LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 2905
OFFICIAL RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS
Wednesday, 16 December 2015
The Council met at Eleven o'clock
MEMBERS PRESENT:
THE PRESIDENT THE HONOURABLE JASPER TSANG YOK-SING, G.B.M., 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, G.B.S., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE FREDERICK FUNG KIN-KEE, S.B.S., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE VINCENT FANG KANG, S.B.S., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE WONG KWOK-HING, B.B.S., M.H.
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PROF THE HONOURABLE JOSEPH LEE KOK-LONG, S.B.S., J.P., Ph.D., R.N.
THE HONOURABLE JEFFREY LAM KIN-FUNG, G.B.S., J.P.
THE HONOURABLE ANDREW LEUNG KWAN-YUEN, G.B.S., J.P.
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
THE HONOURABLE WONG YUK-MAN
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 2907
THE HONOURABLE CLAUDIA MO
THE HONOURABLE MICHAEL TIEN PUK-SUN, B.B.S., J.P.
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, B.B.S.
THE HONOURABLE FRANKIE YICK CHI-MING, J.P.
THE HONOURABLE WU CHI-WAI, M.H.
THE HONOURABLE YIU SI-WING, B.B.S.
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, B.B.S., J.P.
DR THE HONOURABLE KWOK KA-KI
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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
DR THE HONOURABLE ELIZABETH QUAT, J.P.
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, S.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 WONG TING-KWONG, S.B.S., J.P.
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 2909
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
PROF THE HONOURABLE ANTHONY CHEUNG BING-LEUNG, G.B.S., J.P. SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT AND HOUSING
PROF THE HONOURABLE K C CHAN, G.B.S., J.P. SECRETARY FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES AND THE TREASURY
THE HONOURABLE GREGORY SO KAM-LEUNG, G.B.S., J.P. SECRETARY FOR COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
THE HONOURABLE RAYMOND TAM CHI-YUEN, G.B.S., J.P. SECRETARY FOR CONSTITUTIONAL AND MAINLAND AFFAIRS
THE HONOURABLE LAI TUNG-KWOK, S.B.S., I.D.S.M., J.P. SECRETARY FOR SECURITY
THE HONOURABLE PAUL CHAN MO-PO, M.H., J.P. SECRETARY FOR DEVELOPMENT
THE HONOURABLE NICHOLAS W. YANG, J.P. SECRETARY FOR INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY
MR ERIC MA SIU-CHEUNG, J.P. UNDER SECRETARY FOR DEVELOPMENT
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CLERKS IN ATTENDANCE:
MR KENNETH CHEN WEI-ON, S.B.S., SECRETARY GENERAL
MISS ODELIA LEUNG HING-YEE, DEPUTY SECRETARY GENERAL
MS ANITA SIT, ASSISTANT SECRETARY GENERAL
MS DORA WAI, ASSISTANT SECRETARY GENERAL
MR MATTHEW LOO, ASSISTANT SECRETARY GENERAL
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 2911
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. 6) Regulation 2015 ...... 234/2015
Pharmacy and Poisons (Amendment) (No. 7) Regulation 2015 ...... 235/2015
Dangerous Drugs Ordinance (Amendment of Second Schedule) Order 2015 ...... 236/2015
Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance (Amendment of Schedule 2) Order 2015 ...... 237/2015
Legal Practitioners (Amendment) Ordinance 2012 (Commencement) Notice ...... 238/2015
Other Papers
No. 46 ─ Lotteries Fund The Accounts of the Fund 2014-15
No. 47 ─ Queen Elizabeth Foundation for the Mentally Handicapped Report and Accounts 2014-2015
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No. 48 ─ Social Work Training Fund Fifty-fourth Annual Report by the Trustee for the year ending on 31 March 2015
No. 49 ─ Equal Opportunities Commission Annual Report 2014/15
No. 50 ─ Hong Kong Tourism Board Annual Report 2014/15
No. 51 ─ Communications Authority Annual Report 2014/15
No. 52 ─ Police Welfare Fund Annual Report 2014/2015
No. 53 ─ The Police Children's Education Trust and the Police Education and Welfare Trust Annual Report 2014/2015
No. 54 ─ The Government Minute in response to The Annual Report of The Ombudsman 2015
No. 55 ─ Brewin Trust Fund Report of the Brewin Trust Fund Committee on the Administration of the Fund for the year ended 30 June 2015
No. 56 ─ Grantham Scholarships Fund Report of the Grantham Scholarships Fund Committee on the Administration of the Fund for the year ended 31 August 2015
No. 57 ─ The Sir Murray MacLehose Trust Fund Trustee's Report for the period of 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2015
No. 58 ─ Chinese Temples Fund Report of the Chinese Temples Committee on the Administration of the Fund for the year ended 31 March 2015
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No. 59 ─ General Chinese Charities Fund Report of the Chinese Temples Committee on the Administration of the Fund for the year ended 31 March 2015
Report of the Committee on Members' Interests on complaints against Hon LEE Cheuk-yan and Hon LEUNG Kwok-hung
Report No. 8/15-16 of the House Committee on Consideration of Subsidiary Legislation and Other Instruments
Report of the Bills Committee on Bankruptcy (Amendment) Bill 2015
ADDRESSES
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Addresses. The Chief Secretary for Administration will address the Council on "The Government Minute in response to The Annual Report of The Ombudsman 2015".
The Government Minute in response to The Annual Report of The Ombudsman 2015
CHIEF SECRETARY FOR ADMINISTRATION (in Cantonese): President, the Annual Report of The Ombudsman 2015 (the Annual Report) was presented to the Legislative Council on 24 June this year. I will now present to the Legislative Council the Government Minute in response to the recommendations made in the Annual Report.
The Ombudsman summarized seven direct investigation and 314 full investigation cases, and made 218 recommendations in total in the Annual Report. The Government Minute has responded to the seven direct investigation and 98 full investigation cases for which recommendations were made by The Ombudsman. Save for a few exceptions, the Government and the relevant public bodies have accepted all the recommendations and have taken or are taking various measures to implement them. For individual recommendations which could not be accepted, explanations were given to The Ombudsman by the relevant departments, as detailed in the Government Minute.
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President, The Ombudsman Ordinance stipulates that The Ombudsman may decide to deal with a case by mediation if he is of the opinion, having regard to all the circumstances of the case, that the subject matter of the complaint involves no, or only minor, maladministration. The Ombudsman pointed out in the Annual Report that many complainants were suffering from an organization's delay in relieving their plight and they therefore generally welcome the use of mediation to resolve the problems quickly by the Office of The Ombudsman (the Office) rather than a lengthy letter or investigation report from the Office accounting for the incident and detailing the organization's inadequacies. During the year, the number of complaint cases successfully concluded by the Office through mediation reached a record high of 138, having increased 3.6 times from the year before. A total of 25 organizations under complaint, as compared to 11 last year, voluntarily participated in mediation this year, showing that more organizations were receptive to resolving complaints by mediation. The Government is endeavouring to promote the use of mediation and we support the Office to continue promoting the settlement of disputes by mediation. Various government departments will certainly also collaborate fully with the Office in this regard.
We understand that some members of the public consider that the relevant departments and organizations should apologize for their improper practices. The Office also encourages government departments and public organizations to adopt a more open mind towards making apologies. The Steering Committee on Mediation (the Steering Committee), which is established by the Department of Justice, conducted the first round of public consultation in the middle of this year on whether an apology ordinance should be enacted in Hong Kong and the consultation has received positive feedback. The main objective of the proposed apology legislation is to promote and encourage the making of apologies in a timely manner by the persons involved in a dispute so as to facilitate the amicable settlement of disputes by clarifying the legal consequences of making an apology. The Steering Committee has made further recommendations to the Department of Justice (DoJ) for the introduction of apology legislation. The DoJ aims to publish the second-round consultation document in early 2016 to conduct the second-round consultation on certain specific issues. The Steering Committee will make final recommendations to the DoJ upon the completion of the second-round consultation.
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 2915
There are a considerable number of cases in this year which involved violation of the Code on Access to Information (the Code), failure to take effective enforcement action against street obstruction by shops and ineffective investigation into cases of water seepage in buildings. I will give a response in regard to these three aspects.
As mentioned by The Ombudsman in the Annual Report, the Office has published the direct investigation report on the access to information regime of the Government and made various recommendations, some of which involve enactment of legislation. The Law Reform Commission is conducting an in-depth study in this regard. Meanwhile, we have implemented various improvement measures proposed by The Ombudsman in phases, such as strengthening the promotion of the Code and disseminating more information to the public. It is estimated that the implementation of measures will be completed by the first quarter in 2016. Furthermore, the Office has made recommendations in regard to cases of violating the Code during the year and the relevant departments and organizations have actively followed up the implementation of such recommendations. We will continue to remind various departments that it is necessary to strictly adhere to the provisions of the Code so as to enhance the transparency of administration.
The problem of shop-front extensions has caused wide public concern, which is one of the subjects of direct investigations conducted by the Office this year. The public consultation on enhanced measures against shop-front extensions, which was conducted last year, indicated that except for the industry stakeholders, other respondents, such as the District Councils, generally supported the idea of establishing the proposed fixed penalty system as an additional legal tool apart from summons. The relevant law-enforcement departments have maintained close co-operation with one another and formulated enforcement strategies in the past few months to apply the proposed fixed penalty system in conjunction with other existing legal tools, thereby maximizing the deterrent effect. The Government is working on the legislative amendment exercise and aims to introduce the Fixed Penalty (Public Cleanliness Offences) (Amendment) Bill to the Legislative Council in the current Legislative Session.
The Land (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Amendment) Bill 2014 passed its Third Reading in the Legislative Council in the previous Legislative Session with the penalties for offences relating to unlawful occupation of unleased Government land increased, thereby achieving the deterrent effect. In response 2916 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 to the recommendations made by The Ombudsman for stepping up enforcement actions and strengthening the deterrent effect of the law against continual illegal occupation of Government land by movable articles, the Lands Department (LandsD) has analysed the recommendations with the DoJ and instituted prosecution against two cases where movable platforms were repeatedly placed at shop fronts upon expiry of the notice period and the persons concerned were convicted. The LandsD will handle cases involving re-occupation of Government land by making reference to the relevant cases. The Government will continue to adopt a multi-pronged enforcement strategy to tackle the problem of shop-front extensions.
We noticed that there are many complaints about water seepage in buildings, as stated in the Annual Report, and they involve delay in following up the complainants' reports and improper procedures. The relevant departments have reminded their staff that it is necessary to strictly adhere to the established procedures and guidelines when handling reports on water seepage in buildings and to take the initiative to communicate and work with complainants or other government departments when necessary, with a view to helping the complainants resolve their problems as soon as possible.
President, although it seems that the water seepage problem can be solved easily, it is actually very complicated and it can only be resolved by the collaboration of various parties. For example, property owners are responsible for arranging for proper repair and maintenance of their buildings, including resolving the problem of water seepage. If water seepage is found inside a building, the owner should first investigate the cause and, as appropriate, co-ordinate with the owners concerned for repairs. Where the water seepage problem poses a public health nuisance, a risk to the structural safety of the building or water wastage, the Government will intervene in the case. In order to improve the effectiveness of investigations into the source of water seepage, the Joint Office set up by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and the Buildings Department has employed infrared camera and microwave tomography scanning device on a trial basis to facilitate identification of the source of water seepage in complicated cases since late 2013. However, the accuracy of these indirect tests varies with site circumstances and the cost of conducting these tests is high. Furthermore, the Joint Office commissioned a consultancy study at the end of 2014 to review the latest technological methods for identifying the source of water seepage in buildings and to formulate technical guidelines for the Joint Office. The study is expected to be completed in 2016.
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President, Members may notice that among the 314 complaint cases into which full investigations have been conducted by the Office during the year, over 70% of them were unsubstantiated while around 53% of the complaint cases were unsubstantiated in the previous year. It is therefore evident that most of the complaint cases handled by the Office were unsubstantiated. The independent and impartial investigations conducted by the Office proved that there is no maladministration in the relevant government departments and public organizations. In the Annual Report, The Ombudsman has also praised the diligence, professionalism and co-operation shown by public officers in responding to the inquiries and investigations conducted by the Office. The Government would like to thank The Ombudsman for making recommendations and the Office for striving to develop a positive complaint culture in Hong Kong. We will continue to urge various government departments to collaborate with the Office in carrying out investigation and mediation.
A professional and highly efficient public administration has been the cornerstone of good governance. The Ombudsman has been playing a vital role in enhancing the quality of public services in Hong Kong with notable achievements over the years. The Government will go from strength to strength and collaborate closely with The Ombudsman in the future to live up to the public's expectation that the Government should strive to improve the quality of services and enhance the transparency of governance. I would like to thank The Ombudsman for handling complaints from the public in an independent and impartial manner all along, thereby maintaining a good public administration system that is fair, reasonable, open and accountable in Hong Kong.
Thank you, President.
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr IP Kwok-him will address the Council on the "Report of the Committee on Members' Interests on complaints against Honourable LEE Cheuk-yan and Honourable LEUNG Kwok-hung".
MR LEUNG KWOK-HUNG (in Cantonese): President, I think that a quorum stipulated in the Basic Law is not present.
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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 IP Kwok-him, please speak.
Report of the Committee on Members' Interests on complaints against Hon LEE Cheuk-yan and Hon LEUNG Kwok-hung
MR IP KWOK-HIM (in Cantonese): President, on behalf of the Committee on Member's Interests (the Committee), I submit to this Council the Committee's report.
Between 23 July and 12 August last year, the Committee received 16 complaints against five Members of this Council lodged by members of the public and Members of this Council. After submitting a report on three of these Members on 10 June this year, the Committee will now submit to this Council the report on the complaints against the two remaining Members (that is, Mr LEE Cheuk-yan and Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung).
I will first briefly outline the allegations made in the complaints and the relevant rules in the Rules of Procedure (RoP). The complainants alleged that Mr LEE Cheuk-yan and Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung had breached the registration requirements under Rule 83 of the RoP as they had failed to register their interests of having separately received donations of $500,000 and $1 million in October 2013 and April 2014, and $500,000 on each occasion in October 2013 and June 2014 from Mr Jimmy LAI.
Rule 83(5) of the RoP provides for the categories of "registrable interests" of a Member of the Legislative Council. Donations received by a Member of the Legislative Council in such capacity are registrable as interests of "financial sponsorships". The receipt of such donations by a Member constitutes changes in his registrable interests and the Member is required, under Rule 83(3), to furnish to the Clerk to the Legislative Council particulars of any change in his LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 2919 registrable interests within 14 days of any such change. According to the records of the Register of Members' Interests, these two Members under complaint had not registered the alleged donations.
Next, I am going to highlight the Committee's findings and conclusions of these complaints. Insofar as the case of Mr LEE Cheuk-yan is concerned, the Committee has invited Mr LEE, Mr Jimmy LAI and three members of the standing committee of the Labour Party chaired by Mr LEE, namely Mr CHEUNG Kwok-che, Dr Fernando CHEUNG and Ms Cyd HO, to attend the Committee hearings and testify under oath.
Mr LEE Cheuk-yan admitted that he had received donations from Mr Jimmy LAI on two occasions, namely $500,000 in October 2013 (the first donation) and $1 million in July 2014 (the second donation). The two donations had each been made in the form of a bank cashier order payable to "LEE CHEUK YAN". Mr LEE claimed that he had received such donations on behalf of the Labour Party and submitted two statements issued separately by the Labour Party and Mr Jimmy LAI to substantiate his claim. Mr LAI testified that the intended recipients of his donations were always political parties, and he had been making regular donations to the Labour Party.
The Committee requested Mr LEE Cheuk-yan and Mr Jimmy LAI to explain why the bank cashier orders for effecting the donations had been made payable to "LEE CHEUK YAN" instead of the Labour Party, given their claim that the two donations had been made to the Labour Party. Mr LEE replied that he had no idea why the bank cashier orders had been made payable to him and neither did Mr Jimmy LAI have any idea because, after making the decisions to make the donations to the Labour Party, he had left the execution of such decisions entirely to his assistant, Mr Mark SIMON.
After receiving the two donations, Mr LEE Cheuk-yan deposited the money into his personal bank account. Mr LEE was on holiday overseas when his receipt of the two donations was reported by the media on 22 July 2014. Upon his return to Hong Kong several days later, the standing committee of the Labour Party held a meeting and decided that the two donations totalling $1.5 million be transferred to the Labour Party's bank account as soon as possible. The decision was executed by Mr LEE on the following day.
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The Committee noted that the first donation had all along been kept in Mr LEE's personal bank account for more than eight months from November 2013 to July 2014. Mr LEE explained that, upon receipt of the donation, he "forthwith informed the other three Legislative Council Members from the Labour Party" of the donation. They were Mr CHEUNG Kwok-che, Dr Fernando CHEUNG and Ms Cyd HO. A few days later, the four of them met and agreed that the Labour Party could accept the donation, and they proposed that the money be used as seed money for Green Initiative, a social enterprise which was then being set up by the Labour Party. Mr LEE stated that as they expected that the formalities of registering Green Initiative as a social enterprise and opening a bank account for it could be completed within a short period of time, they proposed that the donation be kept in his bank account temporarily and be transferred directly to the bank account of Green Initiative upon completion of the formalities. Mr LEE subsequently told the other members of the standing committee of the Labour Party of the proposed use and custody of the donation, and none of them expressed disagreement. Mr LEE explained that, in order to protect the privacy of the donor, the Labour Party did not keep any record of its agreement to accept the donation.
According to the evidence given by Mr CHEUNG Kwok-che, Dr Fernando CHEUNG and Ms Cyd HO, the Labour Party did make the decisions on the acceptance of the two donations and Mr LEE Cheuk-yan had verbally informed them and other leaders of the Labour Party that he had received the first donation within a couple of days after receipt. The three witnesses and Mr LEE said that after they had made the decision to temporarily keep the first donation in Mr LEE's bank account, they had not brought up the matter for discussion again even though the registration of Green Initiative had taken a longer time than expected.
Mr LEE Cheuk-yan stated that as he had received the donations on behalf of the Labour Party and had no personal gain, he was not required to register the donations under the RoP. Nevertheless, he admitted that he had not been prudent in handling the first donation in particular, which was kept in his personal bank account for a period of over eight months. Hence, he was deeply sorry for the public query thus caused.
Some members of the Committee considered that Mr Mark SIMON, Mr Jimmy LAI' s assistant should be invited to attend before the Committee to give evidence in order to clarify certain queries, including why the bank cashier LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 2921 orders were made payable to Mr LEE Cheuk-yan. Some other members, however, considered that Mr Jimmy LAI had already provided material evidence, that is, the donations were intended to be made to the Labour Party. As Mr Mark SIMON merely executed Mr LAI's decisions to make the donations, there was no need to invite Mr SIMON to give evidence. Given the divergent views of members, a vote was taken by the Committee, with three Members voting for and three other Members voting against the question. As there was no majority of members voting in favour of the question, the Committee did not invite Mr SIMON to give evidence.
In accordance with paragraph (17) of its procedure for handling complaints, the Committee thereupon considered whether there was sufficient evidence to substantiate the complaints that Mr LEE had breached Rule 83(3) of the RoP. The Committee considered that the crux of the matter was whether the two donations had been made to and received by Mr LEE Cheuk-yan in his capacity as a Legislative Council Member, or that the donations had been received by Mr LEE on behalf of the Labour Party, as claimed by Mr LEE. The donations should be registered if they were received by him in his capacity as a Legislative Council Member; he would have breached the registration requirements under the RoP should he fail to do so.
Some members considered that the four witnesses had all testified under oath that the donations had been made to the Labour Party, rather than Mr LEE Cheuk-yan. Moreover, the credibility of the witnesses was not in doubt and there was no evidence showing that the witnesses were not telling the truth. Furthermore, the Committee had not obtained any contrary evidence. As such, these members considered that the Committee had no reason to question Mr LEE's explanations and should therefore consider that the complaints were not substantiated.
Nevertheless, some other members had reservations about Mr LEE Cheuk-yan's explanations. They pointed out that the statement had been made by Mr Jimmy LAI only after the media had reported on the donations. Mr LEE explained that he had all along kept the first donation in his bank account because the Labour Party had planned to use the donation as the seed money for Green Initiative. However, he also had not forthwith deposited the second donation into the Labour Party's bank account upon receipt of the second donation. These members considered it unreasonable that Mr LEE had not transferred the first donation to the Labour Party in the first place. They also found Mr LEE's 2922 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 explanation for keeping the first donation in his bank account for such a long period of over eight months unconvincing. In addition, there was no information showing that Mr LEE had eventually transferred to the Labour Party the interest income accrued from the two donations during the period when they were kept in his bank account. As these doubts had yet to be clarified and given the decision of the Committee not to invite Mr Mark SIMON to give evidence, these members could not satisfy themselves that the complaints were not substantiated.
As members had divergent views, the Committee voted, in accordance with paragraph (17) of its procedure for handling complaints, on the question that the Committee had sufficient evidence to substantiate the complaints that Mr LEE Cheuk-yan had breached Rule 83(3) of the RoP. Three members voted for the question, and three other members voted against it. As the votes were equally divided, in my capacity as the Chairman I had to give a casting vote. However, according to Rule 79A(1) of the RoP, the chairman of a committee, in exercising his casting vote on a matter before the committee, shall not exercise the vote in such a way as to produce a majority vote in favour of the question put. As such, in my capacity as the Chairman, I voted against the question and, subsequently, the aforesaid question was not passed.
Next, I am going to give a brief account of the case of Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung. The Committee has invited Mr LEUNG, Mr Jimmy LAI, Mr John TSUI in his capacity as the Treasurer of the League of Social Democrats (LSD) chaired by Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung, and Mr WONG Huk-kam as a partner of Messrs. JCC Cheung & Co. (JCC) to attend the Committee hearings and testify under oath.
Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung admitted that he had received a donation of $500,000 from Mr Jimmy LAI in November 2013 (the first donation), and the donation was made in the form of a bank cashier order payable to him. However, he denied the allegation that he had received another donation of $500,000 in June 2014 (the second donation). Mr LEUNG claimed that he had received the first donation on behalf of the LSD and submitted a certificate signed by Mr John TSUI in his capacity as the Treasurer of the LSD and a statement signed by Mr Jimmy LAI to substantiate his claim. Mr LEUNG stressed that as the donation had been received by him not as a Legislative Council Member, he considered it unnecessary to register the donation in accordance with the RoP.
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Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung said that he himself decided to accept the donation at that time and subsequently informed other LSD members of the receipt of the donation. Some LSD members at that time were aware of the identity of the donor, but Mr LEUNG refused to disclose to the Committee the identities of those LSD members. According to Mr LEUNG, in order to protect the identities of its donors, the LSD would not discuss the receipt of donations at its meetings, or reflect the donations in its accounts.
The Committee requested Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung and Mr Jimmy LAI to explain why the bank cashier order had been made payable to LEUNG Kwok-hung instead of the LSD, given their claim that the first donation had been made to the LSD. Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung explained that Mr Jimmy LAI had made the donation to the LSD through him because he was the Chairman of the LSD and Mr LAI knew him better. Mr Jimmy LAI stated that all his donations, including the donation of $500,000 in question, had been given to political parties but not individuals. As he had left the execution of his decisions to make donations to political parties entirely to his assistant, Mr Mark SIMON, he did not know why the bank cashier order was made payable to Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung.
According to the evidence given by Mr John TSUI, Mr Raphael WONG in his capacity as a member of the Executive Committee of the LSD gave him a verbal instruction in November 2013 that Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung would receive a donation of $500,000 on behalf of the LSD. However, Mr TSUI did not know at that time the identity of the donor and details of the receipt of the donation.
According to Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung, he deposited the bank cashier order for the first donation of $500,000 into his personal bank account on 22 November 2013. Four days later, he withdrew the whole sum of the donation in cash as he had no current account and gave the sum to Mr WONG Huk-kam of JCC on the same day for meeting future legal costs that might be incurred by LSD members. Mr LEUNG confirmed that the LSD members who might in future need to use the donation to meet legal costs included him.
Mr WONG Huk-kam confirmed that Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung gave him $500,000 in cash on 26 November 2013, for meeting future legal costs that might be incurred by members of the LSD. As no specific LSD member who was a client of JCC needed to use the money at the time when he received it, the money 2924 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 could not be deposited into a bank account of JCC for clients. Mr WONG therefore divided the $500,000 into two sums and deposited them into two personal bank accounts maintained in two different banks under his name.
According to the evidence given by Mr John TSUI, the Executive Committee of the LSD resolved at its meetings held on 15 and 22 September 2014 that the LSD would pay for the legal costs in the total amount of approximately $800,000 incurred by Mr TSANG Kin-shing and, after making use of the donation of $500,000 already given to Mr WONG Huk-kam, withdraw a sum from the LSD's bank account to meet the shortfall.
In accordance with paragraph (17) of its procedure for handling complaints, the Committee considered whether there was sufficient evidence to substantiate the complaints that Mr LEUNG had breached Rule 83(3) of the RoP. As the Committee had not obtained any evidence that Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung did receive a second donation of $500,000, it decided that there was no need to take further action in respect of the alleged second donation. As for the first donation of $500,000, the Committee considered that the crux of the matter was whether it had been made to and received by Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung in his capacity as a Legislative Council Member, or that the donation had been received by Mr LEUNG on behalf of the LSD, as claimed by Mr LEUNG. The donation should be registered if it was received by him in his capacity as a Legislative Council Member; he would have breached the registration requirements under the RoP should he fail to do so.
Some members pointed out that Mr Jimmy LAI (the donor) and Mr John TUSI (the Treasurer of the LSD) had testified under oath that the LSD was the intended recipient of the donation. Besides, Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung had provided a copy of the letters issued by JCC with cheques for settlement of legal costs showing that the donated sum had been used to meet the legal costs of Mr TSANG Kin-shing. As the Committee had not obtained any evidence which was inconsistent with or contrary to Mr LEUNG's claim that he had received the donation on behalf of the LSD, the Committee had to accept Mr LEUNG's explanations. These members therefore considered that the complaints were not substantiated.
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 2925
Nevertheless, some other members had doubts about Mr LEUNG's explanations and the evidence given by Mr LEUNG and the witnesses. First, the decision to accept the donation was made by Mr LEUNG himself. Second, the LSD had kept no record on how the donation was to be used. Third, Mr John TSUI could not explain why the certificate issued was backdated to 6 August 2014 but the decision to issue the certificate in relation to the receipt of the donation by Mr LEUNG on its behalf was made by the Executive Committee of the LSD at its meeting held on 11 August 2014. Fourth, the statements signed by Mr TSUI and Mr Jimmy LAI were made only after the media had reported the donation. Furthermore, Mr LEUNG had admitted at the hearings that he might be among the LSD members who would benefit from the donation. After considering the evidence as a whole and the aforesaid doubts, these members considered that the complaints were substantiated.
As members had divergent views, the Committee voted, in accordance with paragraph (17) of its procedure for handling complaints, on the question that the Committee had sufficient evidence to substantiate the complaints that Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung had breached Rule 83(3) of the RoP. Three members voted for the question, and three other members voted against it. As the votes were equally divided, in my capacity as the Chairman I had to exercise my casting vote to vote against the question in accordance with Rule 79A(1) of the RoP. The voting result was that there was no majority of members voting in favour of the aforesaid question which was subsequently not passed.
President, I so submit.
MOTION UNDER RULE 91 OF THE RULES OF PROCEDURE
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Proposed resolution under Rule 91 of the Rules of Procedure.
PROPOSED RESOLUTION UNDER RULE 91 OF THE RULES OF PROCEDURE
MR ANDREW LEUNG (in Cantonese): President, as the Council meeting last Wednesday was aborted due to the lack of a quorum, three oral questions scheduled for that meeting were not asked.
2926 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015
In order for the three oral questions scheduled for the previous meeting to be asked in the current meeting, in my capacity as Chairman of the House Committee, I move that Rule 23(2) and (3) of the Rules of Procedure be suspended to enable more than 22 questions of which notice has been given, specifically nine oral questions and 16 written ones totalling 25 questions, to be asked at the current meeting.
President, the motion is printed on the Agenda. Will Members please support the motion.
Mr Andrew LEUNG moved the following motion:
"RESOLVED that Rule 23(2) and (3) of the Rules of Procedure of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region be suspended to enable more than 22 questions of which notice has been given, including more than 6 questions that require an oral reply, to be asked at the Council meeting of 16 December 2015."
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): I now propose the question to you and that is: That the motion moved by Mr Andrew LEUNG be passed.
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Does any Member wish to speak?
MR LEUNG KWOK-HUNG (in Cantonese): Is a quorum present?
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 LEUNG Kwok-hung, please speak.
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 2927
MR LEUNG KWOK-HUNG (in Cantonese): Good morning, President. I rise to speak in favour of Mr Andrew LEUNG's motion. I seldom see eye to eye with him, so I have got to speak to pre-empt any misunderstanding about me supporting him.
The reason for Mr LEUNG to propose this motion is simple, because it is them who caused the number of oral questions to increase from six previously to nine as proposed. As Members must be aware, the meeting last week was aborted, and the six oral questions could not be finished. Insofar as I can recall, it happened around the time for the fifth question, which was about … Was it the third one? The time was when the third question was completed or the fourth one was about to be asked for a reply by the new appointee, Secretary Nicholas W. YANG. I heard Dr Kenneth CHAN's remark that Members were interested in knowing Secretary Nicholas W. YANG's plans after his assumption of office. He did it with goodwill as he thought Members might have work to do or had no access to live telecast. Honestly, I watch live telecast while I am at work upstairs; I will eat nothing at all if a public officer performs awfully, fearing that I may be choked to death on feeling agitated.
Therefore, if Members exercise due diligence, like the President's reminder to us that Members are duty-bound to attend meetings, it will be unnecessary for Mr Andrew LEUNG to take a job not of his own by demanding that business left outstanding from the previous meeting be dealt with together. As a Member, I should not approve of such an approach, which is like asking a student to finish any unfinished homework at school after class. However, let me assume that Members may regret and wish to stay longer to finish the three outstanding oral questions. President, do you understand this? You were once a principal. Every time a student errs and is asked to stay at school after class to finish his homework, he will remember it deeply.
I have yet another question or query ― frankly, here in this Council, I would feel great fear at times as if I were walking on thin ice ― if there is a need to finish nine oral questions with no legislative effect today, whether this will lead to further addition the next time would depend on whether fellow students heed the class teacher's advice that Members are duty-bound to attend meetings. Otherwise, it will be riskier to deal with oral questions number one to nine than one to six. That is, the greater the number of oral questions, the more likely the meeting will be aborted. Hence, to a certain extent, Mr Andrew LEUNG may 2928 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 be doing a disservice out of good intentions. In fact, President, I think a cleverer leader will consult the views of all parties by suspending the meeting for 10 minutes to ask if fellow students would like to go to school today. Those who like to may stay in class, otherwise they will be asked to stay longer as a punishment. All the causes are interrelated, so what should we do?
Therefore, President, I wish to ask Mr Andrew LEUNG if he has asked all fellow students whether they are going to school happily because they do not need to take the Territory-wide System Assessment (TSA). We all oppose the TSA here, whereas the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong (DAB) may agree or disagree. As a matter of fact, are we not taking a TSA here? Being present or not is a form of TSA in itself.
President, on this question, if Mr Andrew LEUNG is well intentioned in hoping that all should stay after school to finish the homework in order to recover the ground lost, I would agree to doing so; however, if Members play truant or do something uncalled for in the classroom, it will then be futile. Therefore, President, I have a crude suggestion, that is, may your good self please suspend the meeting for 10 minutes to summon a representative from each class or row and ask them if they are going to school willingly today and whether the TSA is difficult; if the TSA is difficult, can it be suspended for a year? Mr Andrew LEUNG, the same can be applied to this Council to suspend non-binding oral questions for a week altogether to remove the hurdles as a solution to the problem. Honestly, President, this Council has become a rubber stamp that co-operates with the Government in administration, and the current situation is nothing but urgent, like the way LEUNG Chun-ying puts an air of urgency over everything nowadays.
Today, I have pointed out a weird phenomenon that even bemuses the President. What is it? Let me cite an example to show how frightened we are. When we face large infrastructure projects with cost overruns amounting to $200 billion and delay counted by months, including the countless number of projects such as the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link, the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge, the Liantang Boundary Control Point, and so on, the regime still manages to come up with a new idea. Does Mr Kenneth LEUNG know what it is? This is like what he was stained with. One should know what he was stained at just a glance, so why the fuss? They even go on to propose electronic road pricing, an initiative that is totally at odds with LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 2929 convention. In this way, this Council will become a dispensable tool for him to make him deemed to be doing something. The water in the kettle is boiling, yet he does not care. Everyone in Hong Kong fears cost overruns and project delay, yet he stirs up troubles for no reason …
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr LEUNG, you are straying from the question.
MR LEUNG KWOK-HUNG (in Cantonese): How irrelevant is it, buddy? I am spelling out the reasons to fellow classmates. Our captains or row leaders are really overstretched. On what ground should a government be like this? He turns things upside down, and we have to play along. Therefore, it is reasonable to play truant sometimes. As for the DAB ― Mr WONG Kwok-hing is not present again ― I have great sympathy for them. They have their masters to serve and wish to fulfil their duties as Members, yet they have no idea of what is in the mind of their masters. What should they do? Mr CHAN Hak-kan, is it not? I know how pathetic he is.
President, so on this question, I need to present a longer argument. That is, is it the case that the Government has asked Mr Andrew LEUNG to make this move to demonstrate how determined this Council can be, or that he has just acted with good intentions in passing without any corresponding action from the Government, or that the Government has not asked the extra-terrestrial organization outside of it ― namely the "Western District" ― to ensure that everyone goes to school? President, you need to understand the difference in power between a class teacher and a principal in asking students to go to school as well as that between a discipline master and a class teacher, given the differences in authority among them.
If those belonging to an echelon higher than the LEUNG Chun-ying Administration decree that the nine non-binding questions have to be finished, I think it will be achieved accordingly. The question is how I learn this. Therefore, if Mr Andrew LEUNG will give a reply later on, he needs to dispel people's doubts. If the request is made by LEUNG Chun-ying, the outcome is of course awful as no one may listen to him; yet, if the request is made by someone else, it may work. If such a theory stands, this is actually good in the sense that a lesson will be learnt, that is, those with unfinished homework will be required to 2930 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 stay after class as a punishment; otherwise, they still do not have the copybook finished after class and are required to stay longer as a punishment ― frankly, President, you were once a principal, everything in the school and classroom entails a cost ― then everyone will not mind staying after class and will remain as awful as can be.
Therefore, on this question, I think this is right on the one hand, but on the other, I have no way to know how effective it is because the information is unclear. Like the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014 we are going to examine, it takes a political process rather than an administrative one to see if a legislative intent can achieve any effect. Mr Andrew LEUNG is going to make an administrative decision here today. Is it a political process, or a purely administrative means for solving a political problem? This remains doubtful indeed. President, the reason is whether some Honourable colleagues in this Council are determined to choose to sit here as a 43-strong majority in order to stop anyone from testing how diligent Members are through requests for headcounts. Not at all. As I have said time and again, buddy, 43 minus 34 equals nine; in other words, nine of the Honourable colleagues from the pro-establishment camp may daydream here or there to keep "Long Hair" away from making a headcount request, but they fail to make this simple matter work.
Hence, President, my position is that Mr Andrew LEUNG should talk in an open and honest manner about the likelihood of finishing the oral questions, if the number increases from six to nine today. If he says "yes" in his reply, I will vote for it; if he is actually not quite sure if those truants can be reined, then it will be pointless. Will Members please look at Mr WONG Kwok-hing. The time over which I spoke so far is worth 80 cans or so of luncheon meat, buddy. He has wasted the people of Hong Kong 80 cans or so of luncheon meat.
President, I need to locate Mr WONG Kwok-hing to ask him about the number of cans of luncheon meat wasted according to his calculation. He has been away for a very long time. He has not listened to my remarks. He is one of the truants.
President, I think that the quorum provided for in the Basic Law may not be present. Will your good self please take note.
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 2931
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 LEUNG Kwok-hung, please continue.
MR LEUNG KWOK-HUNG (in Cantonese): President, I have finally done an experiment to show how likely problems may happen.
In fact, the existing Rules of Procedure is very outdated. Under the so-called "6+16" arrangement, Members may raise 16 questions for written replies by the Government, and the remaining six are asked orally. I think that if a reform is to be made, Mr Andrew LEUNG should not just suspend certain provisions of the Rules of Procedure. Instead, a "9+20" arrangement of 29 questions should be implemented, as we need to glean information out of these non-binding questions. While we are seeking the information, the reply given by the Government in this course is an open declaration. In other words, they cannot eat their words. Therefore, to me, if this Council does well and every Member attends meetings in a responsible manner, the "9+20" arrangement of 29 questions should be implemented in each of our meetings, and that will be more appropriate. This is my view. Now that I can see a clear picture eventually, I think today's meeting will not be aborted. Therefore, I agree with Mr Andrew LEUNG's suggestion of adding three questions.
I hope that those truants will not fail me, as I seldom guess it right. Just give me one more chance! My guess is that today's meeting will not be aborted, so the "6+3" proposal of Mr Andrew LEUNG is necessary. Once again, I implore those truants to listen to the instruction of our principal, that is, Members are duty-bound to attend meetings. I am in favour of Mr Andrew LEUNG's motion, hoping that no disservice will be done out of good intentions but the other way round. May Members be magnanimous so as not to let my prediction fail.
2932 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015
President, I think that today's meeting will not be aborted, so I am in favour of Mr Andrew LEUNG's motion. I think Members with a sense of shame are akin to being courageous, and they will not repeat past mistakes. President, I firmly believe that Mr Andrew LEUNG's motion to temporarily increase the number of questions from six to nine is a well-intentioned bid that will do good. Thank you, President.
MR CHAN CHI-CHUEN (in Cantonese): President, Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung has spoken for 15 minutes, so I hope the President will also give me 15 minutes, for the content of my speech will definitely be more appropriate than that of Mr LEUNG, and I will not deviate from the subject.
The Chairman of the House Committee, Mr Andrew LEUNG, proposed a motion under Rule 91 of the Rules of Procedure (RoP) to suspend a certain Rule. Which Rule is to be suspended? It is Rule 23(2), which states that not more than 22 questions of which notice has been given may be asked at any one meeting. According to the convention of the Council, six of the questions of which notice has been given are oral questions and 16 are written questions.
Last week, at the meeting of the House Committee, Ms Emily LAU joked about this motion. She asked whether the Chairman of the House Committee would propose a motion for debate on such a motion alone that might last for six hours. Certainly, from the point of view of the Chairman of the House Committee, he is proposing the motion according to Members' preference. As in the case of the President of the Legislative Council, the Chairman of the House Committee will not give regard to concerns of whether Members will request making speeches or whether anything will happen during the course, such as Members requesting headcounts or the meeting being aborted, for he is only fulfilling his duties. As such, Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung does not have to pinpoint Mr Andrew LEUNG. As far as I can remember, Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung might not have attended the meeting of the House Committee last Friday, so he might not have noted that the House Committee had agreed to have this motion moved by Mr Andrew LEUNG.
I think the joke to which Ms Emily LAU alluded may not happen. The debate on this motion will not last for six hours. I guess there will be less than 10 Members speaking, or merely three to four Members. When I was asked by LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 2933 reporters whether I would make endless requests for headcounts, I told them they should not ask me but should ask other Members whether they would stay in the Chamber throughout the meeting. If Members stay in the Chamber throughout the meeting, it will not be a concern whether endless headcounts will be requested. I am just stating the fact.
Regarding some of the views expressed by Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung at the start of the debate just now, I do not agree with them, even though he supports the "three plus six" arrangement for oral questions in the end. President, according to Article 73 of the Basic Law, the Legislative Council of the Special Administrative Region of Hong Kong is obliged to raise questions on the work of the Government under Article 73(5). The purposes of raising questions is to monitor the Government by seeking answers to enquiries, including enquiries about information, events, progress and even policies.
Insofar as Rule 23(2) of the RoP is concerned, many Members, including Members from the pro-establishment camp, have pointed out in the past that the relevant provision is a bit outdated and inflexible. The Legislative Council is now composed of 70 Members. Many Members are articulate and will raise oral questions and written questions. I was criticized for being lazy for not asking any oral question in the past. After facing such criticism in my first year of service, I learn to fulfil my duties of a Legislative Council Member. Indeed, asking questions is only one of the indicators of a Member's performance. One cannot conclude that Mr CHAN Chi-chuen is lazy merely because he has not asked oral questions. In fact, each Member may adopt approaches he considers effective to monitor the Government and express his opinions to it. Therefore, the proposal of the motion on suspending Rule 23(2) of the RoP made by Mr Andrew LEUNG this time around is problematic in itself.
We say that the purpose of raising questions is to monitor the Government. To compare oral questions with written questions, the power and effectiveness of oral questions is greater and stronger than that of written questions. I think all Members will agree with this point. This can be seen from the effectiveness, the concern shown by the public, and the concern shown and reports made by the media in relation to oral questions. Therefore, oral questions are very important. I recall that when the President cuts off the filibuster on the budget every year, one of the justifications cited by him is that endless procrastination of the meeting made by Members will prevent the legislature from fulfilling certain functions 2934 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 conferred on the Legislative Council by the Basic Law, which I have just mentioned, including raising questions on the work of the Government, that is, asking questions through the oral question session at the Council meeting.
Members cannot say that if all questions are raised in the form of written questions, it will save a lot of time and no special arrangement has to be made. We cannot do that, for we all know that oral questions and written questions differ in level and effectiveness by a great measure. Written questions are one-way, where the Government will provide a reply to a Member's question, and if a Member wishes to raise a follow-up question on the reply or if a Member considers the reply unsatisfactory, he has to wait for another turn to raise another written question. On the contrary, in the case of oral questions, a Member can raise a follow-up question immediately and other Members can help to ask supplementary questions to pursue the issue. For this reason, all Members treasure very much the opportunity of asking oral questions, which may come up only once a year or even less than once a year.
However, President, I notice that the Government is now evasive in addressing oral questions. The Government does not provide direct replies to questions raised by Members. According to the arrangement of the President, around 22 to 23 minutes are allotted to each oral question. Doing some simple sums, we will know that the number of supplementary questions asked in the oral question session has been decreasing. In some cases, it is so ridiculous that only one or two Members can have the chance to ask supplementary questions after the Member asking the main question has raised a follow-up question.
For this reason, I consider that the time and number of oral questions should be reviewed. As stated in Rule 23(2) of the RoP, not more than 22 questions of which notice has been given may be asked at any one meeting, yet can the ratio of oral questions to written questions among the 22 questions be changed? In this connection, I think the Committee on Rules of Procedure should take this opportunity to review the issue. As for the duration of each oral question, should it be restricted to 22 minutes? Can the President be given power to exercise discretion? Is it possible for the President to address the issue with the power already conferred on him? The President should have noticed that the main reply provided by government officials may be as long as four pages, and when they answer the supplementary questions, they will prevaricate for three minutes — I hope Secretary Nicholas W. YANG will not do so later — while 19 Members are waiting to ask their supplementary questions. As a result, LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 2935 only two Members can ask supplementary questions. Should the Council apply flexibility in handling these cases? For example, when an oral question involving a significant issue is asked and 19 Members are waiting to ask questions, the President should exercise his judgment to allow at least one third of the Members, that is, six Members, to ask supplementary questions. Only such an arrangement is sensible. Therefore, a comprehensive review of Rule 23(2) of the RoP should be conducted, for it has become increasingly difficult for Members to monitor the work of the Government. When we note that oral questions are losing their impact and the replies provided by the Government are irrelevant, we should find ways to address the issue. Members now notice that government officials are seemingly frittering away the 22 minutes by giving irrelevant replies to three or four supplementary questions, just like talking to themselves, and the President will then request Members to follow up the issue on other occasions. Members have made an arduous effort to draft the oral questions, yet it turns out that they cannot get any answer to their question. Government officials will read out the long preamble which can be as long as one page. Worse still, government officials will not focus on the subject of the main question in the preamble but will only present their own thinking. It is outrageous.
For these reasons, if this Council has spent a lot of time on the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014 or the budget, thus leaving no time for asking oral questions, the Government and LEUNG Chun-ying will be filled with joy, for there will be no time for Members to ask questions and they will not have to spend time thinking of ways to fool Members or beat about the bush. I absolutely support us fully utilizing the time of the Council to fulfil the function conferred on the legislature by Article 73(5) of the Basic Law to monitor the Government by asking questions. As for the number of questions to be asked, I consider that it should only be increased but not reduced.
If I am asked of my view, I will say that I prefer to have not less than 22 oral questions being asked at any one meeting and to confer the power of decision on the President. However, is it good to state everything explicitly in the provision? Sometimes, it may not necessarily be the case. If the provision is stated unequivocally, the Government may make procrastination according to the time and the number of questions allowed. If the President were given flexibility to handle oral questions ― this definitely cannot be done for the time being, for the present discussion is already set against the background of some 20 minutes for each oral question ― the President may request that a government 2936 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 official cannot leave until a clear reply is given, then an oral question can go on from morning till the evening, and that a government official can only leave when the majority of Members have pressed the button to indicate their satisfaction with the replies. In this way, government officials will not dare give perfunctory responses to Members and they will attach more importance to the question session. Therefore, I support us fully utilizing the opportunity provided at the oral question session.
Actually, when Members review the debate this time around, they will note the connection between the cause and the consequence. In the previous meeting, three oral questions could not be raised. Some Members pondered whether the Members concerned should be requested to queue up again for another turn to ask their oral questions, or whether the three outstanding oral questions from the previous meeting should be carried forward to today's meeting and be asked together with another three oral questions scheduled to be asked at this meeting. If that is the case, only six but not nine oral questions will be asked at today's meeting. The reason for making such an arrangement is that the meeting was aborted last week. Why was the meeting aborted last week? The major difference from other normal meeting was that ― I noted that Dr LAM Tai-fai was not present that day, and I will read out the list later ― a motion concerning a very controversial issue was scheduled for handling at the meeting. In fact, at the meeting of the House Committee, Members had proposed that the motion be postponed, yet the Chairman considered that the procedure involving the motion could be promptly processed and thus he did not postpone that motion. However, quite a number of Members used their body language to tell the public that they considered the Bill not ready yet ― they were absent from the meeting. As a result, only 29 Members were in the Chamber and the meeting had to be aborted. In comparison with previous cases, is the number of Members present the smallest in the aborted meeting this time? I have not verified this, yet I think the legislature may collect the data in this regard. In previous cases, meetings were aborted when two or three Members were absent, thus not forming the quorum. In the present case, six Members were absent, which meant not only Mr Abraham SHEK who is dubbed "the man of the match", the one showing up at the last minute, was absent. Indeed, irrespective of the explanations given by the absentee Members, they were telling all of us with their body language that they did not want to attend the meeting. They may have dozens of reasons for not attending the meeting, yet one of the reasons may be that they consider the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014 not yet ready. Facts speak louder than words. Actions speak louder than words. They have made this happen, have LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 2937 they not? On that day, five Members from the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong were absent; five Members from the Business and Professionals Alliance for Hong Kong were absent; and four Members from the Liberal Party were absent. As for the New People's Party, only two members are elected to the Legislative Council but both were absent, which meant the whole party was absent. Members from the Hong Kong Federation of Trade Unions (FTU) were the most hardworking, with only one Member from the FTU being absent. It is evident that even Members from the pro-establishment camp may consider the Bill not yet ready. If this problem is not solved, it is impossible for the legislature to run smoothly. For these reasons, I agree with the "three plus six" arrangement today, which means nine oral questions will be raised. Yet there is no guarantee that the meeting will not be aborted by the time the second oral question is asked. If the meeting should be aborted when the second oral question is asked, there will be seven oral questions left outstanding. Not to mention the arrangement for next week, I wonder whether we need to move another motion to propose a "seven plus six" arrangement for oral questions in 2016. I am perplexed.
Certainly, from another perspective, the meeting will not be aborted with the presence of a quorum, for I will not have the chance to hold up this placard to request a headcount. However, it seems that a quorum is not present now. 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 CHAN Chi-chuen, please continue.
MR CHAN CHI-CHUEN (in Cantonese): President, I have to reiterate once again that if there are more than 35 Members in the Chamber, I or any other Member will never have the chance to request a headcount. Those Members who are dissatisfied with the requests for headcounts should sit tight in the Chamber. Just now, I noticed that some private discussions were going on 2938 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 among certain Members. I welcome those Members to press the "Request to speak" button instead of speaking in their seats, for they may not be sure whether their microphones have been turned off, as in the case of Mr Jeffrey LAM last week. No matter how, Mr Jeffrey LAM told me this morning that he was just venting his emotion at the time and he was not criticizing me. As such, I will not follow up the matter.
In fact, the Agenda today has already included nine oral questions, assuming that Members who had stated their stance at the House Committee meeting last Friday will not change their stance, as the way they behave in the case of the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014. Of course, Members may decide their ultimate stance at the time of voting. Some Members fear that this Council will not be able to finish the nine oral questions by evening today, yet this is not my consideration. My stance is crystal clear: I think we should spend as much time as possible on oral questions, and an arrangement should be made to achieve this as far as possible. In fact, the root of the problem is that many Members consider the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014 not yet ready, and Members used their actions last week to tell the Council, the Government and the public this. Therefore, the right remedy to be prescribed is for the Government to withdraw the Bill ― this is the view of not only the democratic camp but also that of the pro-establishment camp. Another option is for Members to support the motion on adjournment to be proposed either by Ms Cyd HO or Mr Albert CHAN later on, depending on who manages to press the button first, so that we will not have to spend days and nights to complete the scrutiny of the Bill.
With these remarks, I support the motion proposed by Mr Andrew LEUNG today under Rule 91 of the RoP to suspend Rule 23(2), so that "three plus six" oral questions can be raised at this meeting. Thank you.
DR CHIANG LAI-WAN (in Cantonese): President, I very much hope that those several filibustering Members over there will quietly listen to me when I speak in these 10 minutes or so. I hope they will also respect me because when they spoke, I did not interrupt them. That they have interrupted themselves is their own business.
I must respond to the theories of causality and truancy. As we all know, very often, what goes around comes around. Why did things turn out like this, making it necessary for Mr Andrew LEUNG to move the motion under Rule 91 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 2939 of the Rules of Procedure? Actually the main cause for proposing this motion is that the meeting was aborted last week. As a few oral questions were left outstanding, they are scheduled to be raised in the session for oral questions in this meeting, causing the total number of questions to exceed 22. For this reason, Members are requested to give their consent to this arrangement. It is that simple.
On such a simple question, the several filibustering Members also expressed their views and talked about the causes. The reason is that the meeting was aborted last week. Why was the meeting aborted? Why did things turn out like this? Who caused the meeting to be aborted? I believe we know deep in our hearts that it is because some people are filibustering, and given their varied manners of filibustering, our President is in fact unable to deal with them and has to do the headcounts as requested. Every time a headcount was done, the camera would certainly pan to the President, who would just look helpless. Obviously, such headcounts have indeed wasted many people's time.
They should note that the majority of Members in the pro-establishment camp are present. Let us take a look. Today in the whole Chamber, how many Members in the pan-democratic and opposition camp are sitting over there? One, two, three four. Including him ― though very often, they do not side with him ― there are only five people. However, as we can see, most of us are present on this side. Each political party has got members here. Now it seems there are fewer people, but they have merely gone out to take a meal. They can take a meal, can they not? Sometimes we are unable to put out the fire in time because they are too fast in setting it. How miserable it is! I only hope that friends and members of the public who are now watching the television will understand that we do not wish to see any meeting aborted. Yet sometimes they are too quick at setting fire.
Apart from the problem of setting fire by requesting headcounts like crazy, actually there is another problem. President, what is this other problem? Do you know doctors of which discipline will develop problems and suffer from mental illness most often? The answer is psychiatrists. President, why? The reason is that hearing too much during their consultations with the mentally ill, even the psychiatrists themselves gradually become mentally ill, President. I asked some former Members whether there was such filibustering in the past. They said there was none. I then asked why things have turned out like this now and whether they worked especially hard back then. They replied that was not 2940 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 the case. They said they worked with high efficiency. When they attended a meeting, they would seriously discuss the subject matters rather than straying far from the question and shooting a lot of bull. Neither would they deliberately filibuster for the sake of filibustering. There was no such thing. As a result, they worked with high efficiency, and usually they would be present at the meetings.
Come to think about this. Many Members are sitting here, listening to their endless filibusters. Even the television audience asked why they always saw "Long Hair", "Slow Beat" and "Hulk" rise to speak every time a Legislative Council meeting was held, and why I did not speak more. I said it was not that I did not wish to speak. Yet we had more important businesses scheduled in the following agenda items. I wished to speak, but the problem was that they did not let me speak as they kept filibustering. President, finally, I cannot help standing up to say a few words now. There is really a big problem with this. Since they talk so much nonsense during their filibuster now, sometimes Members need to go out to take a break. If they do not go out to take a break, sooner or later, everyone will develop the Stockholm syndrome like the President.
President, I need to explain this here because they mentioned the abortion of the meeting first. Hence, I have got to respond to the question of why such a situation has arisen. President, as we all know, last time your act of cutting off the filibuster with regard to Members' repeated delivery of speeches was challenged in a judicial review. Subsequently, the Judge held that the President of the Legislative Council could handle the matter in accordance with Rule 92 of the Rules of Procedure. You can cut off the filibuster if some people have spoken an incessant number of times. President, given that you can cut off the filibuster with regard to repeated delivery of speeches, why do you not consider curtailing the repeated headcounts? The reason is that the present filibuster of repeated requests for headcounts has really made it difficult for the Council to maintain its normal operation. President, sitting here, you actually wish to chair the meeting as usual. Now this group of "filibustering freaks" are affecting you. Should you not seriously ponder over this problem?
Of course, President, you may say that you cannot cut off the filibuster in the guise of headcounts because the Rules of Procedure does not forbid them to do so. Right, I understand it. Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung has even gone so far as to threaten you time and again. I know you are now constrained and threatened LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 2941 by him, who alleges you of contravening Article 75 of the Basic Law. President, I am not going to argue with you in detail about Article 75 of the Basic Law now because we each have our own views, but Article 75 of the Basic Law includes not only one point. Apart from providing that the quorum for the meeting shall be no less than one half of all the Members, it also covers the Rules of Procedure, since the Basic Law does not expressly state when Members should request a headcount. Can they request a headcount at will? Can they request a headcount every minute? These are not stipulated? In my view, everything should be reasonable and sensible after all. President, since you have already experienced the first judicial review, I guess you will not be afraid of another one. President, I hope you will consider demonstrating the spirit of sacrificing oneself for the bigger public interest.
I shall stop here.
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Does any other Member wish to speak?
DR KENNETH CHAN (in Cantonese): I am very grateful to the Chairman of the House Committee, Mr Andrew LEUNG, for proposing a motion to include in this meeting today the three oral questions left outstanding last week. Let me briefly explain this motion in case the people of Hong Kong do not understand it. Rules 23(2) and (3) of the Rules of Procedure (RoP) provide for the number of questions to be asked at each meeting and insofar as oral questions are concerned, six questions can be asked. Given that three of the oral questions were not completed or asked at the last meeting, in order for these three outstanding questions to be asked altogether at this meeting, Mr Andrew LEUNG, having discussed with us in his capacity as Chairman of the House Committee, considered it necessary to propose a motion under Rule 91 of the RoP to suspend Rules 23(2) and (3) of the RoP which provide that six oral questions can be asked. This motion proposed to suspend these rules, if passed after separate voting later on, will enable the three oral questions which were not asked last week to be included in this meeting. Therefore, if this motion moved by the Chairman of the House Committee, Mr Andrew LEUNG, on our behalf to suspend Rules 23(2) and (3) of the RoP is passed after separate voting, nine oral questions will be asked at this meeting.
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To Members elected to the Legislative Council in 2012, this is the first time that such a practice is adopted. I understand that there was a precedent and so, to show respect to the constitutional tradition and precedent, I hope Members will agree to us following this constitutional tradition and allow the suspension of Rule 23(2) and (3) of the RoP under this special circumstance to enable the outstanding questions to be asked.
Of course, Members who are aware of what happened know that I was precisely the one who was waiting to ask my question but in vain last week, and my question was directed at the Secretary for Innovation and Technology, Nicholas W. YANG, who is now sitting opposite to me. Therefore, here, I have to make a declaration that this is directly related to my question, and this is also why I hope that Honourable colleagues will note and support this motion, so that I can ask my question while colleagues who have been arranged to ask the six oral questions today can also ask theirs today. I believe this is how the congestion of oral questions can be dealt with more satisfactorily.
Insofar as the arrangement for oral questions is concerned, we being Members certainly have to observe the RoP, but I wish to take this opportunity to talk about the handling of oral questions. We feel in one way or another that public officers are far from serious towards oral questions from time to time. They answered the questions in a slipshod manner or they merely read out their answers from the script. This has nothing to do with the number of questions because disregarding whether six, nine, 12 or 20 questions are asked, if the Government's attitude remains to be doing things in its own way and if public officers consider themselves good officials, resort to all possible means to evade the key points of the main question and only adhere to the line to take by repeating the Government's comments or policies over and over again, oral questions will actually lose their meaning. If this is the attitude of government officials in preparing answers to oral questions for Directors of Bureaux and if this is the case for a majority of them, this is actually a huge waste of the time of this Council. I would rather the Directors of Bureaux tell us what they know and simply say they do not know if they do not have the answer, so that we can have a small-scale and yet candid policy debate during this session, and I think this is probably even better.
However, we often find that Directors of Bureaux, especially the several ones with particularly low popularity ratings, invariably read out particularly long scripts whenever they come to this Council, despite the President having repeatedly hinted to or reminded the Administration that they should be mindful LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 2943 of controlling their speaking time. Each oral question is generally given only 22 or 23 minutes and sometimes the President may allow more time for Members to wait for their turn to ask questions. But even if the time is extended to 24 or 25 minutes, we are still not given an answer of substance. One main reason is that the officials' answers are too lengthy and hence a waste of time, not being able to grasp the key points. Then they go on repeating their remarks when answering supplementary questions, thus rendering the original meaning lost.
President, as you may have particularly noticed from the culture of parliamentary assemblies in places around the world, their oral question sessions have different styles or positions. For example, there is the Prime Minister's Question Time in the British Parliament every Wednesday. This half-an-hour session is highly efficient and rich in contents and better still, what is said carries great substance. This process with short questions being asked and short answers given is full of British wisdom and humour. I do not mean simply to sing praises of British wisdom and humour. The point I would like to make is we cannot put to good use such valuable resources and time, so that we can all move in this direction when handling the six oral questions every week, thereby upgrading the quality of this Council as well as the quality of officials' answers to questions. If, in handling Members' follow-up questions, we can all move in this direction, this can contribute to the advancement of Hong Kong. I find that this is not the case for us. More often than not, Members' supplementary questions are mere repetitions whereas the Government is also devoid of novelty for it seeks only to evade the questions by all means or put it in a colloquial way, they only beat about the bush with their answers. This attitude is most depressing.
Therefore, I wish to take this opportunity to particularly remind Secretary Nicholas W. YANG who will answer my question for the Innovation and Technology Bureau later to pay attention to how he is going to answer it, and we shall see if his answer can meet Members' expectation. Besides, he also has to answer another question raised by Mr Charles Peter MOK today.
President, having listened to Dr CHIANG Lai-wan's remarks earlier, I would like to make a brief response. I understand that we should speak with relevance to the issue in question, but since she even made a point on mental health, I trust that she is very concerned about your mental health too, President. If Dr CHIANG Lai-wan takes a close interest in mental health, I wish to draw her attention to the fact that it is the World Mental Health Day on 10 October each year and this year's World Mental Health Day focuses on dignity in mental health. 2944 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015
Do not act as if casually hanging everything onto a Christmas tree, using such words as "nuts", "bull" or "mentally handicapped". In this civilized, advanced society of Hong Kong, when we are engaging in a debate which should be conducted in a most stringent and serious manner in this Chamber, we do not wish to see anyone use these labels casually.
Regarding the abortion of last week's meeting, of course it was the result of a request for a headcount that I made on my own initiative to the President. When I requested a headcount, I already made it clear that I hoped more Members could pay attention to the question that I was going to put to Secretary Nicholas W. YANG then and ask follow-up questions. This was what I said and my reason. But strangely enough, if, as Dr CHIANG Lai-wan has said, they very much cherished their time and wished to ask questions, just that sometimes a few Members got in their way, thus making it impossible for them to ask their questions, she should have called on more colleagues to return to the Chamber early or punctually last week, so that we could all ask our questions, right? She did not do so and now she is even pointing an accusing finger at others. I think sometimes it is most regrettable that when something happened accidentally, they would always find an excuse as a way to back down with good grace. This is, in fact, not necessary. As there is such an opportunity, we should seize it and fight for our cause, and we should work together to bring order out of chaos, rather than being led by the nose, thinking that anyone who cannot follow "Western District" or dance to the tune of the Central Government Office would be rebellious and deviating from the norm.
In fact, this meeting today is very important but I find one thing strange and displeasing and I wish to point it out to the President. That is, from my perspective, I would say that the Ante Chamber is also quite messed up. When it comes to the dignity of this Council, we can see that in the Ante Chamber there are many officials coming in and going out. They grabbed the arms of Members not to take Members anywhere for a visit but to push them into this Chamber. Is this not most improper? Members are representatives elected by the people and disregarding whether a Member is returned by functional constituencies or geographical constituencies by universal and equal suffrage, each Member has his own role to play and duties expected of him, and he has his ability of independent thinking and judgment. We need no pushing and shoving by these officials who earn a salary plus allowances amounting to $200,000 or $300,000 a month, and their behaviour is, to me, grossly despicable.
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If the officials are smart and competent, they can achieve their purpose through a debate with Members, or through convincing the public or those organizations opposing the Copyright (Amendment) Bill 2014 (the Bill) outside this Council now, or sincerely discussing and drawing comparisons with the amendments proposed by the pan-democrat Members, and this may probably be a better approach. What propriety is there to speak of by resorting to those pushing and shoving outside this Chamber? The entire Legislative Council is messed up. In his capacity as the Bureau Director, Secretary Gregory SO even bought four boxes of custard tarts and roast pork puffs or whatever from a famous local bistro café in Wan Chai for us Members, as compliment. Why should he make such compliment? Does he want to further glorify or deepen the practice adopted by the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong of treating voters to feasts and seasonal delicacies by extending this practice to the Ante Chamber of the Legislative Council? I believe Members should know what propriety requires them to do, right? What will we do after enjoying those tarts and puffs? Is it that we will be more on speaking terms with him or even throw weight behind him? I think this is utterly ridiculous or absurd.
Is it not the duty of Members to discuss a policy in a solemn debate and put forward views through a process of policy deliberation to perform our roles as Members in accordance with the RoP, in order to strive for the room and time to facilitate better understanding of the issues involved both inside and outside this Council? Is it that government officials should cease to act improperly but address these contentions in society seriously and solemnly? The Secretary can grab the pro-establishment Members to form a quorum and they may do a headcount even more efficiently than our colleagues in the Secretariat as the political assistants can yell "two heads short", three heads short" or "four heads short" outside this Chamber and then they will proceed to a "head hunt" to "catch alive" some Members who are having a meal or passing by and implore these Members to enter the Chamber. I think the overall standard of the political culture and public policymaking in Hong Kong has been declining. This should not have been handled in such a way.
However, having personally witnessed this situation ― I myself teach Politics and Public Administration in university ― I sometimes have to tell the truth to my students and explain to them why in society after the reunification, the standard of policy deliberation and even the relationship between the 2946 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015
Administration and the legislature or to be exact, the Legislative Council, can become so weird, ridiculous and dumbfounding. This is exactly indicative of the degeneration of our system and degeneration of governance. Therefore, we thank the Chairman of the House Committee, Mr Andrew LEUNG, for proposing a resolution on suspension of certain rules of the RoP, which gives us the opportunity to make this point clear to the Administration solemnly and seriously, despite that Secretary Gregory SO is busy joining his political assistant, Under Secretary and officials in those pushing and shoving everywhere outside this Chamber.
In fact, it is more important for the Secretary to grasp the time, rather than pushing or shoving Members into the Chamber to ensure that a quorum is present. It already amounts to gross disrespect to and trampling on the dignity of this Council if Members who do not wish to enter the Chamber are pushed into this place. If the Secretary can seriously address the issue at root by coming back to this controversial Bill, he should seriously consider our amendments and even withdraw this Bill, while spending some time conducting consultation afresh, rather than resorting to these means to embroil Members in this struggle here, insisting that the Second Reading debate on the Bill be resumed today and considering it of the utmost importance that Members must enter the Chamber to form a quorum no matter what the Members are doing.
I think if the pro-establishment Members would feel privileged and honoured only when the Government deploys "wet nurses", "nannies" and "paparazzi" to give them repeated promptings, and if they simply could not care less and will not enter the Chamber if the Government does not persistently go after them, I would say that the Government should leave it and let go of them, right? When Members take this attitude towards the RoP and the culture as well as the civilization of representative assemblies, what is the point of continuously going after them? What is the point of painstakingly resorting to those pushing and shoving? That this Council has come to such a sorry state is indeed most undesirable and smacks of sheer decadence. Without full democratization, these situations where all kinds of dirt are concealed will arise unceasingly.
President, I hope you can do a headcount by invoking the relevant procedure under the RoP.
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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): Dr Kenneth CHAN, please continue with your speech.
DR KENNETH CHAN (in Cantonese): President, just this past weekend I attended a Chinese debate competition as a judge, and this competition was most inspiring in many ways. I found that after the secondary students had received training for the debate competition, and judging from their performance during the debate, and with the knowledge and experience that they had obtained in the course of preparation, the students' performance was far better than many incumbent Directors of Bureaux. Much to our regret, these members of "LEUNG's Fan Club", which is no more than a coterie for socializing, received retraining only after they were recruited, and I am worried that we may find out shortly that Secretary Nicholas W. YANG is just another of their numbers. So, I hope that these acts which are meant to share the political spoils and for socializing within a coterie can be called to a halt, and that all those people who will take up the offices of Directors of Bureaux and Deputy Directors of Bureaux must, before coming to the Legislative Council to take questions, first receive training in Chinese debating skills within the Government, and this should be made a prerequisite for them to answer oral questions from Members in the Legislative Council.
With these remarks, I support Mr Andrew LEUNG's motion.
DR KWOK KA-KI (in Cantonese): President, I did not intend to speak originally, but after hearing the comments made by certain Members, such as Dr CHIANG Lai-wan, about this debate, and finding them being tantamount to insults or even discrimination against the ex-mentally ill, I must say that she is ridiculous. We have spent a lot of time on striving for the community's recognition and acceptance of these discharged patients, yet she dared make those absolutely radical and insulting remarks. She may dislike the behaviour of certain Members, yet this is her personal point of view and she should not involve 2948 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 the ex-mentally ill. President, I think this practice of hers will further taint the dignity of the legislature.
In fact, each of us may have different views about the same issue. As for the question of whether the present debate and filibuster should be carried out, the public will pass judgment. Actually, the Bill proposed by the Government this time around is very controversial, yet the Government has failed to learn a lesson from the passage of complicated Bills like the present one several years ago. It has failed to foster a consensus within the time frame, particularly failing to secure the understanding and support of people affected by the Bill (including netizens). The Government is the one to blame for the present predicament.
I agree with Mr Andrew LEUNG's proposal of invoking Rule 91 of the Rules of Procedure (RoP) to suspend Rule 23(2) and (3). In fact, I have been arranged to wait for my turn to ask my oral question today, which was scheduled to be raised at the last meeting. Had not Mr Andrew LEUNG proposed suspending the relevant provision of the RoP under Rule 91, I would not have the opportunity to ask that question.
However, regarding his move to invoke Rule 91 of the RoP to suspend other provisions of the RoP, we must think thoroughly whether we should resort to this practice arbitrarily and whether we should adopt this practice. In the legislature, the voice of the public is mostly represented by Members from the pan-democratic camp, yet these Members are only in the minority. Therefore, any Member who has an ill intention may arbitrarily propose suspending provisions which confer powers on the legislature under the RoP. In that event, the present case will set a precedent for such practice, and I feel concerned that more bad practices will follow. This is the last thing we would wish to see.
President, I find one point very strange. During my recent district visits, though I had not mentioned the filibuster in the legislature and talked only about certain items under discussion in the Legislative Council recently, such as the cost overrun of the Express Rail Link, many elderly people gave me a pat on my shoulder and reminded me to persevere in filibustering. In the past, it would usually be the young people who came to us to point out the inadequacies of certain laws and requested me to make queries to find out the reasons for that. I find it strange that elderly people aged over 60 or 70 should tell us that they have lost confidence in the Government in all it does, so no matter how good the Bill presented is, they consider that the Government is up to something bad.
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President, I think some of the government officials responsible for the issue are innocent. They may have proposed the Bill out of good intentions, but since the Government cannot command the trust of the people, the public have no confidence in the Bill. Members may notice from past experience that certain practices adopted by the Government will bring about troubles requiring remedies. The provision concerning "access to a computer with a dishonest intent", which Mr Charles Peter MOK often mentions, is a case in point. The Bill in question has brought considerable anxieties to many people, particularly netizens. The present discussion covers certain amendments to the Copyright Ordinance which may have direct impact on them. On the other hand, many people hope that we will seek clarifications in accordance with the RoP instead of passing the Bill recklessly.
Members are allowed to ask oral questions under the RoP. The President must also agree that the responses given by public officers these days are poorer than those in the past. Now, many Directors of Bureaux will adopt the tactic of filibustering in answering Members' questions, where only 22 minutes are allowed for each oral question. Fortunately, the President is understanding and will often extend the time for each oral question to 23 to 24 minutes. Nowadays, certain Directors of Bureaux will adopt the sluggish mode when they read out the main reply, using 12 to 13 minutes to finish the whole reply. After a Member has asked a follow-up question, the Director of Bureau will beat about bush for another five minutes. So after giving a reply to the follow-up question of the first Member, 17 minutes will have passed. This practice of the Directors of Bureaux has made the operation of the legislature difficult and hindered its operation.
Originally, oral questions are meant to give Members, elected Members in particular, opportunities to reflect to the authorities policy issues requiring clarification. If government officials are diligent, the oral question session will be their show time. In other words, this is the golden opportunity for them to prove their ability and tell the public what the Bureau has done. Certain Directors of Bureaux are outstanding in making comprehensive replies, and we do not have much to follow up. However, the replies of certain government officials are very poor. They are merely making an attempt to play for time and wasting the limited time of the legislature.
President, we are definitely concerned about the smooth operation of the legislature, yet it requires the co-operation of government officials. Take the 2950 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 replies given by government officials to oral questions as an example. Government officials are obliged to clarify certain ambiguities in terms of policies, enforcement and administrative measures or on a specific incident and dispel the doubts of Members and the public by means of the replies provided by them. If government officials fail to do so, attempt to circumvent the problems and allow doubts to accumulate, it will do no good and will only oblige Members to ask another oral question. Perhaps some government officials do not consider this a problem, for they need only sit in the Chamber for a specified period before they can leave. Perhaps they think that no matter what kind of replies they provide to Members, they will be receiving a salary of several hundred thousand dollars every month. Yet, I trust that the public can see it clearly. Members need only browse the Internet to know that every time when a Director of Bureau has given an unsatisfactory reply, the public will criticize that Director of Bureau for circumventing questions and wasting time.
President, I think a mere extension of time for oral questions and even an increase in the number of oral questions allowed will not help solve the problem. I hope government officials, particularly those who will come to the Legislative Council to answer oral questions today, will give replies to Members' questions seriously. Today, Secretary Nicholas W. YANG will be the first government official taking oral questions. Since he is newly appointed to the office, I must first congratulate him. I hope he will answer Members' questions in a serious manner and avoid following the practice of some of his colleagues who often beat about the bush. Actually, President, regarding the nine oral questions to be asked today, we are really disappointed with the main replies provided, including the reply to the question I am going to ask today. The replies provided by the Directors of Bureaux seek only to kill time instead of giving serious replies. For certain questions requiring specific answers, including figures and data, and so on, the Directors of Bureaux refuse to give unequivocal answers. As for issues concerning certain principles that allow no ambiguity, government officials will only repeat their answers to while away the time. Such practices defeat the original intent of proposing the present motion and waste the goodwill of Mr LEUNG.
Members should have known the story leading to today's proposal for suspending the relevant RoP. I think no one at the last meeting, not even the President, had ever thought that the meeting would be aborted so early, even before the oral question session was finished. The incident reminds me of the farcical voting on the constitutional reform proposal back then. Why would the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 2951 pro-establishment in the majority and under the co-ordination of the "Class Monitor" would have ended up in such a mess? I notice that something is happening. They may have become aware that it is more desirable to respond individually on certain issues, particularly in view of the approaching election. We all see that Members from the pro-establishment camp have become crafty and calculating. They think at heart that: It is most desirable that "You risk your life", and since you have shown your support, I can gloss over the issue and talk about unimportant things. They may even think of capitalizing on the present situation. Since some people want to suspend the discussion, the pro-establishment camp may give them a hand by dallying over the issue and holding back a bit. They want to buy time to let the public outcry die down so that they can muddle through.
I advise the Directors of Bureaux to remain watchful, for the people who slip you with a banana peel or drag your feet may not be Members from the democratic camp but those friends whom you always consider as brothers ― the pro-establishment camp. Actually, in view of the approaching election, individual interest will take priority. Some people will stop protecting Directors of Bureaux in order to secure votes. Though I do not see Secretary Gregory SO in the Chamber, I advise him to look out.
Coming back to the motion proposing suspension of the relevant provisions of the RoP, I would like to take this opportunity to highlight certain points worthy of discussion concerning the existing RoP, particularly about the absence of requirements on the time allowed for government officials to give replies. At present, the President usually allows 22 to 24 minutes for each question, including the time for asking questions and the time for giving replies. Yet I think government officials are suspected of foul play. Knowing that the President will enforce the time limit for an oral question strictly, they thus adopt this practice of procrastination. For this reason, I propose that restrictions should be imposed on government officials giving replies. I support the President stopping government officials who are attempting to while away the time ― the President certainly does not have the authority to do that for the time being. Another option is to set a time limit for a reply by a government official, and if the government official fails to give a clear reply, Members may follow up the issue by asking supplementary questions. Under this arrangement, Members will have more time to ask questions, and the precious and limited time of the legislature will not be wasted.
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Why do more and more issues have to be addressed by oral questions? The reason is simple: Many Directors of Bureaux are lazy. We need only look at the current operation of the legislature to understand the situation. Directors of Bureaux seldom attend the meetings of panels. They will either assign the Under Secretaries or the Permanent Secretaries to attend such meetings. Sometimes, they will only assign the Deputy Secretaries to attend the meetings. Directors of Bureaux simply ignore the members of panels. The Secretary for Education's refusal to attend the public hearing on TSA is a most obvious example. In the face of such an important incident, the Secretary dared to be absent from the hearing to listen to the views of the public for personal reasons, and it turned out that he had gone on a tour. Such a practice has created a vicious cycle. Since government officials are reluctant to face the public and Members, more often than not, we are left with no alternative but to make use of the oral question session to request government officials to respond to questions of great concern to the public, for government officials have to sit right in the Chamber during the session.
Regrettably, we are now at our wits' end, just like a mouse trying to pull a tortoise. Our hands are tied and we can only watch government officials filibustering by taking advantage of the RoP or the good intent of the President that Directors of Bureaux have no reason to procrastinate. Theoretically speaking, the performance of former government officials was better. Many elite and smart Directors of Bureaux would make good use of this session to explain salient points clearly, where Members and the public were really convinced. Unfortunately, this is no longer the case now. These days, Directors of Bureaux will take advantage of the right conferred on them under the RoP to while away the time by filibustering, striving to circumvent the questions raised by Members in the limited duration of 22 minutes. Although the Secretary for Security is not in the Chamber now, I recall that he is most adept at this tactic. No matter what questions Members ask, he will give the same reply. Even if five Members ask five different questions, he will respond with the same reply. Many Members in the Chamber, particularly veteran Members like Mr Abraham SHEK, know that the Secretary is wasting time. The quality of government officials is deteriorating.
Today, I support Mr Andrew LEUNG's request made in his capacity as Chairman of the House Committee to suspend relevant provisions of the RoP. Yet I am worried that we will not be able to get the desired answer. This is the first point.
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Second, despite the passage of the present motion to suspend the relevant provisions of the RoP, I hope Members will not regard this practice as a precedent and adopt such a practice at will. I worry that once a precedent is set, many poor practices will follow, allowing people with ulterior motives to make use of the practice of suspending certain provisions of the RoP to enable the legislature to tilt towards bad government policies in an attempt to play convoy for the Government.
Finally, I hope Dr CHIANG will apologize to all the mentally ill and their families in Hong Kong if she has the opportunity to do so, for her earlier remark is grossly inappropriate. She should not use that term casually to describe certain people, neither should she make impolite and inappropriate remarks showing a sense of discrimination against the ex-mentally ill. We have made much effort to encourage the community to accept them. We have even resorted to the enactment of legislation and the work of the Equal Opportunities Commission to protect their primary right to respect. I urge her to not set a bad example.
With these remarks, I support Mr Andrew LEUNG's motion.
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Does any other Member wish to speak?
DR CHIANG LAI-WAN (in Cantonese): President, I wish to interrupt in accordance with Rule 39 of the Rules of Procedure.
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Dr CHIANG Lai-wan, what is your clarification?
DR CHIANG LAI-WAN (in Cantonese): Dr KWOK Ka-ki said that my remarks earlier are disrespectful to people with mental illness. I hope he will listen to the recording carefully and if he finds out that I did not make any disrespectful remark, I request him to withdraw his remark and tender an apology.
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Does any other Member wish to speak?
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MR TAM YIU-CHUNG (in Cantonese): President, originally Mr Andrew LEUNG intended to move a motion …
(Mr Gary FAN stood up)
MR GARY FAN (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 TAM Yiu-chung, please continue with your speech.
MR TAM YIU-CHUNG (in Cantonese): President, this should be a simple subject concerning the three oral questions left outstanding from the previous meeting and to be dealt with at this one. Such being the case, the number of oral questions to be asked at this meeting has been increased from six to nine, so that all the oral questions raised by Members can be dealt with. However, just now we spent some two hours on discussing this proposed resolution and some Members kept requesting headcounts. The motive cannot be clearer indeed. Some Members merely aim to filibuster on whatever issues. We all find it regrettable that the time of the Council is wasted in this way.
(THE PRESIDENT'S DEPUTY, MR ANDREW LEUNG, took the Chair)
We hope that the relevant rules of the Rules of Procedure can be suspended so that nine oral questions can be asked. In this case, all the oral questions will be dealt with at this meeting and no questions will stand over to the next meeting. However, as now much time has already been wasted, we have to reconsider the matter and withdraw our support for Mr Andrew LEUNG's proposal. If the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 2955 original arrangement of asking six oral questions is resumed, there is utterly no need to filibuster anymore. Furthermore, I heard Dr KWOK Ka-ki talk about his worry about the Pandora's box being opened once a bad precedent is set. In view of his concern and our also not wanting others to employ a delaying tactic, we had better deal with only six oral questions at this meeting. That will be much simpler for we have already spent two hours on the motion. These two hours could otherwise have been spent on three oral questions. As time is wasted, we had better ask six questions only this time. In fact, I only wish to make these brief remarks.
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Does any other Member wish to speak?
IR DR LO WAI-KWOK (in Cantonese): Deputy President, actually I did not intend to speak on this motion. It would be ideal if the three oral questions left outstanding from the aborted meeting last week can be dealt with altogether at today's meeting. Regrettably, as rightly put by Mr TAM Yiu-chung, Members have, oddly enough, spent so much time on discussing this arrangement, which I feel deeply perplexed. What is more, some speeches were totally irrelevant to the extent that the public will only find Members filibuster for the sake of filibustering.
As a matter of fact, I would also like to raise supplementary questions to the nine oral questions originally scheduled to be dealt with at today's meeting, and I have already made preparations for that. I have spoken many times during Question Time and I may not be given the chance to raise any supplementary question today, but I still wish to properly perform my duty as a Member. Nonetheless, under such circumstances, I also concur with Mr TAM Yiu-chung's view that perhaps we should deal with only six oral questions according to the normal arrangement.
I shall stop here. Thank you, Deputy President.
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Does any other Member wish to speak?
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MR ALBERT CHAN (in Cantonese): Deputy President, I am not sure if Members can hear me. Deputy President, originally I did not intend to speak as I do not feel well today, but the remarks made by Ir Dr LO Wai-kwok were really most ridiculous. Just now, four Members from the democratic camp have spoken while there were three Members from the pro-establishment camp speaking on the question. The ratio is 4:3. It is nothing but filibustering and a waste of time when we Members from the democratic camp speak, while Members from the pro-establishment camp are all speaking for justice. If one catches the earlier remarks of Dr CHIANG Lai-wan, one can definitely tell that the pro-establishment camp is fond of defaming others, distorting views and calling a stag a horse. This is exactly their style.
Deputy President, my voice has turned extremely hoarse. Please do a headcount.
DEPUTY 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)
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr Albert CHAN, please continue with your speech.
MR ALBERT CHAN (in Cantonese): Deputy President, I am done. Thank you.
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Does any other Member wish to speak?
(No Member indicated a wish to speak)
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DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): I now put the question to you and that is: That the motion moved by Mr Andrew LEUNG be passed. Will those in favour please raise their hands?
(Members raised their hands)
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Those against please raise their hands.
(Members raised their hands)
Mr Albert CHAN rose to claim a division.
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr Albert CHAN has claimed a division. The division bell will ring for five minutes.
(While the division bell was ringing, THE PRESIDENT resumed the Chair)
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Will Members please proceed to vote.
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Will Members please check their votes. If there are no queries, voting shall now stop and the result will be displayed.
Functional Constituencies:
Mr Albert HO, Mr James TO, Mr Frederick FUNG, Prof Joseph LEE, Mr Andrew LEUNG, Mr CHEUNG Kwok-che, Mr Charles Peter MOK and Mr Kenneth LEUNG voted for the motion.
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Mr Abraham SHEK, Mr Tommy CHEUNG, Mr Jeffrey LAM, Ms Starry LEE, Mr CHAN Kin-por, Mr IP Kwok-him, Mr NG Leung-sing, Mr Steven HO, Mr YIU Si-wing, Mr MA Fung-kwok, Miss CHAN Yuen-han, Mr KWOK Wai-keung, Mr Christopher CHEUNG, Mr Martin LIAO, Mr TANG Ka-piu, Ir Dr LO Wai-kwok and Mr Tony TSE voted against the motion.
Mr POON Siu-ping abstained.
Geographical Constituencies:
Mr LEE Cheuk-yan, Mr LEUNG Yiu-chung, Ms Emily LAU, Ms Cyd HO, Mr Paul TSE, Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung, Mr Albert CHAN, Mr WONG Yuk-man, Mr Michael TIEN, Mr WU Chi-wai, Mr Gary FAN, Mr CHAN Chi-chuen, Dr Kenneth CHAN, Dr KWOK Ka-ki, Mr SIN Chung-kai and Dr Helena WONG voted for the motion.
Mr CHAN Kam-lam, Mr TAM Yiu-chung, Mr WONG Kwok-hing, Mr CHAN Hak-kan, Dr Priscilla LEUNG, Mr WONG Kwok-kin, Mr LEUNG Che-cheung, Miss Alice MAK, Dr CHIANG Lai-wan and Mr Christopher CHUNG voted against the motion.
THE PRESIDENT, Mr Jasper TSANG, did not cast any vote.
THE PRESIDENT announced that among the Members returned by functional constituencies, 26 were present, eight were in favour of the motion, 17 against it and one abstained; while among the Members returned by geographical constituencies through direct elections, 27 were present, 16 were in favour of the motion and 10 against it. Since the question was not agreed by a majority of each of the two groups of Members present, he therefore declared that the motion was negatived.
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ORAL ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): As Mr Andrew LEUNG's motion has been negatived, in accordance with Rules 23(2) and (3) of the Rules of Procedure, this Council meeting will only deal with the first six oral questions set out on the Agenda, as well as 16 written questions. The seventh to ninth oral questions will be deferred to the next meeting.
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Questions. First question.
Policies on Innovation and Technology
1. DR KENNETH CHAN (in Cantonese): President, established on the 20th of last month, the Innovation and Technology Bureau (ITB) is responsible for formulating and implementing policies on innovation and technology. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that when the Finance Committee of this Council deliberated on the funding applications for the establishment of ITB in the past, members put forward quite a number of views and recommendations in relation to policies on innovation and technology, whether ITB will collate and analyze those views and recommendations, and take follow-up actions on them; if ITB will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2) whether ITB will expeditiously formulate blueprints and objectives for implementing policies on innovation and technology, and establish a series of indicators for assessing the effectiveness of such policies; if ITB will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; how ITB will, in the course of formulating those blueprints and objectives, strive to gain support from the public, e.g. whether ITB will conduct public consultations; if ITB will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
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(3) given that the resources for various research funding schemes launched by the University Grants Committee are allocated on a competitive basis, whether ITB will introduce new policies and strategies to promote co-operation among institutions, with a view to developing the innovation and technology industries in Hong Kong more effectively; if ITB will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
SECRETARY FOR INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY (in Cantonese): President, the question raised by Dr CHAN concerns the policy objectives and work of the Innovation and Technology Bureau, while part (3) of the question is about promoting co-operation among universities on scientific research. Having consulted the relevant Policy Bureau, my reply is as follows:
(THE PRESIDENT'S DEPUTY, MR ANDREW LEUNG, took the Chair)
(1) and (2)
The development of innovation and technology is a strong economic driver, which is very important for fostering social development and diversification of our economic development and raising Hong Kong's competitiveness, as well as improving the quality of life of our people. After three years of deliberations, the Finance Committee (FC) of the Legislative Council approved the funding proposal for establishing the Innovation and Technology Bureau on 6 November this year. The Innovation and Technology Bureau was officially established on 20 November and is responsible for policies relating to the development of innovation and technology, as well as information technology. At this juncture, I must extend my heartfelt gratitude to all the Members who voted for the establishment of the Innovation and Technology Bureau, and for attending 60-odd hours of meetings. We would also like to sincerely thank all Members and different sectors of the community for providing valuable opinions during deliberations of the funding proposal with regard to policies on promoting innovation and LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 2961 technology. The views expressed by Members of the FC covered a number of areas, including the provision of sufficient land for developing research and high value-added manufacturing industries, promoting "re-industrialization", promoting the development of local innovation and technology industry, nurturing local technology talents and increasing employment opportunities, promoting research and development (R&D) and commercialization of R&D results, setting performance indicators for the development of innovation and technology, using innovation and technology to tackle social problems, co-ordinating the views from various stakeholders, and so on. These views were very important. Taking into account the views of all Members and various sectors of the community, I have earlier proposed nine work priorities, which aim at setting policy directions on innovation and technology. The work related to each priority item has gradually commenced.
I wish to point out that, the successful development of innovation and technology requires the support and full interaction and co-operation of all stakeholders, including the Government, industry, academia and research sector. The Government assumes the role of facilitator in providing quality hardware and software support, which allows stakeholders to develop and apply innovation and technology together in a favourable environment, thereby promoting the diversification of our economic development, creating more quality employment opportunities and making people's life more convenient and comfortable.
Dr CHAN points out the need of setting indicators to assess policy effectiveness. I fully agree that setting key performance indicators (KPIs) is an important task. However, during the process of setting these indicators, we need to reach consensus with stakeholders, so as to ensure that the indicators are effective and acceptable to parties concerned. The development of innovation and technology is an ever-evolving process, and KPIs are only part of the means to measure our work over this long-term and continuous evolution. The indicators, after being set, would also need to be regularly reviewed and revised in light of the actual situation at that time. We are currently discussing issues on KPIs with all stakeholders via 2962 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015
different channels, including the Advisory Committee on Innovation and Technology that I chair. I am confident that the nine work priorities that I put forth will gradually yield results, and lay a solid foundation for the development of innovation and technology.
(3) The Government has always actively supported universities on conducting research. The Research Grants Council (RGC) under the University Grant Committee (UGC) currently provides funding to all universities by means of research grants. Research projects involving complex or cross-disciplinary subjects would require participation of talents from multiple disciplines and different institutions. As these projects would have far-reaching technological and academic impacts, the RGC strongly encourages collaboration both within and among institutions. The RGC currently operates various collaborative research funding schemes to support collaborative research of different scales. In the 2014-2015 academic year, the RGC granted $410 million for collaborative research, involving 103 research projects.
Apart from the research funding schemes under the UGC, the Government also established the Innovation and Technology Fund (ITF) in 1999 to support applied research projects that facilitate technology upgrading in manufacturing and service industries, and promote the application of innovation. The local universities are one of the target recipients of the ITF. In the past three financial years, the ITF funded a total of over 770 research projects, with total funding amounting to $2 billion. About 400 of these research projects were carried out by local universities, involving a funding of $820 million. The industry participated in 222 of these projects, involving a funding of $620 million.
For the R&D projects under the ITF, there is no specified ceiling on the number of funding projects approved and the total funding amount. In other words, universities do not have to compete among themselves for funding. The ITF also welcomes collaboration among institutions on R&D projects.
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DR KENNETH CHAN (in Cantonese): Deputy President, the response of the Secretary for Innovation and Technology offers no new ideas indeed. No wonder Prof Henry WONG Nai-ching, the Dean of Science of The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) also says that this is an age of mediocrity, and the Secretary's performance is precisely a case in point.
Deputy President, I believe Honourable Members have all heard the Secretary mention in his main reply that the Bureau would study and implement nine areas of work, and also heard him stress the importance of the Government, industry, academia and research sector. In my view, his reply is but a bunch of slogans. When it comes to the issue of setting KPIs, even though he recognizes such a need, he has also remarked that further discussion is necessary. A few days ago, our "Made by Hong Kong" eBus developed with a cost of $20 million caught fire for no reason. Is this not in line with the conclusion of the KPIs? It just cannot …
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Dr Kenneth CHAN, you are only allowed to ask a short supplementary question. Please be concise and refrain from making any comments.
DR KENNETH CHAN (in Cantonese): Deputy President, part (3) of my main question was actually very specific. I asked the Secretary whether new policies would be introduced, but in his reply he merely mentioned about an initiative implemented since 1999. As such, he was actually not giving any response at all. Now that he has assumed office, could Secretary Nicholas W. YANG tell us whether the Innovation and Technology Bureau will introduce any new policies to encourage co-operation among tertiary institutions?
SECRETARY FOR INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY (in Cantonese): Deputy President, the Innovation and Technology Commission (ITC) has formulated co-operation initiatives which provide an interface between the three collaborative research projects of the RGC and the funding programmes of the ITF. With this interface, applicants of RGC schemes will be asked to provide an optional technology transfer plan with their funding application to the ITC. The question now is how to commercialize the R&D results. Universities are engaged in high-end research, and hence they are in the upstream while we are 2964 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 located in the mid-stream and downstream. I reckon that we must be clear about these roles. It is not the case that the Government has implemented nothing new. As a matter of fact, such kind of partnership is the critical point.
MR JEFFREY LAM (in Cantonese): Deputy President, just now the Secretary said that the RGC under the UGC as well as the ITF managed by the ITC would provide funding for research projects undertaken by universities. The Secretary also mentioned that flexible arrangements would be made by the ITF to encourage collaboration among institutions on R&D projects.
May I ask the Secretary to share with us some examples of collaboration among institutions on R&D projects, and inform us whether there is any mechanism for co-ordinating the two aforementioned funding schemes?
SECRETARY FOR INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY (in Cantonese): I thank Mr LAM for his supplementary question. Since 2012-2013, more than 14 research projects have been undertaken in collaboration with local universities, with total funding amounting to about $34 million. Some successful projects include the platform for quality control (QC) standard of processed Chinese materia medica jointly developed by the Hong Kong Baptist University, CUHK, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) and The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. This project is undertaken to study the QC standards for decoction pieces derived from 16 Chinese materia medica included in the Hong Kong Chinese Materia Medica Standards.
In 2014, HKUST set up a research platform with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) of the United States to enable the talents and resources from both institutions to collaborate on research projects in the field of intelligent living technology. In addition, a number of local universities have also collaborated with MIT on R&D projects. For instance, HKUST, CUHK and MIT commenced in 2015 a R&D project on increasing the throughput of wireless network to meet the demands for Internet services.
As I have said earlier, these are all research projects undertaken in the upstream. With the innovation and technology projects, it is hoped that the upstream research efforts will all be provided with appropriate interface upon LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 2965 conclusion. When such upstream research is about to draw a close, we will take the initiative to invite the universities concerned to take part in the downstream commercialization projects subsidized by the ITF, so that they will continue to obtain funding from the ITF to commercialize their R&D deliverables.
(Mr Albert CHAN stood up to indicate his wish to request a headcount)
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr Albert CHAN requested a headcount. 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)
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr POON Siu-ping, please raise your supplementary question.
MR POON SIU-PING (in Cantonese): Deputy President, Dr CHAN asked if the Innovation and Technology Bureau would expeditiously formulate blueprints and objectives, yet the Secretary did not respond to the question directly. The Secretary only mentioned the following: "the successful development of innovation and technology requires the support … of all stakeholders … The Government assumes the role of facilitator in providing quality hardware and software support, which allows stakeholders to develop and apply innovation and technology together in a favourable environment, thereby promoting the diversification of our economic development". The Secretary further said that more quality employment opportunities would be created.
May I ask the Secretary about the meaning of quality employment opportunities? I really do not understand what quality employment opportunities mean. Do other industries only offer poor employment opportunities? Could the Secretary tell us clearly what exactly quality employment opportunities are?
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SECRETARY FOR INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY (in Cantonese): Deputy President, I thank Mr POON for his supplementary question. First of all, I hope Members will not have any misunderstanding. In referring to "quality" employment opportunities, I did not mean to say that some employment opportunities were comparatively better or worse than others. What I would like to say is that innovation and technology is a high value-added industry, and both the hardware and the software should be complementary to one another when it comes to product development, so as to increase the value of the products. After the value of the products is increased, the people engaging in the industry will naturally earn a better income.
DR CHIANG LAI-WAN (in Cantonese): Deputy President, it has long been our hope that the Government can realize its planning for industrial development, and hence we are very glad to witness the eventual establishment of the Innovation and Technology Bureau. Many local youngsters or veteran industrialists who have been working in the industry for years would like to learn about the focus of the Bureau on industrial development in future. Just now, I heard the Secretary say that several universities were working on R&D projects of Chinese medicinal products. Could the Secretary provide any assistance in expediting the manufacture of Chinese medicinal products in Hong Kong? As far as I know, many of these products are now manufactured in other places.
SECRETARY FOR INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY (in Cantonese): I thank Dr CHIANG for her supplementary question. As I pointed out earlier, we have formulated some important work directions. They are, first, promoting "re-industrialization"; second, the development of a Smart City; and third, promoting healthy ageing. I believe Chinese medicine is related to these three aspects. On the question of whether we will continue with our ongoing promotional efforts, just as what I said earlier, if the project has achieved favourable outcomes in the upstream, we will provide appropriate interface and promote the commercialization of R&D deliverables. We will definitely make our best efforts to complete all these tasks.
As regards the place of manufacture, perhaps ― and I can only say "perhaps" ― it is an issue involving commercial decisions. At any rate, the most important thing is to bring in benefits for Hong Kong.
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MR CHUNG KWOK-PAN (in Cantonese): Deputy President, how will "re-industrialization" as referred to by the Secretary be actually implemented? Some people in the industrial sector have relayed to me that the Secretary has yet to meet and communicate with the associations and chambers of commerce before and after his assumption of office. If the Secretary has done none of these work, I really have no idea whether he actually knows the kind of development expected by the industrial sector. Deputy President, the people in the industrial sector who have expressed their views to me are standing committee members of the Federation of Hong Kong Industries.
SECRETARY FOR INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY (in Cantonese): I thank Mr CHUNG for his supplementary question. First of all, I would like to clarify that I was also engaged in industries in the past and I was also a factory operator. I have approached the Federation of Hong Kong Industries mentioned by Mr CHUNG and realized that there are a number of councils and committees under the Federation, and I have also held discussions with such councils and committees. Members can rest assured that I will keep my discussions with the industrial sector and keep in contact with members of the industrial sector.
As far as the direction of "re-industrialization" is concerned, I would like to reiterate that all we need is to identify industries that fit Hong Kong's conditions, by that I mean industries that do not require much land and can yet achieve high value-added targets. As I have mentioned not long ago, the most important point is to connect the product hardware with the Internet, thereby adding value to the products. We will make better efforts in this regard.
MR ABRAHAM SHEK (in Cantonese): Deputy President, in part (3) of his main question, Dr Kenneth CHAN asked whether the Secretary would put in place any policies and initiatives to promote co-operation among universities, by ways such as providing funding through the UGC or the ITF, but the Secretary made no mention of any policies in his reply. While money has been spent and the ITF has offered some $800 million to universities, is there any room for university lecturers to collaborate in undertaking new research work? The Secretary did not answer this part of the question just now as he only talked about the amount of funding obtained by such research projects. May I ask the Secretary whether such research projects are successfully undertaken?
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SECRETARY FOR INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY (in Cantonese): I thank Mr SHEK for his supplementary question. Just now I mentioned the example of MIT of the United States. MIT is one of the top-notched universities in the world and it is going to set up an innovation centre in Hong Kong. This innovation centre will be like a magnet attracting various local universities. As I understand it, there are at least three universities working in collaboration with MIT at the moment. It is our hope that Hong Kong, driven by such a top-notched technological institution, will be able to work in collaboration with some top multinational corporations in future. It is hoped that these corporations will serve as magnets attracting different universities to undertake new research projects together.
It is most encouraging to note that MIT has established its co-operation with two to three local universities and their collaborative R&D projects will be supported by the ITF.
MR ABRAHAM SHEK (in Cantonese): The Secretary has not answered my question. My supplementary question has nothing to do with MIT. The eight universities in Hong Kong have a lot of talents ― I am a Council member of the HKU and a Court member of HKUST ― there are quite a lot of outstanding professors in these institutions. How will the authorities create an environment for different universities ― MIT may not necessarily be involved, as that is another issue ― has the Secretary devised any initiatives or policies to encourage local universities to break new grounds?
SECRETARY FOR INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY (in Cantonese): I thank Mr SHEK for his question. Perhaps let me give a more detailed reply here. Speaking about innovation and technology, there are two matters which are very important. The first is criteria, and the second, platform. I do not think I need to explain too much. Once criteria are set, everybody will follow the way; once a platform is established, everybody will seek assistance from you. MIT is a platform which will serve as a magnet, and various universities can undertake research through this platform. We will provide funding to this platform in the hope of achieving the purpose of focused efforts and cohesion.
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In terms of criteria, the Innovation and Technology Bureau will make better efforts in this regard. I hope Mr SHEK will give us some more time, and then we may achieve something that is an eye-opener for him.
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Second question.
Financial Intermediaries Using Confusing Names
2. MR KENNETH LEUNG (in Cantonese): Deputy President, it has been reported that some companies with the description of "會計事務所" (accounting affairs firms) in their Chinese names promote loan services on behalf of financial intermediaries or financial companies under the guise of offering financial assessment services to clients, and they charge exorbitant handling fees. Some members of the accounting profession have relayed to me that the names of those companies can easily lead people into mistaking them for firms of certified public accountants (practising) registered under the Professional Accountants Ordinance and the business practices of such companies have also tarnished the professional image of the accounting profession. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the authorities have measures in place to regulate the aforesaid financial assessment services so as to ensure their independence and professionalism; if they do, of the specific measures; if not, whether they will consider amending the relevant ordinances to safeguard the rights and interests of borrowers;
(2) of the respective numbers of cases in which investigations were conducted into and prosecutions instituted in respect of the illegal acts of financial intermediaries by law enforcement agencies in the past three years; the number of companies involved in such cases which used the description of "accounting affairs firms" or similar wording in their names; and
(3) whether it will enhance public education to teach the public how to differentiate between financial intermediaries and practice units registered under the Professional Accountants Ordinance; if it will, of the specific plans; if not, the reasons for that?
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SECRETARY FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES AND THE TREASURY (in Cantonese): Deputy President, my reply to Mr LEUNG's question, which contains three parts, is as follows:
(1) and (2)
To protect borrowers, the existing Money Lenders Ordinance (the Ordinance) provides that it is a criminal offence to fraudulently induce any person to borrow money from a money lender by any false, misleading or deceptive statement, or by any dishonest concealment of material facts. Offenders are liable to a fine and to imprisonment. A person who, under the pretext of an "accounting affairs firm" or providing "financial assessment", fraudulently induces a member of the public to borrow money from a money lender may breach the relevant provision of the Ordinance.
On suspected illegal fee-charging by financial intermediaries, the Ordinance expressly prohibits a money lender from colluding with any person to charge a fee from a borrower. Offenders are also liable to a fine and to imprisonment.
From 2012 to the end of November 2015, there were 45 prosecutions under the Ordinance, resulting in the conviction of 24 persons.
Any financial intermediary engaging in a commercial practice prohibited by the Trade Descriptions Ordinance such as "false trade descriptions" or "misleading omissions" commits an offence and is liable to a fine and to imprisonment.
If the act of a financial intermediary involves other criminal aspects, the Police will take up the case and follow up in accordance with existing legislation such as the Crimes Ordinance.
The above ordinances serve to protect people intending to borrow money from money lenders.
The Police are concerned about crimes arising from money lending activities, especially those involving financial intermediaries, and LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 2971
have taken a number of enforcement actions against such malpractices. From August to October 2015, the Police received 235 reports that concern financial intermediaries, out of which 61 are classified as criminal cases. The Police do not maintain figures of companies with the description of "accounting affairs firms" or similar wording in their names.
We are liaising closely with the Police on its enforcement experience. In the next few months, we will make further analysis of all recent enforcement actions taken by the Police with a view to better identifying the difficulties experienced by the Police in enforcing the relevant legislation. We will also make reference to the submissions made by Members and interested parties and arrange meetings with various stakeholders as appropriate. Subject to the outcome of the analysis and the actual circumstances, we will not rule out the possibility of reviewing relevant provisions of the Ordinance if that is needed to ensure more effective measures against malpractices of financial intermediaries.
(3) It is an offence to falsely pretend to be a corporate practice registered under the Professional Accountants Ordinance (PAO). Section 42 of the PAO prohibits a body corporate which is not a corporate practice from advertising or representing itself as qualified to practise as a practice unit, or using in its name certain descriptions which are reserved for professionals (including "certified public accountant" or the characters "會計師 ") with the intention of causing, or in a way which may reasonably cause, a person to believe that it is a practice unit registered under the PAO. Any body corporates, including financial intermediaries, which contravene that provision commit an offence.
In order to safeguard the interests of the accounting profession and the public, the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA) has been making efforts in helping members of the public distinguish practice units registered under the PAO from those who are not. The HKICPA's efforts include public education activities such as media interviews, advertisements, discussion fora, feature articles, and so on. The HKICPA also keeps and regularly updates 2972 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015
a register of certified public accountants for public inspection so as to enable any member of the public to ascertain whether he is dealing with an accountant registered with the HKICPA.
Section 29(2) of the PAO stipulates that unless a person is a certified public accountant (practising) or a corporate practice registered by the HKICPA, the person shall not hold any appointment as a statutory auditor in Hong Kong or render any relevant audit services. On the other hand, the PAO does not impose any restrictions that other accounting-related work must be performed by accountants or practice units registered under the PAO. A company which carries out accounting-related work other than statutory audits does not contravene the PAO if it operates in the name of "accounting affairs firm".
If the non-accounting businesses of a company under the name of an "accounting affairs firm" are involved in illegal activities, for example, fraudulently induce any person to borrow money from a money lender, such activities would be dealt with under relevant ordinances. The Government will maintain close liaison with the HKICPA and listen to the views of various sectors on the relevant issues.
MR CHAN CHI-CHUEN (in Cantonese): Deputy President, I request a headcount.
DEPUTY 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)
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr Kenneth LEUNG, please raise your supplementary question.
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MR KENNETH LEUNG (in Cantonese): Deputy President, the crux of the problem lies with the second last paragraph of the Secretary's main reply, where he said, "A company which carries out accounting-related work other than statutory audits does not contravene the PAO if it operates in the name of 'accounting affairs firm'." However, in the actual situation, some accounting affairs firms engage in the main auditing process and pass the responsibility of providing audit opinions to another licensed company. Such an act is absolutely exploitation of the legal loopholes. May I ask the Secretary how investigation and enforcement work will be conducted in such circumstances?
SECRETARY FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES AND THE TREASURY (in Cantonese): As we can see, the relevant provisions have expressly provided for the work which practising accountants may do. As I have mentioned earlier, under the existing provisions, audits shall be conducted by professional accountants with relevant qualifications, CPAs, and so on. However, we know that accounting-related work includes not only audits but also other tasks such as handling tax matters for clients, bookkeeping, secretarial work, and so on. Of course, when an audit firm carries out an audit, it must act on its professional views and comply with the code of ethics. The existing HKICPA and Financial Reporting Council will also monitor as appropriate whether there is non-compliance with the code of ethics on the part of such firms.
MR KENNETH LEUNG (in Cantonese): These accounting firms engage in the auditing process without providing any audit opinion. How will the authorities investigate and deal with such circumstances? That is my question, Deputy President.
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Secretary, do you have anything to add?
SECRETARY FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES AND THE TREASURY (in Cantonese): Deputy President, actually the audit firm which ultimately signs the document shall be liable for the matter concerned. Anyone who considers the firm's practice as a possible contravention against the PAO may file a report to the relevant authorities.
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MISS ALICE MAK (in Cantonese): Deputy President, regarding the number of companies with the description of "accounting affairs firms" in their names in the reports against financial intermediaries, the Secretary has stated in the main reply that he does not have the relevant figures. Perhaps I can provide the Secretary with some figures. Over the past year, I have handled a total of some 160 cases relating to this kind of financial intermediaries, involving about 110 intermediaries, 40 of which are self-claimed as "accounting affairs firms" in their names. So, the problem is rather serious. Many victims in the cases which I have come cross thought that those intermediaries indeed provided professional accounting services and thus inadvertently broke the law. Hence, in view of the severity of the problem, I would like to ask the Secretary whether the Bureau will seriously review the legislation to prevent recurrence of this kind of situation. Before reviewing the legislation, will the Secretary conduct more public education and publicity work with the HKICPA or relevant professional bodies so that when members of the public, upon seeing the description of "accounting affairs firms", will not indiscriminately believe that the persons concerned are professional accountants and thus get deceived by them?
SECRETARY FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES AND THE TREASURY (in Cantonese): I thank Miss MAK for her supplementary question. I also thank her and other Members for their concern about the illegal acts of intermediaries. I know that Members have obtained a lot of practical information about this matter during their meetings with a number of victims, which can help us understand and follow up this issue. As mentioned in our frequent discussions over this matter, we are very concerned about the illegal acts relating to this type of intermediaries. Regarding the use of the description of "accounting affairs firms" in company names, we can follow up the situation with the HKICPA and enhance our efforts in publicity and education. Yet I am a bit worried that with their countless varieties of tactics, certain suspected illegal intermediaries will adopt varying methods to lure members of the public to raise loans illegally. We will look thoroughly into this matter and review comprehensively how the Police may take follow-up action and whether there is any problem in their investigation, as well as how the relevant information is obtained by the public. On one hand, we will enhance publicity and education; on the other hand, we will continue to discuss with the Police ways of strengthening the enforcement efforts. As mentioned earlier, we do not rule out the possibility of reviewing the existing legislation to see how the deterrent effect in this regard can be enhanced.
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IR DR LO WAI-KWOK (in Cantonese): Deputy President, it is pointed out by the Secretary in the main reply that the Bureau is liaising closely with the Police so as to combat the illegal practices of financial intermediaries more effectively. Deputy President, the tactics adopted in such illegal practices are indeed bizarre and multifarious, and they are targeted at different classes and groups in the community. The numerous foreign domestic helpers in Hong Kong are also among the targets of these lawbreakers. Some years ago, my then domestic helper also fell into their trap. Consequently, being her former employer, I also suffered from harassment and had to report it to the Police for assistance. May I ask whether the Secretary is aware of the illegal money lending activities of this kind of undesirable financial companies targeting at groups such as foreign domestic helpers and has grasped the situation concerned? My point is that as mentioned by Secretary Prof K C CHAN just now, their tactics are really in countless varieties.
SECRETARY FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES AND THE TREASURY (in Cantonese): Deputy President, I thank the Honourable Member for his supplementary question. Over quite a period of time in the past, our colleagues have meticulously looked into this matter with various stakeholders, including a number of Legislative Council Members, and maintained close liaison with the Police. Thus, I think now we have considerably grasped the situation of this kind of suspected illegal acts. In this regard, we are keen on deliberating with the Police on ways to enhance the enforcement efforts on this basis. As I have mentioned earlier, we do not rule out the possibility of studying whether it is necessary to amend the relevant legislation.
MR CHRISTOPHER CHUNG (in Cantonese): Deputy President, I have also received many different cases over the past year. Moreover, when members of the public reported their cases to the Police for assistance, actually the Police did not know which ordinance should be invoked to initiate prosecution. The police officers only said that since they had signed a contract, their cases could not be processed. Could the Secretary tell us the legal provisions in detail and explain them to the Police clearly so that every front-line police officer will know how this kind of cases should be handled? Besides, I also hope that the authorities will further make extensive publicity efforts in the community.
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SECRETARY FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES AND THE TREASURY (in Cantonese): Deputy President, I thank the Honourable Member for his supplementary question. As a matter of fact, we are aware of this issue and we have followed up the illegal acts of this kind of intermediaries for quite a period and discussed with the Police on ways to effectively handle the complaints and enforce the law. For this reason, since 1 August this year, the Police have revised their guidelines to require all complaints concerning intermediaries to be referred to the criminal investigation units for follow-up investigation even if the duty officer in the report room is not sure whether any criminal element is involved. In this regard, we have already reached a consensus with the Police. As for publicity and education, we have also done some work. For instance, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority has issued a guideline, while the banks have made it clear that they will not hire any intermediary to provide credit intermediary services for individuals. Hence, if anyone receives a call and the caller claims to represent a bank, that is definitely untrue. We have also enhanced publicity through other channels, including the Investor Education Centre, and it is our hope that the relevant organizations will conduct more educational work of this type at district level later.
MR SIN CHUNG-KAI (in Cantonese): Deputy President, in parts (1) and (2) of the main reply, the Secretary said, "From August to October 2015, the Police received 235 reports that concern financial intermediaries, out of which 61 are classified as criminal cases." May I ask whether the Police or regulators have the power to conduct a compliance check if a financial company ― not an intermediary, but a financial company, that means the money lender ― is involved? By that I mean the authorities may launch an investigation only for a certain report and study only that case, and then initiate prosecution if there is evidence substantiating that case. In cases where the company or money lender is alleged of having connections with an intermediary, if the authorities carry out the most thorough investigation into all cases relating to the money lender and check whether the company or money lender has anything to do with the intermediary, the information found by the authorities, I believe, will be far more than the information currently in hand. Has the Secretary ever requested the law-enforcement agencies to conduct any compliance check?
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SECRETARY FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES AND THE TREASURY (in Cantonese): As far as investigation is concerned, the Police attach great importance to this type of cases ― especially when members of the public are highly concerned about such cases ― and have injected appropriate resources into investigation work. Regarding this supplementary question, actually section 28 of the Money Lenders Ordinance empowers the Police to, when having a reasonable suspicion that a money lender has committed an offence against this Ordinance, enter any premises where the business of the money lender is being carried on and seize any relevant documents, accounts and books provided that there is written authorization by a police officer of or above the rank of superintendent.
MR SIN CHUNG-KAI (in Cantonese): The supplementary question raised by me just now includes whether the authorities have the power to do so and whether they have done so. Now it is quite clear. According to the Secretary's reply, they have such power, but have they done so?
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Secretary, do you have anything to add?
SECRETARY FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES AND THE TREASURY (in Cantonese): Deputy President, I believe that the Police, having a reasonable …
MR SIN CHUNG-KAI (in Cantonese): Deputy President, the question is not about whether he believes it or not. It is about whether the Police have actually exercised such power.
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Secretary, do you still have anything to add?
SECRETARY FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES AND THE TREASURY (in Cantonese): Deputy President, I do not have any information on this.
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MR PAUL TSE (in Cantonese): Deputy President, the Secretary stated in the main reply that from August to October 2015, there were a total of 235 reports. That was the number of cases received in three months. However, if we look at the past prosecution figures, we can see that from 2012 to the end of 2015, there were a total of 45 prosecutions, resulting in the conviction of 24 persons. There does not seem to be a clear account of the actual figures of prosecutions and complaints. I would like to find out the actual number of complaints in the past three years, irrespective of whether the type and nature of complaints are related to the Trade Descriptions Ordinance, the Money Lenders Ordinance or the Crimes Ordinance. I would like to know the total number of complaints out of which such prosecutions and convictions were made.
SECRETARY FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES AND THE TREASURY (in Cantonese): The Police do not maintain figures of complaints about licensed money lenders. As regards complaints about financial intermediaries, the Police did not maintain the relevant figures in the past, but given the recent development, the Police have updated the computer system since 1 August this year so as to collect more data on cases involving intermediaries. From August to October this year, the Police received 235 reports. As I have mentioned just now, there were 85 cases involving financial intermediaries in August, 102 in September, and 48 in October.
MR PAUL TSE (in Cantonese): Could the relevant figures be provided after the meeting?
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Secretary, can you provide the figures of complaints?
MR PAUL TSE (in Cantonese): I would like to know the specific figures of complaints, irrespective of which ordinance is related, because we need to know the severity of the problem and whether the prosecution and conviction rates of the Police are reasonable.
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DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Secretary, you may provide Members with written information after the meeting. (Appendix I)
MISS ALICE MAK (in Cantonese): Deputy President, these intermediaries made use of the description of "accounting affairs firms" to deceive the victims, misleading these victims who were in financial difficulties or who had problems, upon hearing "accounting affairs firms" in their names, into believing that they were very professional and able to help them. At present, the Government does not provide or subsidize any debt management services in Hong Kong to assist people in financial difficulties nor offer them financial planning or advisory services when they are faced with problems. We are relying solely on charitable organizations to raise funds by themselves to provide such services. Hence, will the Secretary consider … because just now he said he would consider reviewing the legislation, but that will take some time, and what the Government can do immediately is to support the activities held by these organizations. Will the Secretary consider allocating government funding to these organizations for expanding their financial advisory services, so that on receiving such phone calls, people in financial difficulties or having problems will not be misled into thinking that the callers are professional accounting firms and thus believe them? In view of the circumstances, why do the authorities not do something to enable the public to seek assistance from formal debt management services provided by charitable organizations?
SECRETARY FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES AND THE TREASURY (in Cantonese): The Honourable Member has made a very good suggestion. We will enforce the law and consider reviewing the legislation which may need to be amended. However, apart from law enforcement for producing a deterrent effect, now the most helpful approach for members of the public is to conduct more publicity and education work and help them adopt a proper attitude in dealing with their own debts. We absolutely agree with this approach. For this reason, we hope the Investor Education Centre will enhance its efforts in this area of work. Such work has been done before, but we wish to do more, including holding more seminars on this subject. As mentioned by Members, some social welfare organizations are currently providing these services. We are considering 2980 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 ways of assisting them, including provision of resources to enable them to dedicate more efforts in this regard. I thank the Honourable Member for her suggestion.
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Third question. Mr LEUNG Yiu-chung.
MR LEUNG KWOK-HUNG (in Cantonese): Deputy President, I do not think a quorum is present in this Chamber.
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Will the Clerk please ring the bell to summon Members back to the Chamber.
(While the summoning bell was ringing, THE PRESIDENT resumed the Chair)
(After the summoning bell had been rung, a number of Members returned to the Chamber)
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr LEUNG Yiu-chung, please raise your main question.
Prosecutions Against Participants of "Umbrella Movement"
3. MR LEUNG YIU-CHUNG (in Cantonese): President, since September last year, more than one thousand people who participated in the "Umbrella Movement" and related public order events have had their personal information jotted down, or have been arrested or prosecuted by the Police. It has been reported that some of the people charged with the offence of assaulting police officers were able to prove their innocence in court by themselves with video footages found on the Internet, and such footages have revealed that the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 2981 testimonies given by the police officers concerned were not true. Some members of the public have queried that these police officers have testified dishonestly in court, causing the people who participated in public order events being prosecuted unnecessarily. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) regarding those cases relating to the "Umbrella Movement", of the number of cases since January this year in which the judge alleged the police officers concerned of having testified dishonestly during the trials;
(2) whether it has taken disciplinary actions against such police officers who were alleged by the judge of having testified dishonestly; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3) of the number of people prosecuted in such cases in which the police officers were alleged by the judge of having testified dishonestly, together with a breakdown by the occupation and age of such people; whether it has assessed the losses in terms of time and money suffered by such people because of the cases; if it has assessed, of the outcome; whether the authorities will pay compensation to such people; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
SECRETARY FOR SECURITY (in Cantonese): President, my consolidated reply to Mr LEUNG Yiu-chung's question is as follows:
Under the criminal justice system in Hong Kong, there is a difference between the test adopted by police officers when effecting arrest, the approach adopted by the Department of Justice (DoJ) in deciding whether prosecution should be made, and the principles adopted by the Court at the trial and when giving a verdict.
In respect of the Police, police officers are entitled to effect an arrest if they have a reasonable suspicion that the person in question has committed a relevant offence. In handling prosecution work, prosecutors of the DoJ must in 2982 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 accordance with the Prosecution Code first consider whether there is sufficient evidence and next consider and balance all issues of public interest before deciding whether prosecution should be made. A prosecution shall not be commenced or continued unless there is a reasonable prospect of conviction. As for the Court, Judges will consider all evidence relevant to the case when hearing a criminal case. Such evidence would include evidence put forward by the prosecution and defence, circumstantial evidence and testimonies by witnesses, and so on. Judges will deliver a guilty verdict only if the offence is proved beyond reasonable doubt.
Based on the above, the mere fact that an arrested person is not subsequently charged with any offence in certain cases does not necessarily mean that the Police have made a wrongful arrest; nor does it necessarily follow that the prosecutors have failed in their duty to commence prosecution. And as the Court adheres to the principles of "beyond reasonable doubt" and "the benefit of doubt should go to defendants" while handling criminal cases, the mere acquittal of a defendant does not necessarily mean that there is a problem with the arrest, prosecution or testimonies by certain witnesses. A defendant, if convicted, may lodge an appeal. This is indeed a manifestation of how the independent judicial system and rule of law in Hong Kong safeguard the rights of the public.
In his question, Mr LEUNG queried that "the testimonies given by the police officers concerned were not true" and that "some members of the public have queried that these police officers have testified dishonestly in court, causing the people who participated in public order events being prosecuted unnecessarily". I do not agree to such allegations.
Same as all people who testify during court hearings, a police officer shall give sworn evidence which he is satisfied to be true and accurate in court. Under section 31 of the Crimes Ordinance (Cap. 200), if any person lawfully sworn as a witness, either generally or in a particular judicial proceeding, wilfully makes a statement in any judicial proceeding which is material in that proceeding and which he knows to be false or does not believe to be true, he shall be guilty of perjury and shall be liable on conviction upon indictment to imprisonment for seven years and to a fine.
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If in certain cases, the Court considers that there is prima facie evidence suggesting perjury, the Court may refer the case to the DoJ for follow-up. The Police's position is that after receiving the DoJ's instruction, the Police will seriously handle any case of non-compliance where a police officer is suspected to have committed perjury. Depending on the investigation results, the officer concerned may be liable to criminal responsibility and subject to disciplinary actions.
If a Judge considers that the testimonies given by a police officer in court are not credible, he may also advise the DoJ to refer the case for follow-up by the Complaints Against Police Office (CAPO) of the Police and inform the Court in writing of the results of the case after it has been dealt with. The Police do not maintain any statistics of cases in which "the Judge alleged the police officers concerned had testified dishonestly during the trials" or related breakdowns as raised in the question.
President, during the illegal Occupy movement last year, numerous protesters gathered to hold large-scale unlawful assemblies at various places in Hong Kong. Persistent and large-scale crowd confrontations and even violent incidents also took place at many locations. During the incident, 955 persons were arrested by the Police for various alleged offences, and another 48 persons were arrested after the illegal occupation incident. As at 30 November this year, a total of 216 persons have undergone, are undergoing or will undergo judicial proceedings. Amongst them, 177 persons have gone through the judicial process and 114 of them have to bear legal consequences, including 74 who were convicted and 40 who were bound over upon conclusion of court proceedings.
As we all know, large-scale assemblies will end up in very chaotic situations when incidents occur. The first priority of police officers is to swiftly take control of the situation, restore public order, and minimize casualties and property loss. During the 79-day illegal Occupy movement last year, police officers were on duty for long durations every day. It is thus understandable when objectively speaking certain officers would not be able to recall accurately certain details of how incidents happened at that time during persistently chaotic situations. As a matter of fact, the Police have an established mechanism to review from time to time their arrangements for handling large-scale public order events. The Police have already strengthened the capability of each Headquarters and Regional Response Contingent in collecting evidence 2984 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 on-the-spot during operations, including equipment and training. Equipped with video-recording devices, officers responsible for gathering evidence can collect evidence of offences committed by lawbreakers during operations by such means as video-recording, with a view to stepping up the effectiveness of investigation, prosecution and law enforcement.
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 LEUNG Yiu-chung, please raise your supplementary question.
MR LEUNG YIU-CHUNG (in Cantonese): President, the Secretary said just now that I had queried that the testimonies given by police officers were dishonest and that some members of the public had queried that police officers had testified dishonestly in court and instituted prosecution against the public unnecessarily, adding that he did not agree to what I said. But the fact is that there have been many cases of police officers giving dishonest testimonies in court and, President, I would say that the situation is very serious. Many members of the media have conducted researches in this respect and found that in at least 20 cases, police officers were slammed by the Judge for distorting facts, being self-contradictory in what they said, resorting to sophistry, giving untrustworthy evidence in court, and so on. President, one of these cases was reported in the press under this headline: "Court acquitted student of assault as police officer slammed over dishonest allegation". The Judge even made some remarks in a raised voice to the following effect: "assault accusations are easy to be raised but hard to defend, and that the first prosecution witness, Constable LAU Kam-wing, who is a law-enforcement officer himself, should know this but he made untrue allegations in his statement and in his testimonies in court, LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 2985 resulting in the defendant being taken to court". The Judge said that this was not the conduct expected of a law-enforcement officer and suggested that the prosecution should refer the case to the CAPO and that the results of investigation be provided to him.
President, it is an iron-clad fact supported by strong evidence that police officers have testified dishonestly in court but the Secretary has failed to follow up and address this. I would like to ask the Secretary this: If he continuously fails to seriously and solemnly address the problem of police officers testifying dishonestly in court, how can he prevent police officers from giving dishonest testimonies in court in the future, which would otherwise cause police officers to be reprimanded by the Judge in court; also, and how can he prevent members of the public from being wronged and prosecuted, and restore the public's lost confidence in the Police?
SECRETARY FOR SECURITY (in Cantonese): President, as I explained briefly to Members in my main reply earlier on, if the Judge, during the hearing of the case, considers further actions are required to deal with the testimonies given by a certain witness, including the prosecution witness, the Judge may, in accordance with the Court's established mechanism, instruct the prosecution or the DoJ to follow this up.
As I said explicitly in the main reply, after receiving a case referred by the DoJ, the Police will definitely handle it seriously. According to reports made by the Police, of the cases involving the illegal Occupy movement, the Court has instructed the DoJ to refer one such case to the CAPO of the Police for follow up. While I will not discuss the details of this case here, I can tell Members that the CAPO has dealt with this case fairly and impartially in accordance with the established procedure, and after the case is taken up by the DoJ, the case will be reported to the Judge in writing according to the instruction of the Court.
MR LEUNG YIU-CHUNG (in Cantonese): The Secretary has not answered my supplementary question at all.
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PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr LEUNG, please repeat your supplementary question.
MR LEUNG YIU-CHUNG (in Cantonese): I asked the Secretary how he could prevent police officers from giving false testimonies in court in the future, which would otherwise cause the public to be wronged, and also how he could restore the public's lost confidence in the Police, but the Secretary did not answer my question at all.
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Secretary, do you have anything to add?
SECRETARY FOR SECURITY (in Cantonese): President, all witnesses testifying in court shall give sworn evidence which they are satisfied to be true and accurate. Like other witnesses, police officers understand this requirement for giving testimonies in court. Therefore, I cannot agree to the allegations made by Mr LEUNG. As I mentioned in the main reply ― although I do not wish to repeat what I have said, I have to repeat it anew since Mr LEUNG has made these remarks ― cases similar to those relating to the Occupy movement involve very chaotic situations, and in discharging their enforcement duties, police officers do not handle only one case but are required to deal with some very chaotic situations in a split second. If they are required to recount what happened in exhaustive details, there may be some discrepancies in their recollection of the incidents but this does not mean that they purposely intend to give dishonest evidence.
Common law is practised in court and when the Judge makes a judgment, he will definitely uphold the principle of "beyond reasonable doubt" in conviction, while giving the defendant the benefit of doubt. Therefore, in respect of prosecution, it is impossible for each and every case to be convicted successfully. That said, it is our requirement that like all other witnesses, police officers testifying in court must give sworn evidence and recount what they personally saw at the time.
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DR PRISCILLA LEUNG (in Cantonese): President, even if Hong Kong police officers arrested or prosecuted some people based on reasonable suspicion, these people may not necessarily be convicted in the end, or else Hong Kong would be like certain jurisdictions with a very high rate of conviction. On the contrary, this is proof of our most stringent judicial proceedings in Hong Kong.
In his reply earlier on the Secretary mentioned that some police officers, when handling the Occupy Central incident, might have been punished for the mistakes that they had made or their negligence in behaviour or judgment. But as Members may recall, the DoJ has been alleged for letting off 10-odd people for reasons relating to the procedures or timing or failure to strictly comply with the requirements of the Court and as a result, many police officers who had worked very hard to discharge their duties felt greatly depressed.
In this connection, I would like to ask the Secretary a question. From the Occupy Central movement we can see that police officers have to meet very stringent requirements. At present, quite a large number of police officers still have to face judicial proceedings or are under investigation by the authorities for any misconduct on their part. In the meantime, while the authorities have made such great efforts to encourage police officers to rebuild their confidence, some of those people who were arrested have been let off. May I ask how the Secretary will handle this situation, and how reference can be made to overseas experience in handling similar incidents from the perspectives of resources and training? Regarding the police morale, the letting off of people who were arrested will definitely deal a blow to their morale. What follow-up work will the Secretary carry out?
SECRETARY FOR SECURITY (in Cantonese): President, the duty of police officers is to discharge their duties in accordance with the law. The Police take actions to make an arrest when they have reasonable suspicion that the person in question is in breach of the law and then investigation will be carried out. On the prosecution front, generally speaking, we will provide the results of investigation and the evidence gathered to the DoJ. In the main reply I have pointed out that the DoJ has in place a comprehensive Prosecution Code. In addition to considering all the evidence submitted by the Police, the DoJ will further consider two main points in the Prosecution Code: First, whether there is a 2988 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 reasonable prospect of conviction; and second, the DoJ will make a decision only after taking public interest into consideration. We fully respect the professional decision of the DoJ.
As Dr LEUNG has said, even if the DoJ decides to prosecute a certain person, it is still possible that the person in question may be found not guilty in the end. This is because the Court has a set of standards of its own under the legal system in Hong Kong. We understand that our front-line colleagues have made great efforts, and we also encourage them to do their utmost. We have explained these cases to them, and I believe they also understand the operation of the existing legal system in Hong Kong.
We attach great importance to the training of the Police Force and how they can gather more and better evidence. After reviewing a number of operations of the Police, we are making ongoing efforts in training up front-line police officers and in respect of evidence gathering, especially with the use of video-recording devices to film the situation on the spot. Besides, Regional Evidence Gathering Teams comprising of crime investigation officers have been set up as part of the Contingent. We hope that these improvement measures can further assist colleagues in the DoJ in carrying out their work in the adduction of evidence more effectively and accurately.
MR CHAN KIN-POR (in Cantonese): President, large-scale public order events definitely involve great chaos. While the police officers have to restore law and order, they also have to make arrests, and they may have to perform these duties alternatively, which means that after making arrests, they have to restore law and order again. In this connection, I would like to ask the Secretary how the work of evidence gathering can be carried out effectively. While the Secretary already gave a detailed reply when he answered Dr Priscilla LEUNG's question earlier on, the Secretary has all along said that body worn video cameras are used on a trial basis. I would like to know when body worn video cameras can be provided for use by all police officers, so that the Police can improve their work in evidence gathering and bring lawbreakers to justice.
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SECRETARY FOR SECURITY (in Cantonese): I thank Mr CHAN for his follow-up question. We have acquired a certain number of body worn video cameras and these cameras had been put into use. We are now in the review stage. At present, apart from body worn video cameras, we can also deploy special evidence gathering teams for large-scale events.
These special evidence gathering teams will capture the situation on the spot with hand-held high-definition video-recording devices. We provide special training in these respects, and the video-recording duties are performed by our crime investigation colleagues. We are currently considering handling chaotic situations with this two-pronged approach. We hope that in the event of chaos happening in the future, we can cope with the situation properly. As these colleagues have undertaken special training, they should be able to accurately capture a full version of what happened and film the situation effectively for submission to the Court as evidence. We will make continuous efforts in this regard and will not be stingy about the costs required.
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): We have spent more than 22 minutes on this question but there are still eight Members in the queue who have not been able to raise their questions. Let me once again remind Members and Directors of Bureaux to be as concise as possible in asking questions and giving replies.
MR LEUNG KWOK-HUNG (in Cantonese): President, there is no way for me to find out the number of Members who are present in this meeting now.
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): Fourth question. Dr Priscilla LEUNG, please ask your main question.
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Area Improvement Plan for Shopping Areas of Mong Kok
4. DR PRISCILLA LEUNG (in Cantonese): President, as early as 2009, the Planning Department completed the study on the Area Improvement Plan for the Shopping Areas of Mong Kok, and recommended 22 improvement projects, but some of these projects have not yet been implemented to date. Some Mong Kok residents have expressed their disappointment at this situation, and hope that the authorities expeditiously complete all the projects, particularly the redevelopment of the government sites at Sai Yee Street and Mong Kok East Station as well as the extension of the pedestrian footbridge at Mong Kok Road, so as to improve the environment and road accessibility in the areas in Mong Kok. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the latest progress of the aforesaid 22 improvement projects, including details of the completed projects, works progress and anticipated completion dates of the uncompleted projects, as well as the anticipated commencement dates and completion dates of those projects which have not yet commenced;
(2) of the reasons why, after years of delay, the extension of the pedestrian footbridge at Mong Kok Road has not yet been completed, including the difficulties encountered in carrying out the works; and
(3) given that the authorities have adopted the recommendations made by the Yau Tsim Mong District Council and members of the local community that a public transport interchange (PTI) be built at the government sites at Sai Yee Street and Mong Kok East Station after relocating the relevant facilities of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and the Water Supplies Department in order to alleviate the serious traffic congestion in nearby areas, of the latest progress in relocating the facilities of the two government departments; of the authorities' plan for developing the superstructure above the proposed PTI, and when they will announce the relevant details?
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SECRETARY FOR DEVELOPMENT (in Cantonese): President, regarding the question raised by Dr Priscilla LEUNG, I have consulted the Transport and Housing Bureau, the Drainage Services Department, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD), the Home Affairs Department, the Highways Department (HyD), the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, the Planning Department (PlanD), the Transport Department and the Water Supplies Department (WSD). My reply to various parts of the question is as follows:
(1) The PlanD completed the study on "Area Improvement Plan for the Shopping Areas of Mong Kok" (the AIP Study) in 2009. Having covered key issues like planning and urban design, landscape, traffic and transport, and pedestrian in the shopping areas of Mong Kok, the AIP Study recommended 22 improvement projects on greening and streetscape improvement, identity improvement, linkage improvement and destination improvement, and so on. The latest progress of these 22 improvement projects is at Annex.
Among the 22 projects, the Government has undertaken to implement six of them with priority: one of which has been completed, two have been partially completed, one will be completed in the Second Quarter of 2016, one is under revision in light of public opinions received during consultation, and the other is pending implementation due to a judicial review case on the Mong Kok Outline Zoning Plan. As for the remaining 16 improvement projects, relevant government bureaux and departments would, under prevailing practice, continue to take up co-ordination, implementation and maintenance roles according to their policy and resource priorities. Of these 16 projects, three have been completed, one is under construction and two are under study or related procedures.
(2) The footbridge system along Mong Kok Road and Sai Yee Street is funded and constructed by a private developer. About 90% of the footbridge system was completed in 2003, which includes a section of footbridge from Bute Street/Sai Yee Street to Mong Kok Road/Nathan Road and the subway connecting MTR Mong Kok Station at Sai Yeung Choi Street South. They were commissioned for public use in January and August 2013 respectively. The HyD is responsible for contacting relevant government departments and the developer in respect of the co-ordination of relevant statutory procedures (such as arrangements for gazettal) and the monitoring of 2992 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015
the overall works progress, in order to facilitate completion of the project.
Since 2003, the Government has been requesting the private developer for early completion of the remaining part of the footbridge system (that is, the footbridge extension at Mong Kok Road across Nathan Road of approximately 35 m long), and the private developer made an explicit commitment to the Government in 2007 to complete the works of the footbridge system. Since 2007, the private developer has started to actively pursue the preparatory works of footbridge extension, such as liaison with utility undertakers regarding the necessary diversion works.
The private developer commenced the advance works for the footbridge extension, including diversion of utilities at Mong Kok Road near Nathan Road and foundation preparation works, in mid-2011. In view of the large quantities of underground utilities and heavy traffic in the vicinity, the utility diversion works had to be carried out in stages. Following the completion of the utility diversion works, the footbridge construction and relevant road improvement works are anticipated to commence in early 2016 for completion in 2018.
(3) The Government is planning to implement the improvement project at Sai Yee Street when the government sites there are vacated for redevelopment. In this connection, the PlanD has commissioned a consultant to undertake the "Planning and Design Study on the Redevelopment of Government Sites at Sai Yee Street and Mong Kok East Station ― Feasibility Study" (the Sai Yee Street Study) in March 2015 to evaluate the development potential for residential or commercial uses at the site. The Sai Yee Street Study will also investigate ways to better utilize the site to improve the current conditions and environment of the area, including the provision of public transport interchange, Government, Institution and Community facilities as well as open space. Meanwhile, the PlanD will explore ways to improve pedestrian connectivity so that major transport interchanges in the area can be connected. According to current working timetable, it is anticipated that the PlanD will consult the District Council on the preliminary recommended development scheme in the first half of 2016.
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With respect to the relocation of existing facilities within the site, the WSD has secured funding approval from the Finance Committee of the Legislative Council (FC) in June 2015 to relocate its New Territories West Regional office to Tin Shui Wai. Construction works for the new building commenced on 17 August 2015 for completion in 2018. Demolition of existing building structures at Sai Yee Street is scheduled to complete by end 2019. The FEHD has also secured FC's funding approval in June 2015 to relocate its Sai Yee Street Environmental Hygiene Offices-cum-vehicle depot to Yen Ming Road, West Kowloon Reclamation Area. Related construction works will start in early 2016 for completion in mid-2018. Upon commissioning of the facilities at Yen Ming Road, demolition works for existing building structures at Sai Yee Street will commence for completion by end 2020.
Annex
Study on "Area Improvement Plan for the Shopping Areas of Mong Kok" Progress of the 22 Improvement Projects/Recommendations
Priority Projects
Project Progress 1 Nullah Road Linkage Completed in January 2013. Improvement Project 2 Prince Edward Road West Widening works of the pedestrian Linkage Improvement Project crossing at the Prince Edward Road West/Sai Yee Street was completed in April 2011. Further investigation is required before implementation of the remaining works. 3 Nullah Road Greening Project Yau Tsim Mong District Council (YTMDC) completed beautification works and provided a public open space at a former petrol fuel station at Nullah Road near Nathan Road in June 2011. Greening of the remaining part of Nullah Road requires further investigation. 2994 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015
Project Progress 4 Lai Chi Kok Road Greening The project has been included in the Project Minor Works Programme of YTMDC. Relevant works are currently in progress and are expected to complete in the Second Quarter of 2016. 5 Tung Choi Street Streetscape The Urban Renewal Authority has Improvement Project commissioned a consultant to conduct detailed design for the project. YTMDC was consulted on the design scheme in 2011 and public consultation was subsequently conducted in 2012 and 2013. Relevant government departments are revising the design scheme in light of the opinions received during the consultation process. 6 Soy Street Destination Project On 31 May 2013, the Town Planning Board rezoned the Soy Street site to "Residential (Group A) 4" zone for the development of a residential building and a community hall. The project is pending implementation due to a judicial review case on the Mong Kok Outline Zoning Plan.
Other Recommendations (To be considered according to policy and resource priorities of relevant Government Bureaux and departments)
(1) Greening and Streetscape Improvement Project Progress 1 Sai Yee Street Streetscape Deliberation among relevant government Improvement Project departments is in progress. 2 Nathan Road Streetscape No implementation timetable yet. Improvement Project 3 Arran Street and Portland Street No implementation timetable yet. Streetscape Improvement Project 4 Soy Street Streetscape No implementation timetable yet. Improvement Project LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 2995
Project Progress 5 Portland Street Streetscape No implementation timetable yet. Improvement Project 6 Sai Yeung Choi Street South No implementation timetable yet. (Near Nullah Road) Streetscape Improvement Project
(2) Identity Improvement Project Progress 7 Soy Street Subway Identity No implementation timetable yet. Project Nevertheless, the Home Affairs Department completed a feasibility study on the installation of tourist maps and signboards at Soy Street/Sai Yeung Choi Street South and at the entrance of Soy Street Subway (near Sun Hing Building) in mid-November 2014. Tendering procedures for the production of tourist maps and signboards have been completed. The tourist maps and signboards are scheduled to be installed in January 2016. 8 Mong Kok Footbridge Identity No implementation timetable yet. Project 9 Bute Street Subway Identity No implementation timetable yet. Project
(3) Linkage Improvement Project Progress 10 Yim Po Fong Street Linkage Completed in November 2009. Improvement Project
(4) Destination Improvement Project Progress 11 Flower Market Road Destination No implementation timetable yet. Project 12 Sai Yee Street Destination Project Please refer to part (3) of the reply.
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(5) Improvement Initiatives by Others Project Progress 13 Junction Improvement of Nathan Completed in April 2008. Road/Argyle Street 14 Flower Market Nullah Decking Completed in December 2010. 15 MTR Subway Extension to Subject to further examination by MTR Pioneer Centre Corporation Limited. 16 Mong Kok Footbridge Extension Please refer to part (2) of the reply.
MR CHAN CHI-CHUEN (in Cantonese): I request a headcount.
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Will the Clerk please ring the bell to summon Members back to the Chamber.
(While the summoning bell was ringing)
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Secretary, regarding the year referred to in the first paragraph of part (2) of the main reply, the written version of the main reply is 2003, but you said 2013 earlier on. Please confirm whether it should be 2003.
SECRETARY FOR DEVELOPMENT (in Cantonese): President, it should be 2003. If I said 2013, I might have made a mistake. I am sorry about that.
(After the summoning bell had been rung, a number of Members returned to the Chamber)
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Dr Priscilla LEUNG, please raise your supplementary question.
DR PRISCILLA LEUNG (in Cantonese): President, the relocation of the office of WSD at Sai Yee Street to vacate the site for the development of a transport node in Mong Kok is actually what we had been striving for together with Yau LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 2997
Tsim Mong District Council (DC) members in our last term of office in 2008. I am glad that the Secretary has eventually mentioned in the last paragraph of the main reply that this project will be implemented in June this year.
On the other hand, regarding the footbridge across Nathan Road at Mong Kok Road mentioned in my main question, the authorities' replied that it was anticipated to complete by 2018. However, when I checked the information, I found that the authorities indicated in its reply to the Legislative Council in 2007 that the project had to be completed by the end of 2009. Further, it also indicated in its reply to Yau Tsim Mong DC at the end of 2014 that it was anticipated for completion by 2017. Upon reviewing the relevant records, I found that similar reasons seemed to be raised every time. I would very much like to ask the Secretary whether he can undertake to ensure that there will be no more project delay this time, and that it will definitely be completed by 2018. This is because Yau Tsim Mong residents have been jointly fighting for transportation convenience for a long time.
SECRETARY FOR DEVELOPMENT (in Cantonese): President, I thank Dr Priscilla LEUNG for her supplementary question. I fully understand the urgency of the early implementation of this project as indicated by Dr LEUNG when she asked the question earlier on. We will follow it up closely, and urge … not urge, but relay the matter to the HyD and ask them to press ahead with the project, and the HyD will keep the DC informed of the progress regularly.
DR HELENA WONG (in Cantonese): President, regarding the many projects referred to in the Annex, I notice that the Government has completed part of them. But then, there are still many projects which do not have any development timetable at all, and it is not known how much longer they will be delayed.
I wish to examine the third one, namely the Nullah Road Greening Project, and part of its works was completed in June 2011. However, the remaining part of the Nullah Road works, which is the part close to Tung Choi Street, has yet to be completed. I do not know how much longer it will take to complete this greening project, and it is very close to my office. I have received a number of complaints from the local residents, as the authorities have indicated that they have to conduct further studies on the uncompleted part of the works. I really have no idea how much time the Secretary will take to conduct the study. The 2998 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 residents wish to ask the Secretary whether the authorities can remove the wire fences and conduct some basic beautification works. For example, they may first provide a few benches for use by the residents. The reason is that a lot of rubbish has been accumulated on this site to be studied, which is enclosed by the authorities using wire fences. Even the staff of the FEHD cannot go inside to do cleansing work.
President, now it has been left half-done, causing great nuisance to the district …
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Dr WONG, have you asked your supplementary question?
DR HELENA WONG (in Cantonese): President, I have just asked the Secretary whether the wire fences can be removed, so that the residents may sit inside and the staff of the FEHD can clean up the enclosed site.
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Dr WONG, you have asked your supplementary question. Please let the Secretary reply.
SECRETARY FOR DEVELOPMENT (in Cantonese): President, I thank Dr Helena WONG for her supplementary question. President, the beautification works at the site of the former petrol filling station at Nullah Road near Nathan Road aims to create an open space for public enjoyment. As the Transport Department and HyD are planning to convert the site of the former petrol filling station at Nullah Road near Tung Choi Street into a vehicular access connecting Tung Choi Street and Prince Edward Road West, greening of the remaining part of Nullah Road will be commenced together with the access works mentioned just now.
Nevertheless, regarding the question of whether the specific short-term request put forward by Dr WONG can be met, since the project is undertaken by the Home Affairs Department, I will relay Dr WONG's request to the Department and ask them to provide a written reply. (Appendix II)
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MR MA FUNG-KWOK (in Cantonese): President, the pedestrian footbridge connecting Mong Kok Station and Mong Kok Road, Tung Choi Street and Sai Yeung Choi Street South is actually a necessary pathway for members of the public heading towards Mong Kok. But then, during holidays, a considerable number of foreign domestic helpers will gather for leisure activities on the footbridge, occupying more than a half of the space, thereby making it very difficult for pedestrians to move around.
I wish to ask, from a planning perspective, what measures the Government has in place to create other open space for their enjoyment, and what other measures it has to ensure that these footbridges are unobstructed and prevent them from becoming public gathering places?
SECRETARY FOR DEVELOPMENT (in Cantonese): President, I thank Mr MA Fung-kwok for his supplementary question. Just now the Member suggested that some dedicated space should be provided for domestic helpers' use during holidays. We do not have any concrete policy in this regard for the time being. As to the issues of whether the passages are obstructed and whether colleagues of relevant government departments should take enforcement actions to maintain the accessibility of the passages in case there is serious obstruction, we can follow them up.
IR DR LO WAI-KWOK (in Cantonese): President, in order to resolve the land problem in Hong Kong, one of the development directions is to make good use of the underground space. Upon the completion of two exercises, the Government has now selected four places for further studies. In fact, as far as the Kowloon side is concerned, areas in Mong Kok and Yau Ma Tei are lively and busy places for shopping and leisure. If we look at the experience in foreign countries such as Japan, the development of underground space in such districts can bring about considerable benefits. May I ask the Secretary if this will be an important consideration area in the authorities' future studies?
SECRETARY FOR DEVELOPMENT (in Cantonese): President, I thank Ir Dr LO Wai-kwok for his supplementary question. President, we are now conducting two studies on the development of underground space. One of them 3000 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 is a territory-wide consultancy study conducted mainly on various technical and legal issues involved in the development of underground space, and recommendations will be made for the Government's consideration when the study is completed. In respect of our current land administration efforts, in granting land rights to a certain owner, the owner is allowed to carry out vertical expansion of the site both aboveground and underground. Hence, if underground development is to be carried out in those places, it will involve some rather complicated issues concerning land rights. For this reason, we will have to wait until the consultancy report is released to share with Members the relevant details.
Another study we are conducting currently has selected four places across the territory, and the site chosen in Kowloon is the area in the vicinity of Kowloon Park in Tsim Sha Tsui because it is Government land. These places will be developed as pilot projects to see what good purposes they may serve, including ways to improve the traffic conditions there. When the findings of these studies are available, we will also share them with Members.
DR PRISCILLA LEUNG (in Cantonese): President, the Secretary has had a slip of the tongue when answering my question. He said "urge", and then changed it to "relay". I hope he will actually "urge" them because it is absolutely not enough to just "relay" the matter. It is not acceptable to us.
However, the supplementary question that I wish to ask is about the Government's sale of the Trade and Industry Department (TID) Tower in Mong Kok by tender. The several footpaths surrounding the tower are actually very crowded, and people have to keep circling the tower before they can reach the pedestrian footbridge. Hence, the community has in fact put forward a suggestion, hoping that the authorities will specify as a tender requirement that the developer should provide common access with longer opening hours to connect the new tower with the footbridge system in Mong Kok and the elevators and staircases of MTR stations, as well as widen the road surface to increase the accessibility of roads and footpaths. But then, it seems that the tender invitation officially published by the Government last Friday on 11 December has not considered or adopted the suggestion concerning this direction at all.
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May I ask the Secretary whether the Government could advise if there is any chance that it will consider this suggestion with a more open attitude, and urge the relevant developer to show willingness in extending the opening hours of the common access?
SECRETARY FOR DEVELOPMENT (in Cantonese): President, earlier on, I said I would relay the matter to the Department instead of urging them to do so because HyD is a department under the Transport and Housing Bureau. That is why we will relay the matter. Nevertheless, we believe the Transport and Housing Bureau will definitely urge them to follow the matter up. This is the first part.
President, the second part is about the sale of landownership upon relocation of the government offices at the TID Tower in Mong Kok. We have received the recommendation mentioned by Dr Priscilla LEUNG earlier on. And in fact, top echelons of the Government have considered and debated it with us. Although the government departments there have been relocated and the premises have been released, the relevant suggestion involves various rather complicated technical and legal issues in relation to the construction of footbridges and connection with other places. Upon consideration, we consider it necessary to conduct a more detailed consultancy study if the relevant suggestion is to be implemented. Only by so doing can we know whether it is feasible and worthwhile. In that case, it will cause a longer delay, and in this period of time, the premises will in effect be left idle, resulting in a considerable loss to the Treasury.
In addition, the existing shortage of land and housing supply in Hong Kong does not just concern residential units. The situation of commercial sites and offices is also the same, especially in this year as we have sold fewer offices and commercial sites. It is not that we do not wish to sell more sites. Rather, we have to put them up for sale later. Hence, there is a significant shortfall in the supply of offices and commercial sites this year. As mentioned earlier, we also hope that the offices in Mong Kok can be sold in the market as early as possible. For this reason, we have eventually decided to proceed with the tendering exercise as scheduled.
(Dr Priscilla LEUNG stood up)
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PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Dr Priscilla LEUNG, has your supplementary question not been answered?
DR PRISCILLA LEUNG (in Cantonese): The Secretary has mentioned about the tendering issue. Will it be considered in the future? This suggestion is not included in the current tendering exercise. However, what I asked earlier was whether the authorities would be willing to have early discussion with the developer with an open attitude in the future.
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Secretary, do you have anything to add?
SECRETARY FOR DEVELOPMENT (in Cantonese): President, before a proper report on the consultancy study is available, we cannot make the relevant item a land sale condition. And since we cannot make it a condition, we will not be able to execute it in the future. Nevertheless, it is actually not feasible to make it a condition when the relevant item is not solid enough. Hence, we are sorry that it cannot be made a condition at this stage.
DR HELENA WONG (in Cantonese): In respect of the Sai Yee Street Project, we notice that the Government has already granted funding. We have granted two batches of funding for the relocation of the FEHD and the WSD, and clearance is planned to be carried out progressively. However, in respect of the current Sai Yee Street Project, upon relocation of the government departments and demolition of the relevant buildings, what will be the use of the vacated site? According to what the Secretary has said just now, they will conduct a study and consult the DC. But in fact, the Democratic Party already submitted a detailed proposal to the Government in 2010, which supported the construction of a public transport interchange as well as park and open space facilities in that place, and we also requested proper connectivity of pedestrian linkages …
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Dr Helena WONG, please ask your supplementary question.
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DR HELENA WONG (in Cantonese): According to a government paper, the DC will be consulted on the relevant recommendations in the first half of 2016. What I wish to ask is this: we often talk about democratization and civil participation these days, as such, apart from consulting the DC, will the Secretary plan to conduct a public consultation to find out how Members of the Legislative Council, the locals and the general public wish to use this busy location in the urban area, thereby achieving effective use and resolving a number of issues in the district, including sports grounds …
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Dr Helena WONG, you have already asked your supplementary question. Please let the Secretary reply.
SECRETARY FOR DEVELOPMENT (in Cantonese): President, I thank Dr Helena WONG for her supplementary question. We have received the proposal of her party, and our consultancy study already commenced in March this year. As what the Member has said in her question, when the consultation on this site was launched, many different aspirations emerged from the district, including the transport interchange mentioned, the use of the land concerned for the provision of public space and improvement of traffic conditions of the district. Besides, the local residents have also mentioned about the large number of cross-boundary coaches or public light buses nearby, and asked whether some of the stands could be moved to that place. Given the complicated topography of that place, the consultancy study currently conducted by us also aims to cater for the various aspirations mentioned earlier on as far as possible. We may not be able to meet all aspirations because the area of this site is probably not large enough to achieve that. Nevertheless, President, what we can say is that after consulting the DC, we are happy to come to the Panel on Development again to report the situation to Members. And the points will also be set out in a paper which welcomes views from members of the public.
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Fifth question.
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Promoting Development of Innovation and Technology Industry
5. MR CHARLES PETER MOK (in Cantonese): President, some practitioners from the information technology (IT) sector have relayed to me that although the Government has been committed to developing the innovation and technology industry in recent years, its procurement policy for IT products and services as well as its approach for implementing government IT projects are both unable to dovetail with the development of the local innovation and technology industry. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that while the Government currently awards its IT contracts to contractors in accordance with the Standing Offer Agreement for Quality Professional Services, there are views that the number of such contracts awarded to local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) accounts for a low percentage of the total number of contracts, whether the authorities will, in addition to implementing the existing enhancement measures of splitting large-scale IT projects into multiple small projects and lowering the tender and contract deposits, study and consider the implementation of more enhancement measures in order to encourage SMEs to bid for such contracts and enhance their successful rates; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2) given that the Innovation and Technology Fund (ITF), under the Innovation and Technology Commission, launched the Public Sector Trial Scheme (Trial Scheme) in 2011 whereby additional funding is provided to completed research and development (R&D) projects funded by ITF for the production of tools, prototypes or samples and the conducting of trials in public organizations, with a view to promoting the realization and commercialization of the R&D results, whether the authorities will consider expanding the scope of the Trial Scheme to include the R&D projects not funded by ITF and allow more organizations (such as private organizations) to participate in the trials of the tools, prototypes or samples; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
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(3) whether it will make reference to the experience of other countries and provide local SMEs in various industries with innovation and technology vouchers, so as to encourage them to procure the relevant products and services (including cloud services and data analyses), thereby promoting the development of the innovation and technology industry; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
MR LEUNG KWOK-HUNG (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): Secretary for Innovation and Technology, please reply.
SECRETARY FOR INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY (in Cantonese): President, to promote sustained and diversified economic and social development, the Government is determined to develop the local innovation and technology (I&T) industries, in order to drive the upgrading and transformation of our overall economic structure, thereby enhancing Hong Kong's competitiveness.
My reply to the three parts of Mr MOK's question is as follows:
(1) The Government has been assisting local small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to compete in the market through multiple measures, including encouraging SMEs to bid for government tenders for information technology (IT) projects, and to increase their opportunity to be awarded these tenders. The Office of the Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) recruits contractors from the market through periodic open tendering exercises to 3006 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015
provide the four most frequently sought categories of IT professional services by government departments, and enter into Standing Offer Agreement for Quality Professional Services (SOA-QPS) with them. The prevailing Standing Offer Agreement for Quality Professional Services 3 (SOA-QPS3), the third version of SOA-QPS, came into effect in July 2013. Amongst the contractors under SOA-QPS3, a number of them are SMEs. In the past two years, IT services procured by the Government under SOA-QPS3 all came from local technology companies, with a total of 159 contracts (24% of the total) awarded to SMEs, involving a total contract value of HK$105.09 million (20% of the total).
In terms of government projects, the OGCIO introduced in February 2014 measures to encourage Government Bureaux and departments to break down large-scale government IT projects into multiple projects of smaller size, and to lower the tender and contract deposit levels. These measures have helped increase the chance for SMEs to be awarded government contracts. In addition, the OGCIO also encourages local suppliers (including SMEs) to bid for government tenders for IT projects through a series of measures. The measures include:
- providing "Quarterly Catalogue of Opportunities for Private Sector Participation" on the website of "Digital 21 Strategy";
- launching platforms such as "Suppliers Community Portal" and "IT Promotion Database" on the OGCIO website, so as to facilitate suppliers (including SMEs) to introduce their scope of business and products to all Government Bureaux and departments;
- launching the e-Procurement website to improve the tenderer's efficiency and reduce their efforts in preparing tender submission; and
- avoiding awarding to the same tenderer if the tender involves more than one contract.
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On the condition of not violating the Agreement on Government Procurement of the World Trade Organization, the Government will continue to consider other feasible measures to encourage local suppliers (including SMEs) to tender for government IT projects.
(2) The Government has always been supporting different organizations to carry out research and development (R&D), and has introduced the Public Sector Trial Scheme (PSTS) to provide additional funding support to completed R&D projects funded by the Innovation and Technology Fund (ITF) for conducting trials in the public sector. The PSTS has so far supported over 100 projects, involving a funding of $160 million. These trial projects were applied in many different public organizations and benefited various sectors of the community.
To further promote the adoption of R&D outcomes funded by the ITF in the public sector, we have raised the funding ceiling of the PSTS from 30% of the original R&D project cost funded by ITF to 50% in 2014. The funding ceiling for projects undertaken by R&D Centres can even reach 100%. The purpose is to encourage the conduct of trials in larger scale, which would facilitate a more holistic assessment of the new technology in order to improve the products and services. We will consult the industry and relevant stakeholders and consider whether to further expand the scope of the PSTS.
(3) The Government has been encouraging enterprises (including SMEs) through different measures to proactively learn about the trends of I&T development, use more technology products and services, so as to enhance their competitiveness in the globalized market.
The "Sector-specific Programme" and "IT Training Programme for SMEs" introduced by the OGCIO develop suitable I&T applications, including cloud computing technology, for SMEs of different sectors, and provide relevant technology training for them. Around 38 000 employees in SMEs were already benefited.
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To enhance SMEs' understanding of cloud computing applications, the OGCIO published the "Practice Guide for Procuring Cloud Services" in 2013, and showcased success stories of the use of cloud computing on a website. Besides, the OGCIO also launched the "SME Cloud Promotion Campaign", providing relevant training courses and promotional activities to SMEs.
Different government departments also proactively adopt cloud services. To drive the development of related industries, we provide information of cloud services providers on a website for reference of enterprises (including SMEs).
All of the measures mentioned above encourage SMEs to learn more about and adopt I&T applications, thereby helping them enhance their competitiveness and integrate into the globalized market. We note that certain overseas regions provide "innovation vouchers" or similar assistance to SMEs. We would further draw on the experiences of these places, especially the effectiveness of these measures, which would facilitate our consideration on measures to improve technological level and competitiveness of the industry.
MR CHARLES PETER MOK (in Cantonese): President, I notice that parts (1), (2) and (3) of the Secretary's reply just state that the Government will continue to consider feasible measures, consider whether to further expand the scope of the PSTS, and consider measures to improve the industry. President, I am all for R&D. Nevertheless, I hope such work can be left for the R&D Centres and the Bureau does not engage excessively or solely in research. I understand that the Secretary has just assumed duty and he needs some time, but hopefully not too long. Next year's budget offers a good opportunity and I hope more new measures will be added. Neither Members nor the industry want to wait another year.
President, my supplementary question is to follow up on the issue of outsourcing, especially the part concerning T-contract staff. President may LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 3009 remember that I asked C Y LEUNG about this issue back in July. Standing in the middle of the Chamber, he urged me to ask the Secretary these questions after the Innovation and Technology Bureau was established. Hence, I am now asking the Secretary. Currently, civil servants in the OGCIO are already outnumbered by T-contract staff, thus giving rise to problems like equal job different pay, failure to retain talent, talent gap, and so on. Now that the Government has taken the lead to contract out, the image of workers in the industry is affected, thereby causing young people to make careful consideration before joining the trade. Therefore, I want to ask the Secretary what policy he will introduce to improve this situation.
SECRETARY FOR INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY (in Cantonese): President, I thank Mr MOK for his supplementary question. The job nature and duties of civil servants are not the same as those so-called T-contract staff. There is a fundamental difference. I would like to point out that, in the first place, T-contract staff are not required to shoulder the unique responsibilities of civil servants. When choosing job duties, T-contract staff are given more freedom. Besides we have also set out in the T-contracts that the contractors are obliged to comply with employment laws in Hong Kong, and that as responsible employers, they are not allowed to impose unreasonable terms in the employment contracts. The Government will keep an eye on their performance. When such need arises, we will formulate and review the relevant administrative measures and guidelines so as to ensure proper discharge of contractual responsibilities.
Nonetheless, I would also like to point out that as different government departments may have different requirements for T-contract and the scope of duties of various kinds of T-contract staff may not be the same, we still need to learn more about this aspect to determine whether an unjust situation does exist. Further, I wish to make a point that if T-contract staff demonstrate good performance and are interested in civil service or non-civil service contract positions, they have a choice to join the Government. It is always possible. This is the simple reply I would like to give in this respect.
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MR CHARLES PETER MOK (in Cantonese): President, I am not sure whether the Secretary is not aware of the news that many people indeed want to switch to the civil service establishment but cannot do so because the Government is not opening positions. President, it is pointless for me to keep arguing with the Secretary on this. I really hope he will try his best to help these workers so that they can join the Government ― as he has just said and I took his word for it ― I hope he will try his best to enable them to join the Government and become formal civil servants.
MR LEUNG KWOK-HUNG (in Cantonese): President, I wish to follow up on Mr Charles Peter MOK's supplementary question. The Secretary mentioned in part (2) of his main reply that many organizations in the public sector have adopted the R&D outcomes of projects funded by the ITF. He has presented numbers as well as percentages. At present, "the funding ceiling for projects undertaken by R&D Centres can even reach 100%." He is eager to enumerate in great details things that he likes or deems necessary. Mr Charles Peter MOK, in the industry's interest, has pointed out that some young people want to join the IT or innovation industry ― most of them only want a humble job, yet when they get the job, the Government, out of cost saving motives, turns them into contract staff who are not considered professionals. What is more, they are not sure if they still have a job tomorrow … no, they are not sure if their contracts will be renewed upon expiry, and hence there are no grounds for promotion.
As such, I want to ask the Secretary why he favours one and discriminates against the other. The Secretary said in part (2) of his main reply, "the Government has always been supporting different organizations to carry out R&D", and he substantiated his words by data and how much work has been done. Why did he not provide any data when answering Mr Charles Peter MOK's supplementary question? Say, for example, reducing the number of contract staff to 20%. Are there data like these? Or the Secretary is just making a throwaway remark here?
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr LEUNG, please let the Secretary reply.
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SECRETARY FOR INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY (in Cantonese): I thank Mr LEUNG for his supplementary question. First off, I do not favour anyone and discriminate against the other, because like I have just suggested, expanding the funding scope is to encourage the introduction of the PSTS and enlarge its scale. This is the main reason. As regards the extent of expansion, it really depends on the demand for and the capacity of the project itself, because even with funding provided some projects may not necessarily result in success. In addition, one point I want to highlight is that in face of the current globalized economy, our support rendered to SMEs is mainly to help them integrate into the globalized market. Our assistance is rather limited if it is only provided by the public sector or the market in Hong Kong. The first step to help them is to put the projects on trial, which are eventually subject to global competition. Hence, our most important task is to support our SMEs to face worldwide competition.
MR LEUNG KWOK-HUNG (in Cantonese): President, I do not understand what the Secretary is talking about. In part (2) of his main reply he meticulously illustrated how funding is made, so why is it not related, buddy?
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr LEUNG, it is because you have stated too many opinions which are irrelevant to the supplementary question.
Secretary, Members are interested in knowing not the numbers you have mentioned in part (2) but the issue about contract staff which Mr MOK has brought up. Do you want to respond to this?
MR LEUNG KWOK-HUNG (in Cantonese): President, you are very clever. Does he get it? He really does favour one and discriminate against the other.
SECRETARY FOR INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY (in Cantonese): All right. Following the continuous development of electronic government services and the efforts to facilitate the execution of various infrastructure and works in connection with the Digital 21 Strategy, there has been a steadily 3012 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 growing demand for the Government to hire IT personnel in recent years. However, T-contract staff are not government employees, and we have no mechanism or scheme to directly change the status of such staff hired by T-contract contractors to civil servants or non-civil service contract workers at the moment. Nevertheless, as I have indicated just now, if individual workers are interested in relevant civil service or non-civil service contract positions, they can consider applying for them. For example, the Government has started implementing open recruitment exercises for IT Analyst/Programmer II since 2009. Every year, some T-contract staff apply for the relevant positions through open recruitment and get the jobs subsequently. If Mr LEUNG wants to get the actual numbers, I can provide them in writing. (Appendix III)
DR ELIZABETH QUAT (in Cantonese): President, even though the Government explains today that it has already employed many methods and measures to help SMEs in the industry to develop, all these are just old-fashioned ideas, as the Government will only contract out to the industry what it wants to develop. Now that the Innovation and Technology Bureau has been set up, does it dare to break new ground and adopt innovative mindset and ways to help the industry develop? For example, as many people or industry practitioners can think of new ways to help improve public service so that better service can be provided, could the Government consider co-operating with the industry or creating opportunities for it to put forward such ideas, so that SMEs can come up with some innovative ways to provide better government services to the public through new platforms? If the Government is willing to disclose more information, it can create more business opportunities for SMEs. But then, what I have found in the main reply is that the Government is still sticking to the age-old practice rather than adopting any innovative mindset …
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Dr QUAT, you are repeating the comments you made just now. Please raise your supplementary question.
DR ELIZABETH QUAT (in Cantonese): … Therefore, I want to ask the Secretary this: Now that we have established a new bureau, what kind of LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 3013 innovative mindset will the Secretary adopt and will he release more information to enable SMEs to develop?
SECRETARY FOR INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY (in Cantonese): In fact, Dr QUAT and I have lately been discussing …
(Mr Gary FAN stood up)
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr Gary FAN, what is your point?
MR GARY FAN (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): Secretary for Innovation and Technology, please reply Dr Elizabeth QUAT's supplementary question.
SECRETARY FOR INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY (in Cantonese): President, I will try to give three answers to quickly reply the supplementary question raised by Dr QUAT. First, I have brought up SOA-QPS3 earlier on. There is a four-year gap between signing SOA-QPS3 and SOA-QPS2, meaning that the OGCIO will strengthen the SOA-QPS every four years. The difference between SOA-QPS2 and SOA-QPS3 is that we have added services like professional services, information security and independent testing services. I believe we will keep strengthening service categories of such kinds in the future. Second, I would like to add that recently I have had a discussion with the industry on the future of smart cities, and the focus of our discussion is on the topic of 3014 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 open public sector information. We are also aware that the Government does not back up all data. So, how are we going to resolve such a problem? After some exchange of views we found that we can consider establishing public-private partnerships to break the impasse. This seems to be a feasible, forward-looking approach. I wish to point out that the most important way which is of most help to the industry and especially SMEs is to allow them to integrate with the advanced and future standards and platforms. This is of utmost importance. For example, the next generation Internet standards and platforms should among those to be considered, as they can drive the industry towards further development and progress.
MS EMILY LAU (in Cantonese): President, just now Mr Charles Peter MOK suggested the Secretary not making too many research efforts, as the Secretary's reply to the three questions was mainly about consultation and research. From a certain perspective, this may be considered reasonable because the Secretary has just assumed office. But then, I also remember the Secretary has asserted, when assuming duty, that he will definitely accomplish something even though he only has one or two years in his term. I have no idea when the Secretary can accomplish something if he just keeps researching and researching. Or he was saying that in such a short period of time of just two years, he would deal mainly with research matters and implement concrete plans in his next term pending his reappointment?
SECRETARY FOR INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY (in Cantonese): President, right now I can only propose different ways to do my job. I hope Members will give me a chance to accomplish something. That is what I can say. Why? As a matter of fact, even though I have assumed office for three weeks, I have been working round the clock.
MR SIN CHUNG-KAI (in Cantonese): President, I would like to follow up on part (2) of the main reply, which states that over 100 projects have been on trial in the public sector, involving a funding of $160 million. I believe it refers to the amount of funding allocated to those research projects, which is $160 million for LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 3015 over 100 projects. I would like to ask the Secretary this: Among the more than 100 projects involving a funding of $160 million, how many of them can commercialize the results of the trials?
(THE PRSIDENT'S DEPUTY, MR ANDREW LEUNG, took the Chair)
SECRETARY FOR INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY (in Cantonese): Part (2) of the main reply is about the PSTS, implying that these projects are under trial with readily available R&D results. As regards the question of whether the results can be applied to resolving some social problems or be commercialized, I can provide a few pretty successful examples for Mr SIN's consideration. First, the Hong Kong Polytechnic University has tested an interactive robotic training system on stroke patients in elderly homes. The system helps stroke patients exercise their hands and arms, thereby speeding up the rehabilitation progress. Second, the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel has teamed up with the Hong Kong Sports Institute to develop high-tech racing suits for the Hong Kong Rowing Team at the 2014 Asian Games and there have already been notable achievements. Third, the Hong Kong R&D Centre for Logistics and Supply Chain Management Enabling Technologies has developed some radio frequency identification technology for verifying the authenticity of products, and the Centre has collaborated with the Hong Kong Retail Technology Industry Association and some companies to test such technology. Fourth, the Nano and Advanced Materials Institute Limited and the Architecture Services Department have been working together to install a 10-kw solar cell demonstration system at a public hospital. This project, which employs high efficiency solar power technology, has also been put under trial.
MR SIN CHUNG-KAI (in Cantonese): Could the Secretary state specifically the number of projects that have already been commercialized? Just now the Secretary only gave some examples of those under trial.
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DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr SIN, you have already asked your question. Please let the Secretary reply.
SECRETARY FOR INNOVATION AND TECHNOLOGY (in Cantonese): Regarding the commercialization of R&D results, first off, it can only be achieved upon successful trials. I understand Mr SIN's question. He was asking me to provide the numbers. I can look into the records and provide a reply in writing. (Appendix IV)
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Sixth question.
Handling of Complaints by Government Hotline 1823
6. MR WONG YUK-MAN (in Cantonese): Deputy President, it has been reported that in recent months, someone made repeated calls to the government hotline 1823 complaining about offences, such as storage of dangerous goods, operation of a clubhouse without a licence and illegal gambling, in the offices of an educational institution, an online media organization and a cultural services organization. Although the relevant government departments confirmed after investigation that all of the complaints were totally groundless, such investigations nonetheless had seriously disturbed the daily operation of those organizations. It is learnt that the complaints originated from the same telephone number and were lodged anonymously. Also, some of the calls reported in one go several offences about the same organization, resulting in several government departments sending personnel to the organization concerned to conduct investigation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) given that the Office of The Ombudsman, Hong Kong does not accept anonymous complaints, why the relevant government departments accepted the aforesaid anonymous complaints lodged through the government hotline 1823; and
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(2) whether it has measures in place to prevent the aforesaid abuse of the government hotline 1823; if it does, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
CHIEF SECRETARY FOR ADMINISTRATION (in Cantonese): Deputy President, 1823 provides a round-the-clock one-stop service to answer enquiries for 22 participating government departments. 1823 also receives complaints about bureaux and departments, and reports on nuisance or suspected irregularities, and refers them to appropriate bureaux or departments for follow-up. The services rendered by 1823 not only facilitate interactions and communications between the public and the Government, but also enable the Government to provide more customized and efficient services. Apart from making calls to 1823, the public can also access 1823 services through mobile application, electronic form, email, fax, Short Message Service and post.
On complaint handling, 1823 does not have investigative functions and powers. Upon receipt of information or complaint cases, 1823 will record the case details and refer them to the appropriate bureaux or departments for follow-up. The bureaux or departments will take account of whether the information provided is sufficient and whether it is within the Government's purview to handle those cases, and so on, to decide if those cases warrant investigation or follow-up actions against any violations. They will also decide on the extent to which resources should be expended in investigation and follow-up actions.
1823 will monitor case progress and provide replies to the complainant upon request by bureaux or departments. 1823 has set up a dedicated complaint handling team to render assistance in case handling and has developed a comprehensive network with bureaux or departments to strengthen communication and facilitate prompt response to the complaints.
As regards anonymous complaints which are of concern to Mr WONG Yuk-man, 1823 will also refer the cases to the appropriate bureaux or departments for follow-up. The public have their own reasons for making their complaints anonymously. Indeed, quite a number of anonymous complaints that 3018 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 we have received were genuine, valid and actionable. In general, bureaux and departments should handle anonymous complaints in the same way as signed complaints, and exercise common sense as to whether an anonymous complaint is too vague for identifying sufficient details for conducting effective investigation.
To prevent abuse of the 1823 complaint service, at present, if a department has decided not to take any further action on a particular case, 1823 will not refer the same complaint to the department. In addition, 1823 plans to adopt further measures as below to prevent abuse of its services:
(1) For complaints involving a number of departments, 1823 will notify all the departments concerned to facilitate their consideration of arranging joint site visits, so that disturbance that may be caused to the organization under complaint could be reduced;
(2) Where an organization is subject to frequent complaints over a short period of time, 1823 will alert the relevant departments of such cases.
MR WONG YUK-MAN (in Cantonese): Deputy President, the Chief Secretary just gave his reply as a formality. Buddy, his reply is nothing but hot air, right? Some of the cases I have on hand are related to me, and so I can share the feeling about the situation in question.
Between July and November, the Proletariat Political Institute, the Passion Times, the Hong Kong Resurgence Order and the Local Press, which are regarded as dissident political groups or organizations and suppressed by the Government, were subject to a total of 27 investigations by various government departments, including 90-odd units such as the Hong Kong Police Force, the Education Bureau, the Labour Department, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department and the Environmental Protection Department. This is definitely a form of nuisance, which I believe is malicious in nature. They will certainly say that it does not matter at all, as a system is in place to handle malicious complaints or abuse. Yet, this is actually not the case, and there is no way to lodge any complaint.
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The question I raise to the Chief Secretary is actually a waste of effort, so is her reply. I just want to use the question to let the world learn about the means employed by the Government to suppress political dissidents. This is indeed one alternative way, and it is so effective! Now that everyone can lodge complaints, if one day I should file 90-odd complaints against her home or LEUNG Chun-ying, would the complaints be handled by any government department? Definitely not, and the rationale is very simple. I do not need her reply to my supplementary question. I am just making use of this opportunity to tell Members that the Government is trying to curb localism by any possible means. That's it.
MR GARY FAN (in Cantonese): Deputy President, I request a headcount.
DEPUTY 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)
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Chief Secretary for Administration, please answer Mr WONG Yuk-man's supplementary question.
CHIEF SECRETARY FOR ADMINISTRATION (in Cantonese): Deputy President, thank you for giving me a chance to reply. Mr WONG Yuk-man, not present at this moment, has made some unreasonable accusations in the supplementary question he raised earlier.
First of all, I have given an unequivocal reply to the two parts of his question. I have explained why complaints made anonymously are accepted by relevant government departments, and I am not going to repeat myself here. One of the important reasons is that we find many of these complaints, despite their anonymity, are valid and true and need to be followed up. On the second part, I have studied the points of concern raised in Mr WONG's question together 3020 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 with colleagues from the Efficiency Unit, and we believe certain measures can be strengthened to prevent people from abusing the government hotline 1823 and lodging repetitive anonymous complaints.
The second point I wish to make in response is that we handle all complaints raised by members of the public on the work of bureaus or relevant departments in a highly serious and conscientious manner, as I consider handling complaints a major component of good governance. We handle complaints in a non-discriminatory manner. Unlike what Mr WONG has accused, we never resort to the handling of complaints as any form of political tool.
The third point I wish to make is that Mr WONG has made use of the precious occasion of oral question to raise a question on complaint handling, and such a move has indeed actually aroused my curiosity. Hence, I have asked the Efficiency Unit to go over the complaints lodged over the past few months against the three types of organization mentioned in Mr WONG's question, namely educational institution, online media organization and cultural services organization. It is found that 35 anonymous complaints lodged over the past few months were related to those three types of organizations. As mentioned in Mr WONG's supplementary question earlier, these complaints involved several irregularities, such as unauthorized building structures, unlicensed food business operation, illegal workers, hygiene problems, illegal gambling, fire safety, as well as smoking in no smoking areas. We have transferred the cases to the 19 departments involved. Some of the departments have already arranged site visits; some have explained the guidelines and complaint procedures to the complainants; and some have found it impossible to conduct any meaningful investigation, citing inadequate information in the complaints.
However, a point Mr WONG may find worth noting is that three out of these 35 anonymous complaints have been confirmed by relevant departments as non-compliant cases so far, and the necessary follow-up actions are being taken. Therefore, the situation is unlike what Mr WONG has put in the main question, which claims that "the relevant government departments confirmed after investigation that all of the complaints were totally groundless". The remark of "totally groundless" comes merely from Mr WONG himself.
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MR CHARLES PETER MOK (in Cantonese): Deputy President, the question involving 1823 reminds me of a news report which points out that some government departments do not use this central hotline number at all. I think there must be objectives behind the implementation of this policy by the Government, and the most important ones are of course to offer convenience to the public and to achieve higher efficiency. Nevertheless, as I recall, some news reports had pointed out that some departments set a number of their own instead of using this one. I surely do not know the rationale behind. I find it strange that there are some areas where even the Chief Secretary for Administration is unable to make them follow suit. My question is: Is the Chief Secretary aware of the situation, the reasons why the departments are doing so, and the number of departments involved?
CHIEF SECRETARY FOR ADMINISTRATION (in Cantonese): I thank Mr MOK for his supplementary question. In fact, as I pointed out in the main reply earlier, a total of 22 departments are served by the government hotline 1823. If Mr MOK is interested, I can provide him with a list later on. (Appendix V) Why are there only 22 departments included in the government hotline 1823? It is not a question of whether they submit to the Chief Secretary for Administration's request. Rather, these departments are unable to transfer their hotline services to 1823 due to many practical considerations.
Let me cite an example. The Water Supplies Department, which was under my management when I was the Secretary for Development, has a very large hotline service centre of its own. This is because, as we all know, the department has to serve a huge number of water supply accounts in Hong Kong, and they also need to handle a great deal of enquiries and complaints which are more technical and complicated in nature. Therefore, it is not easy to include the hotlines of all such departments into the 1823 hotline service. However, I can tell Mr MOK that it takes a continuous process for the departments to join 1823. In other words, these 22 departments joined the hotline gradually instead of doing so on the very first day. When we note that an opportunity arises or when departments see that it is right time for them to transfer to the 1823 hotline on the heels of the streamlining of procedures or the other work done, they will then do so. The Hong Kong Housing Authority and the Housing Department are the newest departmental additions to 1823.
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MR CHARLES PETER MOK (in Cantonese): Deputy President, may I ask the Chief Secretary to really offer us the information on those 22 departments.
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr MOK, the Chief Secretary has got what you requested.
MR LEUNG KWOK-HUNG (in Cantonese): Deputy President, Mr WONG Yuk-man has actually made it clear to the Chief Secretary that in his view, some so-called localism organizations were subject to investigation because of the numerous anonymous complaints made by people abusing the hotline.
I consider the question valid indeed. If I call government agencies using different anonymous numbers to make multifarious complaints against the Democratic Alliance for the Betterment and Progress of Hong Kong, they will pay attention to the reasons why such a large number of anonymous calls or calls from the same phone number are made to lodge complaints against a certain type of political organization. In my view, her remark is unfair. If Hong Kong is developed into a state where organizations of opposing or diverse political stances complain each other using anonymous calls, the Government would need to tackle the situation. Actually, I have told Mr WONG Yuk-man that he has the right to deny entry by officers of relevant agencies, as they do not have the order of the Court, right?
Hence, I would like to ask the Chief Secretary to enlighten me on this: If I am under this situation, do I have the right to deny their entry as they do not have the order of the Court; and is it an offence in law to deny their entry?
CHIEF SECRETARY FOR ADMINISTRATION (in Cantonese): Hong Kong is a place where the rule of law prevails, and where every one of us has to act in accordance with the law; besides, the rights of individuals are protected under the Basic Law, and so I think Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung can rest assured. However, I wish to clarify one point. When I said earlier that we saw the need to follow up three of the 35 anonymous cases, I did not specify the nature or stream of the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 3023 political organizations involved in the cases. I merely pointed out that these 35 anonymous complaints were related to the three types of organization mentioned in Mr WONG Yuk-man's main question, namely educational institution, online media organization and cultural services organization.
MR LEUNG KWOK-HUNG (in Cantonese): Deputy President, she has not answered my supplementary question which asks in the event that an anonymous complaint is received by 1832 and a relevant department also claims to have received a complaint from 1832, can those being complained deny the government agency officers entry to their premises if an order of the Court is not presented?
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): You have repeated your supplementary question. Chief Secretary for Administration, do you have anything to add?
CHIEF SECRETARY FOR ADMINISTRATION (in Cantonese): First, to avoid misleading the public, our telephone hotline is 1823 instead of 1832. As Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung has a large audience, may he please not do any negative publicity?
Deputy President, I believe that Members understand the level of checks and balances imposed on the rights of an individual under certain circumstances, and one has to act in accordance with the law. Hence, it is inappropriate for me to make a general reply here.
MR SIN CHUNG-KAI (in Cantonese): Deputy President, 1823 is a way of receiving complaints introduced some 10-odd years ago. Given the advancement of technology nowadays, many in the political world are also using WhatsApp right now. Will the Chief Secretary consider encouraging different departments to receive complaints through the use of new media? For instance, when lodging complaints with images, members of the public may take pictures 3024 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 or video instantly to show how much rubbish or obstruction there is in a place, and then have their complaints sent through WhatsApp as an alternative. I wonder if the Chief Secretary will consider encouraging departments to introduce new media as a means to receive complaints.
CHIEF SECRETARY FOR ADMINISTRATION (in Cantonese): Deputy President, we have been using such technology over the past period of time. And that is why I have pointed out in the main reply that apart from making calls to 1823, the public can also access 1823 services through mobile application, electronic form, email, fax and Short Message Service. In particular, when I was the Secretary of Development, as Members may recall, there was grave public concern about the safety of trees in Hong Kong; and I was aware that the Efficiency Unit had helped the Development Bureau develop a mobile application through which the public could inform the relevant departments of trees grown in any given area that were found to be in an unsafe situation, so that the departments concerned could take follow-up actions.
MR NG LEUNG-SING (in Cantonese): Deputy President, speaking of the complaints received by 1823, I have also received complaints here through the phone. According to the complainant, there is no way to have a full picture of how the meeting is conducted today through our re-broadcasting or live radio broadcast, as the meeting is conducted intermittently. As pointed out by Mr WONG Yuk-man earlier on, as many as 27 headcounts have been requested. After all, the many headcounts made have triggered reaction from members of the public today. They aspire to see how public services are currently monitored by this Council, yet they are unable to do so due to the unceasing interruptions during the process of the Council meeting. Therefore, regarding such complaints, I have read in the main reply remark of "reports on nuisance or suspected irregularities", should the relevant …
(Mr Albert CHAN stood up to indicate his wish to request a headcount)
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DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr Albert CHAN requested a headcount. 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)
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr NG Leung-sing, please go on with your supplementary question.
MR NG LEUNG-SING (in Cantonese): Deputy President, regarding the situation of the complaint hotline 1823 mentioned earlier, some taxpayers or members of the public have actually relayed to me today that while they aspire to learn about public affairs, the incessant headcount requests at the Council meeting have barred them from looking at the development of public affairs in a continuous manner. They are greatly displeased with this and have thus asked me how they may complain. At our timely discussion on the 1823 hotline today, I would like to ask the Chief Secretary this: If taxpayers and members of the public wish to learn about public affairs but are interrupted along the way, so much so that they have no way to do so within a reasonable time frame, can they lodge a complaint through 1823? If they can, how will their complaints be handled? If not, what can they do to further sort out a reasonable way to resolve the problem?
CHIEF SECRETARY FOR ADMINISTRATION (in Cantonese): Deputy President, when members of the public feel discontent about what transpires in the community or any service or behaviour involving the Government, they may lodge a complaint through the government hotline 1823. In fact, I have no idea whether any member of the public would lodge a complaint to 1823 because of the unceasing headcount requests or an aborted meeting at the Legislative Council lately. Even if they would, I believe that our colleagues would make a judgment based on common sense and point out that as there is no way to follow up such kind of situation, they would just put the complaints in record.
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MR KENNETH LEUNG (in Cantonese): Deputy President, may I ask the Chief Secretary whether 1823 would provide yearly statistics on the complaint cases handled and whether some of the complaints would be transferred to the Office of The Ombudsman directly?
CHIEF SECRETARY FOR ADMINISTRATION (in Cantonese): I thank Mr LEUNG for his supplementary question. The Efficiency Unit has kept a clear record on the cases handled by 1823 every year. Last year, for example, we received a total of 4 million or so calls, of which 1.9 million were enquiries and 352 000 were calls lodging complaints. As regards the way in which the Efficiency Unit shares with the public the figures obtained or its workload concerned, I have to look into the matter first. That said, I believe the information is public in nature; otherwise, Members may still raise questions during the annual examination of the Budget by the Legislative Council, and we will definitely provide such requested information. In any event, enhancing the transparency of departmental work is what we should do. Hence, I will follow up the matter.
In addition, we will not directly transfer the complaints received to the Office of The Ombudsman. Instead, we will first refer them to relevant bureaux and departments for consideration, and they will proceed with any subsequent investigation or follow-up directly. As Mr LEUNG is well aware, the Office of The Ombudsman has a complaint handling mechanism of its own. (Appendix VI)
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Oral questions end here.
(As the proposed resolution under Rule 91 of the Rules of Procedure was negatived, Questions 7 to 9 set out in the Agenda were not asked at this Council meeting)
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 3027
WRITTEN ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS
Escalator and Walkway Systems
10. MR FRANKIE YICK (in Chinese): President, the Central-Mid-Levels Escalator and Walkway System (CML Escalator System) was commissioned in 1993. The Government built the CML Escalator System with the aim of encouraging members of the public to walk and relieving the pressure on the road traffic in the Mid-Levels. It is learnt that the Government originally planned to build six similar escalator systems at the time but eventually completed only the CML Escalator System due to the excessively high construction costs. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of average daily person-times using the CML Escalator System in each of the past 10 years;
(2) whether it has assessed the effectiveness of the CML Escalator System in alleviating traffic congestion within the district; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(3) given that the Government has planned to conduct refurbishment works for the CML Escalator System in phases starting from 2017, and some members of the public are concerned about the inconvenience caused to them when the CML Escalator System breaks down or is under maintenance, coupled with the fact that the utilization of the CML Escalator System has almost reached saturation, whether the authorities will consider building another escalator system in the same district; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(4) of the details of the other five escalator systems which were originally planned to be built; whether the authorities have plans to restart the plan concerned; if they do, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
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SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT AND HOUSING (in Chinese): President, my reply to Mr Frankie YICK's question is as follows:
Commenced in October 1993, the Central-Mid-Levels Escalator and Walkway System is the first of its kind in Hong Kong. This hillside escalator link starts at Des Voeux Road Central, passes through various narrow streets in Central and ends at Conduit Road. The purpose of installing this hillside escalator link was to promote walking, and to relieve the pressure on road traffic.
In the past decade, the Transport Department (TD) conducted usage surveys covering the whole Central-Mid-Levels Escalator and Walkway System in 2005 and 2010. According to the survey results, there were about 54 000 daily pedestrian trips in 2005 and 85 000 daily pedestrian trips in 2010 for the entire system. The TD has arranged to conduct another usage survey in 2016 so as to collect the latest figures before commencing the refurbishment works in 2017. According to the TD's assessment, although the Central-Mid-Levels Escalator and Walkway System is useful in relieving the demand for public transport services, it has not led to a large number of motorists giving up driving nor reducing significantly the traffic flow in the Mid-Levels area.
After the completion of the Central-Mid-Levels Escalator and Walkway System in 1993, the Government proposed in 1999 to build six similar escalator systems on the Hong Kong Island. Among these proposed links, the Fortress Hill Pedestrian Link and the Centre Street Escalator Link were commissioned and opened to the public in 2007 and 2013 respectively.
For the construction of the hillside escalator links and elevator system, the Government published in 2009 a set of comprehensive, objective and transparent scoring criteria for assessing different proposals so as to determine the priority for conducting preliminary technical feasibility studies for the 20 proposals received at that time. The Government consulted the Legislative Council Panel on Transport in May 2009 on the proposed criteria and reported the assessment results to the Panel on Transport again in February 2010. Two proposals were screened out initially, and 18 others were ranked. The Government indicated at the time that preliminary technical feasibility studies for the proposals ranked top 10 in the assessment would be conducted by batches, and that the remaining proposals would be followed up after the smooth implementation of the top 10 proposals. The progress of the proposed projects is set out as follows.
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Rank Proposal Progress of the project 1 Pedestrian Link at Tsz Wan - This Link is being implemented under Shan the Shatin to Central Link project. Construction works of the Link commenced in July 2012 and are scheduled for completion in phases by end 2016 (certain sections of the covered walkways were completed and opened to the public in 2014). 2 Braemar Hill Pedestrian Link - The preliminary technical feasibility study has been completed. The Highways Department (HyD) has engaged consultants to carry out the investigation works and preliminary design. 3 Lift and Pedestrian Walkway - The preliminary technical feasibility System at Cheung Hang study, investigation works and Estate, Tsing Yi preliminary design have been completed. The project was authorized in June 2015. The HyD is carrying out detailed design for the proposal. 4 Escalator Link and - The preliminary technical feasibility Pedestrian Walkway System study has been completed. The HyD at Pound Lane consulted the Central and Western District Council on the refined proposal in January 2015 and held a public forum in April 2015. The Department is collating and analysing the comments received. 5 Lift and Pedestrian Walkway - The preliminary technical feasibility System between Kwai Shing study, investigation works and Circuit and Hing Shing Road preliminary design have been completed. The project was also gazetted in October 2015. 6 Lift and Pedestrian Walkway - The preliminary technical feasibility System between Castle Peak study has been completed. The HyD Road and Kui Yip Street has engaged consultants to carry out the investigation work and preliminary design for the project. 3030 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015
Rank Proposal Progress of the project 7 Lift and Pedestrian Walkway - The preliminary technical feasibility System between Lai Cho study has been completed. The HyD Road and Wah Yiu Road has engaged consultants to carry out the investigation works and preliminary design. 8 Pedestrian Link at Chuk - The preliminary technical feasibility Yuen North Estate study has been completed. The HyD has engaged a consultancy to carry out the investigation works and preliminary design. Having consulted the Traffic and Transport Committee of the Wong Tai Sin District Council on the project's preliminary design in July 2015, the HyD is examining the feasibility of other alternatives in the light of the request of the Committee. 9 Lift and Pedestrian Walkway - The preliminary technical feasibility System in Waterloo Hill study, investigation works and preliminary design have been completed. The project was authorized in August 2014. The HyD is carrying out detailed design for the proposal. 10 Lift and Pedestrian Walkway - It is revealed in the preliminary System between Lai King technical feasibility study that the Hill Road and Lai Cho Road project involves two dangerous private slopes.
- The party responsible for maintaining the private slopes should hire authorized persons or contractors to carry out the repair work concerned.
- According to the information of the Buildings Department (BD), the party responsible for maintaining the private slopes concerned will conduct the investigation works and design for the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 3031
Rank Proposal Progress of the project design and repair works required under the Dangerous Hillside Orders issued by the BD.
- The HyD will continue to liaise with the BD to learn the progress and will revisit the project after the responsible party has completed repairing the dangerous slopes satisfactorily. 11 Lift and Pedestrian Walkway - Upon examining the implementation System between Tai Wo Hau progress of the higher-ranking Road and Wo Tong Tsui proposals and reviewing its manpower Street resources, the HyD has commenced the preliminary technical feasibility study for this proposal in accordance with the ranking. The study has been completed, and this project is initially considered technically feasible.
- The HyD engaged consultants for the investigation works and preliminary design for this proposal in August 2015. 12 Lift and Pedestrian Walkway - Upon examining the implementation System at Luen On Street progress of the higher-ranking proposed projects and reviewing the available manpower resources, the HyD has commenced the preliminary technical feasibility study for this proposal in accordance with the ranking. The study has been completed, and this project is initially considered technically feasible.
- The HyD engaged a consultancy for the investigation work and preliminary design for this project in August 2015. 3032 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015
Rank Proposal Progress of the project 13 Yuet Wah Street Pedestrian - To complement the Kwun Tong Town Linkage Centre Redevelopment, the Civil Engineering and Development Department commenced the Yuet Wah Street Pedestrian Linkage in April 2013. This has been substantially completed and is opened to the public in October 2015. 14 Escalator Link System - This proposal would be followed up between Hong Sing Garden after the smooth implementation of the and Po Hong Road higher-ranking proposals. 15 Lift and Pedestrian Walkway - The Hospital Authority (HA) has System between Lai King completed the technical feasibility Hill Road and Princess study, ground investigation and Margaret Hospital preliminary design for the lift tower works at Princess Margaret Hospital. The tendering exercise for the foundation works of the lift tower was completed in October 2015. The HA will work closely with relevant departments, and will complete the works as soon as possible while ensuring that the construction will not affect the normal operation of the hospital. 16 Lift and Pedestrian Walkway - This proposal would be followed up System between Saddle after the smooth implementation of the Ridge Garden and Sai Sha higher-ranking proposals. Road 17 Lift and Pedestrian Walkway - This proposal would be followed up System between Hing Shing after the smooth implementation of the Road and Tai Wo Hau Road higher-ranking proposals. 18 Escalator Link System - This proposal would be followed up between Sha Tin Sui Wo after the smooth implementation of the Court and MTR Fo Tan higher-ranking proposals. Station
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 3033
Handling of Complaints by Hospital Authority
11. MR CHUNG KWOK-PAN (in Chinese): President, recently, a member of the public has complained to me that the operation he underwent at Yan Chai Hospital under the Hospital Authority (HA) a few years ago had adverse effects and he subsequently lodged complaints repeatedly with HA, but to no avail. He also said that he received a written reply only or even no reply after each complaint, and no healthcare personnel had ever explained to him face-to-face. As a result, both he and his family members experienced emotional distress. Regarding the handling of complaints by HA, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the number of complaints received by HA from patients and the number of cases in which the complainants appealed to HA's Public Complaints Committee (PCC) against the outcome of the handling of their complaints, in each of the past three years, with a breakdown by the public hospital concerned and content of the complaint; whether there was an upward trend for such numbers of complaints in the past three years; if so, whether HA has looked into the reasons for that, and whether HA will review the quality of healthcare services provided by public hospitals;
(2) given that at present, the target response time for complaints by public hospitals is within six weeks (for complex cases, within three months), while that by PCC is within three to six months, whether it knows the respective average and longest times taken by public hospitals and PCC to respond to complaints in each of the past three years; of the reasons why some cases took longer time to respond; whether HA will take measures to shorten the response time for complaints;
(3) whether it has reviewed its publicity for the existing channels available for lodging complaints about services provided by public hospitals; whether it will step up such publicity, and provide more complaint channels; and
(4) whether it knows if HA will review the procedure for PCC to handle complaints and improve HA's approach for communicating with complainants, including handling complaints in a more humane 3034 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015
manner, e.g. in addition to giving a simple written reply to the complainant, arranging a doctor to meet with the complainant to explain the situation relating to the complaint, so as to avoid the complainant experiencing emotional distress due to the feeling that his complaint has not been seriously handled; if HA will review, of the details; if HA will not, the reasons for that?
SECRETARY FOR FOOD AND HEALTH (in Chinese): President, the Hospital Authority (HA) has a two-tier system to handle complaints from patients and public. The first tier is at the hospital level which is responsible for handling all complaints lodged for the first time. If the complainants are not satisfied with the outcome of the complaint, they may appeal to the second tier, that is the Public Complaints Committee (PCC) of the HA. The PCC is established under the HA Board responsible for independently considering and deciding on all appeal cases and putting forward recommendations on service improvement to the HA. Members of the PCC are not employees of the HA and, by virtue of their independent status, will handle all complaints fairly and impartially.
My reply to various parts of the question raised by Mr CHUNG Kwok-pan is as follows:
(1) There were 2 528, 2 644 and 2 394 complaints handled by public hospitals in 2012-2013, 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 respectively. The following tables set out the breakdown of complaints by cluster and category:
2012-2013
Total Kowloon East Kowloon Kowloon West Kowloon Hong Kong East Kong Hong Hong Kong West Kong Hong Kowloon Central Kowloon New Territories East New New Territories West New Medical services 52 102 147 280 465 145 191 1 382 Staff attitude 13 64 62 89 166 74 69 537 Administrative matters 2 32 40 101 120 64 43 402 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 3035
Total Kowloon East Kowloon Kowloon West Kowloon Hong Kong East Kong Hong Hong Kong West Kong Hong Kowloon Central Kowloon New Territories East New New Territories West New Overall performance 2 18 7 22 50 56 17 172 Others 4 2 7 21 1 0 0 35 Total 73 218 263 513 802 339 320 2 528
2013-2014
Total Kowloon East Kowloon Kowloon West Kowloon Hong Kong East Kong Hong Hong Kong West Kong Hong Kowloon Central Kowloon New Territories East New New Territories West New
Medical services 60 74 166 278 554 173 214 1 519 Staff attitude 9 51 73 86 195 67 68 549 Administrative matters 2 29 49 90 121 67 35 393 Overall performance 2 21 8 20 37 62 15 165 Others 1 1 8 7 1 0 0 18 Total 74 176 304 481 908 369 332 2 644
2014-2015
Total Kowloon East Kowloon Kowloon West Kowloon Hong Kong East Kong Hong Hong Kong West Kong Hong Kowloon Central Kowloon New Territories East New New Territories WestNew Medical services 36 112 200 248 486 183 146 1 411 Staff attitude 3 59 67 55 179 71 27 461 Administrative matters 1 45 51 49 131 48 28 353 3036 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015
Total Kowloon East Kowloon Kowloon West Kowloon Hong Kong East Kong Hong Hong Kong West Kong Hong Kowloon Central Kowloon New Territories East New New Territories WestNew Overall performance 1 17 14 10 53 33 12 140 Others 1 1 20 2 5 0 0 29 Total 42 234 352 364 854 335 213 2 394
Note:
The figures listed in the above tables do not include complaints lodged against the services of HA and HA Head Office.
The PCC handled 219, 289 and 281 appeal cases in 2012-2013, 2013-2014 and 2014-2015 respectively. The following table sets out the breakdown of the cases by category:
2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015 Medical services 149 206 206 Staff attitude 32 38 28 Administrative matters 28 33 39 Others 10 12 8 Total 219 289 281
Overall speaking, the number of cases (including complaints and appeals) handled by the HA over the past three years was generally stable. In the course of complaint handling, if there are areas for improvement identified in the service delivery or healthcare system, the HA will take appropriate follow-up actions to ensure service quality.
(2) The HA sets a target response time in complaint handling so as to give complainants an idea of the approximate processing time for their complaints. The hospital and the PCC will, upon receipt of the complaint cases, handle them as soon as possible. The hospital and the PCC will also keep the complainants informed of the progress through interim replies at regular intervals.
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The target response time for the first tier of the complaint handling system is six weeks, and that for complex cases is three months. The HA does not maintain statistics regarding the average time and longest time taken by hospitals to respond to patient complaints.
The PCC's target response time is three to six months, with complex cases possibly taking longer time. The following table sets out the time taken by the PCC in handling appeal cases in the past three years:
2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015 Percentage of appeal 75% 68% 67% cases concluded (165 cases) (195 cases) (189 cases) within six months (number of cases) The longest time 29 months 19 months 24 months required for handling an appeal case
The appeal cases handled by the PCC vary in complexity. Complex cases take longer time and to process and the average processing time is about five months. The three appeal cases with the longest processing time as shown in the above table are very complex. To ensure that the decisions made were fair and impartial, the PCC had to conduct in-depth investigation, including inviting medical experts of different specialties to provide professional views on clinical care, or conducting multiple clarifications or evidence collection.
(3) The HA promotes its two-tier complaint handling system to the public through a number of channels including publishing pamphlets, uploading relevant information to its website, meeting patient groups on a regular basis, reporting annually the work progress to the HA Board, setting up an enquiry hotline, and displaying posters in public hospitals to introduce the channels for lodging complaints with and providing feedback to Patient Relations Officers. The public at present can already lodge complaints with the HA through multiple channels, including by letters, emails, faxes, telephone calls and in-person meeting the relevant staff.
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(4) In the course of complaint handling, the hospital will proactively follow up on the cases having regard to multiple factors like the nature of the complaints, the circumstances of the cases as well as the request of the complainant. Apart from giving response to the complainants, the hospital will also make arrangement for the complainants/patients concerned to meet the doctors where necessary so as to provide the appropriate assistance.
As a matter of fact, it is a routine practice for hospitals to arrange meetings of medical professionals with patients (or/and their family members) where necessary to explain to them their medical conditions and treatment plan, irrespective of whether the patients have lodged any complaint. If the patients or complainants are found to be emotionally disturbed, the hospital will, with the patient's consent, arrange appropriate referral in accordance with their clinical conditions, including recommending follow-up in relevant specialties or psychological counselling service.
Provision of Barrier-free Access and Facilities in Public Housing Estates
12. MR ALBERT CHAN (in Chinese): President, recently, some members of the public have relayed to me that quite a number of public housing estates currently lack barrier-free access and facilities (e.g. lifts, escalators, footbridges and ramps), causing inconvenience to residents with impaired mobility. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the names and locations of the public housing estates where addition or modernization works in relation to barrier-free access and facilities commenced in or after 2011 and have been completed, as well as the items covered by the works concerned (set out in a table); and
(2) of the names and locations of the public housing estates where addition or modernization works in relation to barrier-free access and facilities are in progress or planned to be carried out, the items covered by the works concerned as well as the dates on which the works commenced/anticipated to commence and anticipated to be completed (set out in a table)?
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SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT AND HOUSING (in Chinese): President, the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) endeavours to enhance barrier-free access and facilities in public rental housing (PRH) estates to meet the needs of residents, especially the elderly and persons with disabilities. We are proactively reviewing the barrier-free access and facilities of existing PRH estates and are implementing improvement programmes to ensure all residents having equal access to premises and use of facilities in PRH estates.
My reply to the two-part question raised by Mr Albert CHAN is as follows:
(1) To improve accessibility, the HA has, since 2010, implemented a barrier-free access and facility improvement programme for premises under its management, covering PRH estates and commercial facilities to follow the requirements laid out in the Government's Design Manual: Barrier Free Access 2008 as far as practicable. The improvement works involve providing ramps, suitable handrails and tactile guide paths connecting main estate entrances to major facilities within estate area, entrances of domestic blocks, and so on. Those works have been completed.
At the same time, the HA has implemented a Lift Addition Programme (LAP) in existing PRH estates as lifts constitute a major part of barrier-free access facilities. The programme enhances existing pedestrian access by adding lifts in common areas and adjacent to existing footbridges within PRH estates.
LAP is carried out in two phases. Stage 1 involves the provision of 70 lifts and 18 footbridges in 29 PRH estates under the HA, with a total construction cost of $740 million. This phase has been completed and the list of the 29 estates involved is at Annex 1.
In addition, the HA has completed a lift modernization programme for lift facilities in existing PRH estates to facilitate persons with visual and hearing impairments. Improvement items include the provision of illuminated visual indicators, tactile and braille call buttons, audible signals, and so on.
(2) After the completion of the aforesaid LAP Stage 1, the HA has launched Stage 2 which involves the provision of 13 lifts and nine footbridges in its eight PRH estates, with a total estimated 3040 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015
construction cost of $290 million. Construction works of all these projects have commenced and are scheduled for completion in phases by 2017. The list of the eight estates involved is at Annex 2.
Furthermore, some lifts in existing PRH blocks could not reach all floors due to technical constraints at the time of construction. The HA is conducting system check-ups for lifts commenced operation for 25 years or more and scheduling associated modernization works based on their conditions. Upon completion of the system check-ups and where the building structure permits, the HA will add lift openings for floors currently without one to improve barrier-free facilities in PRH estates. This lift modernisation works is an ongoing programme and the HA will continue its endeavours to implement this programme.
Annex 1
List of 29 PRH estates in which LAP Stage 1 have been completed
1 Shun Tin Estate 16 Kwai Chung Estate 2 Ping Tin Estate 17 Lai Yiu Estate 3 Choi Hung Estate 18 Kwai Shing East Estate 4 Ping Shek Estate 19 Kwai Shing West Estate 5 Shun On Estate 20 Tsz Lok Estate 6 Wo Lok Estate 21 Cheung Ching Estate 7 Oi Man Estate 22 Cheung Hong Estate 8 Yiu Tung Estate 23 Cheung Hang Estate 9 Wah Fu (I) Estate 24 Lei Muk Shue (II) Estate 10 Wah Fu (II) Estate 25 Tin Wah Estate 11 Sai Wan Estate 26 Fuk Loi Estate 12 Pak Tin Estate 27 Lek Yuen Estate 13 Yue Wan Estate 28 Tai Hing Estate 14 Lai King Estate 29 Shui Pin Wai Estate 15 Shek Lei (II) Estate
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 3041
Annex 2
List of eight PRH estates in which LAP Stage 2 have been commenced
1 Kwai Shing West Estate 2 Lai King Estate 3 Wo Lok Estate 4 Kwong Tin Estate 5 Oi Man Estate 6 Hing Tung Estate 7 Cheung Ching Estate 8 Choi Wan (II) Estate
Safety Arrangements for Hong Kong Marathon
13. MR CHAN KIN-POR (in Chinese): President, long-distance running is gaining popularity in Hong Kong and the number of participants in the Hong Kong Marathon increases every year. However, a study report reveals that from 2002 to 2012, nine participants suffered from seizure of cardiovascular diseases during the Hong Kong Marathon races and two of them failed resuscitation. Also, a 24-year-old participant died of cardiac arrest during the 10-kilometre race this year. In view of this, the LI Ka Shing Faculty of Medicine of the University of Hong Kong will conduct pre-participation screenings for subclinical cardiovascular diseases for first-time marathon participants free of charge for a period of three years with a view to reducing the morbidity and mortality of cardiovascular diseases among marathon participants. Regarding the safety arrangements for marathon races, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows if the Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association (HKAAA), organizer of the Hong Kong Marathon, compiled statistics in the past 10 years on participants suffering from seizure of cardiovascular diseases during the races; if HKAAA did, set out in a table the following information: (i) the number of persons receiving on-site first aid, (ii) the number of persons sent to hospitals for treatment, (iii) the number of persons injured (broken down by cause and age distribution) and (iv) the number of deaths (broken down by cause and age distribution); if not, of the reasons for that;
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(2) given that there are views that marathon races have high demands on the physical fitness of runners and the organizer of marathon races should therefore set high thresholds for participation in the races, whether the authorities will (i) require HKAAA to raise the thresholds for participating in the races, including setting an age limit and the requirement to complete specified pre-participation training for participants, and (ii) encourage participants of full or half marathon races to undergo pre-participation screening for subclinical cardiovascular diseases to reduce the risk of seizures during the races; whether the authorities will provide free pre-participation screenings for subclinical cardiovascular diseases for participants from higher risk groups as well as step up publicity efforts to enhance participants' awareness of the need to undergo appropriate physical check-up before the races; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(3) whether it knows if HKAAA will enhance the first aid facilities and equipment currently provided during marathon races, including setting up additional first aid stations and deploying more healthcare personnel of various disciplines, as well as reviewing and making available on site more medical equipment with upgraded specifications; if HKAAA will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
SECRETARY FOR HOME AFFAIRS (in Chinese): President, highly popular among the public, the Hong Kong Marathon (HK Marathon) organized by the Hong Kong Amateur Athletic Association (HKAAA) since 1997 is a sports event listed on the calendar of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF). The 2016 HK Marathon, to be held on 17 January next year, has just been recognized by the IAAF as a Gold Label Road Race, a strong indication that the race has reached a very high international level. Given that the race results count towards athletes' world rankings, many world-class runners come to compete for the championship, which helps enhancing our status as a sports events capital. As demonstrated by the year-on-year increase in the number of local participants, the race contributes significantly to the development of long-distance running in Hong Kong.
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My reply to the various parts of the question is as follows:
(1) The HKAAA has kept statistical records of supports given to participants of the HK Marathon (including hospital admission, wound dressing, blister or cramp treatment, application of cold pack or turpentine oil). According to information provided by the HKAAA, the number of participants receiving supports in the 2015 event exceeded 9 000, which is lower when compared with the number of over 14 000 in 2013 and over 10 000 in 2014, with the majority requiring cramp treatment and turpentine oil application. Participants experiencing discomfort during or after the race will be delivered by the Organizing Committee (OC) to the respective regional hospitals for treatment.
Since 2008, the accident and emergency information system (AEIS) of the Hospital Authority (HA) has maintained statistics on attendance by participants of the HK Marathon at the accident and emergency departments. Relevant figures are as follows:
Details 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 Number of 41 34 66 22 47 51 40 57 attendance Age band 14-65 22-59 20-62 12-56 23-89 20-75 17-67 17-71 of patients Number of deaths 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 among patients
Statistical information about causes of patients' injuries/deaths (including relevance with cardiovascular diseases) are currently not available in the AEIS operated by the HA. It is understood that the two participants died during the race, one each in the 2012 and 2015 event, were aged 26 and 24 respectively.
(2) As required by the IAAF, only persons aged 20 or above are eligible to participate in recognized marathon races, such as the HK Marathon. For safety reasons, the HKAAA requires that runners 3044 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015
signing up for the full marathon must provide records of participation in and completion of 10-kilemetre or longer races in the past three years before accepting their registrations.
To ensure that marathoners have adequate and appropriate pre-participation training, the HKAAA, in collaboration with the Leisure and Cultural Services Department, organizes training courses every year on the full, half and 10-kilemetre marathon for the public, with a view to providing participants with more comprehensive guidance and richer knowledge on running via such courses. The HKAAA anticipates that in the run-up to the event next year, over 70 training courses of different levels will be held for enrolment by more than 3 100 participants. Member clubs of the HKAAA also arrange relevant training courses.
On publicity, the OC uploaded onto the HK Marathon website a number of articles on training information written by doctors and professionals to remind participants to understand their physical condition. An electronic newsletter is also distributed regularly to participants to promulgate points to note for the race to reduce their risk of injury. In the terms and conditions, the OC alerts persons suffering from chronic illnesses, such as heart disease and hypertension, not to take part in the marathon. Moreover, the HKAAA frequently works co-operation with various groups and through different media channels to promote safety awareness in long-distance running and reminds participants of proper preparation.
Currently, there is no sufficient data from overseas and local studies to support that cardiovascular screening for general marathon participants can effectively reduce the onset risk and mortality rate. The Department of Health will keep in view the relevant studies, including the results of the Pre-participation Cardiovascular Screening Program for Hong Kong Marathon Runners launched for first-time participants by the Hong Kong University in the second half of 2015, and make appropriate follow-ups accordingly.
In any case, members of the public are advised to consult their family doctors for an appropriate assessment if they have developed LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 3045
heart disease, experienced chest pain during physical activities or lost balance due to dizziness, or are currently on medication for blood pressure control or heart condition, or are suffering from other chronic illnesses such as diabetes, and take into account their physical health prior to marathon registration.
(3) According to the HKAAA, the OC will adjust medical support arrangements as required by the event of a particular year. Taking the 2015 HK Marathon as an example, the Auxiliary Medical Service (AMS) set up medical and first aid stations (a total of 30) equipped with automated external defibrillators at the starting and finishing points as well various points at an average interval of 2.5 km along the route; deployed nine ambulances, three ambulance-aid motorcycles and 17 first aid bicycles to provide necessary services; and deployed more than 800 doctors, nurses and first aiders on the event day to provide medical services at various stations. Apart from these stations, the OC arranged first aiders carrying convenient first-aid kits to render services for participants in need. To ensure effective response to unforeseen medical needs, AMS members were provided with radio communication equipment and emergency co-ordination centres were set up at the finishing points to co-ordinate and support medical care efforts.
Non-Chinese Speaking Students Learning in Kindergartens
14. MR ABRAHAM SHEK: President, the Committee on Free Kindergarten Education pointed out in a report published this year that as it is important to facilitate early integration of non-Chinese speaking (NCS) children into the local education system and community, parents of NCS children are encouraged to send their children to local kindergartens (KGs) for early exposure to the Chinese language in an immersed language environment. Yet, about 4% of KGs under the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme (PEVS) have admitted NCS students accounting for 50% or above of their total enrolment. It is argued that the learning environment in such KGs is not conducive to NCS students' learning of the Chinese language, rendering them difficult to integrate into mainstream primary schools later on. In connection with NCS students' learning in KGs, will the Government inform this Council:
3046 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015
(1) whether it knows the respective numbers of students and NCS students in KGs in each of the past three years, with a breakdown by type and funding mode of KGs;
(2) whether it knows the respective numbers of PEVS KGs with NCS students accounting for (i) 50% or less; (ii) 51 to 60%; (iii) 61 to 70%; (iv) 71 to 80%; (v) 81 to 90% and (vi) over 90% of their total enrolment;
(3) whether the Government received any complaint in the past three years about KGs conducting admission interviews in Cantonese; if it did, of the number and the details; whether it has assessed if such an arrangement has placed NCS children in an unfair and unfavourable position for securing admission thereby contravening the Race Discrimination Ordinance (Cap. 602); if it has assessed and the outcome is in the affirmative, of the details and the respective numbers of KGs requested to take rectification actions; if the assessment outcome is in the negative, the reasons for that; whether the Government has measures in place to facilitate parents of NCS children in accessing the admission requirements of KGs and the relevant information in the notices published in Chinese by KGs; if it does, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(4) whether the professional development programmes organized by the Education Bureau for KG teachers cover topics on cultural sensitivity and the learning needs of NCS students; if they do, whether all KG teachers are required to attend programmes on such topics; if not, of the reasons for that?
SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION: President,
(1) The respective numbers of students and non-Chinese speaking (NCS) students in kindergartens (KGs) in the past three years, with a breakdown by type and funding mode of KGs are set out at Annex 1.
(2) The respective numbers of KGs under the Pre-primary Education Voucher Scheme (PEVS) with different percentages of NCS students are set out at Annex 2.
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 3047
(3) We have not received any complaint in the past three years about KGs conducting admission interviews in Cantonese. To ensure equal education opportunity for all children regardless of their race, gender and ability, the Education Bureau has advised schools via different channels, including school circular and briefing sessions, that their school-based admission mechanism should be fair, just and open, and in compliance with the existing legislation (including the anti-discrimination ordinances like the Race Discrimination Ordinance (RDO)) as well as circulars and guidelines issued by the Education Bureau. KGs are required to inform parents in advance of the details of their admission mechanism through effective channels (for example, guidance notes in application forms, admission guidelines/leaflets, school website, and so on). In mid-June this year when briefing sessions on admission arrangements were conducted, the Education Bureau invited representatives from Equal Opportunities Commission to share with KGs the important points to note in admission arrangements and to promote the understanding of the RDO in the sector. We have also advised KGs to provide assistance for NCS students/parents (such as translation and/or interpretation) as far as possible during the admission process.
The Education Bureau has been trying to help parents (including NCS parents) make an informed choice of KG for their children. Various information materials regarding KG education and admission arrangements are publicized in different ethnic languages. As for the Profile of KGs and KG-cum-Child Care Centres (KG Profile) which is updated and issued annually, the basic information of individual KGs therein (such as school name, address, telephone, approved school fees, information on student enrolment and serving teachers, and so on) is provided in both the Chinese and the English language. While the information about school facilities, curriculum and characteristics in the KG Profile is currently provided only in Chinese, we plan to provide also the English translation starting from the 2016-2017 school year. We are also exploring ways to promote KG education to a wider NCS community in collaboration with non-governmental organizations.
(4) As for professional development programmes, all recognized teacher training programmes on early childhood education(1) operated by local teacher education institutions comprise a core domain on
(1) The programmes are Certificate Course in Early Childhood Education, Bachelor of Education in Early Childhood Education and Postgraduate Diploma in Early Childhood Education. 3048 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015
catering for children with diverse needs, which prepares KG teachers to support children with diverse needs, cultural background and their families. Teachers' capability to address the learning needs of NCS students is also enhanced through regular professional development programmes organized by the Education Bureau such as "Curriculum Understanding and Implementation" and "Catering for Young Children's Diverse Learning Needs", which aim at enhancing KG teachers' professionalism in designing and implementing a child-centred curriculum, that embraces cultural diversity. KGs may also apply for the Education Bureau's school-based support services to enhance their professional capabilities in teaching Chinese to NCS children. Besides, KGs can apply for funding from the Quality Education Fund to conduct projects under the priority themes of "Effective Learning and Teaching of Languages", "Promoting Whole Child Development in KG Education", "Catering for Learners' Diversity" and "Support for Students with Diverse Needs" to cater for the needs of NCS students.
Annex 1
Respective numbers of students and NCS students in KGs by type and funding mode of KGs from the 2012-2013 to 2014-2015 school years
School Year 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015 Type of KGs Non-profit-making Total enrolment 139 918 143 612 148 790
NCS students 7 958 8 054 8 154 Private Independent Total enrolment 24 846 26 231 27 607
NCS students 4 366 3 975 3 779
PEVS Total enrolment 129 372 128 388 132 829
NCS students 4 899 4 945 4 957 Non-PEVS Total enrolment 35 392 41 455 43 568
NCS students 7 425 7 084 6 976
All Types Total enrolment 164 764 169 843 176 397
NCS students 12 324 12 029 11 933
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Notes:
(1) Figures refer to the position as at mid-September of the respective years.
(2) The above data cover those students whose ethnicity is Chinese but who are NCS based on the spoken language at home.
(3) The above data cover students studying in KG-cum-Child Care Centres.
(4) The total number of students includes those students who have not indicated any information on their spoken language at home in the annual Student Enrolment Survey.
Annex 2
Number of KGs under the PEVS with different percentages of NCS students in the 2014-2015 school year
% of NCS 50% to 60% to 70% to 80% to less than 90% or students less than less than less than less than Total 50% more in the KG 60% 70% 80% 90% Number of 364 2 6 0 1 7 380 PEVS KGs involved
Notes:
(1) Figures refer to the position as at September 2014.
(2) The above data cover those students whose ethnicity is Chinese but who are NCS based on the spoken language at home.
(3) Figures cover students studying in KG-cum-child care centres.
(4) Figures exclude 342 PEVS KGs which have no NCS students.
3050 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015
Impact of Labour Shortage in Construction Industry on Progress of Infrastructure Projects
15. MR JAMES TIEN (in Chinese): President, in recent years, several infrastructure projects in Hong Kong, such as the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao-Bridge Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities and Hong Kong Link Road projects (the Hong Kong Section project), have experienced cost overruns and delays, and labour shortage in the construction industry is one of the causes for such situation. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has compiled statistics on the respective current shortfalls of construction workers for various infrastructure projects (including the Hong Kong Section project); if it has, of such figures broken down by name of project and type of trade;
(2) whether it has assessed if the labour shortage in the construction industry aggravated the situation of cost overruns and delays in various infrastructure projects in the past five years; if it has assessed and the outcome is in the affirmative, of the details; if the assessment outcome is in the negative, the reasons for that;
(3) when the authorities first became aware that the labour shortage in the construction industry had affected the progress of the Hong Kong Section project, and whether they have assessed the extent to which the works progress has been affected;
(4) whether it has taken any remedial measures to expedite the progress of the Hong Kong Section project; if it has, of the details, including whether it has assessed the effectiveness of such measures; if not, the reasons for that;
(5) whether it has plans to introduce targeted measures to effectively address the long-standing problem of labour shortage in the construction industry; if it does, of the details of the measures and the implementation timetable; if not, the reasons for that;
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(6) given that the Government implemented enhancement measures in April last year to expedite the preparatory work for applications, submitted by contractors for public sector works projects under the Supplementary Labour Scheme, for importing workers for the relevant trades with labour shortage, and it rolled out further enhancement measures in May this year, but the Chief Executive (CE) admitted, when he attended the Question and Answer Session of this Council on 22 October this year, that the Government's efforts to address labour shortage in the construction industry was not remarkably effective, of the justifications for CE making such remarks; and
(7) whether it has assessed if the introduction of a special labour importation scheme for public housing and infrastructure works projects, by making reference to the arrangements made by the authorities for the new airport and related works in the past, will help alleviate the situation of delays and cost overruns in various infrastructure projects; if it has assessed and the outcome is in the affirmative, when it will implement such a scheme?
SECRETARY FOR DEVELOPMENT (in Chinese): President, according to the forecast released by the Construction Industry Council (CIC) in September 2014, the overall construction output will remain at high level in the coming years. All along, the Government is committed to implementing public works projects in accordance with work schedule and within budget with a view to improving the quality of life of our people and enhancing the long-term competitiveness of Hong Kong.
Having consulted the Transport and Housing Bureau and the Labour Department (LD), my reply to the seven parts of Mr TIEN's question is as follows:
(1) For public works projects of the Government, the contractors concerned are required to complete the works on schedule according to the requirements of the contracts. The works departments will closely monitor the works progress and spending situation. The contractors will assess the manpower demand of individual projects 3052 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015
in the light of the works progress. Those with genuine difficulties in recruiting suitable staff locally may apply to the LD for importation of workers at technician level or below under the Supplementary Labour Scheme (SLS). The assessment of the manpower situation for public works contracts is undertaken by the contractors concerned. The Government does not have statistics on the shortfalls of construction workers in various works projects.
Since 2013, we have collaborated with the CIC in assessing the overall construction expenditure of both public and private sector works as well as the supply and demand of construction workers over a 10-year horizon. According to the report on manpower forecast for construction workers released by the CIC in October 2014, there will be shortage of about 10 000 to 15 000 skilled workers in the construction industry in the coming several years. The manpower forecast has taken into account the forecast construction output of the public and private sectors, the number of in-service workers and their age distribution, training and other relevant factors. Currently, the CIC is updating the manpower forecast. The findings are expected to be available by the end of this year.
(2) The Government has all along been adopting long-term planning for infrastructure projects and investing in worthwhile infrastructures in a timely and continuous manner to meet social needs and maintain Hong Kong's competitiveness. There are many different challenges in delivering the Capital Works Programme, in particular for large scale projects that take longer time in planning and construction, they are more likely to suffer from delays due to unforeseen situations such as legal challenges, judicial reviews and extended public consultations, and so on. Notwithstanding the above, we generally manage to complete the projects within the original Approved Project Estimates (APE) overall.
As for the construction manpower demand, the overall unemployment rate of the construction industry soared to around 13% in early 2009 under the impact of financial tsunami. With the Government pressing ahead with the implementation of LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 3053
infrastructure projects of varying scales, the employment situation of construction industry has improved. Since mid-2012, the overall unemployment rate of the construction industry has sharply dropped to the current level of around 4%.
In the light of the sustained and keen demand for construction activities and the ageing workforce, there has been tight labour supply in recent years. We have reviewed the relevant effect on 243 funding applications for capital works items approved by the Finance Committee in the past five legislative years (that is, from 2010-2011 to 2014-2015). Of the 48 projects completed, nine experienced delay of over six months. In respect of approved funding applications, 18 of them were related to increase in APE. However, labour shortage is not the cause for the delay or increase in APE for the above works.
Except for the Hong Kong Section project, up to now, there are no other ongoing works projects facing delay as a result of labour shortage. According to the Transport and Housing Bureau, as for the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macao Bridge (HZMB) local projects in Hong Kong (that is, the Hong Kong Boundary Crossing Facilities (HKBCF) and Hong Kong Link Road (HKLR)), it has encountered many difficulties and challenges in carrying out the works including the unstable supply of materials, labour shortage, restriction in airport height, constraints in environmental protection requirements, and slower-than-expected consolidation performance of reclamation works, and so on. Labour shortage is one of the factors affecting the works progress of the HZMB local projects.
(3) and (4)
According to the Transport and Housing Bureau, the supply of skilled workers in the construction industry has been tight since the commencement of the HZMB local projects. The contractors for the works of the HKBCF and HKLR found it difficult to recruit suitable workers locally. Thus, they need to apply for importation of suitable workers through the SLS to cope with its manpower needs. Nevertheless, the situation of shortage of skilled workers 3054 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015
persists and poses impact, to a certain extent, to the works progress of the HKBCF and HKLR. Although importation of workers has helped relieve the tight manpower resources for the HZMB local projects, since it requires certain time in processing the applications and there are difficulties in recruiting imported workers, the shortage of skilled workers for the HZMB local projects persists. The contractors are taking appropriate measures to press ahead with the project.
As mentioned in part (2) of the reply, labour shortage is one of the factors affecting the works progress of the HZMB local projects. Therefore, the Highways Department cannot assess the extent of impact of labour shortage on the works progress separately.
According to the Transport and Housing Bureau, for the remaining period of the construction works, if the contractors have difficulties in recruiting qualified skilled workers locally, they will continue to consider applying for importation of suitable workers through the SLS to meet the manpower needs of the works. Together with its consulting engineers as well as resident site staff, the Highways Department will continue to closely monitor the progress of the works and supervise the contractors to implement the works in full swing including suitable deployment of labour resources and arrangement of works sequences, with due consideration for safety and quality.
(5) We and the CIC all along closely monitored the manpower situation of the construction industry. To cope with ageing workforce and shortage of skilled workers, we and the CIC have introduced a host of measures including stepping up of training, enhancing the professional and youthful image of the industry to attract new entrants, and enhancing the construction productivity in order to reduce the demand for skilled workers.
Since 2010, we have obtained a total of $420 million from the Legislative Council to support the CIC in strengthening the training for local construction personnel and attracting more new entrants through promotion and publicity, particularly young people, to join LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 3055
the construction industry. Between 2009 and end October 2015, the CIC has trained more than 18 000 semi-skilled workers. To further enhance the skill levels of construction workers, the CIC has launched two pilot schemes in 2015. One of them aims at upgrading the skills of semi-skilled workers to the levels of skilled workers. The other aims at training in-service ethnic minority general workers to become semi-skilled workers.
On the publicity front, we collaborated with the CIC to launch the "Build-Up Publicity Campaign" in 2011. Result of the 2015 survey revealed that over 25% of young people are interested in joining the construction industry, as compared with 8% before the launch of the campaign. We are also promoting collaboration amongst the CIC and relevant training organizations in setting out clear progression paths for skilled workers in the industry to attract more young people to join and develop their career in the industry.
Moreover, we and the CIC will keep close contact with the industry to promote the utilization of mechanised processes and prefabricated parts as well as application of the latest technology and innovations to enhance construction productivity and thus alleviating the demand for skilled workers.
(6) and (7)
According to the LD, in recent years, it took an average of 7.5 months in processing construction-related SLS applications. In April 2014, the Government rolled out enhancement measures to help expedite the preparatory work of public sector works contractors in SLS applications involving 26 trades with manpower shortage. Since the launch of the enhancement measures, the average time for processing of its related applications was about six months. There were some 800 skilled construction workers approved to be imported under the SLS between 2011 and 2013 (three years in total) whereas over 1 200 skilled construction workers were approved to be imported between January 2014 and end November 2015.
3056 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015
In May 2015, having regard to the unique characteristics of the construction industry, the Government launched flexibility enhancement measures under the SLS to allow public sector works contractors to enhance flexibility in deployment of imported workers. Imported workers are allowed to work across more than one specified public sector works contract under the same contractor. The resulting synergy effects help achieve more effective utilization of productivity. As at end November 2015, the LD has received two applications under the flexibility enhancement measures and is processing them.
Having considered the manpower demand and supply at different stages of individual works projects, and under the premise of upholding priority in employment for local workers and safeguarding their wage and welfare under the SLS, contractors may consider applying for importation of skilled workers to meet the manpower needs of the works. The Government has not set any target for the numbers of applications and approved imported labour under the SLS for overall and individual industries (including the construction industry). Every application will be considered and assessed according to its own merits (including the result of the four-week local recruitment for local workers).
The LD is earnestly preparing for setting up a Construction Industry Recruitment Centre to assist local construction workers to secure employment and employers of the industry to recruit local workers. It is targeted to commission in service in early 2016.
The Government will continue to keep close contact with the industry and closely monitor the manpower supply and demand of the construction industry. We will review the effectiveness of the measures in a timely manner and make necessary adjustments. If these measures still cannot effectively resolve the acute shortage problem of skilled workers, the Government will explore with the industry and labour sector the introduction of other more effective and appropriate measures to achieve the sustainable development of Hong Kong's economy and society.
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 3057
Redevelopment of Aged Public Rental Housing Estates
16. MR FREDERICK FUNG (in Chinese): President, the Chief Executive stated in his 2014 Policy Address that the development moratorium at the south of Pok Fu Lam, i.e. the area close to Wah Fu Estate, would be lifted. This area would be used for public housing development and the future redevelopment of Wah Fu Estate, providing about 11 900 additional public rental housing (PRH) and Home Ownership Scheme units. The authorities have said that in considering whether aged PRH estates should be redeveloped, the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA) would address the issue of the sustainability and redevelopment potential of the blocks in the estates concerned, in order to better utilize valuable land resources and to increase flat production. Regarding the redevelopment of aged PRH estates, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the specific work undertaken by HA in putting forward Wah Fu Estate's redevelopment programme since HA announced the programme; the latest details (including the timetable and planning for the redevelopment as well as the rehousing arrangements) of the redevelopment programme; the reasons why HA, almost two years since its announcement of the redevelopment programme, still has not announced the relevant details, and whether such reasons include the fact that the authorities had strained themselves to make the announcement to show the Chief Executive's determination to increase housing supply, even though the preparatory work for the redevelopment programme was not completed when the redevelopment programme was announced in the Policy Address; apart from Wah Fu Estate's redevelopment programme and among the estates to be redeveloped as announced by HA in the past 10 years, of the estates the details of the redevelopment programmes of which had yet to be announced two years after the announcement of the redevelopment programmes concerned;
(2) of the latest progress of the review of the redevelopment of aged PRH estates conducted by the authorities; the updated list of estates with potential redevelopment values, and set out in a table the ages as well as the actual and permitted maximum plot ratios of such estates;
3058 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015
(3) of the estates that the authorities are currently planning or will consider to redevelop, and whether they will commence the consultation with the local residents expeditiously; whether they have made an overall assessment as to how the redevelopment of aged PRH estates will facilitate an increase in the supply of public housing; and
(4) why HA has not announced any specific programme for redeveloping PRH estates, apart from announcing the redevelopment programme for Wah Fu Estate in early 2014 which lacks substantial contents, since the redevelopment programmes for So Uk Estate, Tung Tau Estate Block 22 and Pak Tin Estate were announced in 2006, 2008 and 2012 respectively?
SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT AND HOUSING (in Chinese): President, according to the Long Term Housing Strategy (LTHS) promulgated in December 2014, while redevelopment may increase public rental housing (PRH) supply over the long term, it will in the short term reduce PRH stock available for allocation. This will inevitably add further pressure on the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HA's) ability in maintaining the Average Waiting Time (AWT) target at about three years. The net gain in flat supply from redevelopment will take a long time to realize, and very often towards the latter if not the last phase of the redevelopment. Hence, redevelopment could at best serve as a supplementary source of PRH supply. It is also not advisable to carry out any massive redevelopment programme which will result in freezing a large number of PRH units that may otherwise be allocated to needy households, given the current high demand for PRH. The HA needs to consider the redevelopment of aged estates very carefully.
My consolidated reply to the four-part question raised by Mr Frederick FUNG is as follows:
In the 2014 Policy Address, the Chief Executive announced the partial lifting of the Pok Fu Lam Moratorium for the public housing development and the future redevelopment of Wah Fu Estate. As stated in the Paper (LC Paper No. CB(1)437/14-15(01)) submitted by the Transport and Housing Bureau to the Legislative Council Panel on Housing in January this year, following the partial lifting of the administrative moratorium on the development of Pok Fu Lam, the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 3059
Government is exploring developing public housing at six government sites. The developments on five of them, that is, Wah Fu North, Wah King Street, Near Chi Fu Road, Wah Lok Path and Kai Lung Wan would serve as the major reception resources for the future redevelopment of Wah Fu Estate and provide additional Home Ownership Scheme and PRH units. We expect this would provide about 11 900 additional units which will meet the keen demand for public housing from the public.
The Government has commenced various technical assessments on the above five government sites at Pok Fu Lam. The assessments cover ecology, environment, infrastructure, transport, visual impacts, air ventilation, and so on, to study the feasibility of public housing development. The study, which was tendered last year (2014), commenced earlier this year and is expected to take about one year to complete. Upon the completion of the feasibility study, local consultation, rezoning/planning applications and planning briefs for the public housing developments on the five sites, we will then be able to formulate the flat production, programme and housing types for the individual sites, followed by the study on the redevelopment plan of Wah Fu Estate and its programme. We will consult the Southern District Council and local communities regarding the redevelopment of Wah Fu Estate when appropriate.
For the redevelopment of other aged PRH estates, according to the aforesaid analysis in the LTHS, any massive redevelopment programme is not advisable.
At present, the HA has no plan or timetable on the redevelopment of any other aged estate. If it is decided to proceed with the redevelopment of individual estate or housing block, the HA will, in accordance with the established practice, allow sufficient time to consult the relevant District Council and give sufficient advance notice to affected tenants well before the clearance operation.
Judicial Review Mechanism
17. MR PAUL TSE (in Chinese): President, recently in a speech he made, a former permanent judge of the Court of Final Appeal cited several cases to illustrate that the judicial review mechanism had been abused. Besides, some newspaper commentaries have opined that politics and the laws should not be 3060 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 tangled with each other, and that only when the judicial review mechanism is put to sensible and proper use can it effectively check against government policies breaching the law and thereby achieve the objectives of maintaining the rule of law and good governance for the community. The mechanism should not be used as a means to deliberately impede the implementation of government policies and to hinder the commencement of infrastructure projects, thereby imposing an unwarranted cost on society. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it has, in light of or with regard to the aforesaid views, reviewed the judicial review mechanism and the threshold for approving legal assistance applications involving judicial review cases; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(2) as it has been reported that the incumbent Secretary for Justice indicated upon assuming office in 2012 that on the premise that the threshold for judicial review should be determined by judges, reviews could be conducted to explore the feasibility of further enhancing the judicial review mechanism in terms of legal perspectives and execution, of the progress of the relevant reviews and their anticipated completion time; and
(3) whether it has reviewed if the increase in the number of judicial review cases in recent years is attributable to the following situation: as there are deficiencies in Hong Kong's political system and the Government have made mistakes from time to time in the approach, strategies and attitudes adopted for implementing its policies, quite a number of disputes cannot be resolved by political means, resulting in politicians from the pan-democratic parties and environmental groups (as pointed out by a local newspaper) taking an alternative approach of lodging judicial reviews repeatedly, in the hope that they will win in the disputes through lodging judicial reviews; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
SECRETARY FOR JUSTICE (in Chinese): President, with regard to parts (1) to (3) of the question raised by Mr Paul TSE, the Government's consolidated reply is as follows:
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 3061
Under the common law system, judicial review is an important safeguard to the rule of law. Through legal proceedings, individuals can seek relief from the Court to ensure that the formulation of policies and legislation by the executive authorities and the exercise of public powers are in accordance with the law and are subject to appropriate checks and balances. The Special Administrative Region (SAR) Government always respects the residents' right to apply for judicial reviews. The SAR Government will abide strictly by the rule of law, and deal with judicial reviews through appropriate legal procedures.
Currently, the judicial review system in Hong Kong adopts a two-stage approach. Before the Court hears a judicial review application substantively, an applicant first has to apply for leave to bring judicial review from the Court of First Instance on an ex parte basis. The threshold for granting leave to apply for judicial review is determined and reviewed by the Court on the basis of the relevant law and public interest. In fact, in a case(1) in 2007, the Court of Final Appeal raised the threshold for granting leave to apply for judicial review from cases with potential arguability to those with reasonable arguability, that is, whether the case is one which enjoys realistic prospects of success. Under the current legal system, the Department of Justice takes the view that it is an appropriate practice for the independent Judiciary to determine the relevant threshold.
As regards legal aid, according to the information provided by the Home Affairs Bureau and the Legal Aid Department (LAD), the policy objective of legal aid is to ensure that no one with reasonable grounds for pursuing or defending a legal action in the Hong Kong courts is denied access to justice due to a lack of means. To qualify for legal aid, a person has to satisfy the means test and the merits test as stipulated in the Legal Aid Ordinance (LAO) (Cap. 91). To ensure that only those cases with reasonable grounds are granted legal aid, all legal aid applications are processed by Legal Aid Counsel appointed to serve in the LAD. In conducting the merits test, the LAD will consider the background of the case, the evidence available and the legal principles applicable to the case so as to determine whether there are reasonable grounds for legal aid to be granted. In assessing the merits, the LAD must be satisfied that there are reasonable grounds or points of law involved for which it is desirable to grant legal aid to enable the matter to be submitted to the Court for decision or judgment. For individual applications, if the available documents already demonstrate strong ground(s) for taking proceedings or that the issues raised are
(1) Chan Po Fun Peter v Cheung CW Winnie & Anor [2005] 5HKC 145. 3062 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 already covered by previous judgments or advice, legal aid may be granted to applicants who have passed the means test. If complicated legal issues are involved in the application, the LAD may seek independent legal opinion from counsel in private practice on the merits of the application under section 9(d) of the LAO.
Legal aid will only be granted to applicants who pass both the merits test and the means test in accordance with the LAO. The LAD has also put in place a monitoring mechanism to ensure that the processing of legal aid applications is reasonable and to safeguard against abuse of legal aid. If an application is refused, the applicant may appeal against the decision of the Director of Legal Aid to the Registrar of the High Court in accordance with section 26 of the LAO, for which the decision of the Registrar is final.
With the continuous development of the community, individuals are increasingly concerned about the implementation of the Government's policies in different areas and the protection of their legal rights. The numbers of challenges against the Government's policies and decisions through judicial review as well as applications for legal aids have been on the rise. We are also aware that, in recent years, some of the controversial cases have drawn much public attention and have been widely reported. Such cases have highlighted the different views of the community on the procedure for bringing judicial review applications, the time needed for disposal and the delay possibly caused by the relevant judicial review proceedings to the implementation of the relevant policies and decisions. The Department of Justice has been paying attention to the discussion in the community on the ways to improve the judicial review system as well as the relevant developments in other common law jurisdictions, and will review the need to further enhance the judicial review system as and when necessary.
It is the legal right of residents to apply for judicial review and it is a right which has to be respected by the SAR Government. Meanwhile, the SAR Government will continue to seek and incorporate views of the Legislative Council, different political parties, relevant stakeholders (such as the green groups) and the public on our various policies at an appropriate stage and on a broad scale with a view to reducing the likelihood of controversies arising after the promulgation of policies, which will be conducive to smooth governance. Amongst others, Secretaries of Departments and Directors of Bureaux will fully make use of various avenues, such as the respective panels of the Legislative LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 3063
Council as well as attending public hearings organized by panels to listen to and take on board advice from Legislative Council Members and the public, and lobbying Legislative Council Members' support for the bills or funding proposals to be introduced. The SAR Government will continue to work for the common good and long-term development of the Hong Kong SAR, promulgate policies for the benefit of the public, and listen to the views of Legislative Council Members, different sectors and the public on formulation of policies, such that the policies will better meet the aspirations of the community.
Number of Places and Tuition Fees of Sub-degree Programmes
18. DR KENNETH CHAN (in Chinese): President, it has been reported that some self-financing post-secondary institutions (institutions) will cease to operate some or even all of their sub-degree programmes in the 2016-2017 academic year, while some institutions will offer afresh those sub-degree programmes which have ceased to operate. On the other hand, some institutions intend to raise the tuition fees of their sub-degree programmes. Regarding the number of places and tuition fees of sub-degree programmes, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether it knows the names of those sub-degree programmes (i) which were offered/are planned to be offered, and (ii) which ceased operation/are planned to cease operation in respect of each institution in each of the academic years of 2014-2015, 2015-2016 and 2016-2017, as well as the number of places of each of such programmes, with a breakdown by name of institution;
(2) whether it knows the tuition fees of the sub-degree programmes offered by various institutions in each of the past two academic years and this academic year and their year-on-year adjustment rates, with a breakdown by name of institution and name of sub-degree programme;
(3) given that the number of secondary school leavers will show a downward trend in the coming few years, whether the authorities will, in vetting and approving the applications made by institutions for offering sub-degree programmes and adjusting tuition fees, consider the possible impacts of the decline in student population on 3064 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015
the number of places and tuition fees of those programmes; if they will, whether the authorities will include such considerations in the vetting and approval criteria; if not, of the reasons for that; and
(4) whether it has studied and assessed the specific impact of the reduction in sub-degree programmes by institutions on the supply of manpower resources in Hong Kong; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION (in Chinese): President, the Government has all along been supporting the parallel development of the publicly-funded and self-financing post-secondary education sectors. With the development of both sectors, over 46% of students in the relevant age cohort had access to degree-level education in the 2014-2015 academic year. If sub-degree places were also taken into account, nearly 70% of students in the relevant age cohort had access to post-secondary education. My reply to the various parts of Dr CHAN's question is as follows:
(1) Self-financing post-secondary institutions are financially independent and have autonomy in the provision of sub-degree programmes. They may decide on their own whether to provide new programmes or discontinue existing ones, taking into account factors such as market needs and student enrolment, and so on.
Based on the information provided by self-financing institutions, the names of new and discontinued full-time locally-accredited- self-financing sub-degree programmes from the 2014-2015 to 2016-2017 academic years, and the places involved, are tabulated at Annex 1.
(2) Based on the information provided by the relevant institutions, the tuition fees and the levels of adjustment of the full-time locally-accredited self-financing sub-degree programmes offered by the institutions from the 2013-2014 to 2015-2016 academic years are set out at Annex 2. In the 2015-2016 academic year, the tuition fees of most self-financing sub-degree programmes remain unchanged or increase by no more than 5%, that is, on par with the inflation rate.
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(3) and (4)
Self-financing post-secondary institutions have autonomy in the provision of sub-degree programmes and are not required to seek the approval of the Education Bureau for offering new programmes or adjusting their tuition fees. In anticipation of a significant decline in the number of secondary school leavers in the coming years, the Education Bureau has cast repeated reminders to the institutions that they should take into account Hong Kong's manpower requirements in planning the programme arrangements.
Annex 1
List of New and Discontinued Full-time Locally-Accredited Self-financing Sub-degree Programmes by Institution from the 2014-2015 to 2016-2017 Academic Year
New Programmes in the 2014-2015 Academic Year Available Institution Programme Name Places Caritas Institute of Community Higher Diploma in Tourism and Education Hospitality Management 30 (Catering Management) Higher Diploma in Health Care, 30 Nutrition and Physical Fitness Caritas Institute of Higher Higher Diploma in Human 60 Education Services Community College of City Associate of Science in Applied 75 University Business Statistics HKU SPACE Community Associate of Chinese Medicine 85 College Associate of Arts in Media, 160 Cultural and Creative Studies Associate of Arts in Languages 160 and Humanities Higher Diploma in General 45 Nursing (Enrolled Nurses) Higher Diploma in Environmental Studies and 45 Occupational Safety 3066 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015
Available Institution Programme Name Places HKU SPACE Po Leung Kuk Higher Diploma in Food Health 60 Stanley Ho Community College and Business Management Hong Kong Baptist Associate of Arts (Media University ― College of Communication) 35 International Education Hong Kong Baptist Higher Diploma in Commercial University ― School of Design (Jewellery Design and 56 Continuing Education Visual Merchandising) Higher Diploma in Management (Justice Administration and Law 57 Enforcement) Hong Kong College of Higher Diploma in Accounting 40 Technology (Banking) Lingnan University ― The Associate of Social Sciences 30 Community College at Lingnan (Behavioural Science) University Associate of Social Sciences 30 (General Studies) The Chinese University of Hong Higher Diploma in Social Work 50 Kong ― School of Continuing Higher Diploma in English 25 and Professional Studies Studies The Hong Kong Institute of Higher Diploma in Social Work 70 Education The Open University of Hong Higher Diploma in Japanese 30 Kong ― Li Ka Shing Institute of Studies Professional and Continuing Higher Diploma in Criminology 30 Education and Disciplinary Forces Higher Diploma in Financial 30 Services Higher Diploma in Popular 30 Music and Music Production Higher Diploma in Tourism and 30 Airline Studies Higher Diploma in Environmental Management and 30 Public Health Yew Chung Community College Higher Diploma in Early 60 Childhood Education LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 3067
Available Institution Programme Name Places YMCA College of Careers Higher Diploma in Hospitality Management (Travel and 20 Tourism) Total 27 1 403
Discontinued Programmes in the 2014-2015 Academic Year Available Institution Programme Name Places Caritas Institute of Higher Higher Diploma in Human 40 Education Services Community College of City Associate of Science in Applied 75 University Business Statistics HKU SPACE Community Associate Degree of Arts 625 College Pre-Associate Degree 100 Programme Associate of Applied Science in 97 Practical Chinese Medicine HKU SPACE Po Leung Kuk Associate of Applied Social Stanley Ho Community College Sciences in Human Resource 20 Management and Development (Foundation Programme) Associate of Applied Social Sciences in Psychology 20 (Foundation Programme) Associate of Applied Social Sciences in Criminal Justice and 20 Law Enforcement (Foundation Programme) Associate of Applied Social Sciences in Youth and Social 20 Services (Foundation Programme) Associate of Applied Social Sciences in Communication, 20 Public Relations and Journalism (Foundation Programme) 3068 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015
Available Institution Programme Name Places Higher Diploma in Real Estate Management (Foundation 20 Programme) Higher Diploma in Fashion Styling and Image Design 20 (Foundation Programme) Higher Diploma in Business (Management) (Foundation 20 Programme) Higher Diploma in Business (Accounting) (Foundation 20 Programme) Higher Diploma in Business (Accounting and Financial 20 Planning) (Foundation Programme) Higher Diploma in Business (Accounting and Accounting 20 Technologies) (Foundation Programme) Higher Diploma in Business (Management and Psychology) 20 (Foundation Programme) Higher Diploma in Nutrition and Food Management (Foundation 20 Programme) Higher Diploma in Medical and Health Products Management 20 (Foundation Programme) Higher Diploma in Sport and Recreation Management 20 (Foundation Programme) Hong Kong Adventist College Associate in Business 40 Hong Kong Baptist Higher Diploma in Early University ― School of Childhood Education (2-year) 130 Continuing Education LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 3069
Available Institution Programme Name Places Hong Kong College of Higher Diploma in Business 40 Technology Administration (China Business) Higher Diploma in Business Administration (China Business) 40 (Foundation Year Entry) Higher Diploma in Business Administration (Marketing) 40 (Foundation Year Entry) Higher Diploma in Business Administration (Finance) 40 (Foundation Year Entry) Higher Diploma in Creative Design (Integrated Graphic 40 Communication) (Foundation Year Entry) Higher Diploma in Accounting 75 (Additional Minor in Banking) Higher Diploma in Accounting (Additional Minor in Banking) 40 (Foundation Year Entry) Hong Kong Institute of Associate Degree of Business Technology Administration (Foundation 100 Year) Lingnan University ― Lingnan Higher Diploma in Purchasing 25 Institute of Further Education and Logistics Higher Diploma in Events 50 Management (E-Applications) Higher Diploma in Computer Information Systems 25 (Application Support) Higher Diploma in Computer Studies (PC System and Network 25 Administration) Higher Diploma in Computer 25 Studies Higher Diploma in Banking and 50 Securities 3070 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015
Available Institution Programme Name Places The Open University of Hong Pre-Associate Degree in Nursing Kong ― Li Ka Shing Institute of Studies 80 Professional and Continuing Education Tung Wah College Higher Diploma in Nursing 100 Vocational Training Council Higher Diploma in Business with 60 Design Management Higher Diploma in International Hospitality Management: 136 Level 4 (4-year Programme) Higher Diploma in Management 60 and Legal Studies Higher Diploma in Communication and New Media 60 Management YMCA College of Careers Higher Diploma in Business 35 Studies Higher Diploma in Accounting 35 Studies Total 44 2 588
New Programmes in the 2015-2016 Academic Year Available Institution Programme Name Places Caritas Institute of Community Higher Diploma in Accounting 60 Education and Finance Higher Diploma in Early 80 Childhood Education Higher Diploma in Public 80 Administration and Management Higher Diploma in Tourism and Hospitality Management (Hotel 40 Management) Community College of City Associate of Science in Business 75 University Analysis LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 3071
Available Institution Programme Name Places HKU SPACE Community Higher Diploma in Business 105 College Higher Diploma in Logistics and 129 Transport Higher Diploma in Public Relations and Corporate 95 Communications Higher Diploma in Publishing 40 and Media Practices Hong Kong Baptist University Higher Diploma in Acting for Film and Television (Acting 20 Techniques Specialization) Higher Diploma in Cinematic 45 Arts (Directing Specialization) Higher Diploma in Cinematic Arts (Script Writing 45 Specialization) Higher Diploma in Film Production Techniques 40 (Cinematography and Lighting Specialization) Higher Diploma in Post-production (Editing and 30 Sound Mixing Specialization) Hong Kong Baptist University Associate of Arts (Creative 30 ― College of International Media Writing) Education Associate of Arts (History and 60 Hong Kong Studies) Associate of Science (Geography 60 and Resources Management) Associate of Science (Tree 30 Management) Hong Kong College of Higher Diploma in Computer Technology Studies (Software and Network 80 Development) Higher Diploma in Fitness, Coaching and Sports 80 Management 3072 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015
Available Institution Programme Name Places Higher Diploma in Language and Corporate Communication 25 (Japanese) Higher Diploma in Language and Corporate Communication 25 (Korean) Higher Diploma in Professional 35 Accounting (Banking) Higher Diploma in Tourism Management (Event 40 Management) Hong Kong Institute of Associate of Health Studies 100 Technology Lingnan University ― The Associate of Business Studies 30 Community College at Lingnan (Business Management) University Associate of Social Sciences 30 The Chinese University of Hong Higher Diploma in Health Care Kong ― School of Continuing 54 and Professional Studies The Hong Kong Polytechnic Higher Diploma in Aircraft University ― Hong Kong Services Engineering 60 Community College The Open University of Hong Higher Diploma in Business Kong ― Li Ka Shing Institute of Administration and Management 40 Professional and Continuing (Professional Accounting/ Education Banking and Finance/Marketing) Higher Diploma in Health Care 60 Higher Diploma in High-fashion 25 Design and Styling Higher Diploma in MICE and 40 Event Management Higher Diploma in Occupational 30 Health and Safety Higher Diploma in Resort and 30 Theme Park Management LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 3073
Available Institution Programme Name Places Higher Diploma in Social 40 Services Higher Diploma in Veterinary 30 Nursing Vocational Training Council Higher Diploma in Management 60 with Business Psychology YMCA College of Careers Higher Diploma in Design 20 (Photography) Higher Diploma in Design 30 (Visual Art and Design) Total 40 2 028
Discontinued Programmes in the 2015-2016 Academic Year Available Institution Programme Name Places Community College of City Associate of Business University Administration (China Business 75 Management) Associate of Business Administration (International 50 Business Management) Associate of Science in Applied 75 Business Statistics Hang Seng Management College Associate in Business 140 Administration HKU SPACE Community Higher Diploma in Accounting College and Higher Diploma in Financial 86 Information Management (Double Award) Higher Diploma in Business (Corporate Administration and 46 Management) Higher Diploma in Business 25 (Economics) Higher Diploma in Business 50 (Financial Services) 3074 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015
Available Institution Programme Name Places Higher Diploma in Business 32 (Global Business Management) Higher Diploma in Business 40 (Marketing and Media) Higher Diploma in Corporate Communications and 95 Management Higher Diploma in Environmental Studies and 45 Occupational Safety Higher Diploma in Logistics and 129 Transport Operations Higher Diploma in Product 40 Design Technology Hong Kong Baptist University Higher Diploma in Acting for 35 Film and Television Higher Diploma in Post-production (Editing and 40 Sound Mixing) Higher Diploma in Production Techniques (Cinematography, 45 Lighting and Art Direction) Higher Diploma in Script 80 Writing and Directing Hong Kong Baptist Associate of Science (Business University ― College of Information Systems) 25 International Education Hong Kong College of Higher Diploma in Accounting 40 Technology (Banking) Higher Diploma in Accounting 40 (China Accounting) Higher Diploma in Accounting 40 (Financial Studies) Higher Diploma in Computer 40 Studies (Network and Security) LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 3075
Available Institution Programme Name Places Higher Diploma in Computer 40 Studies (Software Development) Higher Diploma in Corporate Communication and Language 30 Studies (Chinese) Higher Diploma in Corporate Communication and Language 30 Studies (English) Higher Diploma in Corporate Communication and Language 30 Studies (Japanese) Higher Diploma in Corporate Communication and Language 30 Studies (Korean) Higher Diploma in Event 50 Management Higher Diploma in Management 80 of Sports, Fitness and Health Hong Kong Nang Yan College Associate in Visual 60 of Higher Education Communication Design Lingnan University ― The Associate of Arts (Chinese 40 Community College at Lingnan Media Writing) University Associate of Arts (Cultural 30 Studies and Communication) Associate of Arts (Translation) 30 Associate of Arts (Visual Arts) 30 Associate of Business Studies 40 (Accounting) Associate of Business Studies 40 (Business Management) Associate of Business Studies 30 (Financial Services) Associate of Business Studies 30 (Human Resource Management) Associate of Business Studies 40 (Marketing) 3076 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015
Available Institution Programme Name Places Associate of Business Studies 30 (Tourism Management) Associate of Social Sciences 30 (Applied Youth Studies) Associate of Social Sciences 30 (Behavioural Science) Associate of Social Sciences 30 (Economics and Finance) Associate of Social Sciences 30 (General Studies) Associate of Social Sciences 30 (Guidance and Counselling) Associate of Social Sciences (Public Policy and 30 Administration) Associate of Social Sciences 30 (Sociology) Lingnan University ― Lingnan Higher Diploma in Banking and 30 Institute of Further Education Securities Higher Diploma in Elderly 30 Health and Care Higher Diploma in Japanese 30 Studies Higher Diploma in Tourism 35 Higher Diploma in Youth 65 Counselling Pui Ching Academy Higher Diploma in Business 35 Administration Higher Diploma in Creative 30 Media Technology Higher Diploma in Creative 35 Product Design Higher Diploma in Information and Communications 30 Technology LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 3077
Available Institution Programme Name Places The Chinese University of Hong Higher Diploma in Business and 28 Kong ― School of Continuing Service Management and Professional Studies Higher Diploma in Corporate Management and Business 23 Information Systems Higher Diploma in Digital 28 Animation and Creative Media Higher Diploma in International 28 Business Higher Diploma in Trilingual Studies (English-Chinese-Japanese/ 35 Korean) for Business Communication Higher Diploma in Visual 28 Merchandising The Hong Kong Institute of Higher Diploma in Social Work 70 Education Associate of Arts (Music) 60 The Hong Kong Polytechnic Associate in Design (Product University ― Hong Kong Design) 25 Community College The Open University of Hong Higher Diploma in Fashion Kong ― Li Ka Shing Institute of Studies 30 Professional and Continuing Education Tung Wah College Associate of Social Science 50 Vocational Training Council Higher Diploma in Beauty 40 Science Higher Diploma in Business 90 Psychology and Management Higher Diploma in Cultural Business and Exhibition 30 Management Higher Diploma in Mobile and 30 Social Media Management 3078 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015
Available Institution Programme Name Places Higher Diploma in Optical 30 Technology Higher Diploma in Podiatry 50 Studies Yew Chung Community College Associate Degree in Early 20 Childhood Education Associate Degree in Visual Communication Design and 40 Sustainability Associate of Arts Degree 360 Total 77 3 628
New Programmes in the 2016-2017 Academic Year (as at 8 December 2015) Available Institution Programme Name Places HKU SPACE Community Higher Diploma in College Environmental Studies and 45 Occupational Safety Higher Diploma in Healthcare 40 and Health Plan Administration Higher Diploma in Marketing 40 HKU SPACE Po Leung Kuk Higher Diploma in Stanley Ho Community College Accounting ― Accounting and 50 Banking Higher Diploma in Accounting ― Accounting and 40 Financial Planning Higher Diploma in Accounting ― Accounting 100 Studies Higher Diploma in Business Management ― Human 30 Resource Management Higher Diploma in Business Management ― Management 20 and e-Commerce LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 3079
Available Institution Programme Name Places Higher Diploma in Business Management ― Management 40 and Psychology Higher Diploma in Business Management ― Management 60 Studies Higher Diploma in Business Management ― Management 30 with Business Law Higher Diploma in Sport 50 Coaching and Sport Performance Hong Kong Baptist University Higher Diploma in Creative Film Production (Cinematography and 40 Lighting Specialization) Higher Diploma in Creative Film Production (Acting Techniques 25 Specialization) Higher Diploma in Creative Film Production (Directing 45 Specialization) Higher Diploma in Creative Film Production (Editing and Sound 30 Mixing Specialization) Higher Diploma in Creative Film Production (Script Writing 40 Specialization) Lingnan University ― The Associate of Arts (Cultural 15 Community College at Lingnan Studies and Communication) University Associate of Arts (Translation) 15 Associate of Business Studies 20 (Financial Services) Associate of Business Studies 20 (Marketing) Associate of Social Sciences 15 (Sociology) 3080 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015
Available Institution Programme Name Places Lingnan University ― Lingnan Higher Diploma in Elderly 25 Institute of Further Education Health and Care Higher Diploma in Financial 15 Planning Higher Diploma in Japanese 25 Studies Higher Diploma in Tourism 15 The Chinese University of Hong Higher Diploma in Applied Kong ― School of Continuing History Studies 30 and Professional Studies The Hong Kong Polytechnic Higher Diploma in Social Work University ― Hong Kong 80 Community College The Open University of Hong Higher Diploma in Business Kong ― Li Ka Shing Institute of Administration and Management Professional and Continuing (Accounting and Finance/Human 30 Education Resources Management/ Marketing) Higher Diploma in Engineering (Civil Engineering/ Environmental Engineering and 40 Management/Building Services Engineering) Higher Diploma in Nutrition and 50 Exercise Science Vocational Training Council(1) Higher Diploma in Advertising 90 and Marketing Communications Higher Diploma in Digital Marketing and Media 30 Communications Higher Diploma in International 30 Business Management Total 34 1 270
Note:
(1) Provisional figures
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 3081
Discontinued Programmes in the 2016-2017 Academic Year (as at 8 December 2015) Available Institution Programme Name Places HKU SPACE Community Higher Diploma in Business 305 College (Marketing and Management) Higher Diploma in Business (Sales, Marketing and 145 Advertising) Higher Diploma in Business 45 Information Systems Higher Diploma in Dental 24 Hygiene HKU SPACE Po Leung Kuk Higher Diploma in Business Stanley Ho Community College (Accounting and Accounting 20 Technologies) Higher Diploma in Business 50 (Accounting and Banking) Higher Diploma in Business (Accounting and Financial 40 Planning) Higher Diploma in Business 100 (Accounting) Higher Diploma in Business 20 (Management and e-Commerce) Higher Diploma in Business 40 (Management and Psychology) Higher Diploma in Business 60 (Management) Associate of Applied Social Sciences in Human Resource 30 Management and Development Hong Kong Art School Higher Diploma in Applied and 30 Media Arts Hong Kong Baptist University Higher Diploma in Acting for Film and Television (Acting 20 Techniques Specialization) Higher Diploma in Cinematic 45 Arts (Directing Specialization) Higher Diploma in Cinematic Arts (Script Writing 45 Specialization) 3082 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015
Available Institution Programme Name Places Higher Diploma in Film Production Techniques 40 (Cinematography and Lighting Specialization) Higher Diploma in Post-production (Editing and 30 Sound Mixing Specialization) Hong Kong Nang Yan College Associate in Real Estate 60 of Higher Education Management The Chinese University of Hong Higher Diploma in Business and 25 Kong ― School of Continuing Corporate Administration and Professional Studies Higher Diploma in Commercial 28 Design Higher Diploma in Financial 25 Services Higher Diploma in Health 40 Products Management Higher Diploma in Popular 25 Culture and Media Studies The Hong Kong Institute of Associate of Applied Science Education (Sports Coaching and 100 Management) Associate of Education (Liberal 36 Studies) The Hong Kong Polytechnic Associate in Applied Social 80 University ― Hong Kong Sciences (Social Welfare) Community College Associate in Business (China 25 Business) Associate in Statistics and 40 Computing for Business The Open University of Hong Higher Diploma in Accounting 30 Kong ― Li Ka Shing Institute of Higher Diploma in Business Professional and Continuing Administration and Management 40 Education (Professional Accounting/ Banking and Finance/Marketing) Higher Diploma in Business 30 Management Higher Diploma in Environmental Management and 50 Public Health LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 3083
Available Institution Programme Name Places Higher Diploma in Financial 25 Services Higher Diploma in MICE and 40 Event Management Higher Diploma in Social 40 Sciences Higher Diploma in Social 40 Services Tung Wah College Associate of Business 50 Vocational Training Council Higher Diploma in Advertising 90 and Brand Management Higher Diploma in International 30 Trade Total 40 2 038
Annex 2
Average Annual Tuition Fee and Levels of Adjustment of Full-time Locally-Accredited Self-financing Sub-degree Programmes by Institution from the 2013-2014 to 2015-2016 Academic Year
2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016 Academic Year Academic Year Academic Year Annual Annual Annual Institution Average Average Average Adjustment Adjustment Adjustment Tuition Tuition Tuition Fee ($) Fee ($) Fee ($) Caritas Bianchi College of 51,015- 51,800- 54,000- 4% to 5% 2% to 6% 4% to 5% Careers 56,540 57,705 60,500 Caritas Institute of Newly 46,000- - - 48,500 No change Community Education Offered 48,500 Caritas Institute of Higher 51,015- 51,800- 54,000- 4% to 5% 2% 4% Education 55,390 56,235 58,500 Community College of City 47,250- 47,250- 47,250- No change No change No change University 56,250 56,250 56,250 Hang Seng Management 48,000 7% 49,500 3% - - College HKU SPACE Community 52,500- 52,500- 55,000- No change No change 4% to 6% College 72,000 72,000 75,500 3084 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015
2013-2014 2014-2015 2015-2016 Academic Year Academic Year Academic Year Annual Annual Annual Institution Average Average Average Adjustment Adjustment Adjustment Tuition Tuition Tuition Fee ($) Fee ($) Fee ($) HKU SPACE Po Leung Kuk Stanley Ho Community 52,500 3% 52,500 No change 55,000 5% College Hong Kong Adventist 39,600 No change - - - - College Hong Kong Art School 45,000 5% 46,500 3% 48,000 3% Hong Kong Baptist 48,750- 47,250- 47,250- 14% 10% No change University 66,978 55,000 55,000 Hong Kong College of 43,470- 47,100- 47,100- 2% to 7% 3% to 8% 3% Technology 51,600 54,120 51,600 Hong Kong Institute of 42,000- 37,400 4% 42,000 12% 12% Technology 65,000 Hong Kong Nang Yan 38,000 No change 38,000 No change 40,000 5% College of Higher Education Kaplan Business and 48,000 No change - - - - Accountancy School Lingnan University 43,800- 43,800- 48,000- No change No change 5% to 10% 50,000 50,000 52,500 Pui Ching Academy 41,000- 41,000 5% 7% - - 44,000 The Chinese University of Hong Kong ― School of 45,225- 45,140- 46,575- 1% to 10% 1% to 4% 1% to 5% Continuing and Professional 49,810 57,375 69,700 Studies The Hong Kong Institute of 48,100- 48,100 15% to 25% No change 48,100 No change Education 65,000 The Hong Kong Polytechnic 50,400- 50,400- 50,400- University ― Hong Kong 2% to 3% No change No change 55,440 55,440 55,440 Community College The Open University of 45,000- 48,000- 51,000- 5% to 19% 7% to 10% 3% to 6% Hong Kong 66,365 72,700 72,900 Tung Wah College 52,500- 52,500- 60,000- No change No change No change 79,200 76,250 76,250 Vocational Training Council 46,500- 48,600- 51,200- No change 4% to 5% 5% 47,750 49,800 52,400 Yew Chung Community 63,150- 60,500 13% 5% 64,900 3% College 63,650 YMCA College of Careers 43,200- 44,250 3% 46,000 4% No change 46,000
Note:
- indicates that no such programmes were offered.
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 3085
Safety of Surfacing Materials Used in Sports and Recreation Venues
19. MR KWOK WAI-KEUNG (in Chinese): President, it has been reported that the artificial turfs, sports ground tracks and playground rubber mats in a number of sports and recreation venues under the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) have used surfacing materials with waste tyre rubber granules as fillers. As such rubber granules contain heavy metals and styrene-butadiene rubber, a kind of carcinogenic chemical, the United States Department of Health and Human Services has classified the materials as carcinogens since 2011. Regarding the safety of the surfacing materials used in sports and recreation venues, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the sports and recreation venues under LCSD which have used surfacing materials with waste tyre rubber granules as fillers; regarding the waste tyre rubber granules in such surfacing materials, whether it knows (i) their places of origin, and (ii) the percentage of those from local origin; whether LCSD, in procuring surfacing materials or carrying out the relevant works, has requested the suppliers or contractors to submit test reports confirming compliance of those materials with the relevant international safety standards;
(2) given that some researchers have pointed out that when the protective layer of the surfacing materials is damaged, there is a higher chance for users of the sports and recreation venues to come into contact with the rubber granules in the surfacing materials, how LCSD arranges for the repair and maintenance of the surfacing materials in its sports and recreation venues; of the number of works carried out by LCSD in the past 10 years to replace damaged surfacing materials and the expenditures incurred; and
(3) given that at present, some countries have banned the use of surfacing materials with waste tyre rubber granules as fillers in their sports and recreation venues, and it has also been reported earlier that the sand granules procured by LCSD for turf pitch levelling works not only did not match their specifications and were of poor quality, but were also tainted with shells and rubble, whether the authorities will devise standards for the composition, quality, safety 3086 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015
and impurities of the surfacing materials used in various sports and recreation venues under LCSD; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
SECRETARY FOR HOME AFFAIRS (in Chinese): President, my reply to the three parts of the question is as follows:
(1) The recreation and sports facilities under the management of the Leisure and Cultural Services Department (LCSD) are mostly designed and built by the Architectural Services Department (ArchSD). Rubber granules are used in floor mats or as fillers for sports ground tracks, jogging tracks in parks, safety matting for outdoor fitness equipment and children's playgrounds, and third generation (3G) artificial turf football pitches.
For surfacing materials used in sports ground tracks and safety matting for outdoor fitness equipment and children's playgrounds, recycled rubber granules derived from waste tyres are normally used in the bottom layer while synthetic rubber is used in the top layer. Contractors of the ArchSD are obliged to submit the certificates according to the contract requirements to prove that the materials used are in compliance with the relevant international safety standards. As for 3G artificial turf pitches, the rubber granules used vary according to the design of the proprietary system adopted by different suppliers. As stipulated by the ArchSD in the works contracts, the materials and the specification of works used by the contractors must be in compliance with the relevant international safety standards. According to the standard set by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), 3G artificial turf materials shall be non-toxic. To ensure that the new artificial turf pitches meet the FIFA standard, contractors are also required to submit certificates issued by independent accredited institutions on field performance upon the completion of installation. In general, the ArchSD does not specify or impose restriction on the place of origin of materials used in the works contracts or in the specification of works.
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(2) The LCSD staff regularly inspect facilities in leisure and sports venues, including running tracks, safety matting and 3G artificial turf football pitches. If damage is found, the ArchSD or the contractor concerned will be asked to carry out repair and maintenance works as soon as possible. Contractors are required to submit certificates according to contract requirements to prove that the materials used are in compliance with the relevant international safety standards. In addition, staff of the ArchSD and the LCSD will inspect the maintenance works to ensure that materials used are in compliance with the contract requirements and the works have been completed according to the specification of works. As the repair and maintenance of surfacing materials are often conducted along with other facilities maintenance works, the statistics on the numbers of works involving only the replacement of damaged surfacing materials and the expenditures incurred are not available.
(3) As stated in part (1) of the reply, for construction of 3G artificial turf football pitches, the materials used by contractors must comply with the relevant international safety standards as stipulated by the ArchSD in the works contracts. To ensure that the artificial turf pitches have met the FIFA standard, contractors are also required to submit certificates issued by independent accredited institutions upon completion of project. The ArchSD will conduct timely review on the mechanism of material selection and control to ensure building materials are in compliance with the relevant standards and suitable for the venues concerned.
To improve the quality of natural turf pitches, the LCSD has purchased quartz sand of higher quality and better drainage ability for the sand layers. Quartz sand has been used as top dressing material for turf pitches managed by the LCSD since May 2014. The specifications of the sand, including its size and colour, and the impurity-free requirement are clearly stipulated in the procurement contracts. Suppliers are required to submit certificates in accordance with the contracts to prove that the sand complies with stipulated specifications when delivering it to the LCSD venues. The LCSD staff will inspect the sand according to established procedures before acceptance of delivery. The sand will be used after its compliance is confirmed.
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Powers of Police Officers to Search and Seize Properties
20. MR CHEUNG KWOK-CHE (in Chinese): President, at present, the Police Force Ordinance (Cap. 232) confers police officers powers to search and seize properties. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) among the persons apprehended by police officers in each of the past five financial years,
(i) of the respective numbers of those the information in whose phones, computers and other electronic devices (broken down by type) was inspected by police officers (set out in Table 1);
Table 1 Numbers of apprehended persons the information Financial in whose devices, as set out below, was inspected Year Phones Computers Other electronic devices 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015
(ii) of the respective numbers of those whose phones, computers and other electronic devices (broken down by type) were seized by police officers (set out in Table 2); and
Table 2 Numbers of apprehended persons whose devices, Financial as set out below, were seized Year Phones Computers Other electronic devices 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015
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(iii) of the respective numbers of those whose phones, computers and other electronic devices (broken down by type) were seized by police officers under the warrants issued by Magistrates (set out in Table 3); and
Table 3 Numbers of apprehended persons whose devices, Financial as set out below, were seized under warrants Year Phones Computers Other electronic devices 2010-2011 2011-2012 2012-2013 2013-2014 2014-2015
(2) of the Police's existing procedures and guidelines for handling the aforesaid seized electronic devices; the respective procedures and guidelines for handling the personal data stored in such devices that are related and unrelated to the cases in question; whether any time limit has been set with respect to the impoundment of such devices; if so, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
SECRETARY FOR SECURITY (in Chinese): President, the Government's consolidated reply to Mr CHEUNG Kwok-che's question is as follows:
Section 50(6) of the Police Force Ordinance (Cap. 232) states that: "Where any person is apprehended by a police officer it shall be lawful for such officer to search for and take possession of any newspaper, book or other document or any portion or extract therefrom and any other article or chattel which may be found on his person or in or about the place at which he has been apprehended and which the said officer may reasonably suspect to be of value (whether by itself or together with anything else) to the investigation of any offence that the person has committed or is reasonably suspected of having committed: Provided that nothing in this subsection shall be construed in diminution of the powers of search conferred by any particular warrant."
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The Court is now handling a judicial review case which is related to the Police's exercise of the powers conferred by the above provision. Mr CHEUNG's question involves the Police's powers to search for and take possession of objects conferred by that provision as well as the handling of personal information. The information requested by the question is also related to the judicial review case. If the Government expounds the matters raised by the question or provides relevant information in this reply, it is possible that the aforesaid case would be affected. Since the judicial review case has already entered legal proceedings, it is not appropriate for the Government to comment on the matters raised by the question at this stage.
Regulation of Provision of Veterinary Services and Sale of Proprietary Chinese Medicines for Treatment of Animals
21. MR LEUNG CHE-CHEUNG (in Chinese): President, it has been reported that in recent years, some people who are not registered veterinary surgeons (non-RVSs) have used the Chinese medicine approach (including the prescription of Chinese medicines and the use of acupuncture and moxibustion) to provide diagnosis and treatment of animals, and medicines and health food products containing Chinese medicines for the treatment of animals are also available for sale on the market. Besides, proprietary Chinese medicines used for the treatment of animals are not subject to the regulation of the Chinese Medicine Ordinance (Cap. 549). Regarding the regulation of the provision of veterinary services and the sale of proprietary Chinese medicines for the treatment of animals, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the number of convictions relating to illegal provision of veterinary services in each of the past three years and the penalties imposed on those convicted by the court;
(2) of the existing channels through which the public may report cases in which non-RVSs use the Chinese medicine approach to provide diagnosis and treatment of animals;
(3) at present, how the public can find out whether a registered veterinary surgeon (RVS) who uses the Chinese medicine approach to provide diagnosis and treatment of animals has received the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 3091
relevant professional training; whether the authorities will consider regulating the use of Chinese medicine approach to provide diagnosis and treatment of animals by RVSs;
(4) whether it will consider regulating (i) proprietary Chinese medicines for the treatment of animals and (ii) health food products containing Chinese medicines for consumption by animals; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(5) as I have learnt that the Continuing Professional Development Programme implemented by the Veterinary Surgeons Board of Hong Kong (VSB) for RVSs is only voluntary in nature, and that VSB does not require veterinary surgeons to make public the continuing professional courses in which they have enrolled, hence rendering it difficult for the public to know whether veterinary surgeons have kept their professional qualifications abreast of the times, whether the authorities will consider requesting VSB to make improvements in this respect, so as to facilitate the public's understanding of the professional qualifications of veterinary surgeons; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
SECRETARY FOR FOOD AND HEALTH (in Chinese): President, in Hong Kong, any act involving diagnosis and treatment of animals is subject to regulation under the Veterinary Surgeons Registration Ordinance (Cap. 529) (VSRO). Section 16(1) of the VSRO stipulates that no person shall practise veterinary surgery(1) or provide a veterinary service(2) in Hong Kong unless he is a veterinary surgeon registered with the Veterinary Surgeons Board (VSB) and the holder of a practising certificate currently in force. Persons in contravention of this provision are liable on conviction to a fine at level 6 (that is, $100,000) and imprisonment for one year. The VSB is established under the VSRO and
(1) "Veterinary surgery" means the art and science of veterinary surgery and medicine and includes: (a) the diagnosis of disease in, and injuries to, animals including tests performed for diagnostic purposes; (b) the giving of advice based on such diagnosis; (c) the medical or surgical treatment of animals including the performance of surgical operations thereon.
(2) "Veterinary service" means doing or performing any act or attending to any matter the doing or performing of which or the attending to which forms part of the generally accepted practice of veterinary surgery. 3092 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 charged with responsibility for the regulation of the practice of veterinary surgery, the registration of veterinary surgeons, and the disciplinary oversight of the professional conduct of registered veterinary surgeons in Hong Kong. Food products for consumption by pets are currently not subject to regulation.
My reply to the various parts of the question is as follows:
(1) As mentioned above, a person who is not registered with the VSB and holding a valid practising certificate, but provides veterinary services in Hong Kong commits an offence. According to the information kept by the VSB Secretariat, in the past three years there was no record of convicted cases for contravention of this provision. In the same period, two suspected cases of illegal provision of veterinary services were reported. The Police had not instigated prosecution in these two cases due to insufficient evidence.
(2) and (3)
At present, all persons accepted by the VSB for registration as registered veterinary surgeons must have passed such examinations in veterinary surgery and other related subjects and have received such training and experience as the VSB may accept, either generally or in a particular case. Registered veterinary surgeons may, based on their professional knowledge, decide what treatments should be given to the animals, including the choice of medical approaches (with Chinese medicine being one of them) and treatment methods. However, the treatments adopted should generally be endorsed by the veterinary profession and in compliance with the Code of Practice for the Guidance of Registered Veterinary Surgeons promulgated by the VSB.
Pursuant to section 8 of the VSRO, the Secretary to the VSB keeps a register containing the names, addresses and any other details that the VSB may direct registered veterinary surgeons to provide, as well as the qualification on which their registration is based. The register is available to any person for inspection free of charge at an office nominated by the VSB. The public may also visit the VSB's LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 3093
website to view a full list of registered veterinary surgeons, with information including their names, registration numbers, registration dates, principal and other practising addresses in Hong Kong, qualifications, and so on. Where there is suspicion of any person other than registered veterinary surgeons practising veterinary surgery or providing veterinary services, a report may be made to the Police for investigation.
When seeking veterinary services for their pets, members of the public should check with the registered veterinary surgeons the merits of the treatment methods (including Chinese medicine) that may be adopted and ascertain, where applicable, whether the surgeon has received the relevant professional training, so as to choose a surgeon who may best meet their expectations. Where there is suspicion of disciplinary offences committed by any registered veterinary surgeon (such as misconduct or neglect in any professional respect), they may make enquiries with the VSB and lodge formal complaints according to section 17 of the VSRO. The Secretary to the VSB will follow up the complaint received.
(4) As for proprietary Chinese medicines, the regulatory framework established under the Chinese Medicine Ordinance (Cap. 549) only covers proprietary Chinese medicines for use by human beings. As defined by the Chinese Medicine Ordinance, "proprietary Chinese medicine" means any proprietary product used for the diagnosis, treatment, prevention or alleviation of any disease or any symptom of a disease in human beings, or for the regulation of the functional states of the human body. In other words, drugs for the treatment of animals or health food products containing Chinese medicines for consumption by animals fall outside this definition, and hence are not regulated as proprietary Chinese medicines under the Chinese Medicine Ordinance.
We will monitor the application of proprietary Chinese medicines on animals, and where necessary consider the need for introducing regulation on this front.
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(5) Section 16 of the Code of Practice for the Guidance of Registered Veterinary Surgeons promulgated by the VSB stipulates that registered veterinary surgeons need to maintain currency in skills and knowledge to ensure that clients are consistently offered the best options. To this end, the VSB has implemented the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Programme for encouraging practising veterinary surgeons to enhance, on a voluntary basis, their professional skills and knowledge as well as professional competence. For instance, credits will be given to a practising veterinary surgeon for participating in relevant activities such as courses, lectures, seminars, conferences, and preparation for publication or presentation of scientific papers related to the veterinary surgeon's field of work. Veterinary surgeons meeting the requirements set by the VSB will be awarded a certificate. The veterinary surgeons may display the certificates at their clinics and use the title "CPD-certified" on their business cards. The date that a veterinary surgeon last attains the certified status under the CPD is uploaded onto the VSB's website for enhancing transparency and ease of public access to information showing the latest the CPD status of registered veterinary surgeons.
Public Liability Insurance for Aided Schools
22. MR IP KIN-YUEN (in Chinese): President, I have learnt that if students and newly recruited teachers who are about to assume duty and not yet entitled to the protection under the Employees' Compensation Ordinance (Cap. 282) have an accident while they are participating in the activities organized by aided schools, they may make claims against public liability insurance (PLI) under the Block Insurance Policy (BIP) taken out by the Education Bureau (EDB) for aided schools, with the amount of compensation capped at HK$100 million for any one occurrence. However, some victims injured in such accidents have relayed to me that the successful rate of PLI claims is very low because of the difficulties in proving that the accidents have been caused by negligence on the part of the schools and the narrow benefit coverage of BIP (e.g. compensation is only awarded for serious accidents such as those causing death or trauma as a result of negligence on the part of the schools concerned). They therefore query that LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 3095
BIP has failed to serve the intended purpose of providing protection for participants of school activities. It is learnt that some schools have taken out additional accident insurance policies with more comprehensive benefit coverage (covering accidents not caused by negligence on the part of the schools) for their students with a view to enhancing the protection for them. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) of the premium paid and the related expenses incurred by EDB for taking out BIP in each of the past five school years;
(2) whether it knows, in each of the past five school years, the number of PLI claims and, among such claims, the number and percentage of those in respect of which compensation was awarded by the insurance companies, the total amount of compensation paid by insurance companies, as well as the respective highest and lowest amounts of compensation involved;
(3) whether it knows the number of aided schools which have taken out additional accident insurance policies for their students at present, and the percentage of such number in the total number of aided schools across the territory; and
(4) whether it will take out BIP which contains PLI with wider coverage and laxer terms of compensation in future in order to enhance the protection for students and teachers; if it will, of the details, and whether it will consult relevant members of the education sector on the matter; if not, whether EDB will take out new and additional insurance policies in order to enhance the protection for people, particularly students, who are injured while participating in school activities?
SECRETARY FOR EDUCATION (in Chinese): President, any person who suffers from accidental bodily injury, including physical impairment, disease, illness, trauma or death, and/or accidental loss of or damage to any property arising out of a school's business may, under the common law process, claim compensation from the school. To provide aided schools with appropriate 3096 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 protection, the Government has taken out for them the Block Insurance Policy (BIP), the coverage of which comprises three parts, namely the public liability insurance, the employees' compensation insurance and the group personal accident insurance. The public liability insurance protects a school against legal liability for accidental injury to any person, including students, parents, teachers who are about to assume duty and visitors, and/or accidental loss of or damage to any property arising out of its business. The insurance company will conduct an investigation on the basis of the case reported and the information submitted by the claimant. Where negligence on the part of the school is established, the insurance company will make reasonable compensation within the insured liability. As for the group personal accident insurance, it is a financial consolation to students who suffer from accidental death or permanent disablement while participating in any school activities, regardless of whether the accident is due to negligence of the school. This is a kind of additional protection for students rather than a comprehensive personal insurance.
With regard to Mr IP's question, my reply is as follows:
(1) The premium for BIP covers three items of insurance, that is, the public liability insurance, the employees' compensation insurance and the group personal accident insurance. Since each period of insurance covers two school years, a breakdown of premium by school year is not available. The premium for BIP for the past four school years is as follows:
School Year Premium (HK$) 2011-2013 101,704,652 2013-2015 145,158,569
(2) To protect the interests of the claimants, schools are required to report all accidents, irrespective of whether they are liable, to the BIP insurer. Hence, the number of public liability insurance cases reported by schools should not be taken as the number of claims. The numbers of public liability insurance cases reported by schools under BIP and indemnified cases in the past few years are set out below:
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Public Liability Insurance School Year Indemnified Cases Cases Reported 2011-2012 408 44 2012-2013 447 34 2013-2014 439 10 2014-2015 428 8
Since we do not have the statistics on the number of claims, information on the percentage of such claims is not available. The amount of indemnity is not to be disclosed as it is related to the business operation of insurers. The reasons for the rather small number of indemnified cases are multi-faceted. On the one hand, this is because some cases are still being handled and there is a possible increase in the number of indemnified cases later. On the other hand, it reflects a stronger sense of risk management on the part of schools. As a result, the number of accidents arising from negligence of schools is rather small.
(3) Since the decision of aided schools to take out additional accident insurance policies for their students is school-based in nature and schools are not required to report it to the Education Bureau, such information is not available.
(4) All along, in taking out BIP, the Education Bureau would examine the coverage and terms of the insurance policy as well as the operational needs of schools in accordance with the policy and relevant legislative requirements. The existing public liability insurance has protected schools against claims for accidental bodily injury (not limited to death or trauma arising from serious accidents) to any person, and/or accidental loss of or damage of any property arising out of school business and the claims are handled according to the requirements of law. The policy limit for public liability insurance is HK$100 million for any one occurrence, which is very high in the education sector. As a matter of fact, a policy with a wider coverage entails a higher premium. Given the Government's fiscal affordability, we have taken out appropriate insurance policy for schools under BIP by making proper use of resources in the light of the relevant policy and legislative requirements and in line with 3098 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015
the principles of effective use of public money and prudent financial management. Through daily contacts, we can learn about the needs of schools, which will be taken into account in our future procurement of BIP. However, we must point out that the public liability insurance under BIP is not a comprehensive personal insurance. Schools and parents may arrange to take out additional insurance on their own where necessary.
Management and Maintenance of Trees
23. MR KENNETH LEUNG (in Chinese): President, at the end of last month, the Queen's College removed, without prior announcement, a decades-old candlenut tree located on its campus, adjacent to the entrance of the car park at Causeway Road. The incident has aroused media and public concerns, and some members of the public have queried such an approach adopted by the school. Regarding the management and maintenance of trees, will the Government inform this Council:
(1) whether the lease for the lot on which the Queen's College sits contains a tree preservation clause; if so, whether the school had applied to the Lands Department and obtained its approval or had notified the Department before it removed the aforesaid candlenut tree;
(2) of the criteria and considerations based on which the Government decides whether or not to include a tree preservation clause in the lease concerned when granting a plot of government land;
(3) of the current number of land leases which contain a tree preservation clause, as well as the number and locations of the land lots concerned;
(4) among the leased lots mentioned in (3), of the lots with one or more trees listed in the Tree Register and the number of such trees on each of these lots, together with a breakdown by category of trees (i.e. (i) old and valuable tree (OVT), (ii) stonewall tree, (iii) OVT & stonewall tree, and (iv) tree which requires continuous monitoring);
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(5) whether there is currently any legislation governing the professional qualifications of the contractors responsible for inspecting tree conditions; if there is, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(6) given that Chapter 6 of the Report No. 63 of the Director of Audit has pointed out that there is room for improvement in the efforts of the Tree Management Office (TMO) in co-ordinating the work of tree management departments (in particular, there are grey areas relating to the delineation of maintenance responsibilities of roadside trees among different tree management departments, and TMO should co-ordinate more effectively the relevant work carried out by the departments other than the nine major tree management government departments), whether the Government will consider upgrading TMO to a government department dedicated to the management and maintenance of trees across the territory; if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
SECRETARY FOR DEVELOPMENT (in Chinese): President, under the Government's integrated approach for tree management, the department responsible for the management of a particular area or facility is also responsible for the maintenance of the trees there. These departments will properly manage and maintain the trees in accordance with the current policy guidelines, technical circulars and best practices issued by the Government. The Tree Management Office (TMO) of the Development Bureau is responsible for formulating and steering tree management policies. It also co-ordinates the work of the departments in implementing the integrated approach on tree management.
As regards the trees on private land, the Government has included "tree preservation clauses" and "landscape clauses" in land leases since the 1970s and the mid-1980s. The Government may also impose new requirements for tree preservation through the planning regime or by way of lease modification in cases of land redevelopment.
My reply to Mr LEUNG's question is as follows:
(1) According to the record of the Lands Department (LandsD), the land on which the Queen's College sits has been allocated to the Education Bureau for its use and management by way of Permanent 3100 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015
Government Land Allocation (PGLA) in the early years. No tree preservation clause has been stipulated in the allocation, which is not a lease of private land. According to the information provided by the Education Bureau, the College has all along hired a professional horticultural maintenance service contractor to conduct regular inspection of trees in the campus and undertake tree pruning as appropriate. The latest detailed inspection and risk assessment report of the contractor confirmed that the candlenut tree standing by the side of the carpark entrance at Causeway Road was dying of necrosis. There was no hope of recovery. It had to be removed lest it posed a risk to the school teachers and students as well as passers-by. For the sake of prudence, the College consulted another professional company, which reached the same conclusion and advised the College to remove the candlenut tree as soon as possible. The College put forward a tree removal proposal to the LandsD in late October 2015. Since the land was allocated to the Education Bureau and was not subject to any tree preservation clause, the LandsD referred the case to the Education Bureau for consideration and action. The Education Bureau noted that it had no objection to the removal. The College then proceeded to remove the tree on 27 November 2015 to safeguard the safety of its teachers and students. It also informed the Education Bureau about the arrangement.
(2) and (3)
Leases executed at different times contain varying conditions. "Tree preservation clauses" were only included in land leases from the 1970s onwards. The engineering conditions of the Government Land Allocations also stipulated similar tree preservation conditions in cases where the circumstances warranted in the 1970s. Given the large number of land lots involved, the LandsD has not compiled any statistic on the private lots with leases that contain "tree preservation clauses". In any case, owners are responsible for the proper management of their property, including the trees thereon, irrespective of the inclusion of "tree preservation clauses" in the leases.
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(4) There are a huge number of trees in Hong Kong. Their health and structural conditions continuously change in the course of their lifecycles and under impact of external environment. As such, active public participation in monitoring tree conditions is an integral part of our tree risk management strategy.
To facilitate community-wide surveillance of trees, the TMO has uploaded the information on the following three categories of trees to the Tree Register since July 2010 for reference of the public:
(i) Trees that are important and require continual monitoring, such as Old and Valuable Trees (OVTs) and stonewall trees;
(ii) Problematic trees identified in the detailed tree risk assessment exercise and for which risk mitigation measures have yet to be completed; and
(iii) Trees that are the subjects of complaints or referrals received by the TMO or departments and require continual monitoring.
Among the leased lots with tree preservation clauses as mentioned in part (3) above, only two lots have a tree each listed as OVT before the leases came into force, and therefore the trees were included in the Tree Register. All other trees on the Tree Register are found on Government land.
At present, the Tree Register has a total of 907 trees on record. They comprise (i) 482 OVTs (among which 35 are stonewall trees); (ii) 348 stonewall trees (among which 35 are OVTs); (iii) 35 OVTs which are also stonewall trees; and (iv) 112 trees that require continual monitoring.
(5) At present, there is no legislation governing the professional qualifications of the contractors responsible for inspecting tree conditions. But the Guidelines for Tree Risk Assessment and Management Arrangement, promulgated by the TMO, has set out in detail the requisite education attainment, professional qualification, training and relevant work experience required of the personnel undertaking inspection of tree groups and individual trees. These conditions will be added to the tree management contracts awarded 3102 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015
by government departments. For trees on private lots, the LandsD would advise the private property owners to refer to the list of qualified service providers/members in the professional groups on the Development Bureau's "Trees website" when issuing advisory letters.
The works departments also maintain a list of specialist contractors (landscaping). Contractors interested in providing landscape services to the works department must apply for admission to the list before they are eligible to tender for tree management contracts. The Housing Department and the Leisure and Cultural Services Department have their own separate lists of contractors for undertaking their landscaping works.
To qualify for admission to the list of specialist contractors (landscaping), contractors must meet the established financial, technical and management criteria. Their staff must also meet the requisite qualification requirements in respect of management, supervision and technical skills related to tree management. The contractors' performance will be reflected in appraisal reports and unsatisfactory performance will impair their chances of winning tree-related contracts. The Development Bureau has, in co-ordination with relevant departments, conducted a comprehensive review on the management arrangement of the contractors providing tree management services to the departments, including the criteria related to education attainment, professional qualification and relevant experience of arboricultural practitioners. The review aims to encourage the industry to enhance their professionalism and service level as well as to provide reference to the departments on the requisite professional standards of these services. We hope to enhance the overall management standard and service quality of tree management in Hong Kong in the long run.
Currently, we are stepping up collaboration with various professional institutions and training organizations, such as the Hong Kong Institute of Landscape Architects and the Vocational Training Council, with a view to introducing initiatives on professional accreditation, vocational skill assessment, and so on, for the arboriculture industry.
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(6) Given the large number of trees that are scattered around the different locations and facilities in the territory, there are practical difficulties in placing all the trees under the management of a single department. At present, the department responsible for the maintenance of an area or a facility is also responsible for the maintenance of trees there. This ensures a clear delineation of rights and responsibilities and more optimal use of resources. Placing all trees in the territory under the purview of a single department will create co-ordination problems with the departments responsible for the daily management of the facility or land and fragmented responsibilities.
For instance, under the current integrated approach, staff of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department undertakes tree care work in the course of performing the daily routine duties of fire prevention patrol and maintenance for recreational facilities (such as barbecue pits) in country parks. This arrangement would obviate the problem of overlapping responsibilities in country park management.
The integrated management approach in tree management makes reference to the management system for slope maintenance. The latter system has proved to be effective in practice.
Recycling of Waste
24. MR CHAN HAK-KAN (in Chinese): President, two of the targets set out in the Hong Kong Blueprint for Sustainable Use of Resources published by the Government in 2013 are to reduce the per capita municipal solid waste (MSW) disposal rate from 1.27 kg per day in 2011 to 0.8 kg or less per day in 2022, and to raise the waste recycling rate from 48% in 2011 to 55% in 2022. On the other hand, with the economic downturn of the Mainland in recent years, the demand for recyclable materials has declined drastically, causing the prices of waste plastics, paper and metals to have dropped by 40%, 30% and 80% respectively. It is learnt that quite a number of plastic recyclers have stopped buying waste plastics, resulting in large quantities of waste plastics being sent to landfills for disposal. Regarding the recycling of waste, will the Government inform this Council:
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(1) of the average recycling rate and disposal rate of waste plastics from last year to the first half of this year; the respective average recycling rates and disposal rates of waste paper and metals in each of the past five years;
(2) of the respective quantities and export prices of waste plastics, paper and metals exported from Hong Kong to the Mainland in each of the past five years;
(3) of the respective quantities of waste plastics, paper and metals recycled as useful materials in Hong Kong in each of the past five years;
(4) whether it has examined if the quantity of waste sent to various landfills for disposal in recent months has been on the increase; if it has, of the details, and the quantity of waste which can be recycled among such waste;
(5) given that it is learnt that the refuse rooms of some housing estates are often piled with large quantities of recyclable waste plastics, whether the authorities have looked into such situation; if they have, of the details, and whether they have received complaints from members of the public in this regard; if they have not looked into it, the reasons for that;
(6) given that the authorities are progressively implementing the scheme of Community Green Stations to promote environmental education to different sectors of the society and assist communities in the recycling of different types of materials, whether the authorities have drawn up targeted recycling rates and quantities for various types of waste; if they have, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(7) given that according to the Hong Kong Blueprint for Sustainable Use of Resources, the Government would roll out stakeholder engagement exercises and commence law drafting for MSW charging during the period from 2013 to 2015, of the current progress of the relevant work (including the implementation timetable for the stakeholder engagement exercises for MSW charging);
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(8) given that all along there has not been any marked increase in the waste loads collected by three-colour waste separation bins placed in various districts over the years, whether the authorities will consider placing more of such bins in various districts; whether they will consider following the practices of some countries and placing only two types of rubbish bins in public places to collect recyclable waste and non-recyclable waste, so as to facilitate the disposal of recyclable waste by members of the public; if they will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that;
(9) given that even though the Environment Bureau introduced a Recycling Fund involving $1 billion in October this year to assist the recycling industry in upgrading its operational capabilities and efficiency, in order to promote the sustainable development of the recycling industry, the first batch of funds will not be granted until March next year, whether the authorities have short-term measures to help recyclers cope with their operational difficulties before the funds are granted; if they do, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(10) whether it will consider following the practices of neighbouring regions (such as Taiwan) and establishing a complete industry chain for the recycling industry (including the implementation of quantity-based charging for waste treatment and subsidizing the recycling industry with the income so collected); if it will, of the details; if not, the reasons for that?
SECRETARY FOR THE ENVIRONMENT (in Chinese): President,
(1) In 2014, the recovery rate and disposal rate of waste plastics are 12% and 88% respectively, and 99 000 tonnes of plastic recyclables were recovered and 736 000 tonnes of waste plastics were disposed of. Relevant statistics for 2015 are still being collected and compiled, thus we cannot provide the figures for the first half of 2015.
The recovery rates and disposal rates of waste paper and metals over the past five years are set out at Annex 1.
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(2), (3) and (4)
The relevant statistics about the recovery of waste plastics, paper and metals are set out at Annex 2. While the Government has not compiled official statistics on recovery prices of recyclables, we have been maintaining close contact with the industry and keeping abreast of their operational and market situation through different channels. We observed that due to external factors, there was indeed a general decreasing trend in recent years in the domestic export unit value (that is, value divided by quantity) of various types of recyclables, which is calculated based on information on the domestic export declarations for recyclables. The average declared domestic export unit value of various major types of recyclables over the past five years are set out at Annex 3.
According to the preliminary data collected at waste facilities, the quantities of municipal solid waste (MSW) disposed of at landfills in the second and third quarter of 2015 are 928 000 tonnes and 956 000 tonnes respectively, 2.7% and 2.7% higher than the same period last year respectively. As for the quantities of waste analysed by waste type, we are still compiling and analysing the data, thus we cannot provide relevant statistics at the present stage. From our observation through daily monitoring at refuse transfer stations and landfills, there is no disposal of large quantities of recyclables at landfills.
(5) The Environmental Protection Department (EPD) has been maintaining close communication with the local recycling industry and monitoring closely the market situation of recyclables particularly plastics. At present, the quantities and values of recovery of waste plastics are indeed under the pressure of external factors such as decreasing oil prices and stringent import/export control measures of relevant markets. That said, we learnt from the industry that there is still a certain demand for clean and sorted waste plastics from the local market. Therefore, through publicity and public education, the EPD will continue to promote waste separation at source and not to contaminate the recyclables and mix them with waste. This will help increase the value and recovery of the recyclables including plastics.
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From our visit to various housing estates, community collection points and waste plastics recycling sites, we observe that the collection, recycling and treatment of waste plastics are generally in normal operation. As far as we understand, in response to the situation concerned, some recyclers have adjusted the recycling processes, made flexible arrangement regarding the storage volume and looked for other outlets.
The EPD has noticed individual news which mentioned stockpiling of waste plastics, but we have not received requests for assistance from housing estates for processing large quantities of waste plastics. That said, we have proactively approached the property management sector and indicated to them that we can help liaise with recyclers to collect and process their recyclables if needed.
(6) The Government is progressively developing one community green station (CGS) in each of the 18 districts, which will be run by non-profit-making organizations to step up environmental education and complement the recycling operation of the recycling industry, particularly the recycling of low-value recyclables (such as electrical appliances, computers, plastic bottles, glass bottles, compact fluorescent lamps and rechargeable batteries) in the local community. As the CGS is still in the early stage of operation, the first two CGSs have set targets to recover no less than 250 tonnes of recyclables per year. The relevant requirement may be adjusted in light of the district situation and operational experience gathered.
(7) The Government is committed to implementing MSW charging as soon as possible. There are four relevant areas of preparation work, including:
(i) Formulating effective implementation plans to give effect to the charging mechanism at the various types of MSW reception points;
(ii) Development of relevant complementary systems;
(iii) Stepping up of public education and community involvement programmes; and
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(iv) Drafting of the enabling legislation to provide the legal basis for implementation of MSW charging.
The preparation work is making good progress and the details are set out at Annex 4.
(8) With a view to improving the collection and handling of waste separation bins at public places, the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) has required contractors to provide the recyclables collected to recyclers which have been inspected by the EPD. This is to ensure recyclables collected are properly handled and recovered. The purpose is to enhance public confidence in utilizing waste collection bins at public places. Moreover, the Government monitors the performance of the contractor closely to ensure it complies with the above requirements. Meanwhile, the Government has made great effort to promote waste separation at source and clean recycling through various community activities. This will help enhance the quality and quantities of the recyclables collected at community level.
To further facilitate waste reduction and resource recovery, the Environment Bureau will convene a Steering Group to review among other things the existing design and distribution of refuse collection facilities and waste separation facilities in public place and to make recommendations to complement the implementation of the MSW charging scheme in the future. The Steering Group will consider different recommendations including placing more waste separation bins in various districts and changing the design of the bins. We will duly take into account views of relevant stakeholders in the process.
(9) The purpose of the Recycling Fund is promote the recovery and recycling of waste by facilitating the upgrading of the operational capabilities and efficiency of the recycling industry for sustainable development, so that more waste can be converted into useful resources and products. Through upgrade of their operation, the recyclers will be in a better position to tackle challenges posed by market fluctuations.
To facilitate small recyclers in applying for funding support from the Recycling Fund, we have introduced Small-scale Standard Projects to make it easier for them to apply under streamlined procedures for LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 3109
funding of projects that could help them to upgrade their collection or processing capacity/efficiency so that they could reduce their operation costs.
In addition, we have stepped up communication with property management companies and concerned parties to encourage them to take initiatives to enhance the collection arrangement of recyclables. These initiatives include enlisting their support for active participation in recycling, proper sorting of waste by their types, rinsing the recyclables where possible. This is conducive to saving transportation and processing costs by recyclers. The hygienic condition of the recyclables handling process will also be improved. Moreover, we have assisted in relaying recyclers' concerns and suggestions to sectoral representatives of incorporated owners and property management companies. The EPD will continue to facilitate discussion by stakeholders with a view to improving the overall recycling landscape in Hong Kong.
(10) The Government has drawn on the experience of other countries and cities in promulgating initiatives to promote the sustainable development of the recycling industry and boost the recovery rate. Our work to promote recycling has helped reduce quantity of MSW disposed of and facilitate the development of a recycling chain. The relevant measures include:
(i) The development of the EcoPark to provide long-term land for the recycling industry at affordable rent so as to facilitate and encourage investment by the recycling industry. Over 150 000 tonnes of recyclable materials were processed by the EcoPark tenants in 2014;
(ii) The promotion of the green procurement policy among government departments to boost the demand for green products as an outlet for recycled/green products and materials;
(iii) The launch of the $1 billion Recycling Fund to assist recyclers to improve the collection network for recyclables, invest on machinery to lower the processing costs, develop value-adding recycled products, explore new market, obtain certification for the recycling process, attend training to enhance their skills and awareness of occupational safety and health, and so on;
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(iv) The implementation of the mandatory producer responsibility schemes. We have submitted the proposal on mandatory producer responsibility schemes for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment and glass beverage containers for scrutiny of the Legislative Council; and
(v) The encouragement of the development of recycling technologies to upgrade the standard of local recycling industry through the Innovation and Technology Fund, the Environment and Conservation Fund and various funds for small and medium enterprises.
The Government will continue to review the effectiveness of these measures and take follow-up actions and enhancement measures in a timely manner to enhance the value of local recycling operation and promote the growth of a green circular economy.
Annex 1
Recovery rates, disposal rates, quantity recovered and quantity disposed of at landfills of waste paper and metals (2010 to 2014)
Quantity disposed Recovery rates Disposal rates Quantity recovered of at landfills Year Paper Metals Paper Metals Paper Metals Paper Metals (%) (%) (%) (%) (Thousand Tonnes) (Thousand Tonnes) 2010 62 92 38 8 1 195 720 732 64 2011 64 92 36 8 1 278 782 705 66 2012 63 87 37 13 1 162 578 697 87 2013 61 90 39 10 1 035 602 666 65 2014 57 92 43 8 948 921 702 76
Notes:
(1) Hong Kong is a free trade port. At present, there is no environmental legislation mandating the declaration of general recyclables. The EPD compiles statistics on recovery based on relevant information of recyclables from trade declarations lodged by trade declarants. Statistics on the quantity of waste recovery are mainly compiled based on domestic exports statistics of recyclables, supplemented by data obtained from the Waste Recovery Survey on the quantities of locally-generated wastes recycled locally. Statistics on the quantity of waste disposal are mainly compiled based on weighbridge data recorded at entrances of waste treatment facilities, supplemented by data obtained from the Waste Composition Survey on the composition of waste disposed of at landfills by waste type.
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(2) Waste recovery rate is the percentage of wastes generated that are recovered as recyclables. Statistics on waste generation are computed as the sum of waste disposal and waste recovery.
Annex 2
Recovery of waste plastics, paper and metals (2010 to 2014)
Plastics Paper Metals Exported for Exported for Exported for recycling Locally recycling Locally recycling Locally Year To the To other recycled To the To other recycled To the To other recycled Mainland places Mainland places Mainland places (Thousand Tonnes) (Thousand Tonnes) (Thousand Tonnes) 2010 1 534.6 38.5 3.8 1 169.0 25.5 0.0 448.3 268.0 4.1 2011 822.8 16.5 3.9 1 254.2 24.2 0.0 297.0 475.8 9.6 2012 304.1 3.9 8.6 1 149.8 12.5 0.0 162.9 407.1 8.0 2013 186.1 4.9 51.7 1 009.8 23.7 1.1 171.5 413.5 16.8 2014 69.9 12.8 16.0 922.7 25.2 0.0 77.1 843.1 0.5
Notes:
(1) For the source of statistics for waste plastics, paper and metals, please see Note (1) of Annex 1.
(2) Other information is compiled based on relevant information of recyclables from trade declarations lodged by trade declarants and those collected by the EPD through its waste recovery survey.
Annex 3
The average declared domestic export unit value of waste plastics, paper and metals (2010 to 2014)
Plastics Paper Metals Year (Thousand Hong Kong (Thousand Hong Kong (Thousand Hong Kong dollar/tonne) dollar/tonne) dollar/tonne) 2010 2.3 1.5 4.4 2011 2.4 1.8 5.0 2012 2.4 1.7 5.9 2013 1.7 1.5 5.3 2014 1.7 1.4 4.4
Note:
(1) Unit value is value divided by quantity but not price. It may change due to non-price factors. For example, changes in proportions and qualities of various types of plastic resins contained in the whole batch of plastic recyclables. However, in general, the trend of unit value can be taken as roughly reflecting the price trend.
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Annex 4
Key progress on the preparation work relevant to the implementation of MSW Charging
(i) Formulating effective implementation plans to give effect to the charging mechanism at the various types of MSW reception points: Through an Interdepartmental Working Group (IWG) and its sub-working group, we are reviewing the relevant operation details at different reception points for the purpose of the implementation of quantity-based MSW charging. The review will lead to the formulation of various implementations plans relating to compliance standards, enforcement strategy, and so on. Members of the IWG include senior representatives of the Environmental Protection Department, the FEHD, the Housing Department and the Home Affairs Department. Where necessary, representatives from other relevant departments may also be co-opted.
(ii) Development of relevant complementary systems: We have completed a technical trial on retrofitting all refuse collection vehicles (RCVs) operated by or on behalf of the FEHD by installing an automated bin-counting system and the related billing system to support the interim charging mechanism on the basis of "by volume of waste disposed by the building". We are reviewing the results of the trial and will accordingly determine the way forward.
(iii) Stepping up of public education and community involvement programmes: The Environment and Conservation Fund has earmarked a provision of $50 million to provide support to community involvement programmes to give waste generators of different building types and relevant stakeholders an early start in experiencing waste charging and reviewing the performance on waste reduction. The Fund has received the first batch of applications and the vetting is expected to be completed by March 2016.
(iv) Drafting of the enabling legislation to provide the legal basis for implementation of MSW charging: We are preparing the Draft Drafting Instructions taking into account the outcome of item (i) above and are seeking inputs from the Department of Justice and other relevant departments.
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Implementation of Recommendations of a Report for Prevention and Handling of Potential Conflicts of Interests
25. MS EMILY LAU (in Chinese): President, the Chief Executive (CE) of the last term announced on 26 February 2012 the establishment of the Independent Review Committee for the Prevention and Handling of Potential Conflicts of Interests (the Committee), chaired by the retired Chief Justice of the Court of Final Appeal. The Committee was responsible for reviewing the regulatory systems for the prevention of conflicts of interests concerning CE, Non-Official Members of the Executive Council (ExCo), and Officials under the Political Appointment System (politically appointed officials or "PAOs"). The Committee submitted its report on 31 May 2012, putting forward 36 recommendations. In reply to my question on 26 November last year, the authorities indicated that they had implemented more than half of the recommendations of the Report. In this connection, will the Executive Authorities inform this Council:
(1) as the aforesaid recommendations put forward by the Committee include the following: (i) the PAO Register of Gifts should be renamed the PAO Register of Advantages and should cover the relevant advantages received by a PAO with their estimated values indicated, and (ii) the CE Register of Advantages, the PAOs' Registers of Advantages, and ExCo Members' declarations of gifts and sponsorships should be made accessible on the relevant web sites, in so far as they are not at present, whether the Government has already implemented these two recommendations; if it has, of the details; if not, the reasons for that; and
(2) of the other recommendations of the Committee which have yet to be implemented by the Government, and the reasons why such recommendations have yet to be implemented?
SECRETARY FOR CONSTITUTIONAL AND MAINLAND AFFAIRS (in Chinese): President, in consultation with the relevant departments, I am authorized to respond to the question raised by Ms LAU as follows:
The Independent Review Committee for the Prevention and Handling of Potential Conflicts of Interests submitted its report (the Report) on 31 May 2012, putting forward a total of 36 recommendations. When the Report was released, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) Government expressed on the same day that it agreed in principle with the recommendations in the 3114 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015
Report and would consider how to follow up and implement the recommendations.
The HKSAR Government has implemented more than half of the recommendations of the Report, including the revisions to the Code for Officials Under the Political Appointment System (the Code) to formulate regulations on the handling of potential conflicts of interests by politically appointed officials (PAOs), and their acceptance of advantages and entertainment; and the formulation of guidelines on the relevant issues.
Information related to gifts presented to and sponsorships received by the Chief Executive has been uploaded to the website of the Chief Executive's Office. Executive Council Members should also declare the acceptance of sponsorship and gifts according to the declaration system, and the declarations will be uploaded to the website of the Executive Council as well. For the recommendations on the Register of Advantages of the Chief Executive and PAOs, and so on, the HKSAR Government will follow up as appropriate.
For the recommendation that the Code and declaration system applicable to the Executive Council Members should be applicable to the Chief Executive as a matter of policy, the Chief Executive has voluntarily observed the provisions in the Code and the declaration system applicable to the Executive Council Members to declare his financial and other interests. The open part of his declaration has been uploaded to the website of the Chief Executive's Office and the Executive Council for public inspection.
As the recommendations on the revisions to the Prevention of Bribery Ordinance may have implications on the provisions about the political structure of the HKSAR in the Basic Law and the constitutional status of the Chief Executive in the HKSAR prescribed in the Basic Law, the relevant constitutional and legal requirements as well as operational issues should be studied in a holistic manner. Based on the above principles, the HKSAR Government is studying the relevant issues comprehensively in accordance with the constitutional framework set out in the Basic Law and the current legal requirements. Upon the completion of the study, we will initiate the legislative procedure at the appropriate juncture.
For the recommendation to review the control regime for post-office outside work of PAOs, the HKSAR Government will continue to accumulate relevant operational experience, and will consider enhancements to the system at an appropriate juncture.
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BILLS
First Reading of Bills
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Bills: First Reading.
EASTERN HARBOUR CROSSING LEGISLATION (AMENDMENT) BILL 2015
INLAND REVENUE (AMENDMENT) (NO. 4) BILL 2015
ELECTORAL LEGISLATION (MISCELLANEOUS AMENDMENTS) (NO. 2) BILL 2015
FIRE SERVICES (AMENDMENT) BILL 2015
CLERK (in Cantonese): Eastern Harbour Crossing Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2015 Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 4) Bill 2015 Electoral Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 2) Bill 2015 Fire Services (Amendment) Bill 2015.
Bills read the First time and ordered to be set down for Second Reading pursuant to Rule 53(3) of the Rules of Procedure.
Second Reading of Bills
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Bills: Second Reading.
EASTERN HARBOUR CROSSING LEGISLATION (AMENDMENT) BILL 2015
SECRETARY FOR TRANSPORT AND HOUSING (in Cantonese): Deputy President, I move the Second Reading of the Eastern Harbour Crossing Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2015 (the Bill).
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The 30-year Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) franchise of the Eastern Harbour Crossing (EHC) will expire on 7 August 2016. On the expiry of the franchise, the EHC will vest in the Government and become a government tunnel. We need to provide the necessary legal backing for the EHC to operate and be managed as a government tunnel. The governing legislation of the EHC as a BOT tunnel, namely the Eastern Harbour Crossing Ordinance (Cap. 215) (EHC Ordinance) and its subsidiary legislation, will also need to be repealed.
Same as the other government tunnels, the EHC, on the Government's takeover, should be subsumed under the legal framework of the Road Tunnels (Government) Ordinance (Cap. 368) (the Ordinance) and its subsidiary legislation.
The Bill seeks to add the EHC to the list of tunnels to which the Ordinance applies. It also amends the Road Tunnels (Government) Regulations (Cap. 368A), the major amendments of which include:
(a) amending the schedules of toll to incorporate the existing tolls chargeable for vehicles passing through the EHC, and to amend the schedules of removal fee and permit fee; and
(b) specifying certain requirements in relation to the operation of the EHC, including types of vehicles which require permits for passing through the EHC, restrictions on the passage of vehicles conveying dangerous goods, and the traffic signs and road markings for use at the EHC.
The Bill also provides for the necessary savings and transitional arrangements to ensure that the repeal of the EHC Ordinance and its subsidiary legislation will not affect any right, privilege or liability acquired, accrued or incurred regarding matters which the Government may need to pursue after the repeal.
In addition, the Bill includes consequential amendments to repeal the references to the EHC Ordinance or the franchisee in other legislation. For example, references to the EHC Ordinance and its subsidiary legislation in the Specification of Public Offices Notice (Cap. 1C) will be repealed.
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The Government consulted the Legislative Council Panel on Transport (the Panel) on 6 November 2015 on the proposed legislative amendments. The Panel did not raise any objection to the legislative proposals to subsume the EHC under the legal framework of the Ordinance.
Panel Members were more concerned about when the Government would rationalize the traffic among the three road harbour crossings (RHCs), including the Cross Harbour Tunnel (CHT), through reduction in toll levels of the EHC and the Western Harbour Crossing (WHC). We reiterated that any toll adjustment scheme must look at all three RHCs in a holistic manner. If the Government were to lower the toll levels of the EHC only, for example, the diverted traffic to the EHC would almost certainly aggravate the traffic condition in Eastern Kowloon and Island East. The WHC, though currently running under its design capacity, is constrained by the traffic condition at its connecting roads. Nevertheless, it is expected that, when commissioned, the Central-Wan Chai Bypass will help ease the congestion of the connecting roads of the WHC, hence providing greater scope for the Government to consider implementing a comprehensive toll adjustment scheme covering the three RHCs. We have made an undertaking to the Panel that after completing the vesting of the EHC, the Government will continue its efforts on this front and consult the Panel and the public in due course.
Deputy President, since the Bill is indispensable to the normal operation of the EHC upon the expiry of the franchise, I hope Members can support the Bill.
I so submit.
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): I now propose the question to you and that is: That the Eastern Harbour Crossing Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2015 be read the Second time.
In accordance with the Rules of Procedure, the debate is now adjourned and the Bill is referred to the House Committee.
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DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, please move the Second Reading of the Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 4) Bill 2015.
INLAND REVENUE (AMENDMENT) (NO. 4) BILL 2015
(Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung stood up)
MR LEUNG KWOK-HUNG (in Cantonese): Deputy President, I think a quorum stipulated by the Basic Law is not present.
DEPUTY PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung has requested a headcount. Will the Clerk please ring the bell to summon Members back to the Chamber.
(While the summoning bell was ringing, THE PRESIDENT resumed the Chair)
(After the summoning bell had been rung, a number of Members returned to the Chamber)
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, please move the Second Reading of the Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 4) Bill 2015.
SECRETARY FOR FINANCIAL SERVICES AND THE TREASURY (in Cantonese): President, I move that the Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 4) Bill 2015 (the Bill) be read the Second time.
The main purpose of the Bill is to amend the Inland Revenue Ordinance (IRO) to enhance the existing interest deduction rules for the intra-group financing business of corporations, introduce a concessionary profits tax rate for LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 3119 qualifying corporate treasury centres (CTCs), and clarify the tax treatment in respect of regulatory capital securities (RCSs) issued by banks in compliance with Basel III capital adequacy requirements.
To attract multinational and Mainland enterprises to establish CTCs in Hong Kong, the Financial Secretary announced in his Budget this year that the Government would amend the IRO to allow, under specified conditions, interest deductions under profits tax for CTCs, and to reduce the profits tax for specified treasury activities by 50%.
In recent years, more multinational corporations are looking to Asia to establish global and regional CTCs, given the expansion of their business in Asia as a key growth and revenue-generating market. As an international financial centre, Hong Kong offers an extensive banking network, deep capital markets, robust financial infrastructure and effective professional services. These are crucial conditions for corporations intent on establishing regional CTCs. Meanwhile, enhancing Hong Kong's global competitiveness in attracting corporate treasury activities will help strengthen Hong Kong's position as a major platform for Mainland enterprises to go global and for multinational corporations to manage liquidity for operations on the Mainland and in the region. If more CTCs are established in Hong Kong, this will contribute to the development of headquarters economy, and the Belt and Road Initiative by facilitating multinational or Mainland corporations in raising funds and managing financial resources and risks through Hong Kong.
Nevertheless, our profits tax regime has yet to make provisions customized for CTC operations. Some market players have perceived that our interest deduction rules in the IRO are relatively less favourable for multinational corporations to engage in intra-group borrowing and lending of funds with other associated corporations outside Hong Kong. The Bill therefore proposes enhancing the relevant tax rules on interest incurred in an intra-group financing business for corporations and introducing a concessionary profits tax rate for qualifying CTCs, with a view to upgrading Hong Kong's status as a preferred base for CTCs.
Specifically, the Bill proposes adjusting the existing interest deduction rules to allow a corporate borrower carrying on in Hong Kong an intra-group financing business deduction of interest payable on money borrowed from a 3120 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 non-Hong Kong associated corporation under specified conditions, which will require, among others, that the interest income arising from the same loan transaction is subject to tax in a jurisdiction outside Hong Kong, in order to forestall aggressive tax avoidance schemes creating interest expenses to reduce assessable profits in Hong Kong.
Correspondingly, in respect of the symmetric tax treatment for interest income as deemed trading receipts, the Bill proposes making it clear that if a corporation lends money to a non-Hong Kong associated corporation in the course of its intra-group financing business carried on in Hong Kong, the relevant interest income is regarded as trading receipts derived from Hong Kong, and chargeable to profits tax, even though the loan is made available outside Hong Kong.
In addition, the Bill proposes introducing a concessionary profits tax rate for qualifying CTCs, such that the tax rate for qualifying CTCs will be 50% of the prevailing profits tax rate for corporations (that is, 8.25%).
To prevent companies from shifting non-CTC incomes into the proposed half-rate regime, the Bill provides that a qualifying CTC which elects to enjoy the half rate should be a standalone corporate entity engaging only in corporate treasury activities. Taking into account market needs, a safe harbour rule is prescribed in the Bill to allow corporations having income and assets primarily for corporate treasury activities to enjoy the half rate.
We are mindful of the latest standards announced by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) to combat base erosion and profit shifting, so as to avoid the occurrence of double non-taxation or the shifting of profits to low-tax regimes. The Bill sets out the proposed requirement for a qualifying CTC to be a standalone corporate entity under the half-rate regime, and contains a safe harbour rule and anti-avoidance provisions to ensure that the proposals are consistent with the latest international standards to combat base erosion and profit shifting.
In addition, we propose taking this opportunity to clarify the tax treatment for regulatory capital securities (RCSs) issued by banks to fulfil the Basel III capital adequacy requirements. In light of the implementation of Basel III since 2013, banks are strengthening their capital base through, among other means, LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 3121 issuing Additional Tier 1 or Tier 2 instruments, to raise funds. These instruments possess hybrid features of debt and equity. Both the industry and us consider that these securities warrant clarification of their treatment in our tax law.
To this end, the Government proposes adding new provisions to the IRO to treat an RCS issued by banks as a debt security, so that distributions arising from those securities should be treated as interest for both deduction and taxation purposes. That is to say, distributions arising from an RCS shall be treated as interest expenses, hence eligible for deduction from the assessable profits of banks. At the same time, the existing requirement under which distributions or profits from bonds are deemed to be trading receipts chargeable to profits tax also applies to distributions or profits in respect of an RCS.
In order to prevent banks from issuing RCSs for tax avoidance, anti-avoidance provisions have been prescribed in the Bill to handle the chargeable profits arising from the aforementioned securities transactions between banks and their associates, and ascertain the interest deduction allowable in respect of the chargeable profits of the Hong Kong branch of a foreign banking group which has issued the above securities.
Correspondingly, with the debt-like treatment of RCSs under the Bill, the transfer of those securities should, as other transfer transactions relating to debts, be given stamp duty relief.
President, the Government briefed the Panel on Financial Affairs of the Legislative Council on the legislative proposal in respect of the tax arrangements of CTCs on 1 June this year. The Panel generally supported the proposals. We have also engaged the treasury profession, the tax advisory sector, and the banking industry in formulating the draft provisions of the Bill.
I hope the Legislative Council will support the early passage of the Bill to revise the tax rules for CTC operations, which will help attract more CTCs to be established in Hong Kong, thereby generating demands for the financial and professional services sectors, contributing to the development of headquarters economy in Hong Kong, and fostering the development of Hong Kong as an international financial centre and business hub.
I so submit. Thank you, President.
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PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): I now propose the question to you and that is: That the Inland Revenue (Amendment) (No. 4) Bill 2015 be read the Second time.
In accordance with the Rules of Procedure, the debate is now adjourned and the Bill is referred to the House Committee.
(Mr Gary FAN stood up)
MR GARY FAN (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): Secretary for Constitutional and Mainland Affairs, please move the Second Reading of the Electoral Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 2) Bill 2015.
ELECTORAL LEGISLATION (MISCELLANEOUS AMENDMENTS) (NO. 2) BILL 2015
SECRETARY FOR CONSTITUTIONAL AND MAINLAND AFFAIRS (in Cantonese): President, I move the Second Reading of the Electoral Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 2) Bill 2015 (the Bill).
In preparation for various public elections to be held in 2016-2017, we propose making the following technical amendments to electoral legislation and other relevant legislation through the Bill:
(1) aligning certain deadlines for filing election returns (ERs);
(2) updating the electorate of the Election Committee (EC) subsectors and the corresponding Legislative Council functional constituencies (FCs); and
(3) aligning the electoral arrangements of the EC subsector elections and the Chief Executive election with the other public elections.
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As regards aligning the deadlines for filing ERs, taking into account the views of the Panel on Constitutional Affairs, we propose aligning the deadlines for submitting ERs for candidates returned from contested or uncontested constituencies in public elections, in order to allow all campaign teams to combine the calculation, verification and apportioning of election expenses after the conclusion of election activities according to aligned deadlines. By the same token, we also propose that the amendments cover scenarios which may result in different deadlines for filing ERs by candidates in the same election, including termination of the proceedings for part of the election and failure of part of the election.
In terms of the update of the electorate of the EC subsectors and the corresponding Legislative Council FCs, the related amendments are technical ones, primarily to update the names of some bodies in legislation, remove bodies which have ceased operation and include a new qualified body.
Concerning aligning the electoral arrangements of the EC subsector elections and the Chief Executive election with the other public elections, the related amendments have been made applicable to public elections, such as the District Council and the Legislative Council elections, through the Electoral Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) Bill 2014 which was passed last year. They include various technical amendments to extend electoral deadlines in case of inclement weather, improve the expression of some provisions and refine some procedural requirements. The Bill will introduce amendments to legislation in relation to the EC subsector elections and the Chief Executive election such that their electoral arrangements will be aligned with those of the other public elections.
With these remarks, President, I appeal for Members' support for the Bill so that the amendments will take effect at the earliest time. Thank you, President.
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): I now propose the question to you and that is: That the Electoral Legislation (Miscellaneous Amendments) (No. 2) Bill 2015 be read the Second time.
In accordance with the Rules of Procedure, the debate is now adjourned and the Bill is referred to the House Committee.
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FIRE SERVICES (AMENDMENT) BILL 2015
SECRETARY FOR SECURITY (in Cantonese): President, I move the Second Reading of the Fire Services (Amendment) Bill 2015.
Introduction of the Registered Fire Engineer (RFE) Scheme
Under the current legislation, a person who intends to run different types of licensed premises (the Applicant) can only rely on the Fire Services Department (FSD) in making fire risk assessment of the premises and certifying compliance with the relevant fire safety requirements. FSD officers will conduct on-site inspections of the premises to assess the fire risk and issue a set of fire safety requirements stipulating the fire safety works required for the premises, such as the fire service installation and equipment as well as the ventilating system to be installed. The Applicant shall then engage a registered contractor or workers to carry out the works. Upon completion of the works, FSD officers will conduct compliance inspection. If compliance with the requirements has been confirmed, the FSD will issue a certificate or letter, with which the Applicant can submit to the relevant licensing authority for obtaining the relevant licence.
In order to facilitate business operation and optimize the use of professional human resources, we propose to implement the RFE Scheme to engage professional engineers and qualified persons in the market for the provision of fire safety risk assessment and certification services.
The proposed RFE Scheme will offer the Applicants an additional option other than the FSD in completing the fire safety risk assessment and certification process. The RFEs are expected to be able to provide services with greater flexibility, such as conducting on-site inspections or compliance checks at more flexible hours. In addition, given the resources and manpower available to RFEs, such RFEs are expected to be able to complete the required risk assessment and certification services within a shorter turnaround time, thus attracting the Applicants (particularly those with higher affordability, such as hotels and large places of entertainment) to choose this service.
This Scheme will facilitate business operation and optimize the use of professional human resources, and also create opportunities for RFEs and help develop the fire engineering profession in Hong Kong. Upon introduction of the LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 3125 new Scheme, the FSD will continue to provide its existing services as a choice for the Applicants. That means the Applicants may choose to use the risk assessment and certification services provided by the FSD or engage RFEs.
As a prudent start, we propose to implement the RFE Scheme in the licensing process for the prescribed premises first. After running it for about two years, the FSD will conduct a review to assess the effectiveness of the Scheme. Subject to the results of the review, we will consider extending the Scheme to other areas in future.
Object of the Bill
The existing Fire Services Ordinance (FSO) and its subsidiary legislation do not provide for any third party other than the FSD to perform fire safety risk assessment and certification, nor do they enable the Director of Fire Services to regulate the RFEs. It is therefore necessary to amend the FSO to empower the Chief Executive in Council to make regulations for the proposed RFE Scheme and for regulating RFEs and to make related and consequential amendments. The implementation details of the Scheme, including the registration and duties of RFEs, the disciplinary and appeal mechanisms, as well as the issue of codes of practice in relation to the Scheme, will be covered in a new piece of subsidiary legislation to be made by the Chief Executive in Council after the passage of the Bill.
Public Consultation
The FSD conducted trade consultations in 2007 and 2011 respectively to gauge the views of the stakeholders on the RFE Scheme. In general, the majority of the stakeholders expressed support for the introduction of the Scheme. To better assess the business impact of the proposed Scheme on various stakeholders, the FSD commissioned a Business Impact Assessment study, which was conducted subsequently from mid-2012 to mid-2013. The study also found that the stakeholders were generally supportive of the proposed Scheme, and that there should be a sufficient supply of potential RFE candidates in the market.
We briefed members on the legislative proposals at a meeting of the Panel on Security of the Legislative Council on 3 November this year. Panel members raised no objection to the proposals.
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Concluding Remarks
I hope Members will support the scrutiny of the Bill, so that it will be passed as early as possible. After the passage of the Bill, we will work towards introducing a new piece of subsidiary legislation under the FSO to provide for the implementation details of the proposed Scheme as early as practicable. The RFE Scheme could be rolled out after the passage of the Bill and the new subsidiary legislation.
President, I so submit.
(Ms Claudia MO stood up)
MS CLAUDIA MO: President, the quorum, please.
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): I now propose the question to you and that is: That the Fire Services (Amendment) Bill 2015 be read the Second time.
In accordance with the Rules of Procedure, the debate is now adjourned and the Bill is referred to the House Committee.
SUSPENSION OF MEETING
PRESIDENT (in Cantonese): I now suspend the meeting until 9 am tomorrow.
Suspended accordingly at 7.53 pm.
LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015 A1
Appendix I
WRITTEN ANSWER
Written answer by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury to Mr Paul TSE's supplementary question to Question 2
As regards the information about complaints relating to financial intermediary services, it is provided as follows:
Complaints relating to financial intermediary services(1)
Customs and Consumer Companies Year Excise The Police Council Registry Department 2013 10(2) 38 - 3 2014 35 75 - 7 2015 (Up to 126 127 306(3) 3 November) Total 171 240 306 13
(1) The figures above may contain duplicated complaints made by same complainant to various departments and organizations.
(2) The amended Trade Descriptions Ordinance covering services provided by traders came into effect from 19 July 2013. The statistics provided by the Customs and Excise Department refer to the complaints received since that date.
(3) The Police did not maintain statistics on the number of complaints against financial intermediary services before August 2015. A2 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015
Appendix II
WRITTEN ANSWER
Written answer by the Secretary for Development to Dr Helena WONG's supplementary question to Question 4
Regarding the latest progress of the Nullah Road Greening Project, part of the Nullah Road Greening Project concerns the provision of a sitting-out area at a former petrol station site at Nullah Road near Nathan Road. This sitting-out area was open to the public in 2011. To enhance greening of the surroundings of this sitting-out area, the District Facilities Management Committee (DFMC) under the Yau Tsim Mong District Council agreed, at its meeting in March 2015, to provide planters at a site adjoining the sitting-out area. Planters have already been placed at the area and the associated mesh wire fences have been removed.
The remaining part of the Nullah Road Greening Project concerns greening works at the former petrol station site at the junction of Nullah Road and Tung Choi Street. As the Transport Department and the Highways Department are undertaking a study on improvement of local traffic through conversion of the area at the former petrol station into a road to divert traffic to Prince Edward Road West via Tung Choi Street, the remaining part of the Greening Project will be carried out after completion of the proposed road improvement works. Given the need to segregate the area from the traffic, the former petrol station site at the junction of Nullah Road and Tung Choi Street is now fenced off. To green the environment, the DFMC at its meeting in July 2015 agreed to provide planters at the fenced-off area. Planters have already been placed and the relevant departments would ensure the environmental hygiene of that area.
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Appendix III
WRITTEN ANSWER
Written answer by the Secretary for Innovation and Technology to Mr LEUNG Kwok-hung's supplementary question to Question 5
As regards T-contract staff, in the past five years, the Government recruited a total of 259 Analyst/Programmer II through open recruitment, including 12 T-contract staff, which is about 5% of the total recruits. If an individual T-contract staff member is interested in a relevant civil service post, he or she may apply for the post during the recruitment exercise. We will fairly process all applications in accordance with the established mechanism.
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Appendix IV
WRITTEN ANSWER
Written answer by the Secretary for Innovation and Technology to Mr SIN Chung-kai's supplementary question to Question 5
As regards the Public Sector Trial Scheme, as at end-October 2015, the Innovation and Technology Commission has approved 105 trial projects under the Public Sector Trial Scheme and 58 of them have been completed. Among the completed projects, the R&D outcomes related to 41 projects have reached the stages of realization and commercialization including transferring the relevant technologies to the industry through licensing agreements or contract services, or continually being applied by the relevant public sector organizations.
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Appendix V
WRITTEN ANSWER
Written answer by the Chief Secretary for Administration's Office to Mr Charles Peter MOK's supplementary question to Question 6
The hotline 1823 answers enquiries for 22 participating government departments as listed below:
(1) Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department; (2) Architectural Services Department; (3) Buildings Department; (4) Civil Engineering and Development Department; (5) Companies Registry; (6) Drainage Services Department; (7) Electrical and Mechanical Services Department; (8) Food and Environmental Hygiene Department; (9) Hongkong Post; (10) Highways Department; (11) Labour Department; (12) Lands Department; (13) The Land Registry; (14) Leisure and Cultural Services Department; (15) Marine Department; (16) Office of the Government Chief Information Officer; (17) Rating and Valuation Department; (18) Tobacco Control Office, Department of Health; (19) Social Welfare Department; (20) Working Family and Student Financial Assistance Agency; (21) Transport Department; and (22) Hong Kong Housing Authority and Housing Department.
A6 LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL ─ 16 December 2015
Appendix VI
WRITTEN ANSWER
Written answer by the Chief Secretary for Administration's Office to Mr Kenneth LEUNG's supplementary question to Question 6
In 2014, 1823 received 4 006 015 calls, and handled 1 909 062 enquiry cases and 351 682 complaint cases. Statistics of 1823 can be found at the webpage of 1823 ―