressive rate system; as for other types of taxes, the principle of "earn more, pay more" is not applicable. One good example is profits tax, as it has a single tax band only. While progressive tax bands are incorporated into the salaries tax regime to uphold the principle of vertical equity, this is not the case for profits tax, and this point has been under discussion for over 10 years. Besides, Hong Kong does not impose any property gains tax or dividend tax, otherwise the annual government revenue will be pushed up even further. We do not impose any tax on vacant sites either, and this issue has been under discussion for a number of years as well. Even though we have put forward a number of concrete proposals in this respect, it is regrettable that the Government just keeps holding fast to its established financial management concept. I just hope the Financial Secretary will reconsider the matter.

As criticized by many people, Hong Kong's tax system is indeed biased towards the rich. This is not only an opinion of mine but also an objective fact. When attending residents' meetings and discussing with them issues in this regard, I have often received a large number of questions put by members of the public. One of the questions asked was about the reasons for abolishing the estate duty, for they are sure that they will not inherit any estate at all. Why does the Government not consider imposing other types of taxes but chooses to dig into their pockets instead?

8554 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

The existing social problem of disparity between the rich and the poor is good evidence that Hong Kong's tax regime has failed to perform its function of helping to resolve the wealth problem issue. Even though Hong Kong does not have many types of taxes, members of the public are in fact paying huge amounts of "land development tax" because we all have to devote a large proportion of our savings and income to housing expenditure under the high land-price policy. In fact, the "land development tax" is imposed on every aspect of our daily lives, including housing, shopping, entertainment and all sorts of consumption activities. I can expound on the details in this respect one by one, but I am afraid I cannot afford to go into any details due to time constraint. However, it gives the general public an impression that they have actually paid a considerable sum of indirect tax. As such, the Government should never try to introduce the GST or the lives of the general public will be even harder. President, these are not my personal views but concerns related to me by members of the public. Whenever residents' meetings are convened, they will always query whether the Government is trying to make people' lives more miserable. They have very strong opinions against any measures that require them to pay tax when buying even a small piece of meat.

All people, be they rich or poor, are required to pay such taxes. On each of the past occasions when we were arguing about the GST, we as representatives of trade unions and wage earners repeatedly pointed out that if the GST was really introduced, the grass-roots people would definitely be the ones who suffered most. To put it frankly, wealthy people can always spend their money freely whether or not the GST is introduced, but the general public have to cut back on their clothing and food expenses because of this new tax. Should GST be introduced, the problem of disparity between the rich and the poor will certainly be aggravated. It is true that many economists consider the tax base of Hong Kong too narrow and the GST is one way to help resolve the problem. But then, have they ever wonder whether it is appropriate, under such circumstances, to require the grass-roots people to shoulder once again the evil consequences arising from Hong Kong's tax system which does not apply the principle of vertical equity? This would only serve to provoke a public outcry since grass-roots people are the ones to suffer every time.

I would like to emphasize once again that with our Gini Coefficient standing at such a high level of 0.537, Hong Kong already tops the world in the problem of disparity between the rich and the poor, and the poor will become LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8555 even poorer should the GST be introduced. The purpose of setting up a tax regime is to achieve redistribution of resources by making those who have the means to pay more, instead of squeezing money out of the pockets of the middle class and grass-roots people. They have already paid too much for land development and many of them are complaining bitterly. Given that they have actually paid large amounts of indirect taxes, why must the Government consider introducing the GST?

As I have mentioned at the beginning of my speech, I do have some expectation of the Financial Secretary. However, judging from the points raised just now, I do not think he has made any breakthrough. Having said that, I do think the Financial Secretary has made a lot of people happy this year by handing out the right "candies". To begin with, the grass-roots people are delighted to receive the rent relief measures for public housing tenants, as it had been their concern that such measures would not implemented this year. In this connection, they have repeatedly stressed that there is no question of enjoying double benefits on their part, but I do not have any time left to go into the details. Basically, judging from the views collected at residents' meetings, the Budget presented by the Financial Secretary this year has indeed won much support from the community. There are naturally other views, but the general response satisfactory.

Nevertheless, it is my hope that after we have given our support to this year's Budget, the Government will consider developing another economic sector in Hong Kong to help improve the local employment environment, so that those who have dreams and the grass-roots people can secure a job with their own hard work and earn their own living. I was surprised to see over 100 pedlars of different ages attending the public hearing held yesterday, and some of them were grass-roots people while some others were deputations (The buzzer sounded) …

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Miss CHAN, speaking time is up.

MISS CHAN YUEN-HAN (in Cantonese): … and they all deserve the attention of the Government. Thank you, President.

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MR TAM YIU-CHUNG (in Cantonese): President, first of all, I would like to thank John TSANG, the Financial Secretary, on behalf of the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) for listening to the DAB's appeal while drawing up this year's Budget to continue "handing out candies" in the form of an array of relief measures that can help the public overcome their hardship. The measures introduced include: one-off one month rent waiver for public rental housing tenants; additional two months' payment of the "fruit grant", Old Age Living Allowance (OALA) and Comprehensive Social Security Allowance; 75% reduction of salaries tax and profits tax for 2014-2015; waiving rates for the first two quarters of 2015-2016; and increasing the basic and additional child allowances from $70,000 to $100,000. Moreover, there will also be a series of short-term support measures for industries affected by the 79-day long illegal occupation movement which took place last year.

The said relief measures and targeted support measures can basically benefit all sectors of society, bringing happiness to all. According to an opinion poll, this year's Budget attained 60.2 scores, setting a new high in the last five years. In this connection, the DAB also hopes that in the future, the SAR Government will consider continuing with the relief measures to benefit the people so long as the financial conditions remain favourable.

We are having a bigger surplus in this Budget. One of the reasons is that there is an increase in revenue from stamp duty and profits tax. For 2014-2015, revenue from stamp duty exceeded estimation by $29 billion (or over 60%), of which 75% (approximately $21.8 billion) came from the double stamp duty which was not included in the original Budget. However, I am somewhat worried if the situation can persist indefinitely. First, with a greater expectation of a hike in interest rate in the United States, the Hong Kong dollar remains strong, and this constitutes risks for Hong Kong's asset market. Moreover, while the strong Hong Kong currency has dampened the desire of tourists to visit Hong Kong, the earlier violent protests against parallel goods traders have also undermined Hong Kong's image seriously. As a result, the overall number of inbound tourists has dropped by 12.4% over the recent Easter holidays. Tourism is one of the important industries supporting the living of a large number of people in Hong Kong, if it continues to remain in recession, the job market of Hong Kong will be impacted and thus impairing the economy of Hong Kong as a whole. With uncertainties plaguing Hong Kong's asset market and the real economy, it remains unknown if the SAR Government can still reap a handsome revenue in the next few years.

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In the meantime, the SAR Government has rolled out large-scale poverty-alleviation policies, such as the OALA and the Low-income Working Family Allowance. With Hong Kong's population ageing increasingly, the Government's recurrent expenditure on care and attention for the elderly will only increase. Thus, the SAR Government and the Hong Kong society should be vigilant. On one hand, we have to save for a rainy day and brace for the time when the SAR Government fails to make ends meet. On the other hand, we have to consolidate and develop our existing priority industries, and start more emerging economic industries to promote the diversification of Hong Kong's industries.

As the saying goes: "Make hay while the sun shines". Under the circumstances that the SAR Government is enjoying a robust financial position, it is shrewd to earmark part of the surplus as a reserve fund to poise for a possible deficit in the future. This will save us from repeating what we experienced at the start of this century when the SAR Government had to cut public expenditure profusely due to a budget deficit, and thereby enable us to safeguard against a heavy blow to society. In this connection, the Financial Secretary proposed in his Budget the setting up of the Future Fund, comprising an endowment of approximately $220 billion from the Land Fund, and a subsequent annual 25% to 33% of budget surpluses. The Government will use half of the Fund for long-term and higher risk investments and the other half for more conservative investments to attain high returns and stable revenue. The DAB supports this move and hopes that the authorities will consider setting up another investment fund from the portion of the Fund used on higher risk investments to promote the development of the various industries in Hong Kong. Not only will this provide funding for the diversification of Hong Kong's industries, investment opportunities will also be made available for the Fund.

Surely, the promotion of the sustainable development of Hong Kong's existing priority industries, namely the financial industry, professional services industry and tourism industry, as well as the diversification of Hong Kong's industries can safeguard the main basis of financial stability for the SAR Government. In addition, people's livelihood can also be improved, thus enabling the public to share the fruits of economic development.

China and the Asian region are the locomotive leading the world in economic development. To propel infrastructural development of the entire 8558 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

Asia, China initiated the establishment of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) last year to provide new financing avenues for infrastructure in Asia. As some studies project that in the next two decades, the capital required for infrastructure in Asia will amount to US$8,000 billion, not only Asian countries but also many developed European and American countries have joined the AIIB, with the hope of sharing the economic gains. Therefore, the DAB welcomes the proposal by the Financial Secretary in the Budget to grasp the opportunity presented to Hong Kong's financial industry and professional services industry by the AIIB and the "One Belt One Road" initiated by the Central Government. We also hope that the Financial Secretary and the SAR Government will do a good job in grasping the opportunity. At the same time, it is also my wish that the authorities can do more to introduce and promote the strategies concerned to the Legislative Council and society, so that more people can understand the importance.

Meanwhile, innovation and technology are the new impetus for future global economic development. Therefore, promoting the development of Hong Kong's innovation and technology is very important for the diversification of our industrial structure. The establishment of the Innovation and Technology Bureau was obstructed by the filibustering staged by the pan-democratic camp earlier. Yet, the DAB hopes that while it continues to promote the establishment of the Bureau, the SAR Government will let the Advisory Committee on Innovation and Technology start looking into the development of innovation and technology in Hong Kong soon, so that pertaining strategies and policies can be launched immediately upon the establishment of the Bureau.

Apart from long-term economic development, population ageing is also a main challenge which Hong Kong faces in the future. The pace of population ageing in Hong Kong is ever-increasing. At present, elderly people aged 65 or above already account for 14% of the territory's population; in four years, by 2019, the elderly population will increase by another 30% to 1 330 000; 14 years later, that is, by 2029, it will double to 2 060 000. These figures are appalling. At the moment, all care and attention and medical facilities are already stretched. If the Government fails to promptly provide additional resources through public finance to vigorously expand the construction of various care and attention facilities and hospitals, it will find itself in deeper waters when more elderly people need institutional care or hospitalization due to sickness.

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In the medical aspect, the problems of having difficulty in consulting specialists, long waiting time and insufficient hospital beds are already very serious, and the situation is particularly dire in New Territories East and New Territories West where medical resources are comparatively less. Recently, we heard that Secretary Dr KO was about to make adjustments. When I went to the hospitals to visit some sick kaifongs lately, I noticed that the corridors are packed with patients, and the situation is particularly common in hospitals in the New Territories. This is very disturbing.

In the past decade or so, the number of hospital beds in Hong Kong has maintained at 31 000, but the number of elderly people has doubled. In the next 14 years, this number will again double. There is no excuse for medical construction to lag behind. This year's Budget has reiterated that the Government will launch various hospital projects, including the construction of the acute hospital at Kai Tak, Tin Shui Wai Hospital, Hong Kong Children's Hospital, the redevelopment of Kwong Wah Hospital and Queen Mary Hospital, and the expansion of United Christian Hospital. A total of 2 800 additional beds will be provided. However, all these projects will take a decade to complete, meaning a very slow increase in supply. The present medical resources already falls short of meeting the demand of the 1 million elderly persons territory-wide. If the elderly population doubles in 14 years but the number of beds in the territory only increases by 10%, the situation will be dreadful. As medical facilities are vital, the Government should invest more in this area. Apart from constructing more hospitals in the short term, the problem of medical manpower shortage has to be addressed as well. That way, the sick elderly can really get the medical care they need and spend their twilight years at ease in Hong Kong.

President, my office and myself have lately received many public enquiries about when they can get the "three-months' payment". They are much worried that "filibustering" will be staged again and cause the payment to be postponed indefinitely. They wish that I can try my best to prevent the "filibustering", so that they can get the payment soon.

In the past two years, a handful of radical Members abused the Rules of Procedures during the scrutiny of the Budget. They wasted much of the Council's valuable time to make themselves stand out of the ordinary. Last year, the Budget was only passed in June, almost pushing Hong Kong to the brink of the fiscal cliff.

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Now, a few radical Members are intensifying their action, and have submitted almost 4 000 amendments. Ignoring the well-being of the masses, these Members seeks to paralyse the Council, the Government and Hong Kong through "filibustering". Their action has prompted widespread indignation and discontent. I wish the pan-democratic Members will not join the "filibustering", or appease and connive them. Then, they will not be able to escalate their vicious act of staging filibusters.

With these remarks, on behalf of the DAB, I support the Bill and oppose all those frivolous, trivial and meaningless amendments.

MS CLAUDIA MO (in Cantonese): President, the basic function of the Legislative Council is to monitor the Government, and one of its major duties is to oversee how the Government spends money.

People cannot help laughing at this year's Budget which has committed three major sins. First, the Government has to spend almost $150 billion to construct the third airport runway. As it fears that the Legislative Council may not give the green light, the Airport Authority will circumvent the Council and arrange for financing on its own. Financial Secretary, although I am addressing you through the President instead of directly, do you have to turn your face away this much?

Second, the Police said that they had to procure four water cannon vehicles. In the past, the Police used fire engines to deal with protesters and people taking part in assemblies. Since funding below $10 million does not require the approval of the Finance Committee, the authorities use $9.5 million to procure four water cannon vehicles. Why do they not procure the vehicles one by one and make it 12? It is really shameful for the Government to circumvent the Legislative Council like this.

Third, every year, the Government spends tens of millions of dollar to promote its policies on televisions and radios. Many people have not paid attention to this, thinking that this is normal business. What problem is there for the Government to publicize its policies? Nonetheless, those "brain-washing" promotions are what we call the Announcements of Public Interest, or API, and they are about public interest. Genuine public interest means that people have a choice. The Government has been asking the public to "Seize the opportunity in LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8561

2017". Yesterday, I heard a radio sound track while I was driving. A young man said he was born in 1990, and explained how the Basic Law had ensured us. Yet, the Basic Law is subject to interpretation and the "one country, two systems" concept is faltering. It was a few days ago that pan-democratic Members issued a joint statement.

I do not wish that my amendment overlaps with those of the other Members. Basically, my amendment seeks to cut funding in four aspects. First, with regard to Mainland visitors, what we have been arguing is the number, as they have strained Hong Kong's receiving capacity. How can we not welcome visitors to come and spend in Hong Kong? Today is at least the sixth time I have been standing here to say this, but LEUNG Chun-ying is still distorting the picture deliberately. He wants to spend $40 million to promote Hong Kong on the Mainland, not among the international community.

In 2013, Hong Kong had over 50 million inbound visitors. Last year, the figure rose to over 60 million and it is still on the rise this year. Compared to other countries, our visitor number is almost 1.8 times that of Britain, four to five times those of South Korea and Japan, and even 8.35 times that of Australia. However, LEUNG Chun-ying is still asking for more Mainland visitors to come to Hong Kong. It is obvious that this Government is running counter to the Hong Kong people, and it even speaks of boosting our reception capacity. How big is Hong Kong? How many more Disneyland can we have? What is he talking about? He said the number of Mainland visitors during the Easter holidays had dropped. Do they have Easter holidays on the Mainland? What is he talking about? Then, he mentioned the day off for the Ching Ming festival. Ching Ming festival is for people to sweep the graves. This Government is totally distorting the facts.

Two main reasons lead to the fall in the number of Mainland visitors to Hong Kong. Why does the Government not mention them? The first reason is consumer confidence. The people absolutely have no confidence to shop on the Mainland, whether it is baby formula, diapers or gold ornaments. The case is the same for branded products, as the people fear that they may be fakes. The second reason is anti-corruption. Macao originally was to host an exhibition of branded watches and jewellery but given the ferocity of the anti-corruption campaign on the Mainland, the exhibition was cancelled. Why dare the authorities not mention this?

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If consumer confidence is strong, even if there are dozens of parallel goods traders, it will pose no problems. After all, it is about making a living. Yet, this is not the situation right now. Please take a walk along the main street of Yuen Long. A teacher friend of mine said in an online post yesterday that although he was married for just five years, the restaurant at which he made his proposal, the church in which he held his wedding and the restaurant where he hosted his wedding banquet were all gone. The Government has completely uprooted the spirit of Hong Kong and transformed its features. It has given Hong Kong the Roman-styled fountains. Genuine overseas visitors do not come here for those fountains. However, the Government has thoroughly removed Hong Kong's most basic spirit and features to entertain the Mainland visitors.

In addition to cutting the $40 million funding for promoting Hong Kong on the Mainland, I also seek to slash the funding for the scheme to employ native-speakers as English teachers. President, as we all know, in the past decade, English education in Hong Kong has ended up in failure. All the findings of the polls, including the one conducted by our Civic Party, indicated that 46% of the respondents considered that English education in Hong Kong was only average, but 36% considered it a failure.

Last night, I heard an expert in education say on radio that if the young people and children in Hong Kong made efforts to learn Putonghua, it would only take them six months to learn the language. We begin to learn ABC at the age of two up till we enter university, but why do we always find it difficult to converse in English? What kind of English education is this? If we go to schools in person to ask the parents, teachers or principals, they will tell us hiring foreign teachers is not totally futile, but at the end of the day, it is not value for money. The case is the same as the third runway. Should it be vetoed outright? No. We can look into how much it costs. Despite the authorities spending $800 million each year, the foreign teachers only end up being embellishments.

For the newly recruited foreign English teachers for secondary schools, their monthly salary plus allowance amount to $47,000, with the maximum salary reaching $90,000, close to that of a secondary school principal. Yet, for newly recruited local teachers, their starting salary is merely $25,000. Why does the Government not make good use of this money to train local teachers?

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In the 2014-2015 academic year, $850,000 of public money has to be spent annually on each primary school foreign English teacher, and the amount is close to $1 million for each secondary school foreign English teacher. This is not value for money. The authorities should not say that I am xenophobic. All I want is to see more local English teachers. Why can we not have more? Take this as an example. If we have to explain the meaning of a word, the child may still not quite get it after much explanation by the foreign teacher. Yet, if a local teacher explains it, he may bring in everyday references. I often use the word "arsenal" as an example. We all know "A" for "apple", but not everyone knows "A" for "arsenal". This is a difficult word. How do you spell it? If you remember it the hard way, you may still have it in your mind when you have to spell it out for your dictation in the following week, but you will forget it very soon. However, a local teacher can tell the students, "Boys, 'Arsenal' is the British soccer team which you love", and our Police headquarters stand on Arsenal Street. In this way, they will surely remember the word. In Chinese, Arsenal Street is "軍器廠街", so, "arsenal" means "軍火庫" (a building where weapons and military equipment are stored). Why do the authorities not provide more job opportunities for local teachers?

We are now talking about $800 million. If the amount is only $8 million or even $80 million, we may perhaps be more accommodating. The authorities are using some foreign teachers as embellishments without serious consideration. Hong Kong parents are most concerned about two aspects. First, as they are not sure whether their children will develop in the science or arts field, it is necessary for them to master the languages. Learning Putonghua is very important, but we should not make it hard and fast that Putonghua should be the medium of instruction for Chinese. In addition to English classes, the authorities should also add Putonghua as a subject, so as to arouse students' interest to learn Putonghua.

The second aspect is learning English. To many parents, it would be best if their children can enrol into direct subsidy or international schools. Affluent parents will even send their children overseas for studies at the age of 10. Why is it so? This is because English education can help the children learn the meaning of life and gain world vision. Therefore, the authorities should first teach English well and train local teachers.

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President, lastly, GANDHI had this wise saying. He said the grandness of a nation rest with how the local people treated animals. This subject of animals is not for winning votes, we really have our concern. We should not simply chant a few slogans to pretend that we love animals. Why do the authorities have to put animals down? We want no animals to be put down. Can the Government refrain from allocating that $1.4 million or $1.5 million? We love all stray animals in the community, and we urge the authorities not to shoot any more boars. There are only 100 000 boars, why should they be shot? We can designate an area in the wild for them to integrate with the community. It would surely be appreciative if the authorities can neuter them. The authorities can survey residents in the New Territories. They are much attached to the boars.

President, on the subject of animals, I sincerely hope that the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department and the Food and Health Bureau can change some wordings. We are talking about animals, not pets. Why do the authorities have to mention pet rights? Since they are pets, they surely enjoy a lot of rights, perhaps even more than those I enjoy. We are talking about animal rights. Moreover, please also refrain from calling them stray cats and dogs. We are talking about cats and dogs in the community. Thank you.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr Ronny TONG.

MR ALBERT CHAN (in Cantonese): President, there is a lack of quorum. In accordance with Rule 17(2) of the Rules of Procedure, I demand a headcount.

MR RONNY TONG (in Cantonese): There is a quorum.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Will the Clerk please ring the bell to summon Members back to the Chamber.

(After the summoning bell had been rung, a number of Members returned to the Chamber)

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PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr Ronny TONG, please speak.

(A Member said Mr Ronny TONG did not clip on the microphone)

MR RONNY TONG (in Cantonese): I did not mean to be frivolous, just that I took off the microphone just now.

President, let us be more serious as this is the Budget debate. President, I am not sure whether you feel the same. In the blink of an eye, this is my eleventh year participating in the Budget debate. President, early this week when my assistant handed me the draft speech for the Budget debate, I could not help heaving a sigh after reading it. Why does it always have to be full of clichés? President, I note that our Budget speeches are cliché-ridden not because Members have too much or too little to say, but because the problems that we mentioned 11 years ago still exist today. They still do, at least in my opinion.

"Madam Han", who was the first one to speak just now, started her speech with the food truck which Financial Secretary had talked about. President, I really feel helpless to find that the focus of the Budget is on the food truck. President, what makes me feel even more helpless is what the Financial Secretary said to "Madam Han" when they brought up the subject of food trucks while talking under a flyover. I have no idea why they had to go there but it seems that many things need to be done under the flyovers. He said to her that he had not looked an meticulously into the feasibility of food trucks in Hong Kong and that the Government still needed to do more research on its implications for areas like transport and health.

President, out of the various points raised in the annual Budget presented by the Financial Secretary to this Council, the one that has become the focal point of people's discussion is the food truck, which is an idea has yet to be studied thoroughly. President, I do not want to say that the Financial Secretary is trying to curry favour by claptrap, as this comment may be unfair to him. However, after going through the entire Budget, do you taking forward the food truck proposal or selling fish balls should be the part that is most worthy of discussion? President, sometimes I am not so sure about the duties and functions of the post of Financial Secretary. For sure, I am not interested in this post, I just want to know its duties and functions.

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Looking back to the days of the colonial government … President, I am not talking about "Hong Kong independence" … but in the days of the colonial government, Hong Kong followed the British constitutional system, under which the Financial Secretary was also a very important official apart from the Governor. Though not to the extent of interfering with policy implementation, the policies proposed by the Financial Secretary at least served an important indicator for the Governor in implementing policies. After the Reunification, Hong Kong has tried to follow this tradition, but to a continuously diminishing degree as one government succeeds another and one Financial Secretary succeeds another. As regards the present Government under Mr LEUNG Chun-ying, he has even made it plain that the Financial Secretary needs not meet with Members but only sit by the side of the Chief Executive. President, I do not know whether one day the post of Financial Secretary would be abolished. If so, the Chief Executive can handle problems all by himself.

President, this really enlightens me can leads me to the following question: whether the duties and functions of Financial Secretary are performed solely to complement all the ideas of governance of the Chief Executive, or there are some leeway for him to propose policies for long-term social planning or hardship alleviation. If the Chief Executive plans to push ahead a certain policy to a certain extent, does the Financial Secretary have to fully follow his order without considering the long-term development of Hong Kong?

President, why do we have such queries about the duties and functions of the Financial Secretary? Actually, I have raised this question over the past 11 years. Indeed, not only I but other Members have also raised this question. We have asked this question for 11 years. Is the Financial Secretary required to play only the role of a piggy bank, specializing in collecting tax and distributing the tax revenue to different portfolios, or does he have other roles to play after collecting the tax money? This is an important question.

President, we can explore later on where the tax revenue has gone, but in my opinion, such revenue will either go to the Treasury or be spent somewhere. Over the past 11 years, I have never seen him putting forward any brilliant ideas regarding the long-term planning or long-term development of Hong Kong. No wonder the Chief Executive thinks that it does not matter whether the Financial Secretary is present or whether the post of Financial Secretary is filled. If the post is really dispensable, tax payers can save several million dollars a year.

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President, I wish to bring up another issue, which is also a matter of principle. Interestingly enough, the Financial Secretary referred to the subject of structural deficit every year he presented his Budget to the Legislative Council. President, he really did that in the past 10-odd years. This year is no exception. The Financial Secretary declared at the outset that structural deficits would surface in 10 years. But the fact is that enormous surpluses were recorded in the past years. I will do the calculation with you all later on. If the Financial Secretaries ― I am referring not only to John TSANG but also Henry TANG ― of the different terms of government have all talked about structural deficits but ended up seeing the Treasury flooded with money, should this situation not be described as structural surplus? By structural surplus, I am saying that surplus will always be recorded so long as this system is in place. President, this is indeed the case in reality.

President, let us do some calculation together. Let us count in only the financial years under Secretary John TSANG and disregard those years under Henry TANG for the moment. The surpluses recorded in the past eight years amounted to $425.1 billion in total. If this amount of surplus is divided by eight, the annual surplus will average at $52 billion. Even people as incompetent at calculation as I am will get this figure. Secretary TSANG is very smart. I say so because in the days when Henry TANG was the Financial Secretary, I said the same thing to him. It was about eight to nine years ago. President, I am repeating the same thing not because I am too lazy to write a new speech but because things have indeed remained unchanged. When Secretary TANG was in office, the average annual surplus was $35 billion, and now Secretary TSANG has managed to reach a new high. Perhaps John TSANG's target is to double the structural surplus achieved by Secretary TANG, making it $70 billion a year.

The funniest thing is, evening though we are recording an average annual surplus of $52 billion, the Financial Secretary left a sting in the tail by saying in the Budget that consideration should be given to introducing a sales tax. President, sales tax is a very sensitive issue. "Madam Han" has spoken strongly against it just now. I am open about this issue personally. Back in the days when Henry TANG was the Financial Secretary, I already told him that if he could address the problems facing the grassroots and offer them appropriate or comprehensive tax exemption, or if he could spend the tax revenue on people in dire needs, he could consider introducing a sales tax. However, given the structural surpluses averaging from $30 billion to $50 billion a year recorded in the past 10-odd years since the Reunification, I am afraid I have to tell him that 8568 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 no Hong Kong people would find his sales tax proposal acceptable. To put it frankly, this is not a matter as simple as selling fish balls.

President, if we take a further look at these figures, which are not my fabrication, we will find that as of this year, the structural surpluses amount to $470-odd billion, accounting for 27.7% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and that this percentage will continue to rise. It is predicted that by 2015 or 2016, our fiscal reserve will reach $856.3 billion, accounting for 36.8% of the GDP. I believe this percentage is unprecedented and other countries are by far lower and cannot even dream of reaching this percentage.

Let us do another calculation for the Financial Secretary. The recurrent expenditure in terms of percentage of GDP, on the contrary, has only slightly moved up 0.2% in the past five years. President, that is to say, we are not unable to make ends meet, we are in fact spending much less than we can comfortably afford. That being the case, let us take a look at the provisions of the Basic Law. The SAR Government often says we must comply strictly with the Basic Law and should never deviate from it. It is clearly stipulated in the Basic Law that we need to keep expenditure within the limits of revenues and avoid deficits. President, we are definitely very successful in this respect and have done even better than we are expected to, as we have succeeded in not only avoiding structural deficits but even achieving structural surpluses. Hence, Secretary TSANG deserves a pat on the back.

President, we do not have much time, so I do not wish to spend too much time on the basic principles. I want to talk about some down-to-earth issues that need to be talked about every year. I hope that President would pardon me for bringing up again the subject of providing more residential care places, a subject which leaves the grassroots between laughter and tears. President, this subject was also mentioned in this year's Budget. But it seems that the Government is totally disconnected with the current situation. It is because as of end of January 2015, 31 600-odd people are on the queue waiting for care and attention places, or a total of 38 800-odd people if the inactive cases are also counted in. Basing on the current statistics, their waiting time should be 20 months and the waiting time for nursing home places should be 32 months. President, if we compare these waiting times with past years' figures, the situation has not changed much. In other words, the Government has not made any progress in this regard over the years.

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That is why I have been saying the same thing over the past 11 years. Why did I have to bring up this subject over and over again in the past 11 years? It is because the Government has not made any progress at all. Then, President, does it mean that these statistics are unimportant? It depends on how one sees them. Some may think that these statistics are not very important as the economy will not be affected if these elderly persons die. However, President, to many other people, including me, it is very sad to learn about these statistics. This is because in last year alone, 5 568 elderly people passed away when they were still waiting for a place. This is precisely what "waiting to die" means, as the elderly really had to keep waiting till the day they died. They accounted for 17.5% of the elderly persons waiting for a residential care place. They may perhaps be the most unfortunate group of victims suffering under the current fiscal policy. Are these statistics unimportant then? Are the lives of these 5 000-odd people unimportant? Are they so unimportant that we did not find it imperative to substantially shorten the waiting time in the past 10-odd years?

President, the situation of the people with disabilities is no better. In 2013-2014, the average waiting time for residential care places for severely physically handicapped persons was as long as 12 years. President, this is even longer than the time I have worked in this Council. As for moderately and severely mentally handicapped persons, their average waiting time was nine to 10 years. In other words, they needed to wait for 10 to a dozen-odd years before they could be taken care of by society. Yet, our annual structural surplus is as much as $50-odd billion. President, actually, all the Government needs to do is to draw a single-digit out of the structural surplus and that should be enough to resolve all these problems. What I mean is a single-digit percentage of the structural surplus should be enough to resolve the problems facing these people and let them be taken care of. Why is the Government still unwilling to do so?

President, actually I also want to talk about poverty alleviation and social mobility, but due to time constraint, I will only raise one point. In the realm of social mobility, we are facing the same problems. The percentage of Form 6 students entering universities is only 20%. This is pathetically low.

Thank you, President.

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MR WONG KWOK-HING (in Cantonese): President, I have conducted a number of residents' meetings to gauge public views on the Budget as well as the Policy Address presented earlier on, and I have also collected views from wage-earners in different trades. With regard to this Budget, in addition to gauging public views, I have also attended most of the special meetings of the Finance Committee. I attended 17 out of the 20 meeting sessions held. I was absent from three sessions as I had to take care of some community matters of my constituency. At the meetings, I raised a total of more than 20 questions and proposals. All in all, I consider this Budget worthy of my commendation and support.

First of all, I wish to speak on two things. First, the Financial Secretary accepted the recommendations put forward by Members of the pro-establishment camp, including the Members from the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (FTU). Despite the earlier claim that "fewer candies" would be handed out, the Government has still allocated resources to pay one month's rent for tenants living in public rental housing (PRH) units. The Government has also proposed to support the socially disadvantaged, including the recipients of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA), Old Age Allowance (the "fruit grant"), Old Age Living Allowance (OALA) and Disability Allowance (DA), with two extra months' allowance payment. These are good things. Nevertheless, I hope the Secretary could see the inadequacy in this respect. As we have noted, while the Government is launching relief measures on the one hand, it is not implementing suggestion made last year by the Secretary on the other. The Financial Secretary's suggestion was: the adjustments to the 1 000-odd items of livelihood-related fees and charges should not be conducted with the objective of achieving cost-recovery in one go. We notice that the fees charged by the cemeteries and crematoria under the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department are scheduled to increase by five folds in three years' time. This arrangement will definitely impact on the livelihood of the public gravely and can win no support from the people. Another example is the slaughterhouse services, as the examination fees charged by the Government for examining beef and pork will be increased by three times and 10 times respectively. In my view, this is simply a carrot-and-stick approach. The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department has consulted the Legislative Council on the proposed increase in examination fees, and eventually withdrawn some of the proposal for further consideration after listening to our objection and the trade's views. Hence, I hope the Financial Secretary will keep a close watch on the matter. Please do not let these undesirable measures ruin the pragmatic relief measures LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8571 proposed in the Government's Budget, which are good measures capable of winning public support. Please do not throw a wet blanket on the Government.

Second, the Financial Secretary has also incorporated the proposal of the FTU and the pro-establishment camp into this Budget by offering symbolic relief measures and four targeted support measures to the trades affected by the 79-day Occupy movement. All these are well-intentioned measures, only the coverage is not large enough. Financial Secretary, I have submitted to you the views from the Motor Transport Workers General Union, as well as its Taxi Driver Branch and Public Light Bus Branch, relaying the grave impact imposed on them during the Occupy movement. Unfortunately, the Budget made no response to them. Therefore, I hope the Financial Secretary will consider in what aspects assistance can be offered to them upon listening to my appeal. Unlike vehicle owners employers, these professional drivers cannot be benefited by the relevant measures, and that is why I consider the coverage of the Budget not large enough.

Moreover, President, regarding the questions and views I raised in the 17 special meeting sessions of the Finance Committee, I am grateful that the Secretaries of the relevant Policy Bureaux have adopted my suggestions and the relevant measures are beginning to prove their effectiveness. Let me cite a few examples with more obvious results.

Regarding the transport fare concession for the elderly and eligible persons with disabilities, Secretary Matthew CHEUNG has taken in my suggestion and extended the concessionary fare of $2 per trip to green minibuses (GMBs) with effect from 29 March this year. In extending the concession scheme to GMBs, he also pledged to conduct a comprehensive review of the policy after one year's implementation. The Government said it would consider allocating additional funding ― the amount of which should be around $500 million according to my own calculation ― to enable all the elderly people and eligible persons with disabilities to enjoy free public transport services, bringing us in line with Shenzhen, Guangzhou and other Mainland cities. I wish to thank Secretary CHEUNG for his positive response. This is the first point. Secondly, I wish to thank Secretary Gregory SO for giving a positive response in relation to the legislative timetable of an "original grant patent" (OGP) system at the special meetings and preparing to honour his pledge on or before the year 2016-2017. This measure will provide pragmatic and effective legal protection for Hong Kong's inventors ― creators of OGP ― after Hong Kong's reunification with China.

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The third person I wish to thank is Mr Paul TANG, Secretary for the Civil Service. He has responded to the request that we, the labour sector, has been voicing out for so many years by increasing the number of newly recruited civil servants and decreasing the number of contract staff in the new financial year. According to the Government, the estimated size of the civil service will amount to 176 448 posts by the end of March 2016, representing an increase of 2 540 posts or 1.5%. Nevertheless, we still hope the Government will keep on trimming the number of contract staff and recruiting more permanent employees using the highest common factor approach as far as possible, with a view to minimizing the inequality phenomenon of "same job, different pay" and thereby boosting the morale of civil servants.

The last person I wish to thank is Dr KO Wing-man, the Secretary for Food and Health. At the relevant special meeting, he stated clearly once again his pledge to carry out a comprehensive review of the hawker policies adopted so far, starting with the phasing policies adopted by the previous terms of Government and including those in force before the Reunification. Secretary Dr KO has clearly stated that the Government would adopt a policy of development plus management or development plus control. The progression from "phasing out" to development is indeed a milestone. I commend Secretary Dr KO for being a responsible person who is willing to shoulder responsibilities. Such a personality is indeed rare and commendable. Due to this policy change of the Food and Health Bureau, the Legislative Council has established two subcommittees, namely, the Subcommittee on Hawker Policy and the Subcommittee on Issues Relating to Public Markets, with a view to enabling the relevant study to be carried out smoothly.

President, these four examples are cited to show the Hong Kong people that it is not necessary for Legislative Council Members to filibuster or to launch any total non-cooperation movement if they want the Government to change its policy or improve certain government measures. All we need to do is to remain rational and reasonable, reflect the actual public opinion, and call a spade a spade. We can get some results in the end if we work with perseverance. I have raised 20-odd suggestions at those 17 special meeting sessions. The four examples cited just now are the more prominent ones.

Last but not least, I wish to point out that we are facing another round of filibuster. President, this Budget of the Financial Secretary is rather good, but it is not flawless ― we should call a spade a spade. However, according to the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8573

Secretariat, those Members in the opposition camp, who wilfully filibuster, have submitted 3 904 amendments. President, the filibuster will give result in a huge waste of people's hard-earned money. I consider the filibuster the source of four calamities: First, wasting a massive amount of public money paid by taxpayers and the public; second, delaying gravely the Council's normal procedures for deliberating businesses, scrutinizing bills and examining policies; third, jeopardizing all public works projects of the Government, as none of the items put forward in the previous year could be approved; fourth, impacting seriously on the construction industry. This year, the construction sector responsible for the advance works is approaching the cliff of unemployment …

(Mr CHAN Chi-chuen stood up)

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr WONG Kwok-hing, please stop for a moment. Mr CHAN Chi-chuen, what is your point?

MR CHAN CHI-CHUEN (in Cantonese): President, I request a headcount.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Will the Clerk please ring the bell to summon Members back to the Chamber.

(After the summoning bell had been rung, a number of Members returned to the Chamber)

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr WONG Kwok-hing, please continue.

MR WONG KWOK-HING (in Cantonese): President, just now I have mentioned the four calamities of filibustering. What will it be like if all four calamities are added up? Over the past three years, the 20-odd Members of the pan-democratic camp have been fanning the filibuster, and they are now turning it into total non-cooperation movement. President, in so doing, they have already wasted the Hong Kong people $2,573.95 million.

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Dear Hong Kong citizens, please take a look at how they waste your hard-earned money. Members of the public, do you think you should hold them accountable for that? President, the more than $2.57 billion wasted this way is far more than the payment for canned luncheon meat and canned mud carp. President, the loss is close to $2.6 billion. If I express this sum in terms of rental payment, what will I get? Let me use a one month's rent for a PRH unit for illustration. This sum can pay 2.5 months' rent for all PRH tenants. Dear PRH tenants, please see how these Members of the opposition camp or pan-democratic camp waste your money. President, let me use another analogy. To the socially disadvantaged groups in Hong Kong, including recipients of the "fruit grant", OALA, DA and CSSA, the sum of close to $2.6 billion is enough to offer them "quadruple payment", one additional month's payment on top of the "triple payment".

President, while we were all forced to endure traffic jams and gridlock chaos during the 79 days of occupation movement, the public may not be able to feel expeditiously the impact of the filibustering activities in the Legislative Council. As such, it is necessary for me to expound in detail the damage caused by filibustering activities, so that members of the public can decide whether we should keep on turning a blind eye to the intensifying filibustering activities in the Council.

President, as at yesterday, the Secretariat received a total of 3 904 proposed amendments. President, every child has played the "rock-paper-scissors" hand game. The Members who tries to filibuster are now playing "paper", as they have put on paper 3 904 proposed amendments. Therefore, President, I beg you to choose "scissors". President, you should exercise the President's power stringently to protect this Council's order of business from any sabotage or disruption, and thereby ensure that the Legislative Council can maintain its business schedule. At present, the filibustering activities are delaying seriously the scrutiny of bills and government policies. President, it is the right time for you to play "scissors".

President, with regards to the repetitive, verbose and meaningless speeches on the large number of sequential amendments in various types and categories, I hope you will play "scissors" resolutely to put an end to the filibuster. Last year, you approved 1 100 of the 1 917 amendments put forward by some Members. This year, they have put forward 3 904 amendments. I have no idea how many of such amendments will be rejected by you, but I hope you will adopt the highest LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8575 common factor approach to rule out as much as possible the meaningless amendments in a fair and just manner for the interests of the Hong Kong people and the normal operation of the Legislative Council, so that the Legislative Council can resume its normal operation as early as possible. I will really appreciate you for doing that.

MR SIN CHUNG-KAI (in Cantonese): President, just like the ones in the past years, this year's Budget does not give us with any surprise, except that more relief measures are put forward in it than the community has expected. There are measures that benefit the middle class and grass-root people, such as 75% reduction in salaries tax and profits tax, rate waivers for the first two quarters, as well as "triple payments" for recipients under the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance Scheme, Old Age Allowance Scheme, Old Age Living Allowance Scheme and Disability Allowance Scheme, and so on. In addition, this year the Government has also raised the basic child allowance to $100,000, and I consider this a response to the relevant suggestion put forward by the Democratic Party. In the face of the ever-rising inflation rate, this measure can help to alleviate the burden of education expenses on middle-families.

As members of the public generally hope that the relief measures put forward in the Budget can be implemented expeditiously, the Democratic Party will not take part in the filibuster during the Budget debate. We will only propose amendments to the relevant items of expenses under individual Policy Bureaux relating to the areas we do not agree to, including the Police Force's plan to purchase three ― just now some Members mentioned about four, but the number should be three ― specialized crowd management vehicles, commonly known as water cannon vehicles. The Democratic Party will not take part in the filibuster, yet at the same time we will not lend our support to this Budget. Even though the Budget has put forward quite a number of applauded relief measures, it still lacks foresight and has failed to put forward strategies for resolving Hong Kong's structural problems.

Besides, the Government has incorporated 25 funding proposals into the Budget to circumvent monitoring by the Legislative Council. We find this totally unacceptable. President, one of the constitutional responsibilities of the Council is to monitor the Government, and the Finance Committee (FC) is a standing committee under the council responsible for examining all the funding proposals submitted by the Government. But then, the Government has directly 8576 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 incorporated 25 funding applications not yet approved by the FC into the Budget for the financial year 2015-2016, involving a total of $3.1 billion. This practice adopted by the Government to circumvent the Legislative Council is nothing but administrative hegemony, aiming at crippling FC's power and right of approval. Once the Budget is passed, the said items will also be passed as well. Moreover, this practice has also broken the convention we have been adhering to in the past 30 years. This time, the Government uses a method which has never been adopted in the past 30 years to circumvent the Legislative Council, we cannot help but feel very much disappointed, and that is why we cannot support the Budget.

In the year before (2013), the Financial Secretary made it clear that he would gradually abolish the one-off measures of "handing out candies", yet in this Budget he is "handing out more candies". The Financial Secretary's explanation given in the Budget was that the measures were introduced "in view of the international macroeconomic environment and unstable economic factors". I wonder if the Financial Secretary was anticipating the value of the securities market to rise to over $200 billion in this past week and a half, earning an average daily profit of $500 million or even $600 million, and thus decided to introduce measures to boost the economy and "hand out more candies" to save the Treasury from "flooding". The Financial Secretary also pointed out that with the uncertainties in the external environment and the United States being in the interest hike cycle, the relief measures would be of help to a certain extent.

However, I believe one of the major factors causing the Government to "hand out candies" is that the Treasury is seriously flooded with money. If the Financial Secretary does not hand out some cash when we have recorded a surplus of $90-odd billion, I am sure his popularity rating will not be the highest among the various Secretaries of Departments and Directors of Bureaux. Last year, while the Financial Secretary had forecast a surplus of $9.1 billion, it turned out that a surplus of $91.3 billion was eventually recorded, not including the $27.5 billion investment return of the Exchange Fund which was not entered into revenue account. The said figures are the highest recorded since Secretary John TSANG assumed office as Financial Secretary eight years ago. I have no idea whether the Government has been recording structural surpluses in the past years, but both the Financial Secretary and the relevant Bureau Director ― the Bureau Director is now present in this Chamber ― have made forecast that structural deficits will surface within 10 years.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8577

Just like the ones in the past years, this years' Budget continues to roll out measures of "handing out candies", totalling as much as $34 billion. The "candies" to be handed out this time cover different strata of society, and should therefore be of help to alleviate the financial pressure on the middle class and grass-root people. According to an opinion survey conducted by the University of Hong Kong in respect of people's satisfaction with the Budget, within the first week after the Budget was published, about 45% of the people surveyed indicated support for the Budget, and only 18% indicated otherwise.

The one-off measures of "handing out candies" introduced in the eight Budgets presented by the Financial Secretary in these eight years have already handed out over $250 billion. Recently, the term "new normal" has become very popular, and I just wonder if this should be regarded as the "new normal for handing out candies". A responsible government should be a government with foresight. Given the various problems facing Hong Kong, the Government should make longer-term commitments in fields such as healthcare, housing, education, and so on, so as to address the concerns of the public.

We should make long-term investment, but the measures of "handing out candies" or even "handing out more candies" introduced by the Government this time can only win short-term support from the public. A Budget without long-term measures is indeed disappointing in the eyes of the people of Hong Kong, at least we find it disappointing. The Financial Secretary continues to adopt the attitude of a "chief financial controller" in drawing up the Budget, and since he has under-estimated last year's government revenue and has to adhere to the principle of keeping expenditure within the limits of revenues as required under the Basic Law, he is in effect cutting back on the resources the Government will inject into the various social and livelihood-related policy areas in the long run, and thereby impacting on Hong Kong's long-term economic development. Hence, for the sake of Hong Kong's future, we hope the Government will at least make some and fundamental long-term investment in the major fields I referred to just now.

According to the Government's estimation, its fiscal reserve as at the end of March this year stands above $819.6 billion. This is a structural issue, as the Government has a handsome amount of surplus equivalent to almost 23 months' fiscal reserve. I have also mentioned just now that while the surplus recorded by the Government in each of the past five years amounted to $50 billion on average, 8578 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 the Government forecasts a surplus of $36.8 billion in the coming year. I believe this figure has not counted in the $2 billion earned in the past two weeks. The Financial Secretary has ― perhaps the Bureau Director also has a part in it ― often estimated incorrectly or underestimated surpluses but overestimated deficits. Indeed, the Government should break away from its unwritten general practice and stop insisting on containing public expenditure at no more than 20% of the Gross Domestic Product.

If the Government does not increase its recurrent expenditure, it will limit the improvement that can be made to a number of livelihood-related policies. The Democratic Party believes that the Government should not cap public expenditure at 20% of the Gross Domestic Product. When the Financial Secretary assumed office in 2007, the fiscal reserve was around $374 billion, but the amount has risen to $819.5 billion as at the end of the past financial year. And according to the Government's forecast, the fiscal reserve will stand high at $950 billion by 2020. This handsome reserve of $900-odd billion is generated by the 3-odd percent rate of return of the Exchange Fund. Even though the Financial Secretary may talk about the Future Fund next week … As the Financial Secretary always estimates surpluses incorrectly, I believe our fiscal reserve will exceed $1,000 billion by 2020 if our policy remains unchanged.

Despite the continuous growth of the fiscal reserve, the Government is still unwilling to allocate public money to help the grassroots or middle-class to resolve their problems. In the end, the people remain poor while the Government is getting wealthier and wealthier. This situation is conducive to social unrest and various kinds of conflicts in society. The Democratic Party considers that the reasonable level of fiscal reserve should be pitched at 12 month's public expenditure, and the Government should make more long-term investments and make good use of the public financial tools to inject more resources into the various social and livelihood-related policy areas. My colleagues will expound more on the demands in this respect later on, such as places in residential care homes for the elderly, public housing, or provision of retirement protection, and so on. We have been talking about issues like these for years, and our colleagues will explain in greater detail respectively.

The Future Fund proposed by the Government in this year's Budget is a follow-up of last year's proposal. Perhaps the Government has forecast a so-called structural deficit in 10 years' time when the population continues to age, LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8579 and thus proposed to establish a Future Fund with the $220 billion balance of the Land Fund as a first endowment and an annual injection of about one fourth to one third of the year's budget surplus in future. The Future Fund will be placed in long-term investments for higher returns.

From an accounting point of view, injecting surpluses into other accounts can help to earn more return. As such, I will not dispute over this arrangement. However, the Future Fund should never be used as a pretext, as quite a number of grass-roots organizations are worried that the Government will cut back on its recurrent expenditure or lower the recurrent expenditure growth rate because of this arrangement, thereby affecting adversely the long-term planning of our society. In our view, the Government should not reduce its social investment commitments in striving to build up savings. The Government should not overlook the existing problem of disparity between the rich and the poor just because it has to focus on the Future Fund; otherwise, the conflicts within our society will intensify. What is more, the Government should never miss this opportunity to make good use of the handsome surplus to formulate long-term policies and enhancement measures. Among the things that need to be done, the most urgent task is to set up a $50 billion seed fund for retirement protection.

In putting aside a part of the surplus for injection into the Future Fund, the Government is in effect recognizing the fact that from a public finance point of view, it needs to make better financial arrangements to cope with our aged society in future. Indeed, the Democratic Party has put forward the concept of an ageing population reserve fund in as early as 2007, and our proposal is to draw $50 billion from the surpluses to form an initiation fund and then allocate about 50% of the annual income of the Exchange Fund in the subsequent years as its constant revenue. According to the experience of the Exchange Fund in respect of its accumulated surplus, it will take approximately 10 years' accumulation for the proposed fund to reach an amount substantial enough to address the social and medical pressure arising from an ageing population.

We believe we need to get prepared for a rainy day. As such, the Government should make proper planning when surpluses are recorded, and it is all the more imperative for the Government to make comprehensive planning for an ageing population. But then, the Government has done nothing in this respect in this year's Budget. Last year, we have pointed out during the Second Reading debate on the then Budget that the first and foremost issue the Working Group on Long-Term Fiscal Planning needed to consider should be "future 8580 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 needs" or the various challenges brought about by an ageing population, and that a comprehensive assessment of the "future needs" should also be conducted by the various Policy Bureaux.

As a "junior financial controller", the Bureau Director should think about the amount of needs we have to satisfy rather than the amount of money that has to be saved up before making any expenditure, he should consider how our $819.6 billion reserve can be used to cater for our social service needs. The problem remains that none of the Secretaries of Departments and Directors of Bureaux can respond promptly to the criticisms made by members of society. In addition to labour supply shortage, an ageing population is also conducive to more demands for medical services, long-term care and attention services, and so on. According to the existing blueprint of the Hospital Authority, Hong Kong will need to have an additional 8 800 hospital beds by 2031, and the existing number of beds in public hospitals is only 21 000. In other words, a 40% increase is required. I have mentioned in the past that such a situation would lead the medical and healthcare sector into crises or critical situations. It takes as long as 10 years for a new hospital to go from the planning stage to the final stage where it is ready to come into operation, hence, time is really running tight. Insufficient supply of hospital beds is certainly one problem, another cause for complaints is the prolonged waiting time for places in care and attention homes for the elderly, as many elderly persons have passed away before they are allocated a place.

Given that the various problems arising from an ageing population and the care and attention needs of the elderly must be addressed without delay, in addition to establishing a Future Fund, the Government should also formulate specific plans to make good use of the fiscal surplus and reserve we have today to prepare well for the immediate and future needs of an ageing population.

We are worried that the Future Fund might be just a pretext only, not really a savings plan for the future. As such, we hope that the Bureau Director can explain clearly in his reply speech how the Government is going to make use of the fiscal reserve to cater for our needs in these coming 10 years when the Future Fund has yet to reach its target level.

President, there are still quite a number of areas we need to discuss, including tax concessions, innovation and technology, and so on. This year's Budget has put forward some proposals in these areas, but since we do not have LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8581 enough time to discuss them item by item, we will wait until the Committee stage to speak on them further. To conclude, the Government should make use of the handsome fiscal reserve in hand and adopt new thinking to formulate long-term economic and social development strategies for Hong Kong, rather than relying on funds to govern Hong Kong. The Government should not rely on subsidizing projects and providing loans for enterprises to promote economic development.

Every year, the Government under-estimates its revenue and eventually records a handsome surplus. Nevertheless, it is only willing to adopt all sorts of "one-off measures" to address the community's requests, rather than increasing its recurrent expenditure to resolve the various conflicts within our society or providing tax concessions to boost the economy.

In order to address the needs of the aged population that will emerge in the future, the Financial Secretary should request the various Policy Bureaux to do a good job in assessing the future needs and make good use of the fiscal reserve.

MR FREDERICK FUNG (in Cantonese): President, Mr John TSANG has been in the position of the Financial Secretary for eight years. However, he has never changed in these eight years. Although there are still two more years in his term of office, I think I can give a final conclusion for him and that is: the Budgets presented by the Financial Secretary are both faulty and frivolous.

First of all, I will talk about how faulty they are. We can see that the annual revenue estimated in each of these eight years' Annual Budget since he assumed office as the Financial Secretary was never correct, the discrepancies ranged from a few billion dollars to over $100 billion. However, Hong Kong enjoyed a fiscal surplus of $56.7 billion every year on average. This is the first faulty area.

Secondly, I will just mention some recent figures instead of the figures many years ago. In this year's Budget, the Government told the public that the fiscal surplus recorded in 2014-2015 would amount to $63.8 billion; yet in the announcement made on 31 March, the Government told us that Hong Kong's total amount of surplus in the past 11 months was $78 billion ― of course, the figure of a month, that is March, has not been taken into calculation. However, if we take into consideration the budget deficit of about $10 billion estimated in March last year, the figure of $63.8 billion announced in the Budget is incorrect. It is 8582 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 because according to my assessment earlier, the Government should have recorded an additional $4 billion in its surplus. Hence, last year's fiscal surplus should be $67.8 billion. What is $4 billion equal to? It is equal to four months of public housing rental being waived. Of course, this figure is not totally incorrect. If we consider the public expenditure last year as the amount of money that should be spent for Hong Kong, two items should be taken out: First, the $20 billion doled out as "candies" last year, as this is not an ordinary public expenditure item; and second, the $27 billion the Government allocated to the housing fund before settling the accounts, as this move has reduced the amount of fiscal surplus in the account. The sum of these two items is $47 billion. In other words, if of the Financial Secretary's Budget told us that we had a surplus of $63.8 billion, the sum should actually be over $100 billion.

There is still a third illusion. The Financial Secretary told the Hong Kong people that structural deficits would surface after 10 years in Hong Kong. President, do you believe that this will happen? While Hong Kong has recorded a total surplus of $526.4 billion over the past 10 years, over $450 billion was earned in the eight years when Mr TSANG was the Financial Secretary. Earlier on, a Member referred to this as structural surplus. However, the Government is now telling us that structural deficits will surface in the coming 10 years. President, as the Chinese saying goes, "a Feng Shui master can cheat you for eight to 10 years at the most". However, our Feng Shui master, the Financial Secretary, has cheated us over the past 10 years and still wants to cheat us in the coming 10 years.

These three faulty areas are all going against the Basic Law. President, I believe Members do know that the Basic Law requires us to keep the expenditure within the limits of revenues. When we have wrongly estimated the revenues, there are bound to be mistakes in our expenditure planning. Originally, Hong Kong should have an annual surplus of $56.7 billion on average and the sum could be used on public projects to help resolve the problems facing Hong Kong. But then, as the Financial Secretary has underestimated the revenues and thought that there might be deficits, the expenditure was reduced. In other words, we fail to comply with the requirement of keeping the expenditure within the limits of revenues.

President, what I want to say next is the Government's failure to keep the expenditure within the limits of revenues, how is it going to use the huge surplus? The Financial Secretary always refers to us as the "community camp", "livelihood LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8583 camp", "candies doling camp" or "free lunch camp". However, the one who always criticizes others for advocating the provision of free lunch has to boost people's morale with free lunch, and this person is the Financial Secretary. He has been "handing out candies" for eight years. While "candies" are being handed out every year, the way he does it this year is the most ridiculous. The focus of the Financial Secretary is not put on the ways to resolve the economic problems facing Hong Kong or to cater for the other needs of the public. There are not the important issues. The focal point, however, is the food trucks which the Financial Secretary has been joking about without giving good consideration to. He even has to see what food trucks are in the community. How many benefits and changes can food trucks bring to Hong Kong? I do not oppose the introduction of food trucks, but this idea definitely should not be taken as a principal part of the Budget by the Hong Kong people, and all the more not by the Financial Secretary.

(THE PRESIDENT'S DEPUTY, MR ANDREW LEUNG, took the Chair)

How should the surplus be used? In fact, we all know that many problems have surfaced in Hong Kong. Let me cite some examples: the 15-year free education policy is not properly implemented, the problem of sub-dividend units remain unresolved, the chronically ill still need to wait a long time for medical services, the waiting time for hostel places and services provided for the elderly, people with disabilities and mentally handicapped persons has yet to be shortened. What is more, nothing has been done to promote the development of new industries in Hong Kong to give people a new platform for economic development whereby a new economic vision can be built up for the Hong Kong people. Are all these not the duties of the Financial Secretary? Are all these not the responsibilities that the Financial Secretary should shoulder? I think that he is even worse than an accountant due to his miscalculations and lack of visions.

Deputy President, what is the second major problem that the Hong Kong people have to face due to the financial management done by the Financial Secretary? The frivolous place of this Budget is that the Financial Secretary will "hand out candies" whenever Hong Kong has fiscal surpluses. However, the substantial problems just mentioned are left unattended. Another frivolous point is ― I have to relate this to LEUNG Chun-ying ― about the fiscal expenditure of 8584 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

Hong Kong at present. While the ceiling of public expenditure has already been set at 20% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in the past, how Hong Kong should spend its money is in fact being restricted by another "golden hoop". I would like to read out a remark and let Members guess who made such a remark: "The fiscal discipline that Hong Kong should maintain the level of public expenditure below 20% of the GDP is impractical and unrealistic." Do Members remember who said this? This is a remark made by LEUNG Chun-ying in his 2012 election platform. Nevertheless, up to date, the Financial Secretary is still holding fast to the 20% rule. Without a doubt, the problem of holding fast to the 20% rule is that we are not making the necessary expenses, and we turning the expenditures that we may need into unnecessary items. Is this issue a result of the contradictions between Financial Secretary John TSANG and Chief Executive LEUNG Chun-ying? Is it attributable to the fact that LEUNG Chun-ying's political platform contains only some empty promises which will not really matter whether they are implemented or not, or that he considers something said is something done? Or is it like what I have said: the Financial Secretary of a Civil Service background is mastering the Chief Executive? We do not know what is behind the scene, but this situation is obviously a problem.

Deputy President, in what direction should Hong Kong develop? Should it be "big market, small Government", "medium market, medium Government", "big market, medium Government", or "big Government, small market"? There can be a lot of arguments. Nonetheless, the basic needs and the economic development prospects of Hong Kong people have to be dealt with. The public expenditure of Hong Kong should not be restricted by the 20% rule, nor should it be pressed down in order to guarantee that there is surplus.

In the past, the Financial Secretary only told us that the Government had fiscal deficits and insufficient income. However, this time and also for the first time, he gladly told us that in the coming two years in his term of office, the Treasury would have fiscal surpluses. This is totally opposite to his usual comments. Is it because he will be leaving his office soon that he has chosen to speak the truth?

Deputy President, I hope that the SAR Government can conduct some reforms in due course. First of all, let us take a look at our present financial situation. As at 28 February 2015, our fiscal reserve stood at $833.7 billion, which was equal to almost 23 months of government expenditure, and this sum has not counted in the $660 billion accumulated surplus of the Exchange Fund. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8585

Hong Kong is an affluent place among the developed countries, and yet the Budget of this affluent place has surprisingly devoted so little and superficial coverage to the efforts to assess and promote the development of Hong Kong. What is more, the Government even encourages discussion on the idea of introducing food trucks. Bearing in mind that Hong Kong is a cosmopolitan city, is this a titbit or a big joke?

I hope that both the Financial Secretary and the Chief Executive will not adopt the attitude which always gives us the impression that the SAR Government will not take the matter seriously after the Bill is passed. And I hope they will refrain from using a lot of weasel words and abandon the way of thinking that something said is considered as something done or something approved. Despite the substantial surplus it has recorded, the SAR Government has failed to make good use of effective financial management to address properly the various problems facing Hong Kong, including Hong Kong's economic situation, the living conditions of the Hong Kong people, as well as the economic or livelihood-related hardships confronting the Hong Kong people.

Deputy President, regarding the proposals to resolve the problems facing Hong Kong, my discussion is focused on a few major directions. First, the matters urgently needed by certain Hong Kong people and which can be handled as mentioned earlier should be speedily resolved. These include the 15-year free education policy, the housing needs of people living in sub-divided units, the three-and-a-half years' to 12 years' waiting time for hostel places provided for the chronically ill, mentally handicapped persons and people with disabilities, as well as the question of how some new industries can be started. And the most important issue is: what can be done to enable Hong Kong people to feel that Hong Kong has prospects and is hopeful.

Concerning the details, I think the Government should pay attention to a few policies as follows:

First, it has to get rid of the existing conservative fiscal management concepts and refrain from presenting a false account deliberately. It should conduct estimations in a scientific manner with the support of data so as to really achieve the objective of keeping the expenditure within the limits of revenues. That way, it can ensure that the expenditure and the revenue are compatible with each other, and allocate recurrent expenditure to meet the genuine needs of the public.

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Second, it should free itself from the incantation of the fiscal golden hoop by relaxing the 20% rule which caps public expenditure at 20% of the GDP. It should also set a ceiling based on fiscal reserves so that fiscal resources can be used properly.

Third, when it comes to long-term policies, it should have well-directed fiscal planning to handle the problems with deep-seated contradictions, such as disparity between the rich and the poor, population policy, as well as homogenous economic activities. Take the universal retirement protection scheme as an example, the Government should formulate detailed fiscal planning to support the implementation of the scheme, instead of procrastinating continuously to the neglect of the interests and difficulties of the public, especially that of the elderly.

Fourth, the Government should invest resources in the long-term development of the economy and extend its view to the world. Our economy needs to be diversified, heading towards the direction of high-tech and high value-added industries. It has to vigorously develop social enterprises and remedy the inadequacies of the market economy.

Thank you, Deputy President.

MISS ALICE MAK (in Cantonese): Deputy President, I welcome the Financial Secretary's reiteration in this Budget about his intention to formulate more long-term measures for Hong Kong's housing development. Besides injecting a capital of $27.5 billion into the Housing Reserve established last year, he would consider injecting more capital at the appropriate time. I believe the Financial Secretary's saying so is no doubt a booster, so that the Secretary for Transport and Housing can feel relieved to continue to find land for building flats to solve the housing problem in Hong Kong.

Besides, I also welcome the Financial Secretary's suggestion that he would consider implementing new Premium Loan Guarantee Scheme for flat owners under the Home Ownership Scheme (HOS) and provide reverse mortgage for HOS flats that have not paid the premium, so that the landlords can rent their flats in the free market. This suggestion can no doubt help to increase the supply of flats for renting in the market. When the supply is increased, the rental market can also become more normalized and the increase in rents will not become too quick and too great. We welcome this.

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In the Budget, the Financial Secretary continued to use the cliché that the Government would try its best to find land to increase supply of housing to respond to the demand of the public. In fact, this is nothing new. In the Policy Address and Budget this year, no short or mid-term measures were raised to solve the problem of housing in Hong Kong. I would like to ask this question: How can citizens living in "sub-divided units" of appalling conditions improve their living? Who would care for tenants who continue to be exploited by the landlords? Middle-class families in better financial situation wish to buy their own flats to improve their living standard. But the Real Estate sector is speculating on flats of lower prices. As at present, the price of all small flats in the market is over $10,000 per square foot. Who can afford to buy such flats? Since middle-class citizens cannot afford to buy them, they have to continue paying more than $10,000 to rent a flat. How can the Government help these "grassroots among the middle class"?

I have noted that in recent few years, the most ignored people in the society are the so-called "grassroots among the middle class". This group of sandwiched citizens basically cannot benefit from the housing policy. During the debate on the Policy Address, I mentioned that at a residents' meeting in a certain district, a pregnant woman complained to me in tears. She told me that the monthly income of her family was $20,000. But she and her husband lived in a public rental housing (PRH) unit with four other members of her husband's family. She also said that even though she was pregnant, her home had no space to keep a cot for the baby. If they should separate into two different families, their income level would exceed the income limit for PRH tenants. If they had to rent a flat outside, they could not afford the high rent in private flats. She also said that their application was not successful in the ballot drawing exercise for HOS flats as it was easier to win the Mark Six than to apply successfully for HOS flats.

In fact, there are many such families in Hong Kong. Many young couples have an income between $16,000 and $30,000. Their income is "above the limit for public housing and below the level for Home Ownership Scheme". As far as the home ownership ladder is concerned, they are neither in the upper part nor the lower part. One can say that they have no position at all. It is hopeless for them to buy their own flats and live comfortably in Hong Kong. Being caught in such a dilemma, how can they have confidence in their future?

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I would like to ask the Financial Secretary this question: In what way will the $27.5 billion to be injected into the Housing Reserve established last year be distributed? Will the funding be used only to support the 290 000 public housing flats to be built in the coming 10 years? Or will it be used to build additional HOS flats to help citizens with the ability to "buy flats"? I fully understand that the Financial Secretary and the Secretary may not be able to answer me now. In January, the Policy Address mentioned about a Green Form Subsidized Home Ownership Pilot Scheme (GHOS). Nearly three months have passed since then. Up till now, the Government still has not announced any details, and we can hear nothing from the old public housing redevelopment plan that was raised nearly a year ago either.

Last month, I held a residents' meeting in Tai Wo Hau Estate and invited officers from the Housing Department to attend and explain whether the site next to Tai Wo Hau Estate originally set aside for HOS flats would be used for the development of GHOS flats or other purposes. However, the officers attending the meeting could not give me an answer. The citizens can but continue to wait. However, does the Government know that the citizens have been waiting for a very long time? They may be unable to wait any longer.

Last week, I talked with some residents in Kwai Tsing District who are living in "sub-divided units". I do not know whether the Financial Secretary and the Secretary know how miserable they are. It is already miserable enough for them to pay $5,000 to $6,000 to rent a "sub-divided unit". However, the most miserable situation is that they are "being slaughtered" for water and electricity supply. What does this mean? It means that they have to pay $2.8 for each unit of electricity used and $1.5 for each cubic metre of water used. Nowadays, in Hong Kong, not only Tracker Fund can be "speculated on", even water and electricity can be "speculated on".

I would like to ask the Secretary … in fact, "speculating on water or electricity" is against the law. Besides, most tenants of "sub-divided units" have not had their tenancy agreements stamped. This belongs to the portfolio of Secretary CHAN, because it affects the amount of tax received. Then, what measures does the Government have in place to help the tenants of "sub-divided units"? Besides, how does the Government ensure that the landlords would not deceive the Government or hide something from it and affect the income of it? Does the Government intend to continue to allow them not to have the tenancy agreements stamped and increase the rents as they like? Does the Government LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8589 intend to let them "speculate on water and electricity" as they wish, while the tenants of "sub-divided units" have to pay several dollars for each unit of electricity and several dollars for each cubic metre of water?

The Secretary had stated that he would formally request the landlords to sign tenancy agreements with the tenants. But up till now, he has not announced any details. I would like to ask the Secretary: whether or not the Government would allocate more resources in the Budget so that the Rating and Valuation Department can establish new division to make enquiries and request landlords to have the tenancy agreements stamped when they rent out flats? All these belong to the policy portfolio of the Secretary. Besides, would the Government consider the recommendation of Federation of Trade Unions and establish a Rent Control Board to deal with enquires and complaints of tenants? The Government often rejects our request to exercise rent control. But can the Government establish a Rent Control Board and increase the manpower and stipulate that the landlords must strictly adhere to the requirement of having the tenancy agreements stamped so that the tenants can have a little bit of protection? By doing so, the grass-roots citizens who are tormented by high rents and poor living condition but have been waiting for allocation of public housing for many years can be mollified a little bit. The Government should not say repeatedly that interfering with the market would only decrease the supply of flats for renting and then put a full-stop to it and do nothing. The Government only states that, in the long run, land has to be found to build flats. Everybody knows that mother is a female. Of course, find land to build flats can solve the problem. But for the short term, what measures the Government has to take? The Government cannot just fool around with us without doing anything.

Deputy President: the Government has been promising the public that they can "go up the house" ― be allocated with public housing ― within three years. However, more than 270 000 people are now waiting for allocation. On average, people have to wait for as long as 3.2 years before they will be allocated with a public housing flat for the first time. Basically, the Government has already broken its promise and fail to meet the target of letting people to "go up the house" within three years. The Federation of Trade Unions (FTU) has been suggesting the Government provide rent subsidiary for citizens waiting for allocation of public housing. However, the Financial Secretary has been refusing to consider this suggestion all along. In fact, the FTU has made many suggestions to the Government, including "Easy Home", Home Ownership Scheme for Sandwich Class, so that families of young couples intending to buy 8590 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 their own flats can have one more choice. After having worked for a few years, they can save enough money to buy their own flats to satisfy their demand for housing.

The Government states that "whichever policy is matured will be implemented". But the speed with which the policies are implemented is really too slow. If we want to speed it up, we have to start from the basics and set aside some money in the Budget to be used as rent subsidy. This should be paid to eligible people who have been waiting for allocation of public housing for three years or above as compensation. I use the word "compensation" because many citizens have been waiting for three years but still have not been allocated with any flats of public housing.

Last week, I met a father who was the only breadwinner in a family of five. They had to spend a few thousand dollars to rent a "sub-divided unit". But the father's monthly income was only $10,000. Half of his income has gone to rent. They had been waiting for allocation of public housing for six years but still could not "go up the house". Why families of three can "go up the house", but they cannot? It is because they are a family of five. Does the Government want them to give up the elderly parents or the children living with them? When the Government builds public housing, there is a problem. There are fewer flats with larger areas. As a result, larger families have to wait longer. Why doesn't the Government give them compensation? The Government does not take any measures and does not exercise rent control. Does it only want to keep its eyes wide open and look at the citizens paying high rents and suffer and then curse the Government? The market is already out of balance. Shouldn't the Government right the wrong and do something?

I hereby raise a few requests. Would the Financial Secretary and the related departments please follow-up and realize their promises as soon as possible?

Firstly, the Government should announce the time-table for redeveloping old public housing estates so that the residents can prepare for it. This can also increase the supply of flats so that the pressure on the waiting list for public housing can be lessened. Besides, announcing the timetable can also help the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) to make preparation so that the Financial Secretary can decide when to inject capital again to speed up effectively the provision of public housing.

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Besides, I hope that the Government can implement measures to right the wrong as soon as possible, including enforce the landlords to sign tenancy agreements with tenants to prevent landlords from charging too much water and electricity fees, establish a Rent Control Board to deal with enquiries and disputes over tenancy, allocate resources to Buildings Department to completely wipe out "sub-divided units" in industrial buildings and illegally partitioned flats so that the safety of residents can be protected.

With regard to the supply of public housing in future, the Financial Secretary and the Secretary should start a full-scale review on the roles of the HA, Hong Kong Housing Society and Urban Renewal Authority (URA) in redevelopment, construction and market supply so that a complete housing ladder can be better constructed and the housing problem in Hong Kong can be solved so that all citizens can have comfortable homes.

Just now, I found that the Financial Secretary was still here. But after Mr CHAN Chi-chuen requested to count the quorum, the Financial Secretary left. Therefore, we really cannot request to count the quorum casually. Even though the Financial Secretary is absent, I hope the Secretary can listen to my last suggestion.

With regard to the trouble with the URA that people are talking about enthusiastically recently, some people state that it was because the Financial Secretary had exerted pressure on the URA and requested it to have stable finance and use the public funds wisely. I agree that public funds have to be used wisely. And I believe nobody would think that public funds can be wasted at will or government departments can recruit staff members at will and execute their duties inefficiently. However, I would like to point out that even if public funds have to be used wisely, the URA should not violate it social mission.

What everybody learnt from the newspaper recently has in fact not been discussed by the board of directors of the URA. Deputy President, I hereby declare that I am a non-executive director of the URA. Many issues that have not been discussed in board of directors of the URA, everybody can learn from the newspaper. I very much hope that the Secretary can tell the Financial Secretary that if the Government wishes that the the URA would continue its social mission, it has to prepare to continue to give the URA financial support in future. In particular, the Government recently suggested that the URA should introduce subsidiary flats. It cannot just say so and forget about it and let the URA raise funds itself. It is because if the Government does so, the recent trouble would come up again. We think that the URA has its social mission. 8592 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

Therefore I hope that the Financial Secretary and the Secretary can provide the URA with financial support. Of course, I have to emphasize again, the URA has to use public funds wisely.

Just now, when Mr Albert CHAN went past Mr WONG Kwok-hing and saw these stuffs, he asked Mr WONG Kwok-hing why he had prepared those stuffs again. He also asked Mr WONG whether he had any new initiatives. On the contrary, I wish to ask Mr CHAN, does he have any new initiatives? He filibusters every year. Besides filibustering, what else does he know? What achievement has he managed to get? Filibustering should be the last resort to force the Government to accept the opinion of the Legislative Council. However, it is obvious that … in the filibustering of them in the past years, has there been any single success? Even they themselves say they would filibuster until June and wait for the Chairman to cut the filibustering.

They keep saying that the Government departments just do things routinely. Isn't their filibustering also following routine? They cannot do anything practical, but only know how to procrastinate and waste time. Unless they have new tricks … I would like to ask them, besides filibustering, what else do they know? What else can they do for citizens in Hong Kong? Therefore, I very much wish … I also understand that they would still insist on filibustering after my speech, because they have no new tricks. I want to ask, do they have other ways? No, they only know filibustering.

I want to tell them: citizens in Hong Kong are tired of filibustering. Their filibuster only serves to prevent the elderly and recipients of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance from receiving "triple salaries" and prevent tenants of public housing from enjoying one month free of rents. I hope the legislators would not support their filibustering. I also hope that they would reconsider their conduct. Of course, I very much wish the Chairman would "cut the filibustering" as soon as possible ― though they expect that the Chairman would "cut the filibustering" in June.

I hope that the Legislative Council can really do practical things for the citizens. Filibustering is only one of the ways. It is the last resort. Since filibustering is unsuccessful, they have to find other means and not wasting public funds of the people.

With these remarks, Deputy President, I support the Appropriation Bill 2015.

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PROF JOSEPH LEE (in Cantonese): Deputy President, in this year's Budget, the Government set aside $54.5 billion for Medical and Healthcare services, of which $49 billion will be given to the Hospital Authority (HA). At first glance, it seems to be a large sum of money. But in fact, when we look at the amount given to the HA by the Government in the past years, the increase would at least be increased a few percents. Even though $49 billion is given to the HA this year, it actually only represents an increase of 0.3%. The increase is minimal.

In the past, the Government has a usual practice: set aside 17% additional expenditure for the HA to be used on public healthcare. However, in this year, such practice is not seen. On the contrary, the Government requests the HA to use the $2.2 billion of reserve first before it considers whether or not to set aside any funds for the HA. This is a very strange situation and has never happened before.

The Government adopts this practice in the Budget, and this makes me worry that the Financial Secretary and Secretary Dr KO are not in harmony, and hence the Financial Secretary said the Government would turn off the "water tap" first. Or the Financial Secretary and Secretary Dr KO have already discussed and the former has tacitly agreed to the "twin-track healthcare system" suggested by Secretary Dr KO. That means basically, the present resources would be used first, so that the public medical sector would be "dried out" gradually or would stop developing. Hence, a difference between the public and private sectors would be resulted. By doing so, the twin-track system can be achieved and more people will subscribe to a voluntary medical insurance policy.

It is because by then, the public medical sector would be on this track while private medical sector would be above it. Those who can afford would not choose public medical sector. They would turn to private medical sector instead. Is this what the Government means? Now, judging from the figures, I really have this worry and opinion. However, both the Financial Secretary and Secretary Dr KO are absent. It does not matter. They should be able to hear my speech. When they respond to it later, I can see how they explain this phenomenon.

Besides the funding given to the HA, there was also a sum of $50 billion to be spent on medical reform and medical insurance. Now, while $20 billion has been spent, another $20 billion has been taken back. The remaining $10 billion 8594 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 is given to the HA to establish a fund to make investment. It is hoped that the interest earned can be used for projects of co-operation between the public and private sectors. We welcome this suggestion.

For example, we just read from the newspaper that because of this fund of $10 billion, it is hoped that some returns can be earned by "redirecting the water from the south to the north". When there is more funding, more chronic illnesses like hypertension, diabetes and even kidney disease, can be transferred to the public-private co-operation scheme. Of course, this requires more private medical practitioners, private systems and private hospital to co-ordinate the efforts, and sufficient manpower will also be required.

However, we should not forget that we hope the public-private co-operation schemes sectors would not be restricted to one or two illnesses. We also hope that it can be extended to other services like basic services, including chiropractors, medical examinations and dental services, and even to services of occupational therapists, physiotherapists, dieticians, and so on, who are focusing on the healthcare area. We hope that these medical services can also be conducted through the public-private co-operation schemes so that part of the level three medical needs can be catered for jointly. We hope that this fund of $10 billion can be used on basic medical services where too many people are on the waiting list, instead of concentrating on one or two illnesses.

With regard to manpower, this Budget has not said much about it. It only briefly mentioned that manpower will be increased. However, figures show that in fact, the manpower in hospitals is insufficient. In the public medical sector, especially the HA, the manpower is insufficient. The figures just now show that ― I have also mentioned this in my questions ― among the manpower lost from public hospitals last year, the greatest number were nurses who have worked for one to five years. Among the young nurses, about 38% have already left.

Of course, many factors have contributed to this problem. One of them is they think that working at the HA has no prospect. Firstly, they do not have pay increase in the first two years. No matter how good their performance is, how hard their work is, they would not get pay increase. Therefore, after they have finished a contract, they choose to leave. This group of people have just acquired experience, mastered the operation of public healthcare and technique in nursing, what should we do when they leave? The HA is still unwilling to increase their salary. This group of people cannot see any prospect. Moreover, there is no system enabling this group of people to get pay rise or promotion after LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8595 receiving specialty qualifications and having worked for five or seven years. Therefore they choose to leave.

In fact, not only nurses are lost. The wastage rate of nurses is about 38%, but the wastage rate of specialized medical staff, such as physiotherapists and occupational therapists also stands at 30%. Deputy President, this really makes one very worry. Therefore, I hope that the Budget can face the manpower problem squarely. Of course, I know the Secretary may say he would soon present a report. But we have been waiting for it for so long. It will soon be the third quarter, but this report still has not "come out". I hope he can really solve this problem.

Besides, in this Budget, it seems that the fund allocated to psychiatric services has increased. However, figures show that people suffering from mental illnesses in Hong Kong keep increasing. A rough estimation is that by the end of 2015, around 215 000 people in Hong Kong will need psychiatric treatment. The demand would be increased by around 9%. But the number of nurses would only increase 5%. How can they cope with this situation? In particular, the HA is now promoting Community Based Rehabilitation. This means that, as far as possible, this group of people would not receive treatment in hospitals. Instead, they will be returned to the community. While the manpower in this regard would only be increased by 5%, the number of patients would increase by 9%. The increase in manpower cannot catch up with the increase in number of patients. How can they deal with this?

Besides the general mental illnesses I mentioned, in fact, the number of teenagers in need of child psychiatric treatment has greatly increased by around 16%. A rough estimation is that there are around 25 000 teenagers in Hong Kong suffering from child psychiatric issues and need treatment. However, the overall fund allocated to it in the Budget is only for an increase of three doctors, five nurses and five specialized medical personnel. How can they cope with the increase in the number of patients? This situation is really very worrying.

Of course, having talked about the situation in public medical sector and the HA, we must not forget the Department of Health. The Department of Health plays an important role in Hong Kong. It is responsible for taking care of over 6 million healthy citizens in Hong Kong ― Of course, those with "unmentionable diseases" are not included ― because people suffering from illnesses are only the minority. Most people are healthy. The fund the Department of Health received in this Budget seems to be very handsome, about 8596 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

$250 million. It would be used on the services of the Department of Health, including the medical vouchers for the elderly. This is nothing new. Besides, the screening examination on the large intestine would need more resources. We fully understand. As regards outreaching dental service, which I will speak on later, it is simply "not enough". On the intelligence testing of children, the demand for the service has increased by 12%. But there is no increase in resources this time.

The fund the Government has allocated to the Department of Health seems rather handsome, as much as $250 million. But there is no increase in manpower. How can the Department of Health cope with it? If the Government only allocates funds but does not increase the manpower, how can they deal with it? From the figures, we cannot see any increase in manpower. But many services mentioned above need to be done by professionals. Therefore, we wish the Department of Health good luck. Because after it has received the funds, it would not know how to respond to the demand for services from all sides.

Besides, on the front of medical services, I am rather disappointed with the issue concerning some rare illnesses that have been discussed for a long time. Of course, we are not referring to the cases we see on television, such as patients suffering from Asperger syndrome who do not know how to tell lies. What we are talking about are some rare illnesses that need treatment. But up till now, the Government has not established any overall policy to help these people with rare illnesses and their families. With regard to this, no resources are set aside in the Budget to meet the nursing and treatment demand of this group of people to help lessen the pressure on them. I hope the Government can face this problem squarely.

I would like to talk about the caring for the elderly. The Budget mentioned allocating funds to the elderly. This is very good. For example, the Government would implement a pilot scheme of vouchers for residential care homes for the elderly (scheme of service vouchers). Of course, we welcome this. But very strangely, at a meeting a few days ago, we heard a lot of objections from people in the trade. Deputy President, why would they object? They said the reason for their objection was very simple. It was because they thought that while the scheme of service vouchers was a good idea, a measure of "money following people", the standard of private care homes varied greatly, thus LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8597 rendering the scheme no good. Even if the Government provides subvention and transfer all the elderly to the private care homes, the care homes are unable to provide the services required.

Why is that so? One reason is that the existing Residential Care Homes (Elderly Persons) Ordinance is indeed outdated. The existing provisions stipulate that one nurse must be provided for every 60 elderly persons. If an elderly home cannot hire a nurse, it has to hire two health workers. This arrangement is very ridiculous. But in fact, many elderly in elderly homes are not very healthy. They rely on others more. That means they often need care. Their health situation is not very satisfactory. They not only need daily services like food and drink, showering, "feeding" and so on. They also need professional caring services, such as observing their health condition, the breathing in their lungs and whether their hearts are normal.

If they only follow the old regulations, the private elderly homes really can operate like this. If they only accept 58 elderly persons, they do not need to hire any nurse. These elderly homes accept the service vouchers and "pocket the money", but the services they provide are of poor quality. The people in the trade have many divergent opinions on this. Therefore, even though funding will be provided by the Financial Secretary in this regard, studies must first be conducted to see whether the Residential Care Homes (Elderly Persons) Ordinance needs to be revised to enable the overall service quality enhancement of elderly homes, especially the private ones. That way, the measure of "money following people" can really help the elderly.

Besides, the Budget also mentioned that the scheme of sending pharmacists to elderly homes to provide services was rather good. Some elderly homes, especially those subvented ones, have pharmacists to help them to handle drugs to avoid giving the wrong drugs to the elderly. The way the elderly take drugs nowadays is no longer like the way adopted in the past in which the drugs were put on the bedside cabinet and the elderly people were expected to take the drugs themselves. Today, they have in place the "three verifications" and "five checks" to ensure that the elderly would not take the wrong drugs. Deputy President, what are the benefits of this arrangement? Their disease incidence rate is lowered and they can maintain a good health condition. This scheme really can help them.

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Unfortunately, I have heard the Financial Secretary mentioned in the Budget speech that the Government would stop funding this plan after this coming September. But our question is: since there is such a good scheme that can help the elderly homes and the elderly, reduce medical incidents and is easy to handle, why not normalize it? I hope the Financial Secretary or the Bureau Secretary would consider this. Given that the Government has the money and the money is spent wisely this way, why not help these elderly persons?

Besides, I would like to talk about the Pilot Scheme on Community Care Service Voucher for the Elderly. This scheme seems to be quite good. But up till now, only 968 elderly persons have used this service and only 249 are considering what services the vouchers should be used on. Why is that so? This is because at present, the service providers under this scheme often provide services in personal care only. However, we must not forget that if we want the elderly to stay at home, they need more than personal care. They may also need some health evaluation, health education, services in handling of drugs. All these have to be provided by people who have received training. If these services can be provided, of course the Pilot Scheme on Community Care Service Voucher for the Elderly can be more comprehensive. Since the Government will allocate the funds, we hope that the funds can be used wisely and can really help the elderly.

With regard to the elderly community, besides receiving care in the community and in elderly homes, in fact, they can also go to day care centres in the community. We call it "going to school" and "returning from school". Some elderly persons need to be sent to the elderly day care centres at fixed times to receive some rehabilitation services and health checks. The most up-dated figure shows that, the elderly have to wait at least seven months for these services. With regard to elderly healthcare centres, which are centres where the healthy elderly can have their blood pressure taken, attend classes, chat with nurses, have their health condition checked to evaluate whether they need to consult doctors, the waiting time for this kind is centre is even much longer, as long as 20 months. For some cases in Wan Chai, Yau Ma Tei, Kowloon City and Tseung Kwan O, they have to wait for more than two to three years. This is because the Department of Health lacks resources. If he wants to do better, the Financial Secretary should consider increasing community elderly services and allocate more resources to the Department of Health to expand this service. Of LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8599 course, if we want to expand the service, the crucial factor is to increase manpower.

With regard to dental services, many Members have already opined that the existing dental services are insufficient, and they are confined to filling teeth and teeth extraction. If the community care service voucher for the elderly can cover teeth examination or denture treatment as well, the elderly can be further benefited. In fact, is it possible to let elderly who have reached the age of 65 to use the vouchers instead of following the present practice? I hope the Government can do better in this regard.

Finally, I would like to talk about the elderly. Many retired elderly persons aged 60 or 70 are still in good health, with good vigour and energy. Can the Government try to invest some resources to retrain these elderly persons so that they can re-enter the workforce and give play to their "silver hair energy"? In doing so, they can do more than just spending money after retirement and staying idle. Even though this point has been mentioned many times, I still have to bring it up.

Finally, I would like to talk about housing ― the public officers concerned are not present. Whenever the issue of rent control is mentioned, everybody would say it cannot be done and often considers rent control useless. I hope the Financial Secretary and the Secretary would think about it. Given that rent control is not implemented and many people in Hong Kong are forced to rent a home because they cannot afford to buy their own flats, the Financial Secretary and the Secretary should do something to help this class of people. After all, public housing also has an element of rent exemption. Perhaps the Government may give some thoughts to introducing tax exemption for rents. Of course, a lot of procedures have to be gone through. But if this can be done, this group of people suffering from high rents can have tax exemption and thus get some help to alleviate their problem and become happier. Otherwise, with the absence of protection from rent control, the landlords can force them to move out or keep increasing the rents. It would be better if the Government could do something in this regard.

Further still, there are many flats built by co-operatives in the market. In fact, many co-operatives have already disbanded. From the figures, we can see 8600 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 that at least more than 180 co-operatives have been disbanded. The progress of these co-operatives' applications for payment of premium is very slow. Can the Government speed up the process and invest more resources in this regard to help co-operatives that have completed the procedures for payment of premium to redevelop their flats.

Finally, I would like to talk about the GHOS. I do not know whether the Government is really sincere in implementing this scheme or it simply has no interest in it. We just have to wait and see whether it can be done. This scheme will help the people waiting for public housing to use the green form status to buy PRH units. However, if they have the money, I do not think they will spend the money on buying the flats. The scheme also helps the people who are renting public housing to buy the flats they rent. Even if they have the money to buy the flats, can the supply of public housing from the Government speed up? This is what the Government must face squarely. Otherwise, after this scheme is implemented, it would be completely useless. The result would be a net loss. It would take people even longer time to wait for public housing.

Deputy President, I so submit. Thank you.

MR POON SIU-PING (in Cantonese): Deputy President, I do not know whether I should congratulate the Financial Secretary or not. It is because according to an opinion poll by the University of Hong Kong Public Opinion Programme, there are a total of 37% of citizens who are very satisfied or rather satisfied with the Budget. Among the eight Budgets announced by Mr John TSANG since he became the Financial Secretary, this one comes as the second that the citizens are most identified with. It is even more popular than the Budget that "gave out candies" in 2011. This can be regarded as a miracle when our society is seriously torn apart.

In fact, the measures to lessen the people's difficulties are no different from the past. These include increasing the allowance for providing for parents or grandparents, reductions in salary tax and rates, giving "triple payments" to the recipients of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance, paying one month's rent for public housing tenants, all of which are very familiar. There is nothing new. However, this Budget managed to become the most popular one from the Financial Secretary. I think it is because the Financial Secretary was very adroit LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8601 at using expectation management. Before the Budget was announced, there were a lot of reports from the media that made people worry, such as claiming that in this year's Budget, there would no longer be "handing out of candies", the tobacco duty and vehicle licence fees would be greatly increased, and so on. All these worries were gone when the Budget was presented. And thus the citizens' satisfaction with the Budget is also increased.

In the Introduction to the Budget, the Financial Secretary talked about the Occupy movement. He opined that "Without doubt, the social issues revealed during the incident did not come about, nor can they be resolved, overnight. We should seek to narrow our differences and pursue consensus with patience and pragmatism. Prolonged bickering will only bog down our development." I completely agree with the Financial Secretary's analysis here. However, the Financial Secretary has been in office for eight years, does he has any responsibility in this problem that is not formed in a short time? Whether this Budget that gives the same measures as the past can help solving the problem is now plain to see.

In the past eight years that the Financial Secretary has been in office, the disparity between the rich and the poor has become more and more serious. In 2012, the Gini Coefficient in Hong Kong reached the new high of 0.537. After that, the Government no longer announced the figure of Gini Coefficient. However, since 2012, has the disparity between the rich and the poor become less or more serious? We can verify it with the contradiction and opposition in society. Take the increase in the property market as an example. The Centa-City Leading Index reflects the changes in property prices. The index in March this year was 137.12. This represents an increase of more than 152% since Mr John TSANG first became the Financial Secretary in 2007. In paragraph 11 of the Budget, the Financial Secretary wrote, "Overall rentals rose, but the rises were generally modest." According to the information from the Rating and Valuation Department, for small flats with an area of less than 40 sq m, the price increases recorded in the New Territories, Hong Kong Island and Kowloon last year were 20%, 10% and more than 7% respectively. But for the minimum salary which is adjusted every two years, the increase was 8.3%. This cannot catch up with the inflation rate in the past two years and lags greatly behind the increase in rents. This is what the Financial Secretary referred to as "generally modest".

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Where does the problem lie? Two years ago, in the debate on the Budget, I quoted an article written by Mr LEUNG Chun-ying before he became the Chief Executive. He said the strategies in the SAR Government's financial management had two mistakes. One was that it believed by making the "cake" bigger, different trades, different classes would get bigger shares. This is the so-called trickle-down theory. The second was that the Government thought that as people in the middle and lower classes would be cared for by the trickle-down effect, Hong Kong should not need any awareness and policy of wealth distribution. I think this is the crux of the problem.

In the introduction to the Budget, Financial Secretary TSANG pointed out that the problem in Hong Kong was not formed within a short time. It is also largely because of this. However, in the Budget, I cannot see that the Financial Secretary has the determination to solve the problem. The Financial Secretary has no intention to solve the contradiction in society at present. Instead, he looks at the social problem in future. In the Budget, the Financial Secretary announced that a Future Fund would be established. A large sum of financial surplus would be allocated to make preparation for the ageing of the population in future. This means he is not solving the present wealth redistribution issue but preparing for the wealth redistribution issue 10 years later. I do not agree to this practice.

In paragraph 10 of the Budget, the Financial Secretary pointed out that even though there was full employment, in 2014 the investment expenditure was soft and sentiment turned cautious. Therefore, when paragraph 105 of the Budget mentioned that we should seriously consider importing manpower to inject new impetus into the labour market, he is being self-contradictory. I would like to reiterate that, at present, the construction sector does not have enough manpower. This can be solved by appropriately adjusting the number and priority of public works projects. If the construction projects can continue to commence smoothly, the construction workers can continue to have stable working opportunities in the long run, so that they do not need to work overtime when there is so much work which may result in higher safety risk at work, or worry about their living when there is not much work. That way, the occupation safety and the healthy development of construction workers can both be benefited.

I welcome that the Government would allocate $100 million this year again to train up more skilled local workers through the Construction Industry Council to cope with the demand in manpower. However, in Hong Kong, one worker LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8603 dies in industrial accidents every two weeks. Such accidents are particular frequent in the construction sector. The Government must promote occupational safety so that the young people will be more confident in joining the field of construction. Only by this can young people be attracted to join this industry. Early this month, the construction site of the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge had another fatal industrial accident. This is the fifth fatal accident in this construction site. The Government cannot just talk about industrial safety. It must take concrete measures to avoid tragedy from happening again.

In the Budget speech, the Financial Secretary mentioned that more women and eldery persons should be encouraged to join the labour force. The measures concerned included allocating $130 million to strengthen child care services. I think this cannot solve the problem completely. To release more labour force, the crux is to amend the "4.1.18" rule on continuous employment under the labour legislation, so that part-time workers are also protected by the Employment Ordinance and women and elderly persons who mainly do part-time jobs would not be exploited. The legislative process for standard working hours should also be done as soon as possible to strike a balance between employees' work and family life. This is the fundamental way to solve the problem.

With regard to the ageing population, the proposal to establish a Future Fund and prepare for the future means that the Financial Secretary does not care about the retirement lives of the elderly at present, but instead he would care about the retirement lives of the elderly in 10 years later. Prof CHOW Wing-sun has put forward a "demo-grants" proposal which is theoretically and financially feasible. However, the Financial Secretary dismissed it with this comment: "the 'pay as you go' retirement protection arrangement is difficult to sustain eventually". If the Government required that Prof CHOW Wing-sun's team's proposal for retirement protection could not be plans of "pay as you go", it should have said so before the research was being conducted. Now, when the Government faces the research result of Prof CHOW Wing-sun's team, it refuses to accept the results. This makes it more difficult for the whole society to discuss how should retirement protection be introduced. The Budget only mentioned that $50 billion would be set aside for retirement protection in future. However, we can learn from past examples. In 2008, the Financial Secretary mentioned that $50 billion would be set aside to support medical reform. Seven years have passed, a much reduced voluntary Health Protection Scheme is still in its public consultation stage. It is highly possible that when the 10 year period of the Future Fund is expired, the retirement protection for the public would still 8604 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 be just an empty talk. At the least, what the Government can do now is to abolish the offsetting arrangement of the Mandatory Provident Fund. But the Government is still unwilling to do so.

The consulting period of the Health Protection Scheme will end tomorrow. At present, there are a lot of disputes over the details of the consultation on the Scheme. In particular, in the first year when the Scheme is implemented, citizens aged 40 or above have to decide whether they would join it within one year; otherwise, they would not be accepted. I think the time limit or the mechanism should be flexible. Citizens aged 40 or above should be allowed to join after one year. For citizens with symptoms before they are insured, the proportion of waiting period for their protection when they join the scheme should also be reviewed. Otherwise, the rights of the citizens can hardly be protected. Besides, if the Health Protection Scheme is to attract young people, more incentives must be included in the consultation paper.

Deputy President, this year, the Government would increase 2 540 posts in its establishment, representing an increase of 1.5%. This is a response to the public's requirements for public services. I support the Government increasing the size of the civil service establishment. In fact, the trade unions of the civil servants have been requesting the Government to increase the manpower and abolish the outsource posts and "non-civil servant contract staff" posts. I must point out that the Government implemented a "0-1-1" scheme last year and requested the Policy Bureaux to decrease their operating costs by 2% within three years. Now one year has passed, some bad results have arisen from the scheme. My office has received two types of complaints. Some outsourced workers pointed out that the outsourced contractors cut their working hours and affected thus their income. Civil servants also complained to me that the department requested them to do the work of outsourced workers in addition to their own. I urge the Financial Secretary that, in requesting the departments to cut expenses, he should also review the implementation of the "0-1-1" scheme to redress the grievances of the civil servants and outsourced workers, or the loss so incurred will outweigh the gain. Besides, the civil servants have been requesting the Government to improve their medical benefits, such as extending the coverage to services using traditional Chinese medicine. I hope the Government can respond to the request made by the organizations of civil servants.

Deputy President, I so submit.

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DR KWOK KA-KI (in Cantonese): In regard to the Budget this year, we will remember three things: First, the past measure of "handing out candies" will continue to be implemented; second, spiritual contentment; and third, food trucks. Apart from these, this Budget is good for nothing. Why would I give such a remark?

The Financial Secretary has been in this position for nine years. However, he has continuously been making incorrect estimations in the Budgets, as the revenues have always been underestimated. The biggest problem, as we have mentioned many times, is that he still will not spend the money as he should on the various social services that are necessary in Hong Kong. Instead, he continues to adopt this approach of "handing out candies" like shooting off fireworks. This year, the measures like three months' Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) payment, waiving of one month's rental for public housing tenants, waiving rates for two quarters and increasing tax allowances, and so on, are in fact useless in helping the public to face up to the existing plight.

I have no idea after what Hong Kong people will feel happy after reading this Budget. As some of the problems facing the young people, the middle class and the elderly can by no means be redressed by this Budget or the Government. Take the young people as an example, they are looking forward to good education and hence sufficient tertiary education places. However, the Government has not increased the number of subsidized places ever since the grandiose associate degrees were introduced a few years ago.

On the front of employment and economic development, people who hope to have the opportunities to start their own business find that the Government has not given them sufficient support. As regards the middle class and those who want to form a small family, they are even facing a disastrous problem in Hong Kong.

After the Government has launched the so-called "double curb" measures in order to curb speculative activities in the property market, they cannot see property prices returning to an affordable level as claimed by the Government. On the contrary, property prices are always on the increase, while the Government keeps resorting to "verbal manoeuvres" without doing any substantive work to help them. Recently, the Home Ownership Scheme recorded an oversubscription of a few hundred times, and this is a very good example to illustrate the situation.

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For some older people, they have two basic needs: medical care and long-term retirement protection. Nonetheless, the Government has done nothing for them either.

According to our Financial Secretary, Hong Kong is going to have structural deficits. But in fact, he has caught a "structural lie-telling" disease himself, as he has been underestimating the public revenue for so many years. According to his estimation, the deficits recorded in the period between 2010 and 2014 would amount to $20 billion; but then, it turned out that the overall surplus recorded during that period was over $500 billion. This year, the Treasury has a surplus of $63.8 billion. Together with the $27.5 billion from the Housing Reserve that has not been recorded in the account, the amount of surplus is actually over $90 billion. He has made incorrect estimations in his seven Budgets.

Both the Financial Secretary and the Bureau Secretary are not present here. Who can claim himself to be a scholar and an economist, just like our Secretary Prof K C CHAN, and have the courage to face the public and even some international scholars?

Hong Kong possesses a large amount of surplus. As the common saying goes, it is "too fat to be able to pull up the socks". Nevertheless, at the same time, our Gini Coefficient (which reflects the problem of disparity between the rich and the poor) stands at 0.537 before adjustment, and 0.471 after adjustment. Such figures are still the most unacceptable ones among all the developed countries and country members of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Someone has evaluated that out of the 18 Budgets from 1997 to 2014, 14 ended up with the Government's actual revenues and expenditures exceeding the estimated levels. For the remaining four, the Government's revenues and expenditure were less than the estimated levels, and all of them were the ones before 2002 or 2003. As for the Budgets presented in the 12 years after 2002 and 2003, they all have overestimated the expenditures while underestimated the revenues.

The surpluses accumulated in these 18 years have amounted to $700 billion. If he has made incorrect estimation for only one time, I believe that the public will also accept. Regrettably, however, he has been making LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8607 incorrect estimations for eight years in a row and this is indeed ridiculous. He has always been referred to as a miser, but he is more than just a miser; besides, he is not a stupid person but a swindler. This is because one can hardly explain why he has been making incorrect estimations in his Budgets for so many years. Some say the Government has a major objective behind the Budgets, which is to secure surplus in our reserve and Treasury account every year. This, rather than using the revenues to resolve the problems of different strata of Hong Kong society, is the major objective of the Government.

We find the Future Fund proposed last year very outrageous. As at the end of March, our fiscal reserves stood at $819.5 billion, while the foreign currency reserve assets stood at US$332.2 billion. The sum of them was over $3,000 billion. Despite such handsome reserves, our Financial Secretary keeps saying we are poor day after day. He even threatens the Hong Kong people that within 10 years, structural deficits will surface, and for another 10 years, all reserves will be used up. Hence, the Government needs to use this $220 billion from the Land Fund to set up the Future Fund now. At present, it also plans to allocate 25% to 33% of the coming budgetary revenues to the Future Fund.

The Future Fund is not set up for contingency purposes, it will not be used this way unless the situation is very serious. Nevertheless, the Government has accidentally revealed that the Future Fund will not be used to improve people's livelihood or for medical, welfare and universal retirement protection purposes. To a very large extent, it will be used for infrastructure purpose.

In many places and regions, the Future Fund is clearly used for improving and resolving medical, welfare and elderly issues, so as to prepare well for the future. However, our Government is working against this direction.

Another issue showing that the Government is not adhering to the fiscal management discipline and the relevant rules is the third runway of the airport. In regard to the project concerned, the Airport Authority recently claimed that $141.5 billion would be required to cover the expenditure. However, the authorities concerned have deliberately resorted to measures to circumvent the Legislative Council, such as suspending issuance of dividends and increasing fees and charges, including the Air Passenger Departure Tax. This is absolutely outrageous. When even the airspace issue has yet to be resolved, the public may need to pay $100-odd billion to $200 billion for this project, which may end up being another "white elephant" project.

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Something pioneering in our eyes and yet in our opinion the Financial Secretary should not have done in this year's Budget is that the Government has deliberately created the so-called sectors affected by the Occupy action and allocated additional funding to them. This is one good example showing that the Government is engaging in some political and disintegration activities like allocating funding to these so-called affected sectors, rather than engaging in serious work and good deeds that the Budget should have attended to originally, including raising the expenditure on medical, social welfare and education services. In fact, the Government may be just wasting its efforts. This is because according to some sectors, including the hotel and tourism industries, rather than suffering any grave impact, the business of some of their shops was quite good during the Occupy movement.

These measures of the Government, including "handing out candies", are rather short-sighted and have deviated far away from its responsibility to prepare sufficient reserves and capacity to cater well for the formulation of social policies and the needs of an ageing population. The Government is obviously resorting to some petty tricks, including "handing out candies", to remedy the situation. This situation is resulted from the recurrence of incorrect calculation and underestimation of revenues. However, what makes us worry even more is that not only has the Government failed to increase duly the budgetary expenditure, it has even introduced the "0-1-1" scheme recently. Under this scheme, all departments, including the departments providing medical and welfare services, have to reduce 2% of their operation expenses in the coming three years. The amount of money saved under the "0-1-1" scheme will be used for providing new services.

We can see it clearly that instead of dealing with situations like unduly long waiting period and insufficient services that are common among public hospitals and social welfare organizations, the Government is racking its brain to reduce manpower for the sake of its "0-1-1" scheme, and thus further lengthening the waiting period for the various services. Furthermore, even though it has a surplus of hundreds of billions of dollars, the Government still seeks to increase some livelihood-related fees and charges, including the cremation fees which we highly denounce. These measures are telling us that when it comes to the management of the entire financial situation and the future development of Hong Kong, neither the Government nor the Financial Secretary have any philosophy or objective at all.

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We all know that within the next 20 years, the elderly population in Hong Kong will increase substantially. However, if we still follow the existing thinking while the Government is not doing a good job in aspects like retirement protection, medical and health services as well as elderly services, we can aptly say that we will not have in place the necessary preparation when we really have to deal with the ageing problem in the future. There will not be sufficient manpower training, sufficient medical and welfare facilities or service pledges. Despite the money we have, the problems will remain unsolved even after a lapse of 10 years or 20 years.

In order to solve this problem, the Government has drawn up some measures which are rather controversial, including earmarking $50 billion as the reserve fund for health insurance in the medical service aspect. Nevertheless, as we all know, what we need to resolve now is the medical problem of the elderly population. An overwhelming majority of the elderly people aged over 65 use public medical services. This is the largest group of people using in-patient service. For the people in this group, most of them are not able to afford expensive service charges or health insurance payments upon retiring at the age of 65. The government paper has also clearly stated that according to the existing estimation, an elderly person aged 65, who is also suffering from chronic diseases may have to pay an insurance premium of $30,000 per year for the cheapest or the most basic health insurance. Can these measures really solve the medical problem facing Hong Kong's elderly population?

On the other hand, given the insufficient places in elderly homes, every year 5 000 elderly persons pass away while waiting for a place in the care and attention homes for the elderly. But then, the Government is acting against the rule. It makes use of the Community Care Service Vouchers for the Elderly to force the elderly again to apply for places in privately-run elderly homes. In fact, this will drive the elderly waiting for the places very angry, as they are hoping that the Government will provide enough subsidized places for the elderly, especially at the present moment when the Government is equipped with sufficient public money. What they cannot approve is the Government's current practice of forcing more elderly people to purchase service from private homes for the elderly, as this is definitely not the right way to handle the problem.

As we all know, even though the Government keeps on saying that there are sufficient places in the primary schools, secondary schools and tertiary institutions in Hong Kong, we can see recently that the new schemes rolled out by 8610 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 the Government are unable to take sufficient care of the many students waiting for undergraduate places as well as the students with special learning needs. It is even more regrettable that the Government is not using the presently sufficient standing subsidies to help those institutions which support students with special learning needs. Instead, it resorts to handling the matter through the Community Care Fund, which makes use of some small-scale and experimental measures.

Overall speaking, just like the previous Budgets, this Budget does not bring Hong Kong into a situation with greater hope. On the contrary, after the fireworks display, the public are still have to face a future without hope and future. This Budget has wasted the opportunities of the Hong Kong people.

I so submit. Thank you, Deputy President.

DR HELENA WONG (in Cantonese): Deputy President, it is noted that there is a steady growth in Government's budget for food safety and environmental hygiene this year. Citing the example of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD), the estimated expenditure for the year 2015-2016 represents a year-on-year increase of 2.2%, amounting to $5.9 billion; while the number of FEHD staff reaches more than 11 000 people. More manpower naturally implies more spending, yet the workload of the department is heavy too. As confrontation between FEHD front-line staff and members of the public could easily arise during the course of law enforcement, they naturally become the target of public complaint. I believe that the majority of the officials from the Food and Health Bureau, FEHD as well as the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) are putting considerable efforts to better the gate-keeping work in food safety and environmental hygiene. However, due to persistent procrastination and inertia within government departments, positive improvement is indeed necessary to enhance work efficiency.

On 7th last month, an inspection by the CFS found out that a local importer has violated an order issued in 2011 under the Public Health and Municipal Services Ordinance (Cap. 132) by importing 10 boxes of carrots from Chiba, Japan and some of them have even been sold. As you may recall, subsequent to the Fukushima nuclear power plant incident in Japan four years ago, the SAR Government claims to have prohibited the import of five categories of food like vegetables and fruits, milk, milk beverages and milk powder from five prefectures of Japan. Chiba is exactly one of those prohibited prefectures. Now the question is: the Government keeps on telling the public and Council LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8611

Members that a ban on imports of vegetables and fruits from Chiba and four other prefectures is in force, yet in no time 10 boxes of carrots have been imported from the Chiba Prefecture and sold in the Yau Ma Tei Wholesale Fruit Market.

When I pursued the issue from officials of the FEHD or the Food and Health Bureau, they answered that the reason for such occurrence was unclear. Later when I asked about this matter at a special meeting of the Finance Committee, and the Controller of the CFS remarked that the case was the consequence of a series of various accidental mistakes. It is said that the person in question actually has not imported this batch of carrots. Only that space was still available in the loaded container, so the Japanese side filled with these 10 boxes of produce. Coupled with inaccurate and inexact particulars related to address and contact person being furnished, so the produce was already sold by the time the problem was identified.

Deputy President, the Government has undertaken to implement policy to prohibit the importation of certain food from the five prefectures of Japan. Nonetheless, food from these regions can now enter into Hong Kong. On that occasion, the carrying vehicle was a container. It is believed that the banned food was imported by sea. So, when the food was delivered to the Kwai Chung Container Terminal box after box, did the FEHD have any knowledge? Does the Government conduct random check on what kind of goods are imported from which countries, prefectures? The CFS tells us that every batch of food imported from Japan, whether by sea or by air, will be inspected. Yet the fact was the goods were imported without any knowledge of the authority. How can the claim "every batch will be inspected" stand? Has the FEHD deployed any staff at the Kwai Chung Container Terminal to conduct spot checks?

Members have visited the air cargo terminals of the Airport, they know that staffs of the FEHD and the CFS are stationed there. How about the Kwai Chung Container Terminal? Will this create a loophole? Apart from that food from the radiation-stricken zones in Japan could unbelievably be imported into Hong Kong through a back door, we are actually worried that the CFS and the FEHD may not have enough funding and manpower. We are also wondering whether the issue is attributable to the fact that the Administration has not arranged sufficient manpower to perform food safety monitoring work.

Deputy President, most of the vegetables consumed by Hong Kong people are imported from China. Given that many agricultural land, water and soil are contaminated in the Mainland, we are truly concerned whether the Mainland 8612 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 vegetables imported to Hong Kong that we consume everyday are up to standards. The Administration claims that all Mainland vegetables supplied to Hong Kong are from registered farms. But the question is: the FSC has noted that the pesticide level of some vegetables supplied to Hong Kong has exceeded the limit. Subsequent tracing revealed that they came from non-registered farms in the Mainland. This situation is alarming. How come on the one hand the Administration claims that all vegetables supplied to Hong Kong are from registered farms, while on the other hand vegetables with excessive levels of pesticide from non-registered farms are found? In other words, smuggled vegetables have entered into our market.

However, I cannot see the Administration proposing in the Budget any serious measures or resources to deal with vegetables smuggling. Besides, are there any loopholes in the existing legislation? At present, the commitment made by the Secretary that all vegetables supplied to Hong Kong must come from registered farms is just an administrative instruction which has no specific legal binding. If the smuggled vegetables seized is found to have exceeded pesticide levels, of course prosecution for violation of pesticide use can be proceeded with. But if the levels are within limits, will they be released? Is this not a loophole? I really hope that officials from the FEHD and Secretary Dr KO can provide relevant explanation.

Members are keen to go and visit registered farms in the Mainland, yet the Administration still fails to make arrangements. Now in the Budget, funds are already set aside for FEHD officials to carry out overseas inspections. It is expected that 60 inspections would be carried out in China and other countries in 2015, involving an expenditure of $10.2 million. Apart from China, the areas covered include Chile, Europe, the United States and Iceland. If an annual spending of $10.2 million is earmarked for 60 inspections, the average cost per visit is $170,000. I am interested to know the respective ratio of inspections to be conducted in other countries and the Mainland. And I am even more anxious to know whether the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the People's Republic of China (AQSIQ) or local officials are obliged to respond when FSC staffs have identified problems and made comments regarding the inspections conducted on the Mainland. It seems that Hong Kong can only make recommendations and it is up to the Mainland to react. In fact, we can only resign to fate and let the Mainland do things according to their preferences. Such being the case, Deputy President, can we not worry?

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Another question is: we have repeatedly asked at the Panel meetings whether the sites to be inspected by government officials would be selected by the Administration or arranged by the Mainland authorities? Then it is found out that in the past, FEHD staffs were always led to farms designated by the Mainland authorities for inspection. That being the case, things are indeed not looking good. Even when we lead someone for building inspection, presumably we would deliberately select those ideal show flats for viewing. Would we choose to let others inspect the problematic units? Why can FEHD staff not have any right to control random checks and decide which site to inspect? These are doubts in the mind of Members and the general public. I hope the Administration can tell us whether it can really help to solve the problem after money is spent on overseas inspections. In addition, should the Government find any loopholes in the course of law-making and law enforcement, we certainly hope that they could be plugged.

Deputy President, I would also like to talk about education. In this year's Budget, not much length is given to education. Nonetheless, we are very concerned about two points, that is, increase of sister schools and promotion of exchange programmes with China respectively. These two items each got a funding of $100 million. The Education Bureau intends to substantially increase the number of sister schools formed between Hong Kong schools and their counterparts on the Mainland. But after these public funds are spent, who would be in charge of the sister school programme? Can local schools take a leading role to decide forming alliance with which school and in what mode, and the content of exchange? Or are they denied choice just like prearranged marriage, being allocated a school by the Mainland and up to the Mainland schools, party secretary of the Department of Education or the school to dictate the content of exchange? In the latter case, Hong Kong would lose the initiative and autonomy in educational content. In this regard, the Administration should be honest with the public and the schools, stating whether the sister school programme will become another form of "brain-washing" national education.

Another issue of great concern is the Scheme to Support Schools in Using Putonghua to Teach Chinese Language Subject (commonly known as the PMI). Somehow, this has become a long term goal of primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong. When exactly was this long term goal proposed? When has it gone through consultation? The answer is never. This was purely a recommendation proposed by the Standing Committee on Language Education and Research in 2003 and being implemented now. However, it has never gone through any debate at the Legislative Council Panel on Education or public consultation.

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Although the present argument is that schools have the option to use Putonghua or Cantonese as medium of instructing Chinese, sooner or later Cantonese can no longer be used to teach or learn Chinese as the PMI is a long term goal. But then, when was this policy passed? Was it a professional decision concerning the education sector or a political one? Of course, we have used public funds to subsidize and promote the PMI programme in the past. Yet how effective is the programme after years of implementation? Are there any scientific indicators and empirical data available to show us how the PMI can facilitate primary and secondary students to better study the Chinese language? While such evidence is unavailable, how we can say that the PMI shall become a long term educational goal?

There are many other problems in our educational system. In the Budget, the point that frustrates the Democratic Party most over the years is that the Government has been reluctant to increase subsidized first-year places of the eight tertiary institutions, keeping them at the level of 15 000 per year. But in fact, there is a great number of students pursuing higher education, be it associate degree or self-financing undergraduate programmes. Although many parents of those students are taxpayers, they cannot enjoy the benefits of publicly funded higher education. They have to rely on themselves or borrow Government loans if lacking the means.

These self-financing associate degree or undergraduate programmes are very costly. However, since they are self-financing, the Government cannot monitor their fees level. The fees charged range from $48,000 to $110,000. Even the Tung Wah College charges a fee of $108,800 per year. A two-year programme would mean a payment of $200,000. Hence, students without the means to pay their tuition fees have to borrow a government loan of $200,000. Should they want to further pursue self-financing bridging courses, their loans might add up to $400,000 upon graduation. How can those young people repay the loans when they are even uncertain if they can secure a job after graduation?

Then, the Administration also has to scratch their head on how to recover default loan repayment from the students because these outstanding repayments are like bad debts which would invite criticism from the Audit Department. The Administration is caught in a dilemma. The public coffers are in great surplus, why can't the Government consider using a voucher scheme to help subsidizing those young people enrolled in Government recognized self-financing associate degree programmes in order to reduce the burden on students and their parents? LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8615

The frustrating fact is: among the MPhil, PhD programmes provided by the eight tertiary institutions, 600 places are entitled to an annual grant of $500,000. Yet almost 80% of those students taking such programmes are non-Hong Kong people. Over 70% of them are actually coming from the Mainland. We are using public money to subsidize non-Hong Kong students, while local students have to pay out of their own pockets. Taxpayers have to finance their children pursuing higher education. No wonder why our young people end up with loans. Deputy President, all the above make the Democratic Party very angry, so we will not support this year's Budget. Apparently, there are also many other well-intentioned emergency relief measures in this Budget. Nonetheless, in terms of the use of public funds for long-term policies, we believe the Administration has not done a good job.

In addition, I also want to talk about child care issues. This year, the Administration has proposed to spend $130 million to strengthen child care services. The Democratic Party welcomes such initiative. However, the Government has not done any child care survey to thoroughly assess which areas desperately need such services, and then provide appropriate child care facilities to enable the mothers to go out to work. As for the Home-based child care service that we have repeatedly criticized, the hourly rate for the participants is just $20. Secretary, May I ask what the minimum wage is? In setting an hourly wage level far from the benchmark, are you treating these nannies as volunteers?

MR JEFFREY LAM (in Cantonese): Deputy President, every year at this time I will feel headache and time-wasting because our solemn Council is once again turned into a venue for filibustering by individual Members. Using the grey area of the Rules of Procedure, they submit a lot of pointless and trivial amendments to hijack the Council and paralyse government operations. Those Members engaging in filibustering are not present now. Even after they have returned to the Chamber, they will not listen to the speeches but just say: I request a headcount. Is this something members of the public want to see?

It is sad to see that numerous motions relating to our economy and people's livelihood are stuck due to the filibuster. Let me take this Budget as an example. Due to the filibustering activities, many projects under the Finance Committee and the Public Works Subcommittee will bound to be delayed. Should the progress of funding approval be affected, not only will the costs of 8616 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 work projects increase, even expenditures on capital works in the next few years will also be reduced.

Moreover, in the event that the Budget is not passed before May, the worst scenario is that the Government will be running out of cash starting from June. By that time, many welfare expenditure items, including the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance, "fruit grant", Old Age Living Allowance, and so on, cannot be delivered on time; besides, various public services like medical care, education, environmental hygiene, and so on, will also be suspended. The 170 000 civil servants in Hong Kong will not get paid for a while, even staffs of funded institutions, such as teachers, healthcare workers and social workers will also be affected.

In addition, even the relief measures to alleviate hardship of the grassroots, middle class and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) proposed by the Government in the Budget cannot be launched in time. This would bring grave consequences to the general public and the economy of Hong Kong. Nonetheless, filibustering seems to be something "nugatory to sever, messy to unravel" under the current system. The Administration, Members and affected members of the public are just like ants on a hot pan, anxious yet clueless about what should be done.

Deputy President, even though filibustering is not unique to Hong Kong, nowhere in the world have seen the operation of the entire legislature and that of the Government being paralysed by a few filibustering Members. In a democratic society, we certainly have to respect the views and interests of the minority, but it does not mean they can override the views and interests of the majority.

I think there are loopholes in the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council, where a few Members can technically use the grey areas to filibuster by means of voluminous amendments and endless speeches. As a responsible legislative body, should we not amend the Rules of Procedure as soon as possible to check malicious filibustering?

In fact, the public are fed up with filibustering. Members of the pro-establishment camp as well as some pan-democratic Members have all expressed their resentment to filibustering. I hope the Members concerned will duly consider the general well-being of the society and stop filibustering as soon as possible. It is hoped that funding approval can be finished in or before LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8617 mid-May so as not to affect public spending. Deputy President, I also appeal to the Members in question to make a timely turn and withdraw those meaningless amendments. Members from different backgrounds should also put aside partisanship and see how to plug the loopholes in the Rules of Procedure to stop filibustering, bringing the Council back to normal operations.

Deputy President, let us get back to the latest Budget. If I should say that this Budget is a masterpiece of the Financial Secretary in recent years, I believe most people would agree because the opinion polls conducted by different institutions in the past few weeks all show that the degree of public satisfaction towards this Budget is the highest in recent years. In particular, the Financial Secretary has taken note of the well-intentioned advice to give generous tax rebates and rates cut to help the middle class. Many members of the public are delighted.

The middle class is the key pillar of social stability. Yet the middle class has always grumbled that while they pay high taxes, they can enjoy very little benefits. This year's Budget proposes a tax rebate of $20,000. For many families, they can save some money.

Birth rate in Hong Kong is low in recent years. The Government's constant appeal to the public to give more births is regarded as a lip service without substance. The Budget announces an increase in child allowance from $70,000 to $100,000. Based on a 17% tax rate, almost $5,100 can be saved. Not only does this money sufficient to purchase children's textbooks, there is still enough balance to buy a few toys for them. However, in the long run, the Government can have other considerations. If our young people form their own family, then give birth to one, two, three and four children, would the Government give additional allowance? This will encourage financially viable families to have more kids, which is conducive to our population growth.

Deputy President, according to the Census and Statistics Department, there are more than 320 000 SMEs in Hong Kong, employing more than 1.3 million workers. The Financial Secretary has described those SMEs as pillars of the economy, which is perfectly correct. The United States often says that it would raise interest rates, a statement that has been said for many years, many months. This year, it is likely that interest rates would start to go up. And even if there is no interest rate increase this year, we can see that different countries are fighting currency wars. Members of the public making sight-seeing trips to Japan and Europe certainly find that goods are cheaper now. Yet many SMEs doing 8618 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 foreign trades would sense a significant impact on their business due to exchange rate fluctuations. In the coming year, business would definitely not be easy for the SMEs, nor would life be calm for them.

The Government encourages entrepreneurship. In fact, every start-up enterprise is a SME. Still, the maturity of start-ups will take some time because the process involves product research to market launch, then public awareness and profit-making. Many start-ups cannot even survive before any positive outcome is achieved. Therefore, I believe that if we can help the SMEs by giving them more space to grow and more time to develop, then they can emerge with boundless initiatives and remarkable success.

The Budget has further extended the special concessionary measures under the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme. Of course we welcome this initiative. I can recall that starting from the implementation of first $100 billion Loan Guarantee Programme years ago to the present SME Financing Guarantee Scheme, we have been telling the Government about the difficulties faced by the SMEs. We are grateful that the Government has noted their operating conditions and the prevailing circumstances of the current international market, and that it will continue to introduce policies to help them. We know that more funding should be provided for the SMEs to facilitate their cash flow. If they have more cash on hand, then their business needs could be met. Nevertheless, the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce believes that the most direct way to help the SMEs is to provide tax concessions. We have suggested a two-tier profits tax, imposing a lower tax rate to SMEs with moderate revenue in order to lighten their burden. That way, they can set aside more money on research or machinery upgrade. For example, for SMEs with income less than $2 million, a profits tax rate of just 10% would be levied so that they can well manage their own businesses. By the time their income has grown, the standard profits tax rate of 16.5% will then apply. In this way, our tax system is still simple but more people will be encouraged to start business ventures here, while foreign-funded companies will be attracted to set up a branch in Hong Kong. At the same time, more space can be provided for the SMEs to grow steadily. We reckon that our neighbouring regions have already caught up with the edge in our tax system, and hence we will regret in future if we do nothing to improve our existing tax system today.

Deputy President, the global economic environment remains uncertain so far. The economy of the United States is just recovering. When will a full LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8619 recovery emerge is still something unknown to us. Economic growth slowdown is seen in the Mainland. The whole world is brainstorming how to stimulate consumption and economic development. Competition among various economic entities is not only intense but very cruel. Hong Kong is a small economy entity, vulnerable to external environment. If we do not keep forging ahead, we would fall behind others. We have to maintain a good business environment for multi-industry development and consolidation of core industries, making Hong Kong tenable in the global economic trend. Yet it seems that Hong Kong is doing the opposite. Not only is there self-restraint, the city is resting on its own laurels and also entangled in endless political disputes. Just imagine, will our next generation blame us for their future backwardness caused by our short-sightedness today?

Deputy President, I share the idea of diversification of industrial development put forward by the Financial Secretary. I also believe that the Government should put in resources to provide incentives to encourage various industries to break away from convention and venture a new way to enterprise development. All along, Hong Kong has been maintaining a fair and transparent market system, free and open investment environment, simple tax system and low tax rates. "Minimal constraints, high flexibility, great transparency" is our key to success. Not only should the Government provide incentives, lower the threshold, it also has to strengthen policy propaganda work to let more enterprises get informed and benefited.

Deputy President, I specifically would like to continue with tourism development. Tourism is an important pillar of our economy, but now it seems that we are "turning the clock back". Sabotage action by a handful of people, after widespread fermentation, has destroyed the image of Hong Kong's tourism industry. On the day before yesterday, the arrangement of "multiple-entry Individual Visit Endorsements" (IVS) was replaced by the "one-trip-per-week" arrangement. Some Members in this Council and members of the public call this a victory of the localism and anti-parallel trading activities. The sincere and friendly image as well as warm hospitality spirit of Hong Kong people are blemished. The IVS arrangement has been in force for about six years. Although the relevant policy has impact on the areas near the border and their local residents due to limited resort and shopping facilities in Hong Kong, the issue should be resolved by the market as Hong Kong embraces the principle of free market. What the Government should do is to improve or increase the ancillary facilities.

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Now, the IVS is replaced by the "one-trip-per-week" arrangement, and this is an adjustment made by the Central Government and the SAR Government in response to the aspirations of Hong Kong people. I hope that the Government will continue to support tourism development while answering public demands, including close monitor of changes in the number of tourists and consumption data, timely optimization policy, prompt introduction of the individual visitor scheme to other potential Mainland cities in future, further attractions to overnight travellers, business travellers as well as other overseas high-end visitors.

Deputy President, apart from promoting development of local industries, we also have to lean our back against our motherland, eye on the world and grasp China's development strategy. As we all know, "One Belt One Road" is the Central Government's new economic development strategy. This is of great significance in strengthening China's global influence and enhancing overall national strength. From the positive feedback of many economic entities towards the development of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, we can tell that the influences brought about by the concept of "One Belt One Road" are well recognized.

In the my proposal to this year's Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, I suggested that Hong Kong should capitalize on the "one country, two systems" policy, its unique geographical location, the sound legal system, as well as the perfect professional services to seek new opportunities. For example, Hong Kong could organize exchange visits with countries along the "One Belt One Road" policy, pursue negotiations on Free Trade Agreements, Investment Promotion and Protection Agreements. Meanwhile, the Government could also help pillar industries like logistics, financial services, and so on, to seize the opportunity to develop new markets, pushing forward Hong Kong's economic development and restructuring.

Honourable colleagues, the opportunities are actually laid in front of us. If we continue to hesitate with a narrow vision and stay arrogant, we will soon be marginalized, and there will not be any "remorse medicine" for us to take. Deputy President, I so submit.

MR MA FUNG-KWOK (in Cantonese): Deputy President, this year's Budget is better received because the Government launches measures of "handing out candies" involving $34 billion, thereby benefiting the middle class, grassroots and LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8621 the small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Although most people may not agree that the Secretary is a member of the middle class, I believe the generous increase in child allowance from $70,000 to $100,000 can win a lot of applause from the middle class. It is not surprising that some said this year's Budget is a worthy one in recent years.

However, from the stance of our industry, this Budget can only be commented as fair. Under the premise of Government's relatively robust financial position, many support projects are just superficial and inadequate, failing to bring much of a surprise to the industries. I would like to focus my comments on measures on the cultural and creative, film and television and sports industries.

The Budget has proposed a number of measures to support the development of local cultural arts and cultural and creative industries, including launching a $300 million Art Development Matching Grants Pilot Scheme (Pilot Scheme); fixing the arrangement for injection of $200 million to the Film Development Fund (FDF) as stated in the Policy Address; and the funding injection of $400 million into the CreateSmart Initiative, and so on. I support these measures, but no matter in terms of specific operation details or support levels, I think there is room for discussion and expansion.

Firstly, let us talk about the Pilot Scheme. Modelling on the Matching Grant Scheme for UGC-funded Institutions, the amount of private donation and sponsorship secured by eligible local arts groups will be matched by grants. This is an initiative long supported by me and my friends in the arts and cultural industry. Through the Matching Grants Pilot Scheme, we hope that more resources for development can be brought into arts groups. We also encourage the community and the business sectors to participate more in local culture and arts.

In fact, compared to other advanced cities, Hong Kong does not really promotes sponsorship of arts and cultural activities. The local business sectors also have not cultivated the habit of sponsoring arts groups, nor do they establish regular contacts with arts groups, especially small and medium ones. Due to manpower and resource constraints, it is even more difficult for arts groups to build up business networks. Therefore, it is believed that the establishment of the Matching Grants Pilot Scheme to draw resources from the business sector will help local arts groups develop more diversified arts activities, favouring the long-term prosperous development of local arts and culture.

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The Arts Capacity Development Funding Scheme administered by the Home Affairs Bureau is also implementing a "Springboard Grants" programme whereby a 200% matching grant will be offered to subsidized arts groups concerned. However, the scale of the Scheme is modest. Since the implementation of the programme in 2011, only 19 out of a total of 55 applicants from three Funding Exercises were successful. The funding granted amounted to a total of $52.7 million. Therefore, the launching of the $300 million Pilot Scheme proposed in the Budget is a direction worth supporting. My friends in the cultural arts industry and I also hope that the scale of the Scheme can be larger than the current "Springboard Grants", so that more local arts groups can be benefited.

Unfortunately, according to the information provided by the Government, the $300 million Pilot Scheme only accepts applications from arts groups that have successfully secured two rounds of "Springboard Grants". At present, there are just seven eligible bodies. The threshold for the Scheme is even higher than the "Springboard Grants" and the range of arts groups covered is pretty small. It is doubtful how this Pilot Scheme can encourage the society to participate in sponsoring local arts and cultural activities, and how to solicit more resources for local arts groups and promote their development?

Therefore, when formulating the details of the Pilot Scheme in future, the Government should have an open mind when setting the eligibility criteria so that more local arts groups, particularly small to medium arts groups, can be benefited. On the other hand, the Pilot Scheme can offer incentives to arts groups to encourage them to seek support from the business sectors. I also hope the Government can provide incentives for the business sectors, including consideration of tax concessions, to encourage them to increase their sponsorship for local arts groups from the economic perspective.

Deputy President, with regard to support for the film industry, the Budget has implemented the initiative of the Policy Address by injecting $200 million into the Film Development Fund (FDF). This is a timely and reasonable initiative, though adequacy of the capital injection is subject to question.

At this point, I want to declare that I am the Chairman of the Film Development Council. In 2007, the Government has established the FDF with an injection of $300 million. Eight years have lapsed, the Fund has basically been used up. The average spending was about $37.5 million per year. This LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8623 year's Budget proposes a further injection of $200 million into the FDF. It is estimated that the amount is set for five year's operation by the FDF, with an average spending of just about $40 million per year. This is not much different from the funding eight years ago. When taking into account inflation and changes in the industry, the Government's commitment is significantly less than before.

The biggest problem faced by the local film industry today is under production. At the prime time of Hong Kong films, our annual output reached up to 400 productions. The number of films available for screening was 230. Local filmmaking workers used to have plenty employment opportunities. Many well-known screenwriters, producers, directors, and so on, of today have gained their practical experience during this golden era and grown with strength.

Nonetheless, in the past few years, counting films co-produced with the Mainland altogether, Hong Kong just produced 40 to 50 films each year. For newcomers to the film industry, even the opportunities to participate in production are extremely scarce, lest the chances of brushing their skills. Can we have enough successors to carry on the industry is a major challenge in the future. One of the objectives of the Film Development Council is to fill up the vacuum in the market by supporting those small and medium sized film productions with good potential, in order to augment the volume of local production and provide opportunities to nurture new talents to the industry. In fact, since 2007, the Film Development Council has sponsored the making of 30 films, engaged 16 novice directors of commercial movies and 13 new producers. This duly proves that the FDF is conducive to cultivating film talents and playing its role.

On the other hand, let us take a look at the neighbouring regions such as South Korea, Taiwan and the Mainland, which have been very keen in developing their film industry in recent years. Hong Kong films are facing an increasingly competitive market, particularly the Mainland whose investment in the film industry is on the increase. In early years, many locals were attracted to relocate northwards for career development. Development there is much more mature in recent years, they have also begun to nurture their own team.

To maintain the competitiveness of Hong Kong movies, the Government is obliged to render more support to the film industry within a short time. The Film Development Council is planning to implement new plans and enhance 8624 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 existing ones to provide greater support, including increasing local productions, nurturing film talents, backing up post-production locally and exploring the Chinese film market. It should involve more spending but the Government just envisages that expenditure in the next five years would be more or less like the present level.

The injection of $200 million to the FDF actually falls short of the industry's expectations. Is it because the Government believes the target of supporting the film industry has been reached, or it is of the opinion that the support for the film industry has to be cut? What is the Government's vision for the future development of the film industry? The Government needs to inform the industry and the public of what is going on. Right here, I really hope the Government would closely monitor the operation of the Fund and give prompt support as appropriate.

Deputy President, apart from re-injection to the FDF, the Budget also mentions about re-injection of $400 million to the CreateSmart Initiative (CSI). I welcome such re-injection but the funded projects under the CSI used to be more on design and digital entertainment. So I hope in the coming future, the CSI can strengthen support to different sectors of the creative industries, especially sectors like music, publishing and printing, television media; and provide assistance to different domains like market development, personnel training, boosting further development of these industries.

Deputy President, the most striking news in Hong Kong's television industry recently is that the Government has just rejected licence renewal application of the Asia Television Limited (ATV). Indeed, ATV's performance in recent years is really disappointing, and its investment in television production is also inadequate. Though it is regrettable that licence renewal is refused in the end, the decision, after all, is rational.

The ATV's licence renewal application has been rejected. The matter of most concern is that how will the spectrum now assigned to ATV be reallocated. The Government has expressed that the two analog TV channels assigned to ATV would be operated by Radio Television Hong Kong (RTHK) until the era of analog TV broadcasting ends. Regarding the six digital TV channels, the Communications Authority would make a decision on their disposition according to the prevailing situation, regulations and broadcasting policy at the time when ATV's licence is formally withdrawn.

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Undoubtedly, letting the RTHK operate the two analog TV channels is just a make-do measure. Whether it is a perfect arrangement is really questionable in many aspects. At present, RTHK only provides eight to 13 hours broadcasting a day. If the Government only plans to broadcast exactly the same content of the digital channels to the analog ones, it would be quite different from the original round the clock broadcasting of ATV. Options to viewers may not be available, nor is this the best way to use the spectrum. If the broadcasting service of the RTHK has to be strengthened, increased input to the RTHK is obligatory. Resource-wise, is the Government well prepared for that? I cannot noticed anything in this connection in the Budget, but I do have some expectations of the Government.

While ATV does not have their licence renewed, Hong Kong Television Entertainment has officially obtained a Free Television Programme Service (free TV) licence. A new scene might emerge from the local television industry. I think the Government should re-examine the local broadcasting policy grasping the opportunity of transitional change in local television, including consideration of separated production and broadcasting. I had already suggested in 2013 that the Government should, as a condition of licence during issuance of a new licence or licence renewal, specify that licence operators need to procure certain quantity of independent productions in order to open up more development opportunities for independent local television production companies.

In fact, the United States used to have only three free TV stations. There was also regulation to stipulate that a minimum of 10% of the locally produced television programmes must be commissioned to independent producers. Yet regrettably, no such relevant provision is included in the licence just issued to Hong Kong Television Entertainment. I hope the Government would re-consider the inclusion of such clause when issuing a new or renewed licence in future.

For sports, apart from the plan for new consultancy study to enhance the leisure, recreation and sports values along the Victoria Harbour in the long term that is slightly relevant to sports, there are no other new supporting initiatives mentioned in the Budget. Though the Government has earmarked a funding of $4.1 billion for sports development in the current year, which is higher than last year, there is still much more to do in local sports development. This includes strengthening support for athletes, sports promotion among students and youth, the development of the sports industry, and so on. In particular, there is the need 8626 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 to finalize the construction of the Multi-purpose Sports Complex at Kai Tak and the announcement of the financing options. In this connection, I do not know how far the Government is prepared to commit?

Here, I also want to appeal to my pan-democratic colleagues to refrain from blocking the funding application for the advance works by conducting filibustering activities, so as to enable the early commencement of the Sports Complex project. Nonetheless, filibustering was already underway at the Public Works Subcommittee meeting held this morning. I hope some of my colleagues could give us a way.

Furthermore, the Restored Landfill Revitalization Funding Scheme proposed in the Policy Address is still not formally launched. I hope the Government can disclose the specific details and funding provided to the non-profit-making organizations and sports organizations as soon as possible.

Last but not least, Deputy President, I would like to say that the Government's fiscal reserves has reached $800 billion as of this year's Budget, equivalent to 23 months of public expenditure. We often say that problems that can be resolved by money is not a problem. Of course, not all problems can be resolved by money. Yet if the Government just save up the money and does not use it to solve problems or invest right now to make the "cake" bigger even it has the means, how can our industries have room for development? If the foundation is not built today, how can we prosper in future? Therefore, I hope the Government, with its huge surplus, would increase support for emerging industries, and strengthen investment in the society and infrastructure, rather than just spending money on measures of "handing out candies" and savings for the Future Fund. Please make more concrete commitments for long-term social development, so that a forward-looking Budget is in front of us.

Finally, I would like to appeal to my colleagues to express their views, even criticism, related to the Budget in a rational manner. I urge them to refrain from engaging in pointless filibustering activities or exploiting the loopholes of the Rules of Procedure to achieve their own interests; otherwise, the business handling culture of the Council will be sabotaged while the effective governance of the executive arm will be hindered, thereby undermining the interests of the whole society.

I so submit.

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MR LEUNG YIU-CHUNG (in Cantonese): Deputy President, as the Financial Secretary who is nicknamed the "miser" keeps adhering to his years-long practice of making a wrong projection every year, a substantial surplus is registered this year again. According to his projection last year, the surplus this year would merely amount to $9.1 billion. But it turns out that the public coffer has recorded a surplus of $63.8 billion. This, together with the $27 billion earmarked for the Housing Reserve, has added up to more than $90 billion, 10 times of his original estimation. As the Financial Secretary, he has not felt any sense of guilt or regret for his wrong projection, nor has he apologized for the mistakes made. Rather, he is quite complacent and has taken pride in this. What is more, he even wants to teach people to "store up grain to cope with future famines". In face of such, we cannot but heave a regretful sigh and wonder why he, as an official in the SAR Government, can be so shameless.

Deputy President, making an accurate projection is undeniably no easy task. But I must point out that it is equally difficult to come up with some wrong projections year after year. And, it is indeed hardly conceivable and acceptable that his projected figures are multiple times less than the actual figures. I say so because wrong projections will result in a major problem, and the problem is that if his revenue projection is so conservative, he will naturally come up with conservative expenditure estimates. Over all these years, due to a lack of resources for many livelihood items (such as the construction of residential care homes for the elderly and persons with disabilities), tens of thousands of people have passed away before getting a place in the residential care homes. This is indeed tragic. But while the Financial Secretary has repeatedly made wrong projections, the SAR Government has all along failed to introduce any improvements targeting at those livelihood-related issues to alleviate people's sufferings. An even graver impact of the wrong projections is that it is not possible to plan any long-term support for the Hong Kong economy. So much so that Hong Kong has to rely on the financial and real estate bubbles all along and also on the tourism industry in recent years to support its overall economy. As a result, we have never do a good job in developing a real economy with competitiveness to enable us to compete with nearby regions such as South Korea and Singapore, thereby posing tremendous threats to Hong Kong's economic environment in the future.

Deputy President, in the Budget this year, the Financial Secretary makes an exceptional and unprecedented projection of a $36.8 billion fiscal surplus in 2015-2016, along with an estimation of $70 billion in land revenue, which is 8628 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 more or less the same as the amount this year. But many people consider his latter projection erroneous, as domestic and external economic factors may trigger the bursting of the real estate bubbles in Hong Kong at any time. Among those factors, the downturn of the Chinese economy will cause especially significant impacts. This is reflective of a problem I referred to a moment ago: the over-emphasis and over-reliance of the Hong Kong economy on certain important industries, and particularly the real estate industry and financial services industry. Even if our present outlook for the economy next year is positive, our surplus will largely come from land revenue. Given our over-reliance on the property market and the resultant continuously surging land prices, the Government has failed to suppress the property market even after introducing the "double curbs" measures, causing people's livelihood to come under great impact. What is more, we all know that land supply has been on the decrease. That being the case, how can land revenue serve as an important source of our revenue in the future? Meanwhile, we must also be aware that in case the economic bubbles burst, Hong Kong's overall economy will definitely come under impact, and other problems will definitely result. Deputy President, all these are the problems we need to face up to. In my opinion, if these problems should occur, they would all be attributable to the Financial Secretary's failure to make proper projections to help develop the economy.

An even more infuriating part of this Budget is that as no good efforts have been made to foster diversified economic development, the Financial Secretary made a more irresponsible and unfounded projection in saying that Hong Kong would experience a structural deficit in 10 years, and so it would be necessary to establish a Future Fund with the objective of putting our fiscal reserves to long-term investment uses. Deputy President, however, I wonder if the Financial Secretary has ever deeply reflected on one question. If a structural deficit really occurs, who should be responsible for this? Should he not bear the responsibility, given that he has failed to use our existing substantial fiscal surplus properly to develop the economy? The Government must realize that if our economy goes wrong, it will naturally follow that our incomes will also be affected. If people must be responsible for any problems with their incomes, what should the Financial Secretary be held responsible for? Has he ever considered the responsibilities on his part?

Deputy President, our Financial Secretary makes a wrong projection of our revenue every year, and the discrepancies between the figures are indeed substantial. That being the case, how can he possibly convince us that his LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8629 projection of the situation 10 years later will not be wrong? Deputy President, let us imagine this. If the Financial Secretary is even wrong in his projection of the situation one year later, can he instead make a correct projection of the situation 10 years later? Is this possible? Therefore, I think the Financial Secretary is merely "crying wolf" again. But the point is: is this really effective? In fact, this is not effective indeed, as the Financial Secretary's integrity has already gone bankrupt. He has broken faith with the people. In that case, how can his prophecy possibly be convincing? Therefore, I do not think he should set up the Future Fund, unless he can put forth more concrete justifications. If he is devoid of any justifications, he will not be able to gain any support. Besides, he should not establish the Future Fund, still less should he reiterate that we should reconsider the idea of introducing a sales tax on the ground that our tax base is narrow, as this is tantamount to putting the cart before the horse.

Deputy President, even if it is true that our tax base is narrow, we should not introduce any sales tax all the same, because this tax is the most unfair to the grassroots. Many countries practise a progressive tax regime whereby the impoverished are literally subsidized by the rich. Such a system alone can already achieve the two positive results of narrowing the wealth gap and also increasing the income of the public coffer. But why should our Financial Secretary refuse to consider the idea of implementing such a tax regime adopted in other countries, or even a capital gains tax and a tax on dividend income? Why should he consider "taking actions" on ordinary people? Implementing a capital gains tax can increase the income of the public coffer and may also help to suppress property prices. But the Financial Secretary has ignored this idea all along. Is our Financial Secretary too lazy to think? Or, is he fearful of the rich and powerful, so much so that he dares not "take actions" on them? Is this the reason why he has yielded to the rich and powerful and distributed the fruit of our economic development only to those strata of people with vested interests, in total disregard for the livelihood of the grassroots? Deputy President, I think the existing serious wealth gap in Hong Kong is closely associated with our Financial Secretary's biased financial management approach. He cannot shirk this responsibility.

Deputy President, the Financial Secretary tries to win people's support by "handing out candies". He did win a great deal of applause on the very day the Budget was presented. And, even the middle class gave their applause as they also received some "candies". This explains why this Budget has obtained the highest score of 60.2 among the Budgets in these five years, according to a survey 8630 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 conducted that night. Among the respondents, 45% expressed satisfaction while merely 18% expressed dissatisfaction. Three weeks later, by which time people already came to realize the practical problems in this Budget, the Public Opinion Programme of the University of Hong Kong conducted another survey. This survey found that the satisfaction rating concerning the Budget dropped by around 7% to 37%, while the dissatisfaction rating rose by 13% to 31%. These changes are reflective of the actual situation that after the "candies" have melted, people realize that the Budget is totally unable to resolve the various deep-rooted conflicts in society, foster Hong Kong's long-term economic development, or make any contribution to Hong Kong's long-term well-being. Rather, it only focuses on the present time, only tries to gag people with "candies". How can this Budget possibly be regarded as a success rather than a failure?

Deputy President, the Financial Secretary has habitually adopted the measure of "handing out candies" in recent years. Therefore, every year when the Financial Secretary announces the Budget, the community will invariably focus on who can receive the "candies", and how many "candies" they can receive. And, the community will put its focus particularly on the Comprehensive Social Security Assistance (CSSA) recipients. This seems to give people the feeling that the Financial Secretary seeks to redistribute the fruit of our economic development among the people through the Budget and aims to "take from the rich and give to the poor". But the reality is precisely the opposite.

(THE PRESIDENT resumed the Chair)

Instead of narrowing the wealth gap, the Budgets presented by the Financial Secretary over all these years have actually widened the wealth gap. But as in previous years, our Financial Secretary has kept reminding or even warning us that while our society cannot develop towards welfarism, we need to launch relief measures under the principle of committing resources as and when justified and needed. But this has actually failed to achieve any practical effects whatsoever in narrowing the wealth gap. Let me cite an example. In 2012-2013, the Financial Secretary proposed to waive the rates for the whole year, subject to a ceiling of $2,500 per quarter. According to the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau at the time, in the case of single property owners, the company with the largest number of properties in Hong Kong which LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8631 could benefit most from the rates concession could receive a waiver of as much as $90.6 million for that entire year. In other words, the company concerned had in its hands at least some 9 000 properties. And, the rates concession for the top 10 property owners amounted to as much as $220 million. The "sweetness" offered this year is about half of the "sweetness" that year. A rough estimation shows that the company which can benefit most from the rates concession can receive a waiver of as much as some $45 million. Who are these property owners? Can they possibly be grass-roots people rather than magnates? What kind of measure can this be, if it is not one that distributes money to large consortiums?

Besides, in the Budget last year, the Government proposed to waive the rates for the first two quarters of 2014-2015, subject to a ceiling of $1,500 per quarter for each rateable tenement. The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury once said that in the case of the top 100 ratepayers who could receive the highest amounts of rates concession, the amount of rates concession involved was estimated to be around $170 million. On average, each of them could receive $1.7 million of rates concession. As for the top 50 ratepayers who could receive the highest amounts of rates concession, he said that the rates concession involved would amount to some $140 million. On average, each of them could receive $2.8 million of rates concession. President, isn't this absurd?

This time around, some $6.6 billion of public money will be spent on benefiting the grassroots. When compared to the "candies" for rich people, this is just a small favour indeed. Those commonly known as "people with 'N-nos'", meaning those grass-roots people who are neither public housing residents nor CSSA recipients, cannot even get any "crumbs" from this Budget. We have all the more reason to feel infuriated, haven't we?

Why does our Financial Secretary have to grant tax and rates concessions to rich people and large consortiums every year when he is concerned that Hong Kong may be plunged into a fiscal deficit in the future? Isn't his political motive very clear? Obviously, he wants to turn people from the middle class or above into a social stabilizer who can help to maintain stability under the present political circumstances.

The measures of "handing out candies" this time around not only fail to bring forth the reasonable and balanced redistribution of social wealth but will even widen the wealth gap in society. At present, the public coffer is flooded with money, and the Financial Secretary has estimated that our fiscal reserves 8632 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 will reach $856.3 billion next year, which is equivalent to 23 months of government expenditure. For this reason, I think the Government should take this opportunity to reform the social institutions, especially the welfare system, so as to resolve our social problems. For example, it can set up a universal retirement protection system, one which we have been striving for over all these years. But sadly, up until today, our SAR Government still pays no heed to our request and adopts a stalling attitude.

We think that as long as genuine democracy is not implemented, we cannot possibly have any Budget which is truly people-oriented. Therefore, we can only hope for the expeditious implementation of democracy as a means of resolving the livelihood problems. Meanwhile, we also hope that the SAR Government will stop resorting to the "tyranny of the majority" and ruining our long-standing fine tradition by incorporating the funding proposal for the procurement of water cannon vehicles into this Budget to enable its passage, rather than submitting it to the Finance Committee for discussion. This approach of the Government is indeed shameful, and I hope the Government can think twice.

President, I so submit.

MS EMILY LAU (in Cantonese): President, the Financial Secretary presented his Annual Budget to the Legislative Council on 25 February. What did he say in the Budget? President, he said that with the constitutional reform entering the next stage, it was anticipated that disputes, both inside and outside the Council, would become even more vehement this year. He is really amazing as what he said has unfortunately come true.

Mrs Carrie LAM, the Chief Secretary for Administration, met Mr Albert HO and me to discuss the issue of constitutional reform this morning. She told us that we should stop having any illusions because nothing could be changed, and unlike what had happened in 2010, the Central Government would not eventually change its decision voluntarily this time. The Financial Secretary has accurately pointed out in his Budget what will happen in our society if the problem cannot be resolved. He said there would be serious divisions and much more radical social conflict in society, which in turn would make it harder to mend the conflicted relationships among people. Prolonged bickering will only LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8633 blog down our development. President, actually he has taken your remarks and passed them off as his own. You have already said last year or the year before that it would no longer be possible to govern Hong Kong. While LAM Woon-kwong, Convenor of the Executive Council, has said that the situation would become beyond redemption if the issue of constitutional reform cannot be resolved, the Financial Secretary is of the opinion that our development will be blogged down. The question is: Does that mean the authorities have only themselves to blame?

The Financial Secretary has been to Beijing many times, but I do not know whether he has clearly told Beijing about our situation. There is no doubt that he should not have acted like LEUNG Chun-ying and said there would be no problem even if the constitutional reform proposal were not passed. He should have told Beijing honestly that his "businesses" and that of the Chief Executive could not remain unaffected. This is because if the constitutional reform were not passed, disputes inside and outside the Council would be more vehement than last year. While last year's movement has lasted 79 days, what will happen this year? A movement lasting 179 days? Has the Financial Secretary made the situation clear? He has not got to the gist of the problem in the Budget. Though he is not in charge of constitutional reform, it is still related to him because the economy of Hong Kong as a whole is his concern while the economy and politics are both sides of the same coin. The economy will not be good if our political problems cannot be resolved.

President, I am calling upon John TSANG, the Financial Secretary, and his colleagues in the SAR Government at this final and critical moment to pick up their courage and tell the Beijing Government the serious consequences that may cause to the economy, finance, politics and society of Hong Kong if the constitutional reform proposal is negatived. I hope he can speak on behalf of the Hong Kong people from his conscience. While government officials always compartmentalize their own duties and disregard issues in other compartments, this is actually not a commendable approach to handle things, as all issues are inter-related and have far-reaching consequences.

The Financial Secretary also mentioned in the Budget that the Umbrella Movement had undermined the image of Hong Kong. President, as you are aware, I have led a Legislative Council delegation to Germany in early March. At the invitation of the German Government, we visited Germany for a few days 8634 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 and met with many German councillors and officials. We mentioned the Umbrella Movement to them a few times but did not get the impression referred to by the Financial Secretary at all. The impression we got was they were very impressed by the movement. As such, I think the Secretary may have to look a bit further and listen a bit more. In fact, he does not have to look into Germany but just watch the Oscar Academy Awards Ceremony ― the Secretary is a member of the middle class who likes to watch movies and it is quite enjoyable to watch movies while drinking coffee ― as the attendees have also expressed their appreciation for Hong Kong at the Awards Ceremony. Given that the Oscar Academy Awards Ceremony was broadcasted globally, can you imagine how many hundreds of millions of people have heard their praise for us and their appreciation for the courage and perseverance of the Umbrella Movement? As such, the Secretary must not get the matter wrong.

With regard to this Budget, Mr SIN Chung-kai has talked about issues which the Democratic Party has been concerned with for many years. In fact, not only the Democratic Party but also the different parties in the Legislative Council, professionals in the community or even members of the business sector have opined that Hong Kong should spend more money. However, the money should not be spent on some one-off "handouts" or "handouts of whatsoever benefits". Instead, it should be spent on certain long-term commitments, so that Hong Kong people can really "share the benefits of economic growth" as referred to by the Financial Secretary. Nevertheless, 1 million people are still living below the poverty line while close to 300 000 families are still waiting for the allocation of Public Rental Housing units, and they may have to wait four, five or six years. Besides, another 80 000 to 90 000 families are still living in "sub-divided units". What kind of situation is this?

However, we rank 27 on the list of the world's richest places. While our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita stands at $300,000 a year, how many people really have $300,000 in their possession? This is definitely not the real situation, as the majority of our wealth is in the pockets of a handful of tycoons and their followers. The Secretary has been in this post for many years, but when has he ever taken into account the interests of Hong Kong people? Please do not "hand out" so many "candies". If will our elderly, the young and underprivileged, as well as other people are taken care of fully, will they need his measures of "handing out candies"?

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In fact, many people told me that they would really like to pay tax, but could not do so. How come these people cannot they pay taxes? How will they be qualified as taxpayers if they earn so little money? Is the Secretary aware that many members of the public do not wish to be on welfare or take "handouts" if they are capable of earning an income which qualifies them as taxpayers? The Secretary has often talked about living within our means, fiscal prudence, balanced budgets and that our expenditure should not exceed 20% of our GDP, but 20% is a very low percentage. The Democratic Party is not asking him to follow the examples of other welfare States in setting our expenditure at 35% or 40% of our GDP for we do not need such a high expenditure.

Some friends of the business sector told me that they do not mind paying several more percents in taxes if only we do not see 70, 80 years-old elderly people pushing wooden carts on the streets and sticking their hands into garbage bins to find ways for earning money. We find elderly people waiting behind us at barbecue sites when we are very happily eating barbecues. President, what are they waiting for? They are waiting for us to finish our soft drinks so that they can take away the cans and exchange them for money. Why has an affluent place like Hong Kong fallen so low?

One of the most significant ways to get rid of poverty is education, but the Secretary may say: "there must be some mistakes as the Government has already invested the most resources, 22% of its total expenditure on education, with the recurrent expenditure of this year amounting to $71.6 billion, which is its greatest expenditure. However, even though a number of education measures have been introduced ― as Dr Helena WONG said earlier ― many issues have still remain unresolved. University graduates had made such uproars and sought to blockade the Government Headquarters because they have incurred heavy debts upon graduation and had asked their families to help them emigrate as soon as possible because they feel hopeless.

President, as the former Chairman of the Legislative Council Panel on Education, you must be aware that many people want to send their children to international schools. What is the reason for this? It is because they think that their children can receive better education by doing so. I recently told an official of the Education Department that since everyone, Hong Kong and other people alike, prefers to attend international schools, will it be better for Hong Kong 8636 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 schools to conduct their teachings in the same manner as international schools. He said: "Councillor, this is not possible, as Hong Kong teachers do not know how to teach the foreign course which doesn't even have a Chinese name".

And, what is the other reason? It is the very expensive course fees because those courses are taught in small classes. As the fees of those schools amount to $200,000 per year, can everyone afford to spend $200,000 on school fees? Perhaps not, so why did the representative of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce say international school places in Hong Kong were inadequate when he spoke at the Panel on Education? President, what did he said? He said international schools in Tokyo are only attended by children of foreign businessmen and not the Japanese, so there is no such thing as competition for school places. As such, he urged Hong Kong to do a better job in running local schools, so that Hong Kong parents will send their children to these schools instead of competing for school places with children of foreign businessmen. President, you did not attend that meeting, but you would also be embarrassed if you were there. Moreover, the Japanese was not talking about a fourth world country, but a place which ranked 27th among the richest countries of the world where some people are filthy rich. Under such circumstances, how can we bear the humiliation? With no place to live, not enough school places, heavy debts upon graduation and failing to find good jobs, people will naturally feel that they have no future. Secretary, this is the reason why the young people of Hong Kong are so angry.

Furthermore, we also have an elderly problem. Even the Secretary has known enough to say that this is due to our ageing population, but what can the Government do about this? We have asked for the implementation of universal retirement protection but the authorities are unwilling. We have asked the authorities to perfect our medical system so that the elderly can seek treatments, undergo cataract surgeries or receive other treatments but all to no avail, or the elderly are asked to wait for three or four years. As regards the elderly persons who wish to be admitted to Institutions for the Elderly, they even have to wait for four or five years ― Secretary CHEUNG who is present today is also aware of that ― and several thousands of elderly persons die every year before they can gain admission to Institutions for the Elderly. All these happen in a city which ranks 27th among the richest cities in the world. President, how can we tolerate this in silence?

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As such, I urge the Secretary to make long-term commitments. Though he is fond of implementing one-off measures, what are most important to us are long-term commitments. This situation has everything to do with the constitutional system of Hong Kong for our Chief Executive is not elected from a political party and Hong Kong does not have a ruling party, so we have situations like what the officials said: "Councillors, we only adopt 'one-off approaches'". Such sayings are really irresponsible. The proposal which calls for the support of all sectors is a "one-off approach", and every Government has only adopted "one-off approaches". The next-term Government will not be held responsible for the no-good deeds of the current Government. As LEUNG Chun-ying said when he first assumed office: "this game of chess is so hard to play, why I am asked to play it?" However, I think that he should not have fought for the position if he does not know how to play the game.

I think that political parties should take turns to rule the Government. For example, if the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) becomes the ruling party but does a poor job, then electors will not vote for it the next time. Hilary CLINTON is now running for the presidency of the United States and the Americans can say: "You cannot evade the question, please explain why OBAMA has been so incompetent". However, the situation of Hong Kong is different for when LEUNG Chun-ying completes his term of office, the Central Government may let Mrs Regina IP or some other person become the Chief Executive, so what can be done? Everything is now pushing Hong Kong people towards a dead end, but the Central Government said Hong Kong people like to criticize everything. In fact, what we are worried about are core values which the Secretary has also mentioned and other important matters. The incredibly international White Paper was published in seven languages on 10 June last year ― but not in German, therefore, the German officials were not happy about this when we visited the country. The White Paper explained the concept of "one country, two systems" in seven languages. What used to be a "high degree of autonomy" for Hong Kong has now become "overall jurisdiction". Why was the Secretary speechless back then? Should he have spoken on behalf of Hong Kong? He should have explained to the Central Government that Hong Kong is not trying to seek independence, but can develop better if Hong Kong is granted full freedom and enjoys a "high degree of autonomy". We do not need to lobby others constantly for help and talk about 8638 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

Individual Visit Schemes or whatsoever. Since our various industries can be developed, will the Secretary please give Hong Kong a helping hand?

As Secretary Matthew CHEUNG happens to be present, I must talk about the Government's policy on women. We often request that budgets with regard to women should be made. President, what is the meaning of this? It means that when the Government makes budgets on how public funds should be spent, it should look into what consequences such expenditures would have on women and men. This is not something which I, Emily LAU, said but what the Women's Convention Committee (Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women) of the United Nations has always said, and that is, request for the establishment of a central mechanism in Hong Kong to look into the consequences which the formulation of a Budget, legislation or policy will have on men and women. I have to ask Secretary CHEUNG whether he has examined the policy on paternity leave from this perspective when the policy was implemented. Has he looked into the problem of inadequate maternity leave for women? As regards the current Budget, has anyone asked Secretary CHEUNG: "Secretary CHEUNG, please take a look at the policies of the Financial Secretary to see whether they have been tilted in favour of men? Have women been mistreated? Secretary CHEUNG has been very brilliant recently when he talked about the issue of toilet cubicles on his blog. We cannot even remember how long has the Democratic Party been discussing this issue, but until now, the Government is only at the stage of empty talks. Is it not true that women are still queuing up for toilet cubicles"?

President, we feel that the authorities lack long-term commitment, and I hope that the Secretary can do more for Hong Kong in respect of defending our core values and bringing credit to Hong Kong before he steps down. I am opposed to the Budget!

MR ANDREW LEUNG (in Cantonese): President, the Budget prepared by the Financial Secretary this year is the most highly rated one in recent years. It has directly responded to the many suggestions put forward earlier by the Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong (BPA) and has addressed the needs of the middle class, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and the grass-roots LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8639 people. While many resources are made available to facilitate upward mobility of young people, investments are made for the long-term economic and social development of Hong Kong, and some aspirations expressed by the industrial and business sectors have also been responded to. It can be said that the Budget this year is the most all-rounded and well-balanced one among the Budgets presented by the Financial Secretary over the years.

Relief measures amounting to $34 billion have been generously introduced by the "God of Wealth" this year for the community. As the Government has recorded substantial surpluses, in order to return wealth to the people, the Financial Secretary proposes to reduce salaries tax and to subject the reduction to a higher ceiling of $20,000 as has accepted our recommendation. In addition, the Budget also proposes an increase of the child allowance by $30,000 to $100,000, and a substantial increase of the child allowance for each newborn baby by $60,000 to $200,000. All these measures will help to ease the financial burden of middle-class families. Many people have remarked to me that this year the Government finally keeps the middle class in mind and makes extra efforts to provide them with additional tax concession, so as to slightly reduce the burden of the middle class who are "paying more tax" but "enjoying less welfare".

Moreover, as compared with what was introduced last year, the ceiling set for the one-off reduction of profits tax has been doubled to ease the burden of local enterprises, SMEs in particular. However, it is still our hope that the Government will consider seriously fixing for the low-margin enterprises some lower profits tax rates on a relatively long term basis. In the long run, the Federation of Hong Kong Industries (FHKI) hopes that there will be a downward adjustment of profit tax rates across the board as a measure to deal with the competition arising from the reduction of profits tax in other places. As regards the measures to support SMEs, including measures proposed to enhance various support funds for SMEs and the proposed extension of the application period for the special concessionary measures under the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme, they are welcomed by both the BPA and FHKI. We hope that the Financial Secretary will, in view of the effectiveness of the special concessionary measures, take one step further subsequently to make the relevant measures permanent.

8640 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

President, as a result of the 79-day illegal Occupy movement staged earlier on as well as a series of related illegal assemblies held afterwards, the business prospect of a number of industries and SMEs has been affected. Thus, we concur that targeted support measures should be implemented for several sectors that are most affected by the Occupy movement, so as to alleviate the business pressure of such enterprises. Besides, we also support the proposal to allocate $290 million to the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), the Information Services Department, Hong Kong Trade Development Council and the relevant government departments for the implementation of a series of publicity and promotion campaigns overseas. We urge the Government to launch the publicity and promotion campaigns expeditiously to help restore the confidence of international investors and tourists in Hong Kong, lest our competitors will be given an opportunity to take advantage of the situation.

This Monday, the Mainland authorities announced that the one-year multiple-entry Individual Visit Endorsements (multiple-entry endorsements) for permanent residents of Shenzhen would be replaced by the "one trip per week" Individual Visit Endorsements ("one trip per week" endorsements). I believe the new measure will help alleviate temporarily and slightly the discontent of the Hong Kong people against parallel traders. However, the measure may not be effective in putting an end to parallel trading activities, and it will also be of no help in tackling at source the parallel trading problem. In order to have the problem resolved, both sides of the boundary have to work in joint co-operation to exchange intelligence, and it is also necessary for the Shenzhen Customs authorities to step up inspection and enforcement. Although the new measure to introduce the "one trip per week" endorsements is targeted mainly at parallel trading activities, industries such as the tourism industry, retail industry and catering industry would inevitably be affected as well. It is the BPA's hope that the government departments concerned will keep a close watch on the matter and render appropriate assistance to the affected industries when necessary.

While Hong Kong is a famous tourism city and we always extend hospitality to tourists to make them feel at home, we also understand that Hong Kong is a densely populated small city. In the past few years, the development of our tourism infrastructure has failed to keep pace with the growth in the number of visitors and the crowded environment has indeed created LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8641 inconvenience to the public, but this should never be used as an excuse by the radical groups to engage in irrational activities like protesting endlessly against the Individual Visit Scheme (IVS), causing disturbance to visitors, and so on. We should not put parallel traders on a par with visitors under IVS and multiple-entry endorsements. We need to bear in mind that "it is easier to scare visitors away than to attract tourists". With the heightened tension between both sides and a strong exchange rate of Hong Kong dollar, Hong Kong's attractiveness as a shopping paradise is diminishing. Besides, as the tourism industries of other countries and places are proactively developing the Mainland market and making good efforts to streamline the visit visa application procedures for Chinese visitors, Mainland visitors actually have more choices to choose from these days.

Under such circumstances, there is indeed an urgent need for Hong Kong to rebuild its image as a hospitable city. The HKTB should also co-operate with the retail and catering industries, operators of shopping arcades, commercial tenants and operators of major tourist attractions in Hong Kong as early as possible to provide a variety of concessions to both visitors and local people to encourage consumption. Publicity and promotion efforts on the Mainland should also be stepped up to rectify the wrong impression that has been given to Mainlanders, as they are afraid that Hong Kong people do not welcome them.

As for the medium and long run, in order to preserve our good reputation of an international city of tourism, it is also a must for Hong Kong to develop infrastructure and ancillary facilities for tourism at a faster speed. In addition to building a mega business and shopping centre near the boundary as soon as possible, new tourist attractions for in-depth travel should also be developed to appropriately divert inbound visitors and ensure that we have adequate capacity to receive tourists and minimize the impact caused to local people at the same time. We should strive to lobby the Central Authorities for an extension of IVS coverage to Mainland cities that are farther away like Qingdao, so as to boost the number of overnight visitors coming to Hong Kong. Besides, efforts should also be made to attract more visitors with high consumption power from other countries, so as to enable our tourism industry to have deeper and broader development.

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The concept of Food Trucks is referred to in the Budget by the Financial Secretary. During the Easter holiday just passed, I went on a trip to Japan with my family. While viewing cherry blossoms in a park, I found a number of food trucks parking in the open areas of the park selling traditional Japanese gourmet food, such as barbecued food, cuttlefish balls, and so on. There were also food trucks selling coffee and other drinks for the enjoyment of the locals and tourists viewing cherry blossoms there, and their services were well received. Food trucks in Japan come in various sizes and scales, but unlike the ones the Financial Secretary saw in the United States, most of them are small trucks operated by self-employed persons. Each food truck has its own characteristics and according to my observations, quite a number of food truck operators are young people who take care of everything by themselves.

When planning for the introduction of Food Trucks into Hong Kong, I hope the Government will give some thoughts to this issue: given our high density of people and vehicles, where can such food trucks park and operate their businesses in the narrow roads in Hong Kong? Should food trucks be allowed to operate on weekdays or only during weekends, public holidays or major events at designated locations? Should the market position of food trucks be fixed as business operations run by self-employed persons instead of large corporations? Moreover, the Government should use the Food Trucks as a means to promote the special local food and local food culture. That way, not only the development of Hong Kong's tourism industry can be given a boost, more opportunities for starting up businesses can also be created to enable more young people to give play to their creativity.

President, in my speeches delivered every year on the Policy Address and the Budget, I would certainly mention about ways to enhance the competitiveness of local enterprises. It is always the hope of the industrial sector that the SAR Government will give more support to the local enterprises engaging in research and development as well as design work. As such, we are very happy to learn that the Financial Secretary has proposed this year the launching of an Enterprise Support Scheme, the injection of funds into the Innovation and Technology Fund and the earmarking of $23 million in the coming two or three years for supporting the needs of SMEs in intellectual property consultation services and manpower LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8643 training. On the front of manpower training, targeted measures have also been proposed in the Budget, including subsidizing on a pilot basis 1 000 students per cohort to pursue self-financing undergraduate programmes for meeting the manpower needs of Hong Kong, and investing resources in the training of local fashion designers to encourage them to create their own brands. The FHKI considers the measures appropriate and conducive to opportunities for the local industries to give full play to their advantages.

A number of proposed measures put forward by the Financial Secretary are meant to prepare for a rainy day and are conducive to social stability, but he has said not much on industrial development. Besides, we are also worried that the industrial development needs have not been taken into account in the Government's land development plan and Land Sale Programme. Industry is the basis for research and development and it would be illogical to promote research and development alone without practical support for the development of high value-added industries. During our gatherings, FHKI members always grumble that the implementation of more and more statutory regulation in Hong Kong, the operating costs is pushed up increasingly and thus undermining the competitiveness of our business environment. Besides, the advantages enjoyed by our pillar industries are also weakened gradually as a result of the changes in both the internal and external environments.

We have always emphasized that the economy of Hong Kong should not rely solely on several industries. The FHKI will continue to urge the Government to formulate a long term industrial policy so as to promote the development of high value-added and high-tech local industries for a more diversified and sustainable economic structure in Hong Kong. As I pointed out here last month, the Government needs to face the problem squarely, draw up a clear, balanced and forward-looking industrial policy, formulate policy visions and targets, as well as provide comprehensive support in areas such as land, taxation, capital, personnel, technology, and so on, so as to enable the local enterprises to be better equipped to introduce new and innovative technology into our conventional industries. At the same time, efforts should also be made to attract industries to come back and thereby enable the economy of Hong Kong to develop towards diversification and high value-added services.

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Labour force is an essential factor conducive to economic growth. Over the past few years, the FHKI has repeatedly urged government officials to face squarely the mismatch of manpower resources in the Hong Kong's labour market, as the prolonged labour shortage in individual trades would be detrimental to the sustainable development of our economy. I understand that the labour sector is concerned about the possible impact of importation of labour on the "rice-bowl" of local wage earners. As such, we have repeatedly emphasized that the applications in this respect should be vetted and approved under the premise of priority employment for local workers, so that there will be an appropriate, limited and targeted supply of the labour workers that are needed but not available locally.

Finally, I would like to spend a little time on the two huge sums of public money referred to in the Budget: the setting aside of $50 billion for retirement protection and the setting up of a Future Fund. Let me first talk about retirement protection.

The population in Hong Kong is ageing, this is an indisputable fact and a problem we have to face. Thus, retirement protection is an issue we should not neglect. This is exactly the reason why we hope the Government will undertake a detailed study on how this sum should be used and adequately consult the public during the process, so as to strike a balance between the interests of different stakeholders and different strata of society, thereby ensuring that the system to be put in place is financially sustainable. We should never impose a heavy burden on our next generation in order to win some short-lived applause.

The Financial Secretary proposed in the Budget to establish a Future Fund comprising an endowment of over $220 billion from the Land Fund and a proportion of future budget surpluses. This Fund will serve as long-term savings to enable us to continue with our infrastructural development in times of budgetary deficit in future, thereby giving a boost to the development of the economy of Hong Kong. The FHKI and I share the view that in considering the specific management and investment mechanisms for the Future Fund, the Government should weigh the different factors with great care and conduct the consultation work well before making any decisions. One of the factors to be considered is: Whether the allocation of a proportion of the future budget surpluses into the Future Fund for long-term investment will hinder the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8645

Government's ability to use the surpluses in a timely manner to introduce support measures for enterprises when such needs arise.

President, as in previous years, some Members of the pan-democratic camp had openly mentioned about their plans to filibuster even before the Budget was presented by the Financial Secretary. And it has also come to my attention that over 3 900 proposed Committee stage amendments have been submitted to the Legislative Council Secretariat. Here, I would like to speak a few words to Members of the pan-democratic camp: the Budget this year is considered a rather good job by quite a number of Hong Kong people, and a lot of people have told us that they hope the Budget can be passed promptly by this Council to enable the public to benefit from the proposed measures as early as possible. I hope my Honourable colleagues will listen to the views of the public and call off their filibustering plan, so that the relief measures proposed can be implemented expeditiously.

With these remarks, I support the Appropriation Bill 2015.

MR JAMES TIEN (in Cantonese): President, this is the first time throughout the years that the Liberal Party, under the new Party Leader and new chairmen, gives the Budget such a high score of 70. Of course, one of the biggest reasons is that the Budget presented by the Financial Secretary last year focused mostly on assisting the grassroots. We are highly supportive of this. The relevant measures would certainly be implemented again this year, such as the provision of two extra months' payment of Comprehensive Social Security Assistance, Old Age Allowance and Disability Allowance, which involves $5.5 billion in total. Moreover, we also support the measure to pay one month's rent for tenants of public rental housing (PRH), representing a concession of $1.1 billion. A rather special measure of this year is the 75% reduction of salaries tax and tax under personal assessment for the middle class. Although the reduction is subject to a ceiling of $20,000, the Government has at least helped them save $15.8 billion tax payment in total.

We have our own view regarding the rates concession, we believe the concession can really help the middle class, rather than benefiting only the property developers as remarked by Members of the pan-democratic camp. 8646 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

How can this be the case? Of course, rates levied on shopping malls are paid by property developers, but most of the members of the middle class have to pay rates for the properties they own, and hence they can benefit from the measure for sure. Why does the Government not offer rates concession for all the four quarters of the year? Even though waiving the rates for two quarters has already helped them save $7.7 billion, we still hope the Government can offer further support to them.

For the small and medium enterprises (SMEs), the reduction of profits tax by 75% subject to a ceiling of $20,000 sounds like a substantial exemption, yet this involves only $1.9 billion in fact. According to the Government's revenue estimates for this year, revenue from profits tax stands at $133.1 billion, accounting for 28% of the total revenue. With profits tax revenue standing at $133.1 billion, I consider a mere exemption of $1.9 billion for SMEs far from adequate, and I hope the Financial Secretary can do better in this regard.

President, as I have a strong opinion on the Financial Secretary's fiscal management, I will not give him such a high score of 70. President, two days ago, I had lunch with friends from the business sector who are both owners of SMEs and members of the Hong Kong General Chamber of Commerce (HKGCC). I had been the Legislative Council Representative and Chairman of the HKGCC, and I have always tried to talk with owners of SMEs in the HKGCC all these years, as I normally do not have much chances to meet them in the General Committee.

I asked them a question: Given that so many young people have taken to the street and expressed enormous discontentment during the Occupy Central movement, are there any other possible explanations apart from the frequently cited reason that youngsters find it difficult to own a flat these days when, compared to the salary level 10 years ago which stood at some $10,000, university graduates are earning only $11,000 to $12,000 despite the drastic price increases in these past 10 years? One of them suddenly gave an explanation which I had never heard of before. He is a man in his 40s and his children are in their teens. And he told me ― he truly said so, I am not making things up ― he had asked his children why their peers found the ideas of genuine universal suffrage, "pocket it first means pocketing forever" and "fake universal suffrage" as advocated by the pan-democratic Members during the Occupy Central action so appealing, or why did they believe in such remarks? According to what he LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8647 told me, it was all because they did not consider this Government trustworthy. They did not mean to say that the Government was lying, they just could not trust the Government.

Regarding the current governance problem in Hong Kong, I wonder if it is all because the Chief Executive always gives people the impression that he is not trustworthy and the Central Government still gives him its firm support, so much so that the credibility of the Central Government's words is undermined. Can we believe fully what the Central Government has said? In the past, we considered that everything said by the Central Government was fully trustworthy. However, as the Central Government offers its support to LEUNG Chun-ying as the Chief Executive, members of the public sometimes find its words not trustworthy. The people believe that the Government cannot be trusted, and the things it says are not true. Is it because the pan-democrats are condemning the Chief Executive for telling lies and calling him "a big liar" so frequently that the impression has already embedded in people's mind? President, my speech does relate to the Budget. I am also wondering why the young people consider the Government not trustworthy. Yet they are asked to keep on believing the idea of genuine universal suffrage or "pocket it first" put forward by the Government despite its lack of credibility. Maybe this is truly a problem. I have never imagined that one of the causes for the people's grievances actually comes from the loss of credibility on the part of the Government.

I would like to talk about fiscal management with the Financial Secretary. Regarding the Budgets presented throughout these years, it can be said that he was saving for hard times when he exercised fiscal prudence with conservative figures in making his first Budget. However, if the discrepancy between the estimated and actual figures remained so huge every year, the public would find the figures in the Budgets not reliable at all. In this case, members of the public would cast doubt on the subsequent theories formulated by the Government. I myself do share this feeling. Why do I consider the previous figures given by the Financial Secretary unreliable?

Having 15 minutes speaking time today, I can afford to elucidate without rush. President, during the years since Financial Secretary John TSANG took office, he estimated a deficit of $7.5 billion in his first Budget in 2008-2009, yet it turned out we recorded $1.5 billion in surplus; in 2009-2010, the estimated deficit of $39.9 billion became a surplus of $25.9 billion; in 2010-2011, the $25.2 billion budgetary deficit was eventually replaced by a surplus of $75.1 billion. Then, in 8648 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

2011-2012, while the revised estimate made after the measure of "handing out cash" was a deficit of $8.5 billion, the result was again a surplus of $73.7 billion; in 2012-2013, the budgetary deficit of $3.4 billion was replaced by a surplus of $64.8 billion in the end; as for 2013-2014, the budgetary deficit was $4.9 billion while the actual surplus recorded was $21.8 billion. Last year, we had a Budget not attached with a negative estimate for the first time, as a positive $9.1 billion was forecast therein. The surplus recorded so far is $63.8 billion. However, we notice that $27.5 billion of the surplus has been distributed by the Financial Secretary to the newly established Housing Reserve. If added with this sum of $27.5 billion, the surplus should indeed be more than $90 billion. In other words, while the Financial Secretary has estimated a total deficit of $80 billion over the past years, a total surplus of $350 billion was actually recorded in the same period.

The Financial Secretary mentioned in paragraph 147 of the Budget this year that structural deficits would surface within 10 years. Then, in paragraph 151 he said that the Government might explore again the feasibility of broadening the tax base in due course with the aim of stabilizing government revenue. We may well query the huge differences between the estimates made with fiscal prudence and the actual figures. President, I am a businessman, and I consider it good business management if I can make estimates which turn out to be highly similar to the real situation. If I predict a loss of $100, then I lose $100; if I predict a gain of $1,000, then I gain $1,000. A staff member who time and again turns deficits into good profits would indeed make me query how he drew up the budgets in the first place. The staff would seem less credible if my company needs to prepare for problems that may arise in the future. In a similar way, the Financial Secretary has given the public a general impression that what the Government's words are indeed not trustworthy.

Under such circumstances, even if Hong Kong's population is ageing, how can we believe that we will really be faced with structural deficits in 10 years? Of course, there must be a decrease in the number of people in employment and an increase in the numbers of dependent elderly persons or young people in education before any structural deficits can surface.

Regarding the concept of broadening the tax base, the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is involved here. Let us look at the figures in the past. When Henry TANG proposed the introduction of the GST back in 2006, we had a fiscal reserve of only $300 billion, while today we have $838.2 billion; the Exchange LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8649

Fund had a balance of only $1,200 billion then, while today the figure has amounted to $3,200 billion. Certainly, I agree with the Government that some of the sums among the balance of $3,200 billion do not belong to the Government and need to be set aside. Nevertheless, the remaining aggregate amount still stands above $1,000 billion, representing a very substantial increase as compared with the figures in the past. In fact, is it really necessary to introduce the GST? Many pan-democratic Members and those representing the grassroots have strong view on this idea, as this tax is applicable to everyone. Therefore, one can see that the Government really does not have good credibility.

President, in my view, the principle of fiscal prudence and eventual huge discrepancy in figures gives us an impression that the Government is extremely cautious in formulating the Budget, and we cannot help but feel that it always employs the tactic of "crying wolf" to reap profits in every possible aspect. The pan-democratic Members regularly talk about the disparity between the rich and the poor and consider it appropriate to take more from the rich. Many people from the business sector are willing to give out of their pockets, and I do recognize this. While all of us are willing to offer relief to the grassroots, the first point the pan-democratic Members need to understand is that, even if the tax rates are increased, the additional tax revenue collected will still be put into the coffer instead of being spent by the Government, which means that no help can be offered to the grassroots. Therefore, I believe we and the Members representing the grassroots should co-operate and push the Government to do the right thing in relation to welfare services, by that I mean instead of giving out money across the board, the Government should spend more and do more for the needy. For example, regarding education, even though we have already spent an enormous amount on the provision of financial assistance to university students, they still have to repay their student loans years after graduation. Is there any room for further investment in this regard? I would give my approval if our resources are put to good use in this way.

President, I still have a little time left, and I wish to talk about two relatively trivial but equally important issues. First, if construction workers are really in such a short supply right now, I believe that the current term of Government will not be able to implement completely its housing policies by 2017. President, apart from disrupting the supply of PRH units, the business sector's wish for more office spaces or shopping malls to make possible a drop in rental rates would also be rendered an unreachable dream.

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Regarding the shortage in construction workers, the relevant Bureau Secretary should have noted that 342 applications for imported labour were approved in 2014, 566 were approved in 2013, 284 in 2012, 14 in 2011, and only one in 2010. In the face of the existing shortage of 15 000 workers, not many imported workers can be approved by the Government if it keeps on approving applications in this manner. That being the case, how can housing flats be constructed to cater for the needs of the public? Indeed, the Government is offering de facto help to the property developers, as property prices will rocket up if we do not have sufficient manpower to construct housing units. When the supply of newly-developed flats is so scarce, the prices for the new flats will certainly hit new heights. This is because no other construction projects can be carried through. In this connection, I am sure Members representing the labour sector will have strong views, but given that compared to the employment issue of tens of thousands of workers who are mainly grass-roots people, about half a million people are waiting to buy their own homes, I believe the Government should take a look at this matter.

President, on the issues of "multiple-entry endorsements" and the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB), we are highly supportive of the allocation of an additional funding of $80 million to the HKTB for enhancing publicity efforts. After my recent conversation with my former colleagues in the HKTB, I have come to the view that they should not spend the funding entirely on South East Asia. As most of the countries in the area have experienced currency depreciation against Hong Kong dollars, their outbound tourists will only visit places where the local currencies have similar depreciation against US dollars, so as to keep their travelling costs on the low side. Hence, the money spent on South East Asia may not produce much effect. On the other hand, the recent anti-parallel trading activities have created an impression among Mainlanders that they are not welcomed here. As such, I would rather the funding of $80 million be spent in major Mainland cities like Shanghai and Beijing to further promote Hong Kong as a hospitable city and invite them to come to visit our city.

Thank you, President.

MR CHUNG KWOK-PAN (in Cantonese): President, everyone says that the Financial Secretary has made a wrong estimate. The $9 billion surplus estimated in the beginning of the year actually becomes $90 billion, if counted LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8651 together with the $20-odd billion allocated to the Housing Authority as reserve. As some Members have referred to just now, this is indeed a difference of 10 times.

I am sure the Financial Secretary is wrong in estimating that we will record a surplus of $30 billion in the coming year, but then, if an inaccurate estimate has to be made anyway, it is always better to get a larger figure than a smaller one. Why is the estimate wrongly made? Let us take a look at recent rising trend in the securities market. With the daily turnover amounting to over $200 billion, the Government is having a busy time collecting stamp duties. Given the daily turnover of $200-odd billion, the stamp duties collected every day will be around $0.8 billion to $1 billion, and will amount to tens of billions of dollars by the end of the year. Therefore, I predict that the fiscal reserve will record an increase of at least some $100 billion in 2015-2016.

The Financial Secretary has certainly done a brilliant job in expectation management this year. Why do I say so? It is because while he has given out messages in the very early stage that the amount of personal allowance for tax reduction this year would be $10,000, the actual amount we receive is $20,000. As regards tax rebate, the amount has increased from $10,000 to $20,000. Besides, the additional payment of "fruit grant" has also doubled from one month's payment to two months'. Some Members mentioned just now that "handing out cash" could only benefits the rich. President, how can the rich be benefited through these measures? The maximum amount involved is merely $20,000, which is really trivial to the wealthy ― these measures are absolutely intended to support the middle class. The middle class does not have much demand for social welfare, yet they have to pay heavy taxes. I consider these measures the appropriate ones to benefit middle class, they are not intended to benefit only the rich as alleged by some. To the wealthy people, $20,000 is only enough to pay for a single meal in a restaurant nearby. Therefore, President, this Budget presented by the Financial Secretary has truly done a great job in expectation management.

Mr James TIEN mentioned just now that the Liberal Party would not give this Budget a score of 70, yet why do I give it this score? This is because the Financial Secretary has allocated $0.5 billion to the textile and clothing industry to develop fashion business. The funding is very helpful to our sector, and that is why I give this measure a higher score, thereby raising the average. This is 8652 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 one good example. While many would consider $0.5 billion a handsome amount, some others might find the funding not enough. Nevertheless, this is an example to illustrate that the efforts to support the upgrading and restructuring of some conventional industries can also give a boost to the economic development of industries in the future. As in the case of the textile and clothing industry, despite the rather sluggish business performance in these few years, the industry is still able to generate an annual revenue of more than $230 billion at the least. We are not talking about a substantial figure, but if the upgrading and restructuring efforts can help stimulate economic growth by 10%, then an additional economic benefit of $23 billion can be generated annually, and this is not a small amount at all.

Furthermore, this can convey an encouraging message to the young people who like creative industries or fashion design. If their parents do not know much about the relevant trade, they will not let their young people take up study in this area because they may not be able to see any prospect in this connection. For those young people with better academic results, they are probably forced to take up a path in professional fields such as finance or banking despite the fact that most probably do not have any interest in those industries. Regrettably, they still have to study in these fields as their parents are expecting them to enrol in classes that can help them earn more money in future. However, if the Government now delivers messages through its policies that it is possible for the fashion or creative industries to foster future development, young people who wish to pursue a career according to their own interests instead of focusing solely on monetary rewards can definitely be benefited. This is an example of how this can drive other industries forward. Yesterday, I had some discussion with friends from the clocks and watches industry or the jewelry industry, and they remarked that they also wanted their industries to be included in the fashion sector if the latter can get support from the Government, so that they could allocate additional resources to design or other areas. Therefore, we hope that young people will not confine their career path to fields like finance, real estate, tourism, and so on.

There are many overseas cases in which economic development is made possible by heavy government investment at the initial stage. During our duty visit to Northern Europe last year, we noted that Finland was making proactive investment in scientific research and industrial development, and it even invested in start-ups or small enterprises. Of course this has to be done cautiously. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8653

However, to our surprise, the government there would bear the losses, while the profits would go to the enterprises. It is because the Finnish government considers that if some enterprises can succeed at last, they will in turn help to generate economic benefits and ample job opportunities. Nokia, the mobile phone manufacturer, is one good example. Another example is the Angry Birds. While Angry Birds is a huge success for Finland, the company has also received government sponsorship in its early stage. The South Korean Government also takes the lead to invest in industries like fashion, electronic products and many other areas. Even vehicle manufacturing is provided with government support at the moment. We can have nothing to say if the SAR Government does not have the money, but it is indeed flooded with reserves at present. As such, I believe the Financial Secretary has to consider whether the SAR Government should put in greater effort and proactively invest in the economy and industries.

Many people, including Members from the pan-democratic camp or those representing the social welfare sector, criticize the Government for not spending more on universal retirement protection or health insurance. The Government is certainly worried about structural deficits in the next 10 years, but I do not expect this to happen, as I have just mentioned about the extra $100 billion revenue possible to be generated in 2015-2016. Furthermore, an increase of $100 billion in 2015-2016 means deducting one year from the 10 deficit years in the future to make it nine years, and each further increment of $100 billion will go on to deduct one more year, so that there will only be eight years in deficit, and so on. Therefore, I believe that we will not encounter structural deficits. Furthermore, some Members have referred to just now, the balance of the Exchange Fund is standing at $250 billion currently, this together with the fiscal reserve of $800 billion will add up to a sum of $3,300 billion.

Regarding the Monetary Authority, I believe the Financial Secretary should have a talk with Mr Norman CHAN … I do not mean to demand his dismissal, but with an investment return of only 1.4%, his performance is deeply disappointing. President, we can earn a return like this easily from bank deposits, why do we need to hire so many people with over $10 million remunerations each year to manage our investments? President, Norway in Northern Europe has $6,000 billion in fiscal reserve, and the annual investment return rate of the reserve is around 5% to 7%. Just imagine, if $3,300 billion …

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MR LEUNG KWOK-HUNG (in Cantonese): President, point of order, a pair of golden scissors is waiting for its owner to claim it back ― Mr WONG Kwok-hing is lazing around, and I request a headcount.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Will the Clerk please ring the bell to summon Members back to the Chamber.

(After the summoning bell had been rung, a number of Members returned to the Chamber)

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr CHUNG Kwok-pan, please continue with your speech.

MR CHUNG KWOK-PAN (in Cantonese): President, I have not expected it to be so soon.

President, I have just mentioned about the poor performance of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), as it can only secure an investment return of 1.4%, while Norway in Northern Europe can achieve an investment return of 5% to 7%. In another words, if HKMA could achieve a return of 5% to 7%, President, the $3,000-odd billion reserve alone would general an interest income of $150 billion to $200 billion, not including the principal or the Government's normal expenditure and revenue. Therefore, if only this amount of $150 billion to $200 billion is injected into the Future Fund established by the Financial Secretary without utilizing the land reserve, it can already yield $1,000 billion in five years with the help of compound interest. If the funding is spent on universal retirement protection, health protection or other areas of social welfare, in addition to generating surpluses, it can make everyone happy as well. Speaking of public finance management, in addition to managing properly Hong Kong's income and expenditure, the senior management staff of the HKMA should also review duly their own performance. With manpower of this size, they only manage to achieve an investment return of 1.4%. I believe members of the public are much savvier in this regard.

Furthermore, President, I wish to talk about something very special. According to the Budget, the special concessionary measures under the Small and LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8655

Medium Enterprises Financing Guarantee Scheme will be extended. These measures are managed by the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation Limited (HKMC) and aimed at providing guarantee protection for loan facilities granted by banks to small and medium enterprises (SMEs). In this connection, the Government provides $100 billion for guarantee coverage on loans offered to SMEs. However, I learn from the figures between April 2013 and January 2015 that while the HKMC has received 196 cases of default claims, President, only 11 of them have been dealt with by now. With respect to these cases, many banks have complained to me that the Scheme can hardly offer any support to SMEs in fact. Why is it the case? It turns out that banks are not allowed to file claims with the HKMC even if the SMEs have winded up or gone bankrupt. However, the SMEs have paid their premiums, unlike the case of the loan guarantee scheme introduced previously by the Trade and Industry Department under which no guarantee was offered and no premium involved. Now that SMEs have paid their premiums, while the HKMC has received up to 196 claims upon any problem encountered by SMEs in two years, only 11 of such cases have been dealt with. In other words, 185 cases are still outstanding and no one knows if they can be resolved at all. Regarding those claims that involve long processing time, applications from banks are just not dealt with at present. Therefore, I consider this Scheme, originally intended to help SMEs to obtain loans, a complete failure. As the Financial Secretary is now present, I have to highlight the problems in this respect. It is a well-intended policy, but, in practice … he has to look at the way things go on in the HKMC, why the SMEs are unable to get compensation despite the insurance premiums they have paid, and why the banks have declined to take care of their cases. So, how can SMEs get any support?

President, if the Financial Secretary talks about broadening the tax base to see if any new tax can be introduced, especially the GST referred to just now, when the Budget estimates a hefty surplus of $100 billion for 2015-2016, I have to say that this move is totally unnecessary. Why? This is because a tax increase can do nothing meaningful. The additional tax revenue collected upon the tax increase will stay in the coffer which is already flooded with money, thus requiring the Government to build another pool to take care of the flooding. So, we can see that it is indeed meaningless to raise tax.

The last issue I wish to expound on is the problem of an ageing population which is widely known in the territory. In an ageing society, the working-age population dwindles. The Government currently maintains two schemes, namely the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals and 8656 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

Quality Migrant Admission Scheme. In this connection, I wish that the Government can publish the details earlier to tell the public whether talents can really be imported into Hong Kong to help alleviate the manpower shortage situation. The manpower shortage problem is especially serious in the medical sector. Though I have reiterated the issue time and again, I still have to repeat it once more today that, to our surprise, young people from Hong Kong are not allowed to practise in their hometown upon graduating from medical schools overseas. Of course, they can be granted practice licence after examination, but this is absolutely a sign of protectionism in the medical sector. Therefore, in the face of an ageing population, I predict that the graduates from the medical schools of the two local universities are not sufficient to cope with the demand for medical personnel in the future. In this connection, the Government should devote greater effort to urge the Medical Council of Hong Kong to adjust downwards its strong a sense of protectionism, so that the medical services provided for Hong Kong people or the medical services provided for an ageing population will not be deprived of the better support they require in the future.

President, I so submit.

MR STEVEN HO (in Cantonese): President, many members said just now that the Financial Secretary has made wrong calculations. But I personally think that, even if sometimes the Financial Secretary makes wrong calculations ― I am sorry, I have not put on the microphone ― even if sometimes the Financial Secretary makes wrong calculations, I would forgive him. Whenever I see him makes a lower estimation in the money people in Hong Kong have earned, I would think that a lower estimation is always better than a too high estimation. The reason is that if he makes an estimation that is too high, in his next Budget, he might increase the expenses and the financial deficit might appear sooner.

Some people say, after some years, Hong Kong may have financial deficit. Their opinion may be just a kind of gentle reminder. They want us to be careful. It may also be a warning to Hong Kong. Therefore, I think this is not bad. Recently, the stock market has been going up rapidly. The financial deficit would come to Hong Kong later. In fact this is good. On the contrary, if the stock market drops drastically and Hong Kong's expenses have increased, the financial deficit will come earlier and people in Hong Kong have to work doubly hard. Therefore I think people in Hong Kong can treat these people's way of saying as a friendly reminder.

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After having talked about figures involving tens of billions and hundreds of billions of dollars, I would like to talk about some minor issues concerning people's livelihood: market policy, food safety, policy on hawkers, development of the fisheries and agriculture sector, as well as marine works. When I talk about small amounts of money, the issues the citizens most care about are definitely the price of food and daily necessities.

Market is a very good place for citizens to buy cheap yet good products. Stall operators in markets benefited from measures such as rent freeze and favorable rents and can pay less for their stalls and thus sell goods at lower prices, thereby earning small profits by selling a lot of goods. However, they may be affected in future, because the rents may be increased so that their operating costs would be greatly increased. They also have to face competition from supermarkets and large-scale chain shops. Therefore, we can really feel that the merchants in markets have difficulty in operation.

In view of this, the Government should allocate more resources to improve the conditions in the markets and speed up the improvement work on the markets. The Government should also allow the merchants to sell more diversified products and increase their competition edge so that they can attract more citizens to buy from them. At the same time, the Government should also consider improving the environment of the markets. At least the Government should lower the threshold for installing air-conditioners and even consider providing support.

The Subcommittee on Issues Relating to Public Markets had questioned the Government about the way to improve the environment of markets, such as installing air-conditioners. However, the Government said in reply that the merchants in markets could install air-conditioners themselves if they needed to do so. It was because if the Government should provided subsidy, it would be tantamount to subsidizing private business. In fact, it is not like this. The business of merchants in the markets is closely connected to the lives of the citizens. If the Government does not improve the environment of the markets, when the markets close down and this mode of economy is gone, the citizens would suffer from great loss. Therefore, the Government needs to take the initiatives to invest resources appropriately. I hope the Government can allocate more resources.

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The Government can implement the abovementioned measures in districts with markets. But in fact, there are many districts which have no market, such as Tseung Kwan O, Tin Shui Wai, Tung Chung, and so on. Since these places lack competition, large companies, The Link Management Limited ― let me directly quote its name ― or chain shops can push up the prices of goods in those districts, so that the citizens have to pay high prices for foods. Therefore, we hope that the Government can review the policy on market and consider the issue of planning for markets.

The public have been very concerned about the issue of food safety. In recent years, there have been many incidents of food safety, such as the incident of OSI Group, oil of poor quality in Taiwan, and so on. This has dealt a heavy blow to the citizens' confidence in the monitoring system concerning food safety. Moreover, there is also the issue of Japanese food contaminated by radioactivity being sold in Hong Kong. Under these shadows, the citizens have to worry about all kinds of food.

To be fair, the monitoring system concerning food safety in Hong Kong is acceptable, and I must emphasize that it is "just acceptable". It is true that there have been major incidents of food safety occasionally, the overall passing rate of food safety has been maintained at a high level over the years, no fatal incidents of food safety have ever happened. Therefore, Hong Kong is still a safe paradise of food.

However, crisis in food safety keeps appearing recently. The Government is always slow in realizing the problems. They often only send officers to make investigations after problems have appeared in other countries. Can the Government put in more effort? I know that the Government is studying issues related to recovery of waste oil and the monitoring of cooked meat, and is also thinking about expanding the laboratory for examining food safety. I hope that the Government can implement the relevant enhancement arrangements, so as to upgrade its food safety examinations and contingency capability, and proactively improve Hong Kong's food safety monitoring system and Food Safety Ordinance.

For the Government which owns hundreds of billions of dollars, hawkering is a trade that involves only very little money. The trade of hawkering has a long history in Hong Kong. Hawkers have been finding their living space in the gap between the areas managed by the Government and the areas that are not. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8659

They have adapted to the direction of development in Hong Kong. This trade also offers many employment opportunities to people. It is generally believed that the trade of hawkering has its own characteristics and it should be retained and developed. However, this is only a general view. At the meeting of the Subcommittee on Hawker Policy (Subcommittee) held yesterday ― I am the chairman of that subcommittee ― some merchants said that while they spent more than $100,000 to rent a shop, some hawkers were selling goods right outside their shops. This is a big problem to them. I think the Government has the responsibility to resolve the contradiction and come up with a plan whereby all parties can win, so that all parties can share the fruits of social development.

The public officers of the Food and Health Bureau introduced the new hawker policy to the chairmen and vice-chairmen of the 18 District Councils and encouraged all districts to suggest sites for open-air hawker bazaars and night markets, so that there would be a diversity of business operations in their districts. They should also conduct study on relaxing restrictions and allowing hawkers to sell cooked food. For all these, we can have further communications with the Government. In the past, unlicensed hawkers ― especially those selling cooked food ― had caused problems such as obstruction, noise and environmental health, and thereby causing serious nuisance to the residents. The departments concerned had no choice but to enforce the law.

Take the night market in Kweilin Street as an example. The hawkers could only do business for a few days every year. Even if the Government wants to communicate with them to discuss how to improve the environment, and so on, it cannot contact them in the remaining 360 days. If the Government manages to reach a consensus on the arrangements with six of the stalls, only to see that 30 more stalls emerge next year, it has to start all over again. Therefore we cannot help but support the Government to enforce the law. On the other hand, some citizens hope that similar night markets can be kept under the premise of good management and environmental health, or that the night market can continue to run in other districts. I think all these can be further discussed. But the most important thing is: the districts, hawkers, the Government and residents in Hong Kong have to reach a consensus before the matter can be further proceeded with.

The Government is considering a pilot scheme of turning markets with high vacancy rates into cooked food centres. It is also considering reissuing licences for cooked food stalls with the support of district boards. We very 8660 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 much welcome these initiatives. In fact, the cooked food stalls, cooked food markets and night markets in Taipei, Bangkok and Singapore are very popular among tourists (including tourists from Hong Kong). Can Hong Kong follow their examples? We think that the Policy Bureaux concerned can learn from their management experience and actively promote local delicious foods, so as to maintain Hong Kong's reputation as a paradise of delicious foods.

Besides, the Budget also mentioned about food trucks. I am surprised to find that the Government would pass this matter to the Commerce and Economic Development Bureau led by Mr Gregory SO. We think that food truck is obviously related to food safety. To our surprise, the Government does not include this item into the scope of food safety. The Subcommittee must discuss this issue. Somebody asked: what if the hawkers did not sell offal at first but do so later, does the Government has any policy?

At the meeting of the Subcommittee yesterday, we had also put questions to the officers from the Food and Health Bureau. When they replied us, they said the framework at present was very broad, and the food trucks under the suggestion would not necessarily be large vehicles that worth a few million dollars or tens of millions of dollars, even small food trucks would be considered. In other words, the Government has not decided on the framework yet.

Besides selling hotdogs, will the Government consider allowing food trucks to sell offal as well? Also, will the Government consider introducing small food trucks, such as those in Taiwan, instead of the big ones that cost a few million dollars? This arrangement may be closer to the needs in Hong Kong. Of course, I do not rule out the possibility that buying a food truck may cost only a few million dollars. But regarding the business locations or scopes of the food trucks, the Government needs to consider seriously.

With regard to the suggestion of introducing food trucks, there is still much dispute in society. But, in fact, can the Government consider introducing food vessels? In the past years, I have cited the fried crab of typhoon shelters in Hong Kong as an example. There is still a noodle boat in Tuen Mun. I would patronize it from time to time. This noodle boat is run by an uncle of mine. I once asked him when the licence was issued. I can see on his licence that the issuing date is not printed in Arabic numbers like the commonly seen cases, such LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8661 as "1960", but in Chinese numerals instead. On his licence, the format of the issuing date is like this. We can imagine how long ago the licence was issued. I think that food vessel can add to the local cultural characteristics of Hong Kong. This can also support the development of leisure fishery in Hong Kong. The Government can consider this issue more.

I would like to talk about the agriculture and fisheries sector in particular, as this trade gives people a miserable impression. The British-Hong Kong Government and the early SAR Government just treated the sector as an ordinary trade. The website of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) states that Hong Kong's policy on agriculture and fisheries is (and I quote): "follow the general policy framework of free market. Except social considerations are overriding, the allocation of resources in the economy is left to market forces with minimal government intervention." In view of this, I really have to say "Thank you." This statement can still be found on the website of the AFCD.

We cannot deny that the development of fishery and agriculture in Hong Kong is declining. However, under the present situation in Hong Kong, developing the agriculture and fisheries sector can in fact bring positive effects to other areas, such as food safety, prices of food, and even carbon reduction, education for the next generation, people's quality of life, and so on. All these are closely connected with fishery and agriculture. I think that since the Government intends to implement the new agricultural policy, it should take more consideration and provide more relevant support to the agriculture and fisheries sector.

The Government is conducting a public consultation on this, and we very much welcome the Government to change the old policy regarding the agriculture and fisheries sector. Even though the Government's suggestions still have much room for improvement, the general direction is supported by the DAB and should be supported by the public. As a member of the Legislative Council representing the agriculture and fisheries sector, I always believe that maintaining the agriculture and fisheries sector at a certain scale can help maintain food supply and stable food prices. I have all along been saying that these two are the core values of the agriculture and fisheries sector.

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From the perspective of protecting the quality and safety of food, developing the local agriculture and fisheries sector can help the Government to monitor food safety "from the farm to the dining table". Now there is even a reverse way of saying, which is "from the dining table to the farm". It means that the agriculture and fisheries sector would try their best to produce the kinds of food that people want to enjoy at the dining table. For example, if the people need cups, the factories will produce them. I believe the Government can adopt this kind of reverse thinking in considering this issue. This can also ensure that the supply of food in Hong Kong is more reliable.

In fact, the public generally identify with the development of the local agriculture and fisheries sector. The DAB has conducted an opinion poll recently, and over 50% of people interviewed stated that they supported the development of the local agriculture and fisheries sector, while more than 50% of them considered the Government's support insufficient. Over 50% of these people were willing to spend more money to buy local agricultural products, while more than 80% of them thought that the Government should invest more resources. The Government has seen the result of that poll. It should know what to do!

If the Government wishes to strengthen the development of the agriculture and fisheries sector, it must change its policy thinking of "valuing development and looking down upon fishery and agriculture" upheld in the past, and remove obstacles from the trade at the policy level. This involves not only money. At present, many regulations are restricting the development of the agriculture and fisheries sector, including the height limitation of structures in farms, and so on. The relevant polices have long been out-dated. The Government must put more effort in this respect.

Finally, I would like to talk about the compensation mechanism of marine works. In recent years, many major infrastructure projects are under planning or proceeding in the waters west of Hong Kong, such as the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the Tung Chung New Town, and so on. All these projects involve more than 1 000 hectares of reclamation, impacting gravely on the livelihood of fishermen. However, as in the past, the Government only makes compensation through the ex gratia allowance mechanism.

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I would like to point out first that we object to this method very much. I do not want the Government to think that it can buy the space for development from the fishermen by spending money. The Government has to come up with other plans ― the Government had done so, but really very rarely. I would put aside the issue of space for development and talk about money first. Some people may accuse me of being money-oriented. But I need to reflect a problem.

How long has the project of Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge commenced its construction work? However, the Government only started to register for the fishermen affected by it in early this year. I think the mechanism of the Government is very problematic. Once the project started, the livelihood of the fishermen would be affected. It is because the fishermen could not enter the relevant waters. However, the Government starts to release the ex gratia allowance after more than two years have passed. When the Government commences the registration procedure, their fishing vessels are not in the original places, because they have already been "forced to move" by the Government. They have become caretakers or dish washers. But then, the Government asks them to take a day off to do the registration and have some discussion. Is this reasonable? Hence, when the Government ― even the Financial Secretary ― revise or formulate policies in the future, they must consider whether then should issue ex gratia allowance to these people first ― I would not use the word "compensation".

(Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung stood up)

MR STEVEN HO (in Cantonese): "Long Hair", my speaking time has only two more minutes left …

MR LEUNG KWOK-HUNG (in Cantonese): I saw the Financial Secretary drinking tea outside, and he mentioned the Financial Secretary …

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung, what is your point of order?

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MR LEUNG KWOK-HUNG (in Cantonese): My point of order is to ask the Financial Secretary to come back. I request a headcount, because he wants to find the Financial Secretary and I just saw that he was drinking tea outside.

MR STEVEN HO (in Cantonese): I am not looking for him now. Is that all right?

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Will the Clerk please ring the bell to summon Members back to the Chamber.

(While the summoning bell was ringing, Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung spoke loudly in his seat)

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung, please do not speak loudly in your seat.

(After the summoning bell had been rung, a number of Members returned to the Chamber)

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Will Members please return to their seats.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr Steven HO, please continue with your speech.

MR STEVEN HO (in Cantonese): President, point of order. Legislative Council Members should not engage in any illegal activities. At the moment, a few counterfeit banknotes are being displayed in front of Mr Gary FAN. In accordance with the laws of Hong Kong, anyone should not photocopy … cannot photocopy the banknotes of Hong Kong. I hope that you can make a ruling.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr Gary FAN, do you have the counterfeit banknotes as mentioned by Mr Steven HO?

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MR GARY FAN (in Cantonese): President, these are prop banknotes. You can see that some slogans are printed on the banknotes. I think Mr Steven HO must have some misunderstand in this regard. Nonetheless, President, you can make a ruling.

MR STEVEN HO (in Cantonese): Please find someone to check those banknotes first. I think clarification is necessary.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr Steven HO, I think it is not necessary to deal with your question. Please continue with your speech.

(Mr MA Fung-kwok raised his hand to indicate his wish to speak)

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr MA Fung-kwok, what is your point?

MR MA FUNG-KWOK (in Cantonese): President, the props displayed by the colleague sitting next to me are blocking my view.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr Gary FAN, please move slightly over the props you are displaying and do not block the view of Mr MA Fung-kwok.

(Mr Gary FAN moved the props leftwards)

MR GARY FAN (in Cantonese): President, is it all right?

MR MA FUNG-KWOK (in Cantonese): President, I basically cannot see that screen.

(Mr Gary FAN moved the props again)

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MR GARY FAN (in Cantonese): President, is it fine that way?

MR MA FUNG-KWOK (in Cantonese): President, I still cannot see the screen.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Members of the public who are now viewing the live broadcast of this meeting will think that they are watching some kindergarten students in a class.

Mr Steven HO, please continue with your speech.

MR STEVEN HO (in Cantonese): Since the President is not making a ruling, I will continue with my speech.

Just now I was talking about the unfairness of the mechanism for granting ex gratia allowances. Let me tell Members a related story. A fisherman with an oar-propelled boat told me that when the Hong Kong Disneyland was being developed, he only received a few hundred dollars of ex gratia allowance. However, the Government said that impartiality needed to be maintained. Since the procedures were complicated and applicants were required to get quota tags in registration, that fisherman was being delayed for three days. He needed to take three days' leave for this purpose. Should he really go there for the registration procedures? Will this turn into a situation in which "getting the allowance is tantamount to getting no allowance"? With regard to the mechanism concerned, I believe the Government really has to consider paying special attention to the fishermen, even if they are fishermen are only operating oar-propelled boats.

Finally, I also have to mention one point. Over the years, for the sake of carrying out marine works projects, the Government always take the designation of marine parks as a kind of environmental protection compensation. Nonetheless, the designation of marine parks will also affect the livelihood of fishermen. I suggest that the Government should stop this practice, as our ocean has not much area left. If the Government has to designate marine parks after land reclamation, the fishing area of the fishermen will bound to be further affected. The Government can make its own calculation on how much maritime space we still have in New Territories West. The Government has to find a way to resolve this problem.

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The consultation on the new Agricultural Policy came to an end last month. I hope that members of various sectors of society can continue to support the sustainable development of the agriculture and fisheries industries.

Thank you, President.

MR GARY FAN (in Cantonese): President, on behalf of the Neo Democrats, I oppose the Budget this year. I think that the Budget this year fails to address the various blunders committed by the current Government of the Special Administrative Region (SAR) when implementing policies. In housing, education, business start-up and other aspects alike, it is not putting enough efforts to support the young generation. Financial Secretary John TSANG only keeps telling us that "one generation plants the trees to provide shade for the next generation", and then asks the young people in Hong Kong to plant more trees. However, the Government does not provide shade for them, and neither does it show enough care to the elderly who have been planting trees for many years. Hence, on behalf of the Neo Democrats, I propose 11 amendments which aim at reducing the estimated expenditure of the Government in different policy areas in the following year.

The 11 amendments of the Neo Democrats include: First, reducing the estimated annual remuneration of the Chief Executive; second to fifth, reducing six months' remuneration of the Chief Secretary for Administration, the Secretary for Education, the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development and the Secretary for Security; sixth, reducing the estimated annual remuneration of the Commissioner of Police; seventh and eighth, reducing six months' remuneration of the Director-General of Civil Aviation and the Director of Highways; ninth, reducing the estimated annual expenditure of the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) on promotion in the Mainland; 10th, reducing the estimated annual operation expenditure of the South East New Territories Landfill; and the last amendment, reducing the estimated annual expenditure of the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau on the publicity efforts regarding the public consultation on the methods for selecting the Chief Executive in 2017 and for forming the Legislative Council in 2016.

In the following, I will explain in detail on behalf of the Neo Democrats the justification for the various amendments. The first amendment concerns the Chief Executive and it seeks to reduce the estimated annual remuneration of the 8668 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

Chief Executive. President, the term of office of LEUNG Chun-ying as the Chief Executive is already half gone, but many items in his election platform are still unable to be realized. Worse still, LEUNG Chun-ying even resorts to the "cuttlefish" policy. He discredits other people by criticizing and denouncing them in order to conceal his various blunders in policy implementation over these past two-odd years. The most obvious example is, of course, the argument on restricting the number of Mainland visitors. LEUNG Chun-ying could not and did not dare to ask the Beijing Government to tighten the policy on multiple-entry permits. He has procrastinated for a long time but now he shirks his responsibility to a number of recently-held recovering campaigns and the luggage-pulling campaign initiated by Ms Claudia MO and I one year ago. He deliberately discredits the localism movement staged in Hong Kong. While LEUNG Chun-ying has undertaken on many occasions that he would take into account the capacity of Hong Kong in receiving tourists, the undertakings are but empty talks. In addition to dereliction of duty, the Chief Executive was also involved in a scandal of receiving remuneration from a private firm during his term of office. Therefore, the Neo Democrats thinks that the estimated annual remuneration of the Chief Executive should be reduced.

President, my second amendment suggests reducing six months' remuneration of the Chief Secretary for Administration. The main duty of Chief Secretary for Administration Carrie LAM in the recent years is to lead the "political reform trio" to carry out the public consultation work on the methods for selecting the Chief Executive in 2017 and for forming the Legislative Council in 2016. Ostensibly, Mrs Carrie LAM is willing to discuss and listen to the views of different parties. However in reality, she is only forcing the public to pocket it first and to accept the political reform package under the framework of the 31 August Decision. In the report of the first round of consultation on the political reform published by the Government on 15 July last year, the Government used phrases with obscure meanings like "generally agreed", "mainstream opinion" and "there are more views which consider", so as to conceal the extremely strong directivity in the report. The report has neglected public opinions which can really be quantified. For instance, in the referendum on 22 June 2014, nearly 800 000 members of the public clearly stated their view that they would not accept the political reform package with a screening mechanism. The Neo Democrats reckons that the political reform consultation supervised by Mrs Carrie LAM obviously has a pre-determined stance. This is one of the main reasons why the arguments over political reform has rendered our society torn apart.

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Besides, another major duty of Mrs Carrie LAM is to handle the population policy of Hong Kong. However, the population policy of the SAR does not place importance on local personnel training, but blindly introduces the Admission Scheme for Mainland Talents and Professionals instead, thus depriving the local young people of their opportunities for upward social mobility. Worse still, the Chief Secretary refuses to study the feasibility of exercising the power to vet and approve the entry of One-Way Permit holders. As a result, Hong Kong has to passively and indefinitely receive the new immigrants being vetted and approved by the Mainland Government, thus leaving the major loophole in the population policy of Hong Kong unplugged. The population policy being supervised by the Chief Secretary is basically aiming at population replacement which will directly weaken the external competitiveness of Hong Kong.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr FAN, what is the relationship between population policy and the Appropriation Bill 2015?

MR GARY FAN (in Cantonese): President, they are related because the amendments that I propose to the Appropriation Bill 2015 seeks to reduce the remuneration of the officials concerned. I have also moved amendments on similar grounds last year. I hope you can see my point.

Apart from proposing to reduce the remuneration of the Chief Secretary for Administration, I also propose to reduce half year's remuneration of Secretary for Education Eddie NG. In accordance with the information from the Census and Statistics Department, the average annual growth rate of public expenditure by the SAR Government on education was merely 3.1% in the recent 10 years, which was far below the mean number. Free kindergarten education has never been able to carry out, while the subsidized undergraduate places in the universities have long been insufficient. Nonetheless, the Government would rather use the education resources on brainwashing education in various teaching areas, such as Putonghua as the medium of instruction (PMI) or subsidizing students to join the exchange programmes on the Mainland. Regarding measures like PMI, which have no theoretical basis and are not supported by research results, the Education Bureau has used over $180 million of public money over the past five years for their implementation. The spending of public education expenditure on these areas shows that the Education Bureau is 8670 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 oblivious to the genuine aspirations of the education sector. Therefore, the Neo Democrats thinks that there is dereliction of duty on the part of Eddie NG as the Secretary for Education.

President, my amendments also include proposals to reduce six months' remuneration of the Secretary for Commerce and Economic Development and reduce the estimated annual expenditure of the HKTB under the Bureau for doing publicity work on the Mainland. Apparently, Gregory SO is guilty of dereliction of duty in dealing with the licence renewal issue concerning Asia Television Limited (ATV) this year. As early as in November 2014, the Communications Authority already suggested not renewing the licence with ATV. However, not only has the Policy Bureau led by Gregory SO failed to assist the Government in dealing effectively with the licence renewal decision, it has also failed to plan properly the corresponding work after the ATV licence is not renewed. It just blindly asked …

(The microphone kept on making some noises)

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr FAN, are you wearing any electronic device?

MR GARY FAN (in Cantonese): No. President, is Mr Steven HO interfering with my speech?

(The noises stopped)

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr FAN, please continue with your speech.

MR GARY FAN (in Cantonese): All right. On the other hand, the content of the Assessment Report on Hong Kong's Capacity to Receive Tourists presented by Secretary Gregory SO last year ― President, please let me make up for the time lost as I have lost one minute ― was not acceptable at all. However, the Bureau has not yet updated the research report this year to the effect of accurately assessing Hong Kong's capacity to receive tourists. On the contrary, it acts exactly the opposite way by showing its intention to expand the Individual Visit LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8671

Scheme (IVS) so that more residents from the Mainland cities can apply to come to Hong Kong. When answering a question in the Legislative Council Meeting on 11 February this year, Secretary Gregory SO pointed out that the IVS policy was decided by the Beijing Government, and that for all the views asking to reduce the number of visitors and to change the tourist structure, the SAR Government could only reflect them to the Beijing Government but not make its own decisions. Such remarks of Secretary Gregory SO show that the SAR Government is giving up the right to vet and approve the number of visitors under the IVS to the Beijing Government. We can thus see that the Secretary only concerns about the feeling of the Beijing Government and even the Mainland residents, while sacrificing the interests of the Hong Kong people. His performance is definitely not compatible with his high remuneration.

The HKTB is still investing as much as $40 million to promote Hong Kong on the Mainland this year, so that Hong Kong will continue to be overloaded with tourists. This is not fair. Therefore, the Neo Democrats is of the view that the HKTB should inject more capital in the international market. It should reduce the ratio of Mainland tourists and focus its resources on the development of a more diversified mode of travelling, so as to prevent the tourism policy of Hong Kong from being excessively homogenous.

President, in the amendments this year, the Neo Democrats also suggests reducing six months' remuneration of the Secretary for Security LAI Tung-kwok, and reducing the estimated annual remuneration of the Commissioner of Police. The amendments are mainly directed to the way they acted against the public during the Umbrella Movement held in the past year, particularly their decision to turn a blind eye to the overuse of force on the part of Police Force, deployment of the Anti-riot Squad, and use of pepper spray as well as tear gas canisters in dispersing the demonstrators in peaceful assemblies. Worse still, they even connived at the police officers using police batons to beat up unarmed ordinary citizens. While Andy TSANG has said repeatedly that the Police Force was perfectly open in all their actions, a video footage recorded subsequently showed that seven police officers had dragged a protestor to a dark corner and for punching and kicking, imposing extrajudicial punishment on him.

President, the "seven police officers in the dark corner" incident has yet to be prosecuted. Since Andy TSANG has taken office, the selective enforcement of the Police has already rendered the credibility of the Hong Kong Police Force 8672 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 obliterated. Even though the term of office of Andy TSANG will soon expire, the Neo Democrats still thinks that it is necessary to reduce the remuneration of the Commissioner of Police so that Andy TSANG has to bear the consequence of having neglected his duty during the Umbrella Movement.

President, I also suggest reducing the estimated annual operation expenditure of the South East New Territories Landfill. This is the third consecutive year that I move the same amendment. The South East New Territories Landfill is the nearest to the residential area among the three landfills still in operation at the moment. This landfill is a mistake in planning, but the Government even expanded its construction wilfully last year. It has been nearly half a year since the funding concerned was approved. However, the Government has still not implemented the waste charging scheme or put more resources on waste reduction and recycling. The burden on landfills has not been mitigated at all. Hence, I have to propose reducing the operation expenditure of the South East New Territories Landfill again. I have to ask the Government to attach importance to the aspiration of the residents in Tseung Kwan O, and to realize its undertaking to close the South East New Territories Landfill.

Further still, my amendments also include reducing the estimated annual expenditure of the Constitutional and Mainland Affairs Bureau for publicity work regarding the public consultation on the methods for selecting the Chief Executive in 2017 and for forming the Legislative Council in 2016, the total amount of which stands high at $5 million. The SAR Government has imposed various restrictions on this political reform consultation, and has recklessly misinterpreted the Basic Law. In order to create superficial harmony, it gives us a false impression that the Government is willing to discuss so as to conceal the nature of a fake consultation. Besides, the Bureau has also spent public money on making Announcements of Public Interests and lightbox advertisements, with a view to guiding the public opinions and misleading Hong Kong people to "pocket it first".

President, earlier on, some people from the legal field queried that the Government's propaganda effort made in relation to this political reform consultation was of the nature of political advertisements. As it has abused the advertising periods of the television and radio stations in advertising some biased political messages, the Government is suspected of violating the Broadcasting LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8673

Ordinance. Therefore, the Neo Democrats opines that the Government should not spend extravagantly on political propaganda, as so doing is wasting public money.

President, my last two amendments are directed against the Director-General of Civil Aviation and the Director of Highways for their respective dereliction of duty. Mr Norman LO, the Director-General of Civil Aviation, was neglectful of his duty in the scandal of the new Central Government Complex. He was, however, not subject to any punishment. Together with his performance in the third airport runway project, we believe he is unable to embody the work ethic of being practical and realistic among directorate civil servants. His remuneration should thus be reduced. Mr Peter LAU, Director of Highways, was also suspected of being neglectful in his duty in monitoring the project to construct the Hong Kong Section of the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL Project). As Chairman of the Project Supervision Committee, he failed to let the public know at an earlier stage about the delay of the XRL project. During a hearing of the Legislative Council last month, Mr Peter LAU even claimed that "the project being slightly behind schedule was not equal to being delayed". It is hard for the public to believe that he has the ability to lead the Highways Department in monitoring the XRL Project.

President, over the past 10 years, the public expenditure of the SAR Government on various items has been growing very slowly. However, the expenditure on infrastructural facilities has been much higher than that on other policy areas related to the long-term development of Hong Kong. During these 10 years, the average annual growth rate of the total amount of public expenditure on infrastructural facilities was 7.4%. Nonetheless, looking back at the principle of the SAR Government in launching infrastructural projects, it is actually not taking the practical needs of the Hong Kong people into consideration. These projects include: the XRL Project whose cost is nearly $70 billion, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge whose cost is over $50 billion, and the boundary control point development at Liantang/Heung Yuen Wai for which over $20 billion has been allocated. All these are the products under the integration of Shenzhen and Hong Kong. The purpose is to achieve the blind integration of Hong Kong with China, rather than catering for the genuine needs of the Hong Kong people.

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Therefore, President, on behalf of the Neo Democrats, I oppose the Budget this year. The Neo Democrats hopes that Financial Secretary John TSANG can be earnest and down-to-earth, and listen to Members' aspirations in the amendments to the Budget, instead of whitewashing the administration of the LEUNG Chun-ying Government, which is riddled with gaping wounds, merely by "handing out candies".

President, I so submit.

MR TOMMY CHEUNG (in Cantonese): President, first of all, I have to give high praise to the Financial Secretary for having responded to the demands made by the Liberal Party by providing licence fee concessions for the catering industry affected by the Occupy movement. Of course, the request made earlier by the industry was slightly bigger, but the relevant arrangement in hand is generally welcome by us. Quoting statistics several times, the Financial Secretary has pointed out that the total proceeds of restaurants by volume in the fourth quarter last year fell 2.7% when compared with the same period in the year before. The plunge, being the deepest in recent years, took place while it was the peak season of the industry, reflecting that the Occupy movement has indeed exerted certain impacts onto the restaurants.

The authorities are going to waive the licence fees for restaurants, hawkers and so on for just half-a-year and each of these operators may only enjoy several thousand or several tens of thousand dollars in concession. Nevertheless, the small sum in question can still serve as some timely reassurance and encouragement to these small businesses suffering from poor morale. The thoughts behind the measure are even more important than the money involved.

In fact, apart from the relatively weak performance in the fourth quarter last year, the total proceeds of the catering industry has already seen "a fall in volume despite a rise in price" during the period between 2012 and 2014. That is to say, the incomes of the restaurants were actually decreasing consistently after deducting the effect of price movements. This is not hard to understand, as the operating costs of the catering industry comprising rent, wage and food cost have been escalating persistently, and may not be recoverable by price hikes.

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From the first of next month, the minimum wage is going to increase 8.3% to $32.5. Thanks for the good deeds of Secretary Matthew CHEUNG, the catering industry, while enduring a serious shortage in manpower, is going to be the first to suffer from the measure which will bring about a new and stronger round of ripple effect across the salary scale, and consequently problems such as wage expenditure surges and intensified inflation.

President, different people in society hold different views about the tightened measure regarding Shenzhen residents' travel permits to Hong Kong, which will change the arrangement from "multiple-entry endorsements" to "one-trip-per-week". I am a bit worried and expect that the new policy will lead to a substantial rise in both Mainlanders' reliance on and demand for the parallel-trading businesses run by Hong Kong people, as well as in the profits made by Hong Kong people in transporting parallel imports. I advise the authorities to put an end to the powdered formula restriction order as early as possible; otherwise, more and more Hong Kong people will switch to making money by carrying small quantities of parallel imports at high frequency, giving rise to an all the more serious shortage in the supply of unskilled employees in Hong Kong. Today, I even heard from a radio programme that Hong Kong people engaging in parallel trading were guaranteed of a daily income of $600. If these parallel traders work 30 days a month, their monthly income will come close to $18,000. Manpower shortage is bound to plague the catering industry.

The catering industry has all along been at wit's end when faced with the problem of manpower shortage. However, the response of this industry is relatively mild when compared with others, as it has not strongly demanded for the importation of dishwashers. However, we sincerely hope that the authorities can allow even more flexibility in the importation of skilled labour. A member of the industry specializing in foreign cuisines told me that he could not obtain approval for importing two chefs. The authorities explained that the decision over the concerned application was made with reference to a basket of factors such as the scale of the restaurant and its customer flow. But I reckon that it is hard enough to import one chef, and even harder to import two.

However, we have to understand that preparing authentic dishes is not easy. For instance, Spanish cuisine is now highly popular in Hong Kong and one of its well-known dishes is seafood paella. The authentic flavour of that delicious fried rice usually can only be mastered by a Spanish chef, rather than by an eager Hongkonger within a short period of time, not to say mastering it with a 8676 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 grasp of its quintessence. The preparation of naan by Indian chefs is another example. Even Indians residing in Hong Kong may not like to prepare naan with an oven inside a hot kitchen. Therefore, if the authorities grant permission to the importation of a chef, but reject that of a baker, how can these restaurants be running well?

In fact, it is not unreasonable for a restaurant to import more than one chef so that the chefs can work on shift, and thus help ensure the service quality and further development of the restaurant. Moreover, with more chefs imported from different places around the world, local chefs can benefit from the added chance to learn and gain experience from the former in close proximity. The culinary skills of local chefs can be more effectively upgraded this way than by classroom learning within academies such as the Chinese Cuisine Training Institute. Therefore, for the preservation of our sterling reputation as a culinary paradise, I advise the authorities to adopt a more open attitude in labour importation and eliminate the rigid rule which allows the importation of only one chef in one restaurant.

President, on the venders, I have always been highly supportive of the vending economy so as to facilitate upward social movement. Hence, I am very much in favour of the Financial Secretary's proposal to introduce food trucks to Hong Kong. I understand that the Financial Secretary and the Secretaries concerned are all anxious for the plan and have even considered the feasibility of launching the food truck plan without going through legislative amendments or enactment of new laws. However, if legislative amendments are necessary, mere impatience is no help for us. Furthermore, as the plan involves complicated issues in hygiene and the environment, a number of government departments will be involved. As individual departments minding their own business is a long-standing bad habit of the Government, it would be definitely not easy for them to jointly implement a single policy with high efficiency.

Therefore, I suggest the authorities delegate the food truck plan to either the Efficiency Unit under the Chief Secretary for Administration's Office or the Economic Analysis and Business Facilitation Unit under the Financial Secretary's Office. When I was the convenor of the Food Business Task Force under the Business Facilitation Advisory Committee in those years, I had chances working with the abovementioned units and understood very well that they were highly capable and had experience in co-ordinating interdepartmental projects. Hence, LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8677 it may be advisable to delegate the project to these units, for a possible multiplying effect. In addition, I would also like to remind the authorities that they must learn from the experience of the ice cream vans and make sure that these trucks are only run by individual vendors and not by consortia. Otherwise, this policy is going to defeat its purpose.

President, I appreciate the Financial Secretary's making a special mention in the Budget this year that he has instructed the relevant departments to speedily implement the proposal which facilitates the operation of open air restaurants. I also hope that the Efficiency Unit can request the relevant departments to execute the measures concerned expeditiously. However, the root of the problem lies in the District Councils, as they are the ones strongly opposed to open air restaurants. Under the climate of siding with the majority, District Councils are eager to gain public support and many applications for open air café licence or liquor licence are therefore opposed. This is by no means conducive to the conduct of business.

However, what makes me all the more furious is that in addition to failing to strike a balance between various interests, government departments have also dealt a further blow to restaurant owners by imposing plenty of restrictions. Let me cite a case I have handled as an example. A restaurant has met with opposition from the Police when applying for a licence to operate an open air café. The reason given is that once the operating licence is granted, cars will park on the road nearby and obstruct the traffic. However, upon a site visit, I found out that the roads close to the site were all assigned with double yellow line road marking so that no parking would be allowed. The Police has raised its objection even before making an effort to understand the situation. The other departments have simply ceased to pay attention to the case once they saw the objection raised by the Police. However, the reason for the opposition raised is totally unfounded.

I would like to point out that even if the application procedure for open air café is streamlined, it will not make any significant difference. If the Government continues to bias towards District Councils in vetting licence applications, the application is tantamount to asking the tiger for its hide, and the Government is in fact refusing to facilitate business operation. It will be hard for small business to survive in Hong Kong any longer.

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President, more and more environmental levy schemes are coming up in Hong Kong. It is good that the Secretary for the Environment is now sitting in the Chamber; otherwise, I may be misunderstood for bad-mouthing him. The authorities have just extended the application of the Environmental Levy Scheme on plastic bags this month and they are going to launch measures such as the Producer Responsibility Scheme on Glass Beverage Bottles and the Municipal Solid Waste charging scheme later. All these measures are going to put a mounting amount of pressure onto business operators, especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs), including small enterprises like ours.

I would like to reiterate my reservations about the Environment Bureau's practice of introducing environmental levies in the name of the "polluters pay" principle. The authorities thought that with the attack by a baton, it could threaten and force people into paying more and reducing the production of solid waste, glass and food waste. However, this is simply not the reality. The crux of the issue is that the authorities have yet to put in place a comprehensive recovery and recycling policy, and hence solid waste can never be reduced by an increasing number of levies imposed with increasingly high levy rates.

I would like to alert the authorities that before introducing any new levies, they have to consider the affordability of SMEs and micro-enterprises. If the authorities are going to raise the levy on solid waste, they must first deduct the charges for handling solid waste from the rates, so as to avoid imposing double levies. We have to note that both the resources and manpower of SMEs are limited, their arrangements and facilities for management waste are often less than perfect. Therefore, I suggest the authorities make use of the Environment and Conservation Fund to encourage and help the SMEs to participate in environmental protection projects such as those concerning waste reduction, recovery and recycling, in order to help relieve the burden on them.

President, I would also like to talk about food safety. Many colleagues find food safety a problem and Mr Steven HO just now also said that we very often had a lot of worries about a good number of issues. I absolutely do not agree with the criticisms that many colleagues heaped upon the Centre for Food Safety. On the contrary, I believe that food safety control in Hong Kong is done quite well. Whenever blunder happens and whenever we are informed of a problem by our overseas counterparts, the issue can usually be followed up in good time. I am, however, more concerned about the "gutter oil" problem. If LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8679 the "tainted lard" incident was not exposed in Taiwan, Hong Kong oil producers' involvement in the case would not have been revealed and the Environment Bureau might not be aware of the need to enact laws for regulating and tracking the whereabouts of used cooking oil.

I understand that the authorities are now drafting some regulatory legislation in this respect. However, as it takes time to enact laws and conduct consultation, the issue will be first regulated through administrative measures, such as the licensing conditions imposed on the food industry. I have to make a declaration that I am a shareholder of a company engaging in used cooking oil recycling. As a member of the industry, I should not ask the authorities to impose regulation on myself. However, as I understand the harm that will be caused by used cooking oil once it returns to the food chain, I have to urge the authorities to expedite the relevant legislative efforts, promptly put in place a licensing system for used cooking oil recyclers, and make it mandatory for used cooking oil recyclers and their oil recycling staff to secure licences from the authorities before engaging in the trade. Furthermore, the authorities should step up the monitoring and sample testing of used cooking oil in order to effectively trace its whereabouts.

However, the most thorough solution to me is to establish indicators for testing "used cooking oil" and "inferior oil", so that one can determine whether there is used cooking oil in the imported cooking oil when conducting sample testing at the source, instead of putting the blame onto the industry as it is often done at present. Hence, I suggest the authorities consider providing a grant to local universities to conduct relevant studies. If there are significant findings, they will not only do good to Hong Kong, but also contribute to food safety of the entire world.

President, in terms of the development in agriculture and fisheries, I regret to see that the authorities talk only about the sustainable development in agricultural farming but not livestock farming. The authorities should make a comprehensive consideration on the provision of reliable and low-carbon options to food supply chains in Hong Kong. The sale of live chickens should not be banned. On the contrary, studies should be conducted on the feasibility of using modern technology and facilities to prevent cross-infection among livestock, so that local farmers can resume the rearing of geese and ducks.

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On education, I have pointed out several times that the authorities should not overlook the needs of middle-class parents, who represent a substantial part of the taxpayers but cannot benefit from the kindergarten and Child Care Centre Fee Remission Scheme. This is extremely unfair to them. Hence, the authorities should expeditiously improve the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme, eliminate the use of tuition fee ceiling as a qualifying criterion for participating schools, and include into the scheme private kindergartens which are flexible, diversified, highly adaptive and energetic, with a view to prompting all participating schools to enhance competitiveness on their own initiatives. Besides, all kindergarten teachers throughout the territory should also be allowed to receive the same level of training subsidies.

Lastly, I would also like to comment on issues relating to international schools as mentioned just now by some other colleagues such as Ms Emily LAU. As showed in the statistics we are provided with by the authorities, the number and proportion of local students enrolled in international schools are increasing year after year, and the increase in size is faster than that of their non-local counterparts, reflecting a growing demand for international school education by the locals. Meanwhile, the number of students in direct subsidy schools who take up non-local curriculum, such as the International Baccalaureate curriculum that President you are familiar with, are also on the increase.

Indeed, in many secondary schools, there are groups of students who leave for overseas studies during their senior secondary years and the authorities should make good use of the places they vacated. As an expanding number of local parents prefer non-local curriculum and their demand cannot be met by international school places, I suggest the authorities draw reference from overseas experiences and let more local direct subsidy schools or aided schools (including government schools) offer international curriculum, allowing it to develop in parallel with local curriculum. This can in turn provide another non-local curriculum option for local students, easing the excessive demand for international school places.

We ought to understand that middle-class parents have to pay heavily for education and I hope the authorities can help alleviate the burden on them. Hence, the authorities must formulate policies with a new way of thinking; otherwise, many deadlocks will stubbornly remain.

President, I so submit.

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MR LEE CHEUK-YAN (in Cantonese): President, I have to express my lamentation and indignation over the plight Hong Kong is now facing, which can be described as "a misfortune in the midst of a great shower of blessing". Why do I say so? A look at the situation we are now in would reveal that economic progress has been made and financial revenue is increasing year after year, but we are unlucky enough to have such a Government and such a Financial Secretary. With such favourable conditions in hand, instead of maximizing the advantages we enjoy, they have chosen to tighten the belts and refrain from making investment in people's livelihood. The problem of the disparity between the rich and the poor is allowed to deteriorate and the Government is reluctant to use public monies wisely but spend them casually on "white elephant" projects instead. They keep mentioning the public finance principle of allocating resources where they are required but in actual fact and on the contrary, the Hong Kong Government has failed to allocate resources where they are required, and resources have instead been allocated where they are not required. The greatest misfortune of Hong Kong lies in the fact that we have such a Financial Secretary.

Now, having seen the eighth Budget presented in his term of office, I do consider the Financial Secretary a sinner to be condemned by history. Is there any difference between the eighth Budget and the first one he presented years ago? All the eight Budgets he has presented are the same and he is criticized for occupying the post of Financial Secretary without doing any actual work, clinging to the outmoded and resting on his laurels. As a matter of fact, judging from the Budget this year, five deadly sins have actually been committed all these years by the Financial Secretary, the sinner to be condemned by history. Today, with the eighth Budget presented, I think it is time for us to settle accounts with him.

The first deadly sin is about something which the Financial Secretary is very good at, that is, making wrong projections of the financial status year after year. Just now Mr James TIEN has given an account of the wrong projections he had made all these years in which deficits were all replaced by surpluses. Let us do some calculations again of the amounts involved: we have a surplus of $76 billion in the year 2010-2011; $73.7 billion in 2011-2012; $64.8 billion in 2012-2013; $21.8 billion in 2013-2014; $63.8 billion in 2014-2015 and the total amount of surpluses recorded during all these years amount to $300 billion. What does it actually mean when an underestimation of government income has been made repeatedly for five consecutive years, involving a huge amount of $300 billion?

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As we pointed out in each of the past five years, Hong Kong is now facing the problem of structural surplus. With the ever increasing financial revenue and the failure of the growth in expenditure to keep pace with the increase in financial revenue, a gap resembling a shark's jaw emerges and this is represented by the $300 billion mentioned above. The wrong projections made by the Financial Secretary of our financial status every year are mainly attributable to his underestimation of the increase in financial revenue. Though the increase in our financial revenue is a pathetic outcome of the surging land prices and property prices brought about solely by all sorts of speculative activities, it is a structural problem which is obvious to all, and thus the inevitable outcome of the problem of structural surplus.

However, wrong projections have been made and the problem of structural surplus has been neglected by the Financial Secretary every year, treating what we have repeatedly reiterated with an indifferent attitude and allowing the same mistake to be committed every year, while Hong Kong people have been made to tolerate and settle for the "candies" to be handed out when a financial surplus has been recorded. Nevertheless, it is my hope that the Hong Kong people will broaden their vision and understand that the Financial Secretary should not be asked to "hand out candies", but rather be expected to have the many livelihood problems resolved and work for the well-being of Hong Kong instead of winning some short-lived applause. So, making wrong projections is his first deadly sin.

The second deadly sin is about another trick he plays this year to adjust downwards the financial surplus to only $63-odd billion when the actual surplus is about $90 billion, and then slyly set aside $20-odd billion for the Housing Reserve. The establishment of the Housing Reserve has not been subject to the approval of this Council but we have been given to understand that should a funding injection be required in the future to support the work of the Housing Authority, it would still be necessary to seek the endorsement of this Council. Then, how should we take this $20-odd billion set aside? This sum of money is no longer regarded as financial surplus after it is nominally set aside for the Housing Reserve and the financial surplus announced for this year will be $60-odd billion instead. Would the Government please stop playing tricks like these to deceive the public? The Government uses a high-sounding excuse to argue for the setting up of the Housing Reserve, saying that advance planning has to be made to support future housing needs, but the Government still has to submit the relevant proposal to this Council for approval if funding should be drawn from the surplus for an injection into the Reserve in the future. In other LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8683 words, the surplus is only temporarily hidden in the Housing Reserve for the time being.

This is not an one-go measure employed only for the current year, as I believe the Financial Secretary will play the same trick every year, bearing in mind that there is yet another tool he can manipulate: the Future Fund. He has set aside $20-odd billion for the Housing Reserve this year and has made it clear that one third of the financial surplus next year would be injected into the Future Fund to save up timely for a possible structural deficit in the future. He leaves the problem of structural surplus that we can see before our eyes unresolved, but is willing to take the trouble to tackle a possible structural deficit in the future by setting aside surpluses for the Future Fund. Therefore, if the same trick is employed, it is predictable that the financial surplus next year would be reduced by tens of billion dollars since the sum would be injected into the Future Fund. So, playing tricks is exactly the second deadly sin committed by the Financial Secretary.

Being stingy and mean is the third deadly sin. Let us take a deeper look and ask ourselves: What does our society need most at the moment? Among such important issues of birth, senility, illness and death, let me touch on the issue of illness first. It would be inevitable for the sick to use the services provided by the Hospital Authority (HA) and what has the HA been most criticized for at present? There are not enough doctors to take care of the sick; the waiting time is too long; there are too many drugs listed in the Drug Formulary as self-financed drugs, thus reducing the middle class into the proletariat after they have devoted what they have to purchase such drugs to cure their diseases. Under such circumstances, have we ever considered how we could improve our medical services?

President, how many financial resources have been allocated to the HA by our Financial Secretary this year? The resources allocated have only been increased by 0.4% over the previous year. However, when asked about the actual increase in its operating costs, the HA replied that the real growth should be in the range of 3% to 4% net of inflation. The increase is within normal range since there are at present 320 medical graduates in Hong Kong every year and the number could be increased to 420 in the future, and it would be a good thing for the HA to employ more doctors to make up for the present insufficiency of healthcare personnel. But then, where could the HA get the funding required to employ an additional 100 doctors? The funding could only come from the 8684 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

Government but the resources allocated to the HA have only been increased by 0.4% this year. That being the case, what should the HA do? I have posed the question to the HA, which replied that $1.6 billion to $1.7 billion could be drawn from its surplus of $3-odd billion to cope temporarily with the needs. I then enquired about the measures to deal with the problem next year but was told that it would be subject to the Financial Secretary's decision next year.

I cannot help but ask the Financial Secretary: why does the HA have to draw $1.6 billion to $1.7 billion from its $3-odd billion surplus to cover the expenses when the Government has in hand a handsome surplus, why does the Government refuse to allocate an additional grant of $1-odd billion to the HA out of the Government's $90-odd billion surplus? President, the worst thing is that even an additional grant of $1-odd billion is allocated, it can only serve to maintain instead of enhancing the existing services. If enhancements are to be made, more funding will be required. The HA is just one of the examples. Is it stingy and mean for the Government to act this way?

Education is another policy area worth mentioning. The existing self-financing programmes, be they associate degree or degree programmes, have rendered many young students heavily in debt, and this situation is wholly attributable to the undersupply of publicly-funded tertiary places. The Secretary for Education has said much about the issue over the years but the progress is like "squeezing toothpaste out of the tube", with the number of such places maintaining at the current level. The Government is still unwilling to guarantee that all students who are qualified for admission into university with their DSE scores will be offered a university place, and neither is it willing to substantially increase its subsidizes for associate degree programmes to save the young students from heavy debts. Why is the Government not willing to do so? The Secretary for Education could of course argue that distribution of financial resources has to be determined by the overall needs of the Government as a whole. In that case, this is exactly the responsibility of the Financial Secretary. Why must he be so mean?

The officials from the Labour and Welfare Bureau are not present now, but they have been talking about encouraging women employment. The solution I put forward is very simple. In order to encourage women employment, more choices have to be offered to women by providing after school care services across the territory. All schools should be opened for after school care services to be provided by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) which would organize LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8685 activities at schools for all students, including the primary students and junior secondary students in different districts of the territory. However, the progress in this respect is also like "squeezing toothpaste out of the tube", as nothing has ever be done so far.

Home-based child care services programme is an even more shameful example since attempts to fight for minimum wage for home-based child carers have been unsuccessful and their pay rate is still maintained at the current level of merely $22 per hour, thus rendering the pledge to provide better child care services an empty talk. It would be useless to make any pledge like this if the Government is so stingy. Therefore, being stingy and mean is his third deadly sin, as he has chosen to tighten the belt in areas such as education, medical services, welfare services, and so on, and then spend all of our money on "white elephant" projects.

His fourth deadly sin is ignoring the problem of disparity between the rich and the poor. The taxation system in place in Hong Kong is one good example to illustrate this point. The Government is so ridiculous that it is even talking about the introduction of Goods and Services Tax, which is a sheer means to exploit the poor. It has always been said that Hong Kong's tax base is narrow, but this is in fact a result of the serious disparity between the rich and the poor. I do not know how much tax have been paid by the most well-off group in Hong Kong but I am sure they are not the ones who have paid the largest share. Have we ever seen people like LI Ka-shing mentioned in the news reports about the amount of tax paid by those "kings of the working class"? These tycoons are no "kings of the working class" since they do not need to work for a living. So what kind of tax are they required to pay? Although they are required to pay profits tax, the tax is levied on their companies but not on them as an individual. All wage earners are required to pay tax but this is not the case for these tycoons.

The Labour Party proposes that in order to levy tax on these tycoons, and the tax to be introduced should be Dividend Tax rather than the so-called "tycoon tax", requiring those who have earned a huge sum of stock dividend to pay tax. This has nothing to do with participation in stock investment by ordinary members of the public. The question remains that why should Dividend Tax not be levied on family clans receiving from big companies and enterprises some handsome stock dividends amounting to $7-odd billion, $3-odd billion or $1-odd billion. As a huge sum of nearly $10 billion in total is involved each year, it is really a right thing to do to require tycoons of listed companies to pay 8686 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 tax. However, instead of doing so, the Government has allowed the problem of the disparity between the rich and the poor to remain unresolved. It would be even more outrageous if Goods and Services Tax should really be introduced.

The fifth deadly sin is one that only found this year, and that is: circumventing this Council. This is the reason why the Labour Party has to move 26 Committee stage amendments (CSAs), among which 25 amendments are about funding proposals which should have been deliberated by the Finance Committee (FC). The Government reinstated a practice which had not been adopted for 30 years ago, a practice that was in use before 1985 when the Council did not have any directly-elected seats. No attempt had ever been made to circumvent this Council after 1985, but today, the Government has resorted to such a trick and incorporate the relevant funding proposals directly into the Budget to deprive us of the opportunity to examine them. As such, the Labour Party has no choice but to single them out in the proposed CSAs for Members' discussion. Among the 26 CSAs we have proposed, 25 are about funding proposals which should have be examined by the FC, and the 26th CSA is about the proposal for the procurement of "water cannon vehicles". In our opinion, the Government has arbitrarily limited the required funding to $10 million or less so that the proposal would not be subject to the scrutiny of the FC. Thus, we have to pick the item out for debate by Members as well.

Such being the case, President, we do not think the Financial Secretary should be allowed to fool us with such tricks and circumvent this Council. The five deadly sins mentioned above are facts proving that he is a sinner to be condemned by history. It is outrageous that despite such a handsome financial surplus we have, so many problems are still left unresolved in Hong Kong.

Colleagues may think that these are again my personal views. I would like to point out that LAM Hang-chi has also criticized the Financial Secretary for clinging to the outmoded and resting on his laurels. According to LAM Hang-chi, before 1937, Hong Kong had only the post of Colonial Treasurer but not the post of Financial Secretary. In his opinion, the incumbent Financial Secretary can hardly be recognized as a financial secretary since he is merely performing the role of a treasurer or an ordinary accountant. This is a comment made by LAM Hang-chi. As such, I am not the only one who considers that we are so unfortunate to have such a Financial Secretary. This is indeed a view echoed by many and is also the reason why so many social problems are left unresolved in Hong Kong. Thank you, President.

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MR CHAN KAM-LAM (in Cantonese): President, the Budget this year, in my opinion, is the most vigorous among all of the Budgets delivered by the Financial Secretary. Apart from "handing out candies" heavily to fulfil the society's expectation, it also defines the work on poverty alleviation as a fundamental responsibility of the Government, regularizing expenses on helping the poor. The Budget has devoted greater length to issues concerning urban planning, new districts development and transportation enhancement, and so on, emphasizing the need to promote long-term economic development to maintain competitiveness. The challenging nature of these tasks demonstrates exactly the Government's initiative to plan ahead and its readiness to shoulder responsibility. This deserves recognition.

The annual Budget offers us the opportunity to review Hong Kong's economy and position every year. The Financial Secretary have already pointed out in the Budget that global economic performance was less than spectacular in 2014. Despite the steady performance of the Mainland's economy and signs of recovery in the United States, our trade performance was beset by Eurozone's weakening economy and Japan's relapse into recession. Merchandise exports grew by only 1% in real terms. As a result, our economy grew by only 2.3% last year, the third consecutive year with a growth rate lower than the annual average of 3.9% over the past decade.

The complicated situation of the external economic environment has posed downside risk to the Hong Kong economy. There is no room for us to relax our guard. The geopolitical tensions, plunging oil prices and decelerated economic growth in the Mainland, as well as the strength of the Hong Kong currency following the strong US dollar are all reasons to worry about our economy. It is especially true that the Federal Reserve of the United States is preparing to raise interest rate under the background of an appreciating US dollar. Regarding the interest rate hike in the United States, the financial sector generally expects to see higher borrowing costs in Hong Kong and further appreciation of the US dollar. Under the linked exchange rate system, the strength of Hong Kong dollar will further dampen our export and tourist spending, weakening Hong Kong's competitiveness. Credit Suisse (Hong Kong) Limited published a 60-page report earlier, and we can have a glance at the analysts' overall pessimistic outlook on the Hong Kong economy simply from the subheadings of some of the chapters, such as "Tourism in trouble", "Investing in a troubled economy" and "Hong Kong retail: Another leg down … do not buy yet".

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We have to realize a piece of fact before we can find a way out for Hong Kong's economy, that is, the city's development never deviates from leveraging on the Motherland. Since Hong Kong's return to the Motherland, it can be said that the Central Government has spared no effort to take care of Hong Kong's economy and the people's livelihood, prioritizing food supplies to Hong Kong while ensuring quality and safely; even when the Pearl River Delta Region has to restrict water usage during drought seasons, Hong Kong is ensured water supply; during the Asian financial turmoil, the Central Government worked to protect the economy and defend the Hong Kong currency; the Central Government introduced CEPA and Individual Visit Scheme to rebuild the Hong Kong economy from the post-SARS trough; during the international financial crisis, the Central Authorities implemented "14 strokes" to support Hong Kong; the Central Authorities again introduced 36 policy measures to help Hong Kong weather the impact of euro debt crisis; the listing of state-owned enterprises in Hong Kong serves to consolidate the city's position as a financial centre; Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect stimulates the share market and brings Hong Kong back to the "Great Era". The status of Hong Kong today cannot just be achieved on our own, but leveraging on the firm supports offered by the country.

Today, the country has entered into a new stage of development and brought about new opportunities to Hong Kong. "One Belt One Road" and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) are the country's newly introduced strategy of development, as well as a focal topic of the international community. "One Belt One Road" mainly promotes, on the principles of mutual benefits and co-operation on equal footing …

MR ALBERT CHAN (in Cantonese): President …

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr CHAN, please pause for a while.

MR ALBERT CHAN (in Cantonese): President, if the subject matter is about the country, we certainly need to summon more people to listen to this speech. Please do a headcount in accordance with Rule 17(2) of the Rules of Procedure.

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PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Will the Clerk please ring the bell to summon Members back to the Chamber.

(After the summoning bell had been rung, a number of Members returned to the Chamber)

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr CHAN Kam-lam, please continue with your speech.

MR CHAN KAM-LAM (in Cantonese): President, the "One Belt One Road" mainly promotes, on the principles of mutual benefits and co-operation on equal footing, policy communication, infrastructural connection, trade facilitation and credit financing, as well as linkage between the people among countries, so as to link up different economic co-operation corridors of various regions in Asia, Europe and Africa. It is certainly a right way forward for Hong Kong to actively participate in the country's development.

Trading and logistics are Hong Kong's pillar industries and the essentials of the "One Belt One Road" strategy. We still maintain the position as an important transit between the Mainland and other countries, recording the world's fourth largest container throughput in 2014. Today, the Mainland market has fully opened up, and we are gradually losing our role as an entrepot, which results in the decline of our entrepot trade and the logistics industry. It is necessary for Hong Kong to take the initiative and never let go any opportunities presented by "One Belt One Road", under which regional trade volume will substantially increase, so as to consolidate our status as an international trading centre.

One of the major objectives of AIIB is to support infrastructural developments in emerging economies. It can be foreseeable that AIIB will accelerate internationalization of Renminbi and promote Chinese exports of capital, manpower and technologies. Being a member of the AIIB is conducive to enhancing Hong Kong's influence on the financial front. Hong Kong is ready to make good use of its solid financial infrastructure and talent pool to leverage on its comparative advantages and duly perform the role as a "super-connector" between the Mainland and the world. We have a rather established share market, yet the bond market has always been relatively weak. With a view to 8690 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 realizing further potential in the Hong Kong financial market and offering more financial services, it would be highly beneficial for Hong Kong to grasp the opportunity provided by AIIB and establish itself as a major market of bond issuance.

Mainland and Hong Kong have always been mutually beneficial to each other, and integration between China and Hong Kong is but irreversible. However, some people in Hong Kong have ignored such an objective fact and intentionally provoked conflicts between the two places. Recently, some radical groups arranged anti-parallel trading protests in the community which involved actions like abusing passers-by and kicking their luggage, even children were not spared. This kind of behaviour is outrageous, and is tantamount to expelling Mainland visitors, while attacking the policy on Individual Visit Scheme at the same time. The protests have shocked tourists both from the Mainland and overseas who all mentioned that this was not the Hong Kong in their minds. Not only have these actions hurt the feelings of Mainland visitors, Hong Kong's image as a hospitable city is tarnished as well, and we will have to bear the consequences in the end. While the number of inbound tourist in March decreased by 8.7%, the number of inbound Mainland visitors has also decreased by 10%. As regards the long holidays during the Ching Ming Festival from 4th to 6th of this month, the number of inbound tourists has decreased by 12.4% while Mainland tourists have also reduced by 12% as compared to the same period last year. Such declines have aroused concerns among various sectors in the community. According to economists, the reduction in retail figures by some 15% in January represents the biggest monthly fall since the SARS pandemic in April 2003. This is an alarm to the tourism, retail and catering industries.

Ms Claudia MO has listed out detailed tourist arrivals of the United Kingdom, Japan, Korea and neighbouring countries and areas for the purpose of criticizing the excess number of tourists in Hong Kong. To be honest, it is enviable to other counties that our tourist arrivals are a few times higher than theirs. The congestion problems due to tourist influx can only be solved by way of expanding our own capacity, but not criticizing and abusing tourists. This is just like putting the cart before the horse. Tourism is a main pillar of the Hong Kong economy. What else can we talk about instead of tourist arrivals? This just demonstrates the usual nature of the Civic Party to upset Hong Kong's economy, namely their position against the third runway to deny sustainable LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8691 development of the shipping industry; their rejection of the North East New Territories development to prevent the Government from building more flats to solve the housing problem; their opposition to the establishment of the Innovation and Technology Bureau as a means to strangle any new industries; their obstruction to the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link under the wish of self-marginalization; their vote against the universal suffrage for selecting the Chief Executive as an anti-democracy act and their violation of principle of rule of law by agitating the people to occupy the streets. In fact, there are countless examples of such malicious acts.

Behind the resistance to integration is the idea to promote "Hong Kong independence". The shock wave created by a motley crowd comprising a few hundred people is enough to deal a severe blow to the tourism and retail industry. We must stay alert in this regard, as this is not only a political issue, but a matter that affects Hong Kong's economy and the people's livelihood, as well as the city's reputation.

The Chief Executive named and criticized Undergrad, the official magazine of the Hong Kong University Students' Union, for the opinion on "Hong Kong independence" related to self-determination, and was then besieged by the opposition camp. However, the caution issued by the Chief Executive against "Hong Kong independence" is subsequently proved correct, as the British Hong Kong "Dragon and Lion flag" appears time and again during protests against parallel traders, and, recently, some have even registered for the "Hong Kong Independence Party" and formally recruits members in Hong Kong. This is a manifestation that "Hong Kong independence" is gathering strength, and we should keep a watchful eye on this. The idea of "Hong Kong independence" has moved from discussions to actions, and this will destroy our future if the trend goes on. For a certain period in the past, Hong Kong has been in a politically fanatic status, and the society has thus become unsettled, leaving the economy and the people's livelihood aside. If things keep on happening like this, Hong Kong will definitely be dragged down by the pan-democratic camp, and all 7 million people will suffer as losers.

Indeed, Hong Kong has a very good foundation and a positive outlook. Hong Kong should have achieved great accomplishments with its large fiscal reserve, as well as the talents available and opportunities on offer. However, even if we have some perfect opportunities and excellent public policies, they 8692 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 need to be implemented under collaboration between the executive branch and the legislature, and with the support of the public. Only in this way that we can stabilize the economy and facilitate development. Regrettably, the Legislative Council has been undergoing "filibuster" for a period of time, while legislators behave in ways that tear the society apart, and the resulting quarrels have been posing endless difficulties to the Government's administration, thus missing many opportunities for progress.

Singapore and Hong Kong are always brought together for comparison. As 80% of the population in Singapore are living in condominiums (with 95% of them being owner-occupiers and 5% public rental housing tenants), this is indeed a subject of envy for many Hong Kong people. How did Singapore achieve this? From the mid-1960s to the early 1980s, Singapore embarked on a massive exercise of land reclamation and compulsory acquisition that raised the government's ownership of the total land mass from around 40% in 1960 to more than 80%. Being the largest land owner, the Singapore Government can regulate land supply to reclaim land and commence construction projects in its own wish, without drawing any resistance and disputes. Let us look back on Hong Kong. Chief Executive LEUNG Chun-ying has already proposed in his first Policy Address that the Government would spare no effort to increase housing and land supply, with a view to helping the grassroots moving into public rental housing and the middle class to purchase their properties. Besides, he has also announced the provision of 79 000 public housing flats between 2012-2013 and 2016-2017. However, many radical groups and the pan-democratic Members of the Legislative Council have resorted to hindering the Government's plan to develop North East New Territories either by means of filibustering or charging acts. Indeed, the impeded land planning process and delayed housing projects are the result of today's widespread politicization in almost every aspect.

The stark contrast between Singapore and Hong Kong serves as a good stimulation for us to rethink about our political reality. Mr LEE Kuan-yew once said, "(t)he exuberance of democracy leads to undisciplined and disorderly conditions which are inimical to development." He even emphasized that "(t)he ultimate test of the value of a political system is whether it helps that society to establish conditions which improve the standard of living for the majority of its people."

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I wish to borrow Singapore resident's stable and prosperous life as well as Mr LEE Kuan-yew's quotes an example to remind the people of Hong Kong that everything has a limit. If departed away from the rational path of progression, excessive quest for democracy and fanatic democratic movements will bound to impede Hong Kong's development. Any movement unfurling under the name of democracy is reduced to a political struggle, or a political show, if no improvement can be achieved in terms of the people's life. The Budget this year is the best example. Every single measure in the Budget can serve to benefit the people, yet the opposition camp, fully knowing about the positive effects on the livelihood of the public, still choose to submit more than 3 900 amendments to unfold a never-ending filibustering campaign. I see no meaning in the filibustering other than a political show.

While we come to evaluate the Government's administration, we should as well review if the Members representing you have strived for your livelihood. Firmly keep your memory of those Members engaging in filibustering in mind and make them pay the price in the future with your ballots in hand.

President, I so submit.

DR PRISCILLA LEUNG (in Cantonese): President, the Financial Secretary is a very lucky person for if it were the wartimes, his area of responsibility would always be behind the battle line while everyone else was in dire straits.

There were loud calls in the community for "cash handouts" in 2011, thus the Secretary handed out cash back then; but there are no great noises in the community this year for the him to make "cash handouts", but instead there are strong voices which call on the Financial Secretary to make good use of our existing surplus and formulate long-term plans for Hong Kong. We all have a younger generation, and though it is very easy to give "cash handouts" today, long-term and long-standing additional expenditures will be involved. However, how should the money be used and how should money be made and avoid ― this is what Norman CHAN said, though he was also being criticized earlier, I think he said it very well ― we must definitely avoid "pawning" our next generation.

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Frankly speaking, I do not mind that the Financial Secretary is a "Financial Secretary who makes wrong estimates" for his estimates have only been on the low side and will not cause very serious problems in terms of expectation management. If his estimates have been on the high side, then I believe that things will be very difficult given the current political situation of Hong Kong. I do not like to be always making criticisms and think it is only appropriate that "praise should be given where praise is due and criticism should be made where criticism is due".

After "cash handouts" were made in 2011, there were immediately many queries in the community on why he had handed out all the money instead of investing them on long-term industrial policies. The Financial Secretary also got off very easily in 2012 for it was the year when the Chief Executive Election was held. As such, his Financial Budget (the Budget) can be described as "the skiff which darted past ten thousand mountain peaks amidst incessant wailing of monkeys", which means the Budget was easily passed amidst disputes that were focused on the Chief Executive Election and he got off easily. He started to be called the "Financial Secretary who makes wrong estimates" in 2013. I asked the Financial Secretary the same question in 2014 and 2015 (this year), and that was, whether he would like to be continually known as "Scrooge", "the Financial Secretary who makes wrong estimates", or a far-sighted person with wide visions who is revered by all, for young people and members of the public hope that he will become a clairvoyant Financial Secretary.

To be clairvoyant, one must be far-sighted, does not spend money randomly and has wide visions. On the whole, I think that the Secretary can claim credit for the Budget in terms of his hard work even if not for its success. The Budget has really responded to certain requests of the community. For example, at a time when several members of the Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong (BPA), representatives of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and I met with the Financial Secretary, we requested … as my constituency Kowloon West was one of the hardest hit districts during the Occupy Central (OC) movement, many shops had to be closed down or suffered great losses. During my visit to a neighbourhood shop in Portland Street (on the ground floor of my former office), I was told that an income of $80,000 a day was needed to cover its rents and earn a small profit, but it only made $8,000 during the OC period. When I visited the shop in November, it had already posted a LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8695 notice saying "shop will be closed in December". The owner of the shop was in wallpaper and renovation business and he was a real victim of the movement.

Furthermore, the irrational anti-parallel trade boom has really seriously affected our tourism industry adversely. I visited my relatives and friends on the Mainland during the Chinese New Year holidays. Many of their youngsters are from the middle-class, and they told me that they used to look forward to coming to attend secondary schools and making consumptions in Hong Kong and they also loved Hong Kong products, but now they would not visit Hong Kong. They were of the opinion that there was no reason why they should still visit Hong Kong and be treaded upon. As they could shop online at all times for European and American products, why should they still come to Hong Kong? They saw on television that Hong Kong people are "uncivilized disreputable characters" and asked why they should still come here, and they no longer want to attend secondary schools in Hong Kong. In the past, we never discussed politics on my visits, but this time, I found that a 15, 16 year-old young friend, who is like a young person of Hong Kong, has completely changed his feelings, high regard and admiration for Hong Kong. I think that this is a cause for concern.

(THE PRESIDENT'S DEPUTY, MR ANDREW LEUNG, took the Chair)

I believe that the concerns of the tourism industry, the SMEs (in particular those of the retail industry), or that of the catering and other industries are very real. I believe that the overall adverse effects have yet to be seen and may become more evident in half a year's time. Mainland visitors will no longer come to Hong Kong but will visit Singapore or Japan instead and those who are more well-off will visit Europe or the United States. People with money to spend will no longer come to Hong Kong for they have been criticized for buying properties and for everything they have done, and it is even said that they should be chased away. As such, we should be on our guard.

I think this year, some of the Financial Secretary's policies have been made in response to our requests, which include offering support for enterprises and shops affected by the OC movement, and I think that is very good. Secondly, he has set up a $300 million start-up fund. According to an opinion poll which we conducted among a group of young people in 2012, 60% of the respondents 8696 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 would like to set up their own businesses. Since then, we have been putting forward the relevant proposal and have even proposed the figure of $300 million directly and the Secretary is now finally "settling the bill". As such, I think he should be commended. Furthermore, he has also covered retirement protection in the Budget and allocated $50 billion for that purpose. However, these are all long-term plans and I hope that he will have specific plans for their implementation.

I definitely do not mind that the Financial Secretary is painting us a picture of how long-term funding and reserves can be used for supporting long-term developments of certain industries whenever we have a surplus. For example, I have always requested the Government to allocate three big sums of money in its Budget every year, the first of which is for improving the water quality of Victoria Harbour. The Financial Secretary seemed to have responded to this point in paragraph 120, but in fact, he has only transferred the fund for the "Harbour Area Treatment Scheme" into a "Pilot Scheme". However, he has made plans to tie in with the "water-friendly culture" mentioned in the Policy Address and said that new leisure, recreational and sports facilities should be built along the coastal areas to tie in with our harbour developments. I think that this should be a long-term development which calls for more than short-term fund allocations. In addition to bringing the young and old, men and women and the rich and poor good health, good water quality will also improve the mental health of our community, thus improving relationships among people. I hope that the Secretary will allocate funds for improving our water quality and for coastal planning whenever there is a surplus. By doing so, he will give people the impression that he is a clairvoyant person and this will also become one of his achievements in future.

On the subject of water quality and coasts ― Secretary YAU Shing-mu is now present ― there is a point which I have wanted to make for a long time, and that is, the Government must not overlook our ferries. Ferries which sail on the waters of Victoria Harbour are a very good part of our collective memories, for in addition to being a feature of our tourist industry, they can also relieve the burden of our land transport, especially since the construction works of the Mass Transit Railway (MTR) and high speed rail have now been delayed. Does everyone know how miserable are the condition of residents living at the project areas? They used to have ferry services, but these services were cancelled in 2011 as a result of the construction works of the MTR. I hope that you will not think that LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8697 ferries only serve one district, for this is really not simply a problem for Hunghom, Central and North Point, for if we can make good use of ferries, they can become a kind of water taxis in future, for example, they can co-ordinate the services of the cruise terminal by ferrying along the coast and taking tourists to enjoy the views of Hong Kong from the sea, instead of servicing traditional routes, and it can also help … I hope that the Government can formulate a ferry policy instead of "taking one step at a time" to encourage operators to provide ferry services.

I started working out the losses of ferry service operators even before Mr Frankie YICK becomes a Member of the Legislative Council to find out exactly how much they their losses have amounted to. It is actually not a very large sum and some operators only suffer losses of $1-odd million each year. Can the Government offer them some support by means of policies on advertisements and tourism or provide funding? The Government can consider different aspects and if it manages to invigorate ferry services, such as allow advertisements to be placed at the Hunghom ferry pier, operators may not have to suffer any losses. The Secretary and the Transport Department must not be too inflexible and should not get themselves into a blind alley when considering the problem. It can try to increase the income of operators by means of policies, so that it will not be necessary to help them through fund allocations and it can also … as these suggestions have really been supported by several tens of thousands residents who have signed their names, I hope that the Government can consider them with an activated mindset.

As regards the second long-term policy, I think that on the issue of medicine services, many … since some people are "filibustering", I will leave this to the end. Medical services are actually very essential for it is what most retired persons need. The most important element of the so-called comprehensive retirement protection or whatsoever are actually medical services, therefore public medical services should be cut. I hope that the Government can allocate some fund, for example $10 billion to the Hospital Authority from the $50 billion which it has allocated for medical reforms, so as to increase the flexibility of public medical services for it is most essential that there should be adequate manpower and resources.

Something good happened yesterday which should be worth applauding. Four kidney transplant surgeries were undertaken by public hospitals. Many 8698 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 members of the middle-class have taken out health insurance … I cannot refrain from mentioning that policyholders who have made a claim will have their insurance policies cut and cannot take out the same insurance policy upon their retirement. This is very sad and many of such policyholders are members of the middle-class. Therefore, it is absolutely necessary for the Government to improve its public medical services.

Moreover, I have to point out that this year's Budget seems to have "shrunk" for it was mentioned in the Policy Address that a Chinese medicine Testing Centre will be built, but its seem that the Budget has not mentioned anything on this issue. On the issue of Chinese medicine, many people have said that only rich people can afford Chinese medical service, but I do not think that this should the case.

On the issue of education, I think that it is another area which warrants a fund allocation of $10 billion each year, regardless of whether the fund will be used as savings or for the continuous improvement of our education service. In fact, the 15 years compulsory free education policy should have been implemented a long time ago and the time has come to "settle the bill" this year. The last time I met the "Financial Secretary" this year was at a dinner party hosted by a Member of the pro-establishment camp. The only suggestion I made at the time was "it is better to travel far than read voluminously", thus it is most important that in promoting national education or other issues, the Government should not force our students and they should be allowed to see and feel for themselves what China is like.

I am very disgusted with the current Liberal Studies subject because students are often forced to learn. Well, it is true that compulsory question has deliberately not been set on OC after we made some noises, but it is still one of the selective questions. What was the subject of the compulsory question? It was on the legislation of plastic surgery for people aged below 18. This was a compulsory question, but I would like to ask how many people below the age of 18 need plastic surgery? Is this a subject everyone should know about?

There was another compulsory question which asked what the differences were between the incomes of different urban areas in China and how to analyse "sannong" (farmers, rural areas and agriculture). What is "sannong"? Let me first ask the Secretary what is "sannong". How could students be asked to make an analysis on the basis of "sannong"? This was a question on analyses and LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8699 figures which only certain members of the Chinese Affairs Society, those who were very obsessed with the subject back in our university days … would read about. From this we can see that the examination questions of Liberal Studies were either too difficult or extremely "far-flung". As such, I think that the Government should invest resources so as to properly overhaul the subject of Liberal Studies

I hope that Liberal Studies should no longer be listed as a compulsory subject for examination. If teachers want to take it more easily, then the Government can allocate resources to teachers and change it into a special project. The Government should not … we do not feel at ease and I am really worried whether topics like "the independence of Hong Kong ", Hong Kong nation or topics that are against our history and culture or in contravention of international laws will eventually be taught, and whether there are still some … though the Government does not regulate the content of Liberal Studies, it is a compulsory subject for examination. My current proposal is that the Government should take a step backwards and change Liberal Studies from a compulsory subject for examination into a compulsory subject for teaching which requires students to attend classes and only counts for pass and fail ― this is a proposal which I had been putting forward at the Legislative Council Panel on Education since 2009 ― instead of relying on examination for all subjects, students are allowed to do projects and learn happily and parents can also feel at ease.

As such, I think that softer approaches should also be adopted for Basic Law related subjects so that students can learn happily instead of turning it into an additional subject for examination. Fair treatments should also be given to the subject of Liberal Studies by making it a non-compulsory subject for examination. By doing so, resources can once again be used for conventional subjects. Students should be allowed to learn in a happy and joyful manner by utilizing more resources and we should learn the way how foreign countries promote their own history by adopting soft approaches, some of which are really very interesting and you may watch the history channel which has got many quality programmes.

The other area is housing. Fund allocations should be made for housing services and though many Members have talked about this issue, I would like to talk about the Tai Hang West District in particular. Those places were developed by some so-called private civilian management companies in the past, 8700 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 so when there is a need to develop those places today, I think the Government has the responsibility to ensure that those … if local residents do not wish to move, do not wish to buy other units, the Government should allow them to continue to live in the area, or allow them to move into Public Rental Housing units with the help of policies. Furthermore, on the issue of Civil Services Cooperative Housing Society ― this is a 1952 policy, many members of Cooperative Society are now elderly ― I hope that the Government can allow them to release the land by trying to reduce the premium.

Finally, residents and members of my constituency told me that I must make a point on the 3 904 amendment proposals submitted in relation to filibustering. I hope Members who are filibustering will listen to this. They are euphemistically filibustering for comprehensive retirement protection, but comprehensive retirement protection is a very controversial subject. We have mentioned earlier that everyone are willing to provide better protection for the elderly for all of us will be benefited in future, but as young people are the ones who are actually "footing the bill", we should not create a situation under which we only know how to spend money but not how to make money. We must ensure that the Financial Secretary knows how to make money, but not by means of filibustering. Filibustering is definitely not environmental because our time is a kind of very precious resources and there is no doubt that it is not environmental for the Secretariat and Members are all spending public funds. We should encourage the Financial Secretary to make long-term developments and from now onwards … he still has not been allocated any funds, but no matter whether it is the Future Fund or other Fund, some really good experts should be hired to conduct studies on how we can take advantage of our senior citizens industry or how to ensure that we would have a long-term income and "make money while we spend". By doing so, we can avoid the situation as described by many academics where politicians would only have the incentive to ask the Government to increase its expenditure as a result of the constitutional reform. If the Government does not plan its expenditures, then it will become a fop who splashes his money about, but if it has a plan and there are experts who consider the long-term expenditures of elderly people on one hand ― as the proportion of the elderly in our community continues to grow ― while nurturing young people to set up their own business, enhance youth education and make money on the other. If our Financial Secretary can hire experts to deal with issues which we do not have any knowledge about, then he is really a clairvoyant Financial Secretary. I very much hope that he has the aspirations to become a clairvoyant LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8701

Financial Secretary, and I will always salute him whenever we meet in future for he has proposed a long-term plan which has taken both earning and spending into account and will leave behind a healthy fiscal legacy for our next generation.

Thank you, Deputy President. I so submit.

MR YIU SI-WING (in Cantonese): Deputy President, generally speaking, the Budget this year is relatively pragmatic, in the sense that when compared with the previous Budgets, it has introduced benefits of a wider scope for the grassroots and the middle class, along with a greater number of measures for supporting enterprises and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

A public opinion survey conducted after the announcement of the Budget showed that 45% of the respondents expressed satisfaction with the Budget, a record high over the past five years. Certainly, it is a good thing to hand out so many "candies", but then we can also see that Hong Kong's future economic prospects are uncertain. The Budget estimates that the GDP will grow by 1% to 3% in 2015, but our total expenditure will also increase by 11%, or around $400 billion. As our expenditure increase will far exceed our economic growth, in case of a persistent slowdown in our economic growth, coupled with the shrinkage of our labour force and the continued increase in our social welfare commitment due to population ageing, Hong Kong will inevitably be plunged into a structural deficit. Therefore, I agree that the Government must adopt a prudent fiscal management policy.

I wish to thank Financial Secretary John TSANG, as his Budget this year has answered certain demands of the tourism industry and mine, and also recognized the importance of the tourism industry to the economy. Statistics show that the tourism industry has experienced the fastest growth over the past 10 years among the four major pillar industries in Hong Kong. Its annual growth rate is 10.2% on average, and its contribution to Hong Kong's GDP also increased from 2.9% 10 years ago to 5% last year. The industry now directly employs 270 000 people, and in estimation, it also indirectly employs as many as 600 000 people. One third of Hong Kong's retail sales is contributed by inbound visitors. Therefore, the thriving or otherwise of the tourism industry will directly affect the Hong Kong economy. The contents on the tourism industry in the Budget this year is more extensive than those in the previous Budgets. In particular, it has 8702 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 proposed some initiatives to support those industries which sustained greater impacts than other industries during Occupy Central. Such initiatives should be helpful to those industries.

As Members are aware, various tourism-related industries have sustained huge losses following the Occupy Central movement. Towards the end of October last year, I conducted a survey by issuing questionnaires to travel agencies. Seventy eight percent of the respondents replied that due to the impacts of the Occupy movement, they sustained losses in their business, and their original income and expenditure estimates were upset; 46% said that their turnovers dropped significantly over the previous year; and 75% reflected that if the Occupy movement persisted, they would consider cutting expenses and seeking assistance, which might affect their employees' incomes. The Budget proposes to waive the licence fees for those affected industries such as hotels, guesthouses, travel agencies and restaurants for a period of six months. While the amount of money involved is not very substantial, this can still provide a stimulus to the industries concerned. As the series of irrational activities against parallel traders before the Chinese Lunar New Year have come to affect the desire of Mainland and overseas tourists to visit Hong Kong, the industry has generally reflected that their business has shrunk noticeably, and they are facing imminent difficulties again. For these reasons, those industries hope that the Government can extend the licence fee waiver from half a year to one year. In fact, the amount of money incurred by this measure is not large, so we hope that the Government can actively consider the idea.

Deputy President, the Budget also puts forth a series of measures for supporting SMEs, including extending the application period for the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme, increasing the maximum amount of funding support under the SME Development Fund, and expanding the scope of the SME Export Marketing Fund. Extending the application period and increasing the amount of funding support are helpful to SMEs. But enterprises hope most eagerly that the Government can walk its talk by streamlining the application procedures and lowering the application thresholds, so as to truly benefit SMEs. Let me talk about the annual International Travel Expo Hong Kong (ITE) as an example. In the past, as long as any participating small and medium travel agencies met the application requirements, they might receive government subsidies under the SME Export Marketing Fund. But as a new policy requirement, the total period open to the public in an event shall not exceed one-third of its duration. Since the period open to the public in the ITE accounts LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8703 for 50% of its duration, small and medium travel agencies are ineligible for any subsidies under the above SME Export Marketing Fund, very much to the disappointment of those small and medium travel agencies intending to participate in the ITE. As the Government's policy aims to provide support for SMEs, I suggest that the Government should flexibly adjust the application thresholds having regard to the features of various industries and the nature of exhibitions, or waive this requirement for those exhibitions which received subsidies under the old policy, so as to avoid any impacts on SMEs' proactivity in developing markets, as in the present case.

Deputy President, another major issue of concern to the industry in the Budget is how to restore the confidence of the tourism industry. The Government will increase funding for the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) and the Information Services Department (ISD) for the purposes of stepping up external publicity and enhancing Hong Kong's external image. The industry welcomes this initiative. After Occupy Central, the number of overseas visitors once registered a noticeable decline. And, the unlawful behaviours against parallel traders before the Chinese Lunar New Year have directly undermined the desire of visitors, especially those middle-class visitors with spending power, to stay overnight in Hong Kong. As can be seen from the figures released by the authorities, the overall number of visitors we received dropped by 8.7% in March, and the numbers of Mainland visitors and overseas visitors both registered a decline. And, according to the figures we have obtained, the numbers of inbound tour groups during the Ching Ming Festival and recent days have likewise recorded enlarged decreases. Some tourism-related industries, such as the hotel industry, the retail industry, the catering industry and tourist attraction operators, are invariably concerned about the onset of a cold winter for tourist consumption. The Budget proposes to earmark an additional $80 million for the HKTB for promotion purposes, and $26 million for the ISD for rebuilding Hong Kong's image and opening up markets. These are all pragmatic arrangements. I hope the HKTB will not confine this sum only to advertisement and publicity uses. Rather, I think they should offer more incentives to encourage the joint participation of various industries. An example is the organization of a creativity competition on tourist product design. The winner of the competition can visit overseas countries free of charge with the HKTB to promote the sales of his product. I propose to give an extra reward to the unit or individual whose sales promotion measures can help to increase the number of visitors to Hong Kong.

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Besides, the HKTB should take the initiative to encourage more operators of hotels, tourist attractions and retail shops to capitalize on the advantages of their products and jointly commit resources for the purpose of enhancing the selling points of their products, so as to induce spending from local and also overseas visitors. Such form of co-operation will not incur substantial expenses, but it can effectively mobilize the proactivity of travel agencies and product suppliers both within and outside the territory and encourage them to put their sales emphasis on places of tourist origin and consumers. I hope the authorities can consider the idea.

Moreover, in order to expand the scope of overseas visitors, Hong Kong have joint hands with the Mainland and Macao tourism departments for a few years to promote multi-destination travel involving Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao to overseas markets. But since visitors may need to wait two or three hours during peak seasons due to prolonged immigration clearance, people's feedback is just so-so. Having regard to the future decline in the number of Mainland visitors, I suggest that in order to increase the number of overseas visitors, the HKTB should initiate co-ordination with Macao and Guangdong for the purpose of jointly formulating objectives of receiving visitors to Guangdong, Hong Kong and Macao under multi-destination travel. Afterwards, the three sides can seek supplementary estimates to conduct promotion. On the part of the Government, it can assist in shortening the customs clearance time at various border control points, and consider the idea of setting up priority clearance channels for tour groups. This can comprehensively enhance the arrangements in the three places for receiving visitors while enabling overseas visitors, especially those from Europe and the United States, to visit certain tourist attractions in the three places within a short space of one week and to experience the local enjoyable services. This can also build up our own tourism brand with local features.

Deputy President, the Budget proposes to increase the number of business facilities in the future and make preparations for constructing a convention centre above a station of the Shatin to Central Link. At present, the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai has already become saturated, so it is reasonable and necessary to build another convention centre in the urban area. But we must also note that the AsiaWorld-Expo near the airport is not yet saturated, and its nearby lands can be used for future expansion purpose. LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8705

Therefore, I hope that while undertaking proper preparations for its new planning, the Government can also optimize the existing resources and avoid vicious competition.

In respect of increasing the number of tourism facilities, the Government proposes to discuss the Phase 2 development plan with the Walt Disney Company. In the face of the forthcoming commencement of the Shanghai Disney Resort, we hope that the Government can approach the Walt Disney Company as soon as possible to discuss the investment details, budget estimates and timetable with it. In order to avoid competition with Shanghai for visitors, the authorities should approach the Walt Disney Company and strive for its reservation of certain facilities exclusive to the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort, so as to equip the Disney resorts in both places with their own features, provide overseas and Mainland visitors with more choices, and in turn bring forth positive competition.

Deputy President, we have noticed that many events have been held at the New Central Harbourfront lately. Along with a newly-erected Ferris wheel, there have also been an amusement rides carnival, a sales exhibition and also a circus show. All are welcome by the locals and visitors. We all know that many cities now introduce various permanent performances with different features in order to increase their appeal. Some examples are The House of Dancing Water in Macao, the grand circus show in Zhuhai of Guangzhou, and the Dancing with Dragon and Phoenix in the China Folk Culture Villages in Shenzhen. All these performances are invariably marked by huge investment, strong appeal and positive feedback. As Hong Kong is not equipped with any such large-scale performances for the time being, the seasonal activities held at the New Central Harbourfront can fulfil a complementary function. But currently, the rental of venues falls within the portfolio of the Lands Department (LandsD). In case an event is to be held, the Tourism Commission and the HKTB will be utterly unable to offer any promotion and publicity proposals if the organizer does not initiate any such requests. Owing to problems in the communication and co-operation mechanism, the New Central Harbourfront has failed to fulfil its functions of serving people and increasing Hong Kong's appeal to visitors. We hope that the Government can set up a permanent mechanism whereby the LandsD, upon receipt of any venue rental application from an event organizer, must advise the organizer to approach the HKTB and engage it in joint 8706 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 promotion and publicity. And, when the organizer raises its requests, the HKTB should ask the organizer to strike up co-operation with travel agencies. I hope that the industry can benefit from this precious site, and people can receive more concessions through the relevant activities.

Deputy President, Hong Kong has seen a stable growth in the number of new hotels in recent years. In estimation, Hong Kong will have as many as 82 000 hotel rooms by 2017. This should be able to satisfy the needs arising from the increase in the number of visitors in the next few years. The Budget last year granted six hotel sites. And, it is expected that the supply of hotel sites will still be available in the future. It is estimated that the number of hotel rooms will continue to rise after 2017. Recently, however, we have noticed that the number of overnight visitors has begun to show a downward trend, along with a noticeable decline in the occupancy rates of hotels and guesthouses. The authorities should make timely and appropriate adjustments to the supply arrangements for hotel sites with regard to changes in the tourism trend, so as to avoid any supply-demand imbalance.

Deputy President, the Budget has also expressed the hope that the works concerning the third-runway system (3RS) at the airport can be launched in 2016. Recently, the Airport Authority (AA) announced the financing proposals for the 3RS works at the airport. Hong Kong needs a third runway in order to maintain its position as an international aviation hub and foster the long-term development of the tourism industry. For these reasons, I support the construction of a third runway. But I wish to point out that the 3RS works are complicated, and there are also many controversies over issues such as financing, environmental protection and also airspace management. Among others, the proposals on levying an Airport Construction Fee of $180 on visitors and substantially increasing airlines' parking fees have aroused relatively negative responses. I hope that the Government and the AA can pay heed to the views of different stakeholders more often and make appropriate adjustments, while seeking to convince people with objective and scientific analyses, so as to allay the concerns of people and various industries, and in turn enable the 3RS works to launch smoothly, complete as scheduled and commence service.

Deputy President, we have yet to recover from the repercussions of Occupy Central, and recently, there have been irrational protests against parallel traders. All this has aggravated the difficulties faced by the industry. Not long ago, a LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8707 website found that Hong Kong ranked fourth among the "unfriendliest" cities in the world, and it even topped the list for Asia. Therefore, I hope they can stop their vigorous actions. Instead, I think they should rebuild the image of Hong Kong as a hospitable city.

Deputy President, I so submit.

MR FRANKIE YICK (in Cantonese): Deputy President, regarding the latest Budget, the Liberal Party considers that it has comprehensively taken into account all sectors of society. In order to shore up the mainstay of Hong Kong's economy, the Government has enhanced the support measures for the small and medium enterprises (SMEs), including the extension of the expiry period of those measures under the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme and offering profits tax rebate. We believe that these will somewhat ease the hardship endured by the SMEs.

As the figures released lately showed a drop of 8.7% in overall inbound visitors for March and a 10% drop for Mainland visitors, prompting also a fall in overseas visitors, the Liberal Party supports the Financial Secretary's proposal of allocating an additional $80 million to the Hong Kong Tourism Board and $26 million to the Information Services Department to enhance overseas promotion.

Actually, the drop in visitor numbers is related to the intense anti-parallel goods campaigns in the last few months. Those campaigns have undermined the status of Hong Kong as a "shoppers' paradise" and a safe city which we have strenuously built up over the years, affecting visitors' desire to come. If the numbers continue to fall, not only tourism, but also related industries such as retail, catering, or even transport will suffer. The entire economy will no doubt enter a chilly winter. Thus, we need to turn around the negative image of Hong Kong in the international arena, rebuild visitors' confidence in Hong Kong and buck the falling trend. However, in the meantime, the authorities should also enhance and construct more tourist facilities. We should attract different visitor sources by offering different tourist attractions to avoid over-reliance on a single market. Also, with more diverse programmes available, visitors can be channelled, thereby reducing the conflicts between residents and visitors.

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The Financial Secretary mentioned in the Budget that he planned to launch some short-term support measures targeting at the industries which were affected by the Occupy movement, including travel agents, hotels, restaurants and the land transportation industry which I represent. Society generally approves of and welcomes this. Nonetheless, opinions saying that the support offered by the Government is insignificant, and will not have any actual effect on the industries it intends to benefit are prevalent.

Under the present support proposal, travel agents, hotels, guesthouses and restaurants can have their licence fees waived for six months. For travel agents, they can save around $2,700, having their licence fees waived for six months. For a guesthouse with at least three rooms, it can save $1,000 to $2,000, having its licence fee waived for six months. Even for an ordinary restaurant of under 100 sq m, it can save over $1,000 having its licence fee waived for six months. Yet, for the land transportation industry, it only enjoys the waiving of vehicle examination fee once within a year, with the amount involved being less than $1,000. In this connection, I received a petition by the Land Transportation Alliance this morning, expressing discontent with the Financial Secretary's proposal.

During the 79 days of the Occupy movement which took place earlier, many roads were blocked and the land transportation industry bore the brunt. As a result, taxis, buses, coaches and lorries all had to make detours. A lot more petrol was used, causing an increase in operating cost. The income of professional drivers suffered a deep plunge and some of them were even forced to halt work. Their livelihood was adversely affected. Yet, compared with the other industries, the land transportation industry, individual operators in particular, gets the least support. Under this package of short-term support measures, professional drivers (such as self-employed taxi and minibus drivers) do not enjoy any subsidies.

Thus, the industry hopes that the Financial Secretary will consider increasing support for the land transportation industry. At the least, operating licence fees or business registration fees for the industry can be waived for six months, in line with the other three industries. Moreover, to show sympathy for the drivers of the transportation industry who had come under financial burden during the Occupy movement, it is hoped that the Financial Secretary can consider giving them a fuel subsidy. An across the board fuel subsidy of $1 per litre of fuel should be extended to all commercial transport vehicles ― liquid LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8709 petroleum gas for taxis and minibuses, or diesel oil for buses and heavy vehicles ― for at least 79 days. This will translate into more practical support for the drivers, and can compensate for the losses inflicted on them during the occupation movement.

During the Occupy movement, the tourism industry was in fact being affected. Apart from the travel agents, hotels and restaurants, the retail industry and some tourism-related industries, for example, the industry organizing sea tours were also affected, but they enjoyed no support. Operators of sea tours told me that during the occupation movement, people ventured out less because of serious traffic congestion, and the number of visitors also dropped due to safety concern. As a result, their sea tour business was also affected. For instance, firework display marking the national day had to be cancelled because of the Occupy movement, prompting the cancellation of all sea tours for watching the display. The sea tour industry thus suffered losses. However, since they do not operate on travel agent licence, the support package cannot benefit them. They hope that the Financial Secretary can consider waiving or reducing the licence fee for tour boats to cover their losses in this regard.

For the shipping and logistics industry, since President XI Jinping announced the strategic concept of the construction of the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road ― that is, "One Belt One Road" ― respectively in September 2013, and given the project links up countries and regions with development potential of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, South Asia, West Asia, North Africa and Europe, neighbouring cities all wish to grasp this opportunity to make the pie bigger to expand their economic development. As for the shipping and logistics industry, we also hope that the SAR Government can actively take part in the construction. Therefore, the Financial Secretary has devoted a special section titled "One Belt One Road" in this year's Budget to highlight the importance the Government attaches to this proposal by the nation. The industry welcomes this.

As an international shipping and financial centre, Hong Kong is the only city of the Mainland which stands to integrate with the international economic system. Thus, the industry proposes that the SAR Government leverage on the unique advantage of Hong Kong to take the lead in developing a single information platform in the region, and gradually move on to develop a "Single Window" for global international trade along the "One Belt One Road". Then, we can progress to intercontinental shipping network to expand the services of the 8710 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 shipping and logistics industry. Therefore, I hope that while promoting Hong Kong's participation in the construction of the "One Belt One Road", the Financial Secretary can actively consider the proposal of the shipping and logistics industry. The industry has drafted a proposal on this subject and submitted it to the Financial Secretary's Office.

In the Budget, the Financial Secretary expressed that the SAR Government is looking into the provision of one-stop customs clearance service through a "Single Window". The shipping and logistics industry proposes expanding the "Single Window" to cover the region. As the regional single window information platform involves the exchange of information between various governments, it is important to have the strong support of the Government for the successful launching of the platform. Thus, it is hoped that the Financial Secretary can play a leading role in setting up an inter-departmental working group for promoting the establishment of the single information platform. Apart from having representatives of the relevant government departments as its members, we also hope that the Government will consider inviting representatives of the industry to sit on the working group to offer proposals on the actual operation.

Although the Government also acknowledges that local logistics industry now faces the problem of a lack of backup land, over the last two years, it has only talked about reserving 10 hectares of land in Tuen Mun West for logistics use. After making available these 10 hectares of land, the Government so far has not unveiled other concrete proposals on land for logistics development. Rather, after society has kept appealing for housing, the Government's land policy has completely tilted towards building housing. In addition to "squeezed-in buildings", we also think that there is a "blind scramble for land".

After all, the land problem faced by the logistics industry is of the Government's making. The Government is swift in land resumption but extremely slow in launching land. With a shortage of land to meet demand, land price and rental surge, leading to a continuous increase in operating cost. Over the last two years, the Government has one after the other taken back three plots of land in Kwai Tsing originally used for temporary carparks for the construction of housing and pertaining support facilities. Around 800 spaces for the parking of heavy vehicles and container trucks were lost, thereby aggravating the problem of the shortage of parking spaces for those vehicles. Parking cost also keeps escalating.

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Moreover, the maritime industry is also facing the problem of a shortage of berthing spaces. Not only has the Government failed to actively address the problem, it has also ignored the harmony with the surrounding environment and has arbitrarily put up buildings instead. For instance, at present, a ship-building and ship repair yard close to West Kowloon also houses the Cheung Sha Wan wholesale market. It should provide maritime services using the berthing spaces along the shore, but instead, it has now been rezoned for building purpose, rendering it incompatible with the surrounding environment. The existing land policy of the Government only aims at building housing, with no regard for the need and development of the other industries. Thus, it is hoped that when it comes to the use of land, the Government can strike a balance between housing and industrial development, and expedite the launching of more long-term land for the development of the logistics industry.

The provision of diversified transportation services is part and parcel of the marked achievements of Hong Kong's shipping and logistics industry. The cargo handling area has also played an important role in promoting Hong Kong's logistics industry. However, the Government has given it no support. To lower the operating cost for the industry and boost the operating efficiency of the cargo handling area, the cargo handling industry has over the years hoped to strive for changing the way of charging for parking from an hourly rate to half-hourly. This move will not only speed up the vehicular flow within the cargo handling area, but will also help lower the operating cost for the industry. They have been fighting for this for two decades, but the Government has turned a deaf ear to their proposal.

(THE PRESIDENT resumed the Chair)

It is reported that the Marine Department is having a review of the allocation of parking spaces at the cargo handling area. We hope that the review will also take into account improving the operating efficiency of the area, and lowering its charges through cutting management cost, so as to bring down the operating cost of the operator. Meanwhile, the Government should also take into consideration the fact that the area is part of the logistics infrastructure, and the value of average net fixed assets of public cargo working areas should be lowered to encourage sustainable development of the area.

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To fight roadside air pollution problem, the Government has adopted a multi-pronged approach, including the offering of ex gratia payment for the phasing out of pre-Euro IV diesel commercial vehicles, and the replacement of catalytic converters for taxis and minibuses. In addition, there is also a reduction of vehicle first registration tax to encourage car owners to purchase environment-friendly vehicles. I understand that the Government wishes to significantly improve roadside air quality within a short span. However, it is hoped that before implementing the measures, the Government should first understand market condition and refrain from being overly ambitious, given there is a lack of supporting ancillary facilities.

Regarding tax incentives scheme for the purchase of environment-friendly commercial vehicles, starting from 1 April this year, the Environmental Protection Department has changed the qualifying standard of environment-friendly vehicles from Euro V to Euro VI. Yet, at the moment, only one European brand offers a model of Euro VI heavy duty vehicle for the industry to choose. Under such circumstances, they have no choice and have to pay a higher price. Apart from the high price, since the model is new, the technology is not yet popular, thus rendering a lack of maintenance support. So, I hope that before deciding on how to further tighten the emission standard, the authorities can in the future first consider the popularity of the new vehicle model and the availability of choices.

In the light of the industry's actual situation, the Ex-gratia Payment Scheme for Phasing Out Pre-Euro IV Diesel Commercial Vehicles implemented by the Government last year was more appealing than the last two schemes implemented earlier. Nonetheless, the operating cost of land transportation has kept increasing in recent years, and the phasing out scheme somehow has inflicted substantial financial pressure on the industry. Take a 24-tonne heavy goods vehicle as an example. The cost ranges from tens of thousands of dollars to over $1 million, but the ex gratia payment by the Government only covers about more than 20%. Furthermore, the existing reduction of first registration tax for purchasing environment-friendly commercial vehicles has been raised to Euro VI vehicles. As I said earlier, since Euro VI vehicles are not popular, with a lack of confidence, the industry can only forego the tax reduction incentive and stick with Euro V vehicles. As a result, they have to pay the first registration tax of up to 17%. This is tantamount to enjoying no concession. The Government is only "relaxing on one hand and tightening on the other", offering no benefit to the industry.

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Moreover, goods vehicles are also commercial vehicles. Why then is the first registration tax for such vehicles set at 15% to 17%, while that for taxis, minibuses and buses are only set at 3.7%? All these vehicles are commercial vehicles which professional drivers rely on for making their living. I therefore wish that the Government can appreciate the existing operating difficulty faced by the transportation industry and review again the first registration tax for vehicles. In order to support the development of the logistics industry, the Government should consider lowering the first registration tax for commercial vehicles (that is, goods vehicles).

President, I so submit.

MR WONG TING-KWONG (in Cantonese): President, this year's Budget is a rather pragmatic one. It has responded to a number of public expectations concerning the livelihood of the people, as well as the needs of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Besides, much effort has been made in respect of economic policy. This achievement is really not bad at all. For that reason, I support this Budget.

Over the past year, the continuous emergence of political conflicts has caused much damage to Hong Kong. The most outrageous thing was of course the unlawful Occupy movement. Some protestors even unlawfully occupied trunk roads in three commercial districts, namely Admiralty, Causeway Bay and Mong Kok for 79 days under the pretext of "fighting for democracy". They paralysed the traffic and held up business activities. It was a complete breakdown in so far as law and order are concerned. A lot of small business owners, who have been in business for a long time and had survived the hard times during the SARS outbreak, were brought down by this unlawful Occupy movement. All the painstaking efforts they had made over the years were wasted as the Occupy movement had driven them out of business. Even though some business operators have managed to survive the unlawful Occupy movement, they are badly hit and on the verge of closing down.

In view of the dire situation of these small business owners, we urge the Government to introduce targeted measures to help them tide over the difficult time. The Government has readily taken in our advice and rolled out some 8714 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 measures, including waiving licence fees for travel agents, guesthouses, restaurants and so on for a short period of time, and waiving vehicle examination fee for the transport industry. There isn't much concession, but it can more or less alleviate the financial burden of business owners. It is also a kind of solace to them, assuring them that the damage done to them during the unlawful Occupy movement will not be forgotten.

The main force of the Occupy movement is badly defeated by the harsh denouncement of public opinions. Nevertheless, like a centipede, it goes on wriggling even when it is already dead. A small group of die-hard supporters keep on making troubles around town. For example, they harass shop owners in the name of the so-called "mobile occupation". They even use much sought-after prime locations their campsites under the pretext of "fighting for democracy" or "protest against rent hike". At the end of March, Ming Pao reported that some university students occupied the sidewalk outside the Central Government Offices and Legislative Council Complex by setting up tents, using the pretext that they wanted to live in close proximity of their college ― the nearby Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts ― but were dissatisfied with the high rental level. It was really grotesque. Yet, the most absurd thing was that the Government was so lenient and adopted a laissez-faire attitude towards them. On the other hand, homeless people living on the street are being driven away. I cannot but say they have met a different fate. Perhaps these unfortunately street sleepers may consider holding the banner of "fighting for true universal suffrage" to avoid being driven away under

Actually, the world shouldn't work like that. We should try our best to help homeless people who have genuine needs. To those hippies who want to save some money and set up tents there under the pretext of democracy, we should advise them to behave and plant their feet on solid ground.

Even though the main forces of the Occupy movement is now in full rout, but they may revive at any time. Earlier, a so-called "student leader" said they would start the Occupy movement again during the Legislative Council's deliberation of the constitutional reform resolution. I believe small business operators do not want to end up in a mess again, and Hong Kong people do not want to see things in a mess either. Therefore, the Government should make the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8715 best possible preparation to prevent Hong Kong from falling into a gridlock situation.

Besides the Occupy movement, the so-called Anti-parallel Trading Protest has emerged recently. However, the protestors were unable to tell parallel traders from visitors or even local residents, and they even scuffled with elderly people and scared small child to tears. They have ruined the reputation of Hong Kong. Shops suffered heavy losses as they were unable to do business during the protests. Being faced with all sorts of impact, it is already very difficult for the SMEs to do business. As said in the budget speech, the SMEs employed 50% of the private sector workforce, and are thus acting as the mainstay of our economy. For that reason, the operating difficulties of the SMEs are not merely the issue of the business community but also a livelihood issue that we should attach importance to.

The Government launched the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme (Scheme) via the Hong Kong Mortgage Corporation Limited (HKMC) in 2011 and introduced the Special Concessionary Measures under the Scheme in the 2012-2013 Budget. Since then, the Scheme and the Special Concessionary Measures have become a means for the SMEs to secure loans. With the HKMC's guarantee, SMEs could secure loans from banks with ease, so that they could do more business during an economic upturn and free themselves from worries of having to close down due to a cash strain in an economic downturn. That is a big favour to the SMEs. Nevertheless, the application period for the Special Concessionary Measures only last for one year. Even though the Government will consider extending the application on a yearly basis, it is still like playing the musical chair in the eyes of the SMEs, as they do not know when the music would stop and thereby put an end to the game. As such, they are in constant fear.

In particular, with the United States hinting that interest rates would be raised, the borrowing costs of Hong Kong SMEs would increase correspondingly, making it more difficult for them to secure loans. Since the Government's objective is to support the SMEs, I suggest that, in order to carry a benevolent act through, the Government should make the Scheme and the Special Concessionary 8716 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015

Measures a routine arrangement. That will address the concerns of SMEs so they can have a peace of mind to go all out for Hong Kong.

Business operators have to view the world from a broader perspective at any time and open up markets if they want to have a better prospect. At present, the Government encourages SMEs to participate in export promotion activities via the SME Export Marketing and Development Funds. For instance, they will subsidize SMEs to participate in exhibitions and conduct duty visits and make advertisement and so on. The business circle attaches great importance to all of these measures.

It is proposed in the Budget that $1.5 billion will be injected into the SME Export Marketing and Development Funds and their scopes will be expanded. Of course we welcome the move. As Mainland authorities are promoting the "One Belt One Road" initiatives, the business opportunity will be very huge as there will be an ardent need for all sorts of professional services other than large-scale infrastructure construction projects. The SME Export Marketing and Development Funds play an important role in the "go global" process of Hong Kong enterprises. The most important thing is that the Government should ensure the application formalities of the SME Export Marketing and Development Funds not to be that minute and complicated and the approval period not be too lengthy, so as to allow the SME Export Marketing and Development Funds to bring the effect into full play and to give a helping hand to local enterprises.

The Budget has also mentioned about the development of tourism and the provision of more tourist facilities. In recent year, Hong Kong's tourist receiving capacity attracted much concern. Hong Kong is a densely populated small city. I am sure everybody is familiar with peeves like overcrowded places, price hikes, infestation of parallel traders, and so on.

In order to alleviate the relevant issues, the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong proposed earlier at the meetings of the National People's Congress and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference that the multiple-entry permit for Mainlanders should be adjusted to a multiple-entry permit with a cap on trips. Recently, LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8717

Mainland authorities announced that the multiple-entry permit would be adjusted to a "one trip one week" permit. It is a good measure to address the issue of too many Mainland visitors coming to Hong Kong.

Moreover, while I have put forward the border shopping centre proposal about a year ago, the Lok Ma Chau border shopping centre project is about to commence as a result of after the good efforts made by all parties concerned. If everything goes well, it can be commissioned within this year. I hope it can divert Mainland shoppers and further alleviate the problem of too many inbound visitors on the one hand, and enhance economic vibrancy, create job opportunities at the border, and provide an alternative shopping destination for local consumers on the other.

Some enthusiastic friends are concerned that the establishment of the border shopping centre is untimely as it is launched after the introduction of the "one trip one week" arrangement. Actually, I am not so concerned about that. While the "one trip one week" arrangement targets mainly at parallel traders, the shopping centre has never set it target on the parallel traders, as its aim is to attracting visitors as well as local shoppers. In the course of the construction of the border shopping centre, we wish to praise the Government for providing a lot of help in respect of information flow. I hope the Government will carry on with such efforts to help to improve the traffic arrangement in that area, so as to benefit visitors and Hong Kong residents.

The Budget has mentioned about the idea of introducing "food trucks" into Hong Kong, which is very popular abroad. The Financial Secretary seems to appreciate "food trucks" a lot and I consider that a very creative idea. As food trucks may help to encourage small business operators and that can become another option with a distinguishing feature for consumers. I am a rather impatient person, and that is why I hope the Government will clarify the relevant details expeditiously to enable the prompt introduction of "food trucks" into Hong Kong. What is more, the food trucks may be even introduced into the border shopping centre for the enjoyment of both the shop owners and shoppers.

It was mentioned in the Budget speech that entrepreneurship in the form of start-ups, which made good use of innovation and technology, was emerging 8718 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 around the world. They have made outstanding achievements. In fact, everyone knows that the development of innovation and technology industry is the key to promote the upgrading and transformation of our economy. Are we not thinking of achieving that target? Unfortunately, because of the filibuster staged by the pan-democratic camp, even the proposal of the establishment of the Innovation and Technology Bureau was full of twists and turns, and it was eventually forced to scrap and to start all over again. I really have no idea when the Bureau can be established. Establishing the Innovation and Technology Bureau is the mainstream aspiration of all sectors in society. We are in dire need of a dedicated Policy Bureau to foster co-ordination amongst the Government, industry, academia and research sectors, to formulate innovation and technology policy and to focus on the promotion of development of industries. Any obstruction to the establishment of the new Policy Bureau will hinder the development of Hong Kong. In the end, everyone in Hong Kong will suffer.

The Hong Kong society is constantly drawn into political struggle. What we see every day is the news about filibustering, people throwing eggs, people lying in the streets …

MR CHAN CHI-CHUEN (in Cantonese): President, I request a headcount.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Will the Clerk please ring the bell to summon Members back to the Chamber.

(After the summoning bell had been rung, a number of Members returned to the Chamber)

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr WONG Ting-kwong, please continue with your speech.

MR WONG TING-KWONG (in Cantonese): President, the Hong Kong society is constantly drawn into political struggle. What we see every day is the news LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8719 about filibustering, just like what is happening now: a Member asked for a headcount and then left his seat. He is not present most of the time, but he always requests a headcount once he enters the Chamber. There are also people throwing eggs and lying in the streets. That will only make people feel that we are simply too busy to care about anything but politics, we are simply too busy that we only know how to mess around and have no time to take care of the economy. Fortunately, the Government is not thinking in that way. A number of pragmatic economic policies were proposed in the Budget. This Budget is not one which can get full scores. Nevertheless, in view of the obstruction in every possible way, it is a rather satisfactory one if the relevant policies proposed therein could be implemented.

At present, the opposition camp intends to carry out the filibuster. I do not know if they are just trying to show supporters of the radical camp that they have accomplished the task, or they are so crazy that they want the Government face the fiscal cliff. I only know that a filibuster will certainly slow down the implementation of all policies. At least the elderly cannot get their Old Age Living Allowance. They are not legislators who earn an income of $70,000 to $80,000. No, it should be $80,000 to $90,000. Moreover, they will have to suffer one more month if they get the allowance one month later. I wish to give my advice to these filibustering Members: for the sake of Hong Kong, please stop it!

President, I so submit.

MR DENNIS KWOK: President, this year's Budget is largely identical to the ones before it. As such, many of my comments on the previous Budgets hold true for this year's Budget as well.

In response to the Policy Address delivered a few months ago, I have spoken on the need to be more vocal about our opposition to crony capitalism. A handful of giant conglomerates dominate many of the different market sectors in Hong Kong, and this web of monopolies adds to the price of starting a new business for ambitious young entrepreneurs.

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Unfortunately, with such lethargic Policy Addresses and Budgets, and with our Chief Executive, Financial Secretary and the SAR Government displaying none of the will power necessary to make any shifts in direction ― or even introduce any fresh measures which might be suggesting a shift in direction ― it is likely that Hong Kong's economy will continue to be plagued by the problem of rent-seekers who make their fortune simply by holding onto their monopolies and relying on the Government for their protection. This can be seen in real estate, in the supermarket business and the television business, just as it can also be seen in the less conspicuous ones, such as electricity and aviation.

President, with that said, there are still a couple of remarks I made last year which are worth repeating this year. They are worth repeating because their subject matters are pivotal to the upholding of the rule of law in Hong Kong, which is the most crucial of all core values, as well as the most valuable asset for Hong Kong as a city.

First, support for the Judiciary. Having reiterated time and again the need to provide sufficient resources to our judicial system in order for it to operate effectively and efficiently, I am relieved to learn that there are finally signs of slight alleviation for the long waiting times at various levels of the Court.

For example, the average number of days from application to fixing date to hearing for cases in the Court of First Instance civil fixture list in 2014 was 193 days, which represents a significant improvement over the 2013 average of 261 days. It is important to note, however, that this is still in excess of the 180-days target set by the Judiciary. The corresponding figure for civil cases in the Court of Appeal has also improved from 138 days to 117 days. But then again, it is still in excess of the target of 90 days set by the Judiciary.

Most worryingly, the criminal fixture list has not seen any improvement at all. In fact, the average waiting time has increased further, from 211 days in 2013 to 227 days in 2014. This is almost double the target of the 120 days set by the Judiciary.

The Chief Justice has said that the executive authorities ought to render all necessary support to promote the effective, efficient and fair administration of justice in Hong Kong. I would go even further and say that the Hong Kong SAR Government has a duty to do so. In allowing the Judiciary to be starved of LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8721 resources, staff support and 21st-century court facilities necessary to deal with cases efficiently on a timely basis, the Government is in dereliction of such duty. It is to be hoped that swift action would be taken to address the urgent need for resources and support for the Judiciary.

Other than an effective and efficient judicial system, free and equal access to a lawyer has always been another key element of the rule of law. It is also a right guaranteed under Article 35 of the Basic Law. With such statistics as 60% of all criminal appeal cases involving unrepresented litigants, it is clear that a comprehensive review of the financial eligibility limits is long overdue. The scope of the Ordinary Legal Aid Scheme and the Supplementary Legal Aid Scheme also needs to be expanded and reviewed. I urge the Government to take immediate steps to reform the legal aid system.

Last but not least, I must say a few words in regard to the unprecedented move by the Administration in circumventing the Finance Committee of this Council. Despite repeated calls by the pan-democrats or even some Members of the Legislative Council to reprioritize, the Administration insisted on sticking to the order it presented the items to the Finance Committee. When it realized that it would not be able to get the establishment of the Innovation and Technology Bureau passed in time, it then withdrew four items from the agenda of the Finance Committee, treating the Finance Committee as a rubber stamp.

That would have been all well and fine if the Administration stopped there, since it is admitted that the Government does have the power to withdraw items. But the Administration went on to explain that it would make provision for these items in the 2015-2016 draft Estimates and invited the Legislative Council to consider them in the context of the 2015 Appropriation Bill. This is highly problematic for three reasons, President.

First, the Administration has not been able to provide a clear delineation of which items it would cause them to be scrutinized and improved by the Finance Committee, which it would circumvent the Finance Committee and simply include them in the draft Estimates. The original letter gave the utterly absurd reason that the accounting arrangements of the four withdrawn items were relatively simple. But surely, that cannot be how the Administration makes its determination.

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Secondly, it constitutes a departure from established practice. The Administration admitted that this had not been done since the 1980s. In constitutional law, established practice or conventions have implications sometimes much stronger than simply the preference or habits of those in power. They represent constitutional propriety. They embody the respect a constitutional body should have for another constitutional body, such as this Council. A departure from established practice, as in this case, is thus a sign of disrespect towards the functions and powers of the Legislative Council on the part of this Administration.

That leads me to the third and last point, which is that in circumventing the Finance Committee for the purpose of getting the Innovation and Technology Bureau established as quickly as possible, this Administration has shown itself to be reckless or even ruthless in trying to achieve its political goals. Regardless of how obstructionist this Council has become, the Government has a duty to restrain itself from exercising the fullest extent of its strict legal powers. This is because for governments, the line between a proper exercise of power and abuse of power is blurred all too often. As everyone knows, power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

Thank you, President.

MR CHAN CHI-CHUEN (in Cantonese): President, today is the Second Reading debate on the 2015-2016 Budget. However, pro-establishment Members have spent most of their speaking time talking against filibustering in a dramatizing manner, rather than expressing their views on the Budget. Some Members said that we filibustered every year without any new tactics. This is my third year participating in scrutinizing the Budget. When I reviewed my speech for the previous two Budget debates, I noted that they are very similar in content. Why? It is because instead of being rectified, the issues that we raised out for improvement in the past two years have aggravated and become the norm. Members may have Stockholm syndrome because they have no more feeling about the Budget, so much so that they even thank the Financial Secretary who delivers a shoddy Budget every year. The democratic Members have not thanked the Financial Secretary, but their actions show that they have sided with the Budget. Many Members said just now that many members of the public wanted them to find a way to stop Members from filibustering, saying that some Members had proposed 3 904 amendments. I have only proposed 191 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8723 amendments. As to the question of whether my amendments should be regarded as a means to filibuster, I will let the President be the judge. However, whether the 3 904 amendments will be allowed for debate is subject to you, President, your honour.

Besides, how should the pro-establishment Members stop the filibustering? It is simple. All they need to do is to sit here obediently, so that we cannot ask for a headcount. Or, what they can do is to come back to this Chamber immediately when the summoning bell is rung. By so doing, they need not calculate the cost of the time we have spent on filibustering. Hence, when they calculate how much time is wasted, they should know that they have actually played a part in wasting the time, or they are the ones to control the time to be wasted because there are only three to four of us. As long as they, the 35 of them, are sitting here when we ask for a headcount, no time will be wasted.

Besides, the democratic Members have joined in and made a duty roster to maintain a quorum. They claimed that they would stage an un-cooperative campaign, but in fact they have now staged a co-operative campaign. So, Members should say no more about the democratic Members staging an un-cooperative campaign. They have staged a co-operative campaign and are even more meticulous than the pro-establishment Members, requiring that at least 13 democratic Members should be back and sit down at the Chamber within 5 minutes after the summoning bell is rung… No, to be begin, no way will they let the summoning bell be rung; and second, they should be back once the summoning bell is rung. Why should they wait until 13 to 14 minutes after the summoning is rung before coming back to the Chamber? As the public officers were chatting outside the Chamber, why did they not usher Members back to the Chamber immediately? No time should be wasted on ringing the summoning bell. What are they talking about?

President, this Budget has been regarded as John TSANG's highest-score Budget in the past five years. Of these three Budgets, the cover colour of this year's Budget looks the best. Just now, I found that Mr POON Siu-ping is the sanest. He asked why this Budget is the highest-score Budget in recent years. Indeed, it has scored 60.2 marks. It is a matter of expectation management. What is expectation management? Expectation management is a comparative game. I asked a friend how he found the Budget after it was delivered. He answered that he was pleased beyond his expectation. He originally expected that there would be a $10,000 tax rebate and it turned out to be $20,000. Should 8724 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 he not be pleased beyond his expectation? The Financial Secretary John TSANG is indeed commendable for his efforts in expectation management, which has deceived many people and made them feel very good. As compared with the Budget last year, which scored 49.8 marks, the Budget this year has scored 60.2 marks, which is a new record high in five years.

Another comparison is to compare with LEUNG Chun-ying, which is a comparison between the Policy Address and the Budget. It is easy to tell that the Policy Address is very boring without any surprise and even its cover colour, which is the same as last year, is boring. That is why Financial Secretary John TSANG should thank LEUNG Chun-ying for having announced such a shoddy Policy Address, so much so that people hold high expectation of the Budget, expecting it to be better. Now, people have their wish granted. Last year, in terms of score, Financial Secretary John TSANG lost out to LEUNG Chun-ying, but this year he won. But I wish to give the Financial Secretary a bit of advice. The "master" is very narrow-minded. Everyone has now become LEUNG Chun-ying's competitors. If the constitutional reform package is vetoed, the next Chief Executive will remain to be returned by a 1 200-member coterie and John TSANG will be a likely candidate for the Chief Executive election and he stands a high chance of winning. He will thus become the target for suppression. All in all, the Budget is a battle of wits between the Chief Executive and the Financial Secretary. It is impossible for democratic Members to find a chance to meet John TSANG and express their views to him, given that the delivery dates of the Policy Address and the Budget are very close. Even if they could meet each other, John TSANG would only be sitting by the side. In the coming year, they may not even have a chance to meet and express their views to him.

In fact, the part of the Budget which is most enthusiastically talked about is the "handing out of candies". The SAR Government has been stalling on policies to take forward universal retirement protection and strengthen public housing construction, despite having a $1,000-billion fiscal reserve. In a bid to curry favour with the public, the Financial Secretary has focused his Budget on the measures of "handing out candies". This is a means he counts on. These candies include salaries tax concession, profits tax concession and rates exemption for the first two quarters. These seem to be attractive sweeteners benefiting lots of people, but who is the ultimate beneficiaries? Rates rebate is actually what we most strongly oppose, particularly handing out in the present manner.

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Let me come back to expectation management. The way that rates are to be rebated this year is less than satisfactory. In 2013-2014, the rates for the entire year were exempted, with a $1,500 cap for each quarter per property. It benefited 75% of the property owners and the Government received $11.6 billion less in revenue. For this Budget, rates will be exempted for only two quarters of the year with a $2,500 cap for each quarter. It will benefit 3.15 million property owners and the Government will receive $7.7 billion less in revenue. Fellow Members, it appears as if the amount of exemption this year is more, increasing from $6.1 billion last year to $7.7 billion this year, but in fact the amount of money exempted this year is less. Why do we object this way of handing out rate rebates? According to government statistics in 2014, the person or corporation paying the largest sum of rates in Hong Kong owned almost 17 000 property flats in the territory. The top 10 and top 100 persons or corporations alone owned over 40 000 property flats and 79 000 property flats respectively. They will be the biggest beneficiaries of the rate rebates this year.

What is meant by a relief measure? Frankly speaking, the Financial Secretary is a discreet person. He never calls his proposals as "relief measures" but only "alleviation measures". The measure of rate exemption will only make rich people richer, benefiting not many members of the middle class. To begin with, as only the first two quarters of the rates will be waived, most properties cannot fully utilize the $2,500 rebate each quarter because these properties are not entitled to claim the full amount of the rebate but only a few hundred dollars to $1,000-odd. Who are entitled then? The owners of luxurious apartments are entitled to claim the full amount of the rebates.

We have suggested to the Government in the Bills Committee that all four quarters of the rates should be waived. Indeed, he has done so in the past. He is not unable but unwilling to do so. We told him that waiving all four quarters could benefit more people, given that in his logics, relief measures are supposed to relieve people who are hard-up rather than those who are well-off. Who needs his relief measures if one is well-off?

Next is salaries tax concession. Members of the middle class earning $30,000 to $40,000 a month are the ones most benefited from the measure. In other words, those large consortia owning properties and majority owners will have an edge over others. This measure is not in any way helpful in 8726 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 redistributing wealth or narrowing down the wealth gap. Apart from returning the wealth to the rich, the Financial Secretary also miscalculates the wealth every year. We have mentioned this for many times.

Actually, miscalculating surpluses is also a kind of expectation management. The Financial Secretary employs this tactic every year and it works like magic every year. Forecasts of slight deficits would turn out to be handsome surpluses, and meagre surpluses would become mega ones. I have reused this diagram for many years. The revenues that the Financial Secretary has miscalculated in the past seven years amount to $435.1 billion, which could be used for constructing 725 public housing buildings or used as cash handouts for 7.26 million Hong Kong people with each person getting $60,000. This is how the calculation should be, but he would not follow it. Just like Mr WONG Kwok-hing, who said that filibustering has wasted a lot of money, which could be used for constructing a certain storeys of buildings or used as a certain number of months of rents rebates, so on and so forth, the Financial Secretary is also paying lip service only. Would he return the money that has been saved to the people? He would not. This is only a numbers game.

In fact, John TSANG is resorting to expectation management again. The Future Fund is also a tool for expectation management. He saves money for a rainy day, but he does not use it on people in dire straits. Today he neglected the people in dire straits and enthusiastically talked about how the Government needed to preserve revenue base. At this time when the Treasury is flooded with money, he talked about broadening tax base and even exploring the need to introduce sales tax. When it came to government services, he only uttered "cost-recovery" and "user pays". Hence, I told the Financial Secretary at that time that he reminded me of the character WANG Xifeng in the Chinese novel The Dream of the Red Chamber. We all know the end of WANG Xifeng. Granny LIU entered the Grand View Garden to borrow money and WANG Xifeng said, "Do not be dazzled by the glamorous shell of the JIAs family. Rich families have their own difficulties which are not worth mentioning to outsiders. We could only lend you a little for now." The Government is like WANG Xifeng, rich people pretending to be poor and hard-up.

People Power has proposed many amendments. We wish to seek as much leeway as possible to criticize this Budget. In the special meetings of the Finance Committee (FC), each member had only four minutes to speak. We LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8727 simply could not properly express our criticism on the Budget, so as to enable Hong Kong people to better understand in what ways the SAR Government and John TSANG's financial management is unfair, unreasonable and deceitful.

The day before yesterday I gave Matthew CHEUNG a four minute-long dressing-down at the Panel on Welfare Services. He did not utter a word. The Chairman asked him if he had anything to say. He said no. The Secretary for Labour and Welfare put on a sentimental tone at the Panel on Welfare Services. Today many pro-establishment Members also put on a sentimental tone. He urged the filibustering Member to expeditiously endorse the Budget, asking for Members' leniency. He used the word "leniency". I immediately scolded Matthew CHEUNG and the public officers on the spot, criticizing that they were taking the grassroots and the elderly hostage.

If he thinks that these relief measures are additional benefits and bonuses, why does it matter so much if these measures are withheld for one more month? If general consensus supports that people would be strapped for cash if the measures are withheld for one more month, this simply shows that poverty alleviation measures, comprehensive social security assistance (CSSA) payments or some other assistance schemes are not enough. I taught Matthew CHEUNG a Chinese idiom on the spot, that is, "寅吃卯糧", meaning that one has to eat the food intended for the Year of the Rabbit in the Year of the Tiger, or one has to eat the food intended for the following year. In other words, one has to live by borrowing; one has to wait until the day when the "double-allowance" or "triple-allowance" sweetener is handed out before he can clear his debts and be saved.

As far as what I have heard today from the pro-establishment Members, they also agree that some people are leading a poor life and they count on the precious "double-allowance" or "triple-allowance" sweetener to live by, while Legislative Council Members earn $80,000 to $90,000 a month. These sweeteners are a matter of life and death to them. What does this tell us? This tells us that the SAR Government has not provided adequate allowances to them. The sweeteners are only one-off measures. It is not compulsory for the Government to dish out relief measures every year. If the Government does not do so, what will happen? In this case, they are doomed. Their money may only be enough for them to live for 10 months and they will have to live off their life savings or borrow money for the other two months.

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Matthew CHEUNG also agrees with us on this. Does he not? He asked us to be lenient and expeditiously endorse the proposals, saying that the relief measures are not additional-benefits and bonuses to these people, and every dollar matters to their living. This actually shows that the Government admits that the grassroots receiving CSSA payments cannot make ends meet and admits that the CSSA payment is not enough. Yet, the Government is unwilling to review the level of CSSA payment but relies only on "double-allowance" or "triple-allowance" sweeteners to bribe and numb the fighting will of the people. The Government has made the grassroots hostage and blamed the Members who have hindered the smooth passage of, expressed criticisms on or proposed amendments to the Budget as people who have got in the way or even played a part in undermining or dragging down the living of the grassroots.

Here, I must point out loud and clear that the "triple-allowance" proposal will ultimately end up in the FC for scrutiny. I hope that at the FC stage the Government will not compulsorily submit controversial proposals before this "triple-allowance" proposal for our scrutiny, and then accuse Members that those who are responsible for scrutinizing the controversial Budget proposals are hindering people from receiving urgent money which is a matter of life and death to them. If these proposals are a matter of life and death to the people, this shows that the Government has seriously failed in this area. If the Government compulsorily submits controversial proposals before this proposal for our scrutiny, it is acting against the people.

DR CHIANG LAI-WAN (in Cantonese): President, this year's Budget, with a rather extensive coverage, seems to bring benefits to various sectors including the grassroots, middle class and businesses, hence some describe this year's Budget as one relatively well-received by the public in recent years.

In the last few years, the Government has recorded a surplus of tens of billion dollars at the end of each fiscal year. For the fiscal year ahead, the Financial Secretary again predicts the Government would have a surplus of tens of billion dollars ― in fact, the surplus might swell to hundreds of billion dollars in the light of the robust increase in stock transactions recently. In the Budget, the Financial Secretary also projects that Hong Kong will continue to have surplus in the next five years. If this is the case, will the Financial Secretary ponder on how to spend our money in a more meaningful way? I believe that LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8729 today the Financial Secretary has listened to the questions raised by many Members with respect to the Budget. Some of them criticized that the Financial Secretary has not handed out enough money, some of them pointed out that a number of healthcare issues are left unsettled. For example, there are not enough hospital beds, regardless of this year's proposal to increase several hundreds of hospital beds, most of them can only replace the old ones due to the redevelopment of old hospitals. Consequently, the number of hospital beds to be provided additionally would be some 200 or 300 actually.

In addition, currently the Government has allocated 22% of public expenditure or $70 billion on education. Although the share of education expenditure in total public expenditure is the largest, a number of issues are still unaccomplished. We therefore hope that the Financial Secretary can further increase education expenditure in order to address the issues better. Nonetheless, if a family is overwhelmed with needs and expenses, as the saying goes: "It is difficult for a wife with no rice to make a meal". But then, the current problem is that rather than running out of "rice", the Financial Secretary has an ample supply of "rice". So, what is the point of saving up all the money?

The Financial Secretary also proposes to use part of the fiscal reserves to establish a Future Fund with an initial endowment of $220 billion from the Land Fund, and any surplus in the future will be injected into the Fund. This is a good idea, as all surpluses will be injected into the Fund. The problem is, as the Financial Secretary has named the proposed fund as a "Future Fund", I believe he does not intend to use it for today's expenditures. Today, while urging the Government to hand out more money, Members also remark that the Fund should not counted in, as it is a fund for future use. I wonder if this marvelous proposal would tight in with the "baby fund" that I have been advocating. Would the Financial Secretary use the Fund to build up some sort of reserves for our next generation? Nonetheless, the Financial Secretary has not yet determined the final direction. He has referred to infrastructure and other purposes, but we are still unclear, perhaps the Fund is only a kind of investment. In that case, I think that is good too. If the Government has not yet finalized its plan, would it consider using the Future Fund for our next generation?

In the recent one or two years, I have been discussing continuously with the Financial Secretary about our obligation to establish some sort of reserves or make some preparations for the next generation. I have had initial discussion 8730 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 with the Financial Secretary in this connection. Why do I find it necessary to establish a "baby fund"? As Members are aware, the elderly dependency ratio for our next generation will be quite high, it is almost like every two young citizens will have to support three elderly citizens. The ratio may even aggravate to every young citizen needs to support two elderly citizens. This will be a heavy burden on the shoulders of our next generation, what will we pass on to them? I do not mean that we need to get everything ready for our young people. To me, Hong Kong is like a big family, today when our basic needs for oil, rice, diesel and salt are all met, can we consider saving up the surpluses, if any, for future use? What is the future? The future is about our next generation, some genuine long-term investment instead of making one-off expenditure.

Today our public expenditure is increasingly expanding, and it is set to expand further in the future. Today, if we invest part of our reserves in the future as a kind of preparation for the future, will it lead to the same result? For instance, if today we save up this sum of money for spending by this generation and the next generation …

(Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung stood up)

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung, what is your point?

MR LEUNG KWOK-HUNG (in Cantonese): Point of order. I am not very clear about her arguments, I need time to take that in. I would like you to count the quorum, so that Members can take in the arguments of her speech.

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Will the Clerk please ring the bell to summon Members back to the Chamber.

DR CHIANG LAI-WAN (in Cantonese): It is not necessary to count the quorum for taking in my arguments. President, I hope that the Future Fund would be given the opportunity to contribute more to the next generation …

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8731

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Dr CHIANG, this Council is summoning Members back to the Chamber, please sit down.

(After the summoning bell had been rung, a number of Members returned to the Chamber)

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Dr CHIANG Lai-wan, please continue to speak.

DR CHIANG LAI-WAN (in Cantonese): What?

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Dr CHIANG Lai-wan, do you wish to continue to speak?

DR CHIANG LAI-WAN (in Cantonese): President, sometimes I have a feeling that the few "filibuster freaks" in the Legislative Council have brought us to a miserable pass. President, for Members who attend Council meetings, we all try our best to convey our views to the officials concerned, we also act as a bridge to get public views across to the Council. Each Member has his or her respective area of concern. The few "filibuster freaks" have elaborated and expressed their aspirations, but when the authorities or Government fail to do something up to their expectations, they then resort to the radical filibuster tactics. As Mr CHAN Chi-chuen said just now: "If all of you stay in the Chamber, even if I request for ringing the bell to summon Members, it is impossible for me to apply the filibuster tactics." Try to imagine, these few guys take turns to return to the Chamber, like the one who shows up now immediately after my mentioning his name. However, a quorum will not be present once he leaves the Chamber.

Then it was the turn of "Long Hair", who returned to the Chamber and requested for counting the quorum. I have only delivered half of my speech when he requested for ringing the bell to summon Members. Did he know that at that time I was talking about something of great significance? It was about our next generation and the "baby fund", yet he still interrupted my speech. What were his motives behind? I believe that on dealing with people and affairs, you and I can have different pursuits, but you rather have us all drowned with you when your pursuit is unsuccessful, is that what you want? I disapprove 8732 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 of this attitude. One should make lobbying efforts, sometimes we need to be patient and keep lobbying, and finally we can make it one day, like the minimum wage, paternity leave, and so on, these issues all need an opportunity to close the deal.

Say for example, both "Slow Beat" and I are new Members, as we have joined the Legislative Council for two years only. He should patiently lobby for the inclusion of his proposed policies in the Financial Secretary's next Budget on behalf of his voters, rather than staging a filibuster, messing around and driving other Members crazy whenever they are not happy. In fact, not only you guys, all Members are serving the public, okay?

"Long Hair" excused that he did not understand some arguments, he needed time to think and take them in, thus he once again requested for ringing the bell to summon Members back to the Chamber, yet he himself left the Chamber while the bell was ringing. "Long Hair", if you have guts, you would better return to the Chamber right now. He should respect other people, for he was the one who requested for summoning Members back to the Chamber to listen to the speech.

President, let us return to the subject. I would like to raise another point, which is about some industries referred to in the Budget. For example, in respect of the cultural and creative industries, the Government will provide $500 million, $200 million and $300 million of funding to the fashion industry, film industry and art and culture respectively. We approve of this kind of funding, but then, will the Government roll out some focused measures on top of that, such as concentrating resources on the development and training of talent for a few focal industries with advantages? Would this generate even better results? We hope that the Financial Secretary would have more thorough consideration on this in the next Budget.

As the Financial Secretary is not in his seat, I can only express some views to Secretary Eddie NG who is now in his seat. For example, the relevant training on life planning has started in Hong Kong, I do hope that the resources for this aspect can be maintained, so that we can continue to nurture our next generation and let them better understand the steps to take in their future life. Many people who do not understand life planning very well think that life planning is unnecessary and we should give students the freedom to decide for themselves. No doubt some students can figure out their own path of life with LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8733 the guidelines from their parents. Nonetheless, many children from grass-root families really need the schools to provide more counselling support and assistance.

According to my knowledge, the United States has implemented life planning education as early as some 20 years ago. They have rich experience and a lot of information for sharing. They have even established some sort of one-stop online platform to facilitate students to obtain the latest information or life planning directions from the Internet. These are all great initiatives.

President, I eagerly hope that the Government's application for funding in connection with the Budget manages to get a green light from the Legislative Council expeditiously. Earlier on, some elderly residents came to visit us, they said they were grateful for the Government's release of "triple pay" ― that is, the recipients of CSSA will be given three months' extra allowance. However, they felt worried about some Members' plan to stage a filibuster. They hope the Government can release the allowance to them earlier so that they can pocket the money as early as possible. They entrusted me to persuade the "filibuster freaks" not to stage a filibuster, thus I urge these Members not to stage a filibuster.

I so submit. Thank you.

MR NG LEUNG-SING (in Cantonese): President, today we are having a debate on the Budget. A member of the public asked me why some Members intend to stage a filibuster in order to mess up such an important debate. I can only reply that I believe those Members want to turn the disruption caused by filibuster in the Council into a norm, but this is not what Hong Kong people would love to see. We are wasting time. The Budget is about money, yet we are wasting money.

Well, let us return to the subject. President, under the Budget's direction, the policies should be sustainable and stable, and one principle must be followed through: We must maintain effective fiscal management and fiscal discipline by adhering to the principles of keeping expenditure within the limits of revenues and allocating resources where they are required. From this perspective, the public expenditure equivalent to 20.4% of GDP as stated in the Budget is a reasonable level. A surplus of $36.8 billion in the account is projected for the 8734 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 coming year, which is a reasonable surplus projection in the light of the uncertainties in the market. In my opinion, the Budget is acceptable as a whole as it has embodied the principle of prudent fiscal management.

I am particularly concerned about the allocation of expenditure between short-term (such as what we call "the handing out of sweeteners" and certain focused support measures) and long-term measures (such as improving Hong Kong's living environment for the future, developing facilities for our industries and businesses, promoting economic diversification, enhancing the overall competitiveness of Hong Kong, and so on). It is necessary to strike a balance between these two kinds of measures. It comes to my attention that the budget of Singapore focuses on its future needs in various aspects, and investment will be made. For instance, the Singaporean government encourages business start-ups, it particularly supports enterprises to go innovative and international, and it also promotes investment in infrastructure and various aspects relating to the future development of society. Hong Kong can make reference to the Singaporean practice as it is full of foresight.

The unemployment rate of Hong Kong has stayed at a very low level (3.3%) for quite a long period of time, this is known as full employment in economics. In addition, our under-employment rate is only 1.5%, which is also very low. While various sectors are short of manpower, total income of the people is increasing year by year. By market capitalization, the GDP per capita of Hong Kong has reached US$40,000 in 2014. It is thus not advisable to turn the one-off relief measures into recurrent practices, otherwise the purposeful one-off measures would become something that the people unhealthily rely on. Then it would be difficult for the Government to apportion the limited resources of our society when public income is tight.

I support the measures proposed in the Budget that encourage employment, facilitate more women and elderly people to join the workforce and continue to promote the employment of the abled and capable CSSA recipients. These measures will promote the sustainable development of local economy, and nurture a positive and can-do attitude among the people. In developed countries such as Germany, many elderly people are still working. In my opinion, the Government can aptly apportion more resources to the measures that encourage employment, including providing more support to the young people looking for employment, because the unemployment rate of our young people remains high.

LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8735

President, I welcome the idea of diversified development put forth in the Budget. But first of all, we have to enhance the competitive advantages of our four pillar industries ― namely, trading and logistics, financial services, professional services for industry and commerce, and tourism ― in the international arena. These pillar industries contributing to 60% of our GDP are indeed the "bread" and "butter" of Hong Kong, thus it is worthwhile to spare more efforts to conduct in-depth studies on the feasibility of having a diversified economy, put forward more strong initiatives to support these integral industries, and avoid having too many loose targets and wasting resources. In particular, I would like to point out that on trading, we have Hong Kong Trade Development Council; on tourism, we have the Hong Kong Tourism Board. Given that Hong Kong is an international hub, we should dedicate reasonable resources likewise to ensure that the Financial Services Development Council is no less important than other development boards and councils, and enable our financial services to deliver even stronger add-value functions and results.

The financial sector of course welcomes and supports the initiatives and undertakings put forth by the Government in the Budget with a view to reinforcing Hong Kong's position as an international hub. These initiatives include, among others, further promoting Hong Kong's capacity in offshore RMB business, asset management and bond market. The financial sector welcomes the SAR government's efforts to strengthen Hong Kong's connection with Mainland market via, for instance, the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect that will soon be launched, enhancement of the Shanghai-Hong Kong Stock Connect already launched, further increasing our investment quota for the RMB Qualified Foreign Institutional Investors (RQFII) Scheme and striving for early implementation of the arrangement for mutual recognition of funds. I believe that Hong Kong is now well positioned to attract multinational and Mainland enterprises to establish corporate treasury centres in our city. Nonetheless, we also need to continuously improve our provision of support in terms of hardware and software, and better our living environment. All these would facilitate Hong Kong to grasp the business opportunities that will emerge following the "One Belt One Road" initiatives and the policies facilitating Mainland enterprises to "go global".

In addition, the financial sector is aware that the SAR government is determined to combat cross-border tax evasion in accordance with global standard in order to ensure Hong Kong's position as an international financial 8736 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 centre. In this respect, the financial sector hopes the SAR government can provide relevant and timely guidance and support to facilitate the industry to practice in operation. On this issue, the financial sector is more than willing to have more communications and exchanges of views, and reflect the views to the authority concerned.

Recently, the hottest topic for discussion is the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) to be established under the lead of the PRC government. A number of countries, including developed countries like Britain, Germany and France, are eager to join as AIIB's member. According to the projections by economists, the infrastructure in Asia has a strong demand for funds ― up to US$10 trillion of funds is needed for the period between 2010 and 2020. The AIIB will promote economic co-operation between countries and optimize the distribution and matching of resources. It is expected the AIIB will bring about positive influence on global financial order and create a benign cycle, from which Hong Kong will be benefited from a myriad of business opportunities. The Financial Secretary indicates in the Budget that the Government will leverage on Hong Kong's strength in financing and asset management to support AIIB's establishment and operation, and pursue actively the possibility of Hong Kong's joining AIIB. I strongly approve of this direction. In my opinion, if Hong Kong can play a suitable role in the project, this will facilitate various professional services and the relevant industries to get into the picture, which in turn will be conducive to Hong Kong's economic transformation.

What deserves attention is that our financial industry's contribution to the GDP has receded from 20.1% in 2007 to 15.9% in 2012. Our financial industry must look for new growth points should it want to make stable contribution to the economy of Hong Kong. The Budget points out that being an international financial centre with years of experience in financial technology, Hong Kong is an ideal place for developing financial technologies. I believe this is a feasible direction for development. We should as well pay attention to the rapid development of Internet financial services in the Mainland in recent years. Up till today, we have already seen two Internet banks that seek to become another bank "practising inclusive financial system and specializing in the provision of personal saving and small loan services". Moreover, Shenzhen is a city of significance so long as financial technologies are concerned as it has a considerable pool of information technology talent. If Hong Kong can establish LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 8737 partnership with the district, this will certainly facilitate development and achieve better results at less effort.

President, it comes to my attention that the Budget is concerned about Hong Kong's narrow tax base: Among the working population, only 40% pays salaries tax; and only 10% of the registered corporations pay profits tax. The Financial Secretary also points out that it is of utmost importance for Government to stabilize and broaden the revenue base. Nonetheless, the Budget has not put forth any specific proposal of expanding and increasing revenue for the purpose of conducting public consultation and collecting opinions. It seems that any plan to improve the revenue base is far from taking shape. If this issue is not addressed cautiously, it is possible that Hong Kong may follow the footsteps of certain countries that are facing the problem of financial imbalance.

As for the new long-term housing strategies put forth by the Government, the additional supply of 290 000 public housing units in the next decade is a very ambitious target. The Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA) can hardly bear the expenditures concerned. Given that this is an issue of top priority, it seems that the Government's injection of funds is inevitable. In my opinion, public housing is designed for those with real needs. However, currently public housing units (including the units of Home Ownership Scheme) are allowed to be traded freely in the market, even the local and non-local residents who can afford to buy private residential units can enter the public housing market of Hong Kong. This has unleashed a strong demand for constructing public housing. In addition, the so-called wealthy tenants (we have Member who belongs to this category of tenants) who can afford market rents are long-term occupants of public housing flats, under this circumstance, the demand for public housing will constantly expand. When the financial burden on HKHA becomes too heavy to bear, public money will finally be used to pay the bill. As a friendly reminder, my advice is: The times are changing, it is necessary to review our public housing policies and identify the areas for improvement. The Government is duty-bound to do something in this aspect.

The final point that I would like to talk about is the setting up of a Future Fund as mentioned by the Financial Secretary in the Budget. Of course we all know that the Future Fund will start with the balance of the Land Fund, which is the fruit of the efforts of a group of predecessors before the handover. But the 8738 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 15 April 2015 investment return of the Land Fund is somehow disappointing in recent years. I hope that after setting up the Future Fund, specific management and investment mechanism can be established in order to conduct reasonable strategic research and keep the Fund under watch, so that this public fiscal reserve with historic significance can achieve its functions more effectively.

President, I so submit.

SUSPENSION OF MEETING

PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): I now suspend the meeting until 9 am tomorrow.

Suspended accordingly at 7.59 pm.